We're Finally Having FUN!!!

Whew!

The last two weekends have been a complete whirlwind. So much fun, so little time. Here are the highlights:

• Last Saturday (the 21st), I met up with Jessica and Amy from the OvuSoft boards. They are both just completely awesome!! We met at Jessica's house in Louisville...the kids played...us girls talked incessantly like we were childhood friends catching up from a lifetime of happenings. It's amazing how you can obtain such valid and incredible friendships from an online message board. I have found this to be true time and time again. We are planning to get together again very soon - and often!
• Also last Saturday night, Phil and I attended the Mercy Me/Audio Adrenaline/Aaron Shust concert at Rupp Arena. It was an awesome concert. Now, if you have read this blog long enough, you may know that I am a MASSIVE Audio A fan - have been since they started WAAAAAAY back about 16 years ago. Well, they are "retiring," so this was the last chance I would be able to see them. I was a bit disappointed because 2 of the band members were MIA and were replaced with IMPOSTERS, but it was still good to be able to see them one last time. And yes, I was a complete AA GEEK and cried when they sang their last song, "Goodbye." Mercy Me put on an unbelievable worship show...Aaron Shust was great - the whole thing earned two big thumbs up!
• This past Saturday night, Phil and I had the complete honor of going to see the Lion King play in Cincinnati at the Aronoff Theatre. IT.....WAS....EXTRAORDINARY!!! If you love the Lion King movie or not, I highly recommend seeing this if you ever have the opportunity. I mean, there just are not enough words to say about it. The costumes were SPECTACULAR. The singing was AWESOME. The stage set was PERFECT. I just didn't want the show to ever be over with, it was THAT GOOD.
• Yesterday, we took the girls to the Cincinnati Zoo. I hadn't been there since I was in elementary school sometime. It was a perfect day - 70's/sunny/breezy - and it was just a lot of fun. Highlights were the white tigers, the manatees and, of course, the penguins. Of course, Mackenzie was overtired and threw what was probably the BIGGEST, ugliest temper tantrum that she's ever had in her whole life, but once she was able to take a little 15 minute catnap in the shade, she was good to go.

That's about it. I have been feeling pretty decent, and I have one last big work-related event coming up tomorrow. Once that's done, I'll be FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! Gosh, it's so great to look at my calendar here on my desk just to see blank, white spaces. That means nothing to do!!! (And coincidentally, can you believe that tomorrow is MAY 1ST???)

Now come the home improvement projects..... *sigh*

You know, I had all kinds of funny things that I wanted to get on here and talk about, and now I can't remember one of them. So goes my life... *SIGH*

I'm thinking that it probably had something to do with the girls because my life sure as hell ain't funny. Well, to me it is in a weird, twisted way, I suppose.

I guess you don't want to hear about how many tax returns I've done and how I'm all giddy with delight because I did my very first Trust tax return (Form 1041). Exciting! I learned stuff...and stuff. I suppose it would be boring to learn all about how my fatigue drug isn't doing much to help so far or how I'm being plagued with Vertigo at this very moment.

I do have one bit of information that may or may not be useful to you: EASTER CANDY MAKES FOR GOOD BARGAINING WITH THE KIDDOS! Did you know this? I'm learning Supernanny techniques now, and they're working! It goes like this...kids are making a mess of their rooms and are screaming loudly at one another. Mom (that's me) walks in and says, "if you don't pick up all of these toys and stop screaming at one another, you can't have a piece of candy tonight." Almost as if it were a miracle made by God, the room is spotless and the kids are hugging and singing "Kumbaya."

Now...I haven't quite figured out how to make the messes and fighting stop AFTER the candy is given. I mean, there's that period of time between when the candy is given and time to get in bed that they just go hog wild. Hmmmm...I'll have to think on that one and get back with you all.

Now if I could just make Spring come back, we'd all be happy campers! I don't know what I said or did...maybe I need more deoderant or something, but apparently I offended Spring and it just left. I mean, how else do you go from 80 degrees one day to 30 degrees WITHIN 24 HOURS?!?

End of rant for the day.........

I've Been Relaxing........(or trying to)

I'm FINISHED with testing...for now. It's done and over with. Funny thing is that I don't think I remember how to relax anymore. I sit on the couch after the girls go to bed, and I get up and walk around. Then I sit back down. Then I flip through the channels. Then I get up again and go look in the fridge (and don't get anything out, of course). My point is - I CAN'T SIT STILL!!!! I'm so used to having my nose stuck in a book or on the computer, and I just can't sit still and relax. Hopefully I'll learn again soon. It drives me nuts (and Phil, too, who likes to remind me of things like how many times I've gotten up or looked in the fridge, etc.).

So the last test section went very well - much better than expected, at least. I felt like I breezed through it fairly well. Did I pass...well, I'm not holding my breath on that one, but I'm sure I, at least, scored over a 70. (Probably a 74, no doubt. Grrrr... (See previous post))

No news yet on my brain tests either. I think I go back on March 14th, but dates don't stay in my mind anymore. My appointment could have been yesterday for all I know. In the meantime, the fatigue is still around, as is the burning and sharp pains. Blah, blah, blah...story of my life.

