Well, technically it's now my birthday. I'm 31. Yay. I 'm probably having one of the worst ones ever, too. I have a cold and everytime I talk I sound like Bea Aurthur from The Golden Girls. It's also another year without my Mom. And for the 'regular' reasons my hormones are rollercoasting. All of this at one time is a little more than I can take. But, since I have a couple of books to read, maybe I can hide and surface after everything is better. Yeah, OK. Maybe I'll live in a Castle in Scotland, too. And have a staff to anticipate my every need. Ooohhhh, I like that. Anyone have a magic lamp? A few unused wishes to share? Oh, well. I may take a day off of major cleaning at least. My daughter made me a cute card. I know that's she's 10 and a little old for doing that, but I love it. I keep them in a small bag in a basket in my bedroom. Anyone know if jogging 1.5m on the treadmill in 23 minutes is good? After doing that I finished by walking 3.5m.(This was last night, before I woke up with a frog, ribbit, in my throat, ribbit). Ok, am I a redneck because I like to watch Dog the Bounty Hunter? Please say no! The show is ......interesting. Kind of like a car wreck, you just can't seem to take your eyes off it. Well, going to try to sleep. Have a good one. B.

This is what I want to do today. Meet Patches, our youngest kitty.

Here's the tag we had made for my DH last Father's day. You would understand if you ever watched him drive. He has to slow down to get on the Iinterstate and merge with the other traffic. He also thinks Marvin the Martian is too cool. (Total comp. geek)But, I love him.

Here's Dh 'new' car.

So sorry not to have updated the past few days. My laptop's battery went wacky. And on Friday my Dh and the kids and I went to the next state (about 170 miles one way) over to pick up a car for him. We went to look at a Saturn SL2. My DH test drove it and then went in to start all the paperwork. While he was on the test drive, the kids and I walked all over the lot. I found a Honda Civic that was a little older, but nicer. It had a better stick shift (smoother). And more horsepower. It's been 5 years since my Dh has driven a stick. He's getting pretty good, though. The gas mileage is a lot better than our mini-van. My son loves to ride in the 'new' car. Saturday and Sunday were spent doing lots of errands and attending Church. We also had to bomb our attic for wasps, they had a huge nest up there. Which would have waited to take of until the weather was cooler, if not for the fact that our air conditioning went out sometime while we were gone on Friday. They came and fixed it yesterday, but will have to find a new coil for it and will replace it later this week. I have been sooooooo tired and slept a bit late today. I'll post a pic of Dh's car later. I know that I have bored you, I warned you about that. I'll try to have a more exciting life just for you to read about, NOT! Stay Safe(I'm a MOM).B.

Well, I am currently in the last 2 days of refinishing the doors to my Armoire. It is looking very good. It didn't come out the way I had planned. Somehow, it looks really old, like an antique. I'll take it. I was upset at first, but I know that no one will have one like it. I'll post a picture when I am finished with the whole thing. I found a VERY old Christina Dodd book this past weekend. It was from the early 90's, published under the Kismet line. My very, very, very favorite author is Jennifer Crusie. I was checking out her website the other day and found a preview of her book coming out next Spring 2006. I was so excited. It seems like it will be a little different but still absolutely great. I can't wait. My all time favorite (regular, not classic literature) book is Fast Women. I have read that book, gotta be 6 times.
Took the kids for a treat last night. We went and got Krispy Kreme doughnuts. For people who don't live in the South, well I pity you. There is nothing as good as biting into a Krispy Kreme fresh off the line. It almost melts in your mouth. Of course now I'll have to do extra time on the treadmill, but it was WORTH IT! Ahhhhh. My son can eat 3 in one sitting. This is the same child who is the pickiest eater I have ever met. Macaroni and cheese ,cinnamon toast, french toast sticks, soup, applesauce, watermelon and chicken tenders are almost the only things he'll eat. AAGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Try planning dinner around that. When we go out to eat we have to go to a buffet. That way we can pretty much find something for everyone. If I had to pick a dinner of one item that we all eat, it would be pizza.
We have been looking for a good used car for my DH to drive back and forth to work. Something that gets better mileage than our mini-van. We have picked out a couple of models that get great mileage and will be checking out all the ones that meet our criteria this weekend. Wish us luck. It is costing us all of my DH new raise to pay for fuel. Commuting has it's drawbacks. But, Dh is having a great time in his new job. It's nice for him to come home and not have complaints about everything. He's really a good Dh. These past couple of days he has been very sweet, he seems to know how hard this week has been for me. Better run, bye.B.

