Barney Christmas

I LOVE Christmas!

This Christmas was a little different at our house. Brian miraculously made it home for another year. His return flight was Christmas day though, so it changed our traditions a bit. Everything got moved to Christmas Eve, but it was still fun. Presents are quite as exciting when you get older. I got clothes and a baby moniter. Brian did like his confederate blanket I got him. The winner was the remote control helicopter Brian got my dad. We all took turns flying/crashing it. Brian already flew it into dish water. Rice doesn't just work for phones. As fun as the present was that day, I wasn't super pleased this morning when my Dad almost flew it into my head this morning when I was trying to eat my cereal.

Traveling during Christmas was an adventure too. We didn't plan meals since Jeff said his house was stocked. Sometimes I forget that I don't eat hardly anything that my brothers do. After over an hour of driving I remembered Panda Express had been open. Of course as luck would have it, they just happened to close right as i pulled up. I actually saw people coming out, but the workers wouldn't let me in. And so walgreens snacks it was for Christmas dinner. Random, but definately worth the extra time with my brother.

Hope everyone else had a wonderful and merry Christmas!

Not a huge fan of these pictures but its okay. My mom was struggling with my camera. (And I feel like a rolly polly these days!)

Christmas Break

Christmas -
Time for love and giving, remembering Christ...and the kids being out of school. I LOVE when they are all home when I go to babysit. It's an adjustment every time, but always fun. A lot of them have been helping at the ranch and the nursery, but we still had time together. My favorite was the days of stomach flu. Jay got it too, so not only were we all in the house, but trying to be quiet for Jay and James who were having a heck of a time upstairs. Here is some of our fun so far.

Christmas cookies with my favorite little helpers.

Janna decided she wanted to play makeover and asked me to do her hair and to get her nails done. Abbey even let me do hers. Its nothing fancy, time and resources were limited but fun.

Stomach flu day we remembered how fun cards were. We built houses. Lilly had a rough time with it, but was a trooper.

Lilly. Enough said.

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!
Only one day late on that.
This Thanksgiving I am especially greatful for my family. This year I was able to spend a lot of time with my Grandmother and Grandfather Bryce. Being with them was a completely healing and peaceful experience. There are a lot of things I always wanted to but could never say to them, and I was able to do that. Just being with them helped me remember the kind of person I want to be.
This morning may not be Thanksgiving anymore, but it's still the holiday weekend, and working with my mom, I was able to tell her a lot of things about past experiences and current struggles that had been eating at me and I have never wanted to burden her with. Not only was it a huge relief, but there is now a whole new level of understanding between us.
Mostly, looking back on this last year and how much things have changed, and seeing who I am now and the new direction life is taking, I could not be happier. I know my family has been a major part of this and that is what I am most thankful for this holiday season.

Love you all and hope you had a wonderful holiday!!!

Pet Peeves

I try to stay a positive person, I do. I really believe that in almost any situation you can be greatful it isn't worse, and if you are at rock bottom then you have no where to go but up from there. Of course there are imperfections in my logic at some points, and more often than not they seem to be over the silliest little things. They are my pet peeves, all my quirks and craziness. Some if not all may be over the top, but they still exist in full force. So just sharing some of my specialness.

"I seen it." - This is not proper english. No I am not always correct in my grammar, but this is a little beyond that. Read more books.

Gas Pump Receipts - Don't leave it in the pump for the next person. I do not want to know how much gas you purchased and doubt anyone else does either. We will not be impressed by your huge vehicle and how much you put into it, nor do I want to know just how little gas you might need for your little rice burner car. No one cares. Don't leave it there.

Grocery Bagging - My mom trained me to put my items onto the belt in a certain order. I understand that they baggers may not be completely mature or have the greatest ability to pay attention and reason, so we are supposed to make it easier on them. And yet even though my things go up in a specific order (heavy items, cold items, produce and then light and fragile things last) they end up mixed up in the bags. They come to you in that order. They have to make a conscious effort to screw that up. I would rather bag my own things, so for job security, pay attention!

