Rules of Royal

I'm sorting and cleaning this week, preparing to pack for our move. And I've found things that I forgot I even had! I cleaned out my desk and found a bunch of the kids' old school papers and stuff - and this priceless gem, a list Princess Daughter made when she was about 7 years old of the Rules of Royal (I tried to scan it but Blogger won't upload the picture, so I'm typing it just as she wrote it in her 7-year-old hand):

1. sit up straight
2. were nice clothes
3. aways were your crown
4. be wise
5. be creative
6. listen good
7. act good
8. take tiny steps
9. learn
10. look
11. have pets
12. ride in a carriage
13. have pretty horses
14. aways have a garden
15. have good manners
16. be nice to everyone

As I do most all of these things, surely I must be royal.

Camera Critters #12

Let's all sing together....."Ebony, and i-vo-ry, live together in perfect har-mo-ny....."

Can you feel the love tonight??

I've been tagged by Well Behaved Krissy for this wonderful meme of Sharing the Love! The rules are to tag bloggers who make your day, make you laugh and smile, and/or leave uplifting comments on your blog. You then include a link to this post, and ask each person you tag to do the same! So I'm tagging these fabulous blogger friends:

• D... - my BFF FOREVER! I have the blessing of knowing this beautiful woman in real life, not just thru blogging, and she is the BEST, ya'll! D... always sees the silver lining in those storm clouds of life, and she is always lifting me up and supporting me (just like a good bra!).
• Stacey - such a beautiful soul! I've gotten to know her thru blogging and feel like I DO know her in real life (and hope to meet her face to face someday!). She has done so many nice things for me, and I'm proud to call her a friend!
• JenGi - met her thru Stacey, and love her just the same! She's an Ozarks girl, so we probably share some hillbilly blood somewhere in our lineage. She's always cracking me up!
• Jenny On The Spot - another Jenny I met thru blogging, but I swear this girl is like a long-lost sister or something! We have a lot in common and her blog is always making me laugh - and touching my heart. I like that.
• Jennie of Preteens, Toddlers, and Newborns, Oh My! - Do I have a thing for Jennifers or what?? Jennie is another soul-sister - we're both married to car guys, we both have Drama Queen teenagers, and our lives are so similar it's scary! So glad I found you, girl!

OK, that's it for today. I could list many more, but it's Friday night, Hubby is home from work, and we're headed out on the town out to dinner somewhere before the kids starve to death. Because where I live it's against the law to cook at home on a Friday night.

Go out and SPREAD THE LOVE, people!

Friday's Feast #48

Appetizer
What is the weather like today where you live?
Hot. Then stormy. Then hot again.

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how career-minded are you?
ZERO

Salad
What type of window coverings do you have in your home? Blinds, curtains, shutters, etc.?
Mostly blinds, but a few bamboo shades. But the new house will be all blinds.

Main Course
Name something that instantly cheers you up.
Puppies!

Dessert
How many times do you hit the snooze button on a typical morning?
For Hubby, several times (I have to wake him because he doesn't hear the alarm clock). But for myself, none - I get up when the alarm goes off.

WWMD?

Sarah over at OK, Where Was I? has a brilliant idea for a blog post - What Would Martha Do? Here's how Sarah describes it:

"I like to imagine Martha Stewart walking around my house and gasping, clutching her chest, or becoming faint and calling for the smelling salts before collapsing on the--well, she can't collapse in my house b/c she probably wouldn't actually touch anything, especially if she knew how many times my couch had been spit up on or been the victim of a diaper leak.
Anyway, I'm turning this into a regular posting of a photo of something in my house or its immediate surroundings that would make Martha lose it......So please, if you're one of those bloggers who, like me, likes to have a back up post for those days when nothing comes, post a photo of something in your house that would kill Martha. Or if you're just kind enough to share so that I don't feel all alone."

Sarah, I am all over that. Here's my first submission:

Would Martha be more appalled that a) this is a permanent fixture in my otherwise finely decorated master bathroom? or b) that the blue plaid cover doesn't match the palm green walls? or c) it's usually piled up with whatever laundry needs to be put away - not ironed, just put away. Frankly, I try to stay away from the thing. It scares me.