This is Layla. She is My 'baby'. You can't tell, but she has the prettiest baby blue eyes!

I love my kids so much. But, my daughter really needs to learn to think before she talks. She is now 10 years old and thinks she knows everything. She also talks about everything that flows through her mind. Every thought, every question, EVERYTHING! Except the thoughts you know that we thought at that age. You know, "I hate my parents, they think they know everything. They just don't understand what it's like to be a kid. Like I'll ever need math, anyway." Bwahahahah!! Those kinds of thoughts. I can see them run aross her little brain. I remember being that age. And the curse that my Mom put on me, "When you have children I hope they act just like you!" AAGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! It worked, it really worked. Excpt that I was an only child and I have 2 children. Who. Fight. CONSTANTLY! My son is 3 years old and my daughter being older thinks that means she can boss him around. "You can't do that, don't touch that, I said no!" I have to remind her that I am the Mom. I tell who, what they can and can't do. I also homeschool my daughter. She is entering the 6th grade this year. I have to try and keep her atention on her schoolwork and her little brother is having a hard time understanding why his sister can't play with him. My prayers at night frequently involve the development for MORE patience. I love them so much. I just know that one day I will extend the curse to both of my kids, too. HA! Jokes on them!!
I've been reading a lot of Kay Hooper lately. I swear if I finish one of her books at night, I spend the rest of the night jumping at every little noise. Because, you never really know who the 'bad guy' is. I just finished Chill Of Fear. There was no sex, just a bit of mutual attraction that kept you aware of the interaction between the 2 major characters. I also like the way she introduces you to the paranormal aspect. Giving the characters abilities a possible scientific explanation instead of one that might conjure thoughts of 'woo-woo'. So far, of all the books in her "Bishop" trilogies, I like the best is 'Sense Of Evil'. More heat between the characters and the ending really does make you go "hmmnnn".
I had a comment about reading Sandra Hill, for a light, fun read. Just to let you know. Iread "Hot and Heavy", not to long ago. I really enjoyed it and added it to my keep pile. I have been reading her for years. Her Cajun series is great as well as her Vikings. Her web sites a hoot. She has jokes on there that cracked me up so badly, my DH was shooting little looks at me. With that look on his face, you know the one. "Do I need to call someone? Is she going to be OK? Why me?" Ha-Ha. Anyway, I can't wait to have her release a new book. Bye for now.B.

Today was a hard day. I did not sleep well and then went to church. We had errands to run afterwards and did not get home until after 3pm. Also, it was about a 100 degrees here today. Ugh! I don't do well in the heat, it makes me sick. On the back of my mind is the fact that as of tomorrow it has been 3 years since my Mom died. I miss her so much. She wanted to be cremated and we did so. I have her ashes but have no idea what to do with them. I saw a really interesting thing on the TV today about someone having ashes made into diamonds. It sounds interesting. I am going to look into it. I want some better way of dealing with my Moms ashes instead of them sitting on a shelf. She would so get a kick out of it too. She loved 'Sparklies'. It would also be a way of reminding my kids of their 'Nana'. I can't see visiting a cemetary every year or every couple of years. I don't mean to be so morbid today. It has really put me in a depressing mood. My birthday is a week and a half away and I can't help but feel depressed that She won't be here. On that note, why do guys not get that women (this woman) needs to feel like I'm special at least every once in a while? Sex is great, I don't dipute that, it's when thats the only time you seem to have their complete attention that I hate. And what's wrong with saying our name every now and then instead of talking to you like a piece of furniture? Oh, boy I am in such a funk. Better go and just try a better post later. Have a peaceful night. I need to find a really FUNNY book. Maybe it'll help. B.

