30 Days of Truth – Day 1

This “30 Days of Truth” is making the rounds of the blogosphere.  I saw it over at Garibay Soup first (which is now the beautiful Enchanting Havoc).  I thought it sounded like a neat idea, and a way to examine myself and fill the days when I do not have any posts.  Especially since lately it seems like my life is totally swamped.

I will not be doing the 30 days in succession.  I’ll be putting it in between regular posts and my 365 project which I have finally actually been actively doing (I wanted to wait until I’d done several weeks successively before I started posting).

If you want to take part in this 30 days project (which is my first of several, I found others to do as well) – head on over HERE to find a list of all 30 days.  Some look easier than others, but I’m doing them in order!!  So without further ado…

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Day 01 – Something you hate about yourself

“Hate” is such a strong word, but still I can think of a few things to add to the list.  The thing I hate most is my lack of will-power/ability to follow through.

I’m the person with a ton of ideas.  Projects, crafts, decorating, personal and kids.

I want to better myself – I’m going to start exercising.
I want to better my house – look at these ideas & projects I have in mind.
I want to make these things – look at my pile of supplies in my craft cabinet.
I am so very angry/hurt, I’m going to tell this person exactly how I feel – oh look at my yellow-belly. The chicken-shit runs away from confrontation again.

Unfinished tasks and projects litter my house.  My tummy is still I-had-3-kids-2-in-rapid-succession-loose.  My excuses are vast and varied.  Money, time, I got sick.  My first attempt at prject 365 ended at #7. College was an unfinished joke.

The only thing I’ve seen through is my writing (1 book written, 1 series 2/3 done)…and my marriage (a very important seeing-it-through thing, admittedly).

I hate that part of myself.  The one that doesn’t finish what I start.  That sees everything through to the end.  That doesn’t give up because of fear, failure, or just plain laziness.

Every year I resolve to change and get better.  And every year it comes back and laughs in my face, leaving me back to hating it again and not sure how to rid myself of it forever.

Weekly Winners – Flutterby’s, Fairs and Fabulous Hair

weeklywinners1

All taken w/ Canon Rebel XTi.
For week 8/15-8/21/10

Many pictures this week. I got very camera happy.

Angel & I went to the local park and took a walk along some of the trails.  While there we happened upon a little hidden area in the trails that had a ton of butterfly’s and dragonfly’s!!  Here’s just a few of my absolute fav’s:

In Flight

Kissing Cousins

Glorious Green

Then Archie & I went to the fair to see a show…
Midway

Lights on the Midway

Hilariously Fabulous w/ a Guitar

JEFF DUNHAM!!!

With Walter

And Achmed

Peanut, of course

JOSE (On a stick)

And a special treat. A new act, DIANE (loved her!!)

Jeff put on a GREAT show, we LOVED him!!  So glad we bought the tickets soon as we saw that he was coming to Indy!!

And the last few pics, I promise….

Frills

Fabulous Ribbons

Fabulous Fun Locks

Okay, that’s it!!  For this week, at least!!  Been taking a lot more pictures, so narrowing them down is getting harder…although I might have done better this week if I didn’t want to get all of Jeff in there!  I would have had more, because I met with some great blogging ladies tonight, but I’m saving that for another post!

For more Weekly Winners, head over to Lotus‘ and enjoy!!

Lost…

I updated WordPress last week.  Monday my site broke and it has taken me this long to get it up and running again.  Problem is that I lost the past few months of posts!!  They aren’t a LOT, but it’s more than what’s here!

What REALLY ticks me off is I exported all of the files to my computer from WordPress before I upgraded.  Now when I try to import the files WordPress tells me the file is TOO BIG!!!

So yes, I’m ticked off and trying to get a restore from my webhost (not sure it will happen).  But at least I’m back up and running….sort of.

*sigh*

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Update 30 minutes later – I FIXED IT!!!  All by myself! No help from the webhost OR wordpress!!  All of my posts are back and everything is resolved!

I’ll be posting Weekly Winners on Sunday, and then trying to pick up a regular posting schedule here and at the Storylines.  Prescheduling posts should help.  AT least, that is the plan!!

Grab Bag of Randomness

butterflyfriendSince it’s been three weeks (how did THAT happen?)…I wanted to come back with a powerful post. Since some items are a powder-keg around here, I decided to change my tactic to light-hearted (sort of) randomness…because I love me some randomness. Are you ready for this? I have so much random items I may have to split it into multiple random-gasms. Yup, I went there…

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~First and foremost I MUST blog this. It should have been blogged last week. I don’t know how days pass so quick anymore. I joined a group of awesomeness that is writing a story-blog. Each person takes a chapter and the story evolves in a fun and random fashion (yup, love me some random). So, please visit us over at …And What Happens Then… I’ll be the last person to post in this first story, but come on over and enjoy those before me! (P.S. Full credit for the idea and getting us all moving goes to the awesome Tara!)

