Simplicity

It's all good

2012-01-17T17:44:00.000-08:00

I am feeling so proud. I have already accomplished so much with my new lifestyle and sticking to things. I drink water, water and more water. I haven't had Soda at all in 2012. I have made wiser and healthier choices. I have managed to do some sort of exercise every single day. My legs were getting pretty tired of walking/running on the streets so tonight I took a break, I stayed inside and did Tae Bo Cardio (yes, I have a really old DVD of Billy Banks Tae Bo, don't you? haha), then I did some strength training from sparkpeople.com and even proceeded to do a few minutes of Zumba cardio dance. So I rocked my exercise tonight despite staying indoors.

I also mailed in my entry form and payment for not one but two races. I am going to do a 2 mile race Feb 12th and on Feb 25th I am doing my first ever.... are ready for this? My first ever 5K! :) I am not doing this one for speed as much as just to do it. The big 5K I want to have a good time (good being under 40 minutes probably) will be a month or so later on. I am stoked about it, and enjoy having something to look forward to.

I haven't weighed lately, and last time I was still at 172 lbs.. again the number on the scale doesn't mean as much to me as the way I am feeling and benefits that I am already reaping. It's all good! :)

Bitten

2012-01-13T05:14:00.000-08:00

I think I must have gotten bit by the bug... the exercise and eating right bug? Is there one? I have never enjoyed it as much as I have lately. I mean I look forward to my walk/jog and don't want to miss it... I have NEVER been that person... but I sure do like her.

I have been eating my breakfast and lunch at work, we have a fridge and only two employees so I have finally made use of that fridge by buying fruits and vegetables to keep at work, and healthy breakfast and lunch options to choose from. I had a sweet tea addiction a few months ago where I went to McDonald's for breakfast every day and ordered a breakfast burrito with hot sauce and two large sweet Tea's.. (Yes, I said two of them!) What? They were only a dollar each and they tasted scrumpcious to me at the time and I could drink on one from 8am-12pm and the other from 12 pm to 5 pm... it was cheap way to stay hydrated right? WRONG! Each one of those was over 200 calories so that was 400 or more wasted calories every single day (I MEAN EVERY SINGLE DAY!). Now, I buy Milo's Tea sweetened with splenda and have a glass of that a day while at work.. then drink water the rest of the day, on in to the evening, no caffeine or soda usually at all from that Milo's tea on.

I use my keurig to have a nice coffee/tea every morning that is only 60 calories. Then, when I get to work I have a simple breakfast of either raisin bran and fat free milk or (this is sorta funny), uncrustable sandwich... you know the ones that are frozen made by smuckers. I found they are only 210 calories, they have them in wheat bread... and the peanut butter gives me protein. I warm them in the microwave and I am loving them! :) Then, on for breakfast I have a pita sandwich with carrots (lean meat, low fat cheese) I often have lettuce and tomato on the sandwich too which makes it delicious and helps me add vegetables to my day. I have an orange or something like that as a dessert to my lunch and my lunches are running around 400 calories.

My dinner's are planned in advance, and I have found some low calorie meals so most of my dinners are 500-600 at most and I usually even fit in a skinny cow for dessert or snack later in the evening after a meal. My family has been enjoying the meal selections without any fuss, and my man has been preparing most of the meals for me while I am out on my walk (this is awesome, I know!). I only have up to 1500 calories a day. I don't even think about wanting more then that either. I feel satisfied and don't feel like I am dieting... because I am not! I am eating healthier! I have managed to eat out a few meals and still keep most of them under the 600 calorie mark.

So, as you can see I am doing much much much better than my 3500-4000 calorie diet I was on.

Exercise? OMG! I have been doing something every single day! I have burned not hundreds but thousands of calories already in this new year. I am walking mostly but trying to incorporate jogging/running in to my schedule. I want to do a 5K as you might have read in my previous post and I now have an awesome trainer (Brigitte) who is working on teaching me proper running form and how to possibly go from walking to running a 5K. I am super excited!

My dog is loving me as I am taking him for a walk and he is getting much more exercise too.

I haven't weighed in a couple of days, but last weigh in I was 172 lbs and that was 18 lbs down from the 188 lbs I was back in November. Slow and steady wins the race... I am getting there. Not so much of a number goal set on my weight loss as the fact that I just want to feel better, live better, and be stronger.

So if this is an effect from a bug that might have bitten me I sure hope it lasts forever. I don't want to lose this feeling. I need to remember it and that is the reason for this blog post. I need to remember how good it feels to be active and eat better. There will be good and bad days to come... This is a really good day that I can reflect on.

UGHHHHH

2012-01-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

You wanna know what my dumb ass did?, I paid my mortgage payment out of the wrong damn bank account. The bank account that I use for my personal stuff, that didn't have anywhere near the money for that bill. WHAT WAS I THINKING? That totally sucks, now I have transferred the funds but it is probably going to cost me more then I want to even think about because of a stupid, stupid mistake! UGH is all I can say because that just makes me sick.

Update: It didn't cost me ANYTHING!!! Luckily I paid by my Regions bill pay acct and they saw my mistake and didn't send the check, and didn't charge me anything! I simple transferred the funds back to the appropriate account and resubmitted for the bill to pay and it was done. No fees! I feel like I escaped some natural disaster unscathed. :)

5K Training

2012-01-02T14:25:00.000-08:00

I said I wanted to run a 5K, I am taking baby steps toward this goal. I have no idea how to run as I never ran as a kid, and well really never have in my life. I try jogging some and I am like to need to land heal first or not? How should my stride be? I mean it seems my stride is super short, I mean I am short and have short legs so maybe its suppose to be short or should I be concentrating on trying to correct my stance or just run as I feel comfortable and hope for the best? I mean I am beginning and now before starting bad habits is the time to actually learn how to do things correctly I would suspect, right?

I noticed that Fleet Feet has a 5K training program for 10 weeks. The cost is $95 dollars. Which is steep for me. I mean I really feel this program would help since I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING about running a 5K, and would like to meet some people with the same goals that I have, so yes it is worth the money to me, but still hurts the pocket book if you know what I mean. The best thing about this program is that it is in Madison. I live in Decatur and work in Madison. There are no training programs in Decatur or atleast non that I could find online.... but this one in Madison is very doable for me, close to work and after I get off so I could just change clothes and go. I am seriously considering this. Plus the investment I will be making into this program will help ensure I keep my goal in sight and actually reach it this year. Still thinking on it, and when I think $15 per week it seems much easier to bite that bullet. I think I may sign up for this when I get paid on Friday.

Day 1 of 2012

2012-01-01T09:44:00.000-08:00

It has started out great! I got up near 10 am which was marvelous to get to sleep in without a clock dictating me to get up before I wanted to. Thomas got up and made Farmer's Breakfast which is in the oven now (torturing me). We have our staples for New Year's Dinner, Here is an article about the Southern tradition. Collard greens and cornbread to bring your money, Blackeyed peas to bring your luck, and Hog Jowl (I have always heard was to bring you health). So my family will be set for 2012 in the food department.

We have pretty much been lazy since we all got moving around, and that is the BEST way to spend New Year's Day.

I took my dog for a walk. We walked just over 1 mile and we did that mile in 16.25 minutes. He is a little yorkie and it usually takes us 20 minutes to do that same walk. It was windy as crap out there, wind blowing in our face for half the walk, and we still did it in 16.25 minutes. I am proud of this!!!

I got on my new scale this morning, after my morning pee (hehe I said pee), and the scale was super good to me! It said I weighed 175 lbs. Last night after my huge meal it said 177.... so I knew it would be less today but it looked so good to me!!! I weighed 172 when I quit smoking over 6 years ago. I haven't really seen that weight since then (only one time and it was too brief to count haha). So now just a few more pounds to meet a sort of milestone in weight loss. I started at 188... not huge, but still progress. I am feeling super good about 2012 and it being the year of Tonya. The year I meet goals for me and do things for myself and my health.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Scaling it down

2011-12-31T19:09:00.000-08:00

OH MY GOSH!!! Are you sitting down? I have been needing a scale for about a month now. I last weighed on my scale 188lbs. This was back the end of November, and the battery was getting weak and the scale was looking ratty from use so on a cleaning day I just threw it away. Said I was going to buy a new one. Well this month I have ate different at work, walked the dog more and tried to pay a bit more attention to my snacking. Now, I have not dieted really. I have not done without. I have simply tried to do a bit better.

I bought my scale today, my first step on it amazed me. I weighed 177 lbs. That is 11 lbs. Now my other scale could have had me off, but I do feel like I have lost this weight, so I am going to consider this progress. I honestly do not care what I weigh, I just want to get in better physical fitness. I want to get up off my chair more. But, this my friend was a happy time for me to see the scales today has reminded me that I can do this. It might not happen in a month or 2 months or even 6 months, but I will get in better health which ultimately will have me lose the pounds, the inches and gain the strength. Tonight I simply feel stronger. :)

NOTE: I also want to make note that I weighed myself at 9 pm after a HUGE meal and a glass of wine and a margarita haha...tomorrow may be even more amazing! :)

New Years Eve

2011-12-31T12:10:00.000-08:00

Well, it's that time of year again. Time to make resolutions for the next year. I suck at keeping resolutions for the most part, but I am hopeful this year will be unlike others. I am looking forward to the changes that may come with my new resolutions to make 2012 an amazing year!

Here goes:
1) Wake up at 5:45 am on my non-clinic days. I have clinic days that I wake up at 4 am all other days I sleep until the very last possible minute which is usually 7 am. If I get up at 5:45 am, I should be able to make it to the bathroom to brush my teeth, wash my face and get on some exercise clothes. Then grab my dog and take him for a mile walk to let him re-leave himself, and get my body woke up and warmed up. I should be able to do all of these in 25 minutes or less, then bring my dog back home to continue back out for another mile at my own pace which should be a bit faster than my little Yorkie's pace (should be). As I get in a better fitness level I can try to go further in my time but only allow myself another 30 minutes of exercise. Then, its back home to shower and get ready for work. I need to make breakfast if I am making it at home (but most of the time I eat breakfast at work).... and get out of the house at 7:30 am. That has me up 1 hr and 45 minutes before I actually have to leave the house. I hear that it takes about 21 days to make something a habit... so lets see if I can't make this a priority of mine and as Nike says "JUST DO IT". I already dread the clock going off though, so this will be a big accomplishment for me if I stick with it. This will also help me meet some fitness goals ensuring that I am getting exercise in. The only times I will cut myself some slack is when it is raining in which times I may do my exercises inside, but I still need to get the hell up and out of bed. My clinic days however will be non-exercise mornings, so I must fit it in when I get home from work, and weekends I can fit it in anytime during those days.... so that damn clock will not be going off then! lol

2) Certifications: I hope to get one if not two certifications this year. Windows 7 and Security +. That is the only goals I am setting just to accomplish these two things this year.

3) 5K: I have yet to do a 5K and I want to get in shape and sign up for one.

4) Food: Watch my portion control, drink less soda, and try to think before I eat.

5) Cussing: Stop with the F Bombs and possible some other cussing I do mindlessly.

Maybe the number 5 is good? Makes since to have one or two lol but I need to do all 5 of these!!!!

Last year has been an amazing year full of ups and downs. 2012 is going to be even better.

What to do?

2011-12-29T17:26:00.000-08:00

I have so much I want to do. Like....
1) Get physically fit and healthy
2) Eat better (which is part of #1)
3) Study to pass Windows 7 Certification (step one in becoming an IT specialist, The IT crowd got to me haha)
4) Have a clean home (haha, this is a joke!)
5) Read more (for enjoyment)
6) Spend more quality time with my man
7) Spend more quality time with my kiddos

The problem is... THERE IS NO TIME TO DO THESE THINGS!!! I have been trying to figure out a plan/schedule so to speak to fit it all in, but nothing seems to work.

Here are my possible solutions:
1) I think I need a job closer to home, that will add 1 hour to my day (you know the hour I spend on the road to and from work).
2) Get up an hour earlier in the morning for exercise.
3) Schedule 1 hour a night for studying
4) Read over the weekend
5) Have everyone in family clean for 30 mins every night and 1 hour on weekends
6) Make a menu plan and stick with it
7) Go to bed at 9 pm every night with my man.
8) Schedule fun time for the kiddos

lol these might work... but it all seems like so much work!!!!!!!!! Geesh, after working all day the last thing I want to do is work some more. I need an assistant haha.

Oh well, back to studying. Which is what I have dedicated this hour too (and I am merely taking a break since my mind was wandering on other things I need/should be doing and I thought it might be a good time to write down those thoughts and move past them)... only 35 more minutes of studying.

Ham Dumplings

2011-12-29T16:36:00.000-08:00

I have one word... YUM!

That is how to describe the Ham dumplings that Thomas made for us for dinner. He used the left over Ham from our Christmas dinner. We have tried to figure out ways to use the ham as to not have it go to waste, and give us a variety to eat.

He said something about Ham dumplings and I was like "ewww" and he said "you have never had ham dumplings?" I said "ewww". He said "I have to make you some". So he did.

In the pan

In my bowl.

And these darn Ham dumplings KICK ASS!!!!

Now, while making those he decided to he would make my lunch for the following day. He baked me a potato, then put that potato and ham in a pan along with some other "secret" ingredients and came up with "Baked Potato Ham Soup"... I devoured it today at lunch... it was absolutely delicious! I know you are jealous.... eat your heart out! :) haha

Movies I have watched recently

2011-12-28T17:28:00.000-08:00

I watched Water for Elephants with Thomas and Desmond and parts of it made me cry. I did doze (which I do often) for a few minutes in one part which to me means it got a bit slow. But, overall the movie was very entertaining and held my attention. I do recommend watching it and would love to read the book.

I watched Larry Crowne with Thomas and I really loved it! It is one of my favorite movies now. We got it from Redbox but now I will have to own it because it is one I will have to watch over and over again. I highly recommend as an easy to watch film. I like this kind of movie and I am a huge Tom Hanks fan.

Mr. Hobb's takes a Vacation. If you know me, you know that I ♥ Jimmy Stewart and view him as one of the very best Actors of all time!!!! I had never seen this movie until the other night when I watched it with Thomas and Desmond. It was hilarious! It was everything I thought it would be. This is a must see. :)

Keurig

2011-12-26T18:15:00.000-08:00

Thomas and I pooled our gift cards and Christmas money for a Keurig. We also got the little caddy and two coffee mugs.

Here is another photo. I love this thing! I have already had a Mocha and Some fresh brewed southern sweet tea.

The only problem is the cups. We paid $29.99 for these darn things and they leak. I am a bit upset about them, guess that is another problem for another day to try to fix, not sure if they will take them back or not... but don't buy these cups!

90 Kohl's bucks

2011-12-26T08:20:00.000-08:00

I shopped last minute this year for Christmas. I mean I literally bought my first present 1 week to the day before Christmas. I then proceeded to not purchase the rest of my gifts until Wednesday night before Christmas when Thomas and I hit Kohl's in Huntsville. I hadn't been to that store but once and it was years ago. I lucked up and found everyone besides the kids gifts there. I spend $550 bucks there in just a few hours. Which earned me 90 Kohl's bucks. Now I can go this week and spend $90 dollars on myself! I think that is pretty neat, not sure what I will get because I never was really looking for myself in that store. But, I am sure I will spent my 90 dollars, that is one thing I am most definitely sure of. Maybe a new pair of boots? Maybe Thomas a Columbia jacket? The possibilities are endless at this point. haha

I am going to the hit some other stores too. My son has a gift card to Best Buy we will probably stop there. I need to go somewhere for some warm walking clothes, and need to buy me a new scale too. Not sure where or when... since everyone in this house besides myself is still asleep at 10:17 am, ughhh!

F bombs

2011-12-26T08:03:00.000-08:00

I drop them daily, probably more than many sailors would. Not sure how this habit started but that is what it is, I cuss horribly. I mean I say shit, damn and hell all the time too, but those are less offensive than GD and F bombs. All of these words have become just a part of my vocabulary for some reason. I remember a time when I didn't cuss much... but that was like forever ago. I would like to say the F bomb's came only when I was really emotional about something, like I really needed to express that emotion. But, no... they come just when I say "I am going to go wash the F'ing laundry" or "what the "F" is this on the TV?" I have even went so far as to say "You are the cutest F'ing dog in the world"...I mean come on, why did that require that word? I am not offended myself by the word, only know that I offend others with it. I cuss, its rather unfortunate because I don't know that it is a very attractive feature in a lady. Who said I was a lady right? But, my New Year's Resolution is to slack on my cussing. I mean I could give it a break from time to time and maybe fit some other words into my vocabulary? I tell my kids all the time who have heard my potty mouth since they were too young to know it was wrong that they don't ever want to say those words because once its in your vocabulary you use it, and before long you use it without even recognizing it until after its slipped out. So far they don't cuss, or not around me at least. I didn't cuss around my parents either when I was young... it just came out with age and here I am a 36 year old potty mouth. The GD doesn't come out much because although I am not religious I have never liked to say that one, its very offensive to many and makes me feel like a moron when I say it, but it comes out when I least expect it, but those are usually always in the heat of a moment that I am really expression some sort of emotion and usually anger.

Do you have moments where you say cuss words before you realize it?

I mean my mother-in-law to be doesn't like the word Fart. Says its a cuss word. Fart is nothing to me... It's a joke more than a cuss word. Some words are just words to me and Fart is just that, a word. I remember my daddy get on to me for saying piss when I was talking about one of them "piss ants" that had just bitten me. It's what I heard those ants were called that bit people. Those were "piss ants" and I didn't see what the big deal was even though I was only 6 or 7 years old. Still at 36, the word piss means nothing to me. It's just a word. Maybe I am unusual in those words not bothering me at all and not considered cuss words? I have never corrected my kids with those words, and not sure they ever even say them. Do you have words that are offensive to you that others use frequently?

Regardless of what offends me or others I want to stop dropping the F bombs and GD without even meaning to say them, at least let me say them because that is the emotion I am really expressing and not just a habit potty mouth that I have obtained.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T10:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I just got through celebrating an awesome Christmas with my family. I am posting pictures from this past year here now.. and will update my blog soon with new layout, pages and such to try to keep up with my blog. My new year's resolution is to blog more. I use this as my journal... I write about anything and everything and really enjoyed getting my thoughts out here, and can use it as a timeline so to speak for my life, and I hate that I have ignored it so much over the years.... it's always been hit or miss. I don't really have much of a "following" but I don't write this for fame or recognition, rather than just so notate events in my life and junk like that.... it's probably a boring blog compared to most I read, lol but it's mine.
There are crap ton of picture in this slide show, again, you may not want to view it but I will be able to view this as all the photos from 2011. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

Now, to figure out how I want to do my blog!

October and some randomness

2011-10-01T17:38:00.000-07:00

If I had to pick my favorite month it would probably be October. The cool breeze in the air, the leaves beginning to fall, the fall colors, the pumpkins, Halloween is coming, and college football is in full season. Yes... October is an awesome month.

Now, I had big plans for this day that included lots of chores/organizing and cleaning around the house. I have managed to avoid every single activity that I had planned. I have sat on my ass all day! Its been great!

