My body hurts...

It's that lovely time again, my body is attacking me. I feel like I should call in today, but I can't...

I'm trying to get as much coffee in me as possible right now. I'm not sleeping well at all with Gary gone. I know by the time that I adjust to him being gone he'll be back.

Well, I need to get ready... I'm going to have to work hard to get my routing squeezed down by 20 minutes today, going to take forever to get everything together and get over to Rae's. I love her to death, but why does she have to live so far away????

Bad trip so far...

Gary's layover was apparently a very long one today. It was supposed to be 40 minutes and instead it was about 4 1/2 hours. He called and was very unhappy about it, not that he could do anything. I told him he should have just driven from Atlanta to Ft. Gordon, but he wasn't allowed... Anyhow, he finally made it to Ft. Gordon and now he's just trying to find his hotel. He's supposed to call me when he's checked in. I keep waiting... Apparently his GPS isn't working so well in the area and he had to stop and ask for directions a few times already. Poor guy.

The boys and I have had some fun today. I think that Micheal thought I just left his daddy on the side of the road this morning. He screamed and cried and threw everything he could get his hands on at me while yelling "DADDY!!!!" very loudly. Everything we've done today he's fought me on. The only time he was really happy was when I let him talk to Gary on the phone. He has calmed down quite a bit since though, he ate his supper, brushed his teeth, and is now taking his bath and getting ready for bed.

Kyle has been unusually easy to get along with. I love him, but he is never as happy as he has been today. I have to admit I've been loving this.

Gary just called me. He checked into the hotel and is now going to get something to eat. He either hasn't seen the package yet or just hasn't mentioned it. I'll wait until later to ask.

Well, I need to get the boys ready for bed and get some schoolwork done.

Gary's leaving in just a bit...

I got up early this morning so that I could sneak a package in Gary's suitcase. I used to just sneak a letter or a card into his bag, but this time the package included a photo album with pictures from our day outside and a framed 5x7 photo card saying that we love him. I can't wait until he calls me to see if he loves it.

Well, time to wake him up and head to the airport. Talk to you all later...

Exhaustion.

I've reached that point now. I didn't sleep well, still. My body aches and I'm getting pretty miserable. I think I might buy some Tylenol PM. I just can't relax and get to sleep, or stay asleep for that matter...

I'm going to work at 8:00 this morning even though I'm scheduled at 12:00. I traded with a coworker and we didn't tell our boss because he's been telling everyone no whenever they ask.

Gary leaves tomorrow morning, bright and early. I get to drive him to the airport first thing in the morning. I'm not looking forward to it. At least it's only a week this time. That's the best part.

Not much else to talk about. I'm sure yesterday I had a lot to say, but right now I can't think of anything. Time to get to my schoolwork. Only one project left to do and I'm sure I can probably get it knocked out before the day's over, but it's not even due until tomorrow night. I have to make a PowerPoint presentation this time...

Talk at ya later...

So very, very tired...

I had to call AT&T yesterday to get the phone fixed... Yay, it's supposed to be fixed by Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Here's the problem: They did a test call when I called them. It was only supposed to be once. They started doing it again last night around 7:00, and it continued every half hour for the rest of the night. I woke up every time and so did Kyle... I finally decided at 4:30 this morning to get up and call AT&T again and give them a piece of my mind. They fixed it, somehow it accidentally got set to call every half hour to see if the line was working... INSANE!!!

So, anyhow, I'm exhausted. I have to go to work in just a bit just to work by myself, all day. I have the worst headache I've had in a long time and I just want to bang my head against the wall...

Well, I'm going to get off here and try to enjoy the rest of Private Practice.

A wonderful end to the day...

I kept playing around with the camera, which was nice... I was able to remember the excitement of learning something new, I love that.

Here's my self-portrait for today:

I took it with a 20 second shutter speed, let 10 seconds go by, then I went to sit down.

We were outside when Gary got home because Kelly (the speech therapist) never showed. Micheal would cry every time I would tell him we needed to go inside, so I just couldn't force him. I figured eventually he'd forget why we were out there, which he did.

Oh, and Kelly didn't show because the birth mom had the baby, so she's now on maternity leave... I'm sad that we may never see her again, but so very happy for her!

Here are our afternoon playtime pics:

         

Apparantly Kyle doesn't like the feel of the grass... He cried and tried to keep as much of his body as possible up off the ground! Micheal was enjoying just being able to be outside and play. I have to admit that I loved it.

Playing around...

I risked waking the baby to find the last mount that I have left... It was well worth it. I'm quite happy and excited to start playing some more...

This started yesterday when I was trying to explain to get the photos they wanted, they needed a faster shutter speed. Chris had no clue what I was talking about, so I showed her a little bit on my baby camera (I always have it with me). I had her sit very still, but notice the blur effect of the lights in the background. I gradually slowed the shutter speed each time.

