Peek-A-Boo

She walked into the restroom only to find that the cleaning lady was in there. This was one of those moments where she had waited until she could wait no longer, so she looked at her and said, "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to use the restroom. I can't wait until you're finished."

The lady smiled and said that was fine; she didn't have to wait for her to finish.

So she walked into the stall and went about her business, while the cleaning lady continued to stock the room with the necessary supplies.

As she was finishing up and getting ready to stand up and exit, the empty seat cover box was suddenly removed and she looked over and there was a face - RIGHT THERE! Right where the toilet seat covers were being replaced.

Okay, HELLOOOO???? I realize that you have a job to do, but could you not wait until I wiped my ass and vacated the stall before you completed this one particular task??

She didn't actually say that out loud, but I'll bet she was thinking it...

OH MY GOODNESS! I can not tell you how happy I was that this one bathroom nightmare story did not belong to me.

That's right, this one wasn't mine...This one belongs to a friend/co-worker of mine. She told me about it last Friday - knowing my feelings and issues with public bathrooms - and I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants - good thing I wasn't wearing my Spanx that day. I'm just sayin.

Anyway, it was so funny to me that I thought I would share it with you. After all, everyone needs a good laugh every once in a while, right? AND since it happened to her and not me....Oh, who am I kidding? This one would have ended up on the blog no matter who the victim it happened to.

So I already know how I would have handled this situation, but how about you?? What would you have done if this had been you??

Ask and ye shall receive

Last week I asked for your feedback. I was looking for advice on how to handle a particular situation that keeps rearing its ugly head in my household.

The question was: What would you do if you had a child who constantly fibs.

I have tried everything I could think of to get this to stop and I am at my whits end with all the lies. Nothing I have done seems to work when the next time rolls around and I am at a complete loss. When they don't ever seem to learn the lessons that we try to teach them, we oftentimes feel like we have failed as a parent.

They say, ask and ye shall receive and that is exactly how it worked...

This last time really upset me, more than any other time that we've dealt with, because she was willing to let someone else take the blame for something she did. As far as I know, she's never done that before and it really hurt my heart that I witnessed her willingness to let it go that far.
So I wrote about the situation - minimizing some of the details; otherwise, we would have been here for a very long time - and asked for any suggestions on what I should do.

I am so pleased to report that all of the wonderful ladies I have met in blog land responded with their words of wisdom - not only that, but it helped to learn that I am not alone in dealing with this frustrating situation.

My Goodness said...
You know, I'm not quite there yet...but I've always heard that you have to find what means the most to them - and take it away. Luxuries or privileges, whatever...it has to really mean something to them.

Kellan said...
You know - I would figure out what her currency is and I'd take it away and I'd also restrict from TV or video games or having friends over - that sort of stuff. I think all kids are different and it is sometimes hard to figure out what will work to make them stop the behavior. When you figure it all out - write a book and I'll buy it!!!

Weeksie50 said...
You could find some good books about lying and read them to her then discuss the consequences over and over again.. The Boy Who Cried Wolf is a good one...A Big Fat Enormous Lie by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat..Don't Tell a Whopper on Fridays!by Adolph Moser...The Honest-to-Goodness Truth by Patricia C. McKissack these are some of the books we read in my class.. You can probably find these at your local library and maybe even more books about lying.

Sniz said...
Wow, that is a tough one. Our oldest son has always struggled with being truthful when telling the truth meant punishment. But usually when we "faked" it and acted like we were going to punish the other sibling (the one he was letting take the blame), he would finally "fess up. But if there were fibs that didn't affect other people in the house, he would sometimes let them go on a long time. How old is she? I couldn't abide it in Wil either, but it is a heart issue and nothing we did really changed his heart. So we prayed. It took a long time, but he finally outgrew it. We were patient with him and firm when we were able to find out the truth...there were lots of talks, lots of lost privileges, but like I said, his heart didn't change fast. I think time, patience, attention (we never let something "slip" by us, whether he confessed or not) and prayer were the things that worked. I think that started to wear him down since he knew he couldn't get out of lectures and/or punishments by lying. And now he is almost 15 and he is an honest kid, whereas if we hadn't been so diligent even when we were frustrated and exhausted (since it took so long and it was so discouraging at times--years), he could have become a habitual liar as an adult. Does that make sense?

