TangledEutopia

Make Room Conference 2010

2010-02-21T17:17:00.000-06:00

The Life Church has some Awesome Events Lined Up!

Go Check 'Em Out And If You're Close Enough,

We'd Love For You To Come Check Us Out!

Last Minute Valentine's Printables

2010-02-14T02:29:00.000-06:00

PROCRASTINATE 101

(Don't We All Work Well Under Pressure?)

I'm sure there are some out there, although I've never met one personally...

But just in case...

Have fun checking out these

Really Cool, Got It Together, Non-Procrastinatin' Girls

who keep all us procrastinators from losing our minds!

DysFUNctional Family Friday

2010-02-05T08:13:00.000-06:00

Good Morning Boys and Girls!
Today We're Going To Play A Little Game
I Like To Call:

Doesn't Everyone?

Feel Free To Jump In At Anytime, But I Must Warn You:
Post Pictures Of Your Dysfunction Or I'll Have To Photoshop Some Pictures On My Own...
And It Won't Be Pretty...

We're A Competitive Family Who Thrives On Winning!
All Our Childrens' Middle Name Isn't
"Dysfunction" For Nothin'!

Let's Get Started, Shall We?

Doesn't Everyone?
Celebrate WEAR YOUR KITTY TO WORK Day?

Doesn't Everyone?
Secretly Take Pictures Of Their Really Cute Worship Pastor...
While Their Daughter Is Getting Baptized?
AND
~~Accidentally Get Their Husbands' Hands In The Shot??~~

Doesn't Everyone?
Let Their Daughter And Her Friends Pretend Like They Are Getting Tattoos
At A Real Tattoo Shop AND Take Pictures To Freak Their Parents Out?

Doesn't Everyone?
Think If They Wear Union Jack Glasses And Watch BBC
All The Time, They Can Actually Become British?

Doesn't Everyone?

Keep A Roll Of Toilet Paper On The Kitchen Table Before Sunday Dinner?

(Huh? Whadja Say? That's Not A Kitchen Table?)

Doesn't Everyone?
Let Their Children Watch Elmo While Playing With Their Bum?
Oops, The BBC Is Wearin' Off On Me....

Doesn't Everyone?
Wonder If He Was Mad Because His Friend Was Feelin' Him Up
Or
He Didn't Get The Boobie Side?

Doesn't Everyone?
Let Their Toddler BOY Put On Makeup Before Church?

Doesn't Everyone?

Know I Can Still Rock Out

Because Unlike The MEN In My Family...

I Know Where The Keys Are...Even If They're NOT There

(Thanks To The Lipstick Wearin' Key Pullin' Off 19mth Old Above)

Doesn't Everyone?
Photoshop Their Eyes Really Extremely Way To Blue
But Don't Notice Til It's Too Late Because You're Tired?

Doesn't Everyone?
Take Pictures Of Themselves Trying To Pretend To

Be Mad That Someone ELSE Is Taking The Picture
So You Don't Look Like A Loser Taking A Picture Of
Yourself....???

Doesn't Everyone?
Have To Have Atleast One "Sentimental Look" Picture
In Their Stash Of Pictures Entitiled:
This Is My Not Supposed To Look Like I Took The Picture Myself Even Though I Can't Seem To Learn How To Crop My Arm Out Stash?

AND FINALLY.....

Doesn't Everyone?

Push The Button On Their Camera ~~Because They Don't Know How To Find The Time Release~~

Then Jump Back And Pretend To Be Surprised?

Mmmm, I Feel Better Now!
Feel Free To Grab The Button Above To Participate In:

TangledEutopia's
Dysfunctional Family Friday!

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Fuzzy Snow

2010-02-03T08:15:00.001-06:00

I haven't run off to join a religious cult that doesn't believe in the internet, I've just been swamped with work because of SNOW SNOW ICE ICE....

While Mama's Been Workin'....
Hootie Found The Snow!

And Hung Out With Fousins!

(What? You've Never Heard Of That Word?)

Get With It People!!

It's Your FRIEND That's Also Your COUSIN!

gEEz...

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Truthful Tuesday

2010-01-19T20:24:00.000-06:00

Welcome to TangledEutopia's Truthful Tuesday!
If you would like to participate in Truthful Tuesday,
Grab the button above and make sure you leave a link to your post!

Tangled In Honesty....

If we're just being seriously truthful here....

I've struggled with fasting once my work week started. The first week was on track, but once I started confusing my body again (by sleeping at night then hardly sleeping at all), it rebelled.

*****

I really miss my husband. No, he hasn't gone anywhere, we've been in the same house. But it's hard to be a wife and mom working overnight, trying to fit yourself into a world where everyone around you lives during the day and sleeps at night.

*****************************************************

If we're not being serious....But truthful....

It's perfectly normal to feed your kids fast food in the car on the way home from a special service at church then forget to make them brush their teeth because it's already after 9pm.

*****
If you stay up to late to finally be alone with your husband, but it makes you wake up later than you should...
It's okay for you to be in a bad mood and yell at your kids who are in a bad mood (from staying up to late also) and push them out the door 10 minutes after they wake up with only a piece of toast shoved in their mouth....
If you cry about what a horrible mom you are then decide to jump in the car with no bra, no shoes on your toddler, and no wallet, so you can rush to the school, find your kid eating breakfast in the cafeteria, and embarrass him by kissing and apologizing profusely.
Only then is it okay....

*****

It's okay to let your toddler eat mini chocolate chips for breakfast so you can blog about being a bad mother.

*****

If you're so sleepy from getting off work at 8am that you allow your toddler to climb upstairs to play with your older son...Only to find out the big brother was in the bathroom and didn't know the little brother went into the big sisters room and decided to put her hot pink lipstick ALL over his face....It's okay....

AS LONG AS YOU TAKE PICTURES OF IT.....

~DISCLAIMER~ No Children Were Hurt In The Making Of This Blog Post....

I Mean Really? What Do People Remember About Their Childhood Anyway???

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ME Monday

2010-01-18T14:18:00.000-06:00

Can I Gush For A Minute....

