New Year's Resolutions

  Like I said before, I normally do not make New Year's Resolutions, but I need a to do list so here goes:

1. Take better care of myself.  I have slid off the healthy eating side and regular work out part of me. I have lost about 10 pounds over the last 6 months and I need to find it! I know, eye roll, but as hard as it is for people to lose weight, it is just as hard for me to keep it on. And yes, I eat cheeseburgers, so do not even suggest it.  I am also joining a gym. I miss going and I am getting a bit jiggly in places that do need to be, plus it will help with the weight gain.

2. Meal plan/eat at home more.  I think these two go hand in hand. If we meal planned we would not eat out as much and it also goes with number one.

3.  Organize my home. Hubby and I have been married almost 3 years and I still have boxes to unpack. Granted they are out of sight, but still. We are almost through with the interior painting, looks so much better by the way. Amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do, so no more excuses.

3. Take hubby overseas. Hubby has never traveled outside the US. We are ordering his passport in January and using our free plane ticket to venture outside the US. Now, it will probably just be Mexico or a cruise, but, dammit,  he needs a passport stamp.

4.  Maintain a budget. We have a budget, but follow it loosely. I need to get a tighter reign and follow it to the letter. It is just smarter that way, especially if we want to accomplish number 3.

5.  Take dance lessons. Hubby and I keep talking about it, but never follow through. 2015 will be the year we learn to Tango!

6.  Keep my theme of 2014 going. I adopted the "Let it Go" outlook and it has served me well. It also goes well with the "Shake it Off" theme as well. I cannot fix what I cannot control.

7. Strengthen my backbone. I let people walk over me, because I hate confrontations. Well, sometimes people and issues need to be confronted. So beware, my inner bitch, will be present in 2015.

I am printing this out and posting it at home so I can check these things off my list as they happen.
I will keep you updated on my progress. I need accountability.

Happy New Year's Eve! Make 2015 a great one!

Hugs

Reflections from 2014

  So, 2015 is fast approaching, and of course, I have been reflecting on 2014. I almost named this year the "Year of the Slug" for me because I felt like I have not accomplished anything, but then I remembered what I had done the previous 2 1/2 years and realized I needed some slug time. The previous 2 1/2 years I was consumed with work and finishing school so slug time was needed. But, I was still wondering what I had accomplished, so here is me looking back.

Co Directed Women Run Arkansas Hillcrest. This was an amazing experience that I am blessed to be able to do again in 2015. My co director and I and some fabulous leaders trained women for around 8 weeks to complete a 5K. I was in charge of the Walkers and we had a fabulous time. I met some amazing women who blessed my life in ways that cannot even imagine. Helping someone achieve a fitness goal and have fun doing it is simply wonderful. Come join us in 2015!

Finished a half marathon. It was rough, I did not train properly, but dammit, I got my 13.1 magnet and display that sucker on my car proudly. I did it with some great friends who without them, I would still be gasping for air on a crazy big hill in Branson.

Started blogging. This has really been fun. Thank you to my readers and I am looking forward to expanding my blog and creating a website. Did I mention I love my techie hubby?

Repaired two broken relationships. Both, believe it or not with exes. One came out of the woodwork like a freight train and has been so freeing and I am enjoying not having that hate anymore. The other, I believe, just needed some time and blame stopping. I encourage you to repair any relationships that may be hurtful, if possible. I know sometimes there are only so many times you can put out the olive branch, so do so with caution. It takes time and willingness on both parts. Do not push.

Spent some wonderful quality time with the hubby and kids. It was so nice to be able to come home finish dinner and be able to participate in the goings on at home and the outside world instead of having my nose stuck in a book.

Traveled. I love to travel with whomever and whenever. Places I have been: Branson, Dallas, Denton, New Orleans, Pensacola, Nashville, Oxford, all over Arkansas, and Orange Beach. I got to dip my toes in the sand, reconnect with a high school friend, tour some colleges with older son, eat some great food, and make wonderful memories.

We bought a new to us two seater car that we are enjoying tremendously. We love, love, love this car.

I applied for tons of jobs and finally got a new one! This taught me patience. I needed to wait for the right one and it came, in spades! More to come on this later. Not quite ready to share yet, but I will soon!

 I guess looking back, it was not too slugish. I am going to actually make new years resolutions. I normally do not participate in this ritual, but I feel I need a to do list. I will share my resolutions tomorrow. I am a list person and I am ready to get started on this one.

I recommend you looking back at your 2014, but focus on what you accomplished. We all have negative things and failures that happen in our lives, but it is the positive  and happy stuff that keep us going.

Thank you 2014 for another amazing year. You made me stronger and believe it or not, more optimistic!!

Hugs!

Merry belated Christmas

  How was your Christmas? I hope you enjoyed it. I did, for sure. This was the off year for having the kids so Christmas morning was spent with Mark's boys, they crack me up. Rader got the whole family recorders so we could have a family concert. I know for sure he was joking, but the funny thing is I am going this week to get some recorder music and we are going to be the new Jackson family only not with the singing. The boys left around 1:00 to head to their mom's and hubby and I packed our bags and headed out. We made a quick stop by my bff's house to wish her a Happy Birthday, yes, on Christmas, had a glass of champagne or three and then got back on the road. We were spending the next few days at a friend's cabin in the middle of nowhere, just the two of us. Sound heavenly? It was. No cable, no internet, just us. Oh, there was a fabulous hot tub on a wrap around porch with a view of the river. Yes, coffee tastes much better on a cold morning with fog rising off the river relaxing in a hot tub in your birthday suit with your hubby, trust me. And, at night, there is nothing more romantic then relaxing in a hot tub with your hubby surrounded by candles, a soft rain and a glass of wine. I told you it was heavenly. It was great to get away from the stress of life and just be together. We watched movies, played games, ate great food, drank and celebrated each other. I recommend getting away with your hubby every once in awhile. It will do your soul some good. So that was basically my Christmas. Hubby's parents and brother were sick over Christmas so we are going to all get together on New Year's. It works out better this way because both of my kids will be home and will be able to join in the fun. I hate when I do not have the kids for Christmas, but hubby and I decided to make the most of it, as you can see.

Merry belated Christmas to you all!

Hugs!

Just Dance

  Let's dance! It is fun and a great way to burn calories. A 150-pound person can burn about 200 calories doing hip-hop, salsa, or ballroom for 30 minutes. So put on your favorite song and get to moving. Hubby and I love to dance. And lucky for me, he is pretty good at it. We are looking at taking dance lessons in the new year. We are thinking either Salsa or Ballroom or a combination of both. We attended a Christmas Ball a couple of weeks ago and had a blast. Love getting dressed up all fancy and sparkly. It makes me feel even more girly.  Hubby dresses up to and we looked pretty amazing in my honest opinion.

