Friday, October 19, 2012

What I Have Learned....


As cliche as it may be, I believe in the old adage that 'Quality is better than Quantity' when it comes to people in our lives. Actually, I don't really know anyone who doesn't believe in it. However, I also believe that there is something to be said about the quantity aspect of this old truism. I am convinced, through experience, that you can have a vast array of friends in your life.  All of them hold a purpose that is specific to our needs. As we have,contained within us, the ability to meet their own emotional needs.

I didn't just write this post on a whim. I have been contemplating it for awhile. I realized, one day,  that my friends, my family, they have all taught me a lot over the years about friendship. About love. About being real. About what kind of person I want to be.  And each one of my precious friends have taught me something different about life.  I decided to sit back and observe. To really consider what I have learned. It forced me to pay closer attention, to open my eyes more, to really appreciate what I have. The opportunity to be a better human being by the examples of others is an amazing thing. I hope everyone has that good fortune.

What I Have Learned....

Ultimately, we all want the same things out of life. To be loved, to be respected. Some of us just go about it in our own way. We take our own paths. It doesn't mean one road is better than the other. Just different but we have the same destination in mind.

The more you love yourself, the more you love others.

Loyalty is tied to faith, in my opinion. It's hard to have one without the other. And even sometimes, when we deserve it the least, when someone loves us the most, it is their faith that makes them capable of this. Their loyalty to a relationship, to a person or to God. This is someone that you know, without a doubt, that no matter what time, distance or circumstance comes between you, their loyalty will always surpass all of that.

A persons wrong doings or bad choices do not define them. Those things ignite change. There is nothing more inspiring to me.

Anytime, Anywhere you need me and I'll be there - this holds truth and comfort for me. This exists in my life. Comfort is the greatest gift you can receive from a friend. Even greater is to give it away.

Everyone has a past. Not everyone's is pretty. Not everyone can come out on the other side and say they have done better because of it. It takes courage, it takes strength and mostly it takes forgiveness. Forgiveness is the hardest thing to give in to. But the most rewarding if you can accomplish this.

Confidence is the sexiest attribute in a person. Especially a woman. Even better is when it's proven that confidence doesn't have to be a size 2. That you don't have to look like, be like or act like everyone else in this world. That you love yourself and embrace your flaws. That you know, you are awesome and you have the ability to hand out the best medicine there is - laughter.

"In every conceivable manner, the family is a link to our past and a bridge to our future."  Alex Haley - I would be nothing without a link and a bridge. It makes me whole.

It's easy to give up on people that have hurt you. To give up on an idea. To give up on yourself. The hard choice is to keep going. To keep believing. To give second and third chances. To love no matter what. It's usually the hard choices that are the right ones.

You are never too old and it is never too late to do something extraordinary. It is your life. It is your choice. You have the power to make the best of it.

Sarcastic souls do exist. ;-)

One single human being has the capacity to hold within him or her heartfelt understanding, the concept of unconditional love, unwavering patience and devout compassion ALL at the exact same time.

Happy Weekend!!

With Love,

Amy Marie


 

 




Monday, October 15, 2012

Heed My Warning...



I hate contacts. I loathe them in fact. My eyeballs were not meant for contacts. At all. I don't just put them in and then magically get to go about my day. No, I need a good 20 minutes for them to adjust or to not feel like my eyeballs are being scratched out by the Wicked Witch of the West. (she has super long nails, so I went with her)

I ran 4 miles today, and it's Monday.

So listen I know more than my "close" friends read this thing. I need a favor from the people that don't follow this. I need you to answer me a question IF you know anything that pertains to the question I'm about to ask. Eyelashes. The kind that you get threaded on. What's your take? Is it worth losing all your real eyelashes? I don't have hardly any as is!! Ready...Go! Crystal Michelle...I know your thoughts...I read a blog and this girl is addicted them. And I read another blog (I may read too many blogs) and another woman is getting them but her lashes are already so long. I don't get that shiiiiizzzz at all...but she annoys me. Did I just say that out loud?? Rude.

So after waiting for like almost a month, I got the scarves I ordered. Only, I got one that I ordered and the other came in the wrong color. I was waiting to decide whether or not I should give Very Jane a shout out and tell you to go order something through them because they have some seriously cute stuff and at really good prices but I don't think I want that on me. Heed my warning people.



Right now I have a toilet being picked up from our front yard by the garbage peeps. Thanks garbage man. And yes, that makes us officially WT.

This weekend I asked my husband for this necklace for Christmas. His reply sent me into a whirlwind of shock and awe. He said something like, "He already had a plan for me for Christmas." What the what?? Do you know what this means? That he has thought ahead. That a little 'plan ninja' has put something in his big brain. This is epic.

This may be the end of the world as we know it. 

I despise Santa sometimes. And his little elves. Well not Buddy. Buddy who likes to put syrup on his spaghetti and can make some seriously awesome paper snowflakes. Buddy got skills. Not that particular elf. Anyways...mostly Santa. Here is why?

