2 many hats

10 favorite Movies, make that 11

2007-03-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

This is a challenge from a friend on a scrappy site.

and these are in no particular order.

Bull Durham
Amalie
Notting Hill
Dave
Field of Dreams
The Fifth Element
Bridget Jones's Diary
Hair
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
French Kiss
O Brother, Where Art Thou?

I know, I know.. That is the most random list of movies. But these are the movies I will watch over and over.

10 things that make me happy...

2007-03-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

Time to update! It has been a while. This past winter has been a blur.

I have found some new sites to visit. And this was a challenge on one of them...

10 Things That Make Me Happy

1. sleeping in... (with the time change, I am a little grumpy)
2. visiting old friends (tonight my friends from Arizona are coming over for dinner. We met the first week at Baylor)
3. my children's laughter ( nothing make me happier than to see them happy)
4. a clean house
5. early mornings on the farm
6. camping
7. a good afternoon nap
8. all the bills paid and still there is money in the bank (does not happen too often)
9. new scrappy tools
10. sitting with my friends having coffee and having all the time in the world...

Questions to ponder...

2006-09-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

These questions were posted on a friend of mine's blog and I was challenged to answer them. Feel free to copy them to your blog and answer...

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink......yes, my bachelorette party...Whew!
02. Swam with wild dolphins.........No, but really plan on doing it someday
03. Climbed a mountain ........ Not really. Came really close when I was little
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive.... Uh no.
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid......No. but that would be neat.
06. Held a tarantula....no, but i did pet one!
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone... yes
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it.........Yes
09. Hugged a tree....yes
10. Bungee jumped........no, but I want to.
11. Visited Paris.....No
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea....No.
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise.....yes
14. Seen the Northern Lights......yes
15. Gone to a huge sports game....No
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa.........no
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables.........Yes, before we moved to this house, I had a garden
18. Touched an iceberg....no
19. Slept under the stars.......Yes, lots of times
20. Changed a baby's diaper....Uh..oh yeah.
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon....No, but got to go up a couple of hundred feet in one
22. Watched a meteor shower....yes
23. Gotten drunk on champagne...... yes, let just not talk about that one...
24. Given more than you can afford to charity.......Yes
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope....yes
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment ....yes
27. Had a food fight......no...
28. Bet on a winning horse..........yes
29. Asked out a stranger..........Yes, and married him 10 years later!
30. Had a snowball fight.....Yes
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can...Yes
32. Held a lamb...no
33. Seen an eclipse....Yes
34. Ridden a roller coaster..Oh YEAH!
35. Hit a home run....No
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking...Yes
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day.,....yeah... it was fun
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment....Yes
39. Had two hard drives for your computer...Yes
40. Visited all 10 provinces or all 50 states....No
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk....Yes
42. Had amazing friends....Sure Do
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country....yes
44. Watched wild whales.....no but I really want to
45. Stolen a sign ... no
46. Backpacked in Europe....no
47. Taken a road-trip...Yes
48. Gone rock climbing....Yes
49. Midnight walk on the beach...Yes
50. Gone sky diving....No, but it would be cool!
51. Visited Ireland...No
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love ...No
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them....no
54. Visited Japan...No
55. Milked a cow...no
56. Alphabetized your cds....Yes
57. Pretended to be a superhero...Yes, SuperGrover! LOL
58. Sung karaoke...uh no.
59. Lounged around in bed all day...Yes
60. Posed nude in front of strangers ....that's a no.
61. Gone scuba diving... No
62. Kissed in the rain.....yes
63. Played in the mud.....yes
64. Played in the rain... yes
65. Gone to a drive-in theater...Yes
66. Visited the Great Wall of China...No
67. Started a business......Yes
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken....Yes
69. Toured ancient sites ...yes
70. Taken a martial arts class....no, but I was thinking about it...
71. Played D&D for 6 hours straight....No
72. Gotten married....Yes
73. Been in a movie....no
74. Crashed a party...Yes
75. Gotten divorced....No
76. Gone without food for 5 days....no
77. Made cookies from scratch....Yes
78. Won first prize in a costume contest....No
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice...No
80. Gotten a tattoo...no
81. Rafted the Dead River...No
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert".... No
83. Got flowers for no reason....yes
84. Performed on stage....no
85. Been to Las Vegas...Yes
86. Recorded music...no
87. Eaten shark...no, Octopus, yes LOL
88. Had a one-night stand...Yes
89. Gone to Thailand....no
90. Bought a house...yes
91. Been in a combat zone...no
92. Buried one of your parents ....no
93. Been on a cruise ship...no
94. Spoken more than one language fluently ....no
95. Performed in aisles at Rocky Horror...no
96. Raised children...On going
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour ...no
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars....no
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country....no
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over ...no, but really want to now.
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge...no, fuddy duddies didn't want to.
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking...Yes
103. Had plastic surgery...no
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn't have survived ....no
105. Wrote articles for a large publication...No
106. Lost over 100 pounds...No, but working on it
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback? no
108. Piloted an airplane...no
109. Petted a stingray ....no
110. Broken someones heart... yes
111. Helped an animal give birth ...yes
112. Won money on a T.V. game show...no
113. Broken a bone,....yes
114. Gone on an African photo safari...no
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced...no
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol...yes
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild....no
118. Ridden a horse... yep!
119. Had major surgery..yes
120. Had a snake as a pet...no
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon...No, even though my child pleaded to!
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours...NO
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states....no
124. Visited all 7 continents...no
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days...no
126. Eaten kangaroo meat ....no
127. Eaten sushi...Yes
128. Had your picture in the newspaper..yes
129. Changed someones mind about something you care deeply about...yes
130. Gone back to school....yes
131. Para sailed...no
132. Petted a cockroach...UH. THAT'S A NO!
33. Eaten fried green tomatoes..Yes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey..... no
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read their books....yes
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating....no
137. Skipped all your school reunions.....no
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language...no
139. Been elected to public office....no
140. Written your own computer language...no
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream.....no
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care...no
143. Built your own PC from parts ....no
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you...no
145. Had a booth at a street fair...Yes
146: Dyed your hair...no
147: Been a DJ...no
148: Shaved your head ..no
149: Caused a car accident...No
150: Saved someones life...no

