As I drove to the store, Baby Boo was in her carseat and all of a sudden she says, "Look Momo! Our mountain! I go with you. You hold my hands, k? We climb it together and then we say, (cupping her hands over her mouth) "hello down there!" I echoed her. "Hellooooo down there!" Dreaming with Baby Boo means sometimes imaginary dreams that may never come true but yet, mean a lot to her. It never fails when we pass the mountains surrounding us (we live in a cove), she points to "our mountain" and reminds me that one day, we will climb it together. Dreams are wishes on steroids. When you wish for something, it may or not happen, but when you dream of something, in all of your power, you do what you can to make it happen. Unfortunately, though, dreams can hit a roadblock. It may not be the right time or maybe not even meant to happen. When I was still married, I dreamed of having another baby. I wanted that more than anything. Yet, infertility hit so we went...

This letter will be addressed to certain individuals, please see that this correspondence is taken seriously. Dear Maker of Sponge Bob underwear, It's a known fact that when you steal the heart of a two year old, you are supposed to come with a guarantee to make said two year old not pee in her pants but to keep her Sponge Bob panties dry. Is this a faulty pair? Dear Maker of Rubber pants, How is it that you make your products out of rubber to hold the pee from saturating couch cushions and yet, it still fails?? Was this a faulty pair? Dear Maker of Generic Brand Pullups with the Cute Kitty Cat on the front, I don't get it. When one has to resort to pullups to keep above mentioned two year old dry, how is it that she pooped on the pillow cushions on the couch? Was it a faulty pair? Dear Dr. Spock, When you wrote books on parenting, did you have any idea what type of parent you were writing this for? Did you consider that some of your readers would be previous moms many, many ye...

It was actually a pretty busy Saturday for me and it's still not over with. I did create though. First of all, I made peach pineapple salsa. I usually make mango salsa but wanted something different for a change. Here's the end result. The only thing is, I'm am SO my mother's child where we have always eaten our homemade salsa with a kick to it. We'd sit with our noses running, and sweating and enjoying the heat of the salsa. Now that I'm not making it for just me but for more heat wimps, I had to tone it down a bit. I also spent some time working on a song that I've been hearing in my head for quite awhile. No words to it just the melody. I'm also working on a mural that isn't quite finished so I'll show you all once it's complete. In the meantime..... Was it a creative Saturday for you?

What Do Five Words Say About You? Five Words Can Help You Know Someone I received five words from Joanna at The Fifty Factor as a part of a meme that you can do too. Joanna received 5 words to blog about from another blogger. Then, she did a post on the 5 words that she was given. If you'd like for me to give you five words, let me know. Here are my five words: Commitment I'm a firm believer in staying committed to the people that God has placed in my life, to love them, laugh with them, cry with them, hold them, kiss them, support them and encourage them. Commitment for me is like a promise and it's very rare that I break a promise. As I prepare to commit my life as Boo's wife in October, it is one commitment that will last. I know what it feels like to have a marriage commitment broken as a result of infidelity. Although the pain that it caused in my life has healed, there is a scar. Fellowship I believe that we weren't meant to live life alone. There is no way I...

It's Thursday already?? Happy Birthday to my Son In Boo! May you have many, many birthdays spent in love with my baby girl. I love you. Enjoy your day! Now, on to the things I've learned... 1)If there was such a thing as a career of making people happy, I'd definitely want to submit my resume. 2) I think that the temperature is going down here but I have now come to the conclusion that I'm starting to feel the signs of "flashes". I'm hoping and praying that I'm not but...I won't be in denial if I am. 3) Boo should write a list of things that he's not fond of. This week alone, I've found out that he's "not fond of" eggplant parmesan, sourdough bread, grilled cheese sandwiches on sourdough, crunchy peanut butter or rhubarb. 4) Birds don't like eating from a bird feeder. They'd rather dump it all out on the ground and share. 5) TV commercials are beyond suggestive and racy now. I recently saw a billboard with Weinerschnit...

What a terrific Saturday it was and busy too. But, it was all good because I had the perfect reasons to create. Both Married Boo and Son in Boo have birthdays in September and they each had one birthday request...Married Boo wanted homemade cinnamon rolls. I made over 3 dozen using a recipe that is similar to Cinnabon's. Son in Boo wanted one thing...a strawberry rhubarb pie. I have NEVER made one of those and never even tasted one. I read up on different recipes and viola! He was sure happy when he tasted it. Creating comes in many forms and most...cooking being one of those forms so when I cook, I cook with my loved ones in mind. It makes my heart smile when they are yumming over the food that I prepare. Awhile back, I created cornhusk dolls that were personalized according to the person that was receiving it. I did quite a few for wedding gifts. I sold a few on Ebay. Here is one that I have kept. Did you have a Creative Saturday?

Last night, my sister and I went to a jazz concert and saw Brian Culbertson . He is one talented, (pretty cute too) guy! I think if I saw him in concert every night, 5 nights a week, I'd get a great workout! It's hard to sit still watching him dance across the stage. Music is and always has been like nectar to my soul. When I was younger, there was a huge restriction on the types of music we were allowed to listen to. It was either Gospel or contemporary Christian music. All other stuff, we were told, was considered "bad" or "sinful" music. Still there were times when we'd go over to our cousins who were "worldly" and they'd be listening to Earth, Wind and Fire, Kool and the Gang...stuff like that. The problem with that was hanging around at the house and not coming back home with a song ringing in your head. I remember one time, my sister and I were in our room singing, "Mr. Big Stuff, who do you think you are?" and although it w...

Is it Thursday already? Things I've Learned..... 1) Flaming Hot Cheetos have got to be the leading cause of hyperactivity and red dye syndrome. (Not to mention that they load it with MSG just so you can crave more.) 2) After all these years, I still don't like my food to touch. 3) Day old coffee tastes like the inside of a tanker truck, yet, Boo drinks it every morning. 4) My pitbull Humble and Sam, the shih tzu have a big brother, little brother relationship. They truly love one another. (Sam is licking Humble, an every morning routine.) 5)Walking into a hardware store is like walking into a waiting room full of guys waiting for testosterone shots. As much as I love browsing in the gardening section, I just can't see the joy of looking at drill bits for long periods of time. 6) No matter how old my daughters are, they will always be my babies. 7) Telling birth stories to Married Boo on her birthday was probably the best birth control measure ever! I think after I told her ...

****UPDATE**** I thought I'd explain that I didn't post this to say that I'm near to homelessness because I'm not, Thank God! Things are tight but I have all that I need. I wrote this post after thinking about another blogger who has shown so much strength in spite of both her and her husband losing their jobs, their home and their dog. It just made me think that there has to be ways that we can all help one another. Thanks to all of you for being so sweet. If it ever got to a point where I knew I needed to yell help, I would. **************************************************************** Remember the song, Don't Worry, Be Happy? That's such a cute song but actually, it's not always easy to follow. I don't say this proudly but honestly -- I'm queen of worry. With the imaginative brain that I have, worry instantly turns into stress and then before long, anxiety. When 9/11 happened, I was beginning to experience depression and of course, that compoun...

A beautiful baby girl was born. Never did I expect to experience life as a mother for the first time with nothing but pure happiness. She taught me to look for hidden laughter. Example, babies do dig in their poop diapers and when it's all over their face, don't ask, "What is that?" She taught me that little things mean a lot. Example, she was attached not only to a favorite cabbage patch doll which she named Blue Baby but also a cd cover of Whitney Houston. Hard to explain why she was crying because her "Weenit" picture wasn't in the diaper bag. She taught me to relax when she climbed up on chairs and tables and jumped off. She taught me to be calm when she bit a hole in her tongue the size of a quarter. Holding her hand as I drove to the ER, I realized just how precious she was and also how addicted to gum she was, after not being able to chew it for a few weeks. She taught me that it's good to make up songs and sing them to anyone w...

Okay, I'm not going to say much about Kanye's issue last night at the VMA. I didn't watch the award show and frankly, he's not worth me doing a blog post about him. But, I did think about how obviously, he needed to learn some manners. In fact, there are too many kids walking around without the thought of having or using manners. It's like having manners is uncool. When I was a kid, manners was like part of the basic food groups. You either had it or you suffered the consequences. Here's an idea of how my parents taught us: 1) Always say excuse me when walking in front of a person (like in a movie theater, church or grocery store). 2) Eat what's on your plate before you ask for seconds. 3) If you don't like what is on your plate, tough, you eat it anyway and you don't get down from the table until it's gone. 4) Ask to be excused once you have finished eating. 5) Never get into an adult conversation. When grownups are talking, even repeating what ...

I had a day of creating but there's not any pictures that I can show you because a good portion of the day was spent working on a manuscript submission. The book proposal itself can be difficult, or quite easy but must be tailored to fit every publisher or agents specification. I also went to the thrift store and found a serious gem there but I can't say what it is because my Son in Boo will be getting it for his birthday. My twin sister, Twin2 has gotten into Creative Saturdays as well, as she created the most beautiful, unique flower arrangements out of pods that grow from a tree in her yard. Here's the arrangement. Were you creative on Saturday?

I've decided that Saturdays will now be officially thought of as Creative Saturdays. I was lying in bed the other night and it hit me that I've got some God given talents that have been shoved under a rug and not used lately....so the only way I'm going to pull them back out is to Order them out or else. One of those talents is the fact that I'm an artist. I paint wall murals and pictures on canvas. It started years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. I decided to create a magical room of lambs. I sketched them freehand and then painted them. The result was pretty neat. Then, baby number two was on her way and I chose to do a teddy bear theme. I admit that I amazed myself. It was the cutest room I'd ever seen...unfortunately, while leaving a babysitter to watch both girls, the vengeful girl painted over the mural. I won't even reminisce over the emotions of that one. As I continued to paint, word got out and before long, I had the local newspaper knock on ...

There is a terrific interview up on my other blog, On Being...You with Hallie from Wonderful World of Weiners so please check it out when you have a chance. ***************************************************************************************** Things I've Learned Thursday.... 1) Losing is winning! I had a great interview with Carla Triplett from the Biggest Loser - Season 7. Not only is she a sweet lady but is still losing and looking great! 2) I thought I had gotten over my phobia of wet hair in the drain but after the shower backed up and hair was the cause, I was about ready to head for the Rolaids. (This has been a childhood phobia since our older sister chased us around the house with hair.) 3) My nose runs when I'm cold, excited or nervous. Next job interview I go on, I've got to remember to bring a box of Kleenex. 4) Although I don't condone slapping kids, why do kids act up in Walmart? That seems to be the top number one store where kids lay on the floor or...

One year ago, today, I started pouring out my soul on blogland. I had no idea what I was doing but thanks to the patient help of my Married Boo and Son In Boo, they helped get me up and running. The first stop was finding interesting blogs to read. I didn't even know where to begin so I think I did a search for moms and bloggers. I came up with Jill Jill Bo Bill's blog. She was such a sweetheart and welcomed me to blogland by commenting even if it was just her and the crickets reading. Then, I joined a secret santa gift swap. I met so many bloggers...Georgie, Amy, Julie, Tenakim, Rebecca, Sandi, Linda Lou....then the list grew bigger...I began to follow and then you all came and followed me. I was so happy to know that I had readers that loved what I wrote...well...maybe love is too strong a word...but liked what I wrote and came back and continued to read. In light of my one year anniversary, I have a confession...I am a follower addict. I find a blogger that I really like and...

Last week, I started a new challenge for myself...I call it Creative Saturday. I've discovered that I'm most happiest when I'm creating...whether it's something baking in the oven or something I've painted or remodeled or built or composed...I'm just plain ol' content. So, every Saturday, as a way to step away for the norm, I'm going to make an attempt to use my God given creativity. Today, I had good intentions of doing a few projects but after polishing the floor (yes, on hands and knees with grout sealer), I made Revel bars (thanks Dandy for the recipe). They turned out great and I know my chocolate lover in the house will be smiling for days when he comes home to discover them. If you'd like to join in the fun, let me know what you've created! I'd love to see it!

I've had a few questions about whether the wedding is still on and the answer is yes but I'm not sure when. As much as I'd like to end this saga of "living in sin" according to my parents, unemployment has had it's way of changing the perspective a bit. It's not him but me. I want to know that I'm bringing something to the table. I want to feel productive and valuable once again, like I did when I was working. At this point, my conversations consist of what the dogs did all day long, what job leads I followed, new recipes I've found, news reports on tv and what I'm working on as far as writing goes. That's not me. I love being able to share with him more than the fact that Humble, the dog, barfed three times and some of it was Sam's rubber squeak squeak. Either way, Boo loves me, unemployed or not. Yesterday, my twin and I went to stay at a spa resort for a girls' getaway. Had I not promised Boo I'd behave myself, I probably wou...

There's a great interview on my other blog, On Being ....by Dandy. Please stop in and read it. She's one awesome, fun, gutsy lady! *************************************************************** On with Things I've Learned Thursday... 1) There should be a 12 step program for dogs. I have one that needs intervention for paw licking. Another one is addicted to ice. The ice dispenser goes off and he comes flying to the fridge. 2)Drug usage can mess up the vocal cords - i.e., Whitney Houston. 3) Blog drama equals lots of hits but trust me, it's not worth it! 4) Neutering a puppy will cause him to have a sudden awareness of one particular body part...his wee wee. He didn't even give it the time of day until after chopping off his goods. Let's just say that there's a wee wee obsession going on. 5) I need to take dream interpretation classes. All night long I dreamed of dirty feet. What does that mean??? (By the way, my feet are totally clean!) 6) I'm totally j...