Blogkeeping

I just did some blogkeeping tonight and shaved down my regular blogroll quite a bit. I'm keeping blogs on that I read on a regular basis. Mostly the ones that I feel I've developed a friendship with. I will continue to visit new blogs whenever I can and add them if I feel a connection...an "I like you~you like me" kinda thing. What I can't understand are these people who have blogrolls longer than the Colorado River. Do they actually read those blogs on a regular basis or what? I just don't get it.

Anyway, if I deleted you by accident, let me know. You know, sometimes I just get click happy. Or if you're a lurker (and my stats show that I have several), leave me a comment and I'll go check out your blog!!!

Have a great night!!

Can I Just Stay Home Today?!!?

Yes, it's raining here in San Diego. And the word is out that it'll be like this all week. As much as I don't like rainy days, I know that it is needed here. Its just that the roads and freeways get pretty scary, at least for me. I hate driving in the rain!! People drive faster than they should be driving....it seems like everyone is in a rush. For crying out loud, I'd rather be late than cause an accident.
I just got home from taking the kids to school and it was a madhouse at all 3 schools that I had to drop my kids off at. UGH!! I just want to crawl back in bed with a good book. BUT reality is that I have to get my stuff together and hit the roads and freeways. I have eight stores on my list that I have to visit. Usually I can get my work done before the kids get out of school, but on a day like this it's probably not going to happen. Tomorrow I'll have to pick up where I leave off. I'm just so tempted to push my whole schedule over one day so I can stay home, but it'll be like this all week so what's the use?!?!

Join the Party.....

And you can win $250. Yes, you heard right.

Blogparty.net is hosting a contest. Very quick, simple and easy. All you have to do is write a post on your blog about Blogparty.net just like this one and link it back to them and you're eligible to win $250. They are a new network of sites and need help in spreading the word.

Here's a blurb from their website:

Blog Party brings bloggers together by providing blog resources all in one place, and just a click away. The partners of Blog Party Network have joined together to provide you with such things as blog forums, blog directories, blog advertising exchanges, blog news, plus a whole lot more.

So what are you waiting for....go check out Blogparty.net and join the contest!! Who couldn't use an extra $250?!?!?

Baby Fix Needed!!

Yesterday at church, my husband and I snuck in the back row. (We were a little late because we went out to breakfast first). A few minutes later, this younger couple sits in front of us with a little baby girl no older than one month.

As I was trying to focus on what our pastor was saying, my eyes kept ending up on the baby girl. She was so adorable, so precious, so tiny. I looked at my husband and he said, don't even go there. At that moment, I wanted a baby really bad. He just shook his head. I wrote him a little not on the program that said...."But you said you wanted six when we got married." He just mouthed...Snap out of it. I almost tapped the lady on the shoulder and asked her if I could hold her baby. I was that desperate!!! Do you gals ever have those moments? I know my husband was just about ready to walk out because I was being so obnoxious. Okay, okay....Let me pay attention to the message. All I got out of it was 1 Thes. 2:1-12. I have no idea what the message was about. I didn't hear one word our pastor said. I feel like such a sinner!!!

After church, I told him that we needed to go to my sister's house. She just had a baby five months ago. So we went and I just loved on Baby Elijah all afternoon!! I felt better, I had my baby fix and have no desire to have another one. Thank God!!!!

Manic Monday

Don't you just hate it when you know the rest will end up the way your morning started out?!?!? Today is one of those days!! UGH!!!

Blessings for You!

May You Be Blessed!!!

Friday's Feast

Feast Eighty-Two

Appetizer
Choose one: moving to another state, having triplets, or never being able to eat chocolate again.

Oh my goodness, that's a hard one. I would NOT want to move to another state. I would NOT want to have triplets. But I think I can do without chocolate?

Soup
Name a news story that truly shocked you.

This story that I posted this week.

Salad
What was your very first job?