Tomorrow I will clean my bedroom put up the summer stuff and get out the fall/winter clothing. I have seen some awesome outfits I would like to try to make for simple prices that I seen on the website Pinterest. I am going to try to come up with some money for a few nice outfits to wear this Fall. I say that and I broke.. I mean broke!!! I haven't been this broke in years actually. I am all caught up with bills, thankfully... but broke! Getting my kids in school this year hurt more than I intended.... I know to be better prepared next year. Whew is all I can say!

Now.. on another note. I have to have dental work done, so I think that may take place of any Fall outfits... blah! I was just dreaming. In time though... I will get nice clothes!

I got a super bad perm a few months ago that has been driving me crazy! I have finally grew out the "stack" cut that I had though and I thought the perm would help me do that, which it did.. but it has damaged my hair horrible, and was too damn kinky curly. Soooo I straightened last night. I like it much better. It is unhealthy as it was before I straightened even so now please take a moment to say a prayer for a quick recovery for my hair (A moment of silence for prayer here.... ). Amen!

Now to get this dental work done, get the hair back healthy and lose about 20 lbs (I need to lose more but I am trying to be realistic here)....I will feel good and hopefully by this time be financially ready to buy some new clothes... that is the plan for now any way!

Alabama vs Arkansas

2011-09-25T17:21:00.000-07:00

ROLL TIDE BABY!!!! We have been so blessed to make it to all three of the home games played this far....What a season so far!

Alabama vs North Texas

2011-09-17T17:19:00.000-07:00

Yep we went to Tuscaloosa again! :) ROLL TIDE BABY

Teenagers

2011-09-16T17:12:00.000-07:00

UGhhh what am I going to do with my children! I wish those aliens that abducted them when they became teenagers would come back to bring back MY CHILDREN!

My daughter doesn't want to help me do anything in the house without me spelling it out and MAKING her. She can't keep her phone more than two weeks at a time because she doesn't know how to tell time. I get attitude despite what all I do for her.

My son can't seem to focus on his school work, chores or anything for that matter. His mind is always somewhere else.

UGHHHH

Missing XBOX 360

2011-09-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

It's the case of the missing XBOX 360. Desmond has had his XBOX for a couple of years. He used his birthday money to buy a new Football game and he ultimately LOVES his XBOX.

I received a call from him at about 3:20 pm one day (as soon as he got home from school) saying "Do you know where my Xbox is?" I said "No, Did you do something for Thomas to take it away from you? He said "Not that I know of". I said "I guess we will ask him about it and discuss it when I get home from work".

I got home and asked Thomas about it and he said "I haven't seen it and no I didn't take it". Pure panic took over me at that moment. Had someone been in the house? Were we robbed? OMG!

After tearing the house apart and looking for any other missing items it has been determined that NOTHING ELSE WAS TAKEN... and this person who "took" the XBOX broke in without any signs of a break in and walked all the way through the house past a PS3, Wii, Stereo system w/ speakers, Nikon D5000 camera with extra lenses, 2 Kindles, 2 laptops, got past 2 dogs without signs of struggle and walked all the way through to the back of the house to neatly unhook his XBOX and control and take it. It happened to have his new Football game in it too.

I say this to say, I have no idea what or who happened to that XBOX but I am not buying another for Desmond. He has not actually been too heart broken over it as I know how it feels to be stolen from and it hurts bad no matter the item. I hope he hasn't done something with it, and he is not being dishonest, but as of now it will simply be the case of the missing XBOX.

OH MY He is 13 already

2011-09-09T16:52:00.000-07:00

My baby boy is 13. I can not believe he is already a teenager. Where did the time go? He is 5'8.5" at least and weighs about 155 lbs and wears a size 10 shoe. Yes he is a big boy! He is handsome, smart and I am super proud that he is MY son!

We didn't do much for his birthday this year because it came on a Friday. His sister was not home and I had to wait to get money on Friday to give him for his birthday. So that meant I didn't have the funds for a cake or time to make one and didn't have time to shop for his birthday either. He has a recently broken arm which has hindered what he wanted for his birthday which was a weight set. I had no idea what to get him. So I had decided I would take him to dinner, and give him money. We could go buy his weight set or he could buy something else he might want.

Cathy decided she would bring over Whitt's BBQ for dinner. So we ate at the house. Thomas gave Desmond money, Cathy gave him money, my Daddy sent him money, and I gave him money. We went out to buy him a cake later that evening but he said he really wanted a cookie cake. I went to the mall but those bozo's said it was too late to get one from them, so we went to Academy sports, and other shoe stores and such for Desmond to shop for his birthday. He wound up getting a game for his XBOX and saving the rest of his money for something else down the road. He picked out a Roll Tide cookie cake (THAT'S My boy! ).

Alabama Vs Kent State

2011-09-03T17:15:00.000-07:00

Thomas got us tickets to see Alabama play... WOOT WOOT!!! I know!

Here are photos from this game, it was super fun!

Family Fish Fry and Tarzan

2011-08-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

Well my family had another fish fry... this may be annual thing now as we have had two in the past two years. I love seeing my family and eating yummy food so its a great thing to be a part of.

We go to my Aunt Pat and Ron's house on the river and eat, talk, act a fool. :)

The kids were swinging on a rope from a tree into the water, most the kiddos doing it were smaller than my child. My child didn't bring swim clothes so he hadn't been participating in the activity, until he sweet talked my aunt Pat for swim trunks. I was talking to my cousin Randy and making my way down to the swim hole to watch/video/photograph the event of my son (who is usually scared to do most things) when I realized he seemed to be in a hurry all the sudden to do this. I think its because smaller kids are doing it and he is so much bigger he wants to do it in a hurry. I told my cousin Randy I better hurry before he hurts himself and just as those words left my mouth I looked and saw a wobbly kid on a rope fall off the rope right until a retaining wall. My cousin Randy proceeded with "To late". I ran down to assist my baby, he is hanging on to this wall. He is brave and not crying or anything but doesn't want to move. He said "My legs, momma my legs". My fear is he has broken both legs. He is on his knees in a very shallow water, with his arms hanging over the wall. I take off my shoes (what? they were over $100), and I get into the water, I try to move him and we realize real quick one of his arms is injured as well. I pick him up (all 150 lbs of him) by his butt with the aid of my Daddy, Randy and Thomas. We get him to a chair to assess his injuries. Definetly both legs are injuried and his arm is mangled up. The legs don't seem to be broken because he can stand on them now they are scraped up and have huge indentions but they are probably ok. We put ice on one leg and get ice for his arm... you can look at it and tell it is damaged, more than likely broken. We leave the fish fry and head for the ER. Yes his arm is broken. Desmond has is first broken bone of his life time right before his 13th birthday. It was and exciting day, and Desmond has received the nickname of Tarzan. Here is a slideshow of photos from this day.

Medical issues

2011-08-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

I have three things going on with me medically that I really need to do something about and haven't for a long time.
1) I have a pretty good size knot on my head. It is on the top right side of my head, it is small/round and hard as hell. I did finally mention it to my brother (the Cardiologist) and he said he "wouldn't worry about it" while his wife (the Nurse Practitioner) said "You know he knows about the heart not the brain right?" haha.
Thomas has worried about it, I have worried about it, but it has been there probably 2 years now and I haven't had it checked out.

2) I have pretty significant shoulder pain. It has limited me this summer more than ever with the kayaking. The shoulder pain started about 4 years ago. It has gradually gotten worse and sometimes it is too painful to "fix" my hair so I just pull it up in a ponytail to keep from having to hold my arms up too long with the curling iron or straightener. I even went and got a perm this year to make my hair extra curly so I might be able to moose it and go... and I HATE IT. I beg for family to massage that one shoulder all the time and sometimes they do and it feels totally awesome like all the bad in the world is gone for that moment. I can't figure out what it is or where the pain is actually generalized to. That is weird I know. It is just an ache. Just a pain in my shoulder.... I try to "self diagnose" often. I really should have it checked out before I have some major issue and have to require surgery or something I know.

3) I am obese. There I said it. I have lost 5 lbs recently which is a start, but the fact that I need to lose close to 50 lbs says a lot about my health. I have not been to see a physician about my health in over 5 years. Sad but true. I went to the doc in the box this year for my broken tailbone (because it was seriously injured and I didn't believe it was healing fast enough, because I wanted to be a bad ass derby girl, so I went to the doctor for that but want go for serious health issues? My priorities may be a bit confused). I have not had a physical in over 5 years. I have avoided this because 1) I need a new doctor and don't know who I want to use. 2) I am obese and don't need them telling me this because DUH I already freaking know it! 3) I am borderline diabetic (another self diagnosis) I say this because I am obese and I feel as though I might claw someone's eyes out if I don't eat something sometimes. Actually it feels as though I may vomit, I feel really sick, not hungry just sick and that feeling tells me I need food. I eat something (anything) and the feeling gets better. Now it might not be diabetes but I do know excessive weight and eating horrible (both of which I do) leads to Type II Diabetes and well... I avoid going to the doctor because I don't want to actually hear it.

Now it is pathetic that I am this way, I have worked in the Medical Field since 1998.... but I am only human.

I tell myself all the time to make time for myself. Sadly the time I make for myself seems to be to sit and rest instead of do what I need to!

No work?

2011-08-19T06:39:00.000-07:00

Thursday and Friday I have taken off to relax a bit and to rest up from that amazing concert.
I didn't do anything really on Thursday (yesterday). Thomas and I got up and I messed around with concert photos, then we went to eat lunch at a place that I had never ate, then we went to Walmart for Thomas some stuff for his guitar that he is building and to get some razors. While I was there I got deodorant (you can thank me later), I got new mascara and I also got new hair color. (I know you were all dieing to know what I got at Walmart haha). I came home, colored my hair, and pretty much was lazy the rest of the evening... so was yesterday a good day? HELL YES! I didn't clean, I didn't even cook (Thomas made a roast w/ taters and carrots). I like being lazy. But sometimes I just want to go have some fun.

Since yesterday was my lazy day. Today will be productive. I have gotten up and taken Desmond to school, then paid my bills (I have like no money left after paying those bills... and you know going back to school has literally broke me) and I will be thankful I had the money to pay them (even though we may be eating Ramen Noodles until next payday). I am going to put this computer down in like 5 minutes and get up to get the laundry going, dishes done, sweep and mop and straighten up the house. I wanted to go to a winery or vineyard this weekend. Today I needed to do these things so I don't think I will fit it in, tomorrow? Maybe, who knows? After I get the housework done, I am going to sit and be completely lazy again. I am going to watch some movies we picked up from Redbox and chill. Tonight? I am thinking of hitting the comedy hour at Flying Monkey... but it depends on my mood. I may just stay in and eat some salsa (that Thomas made) have some margaritas and continue my laziness.

There is a nice car show in Priceville tomorrow (Saturday) I might go there or.... I might plan a trip to a vineyard which is something for some reason I have always wanted to do but never have. Sunday? It is my last day home... I have no freakin ideal of what I WANT to do, but I do know what I NEED to do and that is organize my bedroom/closet as it is all messy, but I don't wanna! I guess we will see how I feel then. Monday I go back to work, at 4am... Joy Joy!

Train and Maroon 5 Concert..... KICK ASS!!!

2011-08-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a slideshow of some of the photos I have taken from that evening. It was one of the best concerts I have ever been to! If you recall I have been to Lady Gaga this year and her show... was so different so alive and so damn awesome that I honestly thought it would never in all my years be topped. I was wrong. I loved her and her music and style is wayyyyy different so I am not really comparing them but this concert ROCKED MY SOCKS OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was blown away.

So here is a recap:
Thomas and I got off work early and drove to Nashville. We arrived, find a restaurant on Broadway named Broadway Brewhouse. The atmosphere was a great start to our evening. We left after having dinner and a beer to hit the Arena. Got in, purchased a couple of Train T-shirts and made it to our seats. The seats were awesome btw. 1st up was PJ Morton. Not that I totally disliked him, but his music wasn't my taste, until he did a bit of Stevie Wonder and that was awesome. I didn't know he actually played with Maroon 5? I know it was a surprise to me too. I hate that I didn't get to see Gavin DeGraw because I was looking forward to him, but PJ Morton's performance was just fine.

Then it was time for Maroon 5. I knew I was excited but for some reason when I saw Adam Levine in person it was like more excitement then I expected. I love his voice. I love his talent. I like how he moves and think he is hot. All of that is the reason why I knew I would be excited, why I had been excited weeks leading up to the concert. But, when I saw him.... it was more than excitement. I am like wow, even speechless. I never thought I would be here. I listen to this dude and sing with him (yeah in my car) all the time and here I am seeing him in concert. The entire performance KICKED ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He sang "She Will Be Loved" and something about that song, that voice, that atmosphere, being there and having just watched a totally bad ass show that I cried. lol It is hilarious to me now, but I did, I cried. I was THAT intoxicated on their music and the atmosphere!

Then the finale. TRAIN. OMFREAKINGOD How I love them! I have listened to them for years. Every song, every album I know and love. Now, I have to be dreaming. It is simply too much! The performance was amazing, Pat (he doesn't know me but I am going to call him by his first name because he just made me feel like we could be friends with his humbleness)... so as I was saying Pat, put on a cowboy hat and managed to turn "She's on Fire" into some sort of modern country song that wasn't half bad, I am thinking he did that because we were in Nashville... but I did get a kick out of it! Then he proceeds to pull a bunch like a bunch of gals from the crowd of all ages (yes I secretly wanted to be up there, but I am old and fluffy and would never put up that much effort lol) and these girls/women are all part of "The Trainettes" and it was a cute little number he did with them.

Whew... I am not done yet! He pulls a little U2 out of his ass from somewhere that was freaking AMAZING! Then, he just calmly said "Ladies and Gentlemen, Martina McBride"..... OMFREAKINGOD AGAIN!!! You have got to be kidding me! I LOVE HER. I don't listen to a lot of country but her... I love! I sing her shit in karaoke (or try to... please don't tell her I torture her music)... I sing.. no scream.. and belt out her tunes ALL THE TIME. She has a special CD in my car with her name on it that has an MP3 of probably ever song she has ever sang... like EVER! I put that CD in when I am blah and just want to sing it out. (yeah, I do that shit... shhhh its our secret). They proceed (they being Pat and Martina... love this first name stuff, haha) to sing their asses off on "Broken Wing". What a delightful surprise that was!

Then it got all mushy with some "Team Allen" (go type that in facebook to read about their story) where a soldier and his family won a contest about the song Marry Me and got to tell their story and yes this had me sobbing, crying. I forgot to mention that Martina being there and them singing together yeah I was crying then too (God I must really be a basket case). Train continued to sing songs that I love and I continued to scream out the fact that hey I know this song, I love this song, here let me sing this song with you until my voice was hoarse. I screamed "I LOVE YOU TRAIN!!!!" I screamed, just a big ol' hooping hollar so they could here my one little scream. I SCREAMED, and I SCREAMED SOME MORE! It was AWESOME! I laughed, I cried, I screamed, I sang... like I said it was a great night! Then they said their goodbyes and left the stage. I knew they would come back, as that is tradition.... I looked at Thomas and said "They HAVE to come back they haven't done Drops of Jupiter". He said "After all of that performance you are going to be upset because they don't do that song?". I know I had to have given him a blank stare or something because then he said "don't worry they will be back". So I immediately calmed back down and kept screaming my ass off for them to get their asses back on the stage to sing my damn song! Guess what? They must of heard me! I do have one hell of a scream! They came back and I got to hear my song... I belted it out with them (I have the video to prove it, and boy was I ever not on key during that whole song). Destiny said "That is not you mom? Surely its not?", She just heard it when I played back the video a horrible sound drowning out the awesome music that Train was performing. She said "you are normally in much better key than that" lol. I said "I couldn't hear myself I was just letting everyone around me and the video I was recording know that I knew those words well and I was singing live with Train. I sang with Train... maybe not on stage lol and maybe way off key... but in my head that was, is enough. I am happy!

IT WAS AN AWESOME NIGHT! It was the best birthday present I can ever remember getting. Thank you to my sexy man Thomas for loving me enough to think about me as much as you do! Thank you for over looking how I was so obviously drooling over Adam Levine (even when I turned to you and said "He so freaking hot" and you just smiled because you knew I was happy). I am a blessed lady with a man who truly loves me! :) You rock my world harder then any song anyone could sing!

I will forever remember that night!

My Tbone

2011-08-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

You have put up with me for almost 9 years. (Wow November is just around the corner) You have spoiled me rotten and loved me tons. We rarely fight even though we often disagree. Our chemistry is amazing. You do your thing and I do mine but often it has us doing most things together. You make me smile, you make me laugh. You hold me when I cry and ignore me when I am mad. We have way more ups then we downs. The children are almost grown, this is amazing. You have been there with me since Destiny was 8 years old and Desmond only 4. I know we disagree over them more than anything else. I am thankful for your efforts in helping them or helping me through all these years. I am a very lucky lady to have you and I don't want to take you for granted. You are so special to make time for me and dates with me. Thank you for all you have done for me.

I look forward to many more years with you. You are my knight in shinning armor. I love you

My Junior

2011-08-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

11th grade. Wow, I was just a bit older than you when I was giving birth to you. It is amazing how fast time flies. I am scared to death to watch you mature in to the young woman you are. I love you so much and I am so proud of you and your accomplishments. I am scared because I don't trust others. I don't trust others out on the road that will be driving while you are. I don't trust boys who will play with your heart and try to break it. I don't trust some friends who may not be good influences on you and I just worry constantly at the time of your life you are in. One decision can change the rest of your life for good or for bad. I wish you wisdom this year to stay on track of your goals, but I have faith in you and the person you are that you will do the right things. Your smile is killer, I mean you can break hearts with it so be careful! You have been such a blessing to me and guided my life in the path that it has taken, you are my daughter, my Destiny.

I love your musical talent, your voice is heaven sent. Your guitar playing is pretty amazing too, especially knowing how you have self taught yourself. I am proud for you that you made Chamber choir again I love how much you love music!

I am so happy that you have made the decision to stay with the IB program. This is your first year in actual IB courses and I know most of your friends dropped down to AP. I feel you are making a wise decision to aid you in scholarships. I believe you are super smart and can accomplish anything you set your mind to.

I know we argue over that darn cell phone often, and how you slack on the chores, and how your car isn't drivable yet... but you are a wonderful daughter that any mother would be honored to have and thankfully you are my girl. I love you tons.

I hope your Junior year is everything you hope it to be and you accomplish all that you can. I hope you have tons of laughs with friends. I love you and I am super proud to be your mom.

My 7th Grader

2011-08-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

Wow, time sure is flying by you are my baby and a 7th grader. You are taller than me now, and are growing too darn fast! I remember holding you as a baby and rocking you to sleep. I miss those days so much when I could care for you and watch over you and know you were safe. You are now such a big boy, actually a young man and I want you to know that I am super proud of you even though I ride you sometimes. You are smart, thoughtful, and funny. You have a gorgeous smile and give great hugs.

