Thursday, April 30, 2009

What I Did Tonight

Mommy is leaving town. Without a husband. Or children. Well, not on a girlfriends trip, but to help out some family with a project. The guilt has already set in so I did this tonight before I leave tomorrow afternoon.

We were out of bread so that was a necessity.But the cinnamon rolls...those all have a purpose. Two pans go to Mark for his victory over cancer. Two go to Lubbock with me to share. And two get to stay here with my hunky husband and gorgeous girlies so when they're missing me they can have a little taste of my home cooking.

And if you can tell by the photos...there's one pan left. That one....I'm not sure. Still trying to decide who I like the most!Maybe they'll just make the 6 hour car trip with me. Hmmm, one for each hour of driving.

I'm on to something!

Monday, April 27, 2009

And the palooza continues...

I went on a field trip today and spent some time with two friends who also read my blog. I felt like a celebrity! I was telling Kim later about yesterdays post. She of course laughed and we moved on to something else that friends have to discuss when together only a few times a year.

Later that afternoon (when I was about to throttle some sweet girls for not having their voice or piano folders ready to go) I raced home to grab something. From the car I could see something on my front door.

Upon closer inspection I found this.
Flowers! With this card.
I loves yas, too Mommy Fried! You absolutely made my day!!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Birthday Palooza

I've been mentioning on my Facebook status updates that I'm still celebrating my birthday. A friend gave me the above title for however long I feel my birthday celebration should carry on. I quickly fell in the love with the idea and adopted the term.

Here is a sampling of my birthday festivities:

23rd-Woke up to presents, cards, cute family members, and my favorite plain cake donuts in bed. Had lunch with two good friends and was given a cookie. Went to dinner at Pei Wei (the happiest place on earth) with Shawn and the girls. Went to the theater for the first showing of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Came home to my favorite ice cream.

24th-Took myself to Starbucks with the gift card Kennedy gave me. Met Debbie and Mark at a surgery center for his port removal and celebrated that and my birthday at Macaroni Grill. Shawn treated his parents and us to pizza at home before heading to the second performance of Charlie Brown.

25th-Slept in:) Taken to Carino's for a birthday lunch with Shawn's parents and my grandmother. Went to Hobby Lobby to shop with my gift card! Went to third performance of Charlie Brown.

26th-Invited to some friends house after church for a wonderful Sunday meal to celebrate my birthday.

Now, here's my problem....My final Palooza event will be Tuesday night when I go to Olive Garden with my girlfriends. That means that tomorrow, Monday, I will have no 'events'. Does it still count as a Palooza if I am forced to skip a day?

You can see why I'm worried.

If anyone would like to take me out for a meal, treat me to a manicure, take me to the theater, or just buy me something to keep this wonderful thing on a roll; please contact me!

I'd hate to see the party end.

***And if someone could suggest a simple way to remove all this fatty build up from my hindquarters from all the eating out, please let me know. As it stands...I'm asking Shawn to teach me how to use the chainsaw.***

Friday, April 24, 2009

Oklahoma Land Run

April 22, 1889.

12 noon.

People lined up early. With hopes and dreams.
They started planning their claims.
There was quite a crowd.
Choice claims were pointed out and discussed.
When the shot was fired the men took off, running to grab their claims.
Women and children followed slowly with the wagons and all their possessions.
Some taking in the scenery on their way.
When the men found their choice property they grabbed the stake and ran for the land office.
They anxiously waited their turns as the land officers marked their claims and handed them their deeds.
After their deeds were filed some started setting up temporary houses.
Family photos were taken.
And smiles were everywhere.
School teachers visited homesteads to meet the children.
And meals were eaten.
Games were played.
And friends were made.
And a new state was born.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

It's my birfday!!

Update-I count myself truly blessed to have so many friends that take the time to wish me a happy birthday. To those of you that I know and those of you I may never meet; thank you. It was a wonderful day and you all made it that way!

Stefunk to the C:)



And I'm not going to cry this year!

Last year was miserable.

So, basically, it can only get better.

So what are my big plans this year? None of my own, once again.

I will be getting everyone off to school; working on the charity auction I'm a part of; getting the girls from school; getting McKinley if full makeup, hair, and costume; and attending the first of three nights of the all school musical that she's in.

I guess such is the life of a mom. I will be surrounded by the people I love so that will be a gift in itself.

But next year...I'm thinking about a destination birthday:c)

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Missing States

So, I stopped by statcounter recently and went to my favorite part. The state/region area. There I can see what state has people who read my blog.

I know, I'm a dork.

Still.

I found something very interesting.

Some states are missing.

These to be exact.

*Alaska
*Arkansas
*Idaho
*Mississippi (okay, that's as fun to type as it is to say!)
*Montana
*New Mexico
*Rhode Island
*South Dakota
*Utah
*Vermont
*Wyoming


So if any of my faithful readers out there have friends and family in any of the listed states, tell them about me!

Yes, I'm kidding.

Well......sort of.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

New Cooking Method

Yep, a rubber mallet.

Don't ask me.

Apparently someone has taken an issue to my cooking.

