Since my last post

I managed to post a picture for Thanksgiving. Since then I have done the following things in kinda this particular order.

• Took Maddy to a Christmas Party at church
• Decorated the house for Christmas (tree can be seen in pictures below)
  
• Seen the neurologist to up her medication a bit to try to avoid another big, bad seizure
• Took Maddy to the Candy Cane Ball

• Attended a Christmas party that has been held every year for the past 33 years. People that we call family by choice.
• Wrapped what seems like 100 Christmas presents
  
• Took Maddy on a Christmas date with the boyfriend
  
  

• Dropped my retainer, finally found it and went to the orthodontist
• Worked, worked and then worked some more to finally help get our website national. Check out www.saveonbrew.com if you have a zip code we can help you find beer on sale!
• Took the dog to see Santa

• Attempted to clean the house, feed the family and get some sleep once in a while

Turkey Day

Dancing with the Stars

I have not watched the last show this season, but I am about to find out who won. There seemed to be quite a bit of hubbub regarding Bristol Palin this season.

You know life is pretty good when you actually have time to ponder this. First I think their use of the word "Star" is not the same way I would use it. In my definition of the word most of the people they have would not be on if I were running the show. They however decided that Bristol was a "star" worthy of the show.

Should she be in the finals? I guess so..she has improved every week. Is it really fair to compare her to those who came to the show already knowing how to dance? Did I want Brandy in the finals, yep. Did I want Rick and Cheryl in the finals? Oh yeah, have you seen all of Cheryl's great free style dances. But did I every pick up the phone to vote? Nope, so do I get to complain? Nope.

The one constant in Dancing with the Stars is Derek Hough. I am not typically one for a California blonde, but wow, every time he steps on the dance floor....

So no matter who won, I leave you with this little tibit!

The Flurry begins

Today is our first official holiday event. I have to take Maddy to a Thanksgiving lunch event that she was invited to by the boyfriend. We already have 4 events on the calendar for December and that does not include the traditional family events that will be occurring.

It is fantastic that the calendar is packed with events for Maddy to be attending. This is everything we hoped for when we decided I would stay at home full time. We knew that she would be able to have a social life and a better education at home than in the public school system. We are so thankful that we are able to provide this for her.

In the past year she has matured so much, is doing so many more life skill type activities on her own and has true friends and a very nice boyfriend.

This holiday season will be special because of all the places I get to see Maddy have true joy in her eyes and in her laughter.

Learning to behave

Yesterday Maddy and I were out and about and decided to pick up some lunch to bring home. Maddy told me she would pay for lunch. She did not want to go inside so she handed me her wallet to pay for lunch. The wallet is covered with cut out and taped on pictures of Justin Bieber.

Maddy: Ok Mom, if they ask why you have pictures of Justin...

Me: I am gonna say "He is SO dreamy"

Maddy: NO, really Mom, let me finish. If they ask why you have pictures of Justin all over the wallet just explain that it is your daughters wallet.

Me: No way, I am gonna make googly eyes and say he is dreamy

Maddy: MOM! I am serious, that would just be weird. Explain the wallet is mine.

Me: Ok, so I am gonna go inside and if they ask me (insert very stern look from Maddy) I am gonna explain that my very sweet daughter offered to buy me lunch and this is her wallet.

Maddy: Wow, Mom, that was really good, better than I expected.

I go inside, buy lunch, do not get asked about the wallet. As soon as I am back in the car...

Maddy: Where is my change? Did they ask about the wallet?

I gave her the change, explained there were no questions about the wallet. One day I might grow up and behave so I won't have to be told what to do when I buy lunch!

Movies

We watch a lot of movies. We watch them for fun, we watch them for the husband's script writing business. We watch them because the husband, knows someone who produced it, the studio, or some other random connection.

There are a whole lot of really bad movies out there. I think recently we have seen them all. One of the things I am so proud of the husband for is that he puts his words into action. Everyone at one point in time has said that they could write something better than the drivel at the movie theaters. The husband now has several scripts written, a couple of trips out to LA, and doors are starting to open.

This is a full time job and it requires an amazing amount of patience. It is interesting to me how I watch movies differently now that I live with a writer. I was able to watch a movie from a completely new perspective in October.

The husband was hired a few years ago to do a re-write of a movie script. It was called a page on re-write and he worked hard on this. Many hours, many phone calls and many ideas where exchanged. For a while we thought we would be able to go and see the movie filmed in Panama, but due to passport issues he was unable to.

It was interesting to watch the movie knowing that the husband was the writer for the script. It was fun to watch and know some of the players in the movie and some of the inside stories about the filming of the movie.



The movie is now at Red Box if you want to rent it. It won't be the best movie you will see this year, but you can say you know who wrote it. I can assure it you will be better than Human Centipede, Frozen, and Air Bender.

Things I ponder

Hello there blog, nice to see you are still here. Lately I have been pondering blog writing, why people do it,why I read the blogs I read, and why I write a blog. However, I suppose since I have not written much I have pondered when I don't write as well.

Mostly I don't write because I don't put the butt in the chair and the fingers to the keyboard. Lately I seem to feel that I need to have a story to tell or something cute to say. When I get busy with life I feel like I have nothing to say so I don't.

I am going to try to write every morning before I get the day going and see what happens. Who knows what sort of rambling I will come up with. I sort of have an idea for tomorrow morning but for now here are things that make me ponder.

* Am I the only one in the world who uses a dust buster and lint brush on my comforter to get dog hair off it?

