T13 5/17

Thirteen Things that matter the most. I've been feeling rather blue lately. I know it has to do with the fact that my husband has been out of work for so long. We ran out of savings a long time ago, and we are having some trouble. I've been trying to stay positive, but there are days where I feel like crying (and often do). I know that I have a lot of blessings, and a lot to be thankful for. I am rich in ways other than money. When I'm feeling lowest, I think of the things that matter most to me, and I always know that I have what truly matters. 1.... My family My husband is a gift beyond belief. He is honest, loyal, and honorable. He loves me totally and completely, and is always looking out for me. I love him more than I ever felt possible. I've never been happier than I am with him. My children are my joy. I have been blessed with five wonderful children. They each have their strengths and differences, yet they each bring with them an incredible spirit, and they fill my sould with joy. This makes me rich beyond measure. 2.... My church I know who I am, why I am on this earth, and where I am going when this earth life is through. I am truly blessed to know that God, my Heavenly Father, loves and knows me personally, as does his son Jesus Christ. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ I have the means to be forgiven for my mistakes and to one day return to live with my Heavenly Father and my family for eternity. This makes me rich beyond measure. 3.... My home I have a modest three bedroom apartment that I wouldn't have chosen by itself, but I am really glad that I have it. I overlook a courtyard with a playground, and every day all the moms sit in lawn chairs under the shade of the trees there and watch our children playing together. We talk and laugh and share problems with each other. We talk about everything from current events to what's for dinner. How rich and fulfilling that is. 4.... My friends A person is truly rich who has friends. I know that when in need, I have certain people I can call on. I have true friends who love me in spite of our differences, and they know that the feeling is mutual. I would do just about anything for my friends. I am a loyal friend for life. I have friends I've known for 27 years now. We don't need to talk every day to know our friendship is secure. True frienships are worth their weight in gold. 5.... We don't go hungry I may not be able to serve lobster for dinner, but my kids wouldn't eat that anyway. We have food to eat and I'm thankful for it. My cupboards are full and my freezer is too. I don't have to worry about whether there is enough food for dinner. Many families do. Many families don't have enough to feed everyone. Some children go to bed hungry at night and wake up hungry in the morning. I can go right now to the fridge and have a snack if I want. I can sit here and plan tomorrows dinner, and have multiple options. I don't have that worry on my mind. To me, this is something to be truly thankful for. 6.... We are warm, safe and dry I go to bed each night in a soft bed with my pillow and blankets, after tucking my children in to their beds. We are dressed in pjs. The air conditioner/heater is on, (depending on the season) the house is cool when it is hot outside, and warm when it is cold outside. I don't worry about the rain coming down and dripping inside my home. I don't worry about predators coming in and harming us. I sleep peacefully knowing all is well. Tomorrow there are many options for what to wear. I don't have to wash our only outfit at night to wear again the next day. We don't have to sleep on the floor. We have clean running water for hot showers and cold drinks. What a blessing that is! 7.... My country I live in a country where I feel safe. I don't worry about what I am writing and if it is being read by the government. (If it is, it is just one more hit on my blog, yeah!) I can say what I want and it is okay. If I want to move to another state, I can. I can go to work as I please, and do as I please. I don't hear gunfire from my home. I don't see men in army uniforms patroling our streets with machine guns. I don't see homes and business destroyed by artillary. To me, this is worth a lot. What a blessing. 8.... My health I may not be 100% healthy, I take medicine for my blood pressure, but I enjoy good health. My family is healthy, too. We all can walk down the stairs on two feet, take a deep breath of the fresh mountain air, run, jump, bend over to smell the flowers, see the sunset, hear the birds singing in the trees and enjoy life. How thankful I am that we are not battling cancer, or some other dreadful illness. How thankful I am that we are not weekly, or daily patients at the doctor's office. Common colds and allergies aside, we are a healthy lot. I am so thankful for this blessing. 9.... Sunshine I love the sunshine. I love to watch it coming up in the morning and setting at night. It is so beautiful. I love to play outside with my kids and feel it upon my face. I don't like being incredibly hot, but where I live it is usually mild. It gets hot in late July and then is fine again by late August. Even in the winter, when the snow covers everything, I'm thankful for the sunshine. There are days when the sky is overcast and the rain is coming down, and I sit in my home and watch it rain. I love the smell of the earth after a good rainfall. Then when the sun comes out, I smile. It is like welcoming home an old friend. A simple pleasure I think, but one I am thankful for. 10.. Animals I love animals; I am the Cat Lady afterall. There is something to be said for the stress relief of petting an animal. I love to go into the mountains and look at the wildlife. I have seen deer, elk, wolves, fox, moose, and a variety of small critters. It is wonderful. How empty life would be without them. I look forward in the morning to hearing the birds sing. Animals add beauty and richness to my life. 11.. My talents I may not be able to do everything I want, but I do have my talents. I enjoy reading a good book; I know some who have difficulty learning to read. I can draw, I'm not a renowned artist , but I enjoy it. I love music, and with practice, I could play the piano better. I like to sew, I'm good with kids, I am fairly creative, I can write stories, I can cook; all these are talents. My talents enrich my life, and I'm thankful for them. 12.. Opportunities to serve others The chance to serve others makes a person feel very rich indeed. It may be something as small as bringing dinner to a neighbor who just had a baby, or baking cookies for a family that just moved in next door, but serving others makes me feel good inside. When we are out driving, my husband will often stop to help someone who has broken down on the side of the road. I remember being broken down in Missouri (nothing against people who live in Missouri, lol). I was obviously pregnant, and it was late November. We needed a jump and didn't have cables. Everyone who stopped wanted $10 to give us a jump. We didn't have $10. With disbelief I watched people drive away, leaving us. We ended up spending the night in a broken down van under an overpass in freezing weather. I don't want to live like that. I will gladly help anyone who needs help. I know that no matter what my circumstances, there are people worse off than myself. Sometimes just a smile will brighten someone's day. If you look everyday for some way to give service to others, you will find it, and your life will be all the more richer for it. 13.. My life I am supremely thankful for my life. Through all the troubles and trials I've had, and there have been many, they have shaped me into the person I am today. I am thankful for each new day that I have. Every day brings new opportunities, new surprises, new reasons to smile. At the end of each day, as I kneel in prayer beside my bed, I am thankul for the day, whatever the day brought. Each day is a chance to be with my family and friends. Each day is a chance to tell someone I love them. My life is good. I am rich! When I'm having blue days, it helps to remember it. I may not have money at the moment, but that is temporary. Where it counts, I'm rich. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

