New Year, New Me!

I’ve decided that in every aspect of my life, I’m going to put my BEST foot forward and put forth nothing but excellence.  I just want to be the best me that I can me (sooo cliché, but so true), so I’ve decided to do my best within this year to relinquish all (or most) of my vices and then improve upon my virtues and other good things in my life.

So here’s the good list:

*Improve my physical and mental condition.

Lol.  How’s that for starters?

Physically, I aspire to be in better shape, so I’ve recently taken up running.  The last two days I’ve essentially run/walked a 5K (both days!).  Today I did 3.3 miles and did the same yesterday (do I need to mention how I can feel absolutely every muscle in my body??).  This is toning me up way better than my elliptical workouts ever did and I am excited for the results that will be sprouting up soon.  #10lbsGoAwayNow!

Also, I plan to improve my skin care regimen and from my previous post, you might already know that I am on a journey with my hair now as well.

I’m excited that I will also be getting some improvements on my teeth.  My front tooth has been chipping lately over time and after speaking with my dentist, he told me that braces would help deter any long-term damage.  After speaking with an orthodontist, it was recommended that I get braces for approx. 12-18 months.  Now, I’m a 32 year old woman who does NOT have aspirations to return to adolescence, so I decided to move ahead with it and get Invisalign braces.  They’re the clear, plastic kind that are virtually indistinguishable!  Soooo excited about this fix.  

Then lastly, I’ve decided to be more patient.  Yes, I’ve decided.  I believe that having patience isn’t a gift, it’s a choice.  I wouldn’t say that I’m high strung, but I definitely have more anxiety than the average bear.  I noticed that the moment I made the decision to step into a perpetual zen zone (what I call it), that my emotions weren’t so wacky all the time.  Plus, it helps to meditate on the scripture “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Phil 4:3.

The bad list?

*Curtail my red wine habit

Well, I looooove red wine.  But, lo and behold, wine is NOT calorie free.  Darn.

Not to mention that it stains my teeth, and my workouts have been ineffective because of the extra calorie load.  When I finally get my Invisaligns, it will be that much harder to imbibe anyway since I have to wear them 22 hours a day and when I eat or drink anything I have to scrub them and brush my teeth.  It makes for a tedious routine so I may as well cut my losses now.  

            *My teeth being chipped away has also made me realize that I may be weakening my teeth with my nail biting habit.  So for the first time since I gave birth to my son, I actually have nails!! So this is a bad habit that I’m happy to kick.

So, that’s it for the moment.  Thanks for listening to my ramblings!!

Imagine this

In honor of my father for Father's day, I wracked my brain for something special to do that didn't involve a tie, or a new wallet. What I came up with rivals all other gifts that I could have ever imagined.

Backstory.

My father is almost 70 (this November). He was born in Huntsville, AL to very young parents. His mother was only 16 years old when she had him in 1940. My grandfather wasn't much older, and together, within 3 years, they had 2 more children, my uncle, Eddie, and my aunt, Betty. My dad remembers yanking on her skirt while she was cooking and cleaning in the kitchen. She must've been obviously pregnant during the time of this memory, but he doesn't remember the details.

Two weeks after my Aunt Betty was born, my grandmother began hemmorraging. The only hospital in town denied her registration because she was black. She died. She was 19.

I can only imagine how such a young family fared in that time. Men didn't take care of children. That wasn't a man's place.

When my dad was 9, his family (and a new stepmom to boot), moved to Louisville, KY to start a new life with other family.

....I was born in 1978. I share my grandmother's name.

Writing Reflections

I don’t blog much about my writing. I guess because I know if I get started in that habit that I might never stop and then there’d be no boundaries left at all. I’ve read horror stories about writers who have crossed the line in the TMI category and I have been determined to avoid it. What I’ve done is essentially end up in the opposite camp. One who never blogs about writing. Aye de mi!

