How I became a Pig Farmers Wife: Part 2

So...Before I jump into the marriage part of my life, let me go back a little to the dating part. Hunting, fishing, camping...outdoor life in general, has always been a part of our relationship. I mean, we met on a camping trip..that seemed to have set a tone for everything else. Even on some of our "dates" (if you can even call it that) consisted of me, sitting in between Pete and Eric in the front seat of a red pick-up scouting for deer. Or me, sitting on the side of the river watching Pete fish. One time, I even whitnessed an actual hunt. Pete is primarily an archery hunter. Which means he uses a bow and arrow...which, I think, is much harder than using a gun. Anyway, as I was saying, I actually whitnessed Pete taking down a deer. At the time, I had never really been exposed to any sort of hunting so everything was new to me. Pete, Eric and I had been driving around scouting for deer one summer evening. We were on private land that they had permission to hunt on. Anyways, lo and behold..there is a little buck about 50 yards away. I watch Pete draw back his bow as the little buck stood there. Everything was silent except for the cicadas humming in the oak trees. My heart was pumping! It was pretty exilerating. And then "thunk!" he releases the arrow. I will not go into great detail, but I will tell you, that at that moment...I realized what this sport was to him. I understood why he did it. It's not something that I can really explain, but I gained a lot of respect for the sport and especially for Pete that day.
Hunting continuted to be a part of our relationship well into fall with turkey season, winter with duck season, and spring with another turkey season and fishing. Many weekends were spent with me waiting for him to come back from a day trip and we would spend the evenings together. Little did I know I'd be doing this for the rest of my life! But I was in love...
Even our honeymoon was "outdoors-y". No, not on exotic beach in Tahiti. But on a trip to Yellowstone in Wyoming. Again, little did I know how much this would forshadow the rest of my life! We drove to Wyoming from California staying in nice hotels the whole way. But once we got to Jackson Hole, we actually camped at a very nice KOA campground. Yes, camping on our honeymoon! Pete would get up each morning and walk down to the Snake River and fish and we spent the rest of the day looking for wildlife and taking in the glorious scenery of Yellowstone. If you've never been there...it's absolutly amazing.
It's funny to think back on this stuff now...As we get ready to enter the next chapter in our lives...when I'm often finding myself asking "how in the world did we end up here?". When really, it's been a part of us all along.
To be continuted...

recovering

from my cold.
Here's how nap time went today.
I send both children to their rooms to rest quietly. I'm lucky enough that the both fall asleep. I go to my room for a cat nap of my own. I read for a while and as my eyes grow heavy, I close the book and snuggle down into the bed.
And then it starts.
That little infuriating tickle in the back of your throat.
ehem....ehem...
You try and clear your throat and ignore it. But it persists. So you give in and cough just a bit.
It subsides just long enough for dreams to start taking over and then....Tickle, tickle...you're jolted from sleep into frantic coughing. You hide under the covers to hopefully find that dream land again. Trying desperately to ignore that incessant tickle, tickle, tickle.
Ehem....ehem...EHEM....You're eyes start to water. Which of course makes your nose run. Tickle....tickle, tickle. Oh, you could get out of bed and get some water. But you're not about to let this dang tickle take over your blessed nap! EHEM! MMMM..EHEM! Tickle, tickle.... Tears are streaming down your face, snot is ready to pour out of your nose....Ehem! OH FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!......
Then, you cough so hard and for so long you feel like you're going to hork up your lunch. And you finally give in and get some water.
Yeah.
Nap time was like that.
Fun, huh?

more Pig Farmers Wife story to come tomorrow. :)

I'm feeling cruddy today...I got a cold. So more Pig Farmers Wife story will have to wait till I feel a little better...but for now here is a conversation I just had with Jake:

J: I'm the coolest guy in the whole wide world.
M: oh reeeaallly?
J: Yeah, Mommy, I am.
M: What makes you think that?
J: You see this nice shirt?
M: hmm hummm.
J: Well I think a lady will see me in it and want to kiss me. Because I am soooo cool.

Where do they come up with this stuff?

E! Hollywood True Story: How I became a Pig Farmers Wife.

