My opinion of Saints Bountygate

Of all the NFL teams I am amazed the NFL is choosing the Saints to set their example. The Saints? Really?! Couldn't they have picked a stronger defensive team to go after? It's not like the Saints are known for having an intimidating defense. Don't get me wrong, I love the Saints, but this is not the famous Dome Patrol defense of the 80s/90s. Actually, I wonder if anyone on the Saints defense has ever even cashed out on this bounty, but so what if anyone did. This is honest to goodness hard hitting FOOTBALL people. I know I'm just a girl, but isn't the point of the defense to sack the quarterback and hopefully force a fumble, or to tackle the offensive player with the ball? Hasn't the NFL even cashed in themselves making money from DVDs like "The NFL's Greatest Hits","The Best of Thunder and Destruction - NFL's Hardest Hits","Crush Course", "Extreme Hits", and the like? So, is the lesson here that it's okay for the NFL to make money, but not the players putting themselves on the line?

Come on, NFL, you are the National Football League, not Powder Puff football. These players make damn good money to play football and we the people pay damn good money to watch it. Let them play! They all know what they signed up for. Yes, it's a hard hitting game and I think most players wouldn't have it any other way. It's football for Pete's sake. Kurt Warner and Brett Favre are 2 quarterbacks the Saints defense put the most pressure on and both have spoke out on the Saints behalf. Yes, the Saints put aggressive pressure on them, but this is football. This bounty program offered incentives for good legal hard hits. I thought that was what football was all about and if anyone needed an incentive program it was the Saints. I fail to see what the problem is with the bounty. Don't most lines of work offer incentives and/or bonus programs? Why not football? As long as the hits are legal and not done out of malice or hostile disrespect, let them play.

Maybe the Saints and their fans should take it as a compliment. The Saints have come such a long way from being mockingly referred to as The Aints. No one ever thought the Saints would ever win a Super Bowl, but it happened. The days of the Aints are gone and we actually have a strong team with respectable coaches. Seems like the NFL doesn't like that the Saints are finally getting some respect. Bounties are nothing new to football and it's certainly not unique to the Saints. It's been said that all teams do it and it's pretty common practice among all teams, so why choose the Saints to make an example of? Personally, I think it's because the Saints are the Aints no more. I think it's because the Super Bowl will be in New Orleans this year and the NFL doesn't want the Saints in it. But, you know what, and this is of no disrespect to Coach Payton at all, I am naive enough to think we still have a chance. When Coach Payton hurt his knee last season they continued to win games. I think a big part of that is due to Drew Brees' leadership, and to that cute baby faced Carmichael guy (hey, I like Saints football, but I never claimed to be an expert). Come on Saints, you got this. We may have lost our head coach for the season, but we still have our Defensive and Offensive coaches. The Saints have risen up in time of adversity in the past and they can do it again. Just Believe.

7 months

I can not believe it's been 7 months since I've blogged. Where has the time gone?! So many good intentioned New Years resolutions never even started. The same ones I make every year. Write more, create more, get healthy and take better care of myself, and just plain ole do more things that make me happy. Simply put, improve my overall well being. Well... Better late than never, right? Let's see what I can think of what has happened over the last 7 months.
1) I became an aunt again, and a great aunt a couple of times.
2) Both Benjamin and Samantha made principals list at school. WooHoo!!
3) Ben placed 1st in his den at the Cub Scout pinewood derby car race.
4) His den went golfing yesterday to receive their golf belt loop.
5) Last night was Ben's first night sleeping at someones home who wasn't a relative. When I made that comment Benjamin informed me that he was with family, he was with his scout family. He spent the night at his den leaders house with the rest of the den.
6) I've been in such a lazy funk. A horrible case of the don't wants. I definitely haven't been taking care of myself. I've been eating whatever I want. Things like that Burgers and fried okra shown here from Burgersmith, accompanied by a nice refreshing Coca-Cola. Yummm. Seems like with all the restaurants in the Lafayette area we would have at least 1 that served gluten free/vegan/organic type foods. Not just bakery items, but a full out restaurant. I keep saying I have to get back on my "diet" and stop eating all those foods causing me inflammation. But, before I stop, maybe I can have one more go at Burgersmith before going wheat free again.

Life and Death

I've lost 2 relatives this year. First, my mom's brother died on Memorial Day. Then my grandfather passed away this week. My Uncle Wilson was 85 years old, and my grandfather would have been 99 in December. My husband's great aunt also passed away this week. She was also 98 years old. I'm so thankful that each of them lived such long full lives, but it's got me thinking. Why is it some people live such long lives, while others are taken from us far too soon? Life is definitely a mystery that way. No one knows how much time we have here on earth. You hear songs about live like you're dying and sayings like live each day as if it were your last, but how many of us really live that way? If I knew today was my last day would I really be typing this entry right now? Maybe. I probably would post something for my family to remember me by. I'd thank the people who loved me and stood by me. I'd tell the people I loved that I loved them. Maybe even throw in a few stories for people to remember. That's brings me to something else I've been thinking. If I died right now, exactly how would people remember me? Would I be remembered as a brat, or an even worse b-word? Would people remember me as sweet and quiet, or rude and loud? I think there are so many sides to people and maybe we only share certain sides to certain people. But doesn't everyone deserve your best side all the time? Wouldn't it be horrible to be nasty to someone then that is the last time they see you and ultimately how they remember you? So, not only should you live each day as if it were your last, but you should also live your life the way you want to be remembered for. I guess there's nothing like death to put life in prospective. Off to make each day count and 1) live today like it's my last and 2) live the life I want to be remembered for. By the way, if you're reading this post then chances are we know each other and hopefully like each other, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and say "I love you, and I appreciate you for taking the time to read this post".

Photo: taken 12/19/2010. 4 generations of LeBlanc men. My grandfather is 2nd from left. It was his 98th birthday, and my nephew Luke's 2nd birthday.

