My $5000 gift to my daughter

We all have those days. Like, I feel fat days, bad hair days, My head hurts days, I'm ugly days, I have nothing to wear days, etc. And when you are 12 and in seventh grade you have more than your fair share of those days. And you can add the No one likes me days, I have no friends days, Edward Cullen isn't real days, I can't do math days, I hate my life days, and of course, no one understands me days.

But for all those days there is one thing that my daughter can always look in the mirror and say, "That is perfect."





Braces came off yesterday. The world's most perfect smile....
And yes, my friends, braces really do cost about $5000. If I ever see her asleep without a retainer in her mouth cover your ears because what comes out of my mouth won't be pretty!

Oh to have my problems, seriously...

What is a girl to do when the painters show up the same day that the housekeeper is scheduled to come?????? Yes, I have a cleaning lady and I'm not ashamed (too much). I love her and she keeps me from having the EPA declare my house a superfund site. Cleaning is not my deal: I'm not good at it, I don't like it and I have no problem letting someone else do it. But today, the painters showed up. You gotta love the Hispanic concept of time.

Scene: Saturday, I'm at clinical. Hubby is supposed to get an estimate from the painter.

Hubby: Sounds good. When can you get started.
Javier: Hmmm, like maybe next week.
Hubby: Like early in the week, Monday.
Javier: Yeah, or maybe later.
Hubby: Like before the weekend, maybe Friday?
Javier: Yeah like that or maybe Saturday.

Hubby (reporting to me): Yeah, I hired Javier. He's going to paint the house. Don't have any idea when.

So Javier is painting in my dirty house. The cleaning lady is not coming. And if I stay in the paint fumed house any longer I am going to be unfit to drive a motor vehicle...

Adios. I'll be back to blog maybe tomorrow, or like maybe next week. Yeah I'll come back then. Seeya!

What are the signs and symptoms of pretzel withdraw?

Some things you should know about me. I am addicted to pretzels. The saltier the better. When I was in college Rold Gold had a different formula for their pretzels than they do now that included a lot more salt. My roommates used to brush the salt off because they were too salty. Not me. Loved them. Those were the days. I eat a lot of pretzels. Especially in the evening. Like while watching T.V. If you eat pretzels while drinking cheap white wine, the white wine tastes better because of the salt from the pretzels! If you drink diet coke with pretzels the diet coke tastes better too. But diet coke tastes best when consumed with Fritos. But I digress. Or actually maybe I don't. So eating pretzels is a way to eat something that is crunchy and salty without eating what I'd really like which is Pringles or Fritos or Salt and Cracked Pepper Kettle Chips.

Number two thing you should know about me....I don't usually give things up for Lent. No real reason just never been motivated. This year I am giving up pretzels. Why? Becuase I want to see if I can. Because it would be a real sacrifice. Because I think they might make me retain a little water. (My fingers are a little tight this morning after the pretzel fest last night.) Becuase I think I eat way too many of them!

So I put this in my blog to make myself accountable. I'll update you as the season progresses!

If I end up in the fetal position rocking myself in the corner of the pantry muttering, "Rold Gold, Rold Gold, Rold Gold." I'll get Madeline to take a picture...

June Cleaver's secret life? You decide...

So one of my favorite blogs to read is June Cleaver after a Six Pack. It's linked right over there... She is just really really funny and not at all Pollyanna! (Read her blog, you'll get it...) Anyway, she used to have a picture of herself on there that I just looked for but it isn't there any more. Which means that this post isn't going to make nearly as much sense. Oh well, that's o-kay. Six pack fans will get it.


My point - the other day my friend was over and saw this picture of me. She suddenly said, "Hey, you look just like June Cleaver in that picture!" How many people get compared to their favorite blogger????

June - If you read this, I am sad to say that although I looked like you in that picture I gave up on staying blond. I hope that doesn't make me a traitor to the cause. Cheers!

Sad Week

So last week I kept wanting to blog but it was just a sad week and I blogging seemed like a massive pity party. Since I got through the week now I'll blog about it. It is still a sad week but I dunno, now I choose to blog.

So first there was our friends whose 16 year old was killed in a car accident. You can read about their family here. Who has their life's tragedy profiled in Reader's Digest only to have their life sustain a second tragedy the same week???? It is suffering on the scale of Job. Hubby did the memorial service and it was amazing. I was very very proud to be the Reverend Dr. Mrs.

Then one of my babies (nurses have their own language in the NICU - any baby that you take care of on a regular basis is "my baby") from the NICU died. I knew he was not long for this world. I knew he was much much better off in the arms of Jesus than in anyone else's arms. He was never going to get better. He was in incredible pain. But he was a sweet little baby and when he had a good dose of morphine going he would interact a little and I just liked him. So when I read the email that he died I was very sad. I should have been glad he had a new body and was done suffering but I was just sad.

