Fantastic Friday!!

'Nuff said.

4 weeks today. Going to call midwife on Monday and get in for blood tests.

Just pray this one sticks around to meet us in October!!

Writer's Workshop: Advised to BS

It's that time again!! Writer's Workshop from Mama Kat!!!!

The prompts this week are:

1.) Share one piece of great advice you’ve received from someone who knows stuff…

2.) Write a series of tweets that ultimately end with a line that I actually tweeted on Friday night: “And then I sat on those remaining in the pack…and pulled the glowing sticks from under my ass.”

3.) Gregory MaGuire (author of books like Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister) is wildly popular right now (as is the musical Wicked). Write your own “re telling” of a classic fairy tale.

4.) Luck, or divine intervention?

5.) Muffin Tin Monday…on Thursday? Every week Michelle hosts a carnival where you’re invited to link a meal you serve your kids in muffin tins. It’s kind of cute actually.

This week I'm going to do #1. A piece of great advice.

This piece of advice came from an English instructor that taught my first ever college English class (which was a writing class).

He told us that when we write papers for various classes the best way to get a good paper is to bullshit our way through. To act like we are an expert on the subject we are writing about and BS, BS, BS, and BS some more.

Now, at first this seemed like, well, bullshit advice. But I tried it and IT WORKED!! And is STILL working!! (Don't think that I'm not learning here, because I am. I know my shit. But to make a paper what it needed to be, I had to bullshit my way through it and learn along the way.)

And EVERY instructor I've had has LOVED my papers. They just think they are brilliant. Little do they know.....**insert evil laugh**

Now get over to Mama Kat's place and choose your prompt!!!

NOW!!!

Post-it Note Tuesday: First time!

Jenners over at Life With a Little One and More did this today and I just loved the concept so much that I checked out the blog the idea came from, Adventures of a Wanna-Be SupahMommy.

I'm feeling a little cranky today, so you've been warned.

**STFU=Shut the Fuck Up

Friend Makin' Monday: Daybook

Head on over to see Amber to see more posts about this little meme!!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window... I see a calm day. The first we've had here in about a week. No wind. No nasty looking clouds that don't drop any precipitation. Nothing. And it is nice. Maybe my allergies will calm down now.

I am thinking.... That I really need to get into the swing of homework again. This happens EVERY semester!! I get a nice, long, relaxing break and then when the semester starts again, I am dragging ass trying to get myself motivated again.

I am thankful... For everything and everyone in my life. I will not take a single one of them for granted.

I am praying... for lots of things. Praying that my cousin will be home with his family soon instead of in the hellhole he's in now. Praying for the family of an old classmate that passed away in a car accident last week...the funeral is today. Praying for a family member that is joining the TTC madness. Praying that my TTC journey will come to an end on Thursday with a wonderful word "pregnant". And so on, and so on, and so on--I could write a book on all that I'm praying. It has been a prayerful year for me so far.

I am reading... American Bloomsbury by Susan Cheever and will be starting The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson tomorrow. My English class (Transcendentalist Literature) is going to kick my butt. I have 8 novels to read (5 of which are 500+ pages long) and the longest I have to read one is 3 weeks. SOOOOOOO glad that I read super fast or I would have to drop this class and find an alternate Literature class to take.

I am creating... a schedule. We have soooo much going on right now, that I REALLY need to get myself into a schedule with homework, homeschooling, counseling sessions (for Big J.), extracurricular activities of the kids, and breathing time. I have to do this every semester, since I don't always have class on the same day/time, and it usually takes me 2-3 weeks to get into a scheduled routine.

From the kitchen... comes some yummy new recipes we are trying. We got tired of the same old, same old. It is hard to come up with new things when you are on a strict/tight budget, but I found some cheap/easy recipes that we are going to try. If they are a success, I just might share them here!

Around the house... I see disaster. A week into this semester and my family has already let the house go the crap. Guess that will be added into my list of to-dos. Either that, or I'll go off on a tangent to my family about how they need to pick up the slack around here/I'm not the only one making the mess, I won't be the only one to clean it/if you don't want to pick up after yourselves, then you'll just live in it. Happens about twice a year. The tangent usually works and they pick up a little of the slack around the house.

One of my favorite things... is vacation. I loved mine. I want more. And I want to take a family vacation and a "me and Brilliant B. only" vacation. Soon, very soon.

