42 days!!

42 Days....42 DAYS....FORTY-TWO DAYS!!!!!

Holy Cow!! Do you see my baby ticker people??? Yeah, it says 42 days! Where in the heck has the time gone? I remember when I watched my ticker go from 100 to 99 days, and thinking, wow, I have less than 100 days left to go. Now it is less than 50, and actually closer to being less than 40 after I come back to work after the 4 day weekend. O....M....G....is pretty much how I feel right now. I'm as big as a freakin' house, I can't stop eating, I'm already at my 'normal' full-term weight (which is 170 pounds people...yes, it is...totally not kidding)..and I still have a little over a month to go. Either my baby is going to be a freakin' monster of a kid, or I'm just eating so much that all the weight is in my boobs and bootie, which is entirely possible.

Even with all of this weight, I'm still all like, "I'm going to do a triathlon next year". Yeah, that's my biggest fitness resolution for 2010. I'm turning the big 3-0 next year (April 22nd), and I really want to have something pretty nifty to show for my 30th year on the planet. I definitely won't be ready to do it ON or near my bday, since I'll only be a couple months post-baby - but I've been in contact with a triathlon trainer who says it's feasible to be thinking maybe an August/September date. And don't be thinkin' Ironman people - I'll be doing what they call a 'Sprint' triathlon - where all the distances are pretty short (in comparison to an Ironman) - but it will still be the biggest athletic challenge I've taken on in my entire life.

My maternity leave from work is rapidly approaching as well - so I basically have 42 days to close off or transition every open item I have. You know what I did last week, and part of the week before? I went through 700+ emails in my Inbox...yep, I did it. When we transitioned from good ol' Outlook to Gmail last year for our work email, I just never really got the hang of how Gmail labels and folderizes things...so I just didn't...and every email that I received (unless it was junk, or I totally didn't need it anymore, and deleted it) was still in my Inbox. So I spent countless hours either labeling and folderizing my emails, or deleting ones that were no longer necessary for me to keep. Now I have 43 emails...hmmm, 43 emails to close off in 42 days. Can she do it?? Not sure, I've got a pretty big project on my plate right now, that will honestly probably still be going on by the time I get back. But, I should be able to get a pretty large chunk closed off...and that feels pretty good, because I was in somewhat of a panic mode a couple weeks ago. :)

Oh..OH...OH!!!! I get to go over and see my BFF and her kids tomorrow!!! This is the BFF I have mentioned a few times that was moving back here to AZ because her hubby was deployed to Afghanistan for 6 months. She moved back to our hometown, and is staying with her mom. Her 5 year old daughter will actually be going to the same elementary school that we attended...kinda weird. I actually lived back in my hometown briefly while my oldest was in 3rd grade...my 6th grade teacher was the principal of her school. Anywho - I'm totally excited to be able to spend the next 5 or 6 months being able to hang out whenever our schedules permit - which I'm hoping is often. The great thing is her being here will coincide with my maternity leave, so we should be able to visit with each other quite often. YIPPEE!!

OK...well, this will most likely be my last post for 2009...wow, this year flew by didn't it?

Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year - when we come back, we'll talk about resolutions some more. Doesn't that sound FUN???!! hehe (that was sarcasm, in case you didn't catch that...teehee)

The Great Debate

OK - so I tried to pawn this topic off on my wonderful bloggy friend Alisa, over at Faith Imagined, because God is using her in a tremendous way to explain things of God in a practical and easily applicable way. I emailed her my thought for this topic, and she writes back telling me that I did a great job explaining it and she'd love to read it on MY blog. WHAT???!!! (hehe, love you Alisa!) You want ME to step out of MY comfort zone, and allow the Holy Spirit to use me on my very own blog that is only sometimes sprinkled with my spiritual thoughts? Ummm...I think I have to wash my hair. What if people don't like it, what if it's not applicable, what if, what if, what if??? But then God says, "What if it's what people need to hear, regardless of whether or not they agree?" Ummmmm....OK.

So, here goes - the title for this topic is the "Great Debate". What debate, you might ask? The Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays debate. (eeeeeeeeeek!! I can hear the shrieks and gasps now) Is she really going to go THERE? Yep, I am.