I’ve been doing a lot of editor/agent blog reading lately and have been filing away quite a few tidbits about the industry. It’s like a maze out there and I can say that I am feeling my way around in the dark. My agent definitely helps me out in that regard, but I am such a nerd that I find myself compelled to learn all there is to know about publishing.

I want to know about book deals, and clauses, and foreign rights, and everything….well, everything except rejections, of course. I find myself scouring the internet for any relevant piece of information.

There are a few blogs of anonymous editors that I particularly like (such as editorial anonymous and editorialass) as well as one authored by an anonymous intern. They are truly eye opening and not in the normal sense. Everything I read on publishing is devoured in seconds, but what is startling to me are the strange things some writers do to get noticed. I am at a loss for words at some of the things that writers will do to attract the attention of an agent and/or editor. I am no stranger to the feeling of desperation of wanting your work to be on display. I often get impatient with the process and find myself daydreaming about my moment of Glory (which is really God’s moment since he is the reason for my success, should I ever garner any), but good ole common sense will preclude me from ever acting on any of my non-sensical whims, if I ever had any that is.

I mean, if pregnancy can’t teach a gal to be patient then I suppose publishing can finish the job. Maybe it’s no coincidence they both begin with the letter P.

Maybe that could be my next novel….Publishing and Pregnancy: one’s a pain in the membrane, the other’s a pain in the ____.

Really, I’m joking and although you might not be laughing, I’m cracking myself up. Lol. Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t be writing comedy.

Farewell My Summer Love

Farewell….

To the great Michael Jackson
(b. August 1958-d. June 25, 2009)

He was an amazing performer and musician. He can’t be topped. He had the best selling record worldwide of all time and no one has ever come close. In this day of downloading and ripping CD’s, I doubt anyone ever will.
Michael Jackson and I go way back. Maybe not as far back as others have gone, but far enough. My first memory of MJ was when Thriller came out. I was about 5 years old and too young to watch it without getting nightmares. It took me another 5 years to gather the courage to watch it alone. I have a old memory of finding my older sister Stephanie's Thriller LP album cover and setting it up on my nightstand as a poster. My next memory is of Stephanie’s lifesize poster in her bedroom. He had on the yellow vest and had a curl. He was so cute. And more than that, the man was just plain coooool.

(His lean was waaay hot before Matrix made it hot)

In 1999, I had the opportunity to intern in France for the summer. While I was there I learned that MJ was having a benefit concert in Munich, Germany. I bought my ticket and hopped on the train and joined the thousands of fans from all over the world as we witnessed a bit of history. That concert tour was called “What More Can I Give”. There I also had the pleasure of seeing Luther Vandross perform as well. I even made a sign that had the USA flag behind the words “We Luv U 2”. I did’t want him to think his American fans had forgotten him (some people thought I meant the band U2, which was kind of frustrating. I thought the message was clear, but I guess not). Michael is the reason that I met a wonderful French girl by the name of Celine that summer. We bonded over MJ's music and she told me that she first learned English by listening to MJ's lyrics. We saw each other for the first time since 1999 in October 2007 when my family and I went to Italy. It was a wonderful reunion and I cherish the memory. This is just one example of how MJ has brought people together all over the world.

I have posters, buttons, magazines, even a wallet that I bought for about 3000 lire (which was like a dollar back then) in Italy. I have a Michael Jackson watch and plenty of T-shirts. One with the infamous tippy toe feet. That one is cool.

I have every album he’s ever made. Even those of The Jacksons and The Jackson 5. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the Jackson 5 Christmas Album. It’s a tradition in my home. I played that album so much when I was little that my younger sister, Lori, caught on and now it’s a tradition in her home as well.

Words cannot express what his music has done for so many people. I guess that's why so many fans showed up at his hospital, and the Apollo, and his Neverland ranch in California. Regardless of all the other hoopla that occurred over the years, only God judge him now. But, rest assured that we’ll miss the music Mike. We’ll definitely miss the music.

