~Christmas ME~

1. What is your Favorite Christmas Movie?
I don't know. I have so many. I am a HUGE sucker for Christmas movies!

2. What is your Least favorite Christmas Movie?
Really don't have one

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?
O Holy Night

4. What Christmas song(s) drives you crazy?
Dominque the donkey...if you have heard it...you'd remember..trust me!

5. What is your favorite Christmas Drink? (ie. egg nog, hot chocolate)
Grande Non Fat Peppermint Mocha!!! Starbucks...YUM


6. What is your favorite Christmas Memory?
I don't know. I have several, some when I was a child and then most are of Kyle's Christmas's.

7. What is the best toy/gift you've received on Christmas?
I would have to say my Baby Skates and all my Barbie stuff.

8. What is the worst toy/gift you've received on Christmas?
It really wasn't something I received but it was the year Kyle got the 4 wheeler....he was 10 that year and Chris was bound and determined that Santa was not getting all the credit for that gift! So I made Chris promise to atleast let us enjoy Christmas Day...but the next day Chris could not wait to tell him the truth...there was NO SANTA....and Mom & Dad had bought the 4 wheeler for him.


9. What do you LOVE about the holidays?
EVERYTHING! Christmas songs, family, cooking, wrapping, shopping and watching Kyle getting all excited.

10. What annoys you about the holidays?
That I can't be with all my family on Christmas

11. Do you prefer star or angel on top of a Christmas tree? Or something else?
A huge bow!

12. What is your family favorite recipe at Christmas?
I have have to say coffee can fudge. No, it doesn't have coffee in it, but my Granny would alway store it in a Maxwell House coffee can after she made it. It was the BEST!

13. Are you a Grinch or a Who at Christmastime?
Cindy Lou Who all the way!

14. Christmas light displays - Love them or Hate them?
there okay...some go a tad overboard

15. Santa's at the mall - Fun times or Creepy?
okay as long as they have a "real beard"

16. Christmas cards - do you send them, yes or no?
Absolutely! Most of my family live out of state.

17. What is the best thing about Christmas, in your opinion?
Listening to Kyle read the Christmas story every year. It melts my heart.


18. What is the worst thing about Christmas?
Taking down the decorations when it's all over!!!!!

19. When do you put the tree up and take it down?
I put it up the 1st weekend in December and it would come down Christmas night if I had the energy to do it! But most the time it is down before my head hits the pillow on the 26th!!!! Once it's over...it's over...I am not one of the people who leave it up until New Years.

20. Out of the 12 days of Christmas, which day and item would you want your truelove to give to you?
Since I'm not crazy about birds, allergic to milk, not crazy about having men in tights jumping all around my house, would have a headache from all the drums a drumming and pipers piping I will just take the gold rings please!

21. Why do you think that Grandma got run over by a reindeer?
too much egg nog????

22. Who is your favorite reindeer?
Leroy the redneck reindeer...of course!

23. Do you believe in Santa Claus?
as long as you believe, you receive!!!!!

24. What is your favorite smell at Christmas time?
Christmas Eve by Yankee Candle

25. What would make you happy at Christmas this year?
For Chris to get a transfer back home!!!!

Please let me know if you decide to play along. I'd love to read your answers. :-)

2 Points~

Ahhhhhhh......sweet VICTORY!!!!!!!!

I am sure most of you out in blog land have no idea what I am talking about, so I will tell ya.....

Final Score
Kentucky 68
North Carolina 66

{{see me do my happy dance}}

{{{shake, shake}}}}

That's right folks.....Saturday at my house was let's just say....ummmmmm...a little on the loud side (and it was not due to putting up and decorating a 12 foot Christmas tree)

Ya see, the Hub's is a die hard Tar Heel fan...and well me......I was born in the great "Bluegrass State" of Kentucky. So come basketball season we each have our own cheering stations to say the least. Well, I cheer...he yells! The entire game was ruled by the Wildcats. They didn't miss a beat...unlike the Tarheels..they missed everything...including the basket. :O)

So, now I am here today to bask in the glory of his pity party and rub a little salt in his wounds...hehehe.....all while listening to my Wildcats roar!!!!!!!

Just wait until Final Four time...it will just get worse around the Owens house...say tuned...this won't be a pretty season!

GO CATS!!!!!!!

Ornament Exchange

They came....they came!!!!!! I had a huge suprise in my mail box last night when I got home!!!!

I signed up for the secret ornament exchange with It's A Wonerful Life (valeriegail.blogspot.com)and I must say that Misty did a great job picking my ornaments!!!!!! You can find her blog over at www.mistywagner.blogspot.com.

Here are pictures of all my goodies...sorry about the picture quality. I used my phone.

I got 2 Studio 56 Snowmen ornaments, a Studio 56 snowglobe ornanment and a box of chocolate's shaped like ornaments...yep, pretty sure they won't make it to tree :O)

Anyway, thanks so much Misty for your thoughtfulness!!!! I love each ornament you sent me and I know they will look just great on my tree...which I hope to get up this weekend!

Top 10 Thursday!

For todays Top 10 I thought I would revert back to my childhood Christmas's and reflect on my favorite "Santa" gifts....

1. Baby Skates - This little doll was awesome. I think I sat on the floor for hours watching her skate around.




2. Barbie McDonald's - I loved Barbie and this was the icing on the cake for me. It came complete with booths for her to sit in and even trays to serve the food on....now how cool is that!

3. My Little Pony castle - I grew up in Kentucky and none of our horses lived in castles but My Little Pony did!

4. My China doll - this was a gift from my Granny...I adored her!!! She was just the most beautiful thing I had ever seen....until I sat her down in the driveway to straigten her balnket and then all the sudden....BANG!...her he busted.....then I ran screaming into the house with tons of tears...I don't think I have ever been the same since then.

5. My kitten - yep, a real one! When I was younger I loved cats....ALOT has changed since then....I can't stand them now! Anyway, it was Christmas Eve and my Dad always had to work 1/2 a day so when he got home they told me to come sit down in the livingroom and close my eyes...of course I did...cause I LOVE suprises...and then I felt something warm & fuzzy on my legs....it was a KITTEN!!!! I named him CC for (curious cat) and he lived up to his name and later died in a not so pleasant dryer accident.

6. Boom Box- Any of you guys remember BEGGING for one of these baby's back in the
80's??? I thought I was way cool with my HUGE boom box and Tina Turner, Debbie Gibson and Janet Jackson tapes.....yep cassette tapes....good grief!!!

7. Guess Jeans - yep...the acid washed ones with the big red upside down triangle on the back pocket...would that my right butt cheek look just wonderful now???? I THINK NOT!

8. Cabbage Patch Kids - I received my first Cabbage Patch for my birthday. The second one, a preemie boy I got for Christmas. And I still remember his name...
Simon Lebon...strange huh?



9. Smurfette - Loved the Smurfs growing up. So one Christmas morning I had a Smurfette doll sticking her cute little head out of the top of my stocking!

10. Barbie Condo- Does anyone remember this one? It was a 3 story cardboard condo complete with drawstring elevator!!!! It was the coolest thing ever! Barbie now had a home!!!!!

So those are just a few of my all time favorite Christmas gift from "back in the day" hope you enjoyed it!

~Kyle Christmas List~

I thought I would share Kyle's ever growing, very expensive and sooooo far over the top Christmas list for this year.

Some of the items on the list will be filled, while others will be left to hopefully be forgotten....good thinking...huh????

1. Dirt Bike- Not a chance!!!! He already has a Honda Rancher 350 and my theory is, he only has one skinny little butt, thus he can only ride one :O)

2. Labtop computer - STRIKE 2!!! He hardly ever puts his phone down as it is. If we were to get him a computer we would NEVER see his cute smiling face!

3. Nitro R/C Remote truck - have you guys seeen these things??? The are powered by gas and nitrous and go 55mph!!!! For those of you who know Kyle can you imagine him with this much speed in the palms of his hands....I THINK NOT!!!!!

