A Million O'Clock

No there's no such thing as a million o'clock but it feels like it. We're on our way back and it's 11:36 pm ET. I think Georgia is the longest state ever- it's not but it feels like it. We've been stricken with sickness in the last couple of days. Halle apparently has a double ear infection. She was screaming last night "it hurts deep in my brain"!!! So very sad. It's only her second ear infection *ever*. We're keeping it at bay with an ibuprofen/tylenol every 3 hour switch plus homeopathic ear drops and numbing ear drops that Angie had. I'm hoping we'll be OK through tomorrow so I can take her to the Dr. on Monday- unless the homeopathic ear drops work their magic before then. It's worked for Chloe before but I'm not willing to give them any time past Monday- she's been pretty miserable. And Amanda feels like she has the flu. It's gotten progressively worse during the day.

But I sound like a negative nelly, right? We had a great trip, really. We just got a really late start today because Halle was up so late last night. I think we're close to Chattanooga so I'm expecting to get home around 2am. But at least we get to sleep in our own beds. Pictures and such later...

On Our Way...

There's too much to tell right now. I'll just say that the car issue seems to have resolved itself and we're headed out this evening. I'm stressed beyond belief and can't believe that even though I started packing on Monday I still have a ridiculous amount of stuff to do. Deep breath. See you soon....

She Cracked the Rules!

Last night Halle was wailing- loudly. I knew she wasn't hurt because it was her angry cry. Travis went to investigate and Halle wailed "she cracked the rules" at the top of her lungs. Travis said "what?" clearly confused and Chloe said nonchalantly "she means I broke the rules, that's how she says it". Very funny.

So we're 3 days out from our trip and we have transmission trouble. We know a guy that just put brakes on our other vehicle and he took a look at our main van and said there's absolutely no way we could drive to Florida with it as it is. He said it's a something or other but if we fix it now we won't have to have the transmission rebuilt- good to know. But we haven't been able to get it fixed because we can't get in touch with him- because he has to talk to somebody...and we're running out of time. He fixed the brakes on Trav's van but it took two days. And that was for brakes. I'm no mechanic but it seems like a transmission is harder to get to- being in the front of the car with the engine and all. Hmmm. I think it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Thankfully Travis handles the car stuff. And God has it all under control. I wouldn't say I'm nervous- just curious. Ok, and really excited because I know that God has some big things in store for us. So right now it looks like the bottom is falling out- two big car repairs in the last two weeks and we absolutely refuse to use credit cards for anything. We've drawn a line in the sand so to speak. But things aren't always as they appear. 2 Kings chapter 7. We're leaving Saturday. And everything that God has purposed for us for this trip will be accomplished.

Fun Stuff

In the midst of getting ready for our trip I've had some plant life happiness too. Like these eraser size little green tomatoes. It's so cool! I haven't ever grown any kind of thing to eat- other than the pumpkin last year but Chloe planted that at school. I'm positively twitterpated! My mom says I get it from my her mother- although my grandpa (dad's side) always grew stuff too. Maybe it was just that generation with their victory gardens. Travis and I have dreams of making salsa with them. Yellow salsa? They're supposed to be sweeter so I thought about mixing them with mangoes or peaches for a salsa- with the handy dandy magic bullet my parents bought Travis for Christmas.

And how about this sweet little sunflower? You might not be able to tell but this guy is only about two feet tall. I've seen seeds for varieties like this but haven't ever actually planted them. So my guess is that one of my birdie friends dropped a seed from somewhere else into my yard. This one has grown behind where we keep the trash can. It doesn't have any other small blooms though so this might be a one and done type flower. If it is that would be disappointing- that's why I always grow varieties with lots of blooms. But if you planted hundreds of seeds that would be spectacular.

And here's a pathetic little carrot. I knew that we were close to harvest time and I couldn't resist pulling one to see how they were doing. Boy was I disappointed. I'm not sure if they're too crowded or not getting enough water or what but this little guy is way small to have all that foliage on top, don't you think? We ate it anyway. It was kind of bitter but very carrot-y tasting. And somehow it made me feel all happy inside. I'm wondering if I should delay harvesting until we get back from FL. I'll have to do some researching today. I probably should have done that a couple of months ago. And now there is much to do. I've already done some big things but I'm making a list of everything that needs to go into our bags. I always try to do it from memory and I *always* forget stuff. Then we end up having to go shopping as soon as we reach our destination. It's very frustrating. And I have to wash and clean out the car...you know the drill. So until later...

