Hey, Bathroom Lady & Polluted Air, this is for you!

This is an excerpt from the latest post from Heather Armstrong's blog, Dooce. She is writing to her 4 year old daughter, Leta.

"Mostly, I am excited that this baby will have you as an older sister, and not just because you will both need someone to call to complain about the fact that your parents are nuts. Sure, there will be times when you'll both try to kill each other either through physical brutality or embarrassment, but I know that at some point this baby is going to look up to you and think you are the coolest thing that ever walked on the planet. And while there is no way to predict the lasting dynamic of a relationship between siblings, I can only hope that you will have with this one what I have with my own, a bond so strong that it doesn't even matter that we have nothing but our parents in common. They are lifelines, people who were there, who were witnesses to everything that made me who I am, and I am the same for them in return. Is the relationship perfect? No, but we all know that we would sacrifice anything for each other, and one of the many reasons we decided to have another child was to give you the possibility of that friendship."

Merry Christmas, I love ya!

Thank You, Laura!

I got my Swap goodies today! I was so excited to see this nice surprise on my front porch. I discovered after coming home from dropping off Laura's treats at the Bethelehem, GA post office. It was a mob scene. The TV news was out there. Crazy. The Bethlehem post office is the closest to me, I use it all year long. But lots of people drive to this tiny little place just to get the Bethlehem postmark on their Christmas cards.

But I digress...

(Laura, when you get your box you are going to think I copied you with the note, but I promise I didn't.)

I got a beautifully written recipe for Hot White Chocolate in a velvet stocking, an adorable box with Santa on top and chocolates inside, some popcorn, a cute Noel decoration, a sleeve of Girl Scout Thin Mints (Laura, never apologize for not having homemade when you are sending GS cookies), spiced cider, a Yankee Candle tart in Christmas Berries scent and some super cute Christmas notecards.

I cannot wait to see what everyone else has been working on! The deadline is Wednesday.

I suck because I have not blogged in forever.

We had a great Thanksgiving and it was so great to see my Gram. She came over to my house and I made lunch for her & my mom. I made a version of Leslie's tortellini soup. Actually, Leslie's soup has raviolis in it so I turned it into tortellini soup. I also made a pear & blueberry cobbler. I invited my neigbor, Miss Mary, over to meet Gram & have dessert with us.

That was really nice. Mary is 87 and lives alone across the street from me. Her son used to live with her but he died of cancer last year. So we have adopted her and she has adopted us. She takes her voting very seriously too. She told me that the first time she voted was for JFK. I asked her if she ever thought that she would see a Black president in her lifetime. And she told me that it never crossed her mind, that she didn't know that it is possible. Mary is African-American and I cannot imagine what she has seen in her lifetime.

Anyway, it was wonderful to have gram here for Thanksgiving. I only wish that we lived closer.

I want to know- Where is my Christmas Spirit? I have none. I am trying so hard to get that feeling but I just can't. My mind refuses to believe that Christmas is 2 1/2 weeks away. I am playing the music & movies that I love and I have decorated the house but still nothing. I will be glad when 2008 is over. Hopefully 2009 will be a good year.

Winter Holiday Swap emails were sent out this evening. If for some reason you sent me an email saying you wanted to participate but did not get an email back from me, please let me know.

I hope everyone has fun with this. Once you receive your goodies, post your Thanks on your blog along with some pictures if you would like.

Hurry, Hurry!

Tomorrow is the deadline for the Winter Holidays Swap. Tell your friends. And don't worry about spending $20. You can do an awesome gift box for much less if you want (homemade gifts are always the best)-just make sure that it is something that you would be delighted to open a few days before Christmas. If you have any questions you can email me: brennafisk@hotmail.com.

Winter Holiday Swap!!!!!!!

In October my cousin, Leslie, participated in a Fall Favorites Swap hosted by Laura (Elephant Juice Designs). I was so jealous of all of her fabulous goodies. So, after consulting with Laura and getting the info on how it works, I have decided to host a Winter Holiday Swap. (I wanted to include New years Eve and anything winter so that is why it is called Winter Holiday and not Christmas swap.)


Here's how it works:

If you would like to participate, just send me an email at
brennafisk@hotmail.com

You must include this info. in your email:
first & last name
mailing address
blog address/website
a little info about yourself
how you heard about the swap

* you DO NOT have to have a blog to participate in this swap.

You have until NOVEMBER 30th at 10 p.m. to email me with your information if you would like to participate! Hurry, Hurry!!! On DECEMBER 2ND you will receive an email from me with your swap partner's information. Then, you can start gathering your own favorite Winter Holiday stuff to mail to them!! Because we are all spending so much around this time of year let's keep it under $20. Packages for the swap should be postmarked by DECEMBER 17TH at the latest.

