Summer Summer Summer

Think High School Musical when you are reading the title up there. Raise your hand if you've seen these movies more times than you can count! Summer is upon us folks and it was a HOT one this past holiday weekend. Hot sticky humid summers are on the way and there is only one way to beat the heat. Ok two...stay inside and hide in the ac, or get your tan on at the pool! We tried to take the kids to the pool late yesterday afternoon, but much to our dismay...it was CLOSED. There were too many people in the pool, and they couldn't let anymore in because there wasn't any way to get a proper head count. While I completely understand it was a safety issue, is sure was a bummer. And try explaining a "safety issue" to a whiny 6 year old who had her heart set on feeling the cool water of the pool....so the next best thing was to go back and turn on the sprinkler and run through it. Boy was that water cold, and oh my, did it feel good!

Can I just say, that a little part of me was pretty happy not to have to be in a swimming suit in front of a billion other people at a public pool? I realize I'm not the worst looking one out there...but I'm always a little embarrassed. I have gained so much weight! And I'm white as a ghost! Tanning lotion needs to be ordered stat! It's really not cute. It's past time for a change. It's hard to change when you like food. It's hard to change when you're a stress eater. Perhaps I should make use of the elliptical machine behind me? hmmmmmmm....I have a couple of weeks left here, why not right? Sure as heck can't hurt. :)

Oprah

Ok, who watched the last show yesterday? It was such a great show! A perfect ending to a long running daily institution in millions of people's lives.

I've been watching since I was a kid. I remember coming home from school and watching her show while doing homework on my living room floor. Hubby can't really stand her...but I really like her. She seems to be a very intelligent, thoughtful, and insightful person. At least she comes across that way through my TV screen. I sincerely hope she is as great of a person as she portrays herself to be. It's so disappointing when you find out a celebrity who seems to be a great person, really isn't.

Oprah's last show has been described by some as a "love letter" to her fans. It was all about the gratitude she had for us, her viewers. She thanked audiences for making her show the number 1 talk show for 25 years. She told us how much she loved her job, and how it was what she was put here on this Earth to do.

There were so many great quotes in her show. Here are a couple I just love:

"Nobody but you is responsible for your life. It doesn't matter what your momma did. It doesn't matter what your daddy didn't do. YOU are responsible for your life. You are responsible for the energy you create for yourself and the energy you bring to others."

"...Everybody has a calling, and your real job in life is to find it."

Truer words of wisdom have never been spoken....


Until we meet again! :)

Karma

I am a big believer in Karma. I honestly believe you reap what you sow. If you're good to the world, the world will smile back on you, and you will be blessed. If you're not, well, Karma will come back and bite you in the ass.

Big Time.

I believe I lead a good life, I would like to think I lead by example. I have so many great and wonderful people in my life. Their rosy outlook, rubs off. Truly! Have you ever noticed that when you're around negative people a lot, their negativity rubs off on you? Happy people rub off on you too. In fact in my opinion, I think the happier people rub off on you more. They can make your life so much fuller and richer. Negativity really can bring you down, and create a depression in you, you didn't know you had.

That being said, I'm also realistic. I find people that are so high on life that they seem fake, a little scary. What is that type person really about? No one is that happy 100% of the time. That's not real to me. More power to them if that really is them though.

I'm still a leery person....I'm the type of person who is really quite and will sit back and form my opinion. And then after I've gathered enough information, I'll tell you what I think. I'm honest, to a fault probably.

I believe a good majority of people probably do not want to hear the truth. They want you to agree with what they think. Which is a difficult thing, particularly if you're really close to that person. You don't want to step on any toes, but at the same time it would be nice if they took a step back and looked at things logically. Laziness and complacentness (is that a word?) is a dangerous road. Perhaps one should listen and take in what others around them are saying....if enough people are saying the same thing, there must be a reason, right?

Wouldn't the world be such a better place if we just sat and listened? It would be great if everyone could take the time to analyze a situation before blasting through life full speed ahead. Think of all the things that could be accomplished!

No more Whining

I am letting my kids get off the school bus at their normal bus stop for the last couple of weeks of school. Yesterday I let them stay at our former neighbor's house for a little while to play with the neighbor kids. I knew it would feel strange to go back and pick them up off the bus. But to pick them up where I used to live, was much weirder. Much harder. And to be perfectly honest...sucked. It was hard to look over. To see new porch furniture. To see both of their cars there. I heard someone in the garage, but decided not to peek to see who it was.

I'm really sentimental....maybe too much so. I need to put one foot in front of the other and live life forward, not backwards....how do people do that so well?

I have one friend, who is the bravest, boldest person I have ever met. She isn't afraid to take chances, and continually takes a leap of faith. There is a reason she's a life coach! I need to take a page out of her book, and quit whining about life.

Lord, please help me to pull up my big girl panties and get a smile back on my face! Please help me to put a smile back on my children's faces and a pep in our step!

Cats and Dogs

Cats and dogs are notorious for not getting along. Sure there are some that do, but they are few and far between.

I know my kids love each other...but there are times during the day when the claws come out and are tearing into one another. It's crazy that they can be lovey dovey one minute, and ready to pounce the next. I guess that's siblings for you, right? Love to hate?

I have an older half sibbling that I didn't not have the experience of growing up with. I feel so inadequate when it comes to resolving issues between my kids. Logic just doesn't work at their age. I don't have the background to resolve in a particularly effective manner. I think I'm usually the bad guy in the disciplining department because of that. Hmmmm, something to work on for sure.

I know there are no rule books, or instructional manuals that comes with kids when you take them home from the hospital...it's times like these that I really wish there were. Emotions are high right now, and we're all a little on edge...which adds fuel to the fire!

Lord help me get through this!

Digging out

I have a mess. I really big unorganized mess. I need to dig out soon, or I am going to go crazy. I don't know how hoarders do deal with their "stuff" all around them. It makes me feel so Closter phobic. I need to re-pack what is already packed and condense it down to a more manageable level so we can get it across the country in our little Element. If we don't have to get a hitch installed and pull a small uhall behind it, I would be ecstatic! I don't know how manageable that really is though. We have SO MUCH STUFF.

Where the heck does it all come from? How did it fit in my house? No wonder we were busting at the seams! Stuff, Stuff, Stuff! Everywhere! Then there are some things that I wonder, why didn't we put that on the truck? What were we thinking with that?

Also, I'm a bit of a procrastinator....I need to get moving. I've been researching summer activities, cleaning out my email, and pondering private schools. Must move on and be productive.

It's Hard to Say Goodbye

It's hard to say goodbye to something you love. It's hard to say goodbye, when it's the end of an era, so to speak. It's hard to say goodbye when someone is passing away. Although I would rather think of that particular situation as more of a "see you later."

Yesterday was tough.

It was long.

It was exhausting.

There were tears.

There was sadness.

It was much harder on the kids than I ever expected.

I pulled it together as much as I could as I handed over the keys to the new owners. We said our goodbyes, and walked to the door, backing out of the driveway for the very last time. I coudn't stand there and make small talk...it wouldn't come out. As fast as I pulled it together, I was quickly losing it again.

It's not the house that makes the home, it's the people. But this was, and still is, a great house. In a great neighborhood, with exceptional neighbors. It was our first home. I loved it from top to bottom. And once we had to say our final goodbye, it was glaringly apparent what we have to leave behind in order to begin our new chapter in life.

One foot in front of the other, one day at a time.