The After Christmas Math

Lets talk about it. What happens after Christmas. Because I just need to talk about it. Lets start with the house. Christmas Eve was picture perfect when it comes to the house. It was clean, really clean, and all lit up. I can see it in my mind. And it makes me smile. After Christmas house, I don't want to live in. The toys, boxes, and kitchen stress me to the MAX. Going on day 4 and I still don't feel like picking it all up. Next is the after Christmas body. If I could run, and I can't due to my blasted runner's knee, I would run from post Christmas body. Except since I haven't run in a month, I probably wouldn't be going very fast, or very far, so what does it matter. I took a little class at lunch at work yesterday. Arms and abs. Today, I went for the traditional stretch in my office chair first thing this morning, and I about cried out in pain from the little arms and ab class soreness. All that fudge, chex mix, and pie I ate, I'm thinking were not worth it today. Now this next one, not everyone can identify, but some can. The after Christmas snow. Our little BLIZZARD on Christmas Eve has wreaked havoc on our poor city who is completely ill prepared for an event like this. I actually laugh to myself as I drive on dry pavement, then hit sheer ice, then hit two rows for your tires and a mountain of snow in the middle that high centers your car. Its completely and utterly ridiculous. And we're getting another inch or 2 today. Oh yeah, and last but not least is the post Christmas children. These are the children who are sleep deprived, coming off sugar highs, and bleary eyed from all the Wii playing that Santa brought.

Here's to melting snow, getting back in shape, sugar detox.

White Christmas '09

Happy Christmas Eve!

We had big plans tonight to have my dad's side of the family over for snacks, gifts, and fun. But we ended up with this

Snow drifts that were as high as Carson's chest. So its my first white Christmas I think in OK that I can remember. After the disappointment of not having company set in, I was glad that the party was going to be at my house, because I was prepared with lots of food. So we were lucky we had dinner. Every major highway is closed in the state, and people are stuck on the roads everywhere. I have to say, I am so glad we are in our cozy little house, with the fire roaring. Now if my 3 little ones would just close their sleepy eyes, Santa's elves could get to work.

Hoping the roads are better tomorrow so we can at least make it to my moms for dinner. If not, we're having pie. Because thats what I was supposed to bring tomorrow.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Ahhhh The Week of Christmas

Its my last day of work for the week. And obviously, I'm not working. I'm blogging. In fact, today when I woke up, I decided I'm only going to work 1/2 a day today. Its ridiculous for me to be at work. I'm getting nothing done, my focus is not on why I'm off $5380 in account 1106. My focus is on making 2 pies, painting my living room, and wrapping gifts in the next 2 days. Don't ask about the painting my living room part. I'm slightly neurotic. And I can't have my family over on Christmas Eve with 2 areas where we "tested" paint.

My entire side of the family is coming into town starting Thurs and I absolutely can't wait. We've got game nights, snack nights, cookie decorating parties - oh I'm giddy thinking about it.

On another note - today I am going to the Dr for my MRI results regarding my knee. I am hoping and praying he says I can resume running. For some reason, my husband thinks I'm cranky when I don't get to run. Hmmmm. Call me crazy, but all I want for Christmas is a 3 mile run, under the stars, at 5 in the morning with no wind.

And that was a totally and completely random post. My apologies.

Let the Christmas fun begin!

Dinner Conversation

Rene' : I dropped my apple on the floor

Me: Zak, can you get that off the floor for your sister

Zak: She doesn't want to eat that off the dirty floor

Me: Daddy mopped yesterday, our floor is clean

Zak: well today at school, I ate a pancake off the floor

Me: (stunned) Zak, that floor is so dirty, your going to get sick now

Andy: He's probably going to miss his class Christmas party because he's going to be sick

Zak: lots and lots and lots of crying

Me: Thanks Andy. Good one.

Irony

I came home Thursday night to Paige crying. Which honestly, is nothing new. But when I took a few steps in the door and heard Andy ranting and raving, I thought it a little out of the ordinary. Only to take a few more steps into the living room and see the half gallon of taupe paint spilled on the carpet. By Paige. Who had attempted to carry it across the living room. I stood and assessed the situation. Realizing that the carpet in the middle of the living room was probably ruinded, and also realizing that Andy just might need some "alone time" to mourn the fact, I swept the girls into the van and ordered a pizza. I made sure I took a really long time getting back, too. Good thing the pizza place was busy. So after about a hour and 16 gallons of boiling water and a shop vac, Andy conquered the paint on the carpet. The really good news is that is was just a couple shades darker than the carpet, so if there is still some left on it, it just blends in with the brown flecks.