Once you receive your fun little package in the mail...if you have a blog, you can post pictures of your goodies and THANK your swap partner! And I would love to get pictures of your swap gifts so I can post them on my blog.

IF you have a blog, you are welcome to post information about my swap! The more people that know about it, the merrier!! Be sure to link back to this post on my blog. You can also use the WINTER HOLIDAY Swap icon and link it. If you have questions about doing any of this, let me know!

If you have any questions about the swap OR if I've forgotten any important information here, please feel free to email me!
Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

Thank you Laura for all of your help & my cute button!

Daily Giveaways

Check out the daily give aways on Tip Junkie

Feeling Crafty

I haven't posted in a while, I am not sure why. I keep looking at everyone else's but can't get inspired.

Anyway, last weekend was Keelin's 7th birthday party. She had an American Girl Hotel Sleepover. Brady was so excited about it for days before. He kept asking me, "When is the hotel sleepover?" Everyday, several times a day. They had such a great time and I did too. The American Girl store is so amazing. If I didn't know better I would want one, even though I am really too old. A lot too old. My birthday was on Thursday last week so I had a cake too and presents. And my sisters & mom gave me a great present- they put 32 candles on my cake instead of 36.

I made a scarf for Keelin's birthday present. Only it didn't end being a scarf, it is a neck warmer or collar or shawl or something. I am new to knitting (not that new but it does not come naturally), some how I started with 15 stitches across and some where alonf the line I began wondering why the stitches wouldn't fit on my needle anymore. So I counted- 32. Some how I more than doubled my stitches. After going to knit at Main Street Yarns in Watkinsville the other night and talking with the ladies there, they said that is a very common new knitter mistake. So I sewed a button it and luckily I had drooed a stitch early on that made a perfect buttonhole and it became a really cute shawlette. I need to get Kelli to take a picture of it, I forgot to. So I just finished a dishcloth that was supposed to have the outline on Georgia on it (I was thinking of gifts for my KS relatives). You can kind of see GA but it is not so great. So I think I will use it here.

I think I would like to have a Christmas Craft Day here at my house and see if anyone wants to come. I thought we could make some ornaments, maybe a gift or two and have the kids make wrapping paper from newspaper. If anyone has any suggestions on crafts or wants to come let me know. I found a couple of cute crafts in All You magazine & Parents magazine. I am also wanting to rework my wreaths. I think I want to flock the one for the front door. It never snows here and I really love snow and my favorite Christmas song is Let It Snow. I would love to do a bright pink bow on that one but think it might be weird since I have no other pink Xmas decorations.

My friend Scott is working in Dubai & Qatar for the next few months. He really loves to decorate for Xmas, he goes all out. I think he usually puts up 5 trees and like 12wreaths. He has mentioned to me that he won't have a tree this year and he seems a little sad. I want to either make him a little tree with ornaments or if any one has seen a tiny one that can me mailed let me know. Any suggestions on making one?

I am feeling crafty and getting myself in the mood for Christmas.

This is in response to Erin's latest post. Maybe it is just me but I love this clip

Oh, and I have one word to say...

O-BAM-A!

Freecycle

I haven't blogged about this yet but it is something that I am addicted to- Freecycle. If you go to www.freecycle.net you can find a group near you. Basically, you can post items for people to pick up that you no longer want. For Free. And you can pick stuff up that people don't want- for free. I have gotten pears, apples & chestnuts from one lady. And she & I have become email friends and send recipes, etc back & forth. This week I got 3 2700 yd skeins of crochet thread new in the package and gave away lily & daffodil bulbs. Tomorrow I am going to pick up 3 bundles of Christmas garland new in the package. I have picked up a lot of crap on here too. But you take the good with the bad. The bad stuff I just recycled or donated. A lot of times it will be whole box of miscellaneous stuff and you take the whole box and then post the rest on freecycle. I love the idea of "one man's trash is another man's treasure." And somethimes people post stuff that I would consider trash, like a half used bottle of cat shampoo, but believe it or not, people pick the stuff up. When you sign up for your freecycle group you can find the "sister" group where people sell stuff they don't want. Like a virtual yard sale. My friend Carry got like new training roller skates for her kids for $2 a pair. I have since bought a pair from her. I got a webcam for an awesome price (not going to say how much because it is a Xmas present for some one who reads my blog- ansd she knows who she is).

