Camp Happy Day...

It is hard to believe, but camp is OVER! It seems like we started, and then we ended....and I don't know where the middle went. We were so very blessed to be able to send Julianne to Camp Happy Day this summer. Camp Happy Day is a wonderful Not For Profit organization that helps children with learning disabilities and the like to have a fun, educational time during summer. We were blessed by an angel to send her, because we could have never afforded to send her without their help. If anybody is interested in donating to a great cause, Camp Happy Day is certainly looking for donations, and is a great organization who needs all the help they can get. Unfortunately, at the Awards Night last night, they announced that we parents need to start saving now, because they are quite sure they will not have as much "help" with tuition this coming year.....

Camp was awesome! Julianne got to go to "school" and play every single day! Since camp is held at Word of Life Lutheran School, it is right across the street from the great St. Francis Park, where the kids got to go every single day for the PE portion of camp. For field trips, Julianne got to go Roller Skating, to a Puppet show and got to go to the swim party picnic where FredBird made an appearance. I just couldn't be happier with the whole experience.

Here are a couple of pics from "Awards Night". Julianne got awards for 1) Most Improved Listener, 2) Most Determined, 3) Perfect Attendance, and 4) Best Climber! As we left last night, she started to pretend cry and said..."No...I don't want to leave Camp Happy Day"......

Thank you people...

Thank you to those of you who take the time to comment on my posts. It means a lot to me.....Seriously. I love checking in to see who has commented....

:) You all make my day.

And to those of you who don't comment.....please do. I'd love to hear from ya'll.
Chrissy

Pampering or punishment...

This past Valentines day, my great husband gave me a gift certificate for $100 to a local spa. I was shocked...as this is not something he would ordinarily do. I was honestly surprised, which I am usually NOT ever surprised. I looked at the price list, and well....$100 does not go very far at this place, unfortunately. Fast forward to this week. We will be visiting Jeff's family next week, and I wanted to "fix" my hair a bit. So, Wednesday after work, I went to Great Clips to get my hair cut. Much cheaper. And yesterday, I went to the spa to get my hair highlighted.

I have a personality flaw I suppose, because I do NOT, NOT enjoy doing this. Well, I *do* enjoy getting things done to make me look better...but I do not enjoy the process.

I hate how I look. When walking into the place, I feel like people are giggling inside because fat, ugly me is actually going to a spa. "Yeah, like we can fix her..." is what I think they are saying.. Then, I have to sit in the chair and see myself in the mirror, right in front of me. I never look in the mirror otherwise. So, being forced to stare at myself is like torture. They ask me what I am looking to have done. The only thing I can think to say is, "Something to make me look younger..." I never have a real answer. I don't know... So then, I have to take my glasses off....which I can't see without them. So I feel like a blind lady, and can see nothing. Absolutely nothing other than colored fuzz. Then I have to talk to the lady. I feel stupider and stupider with every answer I give. And I hear myself do that stupid nervous laugh...which I can't stand. (((Hurry up and get done with me!!))) Ugh. As I am about finished, she starts the whole gig with "you really should get *this* product we sell here because...." crap. And then I start trying to build myself up to be able to say, thanks but no thanks....I feel guilty for saying no after she has spent 20 minutes telling me how much my hair would benefit from this or that, and how great this product is.....ugh again.

I am done. Just about finished. They say $75 please. Whew, I have a $100 GC and I say, just use the rest for her tip. The lady then says...we can't use that for tip. Great. Now I am forced to give a $25 tip!! because I just told her to give her that much from the gc.....so I can't do less than that now. Great. $25 for my *free* hair color.

And to top it all off. I don't even care for the finished look. I had Alena take a pic. First she took one of me looking at the camera. It was so horrendous that I had her just take a pic of the back.

I really, really hope that one day I don't feel this horrible about myself. I am crap.

Goings on....

Well...here is a newsflash! I still have not written ANYTHING in my new daytimer I bought a week ago. Yep....as I suspected.

Let's see, what have we done this past week..... We were able to buy our van! Yippee!!! We also finally had our taxes completed...and discovered that our annual gross income last year was -$44,000. Yes, that is NEGATIVE $44,000. :) Funny, isn't it. So, we will be getting a little refund back, which is great.... Since finding out we would be getting a refund, these things have happened.... I fell down our front steps which caused the railing to RIP out of the concrete. Yes, I'm fine, thanks or asking...but Jeff will have to fix the steps now. $. Jeff's muffler fell off his car on his way to work the other day. $. I got new tires, rowters, brakes and an alignment....$$$ and my car still shakes funny. Our kitchen counter...our linoleum counter...yeah, I said it!!...is buckling due to a water leak somewhere. $. It is funny how when you have extra...something pops up where you will NOT have extra. I think God might have it set so that we always have "just enough".....never extra. Maybe?

On Sunday our immediate family went out to lunch to celebrate my Dad's retirement and also his birthday. This was awesome, because it is something we never really do. It was fun, and I just love having such a great family. Here is a pic of all of them.

Another HUGE thing that happened to us this week was that my sweet daughter Alena lost her FRONT TOP tooth!!! She was so proud of herself! She is adorable...and I do get a bit sad that she, and all my kids, are growing up before my eyes. Here is a pic of her happy self...

That's all I got for now. Thanks for reading....:)

Christina

Yet another DayTimer...