I'm Home!!

2006-09-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

My family is so happy I am home. I think the last day, my husband and son were getting on each others nerves. And my nephew is home.

The week while I was gone, he mostly spent time at his dad's house. His visits there have been greatly reduced due to his new job that keeps him out of town for 6 weeks at a time. This has really normalized my nephew's home life. With his mom's visits cut out, his days are more normalized... no more hopping from car to car or house to house. He seems happier.

I am waiting for him to wake up soon, or I have to interrupt a really good sleep for him. We have therapy this morning. I think today is the developmental therapist. I missed Tuesday's appt with the physical therapist because my flight did not get in until after his appt. My step-father was here for that.

I am happy to be home, but really worried about my dad. He is so worried about my stepmom. The day I left, she got very discouraged during a visit with the speech therapist. And he said the rest of the day she just shut down. I am really worried about her not eating. I am planning on driving up for a week in October. She will be in Rehab by then and I can help give my dad a break. I wanted to suggest he go ride his bike while I was there, but it was too soon. Time will tell.

State Fair winnings!

2006-08-31T19:26:00.000-07:00

Got my letters from the State Fair today.... Made my husband open it since I am not there. LOL!

Got a 4th place for my egg picture!!!
That means it will be on display during the fair. So excited here!!!!

Can't wait to tell my step-mother at the hospital tomorrow. She is the one who made me enter it.

My other photo came in 10th... Better luck next year!

Blog Challenge

2006-08-31T13:14:00.000-07:00

I have been challenged to answer these questions... I am sure you are dying to know the answers! LOL!

1. What is your favorite season?
Fall is ususally my favorite season. I love when the weather starts to get cool and love going to my son's soccer games. Love seeing the colors of the leaves change, esp. at my husband's family farm. It is so great when we can get out and really do projects while we are there too! We usually invite a group of friends down there for a fun weekend.