My ABCsA =

Age: 36 next week. Gulp!
B = Bed size: Queen
C = Chore(s) you hate: Cleaning, it never ends.
D = Dessert you love: Bread pudding, tiramasu
E = Essential start your day item: Coffee
F = Favorite actor(s): Joaquim Phoenix, Edward Norton, Christian Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio (excellent actor, too bad he is a "heart throb'" too)Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman
G = Gold or Silver: Silver
H = Height: 5'4ish
I = Instruments you play: none
J = Job title: Mommy, real estate agent(under the right conditions)
K = Kitchen color(s): Off White. I really want to change it but can't decise on a color
L = Living arrangements: Married to Justin with 2 sweet boys
M = My name is: Brenna
N = Nicknames: Brenda Fish, Sweet B, B, Nemo
O = Overnight hospital stay: Tonsils out at 23 and having my boys
P = Pets: 1 dogs- Samantha, 2 cats-Whiskey & Whisker, and some turtles
Q = Favorite quote: my dad says it- Everything changes, nothing stays the same. Seems simple but for better worse it is absolutley true. One thing you can count on is change.
R= Right or left handed: Left
S = Siblings: 2 Kelli and Erin
T = Time you woke up today: 6, no one in my house sleeps late except for me
U = Unique about you: I have 184 college crdits and no degree, I can, I just learned to knit & crochet
V = Vegetable you love: TOMATOES
W = Worst habit: being unorganized
X = X-Rays you've had: too many to name
Y = Yummy food you make: appetizers, it's what I like to make
Z = Zodiac Sign: Scorpio
Now you know my ABC's I want to know yours!

Wait...I got my events out of order!

Back in the Good Old Days

We look exactly the same, don't we? Just kidding, hopefully we are a little wiser since we have to be a little older.

I have two very very BFFs. One lives here the other lives in the DC area until 3pm tomorrow. Scott and I have been friends for so long. Truly through thick & thin and I am not just talking about our butts (ba dum bum). He is leaving to work and live in Dubai for the next six months. I am so excited for him on this adventure but so nervous for him too. I am a little sad too because he has just recently met the most wonderful guy and I know it will be so hard for them to be apart over the next few months. So anyway, weekend before last we met in Winston-Salem, NC. It is almost exactly half way between our homes. It was such an easy drive we were mad that we had done it before now. Kelli & I rode together and her BFF, Shannon (who up until this trip was considered an imaginary friend- she really exists), who lives in Baltimore drove down too. We had such a great time. It was over too soon.

Kelli & Shannon

We had a very busy weekend but it was fun. Saturday was Emma's birthday party and then Saturday evening was Bella's Halloween Party. The kids had so much fun getting to be together and play Halloween games in their costumes. Mom's birthday was Tuesday and we got to celebrate her birthday a little at Bella's party too. I am still tired from the weekend. I have started keeping Justin's cousin, Cristen's, litttle baby Avery during the week while she works. He is 10 weeks old and a really good baby. I don't know how people do it with 3 small children.

Tuesday night Bowie & I got soooooooo sick. The sickest I have been in a long time. I wanted to cry. We were both up all night throwing up and then were just miserable all day Wednesday. I mean every muscle burned and ached. Awful. But today I feel so much better and so does Bowie. So far no one else has gotten but I still have my fingers crossed.

Check this out...

Super cute giveaway on Calico's blog

5 Things

5 things...

Erin tagged me...here goes.

5 JOYS

~my boys
~my husband
~the ocean
~growing my own food
~A Night Out With My Husband

5 FEARS

~something bad happening to my children
~something bad happening to Justin
~not ever finishing school
~losing my parents or Gram
~not enough $$

5 OBSESSIONS

~canning
~facebook
~the ocean
~feeling bad about throwing away recyleables
~freecycle

5 SURPRISING FACTS

~I was born in Denver , CO
~I can't sing
~I can draw with the proper equipment & time
~I usd to want to be Madonna (not so much anymore)
~I have seen Duran Duran in concert 6 times

5 PEOPLE TO TAG
Mom
Kelli
Leslie
Scott
Carrie

I am looking for fun, relatively easy homemade gift ideas for Christmas. If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear it.

We went camping last weekend. It was so nice. We went to the mountains in South Carolina, right over the state line off of the Chatooga River. It was the 1st time we have taken Bowie camping in the mountains. When we went camping at the beach we had the really big tent that is the size of my living room. We could let Bowie run around in there but this time we had the little tent. We kept him confined in the pack n play while we were at the campsite. He wasn't always so happy about that. Also, he is not really a snuggly sleeper. He kept waking up and trying to sleep up on the pillow instead of snuggling between mommy & daddy. WE went down to the river and fished a little, took a short hike up a waterfall, wnet to the SC Fish Hatchery and then to Issaqueena Falls.

I am mad that I missed Project Runway last night and just saw a preview for the season finale and saw that Jarel was not there. Humph...This season of Project Runway has not been good. I have not agreed with so many of the eliminations. Also, I am not loving any of the designers- work or personality. I thought of the 4 left Jarel was the best. That Kinley is a little turd. Alright, enough of my TV tantrum.

I have been so bad. I have not been to the gym one time this week. I have been tired and tired of dragging the kids there. But now I am paying for it. I have been on the verge of a mommy melt down for 2 days. Brady is exceptionally wild this week. It could be that I haven't had that "me" time to sweat it out at the gym or it could be that he hasn't had that extra play time that he gets at the gym. Anyway, we are going tomorrow and I will be back on track next week.

