2013 - I'm Gonna Kick Some Serious Ass!

This is me looking back at 2012, and saying goodbye 

I have a lot of plans for 2013.  I can't decide if I want to list all the reasons here.  If I do list them and then don't follow through, my failures are made public.  And if I don't list them, it's like I'm afraid.  And I am afraid, but I really believe in myself, and I believe in my goals and dreams.  My belief in myself is stronger than the fear of failure.  Failure, that creeps around,  just closes enough to whisper doubt, that I can barely hear - well it might as well give up, because this year, my dreams and goals are shouting so loud I can't hear anything else.

1. I signed up for  The Ultimate Be The Change Challenge  - I will keep you posted on how much ass I kick.

My list is much longer, but this one thing is so important, that for now it stands alone.

Hello 2013! 

No matter how insane and ridiculous they seem...

This video and song is at the top of the charts in our house right now. 

Greatness

Henry(9yrs) colored this for me. He is one of the coolest kids I know, and he's all mine!!! And the coloring book this came out of is pretty bad ass.

~ Children Of Mine ~

I could never know a greater love...

Saying OKAY is always OKAY

I read somewhere once that the best answer you can give in a marriage is "okay".  I have come to believe that this is so true. More than true, it should be added to the Bible or something.  No matter what Shug says, if I say okay, then everything is perfect.  Examples -  with my actual thought in parenthesis:

Hey babe,  I think the best way to make the chicken would be if you added more bla bla bla, and then roasted it with vegetables.

Okay  (Well look at me, I'm married to a chef. And since when did you know shit about roasting?)

Hey babe,  the cleaners is shrinking all the necks of my dress shirts. We should find a new cleaners.

Okay.  (Shug, necks of men's dress shirts don't just start shrinking after months at the cleaners, but months of beer and Mexican food after work at the "branch office" will make you weigh more which in turn makes your shirts tight around the neck)

Mec, can you believe how great that girl was on the Baylor team? She's an amazing player, I can't even believe she shoots like that.  And her height, I mean wow!

Okay.

This list of conversations could go on, but I know you get my point.  It's just so much easier to say okay and be done with it.  It prevents a lot of conversations from going any further than they should.

I love Shug, and this is just one small way I show my love, okay?

Front Porch Happy Hour

Spring Break 2012

The kids just finished spring break, and so did I, even though I'm not really breaking form anything.  We spent a little time in Austin, San Marcos and home.

 I took the kids to Six Flags.  I was crazy enough to think that lots of parents still had to work so surely it couldn't be that crowded... I don't know what happens to my brain, but clearly it wasn't working when I had this thought.  I did think the kids were going to think I was the BEST MOM ever for taking them, and on the drive over I told them we could stay as long as they wanted - even if that meant until closing time.  You would think that I was drunk when I was telling them all this but I wasn't, it was like I was possessed or something.  We got there and it was SO CROWDED.   The weather was great and so was the time spent with the kids, but, the lines were crazy long,  there were about a million teenagers wearing way to much eyeliner making out with their boyfriends, and I couldn't find "healthy vegetarian food" for my 12 yr old to save my life (whose kids is she anyway?).  I did use her as a decoy so I could take pictures of weirdos.  And this might just be my new favorite past time!

What in the hell is this dude doing at 6 flags?

Cowboy Casual ~

~ Outfit #1 that didn't make the cut ~

Shug had an awards banquet last Friday and I had the perfect outfit picked out.  I had known exactly what I was wearing for 3 weeks, which is huge deal.  I was going to be meeting his partners who live in another city, and I wanted to look really beautiful and hot make a good impression. Then on Friday morning while we were eating breakfast with the kids we had this conversation:

So, What are you wearing tonight?

I don't know, I guess jeans and boots. What about you?

Boots and jeans??? Why would you wear boots and jeans? Your not even a cowboy.

It's Cowboy Casual.  I told you that, or at least I though I told you. 

Kids guess what, you get to finish your breakfast in the living room watching cartoons! (kids run to the living rom)  COWBOY CASUAL??? Hell no you didn't tell me that.  Why does it have to have a theme? We're grownups.  It's like a damn costume party.

It's not that big a deal.  Just wear some jeans and that white pearl button shirt you have, that's perfect.