The first thing I played with this morning on the Canon was faster shutter speeds. Now, with those, you need the best lighting conditions possible. With my lamp on in the living room, at the fastest shutter speed, you couldn't even see the coffee cup, but notice the difference as it slows down:

   

Now, I slowed the shutter speed down to 30 seconds:

These were photos taken in my backyard. Note how I always have Walmart to look at. Yay me...

The next photos are to get me back started on my 365 project... I've been slacking, I know. I just haven't been in the mood to do much of anything at all these past few weeks. Please excuse my need for a tan and the messy hair, I haven't really gotten to moving around yet, and the hair is the last thing to get fixed... The dress and the top are new. I just liked the top, and I'm thinking I'll wear the the dress when I pick Gary up from the airport... He hasn't seen it yet, and that way he won't fuss about wasting money on new clothes...

 Alright, I'm off for the day... Gotta get things done around here.

Grrr...

Sometimes I think of what it would be like to be single. I love Gary, but his massive cleaning sprees where he either throws things away or puts things where they do not belong really get under my skin. This morning, the object in question is my tripod mount. I finally found my tripod, but the mount has most likely permanently disappeared. I wanted to take a backyard photo and manipulate the shutter speed, but I can't do that without putting the camera on the tripod. I know he was the last one to use it and he used it for his video camera. I have one request, and that is to keep the tripod and all pieces together... That way, nothing gets lost. I learned that when I worked for Lifetouch. Someone used the tripod and put the mount in their camera bag. There was no shooting that day because I did not have a mount.

Anyhow, I guess I'm just a little aggravated. On to find a substitute...

Giant Baby Eats Hulk!

It's just his top half, so don't worry, he doesn't have a toy shoved down his throat, he barely has it in his mouth... I just thought it was so funny. He was crawling around and growling with it in his mouth!

Micheal still loves Thomas the Train. We're going through new batteries everyday for this train set.

Gaaahhh!!!!

I just want to scream! I was listening to a story that the daycare provider is telling me today and I had to bite the inside of my cheek and remind myself that she was not asking for my advice, she simply wanted me to listen. I know it helps just to talk things out, I do this a lot, but I really wanted to give my input here. Her husband cheated on her last year and had a baby with another woman, to make a long story short. He didn't tell her until after the baby was born. Well, their marraige has been on the rocks since then, but they're still together. They live in the same house, but they don't sleep in the same room and they barely talk. The new baby's mom moved away and he hasn't seen them since Christmas. He went on a business trip last week. Turns out he went to see her. His wife found out today and confessed to me that she wishes she had the guts to just go ahead and leave him. I had to stop myself when I wanted to say "Change the locks. Change the codes. Don't let him back in the house. Pack his stuff up and put it out on the curb!" I just don't understand why someone would put up with this.

Another person that I used to be very close to had a baby with someone other than her husband. She left him because she missed her family and was lonely. After this, she met another guy and apparently started sleeping with him. She got knocked up and immediately started rubbing it in her husband's face. She completely broke his heart. I can remember him begging her for another child and her saying that she never wanted another one, apparently just not with him. I know they never had the best relationship, but he deserved better than that. I can't tell her this either... Mostly because she simply doesn't listen.

Why is it that people cheat? I can't imagine cheating on Gary... Not that he's the greatest guy on earth, but I love him too much to hurt him. Now if he cheated on me, I'd probably fall to pieces for the first half hour, then my anger would probably take over and he'd be out the door or I'd be going back to Georgia.

I have several other examples from other relationships that I used to hope Gary and I could just love each other like they did but I don't want to even talk about it anymore...

Watching House

Gary deleted it from the DVR, so I'm having to watch it on Hulu.com. Great thing, Hulu, without it I'd miss a lot of shows that my husband seems to think don't matter to me.

Micheal and I went out to water the flowers last night. Of course, almost immediately after we came in, a storm rolled in and watered them again for us. He was upset that there were no "fowers" and just mulch. I had to explain to him that we were watering it so that the flowers would come, we just had to be patient. Of course, after this he decided to water the entire yard...

Kyle was being a happy boy last night. He's finally turning into a daddy's boy. At least a little. He is happy with him for just a little while, enough to give me a tiny break.

I'm trying to get back to working hard on schoolwork. I need at least a B in both classes, but I'd prefer an A. This isn't an impossible goal at all right now, so I'm hoping to continue in this way...

Well, it's time to get ready for work. I had something to ask, but now I don't remember what it was... Couldn't have been too important.

Doing Schoolwork...

I am currently trying to do my schoolwork... Power Point keeps freezing on me though and I guess I can't read my text any other way, so it's taking a while.

I'm trying hard to deal with Gary's bombshell. I still don't know how I'm going to do it, but I know I'll have to do it somehow.