rthling said...
I was ever the lying one in our family. My Mom made me memorize Proverbs 6:16-19. These six things doth the Lord hate: yea seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among the brethren. If you notice, lying is mentioned twice in these few short verses. God hates it, and calls it an abomination. I don't know how you deal with sin in your house, but we try to use every teachable moment to lead the children to the place of understanding their need for salvation, and the free gift that is offered by God through the sacrifice of his own son. If you have any questions, you can feel free to email me. Praying this teachable moment is used wisely, Diane

Amy said...
Sounds like you got a lot of advice from all of these wonderful ladies.So I will let their words suffice.And instead of advice, I am just going to send you a great big bloggy hug!:)Remembering this saying helps me sometimes, "And this too shall pass."Big hugs!Amy:)

This is a lot of great advice from some fantastic women and I would like to take a moment to thank each and every one of you. We have already tried many of the things mentioned above, to no avail, but one thing mentioned several times that we have not tried is prayer.

Oh, don't get me wrong here....I have prayed and prayed and prayed; but I have not tried sitting down with her and praying out loud, together. Maybe if she hears my pleas and understands that this is breaking my heart, she will stop and think before lying when the next time rolls around - let us hope.

And if anyone else out there reading this has anything else to offer, this door is definitely not closed and I am still in search of great ideas. Thanks!

Let me ask you this...

My girlfriend, Tina at Golden Goodness, has started a new game where she throws out eight random questions and asks us to play along.

Right now her game doesn't have a name so she calls it Let me ask you this... but her questions from last week created such a buzz that she threw eight more at us this week AND asked us to help her come up with a name for it (HUGE MISTAKE!)

I have this obsession about work games. I LOVE to try and come up with cute plays on words and I can't quit until the winner has been chosen. I'm okay if I'm not the winner....but my brain just will.not.shut.up. until it has been told that the word game has ended...SOOOOOO, needless to say, I have sent her several submission and begged asked her to hurry up and decide on something before I go insane and take her down with me.

Anyway, I didn't play last week - not sure why, I just didn't (sorry Tina). So, I'm going to play TWICE tonight and maybe - hopefully - she will have a name picked by next week and a cute little linkey button for us to post along with it.

So here it goes...

Let me ask you this #1

1. Where do you fold your laundry?

A. In the den, on the sofa, where it continues to sit until it grows legs and walks to the respective rooms to be put away (or until it gets worn again which usually comes first).

2. Must you be sure the dishes are washed before you go to bed each night?

A. Nope, and neither does my daughter - whose chore it is to do the dishes. If I were to be sure they were done every night, she would NEVER get any sleep...

3. Do you use caller id to screen your calls?

A. Yes, absolutely. I do not answer calls from numbers that I don't recognize - and sometimes I don't answer the ones I do either ;)

4. Do you let the low fuel light come on in your car before you fill up?

A. Yep, don't know it needs gas until I hear that little bell.

5. Are you a registered voter?

A. Yes, I am but I guess I voted for the 'other guy' last time because I was so sick I didn't get to vote (I won't tell you if my choice won or not...I'll just make you wonder) BUT if I was on my death bed and it was voting day for a new mayor...I would drag my ass out just for the chance that my one vote might be the one to kick his ass out of office - but I don't feel strongly about that or anything.

6. Breakfast for dinner is one thing, but can you eat dinner for breakfast?

A. Can not eat anything but breakfast for breakfast - no matter what time it is. If it's the first meal of the day...it has to be breakfast.

7. Do you click on the ads you see on people's blogs?

A. No, sorry no time.

8. Do you just want to yell at smokers who are clearly standing within 50ft of the door at a restaurant?

A. No, I guess I don't even notice.

Let me ask you this #2

1. Rare, medium or well-done?

A. None of the above. I like medium well.

2. Do you plan to stay in the house you're in for the rest of your life?

A. I hope not, but with the way things are looking....the prospect of an upcoming relocation doesn't look very promising.

3. Why do you have the size bed you have?

A. I bought my King sized bed because I wanted more room to sleep comfortably, without anyone being right on top of me all the time; however, that logic didn't work. All I did was get more room for more people to sleep right on top of me in the bed.

4. When you buy milk, do you just grab a jug or do you look for the latest exp. date?

A. Always look at the expiration date. Milk is way too expensive to purchase without getting the maximum possible days from it.