A nurse at the VA Hospital on the NeuroSurgery Floor.

Main Course
If you had the chance to read the diary of someone you're really close to, would you? Why or why not?

My kids.....so I can really know what they are thinking about me! :)

Dessert
What's something you're looking forward to?

Heaven!!!

Wordless Wednesday

*********If you'd like to join in on Wordless Wednesday and be linked up, drop me a line in the comments section and please leave your link so I can piece your photos!
Kdubs

13 Reasons Why I Love Living In San Diego

1. I have lived here since I was 2 years old.
2. I can't see myself living anywhere else.
3. San Diego has great beaches!
4. I live 10 minutes from the beach.
5. There are 9 great shopping malls here in San Diego County.
6. My family lives here. (Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother)
7. The weather is great.
8. Our 'cold' is nothing compared to the 'cold' on the east coast.
9. If we want to see snow in the winter, it's only 2 hours away.
10. I have visited other places around the country and there's no place like home.
11. The Zoo, Wild Animal Park, SeaWorld and Legoland are 30 minutes away.
12. Disneyland is an hour and fifteen minutes away.
13. My inlaws live far, far away. (Georgia)

Different Kinds of Viruses

-The George Bush Virus - Causes your computer to keep looking for viruses of mass destruction.
-The John Kerry Virus - Stores data on both sides of the disk and causes little purple hearts to appear on screen.
-The Clinton Virus - Gives you a permanent Hard Drive with NO memory.
-The Al Gore Virus - Causes your computer to keep counting and re-counting.
-The Bob Dole Virus - Makes a new hard drive out of an old floppy.
-The Lewinsky Virus - Sucks all the memory out of your computer, then e-mails everyone about what it did.
-The Arnold Schwarzenegger Virus - Terminates some files, leaves, but will be back.
-The Mike Tyson Virus - Quits after two bytes.
-The Oprah Winfrey Virus - Your 200 GB hard drive shrinks to 100 GB, then slowly expands to re-stabilize around 350 GB.
-The Ellen Degeneres Virus - Disks can no longer be inserted.
-The Prozac Virus - Totally screws up your RAM, but your processor doesn't care.
-The Michael Jackson Virus - Only attacks minor files.
-The Lorena Bobbitt Virus - Reformats your hard drive into a 3.5 inch floppy... then discards it through Windows.

Different Kinds of Viruses

-The George Bush Virus - Causes your computer to keep looking for viruses of mass destruction.
-The John Kerry Virus - Stores data on both sides of the disk and causes little purple hearts to appear on screen.
-The Clinton Virus - Gives you a permanent Hard Drive with NO memory.
-The Al Gore Virus - Causes your computer to keep counting and re-counting.
-The Bob Dole Virus - Makes a new hard drive out of an old floppy.
-The Lewinsky Virus - Sucks all the memory out of your computer, then e-mails everyone about what it did.
-The Arnold Schwarzenegger Virus - Terminates some files, leaves, but will be back.
-The Mike Tyson Virus - Quits after two bytes.
-The Oprah Winfrey Virus - Your 200 GB hard drive shrinks to 100 GB, then slowly expands to re-stabilize around 350 GB.
-The Ellen Degeneres Virus - Disks can no longer be inserted.
-The Prozac Virus - Totally screws up your RAM, but your processor doesn't care.
-The Michael Jackson Virus - Only attacks minor files.
-The Lorena Bobbitt Virus - Reformats your hard drive into a 3.5 inch floppy... then discards it through Windows.

WOW!

This just blows my mind. I can never imagine giving birth at that age!

62 year old gives birth to her 12th child
Grandmother of 20
Great Grandmother or 3
Legally blind since birth
Diabetic
Married to ger 48 year old husband

Although she is not the oldest in history, my jaw just dropped when I saw this on the news over the weekend. Read the full story here. Can we all say WOW together?!?!?

And the Winner is......

(drumroll, please!)