Interesting Childbirth article

If you’ve read my blog and/or clicked on my links then you know I’m an advocate for natural childbirth. It’s the most effective and safest way to give birth and I’d personally rather weather the storm of labor pains than to increase my likelihood of caesarean section or worse.

Anywhoo…here is an interesting tidbit I’ve learned from Midwifeinfo.com. What do you think?

I for one am all for alternatives to epidural anesthesia. Also, if it doesn't take the pain completely away then your body can still respond to the contractions, thus allowing a mother to effectively push her baby out. This would result in fewer c-sections and less inductions (which are the devil I tell you!).

As Ms. Rooks notes in her editorial in the March 2008 edition of the journal Birth, "most U.S. women also lack access to many non-pharmacologic methods to cope with labor pain that, although less effective than epidural analgesia, provide sufficient and satisfactory pain relief to a significant proportion of the women who use them during labor." American women might be surprised to learn that "nitrous oxide is used by the majority of women in many countries
that are relatively similar to the U.S. in general socioeconomic and medical standards,” including 48 percent of the women who gave birth in Finland (2005), 46 percent of those who gave birth in New South Wales, (2004), forty-three percent of women birthing in British Columbia, (2004-5, either alone or with other agents), and fully half of all women birthing in the U.K. (2000). So what happened here, where nitrous oxide was once commonly used in hospitals around the country? Ms. Rooks faults "the evolving epidural monoculture in some hospital obstetric units" where the options for women have become, effectively, an epidural or nothing, perhaps a bit of synthetic narcotic (usually promoted by the nursing staff to get the patient through until she can have her epidural). The complete editorial, entitled "Nitrous Oxide for Pain in Labor--Why Not in the United States?" can be found in Birth, Volume 34 Issue 1 Page 3-5, March 2007.

So, we had another ultrasound this morning….

And we were blessed to find out that I am indeed having a baby boy!

His baby boy parts were very evident on the screen so I can rest assured that there will be no confusion on the day of his birth.

I am so excited because now I can go shopping!!! I truly felt like I couldn’t shop right. I will forever hold to my assertion that shopping for yellow and green isn’t nearly as fun as shopping for pink or blue. And since I have no patience whatsoever it was imperative that I find out the sex as soon as possible.

Now, I can shop in pink, size 2T for my daughter and shop in blue, all sizes for my son. Wow. My son. That’s soooo cooool! I’m so on cloud nine right now.

If you haven’t been reading my posts, the reason I knew it was a boy was only because of the name I found.

My daughter’s name is Anaiah, which means “God has answered”. She was an answer to a prayer. When I got pregnant with her, I had several boy names picked out: Isaiah, Elijah, and Micah. All biblical, but I had no true connection with the names. I also wanted a biblical name choice for a girl, so when I found Anaiah, my hubby and I quickly agreed that it would be the one.

Hubby and I both hoped for a girl, but I didn’t want to claim it because I was too nervous. He said that he knew all along.

This time around, when I found the name Mathias, which means “Gift of God”, I knew from that moment on that he was a boy. Since he was a surprise baby, he's like a present that someone knocks on your door to hand you that you never knew you always wanted. Call it coincidence if you like, but I call it FAITH. God certainly knows better than I.

I knew that the same way Anaiah’s name is a testimony to her life, Mathias’ name would be a testimony to his.
Do I have to tell you how long the 12 week wait was to find out? It felt more like 120 weeks.

Mathias, I can’t wait to introduce myself to you as your momma!

Smelling the Roses

Life is a challenge
Not a competition
You can still smell the roses
And be on a mission

This is a quote from an India.Arie song. I adore her. She has a wonderful outlook on life that shines through her music.

The words really mean something to me. I find myself always running around with a goal. People have often told me to stop and smell the roses. I’m always on a mission. This verse is right. You can do both.

This Sunday is Mother’s day and I’m excited. My husband told me last night that he’s taking me out of town this weekend, but he won’t tell me where. I’m pretty sure he’s taking me home. I really want to see my niece get ready for her prom and I’ve been making comments about it. Other than that, I’m not really sure where we’re going.

