Blogger App Test

Take 2

Dear Santa (and Leigh Ann),

Dear Santa,

My sister asked me what I and the boys want for Christmas. Here are some ideas for me for you and for her.

I think if you click on the picture it will go to the shop.

Both prints are $19.00 at Etsy shop Handz/ Jan Skacelik

$120 at Etsy Shop Focuslineart (Click on the caption to go to his store.)

Derwent Watercolour Pencils at your local art store.

Studio chart Painting the Illusion of Glass Vessels from RobertBurridge.com or if you want to sign me up for the painting of the month club... it's only $75 a month. Or something like that. Or, have Bob paint me something. That would be awesome!

Any of the extra pieces of Fiestaware- vases, salt & pepper, sugar bowl, etc.
I have dinner ware in: red, orange, yellow, grass green, chocolate, navy blue

If you're feeling generous, an iPad! Yay! Or, maybe just an iTunes gift card. :)

If you're feeling REALLY generous, how about a vacation to Cap Maison Villa Resort in St. Lucia? Huh, huh? yeah?

Here are some other ideas:
Other Art supplies: Brushes, Watercolor paper (140lb, cold press), Paint brushes, Canvases.

I always love a new writing journal or sketchbook.

I need a small, tiny purse that just fits keys, cash, chapstick and a cell phone but I haven't been able to find one that I like.

I love pajama pants but I always talk myself of buying them when I'm shopping in Target.

Knee high boot socks. Any color.

I love kitchen towels and I need a new trivet. I'm tired of the fish one that I've been using the last 15 years or so.

I'm thinking about purchasing a dutch oven or a crock pot. Maybe I could use a cookbook to go along with it.

Candles. I love candles. Especially ones that smell like spas and resorts. Or pumpkin spice for the fall. Or sugar cookies. Or cupcakes.

And I'm serious about this one: You can draw or paint me a simple heart put it in a frame and I would treasure it forever. It doesn't have to be fancy! Don't tell me you can't draw a heart. Everyone can draw a heart.

I'm sure I could come up with a bunch of other things but this is a great start for you Santa.

I still have to ask the boys. The only thing they've been fixated on lately is an iPad or iPod touch. They can always use sweatshirts, long sleeve shirts, and other clothing items.

Stay tuned.

Backyard Baseball with Drew

Brother Friends

These pictures were taken on August 9, 2009. I was playing with my camera and we were enjoying a summer day in the backyard. Watching Drew & JB's relationship grow and change is so much fun.

They were born brothers. But I know they will be friends forever.

The Five Foot Metal Chicken Saga

On June 25th, my House of Shine friends and I went on our annual Serentripity where we ended up in Granbury, Texas and ultimately Dublin, Texas. While in Granbury we passed by Babes and saw this:

At the time I thought, "I want one of these." But I didn't pursue it too much until in mid-July I read this:

http://thebloggess.com/2011/06/and-thats-why-you-should-learn-to-pick-your-battles/

After giggling through that story at my desk by myself and then laughing hysterically with Chris as I read it to him that I night, I knew I had to have my very own five foot metal chicken. And wouldn't it be fun to have for the pool party I was having that same weekend. I wouldn't rest until I had it.

Finding the five foot metal chicken consumed me and proved to be a more difficult task than one would imagine. You would think that you could just Google it and find it like you do everything else but no! Nada. I was coming up empty handed. I was emailing work friends. I was calling Mexican import stores. Friends were emailing other friends to see where I could buy a five foot metal chicken. Friends in south Texas were taunting me with "those are everywhere down here!" Even my own sister- "I saw those at the Mercado in San Antonio." Well, la-dee-da! I'm in Dallas!

Surely! Surely there is some store, some flea market, some place that sold five foot metal chickens to crazy people. I found a couple of places that did sell them but they were out of stock at the moment. I spoke with a guy in Frisco and he said he thought they were $350 but to call back later to talk to Kevin, the owner. Here is that conversation:

July 14, 2011 4:45pm  ringing up Lone Star Trading Company:

Me- Is Kevin Available.
Guy- He's on the phone with a customer right now. Maybe I can help you.
Me- Well, it's just the Crazy Chicken Lady.
Guy- Crazy Chicken Lady or Chicken Legs?
Me- Lady! Crazy Chicken Lady! I called earlier about your metal chickens.
Guy- Oh yeah. I talked to you earlier. Hang on. Let me see if I can get him to tell me how much those are.
Me- Okay. Remember, I'm looking for a five foot chicken.
Guy- Okay, Crazy Chicken Lady. Hold on.

Crazy Chicken Lady holds on.

For a long time.

And, I'm holding.

Guy- Okay, Crazy Chicken Lady. The five foot ones are $350 but did you say you were in the area?
Me- Yeah, I'll come pick my chicken up. (gulp at price) Do you have one there?
Guy- No, the owner has to go pick them up but if you come pick it up in the store it's half off.
Me- Consider that chicken sold! It's mine. When is he going to go pick my chicken up?
Guy- Well, he's not going until about 2 weeks.
Me- TWO WEEKS! Are you kidding me? That's so long away! And how long does it take to go get it? A day? A week? You don't understand. I'm driving all my friends crazy about this chicken. Tell him he has to go get it! Tell him to leave today!
Guy- (laughs) - You are a crazy chicken lady. (laughs some more) He usually leaves early in the week and gets back about Thursday and then we have to unload and all that.
Me- But you can take my name and when my chicken gets there you'll call me? You'll call me right away? SO, my chicken will be there in about 3 weeks?
Guy- Yeah, yeah. I'll call you. He's going to go in about 2 or 3 weeks.
Me- Wait, which is it? 2 or 3? Don't push it back now?
Guy- (laughs)
Me- Never mind. Okay take my number and call me as soon as my chicken gets there. And tell him to hurry because I'm going to keep looking.
Guy- Okay, that's Crazy Chicken Lady... what's your number.
I give him my number.
Me- What's your name?
Guy- Crazy Cow Man. (laughs) Nah, they actually call me Damn it, Donny. Everyone's always mad at me.
Me- Well, Damn it Donny! Get me my chicken!
Guy- Bye Crazy Chicken Lady.

I updated my friends via email. Subject line: The Chicken Saga. And then it was a ton of cock jokes. I commented on Facebook "I just gotta have that chicken!" We were scheming how to steal the one from Babes in Granbury. And laughed when a friend was going to dinner with the Babe's co-owner. I was laughing so hard on that Thursday that I had a natural high.
I had to ban myself from talking about chickens before I got fired.
And, yes. I know. It's a rooster. But chicken sounds funnier. Doesn't it? It does! It's just funnier. Deal with it.
Then on August 1st, I got a call from Durango Trading and they had two chickens in! But she didn't know the price yet. That's two beautiful chickens!

How could I choose? They are both so wonderful. Oh my God. Was I actually considering purchasing not one five metal chicken, but two? How fun would that be?! They could be talking to each other across the pool. I could move them around to different locations. I could name them something really cool like Heckle and Jeckle or Ben and Jerry or Hank and Willie.

I thought, "Oh well, Damn it Donny. Sorry bout ya."

But then he called, too! I could just see it. A metal chicken bidding war! Except Durango Trading wouldn't negotiate the price for me so I wound up going with the cheaper chicken that Damn it Donny had and I put the whole having twin five foot metal chickens thought out of mind. Though right now it would be fun to have another one.

No!

Well, maybe next year. Sh.

I drove up to Frisco on Saturday, August 6th and saw him right away. I wandered in looking for someone that worked there and first met Kevin. He asked if he could help me and I told him, "That's my chicken."

He said, "You're the Crazy Chicken Lady?"

Guilty. Here's the tag they put on my chicken.

They loaded him into my car and Damn it Donny wrote my ticket up and I was so happy to finally have my five foot metal chicken, Norman and I sang Happy Birthday to me. He's a very good singer.

Norman. That's his name.

He was too big for me to unload by myself so he wound up in the back of my car and let me tell you, he was none too happy about it. He was swearing up a storm. He got it from Beyonce. He kept saying, "I've fallen and I can't get up." He kept threatening to call the ASPCA but he didn't have a cell phone so I wasn't too worried.

Isn't he great? Best birthday present I ever bought myself.

Aviation Museum

Do all boys dream of being a pilot? They look happy in their simulator ride.
Now come home! I need some little boy hugs! :)

hey. isn't technology great? Their grandad texted me a photo, i forwarded it to my email and then uploaded it to the www.

Come Home!

My boys are in Gulf Shores, Alabama with their grandparents. I've received two texts pictures from them. I thought they were sweaty in this one but they were on the water bumper cars with their cousin Ally. And then yesterday I get this picture:

So jealous while I'm working in my fish bowl cubicle.

You're going to be fat!

Eating healthy seems to be a trending topic with people I am around. It's not a topic I bring up. I don't think I bring it up. And, it does make me happy when people notice that I am slender because I work darn hard at it Monday through Friday working out in the gym and eating healthy. It's a choice I make.

But, I workout and eat healthy lunches so I can splurge on my going out nights and weekends. I don't feel guilty about drinking beer or eating pizza or having the occasional soda because I know I'll be back in the gym next week and I'll be eating healthy as well.

Most people ask, "How do you do it?"

It's not a secret. Burn more calories than you consume but here's the kicker. You are not burning as many calories as you think you are and you are consuming a lot more calories than you think you are.

Don't complain to me that you aren't losing weight and then walk in with a bag from Whataburger and a Coke.

Don't complain to me when you are walking at a slow pace on a treadmill barely breaking a sweat while consuming a Coke.

Don't complain to me that there was no dessert at lunch today if you are trying to lose weight.

I'm not saying you have to give up everything but if your goal is weight loss than you have to make choices about what you put in your mouth and swallow. I think the math is 80% diet, 20% exercise. So you want a piece of chocolate. Have one piece and then let it go. So you want a cookie. Take a bite and let the rest go.

In the words of the lovely Dr. Phil, "You're fat because you want to be fat. You know if you eat that donut, you're going to be fat." Read it again. Out loud this time. Put a Texas twang to it if you want. I do.

And when I say it out loud I insert the current tempting items name for donut. You know if you eat that pizza you're going to be fat. You know if you eat that Snickerdoodle you're going to be fat. You know if you drink ten beers you're going to be fat. You know if you eat those fajitas and those beans and rice and that guacamole and queso, you're going to be fat!

And then I can evaluate if my workouts have been strong or weak, if I've made healthy eating choices that week and I decide if I'm going to be fat or not. Maybe I'll do a little portion control so I can still have it. Just not as much.

Wake up and smell the donuts! You gotta give yourself some tough love. At the very least, you have to stop complaining that you're not losing any weight and just be happy with your fat.

Oh- and no. I will not workout some for you. I need all of those calorie burning minutes to combat my own fat. Thank you very much.

I'm a Mohican Mom.

JB has such a wonderful creative spirit. I'm pretty sure in his past life, if we have past lives, he was an indian. This is his third summer to get a mohawk. I remain in my belief that this takes courage to make yourself stand out and not just blend in with the rest of your friends. And, it's kind of funny because everyone has the impression that bad kids get mohawks and he so far from that. He's actually a very sweet and sensitive kid.


When reviewing these pictures we all laughed. In the photo above- fat arm. photo below skinny arm. Above- Fat arm. Below- Skinny arm.
Though truth be told it is actually the same size in both photos. Just saying.

I can't wait until the time when JB want to kiss a girl. He stopped kissing me a couple years back.

Sad moment for a mom.

Meet Awesome

This is my son, J.B.

He's 9 Years, 5 Months, 23 Days old.

Yesterday he told me he was going to change his name to Awesome though I can't remember why.

I think it's a great idea. He is Awesome.

Awesome O'Pry

Photo Album Post

Drew & JB. Monday, May 9, 2011.

JB: Hey Mom?

Mom: Yeah?

JB: See that bead of sweat?

Mom: Yeah?

JB: Take a picture of it.

Mom: Okay.

Mom: JB, why do you always have your tongue hanging out?

JB: What do you mean? Like this?Drew: OOH!

I love my goofballs.

I am not an animal! I am a human being!

This is what Drew looked like on May 9th at 6:55pm.
This is what he woke up looking like.
Actually, some of the swelling had gone from when he woke up. He's having an allergic reaction to sunscreen. Well, that's my best mom diagnosis. It happened to him once before when he was about 2 when we lived in Utah.

Poor little, sweetie. Doesn't he look happy?

Yo Mama

Yo mama is so fat!

How fat is she?

Yo mama is so fat
when she got up
She caused an eclipse.


Joke written by Drew O'Pry

Yo Mama

Yo mama is so stupid!

How stupid is she?

Yo mama is so stupid
that she sat on the TV
and watched the couch.



Joke written by JB O'Pry

Brothers - Just a Memory I Want to Remember

One night this past month the boys were sitting outside, one on each lounge chair. They were eating Ben & Jerry's Phish Food ice cream for dessert in their special sundae bowls. They were talking and laughing with each other over I don't know what. It wasn't quite dark yet but the light was fading.

I was sitting inside messing around on my computer when their shared laughter got my attention and I looked out at them.

They were singing a parody song with JB leading the way the loudest. Both were bouncing to the beat they were making and the occassional spoon would hit the air overhead.

I thought I should get the camera out but honestly, I just wanted to live the moment. It made me smile. It reassured me that these two brothers were indeed best friends.

I'm pretty sure they were singing, TheCompterNerd01's Baby (Justin Bieber parody).

Whoa! They're Purple!

Pretty Orange Roses

This camera phone picture of the orange roses sitting on my desk does not do my orange roses justice. Orange is one of my favorite colors. It's also my Colorstrology color.

My friend and coworker puts together the flower arrangements for our office. I don't know why she never puts any flowers on my desk. Maybe she's mad at me. But, there are always flowers in her area.

In fact, these roses were in her area and I felt it was my duty to enjoy them. The Universe told me that I deserved to appreciate these roses.

So, I took them.

And, I have been enjoying them thouroughly. She just noticed that I took them so she wasn't enjoying them anyway.

I may make this a weekly habit.

Stealing flowers.

February Snow

Ah! It's so pretty....

Bleh!

Don't ever do that again, Mother Nature!

This photo of my backyard was taken on February 4th in the afternoon after a moring snow storm.

The Yellow Envelope Project

The Yellow Envelope Project is an important initiative that we, the House of Shine, are committed to doing and promoting. This weeks post from Claudia addresses issues as to why one may hesitate in participating.

Please take a moment and read her post. Then, see if you can find it in yourself to at least give it a try.

I can promise you that the action of of anonymously sending out gratitude will invite more gratitude in your life.

To Love a Teacher

This past Wednesday evening JB was trying to thread a long piece of yarn string through an empty ribbon spool but the yarn was getting jammed in the spool and wouldn't not come out the hole on the other side. It wasn't a big spool. Probably only about 3 or 4 inches.

I watched him for a little bit and finally asked if he needed some help.

He sighed and told me how he had the yarn through before but couldn't get it back through. He brought it to me defeated. I tried and failed. I picked up a pencil and wound the yarn around a couple of times and we stuck the pencil through and voila! We had yarn threaded through a spool.

I fished for the compliment. A nugget of thanks. "Who's the smartest mom in the whole wide world?"

And wouldn't you know that little stinker thought about it! He hemmed. He hawed. Then he said this:

"Well, not the mom in front of me. Hmmm... I know. Mrs. Bingham! She's a
mom and a teacher."

What a brat!

I promptly got on email and sent this email"

And this was her response:

Well, I'm glad I made her day. You know, she is a pretty smart mom. And, I know she's a great teacher. If I could only convince her to move up to the 5th grade to have both boys in her class again. (They both had her for the 2nd grade.)

She keeps telling me something about 5th graders smelling. Pfft! Like they didn't smell in the second grade!

A Valentine Card

This is the card that Drew and JB gave me for Valentine's Day:

It could not have been more appropriate as the whole weekend was filled with poop talk and if you get offended easily stop reading.... I warned you.... and ball talk. Not to mention the levels of gassiness.

It's the simple use of the word ball. Throw the ball. Snicker. Dude, pick up your balls. Snicker. Poopyhead.

Boys. I sometimes have to have the mindset of: If you can't beat 'em, join em. But, there does come a point when it is just not appropriate any more and I have to threaten to take away a DS.

The inside of the card looks like this:


Their sweet print.

As I was scanning the card, I saw this quote on the back and thought it was funny. And good advice.

The truth of the matter is they're rarely poopyheads. And JB was sure to point out that it was mostly Drew who was the poopyhead but I don't really think they're poopyheads. Their just boys and boys are by nature.... poopyheads.

They can't help it.

Carrie Smith Photography

I can't wait to see all the photos that Carrie took yesterday. I didn't think I would like the ones with me. I mostly just wanted some good pics of the boys. But Look!



Aw! I love those boys. And Carrie didn't prompt them to be all cute and cuddly like that. They did it on their own. I can't wait to see the rest of them now.

We walked around West End for about an hour and she was really great with the boys. I just tried to stay out of the way because they tend to do better if a parent isn't around.

You can check out more of Carrie's work at her Site at www.carriesmithphotography.com.