Because It Was Horrible to My Taste

This past Monday was family night of course, and I made burrito fixings since everybody loves burritos. Mostly. Actually, Chloe and Halle like bean burritos- the Taco Bell variety. I forgot to buy a can of refried beans so they were out of luck. But I did grill some chicken breasts that were marinated in Mojo. I love that stuff (it comes in a big bottle at Publix- do not buy Publix brand, blech) actually I love Cuban food and am very glad that I married a Cuban. Anyway, if you marinate the chicken for about 30 minutes (there's citrus in the marinade and it can start to cook the meat if you do it for longer) and grill it and it's fabulous- and really simple. We made burritos for the girls and all of a sudden Halle spit out something and we asked her what she was doing. To which she replied- "I spit out da chicken 'cause it was horrible to my taste". I wanted to be upset but I couldn't help but laugh.

Something that Travis brought home last night was horrible to my taste too...this pretty little apricot. So sad...

I've never actually had an apricot before that wasn't dried so I was excited to try it. Unfortunately it was mealy and tasteless and dry. I didn't finish eating it. It had to be that particular fruit because Travis loves them but he didn't like this one either. We'll have to try it again sometime.

In other news I've figured out my remaining sickness issue. Yeah, really I have. I'm allergic to TN. That's kind of anti-climactic, right? But I've noticed that my fatigue, headaches, feeling like I have a cold or flu symptoms were the same as when we had the cats. It left when we got rid of them and came back when allergy season started. So now when there's no tree pollen I feel fine, when it's low I start getting sinus headaches and really tired- any more than that and I'm done for. But I'm not the only one. My dad said he used to feel like he had the flu a couple weeks out of every month when he lived in FL. So yeah, that's it. It's nice to know that I'm not really, actually sick. My immune system isn't wrecked like I thought it was and that's encouraging. The not encouraging part is staying in bed for two to three weeks at a time because I'm allergic to trees. I love trees. And I love TN. But it's making Florida look even better. I wonder if I'd be OK vacationing here? We used to vacation in NC and I was just fine. Very sad.

And on another note- I finally have Amanda's schedule! And I don't think I'm going to be all that busy with her stuff. I need to look at it again but she really wants me there for her competitions and for the award ceremony- for which I need at least a semi-formal dress. I don't really feel like buying one of those right now. And I'm having a bit of trouble not being critical about some aspects of this whole thing. I know that acting is my daughters passion and I appreciate that. I just hate the whole modeling, image aspect of it. I found myself being a bit sickened as I watched a little girl of about 5 posing for her dad when I was at Amanda's last practice. She was made up like a little model and clearly that's the aspiration. It's just not my thing. So I need to make it a goal to not judge and be loving and excited for these kids- and adults- that are trying to make a career in a field completely about image. And talent- a lot of these kids are really talented. And this is what Amanda is called to. I'm supporting her and praying for her. I just need to leave my condescending, self righteous attitude...well, I should just lose the attitude. Ooh, I think it worked...I feel much better now ;)

And I think that's all of my ramblings for the day.

By Request

Christy requested a picture of my new hair and I'm glad to oblige since I don't really have anything else to blog about today. Now, I'm as vain as the next girl (more than some, less than others) and I hate taking my own pictures. The only thing I hate more than that is to post pictures that are less than flattering. These pics left me running for some powder since I'm sans makeup but I decided to not retake them because, well, whatevah. I'm hanging out with the kids today and no makeup takes 10 minutes off my routine so there you go.


From the front...

And from the side-ish...
It's really the easiest hairstyle ever and Rhonda is a magician, I think.

Summer time...

Today I'm thankful. Thankful for a husband that can talk me down off a ledge, a new haircut and a new person to cut my hair. Not that the person that used to cut my hair left me desiring better hair, it's just that the price tag for said hair cut left me looking for ways to save money. Thankfully a woman in my life group is a hair stylist that stays home with her kids. She gives really good, really cheap haircuts. Nice. I miss the massage-y chair when I get my hair washed but the price more than makes up for it and I don't have to find a babysitter for the kiddos- it's a win-win.

I've made a partial list of things that I need to do before we leave (10 days!) and have crossed some things off already. Like having the tires rotated- blech. I usually pick the worst times to do it and end up wandering around Costco for a couple of hours but yesterday it was done in 35 minutes, yay! So before I run off to do laundry and make dinner (pancakes, eggs and sausage- yum) I'll give a brief overview of what's going on around here for summer. Oh and btw, I've been out in the sun quite a bit and am several shades darker than Trav- bahahaha!

Sweet little bathing suit clad girls... Roses are still blooming some...

Really, really weird looking bugs....

Carrots! The mini variety...
Basil...

Pumpkin blossoms...

And tomato blossoms!!! Already! I didn't expect to see blossoms for a few more weeks. According to the research I've done they produce lots of tomatoes and they have a milder flavor than grocery store tomatoes. I hope I like them. If I don't, I'm not sure what I'll do with them.