CAUTION: Woman In Progress

I took a mental health day yesterday. Actually, I took off to help Sis2 decorate her bedroom. We'd been working on getting stuff together for a couple of weeks but I never could seem to get over to her house to get the actual putting in place done. So, with yesterday having been my day "off" from working our reference desk I asked to have it off entirely. I made a 'round the world trip to get there. Honestly, I drove for an hour. First I had to go around through my hometown to pick up the last few little things we needed (and could afford for now) and then down the four lane to get to her town and then aaaaaalll the way to the boonies to pick up the DP's heartworm meds from her vet. ($85!?! What the...) Finally got to Sis2's around 9:30. Fortunately I'm an early bird, huh? Do you know how hard it is to "work" with a 2-year-old jumping around on the bed beside you and a 6-month-old who doesn't want to sit on his own in the floor? lol It...

Somedays there just isn't a whole lotta good stuff to say. Today, I thought, would be one of them. It started out really crappy. It was bad enough that tears were involved. There's a lot of crap going on in Jana-land these days and it's really dragging a girl down. This morning was just the culumnation of it all. But you know, my Father has a way of jumping in and speaking to me just when I need Him most. I won't get into everything that's going on because it's mostly church related but some of it also me-being-an-insecure-pain-in-the-butt related. And at the lowest angriest part of my morning I asked Him to fix it. And I got my wish. He sent my buddy Mrs. B up to see me. And I know her words came directly from Him because she had no way of knowing what I needed to hear. I was only talking about the church issues and she somehow shifted it to my insecure-pain-in-the-buttness. She addressed so plainly the hot button issue that I'm so insecure about and ho...

Ya'll, I tried something last night that was just...yum. Have ya'll ever tried Tilapia? I'd tried it in restaurants a couple of times before and liked it fairly well. My mother made it one Sunday and it was okay--although Daddy didn't like it. And, well, if you don't like fish, you won't like it. Which is weird, because he TOTALLY likes fish. He's just odd. So anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I was reading a blog on Sparkpeople.com and this woman who'd lost a significant amount of weight kept talking Tilapia and it seems that's pretty much all she eats. It kinda got me curious about Tiliapia. Maybe not quite for weightloss efforts--although it'd be nice to get addicted to something that's both good for you and low in fat and calories. When I was grocery shopping Friday night I went looking for some. And ya'll? Fish ain't cheap! But, I lucked up on some individually packaged frozen filets for less than $5. I think there was like 8...

Just in case anyone was even the slightest bit worried, I survived Saturday's tornadoes unscathed. Though a lot of the damage was a few miles south of me, my particular neck of Mississippi was blessed with merely a mild and short thunderstorm. Seriously, a trailor was lifted from it's foundation and put into a tree 30 minutes south of me and people died an hour northwest of me, but Clay County was largely left out of the worst of it. My thoughts and prayers, however, are with those most affected by Saturday's weather. Friday night brought some pretty rough weather, too. Mostly just some really hard rain. Mama and I had to stop and pick up some groceries for our church brunch and by the time we got out of the store around 5:30, it had gotten really dark and had started sprinkling. Sis2 called us just after we left and told us to hurry home as there was a tornado spotted in eastern Oktibbeha (we were in western Okt.) and it was headed our way. We had just pulled up into m...

Storms are on their way. The system that hit OK and TX last night is headed our way and supposed to be here by tonight. Yay, weather! Or, really, hey. I'd love to have a spot of rain. Because two whole weeks without a single drop has shown us exactly why we shouldn't pray the rain away.  BUT (and that's a big 'but') no storms please. At least not tomorrow. Tomorrow I've got plans. Our women's ministry group at church is throwing our first ever ladies' Spring brunch. While I'm not an active member of the women's ministry group I have been asked to help decorate and thus feel some ownership of the event. And, it's a great outreach ministry to help grow our church in the community. I want it to be successful. I want that for our church, for our ministry and to honour God. But also, I want it to be successful because I know how much hard work the other ladies in the group have put into planning, organizing, and preparing for tomorrow's ev...

If you've ever wanted to know what it's like to be the fat kid, go here . If I could as aptly express myself as the author of this article did, I could have written it myself. Well, all but the self-acceptance part. I'm still working on that. And while she discusses her views on the first lady's campaign against childhood obesity, I think the feelings she expresses also explains why I loathe Jamie Oliver's new show about it. Anyway, something for ya'll to chew on while I'm enduring a painful lunch meeting with the "head cheese" of our operation.