4. A kitten - Chris and I both are not big cat people...nuff said

5. Clothes - now your talking!

6. DVD movies - yep...I can work with this

7. Playstation Games(Madden 2010) - more resonable....

8. Phiten Torando Necklace - He got one 2 yrs ago for his birthday...have no clue where it is now...but that doesn't matter cause he is currently wearing 3 that belong to Morgan(the Girlfriend)...yep....and there ALL pink...????????

9. .22 gauge shotgun - thought about this one...thought came and went in about 3 seconds......

10. Blackberry phone - STRIKE 3...your OUT!!!!! I don't see him EVER having a phone nicer than mine...unless he is paying the bill.

So there you have people...the Christmas list of a 13 year old boy...what ever happened to all those Christmas mornings with a livingroom full of trucks, cars, power wheels, John Deere tractors, talking Barney, Elmo and other fun toys????? I guess they are now just Christmas memories that will forever be tucked away in my heart.

How bout we don't make this a family tradition.....

This year was NOT the perfect Thanksgiving.....never in my life have I not spend Thanksgiving around the family table. Kyle and I hit the road early Thursday morning to go and have Thanksgiving dinner with Chris before he had to go into work.

Chris had already checked around town to see who all was going to be open on Thanksgiving......McDonald's, BoJangles and Golden Corral....hmmmmmmmm....I'll take Golden Corral. So we get to the hotel pck up Chris and head off to the Golden Corral right down the street. To my surprise the parking lot was packed!!!! I would have never thought there would be so many people who didn't cook at home on Thanksgiving......SHOCKER! Also to my surprise the buffet was $10.99 per person and that did bot included $1.85 for your drink....so after paying $42.00 for our meal we wandered around to try and find a seat....the entire time my heart breaking to the fact that this is not the way a family should be spending the holiday.

I could tell that Chris was not dealing with the whole "dinner out" thing by the expression on his face. People were constantly bumping into you, trying to squeeze past your table and Chris spend half the time eating his dinner with some old mans butt in his face!!!!!

As we left, I told both of them that I sure hope we don't make this a family tradtion!!! I could have made a huge Thanksgiving dinner and had TONS of left overs for $42.00. But at least we were all together and were able to see each other and that's what matters most!!!

After dinner Kyle and I got back on the road and headed home...cause you know I had to get in bed early to rest up for my Black Friday shopping....cause I hear that
2:50am comes mighty early in the morning :O)

I could barely get any sleep. I spend the entire night planning and plotting where I needed to head first. After much thought, Target was going to be our first stop. They opened at 5am so I would need to be in line by 4am...yep....4am!!!! We got there a few minutes after 4 and hopped in line to wait. I can't tell ya all the awesome deals I got cause sneaky eyes may stalk my blog and I don't want to spoil any Christmas morning surprises!!!! But I can say, for those of you who decided not to get your turkey filled bellies out of bed...you missed out!!!!

I spend Saturday wrapping presents and most of yesterday putting out my Christmas decorations.....now once Chris gets home he can tackle putting up my 12ft tree!!!!

Now, I will leave you with another funny Kyle story.

This one he made yesterday while setting out our nativity scene on the coffee table.

"hmmm....Baby Jesus was Made In China"

....stated by him complete with Chinease accent!!!!

Counting down the days until......

....nope not til Thanksgiving....but BLACK FRIDAY!!!!!!!

that's right....I LOVE LOVE LOVE Black Friday shopping!!!!

I am one of those crazy women that wake up at 3am on Friday and rush out the door to be at the store at 4am. Yes, I am sure are sitting back thinking "what in the world is worth getting up that early in the morning for?" Well, let me tell ya. I love to get bargains! Last year I racked up on DVD's for $2-$3 each for Kyle. Marked down from $19.99. Then I got 3 PS2 games for $19.99 each. Marked down from $39.99!!!!

BIG SCORE!!!!!

Next came the Guitar Hero World Tour for $99.00.

YAHOOO!!!!!

Not to mention all the great deals I got on clothes and the free Belk gift card to the 250 people in the door....which of course I was!!!

I am not sure were I get this fettish from. My Mom was never a Black Friday shopper nor my Granny but, I will not miss it! To me, it is a really fun day...early and long...but fun. Last year we even vallet parked at the mall on Black Friday. And let me tell you, it is the way to go!!!! It was the best $10 we spent ALL day and I will doing it again this year. They park your car and when you get done shopping you just wait at the curb with all your packages and they go get it the car for you and pull it right up to the curb...AWESOME!!!!!

This year, I have several items on my "Mission List" some things for Kyle, well most for Kyle..some for Chris and one for Mom. I just love getting more for my money and seeing how far I can strech my budget....yes, I do have a budget...DUH!?!

So yes, bright and early on Thanksgiving morning you will not find me bent over a hot stove slaving away with Tom turkey....instead, I will be scanning the Black Friday ads drinking my coffee and planning my shopping.....so who's with me???????

~ I Am Thankful~

With Thanksgiving around the corner it has brought to mind just how many wonderful things I have in my life to be thankful for.

~A wonderful marriage~

~For the saftey God has placed over Chris during his career~

~A very HYPER, redneck son that sometime remembers his manners, but always makes me laugh~

~A home to lay my head each night..even thou it comes complete with a mortagage~

~A family that has put up with me all these years despite by stubborn ways~

~Totally awesome friends that would be by my side a moments notice if needed~

~That Chris and I both have jobs..even thou his has taken him 3 hrs away from us~

~That my family will all be together for Christmas~

~Memories made with my Grandparents~

~For a Mom who didn't kill me when I told her I was engaged to someone after knowing him only 4 months.~

~For a wonderful God who loves me and that I believe laughs at me daily!~

There are many more things I have to be thankful for in my life...these are only a few. I hope each of you will take time out to also count your blessings so you don't take them forgranted!

Scream like a girl....and then RUN!

We have had a TON of rain here the past 2 days in the Carolina's...it has been a gully washer to say the least! We have a creek that runs through our property and it is Kyle's weekly job to keep the beaver dams torn down...cause those are some busy little beavers let me tell you! Everytime Kyle goes to demolish their latest "project" he comes back with a list of things he found in the dam. You will not believe how crafty those little boogers are! They have used one of Kyle's arrows for his bow, his minnow bucket and rope...and what ever else they can find that Kyle has left down by the creek. I swear it is like thaey are little Pecaso's or something with the things they weave in the dam!!!! Chris told him to make sure he brings the shovel and rake back each time he goes down there because the beavers would have a hay day working those in on the dam :O)

Anyway, back on track to my story....so when Kyle gets home it was raining way to hard for him to go down and bust up the dam, but the water from the creek is slowly creeping up in the yard. So when Chris gets home about 8 that night it was to dark to go down and still pouring the rain. So Chris gets the spot light and goes out to our back porch that is covered by the way, to shine the light and see just how far the water had come up.

While he is out there I am watching him from the comfort of our nice warm couch :O)
As he turns to walk back toward the door I see him jumping up and down with legs and arms flinging around like some crazy person. The entire time wondering what in the world is his problem????? It was like he was high stepping in slow motion.....with the spot light in one hand and his Rockette Lady high kicks he finally makes it to the door. He flings the door open while still in the middle of his "high kick chorus line routine" complete with "what the.....ahhhh Lord.....AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" when I see something fly through the air and land with a smack on the hardwood floor in the livingroom. I jump off the couch to see a snake has now landed in the livingroom!!!! I swear Chris's feet never touched the floor after that! He took off running and left me alone with it!!!! He said he had gone to get something to get it out of the house...but I don't believe that for a second...cause when he came back he still didn't have anything in his hands and had to kill the snake with MY pink flip flop which by the way was already out on the back porch!

So there you have it....my husband ran in fear from a snake, screamed "like a girl" and then killed it "like a girl"......complete with a pink flip flop!!!!!

My hero!!!!!!!

Another Give Away!!!!