5. Do you and your spouse go on dates? How often?

A. Not nearly as often as we should.

6. Do you like to play board games? Favorite?

A. Yes, love, love, love to play games. My most recent favorites are the Scene It games. SO FUN!!

7. Do you have a day each week that you sleep late?

A. If I could, I would seep late every single day. Sleeping is one of my favorite pass times; but, to answer the question, Sunday's are usually the days that I sleep in.

8. Do you wear shoes in your house or park them at the door?

A. I don't park them at the door, but I don't wear them in the house either - heck, half the time I don't even wear them outside. I go barefoot as often as possible.

There you go.. Two weeks of Tina's random eight. Let me know if you decide to play along - oh yeah, and please make sure to link back to Tina - since they are questions from her very own brain power :)

And most importantly...Have fun!

Do they ever get it right?

I wonder how studies get started?

Do you think anyone has ever done a study to determine how many times fast food restaurants actually get it right?

If the amount of times they've gotten my order wrong over the years is any indication, I would be willing to bet that they only get it right less than 50% of the time.

How many times have you gone to the drive-thru, ordered your food and driven all the way back home only to discover that they screwed up your order?

The four year old LOVES 'Donalds' (after all, how many four year old's do you know who don't love 'Donald's?)

She asks for it all the time.

Last night we were so late returning home that I caved and we drove through Mc Donalds to grab a bite on our way home.

As you may recall, I HATE onions - right?

[BLECH!]

So of course, I ALWAYS order my burgers minus the onions and I can not even begin to tell you how many times they get this wrong. I mean seriously, how hard is it to leave off the onions??

Used to be, I would order my burgers with no pickles and no onions; but, as the years went on, I began to think that this might be too complicated for them to remember. At which point, I decided that I could pick the pickles off; so I narrowed it down to only one special request - thinking this would increase their odds of accuracy.

This line of thinking worked for a while but the staff soon evolved into a breed of apparent lesser intelligence and before I knew it, I was right back where I started - with them getting it wrong more often than not...

Last night was no exception to this rule. After waiting in line for several minutes too long for the man two cars in front of us to get his order, you would think that they had enough time to cook special orders for every person in line. But when we arrived home and sat down to eat, we soon discovered that this was not the case. The onion fairy had thrown up on every.single.burger in our bag.

Not willing to drive all the way back to this particular location, we grabbed a butter knife out of the drawer and began the tedious task of removing all of those teeny-tiny onions.

When she unwrapped her second sandwich, the eleven year old suddenly exclaimed, "Heeeeey! They jacked my burger up!"

Laughing at her phrasology, I said "Yes, I know. They jacked all of our burgers up. What are you talking about?"

At which point, she shows me this....

Which gives a whole new meaning to the famous, eighties catch-phrase, "Where's The Beef?"

Our Part-Time Pooch

Doctors, Puzzles and Public Bathrooms

It's become somewhat of a weekly ritual. The mother and her youngest girl go into the doctors office together. The girl plays with the waiting room puzzles, while her mother goes in to get her shot. After she gets her shot and the puzzle is back together again, they go into the restroom for a quick pit stop before the commute back home.

The young one goes into the stall on the left side, while her mother goes into the one next to her - making her feel like she's a big girl.

But today the big girl ran into a little snag.

Hitting this little hiccup, she came out of her stall and paced back and forth outside of her mothers stall, trying to peek through the cracks to figure out a way in all while trying to explain the problem.

Finally deciding that there was no other way in, the girl crawls into her mothers stall and says, "I can't buckle it."

Laughing, she unbuttons her daughters pants and thanks the Good Lord that there is never anyone else in this restroom as the child then unlocks the door and walks out of her mothers stall and back into hers, where she is finally able to complete her task at hand.

What would you do if...

There was a baggie full of money on the table - mostly coins but it did have a few dollars in it. The money in the bag belonged to her oldest daughter, but she had to give it to Ms. Jewal to pay her back for a problem she had caused a few weeks back.

The four year old picked up the baggie and started to walk off but the observant mother stopped her before she could get very far. "Put that back."

"But I need it." the child said, in her four year old logical way.

"You don't need it. That money is for Ms. Jewal." she explained.

"I need some dollars for to go to Nana's."

"You aren't going to Nana's tonight, you're going to bed. Now put it back."

"You will give me some dollars when I go to Nana's?"

"Yes, I will give you some dollars the next time we go to Nana's. Now put it back so we don't lose it."

After being reassured that she would get some 'dollars' the next time she went to her Nana's house, she put the baggie full of money back onto the table.

