Must See TV From Me~Hilarious.

So how wrong would it be to have my consultations watch this??  LOL!

My Mimi

I got to actually see my Mimi this month. It was a great visit, and as her memory faded in and out, it reminded me that time is short and precious. It was a blessing to get to see her for more reasons than one!! :)

Always the proud dog-mom

My furkids posing for the camera.

September 16th is Stepfamily Day!

Happy National Step-family Day!

I Am Their Stepmother
I am their stepmother,

And I am proud to be,

God has given me this important job,

And it is Him I aim to please.



I am their stepmother,

A promise to them I have made,

To guide them and protect them,

And to teach them in God's ways.



I am their stepmother,

In some ways different,

Some the same,

No matter how I'm seen by the outside world,

I always know my place.



I am their stepmother,

Their father's partner for life,

I will show them God's love,

in the face of momentary strife.



I am their stepmother,

I will struggle,

And I will cry.

When their innocence is threatened,

I will stand,

And I will fight.



For they are the future,

They are precious,

They are worthy,

And I will try,

To give them everything within my power,

Everything that is right.



I understand if I receive no credit,

I am prepared to accept all blame,

All the wonderful joys of having a place in their lives,

Are worth all the tears and pain.



They have taught me the meaning of selfless love,

The value of every second of life.

I am so blessed to see the world,

And myself,

Through my step-children's eyes.

-Poem from Southernshellegirl's blog

Testing 123

Now I can blog from my phone!  Pix and all!! Woot!
Trying this out
Sent from Sarah's iPhone

@!$#%&*@&#^*&%*@#%$&*%@$

Well, yeah so here's my thing today...  I have slipped back into potty-mouthedness, yep it's a word.  Maybe just my word.  Not that I have ever completely kicked the potty-mouth...infact, I just curb it's influx of nastiness, but it usually remains just under the surface.  Just sneak up and scare me, and see what comes out of my mouth.  Having kids around every other week has made me aware of my use of such words.  On weeks they are home, I find myself using what I can best describe as replacement words.  Motherfudgekins, shazam, shootfire, poopface, crappenhagen, doody-brown, bullshizzle, bootyhead, turd-licker, fart-knockers, jackwad, stinky potty-tush, among many others.  Then when I hear the kids repeat these stupid words, I feel even worse.  Great, way to go step-mom (guess it's better than the alternative).  When the kids are not home, I find myself using the big-girl words that I incorporated into my vocabulary around age 11.  I really hate it at times because I will be talking to a friend, letting them know I am praying for them, or talking about my love for Jesus, or the miracles that have been worked in my life; then fast forward the conversation about 5 minutes to the next subject and I am dropping bombs like Hiroshima.  What is that??  It's like I can't find any more effective nouns, adjectives or adverbs to get my point across?  HELP!  So I feel like I should start eff-bombs anonymous.  Hi, my name is Sarah and I curse my face off.  Hello, Sarah.  I have knocked lots of other non-productive vices in my life, why is this one so ingrained into my language?  I have tried to do the whole curse jar thing...that's a joke, I just end up with lots of my $$ in a jar...so what?  A reward to go buy something special for cursing like a sailor? -Sweet.  So I guess, just pray for my potty-mouth because it certainly is NOT a true reflection of what's in my heart.  I'm pretty frustrated with my lack of verbal discipline.  Grrr.

