District 9

OK so I had some movie tickets that we had to use before September 1st. The problem was that there were no movies we HAD to see. So we looked online, and decided the one we would see was District 9. Now, I didn't hate the movie, but it was not my kind of movie. It was filmed like a documentary, so some action scenes made me sick/dizzy. And it was a very bloody movie, so that kinda turned me off, too. But the story line was actually interesting. So I wouldn't really give it a thumbs-down either....

I am a slacker!

I know, I know, I haven't posted in a month. I am horrible! I just want to catch everyone up on Aaron. In case some of you don't know, he has finally moved home. That has been such a load off my mind! And things are going pretty well so far. He has separated himself from his most destructive friend (Yippee!) which was the biggest problem between us. Things are slowly getting back to normal.

He has also enrolled in GED classes, which made me really happy! You just can't get anywhere in life without at LEAST a high school education, and now he is getting that... whew! He had his first class today and things went well.

Lastly, he is desperately looking for a job. Really... trying... which makes me happy. But he just cannot find one. He came close the other day, and didn't get it. He was devastated. I pray that God sees it necessary to allow him to find one soon.

Well that is it for now. I promise to blog more....

It's My Turn!!

That's right, now I get to go see my best friend at HER house! I am so excited!! We leave tonight.. unfortunately both her and her DH are sick with strep. But we aren't going to let that get us down! Besides, DH and I are both so ready for a vacation, and relaxation time :o) More to come...

When BFF came to town!

My best friend came in town last weekend... yea baby! We had a blast!! We went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Friday. What an AWESOME MOVIE!!! Worth every penny, and I want to see it again! Of course before that we went to our favorite restaurant, El-Maguey! That was awesome!

Saturday we had a purse party, and after that we went to Cheesecake Factory.. holy cow that is a great place.

Sunday we went to church and then to Buffalo Wild Wings with Kevin and we played Trivia and ate wings and hung out.

Monday we hung out and scrapped, and then she had to leave :o( But we got a great pic of the two of us....

Time to catch up!

I know, I haven't blogged in a while... so here is a post to catch up!

June 26th: We went to the Cardinal game with Kevin's work. It was HOT, and it was also scary! We were sitting in the exact section where a guy fell from the balcony head first onto the seats below... he was OK but they said it was from the heat, and he passed out and just went straight over the edge. He was only 3 rows in front of us. It kinda put a damper on the game, and we lost on top of it.

July 4: We attempted to go to the fireworks, but it poured down rain so they cancelled it and postponed them to July 5. Of course then we forgot and missed them.. oh well.

July 8: It was my and Kevin's 9th anniversary. We went to 54th Street for dinner and had a good time. We decided we were going to do something big for next year's anniversary since it is our 10th.. milestone! I can't believe I put up with him for that long (hehe, really he is great)!

And the biggest news... Aaron has returned home. Yes, I am the most thankful mother in the world right now! Not only did he come home from Texas, he is HOME. And I was worried about the attitudes that might be flying when he returned, but he has been really pleasant. I think he might have learned his lesson. At least I hope so! He has signed up for GED classes, and he is looking for work. I am a happy camper...

What flavor smoothie are you?

You Are a Banana Smoothie

You are friendly and popular without even trying to be. People just like you. You are easy to be around and never offend everyone. You're quite mild. You have a warm demeanor, and many people find you to be inviting. You are sympathetic and kind. You have a soft spot in your heart for everyone.

What Flavor Smoothie Are You?

What is your gift?

Your Gift is Imagination

You are constantly dreaming. You are always thinking about what could be. You love to express yourself in many ways. You have a way with words and tell vivid stories. You love to be amused. You are good entertaining yourself, and other people find you hilarious. You're the type of person who finds staying happy easy. There's always fun to be had!

What's Your Gift?

Rich's Wedding/My Vacation

Last week was so much fun!! We went to Gatlinburg, TN for my brother's wedding and we stayed for the weekend and had a great time! We (Me, Kevin, my mom and dad, my brother Dave and his son Jake) drove to Gatlinburg Wednesday. When we got there, we met with Rich's fiance's family for a BBQ (kinda like a rehearsal dinner). We decided to take pictures of all the women there on both sides. (Pictured are Me, Jackie (Amanda's sister), Liv (her neice), Amanda (the Bride!), Marcie (her mom), Von (her grandma) and Alice (my mom).)


