Just another day at Sam's

   I did not get to go the gym today at lunch--rather ran errands. I needed to go to Sam's to pick something up for my in-laws and made that my first stop. As soon as I entered the store, I was approached by a salesperson. "Would you like to watch the video about our high definition televisions?" "No thank you," I replied, "I am on my lunch break." before I made it to the item I wanted to purchase, I was approached again, and once again said, "No thank you." I hurriedly threw the item in my buggy and remembered I needed to buy the girls lunch meat for their lunch next week, so raced to the refrigerated section of the store. I kid you not....I was asked to sample something SEVEN MORE TIMES before reaching my destination. Do they not understand I wasn't there to EAT lunch...I was there on my lunch break. If I had an interest in sampling something, I would simply walk up and ask for it. I am clearly a woman on a mission when I am speed walking without making eye contact with the lady making sausage on a cracker, yet she doesn't miss me-despite my efforts to "blend in". Are they paid commission, I wonder? Do they get in trouble if they miss potential taste-testers? Anyway, I grab the lunch meat and jet back to the front of the store to check out. After refusing solicitation 4 MORE TIMES, I arrive at a checkout line and am next in line! Lucky me!

As I stand there I gaze around at the other unfortunate souls that chose to visit Sam's on this day. A couple lines over was an employee taking an order from a rather large lady in a motorized Sam's scooter. I normally would not say something about this, but I think that particular equipment should be reserved for those that are handicapped or ill, rather than simply overweight. What was she asking him to go get for her you ask? Two bags of crunchy Cheetos, one box of pancake-wrapped breakfast sausages on a stick, and case of YooHoo chocolate drinks. I better just stop right there with that subject.

As it came time for the elderly couple ahead of me to pay, they debate whether or not the price sounds accurate and review the receipt.
LORD HELP.
They decide it is correct and agree to settle up. But they write the check for three dollars less that the total, causing mass confusion on the part of the cashier. After they argue to determine they do, in fact, owe three more dollars, management had to be involved  of course. The lady finally coughed up three dollars, but not after turning her head in my direction to cough up something else without covering her mouth. (Note to self: spray the in-laws new grape plants with Lysol before I give them to them.) I not so discretely reached into my purse to slather my hands and arms (up the elbow) with hand sanitizer, hopefully getting my point across.

I check out without incident and am, by this point, irritated to the point that I am sweating and in need of a beta blocker, which are on my desk at work. LORD HELP, again.
I get out the door and am approached by a little boy with a box around his neck. "NO" I said. He never even got a chance to speak. I said my firm "NO" without slowing and practically ran to my car to lock myself, my grape plants, and my lunch meat inside to hide from people selling appetizers and cough syrup-size cups of orange juice.
That was the longest 23 minutes ever.

Next stop....the dollar store to purchase ten whisks for my Sunday school mother's day project. Do they have any? Of course not.

So off to Target. The cheapest whisk was on clearance for $6.78. Needless to say I will continue the hunt for cheap whisks tomorrow. But I did buy a bag of pretzels and Snapple. It's nice to be back to the confines of my office.

Raw(e) RED Entry

This is my entry for Raw(e). The theme this week is RED!! My favorite color! I love this picture because it looks like they are talking to each other and one looks a little frazzled by the conversation!

Did it win?

   While Brian was in Costa Rica I had to visit the Dr. and have multiple tests run. I was stressed, to say the least and really needed him! I'm such a baby. Anyway, I am OK. No menopause or thyroid issue, or worse, like the doctor considered. I have simply changed my female body's system due to excessive exercise?! I don't think I exercise excessively, but the doctor said it doesn't have to be like bodybuilder workouts to have an major impact on our bodies. I do, however, have to take beta blockers to slow my racing heart and had to start taking them with him gone. This is caused by hypertension, no heart problem-thankfully. Anyway, I tell you this to get to my point. Last night I was talking about "the medicine for my racing heart" with Brian and Kam said, "Did it win?" I said did what win while Brian started to laugh. "Your heart, Momma. It was in a race. Did it win?" My girls are so witty.

LOL.

First Look! Golden Girl On SNL!

I don't watch much TV, but must admit I LOVE the Golden Girls!! My girls call them the Old Grandmas.
If you are a Betty White fan, click the link below. It may be worth it to watch Saturday Night Live to see sweet Betty!!

http://perezhilton.com/2010-04-26-first-look-golden-girl-on-snl

My Sweet ladies and a baby cousin

These are old, but cute. My girls love smaller kids. This is our neice, or maybe cousin.....