The girls are both very well. Maddie is still enjoying school and is doing very well with writing and recognizing her letters. She LOVES to go to church and cries the whole time I'm gone when I don't take her. She's got so many little friends now that it's hard for me to keep up with the parents as far as whose turn it is to have the kids over to play. Guess that's not such a bad problem to have...except that when you can't even remember your own name, the kids get pretty upset when you call them by some other kid's name. Whooda thunk that??

Mackenzie is *SO* funny. Well, she's as aggravating as she is funny, but that's another story. She's talking so much better - it's like her vocabulary just exploded one day (some words not as good as others - for example, her latest "fun" word to use is "poopyhead." Where she got this, I don't know. I'm not happy.). I was getting ready for a meeting this morning, and I was pretty dressed up. She came into the bathroom, tugged on my shirt, and said, "Mommy. You booootiful!" *sigh* Be still my beating heart. (Yeh, yeh, and I'm eating it up, too...heck, if I can get even my 2 year old to tell me that after all of the weight I've gained back, I'm doing OK - LOL!)

That's enough for now. My hands hurt...and so does my brain.

I'll Take New Jobs for $100, Alex.....

I *THINK* that Phil might have a new job. *Fingers crossed, fingers crossed* He interviewed today with a locally-owned office supply company to join their administrative team. The owner was impressed and told Phil that he was his top choice on the list so far. He has one more candidate to interview. Please pray...he really needs to have a job!

In the meantime, he is also working on getting his photography business up and running. We are really excited about that possibility. He's very good at what he does (if I might say so).

Otherwise, there hasn't been anything exciting going on in my neck of the woods - yeh, nothing. If you count studying as a form of excitement, then oh yes, it's a hoot. My days go like this these days:

1. Hear alarm clock and ignore it, only that doesn't work because the stinking thing is so daggone annoying that I have to turn it off. Then I sleep over because I forgot that I turned it off and fell back to sleep.

2. Get up and dressed. Nag myself to death over why I insist on NOT calling my hair stylist and making an appointment. Remind myself that it's because I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR SILLY THINGS SUCH AS HAIRCUTS.

3. Do some work and/or study...sit and frequent OvuSoft or some other message board throughout that time so that things begin to pile up. Procrastination is my middle name. (Bet you didn't know that, huh?)

4. Try to cook dinner...only I don't feel like thawing anything, so it's carry-out for the umpteenth time in a row. My kids are horribly malnourished and are tired of grilled cheese and hot dogs. (OK, so it's not really that bad...they are VERY WELL fed and are tired of eating grilled cheese and hot dogs anyway...truth be told, they don't like anything at all, so what's a Mom to do??? Give me a break - they're 2 and 4 for goodness sake!) :)

5. Play with kids and talk to hubby all at once, all while complaining of my many ailments and botherances (is botherances a word??). It's good quality for them AND me.

6. Put kids to bed and attempt to study. Get up to make a Mochaccino on my cool new Flavia coffee station. Study a bit more. Put 4 year old BACK in bed after she comes down for some milk. Make another Mochaccino. Study. Put 4 year old back in bed. Make another...ah, forget it. Just get a Mt. Dew - it makes me stay awake for at *least* 10 minutes longer than normal. (Geez...no wonder I'm gaining weight again.)

7. Fall into bed only to remember that I forgot my whole nightly medicine regimine. Get up, walk downstairs, get a drink of water, walk back upstairs, fall into bed, remember that I forgot that I had forgotten to take my medicine, go back downstairs, yes I do take the medicine this time, go back upstairs and fall into bed never even realizing that I was literally asleep before my head hit the pillow. (And yes, this is a VERY accurate account of many of my evenings.)

Now do you see why I'm tired????? Now excuse me while I take a break from procrastinating to take a little nap....

Memories...la la la la la la laaaaaaa....

Remember that song "Memories" from "Cats?"

Well, I thought that I would just sing that song and make it my mantra since I have no memory anymore. Yes, I know...the song is about REMEMBERING memories, but I will just have to turn it around to suit me instead. ; )

Here's some memories for me to keep - a few "Mackie'isms" for you to enjoy (please read in broken baby English tone):

• "I puke in my mouth!!!!" (She screams this every time she burps...apparently, she's having post-traumatic stress disorder from her stomach bug a couple of weeks ago.
• "Nana and Pappy fixed TV." (She keeps saying this because my Dad came over and showed Phil how to mount our flatscreen on the wall...oh, and Mom came with him...so that apparently constitutes fixing the TV. Guess Phil actually did nothing of the sort.)
• And my personal favorite...when asked if she wanted me to go and get Maddie from her little friend's house, Mackie says, "No...get my milk first!"

Anyway, I'm SO incredibly stressed out right now. I retake the 3rd part of my exam on the 16th, and everything I study goes in one eyeball and out the other. (Is that even possible?) And it's not like I have ANY pressure on me whatsoever for this exam. Hmpf! I do have a letter ready to send off to the state board of accountancy to see if I can get an extension of time, but after re-reading the initial letter they sent back in July, I highly doubt that it will work. So if you are so inclined, please say a prayer that either I can pass these sons of bi....never mind...or else that I can get an extension of time to take them. (It's probably not nice of me to imply the term "sons of bi....." and have that in the same sentence as "prayer, " is it? Darn it! I just did it again! Yes, I'm losing it...CALGON - TAKE ME AWAY!)

