I.....

I live my life waiting for it to start.



I work in hell.



I talk in incomplete sentences, which drives people crazy.



I wish I would have lived my life less afraid.



I enjoy a good discussion/argument.




I look hideous in yellow.




I smell almost everything before I eat it.




I hide from the vault guy.




I pray for my children.



I walk around the cemetery when I am angry or hurt.




I sing to relieve stress.




I can survive.




I watch movies that I love over and over and over again.




I yearn for solutions.




I daydream about running away to the woods.



I want my children to know that they have a place to call home.




I cry, to easily and in front of people and shouldn't.


I read to escape.



I love unconditionally.




I wonder why there is hate?




I touch everything when I shop.




I hurt people with sarcasm.




I fear alot less than I used to.

I hope that my girls know how wonderful and powerful they are.

I break easily.



I eat hotdogs on my pizza.



I quit smoking this year.



I bathe nude.



I drink cheap wine and I like it.



I save corks.




I hug a pillow when I sleep.




I miss my grandma.




I forgive easily.




I learned not to trust everyone before they give you a reason not to.




I have so much more than I realize.



I don't have patience for lies.



I kiss fish before I release them.




I wonder why we are where we are, for what purpose and where are we going?

Tag assignment

Deb tagged me and I was supposed to post the fourth picture in the fourth folder in my pictures folder. I was so excited, it was my first blogging assignment. So I immediately went to my pictures and the fourth folder and oh no, there are only 2 pictures in there and they are scans of cards I made. My hands got a little sweaty and the hair on the back of my neck stood up and I was afraid. I was afraid because I know how Deborah likes to follow the rules and now I am going to bend them and I don't want to ruffle Deborah's feathers (okay she really isn't a bird for all you rule followers out there, it is just a figure of speech) because she will be at my house during Thanksgiving and she could short sheet my bed or something. What will I do.

So I improvised, I went to the next folder that had more than four pictures and this is what I got. This is probably one of the worse pictures that I have of my beautiful baby girl. I am not sure what she is doing. I do know that we were celebrating Christmas at Nana G's because of the other pictures in the folder. I don't know who took the picture and I am not even sure what song is playing on the CD player. I didn't want to cheat or make anyone think that my life is a blur of perfect digital pictures. Because my life is not a blur of perfect anything.

So I hope that I fulfilled my tagged responsibility and this made me think. Can I start my own tag? Can I Deb. Because you are my only reader or at least my only commenter, I am asking you for permission to start my own tag.

Oh I almost forgot, I get to tag four people.

Dic Dic

Kenzi

Kirsten

Mom - try starting a blog and posting a picture. Really it could be fun. You could blog about retirement with dad.

Mimi and the girls big adventure part 4

We decided to stop in Mackinaw City and do a little shopping and thought we might get something to eat. One bad thing about Honey Mustard Pringles is they don't last very long. So we started looking for some fulfilling nourishment.

Sorry, but I have to interupt myself here and insert one of the most insane things that I think I have ever seen. A petosky stone vending machine. WHAT!!!! really WHAT!!!! I understand that people have just about picked the beaches clean of petosky stones and they are getting harder and harder to find, but seriously. When you find them in the gift shops they are polished and all pretty, sometimes you find them in jewelry or used as a paperweight - but WHAT!!!! These were not polished and they were not in jewelry or some other type of souvenier. They weren't expensive, if you don't mind paying for something that with a little work you can find for free. Oh wait I guess the same could be said for bottled water and heck I buy that, so what am I thinking - Crud, I could have bought a petosky stone and missed the chance. Oh well, there is always next year.

Back to the fulfilling nourishment, we start looking around and there is Subway, Pizza, Burgers, wait we can get this stuff at home. So back in the car we go and decide to cross the bridge into St. Ignace there could be something there to eat. Wait, halt, hold the phone, back the bus up.........Did I just say CROSS THE BRIDGE. I did, I said cross the bridge. Not just the proverbial "we will cross that bridge when we get to it" bridge. THE bridge, the might mac, the largest suspension bridge in the continental united states. Maybe even the largest suspension bridge ever. Heck, I think it may just be bigger than the great wall of china. I am pretty sure it was what Simon and Garfunkel were singing about when the sang "Bridge over Troubled Water". And I was going to drive across it. Remember me, I am panicky, and can't drive to the nearest shopping mall by myself. ...........