We made it through the evening with apologies exchanged for words said. The next morning I am on my way out the door to work and realize we didn't check the kids school bags. So I grab the papers out of Paige's bag and skim through them, only to halt dead in my tracks at the last note. Seems Paige has been chosen for the Sensational Citizen Award, and oh, by the way, it will be presented to her at morning roundup, Dec 11th. I ran to the kitchen calendar. Sure enough, it was Dec 11th. That meant I had to call my boss to tell him I was going to be an hour late, and that Karly couldn't ride to take the kids to school in her pjs and bedhead. It was quiet the scramble. But we made it.

I found it ironic that she got the award, which is partly given for making good choices, the morning after her little paint mishap. And really, it just put it all in perspective for us. Don't sweat the small stuff. Paint on the carpet, ok, maybe not that small. But still, in 5 years it makes for a great story.

My morning routine

Its funny how routines just happen. Well, most do. My morning routine has just "happened" and I am thoroughly enjoying it. Its takes some evening prep work. But that's just how I roll. I need to "prep". This morning routine has only been into affect for about 4 weeks. Andy has started a morning workout routine, which I am so very proud of him for. He gets up at 5:45 and heads to the church, which is a mere 3 min away, and works out with 15 other guys doing the P90X workout. Because I have learned the importance of a workout both mentally and physically, I'm happy to pick up the slack. I get up at 6, get myself ready, wake the kids at 645 and get them going on breakfast. I do the girls hair while they eat, and then Andy is usually home at 705, where the car has been warmed up for me and is ready to go. I whisk out the door with kisses to all and start my 20 min commute to work. I then find myself at my south facing cubicle by the window. I am switching departments in January, so my time is limited in my cubicle by the window. I won't have that luxury at my new "home". But until then, I will enjoy every minute of it. Its quiet, the sun is coming up, and I have my cup of home brewed coffee. I log in, check my email, the news page, and a few Runners World blogs. Then its diving into my world of accounting.

I love my morning routine. I love waking my kids up with a kiss. I love that my car is all warmed up when its time to go. I love my husband for being brave enough to tackle the world of kids, schedules, and meals, for a season. And I love my cup of coffee in my quiet cubicle watching the sun rise on another day.

Conversations

Last night:
Me to Paige: Well honey, some people don't celebrate Christmas
Paige: Really, like who?
Me: Well........
Paige: like Obama?

At breakfast this morning:
Paige: I am getting a DS for Christmas
Zak: You don't know that
Paige: I do. I asked Santa for it, twice
Zak: So
Paige: When I sat on his lap at the mall, he said I could have one, and then when I sat on his lap at school, he told me again that I could have one
Zak: Paige, you don't know if that is the real Santa or not
Paige: Yes I do, he moves and everything.

When I came home yesterday:
Rene': Mama, I pooped on the potty today
insert hands in the air and lots and lots of twirling

I think daddy feels the same way about that Rene'

PS - Santa is not bringing a DS. Now what do I do about that?

Can you believe it?!?!?!

I'm actually posting on my blog.

Amazing. I know. I haven't been too far away though. I've been over at Not A Runner Who Runs, chronicling my Half Marathon adventure. Which was a success and is now over. So I'm back.

Now what prompted this post is funny. Because my blog name is how I take my coffee. I was late to work this morning, but had not had coffee. And I sure wasn't going to get some in the cafeteria at work because they have powdered creamer. GASP! So I stopped at Starbucks. And bypassed the drive thru and went in. I walked into a winter wonderland filled with coffee, mugs, people, and Christmas music. I was seriously in my own personal heaven on earth. I don't know what it is about Christmas, but it releases endorphins in me like nothing else. Especially places full of people, Christmas music and the smell of coffee. It started my day out like nothing else could.

Except if I had run 3 miles under the starts this morning. Now that would have made the perfect morning.

a little change

So I'm training for this half marathon and it is consuming me a little. So much that I am suspending this blog for a few weeks, and have started a little running blog to chronicle my journey. I apologize if you don't care about running. If that's the case I'll be back in 16 weeks.

If you want to follow me, here's the link.

Wish me luck!