Rachelle from Ramblings of a tired teacher (and mom) going mad!!

Go over and congratulate her!!! She's an awesome cheerleader and a new owner of a Logitech Harmony Remote!

And Rachelle, email me your address at sonlightscents AT yahoo.com and I'll get your Harmony in the mail this week. Thanks for playing!!!

Happy Monday!!!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Endless Cliffhanger. We've got a real wild story going. You can still add to the story and participate as many times as you like because like it says, it's endless!! I have another one in the works for the end of this week. :)
Why is it a Happy Monday? Because I totally blew my diet this weekend and didn't gain a pound. I sort of slacked off on the exercise over the weekend as well. But hey, the scale doesn't lie. :)

We had a great weekend! We went on a family outing with 2 other families to La Jolla Cove. Our goal was to check out the tide pools. Little did we know that it was high tide. But that didn't ruin our trip. The kids had a grand old time. Here are a few pictures

My youngest daughter flying her kite. There was a perfect breeze for kite flying.

My Little Man playing in the cold water.

Writing in the sand

La Jolla's California Coastline

My four kids looking out into the big blue yonder
How was your weekend???

Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend went by too fast. Here's an update on what has happened.

The runaway teenager situation is very sad. Going into the situation, I knew that there were two sides to the story and I only heard one. She let me listen to messages on her cell phone that her mom, grandmother and stepfather left. Unbelievable is all I can say. Her stepfather said she was a Dumba** B**** and hopes that she never comes back because she is a worthless piece of sh**. Her grandmother said that nobody wants her, not even her real dad because she is too much trouble for them. Her mother said that if I ever find you, I'll beat the cr** out of you.
OMG....what horrible things to say to a teenager. I could see why she didn't want to go home.
After 24 hours we found out that her mother filed a police report and has been calling all of her other friends looking for her. I was encouraging her to at least call her mom and let her know that she is alive. She didn't even want to give her that satisfaction. I let her know that I was harboring a runaway and could be charged with a misdemeanor, really the least of my worries at that point. Her mother finally got a hold of another friend's mother and told her that she really doesn't care if she comes home or not. She just want to know that she is okay. I have spoken with this other mother and she said that she would take her for the week. From what I gathered, her mother is willing to sign over guardianship of her daughter. This whole situation just breaks my heart. Her mother just got remarried last weekend and at the wedding she was trying to force her daughter to call her new husband 'dad.' She just couldn't do it because it didn't feel right. She got smacked for that. She also told her that she'd choose her husband over her any day. Obviously this family need serious counseling, but her mother has too much pride. She thinks it's all her daughter's fault for not adjusting like she should. UGH!!!

On a happier note, I had a great time with my kids this weekend. We played basketball, watched a movie, I took my girls shopping and out to lunch while my husband took my son fishing and we even managed to clean house!!

Have a great day and for those of you who have today off.........ENJOY!!!

For Those of You Who are on a Diet.......

Reading this makes my dieting much more easier to handle any day.

On the Menu today

Runaway Teenager

I'm dealing with a runaway teenager right now....no, not my own. My daughter's friend has ended up at my house and does not want to go home. She has confided in me in the past about certain issues that have been bothering her at home (i.e., her mom recently remarried, feels unwanted, etc) I do not know her parents, but I have told her in the past that if she feels she is in danger, my home is always open. So here she is at my house in tears, barely able to speak. I think that my weekend will be focused on her right now and trying to find a solution for her situation. Keep her in your prayers.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

I Love Mine....You Can Have One Too!!!

How many of you have 4 or 5 remotes to control your tv, vcr, surround sound, dvd player, etc? When company comes over do they always mess up your remote control settings? What about your kids? Or even parents? How would you like to control your entertainment system with one universal control?
Logitech Harmony remote can do exactly that. Press one button and your tv comes on. Press one button and you can watch a dvd or video. Press one button and you can listen to music.
This is the best remote yet. Easy to set up over the internet, even I can do it. Has help button if you run into problems. Read the reviews here.

