Quick Corner

In about 34.2 seconds Brad is going to be ready to go. We have errands to run...and a burger from 5 Guys to eat! But before he starts hollering, "load up," I want to get a quick corner in. This is actually in my closet. I have a decent size closet with plenty of wall space that I have decided to use as my personal art studio. The pictures from the kids, the cards I receive, and some cute photos all find their way to my art studio. Erin has the perfect walls in her laundry room. As Lily starts K this year, she will fill them up QUICKLY! Take a peek around your corners...where could you add your own art studio? I'll add more pics from studio later but for now I gotta "load up!" :)

Sunday Shoutout

Have you ever had 'that person' you couldn't get off your mind? I have a friend that I think of as a sister. We're forever friends that literally grew up together. We met in grade school and although we are so very different in alot of ways, we are also so very similar in just as many ways. For some reason she has been on my mind all weekend...I've been reminded of Kendra instance after instance...thinking about our trips to Taco Bueno to get the party tacos (she'd always pay because she had her moms bank card), the Tetris wars in Mr. Rice's office, the way we never made fun of each other for getting lost because neither of us could find our way out of Claremore without a compass and a big bag of bread crumbs, the math classes that BLEW our minds, the crushes we shared on MTG and one she always denied on DC...I love having a friend that will totally understand every acronym in this blog because we lived it together. Her memory is just as bad (probably worse!) than mine but these are the memories that will never be lost. I'm not sure why my mind keeps wandering back so far this weekend but it does. Just wanted to send a shout out to you hippy chick. I love you and I'm missing you a bunch right now Kendi!

Now for a blast from our past....this was a little bit difficult to find...You know how picky I am. I wanted specifics- traveling from the GF to the MK WITH the Spanish message included (of course- that was our favorite part!) Por favor...we never did get all that, Miss Tipps would not be proud. And for goodness sakes Kendra, PLEASE stand clear of those doors!!! :)

Such a Saturday

My Saturday (in a nutshell)

Consignnment First- Oh my gosh!!! Why has no one told me about this place sooner?? Thank you Angela! I can't even begin to tell you of the bargains I found today. I'll post some pictures later...amaaaazing place.

Salvation Army- Dud today but maybe next week will prove more profitable.

Aldi- Another 1st for me today. I did feel very much like a newbie but next week I will be ready- with my quarter and my bags. I bet I saved $40. Is it too dorky to take my receipt to WalMart and compare prices to get an exact savings amount??

Vanilla Dr. Pepper- My reward to myself for a day full of bargains and organization.

SpiceDog

I'm not really a dog person. I never have been. I'm actually not an animal person at all. But when we started talking about getting a puppy I did my research. I research EVERYTHING- to a fault really. Research yields results and our results were fantastic. I still don't consider myself a "dog person." But I am a Yorkie person now and I do love my Spicy. Here's a few reasons why-

1-He is always glad to see us when we get home.
2-He loves to snuggle with anyone taking a nap.
3-He has learned to ring the bell when he needs to go outside.
4-He has learned to ring the bell when he needs ANYTHING-including just some attention!
5-He poops on schedule- this is more important than you realize!
6-He refuses to conform to Yorkie standards and allow those ears to stand- he wants to be his own dog.
7-He helps the kids learn responsibility.
8-He helps Andy learn to be gentle.
9-He tolerates those little sweaters we put on him! (Although he WON'T tolerate hair bows!)
10-His little overbite makes him look like he is smiling at us.

One day...in a land far far away...when our babies are grown and we get another dog...we'll go back to Brenda and hopefully get one of Spicy's relatives. He's a good boy.

Don't Read This Over Breakfast...

I just came out of "surgery." That's what we call if when I pack Brad's incision site...this mornings surgery also involved some prodding and swabbing that I hadn't counted on. I told you not to read this blog over breakfast!

Is it getting better? Does it look normal? How am I supposed to know? I guess it looks ok but teaching Kindgergarten is a far cry from nursing school. I've been telling these people that I am not qualified for this job. The surgeon checked him out again yesterday and said it's doing well and I'm doing it right. That made me feel better for about 12 hours and then it was time for me to do it again. I can't believe they let a person walk around with a gaping hole in his side and trust a relative stranger with no medical training to "pack it" twice daily in order to prevent FURTHER infection. Hello? Does this sound insane to anyone else?

