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DysFUNctional Family Friday

Friday, February 05, 2010

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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?
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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??
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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?
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Doesn't Everyone?
Think If They Wear Union Jack Glasses And Watch BBC
All The Time, They Can Actually Become British?
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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?) 
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Doesn't Everyone?
Let Their Children Watch Elmo While Playing With Their Bum?
Oops, The BBC Is Wearin' Off On Me....
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Doesn't Everyone?
Wonder If He Was Mad Because His Friend Was Feelin' Him Up
Or
He Didn't Get The Boobie Side?
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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)
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Doesn't Everyone?
Photoshop Their Eyes Really Extremely Way To Blue
But Don't Notice Til It's Too Late Because You're Tired?
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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

Wednesday, February 03, 2010
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

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

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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. 

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

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. 
Super Size Me

*****
 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.

Nestle Toll House Mini Morsels, 12-Ounce Packages (Pack of 12)

*****


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.....
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~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

Monday, January 18, 2010

Can I Gush For A Minute....

 

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I Just Love Becky!
She Cut My Hair The Other Day And...


I Love It!

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And She's Hot!



AND
I LOVE IT!!!!


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Go See Her!

J Maxwell
2200 N. Germantown Parkway
Suite 4
Cordova, TN 38016
901.384.3909



Thanks Girl!!!


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Me Love You Long Time

Monday, January 18, 2010


Can I just say....
 
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We're Big Tired Dorks...

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Who Need A Break....

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To Have A Date Night.  Alone....

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And Pretend We're Dating Again....

 

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And Not Parents....


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Just Kids In Love....


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Shut Yo' Mouth Saturday

Saturday, January 16, 2010
Welcome To TangledEutopia's
Shut Yo' Mouth Saturday!


















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Friday Follow

Saturday, January 16, 2010
Welcome To TangledEutopia's Friday Follow!
Make Sure You Leave Me Some Love
Click Here To Subscribe Subscribe in a reader


Friday Follow


Welcome to the first ever Friday Follow celebration hosted by

My MckLinky isn't working for some reason,
so go check out these cool chicks and show 'em some love!!!



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God's Name Is Amanda

Wednesday, January 13, 2010
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:


RatatouilleI 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!!!

The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary
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!!! 
God in a Cup: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Coffee

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





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I Know It's Only 21 Days

Sunday, January 10, 2010
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....

Awakening ButtonDuring 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

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. 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?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 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:


The Daniel Fast: Feed Your Soul, Strengthen Your Spirit, and Renew Your BodyI'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



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I'm The Feature Entertainment...

Friday, January 08, 2010
And Lucky You, There's No $5 Cover
OR
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:


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Resolutions I Will Never Make

Sunday, January 03, 2010
...Cuz I Got It Like That


1. I Resolve To: Talk More About My Feelings.
LEARNING CHARTS FEELINGS


2. I Resolve To: Give up chocolate totally. 100%. Completely. Honestly....
Clearly Charming Sarcasm Is One Of The Services I Offer Laser Italian Charm Bracelet Link
3. I Resolve To: Spend more time watching TV / movies
Tree By Kerri Lee Asleep Sign, Elf



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

Gain Weight Fast with safe Weight Gain Pills - "Too Skinny" - Extra Strength Ectoplan Tablets (women) - Great Diet Supplement! Excellent weight gainer! One of the best weight gain products! Terrific Birthday Present, Holiday or Christmas Gift or Stocking Stuffer! BEST SELLER!


5. I Resolve To: Procrastinate more.
How to Procrastinate (Self-Hurt)


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


Fired With Enthusiasm - Motivational - 24x36 - ART PRINT / POSTER


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

Please put the toilet seat down and 49 other cluetoons to help him improve your relationship

8. I Resolve To: Give up my constant fight over Chief being such a Redneck and farting in MY bed. (Yes. Mine.)
Have a New Husband by Friday: How to Change His Attitude, Behavior & Communication in 5 Days

9. I Resolve To: Stop Making Resolutions and finally realize that IF it were that important to me, I would change it in July.
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life: The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiveness






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

Sunday, January 03, 2010
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.
Or
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....

A Time to Celebrate: A Celebration of a Girl's First Menstrual Period
(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.


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

Friday, January 01, 2010
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.




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

Thursday, December 31, 2009
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....

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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:

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!!!


  1. What are you not doing even though you feel you should want it?


  2. Where do you claim to want something but then let fear stop you?


  3. What aren’t you tackling because it’s too much work?


  4. Are you actively engaged or on autopilot?


  5. How many projects do you have on the go at any one time? How good are you at prioritizing them?


  6. 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!!!




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

Wednesday, December 30, 2009
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 
OR 
a more negative direction.

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

Click Here For: OPEN LETTER TO CHIEF


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OPEN LETTER TO CHIEF

Wednesday, December 30, 2009


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!


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

Tuesday, December 22, 2009


Last year, around this time, BFF and I drove through Starbucks (what's new?)
Starbucks Christmas Ornament Clear To Go Cup
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!
Random Acts of Kindness Degree: Custom Gag Diploma Doctorate Certificate (Funny Customized Joke Gift - Novelty Item)
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.
Mult Color Changing RBG 100 LED Christmas Light string 2021
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!
Merry Christmas with Ringing Bells Pin Brooch
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.
Jingle Joy Christmas Spirit 18" Mylar Balloon
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



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

Sunday, December 20, 2009
Here's where my world is at right now:
Learning Resources 12-Inch Inflatable Globe
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.
The Art and Science of Piddling; Voiding Habits of Man and Beast

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.
 Leo Vince Scooter ZX Exhaust Pipe 2004-2005 Yamaha Vino 50 2-Stroke

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.
Soyo SYXRT4791AB 47-Inch LCD HDTV

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.