July 25th is...

one of my favorite days of the year. It's the day John and I got married. Wow, hard to imagine it's been 19 years already. As I was looking through my photos I realized John and I don't have very many photos of just us together. I've got photos with him and the kids, me and the kids, but not many of just John and I. What's up with that? Samantha and Benjamin both have cameras, plus they are always wanting to snap pictures with my camera. I think the new rule is gonna be if they want to use my camera they're gonna have to take a pictures of John and I first. We need more photos together. The photo here is the last photo I could find of us together. The date? 12/31/2009. How sad is that? Surely it hasn't been 1.5 years since the 2 of us have had a picture taken of just the 2 of us? Well, that's just not acceptable. We're gonna have to change that and I think we'll start tonight. We're planning on going out to supper to celebrate our anniversary and I think it's time John and I start sitting on the same side of the dinner table and the kids can snap a photo of us. Maybe that can be a new tradition. At least that way we're guaranteed at least 1 photo of us together each year. Yep, I like the sound of that.

What are YOU good at?

I can't help but think of Fiona Apple's song "Criminal" because I've been a bad, bad girl and I'm looking for a good defense. I can't believe it's been almost 5 months since I've blogged. Bad blogger, bad. I have been so lazy lately. I haven't been blogging, or doing anything creative lately, and I really do miss it. I have to get out of this creative funk I'm in. I need to stop thinking so much and just do it. Recently I picked up my treadmill habit and as I was walking and listening to Abra Moore I was thinking... "Man, I wish I could sing, I wish I could play guitar" and the wishing continued. I wished I was good at a sport, any sport. I wished I could draw and paint. I wished I could cook and bake. And I continued to wish I could do various things. Then I realized what I was really thinking was I wished I was good at something. I wished I was good at anything. It really got me thinking and the only thing I could think of that I was really good at was my job. It was kinda depressing. Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy I'm good at my job and that I have an amazing work ethic (thanks Dad!) but is it so wrong to wish I was good at something fun? Something creative. Aren't most people good at their hobbies? I've got so many hobbies and I don't think I'm good at any of them. I enjoy them, but they don't come easy. I'd like to think that's why I enjoy them, because I really have to work at them, but I'm not sure that's the case. I'll have to give this topic a bit more consideration. In the mean time, I'll be looking for something that comes easy to me, and something that I enjoy that I'm really good at. Maybe I just haven't found what I'm good at yet?

Feb 18th, I HATE YOU!

I hate Feb 18th. Yes, I know hate is a strong word, and it might sound strange to hate a date, but not if it's a day a loved one died. This date will be a constant reminder that my Mom is gone. 7 years ago, Feb 18th took someone very special away from me. I will never again be able to hug and kiss, or ask my mom for advice.

I was 35 years old and 7 months pregnant for Benjamin. My mom was 35 when she had me. She was 69 when she died and I was born in 1969. It was 6 months before her 70th birthday and 8 months after celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary.
I know I should be thankful I had her for 35 years. There's a lot of people who lose their mothers at a much younger age, but not having a mom SUCKS. I miss her and think of her often. It just doesn't seem fair that people have to die. It's hard sometimes to look at the bigger picture. Life is not about the here and now, it's about the here after. It's not about this life, it's about preparing for the afterlife. I know this, and it does give me a sense of peace, but I still miss her dearly.

SMASH video

This looks amazing. I can't wait to start smashing...

Welcome 2011

Wow, where has the time gone? I can't believe I haven't posted since Aug. Sorry about that. Well, it's a new year so you know what that means. It means another chance to say you're going to do something you should have already been doing anyway. LOL. So many people (myself included) say they are going to lose weight, start exercising, eat right, etc. We do know we can start doing that any time, right? There's not some written rule that says we have to wait until the New Year, right?! Another one of my NYRs is to give my lonely little blog some much needed attention. If I'm not mistaken that was one of my NYRs last year, too. Geesh, get with it woman. Sorry for the rambling post, but I really don't have anything to write about at this time, but I find that the more I blog the more I want to blog. Hopefully this post will be the kick in the pants I'm hoping it will be to get my creative juices flowing. I haven't created anything in forever. I had a very unproductive 20101. Guess it's time to turn off the TV and wean myself from Facebook, my 2 time thieves. Gonna try to be more creative in 2011. Here's to a happier, healthier, more creative 2011.

