A New Look - No Foolin'!

Well, it's Extreme Makeover: Blog Edition. I got tired of the pink - don't want to look too much like Bubba's Mom's blog - and I found this wonderful lighthouse, which is SO me, so I have re-decorated my blog! What do you think? It was challenging - I moved some stuff around from the template provided and added the links, which meant having to use the HTML codes - something I'm not too familiar with (but moreso now!). So with a new month comes a new look here for me. I like this one - I think it will stay. A lighthouse is a beacon of hope - something we all need in our lives.

Remember the Alamo?

What the hell was Reagan High School Principal Robert Pambello thinking when he flew the Mexican flag at his school?!? And what are these crazy, protesting kids thinking? Do they even know why they are protesting? If they want immigration to the U.S. to be easier for "their people", shouldn't they be waving the American flag? After all, they are trying to get TO the U.S. - AWAY FROM Mexico! Am I missing something?

Extreme Exploitation

I love the show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" - touches my heart and makes me cry every time! But after reading this I am so terribly disappointed in the show's producers that I'm not sure I can watch it anymore....

Pet Peeves

A few of my pet peeves I have noticed a lot over the past few weeks:

- People who speed thru school zones
- People who talk really loud (like any of the rest of us in the room/bus/store care what you have to say?!?)
- People who think the rules don't apply to them (this is actually the basis for many of my pet peeves)
- Children who come to dance class and don't bring their dance clothes, shoes, etc.
- Parents who do not take their SCREAMING child out of the store/restaurant/other public place (I know, kids act up sometimes, but they need to be removed if they are inconsolable.)
- People who are loud in hotels - and people who let their kids run up and down the halls and slam the door
- People who talk during the movie/play/presentation - or even worse, sing along!
- People who get off the escalator and stop - or pull into the driveway of a parking lot and stop - or stop walking in the middle of a crowd of moving people!
- Men who do not remove their hats at the dining table
- Smart-ass T-shirts
- Misspellings on published materials - or TV ads or signs
- People who use "at" at the end of a sentence
- Local TV news reporters interviewing the most ignorant people they can find

I reserve the right to add to this list at any time in the future. Care to add your own??

Back to life, back to reality....

Why is always so hard to get back to real life after a vacation? My brain has been mush this week and I have been so UNmotivated to get things done - even blogging.

My beautiful daughter - my first born - celebrated her 12th birthday this week - the only highlight of the week! I can't believe she is 12 - only one more year and she'll be a TEENAGER!! Yikes! I can see glimpses of it already - she has one foot in childhood and the other in adolesence, and I remember all too well what a struggle that is. But I am so proud of her because she is confident in who she is and so far is staying true to herself. I pray that she continues on that path.

Sigh - tomorrow is another Monday. Hopefully I'll do better this week and at least be able to function somewhat normally! Vacation Withdrawal is the worst. The only cure.......plan another vacation!

Been there, done that, going back!

That's what my new bumper stickers says (well, it's actually a magnetic bumper sticker so it is easily removable). I got it at Disney World, The Happiest Place on Earth! We had SUCH a great trip - and I have several things to blog about now that I'm home! But for now I'm doing laundry and catching up on e-mails and errands, etc. So stay tuned!

P.S. It didn't rain!!!

The Rainmaker

I have this rain curse. It's really kinda weird - anytime I plan an outdoor activity, it rains! Not little stuff like doing the yard or anything - but big stuff like vacations, parties, parades, etc. Growing up, I had never been to Astroworld that it didn't rain. Ever. Went to an outdoor concert - it rained. Took my kids to the State Fair - it rained. Aggie football game - stood in puddles up to my ankles. Planned a big outdoor birthday party for the kids - it poured. The Great San Antonio Flood of 1998? That was me. We went to Sea World. It even rains on me at Disney World, which is why I have already started watching the weather forecast for Orlando next week. I'm looking at AccuWeather.com - not sure how accurate it is - but it changes daily. Two days ago there was going to be sunshine for our whole trip. Now we might see rain on Friday. Does that mean that by the time we go it'll be raining every day?!?