Our little nephew Grif was at the ballpark last night and Kam really enjoyed taking care of him. She never left his side. Ken was proud to show him off to her teammates when I took him in to wish her luck.

B.I.L. and the Old Friend

   I just noticed that there are 245 days until Christmas and began to ponder upon the events of Christmas past.....

   My sweet brother-in-law....He has such a great Christmas spirit. I wanted to share with you all an image of his generosity to a neighbor in need, and his fabulous smile.

Sweet Boo

Sweet girl.

lost pics of my little boo

Opposum?!

   Our local news, KLTV, ran a headline this morning about a couple who rescued seven baby possums from the side of the road. Their mother was apparently roadkill. While I'm glad they are safe, I do not think this is news-worthy.

• There was a wreck yesterday in front of my office. The driver had to be cut out of her car. There are wrecks there about twice a week. I don't know if she is OK but the baby possums are.
• The road construction in Longview is already causing major delays, and there is more to come. Is this news-worthy?
• In Texas alone, there are 211 babies aborted EACH day. But seven baby possums are safe and sound.

   I am so negative this morning, and I'm sorry for that, but some things are just ridiculous. I guess my irritation began last night when I had to have Ken at the softball field for pictures at 6:00P.M. I ordered a pizza to pick up afterwards and Brian had a meeting at church at 7:30, so plenty of time for a family meal after pics.

   We were there 5 minutes early, even though my husband and I worked all day. At 6:20, the coach called one of the parents to remind them and decided we would wait for them to get there so we could do a group picture. Mind you, there were three other kids we knew would not be there, but apparently it was super important to wait on this one kid who's parent is not punctual. We waited, and waited.

   At what point did this particular person's time become more valuable than anyone elses? We waited, many people now late for church, and waited until 6:45P.M. I was livid, to say the least. I think this was very inconsiderate and disrespectful of our coach and would never have expected this if I had been the party that was late.

   OK. off my soap box. Have a great day.
 

Water

The theme for Raw(e) this week is Water. Click here to follow and see all the entries! This is mine, taken this winter at Beaver's Bend, OK. Our family canoes/kayaks down this stretch of river when the weather is warmer.

Intermediate Pilates

    Monday was my first intermediate pilates reformer class. I love this because each class is slightly different, causing me to be sore in unusual, different places! I was super nervous, but it was suprisingly easy to grasp. I can't wait for the next one! AND I will soon begin Jump Board Training ont he reformer machine! Woo Hoo!!!

(Yes, the pose below was part of it, but not my favorite)

Brian's home!!!!!

He's home!!! The girls and I missed him terribly!

He was glad to be home to the land of air-conditioning and sanitization.

Here are some of the last pictures he took:

Apparently, this is a normal sight in Costa Rica.

This is my favorite picture!

He brought me some rainforest flower seeds----I can't wait to plant them!

...touring Intel.....

Don't really know what to say about this photo...

This may be more common in Costa Rica than the iguanas...

I couldn't imagine shopping here. Brian said there was a man carrying a half of a hog on his shoulders.

FDA.....I like you.

Happy Western Day!

Can you see how tired she is? By Friday my girls are exhausted, But it is Western Day in Kindergarten!!

Yee-Haw!!

And tonight is Diary of a Wimpy Kid night!

Pilates Reformer Class #4

The short spine stretch, pictured below, felt amazing. Today I was promoted to the intermediate classes, but I may go to the fundamental class one more time....it's a little indimidating. I am really enjoying it, though.

Inside the Mind of a Mad Woman

   Let me first say I cannot believe that I am going to put my actions into words for you all to read. Yes, I am the Mad Woman referenced in the title.

   Let's go back to my previous blog entries to establish my state of mind. My husband is in Costa Rica, I am managing MANY duties all alone, and worked very diligently in my yard all weekend. (See earlier posts if you need a refresher...)
  
   So Sunday evening, after a weekend of manually planting numerous shrubs and azaleas and after mowing our entire lawn, I was quite tuckered out, to say the least. My hands were blistered and I sunburned (still suffering, I might add) so I decided the girls and I would stay home, relax, and watch a movie.

   After a well-deserved shower, I laid my weary body on the couch. Just as I got comfortable, the door bell rang. I sprang from the couch, covering myself instantly with the Dora The Explorer blanket I had, as I was not fully dressed. If you are woman, you should no exactly what I mean by that.

