What?

Someone deleted me on Facebook.

I know.  Right?  Actually, I'm kind of relieved.  I had toyed around with deleting him before.  But I thought he was a nice guy and even though he and I couldn't be more opposite - - I found myself liking him.  I liked him because Shannon liked him.  My first interactions with him on FB were political and I thought he was pretentious.  Shannon assured me that I was wrong and that he has a huge heart and is a nice guy.  He sure is.  Our only connection was through her.  So I can understand why our "friendship" might terminate.  I didn't meet him in person until her memorial service.

Anyway - - I find it ironic.  I always joke about culling my friends list.  And then I get culled.  Heh.  I wonder who else has sent me packing before and I've never noticed.  Things that make you go "hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm."

Speaking of Shannon - - we (The Bananas) went over to her house tonight to go through her clothes.  I'm glad that is done.  I grabbed a few of her things.  When John opened up her closet - - I could smell her.  It was as vivid as ever before.

Life goes on.  And I'm okay with that.

I'm missing the Spurs game.  I gotta jet.

Goodnight fans!

*muah*

Busy Day!

I have hardly had time to slow down today.  The house needed some work after the holiday break.  So I cleaned, caught up on laundry, made a menu for the week AND shopped for groceries.

Whew.

Oh - - I also took Cam to get his teeth cleaned and had a significant delay at the dealership getting the van checked out.  Some "check battery" light came on.  It took about 40 minutes to get it back in the service department (without an appointment) and start the diagnostics test.  (Which tested fine.)  And then another 15 minutes to "re-charge" the battery that checked out fine.  It had to be done to get rid of the warning indicator.  Gah.

I was supposed to take dinner to a friend tonight.  Didn't happen.  I HATE that.  I re-scheduled for Wednesday.

Then tonight - - I spilled my drink just as I was stepping away from the computer.  So I had to get the steam cleaner out and clean it up.

I'm going to go wash my make up off and call it a day.

So Violent

Why do I want to beat up people that can't spell?  Especially people that should know better.  It just irks me.  That's messed up.

My two biggest pet peeves:  they're (they are - - a contraction), their (possessive pronoun) and there.  Also a lot.  It's not alot.  It's two separate words.  

Why does this bother me so much?  It's a stupid thing to get upset about.  I won't lie - - I roll my eyes every time I see these mistakes.

So their.

*giggle*

Labor of Love

After almost 24 hours of labor, Little Miss Zoelle Olive Shannon Martin graced the world with her presence shortly after 6:00 tonight.

It. Was. A.MAY.ZING!

It was an HONOR to spend the day with Ashley in labor.  And then to witness God's miracle of birth...  I bawled when she was born.  It was one of the most beautiful moments in my life.

Shannon introduced me to Ashley.  Shannon was supposed to be there with me.  We were supposed to experience this together.  I missed my friend terribly.  But to cloud that sadness with God's perfect gift helped bring incredible sunshine to this day.

This day was a blessing.  Pure and simple.

Here is the little beauty in my arms:

I fell in love with her the moment I looked at her.  And when I finally got to hold her, she completely captured my heart.

God is good.

Blah

I haven't felt good.

I haven't felt like blogging.

I'm taking a break.

If something exciting happens, I'll let you know.

Serenity Now, Insanity Later

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. ~Albert Einstein

He must have had some insight into my, at the time, non-existent life.  I finally determined that I am insane.  At least by Einstein's standards.

I keep thinking, maybe even wishing, that a particular situation in my life is more than it really is.  I am always overly optimistic and then when push comes to shove - - it's the same freakin' outcome every. single. time.  Why, why, WHY do I expect it to ever change?  I am tired of putting heart and soul into something that is only reciprocated when it's convenient.

Time to re-define.  Maybe if I expect nothing, I'll be pleasantly surprised to receive something.  Anything.  I'm done jumping through hoops to please.  I am officially throwing my hat into the "I don't care" ring now.  I accept this situation for exactly what it is.  A big fat nothing.  It's time to be okay with "nothing" in this arena and move on.

So - - here I am.  Moving on.  I am proud of me.

Cameron Sings Soft Kitty!

This is on CBS's website as a competition. I don't think you can vote yet, but you can leave comments which might help us make it to the finals. So please go leave a comment for Cameron singing Soft Kitty.

Friday.

Busy today.

I have a doctor's appointment and I need to get my nails done.  I also have to work on a craft for a baby shower for tomorrow.  Then, Cameron's kindergarten teacher is getting married tonight.  He and I are going to her wedding.  It will be Cameron's first wedding to attend.  So sweet.  I hope to snag a cute picture and post it soon.

