Let the Blessings Flow

I'm in LOVE with these photos,
with the two little blessings that God has given me
with the amazing job that Jennifer aka MckMama did
on these photos
of my little beauties

I LOVE the sibling love

God has truly blessed me

She captured the silliness my little man exuberates

I can't believe my little girl will be 8 this year
where does the time go...

So thankful for the blessings that the Lord
has poured out for me

I love my dog

Not thinking all that clearly when I brought my seven year old and three year old into the Humane Society to pick up our dog from her spay surgery that day. I didn't think that the glass wall flanking the puppy room that was adjacent to the waiting room was going to grab their attention. I allowed them to convince me to go and say "hi" to all the puppies and small dogs. But the animal lover in me overcame and kept the practical , level headed side of me quiet. So three weeks later we brought home a wriggling, twelve pound furry puppy that we named Sasha.

It had been seven years since I owned a large breed dog and I forgot how much BIGGER they get and fast. In three months time she has gained 30 lbs and now has turned into this.

It's been a lot of adjusting to having a large dog around the house for everyone including our other dog Bella. A few times, I admit, I have threatened to take her back to the humane society because I feel like I bit off more than I can chew. She has been a handful with her barking, running out of the yard and escaping the backyard.

Thankfully, since she got bigger she cannot escape the backyard anymore. Her large body just doesn't fit through the small holes Bella dug. But we had not be able to control her barking or running out of the front yard and down the road or across the street to jump on our neighbors. Instead of giving up, we tackled the problem head on, we bought a Humane Dog Trainer. Wow!

That was the best thing we ever did. We bought the collar for, ahem, more than I wanted to spend but it has paid for itself already. We took the dogs outside to go to the bathroom and our neighbor had his dogs outside. Boom! The dogs take off down the road barking and my husband is calling their names but they are ignoring his calls. He gives Sasha the warning beep and she still doesn't listen so he presses the shock button. Several times of pressing it and she hauls butt home! Whoa!

We didn't even have to run down the road and retrieve her. This afternoon I took the dogs out and a boy was walking down the road and Bella ran after him. She's only 10 lbs and it's not so bad to have her run away but Sasha tried it and was given the warning and she turned right around at the edge of the lawn. It's like a different dog. She pretty much has to see the controller in your hand and she obeys every command. I figure that after a few weeks we'll have our dream dog and life will resume normalcy. Now if I can only control her shedding.

Big dog means a bigger mess. It's all good.

Meal Plan Monday

I have been a meal planner and usually throw in one extra item in my grocery cart, like a few frozen pizzas just in case I have to change up a night that was planned or something out of the ordinary happens and we need a quicker meal. I always have over stock of non perishable or frozen foods in the house, since I am a sale and BOGO shopper when it comes to groceries. It's easier to grocery shop for the vegetables and meats when I plan out a weekly menu.
So here goes.

Monday: Cowabunga Beef Burgers with Yummy Yammy Fries
Tuesday: Kid Pleasing Spaghetti
Wednesday: BBQ Chicken, mashed potatoes, corn
Thursday: Homemade French Toast, Bacon, Scrambled Eggs with cheese
Friday: Pasta Alfredo with Mushrooms and Broccoli
Saturday: dinner out (going to the Budweiser Shootout in Daytona)
Sunday: leaving this one in the air because it is February 13th and the day before Valentines, possibly Grilled Ribeyes, Pierogies, Grilled Shrimp, Salad and Bread

Writer's Workshop- This Woman's Worth

I am sure I have said this or written this before but I fully
believe that God puts you in places that he wants you
in and with the free will he has given us we choose where to
go from there. We might not recognize it right away
maybe even after we don't pass the test.
So this morning I am click into Mama Kat's and found
a prompt that is exactly what was on my mind.
What is the message that God is conveying to me?

The Prompt I chose or was led to today was

2.) You’re not always right…no you’re not…no you’re not…no you’re not….tell us about a time you were wrong.

I am not always right, even if I swear and be damned that I think I am right, I still could be wrong. Number one thing is, I don't like to be wrong. It's one of my downfalls and I'll admit it but usually after it's too late. I'm not perfect and I know that, because NO ONE is perfect. We all strive to be like Jesus, our Christ and Saviour but we fall short. We are sinners.

I was wrong yesterday in posting my PYHO. I probably should have waited to post such a post for a later date once I had cleared my thoughts and feelings. I chalk this up as another learning experience because I have no choice but to reflect on where I stand now. The Lord has given me this time to think and pray about what actions I took in the heat of the moment. I should know better than to react when my emotions are raw. My emotions get in the way of my brain and I don't think clearly.

I'm not going to solely blame this on my chemical problems and having to depend on medicine to control my anger, stress and emotions but it's partly to blame. I'm lapsing and the meds aren't working like they should. I find myself getting irritated again and getting upset over stupid crap.

But honestly, I was hurt and sad about the situation with my friend and I can't apologize for being upset. But I should have left it at that and confronted the situation differently. I handled the problem callously and I was wrong. I forget that not everyone is like me. I told my husband that I blame my way of dealing with situations is more like a man than a woman sometimes, one of my downfalls to growing up a tomboy who had more guy friends than girls. I'm still learning how to be a woman's friend without causing strife.

Men get mad, make accusations and argue, then they're done. They make up and the fight is done. Women do not. They argue, it festers, they get hurt, they hold grudges and when it's all said and done it's too late. Me, I'm like a combination. I get all upset, I hash it out and then I want to make up and it be all better.

I don't like being wrong but I can't always be right.

Kate Bush - This Woman's Work

Simple Woman's Daybook

Wow. I needed a de stresser for the day.
I thought that something simple that I could
just Q&A would be good to get my
mind off of things.
It's a nice quiet evening and I have nothing to do.

FOR TODAY
Outside my window...it's dark and not cold out. the Groundhog did not see his shadow so it looks like winter is closing up.
I am thinking... about a friend.
I am thankful for...my sweet little boy, who asks me to read him a book every night even when
I'm too tired, I still do.
From the kitchen... an empty bowl of raspberry swirl ice cream.
I am wearing...Tampa Bay Rays baseball t-shirt. #13
I am creating... a scarp with my halfwitted attempt at knitting.
I am going...to finish my 52 week Organizing chart for www.orgjunkie.com
I am reading...End of Days by Sylvia Brown
I am hoping... that I get my tax paperwork organized soon so I can get my refund. I need a new carpet steamer, the rugs look awful.
I am hearing... the fish tank water gurgling because my husband has let it run low again. Funny, this was the same last time.
Around the house... I washed the rugs again, thanks to muddy dog feet. I washed some laundry, emptied the fridge of leftovers (garbage day tomorrow) and vacuumed again today.
One of my favorite things... is listening to the quiet and reading my weekly devotional for church.
A few plans for the rest of the week: grocery shopping on Friday afternoon, Saturday night we are celebrating my dad's birthday and Sunday is the Superbowl. We are going to a friend's house that I have not seen in years to grill out and enjoy some football.
Here is picture for thought I am sharing... My sweet nephew TJ who is the cutest little guy. He is an exact replica of my little brother when he was little. It warms my heart to look at him because my brother and I were so close while growing up. I miss seeing my brother, it stinks he lives 7.5 hours away.

PYHO: Hold the Glass, Give me the Bottle

Thank you Shell for creating this meme. It's easier to open
my heart when I know that I'm not the only one pouring it
out and spilling my soul on the blogsosphere today.

Again, just a brief reminder that everyone linking is pouring their hearts out and we should all be respectful in our comments. ;)

Do you know what it's like to be a 10 year old shy kid who invites a dozen girls to your birthday party and only two people show up? And then at your own party you become the third wheel. Then many years later as a grown up you throw a candle party and one of your close friends come? Two of the others say "yes I'll be there" but then you see their Facebook update and they're going out for the night with friends. It sucks.

You should be able to grow up and not harbor those inadequate feelings from your childhood but it's pretty hard. Experiencing being the wallflower, the kid who got ignored at slumber parties or picked on makes you very reserved. You make sure that you don't put yourself in situations that will make you feel like that kid again. But will you ever learn.

I had been wanting to have a girls night with some friends. The hubs said I deserved a night without the kids ad he was more than willing to be sole parent for a night. I planned a girls night at my house to have dinner and play cards. It was going to be a potluck meal with me preparing the main dish. I called my best friend and she was more than willing to come and she would ask her friend J to come along too. I asked two other friends to come and one said sure thing and another one hemmed and hawed. She wouldn't give me a definite answer and when I decided to ask a few more of my girlfriends I realized that they were all going to another event (that I had decided not to pay to go to this year). So I was down to four girls including myself.

Then a day before my best friend tells me that her friend J won't be able to make it. Bummer. Not it was down three. It was falling apart. I called my friend who wouldn't give me a yes or no and tried my best to convince her to come. The problem for her: no sitter and hubby was working and wasn't getting home until at least 3-4 hours after my party was to start.

Saturday morning, the day of the GNO I decided to cancel it. It was going to be a bust and I figured I would just reschedule it for another weekend. I had already purchased my main course and the hubs was slow cooking it in the crock pot. I called my best friend and asked if we could just have a combined family dinner with her kids and mine. It was a date. I wasn't feeling too bad about not having my girls night. Until later.

If you tell some one that you cannot go to their event and you change your plans and go with some one else with your said husband who was working, don't post it on Facebook. And if you do, expect everyone, including the person you said no to, to read it.

That is exactly what happened. I was mortified! My husband was checking FB and told me what my friend wrote as her status. I could not believe that my friend did this to me. I could have let bygones be bygones and learned from this lesson, but nope I was pissed and hurt. Why is that people feel the need to stomp on me? I'm not sure what I'm supposed to learn from this but I know that I will not let things other people do tear me down.