Photo: Taken 12/29/2010; Audubon Zoo; New Orleans, LA

Toxic Food Syndrome

Back in April I had my annual checkup and my doctor and I discussed the usual (my being tired all the time, having no energy, and still experiencing headaches on a near daily basis). She ordered some blood work and my cholesterol was 217 and I was calcium deficient. Oh-Oh. Time to get serious and start exercising and taking vitamins. I decided I was sick and tired of being down and out all the time and decided that life was too short to be miserable. Time to get fit and get happy. I started walking and taking a multi vitamin and a calcium supplement. After a month I still wasn't feeling much better. In fact, I was feeling pretty crappy. I had developed a crick in my neck that wasn't going away. I had never been to a chiropractor before and swore I'd never go to one (for fear of them breaking my neck and leaving me paralyzed). Anyway, enough was enough. After all, I had just pledged my new found desire for health and happiness, right? So in May I had my initial visit with a chiropractor. As he was examining me he mentioned that my body was full of inflammation. Every place he touched/tapped me left serious red marks. He said it looked like I had been attacked by an octopus. The appt went okay and I was to see him 3 times that week. I finally gained some mobility in my neck, and with each visit he mentioned how much inflammation I had in my body. I finally asked what that meant? Why did I and what did he think was causing it. He said it was probably food allergies. I told him I did not have allergies and he smiled and said most people were allergic to 1) wheat 2) dairy and/or 3) nuts and don't even realize it. I asked if that could make me feel run down all the time and have headaches and he said absolutely. After a couple more visits (and a couple more mentions about inflammation) I asked the question. "How do I find out if I have food allergies?" He said I could take a blood test to find out. He had a blood kit that I could bring to any lab and they would draw the blood and mail it off to "Immuno Bloodprint" that specializes in food allergies. I decided to find out if something I was eating had been making me feel like crap for about the last decade. They tested 155 most common food allergy items and I was allergic (sensitive) to 21 foods. I had no idea. When people have food allergies they know it. Their tongue can swell and it can get hard to breathe, etc. But what about people who have sensitivities? Well, anywhere from a couple of hours after eating to a couple of days after eating they can get headaches, fatigue, joint pain, mental problems, (depression, anxiety, irritability, mood swings, confusion), sinusitis, insomnia, or excessive sleepiness. Wow! That's pretty much me in a nutshell. Now, about these 21 food items. Most I eat on a daily basis, some I eat at nearly every meal. Among the foods I'm sensitive to are wheat, brewers yeast, tomatoes, pineapple, mushrooms, yellow squash, cabbage, cauliflower, kidney beans, pinto beans, lobster, oysters, perch, scallops, tuna, snapper, pork, and a few other items I rarely (if ever) eat. There is a Lean Cuisine frozen dinner "Butternut Squash Ravioli" that I absolutely loved and ate about 3 times a week. What's in it? wheat, squash, mushrooms. Wow. Something I eat at least 3 times a week that has 3 items in it I shouldn't be eating at all. This whole process has been such a learning experience. Example: when I first saw "wheat" on my list I wasn't that upset. Heck, I don't really like wheat bread anyway. I do like wheat thins (especially with cream cheese and hot pepper jelly) but I could live without eating wheat bread. YEAH RIGHT. Did you know that basically anything fried, baked and/or bread-like are most likely made with wheat? I sure didn't. Breads, pizza, croutons, crackers, cakes, pies, cookies, muffins, pasta, pretzels, waffles, pancakes, poptarts... WHAT? I had no idea. Also, anything thickened such as soups, gravy, sauces, and gumbo. WHAT? I started looking through my pantry checking out the ingredients and noticed how at the very end of the list of ingredients are those dreadful words in all caps and in bold print "CONTAINS WHEAT INGREDIENTS". Check it out. I kid you not. Wheat is in EVERYTHING! This is about the time I started to cry. What was I supposed to eat? All I could thing about was what I couldn't eat. No more Pizza (wheat/tomato/mushroom). No more Mexican. How can I possible eat Mexican food without tomatoes, especially salsa? No more sandwiches, burgers, or delicious Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli.

It's been more than 2 months since I've been avoiding these food sensitive items. I'm still walking and taking my vitamins/calcium and vitamin D supplements, and I try to get out in the sun as much as I can. That was another thing the chiropractor suggested I get tested for. Come to find out most people who are calcium deficient are also Vitamin D deficient, as well as most people with high cholesterol have lower levels of Vitamin D. He was right, I was also Vitamin D deficient. So, lets sum up the last few months for you. Found out my cholesterol was high, my calcium and vitamin D was low, and I've got food sensitivities. I started walking, taking vitamins, getting sun when I can, and avoiding food that have been making me sick. I think I'm finally starting to get back to myself again. I'm definitely not 100% yet. Far from it. I'm still tired and worn out pretty much all the time, but I've gone a couple weeks at a time without a headache. That was unheard of before I started watching my sensitive foods and reading up on Toxic Food Syndrome. I really don't think the improvement had to do with the walking or vitamins because I was doing that for almost 2 months before I was tested for the food allergies and/or before I actually understood what that meant. Wheat bread and wheat thins. Ha! What a maroon? Yep, I'm getting my sense of humor back, too. Gotta love bugs.

I've been a little creative lately...

... and it feels wonderful. I totally skipped posting in March, probably because I've been busy creating. I just realized my February post mentioned 2 of my loves. Scrapbooking and music. Well, I took an on-line class at BigPictureScrapbooking called Life Tunes. It combined those 2 loves. It's one of the few classes I've taken where I actually completed each of the assignments. It felt awesome to complete something. The pages are done, I just need to add photos to some of the pages. I really enjoyed that class. I also recently took another online class at Get it Scrapped called Art Journaling 101 with Dina Wakley. This class is/was way out of my comfort zone, but I'm really enjoying getting my hands dirty with Gesso and Paint. So much so I even went to Books a Million to buy a couple of books on art journaling. Definitely out of my comfort zone, but I'm really liking it.

Oh yeah, one more thing... I also participated in an ATC swap last month. See, I told you I've been busy creating things. And like I said... It feels good.

Photo: a couple pages from my art journal. Backgrounds only. Still needing to collage and add text.

Scrappin' and Rockin' Valentine's Day 2010

Hope everyone is having as wonderful of a Valentine's Day as I am. John gave me these 2 gorgeous buckets filled with scrapbooking goodness. They were only $10 at Sam's Club. He said the album was worth that, even if I didn't want all the stuff inside. I told him it was. The bucket they were in was well worth the $10, too. Besides, what's not to love about the flowers, buttons, and ribbons inside. Plus chipboard letters, stamps, an ink pad, fibers, etc. I love them. I probably wouldn't have bought them myself, but it's nice that John thought enough about me to buy them for me.

Oh... and to top it off. He also got me and Samantha tickets to go see Flyleaf, Three Days Grace, and Breaking Benjamin. Woo Hoo!! Now is that a Rockin' Valentine's Day, or what?! Two of my greatest loves. Scrapbooking and Music. Does my hubby know what I like, or what?

So long January

Where did January go? It's already February and I haven't even started my new year resolutions yet. I didn't really make any, it's just same ones I make every year. You know the ones... exercise, get fit, drink more water, no more sodas, take my vitamins, go to church regularly, etc. This year I decided I needed to add some creative resolutions as well. Not big ones, just baby ones. I was hoping to start blogging more and scrapbooking more. So I added... update my blog at least once a month, and create at least 1 scrapbook layout a month. I came to the realization that I spend entirely too much time on Facebook. Last week I decided Facebook would need to become a reward. No Facebook until after I walk and/or create something. It actually worked. At least for a couple of days. I think I had 3 consecutive days of walking/water/vitamins prior to logging onto Facebook.

Well, consider this a belated January post. And since I hate to post without a photo. Here's a picture of me on my 41st birthday. John got me a King Cake for my birthday this year. I loved it. Don't know why we hadn't thought of it before. I think I want to make this a tradition and have John pick up a King Cake for my birthday every year.

