Transitions

Ever since my daughter was a baby I have bragged about how well she handles transitions. Crib to Big Girl Bed? No problem! Bottle to sippy cup? Easy, breezy! Giving up the pacifier (Nee Nee)? Well, the Nee Nee Fairy came and took it and that was that. On her second day of second grade she had to change to a different class - the teachers were concerned it would upset her but she just said, "It's OK. I handle transitions well." That's my girl!!! She is going thru another phase of transitions now as I watch her go from little girl to young woman. So far so good - she is breezing thru Junior High School with fabulous success, and she is wearing a bra and shaving her legs without complaint. She just doesn't want to talk about it. And she CERTAINLY doesn't want to talk about getting her....little friend....if you know what I mean. She knows all about it, thankyouverymuch, has no questions, and will let me know when it happens. I dread this. It will mean she finally IS a young woman and not my precious baby girl anymore.

I, too, seem to be in a phase of transition myself. I'm on the back-side of my 30's now - which is odd because I still feel like I should be 21. But, as my mother always promised, my body is changing. I've had to have parts removed. Other parts are shifting or changing shape. I plucked a couple of grey hairs today, and I'm getting crow's feet around my eyes. "Kids today" amaze me with the crap they do sometimes. And sometimes - only sometimes - music is too loud. But maybe, just maybe, PreTeen Daughter will still let me play Barbies with her sometimes.

Katrina - One Year Later

There's so much I could say about this disaster.....but the media is all over it today and frankly, I don't have anything to say that hasn't already been said. Bubba has some good posts on his blog about the levees and re-building New Orleans; and Wes has an excellent post reminding us all that it wasn't just New Orleans that suffered, but thousands of others in Louisiana, Mississippi, and even Alabama that don't get the publicity that The Big Easy is getting. So today, let's remember ALL the victims of Katrina - even the ones that the media forgot.

My New Friend

Had a fabulous lunch today with Bubba's Mom and cjh - our first time to meet cjh face-to-face. We had such a nice time - talked and laughed and enjoyed the scrumptious food (thank you again, cjh, for your croissant!). I found myself not wanting it to end so soon, I was having such a lovely time.

At one point in my life not many years ago, I decided I didn't need any new friends in my life - I now realize how silly that was because new friends are so much fun! I hope to get to know cjh better 'cause I think she's pretty cool (I hope she likes me too!).

Oh, and Bubba - we talked about you. Just to let you know. :-)

Lunch was the highlight of my day - the rest includes grocery shopping, shuttling kids here and there, and attending Open House at Brilliant Daughter's school. And it looks like I'll be doing at least some of those things in the rain. Ugh.

I hope my new friend has a good afternoon and stays out of the rain! Let's do lunch again real soon!

Welcome a new Blogger!

Everyone check out my cousin's new blog - Wendy Bird.

Welcome to the Blogging World, Wendy Bird!

Get out your pennies.....

A recent post by cjh reminded me of a fun game I have played at a couple of parties - everyone starts out with 3 pennies, then takes turns going around the room stating things they have NEVER done; everyone in the room that HAS done that thing must put one of their pennies in the pot; the last one with a penny wins! This inspired me for my new List - Ten Things I Have Never Done. Get your pennies ready!

1. I have never been arrested.
2. I have never smoked a joint.
3. I have never cooked a turkey.
4. I have never been to Europe.
5. I have never sang karaoke in public.
6. I have never given blood (other than for blood tests of my own).
7. I have never worn contacts.
8. I have never seen Napoleon Dynamite.
9. I have never had a passport.
10. I have never been to a professional football game.

Anyone have any pennies left?

