A Distorted Hello

For those of you who use the program "Hello" to post pics on your blogs, I need a bit of help. For some reason when I select a photo taken with my digital cam which I have saved in JPEG format...it looks fine on my computer...fine on everyone else's computer...and fine when I use "Hello" to select it...but when it actually uploads to my blog, it is distorted. Any ideas on how to correct this? I've tried resizing the pics...to no avail.

Oh Fudge! Literally

"Oh Fudge" has become my favourite exclaimation to use around the house when either I injure myself or something doesn't exactly go in accordance to my plans. It started when I had kids in my effort not to say some of the other ..not so kid-friendly words that begin with the same phonetic prefix. Anyway...I recently discovered that I use that phrase more than I had realized when I dropped the lid to one of my pots in the kitchen and the 18 month old comes up behind me and says "Oh Fudge" in this adorable little baby voice! I had to look twice to make sure it actually came from her and not the older one. I cracked up laughing! I digress. The real story I intended to tell revolves around a chocolate cake that my husband's grandmother made us for Christmas. We had eaten several slices (yummy..it was delicious) and the remainder was sitting in a tupperware cake plate on my stove top in the kitchen. The way our house is laid out, there are two entrances to the kitchen. One doorway into the den/dining area and the other into the main hallway. We keep baby gates up across both entrances which keeps the kids in the den and denies them access to the rest of the house. That is about the only way I can get any work done without having to watch them quite so closely. (Or so I thought). Anyway...the stove in the kitchen sits right next to the doorway which was barred by a gate. I had taken a few minutes to go to the bathroom while the girls were content in the den. All of a sudden I hear Cat scream "No Sister!" followed quickly by "Mommy! Sister's in big trouble!" Oh fudge! I think to myself as I hurry up and finish my business and paper work. I'm hopping down the hall pulling my jeans up as I go and have just finished attending to the zipper when I look up and see what used to be my adorable, pajama clad 18 month old toddling toward me. She is covered quite literally from head to toe in chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. I can just see her eyes peeking out from a completely brown face. It's all over her clothing and between her toes. It's obvious that she has gotten into the rest of G'ma's cake...but how? Did I leave it on the table in the dining room? No...it was on the stove. It was then that I noticed the kitchen chair pushed over to the gate. I had promised the girls a piece after they finished their lunch. Apparantly Ash decided she wasn't going to wait on me to serve her. While Cat sat calmly and finished her meal, Ash pushed the chair over to the gate...crawled up in it...and pulled the cake off the stove into the floor. Luckily for her it landed right side up and the top popped off. She had helped herself to a little bit of cake and a WHOLE lot of frosting!!! I didn't know where to begin to recover from this disaster. There were little chocolate hand and foot prints all over the floors and walls...table...some toys...everywhere! What was left of the cake was sitting in a huge, gooey pile in the floor. I finally decided to clean the baby hands and feet first - at least that way she couldn't make copies of the ones I was already scrubbing off the walls. I finally got it all cleaned up and dumped her chocolate covered rear into the bathtub which promptly turned into a muddy chocolate swap...complete with little vinyl bathtub toy frogs. I was really too stunned to get onto Ash properly. It was one of those situations where you kinda have to laugh to keep from crying. When asked what she had to say for herself, Ash turned her adorable little pigtailed head in my direction...gave me a huge chocolate covered grin...and said "I EAT!" I guess that about summed it up.

In the Spirit of Christmas

I just found this blog today and was struck by this woman's burden to bear this Christmas. Just after hurrican Ivan came through, she was abandoned by her husband who is also purposely witholding from her the insurance money much needed to make repairs on the home she shares with her two daughters. Part of said insurance money was also supposed to be used to replace most of her daughter, Amanda's clothing and belongings that were destroyed by the storm. Up until two days ago... the three ladies did not even have a Christmas tree due to their financial situation. As it is, Dawn is struggling to provide a Christmas for her girls while the soon to be ex-husband intentionally withholds family funds preventing her from succeeding. If you believe this blogger is for real and can find it in your heart to help...here is her blog link. http://overactiveimagination.blogspot.com . I'm sure that anything you can do will be appreciated...whether you make a financial donation, send cards or gifts (even if they are late), or just offer a few words of encouragement and prayers.

God Bless to All
Have a Merry Christmas!

Elf-Work

*Whew* I am ALMOST finished wrapping all the Christmas gifts for this year. I'm done with Santa stuff, I'm done with my household's things, and most of my other family and friends' gifts. I am waiting on two more things to come in that I ordered and they had better come in this week before Friday or I'm going to be seriously ticked off. Anyway, once Christmas is over I'll be glad if I don't see wrapping paper of any kind for a whole year! In addition to wrapping all of our gifts to give, I had to wrap all of my Avon customers' holiday orders as well. My fingers are paper cut and my thumb is rough on the tip from tearing the tape off the dispenser 50 million times. I can't believe how cold it has gotten. They are talking about some snow in the forecast for tomorrow. Ugh! We went with Hersch and Aurora, their daughters, and one of their daughter's boyfriend to Taco Bell for dinner tonight after we exchanged gifts at their house. A little too much running around in the freezing weather for my taste. Oh, and to top it off...Ash (my one year old) dumped a large fountain drink all over herself and the other Ash (Hersch and Aurora's youngest daughter). Being soaking wet in below freezing temperatures is NOT a good thing. I was afraid she was going to turn into a fat little popscicle. We made it home okay though, and got the munchin dry and tucked into bed. I think I'm going to go tuck myself in too. There are several things I need to be doing but frankly, I'm too cold. I would never make it if I lived up North! Going to go crawl in bed with Alan and get warm! :)

Name that Song!

"When there's clouds hangin' in your sky
And they're just not lettin' any light in
And you feel like you'd like to give in
Don't you give up so soon..."

From the Mouth of Babes...

If you don't have children, perhaps you haven't realized how much trouble they can get you into through no fault of your own. When they put their foot in their mouth, they are simultaneously sticking their other foot into YOURS. Or at least that is how it feels as you do the proverbial "backpedaling" trying to take the edge off whatever off-color comment just popped out of their adorably innocent little mouth. Geez! Take dinner tonight for instance. Alan, the girls and I went to deliver a fruit basket that I had put together for some friends of ours. We had never actually been to their home before, and when we arrived, Dan and his wife, Reese showed us around. They ended up inviting us to stay for dinner. It's about 5:30 in the evening and we've had the girls out all day shopping and running errands. Which means that they haven't had their regularly scheduled all-important afternoon nap. So I'm hesitant to accept, knowing what kind of mood the girls will be in if they aren't already. But we hated to just drop the basket off and run, so we courageously accepted the kind invitation. Dan and Reese are an older couple with no children living at home, so there were no toys around and we were unprepared for such a lengthy visit. Luckily, Reese's sister had some of her childhood toys stored in the garage and they were able to find a few things to bring in that would keep the girls entertained for a while. Everything went fine. We eventually sat around the dinner table and were eating our lasagna, salad and bread and making small talk. Out of the blue...Cat starts counting out loud. So Reese asks her to count how many of us there were at the table. (*Hint - there were seven of us - Dan, Reese, Reese's sister, Alan, myself, and our two girls.) So Cat starts pointing to each of us and counting... "ONE...TWO...THREE...FOUR..." until she got to "EIGHT." Dan, who is a larger than average fellow...gently corrects her. "No doll, there are only seven of us...see?" and he points to each of us in turn as he counts aloud again, starting with Reese to his right and ending with himself. "....SIX...SEVEN." he counts. "No..." Cat argues... "You are Seven AND Eight!" Dan's wife and sister-in-law crack up laughing and Alan and I embarrassedly chuckle along with them. Ah the joys of parenthood!

Name that Song!

"I searched the world for a song that I could sing
Praise to my King, a gift that I could bring.
But no music I found could compare to You
Not one could do justice to Your glory.
What are my songs compared to yours?"

Musical Mindframe

Music seems to be a very powerful influence in my life. It was largely due to a contemporary Christian song called "Signs of Life" (which prompted me to buy the album of the same name) by Steven Curtis Chapman, that I became "saved" at the age of 13. I have always had the ability to change my mood or state of mind by playing various types of music. Some songs are energizing - I have to play them when I'm decorating, or cleaning, or working out, etc. Some songs are relaxing - I play them when I need to de-stress and zone out for a while. Some songs...well..frankly....nicely put...make me extremely flirty and rather uninhibited. Then there are those songs that seem to be forever linked to a particular memory or moment in time...whether good or bad. Thanks to some inspiration from Greg at http://straightforwardthoughts.blogspot.com , I have decided to try listing some song lyrics each day. It's up to you to guess which song and artist it is as well as which mood/mode it puts me in! ;) Have fun...and NAME THAT TUNE! :)

"You're only just a dream boat
Sailing in my head.
You swim my secret oceans,
Of coral blue and red..."

If I were 10 Years Younger...OMG Did I Just Say That?!?