My kids no longer mess up our settings. My parents can come over and just press one button to turn on what they want. It is so simple to set up and use.

Can you tell that I was a rep for this company.?!?! Well, I have remotes that I purchased as a rep that I am going to put up on ebay in a few weeks, but I am feeling gracious and would like to give one away FREE!!! It's a $150 value. You ask....what's the catch? Nothing really. Just promise me that you'll use it and love it like I do. Oh and one more thing.....I'm only giving away one so I'll have to decide how I will choose. Let me think.........

Okay, I'm back. My girls helped me out on this one and being the cheerleaders that they are they thought it would be cool to hold a cheer contest. In your best cheer voice, make up a cheer on your current remote control and why you should win this Harmony remote. We'll take entries until 12 midnight (pacific time) on Monday, February 20th. My daughters will help me judge.

My daughter made up a cheer to get the ball rolling........

(Rallying in and getting into position)

(Rallying, toe touch, round off back handspring tuck)

BTW-It does not have to be an audio entry.

12 Things about Whale Watching

1. Yesterday I went on a field trip with my youngest daughter's class to go whale watching.
2. Every year all the 5th grade classes go on this field trip.
3. My daughter begged me to go and I reluctantly agreed to be one of the drivers.
4. It was the most horrible field trip of my life.
5. Half of the kids were throwing up over the railing and all over the deck. It wasn't very pretty.
6. My daughter was fine. She loved it when the boat was rocking and the waves crashing against it.
7. I was feeling a bit queezy myself, but managed to hold myself together.
8. It was a VERY LONG boat ride.
9. We never saw any whales. :(
10. I spoke with one of the fifth grade teachers in charge and she said it's never like this. No one ever gets sick and they always see whales. She said that the ocean was the roughest that she's ever seen and she been doing this for years.
11. I felt sorry for all the deck hands who had to clean up after the mess.
12. I will never volunteer for that field trip again!! When my son goes in 2 years, I'll have to pass. Maybe my husband will go if he can get the time off, after all he was in the Navy for 20 years.....he can handle it.

Duped by WalMart!

I don't know how many of you do this, but I start my Christmas shopping early. Last year I started asking my kids for their lists in August. I just don't want to be bombarded with a million things to buy in the two weeks before Christmas.
High on my 15 year olds list was a Nano ipod and a digital camera. I planned on getting her both, one for her birthday and one for Christmas. Her birthday is on December 22 (poor child).
Anyway, my husband and I were at Walmart in September and found a great deal on a digital camera so we jumped on it. Since it was so far away from December, I asked the salesperson if I would have any problems returning it if I had to and he said no, as long as I had my receipt and it was unopened. That was good enough for me. We bought it and hid it in a safe hiding place.
Well, two weeks before Christmas as we were talking during dinner, my daughter mentions that she doesn't want a digital camera any longer, but would rather have Uggs. OMG, can she please make up her mind and stick to it.
That night, my husband and I go online to Nordstrom.com and order her a pair of Uggs. I planned on going to WalMart the next day to return the camera.

I'm standing in the long customer service line with the unopened digital camera and my receipt. I finally get to the counter and the customer service rep looks like she doesn't want to be there in the first place. There has to be a better place in the store to put her. Anyway, I proceed to tell her that I want to return the camera and she looks at my receipt. Nope, can't do it, she says. She points to the sign above her head which says that all electronic items must be returned within 30 days. What? Nobody told me that!! I then told her what the salesperson told me and she didn't want to hear it. I couldn't understand the problem, I had an unopened package and my receipt. It says nothing on the receipt about the return policy. At that point, I ask to speak with a manager. She looked a little disturbed at my request and said fine, but I'd have to step aside while I wait for the manager so she can wait on the other customers in line. Fair enough. She pages the manager and I wait......and wait........and wait......by now, I have no patience. I wait until she is finished with a customer and step in. Now, I'm demanding my money back. She said she couldn't do anything until a manager was available (which could take forever in WalMart). I am just so frustrated that I take her name and the general manager's name and leave the store.
So there I was with a brand new, unopened digital camera that I didn't need. UGH!! I go home and write a letter of complaint and until this day, have not heard back from good old WalMart.