   I saw that it was a teenage boy. I surely can't go to the door being as inapproriately dressed as I was......I went into the hall way, and from there could see there was a second teen standing were he could not be seen from the front door. "What did they want? Why is one lingering behind? Will he be the one to startle me and storm into my house?" I wondered to myself. I began to panic, internally of course, not to frighten my girls......

   I sprinited to my bedroom to retrieve the pepper-co2 spray that shoots 25 foot, all the while contemplating how I would tell Brian I shot someone.....when the door bell rang again!

   "They are desperate to kidnap us!!!! OR do they need money? Will they beleive I have no money? Will they take all three of us or just me????" You can only imagine the thoughts racing thru my paranoid mind at this point......
 
   "Will the pepper spray be enough? Should I get the gun? What should I do? Why isn't the shit-zu barking?"

   By then they rushed back to their getaway car and peeled out of my driveway. Literally. They sped away like I was already in the trunk. I was sure they would be back. I documented the incident on the back of a used envelope, complete with the exact time (6:57 P.M.) just in case I didn't survive to give my description to the Upshur County detective myself. In my description I wrote : "...white 4-door car, that looks like Mrs. Carolyn's."

   The next night was softball night. While visiting with my friend Lori at the ballpark, she told me how great the scavenger hunt at church had gone the night before. "Carolyn was one of the driver and she drives fast!" (Those may not have been her exact words, but you get my direction, I hope.)
It clicked with me then. I said, "Oh my gosh. I was 'this close' to shooting one of our own church teenagers with pepper spray!" ((((Lord please forgive me for being crazy. ))))

   This story just goes to show that I always expect the worst out of people. AND if I'm not expecting you, I will likely not be 'fully dressed'. AND you may be laughing, but my bet is, you do things just as crazy all the time, and I just gave you comfort in knowing you are not alone.

Have a great night.

  

Honey Bees

   A house in Houston contained a honey bee hive with over 200 pounds of honey in it. That's insane! Correct me if I'm wrong, but honey weighs 11.88 pounds per gallon, therefore this house had 16.8 gallons of honey stashed inside it's walls!!
  
   You can read the article here.
  
   Brian and I went with one of his friends to remove a colony of bees from an abandoned home a year or so ago. Click here to read about my experience with that. I thought I wanted to raise our own bees to have all natural honey all for ourselves, until one bee crawled into my suit and stung me. It hurt for days.

Me as a bee-keeper.

I was smiling because this was taken before the sting.

More pics from BT

Isn't this a great picture?? This is a very cool plant.

He took this one for the blue butterfly next to the tree.

My favorite because I can see my long lost husband's eyes!!!

Costa Rican Food

This is what my husband said about this dish: "Honey heres a pic of my platter. I know u will be proud of me for being

adventurous and trying something different. Notice the mussell on the rice.
The mussell was good. Octopus legs were a little chewy.
And squid was tasty
Loves u"

I am proud! While he is gone, the girls and I are trying Costa Rican food, too.
Below is the 'before' pic of marinated mangoes.


 
After:

Tico rice, before:

Sorry, no after picture. It was wonderful, though. I served it to the girls with canned black beans on top and fresh tamales on the side. They loved it!

So.....without B this weekend what did we do? Friday night we saw a movie and grocery shopped, Saturday morning we went to the gym, bought 34 shrubs and azaleas, then planted until I sunburned. Sunday we went to church then came home to eat our adventurous food, then I planted some more and mowed the lawn. Last night we had movie night in the living room floor and watched Hannah Montana The Movie and ate popcorn. Mom needed a break after being yard girl.
The girls and I have been a great team while dad is on his adventure.

Coffee and Bananas in Costa Rica

Coffee Beans

Bananas

Way to go, #20!!!!

The S.W.A.T. team had their first team, and I must say that number 20 on their team was on fire!!

Coming across home plate

Having so much fun

Getting ready to bat

On third...

Still having so much fun

We are proud of you, Hunny!!!

Around My House

The subject for Sailor and Company's weekly contest is "Around the house." This is Kennedy, sleeping in our bed. She fell asleep with this picture of Brian and me---when we were much younger. She misses her dad already and he hasn't even left for Costa Rica yet. There is always a girl or two in our bed!

Reading to Angelina

 Kamryn has been reading A LOT to prepare for TAKS. This is her preferred method of reading:

On the back porch, reading to Angelina (a doll) and sometimes Lucy (the dog).