I'm about to use it to take up an issue with them.

Stay tuned.


Monday, April 20, 2009

Why I love my family

Because they put pictures like this,
on Facebook.

With this caption:

In case you were still wondering about the benefits of having a phone with a camera.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Why I lost my mind

Because Shawn and I unselfishly gave up the master bedroom six years ago to let the girls have it we have had to make some concessions.

The pros are definitely worth just about everything though-

*All their stuff is in one place
*They get to be together and will have a closeness that other sisters don't
*The biggest closet in the house
*Two huge built in bookcases
*Three separate desk areas
*18 drawers
*And a bunch more storage

The cons you might ask-

*Their room is over our head when we're in the den. Sometimes they sound like a herd of elephants
*They pile stuff on the stairs instead of taking it upstairs and sometimes it overtakes the dining room
*Even thought they have the biggest closet with the three of them sharing we still can't make it all fit

That brings me to the reason for this post.

The bi-annual changing of the clothes.

We are truly blessed to have friends and family who pass clothes down to us. If we didn't, I'm sure we would have gone broke long ago. Also, most of the other moms have much better taste!

That means that we have an attic full of clothes that are hidden away until the weather either warms up or cools off and I finally tire of hearing the girls whine about being dressed in the complete opposite clothes as their friends!

Yesterday was the day. Ironically, today was cold and dreary and the girls nearly froze in their summer Sunday dresses.

Such is the story of my life.

I started with a huge pile of bags that Shawn had gotten out of the attic.From there I decided who each item would fit. If it made the cut it was folded and put on their bed. If it didn't make the cut it went into one of three bags. Summer/Winter/Give

I really try to get myself as organized as possible for the next time. Doesn't always work, but I try.

I save my least favorite part for last.

Shoes.

You know how sometimes your dryer will eat socks? Well, my attic eats shoes. I have no other explanation. It is the only thing that would make this happen.
That would be 49 unmatched shoes. 49!!!

How you might ask?

I don't have a clue.

I did end up coming up with 9 matches but still, 40 shoes. And of course I couldn't throw them away. I bagged them up and put them in the attic.

I'll probably never see them again.


Thursday, April 16, 2009

Ring my bell

When we were newlyweds we moved to a very small town that was 25 minutes away from the military base where Shawn was stationed. After an extensive search of the actual town by the base I swore I would never live there. Something about it being a temporary town. I lovingly still refer to it as the 'armpit of Oklahoma'.

The town where we settled was small, just like I'd always hoped to live in. One main street with one bank, one pharmacy, and one video store. I expected town hall meetings, hoe downs, and camp meetings. Maybe even a barn raising. You know, a Norman Rockwell picture.

I didn't get my picture.

We lived across the street from the county courthouse, half a block from main, and next door to a beautiful old Methodist church. It was idyllic. But something was missing.

I found it one night while out walking our dog. Mark and Debbie. They lived in an adorable house and had the cutest dog. We quickly became friends and they helped us out too many times to count with dog sitting when we went out of town. Shawn took their wedding photos, Debbie took me to basket weaving class, Shawn helped them with their new wood floor. We spent evenings chatting with our dogs.

When we left the military and moved away we promised to stay in touch. But these were the days before Facebook and e-mail. (I can hardly remember those days....) We did Christmas cards for a few years and stopped by once when we went down to spend the day taking the girls to some historical sites. But life just got in the way.

Fast forward to last October. Shawn got a call from Debbie asking about doctors in our area. Mark needed to have an exploratory surgery. I spent a day sitting with her in the surgery waiting room while we waited for him to come out of surgery. We caught up on children, sports, families, and lives. A few days later we found out Mark had to have chemo. With the holidays, and busy lives we didn't talk again (besides blog comments) until she appeared on Facebook. We spent an hour chatting on Easter Sunday and I found out that the next day was a very important appointment. I kind of invited myself along...and went to bed praying.

By the time I got to the clinic they were already in with the doctor. I nervously sat in the waiting room and waited. As I heard Debbie's voice I think I stopped breathing. Her smile let me know the news. NO MORE CHEMO!!

I was invited across the hall to see the bell ringing. What an amazing thing to witness. As I stood there in the room where I'd watched my mom take her chemo treatments only to lose her battle I rejoiced with a friend who had won his.

So, what does a family of four do when the children are getting to skip school, the father is chemo free, and the mom is breathing again? They take their fifth wheel and head to the local science museum.

First they teeter-tottered. Or see-sawed. Which is the correct term?
Then we saw a cloud makerand a tornado.We also watched an interesting weather forecast. That's what happens when you wear a blue jacket to the studio:)And then I saw it...a simulated tornado. Well, the winds anyway. I cried tears of pure hilarity while I watched the girls get in and saw their hair fly and their clothes flap.Then Mark got in. I think maybe his moustache flapped a little.

After a celebratory lunch at a wonderful BBQ place I said my goodbyes and headed home. We had talked about when we'd get together again. Maybe just the moms, or the couples, or all nine of us. I'm just hoping it's for pure fun. No more surgeries. No more chemo.

Do you hear that Mark and Debbie????