For My Love

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Learning to listen

Two of my boys are asleep on the couch. It's a deep sleep that they both need. We had a rough night last night- ended up back at the ER to have Brad's incision checked. It is a good thing we went and I'm thankful we have the friends to nudge us into the right decisions. Why is it so different when it is happening to you instead of someone else? I would have easily been examining a wound on someone else and offering advice like it was a conversation about the weather. No problem. But when it is US and MY husband things get blurry. Am I being too cautious, not cautious enough, what could I have done differently, why didn't I act at the first flutter of knowing something wasn't right?

I have great instincts and I also believe I have a gift to really hear from God when something isn't right. I've experienced it many many times but it seems I haven't trusted that voice enough to get some action going. I let doubt and fear of being wrong cloud my thoughts. I don't want to make a big deal out of nothing so I push down the sense and keep on trucking. How many times does it take before I really hear and choose to believe it IS God speaking to me? How many times will I get burned before I trust that my sense of the situation or the person or the place was not only accurate but dead on? I pray for the wisdom to distinguish between the voice of my own thoughts and the voice of God. I pray for the boldness to act without fear of what others might think. I also pray that when others are in situations like this I can be a gentle yet assuring voice- not to condemn or criticise but lift up and encourage- and nudge in the right direction. Just like Harry & Debra did for us- once again-

What I want...What I really really want..

I promise I just came downstairs to let Spicy out. I had every intention to go right back upstairs and take a shower before the kids got up. You see I have to wash my hair everyday. Without exception. The washing part doesn't bother me but I hate, hate, HATE to dry my hair. I've been told I have enough hair for 3 women. Not only do I have a ton of it, but it is thick and has a wave to it that I have to blow dry straight. Yuck. It seems to be much easier to bare if I am still half asleep through the process. I've dreamed of having someone to do my hair everyday. Seriously, it's always been #1 on my list of "if I could afford it I would..." dreams. I would pay well too. I want someone to be on call 24/7 to stop in and do the whole blow dry/style thing for me. I don't care if it is a man, woman, or a gay man...although the men that have cut my hair in the past are not gay! NOT gay! I wouldn't mind a gay hairstylist if he was good at hair but my guys have not been gay! I always felt the need to add that in converstations. They'd go something like this-

"Who does your hair?"

"Eric at Chic Salon- he's not gay."

"Yeah right."

"No really- he's not gay. Some guys there are gay but he's not. For real."

I've also found that male hairstylists are usually really good. Maybe because they would have to really like what they do to take the heat for it. My 'non gay stylist' Eric is in Tulsa though. Here I go to a female. So now when questioned about where I get my hair cut I don't feel compelled to add, "she's not gay." But I do always add-"she's a sweet little Southern girl!"

How did I get off on this??? Anyway...that's what I want. A hair stylist. To come here. Everyday.

What a Difference a Week Makes!

When I posted last Friday I had nothing of real importance to talk about...hence the ever informative post on pop cultures greatest thing- Wikipedia. Sure Brad was complaining a little of a tummy ache but beside that, everything was fine. We had no idea of the storm that was brewing.

By Friday evening that tummy ache was beginning to look like something a little more serious. We did what any non-medically trained couple in the 21st century would do- we researched online and self diagnosed. According to WebMd, it sounded like he had kidney stones. Brad seemed content with that answer and starter chugging water to help it pass. We eagerly told the Urgent care doc about our diagnosis when we went in on Saturday morning. Problem was- he didn't concur. He was leaning toward appendicitis. What? We'd rather think it was kidney stones. To make a long story short(er). We ended up in the ER Saturday evening and Brad was in surgery by 1am.

There are alot of thoughts, a few funny stories, and many many thank yous I will blog about as I can. Right now though, we are just thankful to be home, to have Brad in one piece- minus that trouble maker appendix- and are taking everything else as it comes.

Going through something like this so far from "home" could be scary but I gotta say I've never felt more at home here. Of course we missed having our own parents and relatives to be with us but our North Carolina family- more specifically our Elevation family has greatly exceeded our best expectations. Our kids were not only taken care of but loved and nurtured, meals and groceries were done (and are still coming in!) before I even had a chance to think about it, and we had "family" at the hospital with us within an hour. Our NC family may not be blood related but they are family just the same. No wonder we love it here.