If you want to play along - and you know you do - leave a comment at Sarah's blog (and here, too!) so we can all come see what Sarah calls your "hillbillity".

I Survived a Japanese Steakhouse

Today Navy Son left for Annapolis, so last night we took him out to dinner, our last family meal together for a while. He chose a new Japanese Steakhouse - one of those Hibachi places where they cook it all right at your table. Ya'll, it was REALLY COOL! Lots of slicing and dicing and flames and sizzling and tossing of knives around - quite a show! And the food was delicious. I wanted to take a picture of the chef doing his thing, but when I started to pull the camera out all three kids gave me The Look. You know the one. The Look that says, "Mom. You. Are. Embarrassing. Us." So yeah, just imagine how cool it was.

Ironically, as we were waiting for Navy Son to show up last night, we started watching Wipeout, a completely silly game show that looks like it's based on the antics of those crazy Japanese game shows. My first thought was that it was going to be totally stupid, but ya'll, I was cracking up! That show was hilarious! We recorded the show that came on right after it - I Survived a Japanese Game Show - thinking it would be just as funny. Yeah. Notsomuch. Oh well.

So we sent Navy Son off with hugs and well wishes - we know he's going to do great at the Naval Academy! After all, he's done great for the four years he's been in the Navy. This is just another adventure for him. Good luck, Navy Son! See you at Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday - Creole

Kids Are So Funny!

Children Writing About The Ocean...

1) - This is a picture of an octopus. It has eight testicles. (Kelly, age 6)

2) - Oysters' balls are called pearls. (Jerry, age 6)

3) - If you are surrounded by ocean you are an island. If you don't have ocean all round you, you are incontinent. ( Wayne, age 7)

4) - Sharks are ugly and mean, and have big teeth, just like Emily Richardson. She's not my friend any more. (Kylie, age 6)

5) - A dolphin breaths through an asshole on the top of its head. (Billy, age 8)

6) - My uncle goes out in his boat with 2 other men and a woman and pots and comes back with crabs. (Millie, age 6)

7) - When ships had sails, they used to use the trade winds to cross the ocean. Sometimes when the wind didn't blow the sailors would whistle to make the wind come. My brother said they would have been better off eating beans. (William, age 7 )

8) - Mermaids live in the ocean. I like mermaids. They are beautiful and I like their shiny tails, but how on earth do mermaids get pregnant? Like, really? (Helen, age 6)

9) - I'm not going to write about the ocean. My baby brother is always crying, my Dad keeps yelling at my Mom, and my big sister has just got pregnant, so I can't think what to write. (Amy, age 6)

10) - Some fish are dangerous. Jellyfish can sting. Electric eels can give you a shock. They have to live in caves under the sea where I think they have to plug themselves into chargers. (Christopher, age 7)

11) - When you go swimming in the ocean, it is very cold, and it makes my willy small. (Kevin, age 6)

12) - Divers have to be safe when they go under the water. Divers can't go down alone, so they have to go down on each other. (Becky, age 8)

13) - On vacation my Mom went water skiing. She fell off when she was going very fast. She says she won't do it again because water fired right up her big fat ass. (Julie, age 7)

14) - The ocean is made up of water and fish. Why the fish don't drown I don't know. (Bobby, age 6)

15) - My dad was a sailor on the ocean. He knows all about the ocean. What he doesn't know is why he quit being a sailor and married my mom. (James, age 7)

Summertime

This is the forecast for Houston this week - anyone see a pattern here?

Today: partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning, then a 30 percent chance in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 90s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph in the morning becoming east in the afternoon.

Tonight: partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms early in the evening. Lows in the upper 70s. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph.

Monday: partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 90s. South winds 10 to 15 mph.

Monday Night: partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Lows in the upper 70s. South winds 10 to 15 mph.

Tuesday: partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 90s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday Night: partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 70s.

Wednesday Through Saturday: partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 90s. Lows in the upper 70s.


Yeah, it's summertime in Houston, ya'll.

(Took this pic in my van yesterday.)

Camera Critters #11

Woof softly, and chew on a big stick.

15 Years Meme

I've been tagged by Well Behaved Krissy for the 15 Years Meme!