So, I personally have not taken a strong position on the whole Happy Holidays vs Merry Christmas thing - I don't get up in arms when people say Happy Holidays to me. My grandma, on the other hand, totally does - even to the extent of no longer shopping somewhere because they say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. And I know that a lot of Christians feel the same way.

I was just talking to my co-worker yesterday who is also a Christian - and I was telling her that this year, I was experiencing way more people telling me "Merry Christmas" (Costco, Verizon, Cable company) - and she said she just had the opposite experience when she went shopping this weekend, and everyone was saying "Happy Holidays", and it was really bothering her. It's almost as if when we go out, we are waiting with baited breath at the end of every shopping transaction to hear what the person behind the counter is going to say.

So, then I said to her, "I'm pretty sure the word 'Holiday' is derived from the two words 'Holy' 'Day'. And the only person I know of that is Holy is Jesus. So, the people that are trying to be politically correct, are still telling us to have a Happy Holy Day". And she said "Wow, thanks - I guess I won't get so irritated by it anymore".

Just to make sure I was telling her the right thing, I did some internet searching as to the origin of the word "Holiday" - and fortunately I was right. hehe :) It comes from the Old English word "hāligdæg" (hālig = holy, dæg = day).

I think sometimes we spend so much of our energy being upset about something that rubs us personally the wrong way, and in the grand scheme of things, it is SO not about us. So, we react negatively, and then wonder why people don't like Christians? In my opinion, I think if someone tells us Happy Holidays, we should say "Thank You"...and not get mad that someone is offering a nice statement to us. The world is watching us as Christians, and a big part of what they are watching for is how we react in situations. If we aren't acting any differently than anyone else, what draw does Christianity have on a non-believer?

Phew...I did it...please don't stone me now. hehe :) And have a very Merry Christmas, and Happy Holy Day.

Friday Fill Ins!

It's time for Friday Fill Ins!! Yippee!

1. No, we will NOT be watching Sponge Bob Square Pants Christmas for the 80th time in a row (okay, who am I kidding, yeah we will - because Baby Pants likes it - and who can resist hearing a toddler say "Pun Bob Scare Panth Kissmas Mommy!".)

2. The new kitchen table is laughing at the old kitchen table.

3. I watched the steam rising from the hot cup of coffee (or tea) and thought: man, I must not have anything to do if I can sit here and watch steam rise from a hot cup of coffee (or tea).

4. Having to spend over $1000 on getting my car road-trip ready is going to be okay.

5. I'll take one freeway minus the Snow Birds...thank you.

6. I think replacing presents with memorable experiences is going to be wonderful, at least from my point of view.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to my friend Sandie's 50th bday party (woot! woot!), tomorrow my plans include teaching a My Smart Hands demo class at Momma's Organic Market as well as watching Cita do a Christmas performance and Sunday, I want to go to church, watch Monkey do her Christmas performance, and probably do some laundry!

Weekend Update - On Wednesday (yeah, I know)

OK, so I'm like what, 3 weeks behind on Marriage Monday posts? I haven't blogged in almost a week. And, I have swollen cankles. What's a girl to do?

I really wanted to show you what I did this past weekend, because I actually took pictures, and then actually took the time to upload them to my computer.

So - on Saturday, I took on the nesting project of ALL time. And that was to go through every.single.article.of.four.children's.clothing. Yes, I did. I made them bring out everything that was in their overflowing drawers, and pulled everything out of their overflowing closets, and brought it to my living room "staging" area. 7 hours later (yes, 7) - I had 10 bags to take to Savers (because I like them better than Good Will), 8 plastic bins of clothes we were going to hang on to, and all my girls' drawers were adequately filled and organized. I went through ALL of the socks, and if it didn't have an exact match, I threw it in a bag for Savers too. Whatever they don't keep for the store, they donate to Big Brothers/Big Sisters I think...so I figured some of the kids would rather have mismatched socks than none at all. And my children used to complain ALL the time about not having enough socks...so my relatives would buy them more and more socks. And when all was said and done after my project, they each had like 15-20 pairs of socks in their drawers - with plenty more that I put in the donation bag. Not enough socks, my patootie. So, I told Aaron - "Please, if anyone asks you if we need some clothes for the girls...tell them as politely as you can...'Hell Freakin' No!'" Because I never want to go through that exercise AGAIN.

