From My Kitchen Sink...

Sarah inspired me to share with you the view from my kitchen sink. What a neat idea. You don't think about it much but everyone's sink-view is very different. One day I hope to have one overlooking open fields and mature trees, but for now I have my backyard and my neighbors back yard.
I took these at night so you can't see the real view of the outside but you are not missing much. Just my empty backyard and the back of my neighbors houses. I hope to have some sort of plants to plant by the fenceline and maybe give some privacy. We have 6' fence on both sides but a chain link on the back. Go figure. My Bamboo plants are the ones I bought to replace some of the plants I lost during Katrina. Not because of the storm but because we were gone for more than a month and they died due to lack of water. Who would have thought to take the plants!! We got out in enough time to pack a bag and gather the pets......and we were out da door!!
I enjoy looking at my plants and some of the pots are ones the kids made. I also have some prayer cards there that remind me that is a perfect time to talk to God.

Good Boy.

After a lengthy trip to the grocery store this morning (partly b/c of the Rx I was waiting on and partly b/c I had the kids with me {MLK Holiday} I finally made it home. As the girls and I were unloading the trunk, the dog let himself out the front door. No cause for alarm, he usually just does some business in the front bushes and comes back in. I guess he got sidetracked and we were finished unloading before he was ready. I unfortunately didn't realize this until about an hour after the fact. I was getting the girls settled in playing a game of 'littlest pet shop' while I checked phone messages. Suddenly (I think b/c of a dog food commercial) I realized the dog wasn't in the house. He is an old dog, loyal and barks alot but loyal. No matter what you are doing, he'll be right there with you. He wasn't right here with me though.

I asked the girls if he was in there with them and they replied, "no, m'am!" So I checked the backyard thinking maybe I had let him out back and just forgot. Nope. So next was the front yard. I opened the front door ready to holler out his name and he was sitting on the welcome mat, just enjoying the 77 degree weather outside. He looked up at me as if to say, "what?"

"What a good boy!" was my response and I let him in and showered him with love, hugs, and treats!

Meal Time

I am a mother. I am a housewife. I also work 3 hours a day at the school my girls attend. With that comes many many responsibilities. Not only do I get up at the crack of dawn to get hubby out the door for work, but the kids off to school as well. When I leave the carpool line at the school after dropping of the kids, it is off to my first errand of the day. Sometimes that is the post office, bank, grocery, dr.'s appts, vet drop offs for the animals. When I return home it is cleaning up from morning rush hour. I unload the dishwasher from the night before. Start a load of laundry, change sheets on the beds (I should do this more often than I do {weekly} but would like them done daily) and turn on the television for some company. There are so many projects going on right now that just aren't getting done. Simple things like clean off the patio. Sort and file pictures (which are still in totes ready for a moments notice hurricane evac).

Who wants to do those odd jobs when there are more fun things to do like spend time with the kids, take an unexpected picnic with the fam. Get a phone call from hubby to come have lunch with him. And then there is my online time. I enjoy my time surfing the net, checking favy blogs, and when inspiration hits, blogging myself.

I can handle it. I have for a long time. My biggest and maybe hardest part is deciding what is for dinner. I know it seems silly. I just dread deciding what to have. I love to cook it! I am a somewhat good cook. I just never know what to fix.

Growing up my mom always had Thursdays as spaghetti night. I am not certain if that was a basketball night (for siblings) and crock pot spaghetti was hot and ready for anyone having dinner from 5pm to 9pm or if she just one day decided that was what we were having. I wish I could have that. I really need to designate a spaghetti night. It was nice knowing that when I came home from school mom would have already had dinner on and ready and we always knew on Thursday we were having spaghetti.

Meal times are always our opportunity to talk with the kids, find out about their day. It doesn't matter what we eat, they are good about trying new things but deciding what that is makes me crazy some days. If you have any ideas I'd love to hear them.....I think we are going to do the whole Spaghetti night starting this week!!!

A Birthday Surprise!

This coming week is FIL's bday. He will be 67 years old. I hope that I get to celebrate at least that many birthdays! We went to their house (a three hour drive) this weekend to celebrate early and visit. Carrot cake was his only request. The man LOVES carrot cake. Not just any carrot cake, the one that his wife makes. And boy is it YUMMY!! To my surprise he had a gift for me on his birthday! Since he retired a few years back he has been enjoying time with his wife, golfing, puttering around in the old workshop, just enjoying life. He recently took up another hobby, jewelry making. This is something he has become quite good at and enjoys doing. I am excited for him that he has found more interests in his retirement but also that I get to be the benefactor of said jewelry. He handed me the catalog (of beads and other jewels)today and said, "which ones do you like best?" While I was there he gave me about 7 sets of earrings, and my two daughters several earrings and each a necklace. I told him I like these kinds of birthdays, I get gifts too!! : )

How should I feel?

I have never gotten too emotional about the death penalty. I know that the crime they commited to deserve such punishment must have been severe. But do we have the power to take someone else's life? Saddam Hussein has always be an evil man in my little knowledge of him and I am in no way saying he did not deserve the punishment but I am faced with how am I supposed to feel? Should I be happy that Justice has been served? Should I be sad that his life was taken, who are we to play God? Should I feel sorry for him that he may very well be burning in hell as we speak? And then what about the people he killed? Who was there to protect them and their families.
I guess I just don't get it. I don't understand how someone can be so evil for one and also to have no remorse?! I pray to God that somehow we find world peace, is there such a thing?