The news is on... I was just watching that apparently China is about to have the largest automotive business in the world soon... Wonderful. They are at least waiting to start exporting cars over here until the find out how the "Big Three" are doing for sure. As you know, I'm paraphrasing, but still... This is awful. I'm worried about what our great country is coming to. Please people, buy American! Buy American and save jobs! I don't have anything against China, but we need to support our country, we need to support our people. Again, I don't have anything against these other countries, but if you want to send money to help starving children to these other countries, think of the children starving here. Donate to a soup kitchen. Volunteer your time. Do something for your country, and do it today!!!

That's all for now... Talk at ya soon! 

Good/Bad news...

Gary came home yesterday with some news that I didn't really know how to take. I still don't. He had to change his job with the Guard. It's seems good, Gary gets to do something he really loves and he'll probably be promoted to Sergeant. Here comes the bad part: He'll have to go to school for 21 weeks as a condition to getting this job. 21 weeks away from me and in Georgia.

This made me think of the simple fact that I have to find a new job. I'll need weekends off because I won't have a sitter on the weekends. I need a Monday through Friday job with normal hours. Preferably one that pays better...

I'm frustrated. I've gotten comfortable in the last year or two and just didn't think that this was a possibility anymore. 21 weeks isn't that long... I'm sure I can do it. The kids probably will have a much harder time than me, but better to do it now than when they're older I guess...

Sorry, I'm rambling and just trying to think right now...

Ahhh... A day off!

I'm so happy to have today off. The past week has been a little rough and I am in desperate need of a little rest and relaxation. I plan to bring the boys to daycare today and then get to work on my garden. I'm going to start around front first. I think I'll start with the smaller portion of the flower bed leading up to the door. Once I get done with everything there, I'll move to the larger portion in the front of the house. I'll go to the tree from there, then I'll mulch. After I get the front yard done, I'll get my vegetable garden going in the back. And, if I have any time left, I'll go buy the shrubs and trees that I want and get started on those. Who knows, maybe I'll get my table and chairs today...

I've been looking forward to this for a little while now, just in case you can't tell. There's something about getting all this planned and done and knowing that it's going to work out that I love. It's also something that I get to do for me... Just for me, not for anyone else.

Well, I need to get going... Long day ahead of me.

Forgot to post...

I forgot to post anything at all yesterday. The morning was rushed and I didn't know what to say, and by the time I returned home I just was exhausted and didn't want to even look at the computer.

I have at last finished the newest Nicholas Sparks book, The Lucky One. I'll tell you one thing, it is every bit as good as I had hoped for. I'm hoping that he eventually makes it to Indy on a book signing so that I can get this one signed and added to my collection. I should actually by a copy of the movies too and have him sign those as well... Maybe one day it would be worth something. For now, it's worth something to me simply because I think he's a fantastic writer.

I have tomorrow off work and I intend to finish my gardening. I want to get all of my flowers planted and get my mulch down. I have a drawing of exactly what I want to do and I think it will turn out beautifully. Maybe I'll even go ahead and buy some yucky pansies just so that I have something already in the yard and blooming. I'll have to shop around and see if there are any other flowers anywhere first though...

Gary switched us to Netflix... Not something that would typically be my main topic of thought, but I was looking on there this morning (he bookmarked it for me) and they have quite a selection... Plus, I really like the fact that we can just watch the movies directly from the internet now. I knew having the big computer hooked to the tv would come in handy one day!

Has anyone out there tried the Topsy Turvy for tomatoe plants? I'm thinking of buying it, but I'm just not sure if it is worth the money... We sell it at Walmart for $9.88, which seems a lot better than buying off the infomercial, but I still would like some input.

Well, gotta run. Busy morning...

I made it through the week...

It's finally Friday. I'm exhausted and so very glad the day is over...

I bought some mulch and a few more bulbs today. I'm hoping that Monday I can get everything planted and then cover it up with the mulch.

I'm working this weekend... I open tomorrow and close on Sunday. Can't wait...

Not a lot to say tonight. I'm just ready to get a hot bath and get in my bed.

They made it home...

I called Lennie shortly after 5:00 this morning and they were about 15 minutes from home. I'm so thankful they've made it there okay. I was terrified of anything happening on their way home in the middle of the night.

Here are some pictures from when they first arrived on St. Patrick's Day.

Baby Nicholas exploring the house:

Walter and Samuel playing with Micheal:

The babies getting to know each other:

Still getting to know each other:

"Hey Mom, he's not so bad after all":

Well, I'm waiting for more news about William. I'm hoping that things have calmed down today and that I can find out exactly what happened.

I've got to run... I need to catch up on some schoolwork today that I let slip in the last few days...

And now they're gone...

My sister made it here safely yesterday afternoon, and we had a great time yesterday and today, but unfortunately she had to leave early. My brother had an accident today. Somehow, we didn't get the whole story, he managed to get shot in the upper leg. I'm scared for him right now and waiting to hear from someone back home on how he's doing. I know he's going to make it, he was fine earlier, just in a lot of pain,  but I just want to be sure that he's actually okay.

