my AHA! moment.

(Me, 1997)

I took my Anatomy & Physiology Lab final a couple days ago. I aced it. In fact, I got an A in the class. I can hardly believe it. That class was HARD. But I made it. Now I'm preparing for my lecture final, and I think I'm going to get an A in there, too. Again, HARD class. Yet here I am.

I'm starting to realize something. Something that people tell me all the time, but I never believe them. I don't know why I lack self-confidence. I was a super-star in high school. Drama, dance, honor society, chorus, cheer leading, photographer, you name it. I lived for the stage. But I was prettier then. I was skinnier then. Boys chased after me, some girls wanted to be me.

What happened to me?

I don't know. I don't blame anyone for my self-consciousness but me. My husband is amazing. He tells me I'm beautiful everyday, that he loves me, that he appreciates me. He doesn't care that I've gained weight. In fact, he says he likes me better now-that I was too skinny before. My girls think I'm beautiful, too. My family loves me for who I am. But I hate me. And I think that is all that matters.

I never thought I was smart enough to be a Science major. I took the easy way out and majored in English. What a joke! Now here I am, needing to work, but can't do anything with my BA degree. So I went for it. This time last year, I went back to school. For Science. I wanted to be a Registered Nurse. Still do. I was so sure I would flunk out. But I didn't. I have consistently made A's and B's. I kept giving God and Lady Luck all the credit for my good grades. And I still think that they have something to do with it. But now I think I might actually be smart. No. I. AM. SMART. I. CAN. DO. THIS.

I can do HARD things.

A phrase I adopted from someone else, but it rings so true in my own life. I've proved it time and time again. I am STRONG. I am COURAGEOUS. I CAN DO HARD THINGS.

I was telling my bestie JenHeadJen a few weeks ago that I wasn't sure I could do this-be a nurse and all. But then she said something that stuck with me: "You already ARE doing it!" She's right!

So I've been toying with the idea of getting a tattoo for some time now. But I'm not sure if inking myself is really the way I want to go. There's the whole issue of permanence, plus religion, plus I don't want my kids getting inked too. I always thought that if I were to get a tattoo, it would have to be something really meaningful. Problem is I could never think of an image that meant enough to me. Now I have something. Something that represents my strength, my courage, and my smarts. So what should I do? Should I get a tattoo once I graduate, to remind me how I can do hard things? Or should I get a necklace made? What do you think? I've got time to think about it. After all, I still have two years. But now that I've had this personal epiphany, I don't want to lose it. I want to remember that I can do hard things in life. No matter what is thrown at me.

SNAKE!!!

My heart is RACING. There I was, sitting quietly on the couch, almost falling asleep. I was watching the show "I'm Alive" on Animal Planet, and this guy had just been bitten by a Death Adder. That's a poisonous snake in Australia, in case you didn't know. Right before that one, there was a story about a guy who lost his arm to an alligator in Lake Okeechobee, right in my own backyard. So I had reptiles on the brain.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I saw this:



Really, Chase saw it first. He's my hero. He totally would have taken it out for me, if I'd let him. I started screaming for Terry! It was 11:00 at night, and he was fast asleep. The girls were asleep too. It was just me and the cat. Terry finally came, and of course the snake went to hide. The cat was looking for it, and Terry told me to put him away. Then I called 9-1-1. The dispatcher thought it was a water snake, but she said she would send somebody out.

In the meantime, the snake reappeared, but quickly slithered its way into a tiny hole in my WALL! And there it will stay. The Po-Po came shortly after and there were three of them, all ready to do some snake huntin'! I told them it was now in my wall. They were like, WHAAAAT??!! Then they said it was probably a water snake, not poisonous, and that we could just plug up the hole and leave him in the wall. So we did. I couldn't find my glue gun, so Terry stuck a rubber band in the hole, followed by playdough. Yeah, we got that sucka good! Now the cat is still looking for the snake, and I have a cool Friday night story to tell.

one for the consumer avenger!

One of my besties, JenHeadJen, calls herself the "consumer avenger," and rightfully so. She studied fashion merchandising in college, and learned all the ins and outs of the responsibilities that retailers have to us, the consumers. She has blogged many times about her experiences (good and bad), and in my opinion, hits the "nail on the head" every time! I love reading what she has to say, and you will too, so check her out at www.jenheadjen.blogspot.com. In the meantime, I HAVE to share an experience that I just had, at the all-to-wonderful (NOT!) K-mart.