My husband is six years older than me. All of my friends are at LEAST six years older..most are around 10 years older than me. Alan and I "hang out" ie..go to family dinners together with another officer that he works with and his family quite often. The officer (whom I will call Hersch and his wife whom I will call Aurora) have two teenage daughters. I am actually closer in age to their daughters than I am our friends. The eldest daughter is 18. I'm 25. Only a seven year difference. Hersch is 12 years older than me and his wife is 17 years older. Well...in a way it's fun because I can hang out with the girls' and their friends and fit in just fine. At least until one of my own kids comes wandering in calling out for "mommy" and I'm forced to eventually answer! hehe! Anyway...at one of the "get togethers" the girls' had some friends over and there was one guy-friend in particular that I was ...how should I say...drawn to. RT just stood out from the rest of the group. He had a great personality, was absolutely (Dang..there I go using Greg's WOD again) adorable, had a good physique (he's a swimmer), and was too funny! Plus he kept flirting with me. So besides the fact that I'm married..what's the problem? He's 16! And I found him attractive! My God I have never felt so old in my life! I told the younger daughter of our friends that she needed to be dating him because if I were ten years younger and not married....PAUSE! OMG! Did I really just say that? Yeah. Exactly. Anyway...fast forwarding about two weeks...I had to deliver some Avon to a lady that works at the local high school yesterday. I was supposed to meet her at 3:30 but thanks to my own kiddies, I was running late. Alan was driving and I was dreading having to actually go into the school to deliver her things. We pulled into the little parking lot nearest the building. School had just let out and there were still kids all over the place. I take a deep breath and get ready to get out of the car and when I look up I see RT walking past us. He sees me at the same time and stops...turns around, and comes over to my side of the car with this big adorable grin on his face. We chat for a few minutes and Alan particpates in the conversation a little bit when he gets a chance. Then I was like..."RT..you wouldn't want to do a HUGE favor for me would you?" and of course he said "sure". So anyway, he took the Avon stuff back in to the lady for me. From the high school we went to our friend Hersch and Aurora's home where I immediatly told Aurora that I had run into RT again and told Ash (the youngest daughter) that she REALLY should go after him before I did! (j/k) I joking told Aurora..."Man..it's too bad he's jailbait!" and then Alan spoke up and reminded me that the age of consent in our state is 16. I said "How old is he Ash?" She goes..."he just turned 16 a couple of months ago..." I looked at Alan and said.."damn! turn the car around!!!" Of course he knew I was teasing and we all laughed!

Measured by a Man and Found...Wanted?

Went out to dinner with my husband and the girls tonight. It was a yucky, rainy, dreary evening. I had just gotten out of a meeting in my home with my district sales manager and had developed (not her fault) a seriously painful headache. The girls were unhappy -- hungry and tired of being cooped up in the house, so we were all ready to get out for a bit even though I wasn't in the mood to "dress" for dinner. I threw on some light-beige colored courderoy pants and my favorite baby pink zip up the front shirt with my initials monogramed on it in white. Pulled my hair back in baby-doll pins on the sides, added just a touch of blush and lipgloss and made a mad dash to the car with a rugrat on my hip (the husband had the other one). We went to the steakhouse about five minutes from our home. One of the only nice, sit and eat versus, carry-out or drive through places in our town. Alan was at the table trying to occupy the girls while I fixed their plates at the buffet. All of a sudden, I hear a voice in my ear and feel the hot air of someone's breath on my neck. "Hey Girl..." the voice said. "Haven't seen you in a while...you're looking good!" I turned quickly while managing not to sling the steaming maccaroni and cheese from the plate in my hand, to see the face of a guy I went to high school with and literally haven't seen since we graduated 6 years ago. You know how it is when you recognize the face but the name just won't come to you. Had I been a cartoon character, you would have seen the thought bubble appear over my head containing a roladex of our high-school roster...cards spinning wildly as my mind seached the recesses of my memory for the right name to answer back with. "Oh Hi....ROGER!" That's it... whew! "So how've ya been?" Pretty good...he replied while leaning in for a hug. (I had to make that quick adjustment so that it was a side-hug...more appropriate for someone you haven't seen in 7 years...right?) Anyway...he's just standing there stareing at me when my daughter, 3 catches up with me and grabs my arm. "Oh my God...is that your little girl?" he asks. When I apply to the affirmative, he asks how old she is...I say 3. "That is one beautiful little girl. Really...really beautiful." he says. I open my mouth to say thanks when he suddenly follows his comment by saying "she looks just like you...both of you...just beautiful." Now I've kicked into the uncomfortable mode, especially as I've noticed, that Alan has noticed my delay. "Um...thanks." I murmer "Good to see you" as I let 3 drag me away by the arm. Whew! Glad that was over. Or so I thought. He stopped by our table again on his way back to his own seat, where I QUICKLY introduced him to my husband and other child. A few more exchanged pleasantries and he was gone again. Then as luck would have it...just as we passed his table on our way out the door, 1 picked that moment to throw her pacifier down. Alan and 3 had already preceded me out the door. I glanced up after retrieving the rejected paci, and my line of vision caught Roger's eyes and he winked at me and waved as I darted for the door. I have to admit that I enjoyed the attention. Not HIS attention so much, as knowing that men other than my husband still find me desirable. I am smaller now, after having had two children, than I was in high-school (except where it counts....haha). Not many women can make that claim, and feeling desirable once in a while is nice. Unfortunatly, Alan just takes it for granted that I am his and it doesn't really bother him when someone else hits on me. Hint to the guys out there: sometimes a little jealously is SO not a bad thing! Let's us know that you noticed someone else noticing...and are staking your claim...AGAIN. ;)

My New Computer!!!

I'm so excited! My best friend, her husband, and her two little boys came to visit us today. We exchanged Christmas presents early since they are going to be going out of town for the next two weeks. Plus, I had given her 3-month old son this adorable Christmas layette outfit that looked like a reindeer and even had a little hat with antlers. It's one of those great outfits that makes the adorable photos for the baby book, that 'R' will kill his mom for showing to his girlfriend in the future. Not quite as embarrassing as the naked baby bathtub pictures...but close. Gotta love 'em. :) Anyway, Kaye's huband has been building me a new computer since last Christmas, and he brought it to me today. It's a long story, but what it boils down to is that my in-laws gave me the Lord of the Rings game (based on the movie with full scenes and all) for my computer for Christmas last year, and my old computer (the one I'm using right now) sucks so bad, that it wouldn't play (or even install) the game, so Jay built me a new one. It's awesome! I have never seen anything like it. It has a gaming mother-board with a video card that alone cost over $130! The side panel of the hard-drive is clear and there are fans inside that change colors, and blacklight neon tubing that keeps all the wires together, and all kinds of other crazy stuff that makes it flash brilliant colors all around the room. And that just the cosmetics....I can't remember all the technical specifics..but suffice it to say...it's VERY fast and the graphics kick ass! So if I should disappear off the face of the earth for a few days....I'm probably on a long journey with the oh so sexy Aragorn...battling orcs and the like on my quest to destroy the ring and restore peace to the world!

New Blog

Hi Guys and Gals!
I have created an additional blog specifically for my online 'bookclub.' It is called Englishrose's Reading Room and can be found at http://readingrose.blogspot.com . So far there are two members...haha...myself and Chuck (thanks Chuck!) and two others who have been invited but have not accepted their invitations yet (you know who you are, so click the confirm link already!) *grin* Anyone interested is welcome to join. Just go to the blog and leave me a comment and I'll send you an invitation. Anyone is allowed to comment, but only members may post to the blog. I have so many new things to share with you all, but alas it's already after midnight and my eyes are crossing, so I'll have to leave it for another post on another day. Just don't let me forget!

Calling all Bookworms!

I don't know how many of you love to read, but I certainly do. Not that I have a whole lot of time on my hands with two small children running around and trying to develope my Avon business as well, but reading is something that I generally try to make time for. I tuck the girls in bed by 8, my husband in bed by 9 (on nights that he has to work the next morning) and then I run to the bathroom with a good book and a bottle of bubble bath! That is MY time. Run the water as warm as it will get without burning my behind....fill it with scented bubbles...(whatever the flavor of the week happens to be)....inflate my bathtub pillow and sink up to my nose in both, the luxuriously scented steamy water and a good book. Granted I've run across a few that were not so good...you still can't prove to me that my life was not enriched even the tiniest bit by my having read them. Even if you learned how to use one single word that you were not aware of....or read one random fact of interest regardless of it's usefulness, then to me the book was worth reading. Having said that, I recently found my list of the most widely read and studied literary works ever, and have decided to continue my quest of attempting to read them all at some point before I leave this world. My question now...to you dear friends....is....CARE TO JOIN ME? If so, I will create another blog dedicated to acheiveing this lofty goal...set up in book club format. Come on...it will be fun! I promise to give you a while to read. I plan to split each book up into chapter assignments to be completed by a certain date. How does a book a month sound? Come on...live a little....live and learn! :)

Literary Works 2

The next 30, in alphabetical order:

The Centaur -
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Crucible - Arthur Miller
Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
Daisy Miller - Henry James
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
The Dead -
Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
The Death of Ivan Ilyich -
Delta Wedding -
Desire Under the Elms -
The Deviners -
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant -
Doctor Faustus - Christopher Marlowe
The Dollmaker -
A Doll's House - Ibsen
Don Quixote - Cervantes
Emma - Jane Austen
An Enemy of the People -
Equus -
Ethan Frome - Edith Wharton
The Eumenides -
The Fall -
A Farewell to Arms - Earnest Hemingway
Fathers and Sons - Turgenev
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Go Tell It On the Mountain - James Baldwin
The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

(to be continued...)

