Happy Halloween!!!

I made Emi's costume. She looked soooo adorable!! I really had a lot of fun making this costume for her. I hope she loved it as much as I did!!

Logan went as his favortite Nascar driver--Tony Stewart! I found the costume over a month before Halloween and bought it for him. We had not even begun to talk about costumes, but I just knew he would like it. And he did!!

We went over to our friends--the Warren's--to celebrate the holiday. We had dinner there and then took the little kids Trick-Or-Treating!! I was surprised that the kids did not last as long as I expected. I don't think that we Trick-or-Treated for for even 2 hours. Oh well...they still had LOTS of candy! It was a great neighbor hood to go out in. .

Football

Well...the football season did not go as well as we would have like to. Since we were still waiting on the custody paper, Will never got to play in a game. He did get to play in the Jamboree game though--and he made a tackle. Go Will!!

At the Jamboree he was number 40. But his number the rest of the season, and that he originally chosen was number 63. The really amazing thing about him choosing that number is that it happened to be the number Jody used when he played football, He had not told Will that before the numbers were chosen. So it was definitely fate!

He would like to play again next year. We would like for him to be able to play....but he has got to get the grades up! A better attitude wouldn't hurt either!!

It is all worth it

Not much to report.

Still very very busy with the kids. It's is always one thing or another going on. The first quarter is almost over. Yeah!! Oh and football! But I am about to put Emi in a dance class.

I am not happy about the grades that we are going to get for Logan and William. Emi's are great. But then second grade is easy. LOL!! I am trying not to stress about their grades. I figure it is the first quarter and we are all learning together. Me especially!!! But they are too. They've not been around the structure that they are now. But the really great thing is...Logan has already told us that he can see the improvement in his work since we have started to work with him. So that was great!! Lets you know that somehow it is all worth is

Busy and school problems

I have not blogged at all since the first day of school. There is one reason, and one reason only! LOL!! I have been soooo incredibly busy! WOW!! There has been so much to do! 3 kids!! Homework. Driving them to and from school. Homework! Making lunches. Football. Cooking dinner. Homework!. All while trying to maintain the house AND my sanity!!

It's going well so far. We've had a few up's and down's (LOL!!! cause that is the title of my blog!)

Mainly our biggest problem has been Logan. He's not doing as well at school as we would like. He tells us lies, or half-truths. He throws a fit when we try to help him and when it is time for him to do extra work. He has a few times seen how wise we are, and admitted that we are actually helping him. But then in the next breath he can be pitching a fit cause we ask him to write his spelling words again. Ugh!!! It has been a challenge. Most of my entire afternoons are taken up helping him. Or getting angry cause he does not want my help, and he's pitching another fit. It is not even really a fit. It is just major attitude. More than I deserve. A few times, I have blown up and said, "Fine! If you don't want my help, then I won't give it. ...etc...."

Our biggest thing with him, besides trying to help him with his cursive writing, is this reading program that they have at his school. It's called AR...which stands for Accelerated Reader. He is suppose to read a book, and then take a computer generated test on it. Logan, with the first book, began to read the book, and then decided he did not like the book, so he went and took the test on it! He got one question right!! We found out about it, and actually got the teacher to allow us to have him read the book again, and take a new test with it (she removed the original test score) Well, he thought he'd be smart (cause I said that maybe we needed to see if they had him at the right reading level) and he went and asked the teacher to put him to a lower level. She did! Without checking with us! (don't get me started on that) Somewhere in all of this he takes another test on the same book...only to get 3 questions right this time! Then he did really well on a book that I helped him with. I read it and made up quiz questions for him. He got 9 out of the 10 right (I wrote 21 and 7 of them happened to be on his quiz!) But then he went and got another book. Again he sped through reading it, and took the test. I was going to do another quiz, but he did not give me a chance. He has no clue how he did this time. I am assuming he did not do well, and he knows it. So he says he did not look at the score. I am sure he didn't. That way he did not have to lie to us, and he could say that he didn't know it.

Emi enjoys school. I've had no problem with her. The only thing with her is making sure she is occupied so that I can work with Logan. LOL!! She is an excellant student, and there is not much for her to do at home, except for spelling words.

William is focused on football. Too focused if you ask me. I will have to blog later about his football, the Jamboree and such. I fear that he is lying to us a lot too though. He "never" has homework, or if he does it always seems to be something that he remembers at the last moment. He's not doing well in one of his classes, and if he does not improve, he is going to have to give-up football. I (we)don't want to have to do that, but he has to learn that school comes first.

UGH!!! Like I said it's been a challenge! With lots of Up's and Down's!

First Day of School!

Today is the first day of school for the kids! I am so happy that they are living with us. I just hope that they are as happy. Logan and Emi are going to Endeavor Elementary. William is going to Monrovia Middle school.

I know that Emi was excited! She's been jumping up and down out of sheer excitement. She's in the 2nd grade. We went last night to get to meet her teacher and see her classroom. Both are very nice. Emi is so excited that she has a locker in her room! LOL!!

Logan was not as excited. LOL!! He's not quite ready to go back. We also got to meet his teacher and see his classroom. He's in 5th grade this year. They told the 5th grade class that they are the seniors of the school. So I told him that made him the "Big Man on Campus."