Yes, I did the unthinkable. I went to K-Mart. Why? Because it is closer to my house than their competition, if you can even call Target or Wal-mart their competition. I know. Not really a good enough excuse to go there. But hey, I guess I was lazy and didn't feel like driving that far. Well, guess what I got for being lazy...nothing but HASSLE!

You see, I am currently living in a cracker box, where we pretty much have no room for anything. My husband, as most of you know, has MS, and therefore has TONS of medicine bottles. We have an ENTIRE cabinet in the kitchen that is just medicines. But that wasn't enough. So we got a "lazy susan" to put my husband's meds on, so that they were easier for him to get to. Now I am taking many herbs, supplements, and allergy medications too, so I started using the lazy susan as well. And then the kids started needing allergy meds, so, well, now we are out of room and there are pill bottles all over the counter tops. Then I had this idea: "Why not buy a little stacking shelf for the counter top so that we can all have our daily meds on the counter, without taking up so much room?!" I thought it was a good idea. So I went to K-mart to look for a counter top shelf. I found one, and there were several under the $4.99 price tag. Yes, it seemed a little odd, but there were bigger shelves around it that were priced at $19.99, so I figured it must be right. There were a couple other options, but none as cool as this $4.99 one. So I said to my girls, "Let's get this one. I'm gonna hold them to this price, too." We went to checkout and of course, it rang up $19.99. WHAAAAAAT???!!! I immediately told the cashier that it was marked $4.99. She said "Oh, no, no, no," like I was a liar. She then ran around the front end looking for an ad. When she finally returned and started thumbing through it, I told her that I did not know if it was even in the ad, but that there were several on the shelf, all under the "wrong" price tag. So she wanted me to show her. We walked all the way back to the back of the store. She then rips off the tag, and starts comparing. Then she says "The skus don't match." I think "So?" Then she calls over a stocker, who agrees that the tags don't match and that I had the wrong item. Well, too bad for them I say. I asked for the $4.99 price anyway. She then says that we have to ask a manager, so we walk clear over to the other side of the store, looking for the manager. We found her, and she said "No." I said "Well, I did not see that the tags did not match. If there was only one there, I could understand. But there were several in that spot, so I want that price." She continued to say that I could have 10% off at the most, but I wasn't going to budge. It's not my fault they can't hire competent stockers. Finally, she agreed to give me the $4.99 price. Victory! We then went back to the register, where the cashier tried to ring me up but had to then call the manager over again to verify the override. What a pain! The whole thing took over 20 minutes, but in the end, it was well worth it.

I know I was a brat, and really could have seen that the skus didn't match myself, but as the consumer avenger would say, "It's the principality of the matter." I spent way too many years of my life working in a retail situation where the customer ALWAYS got what they wanted, and I feel that is mostly how it should be. They are in business for US. Without US, they would not exist. It is not that hard to put up a price tag, or stock an item as it should be.

Of course I won't expect this to happen all the time. Most times the consumer doesn't win. And I really won't be going back to K-mart any time soon. But I had to share my little victory dance. They are, after all, few and far between.

berry pickin.

Not too long ago, we went strawberry picking. I did it when I was little, and we always see signs to do it, so we said "what the hay" one day and did it!

We had actually gone out to campus, where I was planning on studying the muscle model, or as I like to call it, the Muscle Man! (Yeah, I sing a song about it too, to the tune of "Do You Know The Muffin Man?") But when we got there, the library was closed. Stupid little state-run school. (It was a Saturday afternoon. What kind of school closes their library on a Saturday afternoon?) I was truly disappointed, because I was having a test on the Muscle Man the following Monday. So instead, we walked around campus for a bit, then waited for Terry to do some computer stuff in his building, then we left. On the way home, we saw the strawberry picking signs that we always see. We decided that since I couldn't study with my model, I might as well go strawberry picking and leave my grades up to God!





We got there 10 minutes before closing time, but they let us in anyway. The price for the berries was much higher than we thought it would be: $4.99 per pound! But we figured we were paying for the experience, not the berries. Trinity and Natalie each got a basket and Terry and I just helped them. Both girls picked berries until their baskets were full, which really didn't take very long! We ended up only having two pounds worth of berries, and on our way out I got free recipes for freezer jam and other things. So the day turned out to be a success! And that muscle test? I got an A.

bella.