And there goes the last exit in the lower pennisula. Um..... Hello...... I am driving across the bridge and you know what it is kind of fun. It is really high and there is a slow moving vehicle in my non-grated lane, My youngest is sitting in the front seat and has never seen the bridge from the front seat and we are singing and this vehicle is moving so sloooooow. So being the great adventurer that I am passed this slow vehicle. Now passing this vehicle means that I have to drive on the grating here we go and it made a cool humming sound. For years when riding across the bridge I wouldn't let my driver go onto the grating and here I was driving on it - Woooo Hooo

The last few weeks

Hey - remember me. I have been crazy busy lately. Here are my excuses - property tax time at work. That means hours and hours and hours of calculating and smiling and collecting and balancing - in between all of those numbers - I have been running the female brat pack to cheerleading and volleyball and band practice and theater. After all of the rain we got, I had to mow the lawn (It needs it again now) and then the carpet needed vacuuming and then one day last week the dog wanted to go outside and then the darn canine wanted back in again. Didn't he know I was busy. Oh yea and I had to go to the grocery store and then I had to feed my darling offspring and then they needed help with their homework and then...and then....and then.... and then..... and I still need to tell you about crossing the bridge. Okay okay Deborah calm down, I know that you are my only reader and at the very least my only commenter. How do I know that you ask.. because even Mom's comment the other day was really me!!! Yep she was standing behind me but it was me.......

Mimi and girls big adventure (part 3)

So off we went. Headed North, Mamma Mia soundtrack blaring, snacking on our new favorite Honey Mustard Pringles (only available for a limited time). I should also mention that Kirsten is driving, so I can sit back, relax, read and wait until one of us screams, "Hey, I want to stop there". Well it wasn't too long and we passed a little giftshop that looked right up our alley. Woodstock gifts in Lake City. Now to say this was right up our alley was an understatement. We love cabiny (new word) stuff. There were bears, there were moose, there were indians, there were tractors (?), Lots of wood, t-shirts, sweatshirts, candles and even a bathroom. Wow, why did we think that we wanted to go any further? We hung out here for about an hour and then it was back on the road.

Kirsten was getting tired of driving (after mis judging a four way stop in Lake City - but hey it could have happened to anyone and will) so I jumped in the driver seat and off we went. Now right after we left Lake City we decided to head East and get on I-75 to head up to Gaylord. We thought (acutally I thought) we might stay there for the night but the girls wanted to keep driving and it was early so off we went. Our next stop was the last rest area in the lower pennisula with - Yes, you guessed it - a scenic overlook. So off we went to the scenic overlook - it really is beautiful. The girls were waving at the cars passing below and we were all thrilled when someone waved back or honked. We are easily ammused, but the entertainment was free.

Next stop Sea Shell City. The man eating clam. The City of Sea Shells. We had never been there. Oh, we had seen the signs, we had the desire to stop and see the city where the streets are paved with sea shells. We just knew that we would see pirates and mermaids and shipwrecks. What else could be at Sea Shell City. We could taste the Salt Water Taffy already. (Get it, Get it Salt water taffy, man I crack myself up). Off the exit, into the parking lot, take a picture by the sign to prove that we had been there. Here we go.......

What...... just another gift shop. No paved in sea shell roads... No mermaids.....No shipwrecks. Okay really you could buy all of those things and every conceivable type of shell you could think of. There really were alot of cool things to look at and maybe, I really did know all of this going in, but it is fun to dream. Maybe I will go watch The Little Mermaid.

Next up...... crossing a bridge

Mimi (and girls) big adventure part 2

In our last installment, Mackenzi had to take in a (clear throat) sample. I forgot to mention that everything was perfectly fine - she just had changed soap and it didn't agree with the ummm area.



So we are off to breakfast with in Hastings with Grandma and Grandpa. Nothing to exciting to mention. Grandma is in food love with the multigrain pancakes at Mill's Landing in Hastings.






So off we go north on M-66 we had no itinerary or schedule. We only knew two things, we were going to have fun and we were going to stop whenever we got the whim. So off we go, through, Ionia (we were there once this summer to attend the B-93 birthday bash) and further north to Stanton, this is where something happens. I'm not sure what happened but all of a sudden we knew we weren't in Kansas anymore. All of a sudden the road wasn't - um - how should I say it - of the best quality anymore. Seems the asphalt was a little more - um - bumpy. Apparently we zigged when we should have zagged, Jigged when we should have jogged. Anyway we ended up on a road that was not north M-66.






Now the girls tend to get a little panicky if they think we are "lost". They have asked many times on road trips - "Where are we" - not because they are wondering when we will arrive at our destination, but, they do not trust me to get them to the destination. I do not have a history of becoming extremely lost, so I really don't know why they would question my capability. I on the other hand think that it is fun to get off the beaten path - I have said for years that you can't get lost in Michigan. You either run into water (that being one of the great lakes) or Indiana or Ohio (two of the lesser states) (Sorry Deb, really I am just kidding) or a really big bridge (one of the bigger bridges).