I canned some more pepper jelly,pepper sauce, and roasted tomatoes on Tuesday. That is the end of the tomatoes and peppers for this year. I still have a few eggplant that I will can as marinated eggplant the 1st of next week. Justin's friend, Theron is supposed to be bringing me some more banana peppers to pickle too. I put up a notice on Freecycle asking for some green tomatoes. Leslie has inspired me to make some chow chow if I get enough. Or I might just pickle them.



I talked to Gram this week. I really like talking with her and hearing what she has been doing. Papa Bill died in February and I just can't imagine how lonely she must feel. She told me that she hardly cooks anymore since it is just her. I talked to her about my canning craziness and we got to talking about how sometimes the simple or old ways are the best. She said that Daddy Ben (her dad) only ever used baking soda and salt to brush his teeth and that his teeth were beautiful. I also told her that I was thinking about learning to make cheese this winter. She told me about the farmer's cheese that Grandma Bill (her mother) used to make. She said that she would hang it on the clothes line to let it drain. I want to make mozzerella & ricotta. Maybe cottage cheese too, farmer's cheese. And we talked about cloth diapering. The thing with canning or diapering and I am sure cheesemaking is that it seems hard but in reality it isn't at all. No one can ever believe that I use cloth diapers. In fact I never would have even considered it if it wasn't for poor Bowie's bad diaper rash when he was a newborn. Now I wish I had done it with Brady.

I have been to the gym 4 times this week and I am feeling it. So tired & sore. I did Spin class monday & Tuesday and then a class called Ultimate Conditioning yesterday. It should be called Ultimate Smackdown or Ultimate Ass Beating or something. Killed me! We jogged & sprinted out of the gym down to the playground carrying a 5 lb medicine ball over our head. Then at the playground we did the monkey bars twice. Have you done monkey bars as an adult? OMG so hard. Then we jogged down the stairs (with the medicine ball) to the soccer field and then sprinted to the end. Then did all of these crazy drills and ran back inside to more crazy drills. Then today I just did the elliptical for a 25 minutes and then my weight class. I feel beat. But good!

I canned some marinated eggplant earlier this week. I know, I know. I am crazy. But I am tired of eggplant and you can't really freeze it or put it up any way so I found a recipe and tried it. YUMMY! I am going to make more with the last few eggplants. I think I am also going to do banana peppers this way next year. You use oil & vinegar and oregano, bay leaf, basil, garlic, onions. So yummy. I think it will be good on a salad and even use the "pickle" or brine for salad dressing. Justin put some on his pizza last night. I need to buy some more white wine vinegar. I pickled everyting else in white vinegar. I think next year it will be white wine vinegar & cider vinegar only. A little less bite. My radishes and beets are coming up now. Alton Brown had an episode of Good Eats on FoodNetwork about beets the other day. I am excited. I have never had them anyway except pickled from the grocery store. The radishes I think I will make radish butter to put it up. Apparently you can spread it on bread. Very french. The broccoli and green beans look good. I don't think my spinach or lettuce germinated. This is the first year I have planted green beans. I believe that it was the most satisfying thing in the garden. Came up so easy and strong, and kept making and making with very little effort on my part.

Check out these Cutey-Pa-tutie Monsters

1st off- Scott is now blogging!

So school starts tomorrow. But guess what, I won't be there. The financial aid is taking too long and we would have to pay out of pocket until/if it kicks in. I'm a little bummed but I would rather wait until I have the grants, scholarships, loans, etc to pay for it since we are stretched very thin right now. So it will be January.






On Friday, Brady, Bowie & Brenna (I) went to the zoo with Kelli, Keelin, Kinsey & Kathi (mom- just had to keep up the alliteration). We had a really good time. Bowie liked the big birds that we saw and the otters. He was calling them "kitty." Brady and Keelin are wealths of animal information. They new things about all of the animals. The kids had a wonderful time and I really did too

Saturday night we went to the Madison County Fair with Justin's mom- Danna, sister- Amanda, Emma-niece, and Amanda's husband Shawn. It was absolutely great. Emma is 4 and Brady is almost 4. They are finally big enough to ride somethings by themselves and some of the bigger things with an adult. We have been going since before we had Brady and I think that this year was the most fun by far. They rode on this little roller coaster. Every time they would go around the big curve they would throw their heads back and laugh and look at each other like, "that was soooo much fun."

Justin went up in Danna's attic while we were there. He found a ton of canning jars and an old pressure canner. I am so excited. I found a website that sells the parts for the pressure canner, just incase.

