the few...

while i do still feel the same about my previous blog, i thought i should express gratitude for those that i have in my life that i cherish and could not imagine life without.



first and foremost, GOD. He has been there for me right through it all. even when i was all alone in an empty house or laying on a bathroom floor sobbing. He was there. i can feel His warmth come across my cold heart and body at times when i need Him the very most. when life has seemed to much to bear and when i felt i could go no further, it was God that was there. i know i have failed Him tremendously and my life is nowhere where it should or could be. this however; is between me and the Lord.



secondly, Travis my husband. honestly, it has taken a few Vallie's and storms in our relationship for me to realize just how important he is to me and how much i really do love him. whether Travis agrees with me or not he always has my back. i never question his support. he compliments me daily and reminds me of how much he loves me. this past year was a very difficult year for us and i look forward to new year and a new beginning.



next, my sister-in-law and best friend Stephanie. wow. there is no way to describe our relationship. we value each others differences and can appreciate one another for who we are. no matter what she has stood beside me and was a shoulder for me to lean on. i can always count on her honesty and support. i treasure her since of style ( which i taught her, lol),since of humor, and her sometimes messiness. i love that she is the only one i know who will drop something before the day is over or get something on her clothes, or even better can explode caramel all over the kitchen.



then there is Sonja. we met about 12 years ago. although, we have not been close this whole time, i completely value her friendship. her friendship is not the kind where we have to talk everyday. when we talk it's like we haven't missed a beat. i value her intelligence and wittiness. she has a great work ethic and is great at any thing she does. i swear she should have been a psychologist. she knows exactly what to say and when to say it. Sonja has a way of lighting up your day and just making you feel like there is nothing you can't do or conquer. she has played a huge role in my life over the last couple of years and i would like to say that I'm not sure where i would be without her. thanks Sonja. you're the best.



i have several other friends that i would like to mention there name who have been great and wonderful friends: sheree:i love you & appreciate all that you do and who you are. mark, Austin, Angie, brea, leslie, and Denise. thanks.

can i just vent????

i want to say that sorry if you find any of what you are about to read offensive but it's just the way i feel!

first i can't stand it when people get involved in other people's business that does not concern them in the least! this is a pet peeve of mine. and well, lets just say that i am a little irked right now. secondly, i am bothered by the fact that when these same people go and run there mouth about what they have "heard" or the way they "feel" concerning this other person and it gets back to the person they are talking about, they deny it and say that they didn't say it and all the sudden become the "miss holier than thou". pardon my expression but have you ever met someone like this? they just make me want to laugh in their face b/c quite frankly i find it funny. these kind of people are the very ones that have made more bad decisions to last a lifetime, who has done so much junk it would make a hooker blush; but yet, the very ones who will be the first to throw a stone at you and criticize you. i simply don't understand people like this.

and then what about the kind of people who have something to say but they won't come say it to you personally?!? very peculiar. instead they choose to send you a stupid msg. on my space (hahaha), or they will blog about you but "not about you", or they will just go run there mouth to everybody else about you. i tell ya, there are some strange lil' weirdo's out there!

oh! and what about this one i love it. it's my personal fave.! btw~*~ i am a christian....i am someone who does not have it all together and when you think you do i don't think you can call yourself a christian b/c i will always need the lord and as long as i am living in this messed up world with these messed up people i will never have it all together. i may not live up to your standards but guess what.. you're probably not living up to mine! with that being said, i love it when people claim to be living for god and professing that they are a christian walk around with a look of " i just ate a bowl full of lemons!"and then they size you up and wont speak. some of the very people that i am referring to think that just because they look a certain way or don't go to certain places or however you want to label it that they have it all together. i am sorry but this clearly does not make you a christian and the way you treat people goes a whole lot further than what you wear, where you go or don't go.

a note to self: be kind to others because you never know what they are going through and i don't want to be responsible for being the "straw that broke the camels back". and don't trust a coward! i only have a few true friends. just like my mother said i would! lol. i will choose to love them and never judge them.

new job!

so i am excited that i have a new job! to back track a bit, i must say that i wasn't initially looking for a job. i was happy staying home at home; at least for the summer. but i also wasn't closing off any opportunities if they came my way. which is exactly what happened. while working at the sale i met a new friend, Beckie. she asked me if i were looking for a job after she overheard someone ask me if i would be interested in this school job. while i explained to her that i wasn't necessarily looking, i would be open to something if the $ was good & the hrs. weren't bad. so she began to tell me that she was going to be opening a women's clothing store in the mall in h'ville and that she was going to need a part-time assis. manger.. seeing how most of my experience is in retail & some sort of mngmt. i thought this sounded great and it was PART-TIME! so i went for my interview and had 2 phone interviews w/the dm. and the gm. and alas i got the job!!!

the store opens 9/11. i am excited and am looking forward to a possible career opportunity. it will difficult managing the kids schedule and homework seeing i will be working mostly evenings. but i know that God will help us and work out all of the details.

as a sidebar here : Alexandra made the sound effects team at school{ chorale. and we couldn't be more excited about it! she has many concerts already scheduled and i am probably just as pumped about it as she is. Alexandra loves to sing and she is really great at it. i look forward to seeing what God does with her life!

well...

i did get a few things accomplished after all today. i mailed off some bills and went to the store to pick up a few things. i also managed to print off several pictures for natalies school project that is due next week; but i am happy to say will be turned in a week early! just as a sidebar here, why do kids have projects that they can't do on there on? on the directions for this one particular pjct. it said "parents feel free to help your child". well, of course it says that b/c they know she could not do it by herself!!!!!! urrgggg. just a little aggravating.