Another funny thing that has happened since I have gotten more mature is that I actually use that little navigational tool that is built into my car known as the compass. I am directionally challenged. I know, I know, look for the sun and I know where it rises and where is sets and blah, blah, blah. Well it was overcast and you couldn't find the sun and because I was driving Mom's car I was not able to use the little directional thingy. So I was not 100% confidant that we were headed in the right direction, however, I was about 82% sure and we know that the odds were with us. Well, after about 30 minutes we ran right into M-66 again and all was right with the world. So here we go again, North on M-66. Through six lakes (actually the place that we found M-66 again), through Remus, Barryton, (during this time we have been discussing when we should go East and get on I-75, just haven't decided when to).






When all of a sudden we pass the cutest little church. Seriously little church. We just have to turn around and check it out. That is what we are doing on our adventure, checking out new things.









So we stop at the "Wayside Chapel".





The most adorable little chapel. There is room for four parishioners and a pulpit. There was a "guest book" and some of the people that had visited had left prayer requests also it seemed that the chapel was non-denominational as there was several different versions of the Bible and several different types of hymnals.



We thought this was an appropriate way to start our adventure and a little prayer to keep us safe didn't hurt at all.



To be continued.........

Mimi (and girls) big adventure (part 1)

First a little history. Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan is just about my favorite place on the whole earth. Not that I have traveled the whole earth because I haven't even traveled my own country let alone the whole earth.



Every labor day weekend for the past 29 years my extended family has migrated north to Sault Sainte Marie, henceforth referred to as the Soo. This Labor day weekend was a little different. Oh don't worry we still traveled north to the Soo, but.....

The trip was going to be made by myself and my two wonderfully adventurous daughters. They may not have know that they were wonderfully adventurous when we started out. However they know now without question that they are wonderfully adventurous.



Now if you have ever been on a road trip there are certain essentials that you need. Pringles, chips ahoy, bottled water, Pepsi (I think you get the idea). So off to Wal-mart we go the day before the scheduled departure.



My beautiful youngest daughter mentions that she needs to use the rest room. When she returns to me she tells me again that there has been some discomfort when (you know ---shh - whispers) going.



I am in quite a quandary because we have planned to leave at 7:00 a.m. the next morning and I don't want her to not feel well while are gone and I am having major guilt cramps because she has complained about this for a couple of weeks and I have not reacted to it (I know bad Mom).

So I call her ever so supportive Dad and ask if he could call the doctors office and try to get her an appointment, because I didn't have the number and I was out and if they could get her right in I could take her right over because I have all of a sudden become a great mom and would do that for my second born child. So she could get in to the doctor that afternoon.

Hooray, she can get in and we have time to go home and clean up a little so the doctor doesn't think I am a totally negligent mom (remember we are going out of town and all of our good clothes are packed).

There we are at the doctors office and the very nice nurse and very nice doctor were treating her very respectfully and understanding what a girl of her age must be going through and asked her for a (don't read out loud) urine sample. Well my sweet little baby gets shy bladder and can't go. So we (her and I, because doctors and nurses are way to busy to worry about sbs (shy bladder syndrome)) run water, then we put her hands in cold water and dance around the bathroom and drink two juice boxes, you know the routine. Well she just couldn't go and the harder she tried to go the more anxious she was getting the more it just was not going to work so the doctor told us that we could take the bottle home and she could "collect the sample" at home and we could bring it in in the morning.

We knew that would put us way behind schedule . But what choice did we have?

So we took the bottle home - collected the sample and the first leg of our big labor day adventure was stopping at the doctors office to drop off an urine sample.

To be continued....................

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!!!



The summer of 2006 was the coolest ever. Temperature wise. I had found out that I was pregnant for our second child in the fall of 2005 and when I figured out that my due date was August, my first thought and statement to my husband was - The minute I break a sweat we are getting air conditioning. I had spent several years (okay since the day we got married) begging for either (really I wasn't picky) an air conditioner or central air conditioning. I hate being hot. I don't like to sweat - and to tell you what I really think - Heat stinks, in the winter you can put more clothes on - seriously, layers, then blankets and if that doesn't work then cuddle with someone. You don't even have to like them much if it is cold enough. But, in the summer you can only take so much off.



My grandma used to sing a song and the lyrics were such



"When it gets to hot for comfort

and you can't buy ice cream cones

it ain't no sin

to take off your skin

and dance around in your bones"



Okay, I digress, but in case you couldn't figure it out, I really, really don't like the heat.



So here I am thinking, he can't say no to me when I am pregnant ( I was still holding the pregnant card - I don't think I ever sent him out for a midnight craving, although he did go with me to taco bell a few times - I had not played it at all during my first pregnancy - I was saving it for this moment), I did a little happy dance in my mind, - I am getting air conditioning, I am getting air conditioning - well 2006 summer in my hometown was the coldest on record and I didn't get air conditioning.


Now she is 12 and I don't think that she even remembers not having air conditioning (I got it for her first birthday) and she is beautiful and wonderful and this is a belated - Happy Birthday Baby, I love YOU!!!!!