A Sneak Peek at May.....

How precious is this??!?

The new scent is going to be just as sweet!!
I hope my mother in law sees this---I think she'll love it!

Pilates Reformer #2

   I had my second pilates reformer class today. Today we learned different moves. I didn't know I could stretch is the directions I stretched, but did, and it felt really good in the hips and lower back. The instructor focuses on our breathing, which is very nice for me. It also releives the stress I often keep in my shoulders. This class is growing on me.

Pilates Reformer

  I took my first pilates reformer class on  my lunch break today. My body is still a little tired from my workout yesterday (30 min. of spinning followed by 30 of weight training= Cycle/Pump class) but I really, really liked it. Our gym requires that you attend at least four fundament classes first, then the instructor will let you know when you are ready to advance to the indermediate reformer class, so three more to go! Up to one hour after returning to work my legs were still quivering. It was awesome, and not exhausting like the high cardio classes I usually go for. There are only five tables in the room, so it feels much like a personal training session, only much cheaper. I'm trying out a new rountine for the next couple of weeks and incorporating new things. I've been a bit bored with exercising lately.

Update to pilates reformer class, the morning after.....

My neck is really, really sore. Everything, else....looking reformed a little.

Jaidan Update

   Please pray for Jaidan this morning. She was here on Friday and was doing great and had a great Easter weekend, but it ended with a 105 degree fever that has caused seizures. They rushed her back to Children's and apparently are struggling to get her temperature down so her grandparents have gone to be with her now.For those of you that don't know here story, click HERE. You can also find her mom on facebook. Her name is Jaime Steele.
   It's scary how quickly things change. Especially for this little girl. Everytime she comes in, we are all blessed by her, and her mom. Her grandmother works with me, so I'm blessed with her everyday. Jaidan is not a sickly little child. She has been sick her whole life, but is always happy and brings joy to everyone she meets. Just Friday she walked around this bank covered in sticky notes hollaring "Dang-it!"

Update at 9:17 a.m.

   Jaidan has a blood infection. She finally opened her eyes. They should see the doctor at 11:00.

Update at 3:35 p.m.

   Jaidan has been upgraded to stable condition. Soon they will try to extubate her (?I guess that's the word. Pull the tube out of her throat is what I mean.)

Update at 8:20 a.m. Wed.

   Latest news we have is that Jaidan is breathing on her own and talking. She is an absolute miracle.
She will remain in ICU for a couple days to be monitored. Thank you, God for using Jaidan to remind us that you are in control.

Kennedy's funny sayings

Last week I told you about Toast-N-Rico, ...... Well.....
Everyday since April 1st, Kennedy says, "Momma, you have a spider in your hair! April 4th!!" This means April Fool's! Ha!! It cracks us up every time. Really no sense in correcting her.

We Won!!

I can't believe we won!! Click above on 'We Won' or go to Sailor and Company to see our entry, as well as all the others and to see what the next contest is! Sami is going to send an extra special prize to Kamryn---she will be thrilled!! Thank you so much!

Weekend Recap

The weather man got it all wrong for Saturday, thankfully. Grandpa Ralph's funeral couldn't have happened on a prettier day.
Sunday was also a beautiful day. My oldest daughter, Kamryn, joined our church Silent Praise group and preformed in both the early and late services to Worthy is the Lamb, sang by a lady in our church, along with our neighbor Ashley, who is a great little girl. She is a wonderful example for my girls! My dad and step mom, as well as Brian's mom and dad, and Kamryn's dad and girlfriend joined us for church, so it was wonderful. Our church day went from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30, then we were off to Granny's. I never do well there when 40-50 people are expected. I think I am clostrophopic or something, but the crowd in such a small place makes my chest feel tight and I can't breath---but it was a nice and peaceful time with great people. Just wish Brian's sister and brother had been there then it would have been perfect. There were only three kids there to hunt 90 eggs, so the big kids, aka grown ups, helped them out. We even had time for a short nap afterwards.
The girls got chocolate bunnies from the Easter bunny and a hardback book of our blog from us. They love it and have been reading non stop.

New Angel

This is a picture I took at Grandmother and Grandpa Ralph's a couple years ago. I love it.
Grandpa Ralph went to be with the Lord yesterday, April 1st.

Oh to have an easy life....

 

Rough day. Wishing I was one of these little guys right about now....