A life I never expected.
June 1995: It was 3 days before high school graduation. My good friend was having a small get-together at her house and there were some boys from our rival school there. Cute boys. One was not really my type at all, but SO funny. I don't think he noticed me. The summer passes and I find myself calling in sick to work (which I'd never done before) to go to another little party with friends. Lo and behold...the funny guy is there. And I can't really explain it, but something clicked. And we spent the next 4 years together on and off.., mostly on. We were great friends, we did everything together. We spent birthdays and Thanksgivings and Christmas's together. I just figured he was "the one". I'm sure our families expected us to get married. I expected it. In fact, he actually bought the ring. But he never asked. And he wasn't the one.
To this day, I still can't quite tell you how it happened. But after 4 years he, the one I thought was "the one", was gone. And somewhere, there was someone else who was praying for "a good girl".
The next few weeks I was pretty miserable. You know...heart sick. The only thing I knew to do was turn to my friends....friends that I propbably hadn't paid a lot of attention to in the last 4 years. But they were there for me anyways. We would hang out at a local bar on Friday and Saturday nights. It was the summer, in a small town and there wasn't much else to do. Word got out that I was single and it was like boys were everywhere...like white on rice. But I didn't notice any of them. Not really.
My girl friends and I decided we were going to go camping "girls only". We had it all planned out...just us girls and NO BOYS. huh. Well, that didn't work out. Of course all the boys found out about our little trip and decided to crash our party. They showed up Saturday morning bright and early, knockin' on our camp site. On the way up the day before, Teri had told me that "Pete had a major crush" on me. I had NO IDEA who she was talking about. I kind of just sluffed it off and didn't really think any more about because I honestly had no idea who he was. Anyways, we'd gone down to the lake in the morning and by lunchtime we were hungry, so we all headed back to camp. Just as we were walking up, I noticed a red Toyota pick up idling right in front of our campsite.
Me: Who is that?
Teri: oh that's Eric.
Me: no, Eric does not have a truck like that.
Teri: That's Pete's truck. Eric is in the passenger seat.
Me: Pete?....As in Pete? The guy you were telling me about? That Pete?
Teri: Yeah.
My heart started thumping as we walked up to greet our new guests. Crap...did my hair look ok? I mean, it's pretty hard to stay "cute" when your camping, you know? I mean, even if he wasn't cute, I still had to be cute. He had a crush on me, I couldn't let him down! I walked up to the passenger side and said Hi to Eric. I'd known him since high school. I looked across the seat at the driver and saw nothing but solid muscle. Oh boy. Heart thumping again. And then he turned and looked in my direction. I'm not sure if I believed in love at first sight, but if this wasn't it...I don't know what is. He had the most beautiful sparkly green eyes that literally made me go weak in the knees. I'm not usually the agressive type...but I'll tell ya, I made sure he knew I liked him before the weekend was over. When he left Sunday morning, he said, "Can I call you?" After a few weeks of dating he said, "you know, I was lying in bed one night and I prayed that God would let me meet a nice girl. Three days later, I met you". And that was it. We were married a year later.
To be continued...
PS...there is a link on the right with pictures of the ranch. I'll have more to my story later, but I just can't write it all in one sitting! Don't worry, it's not an epic story, or harliquin romance....just a little background as to how I got to where I am now. :)

Yes, I'm a copy cat

Ok, so I totally copied Chrissy with her photo collage. Hey, it's a good idea. I had all these pics of Meg over the last day or so and they needed a home together. :)
I can't believe it's been a week since I posted. I guess not a whole lot is going on. We're settling into our new routine. I really like being able to run erands and just do all the stuff I used to do in 2 days, and get stuff done whenever I feel like it. Or need something, or want something. It's nice. What's also nice is that Tracy is basically a bedroom community. People mostly just sleep here...they work out of town...Well, just over the hill in the Bay Area. Which means there's not a whole lot of people out during the middle of the day. No more fighting down grocery store isles on Saturday mornings. And Costco! Costco is like....empty! For real.
Jake is having a bit of a hard time adjusting to every day being a "stay at home day". I can't really blame him...I mean he's been with other kids 5 days a week since he was 9 weeks old...with the exception of the 5 months I was on maternity leave last year. The sad thing is...just like the rest of the town...there's just not a lot of kids home during the day here in our neighborhood. Jake is constanly saying "can I go play with my friend?" and looking out the window for someone. And when I tell him no one is home..."BUT MOOOOMMMMY! I can just go knock on their door, ok?" It just breaks my heart. Oh, and the neighbor I met last weekend?....Uh huh..she IS a SAHM and let me tell ya...SHE's the one not coming out of her cave. Not the other way around! We've been outside every day this week, and we hear her kids playing in their back yard...but they never come out into the ally. See, all of our "back yards" are about the size of a postage stamp, so most of us just open our garages and let the kids go crazy in the ally. They can ride their bikes and run...all the neighbors look out for the kids. I actually really like it like that. The only bad thing is, some one really needs to be out there just to keep an eye out. (at least until they get a little older...all the kids on our street are between 1-5) ANYWAY...poor Jake hears the other little boy down the street and begs me to let him go play with him. He did get a few oportunities this week...but always in their house...never outside. Which I think is just weird..especially because despite the cold wind, it's been pretty nice outside. And when I go over and get him, Jake asks if the little boy can come play down at our house, and the answer is always "no". It's just weird. I'm not ready to think this girl is unfriendly. I think she's just got her thing going on. Her schedule, her play dates or what ever. Or maybe she has just as many social anxieties as I do. Because I'm really shy. The thought of having to talk to someone new just about gives me a panic attack. But it's just the thought. If I actually go and do it, I'm totally fine....I'll talk your head off if you let me! Anyways, so I'm trying to find things to keep the boy occupied. We've been going to the "big park" in town, the library, and on walks. Good thing he is starting school at the end of summer, because he just craves that social interaction.
Megan is taking to the changes around here just fine. I think she's too young to notice too much anyway, but she's a lot like me in that she's just a go-with-the-flow type of gal. :)
Pete of course likes the changes...you know, more home cooked meals...well maybe meals that aren't so rushed...like at 7 o'clock! And I don't think he's had to fold any laundry in 2 weeks. (he used to do about 90% of the laundry!)
So anyways, that's about it. See..nothing too interesting. So now it's the weekend and who knows what we'll do...Monday looks like we (all of us) might head up to the ranch since Pete has the day off. There's been a lot going on up there so I'll be SURE to put my memory card INTO the camera before we leave, I'll take some pics and do a little update here.
Have a good weekend!