Literary Works 1

I thought I would post this in case any of you wanted to join me in my pathetic attempt to be extra scholarly. Haha. Seriously....the list below contains the most "famous" and most often studied literary works ever (according to data taken from college polls and literature examinations). My attempt is to be able to say that I have read each of these literary masterpieces sometime before I drop dead. (The ones I have read are in red...no pun intended). The first 30, in alphabetical order, are as follows:

A Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakespeare
The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
All My Sons - Arthur Miller
All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy
America is in the Heart -
An American Tragedy - Theodore Dreiser
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
Another Country - James Baldwin
Antigone
Antony and Cleopatra - William Shakespeare
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner
As You Like It - William Shakespeare
The Awakening - Kate Chopin
The Bear
Beloved
Benito Cereno -
Billy Budd - Herman Melville
The Birthday Party
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
Bless Me, Ultima
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Bluest Eyes
The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Candide - Voltaire
The Caretaker
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Cat's Eye - Margaret Eleanor Atwood
Ceremony

Q:What's up? A: My Chin & Spirit

Thanks to all of my wonderful new-found blogger friends for the encouraging messages over the past few days. Things are looking up, and I'm feeling better in all aspects. I'm recovering from my case of "the blues" and a nasty cold as well. My Holiday Open House went pretty well this past weekend. (I will have to post a separate entry about that later). I guess Alan "read" my mood and decided he'd been a bit neglectful lately, because he more than made up for it. He volunteered to take a "holiday" the day before my open house so that he could stay home and help me take care of the girls and get everything set up, which was a blessing. I was stressing about how I was going to get everything done in time. Then, Friday night after my guests had left for the evening, he took me out to eat at my favourite Chinese restaurant in town. The girls went with us, but were obviously really hungry because they ate well and didn't give me any trouble. LOL Afterwards, he suggested that we stop and rent a couple of movies and put the girls to bed early. Another brilliant move. (Chalk up some brownie points). Unfortunatly it was late on a Friday night and everything that we wanted to see had been rented out already. We only ended up renting one movie....Shrek 2. I know, I know...but really...I needed a good laugh and I love that my husband is willing to suffer through something silly like that for me. We turned all the lights out and the room was dimly lit by my beautiful Avon Christmas display and the glow of the Christmas tree that the girls and I decorated the day before. The movie was okay (not nearly as good as the first one)...the snuggle time was much better -- even though Alan fell asleep about 15 minutes before the movie ended. Don't worry...I woke him up! ;)

My Virtual Model

I got bored and found a link to a website where you can enter your height, weight, measurments, body type, etc. and create your own virtual model. Then if you are really bored you can take your model and go shopping in several online clothing stores and "try clothes on" to see how you would look in them. I think the site was http://www.myvirtualmodel.com/del.com/ . Anyway, here I am. It's actually not a bad likeness except for the fact that my face is thinner and I have bangs.

I Just Don't Get It

Why is it that men seem to think that when they say "I Do" they no longer have to say "I love you" and "I want you?" I was a virgin on my wedding day and I often end up asking Alan if he wanted me until he got me and now he doesn't want me anymore. I know that's really not it, but I do get frustrated. He doesn't get that I need to be more than just a Mommy and a Maid. I need to feel valued...to feel that I am important enough for someone to spend 10 minutes out of their 24 hour day listening to what (if anything) I have to say. My husband gets home from work and I apparantly am the fartherst thing from his mind. I understand that he works 12 hour shifts and deals with idiots all day. I get that. Really. But when he gets home, I have been dealing with two toddlers all day. Feeding them, chasing them, cleaning them, playing with them, entertaining them, teaching them, protecting them, kissing boo-boos, wiping tears and wiping bottoms. Yet I still take time to stop what I'm doing...go sit in whatever room he has migrated to, and ask him how his day went....what he did...who he talked to...what about...what went well...what went wrong. Then I fix his supper, feed his children AGAIN...give them baths, brush what few teeth they have at this point...and tuck them (often times kicking and screaming) into the bed for the night. By this point I'm exhausted and ready to turn the "mommy" switch off. Usually as soon as the girls are in bed the "work" mode kicks in and I sit at my computer for an hour or so trying to get some work done while it's quiet. Alan is watching tv anyway and not paying me any attention. At some point while I am working, my husband migrates from the den to the bedroom where he continues to watch tv. Sometimes he tells me he's going to bed in which case I usually immediately turn off the computer and join him. Most of the time though he doesn't say anything, and I think he's still in the den until I cut the computer off only to discover that not only is he in bed, he's asleep without even telling me goodnight. I have to take his glasses off his face (he wears contacts all day and takes them out when he gets home) and cut the tv off. Sometimes he wakes up and talks to me for a few minutes, but gets mad at me if there is something I want to discuss. He wants to go to sleep, he doesn't want to talk to me. But I haven't seen him all day and he hasn't bothered to make time for me. He does play with the girls when he gets home and pays them quite a bit of attention which I am grateful for. But I'd like to be worthy of a few minutes of his time as well. I don't think that's too much to ask. On the rare occasions that we do mangage to go to bed at the same time...if there is any affectionate activity partaken in, 99.9 percent of the time, I am the one who initiates it. About 70% of those times I'm rejected. And it's not just my husband. Sometimes I feel like life is going on without me and leaving me behind. No one seems to have time for me anymore. Not my husband, my mother, my sister...or my friends. If I call...I get put on hold, or they say they'll call back and don't. I swear I'm not a nasty, annoying person. I just don't get it! I am thankful for all that I have and count my numerous blessings daily. My "treasures" are stored in Heaven and not here on earth. My desires are emotional and not material. Does that make sense?

Blue Christmas?

*Sigh* Really, I just did. Sigh, that is. I don't know what it is...a change in the weather, the season, a lack of caffeine, or hormones (as most men would probably say), but I've been feeling a bit blue lately. Slightly depressed. I have to drag myself out of bed in the mornings and force myself not to run around in my pajamas all day. I'm feeling...lonely, useless, tired all the time...undesirable. :( I don't know why. Things have actually been better, so I don't know why I feel this way. I have a big Open House planned for this weekend which I have to decorate and cook for. Things I enjoy. My house is cleaner than it has been since we moved into the stupid thing (big mistake but that's another story). My kids woke up in a good mood this morning...that's a plus. And yet, still...all is not quite right with my world. I need a change of scenery. Alan gets off work at 6 tonight and will be home Monday and Tuesday before returning to work on Wednesday. I wish we could find a babysitter and just disappear together for the weekend. Something we've never done and doesn't look like we'll be able to do for a while. In the short time (only 4 years) that we have been married...we have only been "out" together one time since our first daughter was born three years ago and that was only for a couple of hours. We've never left the girls with anyone overnight or gone anywhere without them (not counting the two nights I spent in the hospital when daughter #2 was born). I kinda skipped over the whole independent, free college years. I went straight from the dorm room, to the alter, and then found myself pregnant four months after that. I just want....I don't know...I know I'm needed...but I'd like to feel wanted and desirable as well. I find myself wishing I could go out on dates again and experience a bit of the single life. Not that I want another guy in the picture...just some alone time with the one I've got would be nice.

Operation Open House

As some of you know, I have planned to host a "Holiday Open House" this year to promote my Avon business and hopefully generate some Christmas sales. (Santa needs all the help he can get this year!) I got the idea to try this venture from a dear friend and fellow Avon lady, Yiota. (Thanks girl!) I woke up this morning and suddenly realized that I have exactly two weeks to finish planning and setting up for this event which is set to take place November 19th and 20th. TWO WEEKS! OMG! How am I ever going to get it all done? My husband has exactly three days off between now and then, so he won't be able to help much. This means that I am left to do it all by myself while attempting to maintain some semblance of a sane household and exert a reasonable amount of control over the daily actions of 3 and 1. My mom is down in her back and unable to help, my sister lives out of town and is busy attempting to graduate college, and my best friend just had a baby! Yikes! I'm on my own for this one! What was I thinking?!?! First of all, I have to find time to get to the library so that I can finish printing my invitations. I have sent out 25 already and have about that many more to post by Monday. Then, considering that people are going to be walking around my house, it has to actually be clean. Not just the quick, throw the toys in the basket, straighten the couch cushions and sweep the floor kind of clean that I usually manage. THEN, being that it is a HOLIDAY open house, I have to decorate. I have made a new wreath for my front door and purchased the ever-popular icicle lights to hang from the roof. I have a lovely Avon light-up snowman to go in the front window, and the new Avon musical nativity to go in the center of the entertainment center atop the tv. I've got to pull out my poinsettia garland to drape the mantle and find my Christmas candles. (I think I used them when the hurricane came through and we lost power...but where did I stash them afterwards??? hmmm.) I've got to dig my artificial tree out of the garage and assemble and decorate it. I still need to purchase a tree skirt as I'm sick of that artificial snow crap that leaves sparklies all over creation. (The baby would probably eat them and the last thing I need is to change an irridescent diaper...fruit loops are bad enough). I am supposed to pick up the rest of my "decorations" from my DSM at our next sales meeting on the 15th. Miss V is allowing me to borrow her entire Avon Christmas display which consists of all the popular products from this year's Christmas brochures. Hopefully, I will be able to derive some orders by displaying them prominently throughout my house. Ok, what next. Oh..the food. Something simple...easy to eat with ones fingers...slightly festive. I've decided on a cream cheese and salsa dip with tostido scoops, a dish of mixed nuts, Hello Dollies (a delectable bar cookie consisting of coconut, chocolate chips, and caramalized sweetened milk on a graham cracker crust... YUM!), and then a plate of apricot scones. I'm also serving my Cranapple Orange Holiday Punch. (Email me if you'd like any of the recipes). Why I have to play Betty Crocker and serve homemade refreshments I will never understand other than the simple fact that I'm far too anal to open a bag of store-bought cookies and dump them on a serving tray. Oh well. Now on to the guest. Each guest will be given a brochure and an order form (oh crap! I knew I was forgetting something...I still have to type up and print out the order forms! argh!) and a pen upon arrival. The brochures will be numbered for door-prize drawings which will be held at 15-20 minute intervals throughout the "party." Each guest will also have the opportunity to reach into a stocking filled with lip balms, mini bubble baths, holiday shaped soaps, mini shower gels, mini body lotions, mini shampoos, mini deodorants, etc. and pull out a "welcome gift." No one will go home empty-handed. Hopefully, my guests will be able to either sit and browe through their respective brochures or tour the room and write down any products they are interested in on their order forms. All available display pieces will be marked with an index card containing the item number and current sale price. I also plan to hang some posters hi-lighting other great "gift ideas." I hope to be able to have four distinct areas in which to display and demo various items. I want to have a Mark. table, a regular Avon table, a Men's table, and a Wellness table. I will also have a recruiting area for anyone who might be interesting in selling or learning more about selling. On each table there will be various products for people to try, samples to pick up, extra brochures and flyers, and ready made gift baskets to purchase. Hopefully I will be able to get everything together in time. My main worry now is that no one will show up! If you have any suggestions, feel free to comment or email! :)