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Friday Fumblings

Friday, December 18, 2009



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.


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Tutorial: DIY Ribbon Dispenser

Sunday, December 13, 2009

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.




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Match Dot Com Owes Me Some Money

Monday, December 07, 2009
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.
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Tangled Hurt Revisited

Sunday, December 06, 2009
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




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Seriously? Why Wouldn't You Blog?

Sunday, December 06, 2009



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:







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Technorati

Sunday, December 06, 2009
HQHPBEUPGEZP

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I Don't Care If You Don't Want To See

Saturday, December 05, 2009

I took Hootie and BFF's son, Tater Tot, On A Little Picture Takin' Trip!!!

Just Appease me and let me post some
 cheek pinchin'
baby lovin'
proud mama pictures
Mmm-Kay?






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I Had A Ta-Piphany Part ONE

Friday, December 04, 2009
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Epiphany
e·piph·a·ny (Ä­-pÄ­f'É™-nÄ“)
n. pl. e·piph·a·nies
1.a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.


**Brought To You From TangledEutopia'sON THE SERIOUS TIP series**
If you don't think you can handle the serious side of Tangled Nation,
Feel Free To Click The Red X In The Top Right Corner Of Your Screen



I've only had 2 of these in my life and oddly enough, both times I was driving in the car with a girlfriend.

I don't know if you've ever experienced this life altering transition or not, but any word I try to attach to such a phenominal time in my life, would never do it justice and probably won't trigger you to have your own.

This type of event cannot be scheduled or even coaxed by the persuasion of a menial blogger such as myself.


The first happened a week before Christmas 2002.  Miss Talks-A-Lot was still an oblivious wide-eyed 5 year old, and Runs With Scissors was a tiny sweet 16 month old bundle of smooches.  I was a 26 year old sad, angry, confused shell of a much to early made woman, who was slowly dying on the inside because I had a broken marriage with little hope and no idea how to fix it.  I felt like a failure as a wife and an even bigger failure as a mother.

The same thoughts constantly went through my head day after day.

~How could I have been so stupid to think I knew what I was doing by getting married so young?~ 

~Why was I so selfish by bringing these beautiful innocent children into the world, who did not deserve to grow up in a broken home because the two most important people in their life didn't know how to communicate?~

I was so extremely sad inside. I had been married to their dad for 6 years, but had spent the previous 7 months being the Star Quarter Back on the losing team.  My immaturity and lack of experience in the Language of Men had begun to morph itself into verbs such as reproach, disparage, and impugn.

All I wanted were change and release from being ignored.  All I wanted were compromise and the butterflies that once resided in my (his) stomach to return. 

I would soon find those days were over. 

One December day, in a moment of clarity, I decided to do something very out of the ordinary and agreed to ride along with girlfriend #1 who was driving to pick up girlfriend #2, who had moved to Destin, and bring her home for the holidays. She had just had a baby and didn't feel comfortable driving the 8 hours back to Memphis alone with a toddler and newborn.  Her husband had moved them to the popular beach city to open a sister site of a popular restaurant he was in partnership with here in town, and simply could not leave work until Christmas Eve.

This was a very fast down and back trip, but for some reason, something magical happens when two friends are given the opportunity to sit and chat uninterrupted by children tugging at every part of your body.


As girlfriend drove and listened to my gush of exhausting babble, in the blink of an eye her wisdom changed my life.  Without taking her eyes off the road and with no understanding how profoundly her next words would change my life forever, she matter-of-factly said:

"You are not praying for the right thing. You have to pray not for what you want God to do, you have to pray for God to do His Will and then you have to trust that He Will."

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I immediately felt as if a huge tractor trailer had hit us head-on and every hair on my body stood on end.
I have no other explanation for why that simple phrase, spoken unknowingly in the middle of the night on a dark and silent interstate, impacted the course of my life other than God knew my head and heart would be clear enough to hear it at that moment.

As I settled into secluded meditation and internally spoke those words to the Being Who Had Given Them, little did I know 5 days later, God would feel I was finally ready to accept what He wanted for my life.

And 5 days later on Christmas Day, 2002, while our children enjoyed an engrossed day of presents and kisses at grandma's, my husband and the father of my children, packed his belongings and walked out the door of our family home forever.

Little did I know at the time, but as God fully knew, the closing of that door was the only way to allow a new door to open and a new relationship to cultivate the communication we had lost so long before that.

Don't get me wrong. For a long time after, I questioned the turn of events. I threw myself into depressive feelings of guilt and uncertainty, quandary and pain. 

By trudging through those emotions, was I able to grow into a place of open maturity. 

And only then, were we able to start over and build the kind of relationship our children need and deserve from parents who didn't give them a voice before.


I'm not sure that Girlfriend #1 ever knew how she impacted my life that night. 
If you are reading this, you know who you are. 