Today was a good day.

It was SO nice outside. Like almost spring. I actually wore short sleeves! Hello! It was awesome. :D
Jake woke me up at 5:30 this morning. I'm like, what the heck are you doing? Turns out he'd peed in his bed...but didn't tell me that until...oh like 8 hours later! See, when he came in my room he just said his leg hurt. (He NEVER comes in my room in the middle of the night. Ever.) He's been saying this for like 2 days now. He keeps pointing at this teeny tiny scratch on the back of his leg telling me it hurt. Last night the miniscule scab even flaked off of it so how could it possibly be hurting still?? I decided he must need some extra attention or something, so I let him get in bed with me. Naive me didn't get that the "hurt leg" was just a cover up for the pee. When he tells me about it 8 hours later, I say "why are you just telling me this now? why didn't you tell me when you came in my room?" Jake: "cuz I thought you'd be mad". Me: "Well I'm more mad that you didn't tell me". Wet sheets at 5:30 in the morning, frustrating yes, but accidents happen...and not very often with this kid so I can't really be mad. But the thought of that pee sitting there all day...ewww!
Anyways, so that was that.
So much happened today...I'm trying to decide what or how to report it all....First I got some awesome cleaning done out of Jake. Totally Huck Finn'ed the kid. (as Jude would put it!) I brought out the vaccum and he really, really wanted to do it himself.
me: well I don't think you're quite big enough to vaccum
Jake: but mooooommmmmmyyy! I really, really want to clean something!
!!opportunity!!
Me: well, I dunno. hmmmmm. I don't know what a kid like you could do.
Jake: Mommy. (very seriously) I could do LOTS of things. I'm a good cleaner.
Me: Hmmmmmm...well..I guess you could clean these windows for me.
Jake: YES! Mommy, pleeeaaaase let me clean them!
And so..he cleaned the bottom half of my french doors, the front of the oven and dishwasher, and then, he dusted the base boards. Nice!
After that, we all went outside. It was just so nice. It's funny, when the weather gets like this, after weeks of cold and rain...people just start popping out of their houses. Like coming out of hibernation. I met a neighbor and her two kids this morning. I'm pretty sure she's a SAHM...she's got a boy just a teesy bit older than Jake and a little girl who's 2. Perfect! They just live a few houses down...but I hardly ever see them out so I've never really talked to them before. But, now this is bad...She says, "are you new in the neighborhood? I don't think I've ever seen you before". Me: (i'm like completely shocked she's saying this...You've never seen me??) "oh, no..we've lived here 2 1/2 years". So either SHE never goes out or I never go out. Anyways, she was nice, but I'm such an idiot...I have NO social skills what so ever..I didn't even ask her her name. smacks head against wall...dumb, dumb! But I did mention that we were always home and her son was more than welcome to come knock on our door to play. So that was good. I guess.
We went back in the house, had lunch and sent Megan off to nap upstairs. About an hour or so later, Jake notices that Cody from across the street and the other little boy we met this morning were out playing in the front. So I let Jake go out too. That's the great thing about this neighborhood...there are a TON of boys all within a year or two of each other in age. I wanted to go out too...but I didn't want to leave Meg in the house alone. Anyways, Brian, Cody's dad came over and asked if Jake could go with them up to the park...it's just at the end of the block. I figured since the dad came and asked, it would be fine...you know adult supervision and all. Anyways, so when Megan got up, they were still there so I took her and walked up to the park. We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon. 5 boys, Megan, me, Cody's dad and another mom. It was nice to actually talk to some adults...you know, haven't done much of that in the past week or so! Brian says to me "haven't seen you in a while...I can't even remember your name". (oh jeeze! why does no one know who I am?!) I told him I only come out of my cave when it's above 60 degrees! LOL!! It's true...ya'll know how much I LOVE winter and all. ha ha!
And so..this is how the day ended.

SO cute. There's another really cute pic on the photo blog so check that one out too. I just didn't want to double post the same pic :)
Happy Sunday to you!

yummmm

I guess I still must be stressed. Cuz I just HAD to make this yesterday. What's that you say? A sheet of brownies last week wasn't enough? Well, if you must know...apparently not. It's either stress or PMS. One or the other. I have to blame my gluttony on something, right? Ok, so it's probably neither.
I'm sure you've probably had this dessert before, I think it was a very popular pot-luck dish in the 80's. It's widely known as Better than Sex Cake. Or also known as Better than Tom Sellec Cake because I guess some people are afraid to say S-E-X. I know I am. And I guess that's were my 1980's reference comes in...because really, who still thinks Tom Sellec is hot? Maybe if you're my mom you do. So anyways, I'm not going to call this Better than S-E-X, and I'm not going to call it Better than Tom Sellec. Heck, I'm not even going to call it Cake...cuz really there's no cake involved.
You want the recipe?

Yummy, yummy dessert
This is for a 1/2 recipe...I put it in an 8x8 glass dish. If you want to make a full recipe just double it and put it in a 9x13 pan. Oh and you could totally go low(er) cal on this too by using fat free/sugar free Cool Whip, pudding, low fat milk and cream cheese :)

1/2 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup chopped pecans
1/4 Cup butter

4oz. Cream Cheese, soft
1/2 Cup powdered sugar
4oz. Cool Whip (1/2 a regular sized tub)

1 3oz. Box of instant Chocolate pudding
1 3oz. Box of instant Vanilla pudding
1 1/2 Cups of cold milk

the rest of the tub of Cool Whip.

Crust:
cream the butter, flour and pecans together and press in the bottom of your 8x8 pan. Bake at 350* for about 15 minutes. Cool. I stuck mine in the freezer while I made the other layers.

1st layer:
cream together the powdered sugar and cream cheese until fluffy. Fold in the Cool Whip. Spoon on top of crust.

2nd layer:
dump the 2 boxes of pudding in a bowl, add the 1 1/2 cups of milk. Stir until it thickens and spoon over cream cheese layer.

Top:
Top with the rest of the Cool Whip and add some chocolate shavings to make it look pretty. Put it in the fridge for a couple hours and then dig in!

Don't worry people, I'm not turning into June Cleaver or anything. The domesticness will wear off in another week when I get bored and/or lazy.

Life of a SAHM

You would think I haven't folded laundry in a year after the pile I folded this morning! Geesh. Laundry is never ending, isn't it? I don't mind washing it...it's the folding that gets me. Especially socks. Man, I hate folding socks. I think I'd rather clean toilets. Maybe.
Things are settling in around here. Trying to get into some sort of routine and start getting some things that have been a little neglected, taken care of. Like scrubbing the showers, cleaning out closets and the pantry. All these are on my to-do list. I really do have to look at this like a job and give myself daily tasks other wise I'd never get anything done. I'm also trying to get up in the morning around the same time I used to. Well, around 6:30 or so. This gives me some time to myself...to figure out what I'm going to do today, read my emails, blogs etc...It also allows me to be ready for my kids when they wake up. I'm really liking this part of my day.
I'm also trying to walk every day too. Today I think, was the the worst walk ever. It is just so flippin cold. I bundled us all up, put hats on etc...but the wind was just unbelievable. The kind that just blows from every direction and makes your eyes water even though you have sunglass on...and then your nose starts running...and your nose and your ears start to feel like if you touch them they'll just break off. Have I mentioned that I hate winter? I couldn't get home fast enough. I'm still going to try and do it though...Spring is coming soon, right?
So that's what's going on around here. I'm glad I'm at home, I know it was the right decision. I can't help but still feel a litte stressed...my face broke out this weekend, I have a cold sore and I ate just about an entire sheet of brownies. You think that might be a sign of stress? hmmm! I can't help but think this is all temporary. I feel like I'm on vacation, or on maternity leave. After all, it was only just over a year ago that I was freaking out about going back to work after having Megan. It's as if time has gone backwards. If that makes sense. I feel like in just a few weeks this will all be over.
Anyways that's all I got for now. Oh yeah, my 365 is all caught up so check it out if you want :)

A new job

side note: my front yard looks horrible! yikes!
Well ok, not new but you get what I'm sayin', right?
so....
I think we're going to do this.
This being me staying at home. Being a stay at home mom. Can you believe it? As I said in my last post...I could either panic, or take this as a blessing/oportunity. I think Pete and I both have decided on the later of the two. I had this sort of revelation, so to speak, about it this morning. I'm taking this bump in the road as a sign or maybe a kick in the butt from God...Saying "Hello down there, isn't this what you wanted? Well you got it! Now do something about it!" The thing is, we never would have done this on our own. Oh, we've talked about doing it....but it was just talk. It's just that it's so easy to work. It's so easy to get that paycheck every week and put it in the bank and just know that next week there will be another one. You know what I mean? It's that whole comfort zone thing. Even with the ranch going and earning money, I know both Pete and I would still be like "well lets just see how this goes another month". And I'd still work. And a year from now, I'd still be working. Like that whole "we're not ready to have kids yet" or "we can't afford to buy a house" or "we're not ready to get married". Well it's the same thing....You're never really going to be ready, until you just do it.
So, it looks like we're going to try this stayin at home thing. We will have to tighten things up a bit and there may be a slight issue to work out with health benefits but I believe it's all going to work out just fine. We'll actually be saving a lot of money on gas, day care and lunches. Part of me still wants to freak out a little...that's just my nature. But I tell ya...when that corporate guy walked in the office Tuesday morning, I just knew something was up. And when I figured out what was happening, I almost had a smile on my face. Isn't that weird? And then as he's sitting there reading from a script, everything kind of went blank. I couldn't beleive it was actually happening. But when they handed over a box to go clean out our desks...I couldn't help but feel this overwhelming sense of relief. It was like Finally....I don't have to do this anymore.

Well,

I lost my job today. Not sure how to feel about it. Right now I'm kind of numb. But I figure I have two options.
A: Panic and cuss like a sailor.
or
B: Think of this as an opportunity/blessing.

I'm trying really hard to avoid option A.
But hey guess what? Tomorrow is casual day.

*whew*

Finally Friday. Sometimes short weeks seem to feel longer for some reason. I wonder why that is? hmmm.
Well I've been thinking about a whole bunch of stuff this week. All kinds of deep thoughts going through my head. I can't seem to consolidate them into any rational form of...well anything so I guess for now they'll all have to just stay in my head.
Oh, I wanted to clarify a bit about my last post. First, YES it really is that easy to get Jake to go to bed. He's so funny, because everything has to be just so. Not just with the words and actions, but like he has to have his jammies just so..the waist band can't be too high or too low, the tag has to be in...or the blanket has to be just right. If I haven't turn the fish tank light off before I come to tuck him in, he says "umm mommy, you are gonna turn the fishy light off, right?" He's just funny like that. It wasn't until recently that he's discovered he can actually get out of his bed. When he was a baby he never, ever tried to crawl out of his crib. And then at about 2 and half we put him in a regular twin sized bed and I guess he was just so used to us coming to get him out of the crib, it just transferred over to the bed. On Saturday mornings when I would sleep in (or try too anyways)I would hear him talking or singing to himself in his bed. He'd get tired of that and then start yelling for me. Instead of just getting up. I'd yell from my room, "Come here Jake! you can get up!" and he still wouldn't. Seriously, it's just been maybe in the last month where he now will get up and come knock on my door in the morning.
I've actually been blessed with 2 really good sleepers. Megan is quite the same way. She's been sleeping through the night since she was 7 weeks old and I could probably count on one hand the amount of times I've actually had to go in her room in the middle of the night. She has her own little bedtime routine too, and usually if she's got her sippy cup of water, she's good to go. Every now and then she cries a teensy bit, but not for long. She also will just sit in her crib and talk to herself in the morning too. I know, I'm pretty darn lucky.
Anyways, wow that was more of a tangent than I intended it to be. But I really don't have a ton to talk about anyways!
I have been having the WORST case of Spring Fever...or something. First of all, I feel a little silly complaining about the weather when my friend Nicole is experiencing -14* at her house. Minus 14?? My brain can't even process the thought. It's been pretty darn cold here too though. I mean, not minus 14 or anything. But still cold. It's been snowing for 2 days just up the road from us. Pete's ranch actually has about 6 inches of snow..I know that's nothing...but it kind of is for here. It's been raining since last Sunday. And I just looked at Weather.com and it's supposed to rain straight through next weekend. Blah! I'm just so sick of it. I'm tired of being cold, already! The weather on top of the fact that Pete is gone every single weekend is kind of making me have all this pent up energy. I seriously feel like I'm going to explode inside. Not in a bad way. Just like a claustrophobic way....like get me the heck out of here! I wanna go somewhere...stay in a hotel...see something I've never seen before. Anything. I just want to do something besides watch the freekin rain! LOL! Can we please just skip to Spring?
Ok enough complaining :)
Been slaking on the photo blog...not the photos, just the blog. Pete has been hijacking the computer every night this week. So hopefully tomorrow I can get that updated. Oh, and did you see Ali's new books on Shutterfly? Oh my heck! they look awesome! My step-sis and I made one of these photo books for my Dad and his wife for Christmas of our Hawaii pics...turned out SO nice. I've been wanting to make one for myself. Now I really want to do one like Ali's. Super cool. Check it out if you haven't already :)

A bedtime story

You give Daddy a hug and head up the stairs.
I feed the fish and turn out the light.
You feed Fatty the lizard and turn out his lamps.
I turn down the sheets.
You stand on the bed.
We hug and kiss.
You lie down.
I cover you up and tuck you in....one more kiss on the cheek.
"Goodnight. I love you."
"Goodnight Mommy, I'll talk to you outside"
I close the door.
you say: "GOODNIGHT MOMMY! I LOVE YOU!"
Through the door I say "Goodnight, I love you too"
"Mwah!"
"Mwah!"

It's the same routine every night and I love it.

Yes, this is a future scrapbook page :)

Saturday Sillyness

urr..uhh...maybe craziness.
I'll start with the boy. He's cute, yes? Yes he is. Too cute for his own good. And starting to act a little too big for his britches. Remember a few months ago when I was basically having a panic attack because someone had asked Jake to come out and play? And I stood in my living room pacing the floor and stalking the window every time I heard a car drive by? Well, I'm over that. Sort of. Ok not really..BUT I quickly began to realize...hey, it's quiet in here...and he's running off a lot of energy..and he's off just being a boy, doing what all boys should do. Of course I still kept a watchful eye/ear, and I set some pretty tough ground rules about playing outside. But I decided to go ahead and let go a bit on my tight lead around him. Today, I've decided he needs a little reeling back in.
This morning..it's maybe about 9:30. I'm not dressed yet and he wants to go out front to play. I say ok and I lay down the rules:
1. You must stay on the sidewalk
2. You can go from one end of the street to the other; this stop sign to this stop sign. (it's not a very long street at all...and hardly any traffic)
3. Don't go in any one's house.
4. Don't talk to strangers
I figure that covers most of the bases...and I planned on going out there anyways just as soon as I got myself and Megan dressed---10 minutes tops. So, I'm not dressed just yet but I'm just about to go upstairs and I look out the window to check on him. Don't see him. hmmm. Open the door. Don't hear him. hmmm...walk out on the side walk (in my jammies)...Look up one end of the street down to the other end. No where in sight. My heart starts racing and I'm just about to panic...Thinking I've got to be the worst mother in the world. How on earth could I just let him go out there alone? He'd only been out there MAYBE 3 minutes. Where on Earth could he have gone? I start running with Megan up the street when I hear him. He'd gone around to the back of the house...where our driveway is...Where our neighbors and their 2 boys were out playing. *Whew* My breathing settled but I was still hot. I was so mad that he didn't listen to what I had said. Yes, he was still technically at our house...he really didn't go anywhere he wasn't supposed to. But, he should have come back in the house and just said, "mommy, I'm going to go play in the back". I would have been totally cool with that. SO anyways, I've decided...No more going outside alone without mommy or daddy...or he's got to play with the other kids, as long as their parents are outside. That's it. And yeah, it's really for my own piece of mind. He's GOT to tell me what he's doing. Period.
2nd bit of craziness....My local scrapbook store. The LSS is closing down so I decided to go up there and stock up on some card stock. Everything is 50% off right now. So at 4 o'clock I pack the kids up and we head out. The store closes at 5 so I figure...it won't be that busy. Wrong! What the heck was I thinking? I walk in there and there's a huge line...like 20 or more people. Well...that can't be that bad, can it? I grab the card stock I wanted and walked around to see if there was anything else I had to have...not really, so I get in line. It's maybe 4:20 at this point. I finally leave the store at 5:30. Over an hour in line. What was I thinking? Was it worth it? eh. I guess. They didn't have any black or white card stock though...so that sucked. I have to say though, my kids were really good. I didn't pick Megan up out of the stroller until about 45 minutes into the waiting. She did real good. Jake buddied up with some other kids waiting for their moms. He was good too...until this real (ahem)nice lady comes up to me in the line.
Her: Ok who is the mother of that little boy in the orange shirt?
Me: (turning red I'm sure) Me. Oh no, what is he doing?
Her: (she holds up a piece of torn paper with one hand and has her b*tchy little other hand on her hip) HE is ripping up paper!
Oh well. My-jeez lady, it's ONE piece of paper. I'll pay for it for goodness sake. It's not YOUR paper or YOUR store, so why do you care? Ok wait...I'll back up. I just didn't like the attitude of this woman. But yeah, Jake should not have been ripping up paper. But you've got to give the kid a break...he'd been in there for over an hour. I'm surprised one piece of paper was the only casualty. Oh, and I did pay for the ripped paper-just for the record.
So then, after we leave there...I decide I haven't endured quite enough torture for one day...nor have my children, SO I head over to the grocery store. It's already 5:30 and it's dark and cold...people should be home eating dinner right? Wrong again. The place was packed. I do not like crowds...but one of my biggest pet peeves is when people stand in the middle of the isle and act like they don't even see you. Or when they bring their entire family including aunt Agnes and then they all stand shoulder to shoulder across the isle and are completely oblivious to the fact that you, your two kids and your basket full of food are trying to get by. Bugs the heck out of me because my mother always taught me to be conscious of others and to be courteous. If I ever even stepped in front of someone who was browsing the isle looking for something...I was to say "excuse me". And I still do to this day. Anyways, luckily we got out of there without too many scratches and hopefully I won't have to go back for another week.
So that's my Saturday ramblings for ya....I haven't eaten anything all day so I'm off to make me some dinner. Happy weekend!

Don't feel much like blogging lately

I think it might have something to do with having 2 blogs now...when I post on one I feel like I don't need to post on the other...I guess.
I got into a little accident today. It was NOT my fault. A guy in a truck decided to pull around some stopped traffic and decided NOT to even look in his mirror and he slammed right into me. Nice. Luckily, as you can see, the damage wasn't too bad no one was hurt. AND IT WASN'T MY FAULT. I keep stressing that because for some reason, I tend to be a bit accident prone. If we ever meet in real life..don't let me drive. I run red lights and I've bumped into a few things/cars in the past and about 2 years ago (when trying to avoid a head on collision) I lost control of my car and ended up straddling some rail road tracks. And for some reason, that story seems to make Pete's family laugh every time. IT WAS NOT FUNNY PEOPLE! ok..a teensy bit funny.
I realize this is all sounding a bit dramatic...I'm really not THAT accident prone. (well...the jury is still out on that one) But I've certainly had my fair share of unfortunate events when it comes to vehicles. I can't help but think that it's just me...that these things just seem to happen to me. But again, I'm being overly dramatic.
Anyways, I'm feeling ok...a bit of a headache and just some muscle soreness but otherwise ok. And thank goodness the guy had insurance!