~Last week I pulled a classic klutz move.  In trying to be helpful I fell into our crawlspace entrance hole.  I damaged myself. It didn’t feel good.  So I spent a weekend pissing and moaning. Yup, I did. Got over it and am almost all better. Still have a lingering bruise on my knee, but seeing how it started, it’s not a surprise.
ouch1ouch2

~ I was doing really well on an exercise kick, but then I got a cold and then fell into the hole…so it sort of went by the way-side.  Going to try to get back on that this week.  Kick start my 200 sit-ups challenge and work w/ my Wii Fit.  I didn’t sign up for my yoga class again this time around.  Money was tight and the deadline has passed.  Plan on putting some aside for the next go-round.  I really enjoyed that. Maybe I should start walking. I’d bike, but I don’t have one. I’d like one (I know, this is where hubby tells me again to use his…)

~ Two of my three kids started school yesterday.  Brandon is now a 7th grader w/ AP Math & English, a full period for Band, and did I mention SEVENTH grade? How is that possible?  Boy do I feel old.  Riley started kindergarten.  That’s all I’ll say about that (one of the hot-button issues around here).  Instead, I’ll show these pics of her first day.
school1school2

~ I’ve already started Christmas shopping.  Almost makes me sick.  But, considering the past several years we try to get it all at once and then we have no money…I figure a little here, a little there in the next few months will make it less painful in the end. I hope.

~ I’ve been continuing to write.  On that note, my husband has started as well.  He’s good. I’m jealous.  Not that I’m horrible, but he’s GOOD.  *sigh*

~ We gave Brandon our old desktop.  He’s already lost use of it (less than a week in).  Instead of coming to us to say there was an issue he randomly hit keys, then unplugged it and decided hitting F11 (restore) was a GREAT idea. So everything got wiped off the computer…AGAIN. So, until I actually get around to sitting down and fixing it/restoring lost programs, he’s w/o a computer. Then new ground rules will be set.

~Bored yet?  Yeah, I know…sorry.

~I’ve been knitting. A lot.  I go through phases…this one has hit again.  Not complaining, just always catches me off-guard.

~ We got Netflix again.  Between having it on the Wii, the DVD player, and our computers…we may never get cable again. All cable packages suck anyway and every show I want to see can be found online in some way anyway. Why pay so much?

~ I’m so into doing my girls hair now that I can.  I’m dreaming of the day it is thicker (They both have very thin hair thanks to their past/current growth issues), but we’re getting by pretty well even as it is.  It’s so much fun 😀

Okay. I will stop boring you for now.  I have to check out my assignment lists for MamaKat’s again.  If I remember my email I don’t remember anything that REALLY caught my fancy this week. I may have to pull out one of her past ones…maybe I’ll make a bucket list this week.  I’ve always wanted to do that anyway.

So how have you all been?  You look fabulous.  Although some of you look a little groggy still…were you partying too hard at BlogHer again?  Tsk tsk…aw hell, I would’ve done the same.  You still look fabulous!

He didn’t have to be.

blessing8This week’s writing prompt list over at Mama Kat‘s suggested that we write about our wedding song.

The first thing I thought of was not our wedding song, but OUR wedding song.  Makes sense, right?

To clarify, when Archie and I got married, Brandon was three years old.  Our first date he didn’t ask ME out…he asked out Brandon and I both.  We went to Pizza King so Brandon could see the train going around carrying drinks, and play video games.

It impressed my father.

It impressed me.

When it came down to planning the wedding we had the Father/Daughter dance picked.  We had our first dance picked. But there was something missing.  Something important.

WeddingThat little guy had been a part of our beginning.  Our middle, and he had to be a part of this too. We had to make sure of it.

My Dad came up with the perfect song.  The one that meant a lot…fit just right.

He Didn’t Have to Be by Brad Paisley

When a single mom goes out on a date with somebody new
It always winds up feeling more like a job interview
My momma used to wonder if she’d ever meet someone
Who wouldn’t find out about me and then turn around and run

I met the man I call my dad when I was five years old
He took my mom out to a movie and for once I got to go
A few months later I remember lying there in bed
I overheard him pop the question and I prayed that she’d say yes

And then all of a sudden
Oh, it seemed so strange to me
How we went from something’s missing
To a family
Lookin’ back all I can say
About all the things he did for me
Is I hope I’m at least half the dad
That he didn’t have to be

The words say it all.  Brandon wasn’t five – but he helped Archie pop the question.  He was at the wedding, holding our hands, and we all danced together as a family at the reception.  Moments after that kiss in the picture Brandon called Archie ‘Dad’ for the first time.  It took a few months of adjustment, but soon he was calling him Dad all the time.

Archie didn’t have to ask out the single Mom.  He didn’t have to ask out her little kid.  But he did.

And we’ll forever be glad that he did.

Where We Are…

breatheI should have updated sooner, but as you’ve seen I had a lousy week last week. So here is the official Angel – CF update.

Angel’s lung functions went up – but only by 3%.  This is not a good amount of improvement. We were allowed to go home, but our Pulm wants more improvement.

In case you missed it, last year I posted about our journey to the CF diagnosis (Here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). Because of that journey and the low sweat chloride levels, plus her generally clear lungs there has always been a niggling of a doubt about her diagnosis. Not just for us, but for the pulm as well.  After x-rays she’d make statements like “her lungs look more CF now” and other statements like that.  There was always a “maybe-probably” to it.

Well there is no more ‘maybe-probably’.  Our pulm stated that any doubt is fully erased. You do not get Pseudomonas unless you have CF.

For now, we’re home.  For now, we won’t be checked in.

We re-ran the sputum culture. If it comes back positive we start a new lifelong treatment cycle.  The TOBI (antibiotic) will become a permanent fixture. Every other month she’ll be on the antibiotic. We’ll know by the end of the week.

So that’s where we are.  Continuing on our path with our Angel a little the worse for wear.  After this week it may be a regular regimen of medicine, but no hospital stay for now.