William is in the 7th grade this year. He is not excited about school at all. All he cares about is that he gets to play football. LOL!! He's already started football practice and seems to be doing pretty good so far. I have not made it to watch a practice yet, but plan to soon.

"Honey Do" List

Okay, so I feel like I always have something on my "Honey Do" List.....and usually the stuff on there NEVER gets done. That is because my husband is never home to do anything around the house.....

Today, I mentioned a few things that I wanted to do in the kids rooms. Little things. Things that would help for organization in their closets. Especially since now, they are living with us full time.

I only barely mentioned the things that I wanted to do. Sometime. No more than an hour later, Jody had headed to Lowes to get the things that were needed to do the projects. WOW!! And not only that.....but he competed them ALL!!!

So today, I got a new bracket put into the boys closet to hold the shelf that was sagging in the middle. I got a new rod put in Emi's closet so that she can reach her clothes. Plus, I got 4 shelves made for a freestanding cabinet that I use for scrapbook supplies. (I'd asked for those about 2 months ago). And then he also got a swing put into the tree in our back yard for Emi.

He was going to do another project that I wanted to do for Emi's room, but ran out of time....but I was okay with that. Especially considering everything else that he did get done today!

My Honey did so well on his "Honey Do" list! I am soo happy!! LOL!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

What a great day we had!!

It's become our tradition for the Fourth of July, to go over to our friend Bill's house. We go for a relaxing day of swimming, eating, drinking, hanging out with friends, and watching our own personal firework display. It truly cannot get any better!

Logan and Emi were so excited that we were going over to Bill's again this year to celebrate the fourth. They had soo much fun last year, that they could hardly sleep the night before! The whole day before, all they could talk about was how much fun it was and how they could not wait to do it again!

As soon as we got there, they jumped in the pool. The two of them spent the majority of the day going between Bill's pool and Mary's pool (where the diving board is.) I took lots of pictures as they worked on their tricks off the diving board.

Lots of people were there! Everyone that we've gotten to know so well over the last year and a half. I am so thankful to have made friends with this family. They are great people to know, and have welcomed us so warmly into the "Family."

Patty, as usual, made soo much food! And this time she made Jello Shots and the most amazing Sangria! So yummy!!! We were all stuffed by the end of the day! And Emi....I don't know what she was thinking, but she must have lost her mind...She went to get dessert, and after Tammy had given her a cupcake AND a piece of a brownie torte....Emi helped herself to 3 (yes I said THREE) GIANT cookies....before she even ate the other desserts! Uhhh.....Hello!! She did not finish all of it of course....but I have no clue why she even did it. Sneaky Girl!! LOL!!!

The fireworks were great as usual. Bill has a friend that he buys the fireworks from. He has him put together a show for everyone. Everyone who comes over, and all of his neighbors pitch in money and that allows for a bigger display of fireworks. I think about $900 was spent...which to me is a lot of money...but it was a good show. Plus we did not have to go anywhere. Just move our chairs from the back yard to the front yard. It is so entertaining to watch Jody and Bill try to figure out the "show" diagram and then execute it. Or not! This year our "Finale" was in the middle of the show...but that is okay. I love to watch fireworks...and it is also so much fun to see the kids reactions to them. I also managed to capture some great shots of the fireworks.

As a sad note....one of our neighbors fireworks landed on our trampoline and now we have a hole in the middle of it...Oops!! We have not decided what to do about it yet.

Can't wait for the fourth next year!!

Best News EVER!!!

Drum Roll Please..........

We finally got an answer......

She said Yes!!!!

The kids are officially going to live with us and go to school here!!!!!

I am soo happy about this. It is going to be soo good for the kids and that is the most important thing. I am glad that their Mom finally decided to do what was best for them. I know that she will miss them, and they will miss her, but she needs to get her life in order. She needs to get a more stable environment, one where the kids are not left alone all the time.

I am pretty positive that the kids are happy about it. We've tried to make it as positive an experience as we can. Logan was a little upset when the decision was made, but I think he was just sad about his mom, and all the other emotions that hit him at one time. Emi was just soo excited. I promised them that they could each choose one activity that they want to do....and she wants to do dance or something like that. Logan is talking about baseball.

William is not here yet, so we don't know how he feels about it. I hope it is a good thing for him. At least he won't have to be in charge of his little brother and sister anymore. He gets here on Monday, so we'll find out then how he feels.

I am excited and almost petrified at the same time! LOL!! Only because it will be SUCH a new experience for me. I will be totally lost for awhile. And my mind is reeling with all that I have to get done....and I only have a month until school starts! ACKKKK!!!! I need to find out what I need to do to get them enrolled in school, which school they will be going to.....Plus I need to work on getting up in the morning (LOL!!) I need to figure out how much time we will need to get ready and out the door in the mornings. And the list goes on and on!!!

I am sure that I will blog much more often about all of it. Life sure is going to be different! But I am looking forward to the challenge!!

First Week of Summer Vacation

I haven't posted anything in a while. I've been super busy. I was getting ready for the kids to arrive for the summer....and now that they are here...well, I've been even busier.

Logan and Emi arrived on June 10th. They didn't get out of school until the day before, which was so weird, cause their last day of school was on a Monday. William is going to come, but he is going to be a few weeks behind them. He is visiting a cousin in Michigan.

