If there is one thing I am really good at I would have to say it is being able to give others sincere compliments. You know the 5 love languages? Words of affirmation would be one of the top 2 for me! So I have a hard time understanding why so many have problems giving someone a compliment. I mean I can even compliment someone on a bad haircut. Even though I think it might look hideous, it doesn't take anything out of me to tell them how nice it looks. Now don't get me wrong, I do have a hard time handing out words of affirmation to those who think highly of themselves or to the ones that look for compliments. That attitude is irritating. In my observations of people that have a hard time complimenting I have found that a lot of times it seems to be a little bit of jealousy. Maybe that is too strong of a word but it seems that a few folks out there don't like to see others improve. They like to see people in the same crappy state that they find themselves. Anyway, just a little something I've noticed from being around Debbie downers a lot of my existence! I know quite a few of them.

So, life is pretty much the same around here. We're getting ready for Christmas and enjoying the down time we've had since the kids got out of school. I even sent out Christmas letters to friends and family. You know the mass letters people send out to tell everyone how perfect their lives are? Yeah, I did one like that! It made me feel a little Christmasy to do that. I was having a hard time getting into the spirit since it's so warm here in AZ. So nothing like a chain letter to spread some holiday cheer! I have managed to stay away from all the holiday goodies this year and boy has that been a challenge! It's a goal of Charles and myself to not gain 10 pounds over this Merry Christmas season. I have to say though, it isn't as merry without all the goodies. I sure love to eat. I also need to say how dang proud of Charles I am! He loves eating more than me. He has a "don't mind if I do" mentality and he has done a great job at refraining. It gets old being chubby though, so we are dedicated!

I must go and sniff the peanut butter rice krispy treats I made last night!

Tis the season

I love this time of the year but it seems to bring out my not so compassionate side. It seems that people that need stuff always try to tug at your heartstrings around the holidays. I have learned that there are 2 kinds of people in this world.....givers and takers. The takers seem to always be able to seek out the givers. I hear about so many people that are always getting something for nothing and I wonder how they can always seem to find a good deal and so much for free. Well...here's how they do it.....they spend A LOT of time trying to get something for nothing. I don't have time to waste trying to find crap like that and seeking out things without having to work for it. It seems as though people have forgotten the value of hard work and that if you want something you HAVE to work for it. Welcome to the real friggin world folks! Please tell me why I have to work hard for what I receive and others think they can sit and beg me for what I've earned. It irritates me! I seem to notice this a little more around the holidays.You have people telling you what they need and why they can't do it for themselves and why you need to be the one to step in and do it. So here's a little advice for all the takers out there that are so used to people stepping in and doing for them.....do something for someone else this year and I promise you'll forget about your worries. Stop wondering who will rescue you and figure it out for yourself once. I know, I mean! I promise you, you can do it. Now grow up! Oh and one more thing, the takers and the dependent upon others are always the ones that never seem to mind putting others out. It's as though they think they are entitled to be a pain in the butt. It is completely frustrating. Merry Christmas!

Guess who?

Holy crap, it's been a while! I haven't posted in over a month. I haven't had anything huge going on or any deep thoughts about anything lately! Well I have but instead of writing on my blog in the evenings I have been consumed with TruTv or A&E. We've become addicted to the show Intervention and we love watching people get their cars repossessed on Operation Repo. That's why I haven't posted in a while. Oh and we did watch Hoarders for a while until it started pissing me off so bad. That show makes me feel like Howie Mandel!