We carried the boys to the dentist today. They both have very healthy teeth and gums. We did get some bad news though... The dentist says that Micheal has a very small mouth (although he makes up for it with a very loud voice!) and will inevitably need braces when he gets older. We already figured that because he takes so many features from Gary. Kyle on the other hand, has a large mouth, but will need surgery when he's around 7 or 8 to correct the muscle that is under his lip. Right now that muscle runs between his two front teeth and to the roof of his mouth and is causing a huge gap between his two front teeth.

Well, I wanted to post some pictures before I forget... With everything going on I figure I should give myself something really happy to do...

The whole family together... Gary got his head cut off and Baby Nicholas was pulling his brother Samuel's hair!

A slightly better version of the same photo:

Top Row: Lennie (Holding Baby Nicholas), Nick, Me (Holding Kyle), Gary

Second Row: Walter, Samuel, and Micheal (making sure nobody took his hat)

Kyle showing Mommy what a good boy he can be:

Micheal having fun at the Children's Museum:

Walter ("Driving") and Samuel ("Riding in a taxi!")

Well, I will update tomorrow....

She'll be here today!

My sister will be here today. She should be leaving out around now. She wants to make it up here before I get off work. I'm excited, but there's something knawing at me and I still can't figure it out. I just hope that everything goes okay.

I'm going to try to knock out as much schoolwork as I can this morning so that I can spend time with her and the kids. Speaking of school, I'm still doing pretty great in my classes. I'm excited. I just hope to continue to do so well.

Oh, I went last night and got my eyebrows done for the first time in a while... They look nice too, Tee always does a great job. She trimmed my hair too, said she couldn't let me walk out looking the way I did!

Nothing much else to talk about... I'm exhausted from staying up as late as I did last night and I'm just hoping to make it through the day...

Talk to you all later.

My sister surpirsed me...

I was out with my neighbor last night doing a little shopping and the phone rang. I was thinking to myself that Gary shouldn't be calling to fuss yet, we hadn't even been gone for half an hour. It was Lennie... She wanted to know what days I had off this week. I told her and she got excited. She has quit her job to try being a stay at home mom again, her husband has the week off from work, and the boys are out for Spring Break. She's coming up to visit for a few days. I'm excited because it's been forever since I've seen any of my family. I wish that Moma would come too, but nothing's been said about that yet. She called her late last night to let her know what her plan was, but I don't really know how that went. I was in the middle of working on the Environmental Science paper that I kept putting off.

Gary and I got into it because he thought she should have given us more notice. Which, in all honesty, she should have, but it's not really in her character to do so. She's more of a spur of the moment person, and I love that about her. I wish I could do things spur of the moment like that. Instead, I'm left sitting here with a knot in my stomach thinking of all the things that I need to get done... My house looks decent, and all the weeds are pulled from the flower bed, but there are so many little projects that I've been meaning to get to and just never have the chance. I'm going to be doing some serious work around here today since she'll likely be here tomorrow night...

Well, time for me to get ready for work. I'll keep you all posted on everything else....

Still couldn't sleep...

I had nightmares for most of the night. This is getting frustrating. I just wish I could get one good night's sleep. Everyone else in the house seems to be able to... I was up at 3:57 a.m. and finally gave up at 4:30 because I was wide awake and started thinking of things around the house I could be doing, as well as my paper that still needs to be finished. I've made some headway on it, but it's not finished yet. I just can't make my decision for my vote... It's a risk assessment paper on whether or not to use a certain pestacide. I'm leaning towards no, but I've got to find more evidence to back up my decision, otherwise it will appear to be founded on my opinion alone...

On to something else... Micheal is 100% better. So much so that he decided yesterday to go ride his train in his brother's room (which is basically the new play room) and try to run his brother over while he was in the process. Kyle survived with only a very small bruise on his arm. Micheal had train time taken away for a while. By the time night rolled around he was kissing up to me because he wanted to stay up and watch a movie with his daddy. I was trying to do my schoolwork, but I kept having this cute little boy come over and say "Love you..." and pucker his lips up at me! He is a sweetheart when he wants to be.

Gary decided to clean yesterday. I don't know what happened to him, but I like it. He got most of the weeds and leftover flowers out of the flower bed for me as well as cleaning up the living room and kitchen. Now I just need to get some soil to put down and I'll be ready to play in the dirt! I'm going to look today and see what soil I may be able to get... I'd like to surprise Gary by getting most of my garden planted this week. I'm also thinking if I have the money I'll get the bricks to go down around it instead of the plastic stuff we already have down...

Oh, and with the backyard, I still haven't decided what to do. I think I found a little bistro set that I can afford, so I may get that after all...

Well, I'm going to get back to my schoolwork...

Not sleeping well...

For whatever reason lately, I am just not sleeping well. I have cut out most of my afternoon caffiene, not because of that, but I figured later that it would help, and that doesn't help. I tried waiting until later to go to to bed, that really didn't help. It took forever to fall asleep, plus I was cranky because I was tired, and then I woke up every time Gary moved. I began to feel like he had some plot to keep me up all night... I'm hoping that my sleep returns soon, as I can't take much more of this.