Let's fast forward to last week. My girlfriend was over and I told her the story. She used to work at Target and said they use to take returns past the 90 days all the time. It could be done with or without the manager's approval. She asks if she could try to return the camera for me. So we take a drive to WalMart. I didn't want to step foot in that store so I waited in the car. Ten minutes later, she walks out with no camera. What? How did she do that? She said she just went up to the counter and said she wanted to return the camera and showed the lady her receipt. No questions asked, she got the refund. She said she even saw the 30 day policy sign, but did not say a word about it. I was happy, but I'm still not happy with WalMart. They could have returned my money to me in December. I feel like I've been duped by WalMart. They certainly have lost my business, but I'm sure they're not too worried about that.

I'm at Peace!!!

Thank you, everyone, for all the comments that you left regarding my previous post.
It certainly lifted up my spirits. This situation has totally consumed my mind over the weekend. One comment that really struck me was the one that Tara left tonight. She encouraged me to read Romans 12, starting with the last verse (v21) then read and
re-read through the chapter. It didn't take but the first verse to touch my heart. It reads:

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21

Last Wednesday night, I was overcome by my flesh. A million thoughts a minute were
running through my mind. Confusion, hurt, hate, revenge, etc. was what I was feeling.
I would like to share three more verses that dove into my soul. They read:

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. Romans 12: 17-19

Tara also has co-authored a book called Peacemaking Women. It deals with conflict
within yourself and others. I quickly hopped on over to Amazon to check out the reviews.
It has received five stars and is highly recommended. I am definately going to buy
this book.

So in closing, I would like to say that I will be sleeping peacefully tonight!!! YAY!

Amnesia?!? I think NOT!!

This past Wednesday our family went to the Wednesday night service at our church. The message was good, I was feeling good, my husband right next to me, and my oldest daughter managed to stay awake! All was GOOD!

We all leave the sanctuary after the service. My husband goes upstairs to pick up our son and I proceed to pick up my other two daughters. As I was standing in line to sign them out, someone taps me on the shoulder and says "hey it's good to see you again." As I stare this woman in the face, my memory is a bit blurry. She proceeds to invade my personal space and gives me a hug.
Okay? (I'm a bit puzzled here)
After we all retrieve our children, we stand in the courtyard and continue talking. She brings up our upcoming 25 year highschool reunion in 2008. Okay, she's someone from highschool. She eyes my husband walking down the stairs and says "Did you guys get married?"
Uh, yes. (Everyone of my friends from high school knows that we got married)
She continuously calls me by my name, but her face is still a blurr to me. It's either I have a really bad memory or her face has become somewhat distorted over the years. As she continues to talk about people and memories here and there, I grasp on to everything she has to say. I try to somewhat have a two way conversation with her while I desperately try to put the pieces together.

Then all of a sudden, she brings up elementary school and junior high. Have I known this woman that long? She recalls the teachers we had in elementary school and junior high together. It's not until she mentions our 7th grad PE class that everything all of a sudden clicks together. She is that witch of a girl that totally harassed me throughout Jr and high school!!! Just to clarify, I don't have a bad memory, but her face has changed dramatically. I'm guessing a nose job, more prominent cheeks, kinda plastic looking and to top it off packed with make up that cracks when she smiles. No wonder I didn't recognize her right off the bat.