Rubber Eyeballs

Halloween came and went this year without any serious tragedy for our family...which I might add is a HUGE relieve compared to the year I had to walk around the neighborhood in tears of worry and anxiety, excorting my costumed baby and various other kiddies on the trick-or-treat journey, while my husband was hugging the hubcap of his patrol car and being shot at! Yes, this year was definatly mild in comparison. Thank God! Once again Alan was at work, so I met up with the wife and children of his sargeant and the step-daughter of another officer, and we all went trick-or-treating together. The only "rough" spot was when 3 became upset over some Spongebob candy she was given at one stop because as she put so plainly "we don't like Spongebob!!!" Which translates to "Mommy and Daddy won't let me watch Spongebob cartoons on TV." Thank God for Skittles which she, to my embarrassment, received in place of the offending candy. We continued making our rounds and finished up around 7:00 mostly due to the fact that 1 was getting cranky, apparantly not understanding the point of receiving all these goodies in a pumpkin without actually eating any of them yet. By the time we had completed the smaller circle in our neighborhood, 1 had put up with as much as she was going to take and it was time to call it a night. The sargeant's wife and I parted ways, and the step-daugher rode with me and my girls back to her parents' house where Alan was supposed to meet me after work. Well, while we waited 3 helped her teenaged friends pass out candy and scare the crap out of other little kids with this big ugly mask. When she put it on, literally all you could see remaining of 3 was her ankles and light-up Care Bear tennis shoes! I mananged to catch some of it on video for future humiliation purposes. I have to admit it was pretty funny! That is until the teenagers discovered that they could REALLY freak kids out by pulling candy out of the troll-like mask's HUGE nose rather than the candy basket. This resulted in numerous "oh gross" "uggghhhhhhh" and "Oh my God's" followed by several little kids fleeing in tears which of course was then accompanied by teenaged laughter and 3 with hands plantly firmly on what would have been her hips demanding in no uncertain terms to know "what's so funny you guys?!?!" What I failed to notice, in my efforts to keep up with both 3 and 1, is that 3 was sneaking candy out of the basket and eating it in between trips to answer the door. I know, I know, it should have been obvious...but...somehow I missed it. Only when we walked through our front door later that night and I heard three groan "Mommy...my tummy don't feel so good" did I start to question her willpower and ability to handle so much candy without consuming it. We had just made it down the hall to the bathroom when 3 was violently sick. "Are you ok?!?!" I asked. "Yea." She said. "I just ate too many eyeballs." I assumed she meant the little chocolate balls wrapped in decorative "eyeball" foil. In her case they seemed to be made of rubber!

Aging and Angels

My 25th birthday flew in on the wings of angels yesterday. I was awakened from sleep by my three year old and a bouncing baby in my bed. My husband who had gotten up at 5:00am to get ready and go to work had come home around 8:00 to help the girls wake me up and wish me a happy birthday. Sometime during the week he had sneaked to a local gift shop while on duty, because he came into our bedroom bearing two beautifully wrapped gifts with enormous multi-colored bows. 3 handed me two cards first. One from her and her sister, and one from "Daddy" which I saved to read later in private. The card from the girls was a Precious Moments card with a sweet message. At the bottom both 3 and 1 had "signed" their names with their own brightly colored crayon. 3 immediatly offered to "help" me open my presents, and never wanting to be left out, 1 joined in on the fun as well. My husband gave me a beautiful fat little angel baby statue that bears a striking resemblence to our youngest daughter. From my daughters I received a pair of ceramic kissing cherub figurines - the boy and girl angels that are leaning towards each other with pursed lips. So adorable! Later, Alan came sneaking in with my cake plate that I hadn't discovered missing. His aunt had baked a cake for him and the girls to give me. My favourite kind - yellow with chocolate frosting! The celebration was short and sweet as Alan had to get back to work and the girls had to eat lunch and take a nap so they would be ready for trick-or-treating later in the evening. Me...I just sat back and enjoyed the peace and quiet for a while...reflecting on what an awesome man I married and what precious girls we have together. Then I sneaked into my "office" to play a stupid but addicting computer game.

Another Year Older...Another Year What?

Well guys,
Tomorrow is my birthday. 25th birthday to be exact. I don't feel 25. Don't look 25 either...and I have to admit that's some consolation. I could easily pass for a college get...would DEFINATLY get carded if I ever decided to darken the door of a club...(never have), and really...look exactly the same as I did in my senior year of high school except I am (oddly enough) a few pounds a two dress sizes smaller. Go figure. I thought having kids usually had the opposite effect. However since I'm aware that nearly half of the female population would probably kill to be able to make that statement I am in no way about to complain about it! Anyway, I have absolutely no birthday plans. Well, other than taking my munchkins trick-or-treating. Our town and surrounding areas always "celebrate" Halloween on Sat. if it falls on a Sunday. Therefore I will be escorting around town a 3 year old "Clifford the Big Red Dog" and a one year old fat little "Flower". The thing that I'm most upset about, is the fact that my husband has to work all weekend. He just changed shifts at work and before the change he would have been off for my birthday and Halloween. Also, he was supposed to have been off for Christmas this year. Instead this will be his 5th year in a row working over the holidays. He hasn't been home Christmas since we've been together. But that's another story. I'm not sure what time he will get off tomorrow night. Usually it's 6:00, but I'm sure he'll have to take part in the "Halloween Detail" which means he'll probably have to stay over until 9pm or so. There go our dinner plans. Luckily, I've made plans to meet up with the wife and rugrats of another officer on his shift to go trick-or-treating so I don't have to go by myself.

My First Time....

Attending a Sales Meeting!

It was great! Nothing like I had expected it to be. The new District Sales Manager over my district is wonderful! She's friendly, considerate, loves what she does, and it shows. She will go out of her way to help any of us achieve our goals. Truly someone that I can honestly say I look forward to working with as much as possible. Now where...you ask....can you find such an incredible support system? Selling Avon. Become the CEO of your own business, by joining what I refer to as "my Avon team!" The first sales meeting I have ever attended was held Monday night in the back reserved room of a local restaurant. There were maybe 15 other women in the room, besides Miss V (our DSM), myself, and my 3 year old daugther who accompanied me. Miss V starts the meeting by stating that Avon gives her a script to follow for the meetings and the first thing she does is throw them out. Now that's my kind of manager! She knows and stated that we (as representative) don't really care what Mrs. Display Snowman is made out of ...we want to know how to make more money. Right again! Boy..she was on a roll. So she spent her/our time teaching and in some cases reteaching several sales techniques and giving us ideas on how to promote some of the new products coming out in future campaigns. She would stop in between to hand out flyers. To my surprise, my usually shy 3, decided she would make use of herself and quietly slipped off my lap to help pass the papers around the room. This was received by lots of "thank you precious" and "aren't you a doll" comments, and me smiling and shaking my head in wonder and amusement. Miss V continued her meeting and stopped at intervals to draw tickets for door prizes. My number came up third and I allowed 3 to go up with me to the BIG TABLE to pick out a prize. The table was laden with all kinds of Avon goodies from perfumes, to lotions, lipsticks, and candles. There were a few items from the accessories/apparel and children's section as well. As soon as we got to the table, 3's little eyes lit up and she began squeezing my finger tightly. I followed the direction of her vision...and saw it. There on the table in all her glamour was Avon's First Edition, Collector's Series Winter Velvet Barbie! It sells in the brochure (if I'm not mistaken) for at least $39.99! 3 looked up at me with those big, questioning, shiny eyes....and well...who could resist that silent (well-behaved) plea. Needless to say 3 and I were accompanied home by none other than Miss Winter Velvet herself.