As promised my wonderful bookcases, built by my DH for another house we lived in. But, they work for now and we will change them later. Bare in mind that these are my 'keeps'. I just cleaned out alot of books and took them to the used bookstore. Don't get me wrong, I love the public library. I just happen to exhaust their book supply of the books I like every couple of months. I also have a library card for the next town as well. The best library system that I have personally ever used is the Harrison County library system in Mississippi. They were online waaayyyy before other systems. I have to say if I had a choice of places to move to again it would be Mississippi. The people are so nice. The culture is fun and the town we lived in was close to everything. Mardis Gras was a BLAST! My DH misses the crawfish, eeeewwwww. I hated those suckers. Not that Mississippi didn't have it's drawbacks. The waterbugs being foremost. GRRROOOSSSSSSS!!!!!! The humidity in the summer was awful. And the drivers didn't know what a red light was. No, really. Worst drivers in the south, so far. The casinos were ok. Not my thing. If I had an extra $10 it was going toward a new book. I wasn't too fond of the xxx stores every block or so on the strip. (pun not intended)The winters were pretty mild. My favorite time of year being fall, this was not a problem. I did miss the snow that more eastern states get. Where we live now, we only get a few inches every year. If I could live anywhere in the world I think I would live in Scotland. My Moms grandparents were from there. She learned how to say the Lord's Prayer in Gaelic. I used to beg her to say it all the time. I will not however, eat haggis. Nasty!! But, the Loch's all seem very beautiful and I could listen to a Scotsman talk all day. We visit the Scottish games whenever we get a chance. Totally cool. I love to watch the dancers and listen to the bagpipes. I want to learn how to play the celtic harp. Don't quite recall how I got off onto this tangent, but realize if guests are reading this your eyes have started to glaze over. Oh, well. Maybe I'll be more entertaining tomorrow. (don'y fall for it, I'm boring as heck!) Bye for now!

Just want to shout out to Michelle for commenting on my blog. Thank You, thank you, thank you,........you get the idea , right? Also, you know I am a total reader when I'm in Wal-Mart and spend more time in the book section than I do shopping for groceries. My Dh knows we CAN NOT leave Wally's World without me stopping to see if any new releases have come in. He sure does put up with a lot , huh? I spend more on books per year than I do clothes for myself. Thank God for used bookstores. I am new to this blogging thing so when I figure out how to post pictures, I'll take a pic of my bookshelves. Then you'll get to see why everytime the military moved us, the movers probably cursed me out behind my back. On to another track.......My Dh is putting up with alot. We've recently started going back to Church, and ALL of my nice outfits are black. Black dresses galore, not all plain, but still! I think Dh is getting a little tired of it. He tried to buy me an outfit for church this past weekend, and of course guess what I head toward? I finally settled on 'gasp' a black pair of pants and a black lace shirt. You didn't think I would, did you? Guess again! Although, it took a lot of nerve for me to buy and wear pants for church. I was raised in a VERY conservative home. Until, my Mom went a little wild when her Mom passed away when I was 18. Well, at least if I ever have to go to a funeral I'll have an easy decision on what to wear. I also promised Hubby that I would look for some great lingerie to wear under all that black. Then when he sees me put it on he'll go "ooooohhh black!", not "Oh, blaaaaackkkk. " Ha! See why he loves me? !!!
Going to post a list of my FAVORITE writers/authors:
Kay Hooper, Janet Evanovich, Jayne Ann Krentz, Nora Roberts, Maddy Hunter, J.D Robb(Nora Roberts ,aka.),MaryJanice Davidson, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Linda Howard, Katie MacAlister, Jennifer Crusie, Christina Skye, Amanda Quick( Jayne Ann Krentz, aka.), PC Cast, Robin Carr.
And these are only the authors that are automatic 'buys'. Best' Literature' author would have to be Louisa May Alcott. "Little Women" is one of my All time favorite books of literature. Going to pick out a book. Happy Reading!!!!!!!!

