It's Been Awhile!!!

Time flies when you've lost your mind and your life is like a runaway train...trust me...I know.

I survived yet another semester and I am halfway through my courses to get through school. I am grateful for my husband in supporting me though he doesn't understand just why I decided to go back to school. SOme days, I don't either. It's not like I am going for a Bachelor's Degree. It's just an Associates, but it gets me on the way to where I eventually want to be. We shall see how it turns out I am just hoping for the best.

Hubby is loving his new position. The best Christmas gift he received all year was from a woman who works for him at the Elementary School. She is originally from Mexico City and emigrated here and became a citizen. it has long been her dream to speak english like other Americans and she is working hard to fulfill her dream. Every few eeks or so she comes over to our house and my husband tutors her on her pronunciation. For Christmas, she wrote him a letter in english of how much she loves him and how grateful she is with his patience and support in her endeavour. Tears filled his eyes when he first read the letter. I nearly cried reading it as well. She is a sweet older woman whom my husband has a great deal of respect and admiration for.

The kids are all doing great. My oldest, Rinni, is working hard at all of her classes. I can barely beleive this next year we will be applying to colleges....Where did the time go? She is now in National Honor Society and feeling good that she belongs to something. She is into her art and enjoying every minute of it. I couldn't ask for more.

Bryan is enjoying life and getting out and having fun with some friends. He recently joined up with 18 of his friends and went to the mall. They had a great time. He is always heading out camping with the young men.

Molly....sigh....oh Molly. She is the one child that puts a lot of thought into the nonsense she writes on facebook. She has the statuses everyone waits to read and then scratches their head laughing when they read what she wrote. And with her....there is a backstory behind everything.

Workwise for me I've hit my stride. I am gearing up to work on Christmas, which is fine because they were nice enough to let me off for a week at Thanksgiving. How can I complain? I am working early, the shift I adore. I'd never ask for anything more. I am still loving my job and coming in happy every single day...unless I am not awake. As with most hotel employees....we can never remember one date to another.

Hopefully, I can blog a big later with some news that is more interesting than this, but know that I live and I breathe and I survive. Until then...Happy Blogging!!!

Do You Ever Feel Blessed?!?!

My life is a hectic crazy chaotic mess....and I feel blessed.

Here I sit at the front desk passing time after completing all of my work and thinking about my children and Hubby at home snoozing away....and I feel blessed.

I feel blessed for my feet hurting at the end of the day because it means I am working at a job which I love with people I adore and learning new things while being valued in a way I've never felt before.

I feel blessed for all the twinkling lights which illuminate the Riverwalk and Alamo Plaza....I get to enjoy them everyday either coming or leaving from work.

I feel blessed when walking from my bus stop in a rainstorm. Yes, my shoes and pants are getting wet, but we need the rain here in Texas.

I feel blessed when I see my answering machine filled with calls....it means I am loved.

I feel blessed not to be able to see my toes....it means I have enough food.

I feel blessed to have my family and friends. Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends!!!

I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go....so much to be thankful for!!!

For the first time in nearly three years I have the holiday completely off. I mean COMPLETELY off!!!! Amazing as it may sound I work in an industry which runs 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. We must be there to take care of the guest. It's not a problem. I don't mind really. I simply love what I do. Period. End of Setnence. I love what I do!!!

I've been thinking lately about how much I've been blessed. Others may look at losing everything as a trial, but honestly...it has been a blessing, one after another. Looking back I can see that.

Because we have been given much we got used to having much. Losing it all, brought us back to reality. In truth, we argued about the store, the stress from the store dwelt with us 24/7 and I didn't like it. Yes, I was able to go to church every Sunday and Serve my callings easily. However, not everything in life should be easy...I never learn unless things get hard once in awhile.

When we were deciding where to move I told Hubby I wanted to live in a place with mountains, cold weather and snow.....We moved to San Antonio, Texas. Sooooo not any of those things. When we prayed over and over about different locations we were told no every single time. When we prayed about San Antonio we felt peace.....and so this is why we moved here. When we moved in I was able to pick up a new job quickly and the money started coming in. yes, our belts were tight but the bills were paid and there was food on our table.