I took Micheal to the doctor yesterday because I was starting to feel like his little body just couldn't take any more. Turns out he had rotavirus for the second time. The doctor was astonished, said that there was more than one strain, but the odds of catching it again were pretty slim. Most kids only ever catch it once... My kid is an overacheiver, of course. Thankfully, Kyle has had the vaccine, so hopefully I don't have to worry about him catching it. I just wish that they had that vaccine when Micheal was a baby.

I also have a very helpful tip for anyone whose kid refuses to drink Pedialyte: Get the unflavored kind, and the sugar free packets for mixing in bottled water... Micheal LOVES the raspberry lemonade from Crystal Light. It was Dr. Hoffman's idea, and I think he's a genius for it. I told him that the only thing I had been able to get in him was the flavored water from my water bottle at work and he said to give it a try, worked like a charm...

Hmmm... There was something else I was going to post. Trying to remember what it was... I can't exactly remember so I'll talk about school. It's going great. Turns out, if you're doing well, none of your counselors call to bug you or anything. I do kind of miss talking to them once a week though. Think I'll have to call and check on Donny next week. Plus, I need to find out what to do about my financial aid. I only have one assignment to work on this weekend, and although it's a decent sized paper, I'm confident that I can get it done this evening and tomorrow morning before work. I just have to pick my final topics for each class now so that I can start working on them...

Well, I've gotta run. Trying to get the dishes done before work today and other fun housework as well...

So nice to have my laundry room back...

I don't really remember if I posted or not, but we no longer have Snow. We gave her to someone who desperately wanted her, but then he turned around and gave her away. Anyhow, all is said and done, we no longer have our kitty cat. I have to say that I was quite happy for her to be gone. I miss her sometimes, but yesterday I was able to do something that I couldn't do when she was here... I planted seeds in their little greenhouses and put them in the laundry room! The laundry room used to be Snow's home, so I couldn't have done it if she were still here unless I wanted to wake up with my plants all over the floor.

So, here are my seeds:

I know it's crazy, but I'm all excited about it, as I said yesterday I'm planning my garden. I can't wait to get out in the dirt and play... I'm looking forward to relaxing. Of course, I actually mapped it out, so hopefully it will look a lot nicer than last year's gardenning experiment.

My banana boys:
That was the only thing that I was able to get Micheal to eat. Notice the chicken tender on the paper towel that had not been touched... Poor guy.

Kyle got his as a reward for cleaning all the food off his tray! We also made Micheal laugh for the first time since he got sick by wearing stickers on our foreheads all through the store and when we got home for dinner. I actually forgot about mine until I went to the bathroom and saw it...

Speaking of Micheal: He has a new thing for hats. We get ready to go somewhere and he says "My hat!" and whines until I find it for him. Then, he says "Mama, HAT!" and I have to put one on too... The kid makes me smile. He also got to talk on the phone yesterday, and actually talked! He talked to my mom. He said "Hi Grandma!" and "Love you!" and "Bye, bye." along with a lot of other words that I couldn't understand. Then when it was time to get off the phone, he started crying, so we called Big Gary. He got to talk to his "Pop Pop" and was thrilled. By the time he got off the phone with him, it was close to time for bed, so we got ready and he went straight to sleep, although he kept talking about "Mammaw" and "Pop Pop" until he finally closed his eyes...

Well, I need to go... Grey's Anatomy is done and I've now moved on to my recording of Private Practice, so I know I should be getting ready for work...

I got a 95!

My paper that I was agonizing over last week, I got a 95!!! I'm so excited, I must be doing something right! My goal is to get an A in both of these classes, so I'm ecstatic right now. I have a 100% average in Environmental Science, and with that 95, I have a 98% in Critical Thinking. I know I'm only in week two, but I have such high hopes now. I really believe that I can do it.

I am really slacking on pictures, but today I have a blast from the past, my Pre-K picture... I wasn't much older than Micheal here.

Well, I need to go for now... Talk to you all later!

Hammock or Swing?

I'm planning my garden right now and have brought myself to a very important question: Should I get a hammock or a swing for my backyard? I was going to get one of the little bistro sets, but couldn't find one that I liked for a price that I liked as well. I'm planting roses in my backyard outside of my bedroom window this year and I want somewhere that I can sit and enjoy them... I don't have a lot of space, so I don't know what I will do for sure. What do you guys think?

A hammock would be nice to be able to lay in the sun, but I could lay out on a swing too for a nice nap... The swing would be better to actually sit in, so I guess it would be the better choice. I could always get one of the hammock chairs instead. Decisions, decisions... Who knows, I may still spring for the bistro set after all. It's what I like, and it's not like I'll only use it this year...

Anywho... Today is trash day and my major cleaning day, so I guess I better get off here and get to work. Talk to you all later...

Long day...