So let me take this time to say Thank You for causing my divorce. 
Thank You for showing me HOW to listen and trust that God ALWAYS knows what is best for us.  

Although God doesn't always answer prayers in the manner we request,
He always answers in the way we need. 

 I am thankful everyday for that life-changing epiphany that enabled me to get out of the drivers' seat. 

That epiphany changed the legacy of our children who now get to grow up with two parents who understand that although they aren't meant to live in the same house, they were always meant to grow old together and share a healthy bond by raising two beautiful well-adjusted children who have hopefully evaded the negativity of divorce.


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I Had A TaPiphany Part TWO

Friday, December 04, 2009
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WELCOME BACK TO:
TAPIPHANY PART TWO


Epiphany
e·piph·a·ny (Ä­-pÄ­f'É™-nÄ“)
n. pl. e·piph·a·nies
1.a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.


**Brought To You From:
TangledEutopia's ON THE SERIOUS TIP series**
If you don't think you can handle the serious side of Tangled Nation,
Feel Free To Click The Red X In The Top Right Corner Of Your Screen

My Second Epiphany Happened In Almost The Same Manner As The First...

I was driving in the car, deep in conversation with BFF. 

We were in the throws of ranting, asking rhetorical questions, traipsing along the lines of pondering life's mysteries, when it happened.

BFF was trying to take my mind into a place I didn't want to awaken. 
No one ever wants to acknowledge just how much their enviroment effects every aspect of your being. 

So often we make daily decisions based on the subconcious part of our brain we loathe the most. 

We are (once again) on the interstate, in the dark, and uninterrupted.

Although BFF is a different person than Girlfriend #1, our conversation involves mostly the same line of confusion and disdain with the exception of different characters.

As she once again so diligently earns her title of BFF by taking me to those places locked in my mind, I start to think outloud, not really expecting an answer.

The question/statement is (in a very Dr. Phil sort of tone) somewhere along the lines of:
"What part of this chaos is working enough for us to acknowledge the need or want for change,
but not hurting us enough to actually take action?"

BFF replied, "That's the million dollar question. Answer that and you've answered the meaning of life."

At that exact moment I GOT IT. 

Oh yeah and by the way...
**Forgive me Oh-Clever One, if you read what I'm about to write and chuckle to yourself because you automatically kick yourself for not trademarking what you already know and I'm so far behind in understanding**

 I immediately had this vision of Adam and Eve.

Without thinking, I blurted out:

Maybe we've interpreted the Bible all these years.

Maybe God didn't really intend for us to keep our main focus on seeing sin, living sin or running away from sin because they disobeyed and ate the apple.

Maybe that's why most every person I've ever known, met, or heard of,
struggle with their internal dialogue so much of their life. 

Some people struggle with it so much that it consumes them and they succumb to the despair that plagues their mind which leads to the decision that they simply can't live with it anymore. Thus choosing to take their own life.  I really believe all people struggle with this. Some people just learn to mask it better by learning how to give the perception of contentment and enlightenment. (Okay so I just added that whole last part because I didn't think of it when we were talking earlier, but who cares?)

In a nutshell, here's the Second Tangled Epiphany I've Ever Had In My Life: (Which are different and ten times stronger than any A-HA Moment could ever be...)

God is a much deeper God than we an EVER understand. 
He's not so simple minded as to just have us struggle with sin.

He "downloaded" the ultimate test of faith into humans by completely scrambling our internal dialogue.

Ofcourse my immediate question to this epiphany was "how do you fix that?"

And for the 3rd time, my BFF amazes me and reiterates why we are BFF's in the first place by saying:

You learn contentment. You accept it.

That's the only way you can relax your mind enough to truly understand what the word faith means.

Faith is the only way you truly pass God's test which then allows Him to start erasing so many of those bad memories, ideas, and untruths you've talked yourself into believing for so many years.


Sometimes your memory is correct and sometimes your fear of failure has a way of twisting those thoughts and memories into unrealistic perceptions of reality.


Sometimes your internal dialogue tucks those memories so far in the back of your subconscious that you get to a point where your whole life, your whole decision making process relies on pulling straight from the place you most despise. The place that hurts you the most.

This is why we marry people who we think are filling a void only to find out they are exactly what we are trying to run away from.

This is the place that tells us we are not worth anything more that that third piece of chocolate cake because weighing ourselves down keeps us from shooting for the stars. 

Insignificance and fear feels much more comfortable and familiar than success.

Which brings my internal dialogue full circle in my understanding of exactly:

Why chaos is working enough for me to acknowledge the need or want for change,
but not hurting enough to make me actually take action.
 (Sure doesn't feel that way because some of this chaos seems to consume me more than it should ever consume anyone.)


I don't guess God meant for me to learn FULL FAITH in order to change my internal dialogue into believing I'm worthy enough to deserve that little blue box, but what a nice place to start...
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Can A Blended Family Be That Cheesy?

Friday, December 04, 2009
Thanksgiving 2009
Downtown Memphis
Blended Family Style

Can't We All Just Get Along? Well...Some Of Us Can...

Chief With ALL His Boys Together First The First Time Since Hootie Was Born!
You Know That Called For Cheesy Matching Shirt Pictures....DUH




Chief's Ex-Wife, Too Short, And His Oldest Son, Eazy G,
Live Far Away From Us In North Carolina, But They Came For Thanksgiving
And Yes They Stayed With Us
And Yes We Get Along
And Yes FO' REAL Get Along, Not Fake Get Along!!