BEFORE (and yes, you can partially see Baby Pants trying on the tons of shoes...hehe)

And 10 Bags & 8 Bins Later... (and yes, I did use a label gun to put labels on the bins)

Then on Sunday we went to my hubby's Award ceremony for his dirtbike series. He won 1st place in two classes - 450 Beginner and 25+ Amateur. This was his first time ever to participate in an actual motocross race. A couple years ago, he bought an old beat up bike, and had been riding mostly in the desert because the bike didn't quite have the power to take on the obstacles and jumps of a motocross track. But, he did practice at the tracks every once in awhile. We all went out to watch him one night at the track, and I could tell that it wasn't that he didn't have the skill level to take on that track, it truly was the bike that was holding him back. So, for his bday last year, I bought him an 08 Suzuki RM Z450. And look where he ended up? 1st place! :)

What in the Friggidy Frick Frack...

Am I doing up at 12:45 am, reading numerous blog posts of fellow bloggers all across the Nation - acting like I don't have to get up for work tomorrow or something?



I just can't sleep - I'm 9 weeks away from having a baby - and I feel like I have so much to accomplish prior to then, that the wheels in my head keep on turnin' (sing to the tune of 'wheel in the sky' )



Why does my husband need to sleep on MY side of the bed? I'm like 8 months pregnant, he's got a body & a half of space between me and his edge of the bed - and I'm scrunched into this little teeny tiny space, with my huge belly.



Tonight, the AWANA directors at our church had to kiss an alligator because the kids finished 100 sections in their scripture memorization books. I know it's weird, but the alligator was totally cute...it had it's mouth taped shut - maybe that's why it was cute. But my girls got to take a picture with said alligator - they printed them out, so now I"m going to have to scan them to turn them into digital images so you can see them - which I will add to my 'things to accomplish in 9 weeks' list, but I can pretty much gar-own-tee (think the Cajun chef dude voice) that it's not gonna happen - so I apologize in advance.

Too many things to be done...not enough time to do it in, and the things that I do want to get done can all be shot to heck if one baby decides to make an entrance even one iota early.

Bullets...Bullets...Oh yeah

My Title was a little song I made up in my head for my post that will be denoted by bullets. :)

• Today marks the one year anniversary of my husband's dirtbike accident - You can read about it here. Since the accident, he has reigned himself in quite a bit, and has gone on to be the Firebird Gold Series 450 Beginner and 25+ Amateur champion! I'm quite proud of my hubby.
• Today is also Pearl Harbor Day. Dec 7, 1941 - Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, HI. My grandparents took me to Hawaii in 1988, when I was 8 years old. We went on the Pearl Harbor tour - and even though I had no idea what had really happened there that day, I remember becoming very emotional. You could see the tip of the USS Arizona sticking out of the water, and I just started crying.
• Oh my gosh...today I had a McDonald's quarter pounder and french fries for lunch...and I ate it so fast, I don't even think I tasted it. I reached back over to the box of fries and they were GONE! So, then I looked at the box the quarter pounder came in...GONE too! I was like, what the heck, did I seriously inhale my food that fast? That's just not healthy.
• This pregnancy has made me large and in charge. My belly is seriously huge - and it feels like the baby is taking up the ENTIRE thing. I don't even know if I have 9 weeks left of room in there for him or her.
• The store manager of the Jack in the Box by my house (what? I don't eat fast food THAT much) told me I was having a boy. He is a hispanic guy probably in his late 30's or early 40's - and he says "You are having a boy." And I said "I don't know...I have 4 girls." And he says "No, not this time...it is a boy." So I told him "Well, after I have the baby I'll come by and let you know." And he's like "I haven't been wrong in 16 years." So we'll see. If it is a boy, I'm up a creek cuz I have one boy outfit that I bought 'just in case' and that's it.
• It's less than 2 weeks before my BFF moves back here to AZ from Germany briefly while her husband is deployed in Afghanistan. Even though the circumstances that are bringing her back here suck, I'm totally elated that she's going to be here. I'm excited that our kids will be able to hang together for longer than a few hour visit. I always imagined that we would live next door to each other, and our kids would be BFF's. Funny how time changes things. :)
• Raisin Bran Crunch is da bomb!
• I'm currently doing a Bible study with a couple girlfriends using this book called Balance at the Speed of Life for Women. It's great - it is making me realize that my plate is too full - and I'm always trying to squeeze more stuff on there. I don't know why I do this...I guess I feel like if I'm not busy, I'm being lazy or something.
• My current nesting project is to get through all of our closets and have a yard sale before Christmas. Kind of an ambitious goal, but I really want to do it dang it. Naps just keep getting in the way on weekends.
• I just got word from our realtor that we haven't talked to in several months on a house that we put an offer in on - it's a short sale, and it had to go through this big long approval process with the short sale lien holder. Our offer was the 'back up' offer - but there is a chance that the first people will back out. The price of $175k was approved, and the seller is offering 3% in closing costs. It's within walking distance from where we live now, but it's a 4 bedroom instead of 3, and it has a large backyard that is pretty much ready for us to do whatever we want with it because it has never been landscaped. It would take a miracle for the first people to drop out, and for us to come up with all the money for closing costs - but God is in the miracle business, so if it's meant to be, it will work out. :)
• I'm reading a book that my 12 year old is also reading called "Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo". It's a Sci-Fi / Fantasy book, and it's such a fun read. There are children who have special powers, multiple dimensions, and funky little creatures. I'm over halfway done already and I just started reading it this week.
• When my little Baby Pants says Clap, it comes out 'Cwap' - so it sounds like she's saying crap - which is really funny to me.
• All of my girls love the band 'Weezer' - it's so fun to hear them singing "Oooo Wee Oooo I look just like Buddy Holly...Oh Oh and you're Mary Tyler Moore!" We took them to see Weezer at the AZ State fair a couple years ago - they are GREAT performers. Each band member can play every single instrument on the stage, and they all take turns singing different songs. They put on a great stage show. And they just released their new album called "Raditude". I haven't heard any of the songs yet - and apparently their tour bus got in an accident yesterday and the front man, Rivers Cuomo, suffered internal injuries - that fortunately aren't life threatening, but they had to cancel the rest of their tour dates for this month at least.
• But to end on a positive note - Baby Pants keeps going potty in the toilet - infrequently, but she still does it. I will have to record her saying "I go potty in the toilet" and try and post it as a sound file or something, because the way she says it is freakin' hilarious!