A daytimer...is that what they are called? It is isn't it? The little book that organized people carry around that they always look at to check and see what they have next to do....or what is scheduled for 3 pm next Tuesday? Daytime, schedule, date book...whatever you want to call it....I bought YET ANOTHER ONE. I buy one every year. I even bought one earlier this year. Sadly, I never seem to keep up with them, even though I have a very HUGE need for one. I hope hope hope I can use this new one to its full potential. I mean, I only paid $5 for it at Big Lots...however I did splurge, because I almost bought the $2 one....but decided to "go big". Lmbo.

In my ideal world, I will add these things to my "daytimer".

My work schedule.
Jeff's work schedule.
Juli's camp dates.
Juli's speech therapy times.
Juli's OT times.
Girl Scouts.
School schedules.
Dentist and doctor visits.
Birthdays.
Vacations. (yeah...ok)

I would also like to be SO good as to add a cleaning schedule. Like on Tuesdays, have "clean bathroom", on it or something...... I really, really need a schedule. Otherwise, I am left flopping around like a fish out of water. And I am tired of trying to breath that way.

Did I say that out loud?

Sometimes I honestly crack myself up. And by that, I mean I actually think something, and then laugh out loud because I am just so darn funny to myself. Ha! Something that cracks me up is the wierd things I find myself thinking about. I figured I would share one of those with you tonight. I have actually said this in my own head this past week.

* While at a gas station, making my morning, pre-work coffee....24 ounce cup filled most way up with regular coffee, a bit of creamer, and a bit of french vanilla creamer, and FIVE sweet n Lows...I get the little red tiny straw, also known as a coffee stirrer, and stir my coffee. Swish, swish, swish....take a quick taste through the hole in the straw like thing...and out it goes, into the trash. I said to myself.... "I wonder what the shelf life of a coffee stirrer is." lol. It is sad, really. They make millions of these little things, and we the consumers use it for a few swishes and toss it in the trash. Now I will always feel guilty while stirring my coffee with one of those things.

A Wife and Husband issue....

My husband and I have an issue. It wasn't always an issue....but lately, it really has consumed us. I suppose you could say the issue is ...communication. I finally summed up how I feel about it today. Basically, in my mind, He knows everything, and I know everything....and we both do everything differently. So...when we want to do something, we butt heads, and end up all mad at each other.

This is what happened today to make me realize this and see it with WIDE open eyes. We got a dog for Christmas. Chili. Chili is a Cairn Terrier....a toto dog. Well, I have never owned a terrier before...only nice, wonderful labs. What an eye opener a terrier is. Holy cow. Not only does this little brat yipe!! and I mean YIPE YIPE YIPE...not a bark...but a ear piercing shrill shriek yipe....but he digs. He digs and digs and digs. We have holes now in our yard that are no smaller than 2 feet deep. He could fit himself in these holes. It is very upsetting, and it drives me nuts...

So. Early this morning, I go outside, and see yet another NEW big hole. Something has to be done, because our fence will collapse soon if he continues this. (It is on our fence line mostly.) So, I decide that we need to refill it with dirt, then cover the whole area with gravel, rocks or something like that. Makes sense, right? Well, my better half thinks not. He thinks that would be dumb, because the rain would just go straight through the rocks, and continue the "corrosion" of the dirt. Huh? Since when did you go to landscape school????

I feel myself turn into a person I don't like, and I throw my hands up in the air and say..."Don't talk to me, because all you do is drive me f'n nuts". I said f'n...not the real word. ;) I hated that it came out of my mouth...and then felt like a crap wife. Deep sigh.

So, we go outside and start weed whacking and basically do some yardwork that was completely overdue. Our neighbor, who has the perfect backyard, who has to just hate being next door to our holey yard that is full of kids crap, was handing us yard tools left and right. How funny. He gave us these huge branch clippers to use to cut down large branches.

Large branches...ha, a HUGE thing we have differing opinions on. There is the bush/tree...like a rather large Christmas tree sort of thing, in the corner of our back yard. It is ugly, and huge, and out of control. Forever, I have wanted to cut it down, so we will have a LOT more room in the back yard for the kids to play in. Mind you, our backyard is the size of about six parking spaces. Not very big at all. His argument is that people will be able to see into our backyard from the alley. ?? And??????? ugh. Well, today...with clippers in tow, and an attitude to boot, I went to town on that tree. Jeff WAS NOT liking it one bit, and could not stop talking about how I just ruined the tree...and that we might as well cut it down now, since I've "chopped the hell out of it." I felt SOOOOOOOOOOOO empowered. I felt awesome, at his expense I suppose.

Well, the tree looks good enough, and he even agreed so, when I was done. And I do feel better knowing that I have admitted to myself that I think I am always right.....all along I just thought it was he who thought that.

How's that for a go nowhere story?

An Alligator Story...

Once upon a time, there was a backyard. A mom was getting ready to fill up the baby pool for the kids to play in. Then all of a sudden...what did she see??? An alligator, in her CITY YARD?????




She was frozen with fear. In a blip of a moment, she was thinking how grateful she was that her children were safe inside, and was looking for the best way to jump over the fence to get to her neighbors phone to call Animal Control. But just then, he got his first victim....




As she screamed a bloody murder scream, she watched in horror as this giant baby, wearing only one shoe, on the wrong foot, came and started stomping this killer alligator to death. All it took was three swift stomps, and he was a gonner.

After he was dead, the mother felt safe again, and went back to filling her pool with water. Just another day in the life of a mom.