"Why don't you ever go anywhere else?!?"

Ok, before you even ask this (as I know certain family members will) I will tell you. We like Disney. A lot. But we DO go other places on vacation! Hubby and I have been to New Orleans and we also took a Caribbean cruise. We have taken the kids on a paddle-boat cruise up the Mississippi River. We have taken them to Savannah and Hilton Head Island twice. We have taken them to Chicago and New Orleans and Austin and San Antonio, and we've gone toobing down the Comal River. Someday we will take them to see the mountians (Rocky and/or Smokey) and we'll take them to Washington D.C. We want to take the kids on a cruise, too - maybe even next summer to the Bahamas. And in-between all those other adventures, we will still enjoy going to Disney World. It's our home-away-from-home.

We're too excited to sleep!

We are in the final countdown here to our Spring Break trip to DISNEY WORLD! It is a much-needed vacation for all of us. This time we are taking Bubba's Mom, who hasn't been to the World since she and Bubba's Dad took Bubba 18 years ago (Bubba is really getting old). A lot has changed since she was there last - for instance, MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom didn't even exist! I think she is really looking forward to experiencing this with her grandchildren. Even tho this will be our kids' 4th trip to WDW, the look on their faces every time we go is priceless. It is truly a magical place. We are starting to feel like the little boy in that commercial........"We're too excited to sleep!"

I Sudoku, Do You?

I have discovered the World of Sudoku! Our local paper just started printing a Sudoku puzzle each day - Level 1 on Monday up to Level 5 on Friday. I finished them all this week, thankyouverymuch. Tonight I discovered I can play ONLINE! Wow! And it's so much easier than doing it with a pencil and/or pen! I even did the one in the TV Guide this week, which uses letters instead of numbers (a bit more challenging because I had to keep referring to the list of letters used, but I did it!). So I guess this is my new hobby. I even bought a book of Sudoku puzzles to take in the car with me on vacation next week. Good exercise for the brain!

The Write Stuff

You know how you get a pen that you really like and that's the only kind of pen you ever want to use? (OK, maybe it's just me....I'm a little anal about things like that....) Anyway, my current favorite pen is a blue ink click-pen - I can't even think of the brand right now - and I was down to having only one. I love my pen - write on my daily calendar with it, write in my checkbook with it, even do crossword puzzles with it!! This morning my puppy chewed it up into a bunch of little pieces (thankfully no ink came out). There's no saving it. Thus begins the search for a new pen just like it.......if only I could remember what brand it was.......

The Turd of March

Today my baby boy ("I'm not a baby!") turns 9. Where does the time go?!? It seems like just yesterday he was a tiny baby that needed me for everything - now he will barely hold my hand in public. I am so proud of my youngest child - he is brilliant and funny and loving (spoken like a true mom, huh?). And if it were up to me, he would not be my youngest - tho at the time of hubby's vasectomy we both were certain we were through, I have regretted that decision with great heartache many times since then. But God knows what He is doing, and it was meant for this one to be my last. And now I have made my peace with that.

Happy Birthday, Baby Boy! I love you more than you'll ever know!

Texas Independence Day

Today is Texas Independence Day, a proud day for Texans, but not without controversy...

In honor of Mom....

The title of my blog - Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Me - was inspired by The Breast Cancer Site. My mother is a two-time breast cancer survivor, and she is my hero and my best friend. I encourage everyone to visit this site every day - a simple click costs you nothing yet helps fund mammograms for women in need. Mammograms can save lives! I have a mammogram every year, because breast cancer is a disease with a mother-daughter-sister link, and I want to stay vigilant about it. I love my mother so much and I can't imagine life without her - way to go, Mom, for kicking cancer's butt! (I can't say "ass" because I gave up cussing for Lent.)

My first blog....

OK, I have broken down and gotten a blog! Now at least I can post on other people's blogs (i.e. my brother and sister-in-law) and maybe I'll get creative and post some random thoughts on here....who knows? Anyway, this is my official debut to the blogging world. Let the blogs begin...