Me - "Ella, if you were to ask Santa for one big gift would it be the itouch or the big Barbie Doll house?"
Ella - "Why would I ask Santa for just one? Santa can make anything. That would be dumb to ask him for just one big thing."
Me - "Well the "big" gifts take Santa a little bit longer to make. And he has a lot of gifts to make. So we should just ask Santa for one big gift and then some other smaller ones."
Ella - "Mom, Santa does not make the big gifts on his own. He has elves for that. So really they get them done pretty fast. I'm going to ask Santa for both."


 What the hell...

Speaking of....my 10 year old still believes in Santa. I really don't know what to do here. I forget he believes in Santa sometimes. I just assumed when you turn a certain age there are some things that are just automatic. At ten, you now get just money for your birthday, sports cards are still allowed and the spirit of Christmas gets taken from you. I don't want to be the one to tell Jackson about Santa...Some punk kid in 4th grade told me. Why can't some punk kid in 5th grade tell him. Even worse, the punk kid tries to tell him and my sweet Jackson defends the jolly ol' man til the end and now Jackson looks like the fool.

I really don't know what to do here.

I have never done crack...however, I may have found a snack food that has the same effect. These are tha bomb diggity. For real...I. Can't. Stop.














My mom is also tha bomb diggity. The End.

I made this last night. I will give it a 4 out of a 10. It has potential though. I think if you add some things that the recipe doesn't call for....(more cream cheese or spag/pizza sauce or cream of mush sauce) It could easily be an 8. Just my thoughts.

http://jujugoodnews.com/taco-pasta-bake/















My curling iron went to it's resting place this weekend. I have had it for like 10 years though. It was just a 1 1/2 inch barrel curling iron. Nothing special about it but I need to buy another one soon to replace it. Question: Is it better to get a curling iron again and any recommendations or a straightener that can also curl my hair? I read that if I have a straightener with curved ends that it would be able to curl my hair really well. And I don't want to buy a really super expensive product either. Help....Erin Butcher. ;-)

The fam bam and I went to an ice hockey game Friday night. It was free fun that we couldn't pass up. But if I'm being honest, I went for the cold. I'm serious. I hate this weather. I want the cold. At this point I will take chilly. I will settle for anything 72 and below. So....we went. And it was fun.....and chilly.




I'm kidnapping two of my nephews in a little while. Mission 'Mom You are Friggin' Awesome' in full effect. 



Some Pics from my weekend!! Have a good week!











Friday, October 12, 2012

Today, I will not be a speed bump!!

Random Thoughts:

I'm considering making a cup of NyQuil part of my nightly regime until Landon figures out that it's not cool to get up every night to have to go to the restroom. Yeah, Yeah...he's all potty trained and stuff now...And there are some serious advantages to this. Like, not having to buy diapers at the store anymore. My husband will tell you this is by far the best one yet. I would have to agree. And not having to change a poopy diaper anymore. Because, let's be honest, it's disgusting. However, Landon, gets up every night between the hours of midnight and 5 ish a.m. and yells, "Have to go Potty!!!" He does this at least twice a night. And in the beginning we just thought it was ploy to get out of bed but the kid goes pee every time. Every. Single. Time. Which just means we can't ignore the cries in the middle of night. I mean how do I tell him that it's okay to pee pee in your pull up? No seriously, I'm asking. If I take NyQuil I won't have to pretend that I don't hear him because I actually won't hear him. Problem solved.

Which leads to my next thought - I'm exhausted. All the time. I do  NOT sleep enough.

So I have been going through old pics for someone that is working on a project.  And in doing this I have discovered something. Something that is not acceptable. Something that is definitely not fair. Men age much better than woman do. I don't like this revelation. It pisses me off.  It's rude. And it's annoying.

I'm going to a haunted house next weekend. The last time I went to a haunted house I was 21 years old. I use to frequent haunted houses. Like a lot. I loved going to them. As many as I could every year. Until that last one. I walked straight through it. Nothing made me jump, nothing scared me. I knew the chainsaw guy couldn't really touch me. There was no element of surprise for me anymore. It was one of my darkest days. It was like I was all grown up. First Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny and now this. I met my ex husband that same night.  I was in a state of depression. I felt lonely. It's all starting to make sense to me now. ;-)

Pedestrians are funny to me.  There is rarely a "happy medium" pedestrian. Meaning that most of the time, they either take their sweet little time while crossing the road. (this comment excludes all elderly) To the point where you start picturing what it would be like if you slammed on the gas pedal in your car and got points for turning them into speed bumps. Or there is the kind that does this walk/run thing. Like maybe you look like the type that are gracious enough to wave them along to cross but really it's just a set up. It's a game of 'Do I stay or do I go?' How slow is too slow? I get the feeling that with each step they take they are saying with conviction, "Today, I will NOT be a speed bump!"

Speaking of speed bumps. I'm slightly sad about my car. I have had that piece of junk paid off for a few years now. It has been so nice to not have a car payment. But said piece of junk is on its last legs. It is not going to survive much longer. I mean, don't get me wrong, having a new car would be awesome but I think I almost prefer the no car payment to a new ride. Ask me if I still feel that way when my car no longer goes forward or the transmission just falls out completely.

