Silly Help Request

So I have officially hit my 75 pound weight loss goal (that will get a whole big post soon, I promise). So I get to get something pierced. I think I have settled on my tongue, it seems to freak my boss out the least. (But he is still begging me not to pierce anything, not gonna happen dude. He did promise to pay for it if he never had to see it…)

But that leaves me with a problem. I need a reward for 100 pounds lost and I really have no idea how to reward myself.

Does anyone have any suggestions for the reward???

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Mingo Monday 6/27/11

Teaberry, L and Teaberry’s dad came and visited me at The Hotel this past week! L is simply adorable, and Teaberry’s dad is wonderful, and of course Teaberry herself is simply awesome!!!!

When they came down to check out they brought me this awesome flamingo! It is much more colorful than it is in this picture, but it is after midnight and I am blogging from my phone!

Thank you Teaberry and crew for coming to visit! Thank you for my very first stained glass mingo! Come visit again soon!!  Xxoo

More Fun!

Life has been a lot of fun lately. So much so that I really honestly find myself smiling for real. I’m starting to really come out of my funk.

Tuesday night I met K at work and she asked me if I was interested in going on an adventure with her. Sure! We’ve been following the local news together for updates on the house that ABC’s Extreme Home Makeovers is making over. So she drove us out there. We drove around for a bit bypassing the way they want you to go into the neighborhood (such rebels) and then walked forever to the house. It was so packed with people! It was amazing! We had a blast.

When Chris got up Wednesday morning I was telling him about it. He was intrigued, he wanted to go too. So, after Avery’s swim lessons (can’t skip them twice in one week) we drove back out again. This time wasn’t as fun for me. First, it was hot. K and I went in the evening, right before they close down the set in fact. Chris, Avery, Delaney and I went at 1pm. Hot and humid. Nastay. Also, there weren’t as many people, which really makes it less interesting. But we saw it. Chris can say he saw an Extreme Home Makeover house being built. I was impressed at the change overnight. There hadn’t been a good roof when I was there on Tuesday, but on Wednesday they had already shingled half of it!

Last night we all (CLAD+J and I) went to the Lancaster Catholic High School Carnival. Again hot. I mean, if this is the face a small child is giving you while riding a carnival ride, it might be too hot:

No, really that is the look of “Dude, can we get this ride started??”

Avery blew my mind. She is a girl that takes after her daddy. Lyz, Joni and I were watching Delaney play on this jungle gym type ride when Chris called and said “She is going to ride the really big frog hopper.” Lyz gasped and we were off to watch.
UP, Up, UP



And Dowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwn

I’m not sure who made the more scared face, Lyz or Avery! Avery did love it though! She also begged to go on the Gravitron, which in my opinion is the most vomit inducing ride ever…gag!

I really do love my life. I’m amazed by how much. Each day I am surprised more and more by how happy I am!! ❤

I wouldn’t want to be anybody else

(If you know who sings this song…you know how I spend yesterday!!)

This is a story about my day on Monday. It will go down in history as one of my top five favorite days ever. I got to watch the world through Avery’s eyes. I love being their Aunt, I really wouldn’t want to be anybody else!! I spent an hour in bed last night with happy tears going over every moment of the day. Although my feet were tired, my back was sore, I felt as if there wasn’t enough soap in the world to get me clean, I enjoyed every single moment of my day. I am so grateful that I get to be Avery’s aunt. One more time “I wouldn’t want to be anybody else!”

So, Saturday night Danyelle (Lyz’s oldest sister) calls me and asks if I have the girls on Monday. Well of course! Monday is my favorite day of the week! Then she let me know that Selena Gomez would be at the King of Prussia mall on Monday…I should take Avery.

Now, if you are not around any tweens, teens, or small children obsessed with such things as Justin Bieber, you may not know who Selena Gomez is. Well, she is a Disney Channel star, she sings, she is also Justine Bieber’s girlfriend. (Am I spelling Bieber right? I don’t know, and honestly, I don’t care enough to go look it up)

Not a doubt in my mind that (with Lyz and Chris’s permission) I would be taking Avery to see Selena Gomez. So when I got home Sunday night I said to Lyz SG from WofWP will be at KoP on Monday…can Avery go? I got a blank stare. I knew she wouldn’t get it. She turned to Chris who simply rolled his eyes. I walked over and whispered “Selena Gomez from Wizards of Waverly Place will be at King of Prussia on Monday…can Avery go?” You would have thought I just told Lyz she could have a million dollars. SHE WAS THAT JEALOUS!

If no one else would have been able to go with me, I still would’ve taken Avery and Delaney myself, but with Delaney, someone coming with us would be quite helpful. So I called Joni. She was in. We decided to meet at noon, after Avery’s swim lessons. Monday morning came and I got a call from Lyz…skip swimming, do not pass go, go to the mall now.

I’m so glad we listened. By the time we got there (about 11:30, it is an hour and a half drive) the line was at least 2,000 people long.