The next evening, the mother was sitting in her favorite brown chair when she looked over and noticed that all of the dollars were missing from the coin bag. Recalling the conversation from the night before, she naturally thought that the young child had removed the money so she called the girl in so she could question her.

When she asked her what she did with the dollars, the little girl looked at the bag of coins and then, with a funny look on her face, looked at her mother and said, "I didn't do it."

The mother didn't believe her but, after she told her what the punishment would be if she didn't bring the money back and watching her youngest make several sincere yet unsuccessful attempts to find the money, she soon realized that the child was telling the truth.

She questioned her oldest daughter but she claimed to have no knowledge of the whereabouts of the lost bills.

There were only three people in the house who could have taken the money. She didn't take it and she was now 100% certain that her youngest hadn't taken it either, which only left the oldest girl.

I can not express to you how heavy my heart felt when I finally realized that my oldest daughter had not only removed the money from the baggie, but that she was going to let her little sister take the punishment for something that she didn't do.

This seems to be an ongoing problem with her and it is something that I absolutely cannot abide. I need your feedback. I have exhausted all of my measures and nothing has worked. I am at my absolute whits end.

Please tell me, what you would do if you had a child who constantly fibbed?

Tell Me Your Story (Tag)

Apparently I suck at tag because I got caught again by my bloggy buddy, Amy from In My Life. (one day, Amy....one day, I'm gonna catch you first. I'm just sayin')

She recently wrote a post called Tell Me Your Story - 'cept her story was so wonderful she had to write it in two posts. ;) In her story she tells how she and her wonderful husband Bo Shannon met and fell in love. As if all that romance wasn't sickening sweet enough for you, she tagged ten more bloggers to share their tales of love.

And so, without further ado, here is the story of how the hubby and I met:

Once there was a beautiful princess... Oops sorry, wrong story.

Young, Naive and full of hopes and dreams; she graduated from high school and immediately entered into the workforce.

School was not her cup of tea, but being a Cashier/Supervisor at the grocery store no longer seemed 'grown up' enough for her to be able to make it on her own - something she was determined to accomplish.

They were a serious couple. They were in love but neither knew for certain what that complicated emotion looked like. There had been talk of seeing other people but she wasn't interested.

A few months into her 'grown up' job, she saw someone she thought was 'cute'. Interested in getting to know him better, but wanting to remain loyal to her boyfriend, she went to his apartment and they talked; both agreed to the possibility of a split. And so, they parted ways to spread their fins in the great big ocean of life.

Immediately after the breakup the guy who seemed so cute before no longer had his magical appeal. She had made a mistake and she knew it. Unfortunately, it was too late. There was a vulture in the air. Sensing there might soon be some prey, she circled around and swooped in as soon as the coast was clear.

They say if you love someone, set them free. If they come back they're yours. If they don't, they never were.

The person who coined this phrase (I believe his name was Richard Bach) didn't know that sometimes, there are traps in that great big ocean of life that prevent those we love from returning.

They can't come back when they are caught in a net and so she let him go....Life doesn't stop just because you chose the wrong path; it keeps going and you have to keep walking if you want to find your way out of the forest.

Lost in the fog, thick with the reality of grief over the loss of what she now understood was a true love. She continued along the path she now found herself on, getting lots of bumps, scrapes and bruises along the way. With each bump she learned a new lesson and after every scrape she chose a different path. The bruises were reminders of all the wrong turns she had taken. She had some scars too, they were from the lessons she was supposed to have learned, but that she didn't get the first time around.

Years later, still battered and bruised from all the wrong turns she had taken, fighting to find her way out of the weeds that she now found herself tangled in, she turned around and found herself next to him.

He was a quiet guy. He kept to himself. He had full, luscious lips and big, mysterious eyes highlighted by his thick eyebrows.

They worked together. She was his supervisor (shh! don't tell anyone). When they would eat meals together, at work, they would talk and get to know more about each other. Every time, he would watch her slide into the booth and tell her what pretty legs she has.

One night in May, they went out together after work. After a friendly game (or two, or four) of pool, they walked over and sat along the riverside where they listened to the The Sunset Symphony Orchestra play, as James Hyter sang Ole Man River.

The evening had ended and she was taking him back to his house, but first she had to use the restroom.

DOM-DOM-DOM

Now I realize the some might say she could have stopped somewhere along the way to use the bathroom; but not her! She HATES public bathrooms!! And her house was not out of the way - not that it would have mattered even if it was - so she swung by and they went inside to take care of the call of Mother Nature.

