Toes In The Water

I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand
Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand
Life is good today, life is good today

And that's exacly where I'll be one week from today and I can't wait!  No makeup, no shoes, relaxation, reading, sister time (missing my sister something awful), fun, sun and just maybe this white pastey girl will get a little color on her.

I get excited about things coming up and will tell Bella about them.  This has been backfiring on me lately because she will then ask about it every single day, several times a day. I told her about the beach house last weekend.  BIG mistake.  She asked about it so many times that Christopher finally told her they were having to "fix" the beach so it was closed but it would re-open in two weeks and we would go then.  Still, every day she asks "is the gate to the beach open today?"  Love that girl! 

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of my nephew Paul Franklin this Sunday.  He will be in from Florida for his summer visit. We can't wait.  We miss that kid like crazy when he's not here.  He and Christopher have always been like two peas in a pod.  They were the first two grandbabies so they were spoiled rotten by their Grammy.  There is 3 years between the two of them but you would never know that.  They go together "like peas and carrots". Always pick up where they left off.  Love that!

I'm so ready for the weekend...have a good one!

Texas Heat

I think this sums it up pretty accurately...

I posted this on FB too. I'm sure my daddy is shaking his head at me. I totally hesitated before I posted it but I couldn't stand it, I just thought it was too funny and so true! Oh well...I've totally admitted to you that I am 40 years old and still scared of my daddy. :) 

Have you read 50 Shades yet?  Are you going to see Magic Mike? 

Get your booty moving!

If You Grow It...We Will Pick It

A co-worker of mine came in yesterday with a bag full of corn to share with those of us who wanted some.  It was picked fresh from his brother's corn field.  I took a few ears because who doesn't love fresh corn, right?  He mentioned that we could go out to field and pick our own if we wanted. Well naturally I emailed my brother to let him know and he promptly suggests we go later in the evening about 7ish so it would only be 90 outside as opposed to 101.  I agreed. 

With buckets, baskets and bags in the car and two young pickers (Chris & McGwire) accompanying us, we were off to Tommy's corn field to get all the fresh sweet corn we wanted.  Bella stayed with Jana and Trey while we went to pick. This turned out to be an excellent decision because I'm certain we would have lost her in the field or she would have been whining for someone to carry her. We picked until we were too hot, sweaty, itchy, ready for a cold beer and a shower.  Ok well Tony and I were ready for cold beer, the boys wanted water. I'm not at all certain we got enough corn.  I'll let you be the judge...

First, here's Chris on his last trip back to the car to unload.  I cracked up went he came out of the field with his bucket and pockets full....

And here's the end result...what do you think?  Should we go back for more?

Yeah, I think we got enough.  The freezer will be plentiful.  Keep in mind, it wasn't all for us.  We're splitting this with several families and freezers.  By the way, we did see Tommy on our way out and he didn't think we had picked enough.  We laughed and laughed again because there were others out there who picked a ton more than we did.  :) 

Have a good one! 

 

Turtles

Not feeling ya Monday...at all.  Had one fussy 3 year old this morning and a gumpy momma which is the makings for a not so good morning.  :(

The weekend was okay.  Got the majority of my running and cleaning done Friday when I was off.  Saturday I finished up what laundry I didn't get done the day before and had a date with a very handsome gentleman that night :).  Sunday morning after I picked up the kids up from Daddy and Lena's, we were headed out and happened upon 3 turtles making their way across the road.  The boys decided they needed to help them along so they wouldn't get run over and then of course they had to inspect them :). 

Bella was in the car screaming because she thought the turtles were going to get her.  We finally convinced her they wouldn't, that she was safe where she was at but wanted me to stop by them so she could look at them through the window.  Other than that, Sunday was pretty much a lazy day.  Too dang hot outside to do anything (unless you are poolside) so we stayed in.  I made baked tilapia, rice and mixed veggies for dinner.  It was a good end to the day.

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook.  I had to borrow it...I love what it says...

I hope you're having a better Monday morning than I am.  Have a great week!

Beach Rules

Two weeks from Friday, my vacation begins and I can't wait!!  Started my lists and will begin making piles and filling bags for our week at the beach house.  So ready to kick back, relax and catch some rays.  I found this on Pinterest and it got me even more excited..

Will do all of the above and much more. 

Have a good one!

Happy Daddy's Day

That would be my sweet daddy and little ole me in May 1975.  I was all of 3 years old, Miss Bella's age.  Daddy is younger than I am now in this picture.  Isn't that wild.  I love this picture of us.  In fact, I have it hanging on the frig in my kitchen.  It will be frame bound one of these days. 

This picture was taken Christmas Eve morning (2011).  I had just returned from hunting that morning with a very cute hunter and stopped by to see Daddy and Lena while I was out running errands.  Something I've learned over the several years is you can never have enough pictures or videos captured.  You might think you have plenty of memories, and you probably do...but capture more.  When the time comes, it won't be enough.  I promise.

 

Daddy's Day 2012.  Christopher, Daddy, Me, Bella & Tony.  I cooked dinner for Daddy and Tony yesterday.  My other siblings were both traveling so they didn't get to join us. We had a nice afternoon catching up (Daddy & Lena had just returned from a 2-week Alaskan cruise--yes I'm totally jealous!).   As always, I loved spending time with my family and hanging out. 