Okay, so this morning I wake up with what feels like a burning cake of nervousness in my stomach. Really, that is what it feels like. And not like a nice birthday cake with candles burning. In my dreaming sleep I could actually see what looked like a little flaming (it kind of resembled a urinal cake- what?!) cake in my stomach- weird, I know.Last night I started looking at class schedules because I am registering for school this morning. This will be the first time that I am going to school since 2000. And that time I only took one class and we weren't married and I had no kids. I also pulled up the curriculum for 2 other schools that I might go to later to see what I could take in the near future from this smaller and less expensive school. Not to mention my GPA is not high enough to get into any nursing program, except maybe in Guadalajara. So here I sit waiting for registration to open so that I may voluntarily sign up for the class that from 1991-1997 was my nemesis- College Algebra. I am hoping that my brain has changed and that suddenly all of it will make complete sense. Justin, my math whiz husband, says that it is so easy and it shouldn't be a problem. Easy for him to say, he hasn't taken it 5 times to receive no higher than the grade of D. But I am fully (okay maybe, somewhat) confident that I can master it with no lower than a B this time! I am raising toddler and preschool aged boys, College Algebra has to be easier, right?

Okay, I can tell by my Feedjit thing that more than 3 people check my blog but I won't be bitter if you won't "follow me."

I got my wish of hanging out with my husband on Sunday. He has been working so hard and such long days that I feel like I never see him. But he was home all day Sunday & we had a good day. Went to visit his grandparents, went to the park, went to the little gourmet/natural food grocery and he & Brady got some olives and chocolate for a snack.

I went to Athens Tech today to find out what I needed to get in for this upcoming quarter. Turns out they were lacking a transcript from one of the 4 colleges I have attended. Luckily I had received a copy from them this summer (boy is that a long and infuriating story- another post)and was able to give it to Athens Tech. So now to wait and see if I can start in 2 weeks or if I have to wait until January. And if i get to start now, then I have to figure out how to pay for it until financial aid kicks in. But at least I have a plan! I have 184 credits, $26,000 in student loans and no degree- APPALLING! But if I can just finish it will mean so much and at least the student loans will not be in vain.

I put 4 old Halloween costumes on Ebay. I have sold 2 and did quite well. I made back what they cost me originally. So basically last years costumes were free. Yay me! Brady is obsessed with being a firefighter for Halloween. Bowie will be a baby werewolf.

I made the most delicious mini pies yesterday. Got it from my new Everyday With Rachael Ray Magazine. I love that mag. I have had an annoyance with RR for a while but Justin bought me the magazine has a treat or hint, not sure. But I am hooked. Anyway,Justin and the kids loved it and I have to say so did I. The last one is calling me from the fridge right now. Here is the recipe:
Individual Chocolate Silk Pies

3 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 ounces, semisweet chocolate finely chopped (I used unsweetened dark chocolate)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 tbsp butter
Six 3 inch ready made graham cracker crusts
3/4 heavy whipping cream
1/4 tps ground cinnamon

whisk together egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch over med heat
Add milk slowly, whisking constantly, cook 2 minutes until slightly thickened
Add chocolate and butter, whisking until thick about 5 mins
Transfer to a medium bowl, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of custard and chill until room temp about 35 minutes.
Divide mixture among the crusts and refrigerate about 1 hour.
Using electric mixer whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form ( I added some powdered sugar and vanilla) and spread over pies
Sprinkle cinnamon on top of each

I never siad this was low fat, just really good and super easy. Like Paula Dean says, " I ain't your doctor!" I am going to make it agian this weekend but as one big pie in a regular crust because Justin's dad and other family are coming over.

Folllow Me, Please?

I added the gadget "Followers" only I called it "people who read my blog." If you read my blog will you add yourself to my followers, please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?

Remembering 9.11.01

I have been trying to think back to 9.11.01 today. I don't want to ever forget that feeling. We had just moved into our house in Acworth. I was sleeping late- been moving and before kids- and the phone woke me up. I can't remember who was the first person I talked to but I know I talked to everyone that day. But some one called and told me to turn on the TV that a plane had accidentally flown into the World Trade Center. The cable wasn't hooked up yet so I turned on the radio. It was tuned to my normal station that played pop music and had a morning show. Only they weren't being funny and no music was playing. They were talking about this plane crashing into the tower. Apparently they were watching CNN or something. When the second plane hit they started yelling and giving a play by play of the scene. Then the Pentagon, then Pennsylvania. They were speculating that it would keep happening because the crashes had been happening at a steady rate.

Kelli reminded me that she had just moved to Baltimore on the 8th. That was a horrible weekend. On that Friday I was fired from my job, Kelli moved to Baltimore 8 months pregnant and then on Tuesday, 9/11.