I Just Love Becky!

She Cut My Hair The Other Day And...

I Love It!

And She's Hot!

AND

I LOVE IT!!!!

Go See Her!

J Maxwell

2200 N. Germantown Parkway

Suite 4

Cordova, TN 38016

901.384.3909

http://www.salonjmaxwell.com/default.html

Thanks Girl!!!

Me Love You Long Time

2010-01-18T08:18:00.001-06:00

Can I just say....

We're Big Tired Dorks...

Who Need A Break....

To Have A Date Night. Alone....

And Pretend We're Dating Again....

And Not Parents....

Just Kids In Love....

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Shut Yo' Mouth Saturday

2010-01-16T08:44:00.000-06:00

Welcome To TangledEutopia's

Shut Yo' Mouth Saturday!

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Friday Follow

2010-01-16T01:06:00.001-06:00

Welcome To TangledEutopia's Friday Follow!

Make Sure You Leave Me Some Love

Click Here To Subscribe Subscribe in a reader

Welcome to the first ever Friday Follow celebration hosted by

One 2 Try, Hearts Make Families and Midday Escapades!

My MckLinky isn't working for some reason,

so go check out these cool chicks and show 'em some love!!!

God's Name Is Amanda

2010-01-13T09:31:00.000-06:00

If we're being honest here, I have to say that I didn't start my fast until Monday (instead of Sunday) because if you read my first post about these 21 Days, you'll remember that I had one of my TangledEpiphanies or Ta-Piphany as I like to call it about what I thought God was trying to tell me.

Funny enough, When I heard His voice telling me HOW I should go through this journey,
He disguised Himself as a sweet soft-spoken woman that stands maybe 5" tall and weighs maybe 100lbs.
AND He called Himself Amanda!!! But it didn't matter because I heard it!!

I'm not going to bore you with a rundown of what I've eaten, but I will say this:

I ate TOFU for the first time ever!!!

(I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't throw up and it was edible.)

I made Ratatouille and Runs With Scissors looked at it and said,

"What??? I'm not eating HIM, I like HIM!"

In case you don't know, it consisted of:

eggplant, onions, zucchini, and tomatoes.

4 out of the 4 ingredients that Miss Talks-A-Lot HATES, but she was a good sport!!
And she ate 2 helpings of salad!! That is HUGE because I didn't allow Ranch dressing!!
Really Really Proud of my kids!
(On a side note, while I'm bragging....She was also one of only 27 kids out of ALL the choir kids in the whole school that was chosen to be in a special choir aside from Show or Honors!! And Runs With Scissors made Honor Roll AGAIN with only 1 B, and he even complained about that!!)

I made a complete meal using only:

5tbs. of olive oil, lemon juice, basil, garlic, salt and pepper.

NO BUTTER!!!

I'm sorry but in my Southern house, that's an accomplishment!!

It's been much easier to give up tea than I ever thought, although I've had 1 cup of coffee everyday, but in my defense, I've cut the sugar in half with Stevia and replaced my evaporated milk with....okay....I won't write a lie. Only some of the time I've halfed it with yucky powder creamer.

Powder creamer seems soooo beneath Starbucks and I!!!

I had such a routine. Such a habit with my coffee. I pride myself in getting my Barista's at my favorite Starbucks trained. I'm very matter-of-fact and now that's all come to an end. I have to start over. WHEN I start going back to Starbucks that is....One of my commitments is not buying any food outside of Whole Foods, Easy-Way, or the Grocery. Sadly, that includes my Love, Starbucks.

.

Let me tell you how hard this has been....Hootie and I were waiting in the University parking lot so my brother could finish his registration for school and out of boredom,

I decided to clean under my seats. I know. OCD. Just keep going with it....

I found a certificate that Starbucks had mailed me for a free coffee!!!! (They really love me)

OH THE HORRORS!!!

THAT...MY FRIEND IS PROOF THAT SATAN EXISTS, IS REAL, AND WORKING JUST AS HARD AS JESUS TO WIN PEOPLE OVER...

I Know It's Only 21 Days

2010-01-10T22:39:00.000-06:00

I need to make a confession.

But you have to promise not to laugh.

Promise?

Okay.

Our church has teamed with over 900 other churches for the 21 Day Fast, and it started today.
It's right in line with my 90 day plan. That's not the confession, by the way....

During church I kept wondering how everyone else was fasting. Were they only drinking liquids? Were they only fasting from sun up to sun down? (Being in the Arabic community for so many years, that's what I was used to.) During Ramadan, which is 40 days, they fast from sun up to sun down eating a light meal after they break the fast in the evening.

The theme of today's message was "The Power of One"
One person, One year, One change can all make many huge differences.

John talked about The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree from Luke 13:6-9

6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

The Vinedresser had 3 things that God yearns for us:
1. Vision
2. Patience
3. Commitment

While he was talking and I was absorbing, (which is why church is so important in the first place) God kept speaking to me. He kept saying to me: "Get back to what I gave you."

The words "fruits and vegetables" kept playing over and over in my head. And my head kept saying: "But that's food." That wouldn't technically be fasting. Or would it?

What if, just for a small amount of time, I got back to only what God gave us?

Now for my big confession:

I've heard of the Daniel Fast, but never looked into it enough to know what it was. Ironically one of the pastors' wives put an update on Facebook giving recipes for those of us starting the fast. Suddenly it all made sense.

But crap!

I thought I was special.

I thought God was speaking directly to me, giving me some secret message like the radio program gave Ralphie for his secret decoder in The Christmas Story.

But Daniel and Amanda already had it!

Then I realized God WAS speaking just to me. For Me. But just like I have to break down the big words for Chief sometimes....God had to break it down for me. He wanted me to find it on my own. I'm sure He didn't care that Facebook was the means, He was just glad I found it.

So thanks Amanda! Oh yeah, and thanks Daniel...

Go check out The Daniel Fast here.

I know it's only 21 days....

I've decided that I'm not brave enough to go cold turkey with my coffee and tea. I'm more fearful of my addiction to those two than any food I can think of.