Well, I'm wasting time.

Have a great weekend!

Flying over the pond as I type this!

It has been a long wait.  Almost two whole years.  But at this very moment, my brother, his lovely bride and two very sweet kiddos are on an airplane and crossing the pond.  They spent last night in London (can't wait to find out if they saw any of the college protesters while there.)  They are en route to the good 'ole USA right now.

Here's the downside.  I don't get to see them today.  My parents and Noah do.  But not me.  :(  They are spending tonight in the DFW area and then will go on to Tulsa for their first week back.  Then, they'll come back to Texas and I will finally get to see them on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  I cannot wait.  I seriously can't wait.  My brother and I get along SO well.  I predict a Bourne trilogy movie-thon.  Probably several episodes of  The Office, introducing them to Big Bang and lots and lots of laughter.  Oh, and plenty of Starbucks!!!

Two years is TOOOOOOOOOOO long!

Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!!!

Go ahead and laugh.  But this really happened to me today.  Well, I didn't fall.  I was already laying down on the floor.  My back was hurting and I had Cameron walking on it.  He weighs almost nothing, so it feels so good when he does this.

What I don't know that I've shared here before is that I have a herniated disc.  It is at L5/S1.  That's just above my butt crack.  (Nice visual, eh?)  I've gone and had injections done before.  They are nerve-wracking and I hate them.  But they seem to help.  For a bit.  I visited with the doctor several years ago about getting it fixed.  At the time, my only choice was having that part of my spine fused together.  I was scheduled for a procedure that would duplicate the pain under x-ray, so that the surgeon would know the exact spot to fix.  I chickened out.  Back surgery.  Spinal surgery.  Potential complications.  It scared me and I decided to live with the pain.  And live with the pain is what I've done ever since.

Some days are worse than others.  I've discovered things that trigger problems.  One of those is sitting on hard surfaces for an extended period of time.  (You know.  The floor.)  I sat for a while yesterday cutting fabric.  I was sore last night, but nothing horrific.  I'm sure it was inflamed.  I popped two tylenol and called it good.  Then this afternoon when Cameron was walking on my back, his heel landed right square on that vertebrae.  Right. Freaking. On. It.  I knew immediately that I was screwed.

I tried to move and I couldn't.    I tried to roll over onto my back.  After fifteen minutes, I did.  I just couldn't get up.  I had nothing close to me to brace myself with either.  I'd move my right leg just a bit and the pain would just shoot down my leg.  It hurt BAD.  Cameron offered to call 911 two times.  He was worried.  I just put on a smile and told him I'd be fine and that I just needed to rest a bit.  Honestly, I was scared.  I could not move.

I finally decided to suck it up, swing my legs toward my chest and just fling myself up.

Sweet mother of pearl.  You know the kind of pain that you think you're gonna puke?  Uh, yeah.  That.

It still hurts.  Not nearly as bad, but quite noticeable.  I've had heat on it.  I think I'm gonna switch to ice and see what happens.

I'm 39 years old and I was stuck on the floor like a total geriatric.

I'll tell you how I got the initial injury another time.  Long story short, I need to send my medical bills to my brother.

Thanks, Bob.

Thinking out loud.

For some reason, Shannon's death has hit me in a big way today.  I have no clue why.  I just know that I feel this hole deep down inside me.  I miss my friend.  I miss her terribly.

Our relationship was casual.  And by casual, I mean easy.  Low-maintenance.  We didn't talk every day.  We didn't see each other every week.  But each time we did speak or see each other, we picked right up where we left off.  It was just easy with her.  We'd share funny stories and laugh until we cried.  She knew things about me that many don't.  She loved me, warts and all.

Shannon was my biggest "fan" around here.  Seriously.  She often joked about cyber-stalking me several times a day.  She was a big push behind my blogging.  I loved making her laugh.  And I loved the encouragement she was always willing to provide.

Her number is still on my phone.  I'm still friends with her on Facebook.  Her e-mail address is still in my computer.

I remember little things all the time.  Conversations.  Smiles.  Laughter.  I remember it all.  What I'm most scared of is losing that.  I can still vividly see her face answering the door on Saturday nights when we cropped.  What if I can't remember these things some day?  I know she's gone.  I know I can't get her back.

I just miss her.

