Move over Betty Crocker

So I was impressed by Sara Wingfield and in awe of her cake making abilities....so much so that she has inspired me to make Bella's birthday cake this year. I mean I made Bella a birthday cake before but it was just your average plain jain rectangular pan shaped cake and pink icing....you know...just your average little cake. This year I had the idea of making her a Princess Genevieve from the 12 dancing princesses cake made from the body of the barbie and a cake built around it. I emailed Gary and told him the idea I had for her cake along with a picture I found of one similar to the one I might try and make. He emailed back and said that it was cute and that his mother could probably do something like that and did I want him to ask her if she would. WELL!!!! I say that with an offended look on my face, in case you can't tell. Thank you very much for the vote of confidence babe. I think I might try and handle it myself. I know I am no betty crocker/martha stewart but I think it's lovely the idea of tapping into that creative side of me even though I'm sure it will be quite tricky, but it sure will be fun and made with lots of love and that's gotta taste for something. I'm so excited because I can already see her little face lighting up. Princess Genevieve is her favorite dancing princess and now I can hardly wait! Anyone ever done this?? Any pointers?

Hurry Fall

Oh I am so tired of this heat already. I want to enjoy the outdoors again and hang outside while the girls play in the yard or ride their bikes and scooters. The Fall is my favorite time of year and October is my favorite month. I crave October fall weather. The leaves begin to change to those brilliant shades. Hurry Fall Hurry I don't want to wait any longer.

Back to School

Back to School this morning went well! Hannah was excited and ready to go.

WWYD

So I was at the mall today looking for some tennis shoes for Hannah. School starts tomorrow and that is the last thing she is needing before she is all set to go. My wonderful husband accompanied me on this shopping excursion and it makes it so much easier on me to have that extra hand to keep the littlest one occupied while we look around. So I load all of them up with some yummy pretzels and seat them down on a bench while I run a quick errand by myself to return some pants that were the wrong size for Hannah. On my way there I see Payless shoe store and decide to pop in there real quick to check out their selection of fine ( NOT ) shoes. As I am walking in I notice something laying on the floor and when I realize what it is I quickly pick it up. CASH!!!!!!!!!!!! $200.00 cash! 2 Perfect 100 dollar bills folded all nice and neatly. You've got to be kidding me right? I never find cash like that. So I immediately ask my self what I should do with it. Do I turn it in to the store? Do I keep it? Did someone see me pick it up? Is this some kind of hidden camera joke to see if I do the right thing?? My mind is just racing. If I lost 200 dollars I would hope that someone would turn it in so that when I go back looking for it it's there. I quickly go back to where Gary and the girls are and tell him what I found....and Hannah shouts out loud like she's holding a microphone....YOU FOUND 200 DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh brother. Gary of course says I should just keep it. Finders Keepers right?? Yeah, but like I said earlier if I lost this much money I would hope someone would turn it in. Such a hard thing to know what is the right thing to do. If I turn it in and no one claims it...surely they will just keep it and why should they keep it, when I found it. If I don't turn it in....what does that say about my character. Again my husband says maybe it's a gift from God. That's nice babe, but I think that's a way of making yourself feel better for keeping something found....but I still was not so sure. So what would you do?? I figured the best thing to do was report that I had found some money to the mall customer service and I left my name and phone number in case anyone reports lost money. If no one claims it, I feel it is mine to keep! Was that the right thing to do??

Sign of the times

Hannah - Mom, how old do I have to be before I get a cell phone?"
Me - 18!
Hannah - 18!!! How about 15?
Me - Umm....we'll see.
Hannah - How old were you when you got a cell phone?
Me - 28!
Hannah - 28!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's old.
Me - hahahaha

Times sure are different. When I was 8 all I wanted was a cabbage patch doll.

Being Thankful

I posted a link a few weeks back to a video about a father and son team that runs marathons and other kinds of races. The son is disabled but has done great things with his life regardless of his physical disability. And the father has shown what it means to be a true father....sacrificing so much for his son so that he can have as normal a life as possible. That father could easily have put his son in a home and just lived his life for himself, feeling sorry for having a child with such a disability and could have easily just listened to the doctors that said his child would never have a normal life and to put him away. But he didn't. I have to watch that video every few days( and it always bring the tears) to keep things in perspective and as a reminder that my life is actually pretty great. I can get down sometimes regarding the things in my life I feel are difficult or unfulfilling but watching that video snaps me out of that "feeling sorry" for myself mentality and reminds me of just how fortunate I am to have the life I do. I almost get embarrassed for some of the things I complain about and for some of the careless things I say and take for granted because in a heart beat it can all be taken from me or better yet it could all be something I may have never had. I have to make a daily effort to praise GOD for ALL things. Even the little things in life that seem so trying. So Thank you Lord for this life that you have given me and I pray to be more appreciative and thankful in everything.