I had to post today because I needed to write about the soccer championships. First of all, Charlie's team lost 2 games this season. They ended up in the championship tournament and beat one of the teams that had beat them during the season. The last game before the tournaments began they defeated the ONLY team (Wildcats) in the age division that was undefeated. That was an amazing game! We beat them 5-4. So there we were last night in 1500 mph winds and freezing rain playing the Wildcats, again! We made the first goal and I was for sure we would win the game. The wind wasn't in our favor. It was blowing towards their goal. They ended up making a goal right after us and then with 3 minutes left in the game one of our players tried to play the ball while he was on the ground in our goalie box which translates to oh !@#%! Yes, because of this play the opposing team had a direct penalty kick and made it and put the score 2-1 and they won the game. I wanted Charlie's team to win so badly. I had a prayer in my heart and everything but I'm wondering if the cuss words that swirled in my head after the penalty kick didn't cancel that prayer out. Dang it! Completely frustrating! At least we gave them their only loss of the season. I think the only thing you receive for winning the championship is bragging rights. Oh well, we are only living in Sierra Vista where the soccer commissioner is accused of mishandling funds. I guess it's not a huge deal that we got all the way there and lost! Crap! Crap!Crap! I just had to get it off my chest.

In other news, I've been learning how to sew! (thanks to my friend Angie) Yes, I made a cute bag and everything. I'm going to learn how to play the piano and then officially change my name to Molly and start posting about how great and perfect my life is. I'll even have pictures of all the cute things I make and will tell you how easy it is to do it. Seriously, I was excited that I made this bag. Between canning and sewing I feel like I'm about 65! Hopefully I'll still look as good then:)
We had a great Thanksgiving! We were going to stay home and be lazy but ended up going to some friends' house and celebrating with them. We had a delightful time and ate like wild bears. I did the Black Friday thing and got into all that chaos. I did get some frighteningly good deals though. I wasn't in line for anything that anyone else wanted so it wasn't too bad for me. Other people were going crazy to save a few bucks on electronic stuff and the Mexicans were piling $3 pajama sets into their carts as if they would never see another pair of p.j.'s again! It was fun though. Helps me get into the Christmas spirit:) It's hard here in AZ because the weather is so much warmer than other places we've lived. However, the 1500 mph winds and chilly temps made it a little easier last night.

Today is Charles' 34th birthday. He has gray in his hair and is still as sexy as ever! I love him. He's hard to shop for because he's so dang specific on a particular item. I got up with the kids today so he could sleep in. He took 2 days off to celebrate! I really didn't want to get up since the winds kept me awake all night but he was specific in letting me know he wanted to sleep in. So up I get and then he trails into the kitchen about 5 minutes after me! I was slightly irritated about this because I pulled myself from the comforts of my warm sheets to honor his wish for him to change his mind at the last minute! Well, I'm still glad he was born!

I know, I know

My posts are few and far between these days. However, I have been a busy bee. Last week I learned how to can. Charles' grandmother gave us 2 pressure cookers and a water bath canner years ago. They had never been touched by my hands until last Wednesday. I hadn't used them because I was for sure the pressure canner would blow up in my face and disfigure me for life. But, a lady in our ward called me up one day and asked if I wanted to learn how to can pinto beans. I said "absolutely" and since then I have been a canning fool. It just took a little confidence on how to use the pressure canner to get me going. I bought a crap load of apples the other day since they were on sale and it took me all day to get them canned. My back hurts now. I made applesauce, canned baking apples and some freezer baking apples and some baked beans but not with apples! I'm talented, thank you! Actually if it hadn't been for Sister Hardy my canners would still be unused!


We had a nice Halloween! Our stake did a trunk or treat but it was over pretty early so we took the kids around our neighborhood. I need to know what in the world has happened to Halloween. When I was a kid everyone had porch lights on and the streets were filled to the brim with kids. These days I think all of the churches around town do the trunk or treats and kids only have to walk 1/3 mile to get 12 pounds of candy. Then parents sit and wonder why their kids weigh 200 pounds at 10 years old. We did get a bunch of candy though! Charlie was glad since he didn't get to trick or treat this year. That's another one of my pet peeves. Huge, giant kids that come to my door and say "trick or treat". I'm sorry but when you have pubic hair you should not be going trick or treating. I can't believe parents let their teenagers do that. When I get a big, grown kid come to my door they get the crappiest piece of candy in the bowl, like the tootsie rolls or those black and orange wrapped candy that makes me wonder why in the hell people still gives those out. I'm glad October is over. I was tired of all the festivals, pumpkin patches and parties.