Since they were already there, he decided he also needed to visit the facilities and so she sat down while she waited.

Mistake?? I guess it depends on who you ask...

She has this habit - it's the same today as it was back then: Once she gets home, if she sits down and gets comfortable, that's it; she's there to stay.

And so, she stayed; as did he. And she never did get around to taking him back home.

So, who said you don't get a second chance at love??

After recently celebrating their twelve year anniversary; I guess she's going to keep him. But they're not stuck! No longer taking things a year at a time, they have each other on a month-by-month contract. ;)

Six Random Things About Myself (Tag)

Well folks, I was tagged by my good blogging buddy Amy from In My Life for this "Six Random Things About Me" post.

Some may recall that I did a similar post back in April, 'cept it was called 7 Random Things About Me.

I guess, since I've already covered several a few of my hang ups; maybe I should try for something different this go 'round. How about a few of my likes and dislikes...


1. My favorite drink is Diet Barq's (YUMMY!!) Oh, and do note that this IS a coke product :)

2. I've told you before that I'm a picky eater. Here are just a few things that I don't eat:

• Chinese food - I refuse to eat anything I can't readily identify

• Seafood - if it swam in the sea, you can have it.





• BBQ - too messy



• Onions - Just plain gross. BLECH!!!

3. My favorite time of year....The Fall. I just love all of the beautiful colors

4. I strongly dislike doing the grocery shopping. I hand this dreaded task over to my husband whenever possible.

5. The one thing I can never pass up is chocolate chip cookies. But not just any chocolate chip cookie will do for me, nosirreebob. My chocolate chip cookies must be soft.

6. I can't stand my handwriting. Whenever possible I will type it in order to keep from having to write.

And there you have six more random things about myself. Hope I didn't bore you too much. As with most tags, this one comes with rules.

Six Random Things about Myself Rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules to your blog.

3. Write 6 random things about yourself.

4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.

5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted.

I'm going to have to be a bit of a rule breaker on this one because I believe everyone that I know has already been tagged for this one. BUT, if you are reading this and you have NOT been tagged then TAG - you're it!! Have fun and don't forget to let me know if you decided to play along ;)

The Battle of The Buds

You may remember the time that we all sat down for a family meal that my eleven year old cooked.

The Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo dinner that will live on in history forever. Never to be forgotten.

Well, the next time she made us Fettuccine Alfredo we all gathered around the kitchen table as we prepared to enjoy our meal, without any extra seasoning.

She must not have recognized it without the extra spices because as she took her first bite she remarked how, "This doesn't taste right."

Taking a sample bite, "It tastes fine to me." I tell her, "You didn't put anything 'extra' in it did you?"

"No ma'am." she says and takes another bite. "Well, it tastes funny to me. Maybe I should try putting it on a different taste bud."

Ah yes, a different taste bud. Maybe that will help. HA!

I guess Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo will always continue to be a source of entertainment around our dinner table.

Turtles In Girdles

"Oh, they're wonderful!" the store clerk said to the mom and daughter as they were standing in line, discussing the impulse buys that were lined up next to the register, while waiting to be checked out. "I wear mine every day. See, I have them on now" and she pulls up her shirt to show them that she is, in fact, speaking the truth.

"Yes, but they are $36.00. Do they work?" the pair asked, thinking that $36.oo for a pair of undies is a bit steep.

"There marvelous" said another customer. "You know, Oprah endorsed them on one of her 'Favorite Things' shows."

"Oh, then they must be good;" said the mom, "but do they not roll down? If I'm going to pay $36.oo they better not roll down, and every other pair I've ever bought has rolled."

"No!" said the clerk, "they don't roll at all."

"No, they sure don't" the other customer agreed. "They have some kind of magic tape on them or something that keeps them from rolling."

"That's right." said the clerk, "As long as you don't put them in the dryer, they won't roll."

With such strong testimonies from everyone in the store, it must be true, they thought. And so, they each got themselves a pair of the $36.00 miracle drawers called Spanx."

Fast forward to Saturday night...

She was going to visit a friend and she knew there would be lots of pictures being snapped to assist in the telling of their blog worthy visit. She needed all the help she could get so she decided it would be the perfect opportunity to give her newly purchased underoos a try.

She heaved and she hoed, heaved and hoed, and heaved and hoed some more - working up a good sweat - as she shimmied her way into the suck-n-tuck, High Waisted Power Panties.