I need a vacation

I need a vacation; a real vacation. Unfortunately, now that my husband is out of work anc can take the time to go somewhere, we don't have the money. Why do vacations cost so much? It should be a break from your everyday life... a chance to unwind and recharge. It doesn't work that way all the time though. I worry about packing everything and do we have enough money, and how am I going to keep the kinds entertained in the car, and when are we going to get there? Then we try so hard to get to see and do everything we can in the time we have that by the time we get home we need a vacation to recover from our vacation!

For the last two years I have given birth during the summer so that we can no go to my husband's family reuinion. Usually that is our only vacation of the year... camping for 4 days in Arizona with his family. I really enjoy my in-laws. We get along great and I love seeing them. I hate sleeping on the ground in a tent. I also don't like to be hot or dirty. You can't help but be dirty when you are camping and you can't help but be hot when you're in Arizona. I always come home tired and cranky from not getting good sleep, and aching from head to toe from sleeping on the ground. I do like being outside, and would enjoy camping more if I had a way to shower, and a comfortable place to sleep at night.

My idea of a great vacation is to rent a hotel on the beach somewhere... sleep in, have brunch, explore the beach, maybe go to an aquarium, swim, enjoy dinner & relax with a movie before bed... after a soak in the tub. Have I EVER had such a vacation?? NO! I would love to go to San Diego and see Sea World, and the zoo, and the wild animal park. I'd love it there... not to hot, nice ocean breezes. I'm not sure when we will be able to afford it, but I dream about it.

My husband and I decided years ago that we would go on an Alaskan cruise for our 10th wedding anniversary. However, it will come when we are both attending school, and it will not be possible for us to go then. It isn't realistic to even think we could pull it off when we are both in school. Now we are saying, maybe when I graduate we can take the kids to Disneyland.

I really don't want to wait four more years for a real vacation! I want one now!! I NEED one now! Now is when life is stressful. I'm overwhelmed thinking about school, student loans, getting unpacked from moving, settling in to our new apartment, when will my husband get another job, how are we going to get the bills paid, can we stall off a few bills one more month?, who will watch the girls when I go back to school this fall?, how are we going to pay for brakes on the Durango when we have no money coming in? I wish I can just pack an overnight bag for everyone and load up the car and just GO. I don't really even care where. I just want a break. I just want to relax, watch a sunset, go on a walk, play, de-stress!!! The problems will still be there when I get back but I will have the reserves to deal with them.

I'll have a real vacation one day. When, I don't know, but hopefully soon. Until then, I'll close my eyes and try to hear the roar of the ocean, smell the salty air, feel the ocean breeze on my face, and the sand between my toes.