*Who decided it was a good idea to hire people to hold up a sign for their business or twirl the sign around? Was there a survey and people consistently said that they would not be tempted to visit places unless they were entertained at a stop light by a "sign show"?

*How could the Texans lose this weekend. I mean really? I could have made that last play and not lost!!

*Why are their already houses with full Christmas lights and decorations? I LOVE Christmas but their are rules that must be followed or it becomes Christmas chaos!

Life with Seizures

I find myself making little adjustments to my daily routine. I know the reason why, but it is interesting to see how the routine changes because of Maddy's seizures. Lately the seizure activity has occurred after a shower and I now find myself either showering first, or waiting about 20 minutes after she is out before I will take mine. Time goes by much slower now after she showers and I find myself being thankful each minute that goes by seizure free.

Looking for patterns has been a constant for us since the seizure activity first began. When she has a seizure the first questions are:

Was it the same time of day? Same weather?
Did the seizure last the same amount of time?
Was the seizure the same as the last one or different? How was it different?
How long has it been since the last seizure. Are we entering a consistent seizure cycle?
Did she do anything unusual? Was she extremely tired, upset or excited?
Could I have noticed something and I didn't?

I have to make sure and take a step back sometimes because if I don't then I can become to afraid to let her do anything. That is not fair to any of us. Even though it is very difficult we let Maddy stay at home if she wants when we zip out to dinner or run a few errands. We are never very far from home, but it always lingers in the back of our minds.

Until there is a permanent cure for fix for her seizures we will continue to adjust our lives to allow her the most independent life she can have.

Bieber Fever

Tonight I enter the land of screaming pre-teen girls. Wish me luck!!

I think...

Yesterday while in the car Maddy had this conversation at me and with herself.

I like Avril Lavigne because she is cool. Do you know why she is cool? Because she does what she wants, she dresses like she wants and she does not care what other people think. She does her own thing and that is cool. That is why she is so cool and why I like her so much. Yeah it is cool to be able to do your own thing and not worry about other people.

I think??


She was so forceful in saying the first stuff and then I could see her processing everything she had just said. I found it interesting that she decided to end on a less powerful note.

Blonde Joke that is no joke

Today Maddy and I spent about 3 hours at the beauty college. I love that we get to help students, get a good product and we don't break the bank. I got all over color and Maddy got highlights, cut and blowdry/style. It was a bargain!

Maddy's highlights are blonde and so now she is more blonde than brunette. Once we got home she ran right upstairs to text the boyfriend about the new hair color and I returned a call to my aunt.

While I am talking to my aunt, Maddy comes downstairs because she needs help with her text message. She needed to know how to spell blonde. After writing it down for Maddy I return to my phone call where my aunt is laughing.

She said only a blonde would need help spelling blonde!!

Rah Rah Ree

Recently Maddy started in a cheer program at church. She has always wanted to be a cheer leader and she is so happy to finally be able to do this. Last week was our first week and she did well. Most of the time she just looked a bit shy and embarrassed. She remembered all the cheers and did pretty good on the arm movements.

This week is cheer pictures after the game. I am hoping for a real smile and not the I am trying to smile are you happy look.

Last week all my pictures had girls that I don't have permission to post so I promise after this weeks game I will post a picture for ya!

Communion

Recently Maddy has started going to the mainstream Senior High service at out church. This change occurred because this is the service "the boyfriend" attends. I like that she is around more kiddos her age and that she gets a bit more message out of the service.

A few weeks ago they had communion for the service. After church that day I was asking Maddy about it and the following conversation occurred.

Me: I heard you had communion during church today.

Maddy: What? I did not do anything, I was well behaved!

Me: I am sure you were well behaved, but did you participate in communion?

Maddy: Where are you hearing this stuff? I told you I did not do anything in church, I was good and followed all the rules just like I am supposed to!

Me: When you were in church today did you eat a piece of bread?

Maddy: Oh yeah we did that today.

Me: Honey, do you know what communion is?

Maddy: No not really.

On the way home we talked about communion, what it was, what it meant.

See Mom!

Today while we were at the park Maddy wanted to know what her birthstone was, what color it was and how to say it properly. I told her it was Opal and that opals have a lot of different colors in them. She then informed me that for Christmas the boyfriend was going to give her a ring with her birthstone in it. I told her that we needed to make sure to get something nice for the boyfriend since he has spent so much money on her. (While he was on vacation he bought her a very sweet rhinestone heart necklace.)

Later when we were in the car she was telling me that he liked the zany band heart bracelet she gave him and that he loved the zany band dog shaped ring she gave him last weekend. I could almost hear the light bulb go off in her head. Hey MOM!! I do give him stuff! I gave him the zany bands and I always give him the posters from my room when I don't want them anymore.

Uh..huh..used posters vs. jewelry!

Calories in, Calories out

This week the hubby and I started the calorie count routine. We are documenting everything we eat and we have our target number to watch every day. It is amazing to me the empty calories I eat without thinking about it. Long story short it is all about calories in and calories out. This change works for me because I don't feel like I can't have anything. I get to make a choice!

Here is an interesting article about the theory of it is all about calorie count and exercise:

http://www.thatsfit.com/2010/10/07/lose-weight-eating-twinkies/

Why Maddy is so awesome

I am constantly amazed and amused by Maddy. She has a sweet and unique personality and a lot of that showed this past Thursday.

