State of Obvious

(Click to make it bigger)

Sometimes I think to myself "I just can't do it." I am overwhelmed by the possibilities out there. The who, what, why, how and where to go are too much, too fast. Like today. I had this great idea. I had butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. I was grinning ear to ear and jotting down notes and researching. It wasn't a new idea, in fact it is one I have stewed on and planned out before. I have chewed this idea up and spit it out about a thousand times. But always there is this brick wall. I can't climb over it . I can't go under it . I can't get through it . Instead I am discouraged by it, stopped by it, crushed by it at times. Darn that brick wall. The sheer size and scope of this dream - let's call it that for kicks, since that's really what this is - makes me tremble. I start to think about all the details and hurdles and I just want to curl up in a ball. Or have something to eat. I just can't do it. But I got to t...

I despise you. That is all. Love Sincerely with all my heart, Me

There is something magical about the first snow of the season - the drifting flakes, the heavily frosted branches of trees still wearing fall finery, the glazed ribbon of road that slides beneath your tires. p.s. I could have waited a little longer for the magic. p.s.s. Carly is disappointed that Santa didn't come yet.

At times we are so focused on what's happening right in front of us, we don't see what we're missing. Letting go a little rarely backfires. Even when we can't see them clearly, some things are just really good. We all feel trapped sometimes, being happy about it is optional. Even life at the beach gets a little rocky. You can compromise without giving ground. We're all royalty, we just don't usually wear our crowns. What goes up... Must come down. Sometimes it just doesn't matter if it's good for you. The End

Just a taste of our California dreamin'.

And I just thought, on Friday, we could all use some cake song. Beware, once you listen it will stick in your head. And you'll have to bake a cake.

I'm nothing if not impartial....try not to snicker. Okay, okay, so I am very set in my ways. Some might say stubborn, I blame genetics for that. The truth is, I am often easily swayed particularly when someone I respect flips the coin on me. Case in point: NASA's missile at the moon . I'd like to point out that I never actually said we shouldn't do it (although that is what I felt), I only presented alternate forms of spending. My brother, Ben, and sister, Queen Cha-Cha of the Legos, both had strong opinions about that particular post. I didn't go into that post lightly, although some of my choices for the 75 million dollars might have made it seem so. My sister has worked for NASA in the past - she may still be working for them, if she told me she'd have to kill me or at least cut out my tongue. (Not literally, we just like to joke about it because she's contracted by the Air Force to do super cool stuff we don't understand and she can't rea...

I definitely did not fall asleep while Carly was at school. I didn't pick her up 5 minutes late either, after all the kids were gone. I certainly didn't hear her teacher ask "Where is your mom?" and her little voice didn't answer "I don't know!" I didn't drive into town on a whim to buy scrapbook tape. After picking up the scrapbook tape, I naturally did not browse the clearance paper section and buy way too much cute CUTE paper. And there wasn't paper for Christmas cards that I adored. Nope not at all. I didn't buy that adorable Christmas paper, not 20 sheets of it either for 35 cents each. I didn't indulge in a bag of Frito's with my lunch. And I also didn't let Eric finish all the laundry on his own. What kind of housewife would let her hardworking husband do ALL the work? I didn't cringe when I saw a new picture of me posted on Facebook . I didn't almost untag it. Almost. I really did not get an email from Josh...

39 questions: 1. What was the last thing you put in your mouth? A straw, and some pop via the straw. 2. Where was your profile picture taken? In our last house in Michigan. 3. Can you play Guitar Hero? Can anyone really not play it? Yes. 4. Name someone who made you laugh today? Ellen, on TV . 5. How late did you stay up last night and why? Probably 2 am, there is no clock in my room. I usually stay up this late. 6. If you could move somewhere else, would you? That depends, I'm pretty happy to be here in NM right now but I don't think I would pass up on the chance to live in some other countries around the world like England, Australia, Germany and the like. 7. Ever been kissed under fireworks? Yes. 8. Which of your friends lives closest to you? Hmm, it's kind of a toss up. Probably my brother Ben and his wife Angie. Non-family friends, llegue . 9. Do you believe ex's can be friends? Yes. 10. How do you feel about Dr. Pepper? It's my favorite! 11. When was the la...

"It's dangerous to take a nap." "I'm going to name myself Doodle." "Josh! Dude! You are too freakin big for that!"

It is Random Comment Day over at Is it Just Me? . Here is my favorite of the bunch: "Yoda said... Do or do not... There is no try. Except when it comes to Nobel Peace Prizes." Pop on over to create your own randomness and read some other funny shtuffs.

My son couldn't sleep tonight, tossing and turning. Oh, and crying. A lot of crying. My poor little tender hearted boy just can't understand some things. Math, for one. And capitilization. Those subjects just don't connect inside his mind. But that's not why he was upset tonight. In fact, if you asked him why he was upset (I did several times, even though I knew the answer) he would have replied "I don't know!" The little man was upset because his Grandmother's dog died. She was hit by a car after she got outside the fence and ran into the road. At first it wasn't clear if the gate was left open or if the dog found a hole and squirmed out. (I'm actually favoring option 1 because Josh said he left the gate open at first, only to later change his mind.) Either way, the puppy ran away. She liked to play this game where she ran outside the fence and when you called her name, she wouldn't come. She would turn back and look at you, her crooked t...

1801 Teachers for 1 year 453 US Senators for 1 year 131 US Presidents for 1 year (including a $50,000 annual expense account, a $100,000 non-taxable travel account and $19,000 for entertainment) 30,120,481 gallons of unleaded gas 3,001,200 flu shots at Walgreen's 2,410 Ford F 150 STX trucks 171,232 Glock 27s 1,086,956 Hot Air Balloon rides 333,333 Gold Bus Passes (in Albuquerque) good for unlimited bus rides for one year 239,693 plane tickets from Albuquerque to New York City (tomorrow on Delta Airlines) 2,777,777 NYC 7 day Unlimited MetroCards 1,041,666 tickets to Disneyland 227,963 Dell Mini Netbooks , Nickelodeon Version 18,796,992 bottles of Cover Girl Nail Polish, Candy Apple Red (tax not included) 651,324 cases of Big Red Chewing Gum (That's 78,158,880 packs of gum) 15,000,000 Subway $5 foot longs 57,915 pairs of hot Manolo Blahnick Suede Boots 44 Bugatti Veyron sport's cars , the most expensive car in the world OR 1 NASA trip to shoot a missile at the moon

So I started using this new little book that gives you topics to write about. It's supposed to be an exercise in creativity to get the ink flowing. Works pretty well most nights, not that I've written anything spectacular - at least I'm actually getting word to paper. You know, other than blogging. Last night the topic was: Write about bathing . . . Awkward. I did get something on paper but it was pretty short and lame. In the spirit of the exercise I haven't skimmed very far forward to find any other weird topics, but I'll keep you posted. (heh posted, I am so funny...okay not really.)

Thomas S. Monson on TV quoting Matthew 25: 35-36: For I was an hungred, and ye ave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Says Josh, in shock: President Monson was in prison?!

Fall in New Mexico is reds and greens, purples and golds. The air is fresh and crisp, the sky is very blue, the rain is sporadic and the wind is dramatic. (See how I did that? I'm so clever. {snicker}) There is a different kind of beauty here, a wilder, unrestrained magic that floats on the turquoise sea. Tonight Josh was all amped up on reading - he literally couldn't sleep and spent a lot of time searching the shadows of his room. He couldn't soak the words up fast enough, flipping pages and drifting in his internal imaginative world. He's more than halfway done with The Sea of Monsters and he laughingly revealed that he flipped to the final pages of the book series and now he 'knows how it ends'. And he's still reading anyway. It makes me giddy. He also forgot his Science homework. Which makes 4 out of 6 days of forgetting. He was pretty upset over the whole thing. He cried - no he sobbed, which pretty much breaks my heart into tiny pieces. He sat on my ...

Did I tell you that my son, that divine boy, read a chapter book cover to cover for the first time ever? In less than a week? And not a 2 page per chapter type deal. Nay, nay. He read The Lightening Thief AND started on The Sea of Monsters . He didn't want to stop reading, he stayed up late reading, he absorbed and could talk about actual content. I just wanted to say, Thank you Rick Riordan . Thank you.