Here’s to hoping wherever it is, it has a spa.

Love makes me choke

But in a good way, though. Right now, my emotions are stitched on my sleeve. I can’t help it either. Anything that pops up on TV that has the smallest hint of love, or charity, or compassion, makes me blubber like a baby. I guess it’s fitting.

Yesterday, for the millionth time, I watched one of fav movies, Practical Magic. I love Sandra Bullock, don’t you? Well, in the end when she sacrifices for her sister and cuts her hand and says “my blood, your blood” I got sooo choked and tears began streaming down my face. (Oh no, it’s happening again!). Nevermind that I’ve seen this movie a gazillion times. Nevermind that I know it’s coming. It still got me.
And that’s not the worst of it. I boo hoo’ed one day watching HGTV. This poor girl bought her first house and later found out that the contractors who built the basement apartment did a shoddy job on everything and she had to spend $40K to fix it. Then, the new contractors she hired didn’t fix it and took her money. So she called HGTV and they came out with their lifesaver contractor crew and fixed it right for another $40K. While she told her story, she was crying like a baby and if I had her number I would’ve called her and told that I definitely could feel her pain. I’m a total sympathy freak right now.

But, I guess things could be worse, right?

I could be having daily conniptions over food. Wait, a minute…that’s already happened. Yikes!

Remind me one day to tell you about the hamburger fiasco.

LOVE/HATE

Only in pregnancy can a person have a true love/hate relationship with food. Those of you who have carried a baby in your tummy know exactly what I’m talking about. For those of you who have yet to enter into motherhood, or who are male, let me elaborate a bit for you.

When you are pregnant, you are in the process of creating a new human being on the earth. This new mass/matter does not come without other new mass entering into the woman’s body (i.e. food). It’s the first law of thermodynamics: Energy cannot be created nor destroyed. So, basically in order for a baby to grow, you need to create tissues. In order to create tissue, you have to EAT mountains worth of food. Well, not really mountains, but sometimes it sure feels like it.

So what does the body do? It makes you eat. It makes you eat, by making it extremely painful for you not to eat. Do you know why? Well, because if our bodies didn’t have some sort of mechanism by which to make us (or in other words remind us) to eat, then we’d just go about our busy little days and never nourish ourselves. How many of you, in your rush to get the morning started have ever skipped breakfast? Exactly. But the thing is, when you’re pregnant, this type of behavior goes out the window. If you do not eat, you will experience horrible, horrible consequences.

So that’s the Love part, believe it or not. You live for food. You live to find the next morsel of something you can tolerate so that you can pop it into your mouth and savor it. Food begins to sum up your existence on this earth.

But what about when you’re hungry (and sick as a result of the hunger) but can’t find anything, absolutely NOTHING, within reach that you can eat? Or better yet, what if you simply CAN’T eat?

Again, let me clarify. Sometimes when you’re pregnant, you get that familiar tug in your tummy that reminds you that you’d better get some food (and quick!) or else. But, because we are those busy little bees, we don’t always do what we’re told. Sometimes, we push it back a tad longer. And then what happens? Well for me, it’s morning sickness (as if I didn’t have enough already!). Scientifically, when you are pregnant, certain hormones (namely progesterone) are present in abundance so that the uterus can remain strong and the lining of it can remain thick enough to keep the baby safe. As a result of this, it also creates an excess of stomach acid which in turn causes more morning sickness (a very queasy, nauseous feeling for me). (There is also another theory regarding HcG, but we’ll save that for another day, shall we?). So when you feel morning sickness, sometimes it makes it impossible to eat at all. And other times, because of your body’s needs, you might be craving the one thing on the earth that you can’t find or just can’t have.
For me, it’s tuna. I looooove tuna when I’m pregnant. But, with tuna being a rather large fish, it also has an abundance of mercury (Hg) in it so it is not recommended to eat more than 8 or so ounces a week. I could down that in one sitting right now.