100 Random Things About Me... Part 4

76. My porn-star name would be Shasta Cannon (your first pet's name and the name of your current street)
77. I will try most things once (as long as no danger is involved).
78. That is how I discovered that Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies really ARE yummy!
79. I have never tried smoking or drugs..and never will.
80. I have only had one alcoholic beverage in my life.
81. It was a B&J Strawberry Daquiri wine cooler.
82. I used to hate the color pink...now I like it...but only the pastel "baby pink"
83. I prefer the King James version of the Bible
84. Most issues for me are black or white...there is very little gray area
85. I always know what I want...sometimes I get it.
86. I have strong emotions...and good instincts...usually
87. I'm usually right
88. However, I'm not afraid to admit it when I'm wrong.
89. I sleep on two pillows
90. I sleep under a blanket and fan year round
91. I'd rather be cold than hot.
92. I love to play tennis but rarely get the opportunity
93. I like to ice skate..but suck at it.
94. I've never been bowling, but would love to try.
95. I rarely dream when I sleep.
96. When I do, sometimes they are like photographs..no motion.
97. Sometimes my dreams are like premonitions that come true.
98. I'm sensitive to medications..including sinus/allergy pills and Tylenol.
99. I have strange dreams when I'm taking medicine.
100. I'm fairly certain pink elephants and purple hippos in tutu's do not exist.

100 Random Things About Me... Part 3

51. I have been cutting/styling my own hair since I was about 11
52. I am ambidexterous
53. I eat, write, and brush my teeth left-handed
54. I sew, use scissors, and do everything else right-handed
55. The second toe is longer than my big toe, but only on one foot
56. I twist or play with my hair when I'm nervous or concentrating
57. I like to be busy
58. I can do about six different things at once...ie..phone/tv/internet/eat/read/write
59. I like to be in control of most situations
60. Things that I can't control make me nervous
61. I was an English major in college
62. I took about 6 years of Spanish classes
63. I love the outdoors
64. I'm highly allergic to insect bites
65. I'm afraid of the ocean
66. I'm also afraid of storms
67. I have many craft projects in progress at once
68. I get bored easily
69. I like to bake anything..bread..cookies..cakes..etc.
70. Baking is soothing to me...
71. I LOVE the kind of nachos and cheese you can get at a ballpark
72. I don't like hotdogs.
73. I don't like pork...except for bacon once in a while
74. I like being known as the creative/artistic one
75. I have a younger sister who could not be more my opposite

100 Random Things About Me... Part 2

26. I collect "pigs"
27. I still sleep with a big plush pig named Hampton that my husband gave me when we were dating.
28. I hate feet (except tiny pink baby ones).
29. I collect anything "Precious Moments" by Enesco
30. My favourite male vocalist is Steven Curtis Chapman
31. My favourite female vocalist is Rebecca St. James
32. My favourite musical group is Avalon followed closely by Newboys and Smalltown Poets
33. I would be a Scorpio if I believed in astrology and horoscopes
34. My favourite color to look at is blue
35. My favourite color to wear is wine/burgundy.
36. Sometimes I keep watching the cartoons even after my daughter has left the room
37. I'm glad that Care Bears, Rainbow Bright, and My Little Pony have made a comeback
38. I can only eat pb&j sandwiches with apple jelly
39. My favourite ice cream is vanilla with Hershey's syrup
40. I like Blue Bell's Rocky Road if I'm feeling adventurous
41. I'll try just about any crafts related project at least once
42. So far cross-stitching is still my favourite.
43. I love to take a long bubblebath with a good book
44. I have been known to occasionally fall asleep in the tub
45. I think everyone's personal vehicle should have a name...mine is "Tory"
46. I love to cook...if someone will help me clean up afterwards
47. I love the way everything looks really green right after a hard rain
48. I like the smell of burning leaves or a woodburning stove in the fall/winter
49. I'm not all that fond of swimming...
50. I'm more likely to remember your phone number than your name.

100 Random Things About Me... Part 1

1. Autumn is my favourite season
2. I prefer to spell "favorite" the Old English way "favourite"
3. My birthday is the day before Halloween
4. My favourite cake is yellow with milk chocolate frosting and little mellowcreme pumpkins on it
5. I no longer actually EAT the mellowcreme pumpkins..don't ask me why..I dunno
6. I consider myself a romantic
7. I love Shakespeare...and anything related to it...books, movies, etc.
8. I love to read.
9. The longest book I've ever read was Gone With the Wind...well over 1000 pages.
10. I read Gone With the Wind in about 6 hours and then proceeded to read the sequel..Scarlett.
11. I am allergic to cats
12. I love dogs..especially when they are puppies!
13. I have a black and tan mini dachshund
14. I can only drink coffee if it's cold out or my throat hurts
15. I LOVE Starbuck's French Vanilla Cappuchino
16. I cry when I'm sad or watching/reading a sad movie/book
17. Sometimes I cry when I'm really happy too
18. I love baseball.
19. I'm a huge Atlanta Braves fan.
20. I collect baseball cards.
21. I sell Avon
22. If I wear makeup, I like it to look natural.
24. I cut my own hair
25. I like my pizza with ham, pineapple, and mushrooms

Impatient in Alabama

Ok. So I'm attempting to breach the land of Leadership in Avon. So far...I can't claim total success. I just had my first recruiting appointment last Monday and it went really well. I mailed the signed contract to the Atlanta branch leadership office on Tuesday. A week ago. Now I realize that today's snail mail (while not as trendy and lightspeed swift as email) is still an improvement over the Pony Express. Maybe I'm just getting impatient. Ok..alright..I'll admit it. I passed impatient already, but you don't understand. I NEED to get this contract confirmed. My recruit NEEDS to be able to place her first order. I NEED my recruit to have at least a $50 order, and I NEED to be able to sign up at least 2 more recruits in the next 2 weeks! My life would be so much simpler if I just knew when and if that stupid...albeit very necessary contract had been or will be processed and when my online YourAvon.com MANAGE page will be updated with my link allowing me to process those lovely, wordy, pain in the you-know-what contracts online, rather than relying on the little slug to carry it from my small town post office, through heavy traffic, dodging squealing car tires along the way...to the branch office in Atlanta! *whew!* Thanks for letting me vent. I feel somewhat better (well, other than the impatience gnawing at my stomach and pressing vice-like on my chest making it oh so difficult to draw in that precious oxygen). Fellow Avon ladies...Leadership members...someone...anyone...feel free to comment! Really! :)

Bouncing Back

After our yard sale a few weeks ago, we decided to use some of our proceeds to get my oldest daughter the new carseat she had been needing for several months. "1" had outgrown her baby seat and was ready for the next step up which unfortunately for her, "3" was still inhabiting. So after the yard sale we purchased a new youth booster seat for "3" and gave "1" her hand-me-down carseat. Worked out well for both girls. "3" was really proud of her new ride. The first time she "test drove" her new seat, it was nighttime. "Mommy! It's WONDERFUL!" she exclaimed. "It's SO pretty!" This was the commentary of a child who was discovering for the first time all the street lights, traffic signals, and buildings lighting the darkness from the new perspective of her mobile world; having been previously unable to see out the side windows of our car. Today however, my husband and I made an unfortunate discovery. Somewhere in all the excitement of the new carseat and extended view, we had forgotten some vital information. As children, both my husband and I suffered the malady of motion-sickness. To be more specific...car-sickness. This thought never crossed either of our minds until we were on our way to my husband's doctor's appointment in a town about an hour from home. We started our journey alone..just the two of us this morning, as my mother had come to babysit. Alas, "3" chose today to have a separation anxiety attack and so we opted to allow her to accompany us while "1" stayed home and entertained her Nana. Up until now, "3" had only been in the car for short distance rides: to the grocery store...to Nana's...downtown...etc. Once again, this never crossed our minds UNTIL...we were about 10 minutes from the doctor's office. The ride had not been a smooth one. We traveled at greater speeds than usual, for longer distances than usual, around more curves and turns than usual, with apparently more ignorant drivers than usual. (We were cut off and nearly run off the road twice). All of the occurrences in combination obviously did not sit well on "3's" stomach. With no warning, 3's latest snack of chocolate milk and teddy grahams came back with a vengeance spraying the back of my seat, covering her clothes, and saturating a completely horrified stuffed "Nemo" fish. I flashed my ass to the downtown metro world as I dove head-first over the front seats in an effort to catch the geyser in the ever-ready Walmart sack I found floating around the floorboard. It was over as soon as it had begun and with the imperturbable attitude of a small child, "3" announces in a calm voice... "My tummy feels better now." I wish she had hinted to me that it didn't feel well in the first place. Oh well. Live and learn.

Ivan the Terrible

Hurricane Ivan came roaring through this past Thursday with an angry demeanor, leaving destruction and despair in its wake. I believe it was still classified as a category 4 hurricane when it reached landfall near Mobile, Alabama. The eye passed over Mobile, but the areas on the left side of the hurricane received the brunt of Ivan's force. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach suffered large amounts of damage, as 90% or so of the beachfront condo's (including one owned by a cousin of my family) were flattened. Dolphin Island reported 100% decimation. By the time Ivan reached us here in Central Alabama, it had been downgraded to a tropical storm but it still showed fierce intent to wreak havoc where it could. Many old/large trees either lost big limbs or were uprooted completely...crushing whatever had the misfortune to by lying in their paths: cars, buildings, homes, churches. The roof on a local business was peeled back to the ventilation system, and several storefront windows were shattered by flying debris. This is to say nothing of the hundreds of locals without power due to damaged or fallen lines, exploded transformers, and blown fuses. State wide the number of people sitting in the dark reached well over one million. Our power was just restored this morning about 7:45 a.m. The day that Ivan made it's appearance in our town, my husband was working. I packed up my kids, a few pieces of clothing, diapers, water, non-perishables, and flashlights with new batteries and headed for my grandmother's much sturdier brick home where I rode the storm out in comfort with my grandmother and mother. My husband popped in and out when he could to dry off, grab a bite to eat, and report on any damage our town had suffered thus far. Afterwards we returned home to assess the damage and were pleasantly surprised to find only a scattering of small tree limbs and other debris strewn about the yard. The house was fine other than being hot due to the lack of power needed to run the air-conditioning. None of my family had any power, but some friends of ours did and we spent the night and next day with them. Our 95 degree home was just too hot for my babies to stand. Especially "A" as she was running fever as a side-effect of some booster shots she had the previous week. Last night it was cool enough in the house with all of the windows open, to return to our own beds. This morning I awoke to the sound of chainsaws clearing streets and powerlines of fallen limbs...and then I heard it. The wonderful beeping of alarm-clocks and various other electronic devices throughout the house signifying that our power had been restored once more. I glanced up at the ceiling where the bedroom fan was slowly starting to come to life after 4 days of hibernation. Time to get up. There was a refrigerator to be cleaned out and chores to be done. It was going to be a long day.

