Two Blogs, One Day?

Well, if I can get it written and posted in the next 8 minutes that is....

I baby-sat Burim, my three year old nephew and apple of my eye, tonight so that Shannon could attend a friend's wedding. I have been in a FUNK all week long so I was acting more like a brat about doing this than I honestly should have. Here are the highlights from tonight's adventures in baby-sitting and yes, you are going to be subjected to all of the cute stories because almost all of the rest of you have cute kid stories all the time and I am always jealous so now I have some and I am going to blog about them. :-) I should be ashamed of myself for being bratty about baby-sitting when it brings me this kind of joy...(not to mention blog material)

1) I hand my fortune cookie to Burim and he opens it and pulls the paper out. "What does it say Burim?" (since he is learning to read- yes, I know- he is a genius) He hands it back to me and replies, "I don't know- it's in Spanish." I just stared at him and took it away from him. No, don't get all excited- it wasn't actually in Spanish- but where he came up with this is beyond me!

2) Burim knows he is NOT supposed to touch the little chlorine floater in the pool and I often say to his mother- if he isn't supposed to touch it- why not just take it out before he gets in there? Seems simple enough to me! Well, tonight, we all pile into the pool and are having a splendid time and he goes over and picks up the chlorine floater. Wait- who left THAT in there? Oh yeah. I'm the one in charge tonight so I guess that would be ME. "Burim!" (I shriek) I proceed to remind him he is NOT to touch the chlorine and that he knows this and if he does it again- he will get out of the pool and go to time-out. Here comes Mr. Burim through the water. He wraps his arms around my neck, leans his head on my shoulder and says, "Becca......I love you!" Silence. Troy is trying hard not to lose it and bust out laughing. "Burim, I love you too. Now don't touch the chlorine." (Trying to keep a straight face and failing miserably.) When I was re-telling this story to his mother- she says, "Wait. You didn't take it out BEFORE you got in the pool?" Damn my arrogance anyway.

3) When we arrived, we had picked up our dinner and came in with a big bag of food. Burim comes running up to Troy. "Uncle Troy! Did you bring me a burrito? Nuggets?! Pizza?!?!?" We are staring at each other and at his mother- it is 6:30! He didn't eat yet?! He runs to his mother, "They are eating and didn't bring me ANYTHING!" We are HORRIFIED and MORTIFIED! So we proceed to tell him we are going to make him a burrito right now. He looks at us in disgust and says, "I do not WANT to eat now. Right now, I will be playing." Where does this child GET this stuff?

4) Giving Burim his bath after pool time ends. I am sitting on the commode, flipping through a magazine. He turns around and looks at me. "Becca. Are you pooping?" Ummmm. No. But thanks for checking!

5) The best part of the whole night, well besides him being completely adorable and having the best laugh in the whole wide and ENTIRE world, was when he curled up with his blanket and tried to fight off sleep while he laid his head on Troy's lap. This makes my whole WORLD that my nephew who has my dimples and my blood in his veins adores the man I love more than life. I literally cannot explain what it makes me feel and how much it makes me love and adore BOTH of them more and more every time I witness it first hand.

I think five is enough, more than 5 and I would just be showing off. :-)

Dang it. It's 12:02. Oh well. Back to back blogs it will have to be. But I'm not going back to change the title.

Good night!

B

77 and counting

Sevens are lucky in the gambling world...and anyone who knows me well knows that I Lo-ooooo-ve to gamble. Emphasis on the love. I have been feening for some gambling time but this year it's not looking so promising. Maybe next year as my reward for all of this hard work.

This week we went back to WW after a week off for the 4th of July holiday. She presented stats that said JULY is the biggest drop-out rate month of the entire year for their program. I was shocked by this! She said she was too. I thought for sure it would be either April (when the newness from New Year's resolutions wears off) or November/December when people start going holiday crazy. Nope- July she said. Inneresting. Glad we came back or we would have just been another statistic.

Together- Troy and I have now lost almost 60 pounds. Of course, he has lost more than me, that's why I group it together. Makes me feel more successful lumping his success in with mine. I told our leader after the meeting today that I was expecting big savings in my bank account next month because gas prices are going back down and we should be getting better gas mileage on our cars REAL soon. She couldn't help but laugh.

I had to get up and speak today because I set another milestone and it is a big one in the world of Weight Watchers. I lost 10% of my body weight today! I didn't just lose what I needed to either- I obliterated it! I lost another 3.4 pounds in this morning's weigh-in and I was pretty stinkin' proud of myself for coming off a week with no meeting PLUS a major national holiday?! Awesomeness.

Even more awesome- I went to the front of the class, wrapped her feather boa around me (that is her "thing"- you wear a boa and shimmy it whenever you lose 10% of your weight- for some reason, Troy politely declined when it was his turn- such a party pooper) and talked about my journey thus far. Bonus? I didn't even shed a tear! Troy was sitting next to me and I thought he had turned into Bill or Edward (hello Sookie and Twilight fans, are you following this?) because I am pretty sure he had stopped breathing. I couldn't even look at him because I knew that would probably do me in. Later he told me, he heard a slight crack in my voice in the beginning and he knows that is how it always starts but that I shook it off and kept on trucking and didn't shed a tear. After the meeting, I went to hug my leader and she showed me where she had grabbed some tissues on her way into the room because she wanted to be prepared if I started blubbering. :-)

I have found my weight loss journey to be quite the emotional one. It is easy to ride high on adrenaline when you are losing faster than you can buy new clothes but it is just as easy to beat yourself the hell up whenever you do everything possible that you think is right and then you only lose .2 of a pound. So, making it through my little public appearance today with no tears was QUITE the accomplishment.

The changes in my body are becoming more and more evident and when I see my sister tonight she BETTER notice something besides my incredible-shrinking-boobs. Because I am so short, I have dropped 3 sizes already with my current weight loss. Fantabulous!

77 pounds to go. I can do this- yes I can! 7's are lucky!

Love,
Becca

Happy Birthday America!

That's what I spent some of my time doing on the holiday yesterday....trying to get Burim to say that. It finally happened after about 4 unsuccessful tries of him holding his arms up and yelling proudly "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BECCA!" LOL

My husband decided on our way down to Canton yesterday (for those who don't know, Canton is a small town out towards East Texas and the weekend before the "First Monday" in every month, they have a huge, I mean HUGE, trade show where you can buy just about anything your heart desires) we needed to introduce our 3 year old nephew to the spectacle and mystery that is fireworks. I informed him we should likely call Burim's mommy, my sister, and get permission before making such an investment, and to my wonderment, she thought it was a good idea too and told us to proceed. Yeah! Exciting times!

After spending 4 hours shopping in the 104 degree Texas sun, we were dripping wet, red faced, and exhausted, but got re-energized all over again when we pulled off onto the gravel shoulder to what claimed to be the "Largest fireworks stand in Texas! NO WAIT! 15 windows!" and began our inspection of their bounty.

Now, I know nothing about fireworks. We weren't allowed to have them as a kid and my mom put the fear of God into us with her wretched story about her friend, the boy who "blew his hand off", and forbade us from touching them. Troy, on the other hand, grew up with fireworks and goes into some sort of frenzy around them. Some of my greatest memories from early on in our marriage is going out to his sister's home in the country, which sat on acres of land, and watching the boys all shoot off hundreds of dollars worth of fireworks. We would BBQ, have watermelon, and home made vanilla ice cream with fresh sweet strawberries and sit outside drinking beer and wine coolers and having a great time. Her kids were young and still at home back then and they loved their aunt and uncle and we loved them and it was good, great, and awesome times. I get so nostalgic just thinking about it! His mother, Sherle, would send people back up the fireworks stand over and over and over again to get "just 20 more dollars" (really $100 more) because she loved it so much and Troy definitely takes after her in this way. She would slip money into different people's pockets and think she was being sneaky even though everyone knew what she was doing. Someone need to run to the store for milk? $20 in their pocket to stop by the fireworks stand on the way. 4th of July was one of our greatest family holidays back then and fireworks were a BIG deal. I can't believe those kids are now either in college, married for 5 years, or already finished a 4 year stint in the Marines. Goodness how time passes us by.

Troy starts conversing with the woman at the fireworks stand about what is appropriate for a 3 year old (really I think this is a ludicrous question- fireworks that are appropriate for a 3 year old? Let's get serious people!) and the pile in front of us starts growing and growing. He buys an entire SLEEVE of sparklers instead of just one box- why, I have no idea, but that's what he does. Then these little chickens who lay eggs ("shoot sparks out of their butt" is how she explained it) get added to the pile. He decided he wants a sparkler fountain too and she grabs one off the shelf. He double checks to make sure it is just a fountain that sprays color and she assures us it is. Good thing he has a witness to this conversation. That's all I'm saying. Otherwise, my sister really might have killed him last night.

Troy advises Ms. Fireworks Seller we will be IN the city limits and that we need things that are quiet and can be done in the backyard with no one getting arrested. He just wants a little bit of color and light to get Burim exposed to fireworks. Oh yes, she assures us, this one will be fine. "It's just a sparkler fountain that sprays pretty colors," and she makes a waving motion around the top of the cone to demonstrate how the pretty, pretty colors will come out. He points to one that is twice the size of the one we just added to the stack and she says that one will be fine too. He adds it the pile, I am shaking my head, and remind him we are NOT going to his sister's and I start laughing telling him he is definitely his mother's son. Now I am full-fledged tugging on Troy's sleeve and reminding him that Burim is only 3 when I notice that his eyes have glazed over and he appears to be in some sort of fireworks trance. ENOUGH! Time to go. We hide our illegal loot in the trunk under all of my Canton goodies and head back to civilization.

We go watch fireworks in the parking lot of the Grapevine Mills mall and Burim could care less about them. He ends up running around the parking lot and playing with his ball instead of looking at them. I think we have possibly burned him out on fireworks since we have been taking him up to the Ballpark after the Rangers' games to watch them in the parking lot. He doesn't appreciate them the way Shannon and I do since we only got to see them once a year in the parking lot of my step-dad's job at Fort Hood and those were nothing to get too excited about but we loved them. Troy announces he thinks it will be more fun to go back and do our sparklers instead.

When we get in the backyard, I am a little concerned with the crunching sound under my flip flops and I ask Shannon when is the last time she watered her grass?! She said she is just letting it die so I am a little concerned since it is STILL 96 degrees at 10:30 PM. Troy and Artan (my brother-in-law) appear to care not one bit and off they go, setting stuff on fire. I see embers glowing in the grass and my nervous memories of my mother's stern warnings are creeping up and making my tummy start to hurt. Of course, my mother (our adult supervision) is nowhere to be found, she crashed before the sun went down and was snoozing 1.5 miles a way. She probably woke up about 5 minutes later though...

Burim LOVED the sparklers and was running all around with them and was enjoying throwing his poppers on the ground and getting all excited when one actually popped and he made a sound like a wild animal and did his arms in little muscle man poses, showing us his brute strength (LOL) every time one made the loud noise.

Troy pulls out the sparkler fountain and Shannon glares at him (we were both worried the grass was going to catch on fire and burn the house down) and wants to know what it is. "Oh, it is just a sparkler fountain," I advise her knowingly, since I am now the fireworks expert in our family. "You put it on the ground and color comes out of it, just like a sparkler but it's a fountain." She still doesn't look convinced. Troy is trying to put it in the grass and I am yelling at him that isn't a good idea and he better put it on the concrete and she is yelling at him that he better keep it away from her pool. He is ignoring both of us and thinks we are idiots and hysterical females and Artan is still throwing poppers all over the place and holding three and four sparklers at a time to make a bigger fire. Troy puts the sparkler fountain on the grass and goes to light it. Shannon is glaring at him and goes to grab the garden hose and I bust out laughing.

What happened next, I only wish we had on video or at least had a couple of pictures. Now, keep in mind, we are in Shannon's backyard- of her DUPLEX, and we are well within the city limits and less than a mile from the big sign on the side of the road that says "Fireworks are strictly prohibited in the city limits". Just keep that in mind while you read on....

5 seconds after Troy lights the pretty sparkler fountain, it goes from a nice little light show on the ground to sparks start shooting up and FIREWORKS (actual fireworks) start shooting up in the air and over the house. Whistling and then exploding it goes off over and over and over and over again. My face is horrified and I am running towards the gate. I don't know where exactly I was headed but I was booking it out of there. I am too spoiled to be in jail. I would never survive.

Burim is standing transfixed staring at this explosion of light in his very own backyard with his eyes wide in amazement. Shannon is in shock and is looking like she honestly might kill Troy with her bare hands- or strangle him with the garden hose she is clutching for dear life. I am now laughing so hard I can't stop and am yelling at Troy, "MAKE IT STOP!!!!! We are going to get arrested!" He is looking a little panicked and just keeps saying, "It wasn't supposed to do that! She SAID!" He told me later that all he kept thinking is, "Oh my GOD, how long is it going to do that and can I make it stop?!" When I say it was LOUD, I am not kidding. We were full blown shooting off a fireworks display right in the middle of town. Kaboom, kaboom, kaboom, whistle, kaboom, over and over and over again. I am positive it was fine my mother didn't come over because she could surely see it from her apartment down the road, and I am thinking Troy's mom might have been able to see it in Mesquite 30 miles down the road too. Just when I think Shannon is about to douse the fountain AND my crazy husband with the garden hose, the screeching finally comes to an end and we are all just standing there in shock staring at each other.

It was a little thrilling to be completely honest (mostly AFTER it was over and no siren came roaring down the street) and I have never broken the law so blatantly (okay aside from speeding like a demon) so there was a little rush of adrenaline. But mostly, it was scary and hilarious all at the same time. Definitely a holiday memory for all time.

For future reference, the salesgirl at window 3 of the largest fireworks stand in Texas is a big fat liar and should NOT be trusted! That girl will tell you anything to sell you anything! LOL! Needless to say, we wrapped up our festivities and Troy quietly tucked the sparkler fountain that was three times the size of the one we had just set off back into our "top-secret big brown paper bag" and went and hid it back in the car. We were living on the edge last night but we aren't TOTALLY insane. :-)

Hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th- we definitely had a happy one and the safe part, while debatable, ended up alright in the end. Happy Birthday America and God Bless the USA!

Love,

Becca

Time flies....

Okay, people, you are going to have to start yelling at me on Facebook to stop playing Bejeweled and get my bootie over to my blog and post a new entry! I am serious when I say I cannot believe it has been almost a month since my last post. Unacceptable. But really, I guess I have been slacking all over the place since summer hit.

For some reason, I think because my sister is on summer break- I am too. Just ask my boss, I have been acting like I am on vacay for the last month and have spent the time I have been working trying to figure out new ways to take more time off. I triple love hanging out in the pool with my favorite little guy Burim and I love getting tan (tan fat=better than white fat, this is a proven fact) and I love gabbing the day away with Shannon and then facebooking on my phone while she facebooks on her computer and we are totally commenting to each other while we are sitting there staring at each other. I am aware this makes BOTH of us dorks but I don't care because I love it! Having those random fun days with her and her baby boy make it nearly IMPOSSIBLE for me to stay staring at the computer and sitting inside lovely government buildings all day. All I can think about is how much fun they are having without me and wondering WHY WHY WHY I am not a teacher for the million and tenth time. Oh yeah- I could NEVER get to work on time every day and being trapped with 20 to 30 kids in a room is my idea of torture. But the summer break....that I can do!

So, even though I am supposed to work this Friday and this Monday, I am spending this evening conniving a way to take both of those days off so I can hang out 3 miles down the road. I have spent so much time figuring that out, I guess I forgot to blog. Oh yeah- and work. I did get caught up today though so that month of slacking is behind me and I can move on to a NEW month of slacking. Yeah!

I am still going strong with the weight loss, down another 2 pounds last week. I have dropped about 3 sizes so far. My sister advised me on Friday that she knew I had lost weight because my boobs were smaller. Gotta love little sisters. Couldn't my REAR be smaller? Or my STOMACH or big flabby arms? Nope. Boobs. Such is life, I suppose anyway. I have backed off of my full-steam-ahead workouts 7 days a week. I say it is because I was worried about pushing too hard and getting injured...Troy says it's because I think I am on summer break and am stopping work of ALL types. Hmmmmm. What does he know? I bargained with myself that if I wasn't going to work out everyday, I had to change my contract with myself and drink 4 bottles of water each day instead of 3. I realize this makes no rational sense but it is how I am reconciling it all in my brain to justify my summer of leisure. Plus, the heat index IS over 100 and I would prefer NOT to die of heat stroke, I think it would hurt.

That's all for tonight. I will make a promise to do three things before I go eat my vegetable soup. I will go to water aerobics in the morning, I will walk/run on Friday morning, and I will blog again on Sunday. I talked to a friend from high school tonight (when I say talked, I mean facebooked of course, I rarely talk on the phone for pleasure anymore, it is always work and by the time I get done I have NO desire to do ACTUAL talking with anyone. When I finally peel the phone away from my ear or have it surgically removed for the week, I throw it in my purse or turn it on silent and shove it under my pillow. No idea why, but that's what I do. Don't judge!) and we traded blogs...that's when I came over here to peek at mine and I thought, OMG she is probably wondering why I am passing out my blog when I haven't posted in a month. Thus, this totally random and bizarre entry for tonight. To ease my guilty conscience. :-) It's my blog. I can do that if I want to.

XOXOXOXOXOXO
Becca

WW update

Several have asked, so I wanted to update real quickly. I am still doing Weight Watchers and it is going really well. This picture was taken last week (that's my best friend Peggy with me). SR says that shirt doesn't do me justice since it was so big. But it does describe how I'm feeling to a "T"!

WW's new program, Momentum, is the best program (or updated version of their program) that I have seen so far. I absolutely love it! There is a real focus on the healthy guidelines and on eating foods that are considered "simply filling". I have redefined what I want out of the program and am completely focused on getting HEALTHY and am considering the weight loss that is coming with it an added bonus. We are walking/running 3 miles a day and I have joined the gym and already been more times in two weeks than I went the entire year I had my membership in 2003. :-) I was so nervous to join water aerobics last week that I thought I might puke before I got there- but it was SO much fun and I loved it! It is on my calendar for the rest of the summer already!

I am dropping sizes like crazy and it won't be long (like probably this weekend) and I won't have to be in the plus sizes anymore. Yeah! I am sleeping 7 to 8 hours a night and I feel absolutely fabulous. So, for those who are curious as to the numbers...I am down to 85 pounds to lose! Never thought that would sound so manageable but considering how far I had to go when I started, this seems easier every day.

Between myself and Troy, we are over 40 pounds lighter as a couple. Isn't that crazy?! He looks like a different person already. I am trying not to be too jealous that people can notice so much more easily on him than they can on me. This has brought us so much closer as a couple and I am so grateful for that and for his improved health. He has serious issues with his lungs due to complications from a near-fatal bout of pneumonia two years ago and getting exercise and losing weight is very important for his health. Since I need him to stick around for a while (I need all the funny blog posts he provides...just kidding) I will deal with all the attention going his way...my turn will come. :-)

I am still sticking with my contract with myself and have made even more positive changes. My good friend, Ceci, told me several months ago that when she stopped working so much and started focusing on her health and dedicating time to HER, everything else fell into place and she was happier than she could remember being in a long, long time. I was SO jealous at the moment she told me that and I felt so overwhelmed. How could I make that same commitment? How did I take that first step? How could I stop working so much? It didn't seem possible at all. But that premise stuck in the back of my mind and when my vacation came around in April, I decided she was really on to something and that if I wanted it badly enough then I was the ONLY person who could make it happen. The rest, as they say, is history. Now I am "UNSTOPPABLE"! :-) Thank you Ceci! I love you girl!

XOXO,

Becca

Oh my poor husband!

He had no idea when I started blogging to fulfill my own need for written expression and stress relief that he would be subjected to full public disclosure of the antics that go on in this home. I do just want to preface this post with the fact that HE was the one who asked me if I was going to blog about it when it happened....and I did get his permission to proceed. :-)

Troy is NOT a handyman and would much rather live in an apartment where the maintenance is someone else's responsibility and just a phone call away. My friends often tell me I should just threaten him that I am going to hire someone to complete the pending work and projects around the house and that this should "scare him" into finishing whatever it is. Not my husband. He would be ecstatic if I would just go hire someone and he would go merrily about his own business. Every once in a great while though, he surprises me and gets the bug to complete some long-ago started project without my constant whining and begging and pleading and groveling and bartering and....you catch my drift.

Friday was one of those days. Our guest bathroom has been in a state of "we're remodeling" for over a year now. It took me forever and a day to pick out the new mirror for this project and then to "Infinity and beyond" (to quote Buzz) to pick the new light fixture. So, much of the delay was in fact my issue....but the normal procrastination by Mr. Troy was also in play. We have had all of the new supplies eagerly lined up awaiting their new positions in the soon-to-be greatest guest bath ever (haha) for quite some time. Our housekeeper doesn't even bother to go in there any more- she is quite used to our remodeling antics that remain in a perpetual state of incompleteness and knows that I really just want her to dust and vacuum anyway. I am worried she might go into cardiac arrest when we leave that door open and there is actually a working light in there next week!

I work from home on Fridays and Troy's hours bring him to the house by 3 PM. So, that leaves about 1 or 2 hours that I have to keep working and keep reminding him that just because I am home doesn't mean I can party with him when he gets off work. This Friday, he barely stopped to kiss me on the forehead after his traditional "Lucy, I'm home!" greeting and disappeared into the darkness of the guest bathroom-land. Since we haven't had a working light fixture in that bathroom since Lassie was a pup, there is a big floor lamp plugged in to give us some light in case someone actually needs to use that restroom for the purpose it was intended in an emergency.

I am typing away, fielding calls from workers, and thinking in the back of my mind how surprised I am that Troy is not talking my ear off when I hear some very not nice words coming from the other side of the house. My husband is NOT a curser (I know this is shocking for some of you who are very close to me and don't know Troy all that well) so when he is cussing up a storm, I know something has gone awry. Ugh, what am I going to find in the guest bathroom that is going to set us back another 2 years? Before I can even make the journey around the hall, here comes my husband, sprinting across the bedroom into the bathroom that has an actual working light fixture in it and he is hiking up his leg in the mirror trying to catch a glimpse of something. "What the heck is going on in there Troy?! I am trying to WORK!"

"I burned my ass!"

"WHAT?"

"I BURNED MY ASS!"

I am so confused at this point I am not sure what in the world is going on. I put aside the pink laptop, sigh loudly (so he will be sure to know how inconvenienced I am at this point), and venture into our bathroom. There is Troy, dressed in a T-shirt and underwear, looking at his rear-end in the mirror. My eyebrows are all scrunched up trying to figure out exactly what has happened.

"Do you see it?!" He is not a happy camper I take it.

"See what?"

"My burned ass!"

Hmmmm, I do see something, what the heck is that? He points to a huge silver dollar sized red burn right on the bottom of his bum. It certainly looks like a burn. He does not appear to appreciate my slowness in accepting that he has burned his ass. "What were you doing," I inquire. "Trying to finish patching the hole in the wall!" I am still not understanding how this led to a burned rear-end. And why isn't he wearing any pants?! "I didn't want to get texture on my shorts!" He is really not getting any happier with me at this point. His bootie really looks kind of painful! That puppy is turning redder by the second!

"Exactly how did you burn your ass?"

"On the light bulb dangit!"

"Why was the cover off the lamp?"

"So I could see better!"

"How did that work out for you?"

"I burned my ass!"

Apparently, when he was stepping down off of the vanity top, he didn't realize the lamp was right behind him and set his bottom straight on top of the bare, exposed light bulb. I laughed so hard, I nearly cried. My worker actually thought I WAS crying when I had to pause from the riveting investigation into the burned rear-end to take a work phone call. I had to breathe deeply to be able to calm down enough to talk to her intelligently. Then came the all important question from my burned hubby...."Are you going to BLOG about this?!" Well........of course I am. You just can't make this stuff up.

Lord, I just want to say thank you for bringing this man into my life. Without him, I would have never known the joy of true love, the blessing of marriage, and the gift of great fun and laughter.

A good deal

I LOVE good deals. I don't shop often (I know, I am weird like that) but when I do, I am practically obsessed with getting the best deal. I don't buy ANYTHING if it is not on sale. This applies to food, clothes, memberships, everything. I could practically open my own Bath and Body Works store out of my spare bedroom because of the good deals I have gotten there. I am the master of coupons, special offers, coupons combined with sales and specials, you name it. One time, I bought a $65 shirt for $3 at Petite Sophisticate (my used to be FAV store before they closed). I have gotten so many items for free or $2 or less, it is ridiculous. I love it. It is like a high for me. It is so addicting! We are like a trained army on Black Friday and the day after Christmas. We both have our marching orders and we divide and conquer then meet back in the middle where I scour the receipts to see how much we saved and squeal with glee over each increasingly good find. We are serious about our good deals! Well, I am anyway, I think Troy just plays along....but he has been known to venture out on his own and gloat about some of his better conquests in this department...so I think he MIGHT be on board, at least a little bit. I do know he doesn't think we need any more candles...so I hope they don't go on sale again any time soon.

My dear friend and I were in our once-a-month Leadership session at work yesterday when our trainer dismissed us for lunch. We have been known to connive her into letting us go straight through lunch, only take 30 minutes, or to go and pick stuff up and then eat as a group back in the class, all in order to get out of there early. My friend and I immediately started our typical wheeling and dealing but were quickly shut down by our facilitator. "I have lunch plans," she announced and quickly followed up with, "And they are not negotiable." UMPH! We pouted but to no avail. An hour and a half lunch then back for one hour? Ugh. Annoying! We always go to Chick-fil-A on these dates and couldn't figure out how we might draw that out any longer than possibly 30 minutes- tops. My suggestion- we can go shopping! She quickly agrees and we are off. This could definitely spell trouble...

Kirkland's is one of my absolute favorite stores. I literally think it is possible I have spent an entire year's salary in this place up to this point in my life. We go in and see they are having a huge sale (BONUS!) and that many things are marked off 50% or more. YES! We each find something relatively quickly and the drug starts coursing through our veins....ahhhhhh, the adrenaline is pumping. The store manager comes over and informs us that in the back room of the store (a top secret back room? I am in heaven!) there is an entire stockpile of stuff that is not only 50% off....it is another 25% off the lowest marked sale prices. I believe I have won the lotto at this point and am in absolute shopping Utopia. We both managed to load up with so much stuff we had to start a stash behind the counter. I was amazed that each of us got out of there for only $100. Even better! I triple love when I get a ton of items and then figure out the per-item-cost for my haul. When it is $5 to $10 a pop or less, I feel absolutely exhilarated and totally successful. With the fabulous stuff I got...I was even more thrilled. Two items alone that I purchased would have cost $100 regular price and I got 14 items. Victory!

We went back again today and brought along our 3rd musketeer (yeah, this is how it STOPS being so cost-effective in Troy's eyes). We loaded up again and this time got out of there for only $50 each (well, not the 3rd musketeer, but she had to catch up from yesterday! PLUS- she bought stuff NOT on sale! I nearly fell over!). I have done everything possible to convince Troy this was a good thing and that when he takes me back again tomorrow, by mathematical principle....it should be FREE! For some reason....I don't think HE is buying what I'm selling. :-)

xoxoxoxoxoxo,

Becca

For Tina

I am broken hearted tonight for my husband's aunt and her family. Not only is her father-in-law in the end stages of terminal cancer, they had to make a final decision today for their Schnauzer, who they have had for many, many years.

So instead of blogging...I will post what is said better than I ever could and hope that I can find the strength to do what she is doing for her beloved Roscoe when I can no longer bear the pain of our own loyal and faithful companion, Buster's, suffering. I am praying tonight for Roscoe to finally be at peace and restored to full health when he is in the kingdom of heaven in the face of our Lord, for my aunt to find solace amidst her sorrow, and for God to give them the strength to survive what this week has yet to come and they will feel His love as He works to heal their broken hearts.

Much love,
Becca

Dear Abby,

Will you please reprint a request from a dog to its' owner, beseeching the owner to put him to sleep when life ceases to be a happy experience?It has been several years since I read it in your column, but I hope you will print it again, as it will be a great help to a member of my family who is having a hard time accepting the inevitable end to a 15 year relationship between himself and his best friend.

Eva A. Michaud
Bangor, Maine

Dear Eva: With pleasure, here it is.

A Dog's Prayer

by Beth Norman Harris

Treat me kindly, my beloved master, for no heart in all the world is more grateful for kindness than the loving heart of me. Do not break my spirit with a stick, for though I should lick your hand between the blows, your patience and understanding will more quickly teach me the things you have me do.

Speak to me often, for your voice is the world's sweetest music, as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail when your footstep falls upon my waiting ear. When it is cold and wet, please take e inside, for I am now a domesticated animal, no longer used to the bitter elements. And I ask no greater glory than the privilege of sitting at your feet beside the hearth. Though had you no home, I would father follow you through ice and snow than rest upon the softest pillow in the warmest home in all the land, for you are my god and am your devoted worshiper.

Keep my pan filled with fresh water, for although I should not reproach you were it dry, I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst. Feed me clean food, that I may stay well, to romp and play and do your bidding, to walk by your side, and stand ready, willing and able to protect you with my life. should your life be in danger.

And, beloved master, should the Great Master see fit to deprive me of my health or sight, do not turn me away from you. Rather hold me gently in your arms as skilled hands grant me the merciful boon of eternal rest.....and I will leave you knowing with the last breath I drew, my fate was ever safest in your hands.

Really?

We all knew there would be tests. Trials. Tribulations. Difficult days where I would be forced to push through and remember my new found dedication to me. To my sanity, my faith, my mental health and my overall well-being. To my peaceful outlook on life, my refreshed and relaxed state of mind. We all knew that day was eventually going to come.

I don't think that I was anticipating that the test would involve quite so MANY things going wrong in one day. But really....isn't that how it usually goes? Feast or famine. When it rains it pours. You catch my drift.

Today, the madness started early. About 8:37 to be exact (and yes, that is early to me). There were crazy emails. Then there were crazier emails. A lack of professionalism by people who I am going to choose to believe were just having a bad day....for lack of a better operational theory. Maybe they are even having a bad life. Not sure...but I am thinking it must be one or the other. I hope so anyway...otherwise....it is just sad to be that mean. It kind of is anyway but I digress.

Shortly thereafter, there was the hysterical call from my employee that I couldn't even understand.....two minutes before my unit got assigned a case that she had just closed and about 8 minutes after telling my only other worker she wasn't getting any cases today...I did understand enough from the first worker's frantic call to catch the bottom line....she ain't coming in today or anytime soon. Really? I suppose I shouldn't really be surprised at all.

Move on to realizing I had missed a deadline and my new laissez faire attitude was catching up with me in that department. Whoops! It's about balance folks...this is all new, still gotta work on that part. Then....I forgot to eat lunch! Really? (You might ask yourselves.) Yes. Really. There went my perfect streak. Troy has never understood that one...how do people forget to eat lunch...I tell him to just hang out with me for one solid work day and he will understand. He has yet to take me up on it...but he still isn't buying it and has no sympathy when it occurs...he describes it as "ridiculous". Umph. Really.

Continue on to realize I was a tad close to missing another deadline (the OLD Rebecca would never have stood for this nonsense!)... but it was just CLOSE and not quite missed. This is a good thing! Hooray for me! My day is turning around. Really? That would be the logical assumption. I tried to hurry up and whiz through that task only to realize the provided instructions were not working. Ugh. So I had to go ahead and confess I hadn't even started yet (noting on the instruction email dated 5/1 where it said "this will only take you 1o minutes and it is IMPERATIVE you start now"....UGH). I sent my confession only to realize three minutes later that the instructions WERE working. And of course I figured it out before I even got a response back from my confession (but not before getting a read receipt for my email)...I just wasn't using the correct login ID. I told on myself for nothing! REALLY?! Oh well, my new found outlook on life kept me smiling and trucking along. So what if I told on myself? I was taking care of it now and that's what was important. Really? Hmmmm.

I set up the email request for this task and put myself on the "To" line so that I could put the people I wanted to be the "non-disclosed recipients" on the BCC line. Or so I thought. Really? Nope. I send the email out and get about 11 read receipts right off the bat. This is great! People will finish in no time. Imperative, schmerative! Piece of cake getting this done, no need to start on the 1st when you can wait till the 18th and get this type of response time! Really? Not so much. For some reason, I went back to check the email I had just sent and that BCC line was missing one big letter. And it was the B (as in BLIND). UGH. Really? Yep. Really. Now my supposedly anonymous survey had just gone out where everyone could see exactly who was invited to take it and who wasn't. Guessing that message recall option was out too...remember, 11 read receipts from my super speedy peeps? Yep. Really.

Oh well. Live and learn. It'll all come out in the wash as they say. Anyway, now the work day is over and we are free to enjoy our evening and put this horrific day behind me. Right? Or should I say....really?

I planned a DELISH dinner for our newly appointed "Grill Night" set to occur every Monday starting at 5 PM sharp. For those who might be curious (and just because it sounds so awesome, I want to write about it again here), we were having BBQ lime grilled chicken breast, Cajun grilled corn on the cob, garlic broccoli and watermelon. Sounds FAB doesn't it? Really! It really does! Everything was right on schedule and I was putting my BEAR of a day behind me. The smell wafting in from outside was UN-Be-LIEV-ABLE. Really. Uh-huh. Troy comes in from outside shaking his head. "I guess we know how long the propane will last," he is muttering. Yes, we had been wondering about that. What does that have to do with anything tonight? And, keep in mind- I didn't have lunch, remember?

"Did we just run out of propane?!"

"Yep."

"Really?!"

"Why would I make this up?"

"UGH."

REALLY. That's about how my day went. But really (is that getting old yet? Oh yeah? It is? Really?! Oh, okay, I'll stop now.)...all in all, it was a beautiful day. I went for a 2.6 mile walk in the sunshine and great weather and was blessed to do it with minimal pain and to have my mom for company. I got to gab with my best friend and crack jokes (when I should have been eating lunch but still) and we laughed so hard we nearly cried (that's the best kind). I had a wonderful dinner (eventually) with a wonderful guy. Today I got to talk to my mom, my sister, my mother-in-law, and my dear SR. I got to spend another day with my dog whose remaining days are few...but while he's here is happy to be and is as loyal and grateful as the day is long. My washing machine started working again (praise GOD for that- have you priced those things lately?!). Our check finally came in that we are using to pay off a major credit card.

So.....actually, it was a great day and all of those tests, trials and tribulations were just there to make me appreciate it all the more. I think I posted about this not too long ago....isn't it funny how the same set of circumstances are perceived so differently simply based on your own perspective and frame of mind? Two months ago, I would have considered this a yucky bad day and I would have let it consume my evening and my ME-time. But, it wasn't a bad day. Not really. ;-) Sorry, I couldn't resist...just one more time.

*****Dedicated to one of my favorite SNL segments....can you guess what it's called? REALLY. (No, really. That's what it's called!)*****

Live, laugh, love...
B

Good thing I don't live alone....

Well, I guess it is a good thing. The bad part is there is a witness. The good part is that if I ever get too wild and crazy- there is someone there to protect me. To slap me awake if needed. Mr. Dix decided to spend the better part of the morning today filling me in on this month's antics to date. And when I say antics- I mean my bizarre activities after I have allegedly gone to sleep for the night. When I was a kid, I used to sleep walk all of the time...so much so that my step-dad had to install a special lock on the top of the front door after I went out in the middle of the night in my PJ's trying to get into his big orange truck. I still remember that night and I was on a MISSION! I have also gotten into the laundry detergent, started the washing machine while it was empty, left the freezer and refrigerator doors wide open, and started running water in the bathroom. I did many other entertaining things as a child in my sleep, including impersonating an alien with my index fingers flicking up and down on each side of my head while turning from left to right....and people (and by people I mean my MOM) love to bring them up at inopportune times in my adult life.

Fast-forward to 2009 and for some reason...the antics have begun again. Not sure if they ever stopped completely, but for whatever reason, I have kicked it into high gear in the last 6 months. Two weeks ago, I allegedly was asleep on my stomach and all of a sudden pushed myself up with my arms, craned my neck around the room, grinning like a fool, started stroking Troy's arm and then reached over and licked his arm. LICKED HIM. This is his story. Sad part is, I kind of semi-remember it. But the way I was living it, we were having a nice romantic conversation and I reached over to give him a sweet, soft kiss. Apparently, that ain't how it actually went down.

Earlier this month, I again sat up straight in bed and began demanding to know where Josh Hamilton was and what had Troy done with him. (Josh Hamilton plays for the Texas Rangers for those who may not know. Never met him. Not my favorite player. The only thing I do know is that he is on a TV commercial right now and perhaps I saw it before going to sleep.) Whenever Troy refused to disclose his location, I proceeded to start throwing the pillows off the bed and pulling our two mattresses apart to look in between them and under the bed. Troy was laughing so hard telling me this part he nearly had tears in his eyes. He had to physically restrain me to keep me from tearing the house apart to find the elusive Mr. Hamilton.

Troy says whenever these episodes happen, I sit straight up in bed like I am possessed. Then I get this super goofy look on my face and start grinning from ear to ear. Of course, there is no photographic evidence of this (YET) so I only have his word to take for it. He is so amused when reliving the details that I find it hard to believe it isn't accurate. And his impersonation has me rolling too and it is pretty much the same goofy look every time.

So, apparently, last night, I again woke up with the goofy look. Grinning like a fool again, I demanded to know, "Where did that guy go?" Troy tried to ignore me but I was insistent. "He was right here," I demanded. "Standing right over there," pointing next to the bed. Troy is laughing so hard at this point in his re-telling, he has ME crying. Troy informed me there was nobody there, and if he was there, he didn't see him, and he isn't here now. He said after he finally convinced me he had gone, I got a smug look of satisfaction on my face and drifted back off to dream. Lord knows about what. I have no recollection of this event AT ALL- a little scary if you ask me.

So far, my antics at night have not gotten me into any trouble or led to me or anyone else being injured...but I just pray that the day doesn't come where I start calling other people, dialing 911 about the crazy man standing next to our bed, escaping from my house and looking for my dad's old orange truck, or start talking about crazy stuff that I would be better off NOT bringing up to my husband (like my candle addiction). Troy pointed out today that this is yet another reason we do NOT need a gun in the house. He doesn't want me waking up shooting at imaginary people who have crawled underneath our bed to find out where Josh Hamilton ran off to.

I think I could use a nice, long, Saturday nap. While Troy is gone....so I can sleep in peace.

:-)

Becca