I Heart My…Day 2

Today, I got home from work, and got right back to work.  Helped Zoie with her homework, started cooking some ground turkey for tacos, and went to put a load of laundry in the washer.  While I’m in the laundry room I hear a loud CRASH!  I yelled to the kids and asked what they broke.  They, of course, yell back that it wasn’t them.

Yea, right.

So, I walk out of the laundry room, through the living room, everything ok there.  Then to the kitchen, which I can’t even walk into because there is glass EVERYWHERE.

And let me tell you that it actually wasn’t the kids this time that broke something.

It was me.

That’s right.  It was me.  I didn’t notice that the glass cutting board we keep on the counter right next to the stove had moved and must have been touching the burner. 

The glass heated. 

The board exploded. 

There was glass on the counters, on the stove, and on the floor.  Glass had even flown into the dining room and the back hall!

***BIG SIGH***

Which brings me to what I Heart about myself today.

I Heart My ability to laugh at myself.

Because what did I do before I started cleaning up all of that glass?  I laughed at myself.  At the complete absurdity of the situation. At all the glass on the floor.  About how I knew that this was just going to be one more story added to the list of stories about the total clumsiness that I call my cooking abilities.

And, of course, I immediately wanted to share with you.  Even more proof of my ability to laugh at myself.

So, are you joining me yet?  What do you Heart about yourself?

I Heart My

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilike/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0′ target=_blank>photo credit: I Like

I was reading my Fitness magazine today and they have started a body-confidence campaign on Twitter.  Participants send Twitter Love notes to their body starting with the tag #Iheartmy.  The idea that you always send cards, flowers, candy, etc to other people, but why not express love to yourself. 

I thought this was a great idea.  But while Fitness is relating this specifically to your body.  Why not do this for your entire self.  Your life, your job, your family, your accomplishments.  While my body deserves some love, so does my spirit in general.  I’m sure most of you, like me, don’t get enough of the credit we deserve. 

So, I’m going to try to do this as an experiment to my mental well being.  Kind of like looking at yourself in the mirror and telling yourself an encouraging statement.  Eventually, you start feeling good about yourself.  Instead of talking to myself in the mirror, I’m going to post this on my blog.

Starting today, I’m going to try to let you know one thing I Heart about myself until Valentines day.  That is only 14 nice things, should be easy right?  We’ll see.

I would like to invite you to do the same.  Starting today, write one thing you heart about yourself.  Comment to this post, Post on your own blog, Post on Twitter, Facebook, wherever you like.

Ready?

Here we go!

I Heart My…Eyes.  Big and brown with naturally long eyelashes.  They are one of my best assets.

What do you heart?

 

p.s. This blog was inspired by Fitness Magazine but in no way was I asked to promote, speak about, or review their magazine or any magazine articles, nor was I compensated in any way.  These are my opinions and thoughts only.

Bloggy Thoughts

Sorry about the no posting thing lately.

I watched Julie & Julia about a month ago and it really made me think about my own blog.  What do I want out of it?  Is there a direction this is going?  Should I have some sort of organized thought or theme as to what goes into it? 

My final thoughts were… I don’t know.

I’ll tell you what I DO know.

1) I know that I definitely want a little more out of this blog as far as design and capabilities than what WordPress.com offers.  So I have decided that I want to stay with WordPress but transition this blog to a hosted site where I have more control.

2) I want to include lots more pictures.  I have discovered that I like taking pictures and when I go back to look at pictures from the past.  I realize that I missed much of my kids childhood.  I did not take pictures.  I did it on purpose.  I remember thinking when I would look back and I still remembered all (or at least most) of the situations in the pictures.  They were taking up space.  Space I don’t have.  I wasn’t taking care of them very well.  So they sat.  Not looked at.  In a box.  All lonely and stuff.  Then…

I went back.  I remembered.  I laughed. and I realized what I had missed by not taking pictures.  Because NOW I realized that I had forgotten many of the things and events that happened.  NOW my kids love to look at the pictures and don’t put their grubby hands all over them or put them in their mouth or tear them up.  Now we all look and remember and laugh.  Now I can store my pictures digitally and they won’t take up so much space.  So, I have vowed to take more so in the future I will remember when and laugh.

3)  I do like writing.  I like my blog.  It clears my head a little.  It helps me know that there are people out there who are interested in what I have to say.  And while I don’t think my blog will ever have one running theme as in Julie & Julia, I will still talk about me, about what is happening in my life.  This will inevitably involve my family, my work, my weight loss struggles, my aspirations.  I guess you could call all of this my quests in life.  I guess that is my theme.  That’s probably why I named my blog what I did.  If I think about it, that is really not very random at all.  Man, I am smart and didn’t even know it!  Ok, so my blog now has a theme, even though, really, it did all along.  (See, I told you this blog helps me clear my head and put things in perspective!  Thanks, y’all)

So, I was not going to post until I transitioned to a hosted site, but I’m afraid I will lose some of you if I don’t.  You will help me stay motivated.  Because, honestly, I don’t really know the first step to take to do this hosted thing.  Anyone know a good web designer that can help me with the transition?  For very little money?  Cause that is a factor also.

In the meantime, I am recommitting myself to regularly posting on this blog.  Superwomen are very busy as most of you Superwomen know.  So, I’m not going to be one of those everyday bloggers.  I’m shooting for 2x/week.  More when I feel like it, but not less than 1x/week.  I think that is reasonable.  I mean, I don’t want you to get tired of me or anything and there are some bloggers out there who post everyday, sometimes twice a day and honestly, sometimes I get tired of hearing from them.  Sometimes their content seems a little strained, like they are trying to hard.  I don’t want that to happen to me.

So, stick with me and I’ll stick with you.  And if any of you have any recommendations about my blog and blog transition, please let me know.

Chris aka Superwoman wannabe

Mrs. DIY

I added another title to my long list of titles…  Mrs. DIY.  And I must say, I’m pretty darn proud of myself!

This last weekend, we ran out of hot water.  The water heater is only 4 years old so Hubby and I didn’t really think it was that.  Hubby kept messing with it and finally jury rigged it enough for us to have lukewarm water on Saturday.  Sunday it was back to not working again.  The breaker kept flipping so we thought maybe it was a bad breaker.  But, Hubby was on shift that day and Matt, my BIL, who usually does electrical stuff for us, was out of town.  Hubby said he would call is brother and see if he could come over and change out for him.  Now, if you know Hubbys brother, there is usually a slim to none chance that he comes over and does anything.

So, I started thinking.  (This is where Hubby would say “Uh-Oh”)

I’ve seen Matt change breakers out a couple of times.  It looks pretty easy.  I looked online and found a video on YouTube showing exactly how to do it.  Again, looks pretty easy.  I’m going to try it!

So, I bravely go to the electrical panel, turn off the main electrical breaker and proceed to take the bad breaker out.  And, Yay! It works and I am still alive!  I go to Home Depot with the bad breaker get one exactly like it.  On my way home, Hubby called and said that his brother was going to come over and change that out.  I said don’t bother, I was doing it myself.  He quizzed me a little to make sure I knew what I was doing then said to call him after I was done so that he knew I was still alive.  I know, such a nice Hubby.

Anyway, so I got home, connected the wires, popped the breaker back in the slot and Voila!  It was fixed!  AND I am still alive AND the house has not burned down!  Yay me!

Unfortunately, that did not fix our water heater problem.  Although now the breaker wasn’t flipping anymore, we still did not have hot water.  We called the plumber on Monday and he said we just need a new water heater.  So,  Hubby and I went back to Home Depot and got another water heater and installed it ourselves.  We now have hot water!

Anyone else have any DIY stories you are proud of?  Please, bend my ear!

You know It’s a Good Day when you don’t Pee your Pants

This last weekend I took the kids to the Fair.  They had been looking forward to it all week.  I had to take them by myself because Hubby was on shift.  The kids wanted to invite a friend to go with them and I agreed.  Addi took her fried Erin and Zoie met with her cousin Leah.  The big girls had gone the night before and I told them if they went then, they couldn’t go again.  So it was just me and the little ones.

My camera ran out of battery almost immediately but I did manage to get a few shots before it died.

Addi and friend on bumper cars

Zoie & Leah

Friend, Addi, & Leah on the Super Shot

 

Zoie decided she didn’t want to ride this one.  She was a little scared.  But after the other girls got off and after they rode a couple other rides, she was regretting not riding it.  So later, she talked Leah into riding it again.  The other two didn’t want to.  Once was enough for them.  I don’t blame them.

I wish my camera was working so I could show you the look on her face when she got off. 

It took her a minute to catch her breath and then she was trying really hard not to cry.  You know, had the big smile on her still scared looking face.  I asked her if she was ok and she still couldn’t even speak.  She just nodded her head.

When she finally calmed down and was able to talk, I asked,

“So was it really scary?”

“Yea”

“Well, are you at least glad you rode it?”

“I’m just glad I didn’t pee my pants.”

The solution; Don’t worry, be Happy!

My last post was a little… off? depressing? scary?  Whatever.

Although life has not gotten any easier, the family’s health is getting better.  Everyday is a little better.  One of the kids friends died last week from Swine Flu.  This little girl was 17.  She ate lunch with Taylor every day and was on Kennedy’s soccer team.  On Tuesday, she was feeling not that great, but good enough to play in the game.  Wednesday morning she was found in the bathroom face down on the floor.  Thursday she was dead.  On Monday, we went to her funeral.  The passing of this child really put things in perspective for me.  It made me vow to try harder to get and keep the kids healthy and to thank God for my family and all the blessings in my life.

So, what do you do if you’re having a bad day?  You make it good.  You focus on the positive.  

Because I have been so negative lately, I have not blogged about the good in my life.  Like the girls going to homecoming.

Kennedy

Kennedy and her friend

Taylor

Taylor and her "dates"

Zoie had to get in on the action that day.  Here she is wearing Daddy’s old football jersey.

 

Or the fact that Kennedy made it on the Varsity Soccer switch team!  She still plays JV but is on the Varsity team as a goalie.  She still hasn’t actually gotten to play in a game yet, but it’s just a matter of time.  Yay, Kennedy!

                  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Addi and Zoie are also having fun playing soccer on their teams.

Hubby found out yesterday that he will get to teach at college again next semester.

Business seems to be picking up a little for me.  AND, even though the scale only shows I’ve lost one pound, for some reason, I have been feeling thinner lately.  My clothes are little looser.  I don’t know what is going on, but I guess as my clothes keep getting looser and looser, I’m not going to worry about what the scale says.

My husband always used to tell me when I would have trouble at my previous office, “If your not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.”  I think that applies to your life and your attitude also.  If you’re having a bad day, no one can really make it better until you decide to turn it around yourself.  Focus on the positive, not the negative.  No matter what someone says to you, if you are determined to be depressed and angry, that is what you will be.  I am determined to get out of this habit. 

My new resolution?  To ALWAYS be part of the solution! 

My new motto?  Don’t worry, be Happy!

I Am Blessed

Our friends kid with the Swine Flu is finally starting to do better.  They extubated her this past Sunday and she is slowly but surely on the upswing.  Hubby offered to keep their other 3 kids for the weekend.  We did end up watching them but only during they day.  Having 7 children in the house was pretty crazy but we tried to make it fun for them.  Our kids and their kids match up pretty well in age except for their baby who is only 4. 

They were very shy at first.  Although our kids have been around them in the past, it never really got to the point of them being friends.  Taylor said “I smile at (their oldest) but all she does is look at me like I’m stupid”.  I told her I was sure that was not the case and instead of just smiling at her she needed to initiate the conversation.  Ask about school, boys, cloths, anything and I was sure she would find she was very nice.

I took them to the Farmers Market and the two girls went off walking alone while I had the rest of the kids.  We went to all the different farmers stands and bought vegetables and flavored honey sticks.  By the time I was ready to go, they were fast friends.

After, I took them to the park and they played for a while until lunch.  After that they played the WII until it was time to go home.  The next day we took them to breakfast and then to the movies and to the park again.  When it was time to go they were asking to stay longer and come back the next day.

These poor kids had also been sick, although not with the Swine Flu, the whole week before and were staying with another friend, Kay.  Kay is an older lady who’s own children are already grown up and apparently she has been pretty rigid with them.  They were glad to get away and run around and have fun with other kids.

Hubby, along with other firemen & friends, also went to their house and cleaned the house and property (they have a small farm).  We also donated $100 to a fund that the FD set up for them.

Each one of these kids has challenges.  The oldest has some sort of spinal disorder and wears a back brace.  The boy has a speech impediment and ADHD, and the little one as Gastro-intestinal issues and has a permanent port in her belly where she is fed nutrients, supplements and medications daily.

Hubby asked me when it was all over, “I know you are exhausted, but don’t you feel great?”  I said I did.  I was glad we were able to show the kids a good time and it did feel good doing for others.  But on top of that, it made me feel blessed that we have such healthy beautiful children.

Happy Birthday Zoie!

My Zoie turned 9!!

 

A few weeks ago she came to me and said “Mom, if I don’t get a birthday party can I get an I-pod instead?”  We don’t usually get presents for them but we let them have any kind of birthday party they want.  We pull out all the stops and that is our gift to them.  Hubby and I discussed it and thought this would be ok.  The other thing we let them do is pick where we go out to dinner to celebrate.  So we asked Zoie where she wanted to go and she picked IHOP of all places.

So we went to IHOP and Zoie had pancakes for dinner.  We gave her her I-pod and she was sooo happy.  She said “This is the best birthday ever!  I got to eat pancakes for dinner AND I got an I-pod!”

Miss me? Kiss me.

 

Miss me, miss me, now you have to kiss me!

I’m missing myself (you)  again.

I don’t know what is going on.  I’ve been a little depressed lately.  Trying to get myself out of it without having to go the Dr for the “crazy pills” as my husband lovingly calls them.  I don’t know why but about once a year I go through this sadness, fatigue, and anger.  My poor kids.

I think I’m starting to come out of it now though.  I see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I’m better every day.  Today is a good day.

My husband asks “What can I do to help you”.  I just ask him to love me.  Which he does.  Isn’t it amazing what cuddling up naked under the covers and just kissing does for a person?  That is my favorite thing.  I always tell him when I am down or angry, “You have the power to help me change.”  Because he does.  It seem like as soon as he holds me, touches my face, says “I love you”, and kisses me, I melt.  The world is ok again.  At least for that moment.

Tina Turner says “Whats love got to do with it?”  I say Love has everything to do with it.  Love has the power to change the moods, attitudes, even the appearances of other people.  Think about it.  Don’t you want to look good for the person you love?  You dress up, you smell good. you flirt, you touch.  All for the person you love.  Love is great.

So, next time the person you love is kind of cranky or depressed, go hug them and KISS them.  I promise their mood and attitude will turn right around.  It works for me, it works for my hubby, it even works on my kids.

If I’m right, send me a kiss also.  I can never get enough love.

Being a Good Wife

You know my latest issues with my struggle to be a “Good Wife”.  Looking good for your husband, cooking for your family, cleaning and keeping the house, etc.  I just came across this blogby The Obnoxious SAHM.  This is me!  I totally agree.  Here I am feeling a little strange about saying I should take care of my husband, kids, house better.  But really I shouldn’t feel that way at all.  We DO need to get back some of the values from back then.  I am constantly struggling with being a strong, independent, fearless, woman businessowner in an industry dominated that is dominated by men.  That, because of this, I think I bring it home and forget to be the loving, pleasing housewife when I get home.  I don’t have to give up my independence, I can still voice my opinions, my husband can still be my best friend AND I can be a good wife.

I feel empowered and encouranged to try to do better.