Not Me Monday

I did not get back from "vacation" on Wednesday and continue the r&r until yesterday. That would be silly. It would also make a lot more work for me this week. Ugh. So why on earth would I do that?



The sweet husband made chicken tacos to go with my homemade salsa for dinner on Saturday night. They were delish! So delish, that I did not have them for breakfast on Sunday when we got home from church.



We went to the fair on Friday and all I wanted was a corn on the cob and a huckleberry shake. I waited all day for them. I craved them. I did not decide that since I had both corn on the cob and huckleberries at home that we should save the $15 and eat our own. Dang, I'm like a different person these days.



My little boy is starting 1st grade next week. New school, all day long and he just might have to ride the bus. I am not in a complete hurricane of feelings about all of this. People do it all the time, kids do great. I will be doing some big praying next week. Join me, please.



I will be making a lot of the Christmas gifts we give this year for many reasons. Homemade gifts take thought and love which is way better than spending $50 on a kitchen appliance, everyone already has everything they need, and we are on a budget. I have come up with some really, really, really good ideas. But, I did not start making my lists and getting ready already in September. That would be way too organized and prepared.

Demi Moore gets Patrick Swayze and I get this...

I woke up the sweet husband last night moaning and groaning. He is used to it, so he tried to wake me up to relieve me from the bad dream I was so clearly having. The thing is...I wasn't asleep. I had been asleep, but I was awake at that point and was seeing things. I thought I saw a man in our bedroom. It wasn't a real man, more like an apparition. He looked old and sickly and he was getting closer to me so I tried to push him away. When Adam turned on the bathroom light and laid back down beside me it went away. We stayed there in the partially lit bedroom for a while until I thought I was awake enough that I would be ok. The problem was when he turned the light back off and got back in bed the ghost man had just moved to the end of the bed. I prayed Jesus him away. I just kept repeating..."Please God make that go away. Please God make that go away." It finally did and with the left side of my body touching Adam's from our head to our toes I fell asleep again. It was ridiculous.

Do I think it was a ghost? No. Can I explain why it came back or why when I was clearly awake I could still see it? No. My best theory is that it was shadows playing tricks on my eyes. And the dang Planet of the Apes that was on in the same room I was in yesterday afternoon probably didn't help...creepy little monkey people.

It's not that I don't believe in ghosts. I do. But, that wasn't one. I've seen one before and it wasn't like that.

We lived in an old house when I was in high school. I had the bedroom in the back at the end of the short hallway. I was asleep one night when I woke up for some reason and saw something standing in the hall. At first I thought it was our dog standing up on his back legs. This is not possible for two reasons. One, our dog slept outside and two, he was too old to stand up on his hind legs like that. So, I literally rubbed my eyes and blinked a dozen times to get a better look and what I saw was most certainly not our yellow lab mix. It was a little girl, probably five years old. She had curly red hair and was wearing a little dress. She was just standing there looking at me. Well, let's just say I am a scaredy cat so I screamed. Oh, hellsyeah, I screamed. "Dad!" "Dad!" When I started screaming she cocked her head to the side like she couldn't understand why I was freaking out. My dad came running down the hall to save me from whatever it was that was disturbing the whole house. He ran right through her. Really, he ran through her and she just kind of disappeared. He was in my room, I was crying and trying to explain what had happened and when he turned on the bathroom light to make sure there was nothing there she was gone.

It was super real. I mean, she cocked her head when I screamed, real. It was so real, the next day my sister and I went to the library to do research on the house and the land where we lived. We tried to find who lived there before us, how long the house had been there, if there were any stories that would explain what I saw. We didn't find any explanation and I never saw her again.

But, I did sleep on the couch outside my parents bedroom for the next month or more just in case.

Random Ramblings on the local fair

I wear flops every year and every year I marvel at how dirty my feet get. Gross.

Had my first elephant ear today...not really a fan. The private school I went to when I was younger used to have a booth at the fair. They served ice cream waffle sandwiches. Two waffles with vanilla ice cream in the middle and powdered sugar sprinkled on top. They should bring that back. I was a huge fan of that.

Where are the mothers of these girls that are barely dressed? Really? Shorts should be longer than your panties. Shirts should cover all of your belly. And get your hair out of your face.

I love myself a rodeo. I love that we pray before they start. I love that all the cowboys take off their hats during the anthem. I love the music they play. I love seeing my dad and my son as they watch. I love that the bull rider who just turned 21 had earned $450 thousand dollars last year.