I can't believe this.  I'm just now finding out.  That only gives me 7 hours to figure out what I'm wearing.  What if I hadn't asked then I showed up in my Jackie O dress and everyone else was cowboy.  I'm probably going to need a xanax.

Are you going to drink to much tonight and then try to say someone slipped you a mickey like you did at that other work party?

Someone did slip me a mickey.



Heres the deal - If I was a size 6-8 maybe it wouldn't be a big deal, but I'm a 14.  And you don't just walk into any old store and pick up a kick ass Cowboy Casual outfit when your a 14.   It takes work to find a great outfit, and I hate the idea of dressing for a theme when it's not Halloween.

I dug around in my closet like a crazy person and dug out a few options.  I kept sending Shug pictures showing him what I might wear.  All while laughing my head off, which was wither because I thought I was funny or because I may have lost my mind a bit.  In the end I went to the Gap and found a white western cut shirt to wear with jeans and my Fry boots - and I felt like a dick until I got a little liquored up.

#2 Bewitched Cowgirl- didn't make the cut

#3 - Another no go

Something that has me thinking..

I happened upon a new blog today.  Something about it has me feeling excited and intrigued.  You know that moment when someone says or does something and you think I've had that idea, or at least an idea that was similar, and the words I used to describe it were different, but it evoked that same feeling, or at least something that was close to it...?  Or maybe it's just that it's a smart idea that resonates so loudly to me that it's familiar.  Either way, I'm jazzed to check out this new blog and see where it goes, and maybe, one day have something to contribute.
Check it out - It Starts With Momma

Spy's Like Us

I spent some time with my wonderful friend Penelope last night after the kids were all in bed. We laughed so hard my sides ached, and tried to solve the problems of the universe. And then... We used the BEST binoculars EVER and looked at all the neighbors houses. In all fairness, everyone had their lights off so we weren't peeping toms. But there's always next time.

Hockey Pucks~

We made it onto the jumbotron (sp?). Henry had gone to try to get a hockey puck so he wasn't in the shot. And that really sucked. The best part of the night was when Henry asked this older gentleman in a suit (who works for the Stars) "Do you know how a boy can get a puck around here?" I'm still laughing about that one!

Fu*k off Grim Reaper ~

Tomorrow will mark the first time in four years that Sister and I have had a full year without having to put someone we care about in hospice and have them die.  Tonight marks the anniversary of my Great Aunt Ruth's death, which was by far one our crazier deathcapades (I know that's not a word but it should be).

 I am celebrating.  Celebrating life and the living, and love and not having to tell someone that it is okay to "let go".  

I wanted to make this post all witty but for the life of me I can't figure out how.   I think I'll just include a really funny picture - that has nothing to do with death.  Because death pictures are never funny.

Sockbun reject

A note about the above picture:  Everyone on Pinterest, and the entire internet for that matter, looks so damn cute after they sleep in a sock bun.  The tutorials show them pulling them out the next morning and shaking out some serious model hair.  ME on the other hand, not so much.  In fact, I looked horrible,  and this picture  is one of the best shots I took.

Fabulous Weekend Trips & Shame-overs

Shug and I spent a wonderful weekend in Laguna Beach at the Montage.  It was my first trip to SoCal (see how cool I am, I already picked up the lingo).  The hotel was amazing.  I'm pretty sure their goal is to make every guest feel like a princess - and they more than succeeded.  It was beautiful and swanky... and even then I still managed to wake up on sunday with a shame-over.  Shug thought I had a hangover, the way I just laid there groaning with a pillow over my head, and I wish thats all it was.  We'd spent the day before having three perfect meals all accompanied by perfect drinks.  That would have been enough itself,  but more got the better of us, so we spent time on the beach, laying on a blanket, watching dolphins play in the ocean while sipping on drinks, and we strolled around town looking at cute shops and stopping in an oceanside bar or two to contribute to the local economy and sip a few drinks.  And by the end of the night I was saying how amazing this place was and how I didn't even need a passport to get here!  And Shug said that I said Are you kidding? about 150 times.  And I may have even talked about when I write my second novel and it's a huge hit...  but the thing is I haven't written my first novel yet.  So yea, I woke up with a major shame-over,  bitching about the evils of alcohol.
It was still a perfect weekend, as I was able to shake that dumbass shame-over feeling after a day (or two) and Shug still thinks I'm a damn good catch.