  I loved! my dress. Hubby went shopping with me. He always knows what looks good, so he is great to take along. I went to a new consignment boutique in Little Rock and found this number for a mere $15! The shoes were from last year so a fancy night out at the country club for $15. Cannot beat that! Doesn't hubby look amazing! I love when he is all dressed up. Yummy! We danced for about 4 hours that night and our feet were paying for it the next morning, but it was well worth it. The next night we had another Christmas party to attend and danced at that one as well. I wore heels again, but by then my feet had enough rest that they were ready to boogie. It was a fun and full of laughter weekend. 

 Get to dancing my friends. Either with someone or by yourself. Who cares. As the saying goes, Dance like no one is watching!

Hugs!

The year of the selfie

  2014 was the year of the selfie.  According to Twitter, 92 million people tweeted a selfie. Personally, I think that is awesome! That tells me that a lot of us, yes I am a selfie taker, have enough confidence to post a picture of ourselves on social media. So yea us!  Keep taking the selfies. I love seeing them.
 Are you ready for the upcoming Christmas holiday? I hope you are not allowing it to stress you out. Hubby and I decided to give our kiddos cold hard cash this year instead of gifts. We asked them what they thought of this idea and they were all on board. What teenager doesn't like cash? Now, the cash of course, along with a couple of small items, will be wrapped so they will have something to open, but I have not missed the shopping. I think because most of our peeps birthdays are before Christmas or right after, I am shopped out by the time Christmas comes. So, cash has been a great option. This may be a new trend for us. Hubby and I have also decided to get some things for the house this year instead of exchanging personal gifts. I am very excited about getting a new cook top and some things for our bedroom.
  My kids are leaving tomorrow for Chicago and will not be back until the following Sunday. We have the stepson just about every other day, so hubby and I have made some awesome plans for the Christmas holidays. I can hardly wait.
  Healthy eating tip for the holidays:  Do not overdo it. Sample the Christmas goodies. Watch your serving sizes. Choose the smallest plate at the party and do not go back for refills. You do not want two weeks of overindulgence to ruin all the hard work you have put in throughout the year. I, personally, am having a hard time with the fudge and cookies this year. So yummy!!!!!
 Have a fabulous weekend and let me see a selfie of what you have going on.

Hugs!!!!

Happy mom

  I am one happy mom/step mom/aunt today. Last night we had a family dinner/craft/cookie night. My kids will be with their dad this year, so this was the only night we could all get together. I made a whole mess of spaghetti and meatballs along with a salad(gotta have the healthy stuff, and remember, more salad, light dressing and less spaghetti meatballs). It was awesome. We had all four kids, our niece Elizabeth and our niece Lauren. Lauren was in town for a class and she stopped by to see us. She is my niece from the ex's side and I do not get to see her as often as I used to, so I was thrilled when she came by. After dinner, we decorated ornaments and made cut out sugar cookies. It was super cheesy, but fun. I loved having everyone over and cherish these moments. So shout out to all the teens and young adults for indulging this very blessed mom/step mom/aunt.

Hugs!

Decorating ornaments

Niece Z doing a great job

Rader cutting out his cookie. Jake apparently thinks he needs supervision

You know I had to get a family picture

Lauren loves arts and crafts. She is an interior designer if you need some decorating help

My handsome oldest stepson. It was great seeing him!

The Bosch's were represented

Like father, like son

Happy Birthday!

 Today is hubby's birthday. We have both taken the day off work to celebrate. We have a little bit of a tradition on how we celebrate hubby's birthday. Hubby gets lots of coupons and email links for free meals on his birthday so we try to cram in as much as we can. We usually start off with Krispy Kreme for a free donut and then on to Denny's for a free Grand Slam, but we had a delay this morning and could not get to Krispy Kreme. My hubby works hard, so I try and take the day to spoil him. He gets to choose whatever he wants to do

for the day. So, at the moment, he is off getting a massage. When he returns, I am not sure what is on the agenda. The last two years we have seen the Hobbit movies, but the latest does not start until tomorrow so we will wait until this weekend to catch it. He has talked about going to the Art Museum or the Clinton Library, but who knows. It is chilly today, so outdoor activities are out. I have planned a fun dinner for tonight with the guest list unknown to him, so it should be fun. Nowhere on our free list for birthdays, but it was easy and convenient for everyone so it will have to do.

  Anyway, Happy Birthday to my awesome hubby, Mark. You light up my world sweetheart and I am thankful every day to have you in my life. Many kisses, baby!

Hugs!

Oh Christmas Tree

 Last Sunday, we decorated the house for Christmas. I say we, as in Jake, hubby and I. Ellie and Z, my niece, were in the living room supervising the process. Hubby sets the tree up, a wonderful smelling real one, puts on the lights and then goes outside to hang lights and wreaths. I decorate the house and tree. Jake chipped in and hung some ornaments with me. I think he is feeling a bit nostalgic as he is going away to college next year. I love our tree. It does not have matching ornaments, a theme, or fancy ribbon. Our tree is a tree of memories. Handmade ornaments the kids made in school, pics of the kids growing up made into ornaments, and ornaments which were gifts from friends and family. There are also ornaments the kids and I have made every year for the last 10 years. The goal is that when the kids move out and have their own home, they will have an ornament set to take with them.

I love the memories. It is our third Christmas as a combined Francis/Bosch household and we are making our own memories and traditions. The first Christmas I will admit was a bit awkward as we tried to combine two sets of memories and traditions. We decided to pick out what was most important to the both of us and get rid of the rest. I am going to get Rader in on the fun of making ornaments this year. He does not know it yet, so shhhh it's a surprise. I have taught hubby how to make fudge and this weekend we are going to teach hubby how to decorate Christmas cookies. Can you believe hubby has never decorated cookies? This boggles my mind.
  As far as the actual Christmas day goes, it will be interesting. My kids will be with their dad and hubby and his ex split the day so we get the boys Christmas Eve til Christmas day at 2:00. I am hoping the eldest stepson comes by. We really miss him. Hubby's family is not celebrating until 2:00 so stepson is going to miss the Francis family get together. It is so hard this time of year trying to coordinate everyone's schedule, but we always try to make the best of it. Hubby and I have extra special plans for Christmas that we are so looking forward to. After all the stress we have been through the last few weeks, it will be awesome. Do you have fun Christmas plans? What are your traditions? Whatever they are, make the most of it, spend time with the ones you love and as always:
Hugs!

WPS!