Well, Dh has been commuting to his new job for 2 and half weeks now. We truly didn't appreciate the amount of time this new job would take from us as a family. He travels 4 hours every day now, and with gas prices so high, let's just say this sucks. His lovely raise is now being used to pay for gas instead of the things for the kids we had hoped to do. At least he's happy with the job itself. I knew he was so bored with the other job he had working for the same company. Now it will be almost a year before he can possibly transfer to a closer place. I actually have been thinking of when he was in the military more lately. We all miss it. He's been out about 2 years now. (Honorably discharged. ) We miss the sense of community the Bases had. All the friends you make/meet. And the Pride you felt telling somone that you CHOSE to serve your country. Kids in this day and age don't realize that the military is a good thing. You serve your country, you can get your college education paid for, and you do alot of growing up, because the Military is not for the person who is selfish. It's more than just a job. It's truly a life. DH is thinking about going back into the Reserves, unfortunately he has gained weight since he got out and will need to lose about 45lbs. This will be hard, he truly HATES to excercise. I like it, it gives you time to yourself if you do it at home. I walk and/or run 5 miles on the treadmill at least 3 times a week. He's another story. I just need to find a way to motivate him. Dh's favorite excercise is sleep. He can sleep over 14 hours at a time. He finally figured out that it IS possible to read while on the treadmill, so we'll see. Wish him luck. Bye for now, kids=pandemonium.

I feel OLD. I ache all over. We spent Sunday after church sanding off/down our entertainment armoire. I had originally painted it 3 years ago. I decided that we had too much burgandy in our living room. Sooooo, I decided to change it. And dragged my husband in it with me. Mostly because he won't let me touch his Dremel tool thingy. I knew sanding this thing would work better than trying to strip it with paint remover, but DH didn't agree. He goes by, whatever the least amount of physical energy required, use it. So, we bought a paint stripper. HAVE YOU EVER READ THE WARNINGS ON THESE THINGS??? OMG! Every 5 minutes (after sprayning it on and waiting for it to work) of scraping he would hold up his hands(wearing thick rubber gloves) and make sure it wasn't eating through them! Uh-Uh, no way was I going near that stuff. He scraped and scraped and his cabinet door looked WORSE than the one I had sanded the paint off!!!!! ANd I didn't so much say, " I told you so" as let him come to tha tconclusion. However, I do love it when he says, " You're Right ". I love hearing that. So, this weekend we used an orbital sander and his Dremel( for the little nooks and crannies. I had to sand on the floor, because we only had one workbench in our garage. Now, I am so tired I can't think. I guess that's the reason I'll give for boring you. But, it's almost done and I am so proud to be able to say that I did most of it. I'm not good at traditional 'woman' crafts. Like painting or drawing. I can hem a skirt or sew a cushion for my daughter's room. I can't make a dried flower wreath, but I can make a christmas wreath from scratch out of the branches we cut off our fresh tree. I can also cross-stich, but I get headaches from looking at it too much. My favorite thing is to decorate my home or refinish my furniture. But, if you've read other portions of my blog, my FAVORITE, thing in the world to do is to read. Alot. Too much probably. If I don't have a book to read handy I get very moody, twitchy and I can't sit still. My family loves me anyway. I probably have over 200 hundred books on my bookshelves. And I visit the used bookstore weekly and search the library's database every week as well. I just love it when library's have an online card catalog. One of the best inventions on the internet ever! So, time for me to gaze longingly at my bookcase in the hope I have something to read. BTW, yes I may have over 200 hundred books, but I can remember the plot to almost every single one just by looking at the cover. It makes it hard to find something, cross your fingers!

Oh, and DH read my blog yesterday ( I think). He actually rememberd to pick up some perfume for me since I was almost using the fumes left in the bottle. Thank You Sweetie!!!!( Of course it didn' t hurt that I had actually asked him to earlier this week) But, he remembered. He actually remembered!!!!!! Way to go DH.