Finally, she had pulled them all the way up and adjusted them in all the right placed, so that they fit like a snug pair of icotoner gloves... But, wait a minute! What's that she felt?? It felt like a breeze. Why does she feel a breeze in her brand new $36.00 pair of panties?? Surely she had not poked a hole in them as she had worked her way into them. That was quite a work out but they were made of pretty sturdy material; she felt certain she would have known if she had actually poked a hole. At the very least, she would have heard it.

Pulling them back down a little, for closer inspection of the area in question, she saw it. The big gaping, wide open, space; strategically located in a place that she always thought panties were supposed to cover.

What is this? She thought to herself as she inspected the area a little closer. Do you mean to tell me that I just paid $36.00 for a defective pair of panties? But upon further inspection, it looked as if the slit was supposed to be there.

You have GOT to be kidding me, she chuckled as she walked over to the package to read more about the perks of these power panties.

'Comfortably smooths waistline. Slims tummy, thighs and rear. No binding leg band...'

Yes, yes, she had read all of that in the store, then she turned the package over to read the back. There it was! At the bottom of the package, with a little star bullet:

'Cotton double gusset (crotch) opens to make life easier when Mother Nature calls.'

While she was not brave enough to give the flap jack a try when mother nature did call but if any one has she would love for you to leave a comment and let her know how that works.

In the meantime, here are some things she has determined that she should warn others about who may want to give these Spanx a try - and they do work!

• BUT, if you have any kind of bladder control issues, you might NOT want to wear your Spanx.


• OR, if you will be at a friends house, where you laugh so hard you might pee - just a little - you might NOT want to wear your Spanx.


• OR, if you have allergies that might cause you to sneeze so hard you squeeze out a little moisture, you might NOT want to wear your Spanx.


• And finally, DO.NOT.EVEN.THINK about wearing your Spanx if your aren't feeling fresh and clean.

I'm just sayin' ;)

On the other hand....If you are going to have a meeting with your very good looking work husband, and you want to look your best; you probably WILL want to wear your Spanx :) but first, you should make sure that the meeting hasn't been cancelled. :(

Wordless Wednesday - More Hair Do's

Busy Weekend and More Good Mail Updates

I've been a busy little blogger this weekend. Saturday, mom and I went shopping and then to the movies; afterwards, I decided to go ahead and make myself go to the dreaded grocery store while I was childless.



As I was walking through the grocery store, trying to remember what all we needed without getting too much, the cell phone rang....it was Nana. She was calling to let me know that my little hard head was running - even though she had been told not to, several times - and she fell, hitting her face.



It's not pretty folks...it's not pretty at all. I am just praying that it doesn't scar, but right now I just don't see how that's possible.

Today the girls went to church with their grandaddy and while they were gone, I decided to take advantage of the situation and clean. Between doing the laundry, vacuuming, sweeping and mopping I was on the computer, tweaking my blog.


I'll just say this.....WOW! I've got a lot of work to do. Looks like I'm going to be busy transferring posts for a while.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On another note. I got some more wonderful Good Mail!! But first, let me tell you what a big dork I am!


You know, that I got that very special good mail package last week from Dawn, right?? Well, needless to say, I absolutely LOVED the turtle salt and pepper shakers. I was so excited, I took several pictures, trying to portray them in the cutest possible pose. And Then....I got a comment from Dawn, all but letting me know what a dingle-dork I am.


Well, okay....she didn't really call me a dingle-dork, or even a dork for that matter, but that is exactly how I felt after reading her sweet comment. I'll have to quote it for you b/c all of my comments, prior to my Introduction post have been lost due to the transfer :(



Anyway, sweet Dawn comments and says:


I am so glad you loved your Good Mail. You can drop on by my blog anytime, or stalk my blog, whatever. ;-) I thought the kissing turtle salt & pepper shakers were hilarious!! I actually stumbled upon them, and I was quite happy when I did.



Can you say DUH????



I saw the little metal on their noses, but I wasn't able to put two and two together and figure out that these were supposed to be KISSING turtle salt and pepper shakers. How funny is that?? Anyway, so HERE is what they were SUPPOSED to look like...

Aren't they the cutest things EVER?!?! I just love them!! Thanks again, Dawn!



Next up was some Good/Birthday/Mail that came my way from Jody.