We've been having lots of fun. The first day that they were here, they were sooo spastic! LOL!! They would start to do one thing, and 5 minutes later they had changed directions and were off to do something else. Kids do that...but this was more crazy then normal. And it actually hadn't been as long as it normally is between their visits.

We've not made it to the pool yet, but may go tomorrow. Maybe. We have however, colored lots of pictures, played LOTS of games, jumped on the trampoline, rode bikes, and played with lots and lots of hot wheels. (Okay, I have not done most of this....but I have played LOTS of games....LOL!!)

On father's day, the kids and Jody went fishing. Emi caught a really big catfish. She was the only one who caught anything worthwhile. She caught a few small brim, and Jody did too, but Logan did not catch anything.

Then that afternoon, Logan got to ride a small motorcycle. He had a BLAST!!! We just about had to drag him off of it. He only had one small wreck. And that was because he was going too fast into a turn. But he had lots of protective gear on, and came out of it without a single scratch. Jody and I were afraid that he would not want back on the motorcycle, but he did. The reason we were afraid, was because last summer he hit his head when we went tubing, and did not want to ride anymore. We were so glad he got back on the bike without any problems. Emi was going to try and ride the motorcycle too...until Logan wrecked it, then she refused to ride. Maybe she will next time!

Oh.....the kids mom was suppose to decide by the time that the kids arrived for the summer, if she was going to allow them to come and live with us. Well, no surprise there, but she has not decided yet. They have been here for a week, and we still don't know. It wouldn't be such a big deal, but if they do get to come and live here (and I hope for their sakes that they do) then there is a LOT to do....and not as much time to do it in. For starters, the schools start back here almost 3 weeks sooner then they do in North Carolina where the kids live with their mom. And if they do get to live here, then we have to get papers drawn up showing that she is giving guardianship of William to Jody. That may take some time to get. So we need all the time we can possibly get. Their mom said she would give an answer soon, that she was still thinking about it.......and she hasn't yet, but I sure hope she gives it to us soon.

Emi's Girly Girl Room

I've wanted to do something special for my step-daughter Emi's room for while. She has (for as log as I've known her) shared her room with some one (except for when she is at our house.) She has either shared a room with her grandmother, her brother (don't even get me started on that one) or now her mother (when she is not sleeping in the living room)

So I thought that she really deserved a room designed especially for her. Previously, in her room, was all my old yellow and blue stuff. I wanted to do her room in pink and green.

I had an idea of what I wanted. It was all there in my head.....but it was soo much harder to find the bedspread and such than I thought it would be. I finally found something. It was not quite what I wanted. To begin with. I made it really work. And now I am quite please with all of it.

I then made her these giant square frames out of wood (okay Jody made the frames...but it was my idea), that I stretched fabric onto, like a canvas. There are 4 of them and they are 18in each. 2 pink, hot and light, and 2 of the same color green.

I was going to paint, but decided not to do that right now. The squares of fabric helped to bring some color onto the wall. Plus I have a few more projects in mind that will help too. I still need to get the curtains. And a few other things.....

But it is sooooo cute!

And Emi loves it!

It's HERE!!!!

Here it is!!!

Isn't it beautiful??

I absolutely LOVE it!! My favorite part is the chaise of course!! It is soo comfy!!

I can hardly believe that I have it!!! I am soo excited about it! I am so glad to have something pretty and functional! The old couch was such a pain most of the time. I was ALWAYS adjusting the cushions.....On this one, the cushions are attached! Yeah!!!

I can't wait to kick back and relax!

Yeah!!!! I am sooo excited!!

My new furniture is in!!!

Yes!!

I don't have it in my possession yet. The delivery date are filled up until next Friday. Which is okay with me! I am just soo excited that it is here, and will soon be sitting in my living room! I can't wait!!! This will we the first piece of "NEW" furniture ever....if you don't count bookshelves. Yeah!!! I'll have to post a picture once it is all set up.

What a strange trip.....

Isn't that a line from a song? I want to think it is.....

Anyways.....wow! Where do I begin to tell the story of how we spent our week?

Jody's parents moved to Mississippi, last August to live closer to Jody's sister and her family. They put their house in Tennessee up on the market to sell. They moved into Jennifer's bonus room over the garage. His parents left most of their belongings in the house until it sold. Well the house finally had a buyer and they wanted to be able to take immediate possession after the closing which was set to be on May 1st.

Jody had the week off, and was able to get a truck and a trailer to use to help his parents move out of the house in TN. So we set out on Monday (after installing a trailer hitch to the truck) with the plans to be on the way home by Wednesday. I told Jody that we would never have it all done and be back by then. I also figured that the stuff would not be packed and just ready to be loaded onto the truck, like he seemed to think that it would. LOL!! I was right!! Maybe 2/3 of the house was packed and ready...but that still left a lot in the kitchen that was not, PLUS the 2 garages were not ready at all! Pat, Jody's mom, had gone out to dinner with some friends in a town at least an hour away. She arrived back at the house after we did. We had arrived late, about 8 p.m. We packed and loaded until 11 P.M. Then we headed to the hotel.

Jody and I got up early to get going. We ate breakfast and then went to find his mom. They were just getting up and getting ready. His mom took us back to her house, since we left the truck there the night before, after a detour to find more boxes. Then we spent the rest of the day packing and loading. Pat left again for a few hours to run some errands (not sure why she needed to do this.....but apparently you can't buy meat in MS. LOL!!) We were finally done loading at about 5 p.m. We left that evening and headed to MS.