Then I'll open my eyes and return to my real life.

T13 5/10

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Today is my Punkin's 2nd birthday!In honor of my little Punkin, my T13 is thirteen pictures of her. Happy Birthday Punkin!! 1…. 2.... 3.... 4.... 5.... 6.... 7.... 8.... 9.... 10.. 11.. 12.. 13.. The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun!

Being taught by a 4 year old

This morning, Boo and I were sitting on the couch talking and the room got noticably darker. "What happened mom?" she asked, "it got darker in here." "It is okay," I replied, "the sun went behind a cloud." "Mom," Boo said in her most serious 4 year old voice, "the sun doesn't move, it CAN'T go behind a cloud. Only the clouds move. The clouds would have to move in FRONT of the sun. Actually, that means it will probably rain. When the clouds are dark and they block out the sun, it will probably rain. You have to say the clouds made it darker by moving in front of the sun, not that the sun moved behind a cloud." She actually kind of laughed at the end, like I was SO crazy for what I said. I sat their dumbfounded. SHE'S 4!!! My bigger question is, if she knows all that... WHY DID SHE ASK ME???

Thursday Thirteen 5-3

Thirteen Things that the Cat Lady LOVES to have for dinner Since we have moved... and it took 10 days to get everything out of the old place and into the new... we have eaten take-out more than a few times. My kitchen is in chaos, as is the rest of the house, as I try to unpack boxes and find a place for everything. We have had one too many ham sandwiches for lunch and dinner!! So with food on the brain... here is my T13 1... Steak and baked potato. This is a great classic meal. 2... Chicken and fetuccini alfredo. 3... Homemade tacos. I make them the way my mother did, and I can't find anything at a restaraunt to compare. I love these things!! 4... Lasagna. My husband can make a pretty good lasagna, but the best by far is at a restaraunt called Johnny Carino's. It is 12 layers of delicious. 5... Chicken and dumplings. Great on a cold night. 6... Corn chowder with or without chicken. I love this soup. My husband likes it with chiken, because, according to him, it isn't a meal without meat in it. I like it without better. 7... Halibut AuGratin. This has to be one of my all time favs. I love halibut and it is fabulous cooked this way. 8... Halibut parmesan. Another halibut dish. This is also a good way to cook tilapia. 9... Lettuce Wraps. Asian Star makes the best I've ever had. 10.. Chicken salad. I love chicken salad that has chunks of chicken, grapes, celery and nuts. It is refreshing to eat on a hot summer day. 11.. Fresh vegetables. My mother used to make red potatoes with a white sauce, fresh green beans out of the garden, and fresh, crisp corn on the cob. Sometimes there were others, but those are my favorites. 12.. Spaghetti. I love a really good plate of spaghetti. I like it with a thick, meaty sauce and grated cheddar cheese on top. 13.. Fall off the bone, bbq ribs. Yum-O Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

On the move

My Thursday Thirteen post announced we were moving. We are stll moving... and will probably be still moving at the end of this week. Why does it take us so long? It is a good thing we weren't moving cross-country... we had to take two U-haul loads as it was, and we still have a house full of stuff!!! I think about the pioneers and others who crossed the plains to settle out west, pulling handcarts or driving wagons. If I had to load all my stuff into a handcart, I'd be in a world of hurt, not to mention how hard it would be to pull the thing. I think people, in general, have to much 'stuff'. I wanted to downsize a lot of things, and met with more than a little resistance from family members. I just feel that sometimes we put to much emphasis on material things, and not the things that really matter. Moving this week has shown me just how much 'stuff' we have and I have to wonder if we really need all of it. Maybe, just once, I should pack a wagon or a handcart just to see what is really important to me, and what 'stuff' I can do without.

Thursday Thirteen 4-19

Thirteen Things Cat Lady HATES about moving I am moving today. I decided to do thirteen things I hate about moving. I am going to enjoy my new place, but getting there is a bear! 1... finding enough boxes. 2... sorting through all the accumulated junk. 3... deposits, moving vans and other expenses. 4... packing, packing, packing and more packing 5... trying to pack around three little kids who want to "help" by taking things back out of the boxes. 6... all the heavy lifting. - Sore feet, back & muscles. 7... still doing all the things I have to do in a day like laundry and dinner and dishes and baths while packing, packing, packing. 8... total exhaustion at the end of the day. 9... unpacking at the new place, trying to find a place for everything. 10.. washing all the dishes over again because they have newsprint on them from packing them. 11.. trying to find things when everything is in boxes. 12.. cleaning the old apartment to get my deposit back. 13.. Can I say packing again????? Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Sleep? What is that?