I am proud that you are in advanced math and science and honors language. You make my heart smile. I worry about you often, will you grow up to be a good man? Am I do everything I should be doing as your mother? I know I am not perfect and you get mad at me often. Just know that everything I ride you for and all the things that I ask you to do are for your own good and I do them because I love you. Wow, you turn 13 in less than a month, you are officially a teenager!!!! I am so proud of you!

I know you wanted to play football this year and that didn't work out. I miss watching you play sports that you like, but I want you to play something that you really put your heart in and work at. Hopefully you will find that soon.

You are going to have a very exciting new year at school. You are not the new kid at the Middle School this year you know your way around. I think you will enjoy this year and I hope you know that I am here for you always!

I love you, and feel so blessed that I have you as my son. I am super proud to be your mom. I hope your 7th grade year is everything you want it to be and your achieve every goal you set.

Hello, My name is Rodney

2011-08-13T16:13:00.000-07:00

I had no home. I was in a tiny little cage at the Decatur Animal Shelter and was hoping to get a new home. My brothers, sisters and myself were all a part of an unwanted liter and my original owners gave us to the Animal Shelter in hopes to find us a home.

One day I found my new family... They came and took me to my new home. I was very sick but they didn't know it. They loved me, hugged me, played with me and fed me. I was happy but getting sicker by the minute. My new mom found a huge engorged tick in my ear on my very first night there and my new dad had to get it out while my mom held me down, it was so scary for all of us. But, that was better quickly. Then while I was sleeping my mom saw worms (round worm) coming from my rear end which freaked her out. She didn't know much about puppies so she was worried sick over it. She gave me some worm medicine and by the next day there were no visible signs of worms. I had a cough, runny nose and was a bit lethargic. They loved me so much but I kept feeling weak and sicker by the moment. I hit my lowest point where I was not eating or even drinking fluids. My mom took me to the doctor for medicine but nothing was helping me. Then, her and my new sister was hand feeding me with a little syringe gatorade and kitten food until a few days went by and I started to perk up. Turned out I had a pretty big size tapeworm that had finally died and left my poor little weak body.

Now, I am all better. I no longer cough (which was a pretty bad cough, where I would vomit after a spell), I eat everything in site and now my new family has to put me on a schedule just so I don't over eat. My tummy is feeling much better. I know that I am loved by new family. My new brother and I play all the time. I would also like to mention that he sure does have a lot of hair which makes it really easy to grab hold of him while we play hehe.

I really like my new home and I am thankful that my family found me. I am trying hard to be a 'good boy. I like to talk to my family and I love to eat ice. I still have issues with potty training but my mom tells me I am still young, even though I am 10 weeks old now. She says she is going to be working with me until I learn where and when to go. I think she loves me and thinks I am special.

Just a reminder to all of you that I am sure there is a shelter near you that will have another dog as special as I am who needs some tender love and care. Please take the time to donate supplies, your time or adopt a pet today! :)

Just my crazy thoughts

2011-08-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

I have not had my skates on in so long that I can't even remember. I bought $400 skates. I love my new skates that I have only skated on like 5 times ever. I loved going skating and improving and exercising and enjoyed it alot. I did however not like falling on my ass. The first time was understandable as I was so unsteady and I possibly should have waited until I was 100% before getting back out there but the second time I fell I even with butt pads was so horrible. I still have tenderness in my tailbone region when I move a certain way or get up a certain way and the first fall I had taken was in Jan 2011.... I mean geesh! I do feel that derby is not for me although I love the sport and watching those bad ass girls out there. I feel I am either a wimp, or such a clutsy skater that I don't need to try to do anything other than skate around a circle haha. But! I can do that! I don't know why I haven't. But basically I have taken off the whole summer. I really never intended on quiting my goal of being a bad ass derby girl but my work schedule was really starting to hinder me making it to practice (being on call and having early mornings and such). Plus, the tailbone placing a fear in me that I couldn't seem to shake. I quit. Just poof, worked hard to start something, get somewhere and just poof Quit! I hate feeling like a quitter.

I seem to have let myself down lately. My motivation to do something, have an accomplishment has left me. My mood has been more on the negative side instead of the positive which is really not like my character at all. I really need to evaluate my laziness and get busy. I have such added stress with my job, the kids, the home, the dogs (yeah I know this shouldn't stress me but puppies are difficult especially if they are sick!), the bills... that it is super hard to tend to myself and my own goals and achievements.

Now to be positive. I have already at 35 years old accomplished so much! I should pat myself on the back and hold my head up high despite my failures the last year and just admit that I am human and only one person. I can only do so much. But, I could do more than I do now because I know areas that I am slacking in. Those slackers actually add more stress to my life. The laundry isn't getting done because I am busy watching my favorite TV show. The dog isn't getting potty trained because I am busy watching my favorite TV show.... I remember a time in my life when I didn't watch TV...... and now I am all about my TV shows. I do enjoy them and see nothing wrong with them as long as I am fitting time in my life for myself, my goals and to help my stress level. SOOOOOOOOO..... I can positively say that I can fix all the bad in my life, and that is a blessing to be able to say. There are those who suffer far more than I can even imagine and my life is just that, my life. I hold the key to my success and happiness. :)

I think I am going to go skating soon, I think I am going to read a book just for fun again, I think I am going to do some studying, I think I am going to walk my dogs more, I think I am going to get a better handle on my responsibilities as a mother, lover, pet owner and homeowner.... and I think that I do all of this by simply keeping my priorities in perspective.

Happy Friday everyone!

COUNTDOWN IS ON!!!!

2011-08-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

OH MY GOSH YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE HOW EXCITED I AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (yes, I had to put that in all caps! It is that much excitement!)
Next Wednesday.... which is 6 days from now... I will be at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville with the hottest man I know (Yes, that would be my Tbone). We will be a witness to the most awesome concert. I will have a seat in this arena. A seat that was purchased by my Tbone for my 35th (ughhh I had to remind myself how old I was?) Birthday. Are you sitting down????? That seat in that Arena will be for none other than.....

YES!!!! You read that right... Maroon 5 and Train in the same Arena on the same night... I will be in Music Heaven! :)

Now you see why I was so excited! Jealous much?

What a Summer!

2011-08-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

Summer in photos:

As you can see we had some fun this summer! :) It has came and went too fast! School starts on Monday (8/15/11) and I am the proud Mother of a 7th grader and a Junior... no matter how many times I say it is still unFREAKINbelievable.
I think this has been one of the less eventful Summers but it was still enjoyable. I wish we could have made it to the beach but maybe next year... this year was just too hard to fit it all in financially. I know I am looking forward to Fall, the cool crisp breeze in the air, Alabama Football, Halloween... Yes, ready I am.

Kids photos August 2011

2011-08-08T16:33:00.000-07:00

I took the kiddos for photos the day before school started this year. They sure are getting big. Here are some of the pictures.

My bubba and his awesome family

2011-08-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

My brother and his family came to visit. We had an awesome little short visit at my house. Then later met with family at Ryan's in Gardendale for a family dinner. Their visits are always super quick, but very cherished! I hope to get to visit with them again soon. Here are some photos from that visit.

Like I said, very short but very special! I love my brother and his girls.... :)

Date night!

2011-06-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhh, how I love date nights with my man! It is always anything I want to do, and usually everything we do is fun! :)

I said tonight I want to go to Chili's for my quesadilla explosion salad, if you have not had this, you simply must go have one! They are horrible for you but so damn good!

I also decided that I want to go laugh, so I have picked The Hangover 2 as a movie to go see, if we make it to the movies.... if not we will go buy a comedy of some sort or something I might have been wanting to see on Blue Ray and come home and get comfy and watch it... for some reason the last option is sounded pretty good.

Super excited, only one glitch in my excitement. I have to get up at 4 am in the morning for work! BLAH!!! Luckily its a short period of time to work and I will be back home, can nap and relax after that, so I am going to try to enjoy my night!

Motivation

2011-06-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

I have the motivation today! I feel accomplished. I got up and went for a 1 mile walk (with a slight 5 min jog). I finished in 21 minutes and did some stretching. I have drank 5 glasses of water already today, 3 more to go. I met a good friend of mine (Leah) for lunch at Cracker Barrel and I ordered a grilled chicken salad, which was yummy! I also remembered to take my vitamins.

My energy level was marvelous earlier, but the last hour or so I felt foggy headed and tired. Like if I sat still long enough I would just fall asleep and sleep for a full 8 hours. So now to find out what makes me feel that way so as to not hit my lazy slumps as this feeling happens often to me.

I am going to walk another mile this evening. That will make 2 miles today and its a good start.

I definitely have to start small on my exercising.... my resting heart rate is 92 bpm. A brisk walk has my heart rate between 168-172 bpm, an all out jog had me at 198 bpm. This my friends is proof of being way out of shape. Baby steps! If I start now, then I should be able to start seeing my resting heart rate decrease along with my poundage. :) I weigh more now than I have ever in my life!!!! EVER! I weighed in at 192 lbs on 5/31/2011 and today it was 189 lbs. So this week I have went down 3 lbs watching what I eat a little and throwing in some exercise! My weight loss goal is to reach 170 lbs (baby steps) That is 19 lbs. I should be able to reach that goal by the end of this summer. Then, I will set myself another goal for Fall.

Jack of all...

2011-06-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

For some reason I find myself wanting to do it all!!! Someone, anyone please help me fit in all the things that I enjoy and want to do in life an make it all simple.... any takers?

Here are few things that I think of doing often (in no particular order)
1) Skating and being a bad ass Derby girl
2) Learning to play the dulcimer (bad ass style)
3) Learning to play the mandolin (anyway, as long as it is music haha)
4) Making things, being creative in an artistic way
5) Reading... I have at least 4 books right now that I have been WANTING to read... but can't seem to find time to really want to read, if that makes any sense. I mean I do enjoy reading when the house is clean and everything I have is all caught up and I can sit and relax in peace and quite... oh yes I love to read, but its so hard to find "THAT" time.
6) Hiking.
7) Kayaking
8) Cycling
9) Running (I have my eyes set on a 5K in August that is I worked really hard on I might could get in shape/train enough to do it by then.... I told myself I would start practicing (Running/jogging/walking) this week, I managed to go one day... blah).
10) Writing

Now that is a simple list of 10 items that I want to do. For some reason I can't just have one thing and I think that all my wants make it hard for me to get really good at any one thing... ughhhh. I mean have a pair of bad ass roller derby skates that I paid ohhh 400 bucks for, then I have an awesome dulcimer that Thomas built me, and a mandolin that I got a steal on.... then I a rode bike, a mountain bike, an awesome kayak, a kick ass kindle for reading and anything I could possibly need to do all the things that I want to do...I just am not doing them enough to get good at them.

One day at a time. Maybe I should schedule myself to do somethings on a regular basis and make it happen! :)

Too damn much

2011-05-19T20:07:00.001-07:00

Its amazing how much it will cost to repair this

4/27/2011- Tornados of fury

2011-05-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

That date (4/27/2011) will forever be a date of remembrance for the state of Alabama as well as most of the South East United States. There were record numbers of tornadoes that touched down all across our state, damaging, killing, twisting, turning.... the sites and stories are straight from a movie, unreal and heart breaking! As a result of the storm, most of the state was left without power. We were without power for 4 days. We were blessed far more than many others. My heart still aches for those who have and continue to suffer from this devastation. I didn't realize how hard this would be to type about... so that's all I am saying.

Why do I do this?

2011-05-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

Why do I go days, no weeks, no months! without typing on my blog? Guess its because I have a life.

**Note that if I could possibly make time to fit this blog into my life more I WOULD! So no offense to those folks that manage to blog more often and I love reading your blogs when I get the chance to do so!

My gosh there has been so much going on, where to start!

1. My daughter turned 16. OMGOSH!!!!!!! I know that is unreal. She had a birthday party with a big surprise

Then on the day she got her license, she had a small incident in a parking lot (someone hit my car door), the very same day she got them! She was also not where I thought she would be and had someone in the car with her that I was unaware of, so she hasn't driven since the day she got her license.... kids! I love her much though!
Oh and because this was done in a parking lot there is no fault and I am responsible for my own car (which means $500 deductible). Even though my car wasn't running and the kiddos were in the car (but the person that wasn't suppose to be in the car was in the back with the door opened) when another drive parked next to them took off (forward) out of his parking lot and caught my back door that was opened.... it literally bent the door back..... $1200 in damages.

I came home to a rain of glass one day (happens to be the same week of my car damage). I opened up my front glass door and it shattered all over me! (probably 300 bucks or more in damages) No one knows what happened!

I had a flat tire on my way to work (same week off all the above mishaps). ($350 bucks for two knew front tires (as I needed the other side too and front end alignment)

Needless to say there has been a lot of unusual activities lately and my bank account is still sobbing over the hurt I have caused it.

I miss skating, haven't been in a long time, haven't seen any of the Derby girls in a real long time and I was really enjoying that, but I haven't found the magic fountain of time yet, oh wait that is youth.... I need to find some time is what I am trying to say.

Speaking of the fountain of youth. Oh my cheese wiz, you would not believe the amount of gray hair I have now. Thomas' said I look distinguished but I just feel old. Something else I hadn't blogged about I had another birthday I am a year older. ACK! I am 35 year young lady who is need of a cheap box of coloring haha. But, I am waiting to color my hair as my recent perm has damaged my hair enough I should not inflict more harm at this time else I might go bald(er). I had my hair thoroughly cleansed, they use some chemical that is suppose to strip the hair of all the film from washing and stuff (I dunno what they call that really) but they did this before the perm, it stripped all the color I had on my hair right out! Not only did I get a perm but I got a dull flat color that resembles my natural hair color, really weird I know... ohhhhhhhhh and while I am on the subject of Youth (that was the subject I was on right?). I have a horrific crease, errr wrinkle. Its between the eyes ya know, from scowling, frowning, squinting at the sun... I make this wrinkle occur daily basically ALL DAMN DAY so it is destined to get worse! I need a botox hook up and I am not that primpy, frilly type who go and "pamper" myself. I need it so I don't look pissed all the time even when I am not!

Ok other things that have happened. OMG It has been so long since I posted here let me think...

I went to Nashville to LADY GAGA concert that Thomas got me tickets to for Christmas! Let me just say I love her! It was an awesome trip!

This beautiful building to the left is the awesome place we stayed while being in Nashville and it was Gorgeous!

We went to see Trans Siberian Orchestra (TSO) here in HSV which got postponed due to a power outage, which how did I not mention the record breaking events that took place in my area, that is going to require a post of its on. But, very kindly TSO rescheduled the event made a nice donation to The American Red Cross on the behalf of the people in the area and even though it was a very small crowd there they rocked the house!

I have booked not one, or two, but three camping trips coming up the next few weeks, so I again will busy outside of running a household, working full time, being a mom, a girlfriend, and a pet owner haha. So, more to come but who knows when... sorry! I probably lost any or all of anyone that read this blog, but its my blog and next year when I look back to what was going on this year I will be able to recall all these good and bad things that has happened.

It's Friday!!!

2011-04-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

Good Friday!

Earth Day!

Surely this will be an awesome day! :)

I have caught up on some much needed down time lately, been pretty lazy actually. My house is an absolute mess, the yard isn't really a yard its more of a jungle. My studying has not happened, my exercise is non existing.   Sooooo yeah, I am all caught up on down time. Now its time to focus on the must do's and need to's to get things running smoothly again.

Tonight its work on the house and get things in order like buying washing powders, cleaning supplies and such that we have been out of.

Tomorrow is house cleaning/ yard work all damn day (its THAT BAD!).

Sunday is Kayaking.   Yep, no Easter eggs or crammed pack church. I am the type of person that I don't regularly go to church so don't intend to go one day a year just to be seen at Church on Easter Sunday.... so my family and I will be out on the water kayaking, soaking up the sun and enjoy a nice quiet family day together.

I am going to make myself of a goal to lose 10 lbs. Its a small goal but its a start. I am going to be doing some form of exercise daily, and trying to not eat everything I friggin' see.... wish me luck!

I have a brand new kindle that Thomas got me for Christmas... yes Christmas. I have loaded 15 or so books on it, and have not read a single one of them!!! Its time I do something about that.... I really need to be spending time relaxing with a book as it is one of my all time favorite things to do!

Studying... I still have dreams of moving into the IT field eventually but that will not ever happen if I do not study.... study.... study. I haven't cracked open one of those books in I don't know when. I should be ready to take tests already and I should have actually already had a couple of certificates. I have spent hours studying to only spend months not reading it to probably lose what I had gained... ughhhh

Skating! I miss it! I have went to a few public sessions but its not the same knowing I have gave up that goal of being a Derby girl. Well, not given up but put it on the back burner with so many other of my want to's.    I miss the girls and friends that I had made. I still have something that belongs to them, I need to get with my girl Gina to give it to her.... ughhh I just thought about that, its so hard to remember things that I need to, like paying the utility bill! I have the money and have had it, but forgot to pay it online like I usually try to do, and now its going to close to the cut off date to pay online I have to go by the place and I have forgot to this for 4-5 days now lol hopefully my brain doesn't fail me this weekend and I go buy there before they are actually cut off... How did I get on my bills here? lol I guess its just an example of how scattered my brain is and how I can't seem to focus on ANYTHING!!!!

On another note, we had fun at A-DAY game.... but I much rather go to an actual ball game!

Lady Gaga kicks ass! I don't care if you don't like her or think she is a dude, or just crazy as hell.... She is an awesome performer. She has helped so many people feel confidence in themselves and who they are and she is truly talented! :) I totally loved her concert!

Now... time to get my ass busy! Hope everyone has an awesome day!

No freaking time!

2011-03-27T07:50:00.000-07:00

I think I will soon have more time, but lately geesh!

I went off on a weekend camping trip with Thomas since I last posted here. Which I had planned to make a big post w/ photos about the place we stayed (maybe I will post about it soon).

And, I also quit trying to be a bad ass with roller derby. I have been very sad and torn over this decision.... my work kind of helped me out by telling me that I have to start being on call every other week for 7 days in a row. I can't have the cell phone attached to my hip at practice three of the 7 days and no I am not happy about this one bit. There is really no compensation for carrying the phone, only if I actually get a call... and seems I have no say in the matter. Also I was going to be missing Dodge ball this Saturday (but it was rained out and will be next Saturday so maybe I can still make it!) for Destiny's All-state performance in B'ham. Got to looking at things and noticing all the practices/events I would be missing. All the gas money (which is steadily going up) that I would be using to drive to HSV those 3 days plus events... and looking at my skill level. I am pathetic right now (not that I don't see improvement in my future) but it is going to take me a while to get physically ready for derby. I have opted to skate with my family one to two nights a week and get more comfortable on my skates and practice some of the basic skills in derby as to one day try boot camp again go from there. I do plan to still volunteer and support DDG any way that I can... and I have met some absolutely wonderful people through this organization that I hope to never lose contact with these amazing people.

My tailbone is still tender and sore at times, hopefully it continues to heal and I will be able to spend hours out on the kayak soon (but I guess it will have to be a time that I am not on call GRRRRR).