Mine, His, Mine, His....Ours...And Hers

 


I Swear We Don't Abuse Him. He Was Running On The Roof Of The Peabody While We Were Waiting On The Ducks To Walk Back Up The Elevator To Their Mansion and My Sweet Hootie Tripped On His Shoestring and Fell Flat On His Little Face!
Swear!!
I Have The Pictures To Prove It!






Ummm, They Don't Really Belong To Me.



















We Had Christmas At Thanksgiving!

Eazy G and Hootie Meeting For The First Time!















I Think I've Just About Run Outta Pseudo Names For All Kidz...

I Am Sooo Happy They Came For Thanksgiving!

Too Short, BFF, and Tangled Mama
Got To Go Shopping On Black Friday
But Took ZERO Pictures So It Was Easier To Conceal The Tons Of
Christmas Contraband That Stuffed Our Trunk!

(That I payed for ALL In Change! Go Read About It!)

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No Shame In My Christmas Shoppin' Game

Friday, December 04, 2009
Chief and I Don't Believe In Credit Cards,
So You Wanna Know How We Saved For Christmas?



That's $493.51
All For Christmas
No January Have To Pay Off Credit Card Stress!!!



And Here Is Just A Taste Of What I Bought...
Sorry, Can't Show You Pictures Of Gifts Because Some NOSY Family Members Read My Blog...




Just To Prove There's NO SHAME IN MY GAME.....

Let me take you on a little tour of how I did my part
to try and spread a little Holiday Patience In The Check Out Line....
Using ONLY:
Susan B. Anthony Dollars
Half Dollars
Those HUGE Silver Dollar Coins
Quarters
Dimes
Nickles
and Pennies!!!
I Kill Me!!


Beauty Supply  $42.39
$25.00-Half Dollars
$17.25-Quarters
1-Dime
4-Pennies


Dollar Store $20.13
$20.00-Quarters
1-Dime
3-Pennies
(Don't You Dare Count The Stuff In The PictureThen Email Me To Tell Me There's Not 18 Items...
You Don't Really Expect Me To Show You The Cheetos Do You?)

And By The Way....Did You Notice In The Back, The BIGGEST FA-REAKIN' cup of
Ramen Noodles I've EVER Seen In My Life?? I Had To Get Them As A Joke For Chief
Because I Think They Are The Grossest Thing EVA....

But What Did That Fool Do???

Took Them From Me And Went Straight To The Kitchen To Put Them In The Microwave...
You Can't Joke With A Redneck And His Ramen Noodles

Just To Let You Know, I'm Not TOTALLY Redneck Enough To Use Change Everywhere. I Just Work At Night And My Bank Was Closed On Black Friday.
And NO Honey Child' I Was NOT Gonna Let Change Stand In My Way Of Shopping The Sales!



*~*~*~*~*~*~

I Bought The Cute Wrapping Paper At The Dollar Store, But Wanted To Make The Wrapping
A Bit Cuter, So I Cut A Stocking Template And Glued Some Ribbon Around The Top.
I'm Going To Put The Fabric Key Chains In The Stockings and Give Them To The Kids Teachers.
(If you are one of them, just pretend you didn't read that part, Thanks!)


With The Left Over Ornaments From My Topiary
I'm Going To Make A Wreath!

Until I Post The Tutorial, Go Check Out These Really Cute Wreath Ideas From
The Girls At Roof With A View!




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Tutorial: How To Make A No Sew Fabric Keychain

Wednesday, December 02, 2009
This Time I'm For Real.
Promise.
Gonna Show You.....





Cut your fabric 4" x 9"


I Cut A Piece Of Cardstock To Ensure All My Pieces Were Uniform.
If You Have A Sewing Board With A Ruler On It,
Use It. But I'm Guessing If You Have One Of Those Boards, You Already Knew That And You're Just Looking At My Tutorial Because You're Having A Bad Day And You Need A
GOOD LAUGH......CARRYON....



I Pre-Fold Everything Just To Make It Easier On Myself.
Fold The Edge Over For A Mock Hem



Fold Each Side Toward The Middle. Cut A Strip Of Pellon Fusable Stuff
And Iron Between The First Fold And Second Fold



As Long As You're Not Looking At My Fat Fingers, You Should Be Able To Tell
You Will Come Out With A 1" Strip. Iron This Flat.



Fold In Half and Iron Again. Don't Add The Fusion Yet. You're Just Ironing So You Can Work With The Fabric Easier.



I Fuse A Small Piece Of Ribbon To The Back Side, Then Flip Over, Add A Narrow Strip Of Fusion Between The Ribbon And The Fabric, And Fuse Together With Iron.
**Make Sure You Do A Test Run With The Hot Iron and The Ribbon You Are Using. It's Possible To Melt The Ribbon If You Are Using One With A Pattern**





Slide Your Ring To The Middle. I Would Have Preferred To Use A D-Ring First,
But Since I Forgot To Buy Some, This Is What You Get...Sorry, I Know You Thought I Was Perfect...



Flip To The Underneath and Add A Strip Of Fusion.



Flip Back Over And Match The Ends Perfectly.  Pull Tight And Fuse Together With The Hot Iron.



