NEED A VACATION FROM THE EVERY DAY? LOOK NO FURTHER.......

Need a vacation from your every day stresses or just a little time to yourself? Doesn't a trip sound wonderful? Don't have the money? You would be amazed how cheap a little time away could be........if you just look in the closet or visit the library...... "Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book."

~Author Unknown

No, reading is not just for nerds and it can actually be a pleasant experience. "I LOVE to read" is an understatement. You can travel to places you never would have imagined. Even if it's just a few minutes a night after the kids are in bed, you can enjoy some time for yourself. If it has been awhile, look online or ask some friends what good books are out there. I have had wonderful suggestions from some of my friends like my sister Jessica, Sherry, Nicole, Mandy and my mother-in-law too! They seem to like some of the same reads that I do.

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."

~Mark Twain, attributed

You don't have to spend a lot of money on a good book. There are libraries in every town that are full of them. Some you can reserve titles online and pick them up, there are book drops outside and best of all a library card is free. Take your kids with you, what better example do you think you could be setting? Sydney has fallen in love with reading and I am just "tickled to death"! You can check books out for 3 weeks at a time and if you are not finished you can check it out again. You may have to go by or you may be able to call and check it out again by phone or online. This is much cheaper that buying books. You can also borrow books for your friends, but be sure to take good care of them so your friends will let you borrow again in the future!

Also, you don't have to go for the same type of book every time. For instance, if you read my blog you are well aware that I like books in the vampire genre. I am reading book 5 of "The Morganville Vampires" series right now, but that isn't all I like to read. Expand your mind! There are so many types of books you can read it is amazing. If you want to read all romance novels, by all means do so, do what makes you happy. If you don't like to read, don't torture yourself!

I have decided that in case anyone is interested, I will mention book titles from time to time in my blog just in case someone needs a good reading suggestion. If you know of a great book, send me a message and I will share it on my blog.

My first suggestion is:

THE HOST by Stephenie Meyer

This book is described as science fiction for people who do not like science fiction. Yes, this is the same person that wrote the young adult Twilight Saga, but do not let this turn you off, this is her first adult novel. I actually would never have thought it was the same author. This novel was a very pleasant surprise after reading the Twilight Saga. I would definitely read it again and probably will in the near future. I could not put it down. Here is a description for you:

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.
Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.
When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

"My test of a good novel is dreading to begin the last chapter." ~Thomas Helm

(This is so true! I love it when this happens and hate it all at the same time!)

HAPPY READING EVERYONE!

HOUSEPLANTS WITH KIDS AND SPIDERS??!!

As a parent I try to be safe and aware of everything that is going on with my kids. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the smallest things. One of these pretty plants made it's way into my home but is definitely on the way out, thanks to my sister Jessica for paying attention. Isn't this a pretty vine? Remember my earlier post when Sydney and I potted some small plants in the kitchen one afternoon? The English Ivy plant, or also known as "California Fan" was one of those plants. My sister Jessica had just gotten one of these also. They are very pretty.
Well, Jessica called me today and let me know that I needed to check my plant. Apparently this plant has a very good chance of getting "spider mites". Also, this is a very poisonous plant to humans and animals. I had thrown away most of my plants or killed them when Sydney was a baby, but I have 3 that I have had for about 8 years. I didn't pay attention to the types when I was buying them a few weeks ago, if they were cute I got them. Bad idea.

A couple of weeks ago Rachel decided to lick a plant at Jessica's. She has never done this at home, that I am aware of, so that means that she probably has. I have put this plant outside for now and may hang it in a tree away from Rachel, we'll see. Please check all of your plants if you have indoor animals or small children, a simple google search will give you all the information you need. I am going to include some information on this particular English Ivy or "California Fan" plant. Common names - Common English Ivy
Botanical name- Hedera helix
Poisonous part- Leaves

This vine is grown both as an indoor and outdoor ornamental and it has caused poisoning in cattle, dogs, sheep, and humans. Symptoms of ingestion are difficulty in breathing, convulsions, vomiting, paralysis and coma. Dermatitis is rare but can be severe with weeping blisters which respond slowly to treatment. The berries are bitter so it's unlikely children will consume them in large quantities.

The English Ivy is a common houseplant that can be kept as an indoor or outdoor plant. Although the basic care is quite simple, they are at risk for developing spider mites, which can cause extensive damage to the plant.

