What I meant to say .... (while randomly living my life )

It's time to get a few things off my chest. 

This last week while driving in the van, I was leaving Costco and heading down the hill towards Walmart, yes, I do shop there.  But on the way, I was calmly and politely driving inside my lane, when all of the sudden this huge vehicle like a BIG van or suburban type was drifting FAR into my lane. Luckily I had the "suicide" lane beside me that was vacated and I had to swerve over and then I HONKED my horn. She looked at me like "what, what I do?"

What I meant to say... OH MY GOSH!! Get off of your cell phone and pay attention already! You nearly side swiped me, and then I'd have been down a vehicle while yours may have went untouched!!  I can't afford something like that right now.  Please PAY ATTENTION.

Last week I held volleyball tryouts for the 7th and 8th grades at the school my kids go to.  Now never having to try out while I was in school, I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting myself into.  I had 39 students show up the first day of practice.  Boys and girls in both grades.   Some taller players, some that probably could walk under the net practically.  It was crazy!!  

What I meant to say .... What the heck did I get myself into!??  Oh my, there are a billion kids out here and it's so NOISY!!    So listen up, if you don't think you can practice every day just leave now, and don't come back, and if you currently have grade issues, leave and don't come back. Because I don't want to get excited over your skills just to find out I can't let you be on the team.  That sucks.   And when your name was called out on the last day as someone that made the team if you weren't serious about being a part of it... you should have SPOKEN UP!!   


I was out on a photo shoot last week.  This cute little boy had just turned 3 and was so handsome.  We had some awesome locations that we used.

What I meant to say.... DANG GIRL YOU'RE GOOD!!   Okay, so you never have taken a class, but I think you are a quick learner and you have some natural ability.  Keep it up.   Who cares if every shot isn't completely perfect.  But I do have to say that photo shoot turned out GREAT.    (by the way I was the photographer)  

See if you don't believe me check this out... I created this collage using the photos taken during the above mentioned photo shoot.  What da ya think?? 

I got an email from the director of the school that said the following, "  Just today I heard one of the kids say, "Coach Randolph Rocks".   So I went to practice the next day and said, that I heard I wasn't doing a good enough job and wasn't working the team hard enough. So that things were going to change and that I would be working them harder.   I started hearing some groaning, and then a student asked, "Why do you think you aren't doing a good enough job?"   And then I said, that I got this email, and told them what it said.  Of course, the kid who said it was totally smiling about it.  They all laughed. 

What I  meant to say.... Are you kidding me they like ME?? I never thought they would.  I am really enjoying myself, and I try to switch up the drills so that they aren't doing the same ones every practice.  I was all excited when I first read this that I think I'll never forget it.  Thanks Team!!  I really enjoy working with you guys.

Music of the soul.... that makes the body want to move

Okay .... I finally added some music to this blog, because I LIKE IT!!!   Well, I LOVE THE MUSIC!!! 

I titled this collection of songs.. " A soundtrack for my life"  and some take me back to my high school years, stuff from college, and songs from my married life.   But more importantly, they all mean something to me.  If some of the lyrics are "bad" well don't hate me for that.  But realize I don't really pay attention to lyrics sometimes and it really is just the rhythm and  beat of the song that call out to me.  I loved and still do songs that I could dance to.  Not that I'm all that great, but it was a great way to get a good workout in, and while in high school I learned a few routines, that due to my lack of practicing, I've lost the steps to.  But I did learn individual "moves" and that help me to impress my roomies back in college who really thought I could dance.  Boy did I have them all fooled.

But in all seriousness, I love music with a great dance beat ( more the hip hop kind of stuff) and now be sure and take a look and listen at the playlist just below the post.  Maybe I can one day be brave like Cluttered Brain and show off some dance moves, or at least the wanna be dance moves .... but for now, I'll just rely on her to do such entertainment on camera for the whole world to see, and I'll just stick to Bustin a Move here in my house, for all my family to see and my kids to laugh at, and then join in, because they like the songs I listen to and think they are cool!!

Cause I'm HOT and HIP like that.

Random Friday

Time for random Friday bits....

1.  Played Raquetball for the first time in years with my husband on Wednesday night and LOVED it.  I forgot how fun it was.   And the best part, we were doing something together, getting a great workout, and it didn't cost anything.  (Except for the membership we paid for, and the cost of the equipment to play. But now were set for a year)

2. I'm ready for a Saturday!! Until I realized that in the morning my oldest has an activity through church at like 8 or 8:30 in the morning.  Ugh... maybe I can get the hubs to take her and I can sleep in.  And then we'll do something in the afternoon as a family.

3.  My kitchen and living room have been clean for most of 3 days now.  Yeah, I know not a long time, but it's a start for us.  And seriously I like it more this way, now onto the rest of the house... time to get rid of the clutter, and un needed things.  It's really crazy!!  But we're determined together (the hubs and I) to clean up the spaces in our house, and the cellar and start painting and fixing up the appeal of the house. 

4. I'm not comfortable with public speaking.  Well, maybe with more practice I would be, but I know that it terrifies me, especially when I feel like a goober and am trying to teach something for which I am familiar with, but don't consider myself and expert by any means. So I'm now onto doing more digi pages because that workshop at which I was the "instructor" got me motivated even more.  So ... I'll be pretty busy over the next little while doing that fun stuff. 

5. OH WAIT!!! I forgot the school yearbook has to be finished first, and then onto the digi-scrapping. 

Random Friday...

BROWNIES ...... I love 'em!!!!

I found this great recipe on the internet from someone, and I altered a few ingredients (or rather omit them) and these things are so delightful. I'm surprised because I made some this afternoon, and from the entire pan I made, I've only eaten one brownie. (by the way that's good... of course, the kids are headed off to bed, and when I'm done here, well....you can probably guess that I'll eat at least one more) Do you blame me??

CREDIT CARDS..... I Hate 'em!!!   

Well, just the fact that they are easy to use, but twice or ten times as hard to pay back.  We're using tax return money to pay off all the higher interest balances that we had, and that will leave us with only 1 that we will make payments on and hopefully be rid of it by the end of this year.  (Crossing my fingers.)  We're looking into buying a newer, bigger house in the near future that is about 2-3 years away maybe and really would like to have our finances in our control again, and keep them that way.  Although, having a credit card is great when emergencies come up, but not for impulse spending.  So now my motto is this " if I say to myself that I can just put it on the credit card .... a bells and whistles sound should go off, and then I should know that I need to talk with Chris (my spouse) before doing such a thing."    I'm committed... and so is he... I really think that this will work, but only if we don't face any catastrophe's this year before we're ready to be rid of the debt.  

Valentines Day..... (NOT SURE WHAT I THINK???)  

It's nice and all to have some kind of "Special Day" but seriously since I'm married, I like my Anniversary more.  Not that I don't like Valentines Day but there just isn't any thought behind any of it.  My husband isn't romantic (well not all the time, he has it in him if he really tries) and we have 5 kids.  No one really wants to watch 5 kids, and I don't like "farming" them out.  I like them to all be together. Call me weird, but I do.   Luckily the oldest girls are old enough for us to start going on dates every week, and leaving them here at home to "babysit".  So it's getting easier, and I find that I look forward to our date night.  We're not rich, so we can't afford the "FANCY SCHMANSY"  places that I hear lots of couples go for the big day's celebration.   So we're going out for dinner tomorrow night... not sure where.   But I know it'll be fun.  But for Valentines Day which falls on Sunday this year I'll make the family Chicken Enchiladas.... and we'll make some valentines cookies.  (Basically a sugar cookie that they cut out in heart shapes.)  But we really make a bigger deal out of our Anniversary.... am I the only one that feels and thinks this same way???

YEARBOOK ---- 

I'm the committee chair this year for the yearbook at the elementary school my children attend.  This will be my third year working on the yearbook, and so far I feel like I'm just a puppet doing what the PTO says I should do.  I have to include things that they want, even after I tell them we don't have room.  I can't really do things the way I want to, and when the first deadline came, I was told to not submit the batch. But to wait until the March final deadline to submit everything.  Well, at least those pages are done, now it's just time to fix the activity pages and get pictures of activities that have gone on throughout the year.  I don't want any complaining because, if you aren't helping to "build it" or supplying us with much needed pictures, or helping to sponsor the book... then really if I'm the chairperson... let me be.  Please.  I don't know if I want to do this again next year, because ...well it's a whole long story I could put into a different post. It's seriously a stressful ordeal, when too many hands get into the project. 

Okay so that's it for my Random Ranting and Praising .... Remember these are just my thoughts, and are subject to change without further notice.