EXPOSING MYSELF::1

Cleaning house......how can I sum this matter up. As I told Tony in the first week of knowing him, I sat him down to explain something, something embarrassing but I had to tell him. My exact words, "I hate to clean, I don't like it, I'm not happy when I do it and I'm not going to smile while I do it." And that ladies and gentlemen, sums up my thoughts on, well cleaning!

Having a disclaimer with Tony at the beginning of our relationship was the BEST thing I ever did. When the house gets messy and he looks at me " I told you from week one." When I am not smiling as I do it "I told you from week one". Needless to say, I am getting better.

Jade at http://chikaustin.com/2008/06/23/exposing-myself/ has challenged us to Expose Ourselves. Tony is loving Jade.

I am starting with baby steps. This is not an easy process for me. I am ashamed of it, I think,but this is who I am. Guys, I have prayed hard about this topic. I started with the Laundry room....my catch all room. It has mail, tools, shoes, pillows, belts you name it, it catches it. Ladies and gentleman, the room that once was cluttered has been transformed....you know how you should hear hollowness in a laundry room, I got that back. It is wonderful.

Now, that it's cleaned, I realized one wall still needs to be painted and
the doors need to painted too, oh and Tony needs to fix the shelves on the
wall.....but cleanness....ahhhh organization.......I hate the process, but I
love the feel!

I might end up exposing myself too much, but what great 'cleaning therapy'.

Just the Two of Us Thursday

Tonight was a special night! Thursday's, Tony drives an hour and a half to have dinner with Michaella! The twins used to go with him to see Michaella as I toted Peyton to soccer practice. Now that soccer is over and the church Christmas play practices are over we had to figure out how to work Thursdays! Tonight was Riley's night!It is very RARE that I get any extended period of time with just one of the kiddos. So, on Thursdays, it's "Just the Two of us Thursday"! And I must say, Riley and I LOVED it!

First we went to the store to pick out our gourmet dinner. He put the menu together. Spagettio's, Nacho Cheese Dorito's and Sprite Zero.....all his picking and much to my delight, since it was easy of course! Dinner was a hit. After that we shared our valuable time putting the train together that runs under our CHRISTmas tree. If I've never mentioned it before, Riley is ALL about trains. WE are going on 5 years of being passionate about trains. And to this day he will let EVERYONE he knows, he will be a train conductor when he grows up. He even went as far as telling me that it will be on a train where he will "find a girl who has no one to take care of her, so he will do it". I have absolutely no doubt in my mind he will have a profession that deals with trains! What a fine job he did on the track!

Once the train was up and running, he decided he wanted to bake a strawberry cake! And how great it turned out! He is very precise in following directions, if it's 2 minutes to mix, he mixes to the second!

Oh and his favorite part, licking the beaters. I think this to was my favorite part of baking with my Mom!

What a wonderful, heartfelt, warming night Riley and I had. The night ended with a chat on the couch and true insight to his day. I will cherish these moments rare moments forever!

Broadway Star

O.K., I officially label myself as a big goober! Two weeks ago I registered at Dillards for our upcoming wedding. When I was all done, the consultant had me fill out a form for a drawing. The winner would receive 2 Waterford champagne flute, $150.00 value. Without any thought of possibly winning, I filled out the entry.

Since that day, I had forgotten all about it. I sometimes wonder when there are drawings, if someone actually wins. I don't sometimes wonder that, I always wonder that! Well, last night I received a call and I WON! I was ecstatic! How cool is that, I WON! I don't win anything! I WON! I know, I'm a goober! It's such a good feeling though! Winning! I LOVE TO WIN! They are perfect too!

Anyway, on to more important life events....Peyton is in his Christmas Program tonight at school and he has his own speaking part! So he's not really a Broadway Star, but he is in my heart! We've worked hours on speaking slow and very clearly! Something tells me when he walks up to the microphone and sees a hundred people starring at him, his voice will be fast, shaky and broken! I can't wait to see the performance and I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes!

I'm going to leave you with a few pictures from this morning!

A Finer Day Awaits

Raging head, throbbing eyes, chapping nose, cozy bed, coarse tissue. No light today. Let the day squeak by, the night go slow, and may a finer day await tomorrow!

It Was All About Me

Why is it when you have a birthday you don't feel a day older, but when your children have a birthday you feel OLD!!!

I don't feel any older, yet, I turned 33 yesterday! The great thing about a Sunday birthday.....we can make it a birthday weekend! And that's exactly what we did! I arrived home Friday after an extra long stressful drive in traffic, to these wonderful homemade Chocalate Meringue pies. Just last week I gave Tony my Grandmother's recipe and what a great suprise I had! A yummy one at that!

On Saturday Tony treated me to dinner at our new favorite Italian Restaurant, Pallotta's. Shrimp Marsala with sundried tomatoes and portabella mushrooms made me happy, along with a nice glass of merlot!

Are you getting the idea I gained a few pounds this weekend! On Sunday my parents came over for smoked chicken, a pot of beans, and rice. Not to mention a devil's food pound cake which Riley helped light and yelled "looks like we're gonna have a fire!" Tony couldn't have made the weekend any better!

TAG, I'M IT

Well, last week I was tagged, and it is now time to share interesting facts about me! Here we go!

1. I despise cold weather. It makes me grumpy, lethargic and pretty much a wimp! I would much rather have sweat dripping down my forehead than have goosebumps consuming my body, making my freshly shaven legs feel prickly! Oh, and add rain to the cold.....forget it, stay away from me!

2. I love home cooked meals. For so long my life was in the habit of grabbing food on the go. No thank you, I prefer anything home cooked, well, almost anything! Of course, when I say home cooked, I mean Tony doing the cooking! My job is the dishes.

3. Some know this, but I have had 6 knee surgeries; hence the blog name SIDELINED! The root cause, a lanky clumsy girl coming underneath the volleyball net, taking me out in the best volleyball game of my career. The good news, I am a "great" candidate for a knee transplant. Not sure if that's good news, but the docs seem to think so! Though it may sound I am a bit bitter, I once was, I now know God has other plans for me!

4. I didn't get my drivers license until the age of 24! I know, insane! Luckily I had great friends who drove me lots of places. If anyone EVER needs a ride I am the first to do it! No guys, not hitchhikers, people I actually know! I am forever indebted to provide free rides!

5. ROAD RAGE drives me crazy! The thing I least like about HOUSTON is the drivers! If everybody would let one car in at the freeway entrance ramps the flow of traffic would be a WHOLE lot better! Geez, what a concept!

**This was one of my blooms just last week**

6. I love Hibiscus. Yes I went as far as to get a tattoo of one on my back. And I love it, no regrets! My goal is to be known as the "Hibiscus Lady"in the neighborhood! I love the flowers beauty, that they bloom for so many months, and that each bloom only lasts a day.