RIP James (The Rev) Sullivan

The drummer of Avenged Sevenfold, Jimmy (The Rev) Sullivan died today. He was only 28 and I think one of the best drummers. Normally when I listen to music I might beat the steering wheel with my thumb along with the bass guitar. Sometimes my fingers might dance along with the guitar melodies. Reliving my teen (and not so teen) dream of playing guitar and/or bass guitar. I can't recall ever wanting to play drums, unless I was listening to A7X. The Rev demanded my attention. There's just something about this band. They compliment each other so well, but I must admit, I'm usually drawn to the drums when I'm listening the them. I had the pleasure of seeing them at BuzzFest at The Woodlands, TX back in Oct 2006 (see photo). They were beyond amazing and by far my favorite band of the entire day/night. Rest In Peace, Jimmy. I know it's not your time, but bye bye baby, bye bye. For those of you who may not know Avenged Sevenfold, I'll add a couple of their songs in my playlist. I hope you enjoy it.

Simply Inspired

What an amazing weekend I had. I attended the Simply Inspired event in Lafayette. I had the amazing opportunity to meet some wonderfully talented ladies in the scrapbooking industry and take some awesome classes. In this photo: Jenni Bowlin of Jenni Bowlin Studios, Rebecca Cross of Pink Paislee, Margie Romney-Aslett, Debby Schuh, Layle Koncar, and Simply Scrappin store owner Elizabeth Avchin. Not shown in this photo was Teri Davis, who teaches classes at Simply Scrappin and also taught a class at the event. The weekend was amazing, exhausting, but as promised... I was completely Inspired.

The word "tender" will never be the same...

If you've watched Kung Fu Panda you probably remember the part when Po hurts his "tenders". Well, a couple weekends ago when out shopping for back to school shoes we went eat at Pete's on Johnston. Looking over the kids menu I asked Benjamin if he wanted Chicken Tenders. He started cracking up and said "You said tenders". That got the whole table laughing. Now fast forward to this morning. The kids are watching Shrek and they have always loved the part when Donkey is telling Shrek he has to wait for the part to interrupt the wedding and starts singing "You've Gotta Gotta Try a Little Tenderness". Well, that gets Benjamin going again... "He said Tenderness". Somehow I think the word "tender" will never be used again without bringing back memories of Kung Fu Panda and Po hurting his tenders. Ahhh, the joys of a 5 year old boy.

Everyone's Doing It

Got this idea from Cathy Zielske, who got it from Ali Edwards.

TODAY

Outside my window... The grass is long and really needs to be cut.

I am thinking... of going in my scrapbook room and creating something. But that would mean I'd have to clean it first and I'm not really digging that idea.

I am thankful for... Friends and Family who care about me. That my family is healthy.

From the kitchen... Left over Salmon salad and crackers.

I am wearing... Comfy grey pull on cropped pants and a pink Pebbles, Inc t-shirt.

I am creating... Not much of anything lately. Taking another on-line scrapbooking class at Big Picture Scrapbooking, so hopefully...

I am going... to do a lot of nothing this weekend. Guess that won't help my previous answer, huh? (heavy sigh)

I am reading... Just finished Janet Evanovich's Finger Lickin' Fifteen. Thinking of starting the Charlaine Harris Dead series or possibly, dare I say it, the Twilight series.

I am hoping... to find my creative mojo again someday. Also that my kids will actually get along one day.

I am hearing... my kids arguing, screaming, and fighting.

Around the house... lots of work (fixing up) that needs to be done. Kids toys everywhere.

One of my favorite things... Eating out. Listening to music. Movies. Scrapbooking. Spending time with family and friends.

A few plans for the rest of the week... It's the weekend, so I plan on relaxing and taking it easy. Then it's back to work on Monday.

Father's Day 2009

For Father's Day the kids decided to let their Dad have the wii control so he could play the wii for a change. We were looking at these celebrity mii's on the "Check mii out channel" that people had designed. One of them was a girl with the initials E.F. and her skill was singing. We looked at each other trying to figure out who E.F could be and he said "Isn't there an Emily Falconbridge?" I started giggling and told him she's a scrapbooker. I keep telling him he needs to start scrapping with me. It's good to know he actually listens to me, even when I talk scrapbooking. For those non scrappers who don't know who Emily Falconbridge is she's listed in my blogroll. Check her out, she's amazing. I took one of her classes from www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com and it was by far the best on-line class I've taken, and I've taken several.

Life is Busy

It's been a very busy couple of months. Between personal time off, holidays, vacation days, and furlough days, I don't think I've had a 40 hour work week in the last 12 weeks. I think it's gonna be very hard getting back to my regular work routine. We've ran tests, tests, and more tests on Samantha to find out what is causing her to have blood and protein in her urine. During a renal ultrasound of her kidneys they found stones in her gallbladder. The stones are totally unrelated to her kidney problem. After meeting with a Nephrologist (kidney specialist) we're still unsure what is causing the blood and protein, so they're running more tests. She had her gallbladder removed a couple days ago. She's doing fantastic. She's my little Rock Star. What a way to spend her summer vacation. I guess it's better to have all this going on now instead of during school.

Culinary Genius

My husband is a culinary genius. Why you might ask? Because who else would think to put Cheesy Popcorn Seasoning on shrimp? Yep, you read right. I know it may sound disgusting, but believe me, it was actually very good. I told him supper was excellent (as usual) and he told me I would never guess what he put on the shrimp. He was right. A little bit of olive oil, some Zatarains, and the surprise ingredient... Reese Cheesy Popcorn Seasoning. The man is amazing. He did it on a whim, and a tasty whim it was.

Jeremy Camp

This morning I thought I would put the radio on 99.9 to listen to the Polyester Power Hour (Disco) since I'm off work today on furlough. I couldn't find the station on John's radio, so I went into Samantha's room and cranked it up so I could hear it in my room. I thought I had found the right station, but after going back into my room to finish getting ready I realized it was on KAJN. This amazing song came on, so I went in her room to listen for the artist name. They said it was Jeremy Camp. They even repeated the name a couple times. (This rarely ever happens to me, when I want them to announce the artist, they never do). Anyway, when I came downstairs I decided to look him up. I clicked on the 1st video I found. It's not the song I heard this morning, but man it's just as good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBAhvI0TRDs - Jeremy Camp - This Man http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUzDOGzABSM - The song I heard this morning. Jeremy Camp - There will be a day.