Unfortunately Thursday afternoon was most unpleasant here at the house. Maddy had multiple grand mal seizures that required a call to 911 and a trip to the hospital. (For those who don't know, Maddy has suffered seizures for most of her life and thank goodness we only have to do a hospital run every couple of years.)

Because she was having a difficult time they had to drug her up pretty good. They also gave her some medicine for the migraine after as well. Once she started coming to she looked around and slurred to me "Mom, am I in the hospital?". When I said yes, she said, "Oh man! This sucks! I don't get to go to Granmom's house now."

While I was waiting for the hubby to come get us from the ER I kept stepping towards the end of the room to look for him. One time Maddy told me not to leave her alone. When I told her that I had been with her the whole time she very quickly told me that I had in fact not been with her the whole time. She was not pleased that I had chosen to stay in the room instead of going with her when she got the Cat Scan!

On the way home we stopped by the in-laws so that she could see them and they could see her. She was still pretty loopy and while they were asking her questions about how she felt, she proudly announced to them that she puked while in the hospital. Talk about TMI.

Once home she slept for several hours and when she finally wandered out to find us she noticed that we had already eaten. She looked at me and said "Wow, you guys went ahead and ate dinner? What about me? What do I get for dinner?"

The next morning when she woke up after a nice night of sleep she quietly asks me from upstairs if she can finally get up or will I make her go back to bed yet again.

I did let her get up and we went on to do all our Friday and weekend plans. Thank goodness all is back to normal around here.

We survived the birthday

This past week Maddy turned 17. She was very excited about her birthday. Technically she is excited every year for her birthday. It is never to early to start planning. I already know that next year her birthday is on Saturday. It won't be long until we are discussing the cake and theme. Wonder where she got the planning ahead genes??

This year was a bit different and special because her boyfriend came over to the in-laws with us. She and the boyfriend are just too darn cute together. They both just light up when the see each other. Maddy had very specific plans and ideas for her party this year. I guess she decided that the adults could not be trusted on our own to get it right.

Maddy came down the stairs the other morning all happy and told me that she had just talked to Grandmom. Grandmom had gotten her a cake with Justin Bieber on it, she only got two candles, a 1 and a 7. Grandmom had talked to the younger nephew so he would not blow out the candles since it was Maddy's special birthday. She went on about a few other things and about how awesome Grandmom was.

I get a call the next morning from Grandmom and have the funniest conversation. It seems that Maddy called Grandmom and laid down the law. These were the rules that had to be followed at the birthday party!

1. I must have a Justin Bieber birthday cake. I want white cake and if you don't have a picture for the cake store, then go buy a magazine and pick one. Make sure you pick a good picture that I will like.

2. I don't want a bunch of candles!! Don't put on those candles that won't blow out! I want a 1 and a 7 candle.

3. You can't let my cousin blow out my candles this year. I will have my boyfriend over and I need to blow out my own candles. this year.

4. When we arrive you need to stay in the kitchen. Pop has to answer the door, meet my boyfriend and not tease him. Then I will bring him to the kitchen to meet you.

5. When it is time to eat the cake Pop can not eat the piece of the cake with Justin's nose on it and he can't make any nose jokes.


Thank goodness we were all able to follow the rules and it was a rousing success. Who knows maybe she could be a party planner one day!

Wordless Wednesday

Pawn shopping

I got a call a couple of weeks ago from my Mom. She was all excited to tell me that she was doing something she had never done before. She went to a pawn shop to shop! She was amazed at what items were in a pawn shop. Living in a small country town she was most impressed with the chainsaw collection available.

She called me on the way to her second pawn shop as she discovered that she could get jewelry from the pawn shop. The way I feel about purses is how my Mother feels about jewelry. You can never have enough! I mentioned that there were a couple of pawn shops near my house and then next thing I know her and her friend were headed to me so we could all pawn shop.

We were in a shop not far from my house and Mom found a ring that she really liked. She had already bought one ring and she was not sure if she wanted to spend the money on another one.

*whispering*

Friend: You know you can offer them less money right?

Mom: What?? Why did you not tell me that at the first shop, I could have saved some money!

Friend: I was just getting warmed up on my shopping, I forgot.

Pawnshopguy: Hello Ladies, can I show something to you?

Mom: Yeah, I guess let me see this ring.

Pawnshopguy: Very nice ring, it is 179.00

Mom: Did you know this is my first time to shop in a pawn shop? I have never done this before, I am so impressed with your jewelry selection! (work it Mom, work it)

Pawnshopguy: Well then, let me talk to my manager and see if we can get you a better deal on this then.

Mom: *snickers* This is fun!

Pawnshopguy: Ok we can let you have this for 129.00

Mom: Hmmm..

*Mom looks at ring and there is a long awkward silence*

Pawnshopguy: *leans in and whispers* You know you can counter offer right?

Mom: *looking sly* I will give you a 100.00 bill for the ring

Pawnshopguy: *winks* Let me check with my manager

Mom: *looks addicted to pawn shopping now*

Pawnshopguy: We have a deal. What name would you like to appear on the reciept?

Mom: *gives her name*

Me: MOM!!!! You could have been anyone you wanted!!

I anticipate that there will be more pawn shop stories appearing on my blog!

Fashion Tips from Maddy

Today Maddy and I were at the mall just walking around and checking everything out. We wandered into Victoria's Secret Pink store and were browsing at all the undies and such. When we got back to the sale section we saw a cute shirt. Then I noticed that the entire back of the shirt was black lace. The following conversation took place.