Pull Tight And Make Sure The Way It Naturally Gathers Around The Ring Is Even.



It Should Look Something Like This...



I Bought This Embroidery Letter For $1.29 At Hobby Lobby Since I Don't Have A Machine Of My Own....Ahhh, One Can Dream.....Maybe One Day!



This Letter Is A Simple Iron On....And VOILA......
A Really Simple NO-SEW Fabric Key Chain


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Birthday Lovin'

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

RockettesImage by skvidal via Flickr

It's My Birthday!!!!
But If I Told You What I Was Doing, I'd Have To Kill You....





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Tutorial: The Hot Glue Gun Ate My Ornaments

Sunday, November 29, 2009
Among A Thousand Other Things I Did This Thanksgiving Weekend That I'll Blog About Later...






I Made This!!!
What A Crappy Blogger I am
To Not Remember To Take Pictures During The Process!
OR
  Remember To Bookmark The Blog I Got The Idea From...

I Remember She Got It From

BHG.COM And It Looked Like This:


 A~N~D

I Also Made These...



Which Came From My Head, Not A DotCom...
I'll Get The Stinkin' Tutorials Up, Promise...
Maybe



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Has Everybody BUT ME Heard About This?

Sunday, November 29, 2009
I'm so behind. It's been a long weekend!
I Just Found Out About This Cool Stuff.....




 




















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Did You Really Just Do ALL That For A Crappy Giveaway?

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Wouldn't it be easier AND more appealing if mom bloggers who did giveaways and contests made contest rules simple:

Example Rule: Follow me on every social site I'm on AND leave a creative comment telling me you're following and how bad you want it.

OR

Send me a link to your blog showing me a post you write where you make a total arse of yourself by begging and pleading for my measly $20 Starbucks Gift Card...


Maybe I'm being a bit Cynical tonight? 




I don't really enter many giveaways because I always feel like I have a dog leash around my neck while panting like a dog to his owner by jumping through 20 hoops.....

Want a better way to build traffic to your blog
and get your stats up?

Ask your readers a question and tell them the answer is hidden in one of your previous 254 posts and to win, they have to visit every page until they find it....And be the first to comment the answer.

 DONE.

You've lured your readers into diving straight where you want them. You want them to read your posts. You want them to know you. You want them to form a relationship with you, and hopefully you want to NOT just use them as a numbers game.

OR

You could just forget everything I said and ask them to pick a number between 1-1000....



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All About MeMe Monday

Monday, November 23, 2009




for today's MeMe Monday!

Today we're talkin' bout:


Now...who should I make mad by not including in my Thankful post? 

It's not my fault...I didn't make the rules. The ladies obviously know I'm ADHD and OCD and can only handle 4 of anything at a time....

So. Should I be SERIOUS or HILARIOUS???

Yeah, So...

1. Thankful That isn't in style anymore...



2.Thankful I'm smart enough to teach my kids to clean the house!



3.Thankful I've Trained My Husband



4. Thankful Once A Month I Have The Option Of Using This As An Excuse:




(Even When I Feel Fine)



Okay Okay, I'll Stop Being So Serious and And Give You The Good Stuff:

I'm Thankful For:






2. I'm thankful I have Her in my life!


3. I'm Thankful I Worship In A Place Like This Every Week:



4. And I'm Really Thankful That I Got One Of These:

So I Can Do This:


HAPPY THANKSGIVING YA'LL
FROM A TANGLED SOUTHERN GIRL!!
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DIY Faux Boxwood Letter Wreaths

Monday, November 23, 2009
Lindsay has some of the cutest ideas!!!

Go Check out this one! Makes me sooo ready for the holiday season!

DIY Faux Boxwood Letter Wreaths




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Top 1 Reason To Remember: You Are Always Being Watched...

Saturday, November 21, 2009
Miss Talks-A-Lot has gone to a fall retreat with our church. I'm super excited about how cool the youth group is at our church. They call it Axis and you can click on the picture to check them out.



So.
Why am I a bad Mom?
Because this girl is over an hour away at her retreat and she calls.
This is the conversation that ensued:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Missy T:  "Mom."

Me:  "Hi Baby. Whatcha doin? Are you having fun?"

Missy T:  "Yeah, we're waiting on dinner. Thanks for packing my brown boots, but I wanted the ones I can wear outside, not my brown house-slipper boots."

Me:  "I'm sorry. Just pretend they are for outside. They have hard soles."

Missy T:  "So Mom. Did you flip somebody off at play practice one of the times you were chaperoning?"

Me:  "Ummm, No."

Missy T:  Did you tell someone to 'Read Between The Lines'?"

Me: *Giggling*  "Ummm, Yes."


Missy T:  *Laughing Hysterically*  "Mooooooom, did you really?" Then she says,  "I'm sitting here with Sydney, who told me, and I was trying to defend you!!!"

Me:  "Well, they were being brats and they wouldn't shut up."

Missy T: "OMG, mom. I was trying to defend you!"


Our church is included in a group of churches planted across the country, that really take a fresh and relevant view on living your life as a Christian in today's world. To find one of these really awesome, forward-thinking churches, check out the




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Shut Yo' Mouth Saturday

Saturday, November 21, 2009

20 Stress-Free Ways, The UNTANGLED Girl Prepares For Thanksgiving


 1. Call your local HoJo and reserve a room. (This should be atleast 20 minutes away, but still in a good area of town.)

 2. Be nice to your husband and pack his bag along with the kids bags. As an added testiment of love, you can even load them into the car.