I have come up with a brilliant idea....yea....I tend to have alot of those....but anywho here is my latest one.

I am leaving for NYC tonight and I will be one of MANY screaming fans standing along the fence freezing my mid-size butt off Saturday morning at the Today Show.

So what is the game you ask?

Your job is to pick me out of the crowd of many!!!!! Then post a comment and either tell me what I am wearing OR what I scream out to the camera!

I am sure you are thinking to yourself "well what if she doesn't make it on camera?"......well if you knew me, there would be no question in your mind as to weather or not I would get on. I am not afraid to act like a fool to get a camera pointed in my direction for fame. When I went this past April I made it on camera for almost 10 seconds...pretty sure thats a record!!!!!

I will take all the CORRECT answers and draw out a winner. And the best part is the winner will receive a Starbuck Gift card...WOO HOO!!!!! I will need that after I stand out there and freeze!

So take a GOOD LOOOOOOOOOONG stare at my picture....just not too close...mmmmkay!

Then turn on the Today Show at 8 am EST Saturday morning!!!!

Good luck!!!!

I'll be waving at ya.....promise!

PS....Mom & Teresa...you can't play...cause that wouldn't be fair :O)

Top 10 Thursday!!!!!

Time for Top 10 Thursday again....man this thing keeps coming back around doesn't it????? Since I am heading off to the Big Apple (aka New York City) this weekend I thought I would give you guys a quick list of things I hope to see, do or buy while I'm there.

1. Buy a new Coach, Prada or some other awesome designer purse!

2. Be on TV during the Today Show!!!!

3. Knock a few gifts off my Christmas list.

4. See Lady Liberty again...she my favorite!

5. Go in FAO Swartz toy store...and maybe buy some gifts for some kidlets.

6. Stroll into Tiffany's just to take a gander at one of those cute little "Blue Boxes".....aahhhhhhhhh

7. Get some good deals in China Town

8. Eat some real New York style cheesecake....YUMMMY!!!!

9. Go ice skating in Rockefeller Plaza

And last but not least...........

10. Maybe see someone famous strolling down the streets...other than Sponge Bob and Elmo....cause I saw them last time.

I will update you next week on how many of these items I was able to accomplish...hopefully ALL OF THEM!!!!

Whew....that would be a looooooooong.......daaaaaaaaayyyyy!!!!!

My Christmas Wish List

Isn't this just the cutest little watch you have ever seen???? And I need a new one too...my battery is dead in mine....what you say???? a battery is a whole lot cheaper......I know, but this won has a bettter "cute factor"




LOVE LOVE LOVE this new perfume at Victoria Secret...smells very YUMMY!!!!




Maybe I can find this little cutie right here in New York this weekend!!!!







Coach Ring....NICE......Size 7 please.....



I know some of these items are a little pricey...but it's my list and I can put what ever I want on it...right?......RIGHT!!!!! Some of these things I will never get or be able to afford...but a girl can always dream can't she??? I think so!!!!

So if I can't have any of the above items I will just take.....

Having Chris home for Christmas!!!!!

Trunk-Or-Treat

Are we scary looking or what???? Sorry about my boys having the "deer in head lights" look. I guess they have hunting on the brain...hehehe!!!!!

And if your wondering what the "green junk" is on the side of my face...... it says #1 Mom

Me & Chirs

Here is a neat little thing I came across so I tought I would share it with all of you. I know I tell you guys a great deal about me at times but very little about the both of us.....so here ya go. I hope you guys find it entertaining!!!

Questions about Me & Chris.....

1. What are your middle names?

Mine is Lynn (after my Uncle's middle name Robin Lynn) and his is Jay..don't where his Mom got it..I never asked...sorry!

2. How long have you been together?

Well, lets see....we met August 1, 1994 and were married August 12,1995 and today is Novemeber 2, 2009...you do the math....I SUCK at math!!

3. How long did you know eachother beofre you started dating?

This is a trick question cause we met at a stop light while we were both on vacation and have been together ever since. So I guess I would say a few hours maybe.....Lord that sounds horrible doesn't it!!!!!

4. Did you go to the same school?

Nope

5. Are you from the same home town?

You guys must not have paid attention to question #3!!!!!

6. Who's the smartest?

Oh boy I love this question!!!! I would really have to say it depends on the subject. I would tend to say me under most circumstances but then again I would even know where to begin to change the oil or a tire or pull the boat on a trailer. And when it comes to putting something together I just look at the picturesa nd Chris waste all his time ready each step...but then again I aleays wind up with extra pieces left over from some odd reason!

7. Who is most sensitive?

ME! I win that one hands down. But I have to say that Chris is getting a big ole soft spot in his old age.

8. Who has the worst temper?

For those of you that know me there is no need for me to answer this question.....

9. Who does the cooking?

Me, with Chris wacky hours we would all starve to death before. But he does do all the cooking on the grill.

10. Who is the most stubborn?

See answer in question #8

11. Who wakes up earlier?

Me...unless Chris is going fishing or hunting. Or if you count getting off work at 4 am getting up earlier then he wins.

12 Are either of you neat freaks?

That would be both of us excluding Kyle's areas of the house and the weight room(leave that door closed!). Very rarely is my house "out of order". We both agree that everything has it place.

13. Who is more jealous?

Neither. If you have a long distance releationship that factor is out the door. Trust is #1

14. Who eats more?

Kyle!!! oh wait...this was between Chris & I ...sorry...I pick Chris then :O)
He may be thin but don't let him full ya!

15. How long did it take for your relationship to get serious?

I really think we both knew from day one that we were meant to be together.

16. Who does the laundry?

Me...Chris knows taht no matter how high the pile gets...NO TOUCHY!

17. Who's better with a computer?

depends on if you mean working with one or yelling at one. Chris loathes his work computer...it's posessed!!!

18. Who drives when you are together?

Are you serious...you try driving with a State Trooper as a co-piolet..NAH UH!

19. What is "Your Song" ?

"Keeper of the stars" by Tracy Lawerence

So there you have it. I hope I have answered some of your questions. Please leave me a comment if you want to know any more tidbits of info on us! But pretty much we are just boring ordinary people!

Lazy day at the office..zzzzzzzzzz

Yep...this is me...all dressed up in my Halloween costume...comfy looking huh???

I decided to come in my PJ's and house shoes...sure hope they don't expect alot out of me today!!!!!

Yes, I am rockin' the pigtails....sexy!!!!!

Trick-O-Nuggets????????

I bet you can never guess what was going on at my house at 3:30 this morning??? I was pulled awake out of my blissfull slumber to a glowing light coming from the kitchen. Could it be that the Great Pumpkin is paying me a visit early????

No so much! I staggered toward the kitchen as I hear faint little beeps....the microwave????? Is it possible????? What in the sam hill......

As I turn the corner what do I see?????? Kyle, putting something in the microwave!

Me "What are you doing?"

Kyle, "making me some chicken nuggets"

Me "but it's 3:30 in the morning!"

Kyle "but I'm hungary"

Me "well just hurry up and be quite!"

Kyle "okay, do ya want some?"

Me "nah, I'm good!"

{{{{{yawwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnn}}}}}

Then I shuffle bag to my warm bed and Chris rolls over to ask what is going on.

Me "your son is in the kitchen making chicken nuggets"

Chris "to be sure not"

Me "yep"

Chris "k, nite"

Me "night"

......I new the Great Pumpkin would let me down again this year!

I will try and post pictures of me in my costume later today.....stay tuned!!!!

Top 10 Thursday!!!

It's that time of week again. Time for the Top 10 Thursday...brought to you by ME...well really Sara @ Domestically Challenged...anywho. Since Halloween is Saturday I thought it would be very fitting to list my Top 10 ALL time favorite Trick-Or-Treat candy. Most of the time I don't list itmes in any certain order but today they will fall according to my pallet...get it???.......pallet.....

oh, I kill myself sometimes.....

I have already stuffed my treat bags at home for the Trick-Or-Trunk at church. Kyle helped me assemble the bags and by looking at the size of the trash pile beside him when we got done, I think he ate more than he stuffed!!!!

So here ya go...my list......

1. Milky Way - My all time favorite candy bar. I love the melty, gooie carmel!

2. Heath Bars - LOVE LOVE LOVE these too. I use to take on in my lunch every day in High School.

3. Milk Duds - more carmel...nuff said!

4. Sweet Tarts - I will eat them till my tongue bleeds!!! No joke

5. Whoppers - I love these things!!!

6. Kit Kat - those little waffer layers get me every time.

7. Laffy Taffy - you put them in the freeze for a while...kinds like ice cream...YUM.

8. Sixlets - many of you may know what this candy is but it was on on my favorites as a kid.

9. Suckers - I love any kind of hard candy

10. M&M's - PLAIN please...not nuts, hate nuts!!!!!

Now I have made my self have a sweet tooth...gotta run and raid my stash bucket.....

Dear Highway Patrol,

I am sending you this letter via my blog because well, in all honesty, I can't bust up in the Colonel's office and tell him exactly how I feel....well...I could.....but I don't think that would be in the best interest for the hub's job.

So, here are some things that have happened in the mere short time since you gave my husband the promotion that requires him to be in a new duty station ready to go in a week's time.

We had to explain to our son that Daddy will only be home on his days off, which may only be one or two days a week...to only hear him reply..."that's sure not alot." And answer the questions, "who will take me hunting? Who will take me fishing?"

Chris has run around town trying to tie up all the lose ends, get uniforms to and from the cleaners, clean out his car, and look for a place to stay all while still working his shift because if you know him like I do...he is no slacker!

We both new and understood that this was possible when he got in the promotion process, however, I didn't know that orders would be given in such short notice with so much to do and still be expected to work your regular shift while getting them done.

Yes, you can bet your badge that he will be there bright an early on Monday morning with shoes shined so clean you can eat your breakfast off of them and still be able to see your reflection when your done. His uniform, now addorned with Sgt. strips, will be pressed with HEAVY starch and fit like a glove. His badge will be so polished that it could light the universe and his duty belt will be free of dust and grim and hang just perfect on his physically fit torso. His hand shake will be firm and he will have a stead fast look of dertermination in his eyes.

Cause you see....Chris is a special breed, he may faulter, he may stumble and he may make mistakes.....but he will never, ever give up! He loves what he does. He was born with it in his blood. After all, he wasn't voted Trooper of the year for nothing!!!!

Sincerely,
Wife of the best trooper...I mean Sergeant in the state

I would like to thank the academy....I mean Tamela.....

This award I won from my Kentucky Blog Buddy Tamela over @ A Brunette Making it one day at a time....she gave it toome cause she loves me...well more like stalks my blog...just kidding Tamela!!!!

So here are the rules...

This award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.

Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

So with out further ado.....here are my 8 lucky winners. Blogs that I love to read and have become my friends!!!

Erica @ Scottsville

Sara @ Domestically Challanged

Cathy @ Tales of the TCKK Family

Meagan @ Meagan & Garrett plus one

Becky @ In The Trenches

Short Southern Momma

Emotional Diva

and I pick Tamela too even though she gave this award to me...you don'y have to do another post I just wanted to let you know that you are a wonderful bloggy buddy!!!

Hope you ladies all pass it on to your "new found friends".

Emotion OVERLOAD!!!!!!

I really don't think my heart can handle anymore tugging at this time or it is going to burst into a million pieces!

Yesterday Kyle was baptized and Chris was Ordained as a Deacon in the church...needless to say I was one PROUD blubbering, weeping, emotional woman!!!! It was a wonderful day seeing my 2 boys go before the church and commit their lives to the Lord. Chris gave an awesome testimony that had the entire church in tears by the time he was finished...even the men! The Lord has blessed me many times over with a wonderful husband that I don't come close to deserving.

On a funny note, when I was rushing around Sunday morning and packing Kyle's things for the baptism I forgot one important item....

Shorts- CHECK

White T Shirt- CHECK

Towel - CHECK

Brush - CHECK

....what's missing you ask??????

DRY DRAWS!!!!

of course we didn't realize my flub until he was getting changed for the baptism.....soooooooo Kyle got baptized comando style!!!!!!!!! Yep, NO DRAWS!!!!!!
We had to keep the dry ones he had worn to church to put back on....cause we were having covered dish lunch in the fellowship hall after the ceremony.

And that my friends bring me to today....not even 1 hour ago I got a call from the hubs...asking me if I was sitting down.....yep, I usually try and sit down while I work.

He said he had good news and bad news....

man I hate whan people say that!!!!!

He said the good news is that he just got the call from the Leutinant and he has been promoted to a Sergeant with the highway patrol.

I was so excited. He has been waiting for this call for so long and has worked so hard to get to this point.

Now comes that bad news.....his duty station he has been assigned to is 3 hours away!!! That's the patrol policy, you can't get promoted and stay in the same county your are currently in! Another problem is that he has to report to his new duty station on November 1st...yep, that's right 1 week from today!!!!

My heart sank.....

There are so many things we have to get done in a weeks time that I don't even know where to begin, we have to find him a place to stay, since he will only be able to come home on his 2 days off (which more than likely will be during the week when I am at work and Kyle is at school.)

Will he be able to be home for Thanksgiving???

And he is already scheduled to be off for Christmas...is that gonna change????

He won't be able to come home to get a hot meal for supper every night.

And he also teaches the new cadets for the Basic Law Enforcement class at the college...what will happen to them?????

So that my friends is how my past few days have gone...please pray for us that the Lord will work something out that will bring Chris back closer to home. cause I am as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs!!!!!

Ebay SCORE!!!!!!

I am on cloud 9!!!

I just bought this entire set of items on ebay for a mere $100.00!!!!! And they are all in Kyle's size....BOOYAH!!!!!!

Here is a list of all the goodies I got:

4- Pair of American Eagles jeans
1- pair Abercrombie Kak. pants
1- pair Polo jeans
1- pair Diesel jeans
1- pair American Eagle shorts
1- pair Duck Head shorts
1- pair Old Navy shorts
1- Long sleeve Polo shirt(witb tags)
1- short sleeve Polo shirt (with tags)
1- long sleeve Abercrombie button up
2- short sleeve Hollister collar shirts

....I know....all you Mommas are ....JEALOUS!!!!!!!!

Ahhhhhhhh....I do love me a bargain......

just a little training for Black Friday shopping!!!!!!!!

Should I be a proud Momma?

Kyle "We had a chapter test in Mr. Phillipe's class today."

Me "you did? How did you do?"

Kyle "I made the highest grade in the class, well actually he said I made the highest in all his periods!"

Me "wow, great job!"

Kyle "yep, I made a 66"

Me {{GASP}} " You made a 66!!!!! Is he gonna allow a retest or grade on a curve?"

Kyle "why would I want him to do that? I made the highest grade in the class!"

Me speechles......

Note to self....still celebrate even lifes smallest achievements....

*****Kyle made the highest test grade in the class**********

I think I am going to mount and frame the test for him :O)

Now for a poem I thought was very fitting to go along with this post.

~Depends On The Day~

Some days are so fabulous, I just know I love my son more than any other Mother - in the history of Mothers- ever loved her child.

The day after that, I am usualyy left wondering if I am qualified to babysit a June Bug!!!!!

Drum roll please.....and now the announcement you have allll been waiting for.......

....Elvis is still alive.....

oh, wait....that's the wrong announcement...sorry!

The 2 BIG winners for my "Pay It Forward" game......


Tamela @ A Brunette Making it One Day at a Time

AND

Meagan @ Meagan & Garrett

CONGRATS girlies!!!!!!


I am so excited that both of you won!!!!! Please email me your addresses so I can get your prizes in the mail.

My email: powens@jjhaines.com

And thanks to all of you who played along!!!!!

Don't forget to always "Pay It Forward" !!!!!!!

Top Ten Thursday!!!

Oh it's that time of week again...time for Top Ten Thursday brought to you by
Sara@ Domestically Challanged.

Today's feature is the top ten things I do that drive my husband CRAZY!!!! Geeeeezzzzzz, I only get to pick 10!!!!! Maybe he should have done this post :O)
Anyway here we go....and these are in random order too.....

1. I move stuff somewhere else after he leaves it on the counter!!!!

2. I tend to let our son get away with too much...but I'm his Momma...I just can't help it sometimes!

3. I complain when I have to clean allllllll the hardwood & tile floors in our house...his theory is, "you wanted em' you clean em...and I don't want to hear you complain about it!"....the worst part is...he's right!

4. I pout when I don't get my way...always have...always will!

5. I brush my teeth at his sink even though I have my very own on the other side of the bath room....what can I say, "his water taste better over there"

6. I just HAD to have a 12 foot Christmas tree when we built our new house with 19 foot ceilings...and it comes in 5 pieces and takes two ladders, a forklift, a crane, and the MOST wonderful husband in the world to assemble it ever year!!! But you she how BEAUTIFUL it is when it's all up and decorated...ahhhhhhh!!!!

7. I refuse to learn how to work the DVD player or all the countless remotes that go to God knows what.

8. He hates that fact that I ask him almost daily if he has had any vegatables...I have to make sure both my boys are eating right.

9. I talk on the phone WAY TOO MUCH.

10. I speak my mind WAY too much sometimes. If I don't like something, I'm gonna tell ya about it!

So there ya go!!! Hope you enjoyed my list!!!!!!

Make sure you have entered my "Pay It Forward giveaway...it ends today!!!!

Pay It Forward Contest ends tomorrow!!!!!!

If you want to join in on all the fun make sure you read the post from 10/16 for rules of the game and leave a comment (either on this post or the one from 10/16) if you want to win!!!!!!!!

Good luck to you all. I will announce the winner Friday morning!!!!!!!

Oh I can hardly wait...it's like waiting for Christmas......okay well maybe not quite that good....but you get the idea {{Wink,Wink}}

My 100th Post!!!!

Well my dear bloggy buddies....today makes my 100th post!

When I first started this blog back in April I had no idea what I would do with it or where it would take me. I just new I would write what happens in my life each day and maybe give a few people a good laugh at Kyle's expense! :O)

My since that time I have learned so much about all of you as well. So I wwant to say thank you to each one of you that follow my blog and leave sweet little comments to brighten my day and give me words of encouragement that I am not going through any of this alone!

As I was try to think of something wonderful to post I came across a new post called Around The House over at Cathy's blog Tales of the TCKK Family this morning. I hope she doesn't mind me using the layed out to celebrate my 100th post!

Around the House for October:

Reading: Just finished "From Here To Enternity"

Enjoying: Watching the summer pass away into fall!

Learning: To be more patient

Watching: 18 kids and counting, Dancing With The Stars

Anticipating: Thanksgiving, shopping on Black Friday, my trip to New York in a few weeks and Christmas

Realizing: No matter how hard I try to keep him young forever, Kyle is a teenager and growing up!

Pondering: What the future holds for me.

Studying: crash course on whatever Kyle has for homework that night!!!

Wondering: why the media has to make a whole bunch of nothing into a mountain!

Remebering: why I fell in love with Chris...he makes up the other half of my heart!

Praying: That God will continue to bless me and my family each day. And that I do what is pleasing in his eyes and not my own.

Hope each one of you has a wonderful, blessed day!!!!!

Thanks for finding my blog and I hope you stick around for many more post to come!

Yadda Yadda Yadda

No I did not get flipped the bird and called a B!t*h yesterday by another parent while waiting in line to pick Kyle up from a football game after school....yep I did!

But the worst part about it is this time I actually didn't do anything to deserve it!!! The one time I am behaving myself and minding my own business and I still get called a name and get the one finger wave...what gives??

Then, I have to resort to using bribery of homemade ice cream sundae's on Kyle to get him off the phone with "Miss Thing" aka "The Girlfriend" to get him to come down stairs so I can at least see him for a few seconds.....yep I did! Ice cream...the other way into his heart :O)

So with all that said...like that wasn't enough....don't forget to enter in my "Pay It Forward" giveaway below!!!!

Glad the Hub's is fixed!!!!!

Okay so your thinking...."uh, that's a weird title for a post"

Not really, if your consider how I spent my weekend...lets see....

Friday night on my way home I got a call from one of my all time bestest, craziest, wildest, do anything for me friends. I had just left work and was heading on my way home, not too much over the spead limit I might add....anyway...my cell phone rang...and it was her asking me where I was and if by any chance I could run by Chick-Fil-A and get her sister and her something for supper and bring it up to the hospital....oh, by the way her sister has been held prisoner there since Monday trying to keep her baby held captive "in utero" for another few weeks, which did not work out as planned. She had to have a c-section on Thurday night to get him out PRONTO!!!!

So, I sped thru the ole Chick-Fil-A (almost taking out the dressed up cow as he made his way out to the highway to wave at the passing cars), grabbed the food and headed up to the L&D floor at the hospital.

Man, was that a flash back from you know where!!!!! I felt so bad for her, but never in a million years would I have agreed to trade her places!!! :O)

I know what a lot of you Mom's are thinking right now...why does she feel that way??? I can't believe she wouldn't want to have the wonderful experience of bringing a life into the world again, a baby is wonderful...just keep having them and the labor gets easier each time....if you would have had a second it would have been better........WHATEVER!!!!!!

Don't get me wrong. My Bubba is my heart and soul and I love him more than the breath I breathe, but knowing what I know now....NAH UH!!!! Stick a fork in me....I'm DONE!!!!

Seeing that poor girl all layed up, cut open, catheterized and shuffling around like Old Mr. Tuttwhiler on Carol Burnette...NO THANK YOU! It brought back so many memories I almost ran out of that hospital screaming into on coming traffic!!!!

Cause you see...God has a sense of humor and I can tell you one thing....he is not going to get another laugh at my expense.

~Pay It Forward~

This is a neat little game I played...and won (see my post below). So, now it is my turn to return the favor and Pay It Forward.

Here are the details on what you need to do to be entered to win.

You have to be willing to email me your address so I can send your prize. And when you receive your prize you continue on a "Pay It Forward" to someone else by doing your own game on your blog!!!

Ways to earn entries!!!!

You will get one entry for each one you complete.

1. Leave a comment on this post. 1 entry

2. Become a follower (or already be one). 1 entry

3. Do a post on your blog about my giveaway...oh and I will be checking blogs to make sure...since I'm a Mom, I don't any ones word for it...you say you brushed your teeth...let me see! Anyway you get the point. 1 entry

4. Tweet about it. 1 entry



Game will remain open until October 22nd at 12pm EST. The 2 winners will be choosen by "My Bubba" himself and revealed on Friday morning the 23rd.


Good luck ladies!!!!!

My Prize!!!!

A few weeks ago I entered a "Pay It Forward" game over at TCKK's blog and I won!!!!!
Three snaps in a circle for me...YIPEE!!!

Anyway, back to my wonderful goodies I received in the mail today from Cathy.....they are awesome!!!!!

She gave me 2 jars of jam...who doesn't love fresh jam in the fall???? And maybe if I hide it in the waaaaaaaay, waaaaaaaay back of the fridge I will be able to enjoy some of the sweet goodness. Cause you know men, if they open the fridge and don't see what they are in the mood for, they are sure not going to go through all the trouble to move the milk jug out of the way to look deeper!!!!!

She also sent me to Christmas ornaments. And that my friend hit the nail on the head!!! I love Christmas and ever little detail about it....the decorating, cooking, Christmas music...ahhhhhh, I can hear Bing Crosby in the back ground now!!!! Oh, what was I saying.....oh that's right.....the ornaments...I have an annual "Dirty Santa" ornament exchange at my house every Decemeber. All my freinds come and bring a wrapped Christmas ornament and we all fight to death for the prettiest one. Sure does make you get the Christmas spirit huh???

Here are some pic's of my gifts. Sorry but I took them with my cell phone so they are not the clearest.

So thank you Cathy for my wonderful prize!!!!! It really made my day!!!!!

So now I have to turn around and "Pay it Forward" to one of my wonderful readers. So stay tuned for my post so you can enter to win my game....maybe you can win!!!!

Top Ten Thursday

Last Thursday I did my Top 10 Favorite things, so today I am going to post my Top 10 NOT so favorite things.

These are in no certain order....except for the order that they pop into my my little pea brain....

....so lets see........

TOP 10 THINGS I HATE:

1. Spiders!!! Yep, always been a huge fear of mine and I can't stand them. I really think I could walk on water to get away from them!

2. The fact that my son is so addicted to his cell phone that he sent 8928 text messages this past month...yep, you read it right 8928 TEXT!!!!!!!!

3. Seafood....YUCKY!!! if it doesn't live on land and breath air...I refuse to eat it!

4. Snow. I am not a huge fan of it. I love fall and cool weather but NOT snow!!

5. The fact that today is my Dad's birthday and he is no longer alive for me to tell him Happy Birthday in person.

6. I hate that I am so far away from my family and only get to see them twice a year.

7. I hate that Kyle is no longer a little boy. It makes me sad each day to see him growing up.

8. Liar's and fake people...enough said!

9. Stupid movies. For instance, American Pie...what a waste of money to make a movie that stupid!!!!

10. I hate parents who let their children rule their lives and tell them what they are and are not going to do...Grrrrrrrr....your they parent...ACT LIKE IT!

So there you have it. My top 10 "Hater" list.

Girlfriend update....

Sorry for the delay folks but yesterday was a busy one, and rainy and cold....anyway, enough of that and back to main reason for this post.

Kyle said the dance went good. He said they slow danced 3 times. I didn't ask about the kissing....I would rather not know to be honest with you!

Once we get home Friday night he ask if he can go to the Wayne County fair with his girlfriend and her family to see her brother in the derby.....{{silence falls}}

With quick thinking I say "I don't know, let me talk to Dad when he gets in"

So a few hours later Chris strolls in from work and as he is walking thru the livingroom I pop the question to listen for the answer I am just postive he will say.....

"Kyle got invited to the fair with Morgan and her family to see her brother in the derby."

Chris answers, "oh, okay"

......silence......crickets chirp in the back ground........

ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!!! I thought we are suppose to be on the same sheet of music on this parenting thing....did you miss the memo on this buddy!!!!!!

As these thoughts race through my head I hear Kyle scream "YES!" as he grabs his cell phone to sent out the ever excited acceptance text.....and this is the response she sents Kyle back....

TELL YOUR MOM I LOVE HER!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, don't try to butter me up little lady....this is my one and only child, my heart beat, my baby boy, my Bubba......

You only been "boyfriend/girl friend" for a month. Were not mailing out wedding invitations yet!!!!!!

Oh the horrible thoughts!!!

Kyle is going to his first school dance tonight...well, let me rephrase that....first school dance where he has a girlfriend!

That in it's self is enough to put this pour mother of one teenage boy into horrible thoughts.....YIKES!!!!

Will he know how slow dance with her????...very scary thought...he is all legs and big mouth!!


Maybe he will have his first kiss....or maybe he allready has...that's even a MORE horrible thought!!!


Maybe the DJ will forget all his slow song CD's back at the office???...hey, even a mother can dream!

I'm not sure how I am going to survive this teenage stuff. But so far, I don't think I am doing so good.

Top 10 Thursday

One of my favorite blogs I follow is Sara @ Domestically Challanged. She has been doing these neat little thing on Thursdays so I thought I would give it a whirl.

This can be your top 10 anything really...complaints, favorite things, top 10 list of things to do, wishes whatever.....it's your list....or my list..you get the idea!

So today I thought I would start off by doing my favorite things. They will not be listed in any certain order mind you cause it's early and my brain is not up to par yet. With that said....here we go....


My Top 10 Favorite Things

1. Cool Fall mornings...like today...49 & Sunny......WONDERFUL!!!

2. The smell of Kyle when he gets out of the shower...very rare so I cherish it!!!

3. The smell of Yankee Candles

4. Good hair days

5. The sound of Kyle's laugh. (if you have ever heard it you would agree)

6. The hubs...even with all his quirks he is an amazing man!

7. Black Friday shopping...enough said!

8. Ice cream....you guys know that had to be on my list!

9. Going home to visit my family in Kentucky..since I am the only one out of state.

10. The Lord....without him I would be able to enjoy any of the things above!

Hope you all enjoyed my list. Come back next Thursday so see another...unless I bored you too much this time!

If I had to raise my child over again....

If I had to raise my child all over agian,

I would build self-esteem first, and the house later.

I'd finger paint more, and point fingers less.

I would do less correcting and more connecting.

I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch more with my eyes.

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.

I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.

I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.

I would do more hugging and less tugging.

Diane Loomas~

Happy Birthday Chris!!!!

Today the love of my life turns 37!!!!!!!

I think I enjoy his birthday more than he does...since I was always joke with him that he is always gonna be older than me...until he busted my bubble last night when he said...

"that's okay cause when I am retired and enjoying life, you will still have to get up and go to work!"

DANG HIM!


Happy Birthday anyway Babe....I LOVE YOU BUNCHES!!!!

Halloween Help!

This is a picture of me last Halloween dressed as the "Wendy's Girl".....cute huh? I made most of the costume myself. Well, really I bought the Alice in Wonderland costume and made a few minor adjustments.

What do ya think???

So here is my problem...what am I going to be this year????

Hmmmmmm.....?????

Any suggestions????

We all dress up for Halloween where I work and have a costume contest. Which by the way I won last year with the lovely Wendy getup. So I have a title to defend...ya see what I'm sayn'...I need something good, something crazy, something no one else would think of....

Here is a list of things I have been in the past years.

Larry the Cable Guy...don't ask! And no one here at work knew who I was. It was a TRIP!

A sak-o-taters....it was too cute and way funny!

A baseball fan that got hit in the eye with the ball...didn't enjoy wearing the fake ball over my eye all day!

So, I need some help...got any ideas????

What are they trying to teach my kid????

I know it has been awhile since my last post...sorry about that...but things have been pretty busy around here.

The good news is Kyle got his progress reports this week and it it safe to say that I don't have to ground him...hahahaha

Just kidding, he actually has always gotten good grades...thank goodness! This time around he got 4 A's, 1 B, and 1 C. I was totally expecting the C to be in math since that is the one subject he seems to struggle with the most. However, it was in Science...are you serious???? They have been working on the periodic table. For those of you who don't have kids or have been out of school longer than me let me refresh your memory. It's that stupid chemical chart that hung on the wall in your science class with all those little block thingy's with BOLD letters in them...yep, that thing my friend is the periodic table....ah, yes, you remember now!

O for Oxygen, H for Hydrogen, Li for Lithum, Z for Zinc, B for Boron

M for MY head hurts.....oh, I thought that was on there...my bad!

Anyway, Kyle had 24 problems to do for homework the other night for science. He had 2 left that he said he just couldn't get the answer to. They went a little something like this.....


___O3 + H2 + C6 = ___ O2 + H3 + C2


ARE YOU SERIOUS????? Now if I could solve this problem I would be able to build the Atom bomb and blow Osama Bin Ladin off the face of the earth!!!

I am sure I could have solved this problem "back in the day" when I was in school. But ya know what? I have come to the conclusion that the only reason I needed to retain this information from school is so when I grew up I would be able to help my own child with it!

Teacher's need to tell their students something like this..."now class, pay attention because even though you are NEVER going to use this information in your life EVER again you will need to take good notes so that 15-20 years down the road you can refer back to them to help your child complete their homework!"