Our Vampire, "Dead Guy", Mummy, and Redneck (looks like Joe Dirt).

Me and Charles before a Halloween party.

Ok, so I'm beginning to think I may be a little racist. Now, I like Mexicans, I really do. When we lived in Alabama there was and still is a section of town where all the Mexicans lived and they worked hard and sent their money home to help support their families that still lived in Mexico. I also have a sister in law that is Mexican and I love her to pieces. However, the Mexicans here in Sierra Vista have really been bugging me lately. The Mexican parents at the elementary school never follow the car rider rules. They act like only the white people must follow these rules. They are constantly holding up traffic and thinking they don't have to wait in the line like everyone else has to. Then there are Mexican kids at the middle school that are always talking trash to other kids and picking on them. My 80 pound Ryan got in a fight at school today with one of them. Ryan called him out on his crap and a fight ensued. They both received in-school suspension since the bitchy vice principal was feeling nice today. The one good thing about this is that I was supposed to go on a field trip to Tucson with Ryan's class tomorrow. Now that he has ISS he doesn't get to go and now I don't have to!

Other exciting news.....we bought a 1970's RV for $100. It is sitting in our back yard and it makes me feel like cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation. It runs and is in great condition. It just needs a little updation and we'll be good to go! We're going to fix up the inside and not worry so much about the outside. I'm sure our neighbors love us!

Happy Fall Y'all

This weekend was one big fall fest. October always seems to be busy and full of fun, Halloweeny things. This season has actually been a great fall season. It's the first one in 4 years that hasn't revolved around Charles either leaving or returning from Iraq. He'll get to be here for trick or treating this year and help eat all the candy! Friday night we took all of our kids and a few extras to the haunted hayride on the post. It was only a short 2 1/2 hour wait to get on the hay. Cody was a little nervous about the scary people jumping and grabbing at him and I was able to realize just how old I've become because none of it was scary to me. On Saturday our stake had a family fun fest where I entered a chili and pie contest and whadya know, I won first place in the traditional chili competition! I sure did. I took 3rd place in the peach pie category and we're pretty sure that competition was rigged;) Charles was for sure I was going to get first place there too. The only thing I walked away with was a lousy certificate that Charles put on our computer as the background:) He's cute! Then today I was able to attend a first grade field trip with Cody. We went to Apple Annie's. It's a big farm where you can purchase all sorts of veggies, ride a hayride, pick pumpkins and enjoy all manner of fall fun! The teachers didn't seem to care too much about the students and where they ended up or if they even made it back onto the bus when it was all over. A few students were lost in the corn maze and luckily they happened upon Holly and myself. Otherwise, I don't think anyone would have given a good crap about them :-| After seeing how that went I was glad as hell that I went and made sure my son made it back safely to Sierra Vista.

My prize for making a dang good pot of chili!

So as we've celebrated the season this year it has made me reflect on years past. My sister reminded me a few days ago of my first October without Charles. It was 2005 and she and her kids came into town, when we lived in Tennessee, the weekend Charles left for Iraq. We were determined to not let his departure get me down. We planned a fun day at some apple orchard. The name of the place has slipped my mind. You'll know why after you read this paragraph. We get there with 6 kids in tow and quickly realize what a giant dump the place is. The hayride was just around the dirt parking lot, pony rides were $5 to ride in a circle a few times, the animals in the petting zoo looked to be near death and wouldn't eat any of the food we bought to feed them. Then we went to purchase "apple sundaes" at $4 a pop and they turned out to be an apple with whipped cream piled on top. I handed Josh his sundae and it was in his hands for about 3 seconds before it hit the dirt and he was crying! A good time was had by all! My sister and I still have the yard stakes we bought that day, it helps remind us every year of what a grand time we had! Dadgum, deployments suck. Glad all that's over.