short post...

not much going on around here...same old stuff. BUT I can't even believe it myself..I have been keeping up with my 365 project and posting them...with the exception of yesterday. I just can't bring myself to post it...it's a self portrait and it's just embarrassing. Anyway.
I've also been keeping up with my '08 book. It's turning out to be kind of a mod-podge of anything and everything. Some are from the prompts I have listed and some is just what ever I felt like doing. No pressure. I like it! I've actually added a few more pages since I took these pics.


I've also incorporated Emily Falconbridge's "thankful" idea to this book as well. I've just taken scrap pieces of paper as she suggested and used my date stamp and marked however many dates I can fit on that piece.
Lots of different sized papers/projects. Very simple elements-nothing fancy. So far it's been pretty easy to keep up. I hope the glitter doesn't wear off any time soon. I'm determined to have a finished product at years end.
Anyways, got to get ready for my day tomorrow. I'm up at quarter to 5 every morning now so I try and get at least all of our clothes set out for the next day before I go to bed.

Today:

I've been hit in the head twice with a toy cell phone. Once very hard. To which I now have a small bump on the side of my head. I've also been jumped on, hair pulled, and eye poked.
Today I've been overwhelmed with whining and crying. And sippy cups and screaming. And dirty diapers and food thrown on the floor. And "No"s and "I don't want to"s.
I've even been reduced to shed a few sorry for myself tears. It's just been one of those days.
But even after all that...I still got some good hugs and kisses and "I'm sorry I jumped on your head, Mommy."
And I guess that makes it all worth while.

Do you believe in ghosts?

This is such a complete random post! But it kind of lets you into a little bit more about me and where I came from...and I like talking about me. HA!
I don't know why I'm posting about this...but I was bored today and while blog surfing, I came upon a post about why someone believed in ghosts. I definitely think there are spirits...whether they are ghosts or not, I could not tell you. I used to turn my stereo off and it would pop back on like a minute later...I used to think that was a ghost. Could it have been? Or, was it just a glitch in my remote control or something? Anyway, as I was surfing, one thing led to another and I remembered the Vineyard House. This was a known haunted house not far from where I grew up. I lived near the town of Coloma in Northern California. Coloma was the site of the first gold discovery in California. In 1849 James Marshall was a working the water mill on the American River and came upon a large chunk-o-gold and the rest was history.....hundreds of thousands flocked to California from all over the world in search of fortune and fame. Anyways, back to the Vineyard House...this house is literally yards from the gold discovery site..it was built in the mid 1800's by a man and his wife and they obviously, by the name, were wine makers. The husband was said to have contracted syphilis...which in turn caused him mental health issues (umm which means he went crazy) the wife then chained her husband in a cell in the basement, where then, because of is mental issues, refused to eat and died of starvation. How crazy is that?!
In the 80's and 90's when I lived near there, the Vineyard House was a restaurant, bar and bed and breakfast. It was a known fact that the house was haunted. I'd been there several times, and don't recall actually seeing a ghost, (well, maybe...but not an actual apparition) but I do recall just an eerie feeling. Several people I know had been there and seen wine glasses explode on dinner tables, and once a chandelier dropped right onto a table. One time I was in there with my grandma...it was the middle of the afternoon and we were the only ones there except the lady that ran the gift shop. I remember standing there near the bottom of the stair well as she was talking. I could have sworn I heard the sound of someone coming down the stairs...like steps on the wooden floor and clothes rustling. But there was no one there. Was it a ghost?
Across the street from the house is a cemetery which I've walked through several times. I love old cemeteries! (is that weird?) I think I really love that there is history there. Like the evidence of humanity before me. If that makes sense. Like you read it in history books...but then you can see it for real. Ok, probably I only get that...that's ok! Back to the cemetery...that is supposed to be haunted too. The family who owned the Vineyard house is all buried there...along with many other settlers of their time. My good friend has family buried there dating from gold rush days to present day. I think that is so neat.
There is another cemetery not far from there in another little town...the Lotus Cemetery...Now that one..I can honestly say something very, very strange happened to me there. My parents had some friends visiting from out of town. So of course we had to take them to the "bone yard" as they called it. This cemetery is just as old as the first one I mentioned. Anyways, for some reason I decided to go off by myself...i didn't really want to be there and I was sick of listening to old people talk...I had this thing where I would never ever walk on a grave site..I stood in front of a headstone reading it and noticed it had a huge crack going right through the middle of it. I just kept looking at it...staring at it. And I it started swaying a little. Was I imagining it? I stood there and stared more. I started to feel a little dizzy. And then....the top half of the headstone fell flat on the ground. No joke. I ran so fast and found the adults. They completely did not believe me. They thought I was joking. "No! come look! for real, I'm NOT joking". We went back to the grave site and I kid you not....the broken headstone was back where it belonged. Was it a ghost? I have no idea...but I have no other explanation for it. And I've never forgotten it.
As I continued to surf the net today about the Vineyard House, I came upon several different articles which spoke about the "spookiness" of the California Gold Country. I'd definitely have to agree...there does seem to be something in the air there. I mean think about it. The gold rush was a tough life. Many people came here for fortune and wound up losing everything. Money makes people crazy. There was lots o killin going on in those days...so why not be haunted by it? But it is a beautiful place...and I really miss it.
So...do you have any ghost stories? Experience anything wacky? Know of any urban legends?
p.s....my other blog has been updated. Anonymous posters can comment now!