A year after we moved into our apartment we moved again into our house....a rental we obtained from a friend both Hubby and I grew up with. He wanted soemone to live in the house he owns and pay rent and take care of the house. It has been a wodnerful move. All of our kids now go to high school together just as we did over to decades ago. So fun. Our two oldest are actually being inducted into the National Honor Society next Tuesday together. So much fun.

Hubby has earned a promotion and had his pick of schools to work for as Assistant Head Custodian. What a blessing it has been as he truly cares for the people he works with including a woman who comes over a couple times a month to help her learn english. It's awesome. I now work at the front desk at the Residence Inn next to the Alamo. It is awesome to take the bus downtown and walk along the city streets and walk past the Alamo every day. I've also gone back to school. I am working towards earning my Associate's degree before my oldest graduates from high school in 2013. So far so good. I am right on schedule. We shall see how it all goes though.

So, as I sit here with my feet up after days of cooking and planning. I am thankful for so much. I'm thankful for the headaches I get when studying late into the night and for the ability to power nap on the buses while going into work. I am thankful for the incredible people I work with and the faith they show in me. I am thankful for my sense of humor which has gotten me this far. I am thankful for Hubby and the foot massages he provides happily after I stand for 8 1/2 hours straight. I am thankful for air conditioning because with the humidity down here and the heat at 107 this summer it brought relief. I'm thankful for my children whose faith and testimonies have grown while going through all of this. I'm thankful for Hubby and our friend Bobby's rendition of "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" into the drumsticks today. I am thankful we can dance and sing "Don't Worry, Be Happy" with friends and family. For this and so much more I am grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Embrace Each Day

This week I've been reminded over and over the graces of God. An older gentleman I work with is enduring the harshness of chemotherapy to beat the return of this cancer spreading through his body. As it is with these treatments his strength can only hold out for so long and when it gives out we, as his work family, need to support him and be there for him. In this case it is covering his shifts when we is to weak to make it through. In my case it was giving up days off. As with always there are twists you never expect.

As you work overnight, when you are used to sleeping, it takes time for your body toadjust and jumping back and forth from day to night it can be almost unbearable. Sunday morning as I was driving home I nearly fell asleep several times as I sped down the highway. Too scary for me. The next night i decided to tke the bus...no fear in that commute home. My manager told me that she would make sure I would get Monday off so I could sleep and recover....and then called several hours later. The coworker who was supposed to work the late night shift had to call off. his mother had a stroke....and I needed to step in. Again....I made my way into work, much to the surprise of Hubby when he came home to find me gone. He called laughingly requesting reservations....uh not funny.

However, another friend from the reservation center spent a few hours talking to me as I processed the paperwork. He told me he had cancer and being morbidly obese he was struggling. He is due for surgery soon. He sat while we spoke of the love of our Savior. Though he isn't of my faith we've held many deep talks and had a friendship that has become so amazingly important to me. When he came to visit he brought something he said reminded him of me. It is a new cutsie little lunch bag with a fabulouso black and white pattern embroidered with the phrase "Embrace Each Day" in Raspberry pink. It is so cute. He told me that is the one thing he remembers about me with all of his doctor visits and treatments. He has chosen to embrace each day of his life and we both made a pact to continue to embrace the highs and lows of our lives and pull ourselves closer to the Lord.

Whatever obstacles we face we need to embrace the love around us....embrace the strength of the Lord....and embrace our own selves, the good and the bad....but just embrace ourselves.

Bestie....

Almost a decade ago...I had a tough time. Hubby was travelling 3 weeks out of the month and I was attempting to manage life with my 3 itty bitty ones who were all in diapers. I was drifitng away in a sea of depression and searching for a life preserver....someone or something to hold onto.

I reached out on the internet to find a friend....Someone I could connect to and write... a penpal of sorts. I ended up meeting a woman whom I may never meet but I carry in my heart. it seems strange to say my best friend in the world lives an ocean away deep in the heart of Scotland....and we have never met.

She and I both belong to the same faith. We talk about church, scriptures, conference talks. We talk about our lives, our ups, our downs. We talk of our challenges and our triumphs. Many times we have wondered just how come we could be such good friends and be so far apart. I mused perhaps we were inseperable in the pre-existance and in this life we were to learn to stand on our own two feet...but Heavenly Father couldn't bear to keep us completely apart and helped us find our way to each other over the internet. It could be true...it may not.

Next month it will be 12 years since we began writing and we are still hoping at some point we will meet face to face and I can finally hug the friend I've held constantly in my heart over the years. Until then....I will continue the tapping away at my keys and keeping in contact with my friend, my sister.

10 Years Later....

To most who really know me, nothing affects me for the most part. I put on a strong front even when I am aching inside. 10 years ago when the first plane struck I was stunned and struck to the very core. It was the hardest thing for me to take my two kids to school and drop them off as if it were any other day. Afterwards, I cried while holding my youngest in my arms. Hubby wasn't home. He was travelling for work and sat up in Seattle in a hotel near the Space Needle. He called early...he was coming home. When the second plane hit my heart nearly stopped. I watched the drama unfold and things falling from the tower, only later to find out they were people jumping to avoid the fire on their floor. I cried more and felt very lonely. Hubby instantly wanted to join the military, but at that time they told him he was too old. He was heartbroken.

Years later Hubby and I found ourselves travelling in Italy. Yo be honest I hadn't paid attention to the date when I initially booked the trip, but we were in Tuscany on September 11th jsut a few years ago. The day after we took a train into Venice for a couple days. As we arrived at the train station we emerged to find this beautiful statue and several tea light candles sitting at the base in honor of Americans and to show support. I was so touched by the tribute that I cried. This time because I felt the love and support of the world for us. Several locals figuring out we were Americans approached and gave us hugs as we all cried.

Ten years later I am not still not able to watch the tributes. The pain remains too fresh in my heart. I know what happened and I haven't given in to the fear those terrorists tried to instill. Instead I cling to my country and the love we as strangers have for one another. We may not have one thing in common, but as Americans we stand together, hand in hand with friends around the world against the evils which lurk. Together we stand in honor of those who lost their life in a useless attack.

Not in My Job Description....

At least it wasn't in my job description until yesterday. Life has been...well....let's just say it hasn't been dull. Yesterday was my first solo flight taking the helm of the front desk. As it always seems to happen....the most unusual circumstances...something to throw my wolrd into a psycho dizzy whirl....as usual. I came into work and my Supervisor pulled me aside and explained one of our guests was having a very tough time. His life took a tailspin turn discovering his wife was leaving himm and his mother passed away all at once. He turned to alcohol and we watched sadly as he stumbled through the lobbby on the way back to his room. Soon, his coworkers came more amd more aware as his new habit had taken a toll on his ability to do his job. His manager was notified and we found ourselves hosting a full fledged intervention right there at work. All went well when the managers were there, but as they returned home and dwindled he returned from going out for dinner and obviously more than a few drinks. When he tried to place a few more small bottles of wine on the counter my security guard, Art and I confronted him. I refused to sell him any more alcohol. He burst out into tears. He held my hand. We consoled him. We prayed with him. We boosted him up. We gave him the one thing he needed.....love. So, my job description now, includes Intervention Specialist....and according to my GM...a good soul.

At Summer's End...

Summer has now come to an end and the kids are back in school. All I can say is : "Thank Goodness!!!!"

Now, I know what you're all saying.... "That's not a good attitude!" However, when you have 3 teens who constntly suck down every single bit of the groceries you've purchased 15 minutes earlier in one single gulp. When they complain there is nothing to do, they want to go somewhere, they want to do something. SIgh...they drive me crazy. This year, I shipped all three off to EFY for a week together. It was one quiet week at my house....which was great consiering I'd started my new job. Here are a few of the highlights:

Corinna is my sixteen year old who is now allowed to date, but has yet to find anyone that will uphold her standards, but she finds many ways to have a great time with friends. She loved EFY as well as Young Women's Camp. She also fell in love with Scripture study this summer.

Bryan is growing up fast and striving in his callings at church and I find myself thinking of the mothers of the 2,000 Stripling Warriors and how they must've felts as their sons aged being brought up in the church an seeing the spirit rest easily upon their shoulders....and I am grateful to be his mother. And yes, He loved EFY and Scout Camp as well.

And then there was Molly....Oh me oh my Molly!!! I adore her, she is my baby after all...and yes...all of their eyes are really that blue. She was able to go to EFY for the first time this summer. She had a blast and enjoyed hanging out with a bunch of girls who were all like her. She had a blast at Young Women's Camp as well and she was even sweet enough to bing an extra fan to her sister at camp....it wasa 107 degrees all week while they were there, but luckily they had cabins to sleep in. No AC but ability to plug in a fan is a good thing for the cabin.

So.....summer is over and I a ready for it to be over.....though it's supposed to be 110 degrees on Saturday. Sigh...now if the weather wouldsimply agree with us!!!

A Glimmer....

Sunday morning rolled around early... too early. We were expected to be at a meeting at 9am for seminary for the kids. We woke up at 8:30am and knew we weren't going to make it to that meeting. Hubby rolled over happy to fall back asleep and be lazy....it is Stake Conference after all. MORMON HOLIDAY!!!! Just kidding. With all my struggles. I actually made everyone get out of bed and start getting ready. I dragged them to Stake Conference and made them come with smiling faces.

And we sat....in the hard chairs. UGH! I figured 30 minutes would be enough to make it and get a good seat...but alas!!! No!!! I sat listening to the talks, trying to gain whatever spiritual glimpse I could get. At the end of the two hour block, I felt a glimmer....a spark....burning in my heart as the Stake President spoke. And for that small glimmer that lasted 5 seconds at the most....it was worth it.

Encouraging Insanity

My job...encourages my insanity. I am encouraged to have fun with my job and complete some pleasant surprises for the guests checking in. We have one guest....dear Mr Erwin. Mr Erwin wasn't feeling well today. I asked him if there was anythign I could do to help him and he turned me down. Instead he walked away and went to work. Not willing to sit by I took a Get Well Soon card and wrote him a little message:

"Mr. Erwin, I hope you feel better, so we can have a "ball" again soon!!" Again offering any assistance if he needs anything. The card was accompanied by a fully inflated beach ball to great him as he came in.

Later he came back. I again told him to let me know if he needs anything. He said he would be fine. About 20 minutes later he emerged from his room and came downstairs for a nice cup of tea. He looked at me with a smile on his face. He said :"You are a sweetheart. Thank you for making me smile...I needed it."

Mission Accomplished.....AND my insanity carried on. My manager thought it was great and told me to keep a look out for anyone else I can help. I love it!

Waiting.....

Do you ever find yourself waiting? Waiting for a bus? Waiting at the checkout stand? Just waiting?

That's where I'm at right now. Tonight I am blogging from the fabuloso employee lounger here at the Residence Inn near the Alamo. My shift ended an hour ago and now I sit and wait for hubby to swing by after his shift and pick me up. Today he started back to the late hours, a sure sign that school is about to re-start as he is a custodian. He will be off work in fifteen minutes and will then head over to pick me up....if he remembers. Will he remember?! There is no guarantee.

This is yet another problem with having only one car in the family. However, this is the only night this week I am working late. Tomorrow, I have to be here bright and early for a training class. Hubby offered me to stay overnight, but I declined. The last thing I need to do is spend the night at work.

So, I am catching up on e-mail, paying the bills, making sure none of my kids are on Facebook this time of night...typicfal Mom stuff.

What do you do while you are waiting?

How Do I Fall In Love With Church Again?!?!

This move has been a good one on so many levels, but challenging on far too many others. My first year here I attended church perhaps 10....maybe 12 times. The rest of my family attended every Sunday. That distance from church weighs heavily on a person's soul.

Since changing my position I find myself being able to attend church more often. My problem? I've lost all my heart and love for it. I found myself no enjoying the sweet music declaring praises to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. I know at some point I will, but does anyone have any suggestions on how to fall in love with church again?

On Sacred Ground...

The one bonus to working downtown is the route I come into work. As you all know, the bus is my main form of transportation. I come into the downtown area and I walk...I'm early and I have plenty of time to wander and explore. AND before you ask...wnadering the streets so early in the morning is more than safe in San Antonio. There are so many security guards getting off duty for the night you never need worry. Besdies, Texas is the land of people carrying their own guns....totally safe. Even though we are the 7th largest city in the US we really have a small town feel when it comes to the people. Enough said!!!

Back to the thought at hand. As I walk in to work I end up passing the Alamo every single workday I come in. As I walk along the Alamo walls I run my fingers across the lichen covered walls. I will never forget the phrase: "Remember the Alamo!" That battle cry passes through my mind whenever I go into work. No, my job is nothing like a battle. I will admit this much. However, I remember to do my best in whatever situation I might find myself. Not with guns, but a smile and kindness do I use for my battles. All in all it is a good thing in rememberance of the valiant men who lined the broders of an American Icon.

GONE.....

Gone....is my sanity
Gone....are my kids
Gone....are my old friends at work
Gone....is my comfort zone
Gone....is my monstro commute

I AM SOOOOOO THANKFUL!!!!

Seriously, my commute is amazing compared to what I used to deal with. When I am off work...I walk to my bus stop, I get to the transit center and my next bus is almost there. Then the long walk home.

My kids? Oh they're off having fun at EFY and I am thrilled they get some downtime away from the computer, away from Mom & Dad but still in a structured environment.

New job? Loving it!!! I am completely enjoying what I do and loving the fact that I can transfer all reservations calls to the Res Center I came from. Oh yeah!!! Life is good!!! I've got a plan and I am looking forward to learning even more. Best of all....I see Heavenly Father's plan unfolding....and I am grateful!!!!

Taking a Deep Breath....

Tomorrow is going to be a different sort of day....to be sure.

I start my new position tomorrow at the front Desk of the Residence Inn. It should be interesting, and FUN. Oh yeah, Fun to learn something new, to get to know new people and have new faces to greet every single day. It sounds like I'm joining a wonderful crew as everyone I spoke to in my office sung praises to the people I am being blessed to work with. So, at 4am I will wake and shower, prepare my lunch and then head off on the bus for my first short commute.

No more 3 1/2 hour commutes each way...it's now 1 1/2 hours total. SWEET!!!

Tonight, however, I will say good night to all three of my kids for the last time until Saturday. Tomorrow after I am at work and starting my new leraning process, Hubby will embark on his own adventure to take all three kids and drop them off at EFY.

Tomorrow night when I come home the house will be empty and I won't have to worry about cooking dinner for everyone, cleaning up after anyone, except Hubby. I am frightened by the concept of not having all of them around. I'll enjoy a bit more of the quiet and not having to hear any of them saying: "Can I go on Facebook?"

Tomorrow, will be a bittersweet day....good thing Hubby is taking me to the movies, to take my mind off it all, because at some point I'm going to have to exhale.

Hiatus....

Yes...I've been on hiatus for awhile. My mind has gone 5 bajillion miles a inute and it seemed as if my life had been rushing right past my head at incredible speeds. It has finally slowed a bit and changes have been made in my life.....hopefully for the better.

First and formeost my biggest change has been my workplace. I am still within the Marriott system, but have interviewed....another 5 bajillion times....for various positions in hopes of disconnecting myself from the computer. I know, I know.....it's not a bad job. I also know many of you love to chat on the phone. However, when you are paid to talk on the phone for 8 hours a day with barely a chance to take a sip of water in between your incoming calls...it can become fairly tedious. So, I've applied and was accepted to transfer into a front desk position at the beautiful Residence Inn Downtown Alamo Plaza. Yes, I will walk past the Alamo twice as I walk to and from work. Yes, I will still put a pleasant smile on my face as I greet each of the guests and provide information as well as directions to various areas of San Antonio. However, my commute to and from work has also shrunk considerably. Instead of 3 1/2 each way on the bus to work, I will commute 1 1/2 hours each way to and from work. Much better!!!!

This alone will save my sanity. Not only that I will be able to finally learn different haspects of the hotel industry that I've not had a chance to learn up till now. That is a wonderful bonus!! My hours will change considerably. For example. All the week I am working 7-3pm. Instead of the crazy hours I've worked in the past there are truly only a couple hsifts I will deal with. Everyone takes turns working the later shift from 3-11pm. We all rotate through and take our chances. For the most part we work 7-3pm...as that is the busiest portion of the day.

Saying good-bye was difficult yesterday as chances are I will enver work with the poeple I've gotten to know so well. I became a bit tearful as I walked into work finding a banner above the normal desk I sit, wishing me well. At lunchtime I was surprised as a cake was brought out that my teammates had donated money to buy. And it was delicious!!! By the time I left I was nearly in tears as everyone and I mean everyone was hugging me and wishing me well. Our HR director stopped by to tell me how excited she is for me new position because she knows I will do fabulously well there. Every manager stopped by to wish me well and give me encouragemnt. I was so thankful. I was excited as ever as each of them gave me glowing reports of the management and the team I will be working with.

I see the Lord's hand in all of this. At times in these many interviews I've wondered if I was getting any help from above as I pleaded in preayer for help with the interview process....always without an answer. I was needing to be patient and wait until this time to work with this team to work these hours. This is what makes me most emotional. To think with every other problem on this earth, my employment and happiness meant something to Heavenly Father. I've found the four hardest words to utter in my life are: "I know I matter."

Therapy Needed....

So, being that walking is still not my forte so to say, I am still stuck in my blasted chair. I've forced myself to walk around the block even though afterwards I can't walk. I simply hobble around here and there. Anyway, more to the point...having three teenagers the first thing they ask as they come on in from school: "Can I go on Facebook?!" How can I not have fun with them?!?!?!

When my dearest Bee walked in she asked me her fatal question. To which I replied:

"Absolutely.....after you touch my scab." Devious me smiled and she danced for nearly 20 minutes. I was nearly in tears laughing so hard tryingto catch my breath. I was unable to tell her I was simply joking before she danced her way over and gently touched all the while cringing...

Yes, my daughter will now need therapy for the rest of her life....because I am her mother.

"Cast" Away

No, I am not sitting on a deserted island, though it is Spring Break and my two girls are PMSing big time so it does sound quite tempting, My cast was removed on Tuesday. I thought I'd be up and running and all would be fine....Boy was I wrong!!!

The cast was removed and I was left with a foot wrapped and bandaged. Needling to leave it for 48 hours without unconvering it I found myself dying to see my foot and how bad it was. Now I regeret it. Why did I even want to look?

If you are queasy I suggest you forward past the picture coming

May I present: "FRANKENFOOT!!!!"



Yup, it used to be a cute little foot. So "little" is strestching it a bit. I confess, I'm a size 10. Anyway, I no longer have a simple normal foot. No it's a huge scarred mass of footage. Bummer.

I'm looking forward to walking with less and less pain as the time goes on. It's a good thing to know I'm almost done with this. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Ahhh Yesterday.....

I felt a bit more human yesterday as I slept in a bit longer and for the first time in two and half weeks I got up, showered, and got dressed in my truly adorable suit I bought a month earlier. Now, I will tell you I've bathed every single day, but this is the first time I've dressed up for the day. Hubby got home from picking the kids up from seminary and dove under the covers to snag 8 hours before needing to leave for work later that afternoon.

Me?!

I was on my way downtown for an interview. By all means I am soooo a Marriott girl for life and would love to stay with this company until I retire, but for a different position on property. I was able to get myself in the position to be interviewed for a high profile position in the property. At this property over 1,000 groups come through every year. Only 6 poeple coordinate these groups and create the groups in the system. They are the ones that deal with the clients and are there to greet the groups as they come in. I love the thought of working with a close knit group. I love the fact that I am responsible for the clients as they come in and my job is to make sure their group's visit is memorable enough to bring them back next time. One problem....I am one of 5 interviewing. I think I rocked the interview and was brought up to meet everyone in the group. Now I simply have to wait until the decision is made....beginning of next week, they said.

Of course, I've been through enough interviews to simply say...."We'll see"

All I can ask is prayers...this is a monday through friday position with few appearances on the weekend required. Church attendance every week would be VERY possible.

Less than 4 months and Counting...

I never really thought about it...Who does?! It almsot sounds like a dirty word to so many. I was recently at my daughter's school a young girl was telling her girlfriend that she would rather be shot than turn 30. I stifled my laughter as my daughter and I rolled our eyes. 30 is when you're just tarting to live. You know what the world is like and you simply don't care. You are who you are and that's all there is to it



My 20's were years that tested my mental health as I struggled with my identity. being a bride and mother at the age of 21 was difficult yet not altogether impossible. having 3 kids in 3 years sent me nearly over the edge. Looking back...I was weak. I wouldn't change a thing. I am who I am and that's all I can say.