Poking - This is just wrong. I also would add finger pointing in with poking. There is nothing happy or comforting about having a finger shook at your face, or one coming at your body. It's just not nice. If you can't find another way to touch or show affection or your point, keep your hands to yourself.

Touching the Face - Not all of us have perfectly flawless skin. Some of us have breakouts. You may think touching someones face is fun and affectionate. However, when someone touches my face, I think "Thank you for helping my face zits multiply. They must thank you." At casa I had a few girls touch my face during shifts. This is especially wrong. You touch people's plates and grossness. I do not want their and/or your diseases and dirt. This and poking should be punishable by being stabbed with a sharp pointy object without warning. Maybe that's MY way of showing affection. Lets see how YOU like being touched in a way you do not like!


Awww... Thank you for letting me vent those things. Mostly I have been raging over being poked. A c0-worker walked up and poked my belly. That is not cute or funny. At his point most of that belly is gas and constipation. Don't poke it. I understand my belly will soon be touched no matter what. Poking will still not be okay. Dirty looks will continue to be given, and disgust will continue to be voiced at this action. In fact, I have half a mind to see if pokind can somehow be outlawed in general, at least poking without permission. It's harrassment, I tell you.

Happy pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday.

I have been the worst blogger ever since I no longer have constant internet access. Plus I forgot that with the Curtis family we are all too busy outside, especially trying to enjoy the time with the older kids before they have to go back to school. (Blah.) There are tons of things to post and pictures gallore, so i will try to pace myself in the catch up...and can't do any more right this second, but it is coming. (Pretty sure my punctuation was awful right there, but oh well.) So until I finally get things together, if that ever happens, everything will get put up on my blog.

traveling in style

When life gives you lemons, cruise a shopping cart.
When I was home this last weekend the kids and I tried to do some serious clean up in the back yard. Tami has the front looking perfect and so I wanted to pitch it. The yard is hard to keep clean. The wind blows stuff in, the kids don't always help, and the workers contribute in the most interesting ways. For example, the workers in the back apartment aparently "borrowed" a shopping cart and it was in the back yard. During the clean up I pushed it back over to their apartment. Later that day we came outside and it was back in the yard. Puzzled, I pushed it back over to the back apartment. Once again, next time we came outside, there was the cart. After taking it back over all day on Friday, Saturday morning I had already given up. In the morning we did clean up in the house and of course the cart was waiting in the back yard for us. At this point I have decided that their are imps involved (which is sometimes what I refer to the kids as), and at least for now the cart is a permanent resident.....so we rode it!
Turns out I love it! We can fit more kids in than a stroller and it has places on the front and side for them to ride. It was hilarious pushing them around the house and hearing the cars honk. (We usually get honks anyway and are aparently an interesting site normally, so the cart just put it over the edge.) And yes I know it is a little ghetto, but tack on fabulous and you have ghetto fabulous, story of my life and I love it.
Eventually I will actually load it up or walk it to where it belongs, but it was a good reminder that almost anything can be made fun.