Me: Ooo wow..the whole back of this shirt is lace

Maddy: Well I guess I can't have this shirt then

Me: Probably not

Maddy: This happens all the freaking time!!

Me: What do you mean?

Maddy: When Grandmom and I go shopping we always find the cutest things and then there is always lace or it shows to much and I can't have it.

Me: Do you really want to wear a shirt that would let everyone see your bra or omg, what if you were not wearing a bra at all!!

Maddy: No mom, only hookers dress like that

Me: *Silent and mouth agape*

Maddy: Mom, what is wrong, heck I don't even really know what a hooker is.

Me: Where did you hear the word hooker?

Maddy: Duh, from Family Guy.

Me: *leans over and whispers to Maddy what a hooker does for a living*

Maddy: Yeah, no shirt with lace for me.

Things I have heard lately

Maddy and I have settled into a nice school routine. She still seems a bit shocked that I expect her to do work every day, but overall things are going great.

Now that we are back together and interacting all day she has said some funny things lately. In no particular order here they are:

1. So "insert boyfriends name" is starting up a band and he wants me to go on tour with him. I told him I would have to wait till summer since I have school right now.

2. So when we are at the mall for my birthday and "insert boyfriends name" is with us, do you think he and I could "sneak off" for a few minutes?

3. I am cold I should have broughten my jacket with me. Do you mean brought? Broughten is not a word. Yes it is a word, I just used it and you knew what I meant!

4. Mom, you need to relax a bit, you know one day I am gonna leave the nest, I can't live with you forever.

Wordless Wednesday

Keeping the Labor in Labor Day

Hoping everyone in Blog land had a great weekend. Around here we made sure to keep the labor in Labor day weekend.

On Saturday we ran all the errands that needed to be done, got my car inspected, oil changed and such. Then I worked in the kitchen for a couple of hours to make fresh pico and home fajitas. They were fabulous!




Sunday before the kiddo and I headed to church the hubby and I installed some lighting above our kitchen cabinets. The hubby also fixed the lights in the computer room that were being persnickety. Sunday afternoon was spent at the in-laws where we had grilled steaks, good company and a couple of cold beers.


Monday brought the break from laundry since my dryer died for the second time. However it should be repaired today I hope! We did the obligatory grilled hamburgers between rain showers and spent most of the day relaxing and playing video games.


Now for the shameless plugs:

I have a dear friend who has started up a FB page for good, easy family dinners. Check out the page and "Like It" if you feel so inclined!

Whats on Taras Table


Don't forget to check out www.saveonbrew.com and if you are in Texas let me know if you found any great deals!!

Saveonbrew also has a FB page, so go and "Like it " as well!


Maddy and I start school this week, should have some good Maddy stories soon!

RIP Robert Schimmel

You were one funny dude. Grateful the hubby and I were able to see you in concert a couple of times.

Sending thoughts and prayers to your family.

Finding Balance

When it comes to general life I can multitask pretty well. But when it comes to a job or project that needs to be done I struggle. The goal is always to get it done and off the list. Now that I am running the house and working on the website I have had to learn how to balance both.

The past two weeks I feel that a balance has been found and I am productive in both areas. House things get done, errands are run and everyone eats dinner. The website is coming along nicely and I think the Beta phase is going well. The site is working as it should and we are learning how to be more efficient and making a ton of improvements.

It will be interesting to see how I handle next week when Maddy and I start our school year. I know that will take up several hours of the day, but I am sure that after a couple of weeks we will find a good routine.

In the meantime do me a favor and friend SaveonBrew on FB, follow it on Twitter and tell everyone you know. The sooner this takes off the sooner I can finally get that cabana boy and tennis lessons!!
If you don't wanna do it for the cheap beer then do it for all the out of work cabana boys!!!

Things that make you go HMMMM

I found this article amusing:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/27/fidel-castro-osama-bin-laden-us-spy


Don't forget to go check out SOB!!!

Shameless Plug

It is finally done! Well almost....

For those of you who live in Texas please participate in the Beta and give me feedback. For those of you not in Texas plan to see the site ready for you in about 4-6 weeks.


The site is www.saveonbrew.com


We have harnessed the power of the internet to locate the best beer prices and we are doing it just for YOU! Please check out the site, send me feedback and of course tell all your friends!!!

Lessons are lurking in the least likely places

This week Maddy was at speech and in addition to the actual speech therapy part of the session time they often work on critical thinking skills and other applicable social things.

This week is was a great work sheet on problem solving consequences. To make it a little more challenging the therapist required Maddy to give two examples of what could happen in certain events.

One of the questions was about leaving your wallet on the counter at the grocery store. Maddy immediately launched into how someone could get the wallet, steal your identity and use your credit cards.

The speech therapist was very impressed with the depth and quickness of the answer. When she is telling me I thought about my Mother and all she had to deal with when her identity was stolen. I just assumed that Maddy must have overheard Mom and during this time.

When the speech therapist asked how Maddy knew about identity theft, Maddy just smiled really big and said "I learned it on Spongebob".

All about reading

On the way to speech today Maddy told me that she loves to read.

She said the reason she loves to read is that it is like TV in your head.

How embarassing for you

A couple of months ago I slept in on a Saturday morning. I must have slept longer than the family thought I needed to and Maddy came in the room to wake me. After we visited for a few minutes I got out of bed to get ready for the day.

The following conversation occurred just after I left the bed.