The next day was the wedding! It was so beautiful! We were worried that it was going to rain, but it rained early in the morning and cleared up around 10 am. The wedding was at noon and it was sunny and beautiful! There was a small reception afterward and once we got back to the cabin it started pouring again around 3. God was definitely watching over this wedding :) They did not allow us to take pics of the wedding, but we took a few before the wedding at the cabin. Here is a pic of Rich (the Groom!), my dad, and my nephew Jake.




That evening, we decided to go to the Aquarium in Gatlinburg. It was fantastic!!! I just love marine life (I always wanted to be a marine biologist), so I took about 200 pictures (really!), but here are just a couple of the awesome life in the sea. I think jellyfish are absolutely gorgeous.. I know they are poisonous, but so beautiful!!!




And my favorite marine life besides the dolphin is the stingray. They are so graceful and majestic! I even got to pet one :)


The next day, we went to Dixie Stampede. It was a pretty cool show with lots of horses and stuff. Great tricks and lots of glitz and showmanship. The dinner was fantastic, too! Here is a pic of me and Kevin before the show.



Then we went to play mini golf. But not just mini golf, Hillbilly Golf, and it was up the mountain! We rode a car up the mountain and we started at the top on Hole 1 and worked our way down a mountain to Hole 18. It was loads of fun, and (if you can believe this) Jake (the 4 yr old) was the ONLY person to get a hole in one, and it was unassisted!! He is really good at sports, but WOW! This is a pic of all of us (minus me of course) after we played.



On Saturday. we went to Dollywood. It's kinda like 6 Flags. We had a good time there, too. We rode the train, the old cars, saw a show and rode a few rides. Here is a pic of me and Kevin at Dollywood.



Dolly was even there that day, and she drove through the park in a car. This is the only pic I got of her, and it is blurry but it was cool!



There was a place at Dollywood called the Sweet Shoppe, and they made fudge, ice cream and taffy. This is the taffy machine, pulling it before it gets shaped into the candy.


And this is Richard, the taffy guy. He was really funny and we really enjoyed watching him make taffy. He was making licorice when we were there.



And this is Charlie, the machine that finishes and wraps the taffy. It is all fed into the machine by hand, and the wrapped candies fall into the bucket and they package it to sell. How cool!



We left Sunday morning and drove back. We had such a wonderful trip.. one I would take again...

Got me a pedi :)

So I went today to get a pedicure so my feet look human for my brother's wedding on Thursday. And for the first time, I got a special design put on my toes. It is so cute I had to take a picture :)

Progress!!

Boy, I love progress! Especially when you can SEE it. And when it is improving something you think to be a problem or an eyesore.

I am so thankful that I have great friends! My friends that are helping us clean up our yard were here yesterday, and they removed the stumps (bases) of the bushes, as well as the trunk of the tree. They were also going to remove the tree in our front yard, because it was taking over! Well, after they started removing branches from the bottom, they asked if we wanted to keep the tree because now it was actually quite pretty and you could see the house, yet still get shade. Well, I think we will keep it! Here are some pics of what it looks like today.


This is the front of the house. They are coming back today to remove all the branches. No more bushes, yay!


This is the tree. I really think after it has been trimmed, that we are going to keep it. It looks nice now...

New Hair!!!

I got new hair! I am so excited :) My brother is getting married next week and I wanted to look cute for the wedding pictures. So I went to my mom's hair stylist (who rocks!) and she made me new! It's shorter and I got highlights - way cute!!




I know, I am not smiling, but it is really hard to take a picture of yourself in a mirror... :)

Ugh!!

Yea, that was me Thursday and yesterday. Apparently, I got the flu. It all started Wednesday night. Kevin and I have been trying to eat really healthy so we can lose weight. But we decided we needed a treat so we went out for Mexican food. Well everything was fine until Thursday morning. As soon as I woke up, my stomach didn't feel right. And I spent the day feeling really bad and the restroom was my friend. I initally thought it was the fact that I ate mexican food after eating healthy for so long. I started feeling better by the evening, so I went to my friend's party and came home and tried to eat something. Yea, bad idea. All I can say is that by the time I went to bed that night, I was not feeling good again. I spent all night tossing and turning, or in the restroom. By morning it was even worse and I ended up praising the porcelain gods. Needless to say, it was not the food but a flu bug. The rest of the day was spent lying on the couch resting. But Saturday was a new day...

June is Zoo Month!!

Yes, June is Zoo Month :) Do you like going to the zoo? I love going, but my kids are grown so we don't go much. But I would have to say my favorite animal would be tigers - specifically white tigers. I am a cat lover, and it bleeds over to big cats, too! And I found a cute little picture of some white tiger cubs!! Aawwww....