The Half Marathon Challenge

I was at the fitness center yesterday at work and a couple of girls were talking about doing a half marathon. One said "Amy, you should do it too". My initial response was like - yeah right. The longest I've run is 5 miles. How in the heck could I do 13.1? Then as I sat at my desk the rest of the afternoon, I really started thinking about it. One of the girls emailed me a training plan and told me again I should do it with them. The more I thought about it, the more I got excited about it. So, I have officially decided to run the Tulsa Route 66 Half Marathon in Nov. Everyone needs a challenge every once in awhile. And honestly, if something doesn't come easy for me, I quit. This will not be easy - and I am ready to push myself. I'll be deep and call it personal growth. So, I've got 15 weeks to train. Here goes nothing.....

Date Night Co-op

I can't take credit for this idea. I wish. It is sheer brilliance. We just started a Date Night co-op. Here's how it works. There are 3 families. We each take turns watching all the kids on Friday nights. The other 2 couples get a date night. 2 1/2 hours, no paying a babysitter. You get 2 date nights and 1 babysitting night, with the 4th weekend off. It is working beautifully. The babysitters feed the kids, too. Last night was our first babysitting night. On the menu was mac and cheese and grapes (Chilis to go for Andy and I ). I have to say, we have the best mix of kids. They all played so well together. My kids, of course, were the worst. But all in all, it was easy, fun, and most of all free. Our newest idea is the off week, we're going to split the cost of a babysitter and all go out together. Here's to many free babysitter nights and much needed time alone with your spouse!

Flashback

I'm playing stay at home mom today for half the day. We woke up bright and early and hit the blackberry patch one more time. We love that place. And the blackberries were seriously the biggest we've EVER seen. It rained over the weekend and produced the most gorgeous crop. Now we're hanging out at home and the kids are playing with their 2nd cousins. I'm getting ready to make them a nutritious lunch then I'm off to work this afternoon. I have to say - I do miss the leisurely life of days filled with nothingness in the summer. My grey cubicle that I'm lucky enough is next to a window, is going to be soooooo hard to go to this afternoon. Until Andy calls me with a question and I won't be able to hear him due to all the screaming in the background.

Running and magazines

For those who don't know, I've taken up running. I want to first of all say - I used to LOATHE running. And I'm not exaggerating. I really hated it. I was a sprinter in high school track. I'll run really fast for 100 yards, but then I'm done. I'm also okay with admitting that I really needed to lose some weight. Like 3 kids worth. Once I started my job, I of course didn't know anyone well enough to do lunch, so I took myself down to the fitness center every day, hopped on the treadmill and watched some HGTV. I decided to issue myself a little challenge. Run for a minute then add a minute every day. Well, in a few months time, I worked up to my 30 minutes on the treadmill in a full jog. No to mention, I shed 25 pounds doing it. Thus the obsession has started. I'm now getting up at 5:30 3-4 days a week and hitting the fitness center first thing. Mainly because I wanted more time in the treadmill to see if I could go farther. And I wanted my lunch hour back to run errands etc. Which brings me to magazines. Today, was a rough one. And I needed off campus in a bad way. Lucky for me, there's a Barnes and Noble 2 minutes away. So I headed over there, found a large comfy chair and read Runners World magazine. It was just what I needed. Seriously - there's nothing better than being able to sit and read, then put it back, and leave. So I've decided that's my new thing now. At least once a week, I'm going to head over there and catch up on my running, parenting, and Martha magazines. But now due to Runner's World - I have the half marathon bug.......can I really do it?!?!?!

Annual Blackberry Patch Picking

Today we hit our favorite Blackberry patch for some blackberry picking. This is one of our favorite things to do in the summer. But we needed to start the morning out with some donuts first!

The boy table. Check out that bear claw uncle Chris is eating!

Buckets in hand and ready to go.

Andy is the most serious picker of all. Wispering to Carson on how to find the best ones so that others don't hear his secret. I better not share it here.

Pregnant Aunt Lana decided to park it under the shade tree. So Uncle Chris was left on his own.

Some of the haul. We ended up with 6lbs. Not too bad

Proved to be a tiring day for the girls. It was only 9:15am too.