But I know it's only 21 days....

I've used coffee as a substitute to food for so long. It scares me to confront food again without Starbucks in my corner! That's it in a nutshell.

But I know it's only 21 days....

So I'm going to take the next 5 days to wean myself down. I know. I'm a wimp.

I'm going to need your encouragement.

Your accountability.

I'm going to need you to make me mad by sending me quick messages asking if I'm on track.

And I'm going to use restraint when I have to pray before answering you in a sarcastic nice manner by trudging through my withdrawals...

Because even though it's only 21 days....

It's Really The Rest Of My Life

I'm The Feature Entertainment...

2010-01-08T08:30:00.002-06:00

And Lucky You, There's No $5 Cover

Hairy Sweaty Men Involved

(Hey Guys!!! Thanks for coming back!! Make sure you go over to The Blog Rollers to check me out !! Again!! Don't forget to show all the ladies some love!)

Yeah. That would be ME

Fully Clothed

And Serving No Alcohol

But I Promise, It'll Be Well Worth Your Time!

Come Show Me Some Good Clean Love

(Cuz After All, I'm A Jesus Lovin' Girl)

And It's Hard Out Here For A....

I'm Friday's Feature Blogger over at:

www.theblogrollers.com

Resolutions I Will Never Make

2010-01-03T03:20:00.000-06:00

...Cuz I Got It Like That

1. I Resolve To: Talk More About My Feelings.

2. I Resolve To: Give up chocolate totally. 100%. Completely. Honestly....

3. I Resolve To: Spend more time watching TV / movies

4. I Resolve To: I want to gain weight. Put on at least 30 pounds.

5. I Resolve To: Procrastinate more.

6. I Resolve To: Spend more time at work.

7. I Resolve To: Stop taking the time to make sure the toilet seat is in the DOWN postion before

sitting.

8. I Resolve To: Give up my constant fight over Chief being such a Redneck and farting in MY bed. (Yes. Mine.)

9. I Resolve To: Stop Making Resolutions and finally realize that IF it were that important to me, I would change it in July.

The Jones's Should Only Be Kept Up With If You're One Of The Smart People

2010-01-03T02:13:00.000-06:00

I was doing some weekly reading of some of the blogs I follow, when I read a post MckMama wrote about blogging boldly....

Come on now. You know I have an opinion...Cuz I have an opinion about everything...

**Did I just hear you mumble Amen under your breath?**

You betta check that stuff at the door....

Back to what I was saying....

MckMama talked about trying to be real and authentic this year.
Let's just be real for a second.

Real and Authentic are not words that hormones understand.

Irrational?

Now there's a word your hormones can understand.

All you have to do is look back through my posts

and you can easily see the words

IRRATIONAL AND HORMONAL written all over...

Want a perfect example?

Go read the reply I just wrote to one of the comments made on her post.

Go read my last post or the one before that and then come back and read these words very carefully:

I'm Sitting At Work With A Bag of Left Over Christmas M&M's ....

Because the word Period is more than just a dot on a page....

(Celebrate??? Are you kidding Me???)

It's nothing to play with.

You can't compete.

You can't win.

You just succumb.

And eat the damn chocolates even though you've just started a

MAJOR Life Change because it's a New Year....

**I Feel The Hormones Kickin' Into High Gear For This Next Set Of Sentences...You've Been Warned**

To Blog Boldly or Speak Boldly can sometimes be nothing more than YOU making YOU look like a close minded freak.

The word Perception means Your Truth For That Moment.

Nothing More.

Because have no doubt...Your Perception in that moment is almost Never anyone else's...

I don't think the Jones' are bad people. Infact, I think there's a lot to learn not from them, but from yourself when you're going through emotions about them.

Those are the times (if you're smart) that you take envy and you take worry and you take self-doubt

and you turn it into another path on your journey.

(If you're smart,) you let the Jones's remind you of what's really important...

I was going to write a Loud Screaming Post about how I was soooo over all my serious talk lately...

I was going to write a Loud Screaming Post about how I was making a vow to get back to

Original Biness of only being funny and sarcastic...

But

Life ain't all about Funny Biness....

Life is Real.

Life is Hormonal.

Life is Tragic.

Life is Eye-Opening.

Life is Weak.

Life is Strong.

Life is Short.

Life is Way-To-Long-With-Not-Enough-Time

Life is Wonderful.

Life is Hard.

Life is About Learning.

Life is....

Life is What You Make It.

You Are Exactly Where You Are Supposed To Be At This Very Moment.

So Write About It.

And You Can

Re-Live It.

Learn From It.

Improve Upon It.

Gloat Over It.

Change It.

Apologize For It.

Understand It.

How To Give Up a Bad Habit: 10 Ways To NOT Fail This Time

2010-01-01T09:46:00.002-06:00

Don't you get tired of setting the same goals every year? Don't you get tired of giving up after a month because you were not realistic?

It's Time To UnTangle The Reasons You Fail Every Time

AND

Finally Get IT Accomplished!

1.You CAN Control of Your Thoughts

Your thoughts are amazing tools for reinventing your world. The KEY is taking time to actually think beforehand.

2.Stop Punishing Yourself

Don’t beat yourself up for having unhealthy habits. Guilt keeps you focused on negative. Shame does little for motivation.

3.Challenge Your Past

It's very easy to slowly lock UnTruth's into your mind. If you tell yourself something over and over, it eventually becomes true. If that is true for negatives, why can't it be true for positives? Revisit some issues that are holding you back and give yourself a new truth.

4.Don't Just Make Goals, Make Plans For Those Goals

And speak them out loud. That holds you more accountable and instills trust in your word.

5.Write Your Plan and Focus on it Every Day

Carry a copy of that statement with you and tape it to your bathroom mirror, the ceiling over your bed, the dashboard of your car , the back of your cell phone.

6.Seek the Right Kind of Support

Some say to seek people that won't tear you down but only lift you up. I say find people who will get you to your goal. That means connecting with people that are where you WANT to be.