Well these are just a few things going on with me, things will improve but right now I am not in a very good mood about many things..... blah

Heartbreaking

2011-03-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

My heart is in aching for the people in Japan, this has truly been the most devastation my eyes have ever witnessed (through video and photos only thankfully). I mean an earthquake to a Tsunami to a Nuclear meltdown... WOW! The fear, the heartache, the confusion, the concern, the stress.....so many emotions, so many people affected. Sending all my good vibes that way as they need them more than I do at this moment.

At a turtles pace

2011-03-07T07:44:00.000-08:00

I am racing through a hectic schedule at a slow pace, which doesn't seem right... but that is why I am about to freaking insane!

I have been so stressed lately that I thought this weekend would be a great time for a get-a-way.... One of those lets just do something sort of things. I booked us a room at Gold Strike in Tunica and Thomas and headed there on Saturday evening. We didn't get out our way until close to 2 due to having to go the eye doctor for new glasses for Destiny and myself, then go home, straighten up, wash clothes, pack and shower lol before I knew it, it was already after 1 pm. ACK! Got in the car to realize its a 4 hour drive! WHAT I though maybe 3 but was leaning toward 2.5 hrs lol not 4! Oh well live and learn it had been a long time since I had been.

We got there, got checked in and gambled all night! It was great. Neither of us lost our shirt in the entire evening, even though that might have been a site lol we didn't thankfully!

Got settled in the room to sleep at about 6 am and got up at 9 am to drive back home, man its a long drive! Didn't say that already?

Home to more laundry and a dog that acted as though we were gone for days. I slept on and off all evening (bailed out on a practice/gathering that I really wanted to attend but I was sooooooooo tired, I would have either stared at ppl blankly or fell asleep there).

Got up this morning for 4 am clinic, joy joy joy! Makes me want to say ugly nasty words this morning despite the fact that I have gotten plenty of sleep now.

I need to get to moving as fast as my time goes by, I might actually get more accomplished. Tomorrow evening is a meeting for work from 530 to730 pm which will take over my entire evening... but Wed. is Derby practice. I am so ready to be back around my new friends! I miss them! Oh on the bottom, I have definetly re-injured something. I have not skated Sunday the 27th and not sure when I will return to the rink, I am having reservations about pushing it because I am so tired of ass my hurting and not being able to sit comfortably or get in and out of the car without pain. I am ready to put forth more effort toward my goals but the pain has got to get better. Two of my freshmeat friends are now scrimmage eligible and I will miss them not being freshmeat any longer but I am super duper proud of them for reaching their goals so quickly... and a little envious as I feel farther from mine then when I first made the plan of joining. Blah! Its depressing almost.

I had told myself one more blow to the ass and I would call it quits. I don't feel like quiting and I am not ready to do that yet, but I do feel like I need to the bottom heal! If I landed on it again while it is still this sore and tender I very well may not get up, or injure myself beyond natural repair, or give up on my goal all together. So, I am not going to push it this time.

Well, this week shall be long and busy... maybe I will make it to the end at my slow pace and finish ahead :)

Getting better

2011-03-01T18:47:00.000-08:00

Whew, I have not felt quiet like myself the past two days. I am glad to be feeling human again. I went to work on Monday morning early clinic, worked 4.5 hrs and left for the day.... then called in today. I rarely miss work, and this year alone have missed more work than I did all last year (if you don't count my week long vacation that is). I don't know what it is, about me and getting the funky stuff lately. On top of pmsing, my tummy wanted to give me fits.. ugh! I am feeling better though and ready to get back to work tomorrow.

My man is skating tonight without me. I feel sad by this, but know he is having fun breaking in his new skates..... I am just not up to skating tonight.

On another note: My pets are super awesome, my dog thinks he is a baby and my cat thinks she is a queen. I ♥ Them both so much! My kids have been doing better... there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Improvement?

2011-02-28T12:57:00.000-08:00

I was all about coming here and blogging my progress, until.... well we will get to that later.

I went skating yesterday with the family at the public session. Got there at 1pm, stood in line a while since everyone and their brother decided to have a birthday party and all were scheduled at 1pm and it took 20 minutes to get in the door. Then, I proceeded to purchase some new laces to see if this would help me get my skates right. I laced them bad boys up and to my total enjoyment had no issues! I wasn't cutting my circulation off anywhere and they weren't too lose anywhere! GO ME! So I proceeded to skate around the rink. I did my personal best ever during a skate session and skated 100 laps. That may not be alot of some but for me it was good. I usually stop fifteen hundred times to fix something or rest a sore spot or something. So I was proud of that session!

(Here are some photos from that session)

Destiny worked the clicker as she wasn't skating.....see 100 clicks! hehe

My new laces.

Thomas examining his new skates that he built

My baby girl :)

My baby boy :)

I then picked Christina up and headed to HSV for derby practice. Got there early enough to get my gear on and skate around several times before practice began... I love having the time to do that warm up before the warm up, and the skates were right again! YAY! No discomfort, No sore muscles or bad spots... and I was feeling good. Practice started with 180 turns which is fun, and hard at the same time... hard for me because if you use your hands then everyone has to do planks and my balance getting up in that position is not that good.... but I managed and felt like I was doing decent. Then Bridgitte had us doing "suicides".... 20 times across the rink doing baseball slides/ crunches and then T-stops. We took a breather and then did an obstacle course. We took another break and then did 20 more "suicides" where we went across the ring doing all fours and leg lift, then plow stops, while my form may have not been perfect for any of those... I was doing it! The first practice that I was actually able to do everything, to some extend! We did another exercise (it doesn't deserve a mention in this post because it SUCKED! lol it was a whole body work out and it wasn't fun! But, I am sure it was good for us). We took a break, and went to watch the scrimmage. All was well, I was feeling good. Legs were doing good. No equipment issues or discomforts and this had to be my very first practice where all was well!!! After our break we were going to begin taking/giving whips. Fun right? I was thinking so, until the instant that my feet got tangled up with a teammate and I couldn't regain my balance and wound up..... straight on my ass again! I swear I saw stars and tears appears in my eyes instantly.

As you may very well know, this is very disappointing to me. It is now the day after.... I am sore as hell. It hurts like day 1 from the broken bum getting in a sitting position, rising from that position, its miserable. Its not the same spot! Its a little higher up. I broke the end of the tailbone 4.5 weeks ago, this spot is higher up toward my back but still my butt. So I am hopeful maybe its not broke, but there is a few positions I can get in and it literally takes my breath away with pain. I have cried because I was hurt, made, frustrated, discouraged and now my feeling is more, "it is what it is". What can I do? So I went from the best day on skates to the worst. The most embarrassing thing of it all is that I screamed out when I fell, I screamed and cried and made a big old scene, something I would rather have not done. UGHHH!! Oh well... "what's done is done". lol

On another note: I had an appt today that didn't go as well as I had hoped, and now I am sitting back at home and took the rest of the day off, because well I had to go in at 4 am and I didn't feel well.... then had to go to the meeting and still didn't feel well and now I sit in my chair (on my hip, not my ass) and still don't feel well. One day at a time.... blah.

Just a post

2011-02-27T08:35:00.000-08:00

A day or two or even three of nothingness, that's what I want! Where I can sleep as late as I want, wear my pjs as long as I want, read in my kindle, go outside and enjoy the weather, ride my bike, take some photos.... yes days that require no "have to's" or no "housework" or no "schedule".

Instead I am managing a family of 4, cleaning, organizing, and disorganizing again. I never get "caught up" anymore. I am so super duper busy it feels.

I love derby and can't wait to be awesome as I am no where close to that awesomeness, I get discouraged. All the time I have poured into skating, the bum is better, the mental block (errr Fear) seems to be improving and I honestly feel I can reach this goal. But its still going to require a lot more time! Time I don't have much of. I think if I only went to practice 3 days a week I wouldn't feel the strain of lots and lots of skate time, but we go on Tues, Thurs and Sunday before practice most weeks as well... that is 3 more practice sessions, which has me skating right at 5-6 times a week. Now the last 4 weeks haven't been very productive due the broken tail bone because well the fear out weighed anything and the discomfort kept the fear in check. Now, I have new AWESOME skates, less discomfort from my injury, so there are no excuses!

My legs were killing me in practice on Friday. It wasn't fatigue, it wasn't that I had over done it as I never really started. I love my new skates but they are taking me some time to get use to. I either get them too tight, or too loose and when I put my skates on, have no "skate alone, warm up time" as I make it at the rink right at or a little after and jump right in to a team warm up session that has me skating faster than I am use to (as I am just now feeling more confident of getting some speed up since the bum is better)...... and skate in a tight circle, with my skates too loose, well that causes certain muscles to tense up. Once that happens it is like an act of congress to get them loose! I mean I stretch and stretch, and OMG at the burning, tight feeling I have in the lower legs from trying to push through and skate but not having the skates right. Then I tighten the skates to only go out and practice 180 turns, and after about 5 of those my arches in my feet are tingling and one of my toes I can't hardly feel.... so I loosen the skates again. Never at all in practice did I get the skates where they were comfortable! Now at a skate session not a practice, I have time to work with the skates and once I get them where I like them I have been skating much better. I don't notice the burning in the lower legs, or any other discomfort like that annoying lil muscle that was bother me, but this is skating around the big rink in a regular skating session, its not the same as practice.

Now, one lady at the rink stopped and asked If I liked my new skates and I said yes I love them once I get them adjusted the way I like them. She said she was asking because she never could use the lower cut/speed type skates, she skates with the higher boot. She was mentioning to me the burning, tingling sensations she would get in the lower leg with the lower cut boot..... so now am I all is it ankle support? Is it that I weigh 50 lbs more than I should have had ankle injuries? But truthfully once I get the gear right.... I do ok! I mean if its not the shoes its the darn knee pads are pulled to tight, or too loose. lol I feel like I am trying to make excuses when in all fairness, I am not meaning to! I am soon to be 35. I see ladies out there older than me, I see ladies out there heavier than me.... so if they can do it I can do it!!!!!!!!! I would say its great exercises but the way I stop and go and stop and go I am not really getting much of a work out. I get more exercise out of the non skate time honestly.

Thomas is loving the skating we have done together, so I will continue to skate with him outside of the derby. So there should be tons of time for me to continue to improve....  He just built his own skates, with some really expensive components lol. His skates are probably 1000 dollar skates. He is trying to learn how to do jam skating and enjoying the time out on the rink.

I feel like I am the worst, slowest skater at practice, and even at the rink sessions. I am out of shape, learning to skate from the very beginning (as not ever skating as a child/teenager) and never really have found confidence on my skates.    There was a brief moment about 2 times before the first day of boot camp that I was feeling less fear and trying new things and the confidence was there.... then I broke my ass and not only is it back to square one with the confidence but now the fear has taken a much larger roll. The more time I spend on them (without a broken bum) the more confidence I should find.... once confident other tasks like jumps, and really all the skills I need to have to play derby should be more easily reached. So now that I am 85-90% better from my injury and so close to being normal again I am not backing down from this agenda.

I am so far from doing jumps though... I know I should just face the fear and do it! Whats the worst that could happen? I fall on my ass? I hated not even attempting them in practice with a teammate of mine did so after just taking a bad fall and fell again.... so then now I am like all wimpy as I won't even attempt it.  Geez it makes me so mad at myself.

The more pissed at myself I get the more determination I feel. I know I would have progressed a little more had I not had the injury and I know how bad it has been recovering from it more than anyone else because its my ass lol. I haven't wimped out here. I have stuck with it despite the facts that keep wanting me to stop.... I keep showing up and I keep putting on the skates. So I have accomplished that much. Now its time to reach those goals..... I keep meaning to practice by doing wall sits and wearing ankle weights and performing exercises to build up both my upper and lower legs as they are the main muscles I will use, but I honestly haven't put enough time in on this because its so damn hard to find time for anything anymore!!!!!!!! But, that is another excuse, that I don't have to make for myself.... I will simply have to find that time. Building up those muscles, strengthening my core, and spending time on the skates will make me an awesome skater. It just isn't going to happen over night, or not for me anyway!

Well time to get busy and get ready to go skate.

Help a Derby Girl

2011-02-24T16:26:00.000-08:00

This derby girls story is too close to home for me.... I have already donated, and hope you will too!

I was in a similar situation back 11 years ago when I was going to move to Florida.... and my ex slapped me with papers saying he was going to fight for custody and when I spoke with a lawyer it was going to cost me a ton, so I stayed here. What gripes my butt about it all is that my kids father who fought me, didn't even pay child support or anything but had the right simply because he was a sperm donor to alter our life. I still don't get child support (one pays me when he wants to whatever he wants to and the other doesn't pay me a dime and never has!) and the courts do nothing to help me (believe me we have been there 5 different occasions but they can stop me from moving one state over? I Didn't have the means to fight or I would have.

My life is great and awesome things have happened so I don't really have any regrets for not going, but it did turn my world upside down because I had already put in my notice at my job, spent money on an apartment and had a job lined up there... I had to take a job out of my field for less money to keep supporting my kids and it was a hard time. But, luckily I had family and friends and we made it through. I wish her much luck with her journey and hope she raises the money she needs to fight for her child!

Not only did I JUST WANT to donate to this cause, I also wanted to get the FUNK out of my skate bag! How awesome is her little invention... neato!

You know you do too!

Pushing on through

2011-02-24T16:06:00.000-08:00

This week has about knocked me down and if that wasn't enough it proceeded to stomp on top of me a few more times for good measure. It feels like one of the longest weeks and really nothing too exciting is going on... weird I know.

I have been super busy lately, and trying to get caught up on everything and deal with all sorts of other issues... so its just a rough week. I have done stupid things like pay the utility bill through my bank acct online but 70 bucks short, for no reason other than I wasn't paying attention to how much I paid the bill for... so now I have to get 70 more bucks to them to avoid a cut off, which is stupid because they already got 250 bucks earlier!!! Yes the utility bill was 330 bucks, which is another reason to make me have a bad week. I should be thankful I have the funds for such a thing, and not complain about it lol but its just one of those weeks where I complain ABOUT EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!

But I can always count my blessings no matter what! :) This too shall pass.

2011-02-21T05:23:00.000-08:00

Monday, you are not my favorite.

Now, that has been said.

I am ready to skate! Not only am I ready to get awesome at skating, I am ready for camping. The weather is ready for me to do so too! I am ready for kayaking, cycling, white water rafting, hiking... all the things that I enjoy.

On another note: My preteen son is driving me insane... I love him more than words can express, but OMG he is getting in trouble at school and staying in trouble at home lately. I got home last night to find that he had thrown away two bowls, a fork, a glass, and a cup (that is reusable)..... he also throw away a reversible belt that I bought him to wear with his chorus outfit ( a necessity) and his dress clothes..... he handed me a note this morning that says he was acting up in class on Friday (deliberately disrupting class) UGGGGHHHHH.. The kid doesn't have his cell phone or ipod which he has been without now for 5 weeks, he has been grounded from tv and games stations, he has had to read extra time and write essays, he has had to write his teacher apology letters all these things and yet he is still misbehaving. Then I hear "I want to live my daddy"... I have excepted that he doesn't like my rules and the structure Thomas and I give here..... and I have said "ok " to living with his dad now "I don't think its the right decision" but "ok". He wants to pay football, and his behavior has already kept me from signing him up for baseball this year.... not sure what his deal is or if he will be able to be involved in anything until he straightens up. Hopefully its just a phase... but I don't like it!!!!

TOOT TOOT!!!

2011-02-20T17:16:00.000-08:00

Yes that is me tooting my own horn! :)

I love love love my new skates. They have some breaking in time they still need and I have to learn how to lace them exactly (not too tight or too loose), but once out on the floor I felt like a different skater. Yes I am still nervous from my tail injury, but I even did a few crossovers today and took the corners much faster with my new skates they are awesome! Now to work on my endurance, balance and get that left leg use to working more I will be set to start focusing on the goals to achieve for derby. I love derby, love watching them, learning and practicing with them all.... but know that I am far from scrimmage eligibility and I am ok with that. Fix some of my issues and work on my weaknesses and I will be kicking ass before long! (See new found hope and encouragement today)

We had outdoor practice, and even though I totally suck at outdoor skating and it is ALOT tougher than it appears.... I loved it! :) I love that I am making new friends and getting to spend some with such awesome people! I love skating (even though I may not appear to with all my stopping and slowing that I do).

I am going to his Skate Castle on Tuesday night.... then practice on Wednesday and skate again on Thursday at the Castle. My goal this week, to work on skating in the right stance (without bending my back but "sitting on the public toilet" with the knees bent), endurance and crossovers. Next week I will set other goals for myself. I am so glad I am working through the injuries (oh that little annoying muscle that has given me horrible fits has not bothered me one time today!!! I think it was my skates, and I am so super glad that there is one less thing for me to complain about haha. Now get the booty healed the rest of the way and I will be set... btw it is much better but still an issue with skating for me... at the rate it has healed though I really think it will not be an issue at all in a week or two tops! :)

Ok, I am thinking of ordering some steak out for dinner lol its been a long day! :)

I has

2011-02-20T09:29:00.000-08:00

New skates! :)

I can not wait to try them out today.

Practice is outdoors today so I am breaking out some old cheapo skates that I haven't worn in a long time and using them for outdoors.... I may be selling my Rock GT50s that are only 1 month old because they are a good size too big for me and may very well be causing me issues with skating because of that.... but they are good comfortable skates that are fast so I like them alot. Like is not the same word for my new skates though... I am in love! I got Riedell Wickeds and I haven't skated with them yet but around the store where I bought them (Asphalt Beach in Nashville) and around the house, so haven't really got to use them at the rink... I will today though! I think this is a love at first site (feel) kinda of thing. I will have to break them in, but they already feel so much better and I feel like the skates are part of my feet more than being these big gawky things that my feet were trying to stay in.

This may help me with my issues I am having.... I sure hope! I am looking forward to practice. First, I am going to put the outdoor skates on so Thomas can adjust them for me, and try them out since I haven't been on them in FOREVER.... then, I am going to Skate Castle to try out my new wicked skates. Then, its off to practice. :)

Happiness is

2011-02-17T10:19:00.000-08:00

getting off at 1:30 pm and meeting the love of your life at Beauregard's for hot wings! :)

Wait I said I was going to eat better today! lol this is a rarity though! I never get off early and we haven't had Beauregard's in at least a year! (Notice I said we hadn't had Beauregards not that we hadn't had hot wings lol that is something we do weekly!)

I am super excited about getting off to work early! My last few "early" days have ended up with me working a full 12 and often followed by skating somewhere. So I will have my 8.5 hrs in here by 1:30 pm, get to have wings with my man, can goof off with him until later and still have time to practice skating and those darn crossovers! That is having my cake and eating it too! :) I love it.

We may be heading to Nashville this weekend to check out Asphalt Beach and see what all they have, I need to try on different skates as mine are too big I am afraid... but since I am a dummy I may be way wrong about that lol I may still be searching for excuses. Anyway, we will see. It will give Thomas and myself a day trip regardless so why not go?