So, now I owe an apology to my son for not taking better notes in school and that I am sorry my teacher did not inform me WHY I needed to retain this information. At least you still got 22 out of 24 correct.....that is still gonna get you an A....right?!?

"Saw VI"

I know the movie hasn't come out yet but I swear you could have used Kyle's bathroom this morning for part of the footage!

For the past several years Kyle has been prone to nose bleeds. This morning he was eating his breakfast at the bar and kept sneezing ( a normal morning routine for Kyle).....after the 3rd sneeze I told him to go to his bathroom and blow his nose.
He gets down and goes back to his bathroom while I head off to the laundry room to iron his shirt ( yes, I do all my ironing in the morning...I never think that far in advance to do it the night before....don't judge me!)

Anyhow, back to my horror movie......when a few minutes pass and Kyle hasn't returned to finish his cereal, which is now forming into wallpaper paste, I yell for him to hurry up. When he doesn't answer I head back to his bathroom to add a little "morning momma modivation". As I turn to walk in his bathroom I actually scream!!!!!

Why you ask????? Well, lets just say it looked like the St. Valentine's Massacre took place in this 6 X 11 bathroom! Kyle is standing at the sink holding a Kleenex that is soaked in blood up to his nose and the rest of bathroom is COVERED in blood spatters. When I say covered.....I mean COVERED...the sink, mirror, wall, shower curtain, toliet, floor, rug....EVERYTHING!

It looked like someone to a weed wacker to the poor childs nose!!!!

Come to find out, he said he sneezed as soon as he walked in the bathroom before he had a chance to get a kleenex.....Yay think????

I tell ya, it was even to gross to take a picture of. And it was too early in the morning for me to be scrubbing up blood (which I just noticed got on my pants)

But at least he did make it to his bathroom and I didn't have to clean up all the blood from my kitchen...and his breakfast...YUM!

The worst part is, I cleaned his bathroom from top to bottom on Saturday. Even washed the shower curtain and liner too....(don't start Heather, yes I wash the liners cause I'm a tight wad)....oh, well back to square one!

Hope your morning went better than mine!

Say what?!?

okay people, Kyle just sent me a text message and said

his text "Madison(his girfriend) asked if I could come over to her house Saturday night. can I go? She asked her mom and she said ok"

My text "and do what?"

his text "idk, watch a movie or something"

My text "how about you guys get a group together and meet up at the movies"

his text "is that a no"

My text "let me tlk to ur dad"

his text "k"

....okay Dad, ball is now in your court on this one.....AND don't let me down!!!!

I don't think I am doing very good on this whole teenager thing.....I might need therapy or medication or a something....he's too young to go over to some girls house with some parents I don't know and do God knows what when her parents are not paying attention in God knows where and ......oh goodness I can't breathe.......


HELP!!!!!

Ahhhhh......the Fair.....

Let me start by saying that I HATE THE FAIR!!!!!! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE roller coasters at places like Kings Dominion, Carrowinds & Kings Island. And I must be in the very front seat when I ride....cause if I die I want to see what is about to chop my head off :O)

But I hate county fairs! This being said, where did I go last night???? Hmmmmmm....let me think........oh, that's right! THE STINKING COUNTY FAIR!!!!!

Being the wonderful, most awesome, fun loving, nice, sweet, caring mother that I am I took Kyle to the fair. All by myself I might add!!! He was dying to see his girlfriend cheer at the compition they hold at the fair each year and then all his friends were going to ride the rides. And let me just say that Kyle has been to the county fair the past 3 years with friends and each time he has thrown up from the rides.

So we watch the cheerleading, which Woodington Middle School won 1st place....GO RAIDERS!!!!!! Anyway.....and then he was off with his little group of friends to the rides....and I was left alone to fill over 2 hours of "down time". So I walk around and look at all the exhibits and vendors and still had 1hr & 45 mins to kill :O)

So then I found a picnic table and sat back and decided to do a little "people watching".....that my friend was a scary experience.....man do fairs bring people out of the woodwork or what?!?

Finally, at 9:30 Kyle made his way back to eat his slice of pizza I had got him for supper. And boy was he pale as a ghost...I knew this was going to be bad. He said he felt to sick to eat his pizza and that he just wanted to go and close his eyes. His girlfriend just sat there and laughed.

He rode the entire way home with the windows down and his eyes closed and I told him to give me plenty of notice if I need to pull over for "puke stop". Thank goodness we made it home where he climbed in bed with his handy trash can close by his side.

.......ahhhhhhh....the fair..............

Birthday Pals!

Here is a picture of me & the girls after our dinner out to celebrate my 34th birthday!!!! Man I look good for 34.....don't ya think?????

We went to Logan's for dinner and drinks and had a great time...then headed back to my house for presents and cake. We were all stuffed from dinner but crammed the cake in anyway :O)

Thanks girls for a wonderful birthday....I didn't spend it on the football field like the past two years and there was no hurricane...like the 3 years in a row before that.....YIPEEE!!!!!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!!!!

Today is my birthday!!!!! YIPEEEEEE!!!!!

I am 29 AGAIN :O)

No really I am 34.....but who keeps counting after 29?


.....so here it goes....a 1, a 2, a 1 2 3.............

Happy Birthday to ME
Happy Birthday to ME
Happy Birthday dear ME
......HAPPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOOOOOO MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

Don't ya just want to sing along too????

Hurricane Floyd-1999

This week marks the ten year anniversary of Hurricane Floyd. I hate to say it but I witnessed this storm up close and personal as it slammed the eastern part of North Carolina.

It was my first experience with a Hurricane so I was not really sure what to expect. We new it was heading our way and that it could get bad. But I didn't know just how bad. Chris had been sent to the Outer Banks in Dare County to help evacuate the coast which left Kyle and I at home to weather the storm.

The rain started early that morning but I went on to work dropping Kyle off at daycare, he was only 2 1/2 at the time. I don't remember the rain stopping the entire day and by 3 that afternoon my work decided to close. I picked up Kyle and headed home. When I pulled up in the driveway I was greeted by my neighbor next door saying that our Chow (who we had to keep in a dog pen at the time) was up to her stomach in water. Once I had her dry and safe in our shed I headed in side. I stayed glued to the TV the entire night. Chris called as much as he could with orders on what I needed to do.....fill the tub with water, fill ever empty container I had with water, flash lights fresh batteries, propane for the grill and canned foods. I wasn't really that worried at the time I guess because I wasn't sure what to expect, I mean how long could it really last????? The next day everything will be back to normal....right???????

Nice thinking on my part but.......WRONG!!!!!!!

Later that evening the rain and wind were pounding every window in the house and it was so load I couldn't have slept even if I wanted to. We lost power around midnight so I layed with Kyle in our bed until the wind got so bad I was afraid the windows that were right over the bed were going to break. I grabbed Kyle, pillows and blankets and headed for the hallway. We were renting an older home in town at the time, you know the kind that has a door you can close from the livingroom to the hall.....so I closed all the bedroom doors, bathroom and livingroom doors thus leaving us barracaded in the hall. And that were we stayed until Chris made it home and to our rescue!

We all slept in the hall that night and when the sun came out the next morning it was a horrible sight. Tree's and powerlines were down everywhere. All the major roads and bridges leading in and out of our town were flooded or washed out. There was no way in......and no way out of or town!

The water began to rise and buildings, business and homes were flooded. Dead livestock floated down the roads along with a few coffins that had surfaced from an old cemetary!

Our home was spared from flooding but we were without power for 4 days. I learned to cook any kind of food you an imagine on a grill and thank goodness Kyle liked to color because that was all we had to do.

That first experience with Floyd opened my eyes to how bad it can get and the effects it leaves. I am now perpared for every hurricane!!!!

Pay it forward

This little diddy right here is an awesome way to give someone you know or may barely know a huge smile when they check the mail and get something other than bills and stupid junk mail!

One of my favorite blog buddies "Erica" over at www.d6scotts.blogspot.com has the cutest little game called Pay it forward. It's away to meet up with other bloggers and get a cute gift all at the same time. Check it out and see!