So that’s the hate part. You live to eat, but sometimes you just can’t. Which means that food further runs your life and now you’re a slave.

Okay….done with that lecture. Now on to cravings…..(I could so write a book).

Random Musings

Ooh la la, it’s my favorite day of the week! And you know what? All I want to do is SLEEP! I haven’t been getting enough Z’s all week and it has really been catching up with me.

I have a friend whose daughter has just been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and went to see her in the hospital yesterday so I didn’t get much shut eye last night. After I got home (which was after 10pm) I couldn’t stop thinking about and praying for this little girl so that kept me up a little longer. She’s such a little lady, and she’s going through the hardest time of her life right now. It’s hard for someone so young (she’s 11) not to feel like life is unfair. I sat with her and parents as the nurses came in to prick her fingers (for the millionth time) and inject her with insulin. The poor thing had throbbing little fingers and I know it was so hard for her mother to bear.

I bought her High School Musical 3 today…she said she knows 1 and 2 by heart, but has never seen 3. I thought it was a golden opportunity to show this little girl how much she’s loved and to hopefully allow her a couple of hours to check out of this world and jump into an imaginary one. She is so much like me when I was her age. She absorbs books like she’s a sponge, and she loves the same kind of cute, rinky-dinky movies that I did. (Of course, for me it was Grease 1 and 2…can you say “cool rider?”)

The baby in my tummy (thinking of Yo Gabba's song, "there's a party in my tummy" as I say this) is making me the hungriest chick on this side of the Ohio River. I can't seem to get enough of it. So far, luckily, I have managed not to put on any weight, which is really good. At one point, I even lost 5 lbs (just couldn't eat) but have since gained that back. Maybe it water weight, who knows. I think this baby is a boy. Why? Just say I have a divine intuition. God said he will give us the desires of our hearts, and not to mention that we've picked out a name that is a testimony to his presence in our lives. If it is indeed a boy, his name will be Mathias. It means "Gift of God" which is absolutely perfect. I can't remember if I told you this or not. But either way, boy or girl, this baby will loved fiercely, and wholeheartedly every single day of his/her life.


My little toddler has been keeping me on my toes as well. She’s saying all kinds of words now and we’re having a ball listening to her sweet, little melodic voice.
This is a list of her vocabulary as of yesterday:

Wow Wow (from Wow wow wubzy, a cartoon show)
On (she says this everytime we turn on a light or when she gets in the car and wants the backseat DVD player on)
Dora (need I say more?)
Door (she points to the door when we open it)
Bye (such a simple word, but it melts my heart when she says it!)
Hey baby (we greet her like this so now she says it to us!)
Dog, roof, roof (learned this at daycare)
No
Daddy
Mama
nose (points to her nose, but when she says it, it actually comes out like nor)
I (we’re trying to teach her I love you, but she’ll say I, but then she won’t say love)

Maybe this list isn’t very impressive (I honestly have no idea one way or the other), but let me assure you that the child knows and understands everything we say to her. It’s amazing really. Finally we have our little go-getter (or fetcher, whatever you want to call it). “Go get mommy’s glasses, please” and she’ll go straight to my glasses on the ottoman. “Go get the diaper and baby wipes” and she’ll bring that to you to. Needless to say, she’s fetched the remote more than once.

Orlando, here I come!

So it’s official…We’re going to Disney World!! Yaay!

My husband’s 33rd birthday is April 12 and I’ve been trying to figure out what to do for him. He’s off work on the 10th and I have a mandatory vacation coming up (long story, company forcing all of it’s 400K employees to take 40 hours of vacation. It’s sucks, but it’s better than layoffs). The only real downfall is that he has to be back at work on the 13th (TCAPS—he teaches 5th grade and they have testing that week).