We may be signing up for a pool league on Thursday nights, I just signed up for a two week boot camp to get in shape lol it was on sale for 10 bucks and I couldn't resist... I have derby 3 nights a week and skating with the family 2, I am wondering how thin I can spread myself I guess! But, if I stay busy like this... maybe I will get out of housework totally???? or will it just pile up around me and make me more insane than I am already? Maybe we wont be home so it will never get messy? haha that's a joke.... wow when will I ever do laundry? lol I guess I am just going to take one day at a time and enjoy the hell out of my life! We use to do the pool league, line dancing, baseball and other things all thrown in together. We like to camp, kayak, cycle and manage to do those things... I am sure we can fit in derby, exercise and pool league in too! :)

Balls to the wall!

2011-02-16T20:39:00.000-08:00

Ok I am fracking tired of being a puss. I have whined and I have moaned about either my broken tail bone or my freaking little muscle pain in my leg long enough. 3 weeks in and still just a big fat wimp.

Tomorrow no excuses! I am getting out and hitting the rink. If I fall I FALL! If I land on my ass, then I land on my ass! The fear that I have created in me has to vanish! My goal is to skate at minimum 100 laps in the session tomorrow and do CROSSOVERS so that lil whiny ass leg muscle will chill the frack out!

I did enjoy tonights practice be it off the skates, but I did enjoy it. NSO's are pretty awesome and their job is not easy! Learning something new is always exciting! :) Nice to know if I do hurt myself I could still be involved in derby... but for now I want to be the ones out there skating!!!! I want to learn how to skate, and ummm I am not going to do that without the damn skates on my feet!

I was miserable while on the skates tonight, I didn't skate any laps really... not so sure where this crap is coming from. Other than my horrible form, my sticky right foot that HATES to leave the floor (probably from the torn ligaments in my left foot my right foot doesn't trust the left to hold my fat ass up! but it is strong and it can do it..... damnit!)

Ok, I have whined enough. They make tylenol, advil, ice, heat for all my issues lol.

4 am comes awful early so I am going to bed now, night night!

Blogging

2011-02-16T06:38:00.000-08:00

I am thinking of creating a skating blog... because my personal blog has been filled with nothing but skating stuff for a while now. I do have more interesting stuff, but as many days a week I have been skating now after work, all I have to write about is work, kids mischief or skating. Sad but true!

I have not been on skates since Sunday... I may suck more today than on other days because of this, however I may do better as I feel a ton more energized. I think I have been so busy lately that I just needed to rest. I went to bed last night at 8:30 asleep by 9pm and feel amazingly refreshed today! All day yesterday I dragged as though I was heavily sedated, was asked by my man if I was going skating, then my derby wife and I finally decided and told them both "not tonight". I fell asleep on the couch for 10-15 minutes before helping with dinner, had dinner, dozed on the chair again and went on to bed... exhaustion was an understatement. But, today I am awake and ready for derby practice. My bottom is better day by day, not 100% yet but I would give it at about 60% better. I don't want to push it and fall on it again, as that would only put me back at the beginning of this damn injury, but I am getting there. Today is week 3 and the doctor plus many articles I have read says it usually takes 4-6 weeks for bones to heal. So I am hopeful in the next couple of weeks I can go back to 100% effort and not care if I wind up on the floor unexpectedly or not! hehe

I am patiently awaiting my income tax return so I may pay off my credit cards! Yes that is plural, I had a wonderful Florida vacation and everyone got laptops for Christmas and and and and lol its time to pay for it now!

Well time has again caught up with me, time get this hump day over with!

This weekend

2011-02-13T10:46:00.000-08:00

I have done nothing! Friday nights practice pretty much kicked my ass and I couldn't even put forth 100% work out due to the butt issues. Chocolate definitely kicked my booty... my legs, my abs are so sore right now... it feels good!!!!! I love knowing the the right muscles that needed worked out were definitely worked out. It has been 2.5 weeks since I fell on my booty so I am hopefully just a couple more weeks and I will be back at 100%.... very hopeful! I do feel much better than before, but of course squats and lunges, and full situps are hard to do with a broken bum. I have learned how to exercise my one little skate muscle that has been a biotch to me lately and will be exercising that.

Saturday, I slept the morning away, had a nice brunch at Waffle house, went grocery shopping and V-day shopping, watched some flicks with the family and overall the day was uneventful and nice.

Today, I have slept the morning away again! lol I love weekends. Made some sticky buns for breakfast and now sit here wondering where to begin the dreaded housework, blah.

Tonight is practice, I think it may be a scrimmage..... I look forward to watching this, taking notes, learning more as I don't have full concept of everything as of yet.

Tomorrow..... is Valentine's Day! There was a time I despised the holiday because well it was so over rated and if you don't have a partner/spouse/companion then you are made more aware and rather you feel lonely on a daily basis or pretty content in your situation this day will always provoke loneliness. I do enjoy the holiday now that I have someone special. We will be celebrating our 9th Valentine's day together... that amazes me! Time flies when your having fun I reckon... but it sure doesn't feel like we should be working on our 9th year together.

Now its time to get busy though.... this house has been neglected for 2 weeks or more and its not cleaning itself as much as I have wiggled my nose or nodded my head (bewitched or I dream of Jenny) nothing works!!! I'm going in (whose got my back?).

My man can

2011-02-10T21:01:00.000-08:00

Do you remember when Thomas gave me a perm? I shocked ppl a few years ago when I told them that he did that for me and he did a GREAT job with it. What does he do? He is a Computer Technician... but in reality he is a jack of all trades. I tell him I want or need or ask him "will you?" and he does the best he can do accomplish anything that is placed in front of him! He rocks so hard the earth could shake.

He did an excellent job on the perm by the way... but over the years I have chopped the hair off more than a few times. I paid 65 bucks for a girl to put maybe 7 streaks of red in my hair a few weeks ago.. it was sad! I was very disappointed in what I got for the money. I had tons of gray showing and decided I wanted to dye my hair again... SO I dyed it dark again as per the usual color for the last year or so, and got some red color to see if he could do what she did. He streaked it, its even, its blended wonderfully, its not too much (as I wouldn't want to have issues at work for "wild" hair) but its enough to make me feel like something new and cool was done... and it cost 15 dollars! I love my man! He snapped at me a few times, but it was because he was nervous he was going to screw it up, it was his first time with the coloring... he did AWESOME!

On another note: He is loving going skating with me, he is such a good support for me. He is researching skates and is building himself a custom pair of skates. When I learn to skate, and know more of what I may need/want he will build me a pair!

Some other things he has done. He made me a handmade dulcimer (you know what that is? google it haha). He puts up a zillion Christmas lights and makes them animated to music, he built a touring canoe from scratch, He cooks (really yummy food), He makes the best mixed drinks and frozen coffee drinks, He fixes things around the house like an outlet that went out (I would have had to call an electrician for that, so I am glad he is so awesome).... you get the point? HE amazes me! And this is why I am super duper lucky he loves me!

He skated at the skate a thon the whole time, he probably did 150 or more laps himself.... he is learning how to go up on his toes while skating and doing the jam skating, I am proud of him for what he has learned already, and jealous too lol. Just makes me want to reach my goals that much more!

Valentine's is coming up too.... will I ever be able to give him enough, to show him enough, to amount to as much as he has already given, shown and done for me? I sure hope so.

At it again

2011-02-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

I skated in the skate a thon and didn't even count laps... If I had my guess I would say I did maybe 40-50 with stops every 5-10 laps... how pathetic is that! My endurance sucks, but no its not THAT bad! I promise! The ass hurts but no its not THAT bad! I could stand to lose 50 lbs but no its not THAT bad! The reason I sucketh simply skating.... get this... a tiny little thing called a peroneus brevis muscle. I have been reading on this, and talked to the "skate dude" (the guy that is always super nice to me at Skate Castle, who knows alot about speed skating and well skating in general), to ask what the heck I may be doing? The muscle tightens and hurts so much out of the blue and its on my stronger leg and when it gets tight I can barely get it to release no matter if I stretch it or not. He watched me skate and said its the "sticky" skate I do and how I skate the majority of the time with my right leg, that muscle is fatigued more than likely because of how I skate. 1. I can learn how to skate correctly to even out the muscles I use and actually lift my right leg off the floor (haha that sounds too easy right?) 2. I can do calf raises by placing toes on a step or up higher and lowering and lifting my heels to stretch out those muscles 3. Don't sit down when it hurts, stretch and keep going it will get better.

Early today I got one of those clicker thingies to help me count laps, I thought it might encourage me to know how many I did this time vs next time and help me push for a better goal so maybe I will sit less... ya know sometimes that helps.

Well I tried the don't sit down that the "skate dude" suggested and skated 75 laps tonight! I will give Gina credit too, she told me on Tuesday, don't sit down just keep skating (but again that is so hard to do when you are hurting, and its your only strong skate leg that is hurting and your ass broke and you don't wanna fall on it) I will say that I had to push to finish that many laps... It wasn't that many (I know!) but I had to work for it, so therefor I will be proud of it, simply because I am the only one who actually knows how I felt and how hard I had to push to complete those laps. I know people see me sitting (often) and probably think I may not be cut out for this sport. I really was athletic at one time, I kayak, I cycle, I can push myself and I can do things. But I am basically starting from scratch with this sport, never skating and all....I am out of shape and over weight which all snuck up on me and have pretty much been a couch potato for a few years. So I have decided, I will forget about what others may think.. (lol again easier said than done) and focus on the fact that I have a goal that I CAN REACH, and work at it.

On another note: I got home from skating, feeling rough, ass is stiff (that sounds weird) but ya know kinda moving a bit slower than before I actually went skating, tired from going so much over the last two weeks.. (wow has it only been 2 weeks since I broke my ass, for some reason it feels like its been a month already!), I got home to find messages that the scrimmage has been canceled for tomorrow, the scrimmage that I was afraid would keep me from skating (but I was looking forward!), which was the reason Christina and I had discussed skating tonight to get some practice... that scrimmage was canceled. Tomorrow night I get to have a non-skate work out! That sound exciting right now as I sit in my chair...I might be able to do this if they keep it off the floor, really get a good work out and not sit out and such. Oh wait! They said to bring a mat... that sounds like there will be floor exercises, all I can say is my poor poor ass. I will do what I can do.

I am going to fall!

2011-02-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

I was so proud of my healing time on the broke ass... Today I said to myself "Self? this ole ass is going to be just fine real soon". I actually believed it, until I skated today! ACK!!!!

No seriously today sitting and standing didn't give off the same pain it had been, I noticed I was getting up faster, wasn't taking it as easy as I had been and I was never in real bad pain, just minor discomfort. I was thinking WOOT! Yep, this is going to be back to 100% before long.

Then, I go skating tonight. I was excited to get out there, I skated some on Sunday. I was timid on Sunday but didn't really "hurt" skating. Tonight? My ass is sore again (slow moving now), I skated like it was my first time again (scared of everything!) I skated so bad I went back to my original style of "sticky" skating but with only one foot... you know not able to lift up the other foot off the ground at ALL. UGHHH That made the stronger leg ache because it was working so hard.

I was cramping and miserable for the most part. Never broke a sweat, wasn't a workout and nothing was accomplished at all. I did get to see my Derby wife Gina which was nice and she was encouraging me and trying to help me but I was pretty pathetic tonight.

I will be doing several exercises a day to work on my balance and leg strength. I am not giving up. I will get tougher, I will concur the fear that has been put in place by the broken ass. I fell on it numerous times before I broke it and I know learning to do the things I need to I WILL FALL, its a FACT... the fear comes from WHAT IF I FALL ON MY ASS!!! I know (mentally) to fall forward, but I am new and learning and one slip up on my skates and I land on my ass, that mental image is there the whole time I skate. I skated 3 full weeks before doing the boot camp at 3 days a week, then the first day there hurt myself... so I only gave my all to this skating thing those three weeks. I can't expect more out of myself or my muscles then my body can do. I have to build up strength in the "skating muscles". I have to build up endurance. I have to improve overall, I will not be scrimmage eligible this year, I will accept that. But next year!!!! I will be there! That is the goal I am setting for myself. Its realistic and definitely doable. I will keep going to practice and the girls will push me, and mostly I will push myself and I will get there.

For now, I am just going to use my blog to whine and moan lol I so wanna be a bad ass!!!

Tomorrow is the skate a thon... come out and join in some fun! :) I hope to be skating better than I did tonight lol

On a funny note. We were thinking of derby names.... Thomas said "I know what your name could be.... Broke Ass Mountain" however THAT IS NOT MY NAME! I have more important things to do besides claiming a name like learning to skate! I almost was going to go ahead and claim a name, but then after tonight would be too damn embarrassed to have a derby name and skate the way I was... give it time! :)

SKATE-A-THON

2011-02-07T10:10:00.000-08:00

If you happen by my site, PLEASE stop in and donate (here is my chip in)

If you have read my blog you know that I have been trying to be a bad ass! I have completed (partially) the boot camp that the Dixie Derby Girls put on, and now am trying to earn my wings as a team member! I have tons to learn before I will be scrimmage eligible but I will get there! :) Until then I am doing my part and trying to raise money for the Skate-A-Thon. Please take a moment to donate!!! ($1, $2, $5, $10, $20 or more I WILL TAKE ANYTHING!!!) Half of the proceeds go to benefit the American Heart Association and is Tax deductible! The other half goes to help Dixie Derby Girls! So they are both awesome reasons to donate some money!

We also encourage you to come out and skate with us on Wed. Night (only two days away!). Its Feb 9th at 5:30-8pm, at Roller Time. We will have food and tons of fun! You can skate with us! The cost at the door is $10 plus skate rental fees.

(click the image to visit the website)

Thank you all for your support and donations! Its greatly appreciated!

Skate-a-thon

2011-02-05T15:38:00.000-08:00

I took some posters to some local business here in Decatur. I hit (Zero Gravity, Skate Castle, Rue 21, Doughnuts, Party Central, The comic shop, Glasses bar and grill, Our place bar and grill, Wiley's sporting goods and Gloria's good health). They all let me put a poster up or a flyer up. Soooo I tried to get some word out here in Decatur.

This is a super fun event for a super good cause so if you happen by this site and I am excited to be able to go!

I am planning on skating tomorrow, at Skate Castle. I will still not be able to do falls, or special things, but since I have to work on cross overs anyway, a regular skate in a regular session will be just fine for me. I will be sporting my butt pads, to try to assure myself its ok... I MUST practice the derby stance and not falling on my ASS!

I do plan to skate at the skate-a-thon. So that gives me two sessions, and more than likely will go Tuesday night (3 sessions).... to get back use to my skates. I will practice with the girls on Friday and not push myself too much by doing only the drills that I know I can do without harming my po ass. lol It has improved, but still very tender while rising and sitting.... but other than that, unless I am startled and tense up the butt for some reason lol it doesn't bother me too bad. I know the falls will be painful, some of the stops will be but regular skating I feel I will be ok.... we shall see!

Finally Friday

2011-02-04T06:04:00.000-08:00

It has been a super long week. Could be because I am in super slow motion.

I do see the light at the end though, I had about a 2 hour span yesterday where I sat and got back up without that stabbing pain... I had 800 mg ibuprofen and was sitting on a donut, lol but I did get up and down about 12 times in that two hours without once little bit of pain. So that tells me it may be healing! It may even heal quick if I keep sitting on the donut as much as I HATE it and if I keep taking Ibuprofen for inflammation.

I have printed out the rules and hand signals for derby, and will be studying, doing what exercises I can manage, and patiently waiting getting back out there with the girls.

On other news: Beware of teens. I love my children but can not believe the drastic change in them. My sweet daughter, who is always trustworthy and dependable and well just awesome, decided she would stay up texting wayyyyyyyy past her bedtime and has been doing it for wayyyyyyyy long, and she has also been texting during school, which is a big no no. So she doesn't have her phone right now as a result, why is it that this bothers me? I am such a push over sometimes it bothers me because she cried. I really need to be more of a tough love giver than just a mushy "oh baby I am sorry" type person. She did it to herself! She knew the rules and she broke them! My son has been in trouble for weeks. Bad attitude one minute and sweet a pie the next... its Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde every day! He mouthed off to Thomas and didn't stop so he got grounded from going to his dads this weekend and I took his IPOD away from him (His response is, "you can't take it you didn't buy it", no his dad bought it and I despise the thing.... but yes I can take anything that is my home away as I am in control. He proceeded with "Your a thief", what the world has happened to my kiddos?). I wonder if it is because I have been gone more recently (with boot camp and practice), but that isn't the case they could honestly at their age care less if I am gone because when I am home they rather be in the bedroom most of the time. They had attitudes before the whole skating bit, I think its just the timing in everything from their hormones, my ass, their school work, my work, their punishment, my chores we are all just freaking off our rocker! It is going to get better, I do need to quit feeling sorry for them as I beat myself up for punishing them, and its always always always been a big problem of mine. I guess most mothers are this way because you want to give your children everything and you want them to be happy and you never want to cause them pain..... and knowing you could give them back the phone and that would make them happy, is a battle that I put myself through. I think they know this so they play on it harder for that reason. I am handling things a little more tough love this year (I know its only February lol). I don't feel as guilty as I have in the past because I am seeing them more blatantly disobeying my rules and purposely finding themselves in trouble. My kids are great though! I hate to sound like they are EVIL lol. My daughter is an honor student in the PRE-DB program for the IB program and makes grades like 100's as averages in Calculus and Trig, Science, and can basically speak Spanish fluently. She has a voice of an angel and loves to sing. She has true talent in her music. My son is an honor student he doesn't put forth as much effort with his grades as his sister but he manages A's and B's in every subject, he isn't as focused on education, but he is very intelligent. He is athletic as in he has the awesome build for sports and loves them, but he doesn't seem to really work at any one sport, this year he says he is going to play football which is a new one for him so maybe he does better with it. He is handsome, sweet (when he isn't being mean lol) and I just love him so much!!!! So even though I am all like about to pull my damn hair out over them, I do know how amazingly blessed I am to have such awesome children. I guess if I practice being stricter on things like chores, phones, attitudes and such with them they will quit seeing me as a push over and realize if they want to have things or do things they have to earn them. ACK! Parenting sucks for the most part, but the unconditional love you have for the bratz is enough to make it worthwhile I suppose lol. I am appreciative of Thomas' roll with the kids the last week. He has stepped up to keep Desmond from being so dis respective to me and he actually was the one who heard Destiny texting way late and asked me about it and looked into the phone bill and such, he is an awesome dad. We have totally different views and parenting styles but I will say he does know more than I give him credit for when it comes to the kids. I sure hope together we can get a handle on some things with them.

Wow, long boring post this morning... I got up at 4 am, had clinic in Madison already seen two patients, made it back to the office, had breakfast and now sit and wait until 8:30 when I have to open the store... figured I would post to the blog, as time is a valuable thing and I actually had about an hour to do absolutely nothing! :)

I look forward to practice tonight, even though I wont be sporting my skates (YET!). I think tonight, I will start by doing some exercises while I am there not doing anything, then some stretches, then see if anyone needs help with anything (as I have a few things to discuss about my jobs with ppl), and spend the rest of practice reading the rules. I do want to listen and watch the fresh meat do their work out as to learn what I need to be doing so as maybe I wont start that far behind them when the bottom heals. I like getting a break from my responsibilities, getting to let loose and hang with some pretty awesome gals, getting to work out and relieve stress and having some ME time! :) Derby so rocks!