Punkin would not sleep last night. At 3:45 in the morning, I had the thought that she might be getting her two year molars. She was up almost constantly. She would come in my room (I have a crib mattress on the floor by my bed) and then she would get up and go to her room, and then she'd be back and forth and back and forth. I was so tired! She was whiney and crying and I had no idea what was wrong with her. She gets acid reflux, so I gave her some medicine for that... no change. I checked her diaper, gave her a drink of water, nothing could settle her down. She finally went to sleep and I couldn't go to sleep! My head ached, my shoulders ached and I had restless leg. Stressed beyond belief, I woke my husband and told him I was taking a Benadryl to help me sleep, and he would have to get the girls if they got up again. Well, he woke me in the morning when he had to leave and the Benadryl hadn't worn off yet. I'm like a zombie today... I can't wait till nap time!! If it happens again tonight, Punkin is getting a Motrin!

Mundane Monday 04-16

Today's question at http://mundanemonday.com/ is to list our top five favorite tv shows of all time..... hmmm let's see.

1. These are in no particular order, but the first one to pop into mind is Iron Chef America. I love that show! It is on the Food Network. Come to think of it I like most shows on the Food Network....

2. Trading Spaces. After it first got started, and for a few years, it was wonderful, new, funny and I loved the decorating ideas. After there were a zillion copycat shows like it, it kind of got boring, and the efforts to make it stand out didn't work, but for years, it was my favorite show.

3. Sue Thomas FBEye. This was on Pax. It may show in reruns now. It is based on the real life of a deaf FBI agent, Sue Thomas. It is family friendly and still entertaining and suspensful.

4. Farscape. I liked this show! I hated it when it got cancelled. It was great Sci-Fi. Two of the main characters are now on Stargate SG1, but I don't watch that one as much.

5. The Wonderful World of Disney. Yes, this was a show. It was on Sunday nights when I was a kid and we would watch it without fail. They would show a movie, or something else family friendly and we would watch it together as a family with popcorn or some other treat. Great memories. (... which makes me think of the Muppet Show, but I'm at my five.)

Just Boo & Me

Yesterday my niece's son turned 1. They were having a birthday party over at her house yesterday evening. Boo has been running a fever for about 3 days, and I didn't think she should go. I've been battling a chest cold so she and I stayed home together while her daddy took the other two girls and went to the party. I knew she felt bad missing the party, as she loves to go to her cousins house, so I rented a movie, grabbed a happy meal, and she and I had a "party night" of our own. We sat in front of the tv eating our hamburgers and watched Cinderella III, a Twist In Time. It was cute... not as good as the original, but I still liked it. Boo loved it, and as soon as it was over, she wanted to watch it again. We had fun, the two of us, and when I heard the car pulling in I was almost disappointed that our "party" was over. When daddy came in with Punkin and Little Cat, everyone started talking then it was time to get everyone ready for bed. I thought about how peaceful it was just sitting with my little Boo and watching a movie and talking girl talk (for a 4 year old, she talks extremely well). I'll have to make a point to do that more often. We often do things as a family, but snuggling with my girl and having our own little party was really, really special. I loved it.

One down!

Thanks to C. Pitt @ http://crpitt.blogspot.com I have solved the dilema of the blogroll. Many thanks to her and check out her cool blog!

changes and more changes

I changed the template for my blog today and lost so much!!! I don't have my rolling T13 box anymore, and can't figure out how to get it back. I also lost the links to my favorite blogs, and some of them I only get to because I linked to them. I really like the new colors and format, but I'm really upset because I lost so much in the transition. When I changed it said that it would keep a copy of my old format, but I also can't seem to figure out how to get back to that one either. Guess I'm stuck with this, and I'll have to make the best of it and figure it out as I go along. Anyone change from the old blogger formatting to the new blogger formatting and have the same problems???

Leaving the Nest

Peach moved out today. She will be 19 in 2 weeks. I had been out on my own for over a year when I was her age, but her moving out today has really affected me. I miss her. She was really fun to have around. I know I'll still see her, she is only moving across town, but it is more that another of my children is grown and leaving the nest. My oldest two children and I had a special sort of relationship because for a while it was just us. We went through a lot together before I remarried and my wonderful husband adopted them. It is like that part of my life is over. It is hard to let go. She is perfectly capable and ready to be on her own. She is smart and has a good job, and she is ready. I'm not! I'm not ready for her to be grown up! I want her to still be my little girl. I want her to need me to be her mommy! I know in my head I'll always be her mother... but it is different now. I'll just have to get used to it. My kids are growing up. At least I have a long while before I have to go through this again! I'm still hurting now though. It will take time to get used to the idea that she is grown up, and on her own.