Looks like I found the right station after all. Both songs made me cry like a baby. Powerful stuff.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend.

Love,
Therese

Back from Disney

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I've been spending the majority of my free time on Facebook. I'm not even spending much time reading my favorite blogs either. Damn you Facebook for being so addicting. It's been awesome catching up with classmates I haven't seen in years, but I'm finally catching up with it and need to get back to my blogging and blog surfing, so here goes...

We went to Disney for Easter holiday. I'm not sure what it is about that place, because we got sick again this year. We went last year for Mardi Gras and were sick then, too. You'd think we were a sickly family, but we're not. Must be the time of year. Oh well. We took 2 days going up, then 5 days at Disney, one day at the pool, then 2 days driving back. We were going to drive all the way back in 1 day, but when we got to Hammond, we hit that horrible weather and had to stop. Here's a quick recap of our week...

Magic Kingdom - hmmm, can't think of anything that exciting there. Go figure, it's usually my favorite park.

Animal Kingdom - Finally got to ride Expedition Everest. It was amazing. That goodness for Fast Passes. John and I each got to ride it twice because the kids couldn't/wouldn't. It's my new favorite ride at any of the parks. Rock n Roll Coaster is my 2nd.

Disney/Hollywood Studios - Got to ride Toy Story Mania. It's pretty fun, but waiting in line an hour was not. Although the wait line is pretty interesting. Actually scored Fast Passes for R&R Roller Coaster, but it expired while we were waiting in line for Toy Story Mania. Other than Toy Story Mania nothing too exciting. Probably my least favorite park of all Disney parks. Oh yeah, and we got to sit through the new American Idol Experience. It was really cool.

Epcot - Okay, this is my 2nd least favorite park, but not this time. This time we actually spent 2 days at Epcot. We had a blast doing the Kim Possible missions. It was so much fun. Also, they were having a flower and garden festival (which is not really my thing, at all) but I enjoyed it so much. They had these amazing topiaries throughout the park. So pretty. Also, United Kingdom had the cutest tea cups with plants. Samantha and I took a tea tour. It was very interesting.

Missing Mom

Today is the worst day of the year for me. It's the day I lost my mom. It happened 5 years ago today. Sometimes it still doesn't seem real. It still hasn't quite sunk in that I'll never have another conversation with her on this earth. This picture is of us on my wedding day (obviously). I thought my mom was positively breath taking, and so beautiful. We both had our hair and makeup done professionally and she was not at all happy with her look. I still think she looked amazing, but she hated it and thought she looked like a wild woman. There's not a person on this planet that could be further from the truth. She was an amazing person, and I miss her so much. I'd give anything for her advice, her fettuccini, or to hear her say her little "Praise the Lord".

My Littlest Stinker

Here's a conversation between me and Benjamin when I picked him up from school today.

Me: "How was your day?"

Benjamin: "Good. I got a sticker and a candy".

Me: Surprised I said "You did"?

Benjamin: "Yes, (pause) but it's invisible".

You little stinker. You're only 4 years old. I'm afraid I'm gonna be in big trouble when you're older.

Conversation: Today, 2/2/09.

Photo: Thanksgiving 2008 - Playing Rock Band at Nanny Susan's house.

Ughhh, it's pouring...

I'm sure you've all heard the saying, "When it rains, it pours", well, right now it's fricking pouring. In the last month our computer crashed and we had to replace it, my vacuum cleaner broke, John's car died, and now our dryer won't work. Another saying is bad things come in 3s. Well, I've got 4 things damn it. STOP -- I can't handle another 2. We got another PC (John and Is Christmas to each other - sucks), John just bought another vehicle so now we have 2 car notes, UGH - sucks again. My dryer is 16.5 years old, so I guess I shouldn't complain too much about that. Waiting for a repair guy now to see what that damage is gonna be. The only one we somewhat lucked out on was that I hung onto my old Rainbow vacuum from 16.5 years ago. Yeah, can you tell I've been married for 16.5 years, the dryer, the vacuum. Oh, let me throw one more little thing in the mix. The bar on the refrigerator door keeps falling off every time we open the door and everything on that shelf falls out. Just a little minor annoyance, but hey, I'll take that if it counts as my #5. So, anyway, here I am hoping it stops pouring soon so the sun really will come out tomorrow. Thanks Annie. I needed that.

First 2 layouts of 2009

I made 2 layouts pretty much exactly the same. One for each of the kids books. I need to maybe rethink how I am doing that. Instead of duplicating layouts I could just make 1 layout and put it in a family album. They can fight over the books when I'm gone. LOL. Nah, I'm pretty sure I'll continue to do what I'm doing. The 2nd layout usually goes pretty fast anyway.

I figured out I did 36 layouts last year. Not too bad for the girl who never scrapbooks, huh. I started out 2008 with a bang (12 layouts in January) then had a few 0 and 1 page months.

My goal is to complete more layouts in 2009 then I did in 2008. That should be totally doable right.

i am second

A must check out website...

http://www.iamsecond.com/

A big thank you to Monique McLean for posting this on her website. I greatly enjoyed the site.

Happy 2009

I'm sitting here thinking about what I'm going to eat for supper. I know, it's sad. It's Friday afternoon and John usually picks up sushi on his way home from work on Friday's. I'm thinking with the holidays and the broken work week, he'll probably forget it's Friday and come home empty handed. That would be okay with me, because I'm actually thinking about Amore's Pizzarama. There's usually not many people there, so if/when the kids act up, it's usually not that big a deal. Oh yeah, Amore's also offers frozen drinks. Mmmm, I think I could use one of those right now. I'm off work today because Benjamin's day care was closed for New Years. He and Samantha are quietly watching "Get Smart" (one of John's Christmas gifts) right now. At least for the time being. I'm sure it won't be long. Ahhh, here they go now. Samantha's yelling at Benjamin to take off her boots. Yes, he's wearing girls boots, but they're black and have buckles on them. In his little mind they are cool pirate boots.