So I take pride in the fact that I let my kids be anything they want to for Halloween. Mostly because I don't know if they are given that option at their Dads house. Jacob and I love when the kids are creative and come up with their own version of something. This year though, is a slightly different story. Jackson wants to be a spy. His variation of spy means wearing all black, and wearing his spy glasses with handcuffs. Maybe a black beanie hat thingy. So now we are looking at borderline spy/robber. But Jackson is wearing his costume to a 5th grade Halloween party. Yeah, IT just got real over here. I know Jackson and I know it's going to bother him if the other kids don't know what he is. I think I talked him into picking something else while making him think that he decided to be something else. How, you ask? Two words. I'm Brilliant.

I am so over baseball. Late night games means arriving home late. It means starting and eating dinner late. It's either a game or practice almost every single night of the week but definitely every single day of our weekend. I am so over baseball. Meanwhile......Jackson just keeps getting better and better. Sweet.

Jackson wants a phone for Christmas. He wants a phone because "all the other kids at school have a phone". When I asked him what he would do with the phone he said, "I would call you." The thing is, he wouldn't call me. Because he would be with me when he had the phone. I'm not sure what to do about this. I cannot think of any good reason for him to have one at his age. But I have been there. I know what it is like to want things because everyone else has one. I tried to explain to him last night that just because they all have phones or he was to have a phone does not make anyone "cool". I don't want him to think that way. I also realize if my mom had given me the same speech (which I'm sure she did) that I'm sure I didn't care. And it definitely didn't make me want whatever it was that was "cool" any less.

We are completely caught up on SOA. Jacob is excited about this. I am not. I now have to wait an entire week, with the rest of the world, to watch it. Not Sweet.

Happy Friday!!!









































































































































































































































Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Tri-Monthly Joy...




I decorated for Halloween last weekend. I know, I waited longer than usual. ;-) I love Halloween. I don't even really know why I love it so much. I just do. I'm guessing it has to do with the time of year. It's the first Holiday that kick starts all the other Holidays. It's this tri-monthly joy we only get during this time of the year. It's the weather changing and the leaves turning shades of red and yellow. (I believe in Texas this happens for like 2 weeks and then the leaves fall off the trees) It is being able to enjoy playing outside more and have fires going on inside. There is a certain chaos to the next three months that I actually really love. I think it may be the only time I really look forward to chaos. The only time I invite it in with open arms and say, "Bring it on".

Consider what happens in the next three months. I know you are very much aware of the obvious things we  all have to be excited about. Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas. But what does that mean. I think some of what to look forward to is different for everyone but a lot of it is the same.

We get to pretend to be anything we want to be. Anything at all. That is so magical to me. Something that a child talks about or watches on t.v. or meets in a book and pretends to be through out the year.  And now they get a chance to really play the part. And show the "world" how awesome they are at portraying that character. And then they get paid in sugar. Now tell me...What is better than that?

I will give you a close second. November. Not just Thanksgiving. November. All 30 days of it. The sunsets are prettier. The are is crisper.  Being outside and smelling the smoke from a neighbor burning a fire in their fireplace.  Family coming in town. Watching football games together. Wearing warm boots and jackets. Gathering around a table simultaneously and eating all of your favorite foods. Food that was made by someone that loves you, for you. Real mash potatoes. Green bean casseroles. Stuffing. Pumpkin Pie. Hot Chocolate. Everyone laughing together. Playing games together. All of our kids getting to enjoy each others company. And not one single present is involved. This is why I love Thanksgiving. Because it's more about family than any other holiday. It's about being together. That's it. Just being together. 



And then there is December. I use to hate how early stores would put Christmas trees up to advertise. I use to plea, Dear Lord just give Halloween a chance!! Reluctantly, no one ever really responded to my outcry. Thankfully, this year, I realized I don't mind it so much. Mostly because I make the most out of my Halloween whether Hobby Lobby has that pink tree up with blue Christmas lights adorning it or not. But also, because it's a reminder of what's to come. The best part about December for me is decorating our house for Christmas. I think it is because it was such a strong family tradition for my family growing up. My sister and I took turns every year putting the top on the tree. We hung up all the ornaments together. I always, always, always got to put out the little Santa and reindeer exhibit with the cotton ball snow. As my sister got older, she wasn't too happy about it. We hung our stockings the same every year. Stockings that were made by my mom. It was always Mom and Me on the right and Lisa and Dad on the left. We left the cookies and milk out for Santa. And I don't know why it never occurred to me how gross it was for Santa to drink warm milk. Seriously. Gross. My favorite was the village my parents had collected over the years. I had started to collect a village for myself and it turns out, I don't have the room. My kids love this part about Christmas too. We put on some Christmas music. I make hot chocolate for everyone before we get started, with marshmallows of course. You cannot have hot cocoa without the marshmallows.  And so the tradition continues. It's like wrapping a little bit of history with our own version of any new traditions we have created. It's a good balance of both. It makes me happy. Very happy.