And lastly, we talked to a realtor about listing our house and it ain't pretty. (Well, duh, Magan, have you read the news about the imploding mortgage market and the economic crisis?????? Yes, thank you very much, but I don't have to like it!) If it sells, we will lose a little equity to get to closing. Bummer. Sigh. Could be a whole lot worse. A whole lot worse. And I have gotten some perspective on it given that the equity that we have came from selling a house that wewere able to buy because our church gave us a down payment that we repaid out of the profits and then had profit left for our next house. Just a little whine, a small whine given other people's housing situation. On the plus side I found a very cheap painter who is going to freshen up a bunch of stuff and fix some hurricane damage for $1300. Maybe I'll get another Siesta picture to add to my collection!

Sort of good news on the kidnapping case

They still haven't found the woman but the press is reporting that they think she knew her kidnappers and probably went willingly. In other words, she's mixed up in something yucky. The Brazoria County Sheriff described the men they think are involved as "Mean as hell." So I hope she's o-kay but I'm really relieved that masked men aren't snatching random women out of parking lots.

There are three men asleep in my front yard...

Good news! We are getting our new roof today! Bad news! The roofers are literally sleeping on the job. I wish I could take a siesta under a tree on a beautiful day. Sigh... I suppose that would mean being paid minimum wage for a dangerous job that involves working on rooftops and the possibility of falling off and dying. I guess nursing it is...

Too close for comfort

This happened in my part of the world.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/pearland/news/6245052.html

"An expanded search begins on Thursday for Susana De Jesus, who was abducted at gunpoint Monday night as she left the Pearland-area clothing store where she worked.

As police Wednesday released a photo of a possible suspect, they said they don’t know why she was targeted.

De Jesus, 37, of Houston, was abducted about 9:15 p.m. Monday as she and a co-worker walked to their cars after leaving their jobs at Catherines Plus Sizes."

I was at the shopping center where this happened in the afternoon that this woman was kidnapped. That is scary. Scary scary scary. News reports of violence and whatnot are sad but thaey don't usually freak me out because I figure the chances fo it happening to me are infiitesimally small. This, though, feels way to close to home. I'm a little freaked!

This last part of the newspaper article makes me feel a little better. No way any one could mistake my 10 year old minivan with 130K miles on it for an impressive new car...
"Miller said single women driving impressive new cars — such as De Jesus’ Cadillac — sometimes become targets.

“I don’t believe this was just random,” Miller said of the kidnapping. “I would anticipate he’d seen her over a few days or few weeks.”

Brief updates...

So once again blogging is suffering as the schedule starts to get kind of crazy but here goes on some updates. (Particularly because I can't see to catch Teri at home!)
1. We are getting a new roof!!! Yippee!! The materials for it are sitting in the drive way and we expect the installation this week. Thank you very much Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.
2. My fingernails are short again. Isabella gave me a manicure for Christmas and for about 2 weeks they were so pretty and even and relatively long. But chop chop and they are short again.
3. Graduated from physical therapy with newly developed abs and significantly less pain in my back. The pain came back early this week and I was able to get everything back in alignment doing some maneuvers they taught me in PT so that was good. I will never neglect strength training again. (Famous last words!!!)
4. I got my clinical assignment for the semester. I'm going to the NICU at Texas Children's Hospital. I'm excited. Very excited. But I never expected to go to the NICU. There are so many people in my class that would kill for that it is just surprising to me that I got NICU. I know I'm going to love it and I'm probably going to be very good at it. I guess I'm surprise I got something that good!
5. No, I don't know what area I want to go to when I graduate. It is worse than being a senior in high school when everyone makes conversation with you by asking where you want to go to college and what you want to study. I like lots of stuff and I don't know where I'll end up!
6. My eldest daughter is taller than me. How did that happen?????? She is also a very good writer and has a wicked sense of humor.
7. My checkbook no longer balances to $4242.42. The fear of bill collectors forced me to pay up.
8. I am totally inspired reading about Teri's half marathon training. Being injured I got out of the routine of running but when I go, I really love it. AND being stronger in my core has made me faster. I'm running three miles in under 30 minutes. (29:49 counts as under 30 minutes!)
9. I'm still working on Christmas weight. I know what the problem is. I know how to fix. I just haven't done it consistently. I need to count every point and quit eating so many carbs. There I said it. Now I just have to do it!
10. Don't really have anything for #10 but it seems like a good place to end a list...