A few plans for the rest of the week... homework, homeschool, counseling sessions, karate, get a few BIG checks and pay off some credit cards, clean a little, and read, read, read, and then read a little more.

So, what does YOUR Daybook look like?

Have a GREAT week everyone!!!

Writer's Workshop: Weirdest Dream EVER!

It's that time again. Time for Writer's Workshop from Mama Kat over at Mama's Losin' It.

Here are the prompts:

1.) I recently read all about the importance of us bloggers developing an “Elevator Pitch” via one of my new favorite blogs. Create one short (a sentence long) and one longer (100 – 150 words) Elevator Pitch describing what your blog is about.

2.) The strangest dream ever…

3.) Write a list of 10 things that can be done to stave off boredom.

4.) “How many homes have you had? Write a journal entry about ALL the places you’ve called ‘home’ in your life.”

5.) “Why wouldn’t they just start over? Write a story where a character refuses to go back to square one.”

I'm choosing to do #2, the strangest dream.

I had a dream last night that we owned one of these:
We kept it in a LARGE cage in our back yard and would let it out every once in a while to roam free for a little bit.

Well, Brilliant B. and I were in this tree house like thing where the controls to the cage were and we let the T-Rex out and were watching it roam around. Well, in the dream, Big J. was mad and being an ass and he let my dog out in the back yard, knowing full well that we had let the T-Rex out of it's cage.

Here's my little dog, Jack:

In the dream, I FREAKED! I started yelling at Jack to try to get him to come to me, but he wouldn't (nothing new for him) and in the process managed to get the T-Rex's attention on Jack. Now, in the dream, Jack was not killed by the T-Rex, but he did lose a back leg and his tail because the T-Rex was playing with him and bit them off. Which I had to just sit and watch in horror. (in the dream of course)

And that is where the dream ended. I woke with my heart racing and in a frantic mood.

I have been having these type of dreams lately. They are very odd and very realistic to me. Vivid dreams are weird to me and I rarely have them, but have been having one every night for the last week. Weird. Who knows what my mind will come up with tonight!

Family Photo Time

Family photo time! Excuse the look on our faces. We were getting our pic taken by 3 different cameras and my mother-in-law did not warn us that she was snapping the pic. Hopefully I'll have a better one when my father-in-law develops his pics!

"Interesting" Award

Trudy over at Third Time's a Charm gave me a new award! This award requires you to list 7 interesting things about yourself and tag 7 other blogs for this award! I've been racking my brain trying to think of 7 NEW things that you all do not know about me that are interesting and I think I have it.

1.

I played 3 different instruments in school. I played the flute in the beginning and continued to play that as my primary instrument, then in 7th grade I began to learn the bassoon, and then my Junior year of High School I played the bass drum in marching band. I was also able to pick up almost any instrument and play with only a little guidance about what to do. Yes, I was a band geek, but I was a band geek when being a band geek was cool!

2.

I am terrified of moths. I mean TERRIFIED. Like running away, screaming like a little girl terrified. Don't know why. Just am. It is an irrational fear that I can't seem to shake. Although, I am better about it now. Now, if there is a moth around, I just close my eyes and make someone else get rid of it (most of the time Brilliant B. gets stuck with that task!).

3.

My ultimate goal in life is to become an Art Professor at a college. As much as I love children and I love teaching them, I want to teach adults to draw and paint and sculpt. I want to spend my days drawing and painting and sculpting. And I want to have my own studio at my house. I want to be able to tell people, when they ask what I do for a living, that I am an artist and an Art professor.

4.

I can read a 700 page book in one day. It takes me about 2 minutes to read an entire page. And I can tell you what I just read, too. I can read fast and retain the information. I love being able to do this. It makes my homework go by REALLY fast!

5.

I really want to have an IQ test done on myself. I am curious what my actual IQ is. I know I have an above average intelligence, but I want to know exactly how much above average it really is. And yes, I do believe that I am smarter than a lot of people. Hell, I believe that I am smarter than a lot of the instructors I've had in college. Some of them are just MORONS! But I do not convey this belief to everyone and I don't try to prove how smart I am to others. So, I'm not one of those smarty pants people that like to rub it in.

6.

If we could financially afford to, I would have kid after kid (shhhhh, don't tell Brilliant B.). I love children and really would just take as many as the good Lord gave us. But, alas, we would not be able to financially support a lot of children so, I'm going to settle with one or two more. I want two more, Brilliant B. only wants one more. We'll have the "one more" discussion after we finally get pregnant with our first together. I think, though, that 6 is a nice round number....much better than 5!!