Our day in October 2005 at the crappy "pumpkin patch"

Fall Break......

is almost over:) We've had a good week though! It's nice to get a break from early mornings and kids that don't want to get started. We went camping on Monday and got up Tuesday and went canoeing and fishing. Our kids seem to be a little like me when it comes to fishing. No patience when it comes to waiting for the fish to bite.

Charlie and Ryan ended up canoeing around the lake while Charles was teaching the younger ones how to fish. Charlie and Ryan both thought they were canoe pros and sat in the canoe yelling at each other and sounding like Lucy and Ethel the entire time.



You could hear them around the entire lake. Neither one of them thought there was anything wrong with acting like a fool. Josh learned how to cast a reel and ended up losing the bass lure but sure had fun doing it. Cody got tired of fishing and started throwing boulders in the water that were sure to keep the fish away!
Cody before he started tossing rocks at the fish.



Josh waiting to fish.

All in all it was good, wholesome, family fun!

The view from the canoe!

With 4 boys there is lots of farting, saying "shut-up!", aggravating each other, name calling, blaming, the list goes on, but there is love all around, I promise!

Wednesday, October 14 my oldest baby turned 13! He is now smarter than his father and me! We invited his friends over for a bonfire and like, oh my gosh, it was a totally awesome time! Let me just say I'm kind of glad I don't have girls! Charlie sure likes them though :) It really turned out to be a fun party that was my idea and nobody thought it would turn out as nice as it did. I'm an awesome mom, I don't care what anyone says!

Charlie after opening his MP3 player.

Today we had 3 8:00 a.m. soccer games. I opted to go to Charlie's and had to be tortured for an hour and 20 minutes. It is so hard to hold back and not act like a fool and embarrass your child when they are playing tiddlywinks on the soccer field. Charlie has been playing soccer since he was 4 and is pretty darn good at it. Today though he was acting more like a ballerina than a soccer player. I get so frustrated. Then the coach coddles them when they get to the sidelines for half time. This is U14 people, we're playing to win now. We're not U6 anymore where it's all about fun and learning the sport and you cheer when the other team scores a goal. Completely frustrating. We lost by the way :-| It's ok, a loss every now and then keeps you humble. I need a piece of chocolate, peanut butter cake:)

Yes, I'm here......

and 20 pounds lighter! I know, I hate when people brag but I'm just excited about it! It's actually the 20 pounds I found since Charles got home last November. It's mostly his fault! For some reason I haven't been posting nearly as much as I used to. I guess there hasn't been that much that has irritated me lately! Of course this is what brings me to write, I was bugged a little today. First, I was watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition and it was this black family that had taken in 7 kids, I believe, from another family member. Don't get me wrong, this was super sweet. However, as they started to interview all the kids most of them seemed to be in their 20's. So there I sit wondering why in the hell those big, grown "kids" aren't getting out there working and helping with the bills. Why are they asking ABC to build them a new house when there are so many capable people in that house to help out? Most people that read my blog probably think I'm racist. I'm truly am sorry if that's how I come across. It really has nothing to do with the color as much as it has to do with the attitude.

Another thing that bugged me was this chick at church. It started out this way.....I was asked earlier in the week if I would be willing to pick up this little, old lady from our ward, who lives in a rehab center, for church on Sunday. I accepted and went and got her this morning. Now as I drove her to church she told me a lot about herself. She never had children or even married. She was an only child and her parents passed away quite awhile ago. She was a really nice lady that devoted her life to teaching and serving for 30 years in the primary. A childhood disease left her with lots of residual effects. So at the end of church I walked down to the RS room to help her get to the car. She had decided to stay for choir practice so the RS president asked if I would walk to the chapel and see if there was anyone willing to take her home. I walked down there and asked one person who was willing but realized she had driven her Suburban to church and Sister Jones wouldn't have been able to get up in it. So I walk over to this other lady, who has one child that is 16 and just all around bugs the hell out of me. She was shaking her head no before I could even get the entire question out of my mouth. She was going on with all of her excuses as I walked off with a completely disgusted look on my face. I walked away before she could even finish with all of her half-assed excuses. I was pissed. The next lady I asked, who by the way has about 4 callings, was more than happy to take the lady back to her rehab center. I guess what bugs me is that I know service is usually inconvenient but people need us. That's the only way stuff gets done, through the service and willingness of others. The only thing I can say to the hag is one word......KARMA. What goes around comes around sweet cheeks! Plus the lady has a terrible haircut. I was pissed!