Have a great week everyone!

Sublime

So - I was gonna post about how I couldn't believe it was Friday already, and how I had a somewhat crappy week, and yada yada yada. But, then I heard on the radio that plays throughout our office building....


"I don't practice Santeria...I ain't got no Crystal ball"....and then all of a sudden, the world seemed mellow. And I wondered to myself "What it is about the songs of Sublime that make me feel really chill and in a good mood?"

It's definitely not the actual lyrics...especially since the verse I heard just now as I'm typing this was "And I won't think twice to stick that barrel straight down Sancho's throat...believe me when I say that I got somethin' for his punk ass!" HA!

But, there's just something about Brad's voice, and the rhythm of the music that just makes you bob along, and kinda feel that So Cal beachy feel.

I was first exposed to Sublime in 1996, so the only album I really have any connection with is the self-titled "Sublime" album, even though the band had been around since 1988. And by the time I got into their music, their lead singer, Brad Nowell had already offed himself with a drug overdose. So, I didn't even have an opportunity to see them live. That's a bummer.

But whenever I hear these songs, I either go back to my senior year in high school - or road trips from Vegas to California, and my most recent memories are with my family at the lake in the summer - as my hubby is also a fan. :) Unfortunately, our taste in this music, and my hubbies taste in all things classic rock have our children singing "I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm a midnight toker" at the top of their lungs in Target. I know that's not a Sublime song, but you get the idea. I don't think I want my kids singing about having something for anyone's punk ass either. But just hearing that song this morning put me in a much better mood than I WAS in when I first went to start my Friday post - so now I think I'm going to run along over to Playlist.com and make me a Sublimey play list to listen to this morning. :)

Because who can not love "What I Got", "Santeria", "Wrong Way", "Garden Grove", "April 26, 1992", "Pawn Shop", "Paddle Out", and "Doin' Time"? :)

Happy Friday!

Post It Note Tuesday: Maiden Voyage

So, this is my first time participating in a Post-It Note Tuesday, found by visiting one of my Follower's, Lynn at Midday Escapades. I can't get their Post It button to work, so you'll just have to click on the link to go check it out. Here are my post-its for today. Enjoy! (Note: They rearranged themselves all weird, and I didn't have the time to figure it out)

And there ya have it - go make yourself some Post-It Notes!