To Make a Long Story Short(er)... Part 2

I knew he promised to come back to me, but it was more than I could hope to believe at the time. But he did. He got home late Friday night/early Saturday morning -- threw everything he could (in order of importance) into the back of his little pickup, called work and quit his job, then at the last minute told his family he was leaving. They were shocked. (To this day I still thing some resent me for his decision to move 800 miles away). When Alan called me on Sunday, he said he had a surprise for me. 5 minutes later, he was on my front steps. I nearly died. I laughed...cried...tears of pure joy. A weight had been lifted from my heart and I could breathe again. I was back in Alan's arms...where my heart knew I belonged. He moved in with his aunt and uncle until he could get a job and find a place of his own. They are like second parents to us now...we both practically lived there that year. Alan was hired by a local police department and enrolled in the Police Academy. That was difficult because we were separated for a while. He was there, and college had resumed for me too. Six months after we met, on December 23, 1999...Alan asked me to marry him. Six months later on June 23rd, our wedding was held in my grandmother's home infront of our immediate family. It was short, sweet, simple and completely perfect. I was 19 when we got engaged...20 when we got married....21 when our first daughter "C" was born, and 23 when her baby sister "A" made her entrance into the world. We've been happily married for 4 years, and as I think back on it now...how two 8 year old little girls managed to keep in touch for over 13 years is more than amazing. It's an act of God...the God that brought me my husband...my soul-mate...my now and forever best friend.

To Make a Long Story Short(er)... Part 1

I finally realized the chapters in that last post could go on and on...so here is the "Reader's Digest" version of the ending.

Alan and I spent the entire weekend together stealing precious moments together while we helped his brother's family move into their new house. He stayed with his grandmother for the following week and we were together 24/7. Somehow, my curfew at home magically dissolved, and my Mom stopped waiting up on me to come in. Alan and I would spend the day together, go out, come home, eat dinner, rents some movies and fall asleep together on the couch in his g'ma's living room. Then we would wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning and he would hurry to get me home before my parents realized I hadn't made it in yet. (Later I realized that they knew perfectly well what time I got home each night...but wonderfully decided not to make an issue of it). Getting out of his truck after only our second date, I told him I loved him. (Something I had never said to anyone else). I didn't want him to feel like he had to say it in return so I jumped out (hitting my head on the door) and ran into my house. He called me within five minutes...his only words... "I love you too." Our week of bliss passed much too quickly, and before I realized it Friday had come. It was time for Alan to return to Texas. To his family...his job...his life without me. As we stood in my driveway in a pathetic attempt to say goodbye, something happened. The wind changed....the mood shifted....and I was questioning my own hearing ability as I heard Alan promise that he would come back to me...for me. Letting him go was to this day the hardest thing I have ever done. My heart broke and tears poured down my face as I watched his little purple truck round the corner at the end of my street and drive forlornly out of sight. I cried myself to sleep that night, and didn't want to get out of the bed the next morning. Nothing mattered. He was gone.

My Best Friend - Then and Now... Part 8

The clock finally struck 5:00 pm. Closing time. My heart was pounding so loudly inside my head that I was sure Alan could hear it too, as we walked in silence out the front doors to the street where his little purple (yes, I did say purple) Chevy S-10 pickup waited patiently by the curb. Alan finally spoke up, breaking the tension like a baseball hit through a glass window. "You look nice" he said. "Thanks...so do you." I replied. When we reached his truck, Alan opened the passenger door for me. (Score 1 point.) When we got in and fastened our seat belts, Alan reached into the center console and handed me something. "I thought you might like this" he said. It was the new Avalon cd and two baseball cards from his personal collection in a plastic collector's sleeve: Chipper Jones and Tom Glavine rookie cards. "He knows me so well already" I thought. (Score 10 bonus points). A cd by Smalltown Poets was playing as we drove in silence. There are not any good places to go on a date in our little town, so the nearest metro area is about 45 minutes away. I don't think I even asked him where we were going. It really didn't matter. I was finally with Alan, and instinctively I trusted him from the beginning. He ended up taking me to Macaroni Grill for dinner. I had never eaten there and it was great. I love Italian food, and they had every kind of pasta imaginable. I had some kind of chicken, mushroom parmesean fettuchini. I don't remember what Alan ordered. But I do remember that the place settings were served ontop of this huge sheet of paper and there was a basket of crayons along with the condiments in the center. I was too nervous to put much effort into my artwork, so while I drew the typical "girlie" doodles...hearts, flowers, smiley face sunshines..etc, Alan amused me by drawing cartoon characters while we waited on our dinner to be served. After dinner we went to the theatre where we decided to see the first of the new StarWars movies: Episode I. It was one of those great theatres with the removable armrests, so we sat close together -- Alan's left hand holding mine in his lap, his right arm around my shoulders. It was perfect, and the movie was great. (Later he bought me the DVD). We sat closer together on the way home than we had on the drive up, my knees angled towards him, his hand holding mine except for when he had to shift gears. (Dang and blast stick shifts anyway). I don't remember what we talked about now. Everything and nothing I'm sure. We got back to his grandmother's house where he was staying about 10:00 that night. (I had to be home by midnight). There were still lights on inside, and we hated to break the mood by going in, so we just sat for a while in his truck listening to the radio. Finally, by some non-communicated agreement we must have decided it was time to go in before someone came out to see why we were still sitting in the driveway. To this day I still don't know who made the first move. Whether he leaned over, or I leaned in...I guess it doesn't matter. "I wish the same for you...a chance for love" lilted in the background as we kissed for the first time. How can I describe it other than sheer perfection? It wasn't very long, nor all that intense, but it was perfect. And in that moment I knew with sudden clarity.... that this was the man that I would marry. This was my future husband. (To be continued).

My Best Friend - Then and Now... Part 7

That delicious voice was the first thing I heard every morning and the last thing I heard every night from April 12 to June 5th. By this time I was home for the summer and working at the local public library. Alan and I had been planning to meet in person back in May, but unforseeable obstacles kept popping up, blocking our path to each other. I wrecked my mom's new car and totalled it out (not my fault..thank God!). Alan's truck broke down and he injured his neck while working on it, and that ultimatly is what delayed our union. I can imagine it would not be easy to drive 800 miles with a stiff, sore, aching neck...so our meeting had to be delayed two weeks. On June 5th, he told his family that he was coming here to help his older brother (the one married w/ kids) who was getting ready to move the coming weekend. (But we know why he was REALLY coming.... ME! haha) It's about a 14 hour drive from Houston to my hometown, and Alan got to his grandmother's home (where he was planning to stay) very late the night of the 6th. He called me to let me know that he had arrived in one piece, and made arrangements to pick me up from work the next afternoon. Despite the state of contentment and bliss his phone calls always left me with, I was unable to sleep. I had that anxious nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach like a little kid waiting for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Only this was so much bigger...I was going to meet the man I knew I was destined to be with...my soulmate...in about 16 hours. I made it through the next day only with maximum effort and concentration. The "old ladies" I worked with, who had finally coerced the story out of me, had been teasing and taunting me all day. Finally the end of my workday was drawing to a close, not unlike the invisible vice that was slowly tightening around my chest, making it difficult to breathe. I was a wreck. I didn't know whether to run for the door or the bathroom to be sick. I was replacing the last cart of books in the stacks at ten 'till five when Alan arrived at the already locked front doors of the library. Guessing that he was my mystery date, the ladies let him in. When I returned to the front desk to gather my belongings...there he stood, smiling at me. My mind exploded into a thousand random thoughts...my heart stopped beating...I forgot to breathe...but thank God I did NOT forget to smile back, though I'm sure my blush could have lit the deepest, darkest cavern. (To be continued...)

My Best Friend - Then and Now... Part 6

I had to end it...and fast. My tender sensibilities would not allow me to continue my relationship with "Phil" when all I could think about night and day was Alan and when I would get to chat with him next. He consumed my every thought and action. I was completely obsessed. Luckily for me, the obsession seemed to be mutual, though I will be the first to admit it was stronger on my end. But then I knew something that Alan had yet to realize. I will explain about that later. I decided to be completely honest with Phil. Yes, I cared about him deeply. I loved him....just not the way he wanted me too. I just came right out and told him that there was someone else in the picture to whom I found myself inexplicably drawn. It was more than that really...I felt as though God had sent me a message in the clearest form... like being zapped with a lightening bolt. When I came to, all I could hear was the voice in my head saying "he is the one" and then my own inner voice who said "better not screw it up!" Being the Godly man he was (and still is) Phil understood, though I know I caused him pain. We didn't speak for over a year because ...well..to put it frankly, he wasn't over me yet. I talked to him again several months ago, and though he has moved on now... at age 28, I am still the only person he has ever kissed. (At least I know his first and only kiss was a good one! haha) Enough of that, now back to Alan. I couldn't believe how fast things seemed to be moving...as if I could actually feel the Earth rotating on its axis beneath my feet. It had only been three days since we had begun talking online and I was already well on my way to being in love with this guy. And then came April 12th -- the first time he called me. Knowing that he was about to phone, my stomach was churning. More pteradactyls than butterflys, I almost felt sick. Then it rang. Once... (let it ring) Twice...(didn't want to seem TOO eager)...Three times....(third time is the charm right?) I reached for the receiver with trembling fingers... "Hello?" I said. "Hey Baby" came the reply. Oh God that voice! As smooth and rich and soothing as homemade vanilla icecream on a hot summer day. As sexy and irrestible as that ripple of choclate syrup swirling around the bowl. (To be continued...)