I came first!!

I was a priority - truly first on Thursday July 31, 2008.


Okay, maybe that doesn't seem like such a big deal to you but to me it is huge.



Yesterday morning I got up, made coffee and attempted to get ready for work. I started to get into the shower and was surprised to find the water was cold. So I quickly wet my hair down in the very cold water and did what I could to be presentable at work.

Then I went downstairs to find the pilot on my water heater was out, again. This had happened several times in the past and I knew that I would need someone to relight the pilot light on my water heater. You see it goes out a couple times a year and when that happened it would just get relit and we would be on our merry warm water way.


Over the course of the last few months I have been chastized several times for not calling *** when I have a need or something goes awry. So I asked if he could relight it? (just before I stole his sons almost monster truck (we will talk about that in another blog entry)) Of course he would help, however, he was on his way to take care of some business right then but he would take care of it later. That wasn't a problem, I was already at work and stinky, but my head had warmed up by then and besides I was on my way to drive a almost stolen almost monster truck.

So when I talked to him later in the day it had slipped his mind (must of been some important business he had to take care of), I was a little disappointed that I had been forgotten but nothing worth mentioning, besides I wanted some hot water.

Jump forward about 5 hours and there he was laying all studly like on my basement floor lighting my pilot light. So pilot light lit - "you should be all set lady". So, thank you and talk to you later........ and off he goes to take care of some more business.



Again jump forward about 50 minutes and standing in the shower, knowing that it will now be warm and I will be clean and all will be right in the world, except the water never got hot, or warm or even past chill. Ugh - downstairs I go and the pilot light is out - darn pilot light - I think maybe a mouse is blowing it out.



Again jump forward about 2 hours......ring, ring - "hello"... "how was your shower?" I explained that I didn't get a shower because of that pesky mouse - he surmised that it probably wasn't a mouse and probably a part called a thermocouple (at least that is how it was spelled when I looked it up on the internet) and he would be over some time tomorrow to look at it. He had some more business to take care of first thing in the morning, but, would call sometime tomorrow and come to look at it and fix it. Okay, sleep well, Goodnight, what, Goodnight.

So this morning the phone rings and guess what he is on his way to fix my water heater - He hadn't taken his hot shower yet and I was sure that it was to show me how much he supported my plight. (However, he did before he got here - so there goes the support theory) Seriously he was coming to fix my water heater then, not later after business was taken care of, then, right then.

Not only did he come over and look at it again - he had to go to the hardware store to get the aforementioned thermocouple and he was going to take me with him, looking and smelling like I did, seriously I believe he was.

I also must confess that in the realm of our relationship I have often mentioned that I feel like second shift or accuse him of not being as into me as he claims.



But this morning I came first!!!!

Where will you be?

The subject of a blog I was reading the other day asked, if the author was where she thought she would be 10 years ago. That inspired me to start thinking about where I was 10 years ago and where I thought I would be today.




Well almost 10 years ago I was probably at the bottom of the barrel. I was suffering from a deep depression and thought it was very possible that I wouldn't get out of bed again. So to even think 10 hours ahead of the current time wasn't easy let alone 10 years. There was a time that I couldn't leave my house or drive anywhere alone and was completely dependant on my husband, family and friends. I know that there are people that deal with this for years and some their whole lives, so, I count myself very blessed to be able to say that the worst part was only a short time, however, I still have "after shocks". One of the things that happened to me was a panic attack on a busy road while I was driving alone. After that panic attack I couldn't drive alone for what seemed like a very very long time and even thinking about driving down that road could bring on unwelcome palpitations.





So now that you know where I was 10 years ago, jump forward to now. I am in a place that I never ever imagined. In the past 18 months I have separated from my husband, lived through a tornado, gotten a tattoo, driven down that very busy road almost alone, fixed my roof, quit smoking and that is just off the top of my head.



Looking forward I can't even imagine where I could be in 10 years the possibilities are endless and I haven't felt this optimism since I was a young girl looking forward.

Kids make you a liar

One thing that I have learned over they years of being a mother is that having kids automatically makes you a liar. When Kirsten was a baby, My mom asked when did she start sitting up? I said that she couldn't sit up. Mom said look - Kirsten was definitely sitting up!!!!

Skip forward 14 years. "I will not buy my kids cell phones" - my children are now very happy owners of cell phones. Yep that is right - I lied again. Both of them have cell phones. Now I must clarify this situation. Both of them had purchased with their own money tracfones. At the time I thought what a waste of money, however, they were both very responsible with their minutes and phones and I soon found out how convenient it was for them to have their own phones. If we were at a school function, shopping, even if they were down at the lake, I didn't have to search for them, I just had to call them. So now they are each on a parents plan and don't have to watch their minutes so closely.

Wonder what I will lie about next!!!!!!