The whole time I am listening to this and talking on the phone. At some point I realized that Erin & Joe had been in Baltimore and were supposed to be flying out that day. I called them praying that they were still safely with their friends. They were. Their flight had been scheduled to leave later that day from Dulles. I think my dad was travelling that day to but luckily hadn't left yet. Justin was working in Alabama. I called him just to hear his voice and to make sure he knew what was going on. That whole day everyone I knew, where ever they lived was calling all of their friends and family. I guess just to know that they were safe. I quickly got dressed and went to my mom & dad's house so that I could watch the news. When I got there I went into the bathroom and noticed that the t-shirt had put on said "Terroristen" (the name of the John Taylor album). I was horrified. I took it off and threw it in the trash. I think I found one of Erin's old t-shirts to wear.

Erin and Joe couldn't get home because all of the flights were grounded. That was so weird- not hearing planes or seeing them in the sky. Anyway, they were stuck in Baltimore for a while, I can't remember how long, because they couldn't find a rental car or even get on a train to come home. I think they ended up renting a moving truck to get home.

That time was so strange. Nothing seemed normal. I had nightmares. It was so unbelievable that anything like that could happen to us. How could we have had such a false sense of security. For months I watched everything I could and read everything I could about that day. I just can't imagine being in New York or DC that day. I can't imagine the desperation of not knowing if your loved ones were okay. Or the families of the firefighters. Some good did come out of that day. We re found our patriotism. Flags everywhere for months. We were all the same and in the same pain. Some were worse than others but we were united for a while. I wish I had a flag to put up outside my house.

Photos By Lukas Horton

These pictures of Brady & Bowie take my breath away. Justin's cousin, Luke Horton, is a photographer and took these in July. Unbelievable. Especially the one of Brady. It makes me want to cry because he captured that sweet personality that I love. If you ever need pictures taken and you live near Houston, TX you should talk to Luke. Check out his maternity and new born pictures.

http://www.lukashorton.com/

Scuva Diving & First Day of School Pictures

Jumping Off the Boat into the Ocean

Scuva Gear

Very Serious about Being A "Deep Diver"

All Smiles As He Goes Into His Classroom

So Excited

I have been addicted to Facebook for a while. However, lately, I have had a wonderful payoff for this addiction. I have reconnected with a childhood friend, Kristen Taylor and a high school/college/ after college friend that I had lost touch with, Jennifer Helton. If it was not for Facebook I might never have been able to catch up with these old friends. I called Jenn last night and we talked for 2 hours and I think we could have continued if it weren't for my children. It was great, we laughed and talked just like we used to. Like not a day had gone by. We are going to try to get together soon.

Brady starts school tomorrow! Yay! And he went to bed without a fight tonight! Yay!

I got my application in to Athens Techon Friday. I have decided that I am going back to school to be a nurse. Crazy i know but I am really excited. I think Kelli can't understand it because it is something that I have just recently decided to do.

Well I have finished Twilight, NewMoon & Eclipse. Very good. I am taking a break and reading something fun before I read the last one. Kelli & Erin & I don't agree about somethings in the books. I like Edward but he gets on my nerves with his over protectiveness. Bella gets on my nerves with her want to be a vampire. And I like Jacob. I do love the books and I can't wait to read the last.

Scuva Diving

We have had a good week. I got to spend some quality time relaxing with Justin last weekend. I went to see Mamma Mia this week- BY MY SELF! At Justin's suggestion! What?! Yes, quite a big deal. Mamma Mia was cute, not great but it was great to be by myself at the movies. I have been singing Abba songs ever since. Went to the pottery painting place with Brady to paint something for Nana & Papa's anniversary. Went to my mother-in-laws. All in all a very good week. Tomorrow is Brady's open house at school. he starts on Wednesday. he is excited & so am I.

Brady is so funny. His imagination has been working over time. His latest interest is "Scuva Diving." Last week he asked me if Santa could bring him a "Deep Diver Dress" so that he could be a deep diver. I asked him if he meant a Scuba suit- yes, a Scuva suit. I told him I thought he might have to wait until he is older to go scuba diving. he said ok and has settled for pretending. He jumps off the couch/boat and swims around the living room. He also sits on the footboard of my bed and counts to 3 holds his nose and flips over backwards onto the bed like he is flipping over the side of the boat. He says that he is diving in a cave and needs a flash light to see sparkly things and fish under the water. Tonight he put a shirt on his head and said it was his scuva suit. i don't really get it but I don't have to- he gets it. I took some pictures and will add them later.

One of Those Days

I woke up cranky so I think I had the law of attraction working against me today. I woke up thinking," I can't do this again today, I need a change." Not anything drastic of course. My life is beautiful, my children are beautiful. But some days, and they aren't that often, I just can't wash another dish or do another load of laundry or try to entertain or teach anybody anything . That was today. The kind of change I mean is to have a day to hang out & relax with Justin, pay bills without breaking into a cold sweat, a vacation.You know what I mean.