I'm exhausted... I put in a super long day at work today and it feels like it's not over yet. We had visitors from Fuji and a ton of projects today. Not to mention the fact that it was super busy for a Wednesday. I got a pet project today, being the only one with graphic design experience. It was a poster... The cool thing was, since we don't have good photo-editing software on the computers at work, I was able to work on it at home and get paid for it.

Here it is:

It's not my best work, but it was thrown together really fast... Plus, I had to remake it three times because the prizes kept getting changed. I was half tempted to just bring the laptop to work.

Not much else that I want to talk about. I don't have a picture today, don't intend to upload it right now either, I'm too tired and the boys are driving me crazy... I'll write more tomorrow.

La dee dah...

I've got to get ready for work, but instead, I'm sitting at the computer. Gary's staying home with Micheal, so I only have the one kid to get ready today, and that won't take long because Kyle doesn't run from me and fight me every step of the way.

I took the first step to an even more eco-friendly life this morning. I needed new shirts... I ordered organic cotton, and even though I'm impatient, I did site-to-store shipping instead of the faster option of having them shipped to the house. Two things there... Patting myself on the back for that one. Although, I can say this: I saved the price in shipping that it costs me to upgrade to organic cotton, so that was a plus.

I'm also now looking into some books to see what else I can do that I haven't already thought about. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to share them here...

Talk to you all later... I'm really going to get ready for work now.

My 3/10 Picture

I realized that I forgot to post a picture... So here's one of Kyle and I.

Good night now...

Help me earn money for college!

Help me earn money for college buy clicking here to do your online shopping! You'll find almost any online retailer on there and a percentage of what you pay will go towards my college. I would really appreciate anything anyone does to help...

On to today's events... Micheal was sick, Gary came home from work to take care of him so that I wouldn't risk losing my job. He's going to stay home with him tomorrow just in case he's still sick. I think it will be good for them both. I'm also going to go ahead and bring Kyle to daycare. I think it will be good for him to have some time away from Micheal, and I am really hoping that he doesn't catch this.

Well, I am dead tired... I will post more in the morning.

As promised, a picture...

I took this one the other day, but I am having technical difficulties uploading the other one right now... Anywho, here's my day one picture.

I was very proud today to get reviews back from my new round of teachers telling me what a good student I am. I just hope that I can continue to do so well.

I've had a pretty good birthday. Heard from my mom and one of my sisters. Other than that, my phone has not rang. I wish that I had from a few other people, but my guess is that they had more imprtant things to do.

Well, I'm off to spend some time with my family...

Happy Birthday to me!

So, today is my birthday, which also means the start of my 365 project that I promised... We're going to see how far I can get with this, I hope to make it all the way through and to force myself to post one picture of myself daily. I hope that this will help me to like having my picture taken as well, because I've always hated that.

Anywho... My neighbor and I went shopping for my birthday present yesterday. This is something we started doing last year on her birthday... We don't know quite what to get for each other sometimes, so we go shopping together, pick it out, and buy it then. This year I bought her a purse and matching wallet at JCPenney's, so she was rather irritated with me when I couldn't find a thing that I wanted, nothing at all... So we left the mall and went to Walmart. I found the AquaGlobes that are advertised on tv, so she bought me those, a new houseplant, and two magazines. The houseplant is a pretty little ivy in a hanging basket. I currently have it hanging in the kitchen on the curtain rod because I have nowhere else to put it. The magazines were Country Living and Country Sampler. I want to do a little redecorating and both magazines had some really great ideas, so instead of choosing one, she got me both.

After getting home and flipping through them and reading the articles, I've decided that I really like Country Living. I went on their website to take a look at some of the articles they have online and was really impressed. I think my birthday present to myself will be a subscription to it, especially considering I can get a 3 year one for only $24. My favorite article is one that includes some very useful eco-friendly tips. You should click to check it out. Some of them will even save you a lot of money. 

Oh, I finally finished my Critical Thinking paper last night. It was not my best work... I'm looking forward to seeing my grade in that class go way down... Oh well, I tried. While doing research for that paper though, I ran across a website for clergies that have been prosecuted, and then found the press release for Rev. Hal Lasseter's sentencing. It made me sick reading it. His daughter was my friend... I can remember hanging out with them when I was young. His wife was my teacher too, and he was always at the school. I also remember telling my mom that he was weird and scary and that I didn't like him, his hugs "felt funny". I just wonder if he molested any kids, or if watching the stuff was as far as it went. And I hope that this isn't what screwed Rindi up. She was such a pretty girl... She did teen modeling too, and she would have gone so much farther than I ever could have if she hadn't left home like she did. I remember her bringing her portfolio to school and wondering why on Earth a preacher's daughter would ever be allowed to take pictures with just her pretty long hair to cover herself. I guess now I know why... I say a prayer and cry for all children that grow up like that. Your father is supposed to be someone that you can trust, someone who will protect you from the world, not someone who will fantasize about doing you.