So, what's everyones plans for the New Year? I typically don't make any New Year resolutions, but I think I need to change several things in my life. I turn 40 this year, in just a few days, in fact. I'm really looking forward to my 40s. I didn't particularly enjoy my 30s, or the person I was in my 30s. I figure it's time for me to grow up and be the Best Me I can be.

P.S. Sorry no photo. My home computer is still down. We got a new PC for Christmas, but it's still in the box. Maybe this weekend John will be able to get it up and going. Wish me luck.

Welcome Luke!

I'm an aunt again! For the 22nd time. Yep, you read right. I'm the youngest of 8 kids. This is my brother, Peter's 1st child. Now we all have kids. Welcome to Parenthood, Peter! It's amazing (and tiring) and beautiful. Can't wait to meet our newest addition to the family.

Proof kids live here...

I keep saying I'm going to clean off the fridge, but the truth is...
1) I'm not sure what I want to take off.
2) As soon as I clean it up, the kids think it's time to make something else.
3) It always ends up just like this anyway.

Free Hugs

Click on Free Hugs title above to be directed to a touching video.

Sorry it's been so long...

but my computer is sick. Real sick. It's unplugged and I've been unable to check emails, blog, or keep up with my on-line scrap classes at big picture, my creative classroom, and nyc scraps. I've been going crazy. Feel so unplugged, literally. I finally decided to blog on my work laptop (shhh) just to let everyone know. Just wanted everyone to know I'm not avoiding anyone.

On a sad note... my bff's father passed away last month. He will be missed by so many people who loved him. I'd like to share a story involving him. Back in high school I went to Lesa's house one weekend to pick her up. We did our usual mall, movie outing. I couldn't help but feel like everyone was looking at me as we walked the mall. We went to the food court to eat at Burger King. As we're at the counter ordering our food I heard a couple guys behind me talking about what color polka dots that girl had on her panties. My face flushed. The panties they were talking about were mine. I was wearing light yellow shorts with polka dot undies underneath. They were taking bets if they were blue or black dots. I had not noticed you could see my panties through my shorts when I was getting dressed. When our food arrived I turned and said they were blue polka dots, while quickly grabbing our food and heading to a table. The next day Lesa shared what happened with her parents, and Mr Richard said he had noticed before we left. I couldn't believe he had noticed and not said anything. He let me go out like that?! I was mortified. He thought I had meant for them to be seem. I know kids go through crazy fashion trends, but that's not one I would have followed. Hey, maybe I started that trend. How many times do we see visible bra straps and undies peeking out the top of pants. Okay, so it took 20 years for my fashion faux pas to take hold. Nah, not even I want credit for that one. God Bless, Mr Richard. You will be sadly missed.

Denis Leary Ignorant Comment

Just another entertainer to boycott...

Story taken from http://autism.about.com/b/2008/10/16/denis-leary-calls-out-autism-parents-will-you-join-the-fray.htm?nl=1

Denis Leary Calls Out Autism Parents; Will You Join the Fray?

Thursday October 16, 2008

Getty Images

A few months ago, shock jock radio host Michael Savage received an extraordinary amount of publicity by calling out autism dads:

"I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.' "

True, Savage lost some advertisers, but as the credit card ads say - "ads? $5,000. publicity all over the net and on primetime TV? priceless!"

Now, Denis Leary is tapping the same keg - and while I had hoped to avoid blogging on the subject, I was surprised this morning by seeing mention of Leary's ridiculous rants front and center on - AOL! AOL is nothing if not mainstream, so it seems that Mr. Leary has already succeeded in making a nickel off the backs of frustrated autism parents. Here's what he has to say (through the eyes of the Huffington Post):

In his new book, "Why We Suck: A Feel-Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid," the joke-slinging "Rescue Me" star writes about the brain disorder: "There is a huge boom in autism right now because inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can't compete academically, so they throw money into the happy laps of shrinks . . . to get back diagnoses that help explain away the deficiencies of their junior morons. I don't give a [bleep] what these crackerjack whack jobs tell you - yer kid is NOT autistic. He's just stupid. Or lazy. Or both."

Autism Speaks has already run a response, which seems to me to be measured and appropriate:

We are deeply disappointed that television personality Denis Leary would misuse his celebrity, compromise his reputation, and exploit the real challenges of individuals with autism in making his recent extremely disrespectful and hurtful comments. His words reflect a complete ignorance of and lack of sensitivity to the true plight of families facing autism. Autism is not a joke. It is very real, especially to the families and caregivers whose lives are forever changed when their loved one receives an autism diagnosis. Autism is recognized globally as an urgent healthcare crisis. Unfortunately, in a country built on the tenets of freedom of speech, sometimes people with access to the media are able to spread harmful mistruths. ...

Of course, this measured response isn't what Leary's looking for. By directly insulting US, the autism moms and dads, and suggesting that our kids are, in fact, lazy and stupid, he's appealing to our lowest instincts. What he wants is a good, solid, knock down drag out fight. Preferably in front of plenty of TV cameras, face to face with Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey - so the story will be presented front and center on every TV station in America.

What worries me is this: Denis Leary may get precisely what he wants.

The Best Husband Ever

As mentioned earlier I was in Minnesota last week. I had driven myself to the airport on Monday since I had such an early flight out and was going to have a late flight back home on Saturday. As I was standing in baggage claim waiting for my luggage, I feel someone touch my arm and say "Hi Mom". I was shocked to see Samantha there. I turned to see Benjamin and John joining us. John knew it was going to be a long travel day for me, so he picked up my favorite sushi rolls (Shannon, Hetti, and Julie) from Oishi Sushi, along with an Iced Tea and some Edamame. That man is the best thing to ever happen to me. He always seems to know exactly what I want or need. He never complains about my running around scrapbooking, or going up to the MN office. He even brings me sushi when I've been out of town. How Wonderful is that?!

Another Week in Minnesota

Well, I was in the Minnesota office last week for Customer Service Week. It's always nice to see everyone. Connects me with my fellow co-workers. Working from home is great, but it's nice to actually see people, too. On Friday my supervisor, Darrin, took the Billing support team to eat at Whiskey Creek. It was yummy. After we all went bowling. It was a riot. Here's a picture of us at Whiskey Creek. L-R: Wendie Engebretson, me, Darrin Wiest, Angie Gamradt, Sarah Anderson, Daina Lowe. (missing were BobbiJo Matt and Micky Clark). I must confess... I love working with these guys. My team rocks!

2nd layout this month!

It really is the simple things in life that make me happy.
1) This is the 2nd layout I've done this month. Yes, I really am excited about that. Why? Because I only did 1 layout in August and 0 layouts in July. So right now I've done twice as many layouts this month than I've done the last 2 months. Thanks to Valerie Salmon and Janna Wilson, and their Got Sketch 102 class. Yeah me, getting 2 layouts done this month!
2) I really (I think) adapted Valerie's sketch to meet my needs. Here's was a 2 page sketch, and I only needed one. Her's had star embellishments that I used for this layout. I'm usually one to follow a sketch pretty much exact, or as close as possible, and I did my own thing with this one. Stepping outside the box there. Yeah me, switching things up a bit!
3) Again, more stepping outside the box. I mixed Junkitz and Reminisce papers on this one. I usually stay within 1 product line when scrapping. Yeah me, mixing product lines!
4) Besides the Junkitz and Reminisce papers, everything else is scraps. Yeah me, using those scraps!

The journaling is hidden. It reads... Benjamin got breakfast brownies in bed for his 2nd birthday. He didn't know quite what to think when we woke him up singing Happy Birthday, but I think he enjoyed his birthday breakfast treat. April 2006.

Layout time

Yeah to GS102. I actually got a page done last weekend. It felt good to create something. My layouts a little plain, but I tend to lean more on the simple side. Benjamin's still a little drink thief. He loves snatching drinks. I really have to be careful when John makes me the occasional "adult" beverage.

Papers and embellishments are CTMH. Title is raw chipboard thickers inked brown.

Hurricane Season

Man I hate hurricane season. Gustav, then Ike. Hopefully that's the last storm that comes our way this season. I used to think the joke about Louisiana having 4 seasons (Hunting, Football, Crawfish, and Hurricane) was kind of cute, but it's just not cute anymore. I've lived here all my life and grew up living through them, but they are just getting worse and more frequent. It's really scary. I'm trying to think of somewhere we could move that we wouldn't have any type of natural disasters. Where in the US are there no earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, mud slides, etc? Does a place even exist? These last 2 storms have made me so cranky.

Meeting Janet Hopkins

I had the pleasure of taking 2 classes this past weekend from scrapbooker Janet Hopkins. She has the amazing job of scrapping for a living and designing for Heidi Swapp. Both of her classes were fantastic and she was so sweet. It's nice meeting scrapbook "celebrities" who are so down to earth. Please excuse the blurry picture (this was by far the better of the two). I guess I really should have asked to take the picture before the margaritas and before 2:00am rolled around. It was a long day.

http://janethopkins.typepad.com/

http://www.heidiswapp.com/

1st Day of School

I'd say Benjamin was excited about his 1st Day of School, wouldn't you?! Hopefully he'll be just as excited about it when I pick him up in a couple of hours. I can't help but wonder what he's doing right now. Can't help but wonder if his teacher is going to be able to handle him. She's got 16 kids in her class and I'm hoping they're not all as active as Benjamin is. We brought him to orientation last night and he Loved his classroom. He got to meet his teacher, Mrs Roxanna, and found where he's going to sit, etc. We went to his classroom first, then we went to Samantha's class. Benjamin asked if he could go back to his classroom, so I brought him to his classroom again. Mrs Roxanna said it was a good sign that he wanted to go back. He has been looking forward to "big boy school" ever since Samantha started at Mount Carmel last year. Hopefully he'll continue to enjoy school. It's so cute to see our little boy so stoked about school. Gotta love this kid!

Anniversary Date Night

My Sister kept the kids so John and I could have date night to celebrate our anniversary. It was nice to go out without the kiddos. We went see The Dark Knight (so-so, Heath Ledger was eery), then went eat at Pimon Thai (Amazing as usual). Then we caught a late night feature, Wanted. Not sure what I thought about that one. It was better than The Dark Knight, but still pretty unrealistic. Angelina Jolie was beautiful as usual. I just love her. Tattoos and all. I have wanted a tattoo since high school. I've thought I'd found what I wanted a couple of times, but always changed my mind. My latest tat I'm thinking of is a fleur-di-lis. One of these days I'll get one. The location changes too. I've always wanted one of the back of my shoulder, but I want one where I'll be able to see and enjoy it. Oh well. Back to my date... This morning on the way to get the kids John and I had one more meal without the kids. Zeus. It was Amazing as usual.

Sixteen Sweet Years

Yes, it was 16 years ago today that John and I got married. Hard to believe it's been 16 years already. Wow. I'm happy to say that we're still together and still incredibly happy. He's an amazing man and I would be lost without him. I will say that I miss the newlywed us, but I wouldn't change it for the experiences we've shared. Here's to us, sweetie!

Twist and Shout @ Magic Springs - Hot Springs, AR

On the last day of our Hot Springs family vacation we spent the day at Magic Springs Amusement park. It was terribly hot, but over all we all had a great time. Benjamin wasn't tall enough to ride a lot of the rides. One ride in particular he threw a fit about not being tall enough to ride was Twist and Shout. You rode in these cute little cars and he wanted to ride it so bad. John stayed with the kids while I went in line to ride. All the riders getting off the ride always looked liked they were just getting off this thrilling coaster. I thought it was so funny because it looked like this cute little kiddie coaster. I was having a hard time figuring out why you had to be 48" to ride. Well, let me tell ya. I'm sooo glad it was 48" because I'm scared what might have happened to Benjamin had he gotten on. There were times I thought I was going to fall out the car and those turns slammed me into the bar that was between the 2 riders. I couldn't wait to get off that damned ride, or should I say torture chamber. It was not fun, it was not thrilling, it was painful. I immediately bruised up. Check out the picture. The picture of me was taken 2 days after, but like I said, I immediately started bruising. If you ever go to Magic Springs, do yourself a favor and skip Twist and Shout. This ride should be banned. I googled it to get a picture of the coaster and found links were someone was actually killed on this ride when it was at another park and in 2006 a 45 yr old women fell out of the car and was hospitalized. I have no idea why this ride is still in operation. Riders Beware.

My Minnesota trip

Last week I had to go up to the Minnesota office for the week. I had a nice trip. Tuesday we had a team BBQ at a co-workers house. It was nice to meet everyones family. It made me really miss my own. Here's a photo of me with one of my co-workers Wendie and 2 of her 3 beautiful girls. Wednesday Wendie and I went eat at Whiskey Creek. It was a new restaurant in town and I had never been to one or even heard of it before. If you ever have the opportunity to eat at one I strongly recommend it. Check em out at www.whiskeycreek.com for locations. Then Thursday we were off to Lakeside to listen/watch Wendie's husbands band, Funky Gumbo. They were a such a pleasure to watch. Check them out at www.funkygumbo.net Hmmm, all that talking about my after hours activities makes it sound like I didn't work at all.

Must see video

Okay, I wasn't able to figure out how to post the video on blogger so I'll just have to share the web address. If you haven't seen this, please check it out. Dancing 2008. I smiled, then cried, then smiled, then laughed, then smiled some more. Amazing. www.wherethehellismatt.com

Journey - Arnel Pineda

Okay, so John told me the other day that he saw Journey on Ellen and the new lead singer sounds incredibly like Steve Perry. I really didn't think very much of it. Then, a couple days later I got an email from my BFF in AR saying that she actually saw Journey in concert and sent me a youtube link to check 'em out. I guess I wasn't all that interested because I never took the time and actually forgot about it. Then, tonight as we're going out for supper John grabs this Journey Revelation CD and puts it in. We listened to it on the way to supper, then as we're on our way back home John asks if I noticed anything about what we're listening to. He tells me we've been listening to the new singer. Now he's got my attention. I thought he was joking, so I looked at the CD case and low and behold... not only does this singer sound incredibly like Perry, but he's Filipino... and kind of hot. I just wouldn't expect to hear that voice coming out of his body. John's watching the DVD right now and I hear it in the background. Man, it amazing how a song can bring you back to a different time and place. Right now I'm back to high school having a blast with my friends. Driving around singing at the top of our lungs with the radio as loud as it can go. Most people I talk to hated high school, but I loved it. I can tell I'll be listening to some Van Halen, Scorpions, Triumph, Rush, etc.

Procrastination Over

I started this layout on NSD weekend at my LSS. Over 1 month later and I finally finished the layout. (I told you I'm a very slow scrapper and rarely bring a layout to completion). I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Especially since I'm going to be able to put pictures from 6 years ago in an album. Gotta love that. That makes 3 layouts completed so far in June, and today is only the 7th. Gotta love that, too! Let's see if I can get a 4th done tonight...

I'm 2 for 2 - Got Sketch 101

Wow, I'm actually being productive with this class. I'm 2 for 2 of posted pre-class sketches. Hot Dog! Hopefully the up-coming sketches keep getting better and better.

Got some scrapping done...

Yeah me! I got some scrapping done this weekend. It took me 5 hours Saturday night/Sunday morning to do this layout... AND it was FROM A SKETCH. (I swear it takes me just as long, if not longer, to scrap using a sketch). I've got to be the slowest scrapper on Earth. The sketch was from Valerie and Janna's Got Sketch class I'm taking on-line. Gotta love sketches. Class doesn't officially start until next week, but Valerie hooked us up with a couple of pre-class sketches to get us going. I'm going to work on completing the 2nd pre-class sketch tonight and take pics tomorrow. 2 layouts (almost) in 1 weekend. It's been too long. I miss scrapping. I've GOT to make more time to scrap. I guess I should have more time now that all my shows have finished. Pretty much the only thing I'm watching at the moment is "So You Think You Can Dance". I started watching it last season and I love it, especially Mia and Wade Robson's choreography.

A new addiction?!

Okay, I think I am officially addicted to taking on-line scrapbook classes. www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com , www.nycscraps.com , and now I get an email from my pal, Valerie Salmon, that she and Janna Wilson have teamed up to offer on-lines classes. Woo Hoo, I am so there! The class doesn't even start until June 9th (Samantha's 11th birthday). We're having so much fun and the class hasn't even started yet. They posted a blog roll in the forum and the people taking this class Rocks. I am in awe of soo many of these people. Can't wait for class to start so I can enjoy looking at everyones work. I am so in need of motivation and inspiration and I just know this class is gonna give it to me. I'm taking another on-line class at this very moment and I've been yet to be inspired. I'm a bit disappointed this time.

The ROCKER Wins!!!

It's about time a Rocker wins American Idol, and I'm SOOO glad it's David Cook. This guy is amazing. LOVE his voice. My, My, My. Can't wait to watch (and listen) to his career. I was a big Bo Bice fan, an even bigger Chris Daughtry fan, but I'm an even bigger David Cook fan. Love this guy. Wow. America got it right. Hmmm, I wonder if there will be an even bigger rocker on AI next year?!

Which TV Mom Are You?

Which TV Mom Are You?

My Result: Roseanne Connor

You are Roseanne Connor from Roseanne. You've probably got a sarcastic streak, and you may take some pleasure in embarrassing your brood. But ultimately, your kids know that when they really, really, really need to talk about something, you will listen...eventually. Truth is, you tend to see things from their points of view; you just don't like to let them in on that until necessary.
That's your little secret. And while it may not be your style (or fit your schedule) to compulsively whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, if your kids want to microwave some popcorn and watch TV with you, there's always room on the couch, and even on your lap.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=tvmomogt&c=50652