How funny is that?? An alarm clock, WITHOUT a snooze button. She says that she noticed in my "about me" section that I love the snooze button - in fact, I love it so much that I wore my other one out. LOL!


Thanks Jody!! I may take some getting use to, if I'm not able to press my beloved snooze at least three times in the mornings. I'm sure my children will thank you too. ;)




And last, but certainly not least, is this beautiful beaded book mark that my friend Tina made for me - with turtles in mind, she says.

It's hard to see in the picture, but it is absolutely beautiful! Thank you, Tina! (she's always so crafty) Now, I just hope it doesn't catch the pages of my books on fire...

Introduction

She came home after a long day at work. She sat down in her comfortable, brown recliner and surveyed the room around her.

The clothes that she had washed and folded were still neatly piled on the couch, never having grown the legs that her children must believe that all clean clothes sprout. I mean, how else do they get put away, where they belong??

The junk that had gathered on the love seat throughout the week still remained. And Sam, her dachshund, had hurdled over the pile to climb his way to the top, where he was now resting peacefully.

Everything was jut as they had left it: the tired, old, worn out - but nonetheless comfortable - furniture was still in its assigned place and the photos on the walls were the same; yet, something felt different....something was off...

Clearly, this was her home: the place she came back to every day, the place where she loved and was loved in return, the place where memories of the past lingered in the air and new ones were being made every day.

As she turned on her computer and began to tell the world - or all the tens of people who read the things she writes - about her day, she realized what was different...

It was... her ADDRESS! Her address had changed.

Not only that, but she had gotten a new identity too. To herself, her friends and family - those who new her before the plastic surgery - she sounded and looked the same. But to the rest of the world....

To the rest of the world she looked like Shelly.

Welcome to my NEW - and hopefully improved - blog. I hope the tens of readers that I had, prior to the makeover, were able to find their way over to my new place.

Whether you're a first time visitor or you knew from "the good ol' days", take your shoes off and relax a while. Pull up a chair - doesn't matter what it looks like, as long as it's comfortable - and make yourself at home. With any luck, you will enjoy my stories enough to want to come back - but don't forget the address, because I'm not changing it again :)

Life's Little Lessons

Today I turn 37. Hmmm??? Let me see 2008 - 1971 = Yep...I'm 37 today! (sometimes I forget)

I'm certain that I've learned MANY lessons throughout my 37 years of life. Some are very memorable, others notsomuch. But ALL have been important - even if they were only important at that time.

Some of the big lessons I've learned are:

1. You can't live your life trying to make other people happy.
2. Not everyone who says they're your friend is really a friend.
3. Time passes by quickly when you have children.
4. Life is not guaranteed.
5. Being loved is a gift you should treasure.

Some of the not so big lessons I've learned are:

1. You should always check to make sure there is plenty of toilet paper BEFORE you sit down.
2. Black, Brown and Blue look the same in the dark.
3. Dark carpet is the way to go if you have kids and/or pets.
4. It's more fun to read a book, blog, or go to the movies than to clean house.
5. There's no need to look for the phone when you're talking on it.

As you can see, some of these lessons are BIG while other's.....not really. But, as I said before, all have been important. And here are a few lessons that I've learned just recently.

1. An elevator doesn't know where to go if you don't push the button.
2. You shouldn't listen to your iPod while you're soaking in your Jacuzzi tub. Once they get wet, they don't work so well anymore.
3. One shouldn't wear Spanx if they are going to be laughing so hard they might pee just a little.
4. When eating Kellogg's Raisin Crunch, you should make sure to chew all of the "crunch" before swallowing the milk. Otherwise, it may get logged in your throat; thus causing severe pain - every.time.you.swallow - until you finally figure out how to get it to go down. This particular lesson is much the same as accidentally swallowing a large cube of ice, except without the benefit of it finally melting.

Is it possible for your throat to bleed?? If so, I feel certain that mine is doing just that. Seriously, I think I have a puncture wound in my throat.

A Very Special Good Mail Weekend

Saturday was so busy, I never got around to checking the mail. On Sunday I was sitting around, resting from the late night hours of the night before, and Drama Queen came walking in with a box.

"Here's the mail" she said as she handed me the package.

"What is this?" I wondered aloud, knowing I hadn't ordered anything recently. On the outside of the box it had two of my all time favorite words: Good Mail

This Good Mail package was from Dawn. She's one of our newer members on the Good Mail group and she saw that my birthday was coming up, so she thought I would be the perfect recipient of her first good mail package. But this wasn't just any good mail package...Dawn had done her homework and inside was the cutest little hand made card and the most adorable salt and pepper shakers EVER!!!