On to another subject... I don't want to talk about that anymore... I will post a picture later today. I was planning to take one when I first woke up this morning, but luckily for anyone who reads this, my camera is in the baby's room and I'm terrified of the thought of waking him up this early.

Well, I will talk to you all later....

Gary left the laptop today...

I told him that I proofread his English paper if he left it today, but if he didn't leave the laptop, I wouldn't have time.

I'm uploading some pics of the boys and the house. Oh, and a picture of myself.

Kyle eating his breakfast yesterday:

He loves bananas and pancakes!

Micheal eating breakfast:

He just played with his pancakes, but he loved the banana...

My living room:

I got sunflowers for my birthday from a friend at work, so I moved a few things around so that I could enjoy them...

My sunflowers:

I love sunflowers and just happened to mention it at work when I saw them putting the out. Aren't they beautiful?

I woke Kyle up from his nap when I took this picture:

He was so cute just laying there, I had to go grab my camera, but I made too much noise.

And as for that picture of me:

Gee... I'm getting old.

I love hearing that... Not really, but I should be used to it by now. For the past few years now it has been brought up every time it gets close to my birthday. I feel like speaking my mind whenever someone makes the comment to me, but instead I grin and bear it.

For the record, I'm not getting old, I'm simply getting better. I love that saying and it seems so me.

I finally logged onto my MySpace and saw that I had a few messages. All happy birthdays. One from someone I didn't even know, one from an ex-boyfriend (I dated him when I was 13, so he's really just more of an old friend), and one from an old mall-rat friend of mine that sold Gary my engagement ring. I enjoyed reading the messages from Jacob and Bobby, wasn't like the "Wow, you're getting old!" that I got from my sister-in-law. They were sweet messages that reminded me that I do still have friends that care.

On a different note, I've enjoyed this nice weather that we've had today. I even let the boys wear shorts and sandles. Micheal cried though because he loves his heavy winter coat and he wanted to wear it...

Oh, and I have a perfect grade so far in both of my new classes. Of course, I have no doubt that my Critical Thinking class won't be that way much longer... This paper that I have due tomorrow is not my best work as of right now.

Well, I need to get off here and get back to work on that paper...

Ahhh... The Weekend.

Gary has drill, so I'm off this weekend. It's nice, I needed a break. I get a three-day weekend too since Monday's my birthday and Jeremy decided to be nice and give me that day off... I don't really know what I'll do today, Gary's taking the laptop so it's not like I'll be getting my paper done. I do intend to stay out of Walmart though... I need a break from that place. Maybe I'll do some more cleaning and rearranging. I want to get this baker's rack that I saw and put it in the kitchen, so maybe I'll convince Gary to let me buy it. That'll give me something to do...

I need to do some thinking about what to do my final projects on too... It's only week one, but it would be nice to have most of the work completed by week seven, that way I wouldn't be so stressed.

Well, gotta go, coffee's calling!

Supporting A Position

My topic for a paper that I have due this week is "Supporting A Position". The problem is that the postion I have to support is whether or not I support capital punishment... I really don't ever take a stance on that one. I'm thinking I'll have to say not, I can come up with more arguments for not.

Oh, I downloaded more music after listening to the same five songs over and over again last night... And of course I'm listening to them again right now. The only rock that I have right now is Pink. I don't know why... I just like her.

Well, I'm gonna get off here and get ready for work...

Jamming out...

I am trying desperately to get some schoolwork done right now, but between the kids screaming, Gary's tv, and the website not allowing me to log on, I'm getting discouraged fast. So right now I'm doing something that I haven't done in a very long time: Listening to my music as loud as I can turn it and just having fun. I think it does some good... I can definitely feel my stress level going way down. Of course, the music has a lot to do with it... I mean, how can you be stressed when you're listening to Toby Keith, Lady Antebellum, and Joey & Rory.

For those of you who didn't already know it, I am very much a country girl. When I'm not listening to country, it's rock, but I don't have that on the laptop right now... I'm a little limited on my selection because I really don't want to fill my hard drive with just music.

Okay, now I'm going to try resetting my password with school, even though I know that shouldn't have changed... It's taking forever though. I hate this, I really need to get my schoolwork done.

Gary sent me a link for a future job for me today... I don't know if he was serious or not about whether he really thought I'd be interested, but it did peak my interest. It would be working with troubled youths, just not the way I had originally been thinking of. We had a program similar to the one he sent me start up at my first high school. I used to feel so bad for the kids that were put into it, it was like being in boot camp, but still in school. They were forced to wear black sweats and the program was really tough on them. looking back on it now though, I feel like they were probably these kids' last chance before they got out into the real world and made mistakes that weren't so easy to correct. I wouldn't mind doing something like that. I already know that I don't have a problem with people hating me, I make people hate me everyday at work. At least maybe one day these kids might be thankful for me.

All I know for now is that I'm going to keep working my butt off, I want my kids to be proud of me, and I don't believe that Walmart will do that...

Kind of excited...