We got in line on the left there at GAP. Allllll the way to the right where there in the Pavilion is where Selena would be. Whine. JONI TO THE RESCUE! She got friendly with a bunch of tweens and got us up to Eddie Bauer!!

Back up…Avery had no idea we were going to see Selena. She bugged me all morning about what we were going to do. I had to trick her into going downstairs so that I could take her Selena Gomez poster off her wall so we could take it with us. The whole drive there Joni and I pretended we were only going to the mall to go school clothes shopping. We told her there was a new Disney store opening. She told Delaney maybe that would buy new La (Cinderella) dresses.

When we settled in with our tweens that helped us cut in line (yes, we are horrible people, please forgive me) we explained to Avery that we were really here to see someone famous. The tweens then flipped around a poster of Selena for Avery to see:


Avery was speechless. She just stood there smiling and her cheeks turned bright red. I asked her if she knew who that was…Selena Gomez she whispered. Are you excited??? “Are we really going to see her??” We are!!!! She started bouncing around with joy! But, this was 11:30 and Selena wasn’t even coming until 6:30.

So, we waited. And waited. We were entertained by mass quantities of tweens screaming. We were entertained by Delaney standing in the middle of the mall stripping off her diaper. We were entertained by a large display of fruit:

Look Na–mananasssss. Joni and I covered our ears when it was rumored through the line that Justin Bieber might come too! Swoon! (oh my heck the screaming)

We were shocked when the line snaked all the way around and showed up across from us. At 2pm we were thrilled when the line started moving. They were only giving out 1,000 of the blue VIP wristbands…and thanks to Joni—WE GOT 5!!!!!!! Five?? Well yes, duh, in case Lyz was able to leave work and join us!!

Joni took Delaney to go scout out a good spot in front of the stage and Avery and I went to wait in another line for a makeover and to get her picture taken. This line was worse then the first I swear! We waited another hour and a half. Avery was starting to get really bored at this point. Then we finally got close enough that Avery could see what was going on. First they give you your very own movie poster:

And then they put you in a directors chair to do your makeup and hair!!!


But sometimes being beautiful is painful and boring:

But the end result is totally worth it!

Then Avery had her picture taken in front of a green screen and super imposed with Selena Gomez. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of that for this post, how will you all ever survive?? Then we were off to find Joni. She had found us a prime spot. We were second floor, which you were supposed to have a yellow wristband for, but blue was better than yellow so we were allowed to stay there. We were all of ten feet from the stage. It was awesome! I got Avery settled with Joni and went to move the car since there was a closer parking lot, making for an easier exit when all eleventy billion fans were ready to leave. When I came back the crowd at our spot had grown at least 10 people deep. I yelled to Joni that I was going to hang back for a bit. Delaney was passed out in the stroller. I texted Lyz good directions to where we were and waited to hear back. Nothing. Are you coming?? Nothing.

Then my phone rang. She was in the mall, find a map and tell me how to get to you. Um, sure, but the map is in the stroller now 15 people deep! I ran and found one of the mall directories and gave her directions. I then helped her push her way through the people to the front. It is now 5:45 and we have just 45 minutes until Selena arrives. The audience is squealing with delight! At some point I facebooked “Now I understand why no one ever took me to a Tiffany mall concernt.” The noise was amazing! I loved it! It felt so exciting to be a part of something that was making so many people happy! Even if I don’t really care one way or another for Selena!

News clip to show you a bit of what it was like. If you pay close attention around :45 and 1:15 you spot us!! Click here for NewsClip

Then…the screaming got louder…I finally decided to push my way up to the front to join the girls. And SELENA WALKED ON STAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I honestly did not hear a single word the girl said. There were so many people screaming!! I spent the first 8 minutes taking pictures for the people behind me who couldn’t see. They would hand me their cameras and I would take the picture and hand them back. I felt honored that people trusted me!! I could’ve walked away with several nice cameras and a couple of nice phones too!

People were quite pushy. At one point I basically screamed at some people who were practically laying on top of Lyz and the girls! I threw a few elbows and got a couple in return. My father trained me to be a basketball player, what can I say!

Selena only stayed for about 15 minutes. She answered a few audience questions and sang a bit of her new hit song (hence the title of this post). We got a short video, I apologize for the horrible quality, but you hold a camera while being jostled from every angle and get a clear shot!

I can only wish they would’ve turned the huge bright screen off behind her, it made it nearly impossible to get a good picture, but here are a few anyway:

We had a blast. We waited for a bit outside after Selena left to see if she would drive by us in her limo, but we didn’t see anything. Avery had such a huge smile on her face. While we were eating dinner I kept asking her “Who did you see today?” “I SAW SELENA GOMEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I saw Selena Gomez too, and it was pretty darn awesome!!

Mingo Monday 6/20/11

Today’s Mingo Monday is brought to you by a text I received at 2am Saturday night. It was from my little brother, letting me know he was thinking of me.

