Birthday Ramblings

In honor of my 29th birthday today (ok, add about 10 years), and because my daughter would like me to, I'm going to answer one of those silly questiony thingys she found on Facebook.

1 . Last hug: This instant: Shianne
2. Last phone call: My Mom left me a birthday message
3. Last text message: Stacy
4. Last song you heard: "Walk Like an Egyptian!"  LOL  Seriously too funny
5. Last time you cried: Last month?

HAVE YOU EVER:
6. Dated someone twice: Yep
7. Been cheated on: Not to my knowledge
8. Kissed someone & regretted it: Yes
9. Lost someone special: Yes
10. Been depressed: Yes
11. Pulled all-nighter: Yes

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:
Seriously like almost all colors

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU:
15. Made a new friend: Yes
16. Fallen out of love: No
17. Laughed until you cried: Once?
18. Met someone who changed you: My kids help me grow every single day
19. Found out who your true friends were: Yes
20. Found out someone was talking about you: Yep
21. Kissed anyone on your friend's list: Yes, my hubby!!

YOUR LIFE.
22.How many people on your friends list do you know in real life: Most, some of them in cyber/phone/blog life
23. How many kids do you want: LOL, I think I'm done but who knows what God's plan is.  Ten years ago I would have told you 3!
24. Do you have any pets: A shih tzu named Shelby
25. Do you want to change your name: Nope
26. What did you do for your last Birthday: Today?  See below
27. What time did you wake up today: 8:00 am
28. What were you doing at midnight last night: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
29. Name something you cannot wait for: The Second Coming
30. Last time you saw your mother: 2 months ago
31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: Live a healthier life
32. What are you listening to right now: Shianne commenting on everything I type
33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Yes, my beautiful niece's boyfriend!
34. Who's getting on your nerves right now: Hmmmm....kids that keep getting out of bed
35. Most visited webpage: Facebook
36. Whats your real name: Carey
37. Nicknames: Honey, Babe, MOM
38. Relationship Status: Married for 17 wonderful years!
40. Male or female: Female
44. Write whatever you want here: Filling out these things annoys me
45. Long or short hair: Longish
46. Height: 5'9"
47. Do you have a crush on someone: My sexy husband (Shianne is cringing)
48. What do you like about yourself: That I surprise myself
49. Piercings: ears, belly button (closed after I got pregnant with Sierra) (Shianne says that wasn't very smart)
50. Tattoos: No
51. Righty or lefty: Righty

FIRSTS:
53. First piercing: Ears
54. First best friend: Amy K
55.First sport you joined: Running in 2010
56. First vacation: Camping

RIGHT NOW:
59. Eating: Nothing
60. Drinking: Water
61. I'm about to: Quit answering these questions
62. Listening to: Shianne rambling
63. Waiting for: Next week when things calm down a little bit

YOUR FUTURE:
64. Want kids: Luv my kids
65. Get married: Stay married till we're both really old(er) and gray(er)
66. Career: Someday I'd like to go back to school for Social Work

WHICH IS BETTER:
67. Lips or eyes: Eyes
68. Hugs or kisses: Both
69. Shorter or taller: No preference
70. Older or Younger: No preference
71. Romantic or spontaneous: Hmmmm....Romantic
73. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive
74. Hook-up or relationship: Relationship!

HAVE YOU EVER:
76. Kissed a stranger: Yes
77. Stole something for someone: No
78. Lost glasses/contacts: Yes
79. hurt yourself: Uhm...ya...walking
80. Broken someone's heart: Yep
82. Been arrested: No
83. Turned someone down: Yes
84. Cried when someone died: Often
85. fallen for a friend: Yes

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
86. Yourself: Yes--but not as much as I should
87. Miracles: Of course!
88. Love at first sight: I don't know...
89. Heaven: Absolutely
90. Santa Clause: No
91. Kiss on the first date: No
92. Angels: Yes

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
94. Had more than 1 boyfriend at a time: Kinda sorta maybe?
95. Did you sing today: Yes
96. First person in your contacts: Home
97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go? 1992 (but only for a moment)
98. The moment you would choose: The first time I kissed my hubby
99. Are you afraid of falling in love: Nope, already have

Ok, ENOUGH of that.  =)

Had a nice day.  Usual type of day.  But lots of birthday wishes! Lots of hugs from my kids. A birthday pie from my next door neighbors, a birthday cheesecake from my backyard neighbors (do I live in a great neighborhood or what?), and supper at a Mexican restaurant with my hubby and kiddos.  

It's been a very good year.  Looking forward to the next!

 

Moms Day

What a great wonderful Mother's Day I had!  We went to Falls Park a little distance from us, ate takeout, and enjoyed the beautiful day.

What great kids I have!!

Oh, and hubby's pretty great, too. =)

Here the girls are "Titanic-ing"

So beautiful and serene...

I'm so glad we went!  On the down-side, even though I tried to take it easy, I really overdid it and suffered for it in the days to come.  Went to the doc yesterday and I have a painful hematoma on my leg from my fall.  Since I posted that picture of my "sexy" leg, the bruise has doubled in size and so has the "lump," or hematoma, that goes with it.  Basically it's a deeply bruised muscle and a collection of blood.  That hurts.  What makes it get better?  Ice, heat and rest.  For maybe the next month.  Yep, not what I wanted to hear.  Or that it could take up to 6 months to go away.  Yikes!  Guess I'm supposed to slow down, huh?

But so glad I got to enjoy some much needed time with my family.  Happy Mom's Day to all the moms, soon to be moms, or moms at heart out there!


 

Only Me

Hard to believe I'm showing off my sexy leg like this, eh?

(No, I'm not Canadian, but an "eh" seemed appropriate! LOL)

Maybe a tan would help.  Although I'm not really a person that tans.

Or maybe just not a gigantic bruise/scrape/swollen-puffy area?

Yep, that might help.

 Only me.

Yep.  You may remember that I broke my ankle/fibula by walking across the living room three years ago.

This beauty I got from falling in a 4 ft cement hole at church last night.  Yep, church.

Hey, at least I was surrounded by lots of loving, caring people!  One that wrapped up my other (bloody) leg and took me to the hospital and stayed with me, two that took my girls and car home. Thanks so much Betty, Rachel and Brenda!!

One second I was walking on top of the floor, the next, I was in the floor.  Who knew?  If it was WWII apparently we could hide Jews under our church (shhhh....don't tell).

The other leg I can't show you yet cuz it's not quite time for me to uncover it.  It has a gash down to the bone.  Lots of blood.  Five stitches. But this is the leg that's hurting me the most at the moment.  And sore muscles.

And a headache.  Daggumit.  Just spent 3 hours in bed, I'm already on meds for pain and that bugger still isn't gone.  Better, thankfully.  But not gone.  A trip to the chiropractor may be in my future.  The kids have had the run of the house, so if homework doesn't get done quite right...well, sorry teachers!

BUT BUT BUT....

Can I say I was singing songs of PRAISE last night?  To God my Father who protected me?  Those who saw me "go down" are amazed I didn't hit my head.  And only stitches, bruises and bumps?  I didn't break anything!  Yeah!  Not even my ankle that I just had a third surgery on!

How wonderful is that?!?

So I'm sore for a week or so.  Ah well.  Things that I thought needed to get done apparently can be put off.  Like exercise.  Yep, no exercise till the stitches come out.  I was missing some skin so they pulled it together pretty tight.  They don't want it to pop open.  Me neither.

Again, enjoy the sexy leg!  =) And praise God with me.


 

I Press on Towards the Goal

Crazy. Crazy. Crazy.

That is how life has been lately.  Whew!

April and May are crazy months.  I always say that's God way of having Moms (or at least me) be relieved when Summer Vacation starts and things slow down a bit, even though we all have to figure out how to be in each others space a little more.  And then of course, the kids getting on (and on and on and on) each other come August makes it not so bad for them to go back to school.

Between Easter, birthdays, Brandy working long hours, soccer, taxes, dance, track, appointments, piano lessons, homework and concerts...I'm wiped.  And at times?  Overwhelmed and stressed.

And we know what stressed spelled backwards is right?  Desserts.

Or in my case, chocolate.

It happens often. When I need to be the healthiest, I fall back into nasty nasty old habits.

Staying up late.  Drinking less water.  Borrowing energy by drinking caffeine (which by the way, when you borrow energy, you need to give it back and you end up in deficit!) and eating sugar.  And lets not forget, not taking time to exercise.

So!  I'm looking for a little motivation for myself.

One of the things I like to do is look at lake homes online.  I dream of a home by the lake.  It can be a trailer, I don't care.  I just like to see what's for sale and dream.  Truthfully?  Dreaming of a place to escape.  To just be with my family.  To just...be.

So!  I've come up with a plan.  I have to reach 10,000 exercise minutes before I can look at lake homes again.

Yes, that's a lot.  Tremendously a lot.

One other incentive.  I get 100 minutes of *bonus* exercise time if I have a day where I eat/drink healthy.  That will help make this goal a bit more achievable.  And frankly, I've been eating like a pig.  Reminds me of the Bible story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15.  I long for pig slop when my Father has so much better planned for me.

So, I'm tracking my progress with this ticker.  Which I also have on the side bar.  As you can see I exercised for 50 minutes this morning.  Follow my progress and feel free to encourage me and hold me accountable!




 

Funnn Times!

We've had some fun times the past couple of weekends!

Last weekend was Sierra and Svanna's last volleyball game.  What a great season!  They didn't make it to state, but they worked hard, improved a lot, and had fun.  So much fun for me to watch!  It's amazing really.  I've never been one to really enjoy sports...till my kids started playing.  THAT's a whole new ball game! (excuse the pun!). So proud of them!

That same weekend Shianne was in the Jr High play, Charlette's Web.  They did such a great job!  She was a fairgoer, and did great on her lines!

With her friend, the baby spider!

 

And then....

....

....

...yippee!

Brandy and I went away last weekend, just the two of us!  It was a much needed get away, especially with Spring (planting and spraying and trucking = one busy hubby) knocking at our door!

The weather here lately has been warm.  But so beautiful!  Tonight we got a shot of rain, and hopefully we'll get a few more shots because it's been very dry.  But oh the spring weather has been so enjoyable!  Crazy though.  Sunday it's supposed to be 89 degrees!  It is April Fools Day.  Maybe it will snow? hee hee

So Saturday we took Brandy's new-to-us boat on the lake!  I say "Brandy's", cuz really, it is his baby!  The lake was so smooth, and there was hardly anyone on it (most of the docks weren't even in yet).  The weather was as perfect as can be this side of Heaven.  What joy!

Her "maiden" voyage!  Is that an excited smile or what?

Ahhhh....

We are blessed, indeed!

Update

Thought I'd finally post a little update!

Ok, surgery-ankle-tibia update.

I'm doing well!  Yeah!  Praise God.  Walking normally.  I do feel the need to wrap it sometimes because my ankle muscles are weak.  I'm not sure if it's from the surgery or from not using them for over a week.  Probably some of both.  But even the opposite side of my ankle is sore sometimes.  So I'll wrap it for protection.  I haven't gone back to any type of exercise yet.  Unless you count that I've started painting my living room.  *smile*  I'm taking it slow to build up my ankle and because I haven't gotten all of my energy back.  Partly due to surgery and partly due to sitting on my keester for over a week.

Sorry to those with squeamish tummies!  Summer said it was gross.  This was taken 2 days after surgery.  You're looking at 12 stitches.  I'm told there were more underneath.  I got the stitches taken out this past Wednesday.  Suh-weet.  Glad to put it all behind me.

The first week was quite cr*ppy.  Gotta admit.  But the second week when I could start walking on my boot got much better.  The first week wasn't just the crutches but the recovery time from surgery.  Man that stuff knocks me out!  Once again my 80-something Grandmother had to remind me that I'm not as young as I used to be.  LOL  I had surgery on a Wednesday.  Before that I thought I'd be able to go to a few matches of Sierra and Svanna's volleyball tourney on Saturday.  Nadda.  For example on Saturday, after I'd been up and around a couple of hours (as in sitting and some crutching) all of a sudden I broke out in a sweat and my muscles started going weak.  Time to lay down!  It takes me a while to come out of that stuff.  I'm just old.  Ask my Grandmother!

But overall I feel really good now and can't complain.  I'm thinking of joining the local gym.  While that takes me out of my comfort zone I do need to stay in shape.  I don't want to be a puddle of mush when I can finally run and go to Zumba again in three months!  Besides I'd probably gain back the 20 lbs I lost training for the 1/2 marathon.  So till then, non-impact exercise here I come.  Look out bike and elliptical!

Second Update:  Kalli

You're looking at a picture of my first baby.  We got Kalli as a puppy shortly before our first anniversary.  Brandy will tell you that 3 years later when Shianne came along, she became...well a dog.  Poor baby.  "What do you mean I can't sit on your lap?  What is that little squirmy loud bundle that's taken my spot?"  However by the time Jaden came along she was used to it.  And she had long given up her right as firstborn by the time Svanna, Gabe and Summer came home.  But she's always been my baby, and a part of the kids' lives.

She'll be seventeen in April.  Yes, seventeen years old.  Amazing.  I posted here at the start of the New Year about how we were wondering if it was time to put her down.  She is deaf, blind in one eye, and at the time had a horrible ear infection we couldn't get rid of.  She didn't have surgery to remove the growth (cause of infection) because she's just too old.  But the vet did freeze it.  About half of it fell away and the ear infection went away as well.  Yeah!

Yesterday I was all ready to post how blessed we are that she is doing well.  Then I gave her a bath and a hair cut and saw that the growth is again growing and oozing.  Sigh.  No ear infection yet, but I imagine it will come.  The growth is right outside her ear canal, oozes and cuts off any air flow.  Recipe for infection.

So...if it gets infected again, it will probably be time.  We can't just keep on doing this to her or to us.  I feel a little more ready now.  But still so hard.  Oh how I do wish I knew if wonderful-awesome-lifetime-pets go to Heaven.  I'd feel so much better about it.

But for now, I'll leave that in God's hands.  And enjoy her while she's here with us.

Surgery

Hey to all my bloggy friends.

I was hoping to be able to update and maybe post pictures by now onto my "real" computer but it seems I'm not up to it yet, And this post will from my iPad will be short and sweet as well.

Wednesday afternoon I had surgery on my ankle/fibula to take out the plate and screws that were put in when I broke it almost 3 years ago now. If you'd like you can read about it here.

Somehow I was able to run a half marathon in August with no trouble, but then in October I started having issues with it. So...if I wanted to continue to exercise out the hardware must come.

Surgery went well. Praise the Lord! It wasn't fun but I didn't expect it to be. I'm a bit impatient with my recovery but am pleased to say today is better than yesterday, and one day at a time. I'll be on crutches for 7 to 10 days.

We are blessed with an awesome friends and Christian community who are helping out with meals and kiddos. God is good.

Hope to update more later when I have more energy. Thanks for your prayers!

Gr8 Day!

What a wonderful fun relaxing day! I'm plucking this out on my iPad {aka: tiny onscreen keyboard} because I want to preserve at least some of the memories of today.

Jaden and I are in Atlanta visiting special friends, Fred and Sandy and their kids. We were on the same trip getting our boys home from China. In China Sandy and I were asked if we were sisters, and so since we've called ourselves that.

They used to live within a six hour drive but a few years ago moved here and so it seems we don't see each other as often. So this is a special treat!

Today Fred was off work. So he took Jaden to a fun local park, McDonalds and a small zoo, "Noah's Ark." Jaden had a blast! He also loved playing with their two youngest kids, Beau and Zoe. Fun.

In the meantime, Sandy and I got some girl time in! We went to a fun store called, "Pings and Dings," and then off to an outlet mall. I'm not a shopper but it was just the right amount of clothes shopping for me and we founds some great deals. Off to a nice lunch, and then to their little town square (they actually live in a suburb of Atlanta).

There were some really cute stores there. We went to a cupcake shop--we don't have any where we live so this itself was fun for me--and had an extra fun treat. They are expanding to include truffles. The owner wanted customer opinions on the ones they were trying and asked Sandy and I to sample for them! It was great! I felt like we were on a TV sop or something. We sampled and gave our opinion on about 14 different truffles. A couple were yuck, some were good, and some were fabulous!! We also gave our opinion on packaging and such. Fun, fun I tell ya! We never did get a cupcake cuz we had more than our share of sweets by then!

Then off to an antique store. Oh yes I do enjoy a good antique store. There were a couple big piece I would have LOVED to bring home! But that wasn't exactly practical so I simply admired. I did purchase a few doorknobs and I think I have just the right place for them. And yes, they will fit in my suitcase. :)

Back home to enjoy a yummy breakfast for supper. Then a phone call to the 7 members of my family still in the bitter cold Midwest. Poor Sierra had a stomach bug today but Daddy handled it quite well. They're also supposed to get a bit of snow at home tomorrow. So where I may have chosen a good time to leave poor Brandy gets a few more complications while I'm gone. But it was very good to hear everyone's voices and for me and Jaden to exchange hugs for hubby and kids back home.

Then Fred and I watched the debate and had good discussion which was enjoyable {wow, antiquing and enjoying a Primary debate? Still say the younger version of me would be astonished at me in my 30-something years!).

Now finally off to bed. Hoping to get more sleep tonight than last. I'm sharing a double bed with Jaden and he's a bit rambunctious and last night also had a hard time sleeping in a new place. But I was blessed not to feel tired today. Hoping for a good nights sleep or the same blessing tomorrow.

Cuz we're off to the aquarium!

Praising God for a wonderful trip and time with great friends.

{please ignore any typos or things that don't make sense until I can fix it with a real keyboard! Lol}

Healthy for the Holidays

...or at least Christmas!!

I'm tired of feeling tired!

Ever feel that way?

So starting NOW, right this minute, I'm going to be healthy.

{Ok, with one glitch, we're going out for pizza tonight with family, but just for that hour}

And continue to eat only healthy food until Christmas Eve night.  And of course exercise, but that's not as hard for me.

No sugar (sniff sniff blubber blubber, there's no sugar in chocolate, right?? sniff ), no white flour, little fats, no pop, and LOADS of veggies and fruits.

Sigh.

I'm being weighed down, emotionally and physically, and instead I want to enjoy every minute of Christmas.

Wanna join me?  If not join me, encourage me?  Hold me accountable?

May your Christmas be merry and bright, full of the JOY of the Son, and may you have good health to enjoy it!  God Bless!

{we have the best Santa ever!  And he came early this year}

A Day in the Life...

Just a recap of one of my crazier daze (yes, I meant to spell it that way!) this week.

It was Thursday....

7:30 am:  Bring 3 oldest girls to Drama Troupe

8:00:  Took an hour break and did nothing, whoo hoo!

9:00:  Received a phone call from the clinic.  Apparently Sierra's random stomach aches (she was down for a week and we went in on Monday) are because she has E.Coli!!!  I'll have to watch her but the strong antibiotic they gave her should take care of it.  I was so thankful that we discovered it or it could have been very serious.  I didn't even know they were testing for that.  We had been told on Monday the pain was something she'd have to live with and grow out of.  Praise God they discovered what it really was!!!!

9:30:  Went for a 3 mile run.  Ahhh....

11:15:  Jaden came home from TK.

11:30:  Picked up Sierra's prescription

12:00 pm:  Took Jaden to dance

12:15:  Dropped off Sierra's prescription and talked with the nurse.

1:15:  Picked up Jaden from dance.  Picked up lunch from Taco Johns and Jaden and I ate in the park!

2:00:  Got groceries.  It's bad at our house when we're even out of peanut butter.


3:15:  Kids got home from school, helped Sierra and Svanna pack for their huge field trip the next day.

3:25:  Quick grocery run for a must-have forgotten item for the field trip.

3:40:  Dump muffin mixes Sierra and Svanna were making for breakfast on the bus...the box recipe said "just add milk."  While I was at the store they couldn't find how much on the box so they "just added milk."

3:50:  Went to Shianne's home volleyball game

4:30:  Left game early to pick up Sierra and Svanna from home and take them to work at their field trip Pancake Supper Fundraiser

4:50:  Picked up Shianne from Volleyball

5:20:  Took kids to eat at the Pancake Supper

6:10:  Ran home to change for Taekwando

6:30:  Taekwando for Sierra, Tye, Gabe and Summer

7:00:  Called in a favor to a friend who works at the school to unlock it--so Shi could get her homework she forgot after the game.  It's good to know people in high places.

7:45: Picked up kids from Taekwondo

8:00: Got some kids ready for bed, studied with others who still had homework

9:30:  Everyone was in bed!


9:35:  The house looked like a tornado ran through it!! (A friend of mine would describe it as an F7.  Get it?  SEVEN?) I had friends I was hiring (they have a cleaning business) to come over and help me clean the next day cuz I'd been overwhelmed lately.  But they couldn't clean anything if they couldn't get to it!!!  And laundry needed doing for the school shirts Sierra and Svanna needed for their field trip (they had also worn them the day before) and I had to make baked goods for breakfast to replace that watery muffin mix (that one of the kids threw down the bathroom sink???).

11:00:  Brandy called, he's finally on his way home from work (it's harvest).  "Whatcha doin?" he asks.  I respond, "cleaning, laundry and baking."  "Shouldn't you have done that during the day?" he asks in a kind way.  Yep, that would have been nice.

11:15:  Chat with my long lost hubby.  Ahhhh....

12:00 am: (technically Friday):  Go to bed

1:00:  Finally fall asleep!

4:00: Get girls up!

4:30:  Take them to school for their wonderful fabulous field trip!

So, Thursday was a bit more of an extreme example of my life as of late, but that may explain why my blogging posts have been down! On top of the craziness Brandy is working morning till night.  I have such an appreciation for single Moms or those with husbands overseas!! But harvest will pass.  And I will breathe a sigh of relief.

Hallelujah Brandy doesn't work Sundays.  Tomorrow we're taking him out for lunch for his birthday.  Should be a wonderful day.  A little worship, a little celebration, a LOT of relaxation.  Yeah!

Horsin' Around

Ok, I've been very lax in the blogging world!!  And so much as gone on, I think I could do 13 posts!  It's been a little craaaazy with kids' schedules and Brandy being gone so much with harvest.  Not to mention Brandy smashing his finger and kids getting sick.  But, tis the season, and another season will come.  For now, today I'm gonna try and sneak in a nap. *smile*

But I have to tell you what an awesome time Sierra and I had a couple of weekends ago at Mother/Daughter Horse Camp.  It was amazing!  The weather was gorgeous, what a gift that was.  And to spend some one on one time with Sierra was so precious.  You may remember that last year was Shianne's turn, and hopefully next year will be Svanna's turn.  Meanwhile, I'm getting a bit more comfortable on a horse.

The horseback riding was amazing.  And the views were fabulous.  I don't have many pictures of the views because I didn't take my camera on the trail.  It may or may not have been because of forever losing my cell phone on the trail last year.  Oops!

Sierra could tell you exactly who this horse was...

Look it's me!  On a horse! 

We made new friends...

 Ok, I LOVE this picture...

...and enjoyed time with friends we wish we could see more...

My friend, Christina, cooking breakfast over the fire...

 Her son Lane, always there to help...

{Ok, truth time. I put this picture in just to bug Shianne.  His younger sister is a good friend of hers and he drives them crazy at times ha!}

 Picking apples on the prayer walk...

We made a really cool craft.  These gorgeous serving spoons.  I may have to make them for teacher gifts this Christmas (so if you are my child's teacher, close your eyes!)

Apparently the Snickers bar had it coming...

Here Sierra is giving me "the look."  

She did ask a few times if I was this weird when I went to Horse Camp with Shianne.  Who me?!?

Amazing animals, weather and people...

...and an Awesome God who orchestrated it all!