  Wooooooooo Pig Sooie! If you are an Arkansas Razorback football fan you know what I am talking about. We shut Ole Miss out on Saturday. 30-0, baby!!!! The Saturday before we shut out LSU. Two SEC teams in a row! It is so nice to get two big wins in what has been a struggling season the last few years. So this Arkansas girl is excited! And to top it off, my nephew, who is in the Razorback band, made a tv appearance right before the commercial break. Woot!!!! Best part of the game. Hopefully we can keep the streak going and beat Missouri and then on to a bowl game! Hopefully a close one so we can go.  Thankfully hubby got our rabbit ears working so we were able to watch the game at home. Our niece, Z, came by and watched the game with us. I love that she is driving now so she can come visit us more often.  She brought us a dog(yes, another one) that she found wandering in the middle of a busy road. She coaxed him into her car, fed him a McDonald's cheeseburger and then brought him over. We put a leash on him and tried to get him into the backyard, but he was bucking too much and got loose. We saw him wandering around the neighborhood today, but he wanted nothing to do with us. Hopefully he will let someone take care of him. He was a cute thing. Medium size, black and white, but obviously was not a fan of the leash.
  I am very thankful this week is a short work week. We are off 5 days in a row!!! I can hardly wait. Princess is off all week and the boys have to go Monday and Tuesday. I am taking Princess black Friday shopping. We will not be going on Thanksgiving day this year, because there is not anything we are needing this year. So we are going to sleep in and then hit the stores on Friday. JC Penney's has some awesome boots for $19.99 so that is definitely on our radar. Beyond that, I am not sure. As far as my viewpoint on shopping on Thanksgiving, who cares? You know if you work retail, you work the holidays. You know if you work in a hospital you work holidays. We have had many a Thanksgiving lunch at St Vincent while growing up when my mom was scheduled to work in the lab. It was yummy and we had a great time. It was part of our lives. So, if you feel the need to shop on Thanksgiving, go ahead! Have fun. I have had some of my best shopping experiences on Black Friday and Thanksgiving, right G???? And no, I did not take that guy out with my flat screen! :)
  Have a happy Monday tomorrow! Make it fabulous!

Hugs!!!

Self Doubt

  Self doubt. Where does it come from? Why is one person so confident and another person so full of shame? Is it the words we hear? Did something happen to us in our younger years to make us doubt ourselves? Me, I am a pretty confident person. I have always believed in the concept that "God did not make junk". We are all here for a reason. We were planned. We are created in His image. Even if you are not a believer, the fact that the sperm that was the one who made it, that helped create you should be enough. Words most assuredly hurt, but why even listen to them. Now, I am not saying that the hurtful words do not bother me from time to time. I have been told, or rather written about in the past, that I am a "fat shamer"(this one boggles my mind, I would not shame anyone), a husband stealer(this one cracks me up, because seriously, how do you steal someone, and I would not do that anyway), a skinny bitch(sure, I am skinny, but a bitch? hmmmmm, maybe on occasion, but hey, we all have a little bitch in us), a virtual stalker(really? how do you virtually stalk someone?), and one of my favorites, a hypocrite. Sigh. At the end of the day, that is really just that person's perspective of me and what can I do about it. Not everyone is going to love you. And I do not think it is a jealousy thing, I just think that person really does not like you. There are a handful of people that I just really do not care for. And you know what, that is okay. Really. It is. Stop taking to heart what others say about you. And on the flip side, be careful with your words. Even if you delete a mean post or comment, you still put it out there. Stop. Please.
 You are important. Please remember that. Love yourself. You have one life to live, live it out loud and happy!

Hugs!!!

Illness

  Hate when the kids are sick. Oldest son has pharyngitis. Running a fever, cough, congestion, all that fun stuff. So, a steroid shot, antibiotics and cough syrup codeine and we are raring to go. Not quite, but hopefully within 24 hours. He woke up with a 103 fever! Yikes. His room was like a sauna. I forget about that. I closed his vent, got a cold wash cloth, fed him some Tylenol, and moved him out to the living room where it was much cooler. Within 30 minutes he was down to 100, but I knew it needed medical intervention. All I can say is thank you for insurance. It is still expensive though. $150 for a copay, we went to the after hours clinic and then $20 for medicine. Sigh. Our health care is crap in the US. Give me socialized medicine any day. When I lived in England it was fantastic. Not that it did not have his downsides, but hey, when you got sick you could go to the doctor and not pay an arm and a leg. And half your paycheck did not go to pay for health insurance. Anyway, enough about that topic. I could go on for days about it and I work in the industry so I actually would know what I was talking about unlike some of the other yahoos out there.
  Okay, enough of the negative. This is not what we are here for. Although that felt really good to get off my chest.  How is your life? Mine is busy. It is our busiest time at the office. It is health benefit enrollment season. Have decided on your health care? Your FSA? Your HSA? What are you contributing? Are you picking a PPO or a HDHP? Welcome to my world. Hey, it's a job, I get out of my cube farm every once in awhile and I get to meet some awesome people. I am downtown tomorrow. Should be fun. Family, besides the illness, is doing well. School is going well, football season is over, so princess is now cheering for basketball. Love that it is inside. I do not do cold weather. Youngest stepson is trying out for soccer at Catholic, good luck RP!!! Oldest son is getting ready to take his last ACT, thank goodness, and then it's time to decide where to go to school. He has been accepted at all the schools he has applied for, except we are waiting to hear from Baylor. I still cannot believe I will be sending a child off to college. Sigh. Sad and proud mom here. The dynamics in the house will be so different. Another change. Good thing I am adaptable.
 I am looking into joining a gym. I am taking tours to see which one suits my needs. I liked the Jim Dailey Fitness Center, but it is too pricey for me. I am a member of the UALR fitness center through the alumni association , but there is not a close parking spot and I do not believe it is safe on campus after hours, so that is out. I am going to check out 10 Fitness this week. I wanted something close, so that may work. I am a gym rat. I love going to work out. It does eat up my time though. I go in and next thing I know two hours have passed, oops! I just get in the zone on the stair climber and lose track of time. Crazy, right? Some good music and my favorite machine gets me going every time.
 Stay well this season. Get plenty of Vitamin C and rest and for goodness sake, when you get sick, go to the doctor! Keep your cooties out of school and the office. TYVM!

Hugs!

Transitions

 Transitions. Some I like, some I fight like a momma bear protecting her cub. I have two transitions I am going through right now. One, is the summer to fall transition. Hate! Hate! Hate! I love summer. It is my season. We get along. We love each other. We have a long term commitment we both enjoy.
I am made for summer. I am a skinny minnie and that layer of fat I am missing does not do well by me in the winter months. I will spend the next several months in hibernation. Luckily, Arkansas does have some warm days sprinkled in during October, November and December, but come January I am hidden until at least April.
 My second transition is my son turns 18 today. He is my oldest, but still my baby. I have mixed feelings about this one. I am proud of the man he is becoming, but sad that I am losing my baby. I still think of him as the little boy in the red footie pajamas helping me make cookies. I am trying, little by little to let him go, because he will graduate in May and in August, I will be sending him off to college. He is an amazing kid. He is always making me and others around him laugh. He is a fantastic older brother, smart, driven and all around amazing. I am not biased at all, of course. Just ask those who are around him. They will back me up.  So, Happy Birthday, Jake! I love with you with all my heart and I am very proud of you.