Think back on the last 15 years of your life. What would you tell someone that you hadn't seen or talked to for 15 years? How would you sum up your life? You get 10 bullet points. A list of 10 things to summarize you.

• Fifteen years ago I had been married for 7 months, and we were living in a nice apartment - me, Hubby, and Navy Son, who was just a little kid. In the years since then we have moved 5 times: from the apartment to a rent house when I got pregnant with Daughter; from the first rent house to a nicer one, where Little Son was born (well, actually he was born in the hospital, but we lived in that house); eventually we were able to buy our own house, so we moved again; as the kids grew, we outgrew that first home-of-our-own and bought a bigger one; eventually Navy Son grew up and moved out, and we weren't crazy about the neighborhood anyway, so we sold bigger house to move where we are now. When we moved in a year ago the deal was to rent for a year then buy the house from the owner. Now the owner wants to move back in, so we are facing yet another move - number SIX! Interesting note - every place that we have lived is within 10 miles of each other.
• I quit my job as an office manager for my ob/gyn (yes, my ob/gyn was also my boss) to become a stay-at-home mom, a decision that came with sacrifices, but one I will never, ever regret.
• I have given birth to my beautiful daughter, who is now 14 years old and getting ready to start high school this fall.
• I have given birth to my brilliant son, who is now 11 years old and getting ready to start junior high this fall.

(Suddenly I'm feeling kinda old......)

• In the past 15 years I have been to Disney World 7 times. I love Disney World. We'll be going back again soon.
• I taught dance for 5 years at the same dance studio I danced at growing up, and where Daughter was taking dance at the time. Now she has moved on to focus on drama, and my ankles have given out.

(Feeling old again.....)

• I have had a hysterectomy - another thing I don't regret. Even tho Hubby and I had decided years before that we were finished having children, and he had a vasectomy, the hysterectomy really made it final. That was kinda sad. But the periods? Don't miss 'em ONE BIT!
• I have loved, prayed, and nursed Bubba's Mom thru 2 more rounds of breast cancer (her first was when I was Daughter's age).
• I've watched Bubba grow from a teenager into a wonderful man - seen him graduate from high school, college with a bachelor's degree, and college with a master's degree; seen him marry a beautiful bride who I am proud to call my sister; seen him become a father. I'm so proud of him!
• Most importantly, I have grown so much in my faith over the last 15 years. While I have been a Christian all my life, the joys, the pains, the fears, the thrills have all strengthened my relationship with Christ. I'm still growing, but oh, how far I've come!

I think I'm supposed to tag other people now, but I'll just leave this one open to whomever wants to play. Just be sure to let me know in the comments so I can see what YOU'VE been up to the past 15 years!

Friday's Feast #47

Appetizer
If you could live on another continent for 1 year, which one would you choose?
Europe

Soup
Which browser do you use to surf the Internet?
Internet Explorer

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you know about the history of your country?
8

Main Course
Finish this sentence: Love is…
Love is a many splendored thing. (Hey, no one said it had to be original!)

Dessert
Have you ever been in or near a tornado?
I've never actually SEEN a tornado, but I have been thru tropical storms and hurricanes, which usually have tornadoes in them, so I guess it's possible.

I'm a beach.

What the Beach Test Says About You

You like people, but you're careful about who you get close to. Friendship is important to you... so important that you aren't just friends with anyone. You fall in love with ease and confidence. Even if you've had bad experiences in the past, each new love is a reason to start completely over. You are a passionate person. You are free wheeling, fun loving, and ruled by your emotions. Your sense of humor is very physical. Your facial expressions or spot on imitations of people are hilarious.

The Beach Test

M.I.A.

I've been absent from the blogging world for a few days - several days, actually. Where have I been, you ask? In a pit. A pit of worry and despair. Every day I've had to go back and read what I wrote last week. To try to find hope. And Satan has crept in every day and whispered lies to me, and played on my emotions, and lured me into that pit.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against...the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

I haven't been a very good mother, daughter, sister, friend, or me this past week. To all whom that has affected, I apologize. Instead of letting my faith be strong, I let my emotions affect my beliefs, then my actions, and I ended up a mess. I am ashamed that my faith wavered and that I cried out to God in anger and fear. But once again, my God has been faithful to me, and taught me valuable lessons about trusting Him.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." James 1:5-8

We found a house to move into, and it is beautiful. We're signing all the papers tomorrow and it looks like we'll be moving July 12 - well before school starts, which is what we were concerned with. And while I always knew in my head that we were going to be OK, I now have the peace in my heart that that is true.