Reading back over my posts I have come to the realization that I sound like I have ADD. I move from topic to topic so fast I'm suprised ya'll (that's southern slang) don't get whiplash. So, SORRY! Having grown up in the South, moved away, and now have moved back for a while, I can tell you that even though we speak with a drawl and talk slower does not mean our IQ is lower. I have always been complimented on my accent in other parts of the country. Here I am just another southern woman. However, my Mom was from "Up North". She was born in Boston, MA. She moved here in her late 20's and stayed. Why, I'm not sure. But, she taught me to pronounce certain words differently. Like, 'Aunt', which most people here pronounce 'Ant".( I have actually taught my children to do the same.) Do you know I get weird looks when I do it? I do! I also refuse to say the word 'ain't'. I don't like the way it sounds because my Mom didn't like it and I was never allowed to use it growing up. Also, be honest, when you see a Southern person on TV aren't you suprised when they find someone who actually sounds educated? Instead of the women with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, curlers in her hair, wearing a hideous bathrobe saying"........we ain't never seen anythin' like that thar tornado. It ripped right through Buella's trailer." Seriously, you know you do. And to clue you in to a part of my past, my DH was my High School sweetheart. I dated him throughout my 3 years in H.S.. He had already graduated when we met my sophmore year. Annnnnywaaaaaay! We both have brown hair, blue eyes, and have very similar skin tone. Both our Dad's have (had, now gray) brown hair, blue eyes. Both our Mom's are (in my case was) a redhead, with blue eyes. We were out one time and a classmate of mine asked me, swear to God, if he was my brother. I looked at her and said that we may be southern, but not That Southern. Anyway, if you meet someone who talks with a drawl, be aware, we aren't All uneducated Morons. But, we were (usually) raised with very good manners and are likely to wish you a Good Day.

Well, it is now August and my 31st birthday is this month. The anniversary of my Moms death is also this month. Two very good reasons why I hate this month. Also, DH started his new job this week. It's a 200 mile a day commute(both ways). He is gone an extra 4 hours a day. Also, we only have one vehicle, which was OK when he only worked 30 miles away and I could take him to work whenever the kids and I wanted to go anywhere. But now I feel stuck here. I really don't need to go anywhere and I never really did when I could. It's the feeling of being trapped that makes me 'twitchy'. Have you ever noticed that birthdays are never as special as they were when you were little/younger? My Mom always made me feel special. She always made a big deal out of birthdays, even when I was older and married. Now she's gone and I don't really have anyone to make me feel that way. I know my DH tries, but he ALWAYS waits till the night before or the day of my birthday to do anything. And then he just what? guesses? Why then do I bother thinking of things all year long that I could get him for special occasions, mentally file them away, and then weeks before they are needed, purchase them? Is it a gender thing? I know that this post is making me sound like a selfish bitc*. I apologize. I just need to vent. See, I love my DH very much but, I need to be not only told, but shown that he feels the same. Don't I do that when I am out and pick something up because I know he'd like it? Or the thought I put behind every gift? Or the time I take to make sure his clothes are ironed and neatly hung up? Or when I give him little notes when I think he's feeling unsure of himself? So that he has some thing to look at and it's in print that we love him and are proud of him? Why can't he know that I need the same thing from him? I have always been unsure of myself, I am very shy and hate that I am overweight.( I am in great health. I excercise all the time) But, genetics do have something to do with it and I am from stock that is short and chubby. Looks aside, I need to know he loves me for me, not for our sex life or what I do for him. For who I am inside. Someone who is sensitive, honest, nice, loyal, smart and most of all CONSIDERATE of others. I'm not a Saint, my feeling are hurt easily and I get angry easily as well. And when he talks down to me I just want to smack him. I'm just trying to get across that I fell taken for granted. That I help make it possible for him to achieve the things he has achieved. That I show him that I love him and that he is special, not only in what I SAY, but in ACTIONS. There. It's out there in print. I should feel better, but I still feel frustrated and ........lonely. And very, very sad. Night all, I need to have a good tearfest now.