Just Wiki It

I think one of the best things on the internet is Wikipedia. No, it isn't some witchy thing...it is a modern day encyclopedia of sorts. Wiki had been around since 2001 and now has over 7.8 million articles in 253 languages. You can find out anything about anything on Wiki. Personally, I mostly use it for pop culture information. But it exceeds far beyond. Use Wikipedia for questions concerning the arts, history, society, health, current events, or mindless trivia. Want to know when Cheetos were invented? Wiki it! Say you are watching a rerun of Home Improvement and can't remember how the series ended- wiki it! Or maybe you are watching the Sureal Life and can't recall what show Emmanuel Lewis was in... wiki it! We've even used it to check on the dating/marrital/gender preference status of various tv and music stars! Whether you want to check on an oldie like Father Knows Best or search for the latest theories on the Lost Wikipedia has the answers. I've also used Wikipedia to try to learn about Charlotte including which area is considered Dilworth, University City, Elizabeth, etc. etc. Spend some time surfing around the Wikipedia site...use it to answer those questions that keep you up at night...like "who was Erica Kane's 3rd husband...and how many times did she marry Dimitri?

Trust me, this is a site you need to keep as a favorite. You'll be surprised how many times Wikipedia can be used to determine bets, solve arguements, and end the nagging "do you remember..." questions that pop up so often. Quite honestly, Wikipedia should be the new lifeline on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." By the way...how many million dollar winners has that show had??? Wiki it!!!

The world according to Andy

Erin says I should write about Andy's dialect...we'll could call it Andyese or Andyian or Andyish...anyway, I was thinking about some of his sayings like-
full ops for flip flops, Buzzyear for Buzz Lightyear, and Engine Turtles for Ninja Turtles but I couldn't really think of any others so I went upstairs to have a talk with the man himself. This is how it went...
"Andy, what are some words you say that are funny?"
"Oh! I say poop and dats funny. Dats bery funny Mom. Bery funny."
"No Andy, I don't mean like that...I mean what are some words that you say in a funny way?"
"I don't say tupid because dats a bad wowd. Dats not a funny wowd."
"That's right Andy, we don't say stupid...um...say 'spaghetti.' "
"Sketti? Dat not a funny wowd- dat just food."
"You got anything else funny Andy?"
"How come?" (his response to EVERYTHING these days)
"Because I am just writing about how funny you are...anything else?"
"Oh, nope, dats all I got."

Just rambling...

Here I am procrastinating. Small group is here tonight and I really need to be cleaning the hard wood, folding laundry, and finding out why there is a horrid smell that comes everytime one of the kids opens the back door. It's so easy to procrastinate in this day and age. I can plan to spend 3 minutes here checking email but then get sucked in on a blog which links to another and then to another. Everyone is blogging these days. I spent a good portion of the last hour reading a blog of a gal at church that I only know in "hi, how are you?" terms. Now I feel like I know her biggest fears, deepest thoughts, and inner strengths. Amazing. When we pass in the Ekidz hall this week and do our usual "hi, how are you thing" I will know what to ask her about, how to show concern, how to be an encouragement. I love blogging- reading and writing. Although I did a much better job with the writing part before I knew people were reading it. Honestly, I don't know who all is clicking in here but the counter shows me alot of people are...or one extremely obsessed person which is even more frightning!

A few pics from Sunset

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Back just over 24 hours and...

I already miss it...No committments, no mail, no news, and no major decisions- besides where we would eat dinner- that is the life. I suppose it would get relatively boring after enough time but seven days is not enough time. I still have a list of things I didn't get done...didn't make it to the Kindered Spirit mailbox at the end of the island, didn't get to Wilmington, and didn't spend a whole day inside just watching movies and playing games. Could we have gotten all that in? Sure, but then we would have missed out on the task at the top of the list- RELAX! Bonus points this week for all the laughs and hanging out with great great friends. Every couple needs that "couple friendship" that you can travel with and eat with and laugh with and just sit and be content with. And if you feel comfortable enough to do no makeup & beach hair days with them -even better! The way I cope with "postvacationdepressionsyndrome" is to plan the next one. We've got a mini trip coming up at the end of the month and then I think it's time to look into something for fall...anyone have a cabin in the mountains they'd like to donate for the cause???

Think she was surprised?

Yesterday was Maci's 10th birthday. (I'll post her birth story after we get back home-we are still beaching it right now!) Brad made her an awesome bday breakfast of french toast, scrambled eggs, and sausage. She also opened her present...I'd say she was surprised AND elated- it's an Ipod Shuffle.