7.

I'm a bit of a push-over and I hate it. But I always try to see the good in people and usually end up giving way too many chances. Hence why I stuck with a man for 5 years of pure hell when I should have left after I first learned of his drug use. I do not let my kids see the push-over side of me because I know they would jump on that and try and use it to their advantage (they are all too smart for their own good!). With them I stay consistent. It's just with other adults that I seem to be a big time push-over. It is something I have been working on stopping some. My EX is making it really easy to get practice in on NOT being a push-over.

Now here are the blogs that I'm tagging:

Crystal (my sis) at Just My Musings

Myda at Confessions of a Southern (Liberal) Belle

TMVM at The Scattered Mind of a Tattooed Minivan Mom

Susan at Praying For a Miracle

Tanya at Journey To A Miracle

Jenners at Life With A Little One And More

Tesa at 2 Wired 2 Tired

Writer's Workshop: 100th Post and a Broken Heart

It's that time again! Time for Writer's Workshop from Mama Kat! (just click on the nifty little pic up there to go see her!)

I haven't done one in a while and figured I'd make my 100th post a special one!

Here are the prompts:

1.) Time for your tangent…what is your latest complaint?

2.) If you could have given yourself a snapshot five years ago of what your life is like now, what would the picture be of and how do you think you would have felt about it?

3.) What’s in YOUR name? What does it mean? Why was it given to you? etc..

4.) Write a letter to the first person who ever broke your heart.

5.) Welcome to the most shocking rose ceremony in writing prompt history. Please award roses to the ten people (or items) in your life that you’d like to continue pursuing a relationship with.

I figure since this is a special post....My 100th post...that I'd get a little deep and go for the letter to the first person who ever broke your heart.

Now, I've felt heartbroken before this, but this was truly the first time my heart was broken bad. And it is to my piece of shit ex-husband. Enjoy. (this is not going to be a rant...just read...you'll be surprised!)

Dear POS,

First off, I would like to thank you. Thank you for all you put me through. Not what you expected to hear from me? I thought not.

Thank you for forcing me to be a stronger person. Without the beatings, the hatred you showed me, the cheating, the worry, the fights, and the general lack of caring on your part; I would have never known exactly how strong I could be. I know now. I'm stronger than you know. I'm stronger than you, but you've figured that part out over the last 4 years, now haven't you?

Thank you for forcing me to become EXTREMELY good with money. Without knowing when we would have money to buy food and pay for a roof over our head; I learned how to shop for a lot of food for just a little money. I also learned what it was like to go hungry so that your children can eat. Thank you for showing me that. Thank you for showing me that I am not only willing but also able to do whatever it takes for my children and their well-being.

Thank you for fighting the divorce. Without that fight, I would have never known the level of determination I have within me. Thank you for showing me that.

Thank you for belittling me for going back to college and calling me a moron that would never amount to anything. Without your lack of support, I would have never worked as hard as I have to prove you wrong. I would not be sitting here, right now, 3 semesters away from being a REAL teacher. I would not have my 3.52 GPA or have been on the Dean's list as many times as I have been. Thank you for forcing me to give college my all and succeed in all I've done.

Thank you for my children. They are the reason I live, and as much as I wish it were not true, you gave them to me. I teach them every day to be the opposite of what you are today, so thank you for giving me an example of what I do not want my children to be. Oh, and thank you so much for continuing to use drugs so that you cannot be a part of their lives now. I'm sure they will thank you as well when they are older and understand everything a little better.

Thank you for showing me that I really am a good person. Compared to you, I am a saint. I learned that I'm not a bad person. I learned that, though I make mistakes, I have a good heart and am a good person. I learned the depth of my love for humanity and God. All because of the qualities I saw in you, most of which are not good. So thank you for that.

You made sure to destroy all the love I ever felt for you in the last 5 years we were married. But through all that destroying, I learned what qualities I wanted in a husband, none of which you possess, and that knowledge led me to find the man I WILL spend the rest of my life with. A man that is a father to my children, that loves them as if they were his own. A man that sees my worth and my flaws and loves them all. So, thank you, one last time, for giving me that.

Sincerely,

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Trudy over at Third Time's a Charm does this most weeks and I thought today would be a good day to jump right on in and give it a whirl.