They announced a while back that we were getting our quarterly bonus. I didn't bother getting excited then because I didn't think it would happen, something always comes up and we don't get our bonuses, so why bother getting excited? Well, they posted the amount yesterday and the date that we'll receive out checks, it's actually going to happen! We are actually getting our checks!!! It's only about $200, but money's money... I made the mistake of telling Gary about it though, so it will probably go to something that he wants instead of something for me. I don't really care, if it helps to pay down bills, it 'll be nice.

Today, I am cleaning and doing schoolwork. I'm going to put some new photos up around the house of the kids... I've been meaning to do that for a while now. I also want to finally put a wedding album together of Gary and I. That may wait until this weekend.

I'm also getting closer and closer to that 365 project that I was telling you about... And I am actually going to stick with it. I'm trying to come up with a them for it, but we'll see how that works out. I've never been one to have my picture taken, I really, really hate my picture, so this should be fun... Maybe I'll have a little "self-growth" after all is said and done.

Oh, last but not least, I had my one year evaluation with Walmart yesterday. It wasn't as brutal as I expected... I got a raise that will go into effect on April 18th. Woohoo... Not.

Well, that's all for now.

Awww...

Gary brought home roses last night. He wanted to show appreciation for the hard work I've been putting in around the house as well as at work... Wasn't quite sure about the reasoning behind it, I always work my butt off around here, but I got roses so I intend to just be happy and not read into it!

I took some pictures this morning, just playing around a little. Wanted to test the Fuji against my Canon in low-light conditions. Let's just say that the Canon won. The Canon always wins, I just like having the Fuji in my purse and for quick cute pictures of the kids.

The Fuji, as you can see forced out way too much flash and really distorted the coloring of the roses:

Here's the Canon, much better as you can see:

And just because I wanted a shot like this, I did it... You should see the one I took with the Fuji, no good at all:

I'm going to try to get one with the rose and ring with a black velvet background tomorrow when I have more time... I think it'll be very beautiful.

I also took some pictures of the boys playing in the tub the other day... I'm only uploading one, but there were so many cute shots. I swear, they're both going to kill me when they're teenagers and they realize how many naked pictures I have of them. I love it though, there aren't a lot of pictures of me growing up, and I really wish that I had more, even if they were embarassing...

And here it is, the tub shot:

Well, that's all for now, time to get dressed and go to work.

Tired...

My muscles are aching from my new workout and I'm having to remind myself that it's worth it. Little by little, every day I'm working to get further into the workout... I'm hoping that soon I'll be able to breeze through it, then I'll start on the second one. When I can breeze through that, I'm going to start running again. I want to be able to devote an hour or two each day to working out and get back down to a size two again. I'm hoping to drop 15 to 20 pounds.

Well, by posting this, I'm hoping to give myself some accountability... I'm hoping that I'll feel obligated to continue even on mornings that I feel to tired to work out, mornings that my muscles ache or hurt like hell...

Well, now to finish my coffee, get a shower, get dressed and ready for work...

Geesh, I'm bored...

I got all of my coursework downloaded weeks ago, but I finally printed the rest of it today... I keep working on my schoolwork, but now I've got almost two weeks worth done.

I've got my dinner planned too. Pork chops, cream corn, and green beans.

I'm washing clothes, dishes, and cleaning the house, but there's just not a lot to do. The kids are playing quietly in their rooms... Seperately, which never happens.

Well, I will stop boring you guys... Maybe I'll find something to do. I want to go eat the cookie dough in the kitchen, but I'm trying to practice self-control...

New Classes Start Today!

Yep, that's right folks, I start a whole new set of classes today... I'm hoping to do a lot better in these than I did in my first set. I know I will. I know what to expect now, and I will continue to work as hard as I can at it.

I already posted my bio in both of them and am getting to work on this weeks coursework. It's nice that I have today off from work, gives me a chance to get ahead on things... Not to mention the fact that I woke up at 4:15 and couldn't go back to sleep, so I got straight up and went to check the classes out. I'll probably be going back and forth all day long!

I'm also going to spend some time with the kiddos today. I'm planning to get them out of the house for a bit and let Micheal run and play... After they go down for a nap, I'm going to clean, clean, clean... I'm caught up on almost everything around the house, but I'd like for it to stay that way, so I'm gonna clean out the closets and get them organized today and Thursday.

Well, I'm gonna get off here, finish my coffee, and work out....

It's that time again...

Cramps, cramps, and more cramps. I went to work fine, in no more pain than usual, and the further into the day I got, the worse I hurt. I came home and curled up on the couch... My sister-in-law called Gary and told him he needed to come home because she didn't know what was wrong. So he called after I told her to go home... He laughed because apparently she thought I was dying or something...

I just need to make it through today... I'm going to try to workout and see if it helps. Maybe the pain from that will at least distract me from the cramps.

Right now I'm watching the Gridiron Gang. I think I'll have to convince Gary to buy it for me.

Well, I'll write you guys later, got a lot to do and I need more coffee.