Disasters in Dating

There has been a lot of hype about the problem that our generation has with "hanging out" instead of dating. MAYBE we wouldn't hang out if dating was such a ridiculously horrid event that could possibly scar us for life. Looking back through my history, I wish I would have written more of the astonishing and yet true stories, a few with battle wounds to match. Some have been forgotten, blocked out for my own mental health to be sure, but I can remember enough to know that some of us just weren't meant to date.
I have my favorites of course. The boy that called and called and called and then finally called at work where there wasn't caller ID and left it impossible to get out of the date, and then said NOTHING the whole date. When I say nothing, I mean it was literally full time work to try to make him talk, and when he spoke it wasn't that pleasant either. Surprisingly it was a miracle ending the date, since the few things he DID say were to extend the date and my torture as much as possible.
There was the guy that came straight out with his past (not judging for that) including medical problems and diseases. (THAT I wasn't quite down with.) I can't forget the guy that after date one introduced me as his girlfriend and asked me to go camp at a family reunion (and this was after I explained my commitment issues). One guy ended up making me pay for the first date. Another that broke down in tears and sobbed about his ex girlfriend. Who can forget the guy that actually had a list of interview questions? That one was classic. Of course the ringer date with the middle aged man that told me all about both of his divorces, his children, his conversion, the marriage videos that he watches every night, how much he just wants a wife, and about how radio makes you stupid and that was why he only listened to motivational tapes. (I was tricked into going on this one.) That was one of those dates where I spent most of the time in that happy place I created in my brain.
These are only SOME of the dates I can just think of off hand. Yet, like child birth and bikini waxes, after enough time has passed and I forget the horror and pain of the whole thing, I end up saying yes to yet another one. My most recent attempt is not one of the worst by far. In fact, the guy was an old friend, a good conversationalist, and really laid back. I really couldn't have any complaints...except that one little moment when his somewhat girlfriend showed up to the same restaurant, and was invited to join us. Thankfully she respectfully declined. Yes, it was awkward, but the sushi was fabulous and I can't really say I was shocked. Seriously, when I look at my track record, it could have been a LOT worse.
And people ask me why I am still single. I'm just thinking that the alternative isn't really looking so great. (kidding about that statement of course, mostly anyway.)

I'm an Indian Outlaw...

It wouldn't have been a complete trip home without the flashing blue and red lights. Seriously, with my record, I was long overdue for some one one one time with the valley's finest.

Sunday I was on my way to my parents for a quick visit before hitting the road back to Mesa and was trying to decide which road to turn on when I hear that familiar siren. I was already finding my papers when a familiar face popped into my window. Thankfully it was a warning, and the officer was just laughing asking if I even knew how long they were behind me. That's when it occured to me that they were Thatcher police and had followed me all the way to Pima, apparently with flashing lights for the most part, but I was too focused on the cold wind and my radio, and that's why they had to turn the siren on.

Thank goodness for small towns. I doubt the Mesa police force would have the same sense of humor.

And They All Fall DOWN!

The picture doesn't look that normal. Not really. I mean, everybody loves to cruise with the window down every now and again, especially if you are from a small town. What nobody loves is having your window stuck that way!
Last night I got out of the car to run into a store and when I turned to check to see if it was locked, I just watched my window go down. At first I thought my car was possessed, and then reality set in and I new right away that it had fallen off the track. Not a big deal, but definately a pain in the butt, especially when I am working a lot so I don't have tons of time for this kind of stuff, and the city isn't where you want to cruise around without a window. Just not quite as relaxing.
What I have learned from this: I never want a fancy car that I can cruise with the top down. You can't hear crap!

Flips, Tricks, & Cheesters.

Just some pictures of when I got to see Tami and the kids. I had been really excited for their visit, and the didn't let me down.

Lilly's leap of faith.

Lilly's cartwheel/flip

A picture of Tami and Janna taking pictures.

Janna

Lilly mid flip.

I would explain, but like most things with Lilly,

you'd really just have to see it.

Tami throwing balls for "bowling."
She's a much better shot.

Janna wanted to smile, I just know she did.

Janna, Bob, Emma

Brook being a cheester. Not sure who taught her that.

??????

Brook helping me take my turn with baby Suzie.

This one just had to be posted! Erin taking her turn with the wig.

Brook did it first, but I really think it might be her look.

Totally seeing a new trend.

Saturday randomness

Pet Peeve:
This is a small thing, but drives me insane! Pumping gas takes forever and the last thing I want to do is wait while it prints my receipt, but I absolutely dislike when I got to retrieve my receipt and the last person's is still in there.

I know its a crazy thing to care about, but I do. I just don't understand what's so hard about throwing your own receipt away.


LOVE their music! It's a little girly, but it has this upbeat, modern 80's thing going on that I just adore.