Mr. Right

2011-02-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

I know many women look for Mr. Right and some never seek him out. I was never really looking for Mr. Right, but have been one of the luckiest women when it comes to finding the PERFECT man.

Is there such a thing as perfect? NO! lol but you get the point, he is amazing!!!!!!!

He took off work yesterday and babied me because of my sore butt... lol he encourages me to do anything that I want to do and will support me in anything that I want to do. He looks at me out of the blue and says "You are so beautiful". He makes me mixed CD's just because.... speaking of I came home on Monday night and he handed me a beautiful CD full of some awesome music! He cooks for me, makes me drinks, rubs my feet and loves me just as I am (flaws and all). We have had 8 wonderful years together, and I look forward to spending the rest of my life with him.

I had some failed attempts at relationships and had actually thought, there is no use, why bother with a relationship they never work out for me anyway and was ready to settle in, be a mother to my kids and take care of us. All this mind set in place, and in walked my Mr. Right when I wasn't even looking for him.

I have felt so shitty over my stupid little injury that I was down on myself and about to give up on some of my goals..... but he never fails to encourage me and assure me that its not actually my fault I am injured, "shit happens" and this will get better and I can still do whatever I want to do! It is awesome to have someone love and care for you, a best friend through thick and then and a #1 fan by yourside no matter what you do in life.

Ok... enough mush... lol everyone who knows me knows he spoils me rotten and I love him! :)

Broken

2011-02-02T09:46:00.000-08:00

Well the doctor did some xrays, and poked on my poor sore ass... to come to the conclusion that I have indeed broken it. I broke the tip off of it and it is curved under slightly. Not so bad to require surgery (thankfully) but enough to cause me pain. She suggested no skating until the tail heals, and honestly with the pain not improving it may be wise to just stay off the skates and let this thing heal. I am unsteady as I have to improve my balance and need stronger leg muscles anyway, so I am at risk (just being a beginner skater) at falling again. The Derby girls have trained me to fall forward, I know how to do this now, and I know derby stance will help me from falling backwards..... I just need stronger muscles to be able to stay in that stance for long periods. (The sad thing is I fell while standing still, lol, just lost my balance and flat on my ass I went).

My goals as of now. Let time heal my ass. Until then I do plan on paying my dues for practicing with the derby girls, and showing up to practice as I am dedicated to meeting the goals I have had set for myself. I will help them with anything they would like me to do and wait on my tail to heal. I will try to get in better shape along the way, work on balance exercises and trying to build up my muscles for skating better and as soon as I am able I will hit the floor again. When the tail heals I will skate with Thomas and the kiddos on Tues, Thurs and Sun then the Derby girls on Wed. Fri. and Sun. so that gives me 5 days a week to work toward being better than I was before this set back.

I want to be a derby girl, I want to be a bad ass.... Hell I want to be a "good" skater....and I am not giving up on those goals just because of a stupid injury. I have battled this one honestly, I was like "Maybe derby isn't for me?", "Maybe I should just call it quits?"... but then thought no... this stupid mistake could have happened doing anything, and the pain is not horrible... just enough to keep me from doing exactly what I want to do which makes me angry! I think I am cut out for derby, and I can reach the goals I have set for myself. It will take me longer than I had intended now, but everyone has set backs sometimes, its how we handle them that matters the most.

Pain in the ass

2011-02-01T06:55:00.000-08:00

Literally!

It has been 6 days since I fell on my ass at day one of boot camp. My ass is more painful today then it has been since I did it. I have iced it, taken mucho ibuprofen and yet the pain is worse. I must be doing something wrong? I know somethings have to get worse before they get better, but I have to work! I went yesterday and it was hard as hell to sit in my chair, get up to assist the patients, sit again and get up again. The ibuprofen did nothing for the discomfort. I have broken my tailbone before and this feels much like that, but actually worse. It feels like something is ripping sometimes and burns after that feeling (this occurs while rising from a sitting position mostly or while repositioning in a sitted position). I am home from work today because I just couldn't get out of the damn bed this morning.

I am going to see a doctor today to ease my mind that there is nothing else going on with the tailbone and let them tell me it will get better in time and maybe if I am lucky they will give me the bomb of pain killers and that will allow me to function regularly.

Pads

2011-01-29T14:49:00.000-08:00

I went to World Conspiracy in Huntsville to get some new pads. I wanted the drop in pads for my knees but they didn't have my size in stock. Looks like because of the size of my calf muscles I will need XL just to get them to buckle without having my circulation cut off. I wound up with pro-tech street pads for the knees for now, but in two weeks can get the XL drop in style pads. I got pro-tech drop in elbow pads and the standard pro-tech wrist guards. So now with better padding I am ready to hit the floor!

The reason for butt pads

2011-01-29T09:47:00.000-08:00

This is 3 days after. Until I learn how to skate properly, and feel more confident on the skates the butt pads will be my first gear to put on from this moment on lol. Anyway, my first day at boot camp and I got this to show for it.... it literally kicked my ass. haha

Abducted!

2011-01-28T20:13:00.000-08:00

I am not a huge sci-fi fan, and don't really dabble too much with the thought of aliens and if they really exist or not. Lately though I am leaning toward the fact that they do exist, and even that they may have taken my children!

I remember a time that they were all loving, out to please their hard working mother, and maybe at times would strive to achieve something. Since the abduction, the aliens returned children who lack the will to reach for goals or even think about them really, they only want me around to put music on their ipod/phone/ or anything that plays music, to feed them, and to give them money when they hold out their hand. I try to oblige them and give as much as I can when I can, until eventually I am all give out.

I come home to a messy house and they basically get all that they have for doing nothing but being my child... a back talking, chore lacking, lazy child.

Something has got to give! I get asked, for 85 dollars to go to chorus trip, then 100 bucks for football, then the cell phone bill (I am ashamed to list the amount of this bill!).... all that I give. What do I get? Laundry left in the damn washing machine after I have begged and pleaded "please don't start a load of laundry unless you intend on getting it out before you go to bed".

It has to be something the aliens planted in them that makes them act so odd, so different, so not like my children, you know the ones that I raised to be respectful and do as they are told. Who are these people? I miss my babies! Come back to me please!

I am calling out to the Aliens, either you abduct me and make me not give a damn like them, or your little peeps are in for some harsh punishment, torture even!

Dixie Derby Boot Camp Day 2

2011-01-28T19:49:00.000-08:00

I was pretty disappointed in my abilities and actually pissed at myself.   I will say that however pathetic I was there was always someone coming along to encourage me. I hated to draw attention to myself because there are so many awesome skaters and I am this silly gal who decided she wanted to learn to skate merely 4 weeks ago, I am a nobody out there on that rink. I skate slow, clumsily and well my previous word "pathetic" fits the part. It is awesome to watch these talented woman skate, they do the falls, the stops, the time trials and everything so much better, and you know what? They are taking the time to teach me! These awesome ladies are offering me advise, giving me pointers, checking on me, encouraging me, pushing me and mostly they are helping me!

I skated 12 laps tonight in a 5 min time trial... which is pretty bad, but guess its better than not doing it at all so I will give myself that because I sat out on all floor activities to prevent the jarring on my tailbone. I didn't do crossovers in the turns which I totally need to learn and thought I had done better with this grrrrr! I had encouragement during that trial or it probably would have been even less (ha, now the truth comes out). Chocolate skated along side me (even though she had already kicked ass on her own time trial!!) she kept encouraging me to push for more, and her there me helped so much.  I only call out some names because I am still learning names I don't know who everyone is yet but there are a lot of people helping me and I LOVE THIS BOOT CAMP! I will stick around as long as they will let me.

The tailbone still sucks right now... the butt pads helped tremendously tonight though. They may become a permanent part of my wardrobe as sitting in the car and everywhere was much more pleasant with those things on. Its just a minor injury I know, and I am already getting over the ache it put in my pride as I so want to be a bad ass, and this has dropped me down to a wimp ass lol. But even though I was wimpy tonight.. you know what? I know deep down that I can do this! Probably next year before I would be bout eligible but some day, some time I will be a bad ass (preferably without a "bad" ass, haha)!

I am going tomorrow to try on some knee pads at a skate shop. The 20 dollar ones I got at Academy sports are just not large enough for my calf muscles (I call them muscles because they were at one time nothing but muscle, now they are like a mushy mess, just give 'em time they will toughen back up again and I will still need LARGE(ER) knee pads!   The pads are cutting the circulation off to my lower legs, I can't loosen them or they will not velcro. Plus I heard loud and clear the first investment should be good knee pads!

I don't expect a miracle healing over my tailbone (but anyone who feels the urge may pray for my poor ass), and I may not be awesome come Sunday (that would be totally unrealistic, ha). But, I am going to look forward to it as being a better day than today!

Dixie Derby Boot Camp Day 1

2011-01-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

WOW! is the best way to sum up the workout. My muscles burn, I broke a sweat and did some awesome stretches. It was great. I learned stops, and falls. I have much much work to do to get ready to be a derby girl. I need to learn how to do a plow stop, a baseball slide, and to skate backwards just to name a few things that I totally suck at! I was able to do other things such as an all 4 fall, a rockstar fall, a T stop and a turn/backwards stop. My speed leaves much to be desired by anyone as I am pretty sure a turtle could out skate me. But, I am out there and I am trying and I am loving it! I worked with Erica Slapton and she is a real "hard ass". lol She pushed me to keep trying and was an excellent teacher.

There is a problem, a serious concern of mine. I had two falls last night on the first day of derby, both straight on my ass. I was noticing right after practice that it was very hard to sit in the car, especially hard to get out of the car. I went to End Zone and had a few beers with some of the girls (which I totally enjoyed), but just sitting on the chair there I had to do very gentle. I proceeded home for the night and when I got the house I thought for sure I wasn't going to make it out of the car, but 5 minutes later I did. I sat on ice and hoped for a better ass by morning. I knew in the middle of the night that would not be the case. I could barely get out of bed this morning. I did though. I loaded up on ibuprofen and worked my normal work day. I walk fine, but sitting and standing pretty much suck! I wanted to back out of going skating tonight (family night, and I was needing to practice) but, I decided I really needed to go so I went. I put the skates on, all my gear on and hit the rink. I was shaky and unsettled the whole time due to fear of falling on my ass again. I can skate with the injury but I can't fall, I can't get back up from the fall. (Can't never could do anything, I know, I want to push through and keep at it too!). I have broken my tailbone before and it feels like that right now. I took no risks, and skated only about 12 laps around the rink total, then took the skates off and watched the family skate. I feel like such a damn loser, worked so hard to get here to hurt myself on the very first night. I am not giving up, I will be at practice tomorrow. I will talk with the derby girls and ask them what they think I should do, skate through or let it heal and get back at it? I just don't know what is best for the quickest recovery. I am absolutely sick that I am hurt this bad after only the first night. The sore muscles feel good, I had such a good work out and love learning new things with this sport and really want to do this. I know I can do it and I feel I could be good at it and would love to release some tension out on that rink. My ass may just be badly bruise and I can optimistic that it won't even bother me tomorrow..... I am just concerned right now because I am sitting on my hip in my chair as to not let my tailbone touch the seat. It takes me 5 minutes and sure will power to pull myself up out of this position I sit in because that tail bone is so unbelievably tender. I feel like a wimp, but I know how tough I am and how tough I can be. This little tail bone is not going to get the best of me!

The class clown

2011-01-20T15:29:00.000-08:00

Tell me how my son being the class clown somehow is MY FAULT! I mean I didn't teach him to be a clown, I don't encourage him to act up in school...... but because I punish him he "hates" me!

The punishment may seem extreme, but he has already had a teacher call before, a day in ISS, and now another teacher call. For his day in ISS he was grounded for two weeks from gaming systems, television, IPODs and anything remotely entertaining. I thought this would work, since he took his punishment better than I expected so patiently awaiting the day he would be free again. I thought for sure he wouldn't do this mess again, and he would straighten up!

I shouldn't waste time thinking... as I am usually wrong!

So after he called me today (because the wise teacher had him call to tell me he was misbehaving in her class).... wanna know what he was doing? Making farting noises of all things. UGH!

The punishment is heavy for him because well so far nothing is working.
Tonight is family skate night. We all usually go skating. I leave the kiddos home alone one night a week while we go on our date night, but rarely do it more than once a week. I could leave him home tonight and just let him miss out on skating but, that seems a bit mean because he hates to be alone at night and I was already gone on Tuesday night (he wasn't alone then his sister was home). So my punishment consist of:
1. Go skating tonight and sit in the food concession area.
2. While sitting at the rink tonight, write a letter to your teacher apologizing for misbehaving in her class room, and explain how you feel about what you did, what your consequences for doing so are and how you will not do it again.
3. Begin reading a book (read an extra 1 hr a day) beginning tonight at the skating rink. Most say don't use reading as a punishment, but he hates that he has to read just 30 mins a night at bedtime, so it is hitting him where it hurts!
4. Write a page essay about what he reads every night.
5. No gaming consoles of any type.

The punishment begins tonight obviously and last for two weeks. Do you know what got him the most? The having to write letter and read while sitting at the rink. He wants to just stay home alone (all the sudden, he isn't scared to do this anymore?) to avoid the embarrassment. Well his "friends" don't go skating on family night so he more than likely will not be humiliated by his classmates, but he can use this frustration he is feeling for his punishment to remind him BEFORE ACTING UP...... NOT TO!

I explain I am sorry but so far nothing I have done is working and he has to learn he can't misbehave. He did this to himself. He responds with "You enjoy doing this to me, you don't love me, you show favoritism between me and Destiny, you hate me you don't love me" and the worst part was "I hate you, I don't want to go anywhere with you, I absolutely hate you!".

I know teenage years suck, and I remember giving my own mother pure hell at times. But I can't remember telling her that I hate her. My son uses this with me often. I am beginning to believe it. My heart is breaking. He tells me he wants to live with his dad, but then changes his mind, he gets in trouble and blames it on me. He said "You punish me like I got CASE or something". Case is worse then ISS (in school suspension). Ummm no! I am pretty sure you would be shedding many more tears right now had you got in more serious trouble at school. I mean all they did was make you call me. So I don't do anything to you or punish you in anyway, then you did what you did and had no consequences for it. I strongly discourage bad behavior and have always punished things to ensure that they don't happen again! This is a lesson that needs to be learned now. He is in 6th grade now. Two more years in middle school, then high school and if its not nipped in the bud now... when will he learn the importance of timing, rules, respect.

So for now tonight, is blah. I was looking forward to skating... trying to do the cross over tonight. I was feeling that I might be able to do the Dixie Derby Boot camp and may even try out for the team eventually, but now worry about it all simply because my child hates me and maybe I should be focusing more on that.

I ask my daughter and she doesn't hate me. She disagrees with me often, but never says she hates me. She even says "I don't know why he is so mean sometimes".

I know I am probably off and wrong about many things, but I love these "bratz" with all of my being, and it kills me to feel like I let them down. I do know I didn't do this to him. Two weeks of extra reading and essays will not kill him. Writing a letter to the teacher will not kill him and doing without a game console will not kill him. I am only trying to get him to behave!

Oh well, time to skate for now. Wish me luck

Weekends recap

2011-01-16T18:41:00.000-08:00

The snow is melting here in North Alabama. Things seem to be getting back to normal (define normal?).

I have now skated 6 days total. I can skate around the rink, do a 180 and play such games as wipe out (even though I do not wipe out like everyone else).

I would still like to be able to do a crossover in the turn and a 180 going the opposite direction before the big day... yeah that day where I go infront of a bunch of bad ass, talented woman and flaunt the fact that I am such a poor skater.

I am enjoying going, we played Crazy Trio today, Desmond played with Thomas and myself.... Desmond is about as experienced at skating as I am (but he can at least do a damn crossover, I feel like such a failure sometimes)..... that game was fun, until I landed on my ass, I mean flat/hard/on my butt bone! It still hurts several hours later as I sit here relaxing in my chair... I feel my ass bone! I will survive and I wont whine too much as I am trying to be a Derby girl and lol that means I have to be tough!

I got a new workout thing... to go along with the fifty million other things I have lol I now have a mini trampoline to go in the living room floor and a dvd with 2 work outs on it, I will say that will kick my ass! I did it after skating and doing a 20 minute zumba work out... soooooooooooo I was exhausted before starting it, but I did one of the trampoline workouts and realized then that this will burn some calories because in 15 min I jumped over 700 jumps and burned 105 calories... in 15 minutes!!!!! My heart was about to beat out of my chest lol a workout it rarely gets. So I will be looking forward to ALL my exercises, while I am trying to get in shape for Derby.

2010 in pictures

2011-01-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

Well I have been such a slacker, but wanted to include a slide show of 2010 photos.

I had an absolutely marvelous year with my family and friends. Life has been amazingling good.

I lost a job at the end of 2009 and found another at the beginning on 2010, I went on a marvelous vacation to Florida, I got to see my nieces and my brother, I spent time with my daddy, my kids are another year older and I have a new dog which we got this year! I feel like my life is complete and full. Its hard to throw it all in a few sentences of one blog... especially since its already 01/11/2011 (weird date hehe 1/11/11) anyway..... I am just playing catch up, maybe next year I will do better with my blog. This blog is a way for me to reflect on my life. Its more of journal than an actual blog like I see most peoples blogs talking about this and that, mine is more so about my life. I am saying goodbye to 2010 and welcoming 2011.

Snow Day

2011-01-11T08:58:00.000-08:00

What the heck has happened. Not only did we get a white Christmas this year....first one I ever remember. But I am looking outside at 8 inches of snow here in North Alabama? It is so odd! I was off work yesterday and again today.... Probably will not get paid for this time off either so I am not sure how happy I am about it, right now it feels good but come pay day I may be crying... literally!

The snow is amazing, its soft and fluffy... not what we normally get. We usually get soggy slushy snow mixed with rain or sleet or something, never this soft fluffliness. It is amazing! I love that we got out and played in it....

We have had fun, and I do love this white stuff......so I will continue to enjoy it and worry about the consequences of it all later I reckon, no need in worrying about it now... look at those smiling faces of my children and many others who are seeing the most snow they have ever seen in their life! :)

National Championship

2011-01-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

Well Alabama's Reign as National Championship ended last night. But, I feel they have another one coming in the future! They played their bowl game like the champs we know them to be.   As you may know Auburn Tigers won the championship this year. I was an Auburn fan for most of my life actually, that is hard for me to admit for some reason, but I am a trader. I had never actually seen Auburn play when Thomas took me to see Bama play one game, the atmosphere, the spirit in the air, learning the game of football better and everything just made me convert over to Bama. NOW I AM A HUGE BAMA FAN! Have been since before the championship and before Saban even.... so its been great to root them through this journey.