Maddy: Ummm, MOM!

Me: What?

Maddy: Did you know that you are naked?

Me: Yeah, I know I am naked.

Maddy: OMG MOM!!! HOW EMBARRASSING FOR YOU!! What were you thinking? Daddy might have seen you!!

Me: Hmm I guess I should have thought of that

Maddy: I can't believe you Mom. Do you know how embarrassed you would have been if Daddy saw you all naked.

Me: Well I guess I got lucky this time, I will have to remember that in the future.


I love having a 16 almost 17 year old kiddo that is still sweet and naive.

Yes Virginia, there is a Jennifer

I am such a slave to routine and schedules that when they get mixed up it takes me forever to get everything back in line.

We have been so very busy here that I have not taken the time to blog at all. I find time to read blogs, but not to write one.

I declare myself back in action and almost new routine set.

Things I have done and are doing:

*Went to Europe for two weeks, yes it was awesome sauce

*Read the Hubby's new script and thinks he will get some good responses out in LA from it

*Hubby goes to LA soon for meeting and gets to meet his agents at UTA

*Oct. 19th Lost Tribe comes out on DVD. I have not seen it so I can't tell you if it is good or not. What I know is that the Hubby's name is in the credits!!

*Our SaveonBrew website should go live in Texas this week or next. We have put a ton of time and effort into this. Can't wait to see it launch!

*Making time every day to exercise and I love the way I feel when I do

*Everyone here is healthy and happy

On a boat!

My aunt and I flew into London and spent a couple of days touring around the city and being tourists. We had both already been to London so it was relaxing as we did not feel we had to "see" everything. The biggest change I noticed was how you could not longer just walk up to things anymore. It is quite sad that all the bad people in the world have affected the way that people can experience a city so full of history.

After our time in London it was time to board the boat.



Ok we were not on that boat....

and we weren't on this boat.


We boarded the Crown Princess to start our 12 day British Isles cruise. This is one BIG boat!




With a boat this big, you are bound to meet some interesting people!

Back in Action

Hello Blog World, I hope to join your ranks again as a regular writer soon.

I spent the month of July on vacations and I had a great time. Coming this week will be reflections of those trips.
Vacation is great, but it is even better to be back home!

Jumping the pond

Headed to Europe!! Have a great opportunity that I could not pass up. Once I am back I promise to bore you with hours of watching my slides. Just like we had to sit through as kids!!

Family vacation

Ping Pong

Darts

Big House

Lake

Boat, swimming and tubing

Beer

Good Food

Laughter

Every family should do this!

Hit or miss

Gonna be hit or miss for me in July. Have a ton going on. Stay tuned, you never know when I might feel clever or witty!

Behave or not...see ya soon!!!

Napping with toys

Gotta have a plan!

Anytime I am going someplace or preparing for the hubby to go anywhere this is how I feel. Everything must be thought of and must have it's own plan!

Wanted you to know...

Maddy: (from 4 rooms away) mom....mom...Mom..MOm..MOM!!!!

Me: (hearing her on about the fourth MOM) What?

Maddy: COME HERE

Me: (noting that this is not the seizure voice) NOW?

Maddy: YES NOW!!!

Me: *sigh* OK ON MY WAY

Me: (now in the same room) What do you need?

Maddy: I just wanted you to know that I was not paying attention and I spilled my drink. But it is all ok now because I cleaned it up.

Me: Ummm..ok thanks

A new toy

Things that make me happy

The sound of Maddy blow drying her own hair.

Maddy telling me that I need to stop freaking out and let her do whatever it is that she is wanting to do.

Letting Maddy leave the store I am in at the mall and finding Hot Topic all by herself.

My amazing hubby.

Friends and laughing with them.

The two vacations I am lucky enough to on go this year.

Beer :)

What you do with extra computer monitors

How do you eat an elephant?

This is what the hubby asked me yesterday when I was stressing about not being able to get everything done at once.

He and I both (him more than myself) have a lot on our plates right now. Our to-do lists are rather large and they are not items that you can multi-task and get more than one thing done at a time.

If I spend the day taking care of the house, errands and laundry then I don't get the website work done, the research I need for a potential procedure for Maddy, or the filing updated and organized. If I choose any of the other things, then everything else has to be put aside.

I am also starting to mentally prepare to be gone for the month of July. I have two completely different types of vacations I have to get everything done for. I have to pre-plan for my trip to Europe since I will have approximately 3.5 days to get everything ready when we return from the family vacation.

When I start feeling to overwhelmed, I remember how you eat an elephant, take a deep breath and pick one item and get to work. The rest will be waiting for my return.

If you don't know how to eat an elephant it is actually quite simple. One bite at a time.

Where are you???

Yesterday Maddy was supposed to be at church from 11-1 for Hang Time. They open the church for the kiddos to come and hang out and see each other since school is out. Maddy has a friend who was very excited to see her and had spoken to me on the phone about how excited they were to see her at 11 on Thursday.

After her seizure she really needed to sleep so I tried to keep the house as quiet as possible. This meant turning all the cell phones to silent. I knew that the friend would be concerned when we did not show up so I tried their cell phone. When they did not answer I called their grandparents to let them know what had happened.

Around 12:30 when Maddy had finally shaken off the seizure and after effects I went to check my voice mail and the message I had received was priceless.


Friend: Yeah, um...you said you would have Maddy here at 11. Well, um....I have been waiting and you are not here. I am waiting, um....and it is like 11:02 so I was wondering where you are.