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32

Camera Critters #10

I took this one on safari - Kilimanjaro Safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom, that is! This fella walked right up beside our safari jeep (and yes, he's real - no animatronics on this safari!).

Friday's Feast #46

Appetizer
Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist?
Even tho I tend to worry a lot, as long as I have hope I am an optimist.

Soup
What is your favorite color of ink to write with?
Blue

Salad
How often do you get a manicure or pedicure? Do you do them yourself or go to a salon and pay for them?
I have never had a manicure, but occasionally - every few months or so - I will treat myself to a pedicure at the salon.

Main Course
Have you ever won anything online? If so, what was it?
I don't think I've ever won anything online, but I've won things off the radio several times!

Dessert
In which room in your house do you keep your home computer?
I have a study just off my bedroom where I keep my computer (and a bunch of other junk!).

Hope

Daughter is at Church Youth Camp in another town this week - her first time to be away from home by herself. I dropped her off at the church yesterday morning and she comes home Saturday afternoon. I already miss her terribly, and check the camp's website several times a day to get updates as to what the kids are doing and learning about. I pray that she is having a fabulous time (I'm sure she is!) and learning much about Jesus and about life.

But truly, only years and experiences will teach her the real lessons of life. The fact that life is sometimes hard, sometimes scary. Lessons I have learned over and over. Sometimes loved ones get sick. Sometimes there's not enough money. Sometimes people let you down. And sometimes you face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But as Christians we have the Holy Spirit living in us, and imparting eternal life, hope, and spiritual gifts to us. What keeps us from truly experiencing the Holy Spirit? Mainly because we view life's circumstances from our own point of view rather than God's. We pray for God to make things the way we want them to be, rather than praying for Him to show us what He wants us to do. God is not just our "helper" that is outside us; the Holy Spirit resides IN us, and He wants to live life thru us, and this all comes down to trust.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

I know all this, and I believe it. I do. God is GOOD, and He is FOR us. So why, as I face one of those seemingly insurmountable obstacles in my life, am I so stressed out that the muscles in my neck and shoulders are in knots? Why do I worry when God clearly tells me NOT to worry, that He will never leave or forsake me? Why do I believe all that in my head, but can't feel it in my heart? How can I learn to see things from God's perspective instead of my own? How can I relinquish control? I once heard a story about a little girl who sat at her grandmother's knee as she did her needlepoint. From the bottom, the stitching was a mess, with knots and threads going every whichaway, but to her grandmother, who was seeing it from above, it made a perfect and beautiful picture. That's how we are with God. From where we are things look like a mess, but He is looking down from above and seeing the whole picture. I believe we must have a daily dependence on the Holy Spirit to give us the mind of Christ. I may have to read my Bible and pray for peace in my heart every single day. Because if I have no hope, I have nothing.

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." Ephesians 1:18-19a

Just show me, God, where you want us to go.

Wordless Wednesday - Little Toot

Ten Things That Annoy Me

OK, so the REAL topic of Ten on Tuesday this week is "Ten Things That Annoy Me About Work", but since I don't really have much of a job outside the home (I help out at Hubby's work a couple of days a week, and only for a few hours on those days), I decided to just list Ten Things That Annoy Me:

1. having to shave my legs
2. cell phones ringing during church
3. products I like being discontinued
4. everything getting so expensive (gas, groceries, etc.)
5. people who let their kids get up and run around in restaurants
6. people who talk REALLY LOUD on their cell phones in stores
7. people who talk REALLY LOUD in general
8. Hubby snoring
9. people who think the rules don't apply to them
10. having to move again

Just like a kid!

In the floor of my bedroom right now: a squeaky hot dog, a rope, a small stuffed dog (Jax's baby), an old shoe, and a stuffed monkey. What Tango has chosen to chew on: the bathmat he drug out of my bathroom and into the bedroom. Sigh.