Thursday Thirteen 04/12

Thirteen Things about The Cat Lady I've been away for so long, I thought I should "introduce" myself again. 1... I am glad to be back blogging! I missed it. 2... I have 5 children ages 8 months to 20 years old 3... I am a stay at home mommy and I love it. 4... I am starting college this fall at the University of Utah 5... I work part time as a crisis worker at a youth shelter. I love that! 6... I turn 40 this year... not sure how I feel about that. 7... I miss my best friend who lives too far away to hang out with. 8... I love to draw, write & read. 9... I collect cookbooks. I use them too! I love trying out new recipes 10.. I love to laugh and joke around. 11.. I am totally in love with my husband, who, as far as I'm concerned, is the greatest man in the world! 12.. I like to play dominoes or cards on the computer after my kids go to bed to unwind and relax when I'm stressed. 13.. I have started a "healthier lifestyle" (if I say diet, I'll sabotage myself!) and I'm going to stick with it this time!!!!!!!! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Dinnertime for the ducks

We live near a river (which looks like a canal, but it is technically the Jordan River). Ducks often come right up the the wrought iron fence around our patio. Punkin loves to feed them bread. They come right up the the fence and calmly wait to be noticed. It is like their own private drive-thru. They back up a little as the almost two year old runs outside yelling "I got bed! (she leaves the second sound out of double consonants) Then she heaves the whole piece over the railing and watches as they fight over it. "More bed!" she yells and in she runs to get another piece. I try to tell her to tear it in pieces, and sometimes she'll tear it in half, but over the railing it goes. She loves it, the ducks love it, and I love watching it. We do go through a lot of bread that way though. Our local bread store will sell a grocery sack full of bread that is "not for human consumption" for $2.00 I am going to have to get some of that just so when the ducks come by on their rounds wanting fed, the good bread gets left in the kitchen. It is almost a daily ritual with those two ducks. Tomorrow though, they might get Cheerios.

My son... the goober

I talked with my son on the phone tonight. He is in Texas, staying with my brother, while he decides what he wants in life. He will be 20 in 8 days. I thought about where I was at 20. Did I really know what I wanted? By the time I was 20, I already had Gooberboy, and before I was 21 I had Peach. I thought I knew what I wanted, but what I wanted then and what I want now are VERY different. He's making some good choices now, after years of very poor choices, and I am proud of him for that. I want him to find his way and be happy. Some people know early on where their way lies. Some people look for their whole life and never find the path they should be on. My older brother is a great guy and I'm glad he is staying there. If anyone can get through to the Goober, he can. Maybe then I can change his name from the Goober to something a little more grown-up.

Comforts

It is strange what comforts people and why. When I'm really upset ~ heartache sick ~ I want cheese enchilladas & homemade soft corn tacos. Why?? I have no idea. BUT... it is very comforting. and I always feel better afterwards.

Years ago I had an old flannel shirt that I loved. It was a red plaid and had faded after years of washing. It was a little big on me and the ends of the cuffs were worn and frayed. There were also a few worn spots on the shirt, so I never wore it out anywhere, but I loved it! It was so comforting to get out of a hot bath at the end of a long day and slip that shirt on my damp skin. It hung low in the front and back, but was cut up a bit at the sides in the style of men's dress shirts, not the straight cut that is popular now. Again, I don't know why I loved it so much, or even why it brought me such comfort, but it did. I could put that shirt on after a cry or when I was feeling blue and as the soft flannel enveloped me, so did a sense of calm and peace. I have no idea what happened to that shirt. I wish I did. I haven't seen it in a decade or so.

My 4 year old, Boo, has attached herself to an old blanket. She calls it her "flower blankie" She sleeps with it at night, flowers on the outside, stripes running up and down. Why?? Who knows. I just know she sleeps better when she has it. Would it make a difference if the stripes went cross ways or the flowers were on the inside? It does to her.

There are times in my life when I wish I could eat my cheese enchiladas, snuggle into my old flannel shirt and go to bed with my own "flower blankie". There are times when I'd take comfort any way I can find it just so I can make it through the next day. Luckily those days aren't often. Tonight for some reason, I thought of that old flannel shirt and wished I still had it.

I'm back!

It's been almost a year, but I'm back! I have been so busy that I neglected my blog. I have decided that I need this as a form of stress relief, so I'm making time for it. My girls are growing so big! Here is my Punkin, Boo, and my Little Cat.
I start college this fall, and we are moving next month. It is going to be busy and hectic, but I'm loving it!