save tonight, fight the break of dawn

if you could all say a prayer for my niece. she is in icu for the week. i will try to write more when her highness takes a nap

we are family, i got all my sisters with me

i have added a few new blogs lately, so i thought i should update my loyal readers with a "who's who" on my blog.


ramirez clan- this is where you can go see wonderful pics of my hubbies' baby sister, she is also one of my closest friends. she has 3 adorable children, a marine for a stepson, and is due again early summer. she is a domestic goddess who teaches her children at home, she must have the patience of Job.

pattylicious says- one of my dearest friends. she has two little boys and will be having twins late may or early june. she teaches theater at one of our area schools. she has helped me through some of my more difficult times. i don't know what i would do with out her.

princess of everything (and then some)- is the mother to stripes(formerly known as big 'uns). she is an amazing crafter who is very witty. she has managed to raise two wonderful children and put herself through college. i truly believe that most single mothers deserve sainthood.

my love- this one should be self explanatory. although currently nothing is on there, this is my hubbies blog.

stipes- is currently in the witness protection program. i could tell you who she is, but then she would have to change identities again and that would just be difficult.Voldemort's mother was on the look out for her and she had to change identities.

ben and christine- ben grew up with the hubby. he and his wife are missionaries in south america. they have some amazing stories on their blog about some of the wonderful work they are helping with.

cates clan- she was one of my buds in gladewater. we were cheerleaders together in middle school. she always had a bright smile and a nice word when i was having a rotten day.

bearden clan- my cousin and his fam can be found here, although they don't put much up and will be moving soon.

opiate of the masses- hilarious is the best word to describe this blog. she is one of the contributors to mamarazzi. which is listed a little farther down the blogroll. i have recently found inspiration on her site. she was talking about how often the clutter in our house is just like the clutter around our middle.

diet naked- i just found this site, and i really dig it. she is upfront and honest with her weight loss, which is something i need.

post secret- is just exactly that. a forum to anonymously post secrets.

cranky fitness- a real look at healthy.

big 'uns- no longer exists, i don't know who you're talking about.

bible verse- is really what it claims to be.

on that note, i need to finish getting the toppings ready for pizza night. i hope everyone has a wonderful, blessed weekend.

good morning, starshine

a friend of mine titles everything he does on myspace with the line from a song, so i'm going to steal his idea and start using lyrics for my titles.





that sweet face is our bruno dog. i just thought it was a friendly face to start a friendly kind of post. we have had our sweet boy for about 5 years now. we adopted him from the humane society. we use the term humane very loosely apparently. anywho, he and the monkey were both 3 when we got him and they have been fast friends ever since. he is a tiny boy. he only weighs about 100 lbs. or so and stands about as tall as her highness.


this is her highness and the hubby. doesn't she have a pretty smile. this was over the new year holiday.

the monkey is getting so big and so beautiful. it seems like only a few days ago she was a wee baby. yesterday went wonderfully at the church. we made 4 pot pies in 9 x 13 dishes. we had a small crowd so i feared that we would have tons of leftovers. then there were the children who immediately raised there noses and asked "what is that?" even big 'uns who is a self proclaimed hater of pot pie tried it. guess what it must have been good because most of the kids went back for seconds some for thirds, and even big 'uns got a second helping. big 'uns made a fabulous salad. usually there is tons of salad left, but we only had a wee tiny bit left over at the end. then there was dessert. i made what is called a "slice of heaven cake", and it was fabulous. it is spice cake with apple pie filling and apple butter mixed in. then the icing is cream cheese, butter and apple butter. it was quite wonderful. i made two giant pans, and when i saw the rather small crowd i just knew i was going to have tons of cake leftover. we only had one 9 X 13 of pot pie and less than 1/2 of a pan of cake left over. the hubby took them to work with him this morning for the ladies. well i need to tend to the livestock, so i will leave you with kisses from me and her highness.