Crappiest Week Ever

Ugh..boy have I had a bad week! Been a long time since I have felt like all I have is bad luck.

It is too hot to do anything outside so I have not exercised so I feel like a slug. Since I feel like a slug I don't feel like exercising. I need to break the vicious no work out cycle.

On Saturday my dryer broke and they can't come and look at it till Friday. Typically this would not be a big deal, but it has rained every day this week so I can't do laundry.

On and off during the week I have had to deal with the situation that occurred on Saturday with Maddy. Once I think it is resolved and I can finally move on it pops back up. Go away already!!

While trying to get work done with our website it seems that every grouping of data I am working with has some major issue, problem or oddity. This is bringing my productivity to a halt and that makes me crazy.

Today Maddy had a seizure so I spent the morning helping her with the seizure and the after effects. I suppose in a way I am thankful for the forced nap I had from 10:30 to 12:30. However I am now sit here unable to concentrate on what I need to do, which makes me more frustrated and unable to concentrate.

I have 22 days and 33 days till my vacations and boy am I ready!

Some people say they have plenty of beer, but we mean it when we say it!

The magic reset button

Sometimes kids are smarter than we are. They seem to have a magic reset button than makes things all better the next day. Most adults (me) want to hold on to feelings and over analyze them, play them out in different ways and ponder all the "what ifs".

This past weekend Maddy made a really bad decision. We were very disappointed in her lack of judgment and in a rare occurrence she is actually punished. I am still going over, why it happened, how I could have prevented it and basically wasting time on something I have no control over. She is a kid and she is at the age where she is supposed to make these kind of mistakes.

Within a few hours of this happening the person whom the bad decision was directed at was trying to get in touch with Maddy and said all is ok. The next morning when Maddy woke up she stated that she felt a lot better about what had happened and all would be fine.

I need to find that magic reset button these kids have, it sure would save me a lot of wasted energy!!

Techno Techno

Don't worry no one is going to bust out the glow sticks and crank up the techno music. This post is all about technology in our house.

I love my new Iphone. Never did I think you could love a phone, but gosh darn it I do love the silly thing. My favorite application is Words with Friends, my id is Jadavids. If you have the application and feel inclined fire up a game with me. Maddy's reaction to me getting an Iphone has been most interesting.

She has decided that she needs to supervise me and my phone at all times. She is not too sure about Mom having something cool. She will tell me how to work things, and offer to help if I don't get something done in under 5 seconds. When we get in the car I am almost immediately instructed to hand my phone over to her. Her Ipad does not have 3g so she will use my phone to look things up while we are in the car. She feels that she needs to manage my music on the phone and often inspects my play list and makes suggestions.

Maddy is back on a Soul Caliber IV kick. Thankfully she has matured a bit since she last wanted to play the game. I no longer have to play and lose for an hour every day. She has gotten quite good and is now actually playing the Story mode and beating the game with new characters and unlocking bonus characters. Her playing a new character is also a big step since for the past two years all she would play was the character named Ivy.

For those of you who are not familiar with the video game here is a picture of Ivy.


Yeah I dress like this when I am gearing up for a fight as well. *Snicker*

Homemade is always better

Goals revisited

Now that we are halfway done with the year it is time for me to look back at the goals I set and see how I am doing.


1. I am going to lose 24 pounds this year. That is 2 pounds a month and if I don't do it then shame on me for being lazy.

I was doing so well on my weight loss and changing my eating habits. Then I went on a 3 week bender of my old bad habits. I am back to exercising and eating right again. Even though I am a few pounds behind, I do believe I will make this goal.


2. By the end of the year I want Maddy to cut her own food 75% of the time. It will be so nice to go out to eat and be able to eat my food when it arrives, not after I have taken care of Maddy.


We are doing incredible with this goal. Maddy will now even ask to cut her own food. We have had a lot of new found independence lately!


3. I will have more patience with Maddy. I have already improved on this and now I need to take it to the next level. There needs to be a lot more of me watching and guiding and letting things take 5 times longer than if I had done it. She will never master anything if I keep doing it for her.


This is still a give and take. We are finding that happy medium. The other day the dryer just had her clothes in it and she was able to unload, hang and fold all her clothes. Progress is being made in this area.


4. I am going to actually follow up and visit people when I say I will. The past year has brought me new friends and lots of good times with them. I need to do that with all my friends.

I can honestly say that I have spent more time with friends this year than I have in the past several years. There are still many places to go and lots of friends to see!


5. I am going to try to be a better person and not fall to the temptation to speak negatively about people. Instead I will find something good to say or offer help for the situation.

This is a tough one, but I do believe I have been more positive than negative when discussing my concerns regarding people and situations. I am having to work with Maddy on this in a situation so it is a good chance to be a good example.


6. This year the blog will have more of my personality to it. I am going to write what I think and not worry about who is reading it. I would also like to get to 20 followers this year. So I better write some darn funny/thought provoking posts!

I have had some blog ups and downs, but I am pleased with my postings so far this year. I need to do less worrying about what I write and do more writing!


7. I will get the things on my list done that have been there for a long time. The Letter of Intent will be done, the complete clean out of the file cabinet will get done and the organization and certificates for all our art will be done. The photo/serial number inventory will get done.

I have completed the Letter of Intent, I am currently cleaning all windows inside and out. Next up is the storage room and then the inventory will be done. Doing great on all my house hold projects.