2. What is your favorite thing about that season?
Ummm. I think I just answered that! LOL! Love the change in colors, the cool crisp mornings. Love seeing the fall sports.

3. Is there something special you do during that season?
We have taken trips in the past up to Colorado, but now that my son is in school, long trips are harder to take. But we love going to our farm in Brenham, TX! We usually invite a group of friends to hang out for the weekend and we have work weekends with my husbands family... like painting, reflooring, refencing, etc.

Well there you have a little more info about me. I love reading these answers on others blogs as well.

Things are looking up!

2006-08-31T07:05:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for you prayers and thoughts. My step-mom is really doing better. It turns out she had AVM. That stands for Arterial Venus Malfunction. Apparently it develops in the brain as a fetus. It wasn't a matter of if, but a matter of when. The mass ruptured and that is when the two clots formed. The surgery went well. She is staying at the local hospital and not the one that is 30 min away (which was a possibility). It is a five min drive from the house.

My dad is doing ok. I think the having me here has helped. And the support they have had from the school and community is outstanding. They live in a small town in Colorado... Well not so small anymore. But they have worked in the school district for almost 30 years and my dad has been at the same school for nearly that long. My step-mom has moved to other schools, but for this year came back as the drama teacher at his school. They met each other at this same school as teachers 26 years ago and have been married for almost 25 years next month.

In surgery they removed part of her occipital lope and part of her periatal lobe. The first controls vision. Now all that I am telling you is from what I have been told and some reading. So forgive me if I am wrong. They first told us she would be paralyzed on her left side, and no vision in her left eye. But she can see from her left eye , but no peripheral vision. She is moving the left arm a little and the left leg a little. They tell us they will always be weak. But they are working to retrain the brain. So amazing what the brain will do. It is a wait and see kind of thing. They have had her sitting up. This has not affected her speech or her face. She still has the same sense of humor. Still cracking sarcastic jokes. I think they are a bit more sarcastic. They did say some of her personality traits would intensify.

She gets to go to a regular room today, hopefully. So keep your fingers crossed!

Urgent prayers needed!

2006-08-29T00:42:00.000-07:00

I just found out tonight that my step-mother had a stroke today. I don't know much right now, but it scares me. My dad and step-mother live in Colorado and I feel so helpless here in Texas. My dad called me from the hospital in the town where they live. She is being transfered to a larger hospital in Denver. I don't know much right now, but please keep her in your prayers.

Family

2006-08-29T00:36:00.000-07:00

As I have said in previous posts, I take care of my step-sister's son. He is a cutie. Just recently we had him tested by ECI (an early childhood resource) to help us to know where he is and how we can help him grow.

We are delighted to begin therapy twice a week with him starting next week! I am excited to have someone come and work with him and show me how to work with him the rest of the week. He knows this stuff, but does not make the connection. At least that is the theory. Like I said, he is a cutie.

He has Williams Syndrome and it is rare enough, that finding things on it can be difficult. There are some wonderful websites out there on it, but finding someone to connect to is difficult.

I am just so thankful he is getting the help he needs to grow into the wonderful little boy God intended him to be.

State Fair

2006-08-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

State Fair time again.

These are the two photos I have decided (and already dropped off) to enter this year. I don't expect to get first place like I did last year. A ribbon would be nice, but I don't think it will happen this year.

The first one is from last Thanksgiving and our camping trip to Dinosaur Valley State Park.

The second photo is from Easter. I loved how the eggs looked in the glasses. It's funny, but we use those same glasses year after year.

2006-08-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

What inspires me the most when I scrap? Pictures!

I am a photographer at heart and the heart of my pages are the pictures. I grew up in a family of photographers (none professionals) that loved cameras and pictures. I was given my first camera at 15... a Canon AE-1. Loved it! When I finally talked my husband into letting me get a Canon Digital Rebel, I never leave home without my camera in tow. Armed with my 4 gig Compact Flash, I am never out of room. But how do I display my works of art? On a scrapbook page of course!

Patterned paper plays a close second. The beautiful patterns and textures that come out every year intrigue me. I can't help myself. I must have it. Even though I am over run with paper, I always can buy more.

