A Cup of Coffee and A Random List

1. I have no pictures to post. In fact I really have not taken any pictures. I think it is because of the winter. It seems I am just not a winter person. Don't like to go out in it, don't like to be cold, miss the colors of spring, summer, and fall....white...bleck! muddy white...bleck! grey...bleck! So no pictures with the blog today.

2. There are moments throughout the day when I am so disappointed in myself, as a person as a mom, as a wife. For example at night when I am in bed I think about exercise and how much weight I am putting on and how all I really need to do is manage what I eat and exercise. Why am I letting myself get this way? Or when I am getting all of us ready and out the door and off to school I notice Mason's chapped lips (again, he is such a lip-licker!) and wonder why I can catch that before we leave so that I can have him put on the chapstick he hates. Even just a certain moments when I look around the house and see how much has gone undone ... I am disappointed. For some reason I can never find the right balance. I find enough for happiness but there are just those moments throughout the day.....

3. I am loving Facebook! Leah was totally right. It has been a great way to connect and nice and easy. Donna I totally wish you would do Facebook......hint hint hint.

4. As of right now, I have bills to pay, a late birthday present to get in the mail, happies to send to some girlies, a scrapbook to finish, 2 scarves to finish, dishes, laundry, homework (the usual), and I don't want to do any of it! I would rather be here blogging about what I need to do than doing......but I know I NEED to do it so then I stress. Sigh...such a vicious circle I create. So guess what I will be doing when I am done? LOL!

5. Bailey texted me with "i got my permitttt :D". Please say a prayer for us.........

6. I am desperately jonesin' for a diet vanilla pepsi.

Gotta interrupt this blog...phone ringing off the hook and my time is up, have to go pick Mason up from school.
Later-taters.
Hugs and happies.
m

Green Splat

Hey ladies...and gentlemen that may read my blog.
A quick little post to say HEEEYYYY!
I am knee deep in cleaning and nursing textbooks (mixed with projects I have been working on).
So my goal today is to finish up the nasty cleaning ick and work on both finishing up projects (especially the one I told Leah about a month and a half ago!) and prepare for first test this week.
Pretty boring, right?
Hope all is well with you.
Hugs and happies.
m

Happiness

Happiness is laughter.
Happiness is a new darker hair color (shown in this blurry picture of yours truly).
Happiness is 3 snow days in a row.
Happiness is a hot cup of coffee on a freeze your butt of day.
Happiness is getting your homework done a week before it is due.
Happiness is a clean house.
Happiness is cuddling with Shawn.
Happiness is words that make you smile...
like the ones left on posts by super uber cool friends.
like the ones you see in quotes to inspire (such as the ones I found on Heidi Swapps blog)...

"Happiness itself is a kind of Gratitude." Joseph W. Krutch

and

"Thoughts are ENERGY and you can make your world or break your world by THINKING" -Susan L. Taylor

like the ones that capture memories and tell stories.

Happiness is Bailey reading ... because she soo doesn't read, and is finding a whole new world.

Happiness is connecting on the Internet.

Happiness is creating.

Happiness is Mason making me laugh and still wanting to cuddle with me.

Happiness is just being thankful.

Hugs and happines.

m

Right Now

Right now I haven't uploaded any new pictures so I borrowed an image from google.

Right now I am relaxed.

Right now we are on a snow day!!! Woohooo! Not only do the kiddos have a snow day but I do too, which totally rocks! Love a snow day. A day to stay inside and be lazy. Who doesn't enjoy one of those days?

Right now I am working on another knitting project. Last winter I taught myself how to knit and honestly it isn't the most enjoyable thing for me. I love the results but it takes me forever and it isn't very therapeutic. However, this winter I found the knitting loom. I think I read somewhere it was used in the 1700's. This week I have been knitting a scarf on the knitting loom and LOVE IT! Will have to bore you with some pictures soon. LOL!

Right now I am so thankful for our home. With the weather being so crazy cold I am truly blessed to have a nice warm home.

Right now I am loving today's daily teaching from "The Secret". It is talking about being in harmony and says "...It is the same feeling as when you float on water. If you are tense, or if you resist the water, you will sink. If you surrender to the water, the water will support you and you with float. That is the feeling, and that is how you harmonize yourself....." Pretty neat huh? I would love to have this kind of harmony.

Right now I am reading "A Theory of Relativity" and my nursing text books. Not at the same time but they are the books I am working on.

Right now I'm going to go enjoy my snow day.

Hugs and happies.

m

My First Random List of 2009

1.) I don't know what it was he unwrapped but this is my absolute favorite part of Christmas morning....seeing the excitement and feeling the happiness. 2.) Yesterday while working I was having a conversation with one of the doctors who told me he was 61 (and I about fell over!!). It reminded me of age...which reminded me of mine......I will be 35 flipping years old in April!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How come I don't feel 35? Why does it shock me to think of myself at 35? Maybe because I am still a student in college and act like I am 15?