How do I feel about Auburn's win and championship last night? Torn. I have been saying they are from Alabama and I want them to win. I know people who are Auburn fans, and I still want to root for Auburn as long as they are not playing BAMA. But, I guess I have become Crimson through and through and it is too hard to root for them now. I have been seeing such nastiness from Auburn fans, and sadly the hatred spilling over to BAMA and they aren't even playing in the chamipionship against them, so that is odd to me.   I know Auburn said some nasty things about Bama last year, and I remember saying nothing to them and simply rooting my team on, thinking they are just jealous its not them at the championship game. Why can't Auburn fans have the same thought process. Maybe Bama really wanted to be there this year, maybe that is why they say things like Go Ducks lol. Maybe there is a rivalry against BAMA and Auburn that has been on going for so many years that nothing can make them root for each other no matter what! I started the game off rooting for Auburn in my head, but for some reason I kept yelling for the Ducks. I realized why, watching Auburn play and some of the crap they were pulling like kneeing players in the head, leading with the helmet, and watching them get buy with some pretty crappy things I realized what it was. Auburn has poor sportmanship. I am watching all sorts of moves that do not show class. Then when the game is over, I see tons of posts from ppl on facebook saying nasty things to BAMA who again was not even in this game. So in all fairness no matter what an Alabama fan does or says doesn't effect that the fact that you beat us, you are in the championship and you just won the game. Be happy for your team, celebrate as I would have for Bama but leave my team the "duck" out of it.   I would root for you Auburn and be happy about your win, had I seen something worth rooting for. If MY team played like that, I would be disappointed in them, win or no win.

Now, at the end of the game when they are doing the interviews. Not one single time did Auburn acknowledge Oregon. NOT ONE SINGLE TIME! I was watching for it. Saban started his remarks by saying what a great team we played against and such last year. You know the Ducks made it to that championship and they gave you a run for your money... they deserved a simple comment of "it was a good game, the Oregan ducks played a great ball, or it was wonderful to play against some of the greatest players of this season" you know anything, something to acknowledge the other team. I heard a lot of cockiness. I know you just won and you rock for that win because it takes a lot for a team to make it that far and be as successful as Auburn has been this year! I am proud for the tigers it has been what 50 years since they had done this? But, the Ducks worked hard and played hard and as in all the previous winners and the fact that its a nice gesture and usually a tradition, you should say "good game" to the opposing team. So now I have lost all or any respect I might have had for Chizick.... he is no better than that dumbass coach of Texas because he is just as cocky and lacks the class that I like to see in a coach. SABAN rocks! lol I say this because he is classy, and I love my bama boys!  See ya next season..... ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Engagement

2011-01-11T08:31:00.000-08:00

Thomas and I ventured down to Key West while on our vacation to Florida.

I had never been there before but he had. He had a secret, a certain place and a certain time for a certain thing to happen. He showed his romantic side yet again and he won my heart all over again.

While down in Key West we had plans to watch the Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square in Key West... this was what I heard was a very unique experience. Time and weather were a bit of our enemies as one day it was the weather the next day it was simply rushing to get there before the sunset. I set up my tripod and am all about taking photos of this remarkable unforgettable sunset we are about to experience as we rush to make it just in time. Low and behold we made it fine, even have time to take a deep breath and actually take in the view, the atmosphere the breeze, when all the sudden I look to Thomas and he pulls out my engagement ring and asked me to be his wife. My heart simply melted it was such a surprise, so perfect the time and effort he had put in the thought and the fact that we have had 8 wonderful years together was a perfect moment for us to committ the rest of our lives together. I can't help but think of how lucky I to have such an absolutely totally awesome man in my life!!!!

I am loved, I am happy, I am healthy, and I have so many wonderful things to be thankful for.... My relationship with Thomas has to be at the top of that list of wonderful things. We have been through so much together, and I look forward to growing old with him!

Florida Trip December 2010

2011-01-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

Thomas and I went with my very dearest friend Heather and her awesome man Darin to Florida. The trip began on 12/5/2010 and ended on 12/11/2010. We stayed at Wyndham Palm Aire in Pompano Beach Florida. We went to a casino (which was Thomas' first time... Hard Rock Casino), went on an air boat ride to see wild alligators, Loved the Miami Zoo. We went to South Beach Miami, Coral Castle, and to Key Largo to visit with some totally awesome folks, Brad and Lillie. We then headed on down to Key West where we had a blast and Thomas asked me to marry him (post to come about that soon). We enjoyed a day at the beach in Fort Lauderdale before returning home. I had the absolute time of my life. It was the fullest most fun trip I had ever been on. I love Heather and Darin and hate that it was only a week I got to spend with them and that we didn't even get to spend much time together in the week because we were soooo busy... but they had fun, we had fun and I love them very very much! I look forward to more vacations with them in the future. I summed the trip up here because as you can see the post is past due! I will include a link to all my photos from the trip for each day we were there below. Check em out if you want to.
Day 1 - Sunday
Day 2 - Monday
Day 3 - Tuesday Part 1 and Part 2
Day 4 - Wednesday
Day 5 - Thursday
Day 6 - Friday
Day 7 - Saturday

I had the time of my life seriously, but already so much has happened since then. I hate that I didn't post about it right when I got home, but with Christmas shortly after our return there was just not enough time. The trip was amazing!!!!!!

Because I need to play catch up!

2011-01-10T21:09:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from Christmas.
Because I want so much to catch my blog up... so here is a photostream of all my photos from this holiday season.

Blast from the past

2011-01-10T21:01:00.000-08:00

I went to a local bar and grill to meet some childhood friends of mine. Charlie who lives in Colorado, and Chris who actually lives just in Athens but I have not seen or spoken with in over 5 years. I got word that Charlie was going to be in town and I was so excited to get to see him and his brother Chris. These two men were my bestest friends. They lived down the road from me and hung out with my brother and myself for many many years. It was a sure blast from the past to get to see them.

Progress

2011-01-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

I have been reporting about my new found enjoyment in life... roller skating.

I am proud to say that when I went skating with Thomas on Sunday...... that I.... are you sitting down? I learned how to do a 180 turn. This is major for a gal who is scared, timid, and down right frightened on skates. I did not do it just once or twice but several times!

The next accomplishment... I played wipe out. The game that makes me cringe just thinking of purposely throwing myself onto the hard roller rink. I played while wearing my knee pads, elbow pads and wrist pads.... I threw myself onto that hard floor and trusted the pads to protect me, and you know what? THEY DID! The whole song/game of wipe out I threw myself down and got back up... it was quiet awesome if I do say so my damn self! haha.

Now, the reason for such improvement or forward progress this Sunday... on Saturday, I decided to go ahead and sign up for the Dixie Derby Boot Camp. My fee has been paid, I am scheduled to do this, and now I must improve.

Names: I have been thinking of Derby names, in the event that I actually become one of the bad ass woman of this sport... Timeout Tonya, or Quarter Poundher are two names I had in mind. I checked the long list of names already in use and neither of those were taken and a name generator helped me with those two names... Do you have any ideas of names? I welcome any suggestions or thoughts, just so I have a damn good name in place if I ever reach such awesomeness.

A bit hairy

2011-01-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

My hair has got long. lol by long I mean that the front/sides of my hair are to my shoulders the back is still much shorter... I have what they call and a reverse stack hair style. I liked the cut when I first got it because my hair is super thin and fine and it made it appear fuller. I miss long hair however. I miss the pony tail, the pull back or anything remotely lazy that I could do with it before. That being said, I hate growing this cut out. Its horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have tried three attempts at it and everytime I go get the same cut again because it gets on my nerves so bad! I just made an appt for today to get it done again. I can't take it! I may even get them to put some color in it to make it different. So... maybe sometime later in the future I will grow it out.... lol its not easy. And, who is to say that once I grow it out and recall how thin and stringy it was I wont just get the cut again anyway! Soooo farewell pony tail.. you are missed!

UPDATE ON SKATING: I suck still. I went Thursday with Destiny. I felt like I skated slightly stronger but couldnt go for long before having to rest. I did alot this week as far as skating and exercise and as out of shape as I am I think Three times in one week just wore me out! I still can't lift both feet up comfortably but have realized that the reason I can't is balance. My balance is horrible, they say after a long healing foot/ankle injury that it can effect your balance... and I definetly have had that (its still not 100%). I go again on Sunday... I am doing balance exercises now to try to improve. Prayers for the ability to skate are greatly appreciated :)

In store for 2011

2011-01-05T10:09:00.000-08:00

I have a new found enjoyment in life.... are you sitting down? Roller Skating.

Yes, I said roller skating. It is totally odd that I am 34 years young and never have mastered the art of roller skating. Why the sudden interest? I got a simply little email from an organization of bad ass women for the "Dixie Derby Boot camp". I signed up for their newsletters back when I saw them in a bout last season. I forgot about them until that simply little email. I read the email, read it again, and even closed it only to go back to it a few days letter. There is a draw, some sort of pull over me to keep reading the email. That pull had me get out the skates Thomas bought me last year after seeing them and saying "OH I would love to do that and be a part of it". He bought them thinking we would skate for an exercise, maybe even outdoors around the neighborhood. I put skates on made it a block, maybe two... no who am I fooling only a block, then turned around to come back to the house. My legs hurt, my ankle hurt, I couldn't move on, and it was not getting better only incredible worse. Before I even made it back to the house I sat on the side of the street, pulled the skates off while wiping tears from my eyes as those stupid skates on that stupid road were "JUST STUPID". They broke me!

I never put the skates on again. Wore them one time! But for some reason after reading that simply little email felt the overwhelming urge to put them back on and head out to our locale skating rink. So we went on Family day (Sunday). I still sucked, I mean it was a joke watching me, strangers were getting their amusement enough to last at least a week at my expense. I loaded up with pads (elbow, wrist, and knee) laced up the skates and hit the floor... LITERALLY slap on my ass/back, feet were firmly planted in the air! Thomas immediately skated (with wonderful grace and form) by my side while I am totally humiliated! But I get up, shake it, off, say "I'm fine" and move on. (Note: The pads do no good if you fall backwards)

I proceeded to skate around the floor doing much better than on the road my previous attempt, but there is something weird, down right odd about my skating ability. 1) I don't hold my back straight, I am terribly hunched over trying to fall forward I guess? 2) I only lift one foot off the floor EVER. I do what they call a "sticky" skate with my Right foot, it never leaves the floor and I push myself off repeatedly with my left foot. Odd thing here is the left foot is weaker (due to a previous injury) and I am right handed and why can't I lift that foot off the floor damn it!!! 3) As much as I tell myself to relax... it just ain't happening.

See I told you... I am very amusing out there on the floor. Picture the above description loaded up with full pads. lol ACK!

Well I skated and stopped and skated and rested and skated and stopped (I stopped well more than I skated so something about my recollection is off!). Then the skate day was over.

Still determined for some reason I read online on how to teach yourself to skate or how to be a confident skater (unfortunately there was nothing too promising other than folks telling you to practice, practice and practice some more). So I am doing just that!

Last night was date night. Thomas took me to Fulin's which is my favorite (or one of them lol I have so many!) and I had a Tiger Roll and it was soooooooooooo incredibly yummy! Then we headed to the skating rink which was the activity I chose for our date night (He is such a good sport and supports me in EVERYTHING I do or attempt to do). We get there and get all laced up and head back to the floor. Immediately I have "slightly" more confidence then I did on Sunday. Not sure where that came from (maybe the articles I read?), but I felt like I could do it. Again I am wobbly, my legs, hips, back are all for uncomfortable for every attempt I take at movement. I am lifting my Right foot up some in the attempts to get a rhythm with it (but that has yet to happen). But, the foot has came off the damn floor! That my friend is IMPROVEMENT! I was feeling pretty good and pretty worn out. Thomas had talked about me needing different wheels and that thought stayed with me... "I will skate better with new wheels". So we go to the skate shop at our local rink. We look at the wheels and the skates and Thomas decides he is just going to buy us both a new pair of skates. Nicer/better skates than what we bought last year as those were from Academy sports and more for outdoor skating than rink skating. Ok so I try on the skates, change sizes from what I had to a different size (apparently they all know more than me in this because I thought there was nothing wrong with the one size lol). The new skates I am sporting Rock GT-50 size 7 with green wheels!!!! Once the skates were purchased I headed back to the rink... an instant improvement! I am really rolling now. My 0.5 mph I was rolling has increased to at least 1 mph lol I skate super slow, but no walls are used. (That along qualifies me to attempt the Dixie Derby Boot camp, just so you know). I feel more confident... This time I was actually on the floor without the pads. I skated around and around. I still had to stop for breaks due to back discomfort... I wont call it pain, because it doesn't necessarily hurt. It starts feeling week and then I stiffen up more than usual and feel like I may fall so I sit, rest the back and then go back after a brief rest. This makes the discomfort subside momentarily before it comes back. Thomas and I both are convinced it is my form (you know the hunch back) that is nagging the back. So goal for Thursday... work on form. I have focused on trying to lift the feet or that one foot, but Thursday I will work on standing up straight with my knees slightly bent... then if I can master that enough to begin working on the lifting of the foot again.. I will do just that! Yes. I did say Thursday. That will be my 3rd time skating in one week. If I keep this up I will be a pro in no time! LMFAO!

I spoke with my dad this morning about my secret dream of now becoming a dixie derby girl, and he was all "That is awesome", "great form of exercise there", "Now, you make me want to go skating", "when are you going again?" "Oh you will go again this weekend on Sunday? I am coming after church" (My dad lives 1hr and 45 min away from me and he is driving up to come skating with me on Sunday... HOW FREAKING AWESOME IS THAT! My support group is beyond strong... they are absolutely out of this world!

I skate on Thursday and already have plans for Sunday. I love my new skates, I just have to get comfortable in them and on the rink.

I am still debating with myself about doing the Boot camp at this point. I would like to be a slightly better skater before going around woman I do not know and attempting to things that they are very talented in...I am sure they could teach me a thing or two though so I am still open to going.... I am nervous! lol But Excited all at the same time.... you know what that means? I am alive! I am living! I am enjoying my life! :-) Yayyyy for skating! Not to mention the calories I have burned since Sunday!!! woohoo!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

For the first year my mom, Dad and Step mom all came and stayed the night to be at our house first thing Christmas morning. It was such a wonderful thing just having the family here. Thomas' mom Cathy and nephew Cody came over this morning to open presents too so we each took turns opening present individually and it was wonderful... the icing on the cake... it has snowed. I mean about 3 inches here at my house for Christmas.... the first White Christmas of my life!

Now I already received the best presents I thought I could get having my family here and everything turn out so nice, that was until I started opening actual presents lol I am sooooo spoiled and I know this now. I could not believe the gifts I have received! Thomas got me Zumba for the PS3 move which I opened and played on Thursday (told ya I was spoiled). Then, I got a watch from Thomas' aunt Becky that was beautiful, my kiddos went and picked out a necklace for me that has a heard and is adorable, they pooled their money and bought it for me together. Thomas' mom (Cathy) got me emerald and diamond hoop earrings that are absolutely beautiful, My dad and Karen got me a wine server (yum yum yummy!).... spoiled ROTTEN I tell ya!

Then comes the first wrapped present from Thomas. Its a card, A "naughty" card that makes me chuckle, and he talks about a Naughty Trip that we are going to take, and inside is two tickets to go see .... ARE YOU SITTING DOWN????? LADY GAGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He knows I adore her and her music. Her music makes me feel young and alive and always makes me want to shake my booty! :) HE blew my mind with this gift. I never expected it. I had to read on the tickets to find out what it was and when I read her name I screamed it "LADY GAGA!!!". That was totally awesome! It is in Nashville in April so now I have something else to look forward to! One of the funniest things was listen to my Dad saying he didn't even know who Lady Gaga was (How could they not lol). Cracked me up!

Now for the last gift I opened. Another surprise from Thomas. He got me the new kindle (black) with a leather cover that has a light built in it. This present ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I so have been eyeing it every time I seen one somewhere I would say "there is the new kindle". I even said it just the other day! I look at it all the time but I have a kindle (my daddy gave me and I love it!) so I would have never bought myself a new one.... but Thomas thought I should have it since I was eyeing it so much and knew how much I loved reading on it. I love love love this gift. Right now, I am updating with my books from my other kindle! :)

I am so wonderfully happy inside. Its not the gifts. Its the love and time we have shared this Christmas! It has been absolutely perfect!

I will try to get pics up soon, and I hate that I haven't blogged anything since before our Trip to Florida until now... but its only been a few weeks!!!! I miss Heather and Darin and so wish they were closer or we were closer lol or something like that!!! And that trip was one to go down in the books as one of the absolute best times of my whole entire life! :) More on that later (hopefully) time is getting away from me lately.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VACATION

2010-12-03T19:11:00.000-08:00

Ok it is here! I am officially on vacay. I may not be at the beach yet... but I am already off to a good start.
I have wayyyyy to much to do but too blessed to be stressed!

I did just get through shocking my hair, its darker than I intended. I did really mean to go to the beach all Goth Style, but oh well lol its just hair and at least it isn't grey!

I still have to pack as I haven't packed the first item yet.

I have to go get my mom tomorrow and bring her back here. Thankfully she will be watching after the kiddos for me.

I was going to go buy some groceries for the family for the week, but have decided to just give them some money and let them go after we are on our way..... this would save me a couple of hours of time tomorrow.

I need to do some household chores like laundry.

I need to do my toes and nails.

I need to make my mom a lists of emergency contacts for the kiddos/pets and make sure she has their insurance information and such.

I need to get my camera batteries all charged up, get all my "gear" together and update my mp3 player.

ACK.. NO no no too blessed to stress... I am going to the beach with some really really super awesome super cool fantastic people. There will be time tomorrow to get it all done as the rest of tonight is going to be lazy time, relaxing and letting the fact that I am off of work for the next ten whole days sink in real good! :)

Oh yeah tomorrow is also the SEC championship game which I have to make time for!

ONE MORE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be on a plane for the first time in over 9 years. I am a little nervous, not about the flight but the airport and the riggamaroar from it all. I am hopeful everything goes as planned and no glitches are thrown our way... WE NEED A STRESS FREE TRIP! :)

Someone somewhere is listening

2010-12-01T10:03:00.000-08:00

Ok... so I panicked for nothing. My son has decided to stay home with me! He said "I was just mad mom". He also apologized and told me he loved me and spoke with his daddy and told him he really didn't want to live there he was just mad at the moment.

Now. If we can avoid this again in the future I will be extremely happy! But for now I am pretty flippin happy as it is! :)

I leave for wonderful trip with some awesome friends in only 3 days... I have tons, I mean tons to do. I haven't started packing, I have to buy groceries for the next week for the family, I have to go get my mom who is going to watch my babies for me while I am gone... I have to clean the house, I have to do laundry... ACK! Tomorrow morning is my early day also so I am really pushing my time limits.

I will be ok. The trip will be one to go down in the books... and I am beside myself with excitement and joy!

Pssstttt I am also very thankful for my answered prayers! :) God is good to me!