A bad day

It starts with me getting dressed at work because I got up early and hit the fitness center before work. Its the first day of the month which translates to crunch time for accountants. Its going to be a very busy day and I have got to plan my time strategically to get it all done without being there till 9pm. The "suits" are here from out of town and we are all to be on our best behavior. As I am buttoning my dress, one pops off. Right at the bust. Nice. I strategically make it to my desk without many seeing me and then begin asking those around me for a sewing kit. Note to self - I have got to bring up a sewing kit. Anyway, found one, sewed it on quickly and am ready to start the day. Enter problem employee who is telling me she has messed up yet ANOTHER thing. On the last day of the month. When everything has got to be in. On time. (Insert silent scream) Proceed to spend 4 hours on something that should have taken 1 hour. After lunch, as I'm walking, I hear a crack and am instantly 2 inches shorter. Yep, the heel of one of my shoes has completely broken off. Completely. I peek around the corner to make sure the execs aren't seeing me head down the hall barefoot. I seek out Judy who I know has everything (hoping for superglue), who told me to ask Ken, who told me to ask Jane, who told me to ask Shannon for the glue. None of these people sit by each other so I am peeking around cubicles, again to make sure the coast is clear before the CFO sees me barefoot. No luck on the superglue. Note to self, add super glue to the list that has sewing kit on it. But I scored some spare shoes from Collette. Didn't quite go with the dress, but at this point, really, who cares? Somehow I managed to get out of there about an hour and a half after quitting time. Not too shabby for the kind of day I've had.

There it is. A day in my glamorous life.

Don't' be jealous.

FYI

My husband is so manly, he can fix my car when its broken, and then turn around and fix my girls hair better than I can.

Trouble at 2

Rene' is fiercely smart. And I'm not just a proud mother. She really does scare me with her smartness. When she's doing something wrong she hides, she speaks very long sentences, and she knows just how to get her brother and sister's goat.

Last night, Andy and I were in the living room around 9:30. Andy hears something and goes to check on the kids. I see him go into our room and say "Rene'....." I laugh to myself because this is not the first time we've found her way past bedtime in a room other than hers, playing like its not big deal. Then I hear Andy groan. Curiosity gets me off the couch and I head to our bedroom where I see silver permanent marker all over our office chair. She is standing there in her adorable nightgown with her hair all in her face, talking about the markers she found.

Just 15 minutes before this happened. Andy was trying to talk me into having another baby.

I won that one.

Miscellaneous

My kids. They make me cry. They make me laugh.

Zak needs everything orderly. He gets that from his mother. Yesterday he wasn't letting his sisters put the trains on the track until he got the entire thing built, all the way down the hall, into my bedroom and the bathroom. That's torture for a 2 and 4 year old. So they ignored him. And it sent him into a tail spin. Life is so simple at age 6.

I'm going to try to describe this next bit to the best of my ability because it was hysterical. Still at the scene of the tracks and trains, I hear a swooshing noise made by some little mouth. Then I hear "Hey Rene', go do that to Zak". (that was Paige) So in comes Rene' to my bedroom where Zak is diligently building his track and she sticks her train in his face and starts moving it in circular motions while making swooshing noises with her mouth. This pretty much was the undoing of Zak for the rest of the evening. He couldn't recover. And he was off to bed early.

So i took the afternoon off the other day to go to Paige's last day of preschool picnic. It was a nice family outing. Then we went to pick up Zak at school and I was being a little bossy I guess about the pick up line and how Andy should move through it. He replied "This is no longer your turf. Its mine. So back off." (snicker). Guess he told me. He pointed out the moms who chronically cut in line, the moms who dress up a little too much, the ones who don't dress up enough, and then carried on a nice long conversation with the teacher.

He's the best.

Another deep one.

There Zak sat at the table, crying his eyes out. And it wasn't just tears, it was like major sobbing. I can't remember exactly what the problem was. I'm sure it had to do with some sort of technology that I wasn't letting him use, like the computer, TV, or PS2. But that is beside the point. Its what he said that I haven't been able to forget. With his arms crossed and hot tears streaming down his face he said "If you 'd just give me what I want, mom, I wouldn't be so upset. If you'd just give me what I want!" I'm going to let you draw your own spiritual parallel, because it is plain as day. But I'll give you a hint: Zak gave me a little glimpse of what I look like to someone else (someone larger than life itself) when I don't get what I want.

Ouch.

oh to be 2 again

Rene' has been cracking us up. She's really starting to talk in full sentences which is fun because we've never heard her do it before. She's doing some funny things too. At the church nursery someone wrote her name on her diaper. She thought it was the coolest thing in the world. So everytime we change her now, she asks for her name on her diaper. I protested the first time. Then she got really upset, and I thought, whats it going to hurt. Every diaper since then has had her name on it. Today, Andy was looking for her and found her in her room with the tube of Desitin. She kept saying "on my baby". Andy found the baby with Desitin smeared in the appropriate spot. It makes a mother proud. When I was talking to Andy on the phone today, I heard, "Hey dad". I thought it was Paige, but it was Rene'. What 2 year old says dad instead of daddy? I should be sad, but I'm not. I'm looking forward to in a few months when we are officially through with diapers!!!

I'm back and its deep and maybe controversial

I'm just going to admit it. I have an issue with pride. I think my way is the best way. Really. But you see, since I'm a Christian, that means I give God full reign to correct me. And He does. Often. Most of the time, if I am judgemental regarding someone or something, it comes back to haunt me. Pre-children, I believed my children would behave because I would spank them. And it was as easy as that. Then I got a child who doesn't care whether she's spanked or not. That is example #1. And I have about 20 of them. I'll spare you. But I will share the latest. I thought that staying home was the only way to raise children, the best way. And I was prideful about it. In my heart, not out loud. And here I am now, a working mom. A working mom who loves her kids just as much as she did when she stayed home with them all day. And who (shudder) actually likes going to work. (most of the time) I haven't tired yet of dressing up everyday!! I am living what I said I'd never do. And it is working for our family. Very well. And what annoys me the most is that I get the very sympathetic "So how is your job going?" - insert look of pity - from some of my stay-at-home mom friends. They feel sorry for me because I "had" to go back to work. And I can't chastize them for it, unfortunately, because I was one of them a few months ago. Love you girls! So here is the lesson learned for me. Never say never. Its cliche', I know. But as soon as I learn that, maybe, just maybe, I will learn to stop critiquing others (to myself of course) because most likely I will either become it, or someone I know and love will. And it will rock my world. And I will be a better person because of it.

The "green" award

Alright - I've missed you all terribly.

Work is going very well. I'm taking advantage of the fitness center and the days are actually going by very fast, for the most part. Rene' is sucking her thumb a LOT more, which I am hoping isn't due to me working, but I'm trying to ignore it. She turned 2 on Monday. Wow. I can't believe my baby is 2. But I am also happy my baby is 2. I love it when they can start carrying on conversations with you. It makes parenting a little easier.

Now to a good story. Today, I'm running errands and one of the things I need to do is run by the paper recycle bin. We have 3 large bag that have been sitting in the back of the van for way too long - but we won't hold that against the stay at home dad. Anyway, it is in the parking lot of my church which is on a very busy highway. So as I am throwing bag #3 into the dumpster, it rips. That's right - paper everywhere. I thought for just a second I'd jump in my car and drive away really fast. But quickly decided I needed to do the right thing and pick it all up. So I start scurrying on the side of the highway and pick up all the blowing paper. I stepped on something that I was picking paper up off of, look down and it is a very old, dead animal. Which makes me jump, and then loose all the paper I had just smashed against my body so efficiently. So I had to do it all over again, with many people watching while they waited for their stoplight to turn green. I didn't dare look up, so I just kept my head down and finished the job. I think I've decided if it doesn't bother Andy to leave the paper in the back of the van for weeks, it doesn't bother me. I won't be heading to the recycle dumpster any time soon.

Behind

I miss blogging. I promise. But it is really at the bottom of the list these days. I've been having a lot of internal dialog as to whether or not I should take a big blogging break. I tell myself I don't need the pressure when I feel like I'm not posting often enough for my readers. But then I think of how I really wanted this to be something my family could look back on in years to come and remember. I also know how much I enjoy reading others blogs who I never get to see, but still feel like I know them since I read their blogs. But after sitting at a computer for 8 hours a day, then coming home and doing some more work on the computer for my brother, I just can't bear to sit and type up a post. So for now, the verdict is that I will not put any pressure on myself, and when I have a minute, and the desire, I'll sit down and blog. It might be short lived, it might not. I can make no promises. Just know I miss you all!

Tornado GeeGee

It was my Grandmother's 90th birthday this weekend. And we lived it up. It started with all my family in town - minus my brother in Dallas - we missed you Matt and Jo. The cousins haven't all been together in years. So it was a very rare occasion. The festivities began Friday night where we all piled into Limos and headed to an old house turned restaurant where we had the 2nd floor to ourselves. We all got dressed up and enjoyed a swanky meal and lots of family pics courtesy of our hired photographer. My grandmother's gift from all the grandchildren was the photographer and we are going to put together an album of the festivities. Then the next 2 days have included lots of game playing, eating, and reliving old times. Needless to say my entire family is spent. But it was all worth it. Once I get the pics, I'll be sharing them with you. Really, there's nothing like watching your kids create memories with their cousins, while you and your cousins sit and remember yours.

Some things I liked about my weekend

• spending time with my girlfriends
• catching my youngest behind the couch with a box of cheez its.
• I love my church
• catching up with an old friend from a few years ago
• I love that my kids love our friends - they run up to them and give them hugs. That is the best.
• Taylor Swifts new CD about 14 times
• All American Pizza
• staying up late
• sleeping in
• hanging out with the best husband ever
• Zak's new spiky haircut
• Neely trying to fix my hair

Somthing else I didn't do

Now, I'm really not trying to be an annoyingly "bragging" parent. We all know them, the parents whose kids are the best at everything, yada yada yada. The intent of this post is to pass along a great tip. So keep that in mind.

Zak ended up getting a little math award at school. He told us he was the only on in his class getting it (granted, he's only in kindergarten - how can you get a math award when they don't really do math??) Anyway, Andy and I were proud of course and that yet again took away my guilt of letting my kids watch more TV than I think they should. As long as they are doing well in school - I say, let them watch. So as Andy and I were talking, we were like - "do you work with him on math?" "No, do you?". We couldn't figure it out. Then we heard in the background him playing his Leapster. Now, for those of you who don't know, a Leapster is a handheld gaming toy. But every one of the games is educational. And they're fun. We figured out that he's learning Math from that toy. Google Leapster and if you have a preschooler who doesn't have one - go buy it. Its an investment in your child's education!

Life

I was craving structure. I thrive on it. So this week of back to the schedules was just fine by me. I think the kids do better when we have one anyway. So Andy is back to making fabulous meals. Tonight was nice homemade beef enchiladas. Last night was homemade buttermilk pancakes. Then he proceeded to tell me how he saw my friend at the tag agency, then my other friend called him to work out the class volunteer schedule. It make me chuckle. Its like he's living my life, and I'm living his. Its making me laugh. My world is growing on me. I'm up at 6, out the door by 7, and at work by 7:30. I usually hit the fitness center at lunch time and eat lunch at my desk, then head home at 4:30 to dinner on the table and my kids overly excited to see me. Is this really my schedule?

What fashion designer shall I thank for this one?

I needed a new pair of jeans. I have one "nice" pair that I wore to church or just out. I had 2 pairs that both have a hole in the same knee (I think I must bend down on that knee all the time to help the kids). And that was the extent of my denim wear. So I began a hunt for some jeans. I would categorize myself as "borderline trendy". I know what is in style. I don't always choose it, or I go for the cheap knock off version. But I'm not completely out of touch with society. Now Andy is very in tune with style and is quick to tell me if something I am wearing needs to be retired. As I began trying on jeans - I noticed that the majority are low rise. There is low rise, ultra low rise (yeah right - I've had 3 kids and I can't afford a personal trainer), mid rise, etc. I talk myself out of the classic fit, because I want to ramp up the style. I end up going with the low rise. My very first pair of low rise jeans. I thought they fit nicely. So I bought them. Then I wore them all day. If you have never worn a pair of low rise jeans, I'll let you in on something you apparently need to know. You will constantly check your waist because it feels like they are falling off. All. day. long. To add insult to injury, as I sat on the floor playing with my kids, my "very sensitive to body parts" son was all to quick to point out he was seeing something he shouldn't. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that I'm not as "hip" as I once thought. I don't know if I'll purchase another pair of low rise jeans or not. But I can be sure I'll be more careful so as not to scar my son emotionally by mooning him with my low rise jeans.

Bring it '09

I think its good to make goals for oneself. But you know, '08 proved to pretty much rock my world. Inevitably, when I plan something, it doesn't meet my expectations and I end up hurt, annoyed, or disappointed. So this year, its no goals for me. I'm just going to see what happens and roll with it. That will be my motto. When something begins to stress me, make me cry, annoy me, or excite me, I'm going to - you guessed it - roll with it. I'd like you all to consider adopting this motto this year. How much more relaxed would you be? Lets be honest - your not in control of your life - God is. Sit back and relax, and roll with whatever he sends your way.