My favorites are the photography, quilts and the garden exhibit. I am in awe of those women that quilt like that. We entered a photo of my son's this year. He got an honorary ribbon, all the kids did. I thought it was sweet. The garden exhibit always has huge produce that my mom compares to hers and I envy the flowers. Maybe some day I will enter something. Maybe.

My son and I for the last two years have had our picture taken with the alligator in the exotic animals exhibit. We went in today to get our annual photo and there was a huge yellow snake laying in the spot where the alligator was supposed to be. Snakes are completely different than alligators and there is no way, no how, I was holding a snake. Sorry kiddo.

I spent a lot of time trying to show my daughter and my niece the animals when they were more interested in the cages they were in or the water they drank. Too young still. I felt a little silly, I will try again next year.

10 Things Thursday

10 things about our vacation

1. Staying with family is SOOOO much better than staying at a hotel. The pool is cleaner and less crowded, the food is delish, the company is the best, the bed is more comfy and you can borrow everything when you forget your toiletries bag at home. Thanks Rick & Veeda!

2. Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. It also makes for some really good people watching. Who are these people? Where do they come from and why on earth do they think it is a good idea to eat turkey legs out of a bag while walking around in the heat? Crazy!

3. Angels Stadium is incredible. It puts Safeco to shame. They have landscaping, fireworks, water features...wow!

4. Traveling with an "infant in arms" is a little bit stressful. I sat in the middle seat with Abby in my lap with two strangers on both sides. Yikes! Luckily the young girl that sat next to me was very friendly and helpful, you know when Abby dropped her toys, grabbed the girls' leather jacket, cried all the way up and down.

5. Airport food is entirely overpriced. $25 for Burger King breakfast...outrageous. $14 for a bottle of water and an orange juice...come on.

6. You have to be quick to catch sand crabs and if you are you can find a big one. Just watch out for the 6-8 foot waves crashing down around you.

7. Even with 50spf sunscreen both of my bebes came back bronzed from that California sun.

8. Had my first In & Out burger and fries. They were good. Sat by the pool and enjoyed a lunch with the family after swimming and catching lizards.

9. Cali traffic makes me a nervous wreck. Six lanes of speeding cars. Motorcycles that share lanes with cars. Crazy drivers that give you two thumbs up.

10. No matter how much fun you have and how much you don't want to leave your family it is always good to be home sweet home.

I snuck on the computer to do some "work". Seriously, I did have to close a party. Which I totally don't mind since I earned some money for the fam. But I had to get on just to say that I won't be on here for a few days. We are on vacation for a few days. We are having a grand time.

See you soon.

Shakira Shakira

So...the other morning while feeding my daughter/checking my email/blogging/facebooking/working/making lists/ I had the top 20 countdown on the good old VH1. VH1...that makes me laugh. Anyway, it was on in the background and when I looked up I saw my good friend Shakira. Yes, we are friends. Yes, we are. I looooove myself some Shakira. She is gorgeous with an incredible body and her voice makes me want to dance. I mean come on, Hips Don't Lie. Now that was a song. I loved it. I sang it. I danced to it. It was my ringtone on my phone. It was fabulous. Scratch that. It is fabulous.

Well, this was her new song Shewolf and it frightened me. This song, well I don't even know about this song because this video was like a car accident, I actually couldn't pay attention to the music. I couldn't look away even though it was terrible. Her body moved like a broken puppet. I don't think bodies are supposed to do that. It was one of the strangest things I had ever seen. And don't even think this is a jealousy thing. Like she is so hot and can dance and I'm just mad about it. Not true. I looove her, remember. And my husband always says that I check out girls more than he does. I am always saying "did you see her? she was pretty." or "oooh, look at her hair...that is some good hair." or "dang, I wish that was my ass." So, I'm not being mean I just was sad that her body seems to be broken. Broken Shakira. She said it best...Hips don't lie...and her hips clearly were in pain.

10 Things Thursday

10 Things I packed just now for our vacation to California since we leave tomorrow for a week of sun, fun and Disneyland.

1. Black tevas and black cardigan to go with everything else black I packed. Tangent: Someone once told me black was my color. I was standing in the drive thru of the favorite bank I worked at (ever) wearing a black button up and a gray skirt. We are now friends and he and his wife came to the hospital when my daughter was born. Love them.

2. Jewelry for each outfit. I have it why not wear it and a lot of it. You can call me Gypsy if you want.

3. Coconut body butter. Smells like summer, right? I don't pack perfume because what if the bottle breaks.

4. Swimsuits. We are going to the beach and the house we are staying at has a pool. Yippee!

5. Sunscreen and sunglasses for every day all day.

6. Books. Still Life with Woodpecker and The Probable Future.

7. The necessities: make up (which in the summer consists of eyelash curler, mascara and lip gloss), toothbrush, face lotion, deo, face wash, pony tail holders & headbands, and vitamins.