We arrived in MS about 1:30 in the morning. Everyone went to bed and slept in a bit in the morning. For some reason, Pat began to have doubts about the place that she was going to rent. She wanted to go look at another place before we did anything. Then she hemmed and hawed for awhile. We went and had lunch and let her think it over. Finally she decided that she was going to move into the original place that she had planned on renting. It is 2:30 in the afternoon (on Wednesday) before we began to unload anything. And remember Jody had thought he'd be on his way home by then....LOL!!! We planned to go home the following morning now.

It's 8:30 when we are finally done and back at Jennifer's. When it's time for my nieces to go to bed, they suddenly realize that I am leaving the next day and we had not had a chance to play any games. We always play games together! So they we quite upset about it. When they woke up the next morning, they were even more upset. So Jody decided that we will relax and hang out for a few hours and leave to head home after the girls get home from school. Let us play a game or two and then head out. So we went to lunch with Jennifer and James. Then I went with Jennifer to pick the girls up from school. They were so happy to see me still there.

We played a few games and then got ready to leave. We headed out and was about 30-45 mins down the road. James called us. They had just heard from Pat, who had found out that the loan for the buyers on the house in TN had not gone through. Jody's parents had not sold the house. Jody called his mom. Jody and Pat talked about what this parents should do. They can't afford to have a house note AND pay rent. So the only rational option is to move the stuff out of the house they are going to rent (there had not been a contract signed on the lease yet) and move into a storage building. Jody decided that since we were not far down the road that we would turn around to help them out the next day.

Jody's dad was on his way into town. He had taken Friday off to go and sign the papers at the bank. So his mom waited until he got there to tell him the bad news. We all thought (we being Jody and I , and his sister and brother in law) that they were going to do the right thing. That they were going to move out of the rental and move their belongings into storage, and continue living in Jennifer's bonus room. Nope!!! That is not the decision that they choose to make. They choose to stay in the rental house. Which means that Jody and I had turned around and came back for NOTHING!! LOL!!!!

Oh......and we were promised that we would be paid back our gas money, after they got the check for the sale of the house. LOL!!! Guess we won't be seeing that money anytime soon. If ever! LOL!!!

Talladega

We just got back from going to Talladega! We go twice a year, and haven't missed a race since we first began going. The first time we went we sat on the back stretch. We haven't sat there again! LOL!! We now usually sit somewhere in the Tri-Oval, with a great view of pit road. This year, Jody waited a little long to get the tickets so our seats were not as good as usual. We sat on the right side of the start/finish line going into turn one. Not the best seats, but a different vantage point of the track so that made it cool. I got some really good photos of the race that I will upload later.

Talladega is crazy!! The have all these camp site that they open up. We camp across the street from the track in a big field. It is amazing just to see the giant sea of campers. This time we arrived on Friday. We set up camp, ate some dinner and then headed over to the dirt track. That is some crazy racing that goes on over there. The cars can slide off the track and over the hill. I think it is amazing to watch that happen, cause usually they drive back up the hill in a few seconds. We believe that Tony Stewart was there again watching the race. He was last time we went. There were also several cup drivers that came over to race. That was pretty cool. I think that Aric Amirola won that race. I'll have to double check that with Jody.

Saturday was the Nationwide race. We did the souvenirs haulers on the way to the track. Found our seats in settled in for some great racing. Our man, Tony Stewart, won the race. This was a really really big deal, because he has NEVER won at Talladega before. He has finished 2nd many times, and usually leads a good amount of the race, to always have something happen for him not to finish in first. Usually it is the draft that gets him. Drafting at Talledega is an art form. Usually we are really close to victory lane, but not this time. I decided to start walking towards Victory lane to see if I could catch any photo of Tony. I made it and managed to get some pretty good shots.

Sunday was the big cup race. It began to rain on Saturday night, so we were a little concerned about the race getting to be started, but thankfully all the rain cleared out early morning. We arrived in time for me to take pictures of the driver introductions. I got some great shots of all of our favorite drivers.

Although it did begin to rain again, about 45 mins after the finish of the race. Perfect timing!!Tony led most of this race also. Only to be finally knocked out by a wreak with only 14 laps left!! But have no fear, one of the other guys that we root for managed to pull off the win! Yeah!! Kyle Busch won the race.

Can't wait to go again!!

Workout partner

I found me a workout partner. My new partner is my hairstylist, Mary. LOL!! I was getting my hair done the other day, and we were talking about how we needed to lose weight, and how we never go to they gym, etc..... We both belong to the same gym, and had talked about meeting at the gym before, a few months ago, but had never done it.

This time was different. We both agreed that having a person to be accountable to would help. So every Monday and Wednesday we are going to meet at the gym.

Today was the first day. We both made it. Mary kept telling me how happy she was that we were doing it. I am happy too! I walked for an hour today. I did 2.75 (ish) miles. I think it was actually 2.78 when I got off the treadmill, but am not 100% positive. I know it was at least 2.75. I also did the circuit training. On my worksheet for that, it had me do a squat using the stability ball....I just know that I am going to feel that in my thighs tomorrow! LOL!!

I am sooo glad that Mary and I have decided to do this. Even if we only meet each other twice a week...it will get us going! And maybe once we get going and make it a habit, and begin to lose weight, maybe we will go even more. I am not sure that we will be able to meet together any other day (those happen to be her days off) but, it will be nice to be able to look forward to having a partner on at least those 2 days.