Five minutes after we got in the room ~

That's me a beachy (I know it's not a word) and boozy ~

There was a note in the room letting us know what time the sunset would be each evening we were there!

15 Years...

Shug and I have been married 15 years.  In that time there have been more than a million I love you, almost as many I'm sorry, some do-overs, some I'm finished, tons of laughter, 2 kids, 1 dog, 1 house and I would do it all again.  That's the thing that makes me the happiest.  That in the deepest part of my soul I know that I would marry him again,  in a heart beat.  Would I marry someone else if something happened to him? Never!  Not because I believe there is only one love or that I could never love again after him - I'm just knowing that marriage is a lot of work, and sometimes it's a beating and basically I would be to selfish to ever put up with and put it all out there again.  But for him, I would.  So here's the card I gave him, and I think it pretty much sums it all up.

For the record, I still haven't gotten an answer from him on this one.

Follow Up To Mud Wrap ~

I survived the mud wrap and the detoxifying wrap.  I didn't loose 20 pounds, I didn't have glowing skin and I sure didn't feel detoxified.  Loosing 20 pounds wasn't part of the claims but I was hoping to be a little lighter.  I showered twice during the whole process so I for sure was clean when it was all said in done.

I can sum the whole experience up by saying that the next time I lay nude, on a table covered in plastic, under very bright lights, it better be for an autopsy.

Mud Wraps Musings~

I'm getting a mud wrap and a firmness wrap.  Unfortunately I can't even tell you what this means.  I got the package when I was on about day two of a really bad diet last January. Bad as in I was only getting to eat enough food to sustain a baby squid so I didn't have a lot of brain power working.  The diet was a power fail but now I have to use this package before it expires. So I send the "wrapper lady" a message asking what I need to wear and  what I need to do to get ready.  She responds with one line "Just wear something comfortable and be ready to relax." ???? Really? That's all the prep info I get?  Surely she doesn't' mean for me to show up in an old tee-shirt of Shug's with no underwear on - because that is my "comfortable and ready to relax" look.  I HATE not having a ton of info before something like this.  I like things spelled out for me.  Should I have shaved? Will I be naked? Mud over the clothes sounds awful so I must be getting undressed but now I'm obsessing over the undergarment part.  Bra or no bra? It's to much stress just getting ready.  I'm going to need a xanex for sure. Maybe a shot too.  I told my friend Beth I was hoping to loose 30 pounds during the wrap and she suggested if it worked we should do one every day until we reach our target weight.  I wish!
More to come...

Wallpaper Ya'll!

The wallpaper is up!  It was a lot of work - not putting it up, I paid someone to do that.  It was a lot of work getting the wallpaper here and ready.  I ordered my paper from Anthropologie, they have some very yummy wall paper!   When the Wallpaper Professional Extraordinaire  opened the first three rolls she found a printing mistake.  At this point I was getting a little freaked because it had taken me forever (in my mind) to pick the paper and I couldn't imagine finding another I loved as much.  Also, I was just being dramatic. The paper had been cut into lots and lots of strips. I needed to return the messed up rolls to  Anthropologie.  I thought this whole process was going to be a total pain in the ass but it turns out Anthro is the BEST. The cute girl at the counter took the giant box of cut up wallpaper and set it on the counter behind her, the smile never leaving her face. And then before I could get very far into  my very long and overly detailed story she ask if  I would like them to overnight three new rolls or refund my money.  WOW!  I had the new rolls sent to my wallpaper gal, she inspected them, and hung them. They are perfect.  I am so pleased to present my new (old bathroom) and my gorgeous wallpaper!  And it only took two rolls so I took back the third and did what any self repeating woman would do - I bought myself a new sweater!







Here

Long Time No Blog...

I can't believe I haven't blogged since August.  I would like to believe that anyway, but I have been flighty in the past so it's probably no big surprise.  I'm back now so I'll pick up where I left off.

School is still sucking for my 6th grader but the good news is she is the next kid on the waiting list for a really great school.  It's a private school that I really believe is a great fit for her.  I have always been a huge supporter of the public school system - but as things stand I can't wait to get out of it.  60 kids in one class, 40 in honors science, it's just to many.  Her smallest class is honors English and she has 33, which is still to crowded.  Over 600 6th graders crammed into a historic Elementary building is over the top.  They are the only grade in the building but I'm pretty sure back a million years ago when it was built it was meant for more like 200 kids.  So now we wait for a spot to open.  That means somebody needs to move, or get divorced or get kicked out - something!  I am to afraid of the karma that my wishing any of these things on a family might bring so I am hoping and praying some family gets a great promotion that they can't pass up and have to move away for - and then my child gets their spot!   As far as the public school crisis goes... if anyone out there thinks that Rick P would be a good choice for president please email and I can give a long list of reasons why he would SUCK at it.  I am living in his state, and he has done nothing for our public schools.  Plus he's just a complete clown.  I feel pretty certain that the four people who actually read this blog are way to smart to vote for that nutcase!

THE HOUSE:
We have been in the throws of remodeling our 90+ year old home for the last 9 weeks and it's been a mix of greatness and hell.  I love that the popcorn ceilings are gone and that everything has been repainted - I HATE the dust that it created.  I love that the old original bathroom has been remodeled and is beautiful but I can't believe how much crack I've had to see everytime I peaked in to see the workers progress.  I can't imagine for the life of me why men don't care that their crack shows.  One of the workers was so in love with my dog and I caught him sitting indian style criss cross applesauce on the floor petting Pablo about a million times.  Which is really sweet that he liked the dog but every time I walked up on that scene I had to see his crack and think about the fact that he should be rubbing grout on the shower walls not rubbing my dog! Tomorrow the final phase of the bathroom will be finished, a lady will be here hanging wall paper and then I will post before and after pictures!  You may be thinking "wallpaper?" but this is not your grandmothers wall paper - it's a really large print and groovy and beautiful.  I kept the original floors in the bathroom which are these very small tiles that all these houses have in them.  Some of them are chipped and a few are missing but I refused to change the floor.  I updated everything else, subway tiles a third of the way up the walls, the tub torn out and tiled into a big shower, new sink and toilet, and tomorrow wallpaper - but the sweet old original floors remain. I think between the floors and the wallpaper I nailed it. I did have them preserve the floor under the shower where the rest of the tiled floor is so if someday someone else owns this house and they want to put in a claw foot tub they can rip out my shower, and under they will find the old tiles protected by wood and some kind of rubber stuff.

I've fallen behind on reading a few blogs that I really enjoy so I'm going to catch up and see whats been going on in their lives and leave comments and show them some love.

I'll leave you with a picture of the dog loving worker - cutting tiles with no crack showing. Your welcome.

Have a great day!

6th Grade Is Killing Me

Sixth grade is killing me and I'm 41.  My sweet girl started 6th grade this week and it is one of the hardest things I've gone through as a parent.  The school is full of 6th graders, twice as many kids as she had in her whole elementary.  It's a shock to the system.  Her classes are full of kids she doesn't know, the cafeteria is a sea of faces, laughing and talking and hanging out, and she is floating without a life preserver.

 I know she will be okay, and I know that a billion kids have gone before her and survived.  But they weren't my child.

I so clearly remember taking her to kindergarten.  As we walked down the hall she held my hand tight, and as we walked into the room she held even tighter.  Those tiny little fingers gripping with all their might. As we walked down the sidewalk to the 6th grade center I was rattling on about how much fun it was going to be and how great it would be to make new friends, and then I felt her.  She reached out and took my hand, holding on tight, those fingers, now longer, griping with all their might.  And in that moment, my heart ached in a way I hadn't known before - like all the other times in her life I could somehow protect her from the really crappy parts of growing up, but not this time.

I want her to make a really great friend, to feel comfortable, to laugh a lot, and to remember 6th grade as a great time in her life.  I want everyone I know to pray that this is what will happen, and if you don't pray then light a candle, or send it out to the universe, just do something, because seeing big sad tears roll down her face is killing me.  

Gas is Great, Gas is Good...

I had my teeth cleaned today. My dentist gives gas for this, if you want it. I do. I used to have dental anxiety (from a kooky dentist I had as a kid) but 12 years ago I hit the dentist jackpot. He eases all my anxiety with his kind bedside manner... and gas - I actually don't mind going anymore. My husband thinks it's weird that I always use the gas. BUT, he's never tried it! He's chicken to ask for it. He won't admit that part but I know it's true. He says he doesn't need it and that they would think he was some kind of drug head for asking for it. I know he's wrong. It's one of the last frontiers of "legal highs". Seriously, look how happy I am, and I'm in a dental chair!