3.) Yes Bai and Shawn crack me up!!! They were playing for the camera...kind of. LOL! Shawn was annoying Bai and then they started posing. Goh...I love my little family of comedians.

4.) My very favoritest place to be in winter is curled up next to Shawn. I sigh at the thought of my ice cold hands next to his skin...usually on his back which totally makes him angry but I cannot help myself because it is my favoritest place to be.

5.) Our only tradition for the past 15 years at Christmas time has been Christmas Eve pj's. The one gift Bai and Mase get to open and even though they know what it is, they still get excited.

6.) Made it through first day of classes today. It is back to the old same old same old. Kind of icky but if you look on the positive side (which I totally TRY to do) I am a day closer to my goal. Two semesters, 15 weeks, and 3 days left ..... not that I am counting or anything :O)

7.) The only thing I love about winter are the big fat snow flakes and when the ice looks so stunning on the trees. This photo is a close up of a tree in our yard. Looks kind of cool. Wish there would have been some different lighting but by time there was I had forgotten to take the pictures.

8.) I have a really messy house right now that is niggling on my mind while I sit here and type. Guess what I get to do when I am done?

9.) These windmill thingies are sprouting up the next town over. I had heard they were putting them up but was shocked at how big they were until I drove by them. The picture doesn't quite give them justice at how incredibly HUGE they are...pretty impressive.

10.) Had a lunch with a old (not that we are old!!!!!!!!!!) class mate and it was soooo incredibly nice. I miss the connection of history with people. Ya know?

Alright...as always there is more random-ness, but I have to save it for another day because the dog needs to go out, dinner needs to get started, my phone is ringing, Mason wants on the computer, and did I mention my house is a mess?

Hugs and happies.

m

Book List (2008) Blog

As you may well know, I have trouble posting a blog without a picture.
So.....here is a picture.
Bailey pointed it out this morning on our way out the door to school. She said "look Mom it's a heart". We don't know how the impression was made but it looked like someone did it on purpose. Totally made us smile!

Now for the Book List of 2008.

Might bore some of you.

But I like to use my blog as a journal... so here goes:

1. The Memory Keeper's Daughter Kim Edwards

2. A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini

3. Wicked Gregory Maguire

4. Quickie James Patterson

5. Shadow Music Julie Garwood

6. The Almost Moon Alice Sebold

7. The 6th Hour James Patterson

8. The Pillars of the Earth Ken Follett

9. Dogs of Babel Carolyn Parkhurst

10. World Without End Ken Follett

11. Journal Revolution Linda Woods and Karen Dinio

12. Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini

13. Second Glance Jodi Picoult

14. How To Be Happy Dammit Karen Salmanson

15. The Mephisto Club Tess Gerristen

16. 7th Heaven James Patterson

17. The Final Warning James Patterson

18. Lost Souls Lisa Jackson

19. Heartstopper Joy Fielding

20. Plum Lucky Janet Evanovich

21. The Tenth Circle Jodi Picoult

22. The Host Stephanie Meyer

23. City of Bones Cassandra Clare

24. Change of Heart Jodi Picoult

25. City of Ashes Cassandra Clare

26. White Out Ken Follet

27. Sail James Patterson/Howard Roughan

28. Breaking Dawn Stephanie Meyer

29. Eleven on Top Janet Evanovich

30. Hunting Fear Kay Hooper

31. Lean Mean 13 Janet Evanovich

32. Daniel X James Patterson/Michael LEdwidge

33. The Keepsake Tess Gerristen

34. Fractured Karin Slaughter

35. Smoke Screen Sandra Brown

36. Change of Heart Jodi Picoult

37. The Lace Reader Brunonia Barry

I didn't list the billions of nursing books I read because...well that would be boring. LOL!

Here is what I have learned from these books to pass on to all of you readers out there.

Looking on this list I see things that stand out and books I cannot remember (which means they probably weren't uber good but OK):

***The Lace Reader was a shocking book that made me rethink all that I had read...wowza still thinking on that one.

***James Patterson books are really not that great any more. Not sure of if he is putting them out to fast or if it is the people he is writing with, but ehhhh.

***I will gobble up and read ANYTHING Stephanie Meyer, Karin Slaughter, Tess Gerristen, or Jodi Picoult puts out for us.

***Pillars of the Earth was worth reading all 700billion pages....REALLY liked that book!

***Didn't think I would like A Thousand Splendid Suns but read it anyway for a book club and it made me cry. A good book.

***Any time I want a good laugh and easy read I pick up a Janet Evanovich book. Anyone out there who doesn't have time and is stressed pick up her One for The Money. That series had me laughing out loud and I would read an excerpt to Shawn because he would want to know what I could possible be reading to make me laugh out loud.

ANYHOOO.... I am sure there is more but I really must go pick up Bai from the bus stop.

Hugs and happies to you.

See you soon (with some good pictures)

m