Creative Journey

So, as I mentioned in my last post, I want to try and focus on something creative..an on-going project. There are a lot of different ideas out there. I thought and thought about it...and remember that whole commitment thing I mentioned before? Yeah, I was kind of having a hard time committing to one idea. SO I've decided to take my own creative journey this year. No limits, no boundaries, no rules...no commitment other than to have a completed project by the end of the year. To the right I've listed a few different blogs with creative prompts. I plan on using these as a starting point each day...basically to pick whatever may be most inspiring me at the moment. Sometimes it may be paper, sometimes just words or a picture. What ever I feel like will help me tell my story. And if these don't work, then I'll just think of something myself. If you know of any other great blogs/challenges please let me know and I will add them to my list. I'm especially interested in photo prompts. I've created a new blog for my 2008 photo a day project. This one is going to be tough for me to keep up with, but I'm honestly going to try. I'm not planning on doing self portraits too often #1 because I suck at it. #2 Because I think that I am somewhat boring. #3 Because I don't wanna be like everyone else :P (J/K!) #4 because there's lots of other stories to be told.
The book~ The book is what I plan on putting my daily/weekly projects in. It's made of 2 pieces of 5x7 cardboard covered in paper from Scenic Route and 7 Gypsies and held together with book rings. The front says: '08 Paper, Pictures, Words. Oh! And I've also purchased a new photo printer so I can print at home to keep up with myself. If I had to wait for Costco or Snapfish I'd never do it.
So, we'll see how this goes. Anyone else doing something like this? Oh, I just remembered...I need to pick my word for 08!
Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

Can you believe we're done with 2007? I must say, for me it started off pretty crappy...but it has ended on a high note. And, I can say so many good things about the year now. Lots and lots of hard work at the ranch, finally seems to be coming to a head...and there seems to be a tiny little light at the end of the tunnel. We made it out on one camping trip wich was really fun and relaxing. Then we went on a real family vacation...for a whole week!...to Kauai! That was unforgettable. And then I got to go on vacation by my self. No children, no husband. No real responsibilities for 3 whole days! And I had a super great time with a good friend :) But probably the best thing for me this year...Well, I realized something when I went through my mail on Christmas Eve...My mailbox was FILLED with Christmas cards..All from friends I've met throughout the year. It made me so happy, I can't even tell you! Thank you so much for our friendship, I really do treasure it! You all mean so much to me...really. But then after looking through my flood of cards, I began to feel really bad. What kind of friend am I? I didn't send out any Christmas cards. To anyone. Actually, I haven't sent any out in years. I think this is why: About maybe 10 years or so ago (I was still living at home with my mom)we decided to hand make our Christmas cards. I was really into stamping at the time so mom and I bought this really cute stamp with a snow man, the we got a nice Christmas message stamp for the inside, a "hand made by" stamp for the back. We spent days and days, cutting paper, stamping, painting, and glittering. It was exhausting. And I don't remember anyone saying anything about them. Not that they would I guess....but I just didn't get any satisfaction out of it. It was work. And I didn't enjoy it. So I think that kind of did it for me. But now I'm feeling so energized about it...Next year I'm sending out cards. Come hell or high water!
So what else is new for 2008? Well, I'm not really a resolution person. I have a hard time commiting so resolutions just don't really work well for me. But I do have a few things that I kinda want to just "work on" this year.
* get back on my 1700 calorie a day thing. This was much easier when there was an acutal goal (Kauai) but I still want to lose another 15 or so pounds. I feel like I need to give something else up...last year it was soda but I don't know....my heart says I should give up coffee...but I dont think I'm ready for that.
* I want to do some sort of weekly journal/scrapbook/photo project. Thinking I might try this.
* Try something completely photo related...take a class (yeah right!), some sort of a challenge...thinking of either this or this. I don't know..seems like a lot of commitment and as I mentioned...I have an issue with commiting!
* Go on another trip by myself. That was just too fun!
* one last thing..I'm just praying, praying, praying for the ranch to open and be successfull. Lord have mercy, if nothing else just pray for that!
What are your plans, goals "resolutions" for 08?
Have a happy and safe New Years!

Merry Christmas!!!

Hope your day was filled with love and happiness!
Here is a slide show of a few pics from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. (Santa brought me a new 50mm lens! I LOVE it!)