But just go and look cause you just know I am gonna win!!!!!

I remember.....

.........the exact spot where I was sitting on this very day 8 short years ago......do you? It was a day that changed all of our lives forever even if we did not personally know someone who perished on 9/11 in the attacks.

It was a beautiful morning as I sat at my desk working...okay maybe I wasn't really working...... anyway, one of the guys that worked in the shop came up and needed change for the drink machine. When I gave him the change he said "did you hear that the World Trade Center has been attacked?" Hearing the word "attacked" gave me chills as we all raced to the breakroom to turn on the small TV (complete with rabbit ears) to watch the live footage unfold.

The images I saw that day, the fire, the smoke, the screaming people as they ran down the streets looking for a safe place and innocent victims jumping from the buildings was vivid enough to bring tears to everyones eyes. No one spoke.....just watched and listened.

The phones at our office began to ring non stop, all seven lines, as people were calling to inform us and their family members. My after school sitter called to see if I wanted her to go pick up Kyle from school. Everyone was so unsure of what would happen next...if anything?

As the days passed you could not turn on the TV without it being coverage from 9/11. All regular programming had been cancelled and news updates were a constant reminder.

With each 9/11 anniversary that has passed, I always pause for a moment of silence and rememberance for those who lost their lives. But this year, it was different. This morning I was in a meeting that began at 8:30 with several other people and I asked that we please take a moment of silence to remember the victims. Each person closed their eyes and bowed their heads.

For me, this 9/11 anniversary has taken on a whole new meaning. You see, this passed year Kyle and I went to New York City and visited Ground Zero. After, seeing the massive whole in the ground, the tile memorials painted by school children and pictures of loved ones hung in the fence, my heart has been forever touched. I stood there, on the same street that everyone had been running down to find saftey, I touched the same white concrete benches that gave fire fighters a moment of rest and I saw the look in my sons eyes as his fingers linked through the barricaded fence where the towers once stood.

I hope we all continue to remember..........

Hard working man.....?????????

Sunday morning I went into Kyle's room to wake him up for church and I did something that I have not done in a long time.....I took his right hand and held it while I TRIED to get him to wake up.....all the sudden I felt something gross and yanked my hand back......"what the world is that????"

I opened up his hand and looked at his palm and you will not believe what I saw.....his entire palm and fingers on his right hand are covered with hard calluses!!!!

You would think that with Kyle only 13 years old that we have subjected him to HARD core child labor or that maybe he got the calluses from putting up hay or working in tobacco and corn this summer (hey don't judge me!.... He loved working on the farm and he loved the thought of earning his own money) or maybe he got them from his weekly job of sweeping out our 3 car garage.......these are all thoughts that ran through my head but they were all.....WRONG!!!!!!

As Kyle started to stir I asked him how in the world did he get all the calluses from?

Kyle "they are from riding the 4 wheeler"

Me "well then why are they only on your right hand?".....I mean I was just guessing on this but the last time I checked it did have two handle bars??????

Kyle "Mom, the gas is on the right!!!!"

Me "so why don't you have them on your left hand?"

Kyle "duh, cause that's the brake side!"

Me "enough said"

So there you have it folks. My son has permenant calluses on his right hand from driving his four wheeler. However, the good side is that it could be worse....it could be from playing the Playstation!!!!!! And evidently we can go ahead and disconnect the brakes cause he must not need them!!!!! God help me!

Oh, I took picture with my cell phone to post for all you guys to see but now that Alltel has merged with Verizon I can't seem to access my pictures online...THANKS VERIZON!!!!!!!!

No BIG Plans

For the past two years our Labor day plans have including the following......

last year - we sat at home watching Cat 1 Hurrincane drench our house with rain and wind. Also the same weekend Chris tore his ACL in his knee (which sweeled up the size of a basketball) so he layed on the couch with ice packs the entire weekend and wound up having to have surgery to repair it a few weeks later.

year before- spent that Labor Day in the ER getting stiches in Kyle's leg from a 4 wheeler accident....yes, I am fully aware that 2 yrs ago he was only 11 and you are thinking "What mother in her right mind lets her 11 yr old son ride a Honda 350 all alone with flip flops???????"......lets just say it's all his DAD'S fault! :O)
That's why I called his Good Ole' Dad on the way to ER so he could meet us there. Cause let face it, when I saw that yellow fatty stuff sticking out of the blood I was NO HELP!

So let's hope and pray that this Labor Day weekend is accident free!!!!

18 Kids & Counting......

.......you can't be serious????? Have you watched this show???? And now the tabloids say that baby 19 is baking in the oven as I type??????

For those of you who are not fascinated with the Dugger Family like I am I will catch you up to speed. They are a sweet family complete with 18 kids ranging in age from 20 to 8 months and all the childrens names begin with the letter "J".....Joshua, Jenna, Jessa, Johannah, Josiha, Jennifer, Jordyn, Jinger.....oh, Lord I'm stuck at 8 names......good thing I'm not the Mom, I would never be able to remember them all and would wind up calling half of them by the dogs name!

Anyway, they live in Arkansas in a humungo house they built themselves.....and I can speak from experience that building a home yourself is no walk in the park!

Now, on to the main point of my post. Michelle Dugger a.k.a Mom age 45 is now prego with kid #19 while all the while her oldest son Josh is expecting his first child(Michelle's first Grandchild) next month. Things of this nature never cease to amaze my little "Mom of 1" brain! But I must say that I am addicted to this show and don't miss an episode.

I guess the thing that has captivated me is the fact that the house always seems to run smoothly. Everything is ALWAYS so nest and tidy, the kids are always very clean, well behaved and well dressed.....(my 13 yr old has to be told to brush his teeth, take a shower, do his homework and most days even be reminded to breath!)
I just don't see how she has pulled all this off while keeping her sanity intacked. I mean honestly folks I am give slam out each night by the time Kyle goes off to bed and I only have 1 child to keep track of and he is equipped with a cell phone and I still struggle......maybe I need to get him a tracking collar?!???

Michelle and Dad "Jim Bob" always speak to their kids in the sweetest voice. Never raising their voice or yelling. I would love to know how they get a teenager to do something without yelling...I have to know the secret! The kids are alway polite and get along together very well (or at least long enough to tape the show) the older ones help out the little ones and no one is running around half dressed or just in a diaper sporting the ever fresh "bed head".....NOPE.....not on Momma Dugger's watch!

So have any of you watched this show and become addicted like me? They are most awesome family in my eyes. I have never really had the desire to have multiple children, much less 19. Nor can I begin to understand why anyone would want such a hectic life. God has given me one wonderful son who is full of life, energy and laughes. And last time I checked 1 child is enough to make me a Mom!

That time of year~

Can you believe it is the first day of September!!!! I can't....this year has just flown by as I stand by with a dumb expression on my face that says, "uh, where did it all go???"

Fall is a mere 21 days away. Fall is my absolute favorite time of year! I know most people love Christmas time and the warm summer, but for me it is the cool, crisp fall mornings that I love. When the first cool breeze blows I run to the mail box to rip down my summer flag and put out my fall one, replace the bright colored wreath on my front door with one for fall. Complete with all the wonderful reds, yellows and browns!!! I also have a horrible addiction to candles!!!! And when I say addiction...I MEAN ADDICTION!!!! All my candles even have their own little "home" in my home....well actually it is a double cabinet in my kitchen but it is totally devoted to ALL CANDLES!!!! Yep, Partylite, Yankee, Scentcy or Doller Tree....hey, I don't descriminate! I burn a candle or put a fresh tart in my tart burner almost every night. I love the smells!!!! Baked Apple Pie, Fall Festival, Autumn Leaves & Harvest.....ahhhhhhh....I can smell them now.



And the best part is that Yankee has come out with a bunch of new scents for Fall that I got a wiff of last weekend while shopping at the mall and oh man did they smell gooooooooood!!!!!!!!!