I've Got a Great Life...

     As I look around at the world, I see so many people hurting & struggling in life. It makes me feel guilty when I dare start to complain or become negative about the minute little details in my life that are sooooo obscure & non-essential. Yes, I have bad days (hell, I'd say I've even had bad years), but I am blessed.  To combat whininess/pessimism, I've decided to list the great things about my recent days...

• WD - he's such a hard worker, fantastic "daddy", & most excellent husband. He's handy around the house, intelligent & is very, very tolerate of my shortcomings.
• Erin- she's such a beautifully tender-hearted person who is so responsible & smart (which is difficult to handle sometimes when I do dumb things or am irresponsible :-)
• Dylan - he's definitely one of my life's "joys"... he makes me smile/laugh daily.  Dylan is God's way of reminding me that I am not a perfect parent... I need to rely on him to raise this boy.
• I have some of the greatest friends in the whole world. My scrapping "sisters", the "Eastside" gang, coworkers, and believe it or not, family members who are the best friends a person could have.
• I get to earn an education beyond what I ever thought possible (yeah... graduation in December!).
• I have a job that makes me feel valuable (& I get to earn a paycheck while trying to help people find jobs & prepare to become teachers which in turn will change the world!).
• My home, although it needs a little work here & there, is lovely & comfortable.  I just finished getting the furniture for the scrapbooking/office room.
• My mother-in-law & I were able to hang out together at Corks n Canvas for a fun time together this past week (checkout photos on FB). How did I get so lucky to have such a fabulous mother-in-law?!? 
• I get to enjoy a hobby that will leave a legacy for my children & grandchildren... I love to scrapbook!
• We are going on vacation for 11 days at the end of November... NYC a few days, then onto a cruise ship to cruise down to the Bahamas for a couple of days, then over to Port Canaveral for Thanksgiving in Universal Studios, & then cruising back up to NYC. I get NYC (Broadway show, sightseeing, shopping, exploring new places), cruise ship (entertainment, sleeping/reading while laying back in a deck chair, eating great foods), Bahamas (tropical paradise... what more can I say), & Thanksgiving with kids & WD in a new place...Universal Studios!
• My PT Cruiser is still kicking! I have no car note & although it's not the peppiest or classiest of rides, it has been reliable & affordable (gas & insurance are cheap)!
• I am keeping up with school work, kids' activities, making it to the gym everyday, plus I was able to get to the all day crop with my "girls" & take Erin & her friend to the movie all this weekend!

Guess I better get a shower now (hot water at the tips of my fingers & fabulous smelling body soaps to choose from), pack my work out bag (comfy work out shoes along with multiple options for workout attire), pack my lunch (selections from a full pantry with all the good foods I like), & climb into my bed (king-size with fluffy pillows/comforter) to go nighty-night so that I can start my wonderful life all over again tomorrow!  I'm not bragging.  I'm just grateful... after all, I give thanks to God, because without Him, none of it would be possible!

Ghost

Upon hearing about Patrick Swayze's death, I thought immediately of one of his best movies ever... Ghost!  I made plans to rent the movie as soon as possible.  I stopped by Blockbuster to rent it, only to find that the shelf had a "special" movie box that redirected me to a special section in the store. Blockbuster set up an end cap display of many of Patrick Swayze's movies. I sat totally engrossed watching the whole movie from beginning to end (plus watched the bonus features on the DVD), quoting lines from the movie as they came up like... "Ditto", "Molly, you in danger GIRL", and many of the other lines in the movie that made me laugh out loud (Whoopi played Oda Mae brilliantly!) & tear up with compassion. I loved the movie so much when it came out, I attempted to pull off the short haircut Demi Moore worn as "Molly" in the movie. I just didn't have the features of Demi to wear the short boy cut, but she sure made me want to be her... maybe it was the "love story" that I wanted when I was so very young! Yep, Patrick Swayze playing Sam Wheat was just wonderful... his character was all a girl could want... honest, handsome, passionate, caring, protective, and did I mention handsome?!? If you haven't seen Ghost, you must see it... call me & I'll come watch it with you! If you have seen it, watch it again just for the fun of it!

Makes me Smile so Much

This morning I woke up, started laundry, made a little breakfast, & then sat down to watch TV a while before heading to the gym.  I don't have enough time during the week to watch Oprah, but I just love her show.  This morning I watched Wednesday's episode & it made me so happy & smile so much that tears came to my eyes. If you didn't get a chance to watch & you need a little pick-me-up, you have to watch snippets of it online at Oprah.com.  Oprah is simply a very generous person who gets a charge out of surprising people by making their "Wildest Dreams Come True".  From the "Tom Cruise" Lady, to Oprah's friend, Gale who is a huge Josh Groban fan, the surprises were just out-of-the-box!  I think my favorite "surprise" was the one she arranged for Jake.  Jake Simpson is a singer from Star Search who loves Stevie Wonder.  He performs Stevie's music exceptionally well.  Oprah had Jake perform "Isn't She Wonderful" (which is a happy song anyway)... & while performing Stevie Wonder came from behind the curtain to join in the performance by playing the harmonica & singing a bit! It was WONDERFUL!  You just have to watch it.  I've set it as a bookmark on my computer so if I need a "happy" moment in my day, I can just watch Jake, Stevie, Oprah, & her pumped up audience!

"Strawberry" Kind of Memory

While fixing my strawberries & cream oatmeal this morning, a wave of nostalgia overtook me.  It was the strangest thing because I frequently boil water in microwave & pour it over the instant packet of strawberries & cream oatmeal, but I've never experienced this "memory" while doing this task.  It was actually the smell of the oatmeal cooking once I added the boiling water that brought me back...

It was a Saturday afternoon (it must have been in the fall), when I went across the street to a friend's house to play.  I must have been in the 2nd or 3rd grade because we were still living in Bastrop, Louisiana in a small wood-frame house about a mile from Eastside Elementary.  I can only remember my friend's last name for some reason... "Goodman".  She was a very lucky little girl (in my opinion) because she had great toys, dolls, & a trampoline.  I remember always wanting to play Barbies at her house because she had the actual "Barbie" doll whose legs would bend versus the generic doll I had who had hollow plastic legs that would not. She also had the whole collection of strawberry shortcake dolls! This is where my mind went this morning while making my breakfast, because the strawberry shortcake doll that my friend had could be squeezed on her tummy & she would expel a deliciously exhiliarating fragrance of strawberries.  It didn't smell like real strawberries, but it was a unique strawberry-like aroma that only THE real Strawberry Shortcake doll had.  Funny enough, the generic strawberries & cream instant oatmeal (Wal-mart brand of course) smells just like that Strawberry Shortcake doll.

 

It's amazing how the mind works.  Fragrances seem to have the most effect on me as far as memories. I actual enjoy most memories triggered by scents, so it's a nice thing to have my mind work like that!

More Gulf Shores Fun & Photos

While in Gulf Shores during the Labor Day weekend, we explored some of the more popular restaurants in the area.  On our first night, we headed on over to Lulu's! It was a great place where the kids could run around & play while we hung out & waited for our table. The food was pretty good, but the atmosphere was excellent! One night we ate in... the guys grilled steaks.  Yum, yum! Then the third night we ventured to Lambert's. It was a great time for the kids despite the long wait. I've never seen such large servings of food in all my life! After we left yesterday morning, Dylan & his cousins headed back to the beach with his Granny & Pawpaw.  The weather apparently was great!

Gulf Shores Beach Trip

It was definitely the quickest vacation I've ever had (Friday night to Monday morning)! We did our annual Boudreaux beach trip in Gulf Shores, AL this year. The location was absolutely perfect; a huge, well-layed out beach house that comfortably slept all 19 of us! My dear mother-in-law always arranges the bedroom assignments, rotating us from the good rooms to the best rooms year-to-year. This year WD & I were blessed with the master suite. It was wonderful... huge king-sized bed, a sitting area where Erin & Dylan camped out, a closet big enough to serve as another bedroom, and a bathroom with jacuzzi corner tub (which I never got to test out) & the best part of all... a huge walk-in shower with shower heads on two sides. Our room had three gigantic sliding windows that faced the beach & opened to a balcony that ran the length of the house. It was almost paradise except we had okay weather one day & dreary/rainy weather the next.

The beach was lovely. We set up all of our tents, chairs, ice chests, & beach toys for a grand family outing. The kiddos got sunburned the first day, I cut the inside of my leg up on barnacle covered pipe, & it was cool/rainy the second day, but all-in-all it was a great time. Anytime on the beach is better than being at work!

Here are a few photos I was able to catch on my camera... I'm sure my mother-in-law got better ones... I'll try to post those later!

Dylan in the surf...

Cousins digging a hole... Erin, Titus, Caden, & Zann...Mom Barbara & WD chilling in the beach chairs under the tent...Dad Roddy discovering "treasure" in the surf...Erin, Zann, & Caden stomping out their "Shell Town" masterpiece (sand castles)...I was brave enough to do a bikini in front of the family (slowly gaining my confidence... hopefully by next year I'll have lost the last 20 pounds!)...My sweet sister-in-law, Sherry helping the kids gather shells for their collections... Now I can't wait till next year!!!

Open House, REALLY?!?

We made it through "Open House" at both the elementary & middle schools this year. Yes, made it through! The middle school open house was well thought out & informative, but I thought I was going to climb the walls, scream, or pull my hair out while sitting in the elementary school "cafetorium" (yes, that was the name posted on the cafeteria/auditorium door... so I guess it's a real word) for over an hour. It was absolute torture. The principal, who is obviously new to the job, droned on and on about things that could have easily been put in a newsletter/flyer including a mini-political speech about voting for more taxes & a mile long list of fundraiser activities. She had very poor presentation skills which made it even more unbearable. After enduring that hour, I finally was able to go to Dylan's classroom, where another 60+ parents were trying to squeeze in as well! Needless to say, I signed the sign in roster (in case bonus points were given to kids whose parents showed up) & slipped out before I said anything inappropriate like what I was thinking... this is the biggest waste of my time! I know I can be a tough critic when it comes to education... after all, it is my business, but this "Open House" was ludicrous. I'm just glad that I have two kids who are typically responsible when it comes to schoolwork. I figured if there is anything paramount that I need to know it'll be posted on Edline anyway.