I know this is just what I need. A standing "date" to go to the gym! No excuses!!

My Inspiration

When I lived in Ohio, my BEST friend was Melissa. We lost touch after I moved away and had not talked for a few years. We have recently began to talk again. We've been catching up on each other lives. Melissa has told me about some of the new things and adventures that she has been doing. She is doing a half marathon,in May. She is doing that with her mom, another friend of ours and the friends mom. This half marathon is 13.1 miles, They are going to walk it. She has also recently done a "Tackle the Tower" race. The object of this race was to climb the stairs of a 37 story building in Cleveland, as fast as you could. (well 37 flights of stairs..for a total of 646 steps) Wow!! She has also been "Zorbing." This is where you climb into a giant inflatable ball, get harnessed in, and then roll down a giant steep hill. I cannot believe some of the things she has done and is doing.

When we were friends, she was the heaviest of the two of us. I was beginning to get curious about if she had lost weight, or was losing weight. I didn't know how to ask her though. The last time I saw Melissa she was about the weight I am now. I did not want to make her mad at me for asking though, so I asked to see a picture of her. (I didn't get a picture when I had asked because she was on her way out of town.) Recently, I was looking at the website for her new business. While I was on there, I found a picture of her. This is the picture that I found.....

WOW!!!! I'm sure this looks like a very simple picture of a girl....... but to me...it is just amazing! The last time that I saw Melissa she was the size that I am now. That's right! And now she is a size 6!!! Wow!!! She is now my new inspiration!!

You hear of people losing weight everyday. They are always people that you don't know. And those stories can inspire some people. But to know someone who has ACTUALLY lost a lot of weight....that is just truly inspiring. She looks amazing!! I am soo blown away by her. Melissa has always been the type that will not tell you what she weighs/or lost. So I can't tell you exactly how much she did lose....cause she won't tell me! LOL!! But I can tell you, that when she began her weight lost journey, she wore a 16-18. (she kept a pair of size 18 jeans to remind herself, how far she has come). The other absolutely amazing thing is this....She lost the weight in only 1 year!! 1 year!!!

So I had to pick her brain. I asked her a TON of questions. Such as what made her finally do it, what did she do, how did she do it...etc. Again I am so impressed. She did it the way that I want to do it. She did it completely by herself. No magic pills, no weird diet. All that she did was start working out. And as she did that, she changed her diet in a healthy way.

It has been over 7 months now, since she quit losing. She says that her weight does fluctuate up and down (by about 10 pounds), but when she gains, she usually gets back to the weight that she is currently, within a week. She wants to lose 10 more pounds, so that when she does gain a few pounds it won't be more than she is currently. She told me that she even "allowed" herself to be "Bad" during the holidays. She said that she gained about 12 pounds, but as soon as the new year began she got serious again. She lost the weight within 2 weeks. The funny thing is, she did not go to the gym during this time....so if she had actually still gone, she may have gained very little, if any at all.

I am sooo inspired by her! I hope that a year from now, that I will be able to share a weight loss story like hers! Wish me luck!!

My Step-Kids

My Step-Kids just spent the week with us for their spring break. They are William (13), Logan (9) and Emi (7).

Of course it had to rain almost everyday that they were here. We had a great time though. We went to Chuck E. Cheese. We went to the park. The kids played on the trampoline (when it wasn't wet) We played board games. They played with all of their toys in their rooms. The boys went fishing and worked on trucks with their dad. Emi and I went shopping. We bought her first digital camera! I can't wait to see what she takes pictures of. (as long as they are not of me!)

This week was the first time that we had seen William in 2 years. (He has gotten soo BIG!!) I was SOO nervous about him coming. Mostly because so much time had past. I did not know anything about him anymore. Plus we'd been told that he had a really bad attitude at home. So I was not sure how he was going to act and behave when he got here. It went GREAT!! I think he had a good time. He said he did. I think he had really missed coming to see us. It's a long story of why he was not coming to visit us anymore, but I do think that he will come to see us more often in the future.

Logan, was fantastic this week too. The last time he visited, I was very very frustrated with him. Everytime I tried to talk to him he would give me a horrible look and/or walk out of the room. There were a lot of things going on at his Mom's house, that I think was contributing to his attitude. This week he had NONE of the attitude. He was absolutely darling! Very very sweet all week.

Emi....What can I say about my Emi? She is always soooo adorable. Well most of the time. The last morning she was here, we were at the mall shopping. All of the sudden she turned to me, and said that she has "soo much fun" at my house. She also told me she did not want to go home. My heart just broke! She says it is not fun at her house. I am almost positive that she gets more attention and love when she is with her Dad and me. The night before we "baked" cookies together (the kind that you just place onto the cookie sheet and bake) Nothing special, but you could just tell, that to her, it was.

Jody and I would LOVE for the kids to come and live with us. We are trying to convince the kids mother that them coming to live with us is what it best for them. I hate to take them away from their mom, BUT the environment that they are in is not good for them. Again, a very very long story.......They NEED to have a more stable environment. They need to have better role models in their lives. She has said that it was up to the kids. The thing is, when the kids are here with us, they say they want to live with us. But then they go home.... I am not sure if they are scared to tell their mom that they want to come here or what, but so far it has not worked out in our favor. Maybe this time will be different. Maybe the kids will be living with us by the next school year. I hope so!