My Best Friend - Then and Now... Part 5

In April, my prayers and messages were answered. I found JJ again, and we began chatting online...catching up on all that we had missed in the time that had passed. She had just gotten married to a guy 6 years her senior in January. (I knew she was engaged but didn't know about her wedding until we talked again.) The sad thing is, that I discovered that we didn't have very much to talk about. I know that I had changed, but so had she. The watercolor painting of the person I had thought of as my best friend for so many years was no longer an accurate portrayal. However, to my surprise and delight I had discovered a new friend. Yep, you guessed it -- her brother, Alan. We met nearly every night between 7 and 10 pm. to chat online. There was a strange kind of bond forming between us that was astonishing to us both. We already knew a great deal about each other, because of our past familial ties, yet words cannot even begin to describe the immediate connection we shared. Somehow I was able to sense when he was online. I could be in the middle of a phonecall, class, or meal and just KNOW that Alan had signed on. And THAT's where the trouble began. I was getting seriously addicted to this guy. Not just any guy..my best friend's brother. And I had another problem. I had just begun a new relationship with a guy from another school -- an extremely sensitive...extremely religious guy...who at the age of 24 had never been kissed...until me. Oops. (Too be continued...)

My Best Friend - Then and Now... Part 4

I was surfing... the internet that is. Scrolling through hundreds of "white page" entries in search of my childhood friend who went MIA on me. As I had no current address, I was forced to enter her father's name and the city where she lived last. I had two problems: 1) Houston is a big ass city with millions of people 2) JJ's father was unlisted. I was just about to give up hope and shut the computer down, when out of nowhere a message popped up on my screen! Guess who it was?!?! No, not JJ, but it WAS Joy! She had found me through a people search on AOL's Instant Messanger program! AND she had all the information I needed to get back in touch with JJ. She even had a screenname for her that I could use to find her online and chat with her like Joy and I were doing at that very moment. I quickly plugged JJ's screenname into my "buddy list." She wasn't online, but according to Joy, her older brother was. "Alan" was the brother I had never met. Oh, I had spoken to him on the phone once or twice while attempting to call JJ, but he was six years older than JJ and me and I wasn't even sure he still lived at home. For all I knew, he could be married with kids and living in another state. But what did I have to lose? I entered his screenname into my buddylist as well and continued with my quest to get in touch with JJ once more. I sent Alan a message telling him who I was, and not really expecting him to answer. After all, I was just a friend of his kid sister. Why would he want to talk to me? I don't know...maybe he was just bored that night, but he answered that message...and many many more. (In the famous words of the infamous Birdie... TO BE CONTINUED...)

My Best Friend - Then and Now... Part 3

That heartwrenching letter was the first in a long series that spanned 13 years. JJ slowly became adjusted to her new environment, new school, and new friends. We wrote letters back and forth constantly, either sending or receiving one each week over the next two years. Then the frequency dropped to one letter each exchanged per month for the next 3 or 4 years. We exchanged friendship bracelets, school pictures, and stories by the dozen. Stories of school and family, first crushes, first dates...all the things two now teenaged best friends should tell each other in confidence. We formed our own club (several times). Then we added a third person to our intimate circle. "Joy" was JJ's best friend in Texas whom I got to know through letters and pictures (and by this time, online chatting had developed as well). One summer JJ came back to visit with family here for a week, and JJ's oldest brother (who was married with a little boy) took us to the movies to see Batman Forever. It was the only time in our 13 years of correspondence that we actually got to see each other in person. Eventually the letters that had begun weekly, then monthly drifted farther and farther apart. I would receive a letter every 4-6 months. Then just on special occasions, like my birthday or Christmas. Finally...the letters stopped coming completely. Two years passed with no word from JJ, and since she and her family were known for frequent moves, I had no idea how to contact her. By this time I was a sophomore in college, and quite familiar with the "world wide web" so I decided to go online and try to find her through the People Finder white pages...then something wonderful happened that changed my life forever!

My Best Friend - Then and Now... Part 2

It was summertime. The days were long and full. So much to do and so little time to do it before school started back in the fall. The summers seemed much shorter then. But that summer..the summer after third grade was probably the longest of my life. "JJ" and I talked on the phone at least every other day. About nothing and everything all in the same breath. (She usually called me because my mom was stricter about telephone usage. I wasn't allowed to call but maybe once a week). It was about the second official week of summer vacation and suddenly I realized, she hadn't called me in three days! Three days stretched to five...five to seven...a whole week had passed with no word from JJ! I couldn't begin to imagine what had happened. Mom tried to tell me that maybe her family was on vacation, but I knew better. She would have called to tell me where they were going, her little voice full of excitement over the prospect of a new adventure, and promises to bring me back something special. She was NOT on vacation. And then it came. The letter. "Private!" it said on the back. For "English's eyes only!" For me? From Texas? I didn't know anyone in Texas, and I never got letters. What was happening? Only one way to find out. I opened it. I read it once...twice...three times, still not comprehending. It was from JJ. A blurred, tear-stained letter full of a child's anguished disillusionment and pain. Without any warning JJ's parent's had packed up the kids and as many of their belongings as would fit in their stationwagon, and moved more than 800 miles, from our small Alabama town to Houston, Texas - leaving everything else behind... including me. This was the beginning of the end...or was it?

My Best Friend - Then and Now... Part 1

I liked her pigtails. It was that simple. She was sitting in the corner by herself - the new kid - wearing bright pink oshkosh overalls and a pink, purple, and green striped shirt. But it was her hair that I really noticed. She had the most beautiful long, blonde, cornsilk pigtails that ended in curls. Being the daughter of a tomboy who never played with dolls and never learned to fix hair, I was envious. I hated my hair...dark brown, chopped off at the ears, with uneven, unruly bangs that separated into a V in the middle. I just had to talk to the girl with the pigtails. Her name was "JJ" and we played together on the playground. We discovered that since we were almost identical in height and weight, we could sit level, perfectly balanced on the teeter totter at recess. Well that sealed the deal. We were meant to be friends. Through the end of 2nd grade and all through third, we were inseparable. She's the first person I ever called on the telephone. The first person I ever wrote notes to, or rode home from school with. She was more than a friend, we were sisters. We signed letters like everyone else at the time... "Lylas" (love ya like a sister). Only we meant it. And then came the horrible summer after third grade...and many tears.

Twas the Day Before the Yard Sale...

I am hot, sticky, tired, and probably not smelling like an Avon rose right about now. Tomorrow is the first day of my weekend yardsale that I have been planning for about six months. My poor little garage is so jam packed full of stuff that there is no room to move anything! I can only go out there to "work" while my kids are napping, and when I do, I have to tell my husband to call me every thirty minutes or so. This serves two purposes: 1) Give's me an excuse to stop and rest a minute, and 2) If I don't answer he knows there has been an avalanche and he needs to come dig me out! LOL Only I'm really not kidding. There are boxes piled almost to the ceiling and more garbage bags full of clothes and toys than I can even count (I stopped counting at 30!). I have a friend coming over around 5:30 to pull out some 12mth and 6-9 mth. winter clothes for her little girls, if I can locate the right bags. My only hope is that Miss Hurricane Francine doesn't cause me any grief. Much too much work has gone into this stupid thing for it to be rained out. So keep your fingers...legs...toes...eyes...crossed for me please! :)

Make Me...