Isn’t he sweet??:

Thinking of Blue Day-2011

Dear Blue-

I think of you everyday. Every moment of everyday. I think of how old you would be. I think of the fun things we would be doing. I think of how bright and handsome and wonderful you would be.

My heart aches for you. I realize that you are safe where you are, and I am jealous of that. I want to be the one keeping you safe. I want to be the one holding you.

Your cousins ask about you often. Avery loves to point out things that are the color Blue and talk about you. Delaney loves to trace the footprint tattoo I have for you.

Your grandparents, your Aunts, your Uncles all miss you too.

I know you are with us. I heard you whisper to me when I needed to have my gallbladder out. I hear you at night when I’m laying in bed. Until the last few weeks I even watched you cross the sky, I’m looking forward to your return.

I cannot believe you would be three. Things have changed so much in the last three years. The mommy I was then wouldn’t recognize the mommy I am now. I have grown and changed so much. And most of that is because of your presence in my life. I am so thankful that you are in my life.

You are loved little man. By both of your mommies, by your whole family, by everyone who reads this blog, by everyone that your life has touched.

I love you, more than words can express, more than all the tears that fall from my eyes.

Love,
Mommy

(Ps…don’t forget to wish a Happy Birthday to your Aunt Laura)

Midnight…again

CLAD+J is out of town again. You may ask why I don’t go with them. Because I’m antisocial silly! So here I am laying in bed blogging on my phone.

I had a pretty good day today. Took care of a lot of crap at work that was stressing me out. I came home and watched some tv I’ve been meaning to catch up on. Started my Harry Potter reread. Did my nails. (Warning…leaving dark purple polish on your nails for a week may stain your nails all funky leaving them looking way bruised!) I even unpacked a box.

But, now it is midnight and I am layiing in bed in a quiet house. My thoughts are running away with themselves. Tonights theme is new. I’ve been on Blue thoughts overdrive the last few days. A friend had written about an interesting statistic reguarding child loss and divorce rates. I really hate feeling like a statistic.

If I could just fall asleep tomorrow will be better. I work in the morning and then am heading over to K’s. There is a festival going on in her town and we plan on eating funnel cake until we puke!

Zoe (CLAD’s cat) just climbed into bed with me…guess I will try this falling asleep thing again! Nite all!

One small step at a time

Last week I did something that I had not done since January 2008. I broke out my scrapbooking supplies.

I have been scrapbooking since my sophomore year of high school. Those first few books were quite literally scrapbooks. They held ticket stubs, letters, cards, the occasional straw wrapper from an exciting date, and weirder things. (The two weirdest being a turkey wishbone and my braces).

Then I found Creative Memories and became hooked on scrapbooking with pictures. I became a consultant and sold just enough to cover my own supplies, or sometime sold nothing at all, at least I was getting the consultant discount.

I would spend hours working on a single page. Tweaking and trimming until it was perfected. Then I would show off my hard work and put the page safely into a protector. I have albums full of these pages covered in my blood, sweat and tears.

Then when we lost Blue, I quit. This blog became my scrapbook full of memories.

Not anymore. I went to the basement and dug through boxes until I found the bare bones equipment that I was hunting. I found a scrapbook, adhesive and pens. I grabbed the shoebox that had been sitting on the shelf in my room and went to work.

Avery sat with me while I organized, attached and journaled my way through the last four months worth of scraps. Ticket stubs, the picture that I took to my haircut, cards and gift tags that were sent to cheer me up and show support, programs from Avery’s various activities, receipts from special dinners, and a whole slew of other scraps.

And when I turned to the next blank page, one that is awaiting a Dutch Wonderland ticket stub and Morgan’s graduation program, I saw the future. A future that I like. Sure, it is a blank page, but it is just waiting for me to fill it with my dreams. Fill it with things I want to do, things that no one can stop me from doing.

I’m on my own. Yes, I am still very dependent upon others, but I am on my own. I can do this. I’ve done this. I’m doing this.

Midnight

I’ve got a little cold. Nothing bad, it is just annoying.  All day at work I dreamed of bedtime.

Here it is. Bedtime. I cannot force myself to sleep. I can’t even have my nightly cry session. My brain won’t stop.

There are things going on that I can’t talk about here. Things that are running through my head with spikey heels causing me pain. Pain that I can’t even cry about.

I am so tired of feeling like I finally have a grasp on things, like I am finally in control, just to watch everything crumble. Just to watch myself crumble.

This time it was two great months of freedom. It is my fault really. I opened my big mouth and said I was glad all that was behind me. Then yesterday…boom…I guess there was a u-turn.

I’m sorry I’m so vague. I don’t mean to be, but I do have to talk about it, but cannot explain. Does that make any sense? Sadly my after midnight texting buddy is sleeping. Damn job making her go in at 4am.

I’m also sorry for any spelling and grammer errors. It is midnight and I am doing this on my phone, without glasses!

Okay…putting on a movie. Setting my alarm. I’m going to try again to fall asleep.  Goodnight!