Camera Critters #9

Daughter LOVES animals, especially little baby goats! She wants one for a pet, and she wants to name it Billy. Billy the Kid. That girl cracks me up sometimes.

Another One of Life's Ambushes

The letter I received in the mail yesterday:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Bubba's Sis,

I am writing as required by the lease to inform you that I will not be renewing your lease which is due to expire on August 31, 2008. I am planning on moving back into the house myself when the lease on the house I am presently renting expires on September 1. You have been great tenants, but I need to move into a house I own, as my life has changed significantly since I first leased the house. I have remarried and have a baby boy due in about a week and I am also now a stepfather to a 9-year-old boy. Sorry about the inconvenience as I am well aware of the hassles of finding a suitable place to live and the move associated with it. If you need a reference for a different place, I will be happy to give an excellent recommendation.

Thanks again for your cooperation and for being great tenants,

The Landlord


My first reaction: "Oh shit."

My next reaction: Running around waving my arms over my head shrieking, "What are we going to do? What are we going to do? We love this house! We had planned to buy this house from the owner, and now he wants it back?!? AAAAAAAAA!"

My next reaction: Pray. That is always the answer, and I know in my heart that God will take care of us. He will never leave us or foresake us. Past experience has proven to me that God is there, God has us in the palm of His hand, and we will be OK.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Friday's Feast #45

Appetizer
When you drink soda/pop/coke, do you prefer to drink it from the bottle, a can, or after pouring it into a cup?
Straight from the can!

Soup
What television show are you willing to stay up late to watch?
If I DVR any of the reality shows I watch I will stay up late to watch them - Survivor or Amazing Race or American Idol or Dancing With the Stars; I will stay up late to watch Lost, too. Anything that might get 'spoiled' for me the next day!

Salad
Name one person, place, or thing you think of as brilliant.
I think Little Son is brilliant, and not just because he's my son. He really is brilliant.

Main Course
Would you be willing to work 4 10-hour days instead of 5 8-hour days in order to save gas?
Uh - work?

Dessert
If you were a superhero, what would you call yourself?
SuperGRITS
(**GRITS = Girl Raised In The South)

Wordless Wednesday - Ready for the River!

Ten Ways the World Has Changed Since I've Been in School

After a short hiatus from Ten on Tuesday, I'm back in the game! This week's topic really got me thinking. I graduated from high school in 1987 -how is the world different now than it was 21 years ago?

1. Internet
2. AIDS awareness
3. cell phones
4. digital technology
5. Olympic games now played every other year, alternating winter and summer games (they used to play them both in the same year every four years)
6. International Space Station
7. Mars landing
8. terrorism on U.S. soil
9. alternative fuel vehicles
10. gas prices!!!!

So how has the world changed since YOU have been in school?

Amazing Laminin

Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay

One of the great things about living where I do is the abundance of fresh seafood, and being able to eat it right on the waterfront. As far back as I can remember we've been eating delicious meals at the restaurants in Seabrook and Kemah, right on Galveston Bay, restaurants like Pier 8, Clear Creek Inn, and Jimmy Walker's. The only one of those to survive Hurricane Alicia was Jimmy Walker's - it's now a Landry's - and the area has now become quite commercialized. But we still enjoy going "down to the water" to eat - it's just a ten minute drive from our house - and that's what we did tonight. We ate outside on the dock, and our table overlooked the bay. We watched the boats going in and out, watched the tourists walking along the boardwalk, watched the sun set into the water. I love seeing the different names people give their boats - tonight we saw Whine Cooler and Reel Fun and Miss Behavin' - and we talk about what we would name a boat if we had one. The food was delicious. I chose crawfish tonight - some fried, some etouffe - while Hubby went with a shrimp po boy, Little Son had peel 'n eat shrimp, and Daughter - who doesn't care for seafood - enjoyed a fresh salad with grilled chicken on top. There won't be many more days that we can eat outside like that - summers here are relentless, and even nightfall brings little relief from the heat and humidity. But tonight it was perfect - a great way to finish off the weekend!

Camera Critters #8

This one gets my seal of approval!