Wherein I boost your “Mother’s Day/Human Being” self esteem to infinity and beyond…..

This is a re-post from last year. I thought this was a particularly fine piece of journalism {{{snort}}} so thought I would post it real quick before Mothers Day was over. Hope all the women who pass by this blog have had themselves a great day!

Mothers Day.

I’m sure that the original intent of those who created this holiday were pure.

Forcing children everywhere to honor their mother or carry the guilt forever—that is pure is it not?

Obviously, my Mother and I are still working out our relationship but I have been blessed to have 5 children call me Mom (to be honest—some days they say it like MU-THERRR) and I have friends who are from both camps. Some love being a Mom, or celebrate their own Mom or look forward with joy to when they will become a Mom. Others DREAD the day. Some because of their not so flowers and a nice card relationship with their Mom or the struggle to believe they will ever have a chance to be a Mother or they feel they have failed miserably at being a Mother .

I will leave the psychosis of all this to more qualified folks. The intent of my blog today is to boost your “Mothering/human being” self worth through the utter lack of my “Mothering/human being” skillz--- with the visual records I have kept. I’m sure I should probably address the -- what kind of Mother does or allows these “things” to happen to her children and then takes photos and shares them on her blog question that will plague you as you scroll through these photos.

But……….I got nothin’.

Just remember that no matter which government agency you call to report me too—they will never find me here in my garage, in the woods, in the middle of nowhere Montana.

Exhibit A:

By all means perch the baby on the top of that fence overlooking that giant ravine. I know she was dying for that up close and personal view. Quick, let me record the moment with my camera.

Exhibit B:

Too be fair—this was taken by my husband. I didn’t know about it till I went and picked up the pictures from our vacation. Bad mother award for thinking I could allow her father to watch her without my supervision.

Exhibit C:

This is what happens when your Mother has to say “Stop fighting!” 562 times. {Why yes, those are teenage mutant ninja turtles on the ends of those horns, thank you for asking.}

Exhibit D:

I force teach my children to work hard. I have found that it works best to have them out into the workforce while they are still in diapers. Then they just don’t ever remember it being any different.

Exhibit E:

My girls inform me that putting them in these beautiful, ruffle-lace explosion get ups was pretty much a crime against all mother nature. Wha? Just wait till they become Mothers and experience the “thrill of the frill”. It’s hypnotic I tell you! Also, I would like to point out that silver tooth jutting out there in front. Example #298 of my attentive parenting.

Exhibit F:

Ah, the classic—always dress your child in Halloween costumes that they hate- and don’t forget to capture the “I hate you” on camera. All the good mother points you may have earned for making the costume, go right out the window. Good memories.

Exhibit G:

This is an example of what I like to refer to as….Courageous Mothering. [I’m not the least bit interested in what you think it is.] In case you can’t see them, this child has the chicken pox. Then the poor dear fell off a swing and broke her little arm. I felt so bad for her that I went out and bought her some roller blades. And because I am that safety aware, I threw in the helmet and pads too. Safety first. Always.

And it wouldn’t be a Mothers Day tribute without….

Exhibit H:

This could be entitled, “Redneck Playground”. What I wanted to point out though, was my stellar abilities of caring not only for my children, but my friends also. Only one of these hooligans is mine, and I’m pretty sure she couldn’t have come up with this little rodeo all by herself. These other hooligans belong to my friend who has 13 children. (Late breaking editorial--imagine my friend's surprise when she saw that she had 13 children and could only find 11--thankfully she isn't going to sue for libel) She is the “chillest” Mom I know. That's why I can post this—she will just laugh. Like I did. And then of course I made them come in and stop all this nonsense. Because I’m all about safety. Always.

Please feel free to share this with your friends and unknown neighbors. Everyone deserves to realize just how great a mother/parent they are! And don’t forget—it’s all about safety…….always.

There's a new canoe in town

Do you have a “trademark” food that you make?

I do.

No really, I do.

I CAN cook.

Just not the whole, here is some dried corn, an orange and some parsley—make me dinner thing.

I am fully aware that the only reason they want me at church functions or attend any event at my home or invite me for dinner and tell to bring dessert is because of these:

But in case you are tempted to

call them this:

STOP

IMMEDIATELY!!

These morsels of marshmallow injected manna are:

~CANOE CUPCAKES~

you heard me….C.A.N.O.E.Cupcakes

And making them is apparently one of my few redeemable skills.

Other people store wheat and make life sustaining bread from it.

Ppfffttt

What makes me smile {even more than a sugared canoe overdose induced coma}

is the thought of how they came up with the name.

Someone looked at this:

And said, “Oh, look a twinkie pan”

And someone else said, “Don’t be ridiculous, that’s a canoe cake pan.”

I would like to hang out with that person.

In case anyone would like to be the dessert star of their social circle—here is a link to the store I bought it from:

Tell them Lisa, from Montana sent you—I swear they’ll treat you like a celebrity.

Sunday addendum:

(Don't say I didn't warn you)

Cream Canoe Recipes

Cake Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix (I like Pillsbury-why, thank you for asking)

2 eggs

2 cups milk

1 lg pkg instant vanilla pudding

Cake Instructions:

Mix cake mix, eggs, milk and pudding together. Fill canoe wells and bake according to the cupcake directions on the cake box. Allow the canoe cakes to cool completely.

The VERY best Cream Filling:

2 tsps very hot water

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups of marshmallow creme (7 oz jar)

1/2 cup vegetable shortening 1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

1. Combine the salt with the water in a small bowl and stir until salt is dissolved. Let cool.

2. COmbine the marshmallow creme, shortening, powdered sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl and mix with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy.

3. Combine the salt solution to the filling mixture. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

The OTHER filling:

1 cup milk

5 TBSP flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup butter

2 tsps vanilla

Mix milk and flour together in a saucepan. Boil until mixture is thick. Cool. Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add remaining ingredients one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Okay--now for the disclaimers and the reiteration of the fact that I know next to nothing about cooking. No Pioneer Woman here, my lovelies. I AM trying to limit the high fructose and trans fats in our diet but when it comes to playing with canoes, I am of the opinion that, if you have issues--don't make them. Don't leave shore without your paddle either--but that's a whole different post.

These are the few cooking related things that I have learned/noticed/thrown entire pans away about.

1-yes, you can use your favorite homemade cake mix but you have to still change out the liquids and oil for the pudding and milk if you want that"celebrity look alike" taste.

2-I have only made the Best filling. It tasted fantastic, so I never tried the other. I'm industrious that way.

3- You can use any flavor cake mix and pudding combinations. I tried pistachio pudding and yellow cake mix for St Pat's Day. Discovered that green canoes are not very appetizing. But maybe thats just us.

4- Don't let them cool in the pan very long--sticky issues. But, on the other hand--lots of taste testing opportunities, so I guess its a personal choice.

I think thats about it. Glad we had this time together. Come over anytime--I'll be glad to make you some. (I say that with the perfect knowledge that you will never find me here in my garage in the middle of the forest in the middle of nowhere Montana--but please--don't let that stop you)

Open Letter

Open Letter to the woman in the bathroom stall next to mine at "The Big Box Store":

I realize that there are certain sounds that one should expect when using the bathroom at a public venue.

Every body poops--I get it.

Here's the deal:::::::

Although I have been amused--- all the way to--

- "Seriously, you need to see a doctor about that" ---

with the sound effects in the stall next to me, there is one group of sounds that I wish to address here.

The sigh, the whistle, the grunt, the hum-- and the ahhhh.

People.

Please.

I understand that sometimes, during the process of weighing which is worse, peeing your pants or dying of some heaven knows what that lingers on the toilet seat, we wait till almost too late to avail ourselves of the facilities.

It happens.

What I need NOT to happen is for you to emit ANY kind of sound FROM YOUR MOUTH, while relieving yourself.

{{{{{ANY sound. Zip. NADA. NO. NONE.}}}}}}

I DO NOT need to sit there, feeling violated to my very core, eyes wide, unable to finish my own "business", as I wonder just what might be taking place on the other side of that stall wall.

Unable to remember how to zip my own pants so I can flee the "STAll OF TERRORS" I had entered so innocently only moments before.

Scarred by the very thought that I might come face to face with what or who was behind DOOR #2.

PLEASE. STOP. THE. MADNESS.

I beg you.

That is all.

Signed, The Potty Police

Proof of Life

I have been going through a mental blog crisis, of sorts.

Every time I go to type my thoughts become constipated on the way to my fingers.

Actual thoughts now running through my head:

Punctuation. Colon, semi-colon. Hyphen? Remember when that author mocked all those who used dashes. Must not use dashes. Is it a dash or a hyphen? Should I google it so I don't look completely stupid? Snort, should have never started blogging if that was important. Blank space.......oh yeah. Where did my thoughts get constipated? [Surveying arms and fingers.] I wish I didn't have piano players fingernails. And that gimpy middle finger. Focus, Constipation. Gotta be the elbows or the wrists. Wait, there is my neck. [Moving head in all directions.] Wow, I really like this condo we are staying in. Love the wall paint. STOP! Focus! Neck. No, more likely the elbows or wrists. Kinda like the drain pipes in a toilet. Man, I'm not ready to go back home to our 1 bathroom garage yet. Ooo, Nat's coming home this weekend though--that will be fun. Oh, can't forget Studmuffin's Dr's appt. Studmuffin. Oo, I think that is what I will nickname my husband on this site. I wonder if they will really go snowboarding on Saturday. Where is everyone? Oh that's right, they're down at the pool. Soaking after a day of snowboarding. Blank space...focus, focus, focus. Oh yeah, constipation. Thoughts. I can never type anything witty or smart I really shouldn't be blooging. Whoops, blogging. Blooging, what a funny word. It could be like blew and boogers. AAHH! Focus! Shouldn't be blogging. Remember that blog that mocked people for saying they blogged for journaling purposes, or to keep family up to date and whatever--that everybody who blogged was just basically a narcissist --holy moly--spellchecker says I spelled that right, on the first try! I wish I could spell check my mouth, in public. Heck, I wish I could edit myself in public. I really want to use dashes. I can't focus on anything else because I am trying not to use dashes. Dashes or hyphens? Hyphenated dashes? Who knew that was a word? Blank space...my thought have reached an impasse. I wonder if that is because my elbows are bent? Ack!

Are you still with me?

It's a mess, isn't it.

It's like diarrhea of the brain that gets constipated on the way to my fingers.

I have decided though, that I am going to be a blogger.

It doesn't matter what my reasons are, because there is always someone out there that will mock---I will just have to wear my "mocking-boots"--{snort} Sorry.

I just want to stop allowing my self to fail before I even try.

I think I am channeling Yoda.

Sooo...back at the ranch.

Actually, the condo. We have been vacationing on the lake in Coeur de Lane, ID this week. (just a time share—we are so not rich) Phil and the kids have been snowboarding and playing at a water park and in the pool here.

Flying down a mountain on a piece of wood at 50 miles an hour does not speak peace to my soul. It speaks screaming and pain, actually.

Nor does being mistaken for Shamu at the water park and chased with a harpoon.

Soo... I do...important things...you know.. important things. I have been doing....important things... like, reading and playing on the computer. Sometimes I even let myself just close my eyes and enjoy the silence.

And because I feel naked without pictures, here is a few of the lake from our deck. The one of my Studmuffin fencing with the Wii is just a bonus for making it all the way to the end.

PS--what makes the wii pics even better is if you imagine him making ninja/oriental sounds while playing. We call him "The Ninja Fencer"

Oh dear, where did those other 2 fencing pics come from? I distinctly remember promising Studmuffin there would be only one. {hanging head in shame}

Gone but not forgotten….

My better half and favorite son have been in Utah this past week, leaving 3 of us girls to aimlessly mill about awaiting their return.

Right.

N.O.T.

Testosterone free, that's what we be.

I have nothing particularly interesting or funny to share.

Still working on the Christmas letter. Don’t judge me.

Speaking of holiday epistle’s…

I finally gave up trying to be in charge and just kept snapping pictures, hoping I might get one good one.

The first time I looked at them on the computer, I couldn’t see a single one that I felt was good enough to send in our Christmas letter.

Then my #3 daughter walked in my room, looked at my computer screen and said,” That was the funnest photo shoot we have ever had. I LOVE these pics. What a great memory!”

Funny how a few words can completely change your perspective.

The second time I looked through the pictures, I could hardly find one I didn’t like.

So, I give you part 2 of “the funnest photo shoot ever”……

 

This one is the one I will probably send with the letter but……..

….this next one is the one that TRULY shows the personality of each of my children…

Kelly—3rd girl, middle child, THE MIX

        Drama queen like Nat and “kiss

        my wha?!” of Tae

Taelor--kiss my wha? with a side order

               of the most tender of hearts-#1

Natalie—It’s me! It’s me!

Not only do I need to be center stage

         but I will be taking up ALL of it

      thank you very much--#2

Milan—Too cool, I can tease my sisters

              till they scream and cry  but

              don’t anyone else even think about

              it…dude…seriously….#4

Angel Bean—always wanting to be doing

                     what everyone else is..

                      Always watching, always

                          loving..#5

              

………PERFECT.

 

A winter wassail woo-hooo…….

 

Is it Christmas yet?

With the rain gently falling on the snow outside, it’s so hard to tell.

 Miss me much?

 

I thought so.

 

I’ll skip the boring details. Here a crisis, there a crisis. You know how it goes.

I have been sneaking around, here and there, reading about you all though—I’ve needed the laughs, the mental escape, the drooling on my keyboard over your Christmas cooking!!

I have 30 pans of sugar cookies waiting to be baked as we speak…seriously…no really. I am hosting my first annual piano student Christmas party. We will play all our Christmas pieces for each other and decorate and eat sugar cookies. I use the term “we” loosely. I am not sure I can be trusted to be the responsible adult for an hour and a half at such an event. I’m not sure I can trust 12 children for an hour and a half at such an event. Pray for us all….

especially the cookies.

Speaking of drooling, (mentally and physically, of course) I have an new Apple with a 27” screen! It is the most fabulous thing my hubby has ever given me. You have no idea how lovely it is to be able to actually SEE things on my computer screen!! 27” screens are celestial baby!! Of course now I am not due for another present till the year 2020. That has been another thing that has kept me busy, learning and transferring---a huge time drain cuz I am a little slow on the uptake.

Oh! My computer guru, whom I now worship, retrieved my pictures!!! It was nothing short of a miracle! Walking on water..pfft…(not being irreverent,do not report me to the miracle police)  I want to blog about the happenings that have happened so I can do one of those books for the year so for the rest of the year I will be doing catch up---feel free to skip it all. There is bound to be sentimental smarm leaking out all over the place.

Speaking of sentimental, my Dad is holding his own. My Mom just called and said they had to take him into the hospital because he had been throwing up. They think it is the flu. Hopefully it will pass quickly for him.

So the first pics I want to share with you are from the”photo shoot” I tried to have at Thanksgiving with my kids. Good grief, I think it was actually easier when they were younger. I won’t post them all tonight—I give you…

THE SHOOT

Okay kids, lets try the porch first…KIDS! PORCH! NOW!

Everyone look at ME!

The other ME!

Yes, Milan, I know you are big and strong and I know you think you can lift Nat now, but don’t…

I don’t think you are quite…..

Yep, there she goes……

Sure, take your time, I’m not going anywhere, glad you’re alright…..

To be continued…..

The 426th way to use my "essential oil" lime bathroom spray

Oh, hello.

For that faithful 10 of you that are wondering, I am still alive.

My life overfloweth with abundant "events" that seem to conspire to keep me from investing a little time into my blog life.

Reality is such a blog kill.

The cool whip on the pudding was when my external hard drive frizzed and took EVERY SINGLE one of my photos with it. If it is that important that you use a 5 volt adapter instead of a 12 volt one---they should write it in MUCH bigger font.

Sheesh.

My computer doctor thinks he might be able to save it---- pray for me, and my hard drive. I can barely focus on anything else---ALL MY PICTURES DANG IT!!!!!!

To help illustrate the point...
Today as I got ready to go into the "big city" (that means I actually got dressed in something other than my jammies, combed my hair and brushed my teeth) I blissfully applied my favorite "essential oil" lime bathroom spray all over my neck and chest area, instead of my "real" perfume.

Natural, essential oils Lime Bathroom Spray, $ 8.00

Walking around the stores with my mind experiencing a vague uneasiness that the whole world was smelling like my bathroom AND having to constantly itch the growing rash on my chest....priceless.

At least that's what my son says.

Hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things soon. I feel so naked without my pictures....naked and lime fresh.

So…..yeah, I’ve been a little busy….

 

Here a little……..

there a little….

Everyone's a little……….

 

 

My dear sweet Kelly, my #3, got her driver’s license on Friday and this crunchy experience on Saturday. THANK HEAVENS there were no injuries (other than metal and plastic ones…..we told the younger children that the van is “in a better place”) and she is alright. It could have been so much worse and she learned how quickly things can happen and that it doesn’t have to be a high speed chase to do serious car damage. The mama is okay too—I felt a little like this at first..

……but am doing much better. Sorry for the poor quality of photos---they are from my cell, and the one of the 2 girls was taken while they were watching “The Knowing”---really. I will be doing a better update soon. Hope all 10 of you who still check my blog are healthy and happy---I need to do some catching up!

I am sure it was HIGH Noon somewhere/ OR / I finally have a winner!!

Since this was a drawing for a business I thought I would be official and go for the premium random integer "thingie" and by the time I finished figuring THAT out--high noon was waning. But......we have a winner.....

FUNKY BAG FREAK

YOU won this beauty!!

A Cansolidator from Shelf Reliance

And a can of this can of "yumminess"Freeze dried Mandarin Oranges

Funky, I need you to email me your info at lisa dot bishop at gmail dot com and I will forward it on to Shelf Reliance AND I will mail you your Mandarin Oranges. Congrats! And of course I wish you could all win but I know you all count yourselves winners cuz you are MY friends. (choke* gasp* fall on floor)

If you would like to go check out the random site to see the OFFICIAL results you can go to this link:

http://www.random.org/draws/details/?draw=815

and type in your name that you entered under (the one that pops up next to your comment) and you should be able to see it. I entered the names as they appeared in my comment box and in the same order.

Thanx for entering!

CanSolidator Pantry Giveaway

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED

I just can’t say enough good things about this product and Shelf Reliance. Thankfully, they were able to forgive me my Alzheimer’s slip and I get to host a giveaway for one of these beauties, here on my blog!

I know I posted this bit of information from the website yesterday but I will post it again, just to be official.

Featuring SmarTrac technology, the Cansolidator Pantry is a front loading system that automatically rotates up to 40 cans. This adjustable, expandable, stackable system takes the hassle out of can rotation and allows you to organize cans the way YOU want. The Cansolidator is easy to assemble and guarantees a more organized pantry in minutes. Sturdy, compact, and reliable, the Cansolidator Pantry is the perfect stand-alone solution for any pantry.

The Cansolidator Pantry holds both small and medium cans. To determine which can size(s) you'll be storing, please refer to our can sizing chart.
Dimensions
Height: 11"
Width: 20"
Depth: 16.5"
Capacity: 40 Cans

My personal description would include the fact that it was super easy to put together and was completely adjustable to the size of the cans that I wanted to store.

The tuna fish slot is my favorite—is that bad?

You really should go browse around their website. They have shelf and pantry systems of all shapes and sizes. Not only that but they have their own line of food storage called, Thrive and they have great videos, recipes and a blog that help you actually USE your food storage. They even took care of my last barrier to getting my food storage together by offering a calculator to help you establish just how much you need AND how much you can afford to spend each month AND THEN after all that they can EVEN set up an easy payment plan and will ship out just what you planned each month. I am all out of excuses.

I realize that not everyone is into food storage and that’s okay. Some people even have a system of their own that is working fabulously----that’s a good thing! I just think is a fabulous offer for those people who are looking for just this thing to get started or to get organized.

SO, now for the rules:

You get one entry for commenting on this post—things like; You are amazing, you are my hero and I want to be your best friend will all be accepted.

You get another entry for going HERE and sign up for Shelf Reliance’s newsletter.

You can get a third entry for going here and picking up one of their buttons and putting it on your blog. Here are a couple of examples—plus I have one on my sidebar.

BUT WAIT………

THERE’S MORE!!!!!!!!

They will send the winner the CanSolidator but I am going to send a can of their freeze dried Mandarin Oranges to the winner also. I bought 2 of these cans and we opened one, sampled and were amazed!! I am a snacker and I don’t think that will change in an emergency. You can just eat these straight out of the can...…

…...or re-hydrate them or they have a yummy recipe for and Orange drink---here. They will stay good for a year after you open them or for 25 years unopened. 25 years folks!!!!

So go ahead and enter!! I will pick the winner with the random.org thingie next Tuesday, September 1st at “high noon”. GOOD LUCK!!!! Oh, and make sure to do a separate comment for each entry and leave a link to your blog if you do a button.

Shelf Reliance = Shelf Love

Excuse me, but my Alzheimer's is showing.

Awhile back, a lovely woman from Shelf Reliance contacted me and offered me the opportunity to try out one of their “CanSolidator Pantry’s”, review it on my blog and then give one away to one of my lucky readers! Being the compulsive organizer that I am, and the fact that I enjoy myself a good giveaway----I said “Yes!”

They, being the fabulous company that they are, sent me one right away, which I enthusiastically put together, put it on my shelf, put the cans in and----- photographed the whole process for my blog.

Here’s where the plan jumps the tracks, so to speak. Let’s be clear here. I like the tracks. I like it when all the cars stay on the track and make scheduled arrivals and departures. I like it when I get to make that schedule and everyone is in agreement that life is better ON the tracks and on MY schedule. I am a track HUGGER, people. When people say things like, “Change of plans” or “I have mono and I am coming home for the summer and then I am calling off my engagement” or “Your Dad is in the hospital again”, its like their cars are merging with or smashing into mine WITHOUT my permission! All the cars are just everywhere, all willy-nilly, coming and going as they please and, and, and…… and it makes me want to just lay down on the tracks and suck my thumb.

Sorry—metaphor overload. Anyhoo-----------

I just plain forgot about it.

Until, lovely Sara shot me an email, kindly reminding me of our agreement. I feel so sheepish. So here, about 3 months late, is my VERY ENTHUSIASTIC review of Shelf Reliance’s “CanSolidator Pantry”. ( You can click on that and it will take you to their site)

Does anyone else get ridiculously excited when they get a package in the mail?

No? It probably has something to do with living in the forest, on a hill, in the middle of nowhere Montana. {sigh}

The beautiful box inside the box….

The beautiful parts inside of the beautiful box, inside of the other box.

The beautiful, handsome boys, putting the beautiful parts that were inside the beautiful box---together

My shelf before…..

My beautiful shelf AFTER!!!!!

(cue singing angels in background)

Here’s the description from their website:

Featuring SmarTrac technology, the Cansolidator Pantry is a front loading system that automatically rotates up to 40 cans. This adjustable, expandable, stackable system takes the hassle out of can rotation and allows you to organize cans the way YOU want. The Cansolidator is easy to assemble and guarantees a more organized pantry in minutes. Sturdy, compact, and reliable, the Cansolidator Pantry is the perfect stand-alone solution for any pantry.

The Cansolidator Pantry holds both small and medium cans. To determine which can size(s) you'll be storing, please refer to our can sizing chart.
Dimensions
Height: 11"
Width: 20"
Depth: 16.5"
Capacity: 40 Cans

I LOVE this system and this company. They have thought of everything and make it so easy to not only store food smartly but they even have a program where you can plug in how much you want to spend each month on food storage and what you want to store and mail it to you accordingly!! I realize that not everyone is into storing food but as I watch the news and natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, where people are forced to get by on what they have instead of going to the store-----I just think be prepared is the best option. And while I am at it---this system keeps me organized with the ability to not only see what I have but ability to use what I store so nothing goes to waste.

Hopefully you can stay tuned for a giveaway here soon…….

AND

I can’t wait to get around blog land and catch up with all of you!

Everything will be alright

To quote my #3 daughter, "Love is such a funny thing. One minute you are absolutely sure of everything, but then the next nothing seems to fit quite right or the way you would like it to."

Wise beyond her years.


Natalie and Ben have called off their engagement.


It is hard and painful but they are both working through it the best that they know how.

The details are theirs to share---or not--I am just trying to love and support them both.

I feel like someone shoved me in a roller coaster car without one of those bars that hold you in. Yeah, theres a visual for you.




Like I said on Facebook--today I wish I was back to that place in time that my biggest issues were naptime and thumb versus binkie. I am pretty sure that back then I had no idea my heart could ache this badly and still be in one piece.


Everything will be alright--just keep swimming---this is but a moment---the heavens are darkest when you can see the stars--tomorrow will be better---yeah, I'm working on it.........

Us in 1989--thats Nat I'm holding--trying to make her smile--(why didn't anyone tell me how ridiculous I looked when I made that face??! And how about that spiffy outfit my hubby has on??) Sorry--I got a little sidetracked---wish it was that easy to make her smile now..{sigh}...