The dreaded day has come

2010-11-30T06:48:00.000-08:00

My son wants to live with his dad. I am still processing this. I am terribly sad and heartbroken over this and don't know how I will get through it. I hope he is just venting and talking and never really does it. But, I wont change my rules and ways of raising my children to please him, I feel he needs guidance... routine.... structure and to be pushed in the right directions as far as grades and responsibilities.

He is my baby, I love him beyond words and it hurts my heart so bad that he wants to do this. I told him he had to finish out this school semester since there are only 3 weeks of school left. He spoke with his Dad and then I did, his dad has to get him enrolled in school there, new friends, new school everything.... his dad has to have health insurance on him and his dad has to grow up and be much more responsible himself to be able to care for him full time. I pray for them both. I am scared to death! Not for the present so much as for the future. Who my son will be. How this change will dramatically change him? My fear has validation, and I hope he will change his mind.

Guess we will see how it all plays out. Who knows it might be fun to have him every other weekend and get to do fun things with him and not have to push so many responsibilities and just enjoy him his weekends with me? But, I doubt that will ever be enough to make my heart happy. I will miss him terribly and sure hope, I pray, beg and plead with anyone who will listen to make him change his mind. But, I wont beg and plead with him. I simply say I think he is making a mistake, he is right he is old enough to legally make the decision of who he wants to live with and I am terribly sorry he feels like he would be happier there but I will not stand in his way of what happiness he is trying to find. GOD parenting is so hard!

I have to get busy at work, I am crying uncontrollably now... children can rip your heart to pieces with never even knowing it, and I now feel sorry for my own parents and my own decisions through out my life.

Please pray for me....better yet.... pray for my son!

The Beginning - Christmas 2010

2010-11-27T18:19:00.000-08:00

Well Here we go again... its that time of the year. Thomas is out busting his tail on putting up around 18,000 lights that will be animated and I worked on some door art, and helped him some.... but I had to do laundry too lol.

I decided spur of the moment to go all out and decorate our door this year, all of the sudden... while we were at walmart just on a whim... I bought all of this crap! lol

But, the finished product does like kinda shnazy :)

Here is some of the start, just to give you the idea of how much work and effort is put into this light show

Above are some of the lights for the mega tree (which is still in progress.... maybe it will be up tomorrow and I can post some photos then)

Here you can see one of Thomas' controllers (the sequence box the thing that makes the lights dance to the music). Also you can see we use our tomato cages to wrap lights on lol it works!

Close up

Close up of of his arches... lots of work went into those

Candy canes!

Stars!

Tada! Ok... the house still needs more lights, the mega tree has to be finished and he is still working on the green grass, but it is all coming together :)

See the multi-colored trees by the cars? I put the lights in those trees. (patting myself on the back lol)

And here is the lighting engineer himself... working on the green grass.... he rocks so hard! :)

The lights on Harrison Stree will be up soon, I will post a link to the website once Thomas has it ready to go this year! :) Merry Christmas!

He loves me

2010-11-22T14:24:00.001-08:00

And I am the luckiest girl in the world! !!

8 years

2010-11-22T10:17:00.001-08:00

Happy Anniversary to US!!!

I have been blessed so much in my life. One of my treasured gifts is the gift of love and companionship that my man gives me. He loves me as I am, even though I could stand to lose 40 lbs, even though I whine and complain and even bitch and moan sometimes, he still loves me JUST AS I AM! I know this because he expresses love to me in so many ways. Always taking time to take me on date nights, still opening my car door for me, rubbing my feet and anytime I curl up next to him he caresses me and expression affection toward me, he spoils me, if there is something he knows I want or would like he will figure out a way to make it happen and he is pretty freakin' awesome at spoiling me. He makes me breakfast in bed (banana pancakes even!). He makes me laugh. He tells me I am beautiful. I can be myself with him, and not worry about him not accepting something I say or do. He may not always agree with me, but I can be me and that says a ton about him right there.

We have had the best 8 years together. A few rocky patches, what relationship doesn't have that! But, I am proud to say that each rough spot has only brought us closer together and I feel that our relationship has reached a point to stand the test of time and I see us growing old, very old together.

He brightens up my world! I mean sure there are times I want to ring his neck... as he will want to do to me also I am sure, but that is the men are from mars and women are from venus situations normally, not anything he does in particular lol other than be a man! I wouldn't change who he is and I Love him just as he is! :)

I am very happy to have spent these past years with him and have way too many wonderful moments we share together to ever begin to mention them all here in this little post, and I can't wait to see what our future holds together.

I love you, Thomas!

Sunset

2010-11-18T21:12:00.001-08:00

From my Droid

♪ You think your cooler than me? ♪

2010-11-16T16:07:00.000-08:00

The type of cool that is going to see the new Harry Potter movie on opening night at midnight and taking her kids so it can be a fun time with a memory to last forever!...no I am not that cool.

The coolness that is playing all the hot games on all the hot game consoles we own (PS3, XBOX, WII..) instead of watching them collect dust and be ignored.

The cool person who actually reads the books she buy so she may share/discuss it with her friends. Yeah on this I fail badly!!!! I have so many unread books with good intensions to read them it is pathetic

I am going to go back in time this weekend though and you don't get much cooler than that!

I am going to see my daddy on Saturday morning, then going to see Warrant, LA Guns, and Firehouse on Saturday night. That concert and night out is going to literally take me back in time. I wish I still had some of my eighties clothing (or even better could still fit my fatt ass in them), I could dress the part and tease the hell out of my hair with the blue eyeliner, Sweater dress w/ huge belt and tights with leg warmers... oh I could so rock that look lol. I am going to party like it is 1989 or some year like that! ♪ She's my cherry pie ♪ oh yeah its going to Rock so HArd lol

Then I get the joy of being off two days next week for Thanksgiving (thankfully).

And even better not too long after that will be chillin my cool self out at the beach of Pompano Beach Florida, and on down into the keys. So yeah I am cool, cool as a cucumber dipped in ranch (not sure where that came from.. but that is just more of my coolness shining through!)

Photography- Sunsets

2010-11-14T16:00:00.000-08:00

Well we are going to be in beautiful Florida Keys in only 21 days and I am going to be witnessing some of the most beautiful sunsets, but have no idea how to capture them with photography because I am new to this sort of thing.

So I ventured out to an area that is normally gorgeous here in Decatur, Al. to try to capture the sunset. Unfortunetly this evenings sunset was not as spectacular as I have seen lately.... but it will do!

I took the following photos, mostly straight from the camera.... I did use a filter, the original sunset was a golden/hue and the filter made the sunset a pink/purple hue.... but here is my first attempt at photographing a sunset as well as a few others I took while out today.

Banana Pancakes

2010-11-13T09:41:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love the song Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson. The laziness in the song, the beat, the way it makes me feel everything about the song is amazing. I sing it often, play it in the car often and everyone who knows me knows I love this song!

My sweet man, spoils me ROTTEN! I mean so bad I must surely stink of rotteness.

He takes me on one or two date nights weekly because he is so amazing. He loves me even when I am not that attentive to him. He loves me despite the fact the house is messy. He loves me when I am in a pissy mood. He makes me smile when I don't really feel like I want to, and when life is not always going well he lifts my spirits up.

Yes, this man I speak of is the LOVE OF MY LIFE! I was awakened to breakfast in bed this morning. Not your ordinary breakfast in bed, even though it is never ordinary for a man to do this for his lady. My man actually got up and made me banana pancakes! He made caramel syrup to go on top... and they were simply devine. He said "since I can't sing" when he woke me up, took me a minute (because I am usually slow lol and the fact that I had just woke up... but finally I realize it was more than just breakfast in bed (even though that is spectacular) it was indeed my banana pancakes... so my start of this morning was wonderful and made way for a marvelously lazy day! :-)

I ate up the delicious pancakes then got up and took some photos and decided I would make a video of some of our pictures from this year with that song in the background.... lol I want to remember this morning always and this is a wonderful way to do that!

So here is the video.

Unfortunetly its the longer version of the song which is not my favorite... just hang on the first two minutes and enjoy the photos... lol the song will pick up!

I am not good at making videos either... its a bit slow and some photos the effects are messed up lol but I have chores to do and things to get done today before the BAMA game.... and I wanted to share my happiness with the world! :)
I love you Thomas and thank you for making my life special! :)

Smiles

2010-11-12T20:20:00.001-08:00

My life has its ups and downs but I am happy. My job isn't going as well as it once was, but I am thankful to have a job and steady income. My kids are growing too fast but this means I am doing my job and so far so good... I am very proud of them. My man is sexy as hell... we are going to the beach in 3 weeks and he spoils me rotten!!! I love him so very much. My dog is fracking awesome..... he lives to please. My cat is as sassy as I can be and we are a lot alike, there are times I just want to be left alone and well she is always like that lol. My home is messy and needs improvements but its lived in, full of memories and love, my laundry is never ending but thankfully we all have more close than we need.... What I am saying is... My life is good! I am blessed beyond measure and even when I am in a bad mood and life is not going well, I have so many reasons to smile!

It is getting close

2010-11-06T15:04:00.000-07:00

Luckily as the weather is turning colder the days are getting closer to my trip down to florida.

Flights are booked, car rental is booked, hotel room is booked for Pompano beach (thanks to Heather and her mother's time share), the hotel room for Key Largo is booked (since we will going down to visit with Brad and Lilly one night), the hotel room for KeyWest is booked (since we will venture further down and enjoy the drive, and scenery as well as the night life and sunset/sunrise in Key West.

I hope to venture into Miami atleast once while we are there it seems to be only 30 minutes from Pompano where we will be staying.

The whole trip expense is adding up because I just keep adding more to it, but its really not so bad.

Flight 500 car 170 room one 140 room two 200 total: 1010... so that is really not bad for a whole week in paradise! :)

That is of course not counting the expensive camera that I bought just to add to my addiction lol.

Luckily all we have left is food/gas/entertainment expense.. so it has all come together. We have only 29 days left until we arrive at our destination.

WOOHOO! :)

ISS

2010-11-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

One thing that I will not tolerate is my children mis-behaving in public. It is one thing to mouth at me every now and then and slack on chores some as all teens do this, but it is not and never will be ok to get called to the principles office for inappropriate behavior and be issued a day of ISS (IN SCHOOL SUSPENSION) OH MY GOD!

Destiny got it once when she was in middle school for chewing gum and I remember coming down her very hard. She didn't even get to go to her CHorus field trip to Six Flags because I felt that her getting ISS (which means she has been warned 2 other times before they issue the ISS) was just ridiculous. Now it is Desmond's time. This is first time to really get in trouble, but its not that he is in trouble it is what he did. He wrote on the board of a teacher he dislikes the word PENIS really big before school started. WHAT? WHAT? HE DID WHAT? How ridiculous is that?

I figure he did it to be funny, so he could say I did that to his friends or something, but its just our right stupid!

Soooo my poor boy will be spending a day in ISS tomorrow and go two weeks with no xbox, no psp, no tv, and no outside play time. YEP TWO WHOLE WEEKS. Plenty of time to think on how crazy it was to do something that silly, two weeks to get himself straightened out however he might need to be able to control himself the next time a thought like that pops in his head.

I worry about some of his influences and I worry about him anyway but never this kind of worry, never worried about him being this ridiculous. He is a honor student with good grades and normally NEVER gets in trouble at school but now has done this? yeah.. po Desmond, mommy is ticked.

Reading and something constructive

2010-10-31T11:05:00.000-07:00

A past time of mine that I thoroughly enjoy but never seem to make time for... yes that would be reading. I have read many wonderful books and have many more that I have been dieing to read, but can't find time. I go and buy the books but never break them open. I have a kindle that I rarely use but I love (how can that be?). I have so many things that I simply tell myself there will be time for in the future, but truthfully there will not be any more time for these things if I don't make the time for them!

Working full time, having children, running a home, having pets, having a hobby (photography), needing to lose weight, needing to seek out a different field for my career and making time for reading. See making time for reading falls to the bottom of every list I make.

I am cheating now. However I don't feel like it is cheating because I am thoroughly enjoying it. I bought the book 'The Help' from audible.com. I have it on my mp3 player. I listen to it while I am doing something constructive like cleaning the house, doing laundry or going for a walk. I LOVE THE WAY THIS STORY IS BEING READ TO ME! They have different people reading for different characters and it seems like I am a fly on the wall, listening to something that is happening right now. I have enjoyed it and will use it to motivate me to get up and do something constructive when I really don't want to like right now. (I have tons to do around the house and I haven't cut this story on in over a week, and I am dieing to get back to it!). Now that I have found this new way of making time for some reading or some books that I have been wanting to read, hopefully I will find another good listen after this book to keep up the motivation.

I also have been reading (actually holding the book and reading with my own eyes) the last book in the Hunger Games Series 'The Mockingjay". I loved the first book, the second was good, but the third has lost me somewhere.... I haven't read much of it yet so I hope it will pick up soon.

I have purchased the first two books in the 'The girl with the dragon tattoo' trilogy.... I am hoping these will be good, I haven't begun them because I can't seem to finish what I have already started.

Ok, now its a beautiful Sunday and I want to do anything but chores..... but to make me enjoy the tasks at hand I will be equipped with my mp3 player and "The Help" of a good story. I don't think its cheating if I am doing something while listening... now if I was sitting on my chair doing nadda and had the mp3 player reading for me lol that would be a pretty serious cheat there.

My baby Boy

2010-10-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

All I can say is he is growing and too fast!

I bought school clothes in August, he has outgrown already. He has went from 5'1-2" all the way to 5'4-5" in just that short of time.

Had to go buy all new clothes for him.... next time he hits a growth like this we are going to thrift stores lol I told him he said "ok as long as the clothes haven't been worn" lol... which tickled my funny bone when he said it. I love that little "turd head" and love that he is growing because it means he is healthy and such, but he is my baby and I think all moms have a hard time when they see their baby as tall if not taller than themselves.

Now if he will learn to act as big as he looks.... we will be doing ok. :)

Rental Car

2010-10-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

The flight has been booked for some time now. The car rental on the other we went back and forth on. One or two cars, split the cost or what. The cost was averaging around 300-400 dollars for the week rental of a mid size car for what we could tell.

Heather said one comment on facebook about us possibly getting two seperate vehicles so we could go our own way if we wanted to.

Well I thought I will look online when I get into work and see how much that would cost (before actually clocking in of course). I found a steal of a deal immediately through expedia.com with Enterprise. I double checked the price. Did a seperate search and everything because it seemed so unreal. I went ahead and booked it right then and there because it was such a deal.

I got on facebook and saw another post where Heather had done the same thing a few hours earlier than me (which we are on different time zones so that always confuses me if it was actually right at the time I was doing it or how facebook documents those times?) lol anyway... she was typing to me about the deal she had got. I thought to myself "great minds think a like" because we are so fracking great! :)

Ok the steal? I have got a rental cal, mid-size for 7 days with insurance and everything for the low price of 168 dollars. The actual car rental was for only 93 dollars for the entire week! :) So now we have seperate vehicles for the price of one. I LOVE IT. It was just meant for us to go on this vacation and spend this awesome week together... we only have 30 some odd days to go.

I haven't lost a pound though... damnit! I am going to have blast fluff and all though!

Photography bliss

2010-10-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

If you know me, you know I have few obsessions in my life. One being food, and the other being photography. However I hate to prepare/cook food, I only enjoy devouring. When it comes to photography, I love it! I love to look at peoples photographs, critique my own, try new and different poses/compositions and even photoshop them (which I refer to as "playing with them" because I have no idea what I am doing lol). I LOVE LOVE PHOTOS!

And to explain the title here.... I am just in photography bliss. I got a Nikon D5000 (DSLR) for my brithday May 2010. I totally admire this camera. It really does do all the work for me. I can set the aperture, or ISO speed and even use their scene selections or just take a b&w but truthfully no matter if I change a setting or leave it alone, the CAMERA does the work. Is is friggin amazing. The only downside to having the DSLR is their size and weight. After lugging this camera around on several family day trips. I have found that it is hard to maneuver all day long. It is awesome for the "photoshoot" type days, or the days were are going on a scenic view somewhere and I want the BEST photos.... I wouldn't dare take another camera. BUT... yep there is a but. I plan on going on a trip in December for 7 days. I know I will tire from taking the DSLR EVERYWHERE all 7 days and fear a photo op may be missed due to my fatigue. That would be an absolute shame.

I had a Canon Power shot which I loved... it was a 350 dollar camera that I bought about 2 years ago. I have taken the majority of my average photos with that camera and LOVED IT... until I killed it. Yep it is dead, and I am the only one to blame. I had been taking it on the kayak with me knowing it wasn't waterproof, and didn't even put it in a waterproof casing. I simply bought a waterproof box to keep in the boat and pulled the camera out during what I called "safe" zones and took photos and then put it back in the box. This worked on several trips. That is until one time I forgot to put it back up and put it around my neck which where I usually keep the point and shoot camera. I tipped the boat with the dog and instinct had me grab my dog and not my camera lol. Yep the camera was submerged in water. I let it dry out before attempting to use it and I thought whew I got by because everything appears fine and cut on properly until I took photos.... then I was sure everything was fine as they appeared fine on the screen. Until I uploaded them to my PC when I realized that EVERY SINGLE PHOTOS was all grainy and messed up. That is when I realized that the camera is totally messed up.

I haven't used it since.... but knowing I have this trip coming, and the lugging of the DSLR and how I don't want to be burdened down by photos but want to enjoy the entire trip, and all the photo taking bliss I can stand! I want a new camera.

Low and behold they are now making LIFE PROOF cameras. You can get waterproof/drop proof/ freeze proof/dust proof cameras. Unfortunately Nikon hasn't made one of these cameras yet. I have researched them for hours to finally have made the purchase. Yep I bought one. Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2, yep my new baby! I am expecting in about 4-5 days... Can't wait for the arrival! :)

I picked this camera for its durability and photo quality. I do feel that the LIFE PROOF cameras may like some of the photo qualities of other point and shoot cameras but as much as we are on the go and doing activities that I MUST SHOOT... I felt the need for this type of camera. The color? Yep I got it in ORANGE. Its the color of my kayak and my favorite other than green... it wasn't available in green... but I think I will love this fun color.

Now while my DSLR is safely stored in its case while in the airport/ on the plan/ and probably getting settled to the room... I won't be lacking in photo taking ability because this baby will be around my neck and ready to snap at anytime. Then I will break out the "big boy" my ever most love for photo shooting for most of the week... but all the while Thomas or I won will be wearing the new baby too. :) OH the possibilities are endless and a trip like this doesn't happen often enough and I want as much as I can have to last a lifetime. :)

I also purchased two extra ion batteries and a car charger for those, as well as a float strap for the camera should I drop in the water/ocean I wouldn't risk losing it forever.

Total for camera, extra batteries and strap and some shipping was $312.00. Be sure to shop around. They have this camera listed for 275-300 on many sites and at many stores. I got it for 249.00 on Amazon. While doing my research and comparison the same thing was happening for most all other cameras. I got free shipping for the actual camera and small shipping charges on the accessories. I didn't have to pay the taxes that would be applicable at a local store also. :) Shopping online rules, but you have to wait for the delivery... patience is virtue.

Totally excited!!!!!!!