So I managed to schedule us for a mini-vacay from the 10th to the 12th to Orlando. We have to be back for church (Easter!) so we leave out on Friday at 9:30 am and will return at 9 am on Sunday morning. We’re going to Disney World on Saturday, not sure what we’ll do on Friday, but there’s lots of shopping in Downtown Disney so I am willing to bet that’s where you’ll find us.

We booked fabulously cheap airfare through Allegiant Air and will be staying in the Seaworld area. We’ll probably check out Seaworld too, if we can reconcile the cost with a two day mini-vacay. We’ll see about that one. I’d much rather go for a spa day.

Quick Reflection:

My daughter will experience Disney World before she’s even old enough to remember it. We include her in almost all of our activities. We love having her with us and until she’s older, we plan to continue to tote her around with us. My daughter also went with us to Italy (and celebrated her 1st b-day there). No doubt, that we won’t be able to top that for her 2nd. And, I'm already trying to think of ways that baby #2 won’t feel like a step-child on his/her 1st birthday. I can hear it now “why did Naiah get to go to Italy and all I get is Chuck-E-Cheese?”.

Sigh.

But, really, it’s interesting how much more each generation gets to experience than the one that came before them. I was tremendously spoiled as a child, but it’s nothing compared to the things we’ve done for my daughter. I guess, as time goes on, things become so much more easily accessible. For example, when I was eleven, there was no way I was getting a cell phone. Shoot, I thought I was bad when I got one of those huge Motorola phones my Senior year in high school. But, nowadays, lots of my husband’s students have them. And you know what? My daughter will likely get one too. As time goes on, and the world gets more frenzied, parents worry more. Besides, the cost of these things has gone down so much that it’s not necessarily considered “luxury” anymore. More like “standard”.

Having children is so wonderful. It really keeps you young, earns you patience, and makes your life soooo worth living. My daughter might not remember Disney World, but we’ll have the photos and videos of our time together. And that, as MasterCard would say…is priceless.

(Okay, so I’m cheesy. Wanna make something of it?)

Oh the irony!

Okay, so last week I was I was on this workout kick, right? Well, I joined a gym, hired a personal trainer, got my mind right for the rigorous weeks ahead. But now, all that has changed.....drumroll please......because my husband and I are expecting a new addition to the family!

Although this wasn't planned, I'm thrilled about it. We weren't really planning to have another so soon after our daughter, but God definitely knows better than we do so I might as well revel in his infinite wisdom.

It's really early and most people don't believe in sharing the news this fast, but I don't believe in superstition, only God's sovereignty.

More on this later. I just wanted to share the good news.

No pain, no gain!

Okay, so I admit, I've put on a few pounds since I married my husband (just how many, I'll never tell). Now, don't get me wrong, I still look good (and you can take that to the bank!), but the older I get, the more sedentary I become. This is a time-tested recipe for disaster that I choose not to entertain.

As such, I've just joined The Rush. I mulled over this decision to join this mega gym for about 3 months. Finally, I came to conclusion that the elliptical machine currently sitting in my living room is not going to cut it. I need aerobics. More specifically, I need Step. There's something about Step aerobics that really gets me moving.

Today was my first Step class in about 2 years (pray for me tomorrow, the pain is coming!). I got about halfway through the hour long workout before I realized that I was so not the girl I used to be. But, it won't be long at all before my stamina is rebuilt and I'm kickin' butt (and taking names!) again.

I'm a bridesmaid in a wedding in May. It'll be two days after my 4th wedding anniversary and just in time for bikini season.

I'm posting this blog so that I can be held accountable for my goals. I'm doing this for so many reasons. Vanity for one, (I must be honest) and just a plain old healthy fear of cutting my life short with my terrible habits. Heart disease runs in my family and so does diabetes. I'm breaking the cycle baby. Wish me luck!

Spell it with me now, F-R-I-D-A-Y!