I have a house after all!!

That's right, the landscaping in front of my house has taken over - until now :o) A friend of ours is helping us get rid of all the bushes in front of our house that have gotten way too big. Here is a before picture:


As you can see, they have gotten away from us (and quite frankly, I never liked them, especially the two red ones in the middle. The leaves are only about a foot in, and the rest is sticks, so it's impossible to trim back. And it was taking over my rhododendron bush on the right, which I love! They are so pretty! So our friend came over and got rid of all those crazy bushes so we can plant something that we WANT and will let us see our house. After everything but the bases are removed, here is the result.

SO much better!! You can see the brick, even. I am so excited!! Tonight, he will be back to remove the bases of the bushes, and to get rid of the tree in the front yard (you can see some of the branches in the foreground of this photo). I will show before and after's of that tomorrow...

Weekend Recap

Oh yes, that's right. Star Trek, baby! We went to see it Saturday, and it was everything I had heard about the movie - awesome!! Zachary Quinto is really the only person that could ever play Spock. He was fantastic!! And Chris Pine was a great Kirk, too. And the movie itself was very well written. I was happy!

And Sunday, we went to see Mom and Dad like usual. My dad made some amazing ribs!! He marinated them in margarita mix - best ribs I have ever tasted.... ever....

My Weekend

Went garage sale-ing this morning. We were gone from 7-11:30, and have nothing to show for it except a lamp for $2! Oh well, Kevin and I have so much fun piddling around the city. It's more about the time we spend together.

I have been wanting to see the Star Trek movie since it came out, so I think we are going to go today. I am sure it's awesome!

And tomorrow (or some time this week), one of the members of our church is coming over to tear out our yucky landscaping that is taking over our house. Then I can plant what I want!! I am really excited about that...

Summer Plans

I don't usually have summer plans, but this year is different!! In mid-June, I will be going to Tennessee to see my brother get married. I am very excited about that! And in July, my bestie is coming to see me!! We are going to see the new Harry Potter movie together -woohoo!! And then in the beginning of August, my DH and I are going to see her and her DH! I am so excited....

How my May went...

May was good and bad. Kevin started the softball team (he was so cute!), but his hip was really bothering him so he had to quit the team (at least this year). On the 9th we both went to a trivia night with Bo and Ty and we had a great time!

Then there was Mother's Day. We had a great time at mom's house with the entire family. Unfortunately, I did not get to see Aaron. He called around 4 and said he was going to come over, and called again 15 minutes later and said he couldn't come after all (sigh).

Mom and Dad had 2 fish fry's. I just love them! Fish is so delicious! Thanks, Mom!

Then, the bomb dropped. Aaron announced he was moving to Texas. That was the longest day of my life...

Memorial Day was fun, the whole family (minus Amanda :( ) was at mom's house again, this time for a BBQ. A fun time was had by all...

Beth Moore is amazing!

So last night started a brand new bible study by Beth Moore on the book of Esther. I had known about this study for a month and had not committed to going. Up until yesterday afternoon, I hadn't decided. But my friend Sundi asked me (again) if I was going to attend. So I decided to go.

Boy, am I so glad I went! Beth Moore is the cadillac of bible study leaders. She tugs all of your emotions (laugh, cry, etc) in one hour. And her workbooks really get you thinking.. they are a lot of work, but WOW they can get you in touch with God. I came home and immediately got through 2 days worth of homework. This is going to be so good for me...

What's on my mind today

My son, Aaron (19), left home about a year ago, and it has been very hard for me to accept. He left on bad terms, and has been living with people that are bad influences ever since. He has worked very hard to separate himself from his family, which I find so hard to take, mainly because my family is so close! We spend almost every weekend with my parents, my brother and sister-in-law and their kids, and sometimes even my youngest brother and his fiance. I know my family is unique, and I am proud of that!

Which makes this separation that my son is doing so difficult to understand. His latest decision was to move out of state with the family he is currently living with. I just know that it will not last and he will be asking for help sometime soon, and I tried to talk him out of it but it didn't work. I just need to pray that God give me the strength to "let go and let God" when it comes to Aaron. I cannot make decisions for him anymore, and I have to let him learn from his mistakes. And I will pray for him in the mean time...

My first post

OK I decided to create this blog for my personal family blogging, and to journal things I need to get off my chest. I hope it is enjoyed by those that choose to follow it. Thank you for looking!