"Made me" I guess I should say. I was reading some archived entries on Birdie's blog and I found where she had posted this link: http://illustmaker.abi-station.com/index_en.shtml . It's called Portrait Illustration Maker and what it does is allow you to kill WAY too much time making a virtual icon of yourself to post on blogs or put up as your icon on MSN Messanger, etc. You have several choices for each body part and you choose the ones you think resemble you most and then you can adjust them up or down and left to right to get your icon just right. This is about as close to me as I can get with this thing. I'm actually really liking it about now! Here I am:

Funky Flu

Just when I thought this week couldn't get any better, I discover that my babies are sick. Both of them. The littlest one caught IT first. She already had a runny nose and mild upset tummy due to the grand appearance of two molars and an eye tooth. Then ontop of that we discovered that she was running a mild lowgrade fever which we (at first) also assumed was due to the teething. So we just alternated infant Tylenol and Motrin around the clock every 6 hours until the fever had gone on it's not-so-merry way. However, we were surprised to notice the next morning that she had broken out in a rash from head to toe. It looked like a cross between Rosiola and Chicken Pox. They were small pinhead sized pink dots all over her body. When "A" was only 6 months old she had a similar rash as the result of the passing of a virus. We ALMOST took her to the doctor, but she was eating fine, playing fine, and no longer showed any signs of any of the previous symptoms so we decided that whatever virus it was that she had been hosting had already run it's course. And of course there is the fact that you can't do anything about a virus anyway other than treat the symptoms, because unlike a bacterial infection which can be cured with antibiotics, there is no cure for a virus...it just has to run its course. Two days later, "A's" rash was gone. We get up the next day and our three year old is complaining of a bad headache and running fever. Oh no! Not again! We break out the Children's Tylenol and Motrin again and start our little routine all over. Then I get a phone call from my brother-in-law whose home we had visited about a week before all this started, and he informs me that some of the kids his wife babysits had come down with this rare strain of the flu! I told him that "C" and "A" had also been sick. He said that Michelle (the kids' mom) had taken her daughter to the doctor when she complained of a severe headache and ran a lowgrade fever. The doctor told her that it was an unusual and mild variation of the flu virus, and that you just had to let it run it's course. He told her to alternate tylenol and motrin to ease the pain and keep the fever down, and not to be surprised if her daughter broke out in a rash after the fever broke. He also said that by the time the rash appears the child is no longer contagious. Bingo! The light bulb came on in my head. Guess that's where my kids got it from...(since we never go anywhere). The good news is that them getting this weak strain of the flu now, according to the pediatrician, make actually help them build an immunity and avoid the severe flu that goes around later in the season. That would be a most welcome benefit of this mild but annoying little virus!

Birth-month Myths...or not?

Hi All. Saw this and thought..how interesting. Got it from Kerry, who got it from Bea, who got it from....who knows...but it's kinda fun. The idea is to copy your birthmonth and use the strike through tags to cross out those phrase which do not apply to you. Then you either post it on your blog or email it to friends with the following link so that they can do the same! http://www.sdf-1.org/special/archives/000104.html. I am an October baby...my favourite season....FALL! :)


OCTOBER:Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to takes things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn't pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.

The Avon Pimp

Ah..good 'ole Avon. Let me tell you what "they" have done to me now. Unwittingly they have turned a classy Avon lady into an Avon pimp. Allow me to explain myself. I was formally a member of district 1151 who followed the 'B Thursday' delivery schedule. For those of you who are not familiar with these terms, this means that my order was due in on Mondays and returned for delivery on Wednesdays. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. First about a month ago I receive with my Avon shipment, this lovely little type-written letter explaining that I am one of the "lucky" representatives to be re-assigned to a new district. District 1152. I also have a new District Rep. whom I have yet to meet. I have no problem with this. That is fine. My problems begin with my current campaign - 18. You see, about two weeks after I received the letter detailing my new district assignment, I get ANOTHER letter. This one explains that my lovely, familiar as the scent of my husband's aftershave, comfortable as a pair of good worn sneakers, 'B Thursday' delivery schedule has also been changed. "NOoooo!" I cried. (And that was before I even realized the impact of this change). The letter stated that my new, anxious as the first day of school, scary as a hairdo from a new stylist, 'A- Week Monday' plan was to take effect with Campaign 19. I'm on Campaign 18 now. This means that according to my old schedule, my C18 order is due in by noon on September 6th and will arrive for delivery on September 8th. Well, my C19 order is now due at noon on Sept. 8th and will be back for delivery on Sept. 13th (due to the Labor Day Holiday). THIS means that my C19 order is due in before my C18 order even gets here! I was shorted 12 selling days of C19! "Why even place a C19 order" I asked myself. Then I read a few lines down. Apparently, if I turn in an order at all for C19, Avon will reward me with $50.00 sales credit per selling day lost. Wow...that's $600 much needed sales credit! So...now I have to figure out how to advertise, demo, and sell two campaigns at once since C18 and C19 will have to be turned in together. I'll be pushing Avon products like a pimp with an ugly hooker! As if my life weren't complicated enough already! Thanks Avon!

SSA - Solitaire Showdown Anonymous

Hi. I'm Dana and I'm an addict. That's right. I'll admit it. I'm addicted to this stupid online game called Solitaire Showdown. (You have to have MSN messanger to play against other people with MSN messanger). There I was..calmly chatting along with my sister on MSN messanger when all of a sudden this message pops up:

"so and so... has invited you to play SOLITAIRE SHOWDOWN. Do you accept? or decline?"

So I made the vital mistake of accepting. My sister and I played for hours. Literally. I think it was like two in the morning when finally we were forced to shut the computer down ending our game, due to the lack of motion and thus lubrication of our eyelids which caused them to become glued to our eyeballs. Not a pretty picture at all! We decided to meet online every night around 9:30 or 10:00 (well after my kids were in the bed) to play. Only now I have this problem. My sister...my only MSN Solitaire Showdown opponent has divorced me. Well, I guess technically we are "separated" but the little cheater is already "seeing other game opponents." Only not on MSN. NOooo...that's not good enough for her anymore. She has moved on to bigger better things. My rival? X-Box!

Hence, I am now putting out a singles ad, in search of a new MSN Solitaire Showdown companion. So if you have an MSN passport and would like to try this fun and addicting game, please leave me a post, email, or message me! I'm Englishrose7 on MSN!

Avon "Bites" the Dust

Wednesdays and Thursdays are typically what I refer to as my "Avon" days. I usually do a little bit of work every day: hand out some brochures, take a few orders, make some phone calls, etc. My new shipments come in on Wednesdays and so for the most part Wednesdays and Thursdays are devoted to bagging up orders, delivering them, handing out brochures for the upcoming campaign, and hopefully collecting several new orders as well. Not today. Why you ask? It all comes down to a tiny little thing called a tooth. Yes..I said a tooth. Just one. The catch is, it's the one tooth that my 12 month old daughter did not have yesterday but probably will have by tomorrow. Yep...you guessed it. We have "teething troubles." My normally happy-go-lucky, always smiling, never crying, bouncing baby girl has done a 360 into her evil "toothache twin." All day long she has been whiny and grumpy...not wanting to play, eat, or sleep. I picked her up...she cried to be put down. I put her down...she raised her arms to be picked up. The poor kid was miserable! She cried because she was hungry...then because she didn't feel like eating. She cried because she was sleepy, and then because she was in too much pain to sleep. Normally, teething does not affect her this way. She accumulated several teeth that my husband and I have no recollection of. She had two front teeth...then one day she had six! How or when they decided to arrive...we have no idea. However, the tooth she is cutting now is not a regular tooth. No..it's the Tyrannosaurus Tooth...a molar. This tooth makes a grand entrance unlike any other! It is accompanied on it's journey by a mild-mannered fever, and the not-so-dainty diarrhea. These three abhorrent amigos combine to make a very unhappy one year old, which in turn makes for a very unsuccessful Avon Lady day! Guess I'll have to put in some extra hours tomorrow. My husband will be home all weekend! TGIF! Thank God it's Friday? nope Toes Go in First? nope.... THANK GOD I'M FREE!

Time Flies and So Did I

Last minute gift buying,
Only 2 hours to spare.
I have on no makeup,
And I haven't brushed my hair.
With two little rugrats,
It's hard to be neat.
Oh, to heck with the touch-ups...
I have clock hands to beat!
Strapped the kids in their carseats,
And we're off like a flash.
Thank God for my charge card...
I'm all out of cash!
We arrive at the department store,
And stumble inside.
My one-year old is hungry...
"COOKIE" she cried!
Oh Great! Now her sister,
Is wanting one too.
As I did through my purse,
I hope this lollipop will do.
Down the lingerie aisle,
Past bras, hose, and thongs...
That go in your butt-crack,
Oh man! That's just wrong!
Past purses and jewelry
On our way to the men's clothes.
Where after an hour,
A warm-up jacket we chose.
Finally, we check out...
Charge it! I said.
Then we wrapped it, delivered it,
Ate dinner, and went to bed!

Another B'day Brain Fart!

Well Crap! I just missed my niece's b'day a few days ago and today (I just discovered) is the 17th of August which is, not so coincidentally, my dad's 50th birthday. I didn't forget. I swear I didn't. Well...not really anyway. I was perfectly clear on when his birthday is...just let it sneak up on me a whole lot sooner than I expected. Luckily, he doesn't get home from work today until 7:30 tonight. So my husband and I have about 4 hours to put our heads together and decide what in the world we get a 50 year old man who eats, sleeps, works, occasionally messes with the computer and frequently plays tennis but has everything he could possible want for that particular sport (and according to my Mom probably shouldn't have bought in the first place!) LOL. My mom and sister got him a cake and a computer game...so that takes care of the eating and computing part. Guess I'm stuck with the tennis. Dang! Now what? My brain is zapped from working on my online Avon ad most of the morning and I now find that I have reverted to "toddler talk." You know... the basic "see spot run" language that my kids understand completely and my husband is irritated by when I use it on him. (Sad thing is..it usually work better on him than the kids!) LOL Any good ...did I mention inexpensive...gift ideas? Come on..I've only got 4 hours!

A New Beginning

Well, here it is. My first attempt at what I only learned of yesterday... blogging. Stumbled upon a fellow Avon Lady (Birdie)'s blog and was fascinated, so I decided to attempt one of my own. Though I'm quite certain it won't be nearly as clever as hers, I hope you find it entertaining. We'll see how often I post entries on this thing. I'm afraid I am enthralled by many hobbies and activities, but alas there are only 24 hours in a day and most of those are filled with caring for my two precious daughters, doing housework, selling Avon, grocery shopping..etc. Hopefully this won't suffer the fate of some of my previous hobbies and fall by the wayside. I'm still learning..so please be patient with me!

God Bless!