7.Create Affirmations

On a sheet of paper, draw a line down the middle and write down the Truths (Really UNtruths) you tell yourself every second of everyday. On the next write down the complete opposite. Throughout the day, say your affirmation aloud. Eventually it won't make you feel like a dork because it will feel TRUE!

8.Visualize The New YOU

See yourself Being what you want. Act the part.

Pretend like you've reached your goal. Be that kind of person in your words, behavior, and attitude. As you do, others will begin to see you as you want to be.

9.Don't Focus On Time. Focus On One Step at a Time

Eliminate “I’ll try” From Your Vocabulary. That gives you an easy out. When you make a commitment or promise to yourself, say, “I will do it!”

10.Practice!

No new habit comes without hard work. If you have a bad day, don’t condemn yourself. And don’t give up. The more you practice your new behavior, the better you will become at doing it. Practice consistently and soon it will become second nature.

If That's A Syndrome, I've Got The Plague

2009-12-31T10:22:00.005-06:00

I've decided I'm going to break my goals for 2010 into 4 quarters. I can't seem to fathom having the attention span needed for an overall yearly goal.

All I keep saying to myself as I'm writing is "man, I hope I actually have the guts at the end of this, to publish what I'm writing."

I've never actually done that before. My goals have always been private.

Private because I know the weight of accountability that sits on the shoulders of such a huge step I would be taking. But remember that little post I wrote about Tangled Epiphanies? The one I had on a road trip recently? The epiphany that gave me chills as I drove down the dark interstate when I realized (in my opinion and round about way) that God intended for us to have on-going mental battles until we understand that is the only way to PROVE and BELIEVE in:

photo courtesy of: vistawallpaper.org

I'll find a way to incorporate reaching the goal of GOING PUBLIC into one of the rewards I give myself throughout the year because well....

90 Days
45 lbs.
4 lbs. per week
I'm going to open a new account and deposit $10 for every pound lost so I can use that as my reward and go shopping for new clothes.

I accidentally found this GREAT website called:

somedaysyndrome.com

And Fell In Love!

I wanted to highlight some of the Awesomeness David Concocts and YES, I'm totally going to let him know I'm quoting him so he doesn't think I'm stealing his stuff!

Read a couple of things he says, then go check him out!!!

What are you not doing even though you feel you should want it?
Where do you claim to want something but then let fear stop you?
What aren’t you tackling because it’s too much work?
Are you actively engaged or on autopilot?
How many projects do you have on the go at any one time? How good are you at prioritizing them?
Where are you choosing safe over happy?

***When I stepped back to look at my life objectively I realized that if I was to prioritize the things I do the order came out:...... And when things aren't going well, it's usually the fault of whatever's on the bottom of the list.

***When you set a “goal”, your subconscious mind tends to place it into the “someday” category, even if it’s a short-term goal you have every intention of completing. And while you may complete it as a short-term goal, the chances of failure actually go up when you label it as a “goal”… despite the fact that it’s good to have goals.

***You had an idea based on your desire, and you successfully executed it at some point in the future. Same as a goal right? The difference is, your mind is used to following through with plans, but may need much more training to follow through with “goals”, despite the fact that they are basically the same thing.

***How to Create Your “Plan”

Let’s do a quick exercise. All you’ll need is a pen, a piece of paper, and your mind.

Take one of your big long-term goals that you hope to accomplish “someday” and that’ll be the only thing we label a “goal” for this exercise, and write it down on the top of your paper. Now, the sub-goals, or what would be called the short-term goals leading up to your big goal are going to be labeled “plans”.

Write down your new short term “plans” and decide when they should be executed, and give an estimated time-frame. Put tentative dates, and make sure to plan on executing some of them very soon, in fact, as soon as you can. If it’s honestly a goal you really want, you won’t want to wait anyway.

Below is a simplistic example plan to illustrate the exercise I just described. It’s for someone who’s always wanted to start their own online business but has previously put it into the “someday” category in their mind.

Goal: Start an Online Business

Action Plans:

Find a good resource and gather up the necessary knowledge.

Date: 11/30/2009 (Today) – Complete by: 12/7/2009

Topic/Market Research

Date: 12/7/2009 – Complete by: 12/14/2009

Create the website

Date: 12/15/2009 – Complete by: 12/21/2009

Create the initial content

Date: 12/22/2009 – Complete by: 2/22/2010

Create a marketing plan

Date: 2/23/2009 – Complete by: 3/1/2010

And so on…

If you take the above example literally it will obviously have some flaws, but it wasn’t meant to help you start an online business, it’s purpose is to show you how to simply change the “goals” you need to accomplish as soon as possible into plans, so your mind actually queues the actions you need to take, rather than just letting them remain stagnant in the “someday” bin.
somedaysyndrome.com
ONLY YOU CAN DO IT!!!

If You're The Vehicle, Why Does HE Always Have More Gas?

2009-12-30T09:48:00.002-06:00

2009 was a roller coaster of a year in our family.

We had 1 cross country road trip,

2 close family members die,

and 3 life changing experiences that brought out the best and worst in us.

2009 was a massive year of growth in our family.

Growth usually comes from (hopefully) hard lessons learned and stumbling along the way.

In order to close 2009 and bring in 2010 with a BANG,

I've been gearing my family by constantly saying the words "January 1st" which insinuates not just new cliche' goals, but true vision, planning, and ofcourse tons of Faith for what God has planned in our lives!

To kick it off right, I've written each family member words that I feel need said before our new endeavor!

As you read, Just Remember:

YOU, as a mom,

are the most important vehicle to get them moving in

a more positive direction

a more negative direction.

IT'S UP TO YOU TO MAKE 2010 THE BEST YEAR YET!!!

Click Here For: OPEN LETTER TO CHIEF

OPEN LETTER TO CHIEF

2009-12-30T07:08:00.000-06:00

I love you.

I love you with every inch of me.

I love you more than I know how to say.

I'm so thankful that we decided to go on this journey together.

I'm so thankful that you've been open to anything I suggest.

I'm so thankful that you try and don't EVER give up.

I wish I could erase your past. I wish I knew the words to help you stop living your today based on your yesterday. I wish I could do that for myself.