To sew... (and other stuff)

Today is a sewing day.  I started cutting the fabric squares last night and I'm going to finish cutting them this morning.  Then, let the sewing commence.  I am making a rag quilt.  Since it's my first one, I'm making it for me.  I expect that even though it's just sewing straight lines, it might not be near my standards for gifting.  So I picked out colors that I like and this one's for me.  I'll post a picture when I get done.

I'm supposed to go to lunch with my Dad today.  He's still a member of Kiwanis and I quit shortly after Cameron was born.  I miss it.  They are such a terrific group of people that do wonderful service projects for our community.  I had just become president of the club when Justin was born.  That made for an interesting year!  I'm excited to see some of my old friends again.

My new book was delivered to my Kindle overnight.  Decision Points by George W. Bush.  I'm looking forward  to gaining some of his insight behind some very tough decisions in his presidency.

I have a prayer request for you today.  One of my really good friends has an important meeting at 1:00 Pacific time.  They will find out if they are the one family (of three finalists) chosen to adopt a sibling group through the Oregon foster system.  November is Adoption Awareness Month and as you know, adoption is a GINORMOUS part of our family.  Every child deserves to be loved.  And in a forever home.  So if you would, please pray for peace for Chris and 'Stina and pray that God's perfect plan is abundantly clear in the decision process today.

Aaaaachoooooooooooooooooo!

I just sneezed six times in a row.  What is in the air that is kicking my arse in this fashion?  I need benadryl, but that would be the end of my Friday night.

Allergies.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Fall.

Two things that have made my afternoon absolutely lovely:

1.  The windows are open and I am at a comfortable temperature.

2.  Chicken is stewing on the stove in the kitchen.  (I am making chicken spaghetti for supper.)

It's simple, but it's very Fall.  And I love it.  High tomorrow in the upper 60's.  I love that even more.  I might be super crazy and scrapbook a page or something later.

What's up, B?

Let's catch up.  Shall we?

It seems like once the last week of October hits, time flies.  And so far, so true.

We started the birthday celebration early.  Saturday we took the boys to Double Dave's for Justin's birthday lunch.  The food was - - meh.  But we had fun.  We came home and gave him his birthday presents a day early. Why?  Because it was Saturday and we wanted him to have the weekend to enjoy them.  And enjoy them he did.  He cleaned up on Nerf guns this year.  One from us, one from Papaw and Mamaw and he used his birthday money from Popo and Nana to buy a third one.  He wanted to have three so that he, Cameron and Daddy could have Nerf wars.  There have been Nerf darts all over this house!

Sunday, Mr. B cooked fajitas and we had a FABULOUS lunch.  I love it that I married me a man that knows how to cook.  While he cooked them, I went to the grocery store and then to Rosa's.  Rosa's flour tortillas and beans are the best.  Home cooked Tex-Mex.  Life doesn't get much better than that.  My parents came over later in the afternoon for a huge birthday cookie.  Sam's Club is amazing with their desserts.  It was two ginormous sugar cookies with frosting in between them.  Far from a gourmet dessert, but delicious nonetheless.

Sunday night we trick-or-treated and cleaned up on candy from just walking around our block one time.

We settled in and watched the Rangers lose.  And then watched them lose again tonight.  Boo.  :(  It's great that they made their first ever appearance in the World Series.  But sad to see them lose.  I'll admit it - - the Giants were just a better team.

Tomorrow is mid-term elections.  (Duh, right?)  I'm trying to figure out which of my liberal friend's votes that I'll cancel out.  *wink*  I'm just ready for it to all be over.  The phone calls, the nastiness on message boards and Facebook.  Politics can sure bring out the ugly in people.  Both sides.  I've stayed out of the discussions this go round.  And I've found that I'm much happier having done so.  I'm all for intelligent discussion.  But when the name calling starts - - I'm out.  I've turned the other cheek more times than I care to admit.  It's just not worth it.  Friendship is way more valuable to me than to discuss who is to blame and to make fun.  So there.  I'm voting tomorrow.  I'm doing my part.

I'm also playing Bunco tomorrow night.  I wanted to find a sub this week.  I'm one of those dorks that is glued to FOX News to watch election returns.  I guess a couple of hours away won't kill me.

Not much else.  I'm not currently reading anything but I'm taking recommendations.  I have several books on my Kindle but nothing that strikes a chord with me yet.  There's one I really want to get.  It's called, "Confessions of a Prairie Bitch."  It's by Alison Arngrim who played Nellie on Little House on the Prairie.  I've heard good things about it.

Time to set the coffee pot and get my butt in bed.  Goodnight my lovlies...