 My little helper

 Present Day...always making me laugh

 First day of Freshman year

Hugs!

Hubby's surprise

  Every once in awhile I make a plan and it actually goes as planned. This time, I had a plan and I hit it out of the ballpark. Hubby's bday is December 16. He is kinda hard to shop for because he does not ask for anything. I usually try and listen to things throughout the year that he is interested in and then usually get it for him.  This year was a no brainer.  Tickets to Slip Knot and Korn. Hubby, big time metal fan, me, I am okay about it. Hubby's sons? Big time metal fans. I decided to surprise hubby with not only tickets to the concert, but to attend with his boys. It was not actually that difficult. Texted youngest stepson and he was on board, got off work and was ready. The oldest stepson, I was a bit nervous to ask. You see, he does not hang out at our house, ever. I think he has been here less than 4 times this year. I still have not figured out why, but it is definitely not through lack of trying. We just bide our time and hope that he will figure out that we, especially his dad, are worth coming to see. Hubby (and I ) love and miss oldest stepson greatly. So, I swallowed my insecurity and sent the text. He was on board straight away! He just needed to ask off. Now, I was beyond thrilled. I was going to give my hubby something even better than a metal show. A night out with his sons! I could hardly wait til tonight to see his reaction. I asked oldest stepson to be here when we got off work. Sure enough his truck was outside our house waiting when we got home. Hubby could not get out of the car fast enough. He rushed in and hugged that boy for at least 2 minutes. Yes, I wiped a tear from my eye. Hubby really misses his oldest son. And honestly, I loved having both boys home at the same time. It has been way too long.  I then ran downstairs and grabbed the tickets, but honestly, at this point it was just icing on the cake. He was completely surprised and overjoyed. It could not have gone better. So thank you my awesome stepsons for making your dad's night. You have put a smile on his face that will last a long time. Love you Francis boys!

Happies and Sads

 It has been forever since I have posted. I apologize for that my devoted readers. Life has been busy, and I have been a bit lazy. What to post about???  Hmmmm...I posted about my birthday, fun times, hmmmmm....okay, let's start from happiest to sad. I always like happy first.

Happiest: Oldest son and I took a trip to Nashville this past weekend. Our goal of the trip was to see the Texans/Titans football game. Oldest son is a huge fan of the Texans so this was part of his graduation gift. 40 yard line, 6th row tickets. Super fun. We used to live in Nashville, so we stayed with some long time friends and had a brilliant time. We left early Saturday morning and stopped off at Western Kentucky University to visit a friend and do a whirlwind tour of the campus. It is a beautiful place. We may take an official tour at a later date, but we shall see.

Sad stuff: Hubby's brother's best friend's wife passed away from cancer. She had been sick for a long time and finally lost the fight. I have met the friend a few times, but never the wife. She left behind two amazing kids and a super sweet husband. She was younger than me. I cannot even imagine what challenges this family will face over the next period of their lives, but my prayers are with them every day. My sister(in law), but let's face it, she really is my sister, father in law passed away on Sunday. Again, another one from cancer. He was a very young 62. His funeral was today. It was a beautiful service and my heart is very sad right now. Her hubby is an only child and was extremely close to his father. I passed around lots of hugs and condolences, but it never seems to be enough. I absolutely adore my sister and her family. I have known her since she was 16 and through who would have thought life events, she became my sister in law. Her oldest daughter said to someone today that she loves it that I am now her Aunt and not just her mom's best friend. Awww...I feel the same way, sweetheart, thank you!

Through my sad stuff, I realize I needed to re prioritize some things in my life. Funny how a death makes one realize that. I will report on how that is progressing at a later date, but I did something that was stepping out on a limb. The initial result was promising so we shall see. Again, that whole trying something new thing.

I will attempt to get back to regular blogging because, honestly, I miss it.

Hugs!

Birthday fun

 I love birthdays, especially mine. I just think it is super fabulous that you get a day all your own to celebrate. Sunday I had a yummy birthday brunch scheduled at Trio's with my Yayas.

  

One of my yayas came and picked me up and when I walked in I saw these wonderful people:

 Minus a couple at the end of the table that did not squeeze into the photo. Yes, my amazing hubby planned a surprise birthday brunch for me. Did I mention that he was amazing? We had a great time and I realized how blessed I am to have such great friends. That evening Ellie and I had a family birthday dinner with both sets of parents and our sweet cousin, Katie. Hubby made dinner. He is a great cook.

                             How sexy is he????

  My actual birthday was Monday and hubby and I worked half a day and then met some friends for lunch. He then took me to the movies, saw Fury, great movie by the way. We then came home took Ellie and her friend to cheer and then we went Denny's for a free birthday Grand Slam. Yum! After we got Ellie home we headed downstairs for an early night. We were exhausted. All in all it was a great day!

 Hubby spoils me. The picture on the left are the opal earrings he picked out to match the opal necklace he had given me last year. The yummies on the right are from the kiddos.

 I truly am a blessed girl.  Thank you everyone for making me feel special!!

Hugs!

Cherish the moments

  Last night was Catholic High's homecoming. It was a great night and the Rockets won which topped off the evening. I took a few photos:

 The pics above are my very handsome stepson in his dress whites for JROTC.  In the above picture he is the one in the middle. Now, I was fretting last night because I could not get any closer and my pictures were blurry. But, then I put things in perspective. I was there last night with my hubby and friends and have my memories and those I cannot erase and they are not blurry. I remember how awesome JROTC looked marching out on the field. I remember seeing Rader for the first time on the field in his dress whites. I remember seeing hubby's face last night as I glanced over and saw the proud dad look on his face. I remember Rader coming up in the stands after, so excited about what he had just done and sharing those memories with his dad and I. Those things I cannot photograph. I have mentioned so many times before that I cherish getting to be a part of these experiences with the kids. I loved watching Jake interact with his friends at the game last night and saying hi and meeting some new ones. I loved watching princess and her friend hang out with the freshmen boys from Catholic and getting her first steps into high school. And I loved coming home and hashing out the night with all the kids in the kitchen while eating a late night snack. Those moments I do not want to miss. Those are the moments I cherish. 

Hugs!

Oh, I oh, I'm still alive

 The blog title? Don't understand? Read on and it will become clear.
This past weekend hubby texts me and says, "hey! wanna go see Pearl Jam in Memphis on Tuesday night with Joe and Sarah?"  Ummmm....duh, yes!!!! I love Pearl Jam and they never, and I mean, never come to Little Rock so I have given up trying to see them, so when opportunity knocked, we opened the door wide. The super fun part of this story is that hubby and never seen Pearl Jam or been to the Fed Ex Forum. Hubby is a huge music lover and has seen lots and by lots I mean LOTS of bands, so for us to get to see one in a new forum is rare. Making memories and having fabulous experiences while doing it...so awesome! We jetted out after work and headed to Memphis. Of course there was tons of traffic because well, it is Little Rock to Memphis.

Our arrival the FedEx Forum

 We got to the Forum around 7:30, the show started at about 8:00 and they played for 3 straight hours!

Eddie Vetter

 The show was amazing. They played a mixture of old and new and they rocked it out! The only song they did not play, which was missed greatly, was Jeremy. 

  The Forum was packed! I do not think it was sold out, but it was close. I do not know if you have ever seen a show at the Forum, but it is a great venue. So clean! We had a barbecue sandwich from Rendevous and Ghost River Golden Ale to wash it down, yum! Of course we ran into someone we knew, Jocelyn and Oscar! It was so good to see them. We did not get home until 2 am, but it was well worth the lack of sleep today. Shout out to Joe and Sarah for the tickets and the great time and hubby for driving us there and back in the wee hours of the night so I could sleep. Love you much, baby!

Hugs!!!

I did something new tonight

  So I am all about doing new things and tonight, I did something new. I ate at a restaurant by myself. Granted, it was McAllister's, but I still ate there, alone. I dropped princess off at cheer and went shopping. I had some time to kill after and was hungry. I did not want to drive all the way home, so I decided that tonight was the night. I ordered my dinner, found a nice quiet spot and settled in. You know what, it was quite pleasant. I needed some piece and quiet after my ordeal at JC Penney's, bad customer service, but that is a story for another time. I ate my four cheese grilled cheese and tomato bisque and completely enjoyed myself. Don't ask me why I have never eaten alone, I just have never had the desire to do so. Eating to me is a social event that you share with another person. Because I enjoyed it does this mean I am getting old? Uh oh. Now, do I plan to do this on a regular basis? No, but hey, I conquered that mountain. Now I need to go to a movie by myself. Again, I see this as a social event. Don't get me wrong, I do plenty of things by myself, arrive at social gatherings, shop, etc, but there are just a few things I have not done by myself. I am quite proud of myself.
  What has been your something new lately?

Hugs!!!

Happy Birthday, Princess

 So the princess turns is 14 today. Hard to comprehend. Time really does fly. Happy Birthday, sweetheart!

 So when I asked princess what she wanted to do for her birthday she said she wanted to have a party. Now, I am thinking a few close girl friends for a sleepover or pizza and movies. No, she wanted a full blown out, boy/girl party. I knew hubby was going out of town, but big brother would be here, so I figured why not? She invited everyone through Instagram. Yes, you read correctly. Instagram. I was a bit nervous with this, but thought it will be fine. Getting closer to the day of the party, which was this past Friday night, I only knew of 7 guests for sure. Awesome. Good number to handle. Well, party time was 7:00 pm, food was ready, drinks were ready and music was cued up ready to go. At about 6:45, the first guests showed up and they kept coming until about 7:30. Well, I stopped counting when the number hit 26. I did not want to know after that. Yikes! We had all sorts of kids here. I thought, it will still be fine as they were hanging outside on the carport. The music was blaring and everyone was having a great time.

Of course, at about 8:15 it started thundering and lightening and the party was brought inside. 

 Wow! Teenagers are really loud. I mean, really loud. A couple of the kids even commented on the noise level. They asked me if I minded the noise and I said everyday, yes, for one night, no. Pictured above is everyone singing happy birthday to princess. That was really awesome and I wish I had a video. Princess does not like being the center of attention, but everyone insisted she get in the middle so they could sing to her. They then had a silly string fight, in the house. I started to stop, but they were having so much fun, I figured why not? Silly string is easy to clean up by the way. Just let it dry first. The next portion of the evening was the glow light dance party. 

 I bought some glow bracelets and necklaces for everyone to wear and they thought it would be cool to turn all the lights off, clear the furniture, crank the music and start dancing.

 I took this one with the flash on so you could see what was going on in my living room! So much fun. They even let me join in! Thank goodness there are no photos of that. Thankfully about 9:45 it stopped raining so I kicked everyone out again. It was getting way too stuffy and club like in my house. It was now time for Truth or Dare. I set down a few rules, such as no Ding Dong Ditching. I have fabulous neighbors who tolerated the dance party going on at the house, so I did not want to press my luck. Believe it or not, at this point I sat down and started reading. I sorta spied on the goings on outside just to make sure everything was running smoothly, of course. 

This is one of my favorite photos of the night. The girl on the right is one of my favorite people ever as is her fabulous momma. The guy in the middle I had the pleasure of meeting that night and he is a doll.

 Finally, about 10:30, everyone started to leave, but not before we got the obligatory group photo.

 Some people had already gone home at this point, but you get the idea. It was a fabulous party. Everyone was well behaved and super sweet. 

 So, Happy Birthday again, Princess!  Love you

Hugs

Meet Wally

  Happy Tuesday!  Let me introduce Wally:

  Wally is the newest member of the Francis/Bosch household. The Little Rock Humane Society posted a photo of this handsome guy on their facebook page 2 weeks ago. Hubby and I went straight from work, fell in love and took him home. He was, according to the shelter, abandoned in the parking lot of the shelter. They call them drive bys at the shelter. Poor guy. He turned one in June so he is still technically a puppy. He is part basset hound and part corgi. As you can see in the pics, he is a cuddler. He loves all of us, sometimes a bit too much, but that is not me complaining. He loves to go on walks and is almost fully house trained. We have not taken him to the dog park, but that will come soon. Anyway, meet our awesome boy, Wally. He is the best!

Hugs!!!!

Hugs

  I love hugs.  Getting and receiving.  I read an article that we need at least 8 hugs in one day. Hugs can help to heal sickness, depression, loneliness, anxiety, and stress. Now you need a proper hug, not one of those side to side hug. You need one of those hugs that press heart to heart. The article listed 10 reasons why we need hugs. I am going to paraphrase.
1.   Sense of safety
2.   Hugs instantly boost oxytocin levels which heals feelings of isolation, anger, and stress. Next time you get upset, go hug someone. Not necessarily the person you are upset with, but hey, you never know what may happen.
3.   Holding a hug for longer releases serotonin levels which creates happiness.
4.   It strengthens the immune system.
5.   It boosts self esteem. We associate hugs with self worth and hugging stimulates our tactile sensations.
6.   It relaxes muscles and tension in the body.
7.   It balances out the nervous system.
8.   It teaches you how to give and receive
9.   It teaches us to let go and live in the moment.
10. It encourages empathy and understanding.

  "So four hugs a day for survival, eight hugs a day for maintenance and 12 hugs a day for growth".  I am definitely going for the 12 how about you?

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5756/10-Reasons-Why-We-Need-at-Least-8-Hugs-a-Day.html

Hugs!!!!

It's only Wednesday

  Oh my!  It is only Wednesday.  This has been a long, but fun week.  Our company's annual user conference was this week and it has been fun, yet exhausting.  I have met some fabulous people from all over the United States and have experienced cool stuff that Little Rock has to offer.  Sunday night started our welcome reception at Dizzy's.  Hubby and I have been there before, but it was a wonderful cocktail reception with yummy food.  Monday kicked off the conference and luckily I got to attend and not plan or put it on.  That is awesome hubby's job.  He is on the marketing team and does a fantastic job.  For the last 3 days I have heard from our clients how wonderful my hubby is.  And I'm like, I know, right?  He is wonderful.  Monday night we headed out on the Mark Twain for a lovely and relaxing riverboat cruise with our clients.  Go do this.  It really is relaxing and the Arkansas river offers beautiful views.  Last night we headed out to Prost.  The food was decent, but the staff was super friendly so that makes up for the decent food.  To clarify, I want food to be outstanding.  We ended the night with some karaoke and fun dancing.  Yes, there was wobbling.  What is wobbling?  Google it. So, tonight, I am at home and ready for bed at 7:30 pm. Sad, huh?  I guess I am not in my 20's anymore.

  Saturday we are headed to tour the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville with Jake.  Our original plan was to be in Raleigh to watch my niece play soccer, but unfortunately we had a super expensive car repair come up and had to cancel.  I thought we had told everyone our trip was cancelled, but I guess we forgot the youngest stepson.  Although I swear we talked about it at dinner.  I do hate when we forget to tell the kid's things. Princess says I do it all the time and the sad thing is, she is probably right. Oh well.  We are not perfect. Anyway, back to trip. This tour is for Senior students only and we are touring the actual school that he is interested in, the College of Health Sciences. We are going to be served lunch so I am guessing it is an all day affair. It starts at 8:30 am so we are going up the night before. Jake is going to stay with his dad in Bella Vista and they are going to meet hubby and I at the school. I know I have said this before, but I am so glad that we all get along. Hubby and ex-hubby get along well. It really does make things easier. But, men are so much less drama, usually and hubby is so easy going that it does not surprise me. I am looking forward to this tour as the U of A is in our top choices. I still can't believe my baby is off to college soon. Sniff sniff.

  I am signing off now. I am about to turn into a pumpkin. Hey, wait! Are you on myfitnesspal? Friend me. Hubby and I have been taking daily walks and I would love to connect with you.

Hugs!

Blended Families

  I have had so many topics running through my head and have not been able to decide which one I want to share with you all.  This afternoon I read a Huffington Post article about blended families.  The first family I read about decided after a few years of marriage that it would be easier if they both lived in separate houses again.  There was too much stress with the kids and ex's and they lived in the same neighborhood so why not?  Life was easier while they were dating so this was the solution they came up with.  Strange?  Yes, I thought so.  One of the things I most enjoy about being married to my hubby is being able to kiss him goodnight before I fall asleep and kissing him good morning right when my eyes open.  Now, don't get me wrong, there have been times when life got a bit too stressful that this idea did not seem like a foreign concept to me.  But, at the end of the day, it is about showing your family, as in the kids, that even when times get tough, running away is not the answer. You work through it and stay in it.  Now, Huffington (who I am not a huge fan of, but sometimes I actually like what they report) has a blended family Friday series so I decided to read on about other featured blended families, because I really need some assistance when dealing with mine.  I read about one family that really hit home for me.  I am going to quote quite a few things, but this is the best advice I have heard in a long time.  First, they were asked what are some of the biggest challenges you have faced.  Their reply, "Building a blended family is the toughest, greatest, energy-sucking, most heartwarming journey I've ever been a part of."  Yes.  I adore my step kids and looking at it, there has been way more better times than bad. My family, brothers, sisters, etc have welcomed my step kids and hubby with open arms. My hubby's family has done the same with me and my children as well. All of the kids get along, for the most part, and I absolutely treasure our family dinners together. The oldest stepson is absent from our lives at the moment, but I hope in time this changes. We really aren't the bad guys, I promise.  The question was also asked, how do you handle stress? The answer they give is gold! "But in the end, stress is stress so we eat the elephant one bite at a time like everybody else." What a great way to look at stress. From now on, I am going to deal with stress one piece at a time instead of trying to handle it all at once. The last quote from this interview is also gold. "I suggest exploring your thoughts about what peaceful means to you. Peaceful is not something that happens to us--it's thoughts that direct our feelings. Our feelings are entirely based on our thoughts so monitor your thoughts. In other words, be mindful and deliberate in thinking peacefully."  That last line, "be mindful and deliberate in thinking peacefully".  Chew on that for a moment. What are you being mindful of? I am always asking hubby how do I get these negative thoughts out of my head? How do I let it go? He says, just stop thinking about it. Easier said than done, huh? My goal is to live that last line, "be mindful and deliberate in thinking peacefully".

  So, I thank you, Jennifer Kessler and the Huffington Post for posting something I needed to hear today and giving me the tools to handle the elephants that come in to our lives. I am ever so thankful I have an amazing husband who is there to handle it all with me.

Hugs!
 
 

Health Kick

  Lord help me.  I am on a health kick.  I usually have a fairly healthy lifestyle.  I pay attention to what I eat, portion sizes, and get daily exercise, but here lately, I have been in overdrive.  I am not sure what has kick started it, but something has.  I have lost about 10 pounds in the last month due to illness and stress, so I am underweight at the moment.  I know, hate me now.  I have luckily gained my appetite back and said to hell with the stress and finally feel better.  I think hubby losing around 12 pounds has something to do with it as well.  It is so much easier when the entire household is on the same eating plan.  Hubby and I have started back to our twice a day walking during the work day and he is on the soccer pitch and I have taken up running again after work.  I managed 10,000 steps today!  Although, between you and me, I think my pedometer is a bit off.  Who cares?  I am moving again.  I have been running a mile straight and it is feeling awesome.  I am trying to tone up and that has been the quickest and easiest way in the past.  My goal is to maybe run another 1/2 marathon, perhaps the Little Rock one?, but I am not sure.  I need lots more training before I ever attempt a 1/2 marathon again.  The last one in May nearly did me in.  I am thinking about attempting trail running.  I know several people who do them and it looks like fun.  Running on pavement all the time gets a bit boring. I am a bit of a klutz so I am not sure if this would be good for me, but hey, I am always up for a new challenge.   I think I need to find a beginning trail running buddy.  Anyone up for the challenge?  Let me know what your new fitness challenges have been or are you needing some motivation?  I may be able to help.