Well, that's it from the insane asylum. Still no word on when my MRI and Evoked Potentials tests will be. Still no word on a job for Phil. Just still no word in general. If there WERE to be a word, I would probably forget it anyway. *sigh* TTFN.

What Rhymes With Conjunctivitis?

Here's my girl, Maddie...one day post Pink Eye infection. The eyes themselves are less pink today, but notice the raccoon circles around them. Pink Eye is fun.......NOT!

Yes, she came down with Pink Eye, aka Conjunctivitis, yesterday morning. It started in the left eye and quickly moved to the right eye as well. She may not be too awfully irritable and grumpy over it, but I sure am! Have you tried giving eye drops to a nervous 4 year old lately? If not, I don't suggest trying it. Let me tell you what a very (not) fun activity it is...and a day-long one at that. By the time we get one of three daily doses in, it's time to start fighting her to do the next one. *SIGH*

Our weekend was fun, however...we had a Kindermusick Christmas party on Saturday morning. It was a PJ and waffle party (no, I did NOT attend in my PJ's, but the girls did). They sang songs, did crafts and played and played and played. It was actually pretty fun (but TIRING!!!). On Saturday night, we had a lot of our neighbors over for a Christmas party at our house. There were about 18 people who came (or about 5 sets of neighbors), and it was just a good, fun time of talking and eating.

On Sunday, we took Maddie to see the Nutcracker, which was put on by the Lexington Ballet and the Lexington Philharmonic. I felt so blessed because somehow, we ended up with front row, center seats!! We could look over the railing in front of us into the orchestra pit, which was really neat. The ballet was TERRIFIC!!!!! Maddie was enthralled, Phil nodded off...I cried. Seriously! Ballet is and has always been "in my blood." I wish that I could have went a long, long way in ballet, but I made choices that took me away from it. Anyway, it was all just so beautiful and exciting to be so close. It was a wonderful first ballet for Maddie to see...hopefully there will be many more.

That's about it...yesterday was spent in the doctor's office trying to get Maddie better. Geez...this is literally going to be the LOOONNNNGGGEEESSSTTT 5 days of my life trying to fight her over these eye drops. Any suggestions?????

Oh, and PS...I wanted to give a "shout out" to Ree in Alabama!! : ) It was really good to hear from you. Hope you're doing well!!!

I did really bad on my exam...but it's CHRISTMAS!!

Yeh, I guess it doesn't matter if my exam blew the biggest of chunks possible. I knew that it was going to be difficult...and it was. The questions that I did well on, I KNOW I did really well on. The questions that I did poorly on...well, I have no nice words for that, so I won't even talk about it. We'll see what happens. I still haven't even received my scores from the 2nd part that I took back in October yet!! Grrrrr...

But all of that doesn't matter. It's CHRISTMAS time! Forget shopping and all of that crap (I do my shopping primarily online these days anyway)...it's all about the decor for us. Here's a few pictures of what I've done this year.

This is our mantle. It needs some sprucing up with some greenery, but I'm too lazy to go to the store to buy anymore. HA!

This is my foyer. I think our recently painted green walls really accentuates this look...don't you? ; )My tree...oh, tannebaum! I'm utterly pleased with myself over the tree this year. I decided to ditch my creepy gold beads of years' past and go with something a little softer - ribbon...and lots of it.

The outside of our house is decorated the exact same as last year, so if you want to see it, go back to the December 2005 archives and look at it. I can't be THAT creative in one year as to change up EVERYTHING, now can I?

Good news is...I've been feeling OK for the last two or three days. I always hate to say that because I feel like I just jinx myself...that I'll be in bed all day tomorrow just because I said that I feel OK today or something. Of course, with my Neurologist appt. coming up on the 22nd, it's likely that I'm getting better just for Dr. Fee. You know, he can never see me in my natural state whenever I go to the doctor.... bleh!

Bad news for the week is that I just found out that our neighbors are moving. I'm very sad because we've gotten to know them very well over the last year. They have a little girl named Annie who is a bit younger than Mackenzie. Mackenzie LOVES Annie and always points to her house everytime we pull up in the driveway and yells, "Ahhnie...Ahhnie!" I know that she'll miss her. Anyway, Kelli is my OB/GYN's nurse, so she has always kept me informed about things, and I could call her anytime for any reason when I needed to. Ben is our dog's veterinarian. They are moving about 2-3 hours away to be near Ben's father who is letting him take over the family veterinary business. I'm happy for them, but gosh, I'll miss them! You always worry about who you might have move in next, you know?

Oh well...guess that's it for now. Hope you all are well and are enjoying your holiday season! Cheers!

Where the Heck Does the Time Go??

You know, I swear that I just looked at my calendar and it was January 1, 2006. Now it's November 28th!?! Guess I lost a few days somewhere along the way, huh?