This year, July 1st, I am celebrating my age. I am stepping out a woman of distinction in knowing what I want. Many women shy away from 40. They believe it's halfway to the grave. But I declare 40 to be the greatest age on earth. I will celebrate the woman I've become after staggering through some mind numbing trials and some incredibly beautiful triumphs.

So what do you think?! Is 40 beautiful or what?!?!?

Field Trip...Texas Style!!!

If there's one thing you learn living in Texas is that it's not unusual to drive an hour or more to reach a good barbecue place. And Oh Yeah!!! We found just the spot to hit the spot.

Black's Barbecue in Lockhart, Texas.



The biggest draw is their Brisket and Homemade Suasage Links. Filling up your plate is a new concept. You grab a tray and a plate. Side dishes are extra and you buy your meat by the pound. Sausage links are ordered by the link. Don picked up 2 lbs of brisket and 5 homemade sausages, 2 regular, 2 garlic and 1 jalapeno. So yummy!!!!

Much to my kids' dismay I've been enjoying the Brendan Fraser marathon of movies this past week. No...I didn't write a long e-mail to the station asking for all the Brendan Fraser they could give me.....3 movies in 2 days. SuhWeet!!! I enjoy action and comedy rolled into one. So...yeah...I love the Mummy movies and saw Journey to the Center of the Earth for the first time last night. I so needed to laugh...this not walking thing is going to send me over the edge!!!

Well, have a Rip Roarin' Day!!!!

Gimpalooski and Other Thoughts...

All right, so after meeting with my fabulously incredilbe doctor who has singlehandedly removed the horrid pain from my foot and replaced it with a healing pain, which I find frighteningly bearable I am doing fairly well. I still gimp around and resemble Sir Gimp-A-Lot, but whatever, the lack of pain I was used to is gone and that's all that matters.

School is going fairly well. I am frustrated in some classes but soaring in others. Who knew when you really care about going to school it could go so easily. I am in a huge battle with my oldest to graduate with a degree, albiet an Associate's Degree, but a degree nonetheless, before she receives her high schoo, diploma. I've got time as she is only a sophmore. Secretly, she told me she wants to be there at my graduation and if I graduate after she is off to college there's a chance she won't be there. So, that is why I push. I look forward to a summer without classes and enjoy some off time before picking up again in the fall. We shall see how it all goes. I will continue to push on the way I need to to amke it on through,but as long as I don't start some Charlie Sheen rants I am counting myself as all right.

Seriously, he has made my job as a parent easy.....See kids, this is what taking drugs does to you. After watching his tirades and pouting I feel sort of sorry for the guy. How could he have gotten THAT screwed up. He is one of our Father in Heaven's children after all. How could his friends and family let him get to that point without trying to intervene. Or perhaps they did, but couldn't succeed. It's a sad testament to the world. Satan is still out there...and he is real.

I am thrilled to announce all three of my kids are signed up to go to EFY this year together, but seperately. Does that even make sense? Anyway, they are going to be here in San Antonio, but simply have a week on their own in a wonderful program. They'll also each have a week of camp going on. For the girls...they'll be home a day and a half before heading off to camp. Now that'll be interesting....that's for sure. I think they'll have a great time and some great experiences this summer. Never dull I must say...never dull.

Other than that I am simply wasting my time online...annoying my friends on facebook . My only job right now is to take the kids to seminary. I enjoy it...though I ahve to peel myself out of bed so early....at least I can take a nap in the morning. it's a good thing. A very good thing methinks.

Have a great day everyone!!!

I Really Am Here!!!

Well, my life has slowed down for the moment. I find myself in a situation I'm not used to. I am off work for a minimum of 3 weeks, but find myself grateful I chose to have disability insurance both short term and long term. The Lord always knows what we need even when we don't. This foot situation is a long time coming. I've had a pain in my foot I've tried to ignore for over 5 years. Think of it as having a knife shove into your heel everytime you take a step. Uh...yeah....and I ignored it. Anyway, I FINALLY went under the knife today and I am on the road to the mend.

I'm also in the middle of my first semester back at school. I've found it a hard transition back. I'm not used to studying like I used to back in school. I'm doing very well in some classes and struggling in others. We shall see what happens there, but I will defintiely try not to be a stranger on this blog any longer.