Ya'll, when I got home I went to grab my camera to put IN my purse and you know what? It wasn't even where I thought I'd left it. *shakes head* It was on the dining table. Gah! See? My memory is even worse than I thought it was! LOL So, I did remember to grab it and put it inside my purse. I know ya'll probably aren't like, foaming at the mouth or anything to see them, but I'm excited to show them. ;) Almost as soon as the paint went up on the wall, I knew exactly what I wanted the rest of the room to look like. With the cool light blue it just BEGGED for a beachy theme. Normally, I don't go for beach themes. They can be a bit tacky at times. So I wanted to just sort of whisper "beach". To me, the beach is a restful, peaceful place with cool water, warm sand and soft waves. And white, to me, is a very restful color. It's simple and uncomplicated and when paired against the blue it achieved just what I was going for. Flowy, natural, calm ...

I need a keeper. Or a personal assistant. Or the ability to recall my name on command. Because ya'll? My memory sucks. It's a wonder I make it out the house with underwear on each day. So I've taken some pics to share. House updates, etc. I finished the spare bedroom, Daddy finished the walkway and I've got potted flowers growing out my nose. Not really about the "out my nose" part, but I've got some flowers potted and dressing my front porch. The problem? The pictures are still on my camera and my camera is sitting on the table just inside the mudroom door RIGHT BESIDE where I park my purse every single night. I put it there so that I'd remember to bring it with me to upload some pictures. Right. Because I assume my memory isn't made of Swiss cheese. Just like I assume Zachary Levi is just waiting for me to be ready for commitment before he swoops in and carries me off into our little happily ever after. *rolls eyes* So, at some point ...

I'm totally supposed to be shifting books right now but...well...I don't wanna. lol And by shifting books, I mean, literally shifting the books one range at a time. Sounds simple enough, but isn't really, because in the midst of the actual shifting I hafta incorrporate four years of new books that we've gotten, check the books against the shelf list cards and make note of any missing or misfiled books. It's dusty, dirty and hard on the knees and back work. I don't really mind doing it. Really, I don't. Except for today when I don't wanna. lol And last week I was told on Monday by my supervisor that I needed to step it up and work faster and then Friday she told me I needed to pace myself. I was going to fast for her to keep up with her part in the project. So I really don't know if I actually NEED to be working on it right now! hehehe Either way, I totally should. But I don't wanna. I'd rather ponder the revelence of the dream I had l...

Okay, so I'm sorry for the drama yesterday. Or maybe I shouldn't apologize because I'm not sorry that I felt the way I felt. I'm just as entitled to feel frustration as the next gal. And this is my blog, after all. So I take it back. I'm not sorry.  lol Just sorry it may have worried anyone. Ya'll know I'd never really leave. If I ever do stop blogging it'll be because of some catastrophic event. Like my internet going away or blogs going out of fashion. Or blogger kicking me out for being a diva. Something like that. This is the ONLY place I can speak what's on my heart and mind and not be spoken over or around or made to feel bad for feeling the way I feel. So yeah. Yesterday I got a tad frustrated with the world. It seems that I am apparently not allowed to express my gripes. I am not allowed to complain about ANYTHING because, well, the whole darned universe has bigger gripes than me and I need to just suck it up. And even when I get passive ...

I'm thinking about going mute--both in person and on-line. It doesn't do me any good to freakin' talk anyway. That is all.

My Gerber Daisies.... They are not speaking to each other. I'm sending them to counseling.

Jen's Wedding Beautiful Jen and her hunky fireman. And because I'm a romantic... *swoony sigh* Ain't they sweet? And two came together and made a happy family.   I love that they're holding hands. It's so sweet and wildly romantic. Thanks, Jen, for showing us that true love CAN happen like a fairy tale and for letting me share your big day on my blog. I'm super thankful and happy to know you and call you friend. And if you run into any other available hunky firemen, send one my way, will ya? :-D

One of the many home improvement projects I've planned on since buying my house last year was to build a new walkway from the driveway to the front door. Not than anyone but my insurance agent ever uses the front door. Everyone else always goes to the carport door. Is that a southern thing, I wonder? Or maybe they WOULD use the front door if there was a functional walkay there! Anyway, so the walkway that the house has right now is a grody, crooked, laid wrong brick path that the previous owners installed. It was a good idea in theory but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. It doesn't even come all the way up to the porch! And is nowhere near the driveway. It's just this random (crooked) path of bricks in the middle of the front yard. Neither functional nor pretty. So, as I mentioned yesterday, Lowe's had some cobblestone pavers on sale. Regularly $5.98 a stone, they had them for 3.98. Daddy and I had gotten together Sunday and measured out about how many I...