So by the end of the week my butt literally varies between hurting and numb from sitting all day. NOT used to it. Even in non tax season I was up and down more. With tax season in full swing I rarely leave my chair and the phone. So I brought my exercise ball to work! I don't use it every days. Just Saturdays and days that we don't have appointments. It makes the world of a difference! It's more entertaining too!

Confession:

I LOVE Rock of Love! It is seriously the most entertaining reality show I have ever seen. Pretty bimbos doing ridiculous things to be with a man in his 40's that keeps his hair covered half the time and wears almost as much makeup as they do.

Kelsy was my fav and is gone, but the show still comes through and entertains me every time.

So even though I am sure I am an embarrassment to my family sometimes, at least I haven't done anything on public tv....yet.

Extraordinary Mothers Clip

This video hit close to home.

And of course the dog's name is Lily. It's a special name to be sure.

More angles.

Saturday night I got extremely homesick. I think I did pretty well and made it a good 3 weeks before it happened which considering what a hometown girl I am is amazing, but it happened. I hadn't been feeling well and couldn't be at my apartment for certain reasons and didn't know where to go and was suddenly aching for my home and the friends I left behind. Plus I was missing Tami and the new baby and NOT happy about it. I ended up driving around on the phone without any clue where I was going or what I would do. After talking to Mike I decided to suck it up and do something for someone else and get over myself (I forget who said the best way to forget your troubles is to serve others, but its the best advice I've ever received), so I headed to the closest Walmart, which was way over by the San Tan Mall because of my aimless wandering. I pulled it together and started to think of what I wanted to do and such, and then I ran into April, Roy's Wife. (Roy is the accountant at the Gilbert office.) She stopped and chatted me up and was SO kind, and without knowing what was going on in my brain, she let me know that they were always just up the road. In that moment, she was my own little angel, if she ever knows it or not. And I may never take her up on that, but she seemed sincere and just extending the offer made a world of a difference in that moment.

It makes me wonder about how many times I have randomly ran into someone and if I was as kind and congenial as she was. Either way, it was a reminder that someone is watching, and there are angels waiting to help you at every turn.

Free Playset.

When I lived in Pima, someone gave me a playset. It's nothing too fancy, but a sturdy one that was really fun. I have no need of it, and no means of transporting it. But if anyone would like it, they just have to go get it. Or if you think of anyone that is need of something like that, let me know. I just can't move it, especially from Mesa.

(Playset has been spoken for. Will let everyone know if they change their minds. Just glad to have it off my hands.)

Man down! Man DOWN!

Everyone gets so scared of Friday the 13th. I do NOT understand why. Let me tell you, it was a lovely day for me. Just lovely. It was busy. That's the day I booked it home to be with the kids. It took a little while longer, but it was all around an AMAZING day. Yet people freak out like the universe is going to come spiraling down or something. What they don't realize is that that could happen any day!
Yesterday was that day. I was on edge a little anyway because I missed working out the night before. Things were okay at work, but not running smoothly. Poor Roy did a fabulous job despite the extra workload that got dumped on him. Anyway, after a stream of nonclimatic yet just not fabulous events, I finally made it home at 9. Not daring to miss another day of work out, and incapable of doing one of my DVD's since I lent out my laptop, I decided that running at night in the city isn't usually a good idea, but sometimes you have to just risk it.
I no longer worry about betting mugged or hit on. No, I found that its the sidewalk that will get you. Almost exactly halfway through my loop (too far to turn back) my foot caught on sidewalk where the level was different...and I went down like the Titanic. Dont worry, it was on a busy street but thankfully no one stopped as I just stayed on the ground, wondering how many people had just witness my completely ungraceful, fully sprawled spread eagle slide across the concrete. And that was where it began. I HAD to keep going to get home at a humane hour, despite the scratched, bleeding body parts, sore knees, and holes in my pants.
From them I managed to not only drop my keys outside my apartment, but have them fly from the keychain in every direction. Not only electrocuted myself trying to hook up the DVD player for my yoga dvd, but unplugged the internet. Brian, who was hungry, caffeine deprived, and in the middle of gaming was just pleased. The fact that my head is still attatched to my body is a testament to itself that he really does love me. So then I gave up and fell asleep still in my ripped up pants watching sex and the city on the couch, that turns out is actually more comfortable that my bed (a completely OTHER story from the moving weekend of torture). BUT it turns out to punish me for scratching it during my tumble, my phone shut itself off. So running late, and after a painful shower with fresh wounds, here I am at work, counting down the hours left til the weekend. And as I look at my now sandpaper hands, scraped up elbow, sad looking phone, feel the pounding in my head, and feel my bruised knees when I walk, I just feel super beautiful and graceful. And my pants are still tight from the last round of emotionalness, so chocolate is off limits. Friday the 13th has NOTHING on me!