hello darkness my old friend

sorry i haven't posted in a while, been a little preoccupied. the hubby and i have been at odds for a little over a week now. apparently i have been "aggressive and grumpy". last wednesday went well, we only had about 20 or so people show for dinner at church, so we had way more food than we needed. we served baked potato soup and hamburger soup. we also had apple crisp for dessert. pizza night was at pattylicious' house. it was a blast we had calzones and played battle of the sexes. pattylicious and i won all 4 games. finch wasn't feeling well on saturday so he slept in until 4 in the afternoon. i pose a question for my readers: does it make me a bad mother that occasionally i would like some time when i don't have to watch the girls? anyway, after the hubby and her highness got up from their naps we went and cleaned finch's office. this was the saturday for the deep clean. this means that i crawl around on my hands and knees vacuuming the baseboards and the carpet next to them. it only took us 2 1/2 hours to clean the office not bad really. yesterday was church. then we spent the afternoon working outside. at some point i aggravated my sciatic nerve in my back. you know the nerve that runs down your hip/pelvic region all the way down your leg. now sitting and walking have become painful at best. monkey is out of school today, so it is a girl's day in. we painted our toenails and watched harry potter. sorry for the downer of a post, but i thought i should at least explain my absence. on a happier note this wednesday we are going to have chicken pot pie and a salad for dinner and i'm still debating dessert. hope everyone has a great week.

busy week

last night was a success! we served tamales, beans, rice, and salad for dinner. for dessert big 'uns made a wonderful peach cobbler. everyone at church was thrilled. tuesday we had our first girl scout meeting. it also went extremely well. we have four girls who are all very excited about selling cookies this coming week. monkey is excited about eating cookies as well as selling them. her highness is officially sleeping in a big girl bed. monkey got all A's again this six weeks that is 3 in a row. we are really proud of her. i'm now attempting to fend of a bout of bronchitis. today is my mom, my aunt sue, and my aunt kay's birthday. we are already planning next week's dinner at the church. we're thinking about some soups. her highness will turn 2 next month. i'm just not ready for her to be that big yet. i ask that you continue to keep kenya in your prayers. things there are very bad. a big woo hoo for big 'uns, she has been working to lose weight, and she has lost over 9 lbs. well, her highness beckons.

hair, there, and everywhere

there have been a few requests for pics of my new hair. i decided to do a little something new with my hair. this is what my hubby and i decided on. by the way, practice what your mother taught you, "if you don't have anything nice to say- don't say anything at all." trust me i've already heard about it at church. i like my new hair. it makes me feel alive, and more like the me i once was. if you look at the first pic you may be able to see that i am wearing makeup. this is 4 days in a row.



this is the back view, and yes my nails are painted. thanks for noticing.
the side view lets you see the different colors that i now have on my head.

some reflections on the past year: sorry i decided this would depress me, so instead how about some cool things that happened in 07.

my eldest was baptized- this was an awesomely wonderful moment for me. those of you who have children understand.

i made rice crispy treats for the first time- these were really tasty.

i found some friends that i thought were lost. you know who you are and thanks for being in my life.

i gained a nephew, and have watched my other nephew and niece get bigger.

i lost 30 lbs, and found 10 more. i'm working on it again.

i discovered that sometimes the best family is the one you choose for yourself.

i made fudge, technically it was on jan 1st of this year, but it was before i did the blog so it counts.

i did something that i never thought i would do, but really wanted to.

i rediscovered me, and found out that i've missed me, a lot.

i'm looking forward to the coming year and all that it may hold. my sister in law is having a little one in june. my dear friend pattylicious is having twins in june. i will begin next week cooking wednesday night suppers at the church with big uns. things are looking up and looking good. i hope that next year when i make this post i can say that i am finally happy with my weight and that i am looking forward to having another little one, but only time will tell. time is what we make of it. i hope everyone has a wonderful year. in the words of the counting crows "it's been a long december, and there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last."

a few thoughts

this is just a quick post. as i sit here typing my father in law is reading about the recent events in kenya. i ask that you keep the kenyans in your prayers. i will post later, but for now i ask that all of you pray for peace. sam is still planning on making his mission trip this may.