It has been so long since I have written anything. I swear it seems like the past two weeks have been so busy busy busy! Last week I taught Vacation Bible School every morning....well every morning except Wednesday. Kenzie came down with a fever and I had to stay home with her that day. Poor little thing, I hate it when either of them get sick. They look so terrible and pathetic. I just wish I could make it all better right then.

I have also been working on the church's webpage. Sheesh....trying to move everything from the old one to the new one is taking some time. It's so much easier to work with the material on the new site though.

The softball game was rained out last night so...we all met and had drinks and dinner at the Brewery. It was a lot of fun! There were two other couples and two single folks there. Much laughing and talking and goofing off. It was nice to go out with adults again and blow off some steam. We need that every now and then. It's really nice that the grandparents will keep the girls for us so we CAN go out.

I've had a couple of ideas for stories. I wrote one of them down and I have been working it over and over in my head. Trying to come up with an original angle. The other story idea I got from a dream I had last night. I think it's pretty original...my dreams are usually pretty freaking weird. We'll see if I come up with anything good out of it. I have answered the challenge from Ian to try and write a short novel over July. Perhaps one of these ideas will pan out for me in some way.

Our garden is looking awesome. When I get the chance I will take some pictures of our beautiful flowers and my fantabulous broccoli plant that is growing! I am so proud of my broccoli. It's goofy, but since it's the first time I've tried to grow broccoli it's just sort of special. I can't wait to eat it!

Lyanna had started trying to talk. She can say "Hi", "no", and a version of "uh oh". She kind of gets stuck on the Uh part....uh uh uh uh oooooooo. It's pretty darn cute. She has also started eating Cheerios and can take about 3 steps before falling on her bottom. I'm not going to have a lil baby anymore!!!!!! I'm happy they are learning but I'm sad too. I'm going to miss my "babies".

Service, where have you gone?

On our trip to Pittsburgh I had the opportunity to witness how poor service has become. I don't know why this is a growing trend in our country but I have a few ideas. We don't have people who answer our phone calls, we have automated answering services....or some person 1,000's of miles away in a different country who barely speaks the languages. We have self serve gas stations, buffets, self check out at grocery stores...etc..

Our trip started our right here in our own little town. We stopped to get something to eat. It was small mom & pop drive in type place. We ordered two cheeseburgers, onion rings, french fries and two drinks. Nothing out of the ordinary. Three other groups of people got their food, finished eating and left before we saw our order. There were four people there working. One out front talking to all the customers, one behind the counter listening to the conversations, on going back and forth from the counter to the kitchen and the cook. Now why we had to wait over a half hour to get our food while everyone else was served we never figured out. We think they were so busy chatting it up that they forgot about our order.

Our hotel was extremely nice, everything they promised it would be. We had a nice room, comfortable bed, an awesome view of the city at night.....and trains that came by at 3 a.m. in the morning. Directly under our windows. Let me tell you that that lil bit of info was not on the website. *it was sort of like a moment from "My Cousin Vinny"*

We went out to eat before the concert at Joe's Crabshack. We walked in and no one was at the podium. A girl saw us walk in and made eye contact with us, but never aknowledged we were there. She just stood where she was across the room from us and ignored us. We finally had to wave her dumbass down and then she came over and said. "Do you want a table?" DUH! So then we sat and waited for about 10 minutes or so before anyone ever came to give us a menu or take our drink order. The bartender was the one who finally waited on us...we ate a plate full of crab legs and ordered another. Our first order was out to us in about 5 minutes. The second order...I swear we waited almost a half hour on it. We are talking steamed crablegs at a CRABSHACK... it was ridiculous.

After the concert we went out to a bar to get some food and a drink. Door guy was cool, told us no problem getting something to eat sit anywhere. We sit...no one comes to our table. We see a whole row of booths that are full of people being waited on, one booth is empty so we go and sit at it. There was a couple of empty glasses and a paid check sitting there and the waitress came cleaned the table and took our drink order. ENTER a stupid ass drunk woman....she sits at the booth with us, looks at us, wobbles a bit and asks..."where is my stuff?" We say we don't know there is no stuff here, and get up and move back to our original table where no one was waiting on us....waitress comes to our new table and takes care of us...

Next day: We go shopping... one place the lady completely ignores me and tries to find something for another woman who has told her over and over nevermind take care of this person (me). I swear I waited a good forever on that woman. Another place we buy a shirt..it doesn't come up on the register when they scan it. It is 20 bucks no tax. They are arguing with each other about how to get it in the computer, where it is in the computer..wasting our time. Finally Brad just hands them a 20 and says ring me up somehow and you two figure this out on your own time.

I don't know....we just thought it was bad that every time we seemed to go somewhere something was messed up with the service.

Star Wars Parody

I found this while reading through various blogs. I think it was from a blog I linked to from comments on E-dog's blog....funny how you just get going reading and next thing you know an hour has flown by.....

Anyway, I thought this was cute.

Store Wars

Recharging the Batteries

Wow, have I had an awesome weekend so far!! Brad and I FINALLY got away on a mini-trip away from the girls. We bought tickets to see Dave Matthews on Friday night and the grandparents kept the girls.

If you have been a frequent reader of this blog you know that I have suffered from post partem anxiety/ depression. Part of that is being freaked out whenever I have to go and venture out into the world. Specially when it's somewhere I have never been before. So..this get away was a very big deal for me. It is a baby step. The more comfortable I get with the little trips the further away I can go...and feel like my old normal self again. Fearless and ready to conquer the world!

Left around noon on Friday to go to Pittsburgh. The concert was actually about 30 miles closer to us than Pitt. but I had never been to the burgh so we decided to stay there for the night. If you've never driven into Pittsburgh from the west you need to. It is an awesome, breathtaking experience. You drive and drive and drive..no biggie...interstate travel with the usual construction as you get closer and closer to the city. You know you are getting close but you can't see any buildings or anything... just more congestion. Next thing you know you are at a tunnel. It's not a very long tunnel...maybe a mile at most..you can see the daylight at the other end. You think oh, okay..

Then you come out and WHAM you are there, Pittsburgh is staring you right in the face. You come out of the tunnel onto a bright yellow bridge. To your left is Heinz Stadium and umm...*please excuse my ignorance here as I'm not a baseball fan, but a football fan* ...the stadium where the Pirates play. Directly in front of you and to the right is downtown Pitt. Some of the coolest looking buildings I have seen. The city is gorgeous in the daytime and even more so at night.

We stayed at the Sheraton in Station Square. It is directly across from the city and we were on the 15th floor. We had an amazing skyline view.

Went and walked around Station Square had some dinner at Joe's Crab Shack *was my first time to eat there as well* (I know, I know, where have I been?) and then we were off to see Dave!!!

The band played at the Post Gazette Pavillion. What a great venue. It was way out in the middle of nowhere. People were camped out and tailgating before the show. We spent some extra cash and got the premium parking so we didn't have to walk a zillion miles to get to the Pavillion. The weather was great! It was cool enough to where we had to take our jackets in with us. The Pavillion itself was very cool. It wasn't just a big ole ampitheatre..there were all kinds of vendors there as well. Good food, good drinks, decent restroom facilities...and believe me that is important!

We had seats right in the middle at the end of the row. Great view of the stage if we hadn't had THE largest woman in the freaking world sitting in front of us! I coudn't believe it when we sat down and saw who was in front of us. But.....everyone stood up during the show so it wasn't too bad after all.

The show as outstanding. Dave and the band are so tight together. Such a good jam band. I have always liked their music but seeing them live was just really cool. The music kind of has a southern sound to it with the fiddle playing and it made me a little homesick for the south. We had so much fun at the concert.

Drove back to the hotel after the show and then went out to a bar to find some food and a drink.
This morning we went shopping and then out for Indian food. Brad absolutely LOVES Indian food. I had never been to a real Indian restaurant so we went. I was a little nervous about trying it because I know it can get pretty spicy and I have a crappy stomach when it comes to some kinds of food.

They had a buffet at the rest. and so I got to try out a few different things and it wasn't bad. I actually liked most of it. I didn't get sick at all! I'm sure that there are some things I could've eaten that would have been bad, but Brad steered me safely through the experience.

It was a GREAT time and I'm sooo glad we got to go.

Things I have Done: The Teen Rated Version + 2

Got this list from DinerGirl. Her list had 148 things..I'm gonna add two to the end just to have a nice even 150. Yes, it is sort of juvenile at times but fun.

I Have Done 113 of These 150 Things

[1] I have read a lot of books.

[2 ] I have been on some sort of varsity team.

[3] I have run more than two miles without stopping.

[ ] I have been to Canada.

[ ] I have been to Europe.

[4] I have watched cartoons for hours.

[5] I have tripped UP the stairs.

[ ] I have fallen down an entire flight of stairs.

[ ] I have been snowboarding/skiing.

[6] I have played ping pong.

[7] I swam in the ocean

[ ] I have been on a whale watch.

[8] I have seen fireworks.

[9] I have seen a shooting star.

[10] I have seen a meteor shower

[ ] I have almost drowned.

[11] I have been so embarrassed I wanted to disappear.

[12] I have listened to one CD over and over and over again.

[13] I have had stitches.

[ ] I have had frostbite.

[ ] I have licked a frozen pole and got stuck there.

[14] I have stayed up til 2 (and beyond) doing homework/projects.

[15] I have been ice skating.

[16] I have been rollerblading.

[17] I have fallen flat on my face.

[18] I have tripped over my own two feet

[19 ] I have been in a fist fight.

[20] I have played videogames for more than three hours straight

[21 ] I have watched the Power Rangers.

[22 ] I attend church regularly.

[23] I have played Truth or Dare.

[24] I have already had my 16th birthday. (Oh fer Chrissakes...)

[25] I have already had my 17th birthday. (Ditto.)

[26] I've called someone stupid.

[27] I've been in a verbal argument.

[28] I've cried in school.

[29 ] I've played basketball on a team.

[ ] I've played baseball on a team.

[30 ] I've played football on a team.

[ ] I've played soccer on a team.

[ 31] I've done cheerleading on a team.

[32 ] I've played softball on a team.

[ ] I've played volleyball on a team.

[ ] I've played tennis on a team.

[33 ] I've been on a track or cross country team

[34] I've been swimming more than 20 times in my life

[ ] I've bungee jumped.

[ ] I've climbed a rock wall.

[35] I've lost more than $20 at one time.

[36] I've called myself an idiot.

[37] I've called someone else an idiot.

[38] I've cried myself to sleep.

[39] I've had (or have) pets.

[40] I've owned a Spice Girls CD/cassette. (Shut UP)

[] I've owned a Britney Spears CD.

[] I've owned an N*Sync CD.

[] I've owned a Backstreet Boys CD.

[41] I've mooned someone.

[42] I have sworn/yelled at someone of authority before.

[43] I've been in the newspaper.

[44] I've been on TV.

[] I've been to Hawaii.

[45] I've eaten sushi.

[46] I've been on the other side of a waterfall.

[47] I've watched all of the Lord of the Rings movies.

[48 ] I've watched all the Harry Potter movies.

[ ] I've watched all of the Rocky movies.

[49] I've watched the Three Stooges.

[50] I've watched Newlyweds.

[51] I've watched Looney Tunes.

[ ] I've been stuffed into a locker/I have stuffed others into lockers.

[52] I've been called a geek.

[53] I've studied hard for a test and got a bad grade

[54] I've not studied at all for a test and aced it.

[ ] I've hugged my mom within the past 24 hours.

[ ] I've hugged my dad within the past 24 hours

[55] I've met a celebrity/music artist.

[56] I've written poetry.

[ ] I've been arrested.

[57] I've been attracted to someone much older than me.

[58] I've been tickled till I've cried.

[59] I've tickled someone else until they cried.

[60] I've had/have siblings.

[61] I've been to a rock concert.

[62] I've listened to classical music and enjoyed it.

[63] I've been in a play.

[64] I've been picked last in gym class.

[65 ] I've been picked first in gym class.

[66] I've been picked in that middle-range in gym class.

[67] I've cried in front of my friends.

[68] I've read a book longer than 1,000 pages.(I'm an English Major for crying out loud)

[ ] I've played Halo 2.

[ 69] I've freaked out over a sports game
.
[ ] I've been to Alaska.

[ ] I've been to China.

[ ] I've been to Spain.

[] I've been to Japan

[ 70] I've had a fight with someone on AIM/MSN.

[71] I've had a fight with someone face-to-face.

[72] I've had serious conversations via IM.

[73] I've forgiven someone who has done something wrong to me.

[74] I've been forgiven.

[75 ] I've screamed at a scary movie

[76] I've cried at a chick flick.

[77] I've watched a lot of action movies.

[78] I've screamed at the top of my lungs.

[] I've been to a rap concert

[] I've been to a hip hop concert.

[79] I've lived in more than 2 houses.

[80] I've driven on the highway/been on the highway

[81] I've driven more than 40 miles in a day/been in a car that went more than 40 miles in a day.

[82] I've been in a car accident.

[83] I've done drugs.

[84] I've been homesick.

[85] I've thrown up.

[86] I've thrown up on someone.

[87] I've been horseback riding.

[ ] I've filled out more than 10 MySpace/LJ surveys. (this must have come from there)

[88] I've spoken my mind in public.

[89] I've proven someone wrong.

[90] I've been proven wrong by someone

[ ] I've broken a leg

[ ] I've broken an arm.

[90] I've fallen off a swing.

[91] I've swung on a swing for more than 30 minutes straight.

[92] I've watched Winnie the Pooh movies.

[ ] I've forgotten my backpack when I've gone to school.

[ ] I've lost my backpack.

[93 ]I've come close to dying.

[94] I've seen someone die.

[95] I've known someone who has died.

[96] I've wanted to be an actor/actress at some point

[97 ] I've forgotten to brush my teeth some mornings.(Hey, some days I do good to brush my hair)

[98] I've taken something/someone for granted.

[99] I've realized how good my life is.

[100] I've counted my blessings.

[101] I've made fun of someone.

[102] I've been asked out by someone and I said no

[ ] I've slapped someone in the face.

[103] I've been skateboarding

[104] I've been backstabbed by someone I thought was a friend.

[105] I've lied to someone to their face.

[106] I've told a little white lie.

[107] I've taken a day off from school/work just so I don't go insane.

[108] I've fainted

[ ] I've had an argument with someone about whether cheerleading is a sport or not.(why?)

[109] I've pushed someone into a pool.

[110 ] I've been pushed into a pool.

[111] I've been/am in love.

[112]I have children

[113]I have been on a cruise.

I know, I know, I haven't been writing. I don't know what's wrong with me. The girls are doing well and as always there are things to tell about them. I just don't seem to have the motivation lately to write. Everytime I get to where I can sit down at the computer I just say "BLEH" to myself. Today I am not saying "BLEH". Today I am sitting my ass down and making myself write. I have done some pretty cool things since the last entry.







I have to say that I'm loving the map thingy. Thanks for leaving me a lil note Jessica and Ian! I just wonder who all the anonymous peeps are that aren't speaking...?










So, I'm probably just going to ramble some today...get ready.

These next few paragraphs are going to be Star Wars related, if you don't like Star Wars just skip down to the next color. Thank you, and drive thru please.

I watched "Return of the Sith" again last night. For those of you not in the know...that is the last Star Wars movie...or the 3rd in the series..depends on how you look at it...

I really tried to sit and read my book instead of watching the movie, but I couldn't help it, I had to watch. That movie is like sitting there watching a train about to wreck. You know what's going to happen but you have to watch anyway, no matter how gruesome or upsetting the ending is going to be. AND YES, I cried again. I am such a dork. I cry every time in the same part. When Anakin gets his butt lit up by the lava, and Obi Wan gives him the line about supposed to be the chosen one. That just gets me every time.

I also did some thinking...you can totally tell that a MAN wrote the story. Here is Padame having her babies and they come up with "she has lost the will to live". I have some issues with this. Padame is not a weak person. Yes, she is connected to Anakin emotionally, spiritually, and it would seem physically..but I don't think she would puss out and give up the will to live. She has these two new babies coming into the world and I just can't help but think she would want to do everything she could to be there for them. Not to abandon them with everything all crazy like it is at the end of the movie. She should be fighting to stay alive and take care of her babies. I don't know very many strong women/ mom's who wouldn't fight. But...if George wants us to think that she is so connected to Anakin that knowing he has turned to the darkside she gives up....and/or...he wants us to think that since the "good" Anakin has died she dies as well...I guess I'll just have to live with it. Maybe I just don't want all the characters I like to die.

Okay, that's the end of my Star Wars rant today.

A couple of my friends from church at totally into scrapbooking. They are slowly dragging me into their world. I fought it as long as I could, but Brad kind of started pushing me into it as well. He wanted me to have something to do with some other women that would be fun. I like doing artsy fartsy stuff like that so I finally gave in and agreed to go to one of the scrapbooking days. It's fun. I started a book for Lyanna. I wanted to do something nice with all her things from her birth and first year since we were idiot parents and deleted her birth video. zzzzzzzzzzzzz Ugh, I get sick to my stomach every time I think about that. This past weekend we had a "sleepover". Hee hee a bunch of grown women spending the night together scrapbooking. It was a good time. We had a chance to hang out and talk and we got a lot of stuff done on our projects.

Lets see what else has been happening? Took the girls to the pool for the first time last week. They did great. Kenzie is just the little busy body. She goes in and out, in and out of the baby pool. She goes and visits with everyone and checks out what they have brought. Lyanna is such a good girl and just sits and plays in the water. They are pretty darn cute...but I'm not biased or anything.

Hrmm..Lastly, I took these pictures about 3 hours ago. They are of our flower/veggie garden and back patio. Look at all that ice!!! It looks like we took a bag of ice and dumped it out in our garden! We had a crazy storm come through and it just hailed and hailed. I hope that it didn't kill any of our veggies. I thought it looked cool to have an icy yard in the second week of June.