We're going camping tomorrow. Charles loves to camp and spends hours getting all the gear ready. He likes to be prepared and we usually eat better during a camping trip than we do when we're at home. Of course, here lately, my family has been eating well with all the new recipes I have been making. I prepared our dinner for the campout so that will be one less thing for him to do. I have barely seen him today due to the fact that I fell asleep and he has been like a kid in a candy store going through all of the camping equipment. It's perfect camping weather for AZ so we're just down right excited about our little adventure. I'm sure you'll hear all about when we get back!

Cody's thoughts.....

CODY...."Josh, you should never pay your tithing."

JOSH...."Why shouldn't I pay my tithing?"

CODY...."Cuz they won't ever give your money back!"

Love that kid!

Yikes!

I've been out of the blogging world for a while. The thoughts that have consumed me lately are not ones I want to blab out to the nation. We've had some goings on but nothings too spectacular. I have....wait for it....started another book! I'm so proud. The Lovely Bones, it's pretty good too! Captured my attention in the first paragraph!

Tuesday of this week I was able to attend Cody's field trip to the grocery store to learn about consumer awareness! It was a grand time! He was able to walk through produce, dairy, the pharmacy and was able to get a glimpse of a transvestite or whatever they are called these days. Nevertheless he was a man dressed as a woman! Let me just tell you the story.....we are just getting into the facts about the grocery biz as we walk by all the check out lanes. We come upon the self check lane and I see a person with a hot pink bathing suit skirt, hot pink ballerina flats and a baby pink spaghetti strap tank top. I am totally thinking it's a woman too old to be wearing something like that. I was straight up staring, I'll admit I was acting like a window licker staring at this person! Well, the person walks in the direction we go so I was able to get a good look at the face and hear his voice. I was astonished. I have never seen a for real cross dresser. First of all, his face was so ugly it could have stopped a freight train. For that reason alone I don't know why he was wanting to be dressed like a woman. However, looking at his legs, I would have bet a thousand bucks it was a woman. He was a mess! Cody got his first lesson in consumer awareness alright! The grocery store ain't Cody's thang! He told me several times that "this IS NOT a fun field trip!"

Soccer has consumed my life for the last 3 weeks! I love to watch my kids play sports though! Charlie's team had been doing great until last Saturday they got the living crap beat out of them. It is hard to not holler and scream when you see U14 kids playing like a bunch of nancies. But Charles and I are pretty good about holding our tongues. Josh and Cody are on the same team and they rock the house. Seriously, all bragging aside, they are the best on their team and they will let everyone know it too! Even the parents of the other players! Cody came and plopped down beside us during last Saturday's game and told us how Josh was the only good player on the field at the moment and we were surrounded by all the other players parents! At least he's honest. Tactless, maybe, but that is in the Woods gene so he comes by that honest!

I'm trying to cover all topics I missed while I've been away so long. I've actually started a few postings that never got finished and of course didn't make it to the main page. Oh, I did have some thoughts on the Kanye West/Taylor Swift crap......Wasn't it Kanye that said President Bush didn't like white people? Hmmm....interesting. Why is it that black folks can do or say whatever they want and never get admonished for it but the minute a white person disagrees with a blackie the racist card is immediately pulled? It seems like blacks get mad when you expect them to work for a living. It wasn't that Bush didn't like the blacks, he just expected them to get up and work towards building a new life, after hurricane Katrina, just all the white folks did! I am so sick of the race debate. It's just a way to take the focus off of the real wrong doing. That's all I'll say about that topic, otherwise you'd be here reading all day!