Aren't they cute??

When you get a minute head on over to Dawn's place @ Dawn's Daily Life and show her some bloggy love. I was lurking tonight and she's got a beautiful family. I couldn't stay long because I had to write this post - in between dinner, dogs and hair - but never fear....I'll be back around to stalk get to know you a little better soon.

Thank you, Dawn! I absolutely LOVED this very special good mail package. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend

Shopping, Visiting Friends and Good Mail - OH MY!

We interrupt the regularly scheduled program, already in session, to bring you a few words from our sponsor...


It was Saturday, and it was going to be a very busy day for her. The plan was for the girls to go over to their Nana's house so that she and her mom could go on their weekly outing; afterwards, she was going to Crazyville for a semi-surprise visit with her bloggy friend, Amy.


The oldest child spent the night at a friends house on Friday night, so that altered the plans slightly. The modified plan was to take the youngon to her Nana's that morning and then she would meet her mom for some shopping fun. When she finished shopping she was going to pick the oldest up from her friends house and reunite her with her little sister at their Nana's.

Once all of this was done, it was after 3:00. She had a little more than thirty minutes to go home, let the dogs out, feed them, take a shower and get ready before Tina (the surprise part of her visit to Crazyville) was scheduled to arrive.


They arrived at the house and the worlds second greatest husband,Bo Shannon, came out to admire her car greet them - just as he did the last time.


She was so excited to see us! Once all of the excitement of our arrival was over, we posed for some pictures and then we all settled down, around the family table, and enjoyed Pizza together.

Look Mia, we saved you a piece!

And we even put it in one of Amy's beautiful bowls from Italy :)

And for dessert, we had low fat chocolate pie. YUMMY!! (Sorry Mia, we didn't save you any pie...You can blame it on Tina; she had two pieces... I'm just sayin')


Then we had Amy open her very belated birthday gifts...



First up, were Tina's gifts: The Mama Mia Soundtrack and a Starbucks Gift Certificate

And let's not forget the Cotton Balls that we all know Amy loves so much :)

Did you know that this is a REAL phobia?? Except that no one seems to know the name of it.

Next it was my turn: Being the movie lover that I am, I got her one of my recent favorites - PS. I Love You - and a package of Kleenex, for when she watches this beautiful love story.

Of course, a gift from me wouldn't be complete without a frog. This is a special Angel Frog sent in memory of my Mamaw to watch after and protect Amy and her lovely family.

Speaking of birthday's, Amy found that I have one of those coming up very soon, so she got me a very special gift.

This is the most special picture frame I've ever gotten. It's not just a frame, it's a frame that was decorated with love, in memory of the Make-A-Wish Parade that I have been telling you all about. Isn't it cute??? And I know exactly what picture I am going to put in this very special frame - Thank you, Amy!!! I love it!!

We had such a good time, we almost forgot to leave. Time just flew by! Around Midnight, when eyes started getting droopy and the lights had gone off in the rest of the house, (Sorry Shannon! Instead of interrupting us when he was ready for bed, he just curled up on the couch and fell asleep - isn't he sweet??) we decided we had better call it a night.

Watch out Mia, the Super Stalkers got together and they may just show up on your door step one day soon. I'm just sayin'.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday was so busy, I never got around to checking the mail. On Sunday I was sitting around, resting from the late night hours of the night before, and Kayla came walking in with a box.

"Here's the mail" she said as she handed me the package.

"What is this?" I wondered aloud, knowing I hadn't ordered anything recently. On the outside of the box it had two of my all time favorite words: Good Mail

This Good Mail package was from Dawn. She's one of our newer members on the Good Mail group and she saw that my birthday was coming up, so she thought I would be the perfect recipient of her first good mail package. But this wasn't just any good mail package...Dawn had done her homework and inside was the cutest little hand made card and the most adorable salt and pepper shakers EVER!!!

Aren't they cute??

When you get a minute head on over to Dawn's place @ Dawn's Daily Life and show her some bloggy love. I was lurking tonight and she's got a beautiful family. I couldn't stay long because I had to write this post - in between dinner, dogs and hair - but never fear....I'll be back around to stalk get to know you a little better soon.

Thank you, Dawn! I absolutely LOVED this very special good mail package. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend.