I'm craving a Molten Lava cake, sigh...

I'd never had one before last Friday night, but, oh man, it was yummy. I had it at my Pampered Chef Party and I'm planning on buyting the dish to mae it in so we can have it any time we want at homme. Of course, that might EVERY day, lol. I'll have to keep the supplies on hand.

So anyway, if you need something go here and order it. Please!?! :)

Have some chocolate cake for me.

And she's back...

So last I left you, I was planning a road trip to take my children up to see my grandmother who wasn't doing well. Unfortunately, plans changed. My grandmother took a turn for the worse and things went downhill. On the day that I was to finish loading up to head out, I got a call that said to hightail it out there, Grandma was in the hospital and my step-mom, Margo, did not think she was going to make it much longer. My dad was in Colorado and was heading home as well, through a snowstorm. So the decision was made to leave my kids at home, pick up my aunt and cousin who live here in Palm Beach County and drive to Tennessee to pick up my cousin who lives there and head out to Arksansas. We drove straight through, about 22 hours, I think. We arrived at the hospital a couple of hours after my dad and about an hour before my grandmother breathed her last breath. We were so grateful to be able to be sitting with her as she left us. We spoke peace to her and prayed over her and loved her. We will miss her.

Last month, the week of her 81st birthday, we interred her with my Papa. So many family and friends came to celebrate her life with us. My grandmother loved everyone. She accepted you for who you are, even if she disagreed with your opinions (and believe me, she wasn't shy about speaking up for hers. Ask me how I know?) I will miss her. Today, she and Papa would've celebrated 61 years of marriage. I hope that they are celebrating with Jesus right now.

After my grandmother passed away, I fell deeper into a depression which I believe I had been slowly spiraling into. We've really struggled with finances, I've had some health issues, the girls have had some and Miguel is dealing with the possibility that he may have Celiac Disease. I tend to be an internalizer of emotions, this is not so good. I started taking Paxil about a month ago and life is beginning to look a bit brighter, thank goodness. I hope you all will forgive me for abandoning you for so long (I know that I don't have many followers, but I do have a faithful few and I appreciate you.) I hope to get back to my sunshiney self now.

Road Trip!!!!

My grandma has been in and out of the hospital and a rehab facility since Thanksgiving. It's been frustrating for my Dad (they are in Arkansas, and obviously, I'm not, lol) as he tries to deal with all the medical staff and decisions and etc and work full-time all the while he and my step-mom try to get a Bed and Breakfast up and running. So, I'm packing up the kids and their school books and myself and heading out to help in whatever way I can.

I'll be headed up to Jacksonville and then on to Nashville and then Bentonville (in NW Arkansas) at the end of March. I'll be there for a while, as long as necessary, anyways. I kept trying to figure out a good time to head out financially and timewise (appts and etc.) but I got a call from my cousin offering to keep the girls in Nashville while I go out there. I guess I figured that I wasn't really NEEDED, and there was always something going on down here, you know. But when she called me today, she really seemed concerned for my dad and my grandma. She has a preemie newborn and two older children in public school, so she just can't pick up and go. So, Miguel and I talked about it and the planning begins. Other than seeing my family, I hope that I get to meet up with a few of my online friends along the way, so give me a shout to let me know if you are up to lunch or coffee or whatever if you're in those areas. And pray for my sanity, k? I'm normally a "fly-by-the-seat of my pants" kinda girl, but I plan on doing school thru this one, since we don't know how long we'll be out there, so I've got some serious planning to do. Oh, and if we have to stay past the 15th of April, I'll be putting my oldest on a plane back home for testing. I don't normally test my children, but since he'll have to take standardized testing to get into college, I figured I might as well get on with it. Of course, now I'm smacking myself for not waiting one more year, but oh well! :p

Exciting news around here...well, if you like flushing anyways...