I'll get you my pretty

I hate my nose! Always have, always will. I always wished I had a small, cute little nose. But nope, I for some reason have a big one. A big one with a big ol hump on it too. I always felt like I looked like the wicked witch from wizard of oz.....minus the green face. Yeah....and it's so big I can actually see it out of the corner of my eyes. If I was not scared of the consequences of extreme vanity and the chance of something going terribly wrong....I'd get a nose job. In a heart beat. I hope someday I grow to love my nose...until then I'll just be thankful I have one.

Crawly things

I found a Gecko today while I was putting some clothes away in my bedroom. Creature....about scared me half to death! I was proud of myself for capturing it and not squishing it. I have no idea how it got there.

A different view

Did you know it's 58 degrees right now in Denver, CO. I would so love to be in 58 degree weather right now. Did you know there is zero humidity there as well? The mountains, you can see........Yeah, I'm thinking a change of scenery would do some good. I mean you only live once so you might as well take some chances and live a little. People up and move all the time right? I've lived my whole life, well minus the few years I lived in Dallas, in Austin, TX and I absolutely love it, but I'm craving a different view. A different way. The thought of relocating is actually quite scary and would be tremendously hard to get there, but nothing ever grew staying the same. Yes, I hear it calling.

Just Friday

I have been confused all week on my days and can't believe it's already Friday again. Friday used to be the best day of the week because it meant the weekend and it meant freedom from the work place for a few days. I remember so much anticipation for that clock to strike 5.....tick, tick tick. Now, Friday is just like any other day of the week really. There's no special significance for it. Just Friday. I realize for people with "real" jobs it is quite significant and probably doesn't come fast enough. I used to hate that the weekend would fly by and then there you are Sunday evening dreading what is inevitable. MONDAY! I don't miss that sick feeling that comes from knowing it's back to the grind of the work week. I don't know what in the world made me think of all this. Maybe just that it's Friday and it pretty much just feels like any other day for me but I realize there are people out there so excited today because the weekend is right in their reach. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Another Addiction

So I created a facebook account like last October and then forgot about it. Well I for some reason thought about it today and decided to set it up for real......I know, I know I don't need another computer addiction. But I am.....I am so addicted to the computer. It's crazy.....
I guess I feel it's my connection to the world. AND I have been computer free for the last 3 days so it's nice to be back on it.
Hi, My name is Monica and I'm a computer-holic.

To grandmamas house we go

We leave later this evening for Pittsburg. Pittsburg, Texas that is. We're going to take a few days and head out to see Gary's family. The drive is a long 5 hour drive but it always seems to go by pretty fast and hopefully the girls will relax and just watch some movies and give Gary and me some time to talk. We're looking forward to relaxing and just taking it easy out in the country. The girls will be able to ride horses and go swimming, play on granddaddys tractor and hang out with their Grandmama.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today I have mixed feelings about my Dr. appointment yesterday. On the one hand I am extremely grateful that I don't have anything like cancer and that I'm not going to die. On the other hand what I do have requires me to get on a birth control pill for the next 6 weeks and I am not a believer in birth control pills. Not for any religious reason or anything....just I don't like the idea of putting fake hormones in my body and those things have so many side effects. It just disturbs me to have to take them. I don't really know if I will take them or not. I also have a hard time trusting in doctors and putting my confidence in them. So we'll see. Maybe there are some alternative natural remedies out there. I guess I have to do some research. I have to go back in 6 weeks to have another sonogram and get checked out again and if the problem ( a 7cm cyst on my left ovary....which they say is extremely large) is still there they will more than likely surgically remove it. Ouch! I'm praying it goes away all on its own and that it does not rupture since they told me that is extremely painful and will land me in the hospital. Yikes! Thanks for all the prayers and I pray that in six weeks this thing is going to be gone!

Have a wonderful weekend!

A little perspective

I got this off another blog. It puts a lot of things into perspective.
Here's a link to the video and story.

Team Hoyt

Does worrying = No faith?

Days like today drive me crazy. I am not good at waiting and I am a Pro at worrying. Waiting + Worrying = Major Anxiety for me. I had a dr. apt today which did not result in any real answers.....only another dr. appointment. So for 2 more days all I will be able to think about is.... what in the world is wrong with me. I'm going to obsess about this and not be much fun to be around because I will be going insane thinking about possibilities. The kind of person I am is one which tends to always assume the worst but at least hopes for the best. Gary calls this negative.....I call it realistic. But I pretty much have convinced my self I more than likely have cancer and it's going to take me away from what I love so much and that is my family. I told my dad today that if I should die and Gary ever remarries....to not be mad at him. Yes....these are the kinds of thoughts that are running through my mind. What will happen to the girls? Will Gary be able to raise them with out me, etc etc etc. Can bad thoughts lead to those bad thoughts existence? My dad always says to not worry and to just leave things in GODS hands and to have faith that everything will be okay. That is easier said than done for me. I mean I have faith in GOD and I know everything happens for a reason and those reasons are not always going to be understood by me but just because I worry does not mean I do not have faith in GOD does it? I mean faithful people still can get cancer. I hear people say that some times things happen to test your faith. Why? Is faith not real until it is tested? Is faith only imaginary until then? I think I have great faith in GOD and his plans but I don't think that because I have faith that it means I will always be 100% fine. I don't think faith in GOD promises me a life of no struggles. When I worry......can that cause GOD to punish me and make happen what I worry? How do people not worry? Gary never worries, he always thinks things will work out for the best. But I say bad things still happen to good people all the time. I mean faithful people can still get cancer. I guess it's the not knowing what will happen to my 2 girls if I should ever leave this life behind that disturbs me the most. Oh this is going to be a long 2 days.

Small Group

Tonight we start back with our small group. When we sold our last house we had to stop with the group because the apartment we rented was way too small to hold everyone. That was last May! How do we lose the time so fast? So I am very excited to get back into the small group groove. We have all new people and I hope and pray that we can gel together well like we did with the previous group. We had such a great group of people in our last one.......not that I am going to compare the 2 groups of people but I hope we can get that same feeling going....if that makes any sense. I pray I can stay focused on the purpose of the group and not get wrapped up in the things that don't really matter. I don't often ask people to pray for me but if you would pray for me( and Gary) today, I would really love that.

OFF or ON

Do you turn off your car while filling up at the gas station?? While filling up at the gas station today my husband left the car on as he got out to pump the gas. Okay.....this is not the first time he has attempted to do this and I thought we already had this discussion but maybe he just forgot......yeah maybe that's it. He has become increasingly forgetful. So I, being the kind person I am, just lean over and turn the car off myself. As my husband sees me doing this he rolls his eyes and shuts the door. Okay, now why in the world would he be rolling his eyes at me for trying to be safe. Hello!!!!!!!! The sign clearly states to TURN OFF ENGINE. Typically signs serve a purpose.....I don't think it hangs there for no reason. So then I calmly let him know I did not appreciate the eye tricks he displayed and asked him why he rolled his eyes at me like that because I thought it was a little rude. He said he was not trying to be rude. Okay then....what are you trying to be by rolling your eyes like that.....what does it mean? He said he was annoyed because you don't have to turn off the car to pump gas. He said he was thinking of us getting hot with the car off. Well I think I would rather sweat for a few minutes than to be blown up with the air conditioner on. I'd rather be safe because surely it is safer to just turn the car off. He then says.....No it's not and that that is my own opinion. Hmm........I don't think that's my opinion but who cares! The point of this rant is that I can not believe that he would try to make me feel dumb about wanting the car off as he pumps gas into the vehicle that is holding my entire family! Has he not ever heard the saying.....It's better to be safe than sorry. Why would the sign say to turn your engine off.....if it was not for it being safer. When things like this come up and it comes down to my preference over his.......which it's not my preference at all......I thought it was just common sense and safety (because obviously my preference would be to leave the car running so as not to get all hot and sweaty) I always wonder what other people do. Am I the only one who is dumb and turns my car off in 100+ degree weather?