Happy Hump Day!!!

Hugs!
 

Random lists

  Random list of things I like/love that most people do not:

Snakes
The sound a can of biscuits when opened...love the pop
Clowns
Sardines
Liver and Onions-only the way my mom makes them.  The gravy is to die for.
100 degree days
Kung Fu movies....they crack me up, but the talent is amazing to watch
Being busy at work
Anchovies
McDonald's French Fries( I love, love, love them!)
Working out at the gym/Exercising
Hair bows


Random list of things I do not like that most people do:

Thunderstorms(they seriously scare me)
Cold Weather
Nutella-yuck, yuck, yuck
Amaretto
First day of Fall (I am in mourning)
The first snowfall- I could truly do without the snow
Nooks- very convenient, but there is nothing like the smell of a book
Yoga pants as fashion-just say no, unless you are going to yoga or working out
College as an adult-I hated every minute of it.  I used to wish for each semester to hurry up and be over
Basketball

And now you know a little more about me.

Hugs!!!!

Fab Weekend

  What a fabulous weekend!  It would be hard to pick my favorite part because it was all wonderful.  Friday night, I was at home, alone!  Well, until about 8:30.  Stepson was working, oldest son was with friends, princess spent the night out, and hubby was on the soccer pitch.  Hubby and I stopped by Mugs Cafe in Argenta earlier to support a local artist who's work is on display.  She does beautiful things.  Her name is Denise White.  Check her out.  While I was there, I ordered a yummy smoked salmon sandwich for dinner.  It was excellent. This was my first time at Mugs and definitely not my last.  Hubby and I parted ways after the show and I went topless on the way home.  I stopped by Target to get hubby a little something for our date a versary(can you believe it has been 4 years!) and then came home to relax and clean(a little).  After hubby got home we spent a lovely night outside on the patio planning and talking about life.  I cherish these moments.   It was beautiful out.  I love my house.  We have neighbors, but it is still quiet and peaceful.  
 Saturday morning, I got up and went for a run.  Yes, I said run.  I managed to run almost a full mile without stopping.  A super accomplishment for me!  It felt good.  I should really do it again.  I am usually a walker, because for some reason, I got the running bug this weekend.  Will I ever love it?  Doubtfully.  Saturday afternoon, oldest son and I headed up to Fayetteville to call the Hogs or as lay people would say, watch the University of Arkansas play football. My nephew is in the band, so we sat next to the band, very close to the field with my brother and sister in law.  It was great. We won big, oldest son got to see his dad(who was at the game), and I got to hug my nephew!  The Razorback band works hard.  They never stop.  It is so much fun to watch.  I am so proud of my nephew. We left at the end of the third quarter and made it home by midnight.  It was a long day, but well worth it.
  Sunday, we woke up and had family yard clean up day.  Everyone helped.  It was a beautiful thing.  Hubby and I then took a lovely nap, went to the grocery store and then he made us a yummy dinner.  We had 3 out of the 4 kids with us and it made this momma very happy.  I love our family dinners.  One of these days we will have all 4 kids.  In due time, I hope.  After we played Scattegories.  I love this game.  The kids are very creative with their answers and it is fun to just sit back and observe.  They all have such wonderful personalities and they make smile.  I am truly blessed with my awesome family.  After the game, I introduced hubby and princess to one of my favorite movies, Breakfast at Tiffany's.  I love Audrey Hepburn and this movie is wonderful.  I am not sure what I like more, the story or the clothes.  I would have loved to live in that time period.  The clothes were so elegant and classy.  No sagging at all to be found.
  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and if not, I am sorry.  I know they cannot all be wonderful, so cherish the times that they are.  Have a fabulous week, my friends.

Hugs!
 

Pure Joy

  Experiencing pure joy is amazing.  Sure, we tend to experience happiness on a daily basis, but pure joy?  That is rare and wonderful.  I got to experience pure joy yesterday through my oldest son.  He attends an all boys Catholic School which is rich with tradition and emphasizes a brotherhood that only a Catholic High graduate can understand.  One of those traditions is the giving of the class ring.  Catholic High opened in 1930 and upon the first graduating class, a design for a class ring was established and is still the same ring design today.  Yesterday was ring mass where the class rings are blessed and presented to each senior. The entire school was in attendance, but what makes it even more special is that it is a mom's only event. I thought I was doing well with holding back the tears, but when Larry Wilson, class of 1953 got up and spoke these words, "This is my school.  This is your school.  This is OUR school" with such passion and conviction, the tears fell.  It was at this moment I realized my son is joining the thousands of wonderful men who have graduated before him.  Men such as my hubby, my brother, my brother in-law, and  my sis in-law's dad, just to name a few.  The Seniors also sang a beautiful song, "Here I am Lord".  Now, if you have not experienced an all boys choir, it is fantastic.  Knowing your son is one of those singers, makes it all the better.  After the mass was concluded, Mr. Straessle, principal, spoke a few words and then dismissed the boys, with the freshmen going first.  I had not experienced this before, but the whole school, squeals "wee, wee" as the freshmen were leaving.  It was hilarious.  Another tradition, apparently.  When the whole school was dismissed and it was just the Seniors and moms, Mr. Straessle addressed the boys and welcomed them to the official brotherhood of Catholic High.  He then dismissed the boys to the cafeteria to go get their moms a cookie and a drink because that is what men do, they take care of their moms.  As we moms were filing out of the gym, our sons were outside waiting for us with our cookie and drinks.  It was awesome!  It was so funny hearing all the boys say "mom", "mom" "where are you", because well, there were a lot of moms there.  We then proceeded to take a ridiculous amount of pictures.  All the boys were laughing, cutting up and admiring their rings.  My son had a smile on his face the entire time.  Now, my son has a very even keeled personality.  Rarely gets mad or super excited.  But, yesterday, pure joy.  It was wonderful to watch.  I am so grateful for this experience and I thank Catholic High for their traditions and molding our boys into men.  After the boys were dismissed back to class, I drove over to Cantina Laredo and had brunch with about 67 other Catholic High Senior moms.  It was fun to talk about the last 4 years at Catholic, their futures, and just having a great time.  I am truly blessed and uber proud of my amazing son.  I love you my son!
Enjoy a few pictures:

 Catholic High Class of 2015

 The ring

 Proud mom

 Proud Seniors

 Showing off the ring

 Which way do we look?

So proud

Hugs!!!

Truth

  Truth.  Such a powerful word.  We so desperately want to  know the truth.  At least in my world I do.  When I ask a question, I want a truthful answer regardless of what it is.  When someone tells me something I want the truth and not just a made up story to hurt me or protect me.  Little white lies are just what they are, lies.  Regardless of how they are sugar coated.  Telling untruths can have devastating effects on someone for the rest of their life.  I understand not wanting to hurt someone, but in the end, the truth is always found out and the hurt is usually even more devastating than it should have been.  I recently discovered that an untruth was told about me and it had a most devastating effect.  I thought things were going along fine and then bam!  it all fell to pieces.  I never understood why or where it was coming from until now and this happened 20 years ago.  It was nice to fully understand what was going on, but wow!  It came out of left field.  I am not sure why this came out now, 20 years later, but it did.  Maybe I would not have been prepared to accept it until now.  Who knows?  The good thing is that I do know and the air is cleared and both parties now understand a bit better about a past situation.  Does it affect my present life?  Not at all.  I do not believe things would have turned out differently, I just think the hurt and anger would not have been as severe.  So, let's quit spreading lies out there, okay?

  Topic change!   Happy Birthday to my wonderful niece, Sydney.  Sounds like you had a wonderful day!  Love and miss you.  Our family is full of birthdays this time of year.  We are all in September, October, November, December and January.  Luckily oldest stepson is in March so that gives us a bit of a reprieve, but I have not seen him in awhile, so who knows what's up with him?  If any of you all see him, tell him I said Hey!!!!  He works at Big Orange at the Promenade.  He is a hard worker and quite handsome, so he is hard to miss.  I guess it is time to  visit for a banana milkshake.  The whole if the mountain won't come to Mohammed then, blah, blah, blah...you know how it goes.

  We had a massive weather change this weekend.  Brrr!  Put the heater back on!  It is only September!  I still need some 90's.  I also need to get rid of this nasty cold.  It is hanging on like a bad boyfriend and we really need to break up.  Where does all that damn snot come from anyway?  It is wrecking my appetite and as a foodie, this is not acceptable.  At all!!!!

 I hope you guys had a fabulous weekend.  If you have time, run by Trio's for lunch.  We had a lovely long and leisurely Yaya lunch there on Saturday(minus one who is out of town, sniff sniff) and I forgot how awesome the food is!  The pimento cheese sandwich was to die for!

Hugs my friends!!!

I have Cooties

  Yuck, yuck, and more yuck.  I am going to be whiny today, so excuse me for today.  I am sick.  Tuesday and Wednesday I had some sort of stomach bug that caused me to lose 5 pounds and now I am down with some nasty cold virus.  I had a feeling I was going to get a cold because son had it last week, a co worker has it and hubby has it as well, so it was a bit unavoidable.  I had a very busy travel schedule this week so this is terrible timing.  I hate being sick.  I have taken all the precautions, washing hands, using germ x, etc, but I guess it was just my time.  I took some sinus medicine this morning because my ear is killing me and I am hoping it does not upset my stomach.  Okay, TMI I know, but I needed to whine.  So here is hoping to feel better soon.  Hubby and kids have been great in taking care of me.  I love my nurses.

  I finished Orange is the New Black book.  It was very good.  Highly recommend it.  I have also been catching up on television shows.  Nothing exciting to report.  I watched two not so good movies and Ellie and I have been catching up on Gray's Anatomy.  I loved that show back in the day and Ellie has rediscovered it so we watched back to back to back episodes last night.  It really is a great show.  I wonder why I quit watching it?  Oh yeah, that whole school thing.  I am so glad that is done.

  Okay, I am exhausted.  Take care my friends and try to stay healthy.

Hugs!
 

 

Princess is a cheerleader!

  It's Tuesday night and I am definitely trying to wind down the day.  I have been reading Orange is the New Black and it has been hard to put down.  The book is way different than the series, but I am enjoying both.  The main character, Piper, is not as wimpy and whiny as she is portrayed on the show and thank goodness.  She is my least favorite character on the show.  I am partial to Red and Crazy Eyes.  They are such great actors.  Anyway, quick post so I can go back to reading.
 
 Hubby and I both stayed home from work today. He has a bad cold and my digestive system and I are not getting along right now.  I am feeling a bit better tonight, but not by much.  I have to travel to Camden tomorrow, so let's hoping I wake up feeling as right as rain.  I did manage to get out and see princess cheer at her first football game.  She did amazing!  I am so proud of her.  Her dad had a business trip over the weekend and was able to make tonight's game before heading back home.  We sat together during the game and caught up about the kids.  We both agreed that it was nice to finally reach this point in our lives since it was not always the case.  I think you just have to get over the petty stuff, realize there is a reason you are not married to each other anymore and just focus on the kids.  We spent the night cheering for Ellie, discussing colleges for Jake, and how weird that our "babies" are growing up.  Like I said, it was really nice to be at that point.  Plus, it is great for the kids to see us finally getting along.  

  On the health front.  I have not walked this week.  Yikes!  I know.  Feeling crummy today did not help and I Monday evening venting, I mean socializing with some awesome friends.  I need some mental therapy more than I need physical therapy last night.  I am truly blessed with some amazing friends.  They put things in perspective and help you realize what is actually important.

Have a pleasant rest my friends!

Hugs

WPS!

  WPS!  What a fabulous game on Saturday.  The Razorbacks whipped up on the Colonels.  The final score was 73-7 and thank goodness it was in our favor.  I am a die hard razorback fan.  I love them, win or lose.  But after a 10 game losing streak, I was happy to have a W in the books.  I had three main reasons for wanting to attend the razorback game.  One, I am a razorback fan and there is nothing like watching them at home.  And by home I mean Fayetteville not Little Rock.  Second, my Mark has never seen a razorback game in Fayetteville.  I know!  How can that be?  I had to take him.  Third, and most important, my nephew is in the Razorback marching band!  We are so proud of him.  He is on the drum line and having a blast.  It was his debut on Saturday and I was not going to miss. The kids were already in Bella Vista with their dad.  Princess went to the game with her dad and step mom, so we took Jake. As you can see, I managed to sneak a peak with my princess.  It was a pretty amazing day. Here are a few pics:

 I have got to get one of these shirts

My brother and I.  I am so short!

The princess and I.

 Carter!  He is playing the cymbals.

Up close

  I am a proud aunt!!!  Go Hogs and Woooooooooo, Pig Sooooie!

Hugs!