Once spider mites infest an English Ivy plant, they will suck out the sap inside the plant's tissues. They will then inject toxin into the leaves, which causes them to become yellow and dry.

PLEASE CHECK ALL OF YOUR PLANTS FOR THE SAFETY OF YOUR KIDS AND ANIMALS!

UNPLANNED ADVENTURES

Today my friend Julia said this on Facebook "Sometimes, the best adventures are the ones you don't plan." This is so true. Last October we woke up one morning and I said to Jason "Hey, let's go somewhere. Lets call your Grandma and my Grandma and take them to Oak Island." We had been wanting to go but never took the time. Jason's Grandma had never seen a lighthouse before and Oak Island had the only one that Jason and I had not seen in NC. We called everyone and said "be ready in an hour!" We drove to Fort Fisher and had a picnic on the beach, then we rode the ferry over and played on the beach in front of the lighthouse. Sydney and Rachel thought it was so cool to go on a day trip with both Grandma's. They has the best time singing in the car.

I have a couple of day trips planned for the girls this year but with no specific dates. I think I will keep it a secret until the morning we are leaving each time. I will know when we are going, but it will be fun for them when they wake up on a new adventure that they weren't expecting!

"THE ETERNAL KISS"

"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb."
"What a stupid lamb"
"What a sick, masochistic lion"

“You're like my own personal brand of heroin,”

Okay, so if you know me at all you have to know that I read the Twilight Saga, all four books, by Stephenie Meyer last year and absolutely fell in love with them. I absolutely LOVE vampire books and vampire movies. I always have, so I'm like a kid in a candy store with all of these books and movies that have been coming out. Yes, these are in the young adult section but I will also say that no 12-15 year old of mine will ever read these books. That is a little too young. Maybe not for the first book, but when we start breaking headboards and stuff like that, you need to be a little older..... With that said, you can find some great books in the young adult section so I tend not to look in only one section at all.

My sister Shannon said she is going to scream if she hears one more advertisement today that "New Moon" is releasing on DVD tonight at midnight, so I just has to send her a message on Facebook to remind her, one more time...lol. I have not bought Twilight and I am not going to buy New Moon, I want to wait until they have made all the movies and come out with a box set. If I buy them now they will come out with something great later and I will still but it anyway, so.

My DVR has been so empty lately and I have been reading a lot, I am still reading The Morganville Vampires, I am on book four. But some of my favorite bloodsucking shows are returning soon! yay!

The Vampire Diaries returns.

This Thursday night at 8pm.

Stefan and Elena are worried about Damon......

This Sunday night begins reruns of True Blood season 2 so everyone can get a refresher before Season 3 begins on June 13, 2010

If I don't answer the phone, leave a message, my DVR is about to be full.....

BLOG # 31

Well, I had to name this BLOG # 31 instead of DAY 30 OF MY BLOG due to my failed internet connection Saturday night and because on day 1 I made 2 entries. Either way I am still proud that I finished it. I have enjoyed writing this blog and would like to thank everyone that has been reading it. I am definitely going to continue my blog although I may not have an entry every single day, or I may, I have not decided yet.

When I first started this blog this is what I posted on the front page:

"Through my blog I plan to have "me time" which is something mommies lack a great deal of. I plan to use my blog as a stress reliever, to get things off my mind. I don't really care if anyone reads it or doesn't. Subject matter will definitely vary due to my current adventures. I am only dedicating myself to 30 days to start off with and see how this new adventure pans out for me! At the end you may think I should be institutionalized. If you already think you know me...we'll see."

I have definitely had the "me time" that I was looking for and it has helped to get things off of my mind and put them out here for other people to read and give feedback. Thank you for all of your comments on blogger.com and my Facebook page. I will continue to add the link to Facebook when I make an entry.

My question for you is, do you think you found out anything new about me or did you know everything all along?

UPDATES

In one of my previous blog I mentioned my tendency to buy way too many clothes and I am glad to say that I have not been doing that this month. With all of those gorgeous spring clothes out it has been a little difficult not to just snatch them up. I still need to go through Sydney's old clothes that I put away to see what Rachel can wear before I buy anything. If I go ahead and buy a bunch of stuff I will probably find a ton of stuff in my closet and something will go unused.

On 3/10 my post was called GETTING BACK ON THE WAGON. Well I just realized that 3/10 was 6 days ago and I still have not gotten on that treadmill. What has been keeping me from it this last week. Just me, I've gotta make myself so it. I really enjoyed it before and I will again. I have got to MAKE the time for it. I have no excuse, I'm a stay at home mom! Not to say that we're not busy because we are! I know what people think about stay at home moms because I have been there. But this is definitely a topic for another day!

I am taking Sydney this afternoon to sign up for baseball, thus beginning our busy spring/summer schedule. :)

IT PAYS TO SAVE

My sister Shannon has went coupon crazy, or so I thought! She may actually be onto something. I use coupons sometimes but there are actually people out there that are expert couponers. Shannon is on her way to "expert couponer status". She kind of got me restarted (if that's a word) on coupons. Like I said I use them sometimes, but in the past 2 months I have started using them more. Getting the paper every Sunday is a start. I get 2 most of the time. You can also go to coupons.com and print out coupons that Food Lion, Wal-Mart and all the other store accept. I have been going through them each time I go to the store to see if there are any coupons for the items I need. I don't use them just because I have them or they will not save me anything. This morning Rachel and I made a trip to WalMart after we took Sydney to school. We needed to get some groceries, Rachel's training pants and I picked up some Easter stuff. I went through my coupons and at the checkout I saved $30 off of my bill of $200.00 with my coupons. During the month of February I saved over $100.00 by doing this. If your money is tight or not it's worth it to try it. You can spend the money you saved on something else. Why pay full price if you don't have to? If you have kids it really pays to use them on diapers, wipes, toys, you can even find Gerber coupons for baby clothing items.

This is a website where you can buy coupons for about .05 cents each, http://thecouponcutters.com/, if it's a good coupon it's worth it. Shannon and I use ALL H.E. detergent, it was on sale for $3.99 at Wal-Mart down from $5.99 , after the coupon we paid $2.00 a bottle. We both stocked up with this deal. There are also a lot of coupons also that say "any size" and you can get a ton of free items this way or if you wait for something to go on sale. For instance, Shannon had Gillette Mach3 razor coupons for $4 each and Target had theirs on sale for $4.99 she got the razors with refills for .99 cents each. She also got $2.00 snuggle dryer sheets coupons from this website. The small box is $1.97 at Wal-Mart and she ended up getting 18 boxes of Snuggle dryer sheets for free.

http://thecouponcutters.com/

There is a great website hip2save http://hip2save.com/, this lady posts deals every day, freebies, coupon deals and deals that she finds at online stores as well. I love her site. She also has a tutorial for people that are new to coupons.

It really doesn't take much time to do this. Shannon has a binder to keep hers organized and I just keep mine in a box on the kitchen counter. Just think, if I save this every month and put it to the side I could pay for the kids Christmas or even use it on vacation or whatever I want. You should try it, you would be amazed at how much money you can save.

Shannon has actually started getting so much stuff that Mama, Jessica and I have started shopping in her pantry!

SHORT OF MY GOAL, BUT NOT GIVING UP

Well tomorrow was supposed to be day 30 of my blog. I have been waiting for tomorrow so that I could say I completed my goal of challenging myself to a 30 day blog. As you can see, there is no post for yesterday. I almost forgot about it until late last night. I tried to sign on at 11:45, barely getting it in by the deadline of midnight for yesterday's post. My internet connection failed. I waited until 12:45 and kept trying to get it to connect, but it was no use. I went to bed. Technically it was after midnight anyway so I wouldn't have made my post at that point. This morning the internet is working just fine. I am going to push day 30 to Tuesday instead of tomorrow so that I will still get in 30 days even though I fell short by missing yesterday.

Next I would like to ask anyone reading this blog if they think I should continue to write it. I have really enjoyed it even though I feel in the last week I have rushed it a little. Please give me some feedback.

My sister-in-law Amber came last night and brought "Baby Maegan", this is what Rachel calls her. Babies are such a sweet gift. I don't know how anyone could ever mistreat them. If you have children in your life, don't forget what a blessing they are.

WE ARE ALL HUMAN

When I first started this blog I said I was going to use it as a stress reliever. Today is the most perfect day for that. Today I was told by someone that they hated me, that I thought I was better than everyone else, they were so sick of me, they had hated me for years and above all again I think I am better than everyone else. This was repeated several times. There was a lot of profanity and unnecessary words I do not care to use in this blog.

Well first I would like to say I wish I had been let in on this info years ago and I could have saved myself a lot of headaches and unwanted stress.

Second I would like to say that I do not and have never thought that I am better than anyone else. If anyone has ever gotten this impression of me I would like to apologize. I feel that we are all human and we are equal. Some have it worse than others. No one life is more important to me than another. I try to do the best I can and help everyone I can.

Third I would like to say that I know this person will come back later and say they didn't mean any of it, they were mad and don't know what they are saying when they are mad. Well, you know what, I will NEVER forget it. I am sure all of these things were honest and the truth and I can deal with that. You should never say things if you will want to take them back later. Think before you speak. Yes, it did hurt my feelings and I did cry. It also opened my eyes. I have tried to help this person all I can. I can stop trying now and not feel guilty about it. I owe this person nothing, I did my best and that is the end of that and I still do not feel I am better than anyone. This person doesn't really know me at all if that is what they think.

Fourth, there are consequences for the actions you take. No I am not threatening anyone, only maybe to never talk to them again. I do not need this nonsense in my life or the life of my girls. That is my job, to protect them and make sure they have healthy and happy lives.

Just in case it crossed your mind, no, this person is not my husband, he would never talk to me that way. He respects and loves me. I do not feel it is important to blast this person by name, I know who they are and feel comfortable in my decision to move on knowing I did what I could to help this person. Some people just can not be helped and you can not help them if they are not willing to help themselves.

Thank you to all my friends for listening.

KNOW HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

Well it has been brought to my attention that some of my recent entries in this blog have been kind of angry and I feel even rushed. I am SO tired today I am even kind of dreading having to do an entry today. It's only 8:12 and I feel like it's 2am. I only have a few days left to finish my 30 day challenge. I do not want to rush my entries or just post something for the sake of getting it over with.

I have heard so many stories on the news in the last few days about home invasions and gun accidents. I would like to encourage all women to know how to use a handgun. Everyone needs to be able to protect themselves. If you have small children you need a gun cabinet. Everyone should also take a safety course. I have guns but I know how to use them and I have them locked away from my kids. If you don't know what you are doing or are scared to use a firearm you are probably going to hurt someone that you don't intend to hurt. I hope that I never have to use mine against someone but I feel that I need to be able to protect myself and my family if the need should present itself. So far my only victims have been a couple of snakes and I hope it stays that way.

GETTING BACK ON THE WAGON!

The weather outside yesterday was absolutely gorgeous. While Sydney was at school Rachel and I played outside and blew bubbles. After Sydney got home we went back out to play on the swing set, blow bubbles and play with the puppies. Hopefully this afternoon will be just as nice. We are going to eat dinner with Jason's mom and his stepdad this afternoon. We try to spend as much time with family as we can but sometimes that's hard with his schedule and Sydney in school, but we try to make the best of the time we do have when everyone is home.

Before I had Rachel I was trying to lose weight. I set my mind to it and just did it. It was going really well. I lost 40 pounds dieting and exercising. I had to sell my bicycle to make room in the nursery but I did keep my treadmill. Today I am getting back on it. Yes, Rachel is 2 years old, but better late than never! When I was exercising every day I felt so much better and had so much energy. I need energy to keep up with these kids! I've got the time to do it so I have just got to set my mind to it and do it every day and stop putting it off! I would just get me a regular bike because I live them, but if you know me you know that a bicycle is an accident waiting to happen. No more hospital trips for me. I need a stationary bike! LOL!

JUST THINK ABOUT IT

Have you ever wondered how much you really know about someone? Maybe a relative? Maybe someone you live with every day? Do you ever wonder what is going on in their mind or what they are thinking? If everyone had a blog do you think that you would still like them? If everyone was really honest in their blog it may surprise you how well you DON'T know them and if you would even want to be associated with them at all.


Do you ever think to yourself, "this person is crazy!" I do, about a lot of people, people just do things that I would say are insane. Watching the news can give you a good dose of this. Sometimes your relatives can too... Sometimes I just wonder....

"Is it possible for there to be this many people in the world that are crazy or am I crazy and I just think it's everyone else?"

That statement alone may cause anyone that is reading this blog to think to their self "Is she crazy?"

Just something to think about.


I watched an episode of HOUSE today where this girl was just obsessed with her blog and put every single thing about her personal life online. Even everything her doctor would say and wanted her viewers to give her advice on what health decisions to make. Definitely a little too much for me. Don't get me wrong, I think a blog is a good thing, but it can go too far if you let it.

RESPONSIBILITY

Why is it that some people never grow up? They never take responsibility for their actions and just rely on other people to clean up their mess? I am 31 years old and I feel like I am more responsible than some 40 and 50 year olds I know, not to mention a few 30 year olds. Even worse, some people want to keep their nose in your business all the time instead of taking care of their own business. Don't try to run my life when yours is falling apart.

With all of that said, I am so glad we had a great weekend for Sydney's birthday. The weather was nice Saturday and we were able to play on the beach. The girls had a wonderful weekend and we needed the family time.

Some of you may or may not know that Jason's stepdad has cancer. He has been battling it on and off now for over 4 years. Jason has went with Harry (his stepdad) and his mom to a doctors appointment in Winston Salem today. It is now at the point that all of his options are expended except for radiation which he will be starting in the coming days. Please keep Harry and Teresa in your prayers.

TORTURE

The only thing I have to say tonight is that it's really hard watching someone you love be tortured. I will go into detail at a later time, but someone I know is going through a very hard time and I just don't know exactly what I want to say about it right now. It is torture for this person watching someone they love that is sick day in and day out, knowing that the road is only going to get worse very quick, yet this person is being so strong on the outside and I know they are being torn apart on the inside. It's like your hands are tied in these situations and you can only watch and really do nothing to help.

RELAXING AT THE BEACH

Okay, so RELAXING AT THE BEACH may not be entirely truthful with a 2 and a 7 year old, but we are having fun! I am having a hard time tearing myself away from Jason and the girls to do this post tonight. We just came up from the pool and the girls are not in bed yet. It's definitely true what they say, time does fly when you're having fun.

This weekend has definitely been a great success. Even though Sydney peeked at her presents earlier this week, she has had a wonderful time and was thrilled with the presents just the same. Yesterday we went to the pier, then swimming in the pool and to Pizza Hut for dinner. We came back to the room and had a little party with cake and presents. Today we went to the park, to Broadway at the Beach to feed the fish and the ducks, we actually got to play in the sand today because it was SO nice on the beach, then to a park on the beach to play, we went shopping at Tanger Outlets, to TGI Fridays for dinner and then back to the pool again tonight. The girls are so tired I am surprised they are still awake. We have had such a good trip and definitely needed the family time, just the 4 of us.

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful weekend and I am going to go get in a few more minutes with Jason and the girls before I have to pack things up to head home tomorrow!

FLY SWATTER

Well, for some reason my kids are having a hard time listening to me lately and doing what I say. I have found myself repeating what I say about 10 times and this is very annoying. Jason has even said, "you're yelling a lot lately." I have also found that if I raise my voice it scares them into doing whatever they were supposed to do in the first place. I do not want to yell at them but this has gotten out of hand. I have found only 1 weapon. THE FLY SWATTER. They are absolutely terrified of it. I don't even have to use is, just threaten to use it or even just show it to them and they are up and moving like busy little bees as hard as they can.

This reminds me that a friend of mine once told me that she has a yard stick. She doesn't spank her kids with it either. She said that she's just not going to strain her voice. She hits the kitchen bar with the yard stick and her kids just straighten right up. I don't know how long it will last, but right now it's all that's working for me, so I'm going to use it while I can and at least I'm not yelling at them. Got any better suggestions, please let me know!

THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS AS THEY APPEAR

Yesterday I went to the Dollar Tree to get some flower pots, thanks for the tip Jessica. They have some really cute ceramic flower pots with a shiny glaze on them this year as well as other gardening materials. They have hand tools, gardening gloves, flower pots, hummingbird feeders, paving stones, seeds and a bunch of other stuff. Rachel and I then went to Wal-Mart and got some small plants and potting soil. It was messy outside so Sydney and I potted the plants in the kitchen after school. A little messy, but fun all the same.

Seeing the hummingbird feeders reminded me of a really funny story from last summer. Maybe you had to just be there but to me it was hilarious. My daddy was at my uncle Ivey's and decided to walk home (because he got mad and wanted to be alone). It was one of those super hot NC summer days when you start sweating as soon as you walk outside. Well, to get to his house from Ivey's he has to walk a long dirt road through the woods and then walk through a huge field. I drove the long way around and got to the house first. It was just blistering hot and I felt sorry for him, I could see him coming across the field but it was at least 5 more minutes before he would get to the house. I decided to go in his house and get him a glass of ice water. There was a mason jar full of cold water so I got a glass out and added some ice cubes, poured in the water and went outside to meet him. He still had a couple of minutes so I crossed the street and walked into the field a little ways. I handed him the glass when I got to him and he took a big gulp, then another...... and he said "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?" I said "it's water out of the refrigerator" and he said "that's hummingbird feed!" He had mixed 1-2 cups of sugar with water and he had been using it in the hummingbird feeder. I thought I would just die from laughing so hard. Hey.... at least I tried!

Day 19

Wow, I can hardly believe that this is day 19 of my 30 day blog challenge. It seems like I just got started.

Do you remember what it was like at Christmas or your birthday and you were excited to know what your presents were going to be? I remember Shannon and I searching the house completely over at Christmas time every time Mama would leave and we never ever found anything!

Well, last night Sydney got into my closet where she knew her birthday presents were. I was charging her Nintendo DS. She found the DS and her Zhu Zhu pet from Rachel. I was just so outdone and disguisted. Her birthday isn't until the 18th. We gave her the option to have another big party this year, because we always have this huge party with about 50 people, or a shopping weekend at Myrtle Beach. She chose the shopping weekend. Jason and I reserved the hotel and planned to take her out to dinner Friday night and give her the presents after dinner. Well, these were her only presents except for Carrie Underwood tickets. She LOVES Carrie Underwood so she will be so excited, but she knows what her other presents are. I think all in all I was just disappointed that I didn't get to see her face when she saw them. This is one of the best parts of being a mom for me. I like to surprise them and see their faces when they get so excited.

At first I told her I was taking them back, she cried, then I said she would have to wait til Friday after dinner to see if she still gets the same presents and she still cried. I really couldn't be mad or upset with her because I used to try to find my presents too. I really don't think I will have to worry about her doing it again because after all the drama she cried because she did it in the first place!

LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT...

Today I am completely at a loss of words.

What to write about?

Well, I wish it would snow like it did a couple of weeks ago, that would be nice. Right now the wind sounds like a creature from some Sci-Fi film outside Sydney's window. I need to back off of the horror movies.... but they're soooo good.

Speaking of, have you seen Last House on the Left? Well it really isn't a horror movie, but it was good. If you have seen it you will know what I am talking about here... There was one scene that just completely dragged on WAY too long, come on, I could have done without all of that detail. The girl was supposed to be like 16? Also, in the end paralysing the victim was a little too nice I thought. He should have gotten to feel everything and been tortured just a little longer I thought. I think any parent would agree.

As an update on Little Bit, the puppy, she is still at my daddy's and she is doing absolutely wonderful.

Yesterday and today I have been completely engrossed in a new series of books I picked up. THE MORGANVILLE VAMPIRES. I finished the first book GLASS HOUSE and started the second book THE DEAD GIRL'S DANCE last night. I have always loved vampire books and movies and since the Twilight series came out it seems like everyone is getting published, so I am in reader's heaven lately. This is why I didn't even know it was supposed to snow or rain tonight. I haven't checked the weather in a couple of days. My plan for today was to go get some potting soil, flower pots and new plants and spend the day outside getting them all set up. Spring will come soon enough though, then I can take the girls to the strawberry patch! I really do not eat strawberries but I really enjoy picking them and the girls love it too so I always look forward to it in the spring.

THE LUCKIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD

Well, today is a very special day for me. Today 13 years ago I married the best man in the world and my best friend, Jason Brown. I don't know exactly how to explain to you what he means to me or all the emotions I feel when I think about him. It has been a wonderful ride so far and I hope that we have countless years to go. It really doesn't seem like we have been married this long. I worry it's just going to go by so fast and then we will be old and that still is not enough time.

There have been so many thing to happen during these years we have been together and I am just so grateful that I have had Jason to share them with me. He has been by my side since I was 17 and has never once let me down. I hope that he can say the same for me. I try to be exactly what a wife should be. We have lost several family members and there have been so many babies born into our family. These are just facts of life. At times it has been a roller coaster, but he has been my rock. If I knew then what I know now and all about the hard times we would face, I would do it again over and over. There is no one else in this world I would rather be next to day by day for the rest of my life. If it was all over tomorrow, I can say without a doubt that I have been made happier by my husband than anyone in the world. He has loved me unconditionally, been there for me through the good and bad and he has brought so many people into my life that otherwise I would never have known. Friends, family and my two precious daughters. Hopefully, this is just the beginning.

The way I feel for him, the love is just like an explosion, an overflowing from my heart, there is so much of it and I have no other words to describe it. I have just got to be the luckiest person in the world.