Then I began to go through bills. You can guess how that went. Then I got the mail. Again, not so good. So I went in the bathroom, turned the fan on, locked the door, called my sister and wailed. Sobbed. Then both of the boys were banging on the bathroom door and crying.I opened the door to tell them to give me a minute and when I shut the door (hard)I slammed poor Brady's pinky in the door. I have never felt so sick. He was screaming and I just held him so hard and sobbed some more. Once he calmed down, I couldn't, he kept telling me to take a breath. That's what I tell him when he is worked up. I just felt so bad. At first, I thought it might be broken. But we went to Monkey Joe's and he forgot all about it and had a great time. Tonight I was telling Justin about Brady's finger, I said, "And like a bad Mommy I slammed your finger in the door." Brady said,"Mommy I told you it was okay." He is such a sweet, sweet boy.

Having a fun afternoon with him and Bowie made me forget my crankiness and made me glad that I get to be with them everyday. A lot of mom's don't get the privilege to be with there children everyday. I hope that I can until they are in school.

Silly mommy.

Twilight

I just finished reading Twilight. Yes, I am 35 years old and I read Twilight. And I loved it! It immediately draws you in and I couldn't stop. It is 498 pages, I read it in less than 24 hours. I have always loved vampire stories. Lost Boys in middle school, Anne Rice in high school, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and embarrassingly enough I loved the Angel series too. This does not disappoint. Sure it revolves around a high school girls first love but who can't relate to that. Although, I don't believe any of my boyfriends were vampires. Well...maybe...just kidding.


We had a really good weekend. The boys and I went & picked pears on Saturday morning. That afternoon I canned pears and began making some pear butter. Kelli & the kids came to spend the night on Saturday night. Keelin and Brady were 2 peas in a pod as usual and the Kinsey and Bowie are the new peas in their own pod. They played so well together for being babies. And they kept kissing each other. So cute! Kelli, Justin & I played Farkle- I won. Sunday morning Justin made biscuits, eggs, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns and I made sausage gravy. His biscuits are so good. We ate them with the new pear butter that I made. It is soooo yummy. Then Sunday afternoon we went to the hospital to see Cristen, Justin's cousin, who had just had her baby. Didn't get to see the baby. He was a little early and had to be in the NICU. He will be fine. He is a big baby, 8 lbs 9 oz. Then Sunday evening we met some friends of Justin's from high school at the park for a hot dog dinner. He reconnected with them through Facebook. I am so addicted- that is another post entirely. That was nice & their kids and ours played well together. But the highlight of Brady's weekend was getting to go fishing for catfish with Daddy and Uncle Theron. They did not get home until midnight.

Lament For The End Of Summer

This time every year I begin to panic. Summer is almost over! Summer and Spring are most favorite seasons. The heat can be horrible especially for my husband who works mostly outside or in un-air-conditioned places with an un- air-conditioned truck. However, the summer means green grass, green trees, flowers, fruit, vegetables, swimming, beach trips. At this time of year I begin to think, " I may not see the ocean again this year." And I try to calm myself by thinking, "You have seen it twice this year already which is more than most and the year is not over yet." My sisters think I am crazy. Kelli's family is the Addams Family. They like cold, grey, rainy days. I like a good summer thunderstorm too but I need to know that the sun will shine later in the day or at least by tomorrow. And Erin is a wilting flower in the heat. Yesterday I went out to pick vegetables in the garden and this picture is what I got (and a bunch of ant bites). While I am thankful for what I was able to pick it is a fraction of what I could pick a month ago. Another sign that summer will be over soon. Fall has it's perks- Halloween, pumpkins, Thanksgiving, crisp evening air. But the leaves after the leaves fall it is so grey. Grey trees, grey sky, brown grass and cold days. This year we are going to plant a fall garden. Maybe that will show me that fall has more to offer.

I went a little canning crazy yesterday. I canned roasted tomatoes, tomoto-basil jam (yummy), green tomato-strawberry jam(mock strawberry made with green tomatoes), and corn cob jam. Not sure if I will make this one again. The reviews on recipezaar.com said that it tasted like honey and apples. I think that is a stretch. More like sweet jelly with very little else going on. It is a novelty though or proof that I have a canning maddness. Tomorrow I am going to pick pears. So I have been looking for pear jam/jelly/preserve recipes. I found one that I want to try with red zinfandel wine & bay leaves. We will see. Of course I will make something more traditional too in case it is disgusting.

Tomato with a yellow star

Went to the gym yesterday & today. Yippee! Ran for 20 minutes straight! Usually I walk a song run a song but today I decided to push it and I would have kept going except for the cramp in my hamstring. I was afraid that I might cramp up and fall off the treadmill. Not a pretty thought. I also went to my knitting group. I finished a really crazy looking, long wash cloth. My first finished project. So even if it is weird, it is mine!

Yesterday Brady, Bowie & I met mom to get Bowie's 1 year old picture taken (he is 15 months old). He has never had his picture professionally taken. He was such a ham. He was posing, laughing, rolling around. He was very fascinated with the camera. I cannot wait to get the pictures back. After pictures we looked around at the awesome sales and then went to lunch. Both of the boys were so good even though they were forced to look at clothes. Brady likes looking at clothes for himself and Bowie. He also picks out fluffy, sparkly pink things he thinks his cousins will like. And he is usually spot on with what they would like. Most of all he loves to pick out cars or monster truck with his nana and mim. First thing he asked mom/ nana was if she had a treat for him. So spoiled. But mom insists that that is her job to spoil him. I hate that he expects presents from his grandmothers but I think they like it. So what do you do. But I do love how much he enjoys his new cars & trucks. You would think after hundreds, and I mean hundreds, of matchbox cars he would get bored but no way. Bowie of course was pleasant as always. He is so sweet. They were so cute together when they were getting their picture taken. Brady would do something and then Bowie would copy him and usually they would just end up rolling around on the floor laughing.

After our big day the boys were very tired. They napped on the way home but once we got home they didn't want to sleep. But they played all afternoon. We ended the day with some books. Mommy read one and Daddy read the new favorite, Clifford's Halloween.

I went to the gym again today. Yay! I ran/walked, did the elliptical and then the circuit class. I am feel the motivation creeping back in. Again YAY! I have met a new friend at the gym and we exercised together today and we are planning to the rest of the week. We are also going to have a bet. We haven't laid out the rules yet but the loser has to do something for the winner. She doesn't like to cook so she thinks cooking a meal for me is what she would do if she is the loser. I don't mind cooking so we will have to see.

It is really hard to make friends. Most of my friends I have known for ever and met before I was married or had kids and it was easy. But now when ever you meet some one new it is so different than when you were a kid or single. I have moved kind of far from my sisters and best friend. It is not really convenient to get together. Since we moved here I have been hoping to meet some good girlfirends that I can do stuff with. For a while I was like one of those girls that tries to make every boy they meet into the potential "one." I would meet people and get so excited and hope that maybe we could become friends. Sounds kind of weird now that I am saying it but it is true. And because I was being desperate I have put up with people I shouldn't have. I have met one friend who lives near me & we really click. But her schedule and my schedule never seem to work out. So anyway, I have decided to just relax, and if I meet friends then great. And I have met a new gym friend. Gosh, I sound like a big dork. Maybe I am, oh well.

I have to get some cleaning done (ugh!) and if I have time I would like to make some more pepper jelly. We have peppers coming out of our ears. Everyday I go out to the garden I pick 30 or so from one plant. I think I need to go back out today. The eggplants should be ready and some more greenbeans should be ready too. We have very little growing right now. It has gotten so hot and everything is slowing down. We had zuchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, 3 kinds of peppers, corn, tomatoes, green beans and potatoes. I am starting to think about my fall garden. I haven't ever had a fall garden but I am excited. I am not sure if there will be anything to can but I can freeze too:)

Like Shannon said, "I am here, now what?"

Okay, after much prodding from my sisters I have created my blog. I don't really have a whole lot going on right now but here I am.

Like the title of my blog says, I have a beautiful life. My children and husband are healthy, I have a wonderful family, we have a home, food to eat, clothes to wear, a car to drive, work to do (most of the time) the list goes on and on.

This week I have set a goal for myself to go to the gym at least 5 days. I went today so I am on the right path. I joined the gym in February and it has been the best thing for me. I could leave the kids in childcare and begin to transform my body at the same time. It is amazing what a little work in the gym can do.For a while I was addicted- HAD TO GO! Not so much anymore. With the lack of routine the summer brings and everyone in my family alternating being sick I have gotten out of the habit. I have maintained a 2-3 day a week exercise schedule so jumping back in to 5-6 days won't be a stretch.

I know this is going to be a good week for everyone I know. We need it & deserve it. Kelli's husband Shawn went to the doctor today and got some good news that he does have Bell's Palsy and not something worse. Kinsey's rash is going away. Amanda's (my sister in law)husband seems to be recovering from the virus that enlarged his heart. Justin's aunt should be getting better and the other aunt should be recovering from her surgery. My boys are over their virus-funk. Justin has work to carry him through the next month.

I am also planning to can a bunch this week. Kelli & Erin think I have lost my mind and Danna (my mother in law) says I am transforming into her 80 year old mother. I have canning fever! I have canned strawberry jam (that is what started the maddness), pickles, sweet pickles, fig preserves, peach fig jam, raspberry fig jam, tomato basil jam (my favorite), pepper jelly, pickled peppers, squash relish, piclke relish,salsa, tomatoes, pepper sauce. I am going to make more pepper jelly, tomato basil jam, tomatoes and corn cob jelly. Sounds crazy but they say it tastes like honey. I'll let you know how it turns out.