I thank you for always reminding them, that we are in this for the long haul.

I thank you for always eventually being able to bring yourself around and see other points of view.

I can't tell you how much I hate when we have breakdowns in communication.

I can't tell you how much it hurts me during those times, that we let things get so out of hand without taking time to slow down in the moment.

I know this is a growing process.

I know that I have to acknowledge more the steps forward, rather than remind you of the steps back.

I hate that it seems those moments are far to easy to remember.

I hate that it seems some steps have gotten stuck.

We can't expect our kids to feel secure enough to allow us to guide them,

when they aren't secure that we are in fact an us.

It doesn't matter that our grown-up brains understand exactly where we stand. It doesn't matter that we know a disagreement is only that, and not the beginnings of the end of us.

All they know is that it's happened before. Their home has been taken away. Their world torn apart. So our arguements are always a sign of the end in their mind.

We have to do a better job of making our home a safe haven for everyone.

In my opinion, that means it is our job to truly keep revisiting those issues that haven't been able to leave our minds.

You have the same complaints over and over.

You have the same issues with me time and again,

As I have with you.

How can we get past that?

I know where the answers lie.

I know what great strides we have made in joining together in making Christ the center of our home.

I also know how powerful our old ways can be.

I know how hard some of those days were while we journeyed through The Love Dare.

I thank you for talking about it the other day in the store, while we spent the whole day together alone. It allowed us to be in our true hearts and minds without the stress of the house.

But the reality is, that our reality, IS our home.

It's our children, our laundry, our bills, our schedules and most importantly, our respect for eachother.

And as easy as it is to get caught in all that entails...

We have to have days like we did the other day.

We have to stop.

think.

close the door.

say sorry.

don't say at all.

keep our voices low.

remove some vocabulary.

remove some mindsets.

remember the beginning.

plan for the future.

pray together.

lean on one another.

give strength when the other has none.

Only then will our children feel secure with us.

Only then will they know what we've Always known.

We will always be an us.

Here's to a GREAT 2010 BABY!

Truthful Tuesday: My Kid Is Better Than Your Kid..

2009-12-22T11:25:00.001-06:00

Last year, around this time, BFF and I drove through Starbucks (what's new?)

and were told once we got to the window that the car ahead of us had paid for our drinks. I had never heard of that before and became overwhelmed with emotion at the thought of random acts of kindness not only still alive, but actually happening to ME!

Of course, paid for the car behind us, and the barista informed us that the current stint of paying it forward was in its' 4th hour. That made my night as well as made my days brighter for days after.

But that was last year. While I've often thought about that night, I haven't spoken about it this year.

I'm on the tail end of working 12 straight days of a mixed up schedule that has left me beyond tired and tired. I had to write that word twice because I couldn't think of a better word to convey just how much my schedule sucks right now other than jumping through your computer screen and screaming it in your face while choking the sleep out of you......

Last night I decided to wage war on the demons of all things tired and get the boys dressed to go look at Christmas lights.

Miss Talks-A-Lot was at a slumber party and while I really enjoy spending time with all my babies, I have to admit the level of chaos is so much more DO-ABLE when Runs With Scissors is alone having only to compete with an 18 month old who laughs at every single word he speaks because said 18 month old thinks his older brother hung the moon!

Can I get to the point of my story please???

We're in the drive-thru and Runs With Scissors asks the barista what the total was for the car behind us. It was double the total we had just paid for our own drinks, but I want you to know, that baby pulled $10 out of his little 8 year old pocket, paid the bill, and instructed him to tell them Merry Christmas!

I'm not sure I've ever had a prouder moment as a mom! I had no idea he had any concept of paying it forward or any knowledge about that becoming a trend at Starbucks around the holidays!

Baby, I hope you realize how you might have impacted someone's life. You never know who was sitting in that car behind us. You have no idea what was going on in their life. They could have been contemplating suicide all day and you changed their mind simply by showing that random act of Christmas Spirit.

Jesus acted in that very same manner and I want you to know, while it is so much more important that YOU feel proud of you, I am proud of you.

More than words could ever be written in a blog. (That you have never read....)

I Love You My Sweet Babies!

Uh Oh. He's Had An Idea...

Do You See It? He's Scheming And I Caught It On Film

Oh The Love

She Always Gets Him Back

But He Always Comes Back Around

You Are My Sunshine

Stop By And Feel Free To Bring A Gift To My Pity Party

2009-12-20T08:23:00.001-06:00

Here's where my world is at right now:

4 days a week I work midnight to 8am.

Those nights just happen to be the crappiest set of days I could work when it comes to the dynamics of my family. I leave my house at 11pm on Thursday night because the start of my shift is actually Friday.

I get off work Friday morning at 8am and head home only to sneak in the house quietly before Hootie hears me.

My brother. My brother....

My saving grace, is in college and doesn't have class on Friday

so he comes over and babysits so I can sleep.

I get up around the same time the big kids get home from school and have our normal life of dinner, homework, baths, and cleaning, until leaving the house again at 11pm to work my Saturday shift.

Here's where the chaos begins.

When I get home around 8:30am on Saturday morning, the children are just starting to stir and my sweet husband is trying to catch just 10 more minutes of sleep. (Which he deserves)

I put a load of laundry in, change the baby, start breakfast, straighten the kitchen, (because nobody cleans it like Mama cleans it) feed the baby, and by then....I've caught it. Or should I say, IT'S caught me.

My Second Wind.

I HATE THAT SECOND WIND!!!!

About an hour into the morning, if Chief isn't stirring, I'm starting to wain. My head starts to hurt and all those great ideas I had just an hour before, about going to the park or grocery shopping or massive cleaning...

Well. Those ideas seem pretty unrealistic and far fetched by that time.

Now. One of two things happen at this point...

A. Chief gets up and starts cooking a big breakfast and we chat in the kitchen about what the day holds, while the baby throws his cup across the room from his high chair

Or

B. Chief gets up and comes out of the bedroom fully dressed dressed with his agenda already mapped out in his head. I automatically know his agenda has something to do with being outside. Depending on the weather, it means cutting the grass, working on his truck, cleaning the outside, painting the house, or as I like to call it:

Piddling. Finding WhatEVER he can find to do as long as it's Outside and NOT Inside.