This adorable face belongs to Bella. She is an orphan calf on Great-grandpa Ralph's ranch. We first met Bella on Thanksgiving day, at Uncle Sean and Aunt Sharon's house. We heard there was a calf that needed to be fed, so we hopped on the mule (along with some other folks) and went out to pasture to find her. She was super shy and didn't want to come to us, even though we had her milk. But she eventually came and drank to her heart's content.

The next time we saw Bella, she was in a little pen in the yard, where she was more easily accessible for feeding times. We were delighted to find that she was still there (sometimes cows "adopt" little orphan calves, and sometimes they die) and eager to help feed her once again. Luckily, it was time for her to eat. When we got into the pen, she wasn't as shy as before. She eagerly drank her milk, and when it was gone, she still wanted to suckle. We were all petting her and loving her, when she found one of our hands and began to suck on it! Since we aren't really country folk (though I came from some), we were a little scared as to what Bella might do, but we soon learned that it was her natural reflex (just like a human baby), and that cows don't have top teeth! Who knew?! :) For whatever reason, we were in awe with this little sucking cow, and we let her suck on us again and again and again. She even tried to suck on our clothes, but we put a stop to that!



We have had so many wonderful and unique experiences because of this ranch. I am so grateful to be a part of a family whose history is rich in agriculture. The ranch is like no place on earth that I have ever been, and in the quiet, peaceful breeze when its just you and the animals, it almost feels like heaven.

pinocchio.

Back in March, my little drama queen got her first real acting gig. She had been taking acting classes at the fancy local theater, where we learned about an audition on her last day of class. The play was "Pinocchio," and it was being put on by a traveling theater company. They pretty much let most anyone in who auditions, but you have to be really good to get a lead role.

Since it was her first audition, Trini was really shy and didn't understand what to do. I don't think she got the whole concept of how to audition. But she was cast as a toy ballerina in Gepetto's workshop! She was really excited, and so were we. I remember how awesome it felt to be on stage when I was younger, and now my little girl was going to get to experience it! She rehearsed all week long, and then the performance was on Saturday, at two different times. She got to wear a costume and get her makeup done, which I think was one of her favorite parts.

We saw the late show, along with Grammy, Gramma Katie, Gramma Hildy, and Uncle Jon and his girlfriend. It was awesome! The kids did such a great job for only one week of rehearsal. After the show we went to Chili's for dinner and to celebrate Uncle Jon's birthday.

Trini ended up LOVING being on stage!!!! Call me crazy, but ever since I have been asking her what she wants to do next-singing, more acting, dancing, etc! She told me that she wants to take dance, then singing, then cheerleading. And I am stoked. My first love was the stage, and oh yeah, I am totally going to live vicariously through my kids! hahaha

sparkles.

Introducing....SPARKLES!



Natalie and I were out running errands a couple weeks ago. One of them included buying cat food for Chase. And since Chase is the pickiest eater in the world, he will only eat Science Diet brand cat food. This brought us to the actual pet store, where everything is over-priced, yet very tempting to buy.

Whenever we go there, we always look at the pets for sale, just because we love animals. Sometimes we hold them and think, "How cute! Let's buy it!" But then we come to our senses and put the critter back. This time, however, I did a mental check-out when I entered the store. I was sick and still am, and I just wasn't thinking clearly. I blame it on the cold medicine.

Natalie asked to go look at the fish. She loves fish. Whenever we are near the river, she asks to see the "nimmows." (Minnows) We oohed and ahhed, and then saw a little Betta fish. She held its little cup that it was in, said "Hello. My name is Natalie," and asked if we could buy it. I looked at the prices of the whole set up that we would need. It was only $10.00 for everything. By far the cheapest pet ever! So I said yes.

I asked her what she wanted to name the fish, and at first she said "Nathan." That is her favorite boy name. So I said "The fish is a boy?" Then she said no, so I suggested "Roxy." She liked it for a bit, but by the time we got home, it's name was "Sparkles," and has been so ever since.

At the time, I thought that Chase would not be a problem, because the fish bowl has a little lid on it. But Chase likes to knock things off the counter, the dresser, whatever, so he has tried to do that to Sparkles a couple times. But no casualties so far. Trinity does a super-cute impression of the fish, the cat loves to sit and look at it, and I have agreed to take care of it. Hopefully Sparkles lives a long time!


(Chase checking out Sparkles.)



(Natalie reading a book to her new friend.)