This is part of what inspires me. There is a whole scrapbook industry trying to inspire me in other ways...

Bloggers

2006-08-17T14:29:00.000-07:00

I have not posted in quite sometime, but for a challenge I have decided to jump back in. Maybe I will be better about it this time around...

I have just recently been looking around at others blogs. Very creative people! One of my favorites is a guy posting a list of things that happened to him that day. A little crude, but very, very funny! I have also been keeping up with different scrappers' blogs and find them so interesting. I love hearing the thoughts that go behind the pages they create. To me, it is the "rest of the story."

I recently joined another scrap site when my friend Shelley told me about a contest they were having. What fun! I love keeping up with sites that have a lot of activity every day. They are so much fun. You really get to know people that way. I know it keeps me from the things I "ought" to be doing... but hey. That would be no fun.

Right now I am in a scrapathon. Every week a challenge is posted with a list of items or techniques they want. Very challenging! I love that it gets me to try new things or go back and do some things I have not tried in a while. Like decorative scissors... had to go "borrow" them back from my son. Anyway. Things are pretty much the same as last summer... but that is for another post.

What I hope to accomplish this week

2005-07-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of cleaning out. It means I am cleaning out EVERYTHING. We moved into our house over a year ago and I still have boxes in the garage, in our office closet, and one or two in our bedroom closet. I figure, it has been in these boxes for over a year, I have not missed it, I have not needed it, OUT IT GOES! A bunch of things are going up on eBay, but most of it is going for donation. I don't want to mess with a garage sale. They usually never work out for us, and with children...what a nightmare!

I am tired of having people over and just "telling" them about my closets and how much room I have...to store all this junk!

Hats worn today: dog walker, cleaning woman, cook, nanny, lawn caretaker, solver of great problems with the ps2(how do I get there in the game, mommy), nurse, chauffer, alarm clock for husband. Hmm. I think that is all.

My Family

2005-07-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

I have one boy, ready for kindergarten, and I also take care of my nephew, who is not yet one year. My son keeps busy with various activities: Martial Arts, Swimming. Then in the fall he will start soccer. We look forward to the cooler months.

We have two dogs. Our first dog we got right after we married. Friends found her wandering their neighborhood. She had no street smarts. We tried for a month to find owners. She odviously had some. She was spayed, housebroken and a little trained. She is smart though. She was very trainable. We had fun teaching her the usual tricks; rollover, sit, play dead, etc.
Our second dog belonged to my brother. He picked her out when she was a puppy. But when he passed away, she became ours. Smart, she is not. And very not trainable. It is odvious she learned her sleeping habits from a teenager...she will sleep til noon if you let her. But my son loves her and she sleeps with him every night, no matter where he is sleeping. She and my son have really taken a shine to each other.

My husband is a software programmer. Enough said. He is a bit of a geek sometimes, but that is what attracted me to him. He loves working outside. This is probably something he learned from his dad. They spent every weekend at their farm working on various projects. I think my husband looks forward to doing those same things with our son.

My nephew has a condition called William's Syndrome. He has already had heart surgery to clean out 2 of his ventricles. Before the surgery, it was crazy. He was not supposed to cry or get upset. How do you keep a 5 month old from getting upset? Needless to say, he was spoiled! He woke up 4 times during the night. He had his surgery and was out in 5 days. Now he is starting to catch up developmentally. He actually rolls over back to front and front to back. This has happened in the last week. It is amazing to see babies learn these tasks. Although he can roll both ways, it just makes him mad to end up on his tummy. But the more he pushes up, the stronger he will get. I guess I need to really work on keeping the house cleaner.

New Blogger

2005-07-12T21:06:00.000-07:00

I have never kept an online journal, but ran across the site and decided to try it. Is it a passing fad? We shall see. I am up for trying something new. I choose the title for all the hats I wear throughout the day. I am a stay-at-home mom. It is not that I find there are "too" many hats. There are just a bit. I suppose I will use this to post my musings about events of the day.

Hats worn today: mother, caregiver, cheerleader, teacher, cleaning woman, short order cook, chauffer, banker, office assistant, and nurse. There! I think that about does it for today.