Earworms

You know how you get a song stuck in your head sometimes? It seems I ALWAYS have a song in my head - it's never quiet in there. Sometimes it's a song I heard recently on the radio or on TV, but often it's just a random song and I have no clue why it has popped up to sing in my brain. Tonight, as I was folding and putting away the last load of laundry, Donna Summer was singing "Last Dance" in my head. Where did that come from?!? Was my subconscious trying to tell me something? Do you ever wonder that? If the random song in your brain is really a message to you? Why else would it just pop in there with no explanation? I think it's rather odd. Sometimes I wish I could just turn off the music and be QUIET. Where's the MUTE button?

Maybe I shouldn't sit up until midnight eating Fritos and bean dip so much.......

Too Funny!

Need a good laugh? Read this.

It's really hot here.

Yesterday I posted a picture of my van's outside-temp thermometer showing 98 degrees in the shade. Today it was hotter, so I attempted to update the picture, but for some reason it wouldn't let me. So I just deleted yesterday's post and created this one. As you can see.......IT'S REALLY HOT HERE!!

For my red-headed friends......

Redheads Have More Sex, Survey Says

This is NOT why I wish I were a redhead. Just in case you were wondering....

More Things

Wow - making the list of 100 Things About Me really inspired me to do some deep introspective searching of myself, and now all these other things for the list are coming to mind! So I thought I'd list a few more, and perhaps categorize them, just for something different. Tonight's list - 10 Medical Things About Me

1. I have very low blood pressure.
2. I've had 1 major surgery, 2 outpatient surgeries, and 2 oral surgeries.
3. I have been under general anesthesia 4 times. It's hard to wake up, but it does not make me sick.
4. I'm scared of the dentist.
5. I have had 3 epidurals.
6. I have never had a broken bone except for when my high school boyfriend hugged me really tight and cracked my rib, and when my drunk ex-husband hit me and broke my jaw.
7. Because of aforementioned broken jaw, I have TMJ.
8. Because of aforementioned TMJ, I get frequent headaches.
9. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I worked for the OB that delivered her.
10. I am not overweight, do not have high cholesterol, and have a healthy heart rate. I think that makes me pretty healthy!

Andy, too!

Tonight Andy Pettitte his HIS first career homerun in the Astros' win over the Padres 4-2. Wow! Keep it up, Astros! We believe!

Back to School

Tomorrow - well, actually later today - my kids go back to school! I have always loved back-to-school time, even when I was still IN school. It's like New Years to me. New classes. New clothes. New books. New school supplies (LOVE those!). A clean slate. What will the year bring? Also, the new TV season will kick off soon (I'm so sick of re-runs!). My dance classes will start back up (new classes, new students). We will be back into a routine around here. That is a good thing.

So you would THINK that since we all have to get up and going early tomorrow, I would have gone to bed early tonight. Nope! I just did a few Sudoku puzzles online (my homepage offers 4 levels each day) and polished off a bag of Fritos and a can of bean dip (a most excellent snack). I'm getting kinda sleepy now, so I better give in. It's an exciting day tomorrow, er, today! Happy New Year!

Way to go, Roy O!!

Roy Oswalt hit his first career home run tonight to help the Astros beat the Pirates 14-1. You know it's going to be a good game when the pitcher hits a home run!!!

100 Things

Apparently a cool thing to do on your blog is make a list of 100 Things about yourself (I first saw this on The Pig's blog, and have since seen it on a couple of others). Never wanting to be the one that's not with it, I pondered long and hard and finally came up with a list of 100. So, without further ado, here are 100 Things About Me:

**Note the date of this post and change any ages, etc. accordingly to when you are reading it.

1. I am a Christian.
2. I have 3 kids - my oldest is my husband's son who I adopted when we married.
3. I am terrified of elevators.
4. I love babies.
5. I can not have any more babies because I had a hysterectomy at 35.
6. I am 36 years old.
7. I have never weighed over 100 pounds (except when I was pregnant)
8. I am a good dancer; I love to tap dance.
9. I have a major sweet tooth.
10. I like Half -n- Half on my cereal.
11. I have one brother (Bubba) who is 7 years younger than I am.
12. I have excellent handwriting.
13. I can also type well.
14. My first car was an old, black AMC Hornet that we called The Roach.
15. I hate to cook.
16. My mother survived breast cancer TWICE.
17. I once won $800 in a bowling tournament.
18. I love baseball.
19. My youngest son gave up Little League Baseball at 8 years old so he could focus on playing golf.
20. Every home I have ever lived in is within 15 minutes of each other.
21. I love Disney World. I've been many times.
22. I rarely use pencils.
23. I am compulsive about calendars.
24. I love maps.
25. I'm afraid to fly.
26. I met my husband in a country/western club that, when I was little, was a movie theater that my Granddaddy built.
27. I cross my 7's and my Z's.
28. I love dogs - I have 2.
29. I never knew I could love someone as much as I love my children.
30. I think I am the only person in the world who doesn't like margaritas.
31. I do like beer, and I like to peel the neck label; it marks it as "mine".
32. I'm paranoid I will get breast cancer.
33. Some people say I have obsessive/compulsive tendencies.
34. Roller coasters scare me, but I rode Rock 'n Roller Coaster at Disney MGM Studios 2 times.
35. I love John Denver.
36. I like to read, but rarely do anymore.
37. I'm into Sudoku right now.
38. I love a brand new box of 64 Crayons.
39. I've never had chicken pox.
40. I hate grocery shopping.
41. I love being a stay-at-home-mom!
42. I like baths, not showers.
43. My oldest son is in the Navy, currently stationed in Italy.
44. I'm a sucker for gift shops.
45. I hate to wear shoes, but I own a lot of them!
46. Wearing a bra isn't so great, either.
47. I love jammies.
48. I drink hot tea every morning.
49. Since my husband and I have been married we have owned 21 vehicles.
50. We have been married 14 years this year.
51. I love Elvis and I have been to Graceland. It was not hokey.
52. Two of my children are considered Gifted & Talented.
53. My husband could be a professional pool player.
54. I'm not too crazy about popcorn.
55. Ice cream, either - I could take it or leave it.
56. I am very organized.
57. I'm a night owl.
58. I hate mornings.
59. I hate hen parties.
60. I like to scrapbook my vacations.
61. When I see a baby be born on TV, I cry.
62. Crying makes me tired.
63. I like to eat out.
64. I wore white cowboy boots when I got married.
65. Swimming with stingrays in Grand Cayman is one of the coolest things I've done.
66. I have ugly hands and feet.
67. I like funny movies.
68. I like to take naps.
69. I love to get mail.
70. I have very vivid dreams.
71. My house is decorated like a beach house.
72. My dream house would be on a beach somewhere.
73. I'm a pretty good photographer.
74. I like thunderstorms.
75. I wish I were an Aggie like Bubba.
76. I like to read the funny papers.
77. I think firemen are sexy.
78. I used to dance with a professional ballet company.
79. I am proud to be from Texas.
80. I can bait my own hook.
81. I don't care for cats.
82. Sometimes a good foot massage is better than sex.
83. I am named after my mother's sister.
84. My family and friends and I watch Miss America together every year and we all wear crowns.
85. I have a love/hate relationship with bathing suits.
86. I was on the drillteam in high school.
87. I graduated from high school in 1987.
88. Jewelry doesn't excite me.
89. I hate to iron.
90. The smell of Pond's cold cream makes me think of my grandmother.
91. I can't stand to smell cigarette smoke.
92. I can drive a stick shift.
93. I let my dogs sleep on the bed.
94. I like to go for a walk in the evening.
95. I sleep hugging a pillow.
96. People have always teased me because I'm skinny, but I've never teased anyone about being fat.
97. I know a few astronauts personally.
98. I wish I could sing well.
99. My in-laws are crazy.
100. I wish more people read my blog.

"I've spoken to the bear's owner and he is not very pleased at all."

At least Naughty Little Boy Dog is not this naughty!