Okay, now I'm getting hot and my blood is boiling inside. The feelings are coming back. What I don't get is that she was talking about all these memories from the past, but did she forget that she made my school years, especially junior high, miserable?!!? Did she forget that she slammed a book on my head while she was walking up a ramp to one of her classes, or that she ripped a necklace of my neck during PE, or that she was constantly trying to turn my friends against me, or that she made fun of the way I dressed, or that she spit in my face one day in front of my friends or even that she put a dead rat hanging on my hall locker?!?!? DID SHE FORGET THESE THINGS?!?!? Everytime she did something I would turn the other cheek. Never told anyone or made a big fuss about it. Just prayed everyday that it would someday stop. She never did once apologize and now here she is talking to me like we were old buddies. The nerve of some people!!! Over the years I have forgiven her, but have not forgotten. And now those memories are brought back fresh in my mind. UGH!!!!

Okay, help me out on this one, please!!! Why is she talking to me like she never did anything wrong to me? I stood there contemplating whether I should confront her, but my whole family was around the courtyard and I didn't want to make a big scene, especially at church. Did she actually forget all those things that she has done to me? Or was she just hoping that I didn't remember anything? Why all of sudden does she want to be my friend? Is she asking for forgiveness in a round about way? Does she think that being my friend will make it all better? Did she actually have some type of amnesia that blocks out bad memories?!?!? I think NOT!!!

Finally, my husband gave a subtle hint that we should go because it's a school night. We exchange business cards and she says she'll be in touch. Oh great, why did I do that?! Now she has my number. :
My family gets in our van and I just burst into tears. My husband has no clue what is going on. I told him that was her, it was Tina, the girl who harassed me in school. He was in shock because he didn't recognize her as well.

Now what shall I do if she ever calls me? Should I just be as fake and phoney as her and pretend nothing has ever happened? After all, this happened decades ago. Or should I confront her, snap her out of her amnesia and bring her down to her knees? Should I make her relive every horrifying moment of bullying that I have encountered with her? Should I make her cringe and shrivle up as I tell her every emotion that I felt and how she made my school years miserable? Boy, I hate confrontations, but this will be eating at me now that it's fresh in my mind again. I'm not a mean person by nature, but this is bringing out the worst in me.

Thursday Thirteen Break

Sorry guys, I'm going to have to sit this one out. :(
I don't think there will be enough hours for all the things I have to do today. I feel really bad, but I will get back on track for next week. I'll visit all you 13ers later this evening. Leave me a comment and I'll still link you up down there. Have a great day and Happy Thursday Thirteen!

Thursday Thirteen #5 Yummy Food!!!

1. California Pizza Kitchen's BLT Pizza

2. Red Robin's Artichoke Dip

3. Jack in the Box's Southwest Chicken Salad

4. Crab legs

5. Peel and Eat Shrimp

6. Mandalay Bay's Bayside Buffet

7. In and Out's Double Double

8. Quizno's Turkey Ranch and Swiss Sub

9. Starbuck's Zucchini Nut Muffin with a Chai Latte

10. Boston Market's Asian Chicken Salad

11. Rubios Fish Tacos

12. Claim Jumper's Cedar Plank Salmon

Home Sweet Home

We came home last night from our trip to Vegas. It was SO fun!! The girls performed on Monday and did an awesome job. We are so proud of them. We were up against nine other teams. I have to say that all of the cheer squads there were the best of the best. We went up last in our division because we were the defending champions and the girls pulled it off. All the stunts went up and all the tumbling passes were complete. The awards ceremony is always the hardest. When it came to our division, all the girls locked arms with their heads down and the coaching staff just as nervous. After a very long season of working hard on this routine and tweaking it to perfection, it all paid off because the we took first place and still hold the champion title for our division!!!! YEAH!!! It was a sweet victory. Tears of joy and sadness were shared by the whole team because although we won, this was the very last competition that the girls would have as a team. And what a way to end the season!!! Some of these girls have been together since they were 8 years old and now they are 12 and 13. So yes, we had an exciting weekend but it's always nice to be home sweet home!!!