Is it just me, or does it seem like the years just FLY by now? Maybe it was because as a kid the year would DRAG by until school would be out. You think if I went back to school the years would go slowly again?

I mean, my gosh! I'm thiry-...uh, 29, married and have two kids, both of whom are too old already. What happened to dance lessons and football games with friends and spring break and trips to amusement parks and the tooth fairy and Santa Claus and a partridge in a pear tree?

*SIGH*

Oh well...my boring old life is just that these days...boring and old. I'm studying for part III of my exam, which I will take in just two days. *GASP* Not prepared...don't care. Blah, blah, blah. I still don't even know what I scored on the II part. Stupid KY Board of Accountancy...slow as Christmas. No wait - Christmas is fast, isn't it? Geez, I'm so confused.

I'm feeling the same as always. Tired, achy, sore, grumbly, irritated, etc. Jolly old times! I go back to see Dr. Fee on December 22nd unless I call him and make him see me again before that since I think my brain leaked out along the way somewhere. (If anyone finds it, please call me - reward offered, but I can't remember what it was supposed to be now.)

The girls are both well. Mackenzie is finally talking a lot now, though when she tells you that her name is "Macky," it sounds more like "Monkey." Maddie is as sweet (and hyper) as ever. She is her Momma's girl, that's for sure. I will brag on her for just a minute...the other night, I had exercised like an idiot and couldn't hardly walk (that'll teach me!). She saw that I was struggling to get down the stairs, so she runs over, grabs my hand and says, "Here, Mommy...hold my hand, and I will help you." Now this makes me a blubbering mess because the kid's just so daggone sweet and understanding, but it also makes me a blubbering mess because NO four year old on this Earth should have to worry about helping their Mother down the stairs, unless, of course, you're that 70 year old woman who had a baby a few years back. Now, SHE might definitely need help down the stairs.

So, as you can see, nothing new here, but SOS-DD. Guess I'll come back another day when I remember again that I've started a blog and should really try to keep up with it. Cheers to you all!

Ya Wanna See My Christmas Present???

It's a Philips 42" Flat Panel Plasma HDTV! Mrs. Madden got it for us for Christmas. Last year, she got us a laptop...this year, the TV. Pretty cool!

Actually, I think the thing is absolutely HIDDEOUS, but at least it's fun to watch the UK Basketball games on. It doesn't fit in with my decor at all. Oh well...beggars can't be choosers, huh?

In other news, I feel like a big fat load of crap...physically that is. And no, I didn't say that I LOOKED like that, though that may be negotiable. Same complaints - fatigue, weak arms and legs, cognitive crud...etc., etc. Guess it serves me right, though, if I won't get on the phone and call the stinking Neurologist's office! I'm such a procrastinator...

That's all that's going on around here. Going to TRY to get some cleaning done around the house this weekend, and some studying, too. Thanksgiving (and the next part of my exam) is sneaking up on us quickly.

"It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas....everywhere you go...."

Election Day...and all the fun stuff that comes with it...

Today is Election Day. I have always felt that I need to make my voice heard through my votes. It may or may not have an effect on the outcome, but at least I did my civic duty, which gives me the right to complain, in essence. :)

SO DID YOU VOTE TODAY??? (I promise I will not next ask WHO you voted for - HAHA!)

I have been SO incredibly aggravated with the whole voting process this year, though. When we moved, I failed to find out where we were supposed to vote. This was purely my fault because I'm a practicing, card-holding member of the NPA (National Procrastinators' Association).

I sought out to find the answer to my polling place question at 7:00 PM last night. No neighbor of mine knew where to vote. My Mom and Dad nor any of their neighbors knew where to vote. The stinking newspaper did not even tell us where to vote.

See...my town is bass-ackwards (excuse my French), and apparently, they decided to throw people in every which direction when it came to polling places. There are two...not one, but TWO polling places within less than a mile from my house. Did I vote there? NO! That would have been entirely too easy. Turns out, I voted at a church all the way ACROSS TOWN. Yes, I mean it. Who would have thunk it?

I feel disenfranchised (although I did still get to vote, after all). Think I'll go now and write a letter to the nearest chapter of the ACLU. Think they'll take up my case? Think they even have an office in Kentucky? (I'm totally kidding, of course, although our little idiot of a county clerk may get an earful from me...)

Oh, and if there is even ONE stinking message from a candidate left on my voice mail at home when I get there...I'll...I'll...Oh, FORGET IT!

Vacation...and stuff...

So vacation was fun - kind of...