Those are the days I know I may not get sleep. I plan to sleep. I really do. But as the day wears on and the kids have their own agenda, (which is never cleaning the house) sometimes I get to lie down at 4 or 5 in the afternoon. Sometimes not.

The days I come home and go straight to bed on Saturday seem to be better for sleep purposes, but Chief ends up letting me sleep ALL day and I wake up and it's dark outside. (Those are the days I have to ask him what day it is and I usually panic for a few seconds thinking I'm late getting the kids up for school unaware it's still the SAME day and they don't even have school that day.)

Umm Yeah. Those days suck just as much.

Whatever my Saturday has held, sleep or no sleep, I leave the house again at 11pm to work my Sunday shift.

I get home Sunday morning around 8:30 hoping everyone is already awake and on their way to getting breakfast ate and clothes on for church. I have exactly one hour to get myself ready and help Chief get the baby ready before heading to church by 10:15.

I totally forget I'm tired while at church because...well...that's just how Awesome My Church Is.
But I don't even get all the way to the car afterwards, and I start to drag. The whole drive home, which is 7 minutes, all I can do is contemplate about is how I wish the kids could cook themselves or should I give in and just pick something up. Lord Forbid if we've been invited to dinner. As much as I used to enjoy going out to eat after church, I simply can't think like that anymore.

Most of the time I have to spend atleast another hour or two helping Chief get the kids fed and the baby down for a nap, before heading to bed myself, feeling guilty about sleeping in the day AGAIN on the weekend. It's so much worse the weekends we have Sitting Bull. He lives 2 hours away and Chief usually leaves around 4pm to meet half-way. He absolutely Hates taking Hootie on this 3 hour drive because Hootie doesn't ride well and the big kids Hate sitting in the car for 3 hours. But if I keep the kids home with me, I don't get to lie down until around 8pm. I still have to leave by 11pm, so that means roughly 21/2 hours sleep....

That Kills me the weekends I didn't get to sleep on Saturday!!!

Finally my last night rolls around!!

Well.

Almost.

I work my last night, which is technically Monday morning, and arrive back home at 8:30 just in time to take my brother to school. (His scooter, yes I said scooter, died on him and he's been waiting on parts for a couple of weeks now.) Hootie and I travel back home and are left to our own devices for the remainder of the day.

We spend the day cleaning, watching Sesame Street, tying to finish projects until the kids get home at 3:30 and Chief at 4pm. By this time of my week, my brain capacity has all but shut down. I can't remember to take something out for dinner. I forget to ask the kids if they have homework. I cry inside when I say No if they ask me about going Anywhere on that day.

By 7pm, I'm complete mush. I either make a decision to shut down and give up, or I keep trudging along with the intention of seeing them off to bed before I finally turn in at 9pm.

But that doesn't always happen. Chief and I have just spent the entire weekend not fully engaged in one another. Passing one another while mumbling reminders about who needs to go where, who's had a bath, who hasn't, and who's going to win the on-going arguement about the kids riding to drop Sitting Bull off or the kids staying home with a sleepy mama.

By Monday night, I'm missing my man. Well my brain is anyway. My body wants to miss him but can't seem to remember what pile of laundry, her libido is hiding under.

And that's usually the part where my entire system goes into shut-down mode. I can't go any more.

And I finally sleep.
In my bed.
At night.

Only to wake at 6:30 the next morning...
Get the kids off to school, feed Hootie, feel somewhat refreshed and decide enough is enough. So Tuesday usually turns into:

"See How Many Episodes Of Sesame Street I Can Get Away With Parking Hootie In Front Of ,

So I Can Power Clean Tuesday"

Is that not The Most Aweful Mama Thing To Do Ever????

But I'm in a pickle. I have one more day of work for the week.

I have to go to work on Tuesdays from 4pm-midnight. I have a timeframe I have to go by if I'm going to get anything accomplished before having to leave for work.

The whole weekend has just been spent with the kids half reading the "Daily Chore List" and more importantly, half doing it.

I Have to get things cleaned the right way because I've been to tired all weekend to enforce that rule in our house that says: Never Do Anything Half-Hearted....

In Chief's defense, he's done his part all weekend of being Mr. Mom but for some reason those extra body parts that men have and women don't, like the *ahemmm* Adam's Apple....Well, those body parts seem to hinder men from understanding there's more to clean than just the kitchen, the clothes, and the living room floor.

AND. Those body parts also hinder men from remembering that part of cleaning the kitchen is wiping down counters and dining room tables in order for the kitchen to be truly clean....Just Sayin'...

And I'm not done. At 3pm I leave whatever ends up not getting done, drop the baby off with my grandmother and head to work. I get home about 20 minutes after midnight to a quiet house and Chief sleeping in his chair. I take a shower, wake him up and we head to bed. Both of us tired. Too Tired for anything but sleep. Again.

Wednesday morning comes and I usually don't hear the alarm clock. Thank Goodness Chief is there once again to pick up my slack. He usually has the kids up and they are in the kitchen getting breakfast by the time I realize it's 7am and I only have 20 minutes to spend with the kids.

Keep in mind I have no idea what they are doing with their school work because:

A. I was so tired on Monday I forgot to ask.

and

B. I was at work on Tuesday when they got off the bus.

They run over to kiss me before rushing out the door hollering behind them, things they forgot to tell me the 10 minutes they got to see me. (5 minutes was spent going to the bathroom, 5 minutes getting Hootie out of the crib and changing his diaper, leaving me only 10 minutes.)

Things like "Don't forget about Axis tonight." (Wed. night church for the teens) and "I need glue sticks and my lunch account is almost empty."

I close the door and sit down in Chief's chair feeling defeated.

Feeling like the worst mom in the world.

And look at this house!

Did I not clean yesterday?

Why do they constantly fold the clothes and not put them away?

Oh wait. That was the pile of folded clothes I saw sitting on the floor in front of my closet. They were in Chief's way when he stumbled from the chair to the bed at 1:15 this morning after I finally finished my shower and woke him up to come to bed.

Atleast I got 4 hours of sleep....

At night.

In the bed at the same time as my husband....sorta....

The emotions of sleeplessness and fatigue come crashing down on my at that very moment.

Every Wednesday Morning.

And I cave.

I give in to it.

I retreat into my very own pity party where I am the VIP guest.

I hate being the only one invited.

So I instantly decide to hypothetically invite everyone in my household.

And they come. Well into my thoughts they come.

And as I look around the living room at the half-hearted attempt to

fold and put away clothes,

the cup left beside the snack wrapper on the end table next to Chief's chair,

the 5 lonesome socks thrown at the foot of the stairs with no mate,

and the firetruck sitting in the middle of the floor daring to be moved,

I start turning the VIP status over to everyone else that occupies our home.

I let my mind start the blame game.

I give a name to every out of place article in the living room based on who I Know left it there.

I start feeling over-whelmed at how much there is to do in the house because I've basically been M.I.A. for the past 5 days, either physically or mentally.

And I take the pity party back and encompass it around me because after all it's not their fault.

I'm The Mom.

And as The Mom, I haven't:

Been here physically or mentally to teach them how to properly clean.

To praise them for their efforts.

To go over spelling homework.

To cook something for dinner besides spaghetti, tuna helper, or whatever meat we have and the same 2 vegetables, corn and green beans.

To make sure the baby had a proper night-time routine of bath time and good smelly lotion to make his skin soft since it's so cold outside.

To read Runs With Scissors a book before bedtime.

To sit on Missy T's bed and gossip about her life in middle school before kissing her good night.

To curl up on the couch with my husband and forget what show we're watching because we have so much

to talk about before deciding to go to bed. Together. And Talk some more.

As much as I want to continue this One Man Fiesta, I'm torn out of my thoughts when I realize Hootie is still in his high chair in the kitchen.

Alone.

Standing in his high chair.

Throwing his cereal to the puppy anxiously waiting at his feet.

And laughing.

And at that moment I decide the most important thing at that very second is not

Unloading the dishwasher.

It's not sweeping the floor.

(Echo can take care of that. He's already started with the cereal.)

It's not putting the clothes in their proper place.

The most important thing at that moment is about to fall backwards out of his high chair, and as his mom, my most important job at that very moment is to forget about the last 5 days and all my failures, grab him tight and smother him with kisses before taking him to the living room floor and pulling out every toy we can find.

With the t.v. off and our imaginations on.

I spend the rest of the day going over homework, cooking dinner, pretending I'm a Stay At Home Mom.

A Good One...

Thursday is spent with a clear mind from enough sleep but a seeping guilt about not cleaning the day before.

And a nagging knowledge that whatever time I just had off to try and make up all the lost relationship building time, house cleaning time, striving to be a good wife and mom time, will be gone as of 11pm.

And it starts all over again.

And I hate it.

Friday Fumblings

2009-12-18T08:31:00.001-06:00

Things I'll Only Admit Once...

(I'm pretending you aren't smart enough to know that once posted, you can read it over and over....)

1. Is it bad to give an 18 month old coffee? I guess we'll find out in about 10 minutes....

2.I walked into the Walmart bathroom yesterday and there was a dude washing his hands. I said to him, "Is it me or you?" (Meaning: who's the dork in the wrong bathroom?) He kinda giggles and says, "This is the mens' bathroom."

Push Pause.

Doesn't this fool know I'm a girl and I've come to this Walmart about 354 more times than him?

Push Play.

I walk back to the door, open it. Close it. Ask if I can see his boobs because if not, then him and his package are in the wrong bathroom....

Just Kidding. I don't think that fast on my feet. Really I just walked to the door to re-iterate, that atleast for today I wasn't crazy.

3. I can't seem to stop thinking I'm always right. I try. Really I do. But my ideas about how to solve something, how to fix something, or the way I think something should be always seem so RIGHT.

Tutorial: DIY Ribbon Dispenser

2009-12-13T06:24:00.000-06:00

I've been a BAD GIRL....

I can't seem to stay away from:

El Hobbio Lobbio...

(Hobby Lobby for those of you that can't read Authentic Spanglish)

I bought my very first Crop-A-Dile and I'm In Punchin' Holes & Stickin' Eyelets Heaven!!!

If you've never heard of it, go check them out here:
We R Memory Keepers

I went on their website to get some ideas for finishing my Christmas Cards and found an idea for how to organize all my ribbons.

Well Sorta.

I think it could be mis-construed as:

Redneck Can't Get A Real Craft Room kinda idea....

Whatever. L

I've got baskets full of ribbon and have had to make a couple of these
ribbon dispensers.
I chose to make mine black so I could still focus on the ribbon when trying to make a decision.

In this tutorial I used an empty formula can and an empty margarine tub.

Memory Keepers didn't. They had the good stuff.

The Cute Good Stuff...

Whatever. I Love Mine....

Here's how I've been keeping my ribbon.

I have a 5 drawer rolling cart that works well, but when I work with my ribbon

~~at my kitchen table~~, everything becomes mumbo jumbo and disorganized.

There are a couple items that have really helped in my journey to becoming:

While at Hobby Lobby, I splurged because I had a 40% off coupon and bought this:

It's a 2 sided board. One to cut (with my new rotary cutter) and the other to iron on. (since I'm the queen of No-Sew)

The tool I'm Most excited about is my new

Crop-A-Dile!!!

I've been dreaming all night and day about things I want to make holes in...

(Well...to be exactly truthful, I started dreaming only AFTER I went on the website and learned how to use it.)

Let's Get Started!

Materials Needed:

Empty Container. Preferably light weight metal or hard plastic.

Glue Gun and Glue Sticks

Fabric and/or Ribbon of your choice

Rotary Cutter, Exacto Knife, or Sharp Fabric Scissors

Crop-A-Dile Grommet Pusher or traditional grommet tool

Cardboard or other heavy board to protect work area

This old margarine tub is light weight but held up well to the heat of the glue gun.

Pick a starting point, add a thin line of glue and apply fabric.

Hold taught to decrease wrinkles and make a smooth surface.

Once you have the top glued, flip it upside down and hot glue the bottom. Cut off the excess fabric.

Take your gromment or embellishment tool and punch holes all the way around in the desired width apart. I set mine to 31/8" because the embellishments are tiny.

After you get all holes in place, apply an embellishment into each hole and use your tool to set in place.

I counted the holes and grabbed the appropriate number of spools of ribbon.

I took all the ribbon off the spool and stuffed it into the tub while pushing the end of the ribbon through the grommets. Once I had the ribbon pulled out enough, I put the lid on but DO NOT SECURE THE LID.

If you do this you won't be able to reuse the tub with new ribbon.

Match Dot Com Owes Me Some Money

2009-12-07T08:27:00.001-06:00

Seriously? I feel the need to apologize for being so seriously serious and deep lately. It's almost outta my system, swear!

Almost...

As much as I always joke about Ol' Redneck Chief,

Today Is The Anniversary of The Day We Met

And I wouldn't be doin' right by him if I didn't yell from the rooftops

(or ahem...blogosphere)

Just How Much I Love This Man!

Happy 5 Years Baby!!!

Oops! How'd that box get in here???

One of my very very first posts eva, was about how Chief and I met. I wrote it one day while feeling sentimental soon after finding out we were expecting Hootie.

DON'T GET CONFUSED AND THINK I'M PREGNANT. THIS BABY MAKIN' TRAIN HAS PULLED OUTTA THE STATION FOREVA!!!

If you want to read the whole post, click the link below.
Otherwise Read Below With Your Impatient ADD Self...

Tangled Web Of O'Charley's

On December 7th 2004, I met who would become the human form of something up to this point, I never believed in. I met my soul mate. At O'Charley's. Which makes you stop and think....
How many people have to say " I met my soul mate at Wal-Mart" or "I met my soul mate in prison".
If you want to get technical, I met him on Match.com
Yea. Wow. Take a deep breath. (not sure if I meant that for you, or for me)
Sometimes it is still hard to say or talk about.
Until I remember that since that day, we have not been apart from each other for more than a couple of days. And that was only once or twice.
So the word "soul mate" still perplexes me. But let me give you some idea of what a "soul mate" does....
I had been away from my starter husband (you'll hear more about him later) for 2 years when I met Sean. My divorce had been final for a year. I had dated some, but just enough to finally be able to tell what I wanted and didn't want.
Sean had been sending me message after message, but I couldn't respond because I didn't pay for the service. One day, the great folks at Match.com sent me an offer to have a free 7 day trial. I knew what I would do. I took the offer just long enough to give him my email address, then cancelled the service. He sent me an email, he gave me his number,(I'm not stupid! I didn't want some crazy lunatic to have my number!) and I called him. We talked from about 9pm until 4am. By that time, I knew I wanted to meet him. I was honest with him. I told him that I was attracted to what he told me, but I would not waste time talking to him if it turned out that I was not physically attracted to him. I have never been into "chatting" online.
So we met the next day at a neutral location. (I knew there were enough people at the restaurant that would call 911 if I needed it).
Without realizing it, we had a 3 hour lunch. And it seemed like the 100th lunch we had eaten together. It was the most natural, relaxed experience I had ever had. From that day forward, we spent every bit of free time we could, building this instant attraction into love.
October 2005, my girlfriend came over unexpectedly and handed me an envelope. In the envelope was a poem. It told me to go to the place we went on our first date. It was a little more specific than that, which let me know where to go. I followed about 8 more of these poems to various parts of the city, finally ending up at the exact O'Charley's we had met at.
But this time, about 30 friends and family members were waiting. When I arrived, he got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him.
We eloped 5 months later on St. Patricks Day 2006.
I was going to try to write the next sentence and had to pause. My first instinct was to write, "and things have been great ever since." But HELLO! This is reality! Man, we have hit some of the craziest bumps! But what I can say is this....
These bumps for the most part, have been over life issues....kids, money,ex's.
These bumps however, have NOT been due to disrespect, lack of love, or meeting in such a crazy way.
I love this man with all my heart. I was so ready to tell whomever came into my life that I had 2 children, and I was not willing to have anymore. But now, almost 3 years later, I can't see going through life and not sharing this wonderful experience with someone I love and care about so much! So, that's it! We are having a baby! I have all the same feelings again. Nervousness, excitedness, impatience, wonderment.

Tangled Hurt Revisited

2009-12-06T07:46:00.001-06:00

Today Is My Grandmother's 71st Birthday!!

This is my mom's mother who recently lost my grandaddy. I pray for you today Granmama. I know we have lost 2 extremely important members of our family, but we are strong and God is Good!

I'm Sending Every Ounce Of Good Positive Energy Your Way and Hope You Truly Have A

Happy Happy Day G.G.

It Also Would Have Been My Parents 35th Wedding Anniversary!

I Love And Miss My Mom, My Dad and My Old Life

But I Always Know God Has A Plan!

I'd Love For You To Go Read A Post I Wrote A Long Time Ago
During A Really Dark Time Of Struggling With My Mom's Death

Tangled Hurt

Seriously? Why Wouldn't You Blog?

2009-12-06T07:09:00.000-06:00

Are you on Facebook? Do you Twitter?

Where's Your Blog?

I did something last night that I don't normally do.
Well actually something I forget to do!

I've been a member of a couple different communities for a long time,

but have just forgotten to do anything with them!

As I was trying to catch up on some email, because I'm at the point of being buried if I don't start deleting some, I decided to actually click on some of these communities instead of saving them for another time. (Ever notice how you never seem to get back to them?)

Photo Courtesy Of: seobook.com

I started to explore my Blog Frog Community and was surprised at how many of my Tangled Lovies AKA Support GIRLdles are hangin' out over there!

So if you happen to be lonely, new to blogging, or just a social butterfrog(~~fly~~): Go Check Out The Frog: