Sick

Wow. I had no idea that I hadn’t written for so long. Where does the time go? I have no idea most of the time. This weekend felt like a complete waste of time on my part. I felt really unmotivated and sluggish on Saturday. I was just chalking it up to a poor night’s sleep. So while everyone else was working away I spent a lot of time sitting. Clint and Tom put up a new mailbox (not sure if I told you all that someone took ours out about 10 days ago) and redid the end of our driveway. Tom also worked in the garden some. Oh, I guess I did dig up the rest of the onions and pick the last of the tomatoes. See, I did more than I thought!

Anyway, by the end of the day I was too tired to even think about supper so we hit McDonald’s. We rarely do that but I just couldn’t seem to find the energy to do much more than climb in the van. I feel asleep fast and slept hard that night. In fact, I woke up at 9am and could hardly get out of bed. I never sleep that late. And I had developed a swollen and sore right tonsil overnight. I am officially sick with my first throat infection of the season. I spent all day yesterday lounging in the recliner. And so far today, that is sounding pretty good. I am just praying this passes quickly and I don’t have to go to the doctor for it.

Possible Mexico Trip

I need to start looking into how much a passport costs and what hoops are required to send a teen on a plane alone to a foreign country. We would really like to send Clint and Jasmine to Mexico City for a long weekend sometime next summer. Have I already talked about that here? I am not sure. One of Tom’s older brothers lives with his wife in Mexico City. They will be there through next fall, I believe. She works for TeleMundo as a producer for novelas and that alone would be very interesting for the kids to see. But just being able to visit another country and experience the culture would be such a great thing for them! When Tom and I visited Switzerland and Germany for our honeymoon I was so fascinated by the culture. I am sure it will be the same for the kids. Bill and MK have been wanting them to come visit for almost a year. I think we should finally have our ducks in a row so they can get there. Talk about a couple of excited kids!

Games, Games, Games

I have enjoyed video and computer games for YEARS! Ever since Pong came out way back when. I spent plenty of time as a teen in the local arcade. I am trying to remember the name…It was “something” 101 because it was located on the campus of NIU. Anyway, it was a dive with nasty carpet but it had all the latest in video games. We would go with our dollar bills and play as long as we could. Pacman, Ms. Pacman, Galaga, Frogger and Tapper were my favorites! Anyway, I still play games. In fact, I have a subscription to BigFishGames where I get one new game a month. I also visit Pogo a lot. I still enjoy the arcade type games but I also enjoy the seek and find type games and the word games. I can actually spend an entire day wrapped up in playing games if I am not careful. My sister is the same way. Together in an arcade or in front of a computer with a few games is not a good thing! Well, it is in the respect that we are doing something together. But that is all the good that comes of it. Neither one of us has a gaming system in our house for that very reason. It isn’t just that the kids would spend their time playing but that we would, too.

Maybe Just a Test Drive

Last night at Jasmine’s game I was sitting beside Amy. She had her little 1 year old boy with her and he is a doll! Tom had him giggling after the game and it just about made me melt. Amy said to me, “It makes you want to have another.” You know I am just really content to be done having babies. That being said, there are some really neat baby products out there that would be fun to use. Just take the Bugaboo strollers. They are just cool looking! And practical and they come in really hip colors. And while I am done having babies, I wouldn’t mind trying out some of the newer equipment. So, Amy, anytime that you need help testing out some new baby stuff, let me know. I’ll be right over!

Cold, Allergy, Sinus Junk

We have all been sneezing and sniffling and coughing and complaining of sinus headaches. I am quite sure that we all started off with just a cold that we passed around. However, I think that now we are all experiencing allergy symptoms. Nice! I was blaming it all on the golden rod. We have it all over in the pasture and in the fence rows and it is blooming strong right now.

So I looked up goldenrod online and discovered that it is the state flower for several states. WHAT! Why would a weed that causes so many allergy problem be chosen as a state flower? AHA! I continued to read and found that goldenrod does not use the wind to pollinate and therefore is wrongly blamed for hayfever. The big culprit is actually ragweed and we have more than our share of that, too! I am going to be on a mission next year to keep the ragweed down to a minimum around the barn area. We have all been miserable and part of that is our own doing. GAH! Next year I plan on not feeling like I do right now. The ragweed must die!