Armchair Time-Machine

    Rain, sweet rain is here.  Thank you, Lord.  It's another day, Wednesday actually!  It's September 1st and I'm itching to get out the Fall stuff!  My hubby is going to be 35 here in 2 weeks...wow.  You always hear people talk about time, especially older people, going faster and faster as the years pass.  When I was younger I would just roll my eyes and think, ah, there's lots of time for everything.  Now in my early-mid thirties...well, I am realizing it's true, the old people knew their stuff and I am becoming one of them.  We have been letting Maya drive the Element in parking lots and around a few residential areas...wow again.  Maya 14 and 1/2...driving.  This time next year she will be driving us with her permit.  Oh boy.  Gonna hafta hem that all up in prayer...lots and lots and lots...and maybe some anti-anxiety meds.
    I was thinking about 10 years ago what I was doing at this time, September 1, 2000 today and sharing that with David.  I was getting out of a really dysfunctional relationship I had been in for 2 and 1/2 years, and relishing being single.  I was bitter, skeptical, distrustful.  My relationship with God was not where it should be, but I was trying to live honestly.  I prayed sporadically, I didn't go to church.  I was a smoker, smoking about a pack a day.  I had 4 years clean under my belt.  I was hanging with friends, discussing politics, current events, and still educating myself on how and why things work the way they do in our world.  I was getting ready to move into my friend's boyfriend's rental house.  I was really excited to get out of my triplex, to get a pet, and get into a nicer  neighborhood in Springfield.  I was working at ATT and was fresh out of training, making big money in "smits", our incentive card. Ha...how that would be a joke towards the end of my employment in 2006.  I had in my mind a plan to start school again, after all, I already had 2 years under my belt.  ATT and the money I was making, way more than my college grad friends, quickly made me realize, I could make more working there than finishing my degree.  How sad.  The allure of bonuses, and quick cash, was too enticing.  I had just gotten a "Rachel from Friends" haircut...layers and such, but with my dark hair ended up looking more like Monica Lewinsky who was still fresh in people's minds.  I had never ever used color on my hair at this point. Ha!  I rarely cooked, I went out to eat with friends almost every night and was addicted to Bangkok City Thai food during this time.  Ah, some Pad Thai Woon Sen, 3 stars!  I loved sushi, but could rarely afford to eat it.  I was much smaller than I am now.  I had a membership at Ozarks Fitness, and was working out twice a day before work, and after.  I went out to Jordan Creek sometimes on the weekends, or Remington's on ladies night Thursdays.  I loved to dance.  I would hang out with Kelley sometimes at her peach colored house on John street, Kaitlyn was still a baby, and loved Teletubbies, and I loved watching them right along with them.  Most of my friends had kids, and I longed for that too, but the right guy had to come first.  I was driving a maroon Toyota Camry and blasting my "burnt" mix Cd's as loudly as possible;  Counting Crows, Fiona Apple, Outkast, CeeLo, Blink 182 and Limp Biskit among many more I can't even remember.  I had dial-up internet through a small provider and a Nokia analog cell phone the size of my head...recently upgraded from my killer blue pager.  I was carrying a Dooney and Bourke purse and loving chenile turtleneck sweaters, tigh pants under them, and blunt toed zipper boots, I had all colors, brown, red, black, even black and silver rocker boots!  Most of my home decor came from Big Lots and the Dollar Tree.  I would occasionally treat myself to a few clearance items from Pier One, at that time, that was the ONLY cool home decor store in Springfield.  I pretty much watched MTV non stop when my TV was on, the Real World was my favorite show.  My favorite movies were Reality Bites and Titanic.  I was a pretty happy girl, but I really lacked and longed for that one special person in my life, and little did I know, that in 13 months, I would meet him, and I would be happier and more in love than I'd ever dreamed.  Alot has happened, and changed in 10 years; kids, dogs, marriage, tumors, deaths, successes, failures, church, community, buying and selling homes, cars, employment for "the man", to becoming "the man" in self-employment, technology, good times, bad times, and everything in between.  INSANE. 
My entire point in examining this mini-time warp is to glorify our God.  I don't smoke anymore. I am still friends with Kelley.  I am married to the man of my dreams.  I do not have to work at a job that I hate.  I am a stepmom to two bright, funny, amazing children.  I have better friends now than I have ever had.  I have the time to give back to my community.  I have an active relationship with God and involved at church.  My attire, home, clothing, lifestyle, have all been upgraded.  I am self-employed and loving it with our growing photography business.  I still enjoy music, I don't go dancing anymore, I still enjoy Thai food, and tons of other ethnic yumminess.  I can even cook--I have even plumped up :( !  Could I have envisioned what 10 years would bring?  Nope.  Not even if I tried. 
    In the last 10 years, there have been some very bad, very sad times in there as well, it's not all been peaches and roses and sunshine, make no mistake.  I have had my share of really crappy moments, decisions, and hurts.  I am not at all trying to pretend my life has been some grand fairytale of giddy, make-you-wanna-barf moments, but rather focus more attention to the positive blessings and realize they outweigh the dreariness by far.  God carries us through the ugly stuff, as well as the great stuff.  And I realize, He's always been by my side, even when I wasn't asking Him to be there. I'm so grateful, because I CAN see what my life COULD have been. So I'm thinking of 10 years from now; what will that bring?   Imagine! ;)  Glory to God in the highest!