8. Camera and battery charger. I plan on taking 1000 pictures. Do you dare me?

9. Snackies: Trail Mix (for me & the sweet husband), goldfish and cheese crackers (for Aidan), applesauce (for Abby). I would take water but you and I both know the security schmecurity won't let us through with more than a mouthful of water so I will buy it inside and pay a mark up of 400%. :) Just kidding. I love the security...I would rather have tons of security and make it to Cali than no security and have a crazy on the plane.

10. New, long, black, vneck, comfy, perfect for traveling dress w/black flops. Ok, not actually packing it but I am wearing it and have to pack it back so I am listing it. And I am in love with it. And it cost me $10. It's delicious. Deeeeelicious.

Stat Counter

So I have this little thing on my blog. It keeps track of the visits to my blog. You know, how many visits I have daily, where in the world they are, how long they stay, where they came from, etc. It is pretty useful. I can see who is reading and if they like it or not. Clearly, if it is only for 5 seconds then I was not what they were looking for. But 20 minutes...they found something they liked.

Normally I have between 20 to 40 hits a day. So, imagine my surprise when I had 127 hits the other day. WHAT? Wow! I tried to figure out why I would have so many or where they came from. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Hmmm.

Well, that isn't entirely true. I did see something that made me think. I did see a visit from a Spokane Law office(PHC). Which is not a big deal, but they stayed for 4 hours and 39 minutes. They exited on my very first blog. Um, odd. They spent 4 hours and read my blog from beginning to end. I did a little research on that office. I don't know anyone that works there. So, of course then I think I am being sued for something and they found my blog somehow and they are doing research on me. Which is actually a really weird feeling. Right?

So, I guess if you are reading from PHC just because you really like my blog and think I am funny and adorable...read on. Oh and you could leave a comment so I know not to lose anymore sleep. That would be great! But, if there is some other reason then please stop. Please.

Not Me Monday

I am back in the swing of things. I finished another book. That makes eight in last seven weeks. I did not finish My Sisters Keeper and throw the book down and get straight on the phone with my besty to discuss this book and what I think was a crock ending.

I did not try two different times to watch Benjamen Button and finally give up as it did not hold my interest in the least. I mean Brad is kind of cute but not when he is a tiny old man..."I'm seven." Although the little red headed girl in the beginning...the prettiest girl EVER.

You know those girls that just freak out at the first sign of trouble. I am not one of them so I did not completely over react to a text message sent by Aidan's dad without having all of the facts and feel completely ridiculous when it turned out to be nothing.

I did not check one of my favorite blogs all weekend for a new post and when I found nothing wish I had his email address to check on him. I did not email one of the other blogs I read faithfully when I could think of nothing else to do after her post was on my heart all day. She is amazing and an inspiration to me.

I did not look through the bulletin at church this morning and put an asterisk by all the things I want to do. It did not include hosting a small group of middle school aged children for a weekly study even when my mom said I was crazy.

Silly girl

You know when you are sleeping and you wake up suddenly and you are completely disoriented. You aren't sure what day it is or where you are. I totally had that experience last night.

It was Adam's ten year reunion last night so he got home pretty late. I stayed home with Abby and since she refused to go to sleep we were also up late. I was reading when he got home. He told me stories about the people who were totally the same after ten years and some he didn't recognize and gave me the greetings from the ones I know. Sounded like he had fun and the stories made me giggle. By the time we actually went to sleep it was very late.

I don't really remember falling asleep. I remember him taking a shower and asking me a question about something but I am pretty sure I moaned and rolled over and that's all. The next thing I know it is still dark but our bathroom light is on and he is getting dressed at the end of our bed. I panicked . For some reason I totally thought he was leaving me. In the middle of the night while I slept. A cowards escape. I quickly sat up and said "Adam, what are you doing?" He looked as confused as I did when he answered with a grin, " What do you mean, what am i doing? I have to go to work." I completely forgot he had to go to work early this morning. It hadn't been that long since we had went to bed. I was completely out of it. Well ,then of course when I realized he would be home before it was time to actually wake up I felt like a silly girl. I rolled over and pulled the covers up to my chin.

He reminded me of our conversation this morning and made me blush. I felt ridiculous. I don't know why I assumed he was running away. I do know that it was super scary to think of life without him even if for just a moment. He laughed at me and teased me about freaking out. He leaned down to kiss me and reminded me that he had made me a promise. A promise that will last forever. A promise of love. He wasn't going anywhere. Especially in the middle of the night. And especially in work clothes.