Losing, Losing, Losing

Something has flipped my internal weight loss HDMI switch! I have been loosing weight like crazy these last couple of weeks! I have no idea what I am doing differently either. I just hope that whatever it is I keep doing it. I am now up to a total loss of 25lbs! Now it has only taken me 5 months to do it in but I am still 25lbs less than I was in April. There is a sad part to this. I am still wearing the same clothes that I was wearing 25lbs ago. And they still fit. THEY STILL FIT! What in the world did they look like on me when I had those other 25lbs on my body? I shudder to think quite frankly. Now, I have been blessed with 4 bags of clothes that my sister’s friend has passed on to me. So there is some incentive to lose more to fit into these clothes. And these clothes are cute! And there are also some more dressy things, too. And a cute tankini. So my incentive is to continue to loose using this magical formula that is a secret (even to me!). Hopefully by Christmas I will be down another 20lbs and can fit into some of these clothes.

New Study

We have started a new bible study and I am already feeling lost. Last week was the first week with the new book and I missed that meeting. I am not even sure what book we ended up getting. All I know is it is not a Beth Moore study and there is a companion book that goes along with the workbook. Acually, let me look at something…Here, this is what we are studying, Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life. (I forgot that Allison sent me a link.) I am anxious to get back into a formal study of God’s word and this looks like a good one. And especially one that will help us learn to balance the yeses and the nos. (And it is pretty inexpensive, too.) So next week, I will get my first look at the new book and the DVD that goes along with it. I also need to get that companion book ordered. Oh, we have a couple of new ladies joining us this year so I hope we don’t scare them off. Hahahaha!

New Look

I was perusing the internet yesterday. I actually do that daily. The internet is an amazing thing, isn’t it? If I have an oddball question about something, (and I usually do!) I can easily find the answer right here on the internet. From auto insurance quotes online to who has hit the most home runs in Wrigley Field (GO CUBS!) to why do I keep finding crayfish (crawdads to some of you) mounds in my yard, it is all here on the internet. My search yesterday was to try to find new themes for a couple of my blogs. This theme was my second choice but after installing it it became my first choice. The dark background sort of turned me off at first. It was the header that captured my attention and the dark background really sets it off. I still have some work to do on that sidebar but for the most part everything that has always been there is there now. And that header! It is one piece of gorgeous work! Its all ethereal and womanly and dreamy and perfect. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Still Growing

As if it isn’t enough that Karly is now shaving her legs, Jasmine is growing again. She has been complaining of joint pain in her ankles since she started basketball practice a few weeks ago. At first, I thought it was just the increase in activity that was causing the pain. But the pain continued to plague her during practice. So this got me to thinking. Clint had problems with Osgood-Schlatter disease several years ago when he was going like mad. Kids can also get a similar disease in their ankles and heels during intense growing. I wondered if Jasmine wasn’t doing some growing. I had her stand against our “wall of heights” to see. Sure enough, she has grown a quarter inch since in about the last 6 weeks. So she will be getting ice and ibuprofen after practices and games. I also suggested to her that she have her ankles wrapped to offer them some additional support. I don’t know if this will help her or not but it is worth a try. It will be interesting to see how much more she grows. I was sort of thinking she was done growing and that 5′7″ is a pretty nice height. Apparently God thinks she should be taller and that’s okay.

Growing Up Too Fast

Remember when you had your first baby and you think that you will never get out of the cycle of no sleep and neverending feedings and diaper changes? No matter how many times someone would tell you to enjoy them when they are babies because tomorrow they will be getting married, you cannot imagine ever being out of the baby stage. And then it happens. You blink and they are suddenly starting school. And then you blink again and they are shaving and their voices are changing and they are noticing the opposite sex and the progesterone, testosterone and estrogen are flowing like honey on a hot day. And while I have 2 that have already reached this last stage, it is hard for me to let my third child enter it. I really put off showing her how to shave her legs. She is already wearing training bras. No need to rush into puberty or anything. But I knew if I didn’t she would do it herself and butcher her precious limbs. So yesterday I showed her how to shave her legs and she was so happy. She keeps exclaiming, “My legs are so smooth!” I guess maybe I put her off for too long. But I really don’t want her to grow up quite yet. It just seems too soon for shaving and bras and periods and boys. Thankfully, we have only reached the shaving and bras. The other 2 things can hold off for a few more years yet.