(Sorry to complain, but sometimes you just have to.)

Pet Peeve

Whenever you are on edge, other people pointing it out RARELY helps. For example, when someone says "Are you grumpy today?" or "What has you so on edge?," If you weren't that way, then suddenly you are. Ugh.

My Review.

I am usually not super pro chick flicks. I usually find them depressing and completely lacking in realism. Yet somehow, this movie won me over.

The things I liked about it was that it gave you so many different scenarios that anyone can identify with a character if not several. Also I really like Alex. The way he talked to her is the way that Brian helps me. He would always let me know when I was starting to get into that girl thinking and would pull me back into reality.

Of course the they threw in some happy ever afters, but I still give it an overall A.

(Picture stolen straight off Leseli's Blog. Thanks Love!)

Pima Girls Just Get it.

Leseli, this one is for you.
(I better be spelling your name right.)
On the way home i realized i hadn't spent NEARLY enough time with my favorite Pima girl. So I decided to swing by the roping and took some sweet pics with Leseli. Also got some shots of the boys. Clyde was OBVIOUSLY not ready for the flash and Chad was focused on those fries with cheese, if that's what that really was. Leseli and I are voting that the odds were against him. I REALLY wish we would have been closer in age growing up. We could have caused some GREAT trouble. She is definatley a keeper!

So gross on SO many levels.

This picture got on their twice, but Les looks good in it.

Cookie Contest

I do NOT like Valentine's Day. I feel like its freaking pointless past 6th grade. I REFUSE to celebrate the holiday.....and then in comes the kids.
Those kids have me so wrapped around their little fingers that even my worst nightmare of a holiday was fun with them. I LOVED making valentines with them and we always spent valentines day decorating the house, delivering valentines, and of course getting the girls dolled up in pink and red with glitter and nail polish and every other thing that girls just need. So this year I had no idea what i was doing, but absolutely no intention of celebrating the dark day. And then the kids came into play one more time. I guess they heard i might be coming and it was over from there. I had told Ariel what we used to do and bless her sould she went above and is a genius with streamers. It took FOREVER after work to get there, but it was an amazing night. They kids decorated cookies, made valentines i brought and colored the ginormous dora coloring book I bought. the cookies were GORGEOUS! The person one was done by Emma, and is me. I never looked so good! This is only some of them too.

The girls really focused on the cookies and did a GREAT job. James was busy swiping the suckers!

Oh, and there was fun dip involved. Emma makes it look So pretty though.

Who needs a holiday? Every day with the Curtis's is a holiday in my book. I have never regretted a moment spent with them.

Angels and Superheros

I am never alone. In my hardest times God has always sent angels to carry me through.

This is my tribute to Mike, my saving grace. We have been friends for a while, but he really has stepped up to the plate to help me lately. He has helped me with moving and seriously kept me sane. I get homesick really easily, but he has kept me both grounded and giggling at the same time. Since he is new here too, we have fun figuring things out and he keeps me from getting into too much trouble and killing myself in traffic. So even though he will probably never see this post, I have to pay him his due respect. He even spent half the super bowl putting together my dresser. That's right up there on super hero status to me.

Too bad I make a better Batman though!!!