So, I'm back and it's Friday. Better yet, it's Friday night. What does this mean to me? Well, let me first tell you what it used to mean. It used to mean that I would be getting dolled up and prettied, sliding into clothes that were waaay too small, so I could head out for a night on the town. It meant stopping by the liquor store to pick up a bottle of wine (or worse, in my college days) so I could get sufficiently buzzed before I hung out with my hubby (or my girls, in my college days). Now, it means that I clean the house, settle down with my hubby and our little girl and have a blast. We laugh, we play, we chat, we have a freakin' fantastic time! Now, if my 21 year old self peeked into her future, I doubt she'd say we were having a blast, but I guess it's a good thing I grew up before I was thrust into such a lifestyle. I love my life. My cup runs over daily, nightly, hourly, and every minute and second that passes.

It's amazing how much your perspective changes over the course of your life. I can only imagine how many more times my mind will change over the next chapter in my life. If I am so blessed to have another 30 years on earth (I'm rooting for 50), I wonder how I'll think when my daughter and other (future) children come to me with some crazy song, or way of life and needs my input on it. That's the cool thing about blogging. I haven't been doing it long, but I can imagine at some point, maybe a year from now even, I'll look back and admire myself in some posts and cringe in others. Then of course, I'll delete those, or then again maybe I won't. It's me, truthfully, so why not leave it on the page as evident of growth?

There's a gospel song that goes like this:
When I look back over my life,
And I think things over,
I can truly say that I've been changed,
I've got a testimony.

Right now, these lyrics envelope my way of thinking. It's amazing how 30 years can bring about such a change. It's amazing how becoming a mother can grow you up. It certainly makes you pray harder. I can't tell you how thoroughly grateful I am that I grew up. Now, don't get me wrong, I still need my mommy. I call her all the time needing advice, a shoulder to cry on, and just for plain old companionship. She can still tell me what to do (well, kind of...) and she knows how to shut me up when I'm being sassy. What I mean is that my priorities in life have shifted.

My younger sister (who's 27) said recently that I act like an old woman. That I act like I'm 60. She might be right, but the point is that I have no desire to 'act' any other way. I like who I've become. I've been in and out of the club scene since I left home for college when I was 17. I had a fake ID (from my older sis) and was out pretending I was 30 (ha!).

So according to her, I am supposed to live like I'm 17. I guess that means I'm lucky that 30 has now become the new 17 . Or is 30 the new 25, I forget ;) Whatever. 30 is good enough for me.

Random Happenings

It's been a while, yes I know. I'm a terrible blogger. But! I aspire to be a great one! Starting today! Um, tomorrow...

It's Friday again. This week was fairly typical at work. Life at home has been great.

Valentine's day was pretty cool I must say. The hubby and I usually go out and have dinner and maybe a movie, but this year we decided to include our little girl. We went to Chuck E Cheese for pizza and fun. We had a fantastic time.

My husband had two job offers this week for a teaching position. He just finished his Master's Degree in Elem. Ed/Curriculum & Instruction and now he's finishing out the semester teaching 5th grade. How cool is that? I might try to slip my middle grade novel into the curriculum. Wouldn't that be a cool extra credit project? Believe me, little girls think my book is the bomb. Little boys, not so much.

So, we filed our taxes this week. Hallelujah! In 10-15 days you might find me at Macys. Scratch that, I might take a much needed vacay. My mom tried to convince me to pack my bags and hit the road with them to the Bahamas. My lil' sis and mom are riding a charter bus to Port Canaveral and then cruisin' to Freeport. I'd love to go, but I don't think I can stand to leave my daughter for a whole entire week!! OMG! I'd die. The longest I've left her was a day and that was for a work trip. I would feel totally guilty leaving her behind to frolic at the beach.

Now, next year, when she's two and talking more, maybe...I can picture me and Dex at the beach under the Carribean sun. Or maybe Maui. I dunno. We'll see. We just got back from Italy and in July we're going to Edmonton, Canada. Of course, Edmonton isn't a vacay destination, but it'll be a relaxing, company paid trip. We'll make the most of it.

I've got some great news coming, but I won't share it just yet. We'll see how things play out first.