Yes, it was fun, indeed, to get away for awhile. The fun parts of the trip were:

1. Eating good food
2. Shopping
3. Eating good food
4. Shopping at the big Tanger outlet mall
5. Did I mention eating?
6. OK...so the weather was nice, too.
7. Oh my gosh...I forgot to mention the trees - the trees were the most beautiful, gorgeous things out there. You would look out at the mountains only to see every color of the rainbow out there - so beautiful
8. Eating good food

The really bad parts of the trip were:

1. Maddie puking all over herself in the car on the way TO Gatlinburg (boy, was that a fun clean up!)
2. Sleeping 6 people in one tiny hotel room, which we were lucky to get because every hotel was booked solid
3. Having our hotel room 2 rooms from the end of the hotel...oh yeh, did I mention that right next door was the Haunted Mansion attraction which bellowed creepy music until Midnight every night? I wouldn't have minded it, only Maddie was completely and utterly FREAKED OUT by it
4. Walking so much that I thought my legs would crack up and fall off (guess that was good for me, though)
5. It was *REALLY* crowded down there
6. Maddie puking all ove herself in the car on the way FROM Gatlinburg (only this time we were armed with plastic bags)...poor kid gets her carsickness from her Mama

So we're home and well and content until next month when I will be wanting to go somewhere else again. BUT...my good friend Rhonda (Ladybug Mom for you OS'ers out there) is coming all the way from Alaska to visit and staying with us for 3 nights! She will be here in about 27 hours or so...I'm so excited!!! I'm sure she'll be MORE than ready to get back on that airplane to go home after staying in a house with my kids for that long. HeeHee!

Oh...I DID manage to gain only ONE pound while on vacation. I'm utterly pleased with myself.

I have no pictures to post from vacation. I know, I know...but I just didn't feel like lugging a camera around everywhere. Phil got a few on his "non-digital" camera (gosh, I don't even know what to call those anymore), so maybe I'll scan and post a few of those whenever (if ever) he gets them back.

Don't Really Know What to Write About...

What do you say when you don't have much to say? I feel like I should update this blog, but at the same time, I really can't think of anything productive to talk about. Story of my life... So here's a very short synopsis of my life over the last week or so:

Sick with head cold, girls sick with allergies, studying, putting together new office furniture, cleaning up office after new office furniture, working, eating, sleeping, complaining.

How's that?

OK...two things:

First, my best friend, Tabitha, is all set to welcome her second baby boy, CAMERON, into the world on October 9th!! She will be having a c-section that day. Tabitha has had a difficult pregnancy, so while I know that she will be sad that her pregnancy is over with, I know that she will be more than ecstatic to have her little guy here safe and sound. Please pray that all will go well for her.

Secondly, Phil is still without a job right now. It's getting a bit on the dire side. He has sent in too many resumes to count, but just no luck. He is on the interview list for two really good jobs with the state government, but they will not be interviewing for another 3 weeks or so. Please pray that God's will would be done in this situation and that He would lead Phil to the right job.

Your will be done, Lord.

Coming up ---- vacation (al beit a mini one) to Gatlinburg, TN followed by a visit by my dear, dear friend from Alaska, Rhonda!!! Only good times ahead!

Do you ever wonder why people...

...work in public service jobs (ie, fast food joints, stores, etc.) that they hate and insist on butchering the idea that the customer is ALWAYS right? Hey...there's a nice cushy desk job at the government with your name on it - then you won't have to talk to ANYONE all day long (or so my cousin says)!

...insist that it's their way or the highway even though their way is by FAR the minority opinion? Can we say PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE? It's really not pretty...but apparently it's the style lately.

...drive in the fast lane as if it's the slow lane and they don't even blink an eye when 50 cars go around them honking? Move on over, sweetheart...you don't own the road.

...constantly term a differing opinion as "OFFENSIVE??" I don't get this...can some explain it to me? So just because you happen to not agree, it's automatically offensive? I just get so sick of hearing this word. What's offensive to me is when people overuse the term "offensive." HA!

So yeh, I'm in a bad mood today...can you tell? I really have no reason to be, afterall, today was "Bring your teddy bear to Preschool" day at Maddie's school, so I get to hear all about how some little boy stole Maddie's teddy bear and punched it in the face or something weird like that when I get home. :)

I guess I'm in a bad mood because it's going to rain all weekend when I've planned my first MAJOR (and much needed) garage sale in years, and I have 5 BILLION things that need to go, including 4 BILLION baby outfits that fit my girls no more.

Or maybe I'm in a bad mood because that silly girl at Hardee's this morning copped an attitude with me when I tried to tell her that the breakfast she was trying to give me actually was the breakfast that the man in front of me had ordered - I know...I heard him order it, and I certainly didn't want a smoked sausage biscuit. ICK!

Or quite possibly, it could be from the idiotic way that some people around here drive - it's a run-over or be ran-over town that I drive in here.

SO...think I'll head to the nearest Starbucks and get me a Venti Cafe Mocha with lots of extra whipped cream and chocolate shavings. That'll make my day (and put back 5 of the pounds that I've already lost - oh well!)!

P.S. Feel free to add your "Do you ever wonder why people..." comments - but keep it nice... ; )

Learning, Learning Everywhere!

It's back to school time and back to study time and everything else...

Maddie started her 4 year old Preschool class at Woodford Christian Preschool last Wednesday, the 6th. She absolutely LOVES it! To my surprise, she goes right into her classroom with no problems. She's learning so much and is making lots of new friends. Her teacher is a good friend of ours who we used to go to church with, so that makes me feel better knowing that Maddie is in such good hands.