Furniture is ordered!!

Yeah!!!

My new sectional is finally ordered!!! I was promised new furniture as a Christmas present, but then it was put off for a little while. But now it is finally ordered. I am not sure if it was the threat of me having to start all over with looking if we waited much longer or not, but I am so glad that we finally did it. It is from Lane. And it will take about 6 weeks before it is ready.

I am getting a sectional. It will have a chaise on one end and a recliner on the other. The chaise is actually a recliner also. Both are the wall hugger style of recliner, so I don't have to have it pulled out from the wall any more than I would normally.

The color of it is one of my favorite colors. It is rust colored. Or cinnamon colored. It was the color that was the inspiration for our wedding and has already been weaved throughout our house. I had originally planned on red...but when I saw another couch done in this color, I was hooked. Plus Jody wanted whatever we got to be microfiber, and I did not like the red that was offered in the microfiber. It was too orangey red, or too purpley red. Just not the right shade.

So we did go with the Microfiber. It is suppose to be the best when it come to repelling stains. Plus very easy to clean. Jody did not care about much in the choosing process, except that he was pretty clear that he wanted the fabric to be mircofiber. So since that was the only thing he required it was pretty easy to give him that request. Especially since the sectional came in a color that I truly love.

Yeah!!! I will post a pic once it comes in.....

Family Drama

I have had MAJOR family drama in my life this week. MAJOR!! So major that I am not sure yet if my relationship with my father, or my step-family will ever recover. I am at the point now though, that I don't care if it does. I'd love to work it out with my dad, but am not sure that I care to work it out with my step-mother or my step-sister. I also just don't know if our relationship is something that CAN be worked out with my dad.

My relationship with my dad has been strained for quite a while. I had just thought that we might begin to work on it, when I had a fight with my step-sister. A bad fight. I let my dad know what happened, so that when it was brought up to him, he would know my side and maybe stand up for me. Instead my dad said he would not get involved. He said that we were both adults and he would not get in the middle of it. His wife, my step-mother called me cussing me out. I let him know about this, and he told me not to worry about her. He has talked to her.

The thing is that I asked him to call me. He has not. He has only contacted me through e-mail. I feel that he is taking her/their side. I feel that he does not care to repair our relationship. I get most of these feelings by seeing what actions he is choosing to take. I never asked him to get into the middle of our fight, I just wanted him to have my back on a very personal matter. He says he can't call me. I know that is not true. He can call. He HAS called his "New family", but he has yet to call me. I am his daughter. I am his real family. But he is choosing them over me.

Sigh......

This is so hard. I am not even telling half of what happened, or going into the nitty-gritty of the details. It's ugly! I just wish my dad would wake up and see what he has done to US! See what he has done before this fight with my step-sister even started. I wish he would be a man, and treat me like I deserve to be treated.

For now, I have decided that I am done. I am over it. I am finished. IF my dad wants to have a relationship with me, he is going to have to make the next move. I have made all the moves that I care to make right now.

Maybe someday............

Birthday

Today's my Birthday. My 29th birthday to be exact.

My dear sweet sisterfriends threw me a birthday party! It was great. We went out to lunch. Then we went back to Freda's house for cookie cake and ice cream. Angela makes the BEST cookie cakes! Plus they all went together to buy me a present. It turned out to be my only present, but that is okay, because I was not expecting anything from anyone.

The present that my sisterfriends gave me was GREAT!! I was given a painting of butterflies. I LOVE butterflies!!! And they all know that. In fact they had this painting, painted JUST for me!!! How cool is that?? There is this lady that goes to the scrapbook retreat that comes to paint. Her stuff is very fun and whimsical. Anyways, Freda and Angela asked her to paint me a painting, AND to get MY input on it while she did it! LOL!!! I loved the painting when she had it finished, and never had a clue that it was for me. LOL!! As soon as I started to unwrap it though, I KNEW exactly what it was. I thought that they had just contacted her after the retreat to buy the painting, but nope! All along they knew that they were giving me this painting for my birthday.

THANKS sisters!!!! Thanks for giving me a great birthday!!!

Furniture Dilemma

Okay, I am going to start by saying "I HATE the furniture that I have right now!" It's is OLD and so not my style and worn out, and ugly and hand me downs. It is functional, but it is not pleasing to the eye.

That being said, I am "Suppose" to be getting new furniture. Yes, I put it in quotes on purpose. Because I was promised that new furniture at the beginning of December as my Christmas present, but it's not even close to being ordered. It's picked out. But if he waits too much longer, I am going to have to look at everything again, to make sure that there is nothing new, that I like more. It's already going on 4 months.......

This afternoon, I decide to move the furniture into the "proposed" layout of how we want the new furniture to go into the living room. The T.V. is already in place. (We moved it across the room) We plan to get a sectional, so I put the couch and the loveseat in the corner to take the place of the sectional, and then the recliner, where the new recliner is going to go. And........I HATE IT!!!!! Okay, maybe not hate....but I am not loving it. At all. It might work. It could work. But there is a lot of OPEN space in the middle of the room, and it just looks wrong. I can't explain it any other way.....Just too much space and nothing to fill it with.....Maybe it will grow on me. Maybe......