Almost nine years ago we bought our first home out here in the Acreage. We thought we'd love having the big yard, and we do, and we thought that having a well and a septic tank wouldn't be all that big of a deal, we were wrong. About a year after moving in, our drain field began to fail. Eventually, it just plain gave out and we resorted to pumping our septic tank every year, or more, babying it too keep it from being too bad. It's not been fun for us, but the price tag to repair/replace it ran about $5000. I don't know about you, but that kind of money is just plain hard to come by for us.

Finally, a plumber friend of my husband has taken pity on us and, in trade for some computer work, is helping us repair the drain field. We are basically bartering for most of the stuff, except the rock and sand for the bed of the drain field. But even that we are getting at a great price because of a friend who works for a company that provides that kind of stuff. We've bartered for everything else and done some work ourselves. I'll have to get some good pictures to post during the process. :) Maybe I'll end it with one of me flushing my toilet with sheer abandon, LOL. Okay, maybe not, but I will no longer fear nasty back up once it's done! The strange things that will bring a smile to a grown woman's face, sigh...

So, is it bad that your 10year old can recognize "White Wedding" in the first few notes?

I'm thinking it may not go over so well in our homeschool group, sigh...


Yes, we have Rock Band 2 and we play it, well, way too often, apparently. LOL.

My 13year old son just mentioned he wasn't born to play 80's metal. Well, no, DUH! You weren't born until 1995. He figures he's was born to play Eric Clapton, "slow hand". HA! That kid!

Actually, he's doing quite well teaching himself guitar. I'll have to see if I can figure out how to post some of his recordings. He's been searching out guitar tabs online or in some of our books and teaching himself. It's fun and interesting. Or not, but I can pretend, right? And it will last until Football tryouts and practices start, and then he'll obsess over football. LOL. Then he'll be showing me a bazillion and one plays that he's drawn up and tell me all the reasons that it will work and I'll be all like, "yeah, great Jake." As it all goes WAY over my head.

Monday Morning

February 23rd Questions:

1. Does blogging make you fat? Do you find yourself sitting around and eating more since you started your blog? Or do you get so caught up in the whole blogging routine that you forget to eat?

Blogging does not make me fat. I was fat before I started blogging. However, since I started blogging I've lost over 60 lbs. (actually, since May 16th of 2008) I don't get so caught up in blogging, I wish I would though. I start to feel guilty when I forget for, oh, a week that I need to post something. The worst thing is that during the day I'll have a great idea for a blog entry but by the time I get home, it's gone. Hopped a train to some far off corner of my mind, unreachable by a poor miserable wretch like me.

2. The one topic I will not touch on my blog is __________. Why? What sorts of topics do you receive the most comments on? What sorts of topics do you receive the least number of comments on?

I don't know, yet. I haven't done politics, mostly because there are a number of poly blogs out there that would do it sooo much better than me, it's not worth it. That may change, who knows.

3. Spring is coming. How is your wardrobe? What sorts of clothes do you usually wear in the spring? Where do you normally shop for your clothes? How successful are you in finding clothes for yourself?

Spring is here. I live in South Florida. We had the requisite 3 or 4 days of winter and now it's spring. Check out my mulberry tree for proof:

SEE!?! Berries are on the way. As for clothes, well I pretty much just wear the same ones I wear in the winter, without the sweaters and the jackets. It's all good. Shopping since losing the 60 lbs is sooooo much easier, but I'm not doing that for a little while. Another 30 or so pounds and I'll need a shopping trip to tide me over till I reach goal. Otherwise, I'm making do. Clothes are $$$, you know.

4. We should treat every day as a special gift - we’re alive, right? What made this past week special for you? (And if you’ve already talked about that special something on your blog, then think of something else - something little perhaps, but had a big impact on you or your loved ones).

This past week is special because I have my family. All of my immediate family and most of my extended family. I love them, all of them. Other than that, this past week has been boring, maybe we'll get something more exciting this week, hmm?

Wordless Wednesday

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