So far, she is learning new songs, Bible verses and how to write her name. They fingerpaint, color, play and hear stories throughout their day as well. Maddie would tell you, though, that her favorite part of the day is snack time!

Here's a picture of Maddie taken on school orientation day (her first "un"official day of school):



I made it through the first part of my CPA Exam OK. I feel like I did very well on it, but after I returned home from taking it and began looking through my book, I found a few things that I messed up. I haven't received my grade yet, but I honestly have no feelings one way or the other as to if I passed it or not. I'll, of course, keep you all posted.

In the meantime, I have sent in my request to take the next two parts - Auditing and Business Ethics. I will take those in October and November, respectively. I began studying (again) for the Auditing section. *sigh* That was a really short study break that I got.

Otherwise, we are all just as busy as ever. Maddie just started her second year of dance and is taking tap and ballet this time. She loves both of them! Mackenzie and I are doing Kindermusick together, and we have SO much fun! She just loves to sing and dance, so it's all right up her alley. Plus, she's such a fun-loving, social child, and she greatly enjoys being with the other kids.

I guess that's it for now...just busy, busy, busy as ever! Guess I'd be bored if it were any different.

Welcome to STUDY CENTRAL!

I've had my nose so firmly planted in a book lately that I think I have a flat tip on it now.

My life is consumed with everything that is CPA Exam. BOOOORRRRIIINNNNGGGGG... (Now do you see why I haven't updated in awhile - LOL!)

That's exactly what I've been up to - studying - watching DVD lectures, answering multiple choice practice questions, doing applications, reading the required readings. Only 9 more days until I take the first part...then I move on to the next part and so on and so forth until I take (and hopefully pass) them all.

I'm feeling confidant this time around. I keep telling myself that I CAN do this, and I DESERVE to have my certification. I've worked HARD. I WILL do it.

My health continues to wane throughout all of this. The less sleep I get...the more stress I put on myself...the more things that envelope my days...the worse I feel. It's catching up with me right now. I normally go to bed between 10-11 PM. I have been getting in bed lately between 11-12, and then the tremors and muscle twitches keep me up half of the rest of the night. It's a vicious process, but I have to try really hard to make it through this. It will pay off in the end...if it doesn't send me into a MAJOR flare up!

The girls are both very well...Maddie had her 4 year check up this past friday. I told her that she's perfectly square - she weighed 42 lbs and was 42" tall! She just looked at me like I was stupid. I'm sure that won't be the last time I get that look either...

She got 3 shots to finish out her pre-school immunizations. She tried hard not to cry...I DID cry! She tried SO hard to be strong and to be a big girl. Her little face was all squished up, and she had her fists firmly planted in her eyes, but she held it back as best as she could. Watching her try so hard to be a big girl made me cry in return. Ahhh...yet another vicious cycle.

She will begin 4 year old pre-school on September 6th. She's still excited...I'm still nervous.

Mackenzie is still Mackenzie. So full of life and energy and happiness! She has become quite the daddy's girl lately. Everything is "where Dah-dy?" "Dah-dy" this..."Dah-dy" that... She is very fond of men in general. She loves my Dad and Phil's Dad as well. Us women...eh...she can take us or leave us, but her guys are her guys!

In other news, we - OK, PHIL - just finished painting our two-story foyer! Our walls have been stark white since we moved in. We painted the foyer and all the way down the 2nd floor hallway a color called "Wheat Grass." It is a green color with an ever so slight hint of yellow and brown in it. It looks FABULOUS, but I'm hoping it doesn't end up being something where people walk in and are shocked. It's not bright at all, but in certain lights, it can take on a lime-colored look, which I don't like, but what do you do? I'll post pictures soon.

Finally, we had one last loss in our family last week. Phil's Aunt Betty died. I had written about her before...she had been on life support (feeding tube). They had previously removed the feeding tube, but then she almost miraculously recovered! She ended up taking a turn for the worse again and died on the Friday before last. She suffered with the disease, COPD, for 10 years, and she literally fought for each and every breath she took in that 10 years. She is in a MUCH better place now - and she can breathe as freely as possible now.

Thanks for reading...I'll finally end it here now. I'll update again soon!

ICHTHUS!!!!!!!!

Phil and I got to attend the Ichthus Festival (huge Christian music festival) again this past weekend. My Dad works with the stage electric there, so he always gets us backstage passes. We are able to eat in the hospitality tent with the different bands, which is pretty neat. I just HAD to attend this year because my favorite band, which has been my favorite band for 15 years now - as long as they've been out - is retiring this year. This was my last chance to see them in concert. :( I'm SO sad, but I know that God will use them in different ways in the future. Mark Stuart, the lead singer of Audio Adrenaline, has a chronic problem with his vocal chords. You could tell it during the concert as he struggled to sing. It was so sad...he's such a talented guy, but the concert was, as always AWESOME!!!! This was, I think, my 8th time seeing them in concert. Anyway, we were standing to the side of the stage, but here's some pictures I was able to get:

This is Mark Stuart, lead singer...with Tyler Burkum, lead guitarist behind him (and that bassist, Will McGinness, to the far right):

This is bassist, Will McGinniss' back- LOL!:Full stage view (the crowd is to the left of the picture):

I know you all could probably not care less about these pictures, but I just wanted to document it since I won't ever get to see them again (sniff, sniff)...

Anyway, an update on me: Not doing too well right now. Just lots of "little" things adding up to make me miserable. My right hand isn't working well again. Lots of headaches, weakness, pains, etc. Blah, blah, blah. I really do feel like I'm just existing at this point. I have SO much work to do - it's really stacking up - and I just have NO motivation to do anything. I just want to crawl in bed and sleep...that's all. I see my Neurologist again on 7/21 - my Dad's b-day, and the day before Maddie's b-day. While my hope is almost completely gone for getting answers, I hope that at least, we can make a move (however big or small) towards that goal.

Thank you all so much for your continued support and friendship. It means more to me than you will ever know.

"ANONYMOUS" posters....

Seems that I've had a pretty big onslaught of Anonymous posters lately.

While I greatly appreciate any input that anyone (family, friends or lurkers) would like to give me, and I certainly welcome posters whom I do not know, please do not post anonymously. I would like to be able to respond back to you, and some of the comments left, while they were not hateful, are comments that I need to respond to.

So....if you're a lurker and want to post here, why not sign in and/or leave your name???

Thanks in advance!

Mimi

My front yard - new and improved

I thought I would share some pictures of my front yard. Phil and I have been working really hard on getting it in shape and looking good.

This is the "mature" flowerbed (ie., this is the 2nd year for the grass, boxwoods and hostas - the Japanese maple is 5 years old - we brought it over from our old house):

This is the left side of our house. We just added the evergreen tree and the three boxwoods down the side of the house. In the corner where that hiddeous gas meter is, there is a very small yucca plant but you can't see it in the picture. It's planted right in front of the meter in hopes that it will grow big enough very soon to shield it:

This is a new bed that we just planted on the far side of our garage (right side of the house). The tall evergreen tree will eventually get up to 12 ft. high and 5 ft. wide. The small plants on either side are just some perinneals that bloom in the fall:

These plants were also planted last year. The evergreen tree to the right was about a foot smaller last year when we planted it. The two grassy-looking plants are miniature irises (dark purple) which are getting blooms on them now. The plant in the middle is a hosta. The chair in the background was my special project. It was an old white wicker rocker that my aunt gave me. It had a hiddeous flowery pillow that I quickly got rid of, and I painted the chair a dark brown. I LOVE it, and it adds SO much to my front porch:

Finally, our labor of love and most recent accomplishment...my newly painted door!! The door before was the same color as the trim and was completely dirty and disgusting looking. I repainted the trim while Phil painted the door, and I personally think it looks FABULOUS! Really adds a lot to the curb appeal of the house. The color is actually a reddish-brown color, though it difficult to tell from the photo:
Hope that you enjoyed the pictures. We've worked SO hard on making everything look and feel like home. OK, so Phil did far more of the "grunt" work than I did (thanks, Honey!!), but I'm still really proud of it. Plus, the artist ideas of it all can be attributed to my brilliancy! LOL!

So now the fun part starts...next project - tiling the master bathroom floor. Anyone know how to do that??? Lots of indoor projects to do (painting, laying tile and laying wood laminate downstairs)....followed by backyard projects (landscaping, adding a sitting/firepit area, getting the playground layed out and done). Should be fun...yeh, right. I'll keep the pictures coming as things progress.

Cheers!

An Update

Oh my gosh! I can't believe it's been 18 days since I updated this. Sorry, everyone. Things have just been SO hectic, you would think it's tax season all over again. Sheesh!

I started working with a new client over the last few weeks...they are an Aflac affiliate and have not done any bookkeeping for the entire year of 2005! My job is to catch them up all the way through today, especially so that their 2005 tax returns can get done. (Yes, they filed an extension -heehee!).

Funny thing is that they gave me two of the plush Aflac ducks to give to my girls. The duck says, "Aflac....Aflac....AFLAC!!!" Well, Mackenzie now apparently thinks that all ducks say "AFLAC!" LOL! She's a mess!

Let's see...what else...

Thanks so much for all of your prayers for my Dad. They are working! He has been getting up and out a lot lately. He still can't be up for long, long periods of time, but he is able to run to the store quickly with Mom, sit outside, and he even dropped by our house with Mom for a few minutes the other night. He's got a good few more weeks to recover, but overall, he's doing very well.

I'm still doing Weight Watchers...but not very well... : ( I'm struggling lately with my will-power. I just CRAVE all foods - any foods, and it's keeping me at a plateau right now. I GAINED 2 lbs. last week. I'm back down now, but not by much. It's so much harder this time around, for some reason. I'm down by 8 lbs. right now, but I still have about 20 more to go. Bleh!

Maddie is about to graduate from her first ballet class soon. Her recital is going to be on June 7th! I'm SO excited!!! She's got a new best friend from her class, too - Melody (who is the daughter of Leslie (Trana) Gilpin for those of you who know her). Everytime they get to class, they both make a beeline to see each other and hug. After ballet is over, they are going to take a swim class together. Maddie's excited for the swim class, but she's even more excited that Melody will be taking it with her!

Mackenzie is a little mess...but she's SO sweet. She's gotten into the habit of hugging and kissing us all day long, and I'm just eating it up! She's been pretty slow at talking (unlike Maddie who exited the womb talking our ears off), but she's really good at communicating non-verbally with us. I think she doesn't say much because Maddie does the talking for her. She CAN say words, but she usually will just shake her head or point, etc. At night, I always sing the "Barney" song to her - "I love you, you love me..." Whenever she's ready to go to bed, she started point at herself with both hands, and that's the cue that it's time to start singing. :)

I've been feeling VERY well still, which I'm happy about. I did exercise the other night, and I got overheated...it's set me for a bit of a loop, but I'm hoping that the leftover feelings from that will go away soon and not spin me into a new flare-up. I went to pick up my MRI film from the Clinic, and it was fairly disconcerting. The doctor who read my scans (just some doc from the clinic) seemed to only focus on looking for large masses and/or degenerative problems in my spine, etc. He really didn't mention even looking for lesions or anything like that. I'm glad that my doc will be looking at them. In looking at them myself, I found a couple of places that I want to show him that look "not normal" to me, but then again, I'm not a doc. ; )

Phil is still on the hunt for a new job. Please pray that something wonderful will come along for him soon.

That's pretty much it for now....we're pretty BORING at this time, but I guess that's good sometimes.

Hello to all of my buddies reading!! I hope that you are all doing very well (especially you, Tabitha, if you haven't disowned me as your best friend by now. I hope that you are feeling very well...and I hope to see you VERY soon!). Oh and Rhonda...I guess I'll be seeing you really soon, too!!! YAY!! Can't wait!

Take it easy!!

Just Some Stuff....

Hello, dear family and friends! Hope you all are doing well. I am FEELING BETTER!!! WOOHOO!!! It's nice to get back to a "normal" life. I was able to clean the house really well this weekend...something that's been needing to be done for a long, long time. I've also been able to exercise quite a bit. Things are good!

Weight Watchers report...I've lost a total of 8 lbs. now! Eight down...20 more to go! EEK!

Have to tell some cute kid stories:

Maddie and I went shopping yesterday...just around town to K-Mart, Cato's and then to the grocery store. Cato's, if you don't know, is a women's clothing store, and it is literally the only place in town, besides K-Mart, to buy clothes. So Maddie is going through the store picking out things for me to try on, and mind you, she's doing a FABULOUS job at it! So we go back in the dressing room, and she critiqued every thing that I tried on...and she was right on the money every time! I tried on a pair of shorts that were, #1, too short, and #2, too tight, and Maddie says, "Mom...those shorts are fat on you." LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!! I heard the lady in the dressing room next to me snort! BUT(T)...they were too tight...she was exactly right. I bought the things that she told me to buy (yes, my 3.5 year old) because they were the exact right things for me to wear! I think I have a little fashionista on my hands!

Mackenzie and Maddie were playing with their Barbie's last night. I was cracking up the whole time watching Mackenzie. Now, she totally has the "second child syndrome," aka, she barely talks because Maddie talks for her. Well, she would pick up two Barbies, put their heads together and make a kissing noise...then she would make them "talk." She would make them look at each other, and then she would look at them very seriously and say, "Me, me, mo mo mo." The funny thing about it was that she would do this exact same sequence every time she would pick up two Barbies - pick them up, make them kiss, say "me me mo mo mo" and put them down. Repeat with the next two Barbies. I was just so cute! (And no, I have no clue what "me me mo mo mo" means...)

On a more serious note...

Will you all please pray for my Dad? He is having surgery tomorrow...he has discs in his spine (in the neck area) that are crushing down on his spine causing a lot of problems for him. He is pretty nervous...this is his first major surgery, so I think that is worrying him. If you will just pray that he comes through the surgery successfully and has an easy recovery, I would greatly appreciate it.

Also, you all remember me talking about my friend, Brian, from church who killed himself...well, he was "replaced" this past week with a new guitarist/vocalist in our praise band. I'm having a very difficult time accepting this person, though I still don't even know him. Thankfully, I didn't participate in praise team this week...I cried through a big part of the service yesterday. There is a song called "How Great is our God." Brian brought this song to us, and I can't even listen to it on the radio anymore because it just reminds me so much of him. Every time I hear it, I can just picture Brian up on that stage with his guitar singing so gently. It was my understanding that we were going to "bury" that song since he brought it to us. Well, this new guy starts singing this song...and he changed it from how we normally sing it. I don't know why, but I immediately felt so overwhelmed and hurt that I wanted to run out the door. I know that I have to get past this...and I know this poor new guy is probably having a hard enough time dealing with filling the shoes of someone who is gone and was so very loved. But I sit here typing this with tears in my eyes. When do you stop hurting over something like this? I have to get past this...

Anyway, that's life right now...good and bad! I just have to thank God for my family, friends, the health that I still have, the roof over my head, the food on my table, the work that helps me to support my family...all of it, I lift up to you, Lord. Thank you for your marvelous blessings. I don't say that often enough...

Much love to you all!!