Cheers to you Daddy!  Through the good, the bad and sometimes the ugly, you've always stood by me, held my hand and at times held me up.  Couldn't have made it through it all without your unconditional love and support.  You continue to teach me every single day.  Love you to the moon.

Still Discovering Me

I told myself I wasn't going to go here but I'm doing it anyway.  I want to see how far I've come in the two years post my divorce and the start of my new life and what I still lack.  When I think back to that time, I remember feeling relieved when the day finally arrived.  I wasn't happy by any means, just relieved it was finally over and done with.  I remember in the initial days of realizing what Jeff wanted, I was so desperate to find a way to make things work, so desperate to hold onto my family that I would have done anything to keep us together and then praying for God to take the pain away and skip time forward six months so I wouldn't have to feel this pain.  Laughing when that six month mark arrived faster than I expected and even then seeing how far I had come, how my heart didn't ache as much as it did before.  My divorce has been relatively easy compared to others I have bared witness to.  We made a conscious decision together to make every effort to get along for our kids because we both still have to raise them and neither of these precious babies asked for what had been dealt their way.  Jeff and I do get along, we are friends or I like to think we are friends.  He has found a wonderful lady (Lori) and has moved on with his life.  They will be married and my children will have a new step mom.  I'm ok with this because she is a good person and more importantly, she is good to my children and my children love her.  Isn't this what we hope for when we divorce and our ex finds someone new?  Ok well maybe not everyone but its what I eventually hoped for when I knew I had to move on.  I wish Jeff and Lori nothing but the best.  I hope they both have found what was missing in their marriages before. 

It wasn't just Jeff that wasn't happy, it was me too.  I know that now and its helping me to understand myself better, and to know what I want and don't want in any future relationships.  I'm still so hard on myself and I still struggle with self worth.  I'm not sure how to get around this.  Part of me feels like there is no way to get around it, that it will always be a part of who I am.  Deep down, I do hope and wish that one day I will feel worthy again because I know at one time during my 40+ years of life, I did.  Just need to find where I buried it.

My kids are happy and healthy.  They have adjusted to this new life better than I ever expected them to.  Bella had some rough first visits with her daddy but then she was just a baby.  She has really been doing well and understands more than I give her credit for.  She is a smart 3 year old.  I do explain things honestly in the best way I know how when she asks questions.  I do the same with Christopher.  That child has handled everything way better than I ever hoped. I really worried about how he would react to the divorce.  Worried he would withdraw from everything around him, but he didn't.  He took a very mature attitude towards it.  He didn't like it by any means but I heard him say many times, "it happens and its happened to my parents.  They don't love me or my sister any less, they just aren't going to be married and live together anymore".  Keep in mind, he was only 10 when this happened.  His grades at school didn't suffer, he pressed on and kept being the great kid that he's always been.  I'm not saying that my kids didn't have bad moments because they did, but for the most part, they have done exceptionally well.  I'm proud of them for that.  I'm proud of me and Jeff for helping them to adjust and not creating drama and havoc in their little lives. 

So yes, I think I'm still moving forward, maybe a little awkward and trying at times but I'm moving.  I think I have come a long way from that dreary day in December when I was "Blindsided".  I can say this now without reservation, my divorce was the best thing that happened to me.  Yes its tough, yes it sucks but looking back at where I was and who I was, I'm in a much better place now and still discovering me.      

Close Your Eyes

Imagine standing on the porch of an old farmhouse.  Surrounding the homestead are acres and acres of beautiful cornfields.  There is a slight breeze blowing and a rain shower in the distance.  As you feel the breeze on your face, you also hear the corn rustling all around you.  Then you smell it...the rain shower coming and you can hear it in the cornfield in the distance. So relaxing...

And wonderful memories at my grandmother's house in Ganado.  My sister and I were just talking about that Sunday and how much we love traveling the back country roads and watching the crops come alive, and again in the fall watching the harvest.  True country girls.

In Case You Didn't Know

Today is Friday!  Pretty sad that I have been wishing for today before I ever came back to work this week...and I even had a 4-day weekend with the holiday. I live for my time off from work but I think everyone does.  I kissed and hugged my babies extra this morning since I won't see them again until Monday evening.  They are with their daddy this weekend.  I really don't have much planned.  A possible evening out but otherwise I think I might stay put this weekend, catch up on stuff around the house. Might even call on a girlfriend to help me hang up more stuff, or maybe I will cook some meals my kids would otherwise turn their noses up to. Chris not so much but Bella...I can hear it now, "I don't like that.  I want macaroni". Silly girl. 

I'm still on the lookout for my charcoal grill at H-E-B. Yes, yes  I want to learn how to grill with charcoal. Had the grill all picked out and on any given day you would be able to go to our little H-E-B in town and they would have tons of them, but now that I want one, they are out. I bet my brother and a few others that they will start getting them in soon since Father's Day is around the corner. Discrimination!!  Don't they know there are women out there who like to grill and are pretty darn good at it too.  Stinkers.
I could also catch up on some of my shows I DVR.  I'm so behind on just about all of them.  Would be a good time to watch some uninterrupted tv or maybe even a movie.  And of course no weekend would be complete without me piddling in the yard.  Oh, there are so many possibilities this weekend. :)

I hope you have a good one!