so, anyhoo, i also was able to schedule my wonderful mother in law to come clean my house from top to bottom tomorrow while i am at work for a very reasonable charge of $60. we will be gone a lot this weekend and the girls both will be gone most of the weekend so the house will stay clean. which by the way makes me very happy woman! i will also cook dinner tonight. thats right. i am cooking. it has been a few weeks since i have done this. my family will not know what to think! i am also doing a couple of loads of laundry.

i feel MUCH better about my day than i had previously stated. i may not conquered the world to day but i did however; manage to get some important things done. the most important spending some time w/my lil guy whom i haven't seen much of lately!

what do i do....

well, i have a day off today! no where to be, no appts., nothing! so, why i am meandering around? i am just bored. now, don't get me wrong it's nice to not have anything to do or rather anywhere to go. but i like being busy. back to things to do: i have plenty that i could be doing. i could be doing some laundry, dusting-because it looks as if we bought furry furniture, clean my bathrooms, and the list could simply go on. i have worked a lot hours in the past couple of weeks so cleaning my house just doesn't sound like fun right now. now, for those of you who really know me you know this is not typical behavior for me. i love to clean and get some sort of gratification from it. i just don't have it in me today. i want a massage, a vacation- tropical, a nice evening alone w/ my husband, i just want to get away. did i mention i wanted to go on a vacation......

so, that was i bunch of rambling i know but i really am trying to figure out what to do with my day. i feel guilty for sitting down and being on the computer and not doing something PRODUCTIVE ! i just cant muster up the energy. does anyone else ever do this or is it just my obsessive compulsiveness kicking in? i just want to know why i cant lay around and do nothing without feeling guilty and useless.

my house is really not that bad. Travis has done a great job staying on top of things while i have been MIA. it's just dusting and my bathrooms. maybe i could pay someone to come do that tomorrow while i am at work?

pay it forward

this morning was another crazy morning. i, of course, am running a few minutes behind. i drop bryson off at my in-laws (who have been so wonderful to keep bryson while i have been working at the sale), i had to run back home to get a shrug to put over my dress because i was uncomfortable, and by this point i am running about 15 mins. behind. well, i have to get something to eat because once i get to the sale i cant leave and you never know what will be for lunch. so, i go through hardees drive thru. i am getting a little irritated b/c its taking a few mins. longer than i expected and the guy in front of me keeps talking to the lady at the window....uurrrggghhh. doesn't he know that i am in a hurry?!!?! well, then this lady comes out the side door and brings me my food as the car in front of me is driving off...... she says have a nice day the man in front of you just bought your food! mind you, he was with who appeared to be his wife and another couple, so its not like he was hitting on me or anything. so i say omg why?!? that is sooo sweet. the lady then tells me that the man in front of them paid for their meal and so they wanted to pay for mine. well, i was soo excited and overwhelmed i drove off. i then got mad at myself b/c i should have paid for the car behind me. so i said to myself that the next person that i came in contact with i would give them the amount that my food cost. so, as i walked into the sale another lady was walking up and i stopped her and explained what had happened and that i just wanted to pay it forward. the ladies eyes filled with tears as she said well, praise the lord! i said thats exactly what i said.

i then felt great about what i had done but felt guilty for being irritated at the guy who i will probably never see again that bought my meal. what a great life lesson for me today. not to be greedy and do something for someone else other than myself. i will definitely tell the kids tomorrow about this and hope that they will want to go and do something for someone else this weekend. PAY IT FORWARD!

cvs

okay, tonight before church i attempted another cvs trip. i did not take a picture but here is a list of the things i purchased:
1.jumbo huggies diapers 6.box of decorative stickers
2.refill huggies wipes (large bag) 7.bag of dove chocolate
3.4 2 liter cokes 8.vicks cough syrup
4.posterboard
5.sharpie marker

well, after i used a $1 coupon & my $16 in reward bucks i only spent $21.52! this is pretty good considering the diapers & wipes alone were $17! and, i got $2 back in reward bucks and a coupon for a free bottle of hand sanitizer; which they went ahead and let me redeem. and another coupon for $1 off a 20 oz drink! so i would say that i did great on this trip!

wore out!

i finally have a moment to sit & get on the computer so i thought i would blog a bit. let's just say the past week has been very busy and exhausting! i have been working at my good friend brea's consignment sale ENCORES AND MORE NORTH in rivergate. i worked 88 hours in 8 days. this week will probably be about the same. unusually, i really don't mind because i absolutely love it.

i have missed my family though and i really missed my bryson! but there was lots of interesting things that kept me busy and definitely entertained while at the sale.

1. of course brea. she is seriously like the only person i know; other than my late grandfather, who has a story about everything! and they aren't boring. she is one of the funniest people i know. so we who work at the sale are constantly laughing.
2.brea and i had to clean up some old ladies "poo"!! the lady seriously had an accident on herself and we had to clean it up. we wore toilet paper around our faces and gagged and laughed the whole time.
3.on the not so funny side but some of the other wild things that happened...one of the workers little girls fell and had to get stitches right as we were opening for the public. it was very sad. brea's hubby was in a car accident. the car hit a telephone pole and went over rivergate pkwy. and hit another van! luckily, no one was hurt.
4.bryson had to get shots! so sad. he didn't even cry.

well, this has been my very eventful week. tune in for more later.
i will be posting pics. soon.