 3. Turn your phone on silent and hide the laptop under the sofa cushion. (If you follow my rules, it won't
     matter that you've put the laptop in a dangerous spot because you won't have time to sit on the couch and
     risk crushing your only means of sanity.)

 4. Turn up your favorite Christmas music(ummm hello....I got it. I don't need you to tell me we're talkin'
      about Thanksgiving, mmmmkay?) and pull out granma's cookbook.  Set them next to the Clorox wipes
      and Mr. Clean.

 5. Take a 10 min. break and have some coffee. 
(What??? That was a lot to do in 5 steps...)

 6. Start in ONE room and ONE room only. This CANNOT be the living room or the bedroom because
     you run the risk of either sitting on the laptop or accidentally falling on the bed while trying to make it,
     and mysteriously falling asleep. For 4 hours...

 7. To kill 2 birds with one stone, I suggest starting in the kitchen. I've timed myself before. It takes exactly 2
     minutes to unload the dishwasher. Wipe down the counters with Clorox wipes, cut potatoes in half and
     put them on to boil. (You can peel them later, noone will know.) Get your turkey out of the fridge and
     set in sink.

 8. Plug in your vacuum and use attachment to "sweep" okay "suck" entire kitchen floor. Whatever. Don't tell
     me I'm the only one on the planet who does this...Put mop in the bathtub and run hot water to clean
     kitchen floors. (Ummm hello? The turkey is in the sink...) Pour Mr. Clean and proceed to mop.

 9. Move into the bathroom and decide you absolutely ARE NOT cleaning pee off the rim of the toilet
     and decide to clean the sink and tub instead, leaving the toilet for your husband.

10. Move into the living room and start picking up toys before remembering your coffee is getting cold.
11. ~
12. ~
13. ~
14. ~
15. Get back on track by taking the laptop cord and putting it in your car. Don't forget to lock the doors.

16. Clean the rest of the house, throw a load of laundry in before remembering your favorite show is
      about to start.

17. ~
18. ~
19. ~
20. Take a shower and crawl into bed at 8pm. (Something you haven't been able to do in the past ten
      years because it takes 2 hours to get the kids ready for bed and the kitchen straightened before
     you finally throw yourself in the bed sometime after 11pm.)

    You need plenty of rest before tomorrow, because it  takes a  lot of energy  to listen to your husband         whine and moan when you tell him the turkey is ready to be seasoned and  thrown in the oven.


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Tangled In Skype Land

Thursday, November 19, 2009
This has got to be one of the best posts!

I'm soooo NOT jealous AND I'm soooo NOT bitter I didn't think of it first....
Why?

Cuz there's no shame in my game of steal THAT MAMA'S IDEA...it just makes for a bigger blogosphere...


So go on over and check out Supahmommy and Mommy's In The Bathroom to see what I'm talking about, then come on back and EMAIL me if you're game!

The Brady BunchImage via Wikipedia



In the meantime, I'm gonna use my highly intelligent brain to figure out how to Party Line everybody Brady Bunch style...know what I mean??? Two cameras aren't enough for a Tangled Party....We gotta have 6 or 9 Mama's goin' at once!!




If you don't have Skype, you can download it FREE .
Click here to get your unique SkypeIn number


or by clicking on the picture:






The JetsonsImage via Wikipedia
And just b/c I'm fully aware that some who read this might be a few crayons short of a full box....I feel the need to say the following:

If you don't have a webcam, Skypein'
would just be talking to you on the phone with no Jetson's action goin' on and.you'd still be able to lie about what you're wearing...


just sayin....



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I'm So Freakin' Cool To Pass This On To You....

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tangled loves her some Lifehacker! 
And Tanlged is soooo in Holiday Mode!  
I'm constantly thinking about gifts and love around this time of year, so when I came across this article by Kevin, I knew I wanted to pass it on! 

Enjoy! And send me one of those gift cards...

Hone Up on Gift Card Tricks and Traps for the Holidays
The default gift for the picky, the not-well-known, and the indecisive, gift cards are available for just about every store. Consumer Reports reminds holiday shoppers of many traps, but also some new protections, available to gift card buyers and spenders.
Photo by robinsonsmay.
Seemingly simple gift cards often have a lot of rules and stipulations attached, some of which reduce the value of the card and restrict when and on what the balance can be used. Consumer Reports' Shopping & Money blog points out two catches worth noting this year:
  • When buying a gift card from an individual merchant, be sure to ask if the card is valid for online use. While it's not an issue for most retailers, some companies such as CVS, T.J. Maxx, and Marshall's do not allow their gift cards to be used online, Bankrate says.
  • The federal Credit CARD Act pertaining to gift cards takes effect on Feb. 22, and the regulations require that the cards remain valid for at least 5 years, unless that information is clearly disclosed on the card. Dormancy, or inactivity, fees will still be allowed after 12 consecutive months of inactivity.
The post also reminds gift card holders to never give up—some stores will take an "expired" card as a gesture of good will toward shoppers.
What gift cards will you absolutely avoid at all costs this year? Which cards aren't all that painful to give or receive? Gather 'round the hearth in the comments.

Send an email to Kevin Purdy, the author of this post, at kevin@lifehacker.com.
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Check out 30 Free Thanksgiving Recipes

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Just In Time For Thanksgiving!!

 30 Free Thanksgiving Recipes 

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Just Something To Think About With Thanksgiving Coming...

Monday, November 16, 2009

My church played this video on a Sunday morning not long ago and it moved me beyond measure.

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Christmas Friends

Sunday, November 15, 2009
Christmas Friends: "

It is countdown week for all of the new Papertrey goodness, and I am back today to share with you my projects using Tiffany Pastor’s new set “Christmas Friends.”


Christmas Friends is essentially a Christmas set of fun images and flourishes and a nice grouping of sentiments. Sort of a one stop shop for Christmas images which include ornaments, birds, bows and flourishes. Here is a card I made using a bold red and white color scheme. This along with a couple of rounded corners gives the images a more MOD look.



blogpost1


If you are creative with these images, you can also think beyond Christmas. The “Friends” sentiment really helps out a lot in taking this set to a year-round go to set.


blogpost2


I did some unconventional things here. I stamped the bird and cut it out, along with trimming off the tail feathers. This allowed me the opportunity to use a flourish as feathers. I also drew in long legs using a straight edge and a brown prismacolor pencil. I then colored the feathers with prismacolor pencils and used odorless mineral spirits and a blending stump to soften and blend the colors together. I then finished the card with a home made embellishment using the Marvy flower punches and some festive Martha Stewart glitter. Who would have thought that a card like this came from a Christmas set. I hope you liked what you have seen all of this week! Any favorites or must-haves for you?


Hop on over to Tiffany’s blog to see what she has done with her new set!


supplies


Christmas Card:


Stamps: Christmas Friends (Due out tomorrow)


Paper: Stamper’s Select White, Pure Poppy


Ink: Pure Poppy


Other: Corner Rounder punch, dimensionals, Vintage Buttons (Pure Poppy)



Friends of a Feather Card


Stamps: Christmas Friends-(due out tomorrow)


Paper: Stamper’s Select White, Hibiscus Burst, Summer Sunrise, Dark Chocolate


Ink: Dark Chocolate, Summer Sunrise


Other: Prismacolor Pencils, oderless mineral spirits, Marvy Flower Punches, Martha Stewart Glitter, Vintage Buttons, SEI buttons

"



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Worst Gift Idea Ever

Sunday, November 15, 2009
Worst Gift Idea Ever: "


Yeah. Thanks for the suggestion, but a time out stool is a terrible Christmas gift.

'Here ya go, Sonny! Now you can be punished in STYLE! Whoo hoo!'

And 'cherished forever'?

Really?

Surely you're joking.


On second thought, maybe this IS a good idea. I'll get my boys each a time out stool, a toilet brush and broom and some lumps of coal for their stockings.

Christmas shopping done!
"



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Truthful Tuesday

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
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Because I Rock Like That


TRUTH #1
Last night for dinner, I tried one of the Hungry Girl
Recipes...It didn't go over so well....
I guess my family doesn't like Fiber One Cereal Breaded Chicken...
Sorry HG, it tasted NOTHING like Chick Fil' A's
unless ofcourse, you eat out of their dumpster once a week...



TRUTH #2
I started my Yoga regimen...again. Well...actually....
I spent an hour getting dressed yesterday to head to the gym, when I realized I sold my old mat in my last yard sale. So Hootie and I headed to WallyWorld for a new one.

That made Chief laugh and tell me it reminded him about the hilarious post from
Hiding From The Kids (She calls herself Chief also.)
Go read her post about going to the gym. To Hell And Back
 I told him about her last week...Funny Stuff. Totally cracks me up!

BUT being honest....I rolled it out this morning, turned on the dvd AND actually participated in the workout unlike yesterday where I simply turned it on and laughed as Hootie tried to mimic the woman doing downward dog.

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TRUTH #3
I was home all day yesterday with Hootie, so when Chief got home from work, I escaped!
My brother works at a hostel in Cooper/Young and they were having a pot luck. I ran by Starter Husband's Arabic Restaurant and grabbed food to drop off at Jack Blacks. (that's my bro. Seriously. I think the real Jack Black got his idea of being JB, from my brother. They're like twins fo' sho.)
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On the way home I decided to stop at:
Borders.com
and I accidentally got lost for an hour. I could have stayed longer, but I'm obviously not allowed to leave the house for longer than 30 minutes unless it's to go to work, without every person in the entire family calling or texting. Hhhmmm, so nice to feel loved.
NOT.


TRUTH #4
There must be a serious problem with me if I can't even make a CHIA PLANT grow....

NO. I'm not going to show you the pathetic picture of my 4 little herb babies without any herbs actually growing...Geez, get a life. Why would you want to look at a sponge that some company has painted brown to trick you into thinkin' it's actual dirt and might grow something.

You'd have to be crazy to put something like that in your windowsill...(And by the way, I spelled "windowsill" correctly incase you were wondering. I looked it up.)



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Tangled Award Tuesday

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

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It's That Time Again, My Tangled Tribe

AWARDS!!!

I've had the privilege to be introduced to some really savvy bloggers lately
And I wouldn't be upholding my Blogging Duty, if I didn't show them off!

If your name is on the list, I ask only ONE thing from you...

 When you accept this award, you must list, in your opinion,
    Your top 3 most hilarious posts

I have my own favorites and I'm DYING to put them in here
But I won't. Ya'll Go find 'em for yourself. You'll know what I
mean when you do...

Thanks Girls! 


Chief @ Hiding From The Kids
Rita @ Fighting Off Frumpy
Georgina @ Dad's Second Whatever
Whatever Her Name is @ Hillbilly Duhn
Daffy @ BatCrap Crazy
Tena @ Aiming Low
(I have to put in here, Tena is one of many writers on Aiming Low, But She's My Lovey)
Brandee @ Think Tank Momma

I've sent you guys an email with the code for the award!


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The Power Of Prayer

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

What an AWESOME night in my church!
I prayed for people I've never thought to pray for before!

And the most amazing thing happened...

As many times as I've prayed for my husband, God has never spoken a direct message/answer to pass on to him until tonight.

As I prayed, without warning, my words changed from requests to answers .
Answers I didn't have.
Answers I didn't know.

But I knew immediately I was supposed to give those words to my husband.

What a powerful event in my life tonight!!! 

Now I pray that he heard me speak to him as loud as I heard God speak to me!

The Life Church
Memphis



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What Was I Thinking Wednesday?

Wednesday, November 04, 2009
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A time of Release, Relive, Repent...
A truth serum that will likely send noone to jail or have child protective services called.
Feel free to grab the button and get it off your chest (you know you need to)
but only if you don't worry we'll all think of you different....Enjoy!

 What Was I Thinking?...When I made the mistake of CALLING my daughter on her cell phone, as she slept upstairs to wake her up for school?

What Was I Thinking?...Getting off work at midnight and staying up to have an intimate "conversation" with my husband until 3 o'clock in the morning? Umm hello? I'm a Married Woman, so why do I feel guilty about that? Oh yeah, because going to bed at 3am makes you CALL your daughter to wake her up for school instead of walking upstairs to do it the right way...
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What Was I Thinking?...Forgetting to go eat lunch with my son even after taking the time to ask him what he wanted me to bring him to eat.

 What Was I Thinking?...Telling my grandmother I would come back to finish the yard work I started...then not doing it. (Because I was to busy forgetting to go eat lunch with my son.)

What Was I Thinking?...When I decided NOT to take my almost 17 month old off the bottle because it hurts my heart when he cries for it.

Well that's about it. That's about all I have until I cross the line and you start thinking different of me.  If you enjoyed this and feel compelled, go ahead...Get it out.

Don't forget to link your post with mine 
so we can start a trainwreck of open-mouthed gawkers together!



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Shut Yo' Mouth Saturday

Saturday, October 31, 2009








I am so extremely happy that Halloween is finally here!

Why? Well....
It's NOT because I like Halloween. Sorry.

And It's NOT because I get to dress up like that dude...

It's NOT because I get to spend $100 on costumes for the kids (because I'm so tired with my work schedule to be frugal and MAKE them) so they can wear them for TWO WHOLE HOURS....



It's because I can officially pull out my warm fuzzies!!
It's because I can officially make feel good foods for dinner!!
It's because I can officially start thinking about
 all the fun projects I want to take on during the winter months!!

Most importantly, it's because I can officially start planning the memories I hope to make
for my sweet babies to pass on to their children!







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Homemade Laundry Detergent

Monday, October 26, 2009
I found this really helpful site from a local Mom Blogger (Love my local girls!) who has really helped me with my Saving Money Endeavor! Go Check Her Out:  My Memphis Mommy 

She posts all the sales ads for top stores in my area, but also other areas as well. I've truly fallen in love!!

One of the most helpful posts she's passed on was how to make your own laundry detergent. I decided to give it a try and I've been really pleased! If you know me, you know I love to try things out and let everyone know about it!

Here's the recipe I used for the Laundry Detergent:

1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soap* ( I picked some up at Kroger b/c they don't have it at Walmart or Target)
1 bar of your favorite soap. (We use Lever 2000, but you can use whatever smells good.)
3 gal. water
5 gal. bucket w/ lid (You can get this at Home Depot or Lowe's)

* I used Arm & Hammer Washing Soap

Find a pot large enough to accomadate 3 gallons of water. Grate your bar soap. I used a cheese grater, My Memphis Mommy cut hers in chunks then used a food processor.
Bring water to a boil and add grated soap. Turn heat down to medium and stir occasionally until soap is dissolved. Pour Borax and Washing Soap into 5 gallon bucket. Pour Soap mixture into 5 gallon bucket. Stir together. Let mixture sit for 24 hours. The mixture will form a gel-like substance. Just make sure you stir or shake before each use.


I have a small laundry area so I chose to save one of my old laundry detergent bottles and pour some of the mixture into that. I keep the excess stored and only have to get out my smaller bottle when needed.


I have an HE washer and have been SOOO excited that I still only use the Same Small Amount of detergent as I did before. That's going to make it last that much longer!



My Memphis Mommy says the mixture should last a year. In my house, we do Tons of laundry. I'm guessing it will last me probably 6 months if not a little longer. I'm keeping track, and I'll let you know!!

She's got a post about making your own fabric softener sheets. I haven't done this yet, but can't wait to try it! Bounce and Downy get really expensive! Go check out my post about it here: Homemade Dryer Sheets

You can also check out her recipe here:


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