8. I will cook more and add more variety to our dinner menus. Mostly I will add more vegetables and find a way to have Maddy be a part of the dinner making process. (This goes along with items number 2 and 3.)

We have had some of the most delicious meals this year. We are eating so many more vegetables. I am cooking and baking every week and I love it!

9. I will finish the dog training I have talked about and wanted to do. Bruiser is very smart and we need to put his energy and little brain to work!

This one is the goal that slipped between the cracks. I work with him when he makes me crazy and then we go back to our normal routine.

10. I will live, love and laugh every day and count my blessings. I will not worry about the things I can not change, but concentrate on the people and situations I can impact.

Wow! I am having to remind myself daily right now that I can not change how other people act, I can only make sure that my house is in order.

Happy Memorial Day.

If I don't see them, they can't see me!

Angst in the park

This picture was taken today at the park. Maddy and I braved the heat to walk the dog. Towards the end of the mile walk Maddy was doing her best to portray teen angst.

Me: Wow you are truly walking teen angst. I really, really need to take your picture!

Maddy: Why do you need to take my picture?

Me: Cause I don't think you could be more "angsty"

Maddy: Ok, mom. What is angst?

Me: It is how you look and how you are walking.

Maddy: Just how is that?

Me: You look like this is the lamest place to be, doing the lamest thing ever, and you can't believe you have to be seen in public with your embarrassing mother.

Maddy: Hmm..I suppose I do look like that.

This and That

Howdy all. Things have been interesting here, but I suppose they always are. Here is a quick recap of recent events.

I had some real issues with a young man that is quite fond of Maddy. I reached the end of my patience and had his phone number blocked from both mine and her phone. That action is costing us a lovely 1o bucks a month, but I felt it necessary. I have recently given in a little and I am now unblocking the number for a few hours of the day. If things get bad again I can truly know that I have done more than enough to be fair.

My birthday party was a smashing success and everyone had a good time. Mostly I was proud to have my Mom meet all of the people I truly call my friends. There was a whole lot of love and IQ in the room that night! My mom decided to leave early Sunday morning, turns out she spent the rest of the week sick. Today the hubby stayed at home dreadfully ill. I am praying that Maddy and I dodge the sick bullet.

We are still very excited that the hubby was picked up by UTA and it looks like the last week in June he will head out to LA for a ton of meetings. I know he will knock their socks off.

Maddy did the scripture reading at church this week. She was very nervous, wanted to back out at the last minute, but did a great job. So proud of her!

I got an Iphone this week and I love it! The majority of the technology goes to Maddy and the hubby, but I decided I needed a new techo gadget. So far I love everything about it, and I don't see needing anything new for a long, long time.

Two vacations are coming up quick! In 39 days we have the whole family vacation with the hubby's side of the family. In 50 days I head to Europe with my aunt. Both vacations are going to be interesting, unique and a heck of a lot of fun.

Not you!

I got an e-mail this week from one of the ladies at church. She wanted to know if Maddy would do the bible reading for the service and luncheon this Sunday. Below is the conversation I had with Maddy.

Me: Hey Maddy do you want to do the bible reading at church on Sunday?

Maddy: Umm no..I have stage fright

Me: Well Ms .D asked if you would do the reading

Maddy: I guess I could if no one looked at me

Me: I am not sure that would work. Ms. D said it was a little long, but easy so you could do the reading with someone if that would help.

Maddy: Oh I could do that. It would be no big deal if I someone was there with me reading it. *She slowly turned towards me* Not you!

Me: Hmmm....well ok then shall we see if Ms. D will read with you?

Maddy: That sounds good, I will only do it then.


Maddy and I are now on the way to the church so she and Ms. D can practice their bible verse reading.

Celebration of Mark being represented by UTA

One mystery revealed

Today was a big day for us. Tonight the hubby was picked up by UTA in California to represent him. They are already supporting one of his scripts and they are excited to sell /promote many of his others. Looking like in a month he will head out for a week to attend meetings with big time players.

UTA is the major leagues and we can't wait for what they bring our way!!

Big things mystery post

We have a lot going on and it all kinds of directions. All of it potentially good and all of it really scary. Right now I don't feel comfortable talking about it yet, forgive me for not wanting to jinx things.

If you have a spare moment light a candle, say a prayer, cross your fingers, send good thoughts, or whatever good juju you can spare send our way!

Hopefully over the next few months I will be blogging lots about the mystery items.

Saturday Quilt

Just like a good homemade quilt this post will be made up of a little of this and that.

This morning Maddy leaves for a church retreat. She is looking forward to going and there is not drama, trauma or separation anxiety going on. At one point in my life I did not think she would ever do anything like this. Thank goodness I was wrong.

We (mostly meaning the hubby) have a lot of irons in the fire right now. We are truly on the edge of the verge of potential big changes in our life. As things become more solidified I will be posting, but until then send lots of prayers, positive thoughts our way.

Little glimpses of maturity keep showing up in regards to Maddy. She is much more comfortable with herself that her self confidence is in full swing. It is little things like at the mall she can wait for her food at the food court and then come and find me. She now goes into her own dressing room and does it all for herself. She comes and finds me to show me the clothes she likes as she tries them on. She will actually voice her opinion on what she likes or does not and she has a legitimate reason for it. This might not sound like much, but again I did not know if this level of independence would every happen.

A few things have happened this week that reminded me how much I do truly love the hubby. They were all little silly things, but still I am such a lucky person to have truly found a best friend to spend my life with.

We have a website about to go into beta, if you live in Texas and want to help us out go here.

I have actual real travel plans this summer! In 59 days I am going to Europe for 2 weeks with my aunt. I have not been to Europe since 1991. We are taking a fabulous cruise of the English Isles.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Birthday Parties

This Saturday I am going to a birthday party. The coolest part is that it is MY birthday party. It is not a "milestone" birthday or at least I don't think 43 qualifies. One of my dearest friends asked if she could give me a birthday party as her present to me. After a couple of moments I said, "Heck ya!".

It will be a very nice evening with friends. Right now it looks like about 15 people will be in attendance and some of them I don't get to see very often so I am looking forward to it. It will be nice to be surrounded by my favorite people knowing that they took time out of their schedules to be there. That is the nicest gift someone can give.

When I was growing up I remember a birthday party at the park the most. Not sure why, don't remember how old I was, but that is the one that I remember the most until now.

Maddy had two birthday parties that were big shindigs. For her second birthday we had just moved back to Houston so everyone who missed the first birthday were there to celebrate the second one with us. I think we had around 20-25 people.

My favorite birthday party we gave her was when the petting zoo came to our house. We had pony rides in the back yard and in the front yard we had ducks, deer, baby goats, a llama and other assorted animals. The llama did not like our dog and spent most of the day eating the fresh flowers the hubby had planted earlier in the day. Everyone wanted to ride the pony and Maddy kept telling everyone since it was her birthday she would get to ride the pony first. Once the pony arrived and was ready Maddy took one look at it and said "I am not riding that thing!".

Hopefully on your next birthday someone will give you a party and it will be fabulous!

Puppies at the pet store

I have become one of "those" people

I am not quite sure how it happened, but it did.


I now let the dog come in the car with me on short errands. He knows to head to the car when I say lets go to Block Buster. This morning I went to McDonald's and yep I ordered him a sausage biscuit. He only got the sausage, but really did I need to order him food?

On Saturday's when the hubby gets breakfast tacos Bruiser get an egg and cheese one.

How long until I am buying ice cream and eating off any chocolate so the dog can have it? For those who don't know about this family joke, my grandfather would do that for his dogs. He would also take them to town for ice cream.

Mother's Tea at Church

Maddy and I had a fabulous time at church today for a Mother's tea.

Facebook

Sometimes posts on Facebook crack me up. Now that my nephew is on FB I am sure I will get lots of "gems". Youth overrules smart every day.

Every few years my in-laws pay for the entire family to go on vacation together. The last time we had a private island in the Thousand Islands. This year we will be at Lake of Ozark's and it seems that we will be close to Party Cove.

This has made the trip much more interesting for my two nephews. We were discussing the vacation via FB a few days back and it was about the amount of beer that would be consumed this year and would it be as much as we consumed on the island. If I remember correctly we (about 15 of us) managed to consume over 600 bottles of beer in a week. (If I am wrong the hubby will correct me and I will make the edit.)

During this FB conversation my nephew had to chime in on the beer drinking:

YEAH BECAUSE IM DRINKING, im 18 :> and mommy says i can drink


So many things are so wrong with this statement. I love the caps, the emoticon and the show stopper is talking about how you can drink cause Mommy said you could.

The bet

Maddy spent the night at her grandparents last night. Every time she is there her and her Grandmother play Go Fish for money and Maddy always wins.

Today she informed me that she had made a bet with her young man friend at church as well. They bet .35 cents and a hug that Maddy would win at Go Fish.

I have been informed under no circumstances are we to miss church on Sunday because she has to collect her bet winnings!

Spring cleaning

What a weekend!

This weekend I was able to be both sinner and saint and it was amazing!


On Saturday I went to a good friends house, met up with more friends and we spent the day on the lake in Austin. Of course we started with a healthy lunch as you can see below!


After lunch we had to prepare our margaritas for the lake. We hoped we would have enough! Thank goodness the cooler was filled with Vanilla Vodka, Red bull, Fuse, and of course beer. We also had whiskey to keep us warm in the cold, cold water.


We hit the lake about 1:30ish and had a ton of laughs, rest, relaxation and maybe quite a few drinks! I had no idea how much I needed a day of silliness and fun!


When I returned home on Sunday (nope no hangover or sunburn!!) I had to head to the in-laws for a little while then off to church.

One of my bestest friends and I made an English High Tea basket for the youth group silent auction. Included in the basket was a certificate for she and I to go to the winners house and serve them a proper English High Tea.


We were very excited to see the interest that was generated by our basket. We are now thinking of offering either a high tea or a Russian brunch once a month to help us both generate some income. The best part was we know that we raised at least $100.00 for the church youth group!




Even though the weekend left me exhausted it was great.

Simple pleasures

Sometimes it is the littlest things that give us the greatest pleasures. That happened today. Maddy was at her grandparents for the evening. She usually will spend one evening a week over there just hanging out.

Usually when she returns she will take the time and tell us everything that she did while there. We have to hear everything they did in great detail. We don't mind, but when you are 16 should the highlight of your week be your grandparents house? This evening was completely different.

She was dropped off and while on the phone she said hello to both of us and then smiled a huge smile and ran upstairs to talk on the phone.

To see her be a "typical" teenager is such a joy for us. The days when we know she is living a life with a foundation we have provided and the opportunity to be a teenager makes us nervous and proud all at the same time.

Homemade Traditional Black Russian Bread