A Year in the Life

I may have to get some of these. You know, I think the quote "no good deed goes unpunished" is true.  I tried to do something nice for Hopson while he is gone on a mission trip & I ended up wanting to shove bamboo skewers under my fingernails.  Some people and their lack of manners... Hopson asked me to take is very dirty car to get cleaned while he was away.  No problem, it was my pleasure to do this for him, well almost.  (I found out one of main love languages is acts of service, so he was totally speaking my love language.)  Until...the most obnoxious lady decided to get on her phone in the waiting area.  Not only was she a loud talker, her phone was on speaker while she was holding it up to her ear.  Would someone hit me over the head with a tack hammer?  Hello, McFly...really?  You can't tell your phone is on speaker?  Oui! I thought about the guy who does the cell phone crashing .  If you haven't seen it, you so n...

Y'all know I love Zumba & Pilates.  I've recently added muscle works & barre classes into the rotation.  I needed to do something to change up my routine & confuse my muscles.  I hate working out with weights by myself, so the muscle works classes are great because misery loves company.  (even though I think my instructors are part Terminator...)   Barre is a class I love to hate.  It is so stinking hard.  My muscles burn & shake all over the place.  It's not pretty. I have had a personal goal for myself for the last few months.  I wanted to be able to do "boy" triceps push ups.  For you to understand this goal I need to back up & explain some things about me.  I have strong legs.  My mom used to tell me I had thighs Bo Jackson would be proud of.  :/  That is just what every teenage girl wants to hear.  They are tree trunks though.  My father-in-law told me that my booty looks like JL...

Over the last week we have all been talking about Robin Williams.  What a wonderful actor with a tragic end.  He brought laughter to multitudes, but all the while he was in pain.  It started me thinking...what if we had the chance to tell him how much he moved us?  What if we told him that just his smile made our hearts a little lighter?  What if...what if...what if. Why do we wait until someone has passed away to realize how special they are to us?  We go to their funerals & talk about what great people they were; how much they are going to be missed; how we're praying for their family; but neglect them while they are living.  Why do I not call, text or email to let them know now?  Why don't I call them up to meet for lunch?  Is it life that gets in the way?  Am I just a selfish lazy person?  Am I too proud? If you knew someone was hurting, to the point of wanting to commit suicide, what would you say to them?  Would y...

Well, I do believe you could have blown me down with a feather.  Something I have been trying to train the children to do for a week seems to have taken hold. The one thing I really dislike about summer and the children being home is all the cups we go through.  It's not 1 or 2 cups per person it's more like 4.  If my children were toddlers or young children, I might be able to handle it, but the youngest is 12 for the love of Pete.  Rinse, reuse, recycle.  Well, not the recycling part, but you get my meaning.  I was sick and tired of the dishwasher, sink and counter being full of cups.  And not only that, they would leave said cups filled half full with milk, water or maybe Gatorade.  Yuck! Well, on Pinterest, (I know, you're shocked!)  I found a great way to relieve the great cup pileup of 2014.  It's a reusable cup bar.  It's easy, it's fun, it's fashionable, and you just might want one if you have tons of kids who use tons ...

Harry's first day of 12th grade. Harry, Harry, Harry.  :)  My sweet Harry is now a senior.  How did that happen?  How did my active, funny, athletic little Buddha baby grow up to this great young man?  Harry is kind, a hard worker and has never met a stranger.  He's just as comfortable around adults as he is around people his own age.  He has a twinkle in his clear blue eyes that lets you know he is a little precocious. Harry can do anything he sets his mind to.  If you tell him he can't do something, he'll work his fanny off to prove you wrong.  Of all our four, he was the first to ride his bike.  He barely had to try.  He just watched his brother & hopped on his bike & about 10 minutes later was zooming around.  He wanted to keep up with Hop, so he did what he had to do.  Harry is a graceful diver & lacrosse player.  I love it watch him play.  Harry can be hardheaded & I think he got it ...

This weekend my younger two children are participating in a youth Discovery weekend at a church close to our home.  We have lots of friends that go there, so E & Henry will have a great time.  Harry is fishing with his grandfather & a friend, and Hop is still working.  Hopson & I should be childless for the weekend...but we're not.  We volunteered to keep seven 9th grade boys.  Most of whom we know & love.  Boys are easy.  Throw some food at them; let them run around & then unwind with shooting pool or watching tv & they're good.  I could do seven 9th grade girls, but I think the boys are easier.  Since we have three boys, we kinda know what to do a little better.  Plus, Elizabeth is not your typical girl.  She is very low maintenance thanks to her brothers, and that has spoiled us terribly. This morning while we were waiting for all the boys to finish showering & come down to eat breakfast, Hopson sh...