Ta Ta for now! It's Friday night, and I just got paid!!

Affect the World

If I had to choose one lyric that enveloped how I feel about the world it's this.

"Gonna make a change, for once in my life.
Gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference.
Gonna make it right.
As I turn up the collar on, my favorite winter coat,
the wind is blowin' my mind.
I see the kids in the street, without enough to eat.
Who am I, to be blind, pretending not to see their need...

I'm startin' with the man in the mirror.
I'm askin' him (her) to change his ways.
No message coulda been any clearer,
If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the CHANGE."

Do you know this song?

If not, you're too young to be reading this blog! Go to bed! (just jokes, my friend).

All work and no play makes me a dull chick

Today is Monday and have I ever mentioned how much I abhor Mondays?

I live for the weekends. Fridays are the best. Why? Because on Friday, at 5:01 pm, it's the farthest away from work that I can get. And not to mention that Saturday still hasn't come yet (which is actually the best day of the week) so there's no danger of it disappearing too fast. Then Sunday comes and although I enjoy church, it's bittersweet. Why? Because Monday is looming.

So now that Monday is nearly over. What say you Tuesday? Will you be as monotonous and uninspiring as your former day of the week? Will you??

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, I might be just a tad bored. Just a tad.

So, right now at work I've got a deadline approaching. I have an abstract due for a meeting presentation that I am doing in July. The abstract will contain results from research I've done over the last 6 months. I am not very excited about it because I wasn't able to add more to it like I wanted to. My instrument was down (not USA made) and it set me back getting the results I wanted. The abstract will suffice (and add nicely to my list of chemistry pubs) but it's not the five star level I desired.

My job can be slightly stressful at times. Of course, we get paid well for the stress, but it can be extremely difficult working in a field such as mine. You always have to be on your toes and your mind is always stretched to the limits. The bottom line is the almighty dollar and not "science for science sake". Science is ever-evolving and therefore, we must be able to adapt. I cherish my experiences in my field, but I must admit there are times when I wish I were a secretary. No offense to any secretaries or admin. assts. out there, but sometimes I secretly wish for a day job where I can just sit and file and answer phones and plan meetings for other people. Whoa is me, right? Yeah, right.

I am thoroughly blessed, this I know. But would I be human if I didn't at least consider the grass on the other side? Is it possible that even if it's not greener, than it smells nicer?

I just heard this great quote:

The church is supposed to be an emergency room for the sinner.
Not a country club for the saved.

I just pray that the Lord helps me so that I bring even a small amount of justice to his Kingdom.

Reflections of His Grace

Last night, my daughter woke me up around 2 am and then again around 4 am. She's had a little congestion lately so sleep is always a little more difficult at times like these. We co-sleep so we are pretty much there for her in a second when she wakes up crying. God has certainly been working on my patience lately. When my daughter wakes up in the middle of the night, guess who she wants? Mommy. And guess who has to wake up in the morning? Mommy. Daddy just finished his Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction (w/ Elem. Ed cert.) in Dec. and is taking it easy until the Fall when he'll begin teaching. So Daddy's lucky in that he doesn't have to fight early morning traffic for a while.

As I was rocking my daughter back to sleep at around 4ish, I thought to myself that two years ago this month, I was ecstatic and overjoyed at the opportunity to birth a child. I scanned my memory for those special moments since then that I've been so blessed to experience. The way it felt to carry her in my belly, the birth of my beloved baby, the closeness of nursing her, the experiences of weaning and so many in between.

I don't always have the patience I desire to have, but right then and there I had to thank God for his grace. Without his mercy and love, I don't know where I'd be right now, but I knew it probably wouldn't be here stroking my daughter's face as she snuggled in my arms.

My cup really does run over.

How full is your cup? If you think about it, even though you still have prayers that it doesn't seem like God has answered yet, you're probably living in an overflow too. Praise him right now for all that he has already done! And then, Praise him in advance for all that he is about to do!