I'm really beginning to think that I need to start drinking water. I say this not because it is good for you, your body needs it, blah, blah, blah. I say this because there has to be something in it. Pregnant women are popping up EVERYWHERE and it is just driving me INSANE! There just HAS to be something in the water! Don't get me wrong....I am THRILLED for them....but it just serves as a reminder of what we have been having a difficult time achieving.

On the same note...I would have been due in mere weeks....next month to be exact...if I had not had the miscarriage in June. I know when that date comes up, it is going to be a difficult one to deal with. I can only hope that I get some good news before that, because believe it or not....I will (if we get pregnant this month) be 6 weeks along on the original due date. 6 weeks is when I get an ultrasound when pregnant because of my higher risk of tubal pregnancy. I have a good feeling. I really do. But I am also at peace with it if it doesn't happen this month.

I really do not like homeschooling Big J. NOT.AT.ALL. He's a complainer. Big time. He doesn't want to do homeschooling, but will not come to the conclusion that this was not our CHOICE...it was what we had to do because of HIS actions. No matter how many times we tell him that he HAS to do this and it is his own damn fault. We regularly get into fights that usually go like this: I tell him that he needs to read the work and really try to learn it, he tells me he is, I tell him that his quiz grades are showing he is not, he gets all defensive saying I can't read his mind...I don't know what he's learning or not, I tell him to not pull that AGAIN, he stands tall (trying to make himself bigger than me) and tries to intimidate me physically to back off, I tell him to cut his shit...yell a little bit back and forth, he goes to his room and calms down, comes out and apologizes for trying to intimidate me (which NEVER works) and we talk about strategies to help him do better.........which is what I started off trying to do. That is why I don't like homeschooling him. This happens once or twice a WEEK!

I'm cold.

I need a shower but am being lazy because I have the house completely to myself.

I just got my books for 2 of my classes and am shitting bricks at the size of the novels I have to read for my English class. I have 8 novels....some are close to 900 pages long. I can only hope that we are just reading parts of these books and not the whole things.

I've been clearing out our DVR for the past weeks and a half. By clearing out, I mean watching what we have recorded and then deleting it. It has been fun! But that time is coming to an end soon. My classes start in one week. One week!

I really should have been giving my house a deep cleaning over my Christmas break (which was 5 weeks long!), but I decided that my time was better spent with my children while they were home on their break, and by doing really nothing else. No deep cleaning. No reading all the books I was putting off until break. I did read one book, but I finished that in one day. Do I feel like I've wasted my time? NO. I needed this down time. I needed time to do nothing at all. Well, at least nothing productive. Unless you count clearing out the DVR productive.

I think that is all for now. Time for a shower and some more DVR'd shows!

We have a "big boy" on our hands now!

Little J. lost his first tooth Saturday night! And the tooth fairy gave him a whopping $5. I've never seen a child so happy over $5 in my LIFE!

My little man is growing up.....

HGTV Dream Home Sweepstakes!!

Just thought I would post this nifty little widget for all of you lovely readers! I enter this every year and I REALLY hope to win this year, since the house in in my BEAUTIFUL home state of New Mexico!

Man, I've been gone a while

WOW! It's been a while since I've been here. I've just been busy spending time with my kids and enjoying my time off from school. And, boy, have I been enjoying it!

Just a little update:

We finally got Big J.'s homeschool curriculum just a little before Christmas. He's been going good on it. I've been having to slow him down because he was rushing through his work and not really learning anything....which shows on his quizzes and tests (which he has been failing). Since he has slowed down and started taking his time and REALLY reading, he's done much better.

Still no pregnancy. still. We are trying to be patient, but it is so hard. It has been 7 months since the miscarriage and nothing. We are going to give it until March and then we will be getting tests run to find out if there is a problem with me or B. I really hope we don't have to resort to that. I'm hoping my mom is right. She told me, with my luck, I will get pregnant in February and be due in November, just like I was with Diva D. and Little J. I'll take it. As long as we have a healthy baby, I'll deal with having 3 birthdays in one month very close together!

I start my classes on the 19th, and I am very glad to still have a little vacation left! I looked at my degree plan and I have 3 semesters left....THAT'S IT! I will graduate May 2011 with my Bachelor's of Science in Elementary Education. Let me tell you, I never thought this day would come when I would be SO close to being finished! I feel like I've been going to college FOREVER!

Well, that's a little update. Will try to blog a little more now that the kids are back in school and I have a little more "me" time.