The room layout is so odd, that ever since we moved in, we've had a struggle of where to put things. Too many doors in odd places. No flat wall with out other stuff breaking it up. There is not a "Perfect" solution for this room at all. I played around with the other scenarios till I had a headache, then I finally figured out that there is NO other solutions, UNLESS we went back to what we had before. Neither of us loved that layout. The T.V. was cornered before. So to go back it would have to be cornered still. (Or Jody's other solution is to put it on the wall where the two big front windows are. As in, in front of the windows....Uhhh... NOT!) Plus since we are going to get a bigger T.V., it needs more room than the corner really allows.

So, I either need to come up with a solution to help camouflage the big open space (an area rug would not work, at least not while I have my cat) OR, I need to get used to the layout. I may. It is possible. I did not love the furniture layout that we had previously, but I eventually got over it. Maybe, once I have the new furniture (IF I ever have the new furniture) it will look better, because there won't be a big gap in the corner.......Plus the sectional will come out into the room differently, since I will have the chase.

I don't know. For now, I am going to leave it. I am going to see how I feel about it in a few days. Maybe my opinion of it will change. I doubt it. But, you never can tell.

Feeling good......But tired!

I feel good today!! I am also feeling very very tired!! I did go to the gym again today! Yeah me!! 2 days in a row. That is pretty good for me. Isn't that sad? It should not feel so good that I went 2 days in a row. I SHOULD go every day...or at least every other day. That is my goal. (Or at least one of my goals) To be more consistent in going to the gym. Making a habit with it. I have not been consistent at all. I would be lucky if I was going once a week, cause I was hardly doing that.

Once I make the gym a habit, I think that then I will get serious about changing my diet. I'm not sure how I want to approach that yet. I need to eat better than I do now, but am not sure which program that I want to follow, or even IF, I want to follow a program. I am ALREADY making better choices, but I know that there are LOTS of room for improvement. LOTS!!! LOL!!! So gym habit first, then focus even more on my diet. Leaning the right choices.....

Yesterday, I walked on the treadmill only, for 3 miles, in one hour. I thought that I was going to go into the gym today and do the exact same thing. Instead, I decided to do it a little differently. Today, I walked on the treadmill for a total of 1.25 miles (about 25 mins). I did the resistance workout (on the machines, the activ-trak, workout). Then I did about 10 mins on the recumbent bike, for 1.75 miles, then decided to try the elliptical again. I did it for 12 mins and another .75 miles. I am very please with myself. 3.75 miles in total!! I was at the gym for about an hour and 20 mins. Not bad! I am already feeling it in my arms, and a little in my legs.

I have not decided for sure, but I may update here everyday that I go to the gym, with my progress. If I don't update daily, than I will do a weekly update for sure. My updates will include: what I am doing at the gym, weight loss or gain, and maybe how I am feeling about my progress.

That's enough for tonight.....Goodnight!

Getting serious ......

Okay, I have a confession to make. I joined a team with my sisterfriends to do a "Scale Back Alabama" weight loss challenge. You had 10 weeks to lose 10 pounds. My confession is that I have not lost 10 pounds. Not even close. Why? Simple. I have not really tried. I hate that. I've been busy. And Frustrated..... And I just have not made the time to go to the gym. Plus, I've been so busy that I have not made the right choices when it comes to food. At all. My Husband is a bad influence on me too. Excuses! I need to quit making excuses!! I can only blame myself for what I weigh.

Today, I am getting serious. I have 10 days left until the final day of the challenge. I don't think I will make it to a 10 pound weight loss though. I'd have to starve myself to do that. I WILL have loss weight by then. I already have lost a few pounds, just not enough.

I went to the gym today. I walked on the treadmill for an hour. I walked 3 miles! At an average speed of 3 miles an hour (DUH!) LOL!! I walked as fast 3.3 miles an hour for quite a while too. That's a pretty good start. I am pretty tired tonight, which normally leads to me not wanting to go again the next day.....But I AM GOING TO GO!!! I have to! I need to!

I wish I had someone to work out with. I know that would motivate me sooo much more. The truth is, I don't. I am alone in this. BUT......that is okay. A partner or not, It's time for me to serious. I don't want to look the way I do anymore.

I'm not sure how much I want to lose. Or even how much I can lose. I think the best thing to do is set small goals and work towards each one. I was a size 4 in High School. WOW!! I'm not anymore. Not going to say what size I am now, or how much I weigh, either. Technically I am 90-100 pounds overweight. Which is really weird to me. I don't think I LOOK that much overweight. At least most of the time. Until I see a picture of myself, then I can sorta see it. I say that I am that much overweight because that is how much I'd have to lose to put me back in the "norm" for a woman of my height and bone structure. I'd love to be a size 4 again. SOMEDAY!! But even losing 50-60 pounds would make me very happy.

Time to GET SERIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Tweak" the color please!

I've been driving the lady who does my hair CRAZY!!! Every time I go in there, I want her to "tweak" the color a little. I am after the PERFECT shade of RED! I have always wanted red hair. Which is really funny because my mom is a red head. SHE did not want a child with red hair....she joked that if she would of had a kid with red hair that she would of had to dye it another color. LOL!! Maybe that is why I am obsessed with the color. I don't know. I also want a little girl with red hair.....but I guess that is another story!