You know, I've always said that I hate shopping. Whenever my sisters or my mom suggest a shopping trip I'm always like, "Ugh, ya'll go without me." Mostly I hate the crowds. And the fact that Sis1 shops for size 2 clothes. And when I say I hate shopping, I suppose that's the kind of shopping I mean--clothing shopping. I hate trying on blouses and slacks and skirts that I'd love to have but look like crap on my fat butt and gut. And shoes? Well, I don't even like to WEAR them, much less spend money on them. So in that sense I suppose I do hate shopping. But I realize that shopping on my own terms, I love. I got up early Saturday morning (to avoid the crowds) and headed to town. As I was starving, I stopped at Micky D's first and got breakfast (a once a week vice I refuse to give up no matter what weight watching friends think) before heading to Lowe's. Mmmm...Lowe's. It's like crack only legal and you can't snort it. Sniff it...

I didn't plan on getting on the scale this morning. Wasn't gonna do it. Not after the past month when I starved myself and walked tirelessly with Denise Austin and failed to lose a single pound...instead gaining one back that I'd lost! I wasn't going to put myself through that emotional ringer today. Nope. But then yesterday I wore a pair of pants that I hadn't been able to comfortably wear since October, I think. October being that magic month when all of last year's stress finally took it's toll and my weight shot up7lbs. You wouldn't think a girl mysize would even notice 7lbs. You'd be wrong. My clothes got tight and I felt miserable. But I couldn't stop eating because eating made me feel better. At least for the 2.5 minutes it took to shove something down my throat. But yesterday I didn't want to wear the pants I had picked the night before to wear. They don't fit well (too big and make my butt look even huger than it actually is)...

It's at this point that I should probably post a photo montage of Emmy from the weekend. Talk about how she's the coolest, sweetest most amazing 10-year-old I know. And I would but... the stinker didn't come up here for Easter! She went with her dad to his mom's house in Jackson.  So I don't have any new pictures of her to celebrate her existance with. That being the case I'll hafta leave this one from November. Doesn't she look like a little supermodel in training? :) She had her first softball practice this week and according to her mom, she is an excellent catcher but sucks at batting. I suck at it all so I applaude her her skills. Her skills which are twice as impressive since she'd never touched a softball before last month when her dad signed her up for the church softball team. She's a dancer, not a softball player, Dad! But apparently she can do it all. Good for her. This one's from a couple years ago. She hasn't changed that mu...

The most darling girl in the world. Well, the most darling two-year-old girl in the world, anyway. '-) So sweet and funny and growing up so fast. I can't get enough of her silly faces... even when she appears tragic. (The great tragedy here was having to wear a ponytail. Needless to say, it didn't last. lol) I dare say, she's quite possibly the mose adorable, loveable two-year-old I know.    I hope she stays this amazing forever.

I'm glad it's not against the law to love a child this much. I can't get enough of the little booger. He's just too adorable for words. And too cute for my own good. A real heartbreaker, that one. How cruel life would be without my little man.

Evil. That's the only word to describe the process of painting paneling. Pure evil. Oh sure, I'd read a ton of tutorials. I knew everything to do. Prime with oil based primer? Check. Use quality paint? Check, check.  Use a cheap brush to toss out afterwards because oil based primer is nearly impossible to remove? Check, check and check. No one ever mentioned what a big fat pain in the butt it would be. Or how painful it would be. Or how, if you're not the most skilled painter in the world, it might cause you to cry. Several times. I prayed a lot during the 14 hours I spent priming the darned paneling Monday. At one point, I prayed for death. With each stroke of the brush I planned my funeral. I wrote my obituary. Then I mentally composed a scathing email to the all the home bloggers who'd written the tutorials on painting paneling. Yes, it was that bad. But let me start from the beginning. So I took off last week to paint the three bedrooms. I had origina...