So we've been working on getting my hair red. I keep saying that to me the color is not very red. Oh sure it has red in it, but I see brown more than I see red.....Looking back at some pictures of me from the fall, I realized that she had gotten it pretty close to what I was looking for. Close, but not it!

THEN the perfect color came on the cover of a magazine. It was a photo of Marcia Cross....Her hair is usually a deeper red, but this time it was lighter and had the most amazing highlights. I was so excited, but had told Mary that I would try and stop making her change the color, that I would let her work her magic.....so I was not sure how she would react. Well, lucky for me, she LOVED it too.

So now we are in the process of getting my hair there. It will take a couple of services, but I am already loving how it looks. She almost bleached my entire head, giving me blond hair. I have NEVER been blonde, because I DO have red in my hair color. (Just not enough!) When I tried to go blonde before, my hair turned orange!! I wish I'd had my camera the other day, so that I could have take a picture of it! LOL!! It was pretty cool! (The blonde, not the orange) Anyways then she put the red glaze on top. It looks sooooo good!! I can't wait till next time! Only problems, is she is getting sooo busy that I was not able to make an appointment for SEVEN weeks!! We've been doing my hair every 5 weeks, so that is quite a long way off.....

I'll try and take a picture of how it looks now (that I like) and then figure out how to post.....Until later......

Scrapbook Retreat

I had the BEST weekend! I went to a scrapbook retreat with a couple of my friends!! It was my 2nd time to go, and already I can't wait until the next time that I will get a chance. The retreat is 3 times a year, but I will not be able to make the summer one. But I love going when I can!

I finished 29 pages. That may not sound like a lot, but for me it is. Especially when last time I only got done 14 pages in the same about of time. So I already doubled my speed. Although, some of the pages are not as elaborate as I did last time. I still love them all. I really love the creative energy that I get while I am there. It is really great to have other people to bounce ideas off of, and to get their feedback. I really wish I had time to continue to scrap this week, but with the living room project still going on, I don't see it being possible for me to get any done this week. Maybe in the next week or two, I'll be able to pull out my supplies, and do a few more pages. I do need to put some finishing touches on a few of the pages. Just a few little things here and there.

Retreat is amazing. The food is insane! There is a snack table, with almost every kind of junk food you can imagine. Plus they feed us breakfast, lunch, dinner AND dessert! What do we possibly need dessert for, when you have the snack table?!? LOL!!! I did pretty good with it though, I don't think I was too bad....Anyways, if you go to retreat, you will not go hungry. And if you do, it is your own fault.

So, I was there with my friends Freda and Angela. Freda was my roommate. We stayed up till about 2 a.m. BOTH nights we were there. I was sooo tired when I got home, and slept in extra late today. It was a lot of fun getting to hang out with my friends, but we are back home now, and it is time for me to do some work around the house............

Paint update...

So it's been a week since I wrote about painting the living room. So, I decided to give an update on the progress. It is almost done. We ran into a small problem on the wall that is paneled, but it is almost ready to be finished. I also painted the hall way. I just have to tell you that I LOVE the color.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!!!!

I am soooo happy that I finally decided to paint. This is the perfect color, just what I'd been looking for! And trust me when I say that I think I brought home every single brown paint chip that was out there, until I found this perfect one. Now choosing the color for my step-daughters room was much easier. I choose it really fast. That is my next big project. More on that later.....

We did decide that we needed to add some molding to the ceiling, since the line is sooo off. This house is older and not perfect, but the molding will really help pull the room together and clean it up some. Jody also is going to put the molding down the hallway since it has the same ceiling problem.

Anyways, I am sooo EXCITED about the paint. Now I just wish I had not waited soo long to have done it! LOL!!

Finally doing it!

Okay, this is the big weekend! We are finally going to do it! Paint that is!! LOL!! We've lived in this house for 2 and a half years, (it's a rental), and I have finally had enough of the white walls. I am painting the living room. I may also paint the hallway.

So right now, I have all the supplies. The paint, the rollers, the tape, dropcloths, etc...... I am going to spend today prepping the room and getting ready to paint. Tomorrow, we will actually begin to paint. Yeah!! I am soooo excited. I am anxious to check out the color that we choose. I love the color on the chip! It should also be interesting, because Jody is going to help me paint! He orginally said that all he was going to do was move the furniture. I hope it all goes well with us working together.

We are also going to move the furniture into the arrangment that we think we are going to put the living room into when we get the new funriture (whenever that will be) It will be so hard to get used to the funriture in that new arrangement!

I am off to begin my prep work!

Hello!

Okay, so I decided to start a blog. A few of my friends have one, and I have really enjoy getting to know them in a way that is different from our usual communications. Although, I really need to catch up on reading theirs! I also hope that anyone who does read my blog, enjoys getting to know me too!

I've never had a blog before. To be honest, I have never really even had a Diary/Journal before. I've tried to keep one, but never made a habit out of it, so I'd end up with a journal with very few entry's in it. I hope to make this a habit. I don't expect to blog everyday. But I do hope that I will at least once a week. I love the idea of being able to look back and see what was going on in my life at any given time.

Right now, I have no clue where this will take me, but I am determined to make an adventure out of it! I've needed an outlet lately. Somewhere where I can share my frustrations and also my good news too. So as a warning: On this blog there will be some venting. As the title goes life has it's ups and it's downs. I plan to share all of it!