Well, I must depart to get crap done! Good to be back though!

A few thoughts....

Is there anyone out there that can actually take Pamela Anderson serious? I know I'm judging but please Pammy....you're 42 and you have 2 sons that are old enough to know that you have zero class. It seems that these PETA advocates are just looking for a way for everyone to see them naked. How can anyone take your cause serious when you are showing your parts to the entire nation? All these former porn stars are now trying to get people to take them serious by continuing to do the only thing they know how....taking their clothes off, only now they are doing it for the "sake of animals." Drives me nuts! Their group should be called PITA...Pain in the A--!!

Well, I was talking to my sister last night and we were discussing the medical world. She works in an ER and is privy to all the goings on in her facility. I had some thoughts on the issue of the medical world. First of all, why is it that we, Americans, put so much trust in a doctor that doesn't know us and we don't know them? Basically, they are prescribing medicines to us because they have been paid by pharmaceutical companies in exchange. They aren't necessarily prescribing that medicine to us because they feel it is in our best interest. Another thing, how many medications actually solve the issue? Most prescriptions only help the symptoms, they aren't curing the problem. But people continue to put their trust in the medical industry. I am often humored when I see the statement "these statements have not been evaluated by the FDA." Well let's put our trust in them since they are so trustworthy. How many medications have been put on the market only to be yanked off a year later because they are killing people? We are constantly seeing commercials with attorneys seeking out those wanting to be compensated for damages caused by these medications. FDA evaluated those medications. Not to mention all the back and forth we get on how we are supposed to eat to be healthy. Eggs are good for you, oh never mind, oh yes, they are good for you again. High protein is great, oops, we're wrong again! The "experts" are contradicting themselves all the dang time. Yet we still trust them and take all their advice and the medications right along with it. We don't seek out other natural alternatives and we wonder why there are so many diseases and why our bodies are falling apart. We can't imagine that we can hold the key to our own good health. We don't realize that our bodies were made, by our Father in Heaven, to heal and repair themselves if we use the right tools. Think about when you fall and get a cut. Your body knows just what to do and in a few days it scabs all by itself and, voila, in a few days you're all better. Now I'm not saying that doctors don't have a place in this world. As a matter of fact, I took Josh to see a doctor the other day about his swollen jaws. The doctor that saw him was probably the best I have encountered since we've been in the military. He was extremely thorough and patient. He ruled out the worst through blood test and examinations. So, yes, there are many good doctors out there. I haven't come across too many of them but I'm sure they exist.
I have a good story involving my methods. Charles, who thought I was a bit of a nut for using essential oils for everything, got his head split open while he was putting up a fence for our chickens. He came around the corner of the house with blood all over his head and had his hand on top of the cut. I asked him what the heck happened and he said he needed to go get stitches. I told him to chill and let me have a look. It was split open but after a drop or 2 of yarrow and a drop of frankincense he was all better. The yarrow made the bleeding stop immediately and frankincense is for scarring. Both have antibacterial and antiseptic qualities. There is no scar on his head from this incident. He continued to feel that he needed an MD but by morning the band aid came off and he was good as new. He is still skeptical at times but everything I have ever tried on him has worked! After all of his testimonials he is coming around. Most people think that essential oils are used for aromatherapy and that's it. They are beneficial as used like this but this isn't their only purpose. Another little thing about medications, the mile long list of side effects. The commercial portion of side effects alone seems to last for about 5 minutes. Anyway, just a little something I've been thinking about lately. But don't mind me we all have a choice!

My life as.....

a blank........you fill it in. I was told recently that I don't update my blog enough. I know I should write more since I use this as an outlet and a journal per se. BUT....I don't. Sometimes I feel like I complain a little too much on here. I especially feel that way when I come across all these other blogs that talk of the goodness that people put out in the world, like avocado mousse and vintage aprons and cute, well dressed kids and of course perky, round boobs. But I guess you don't have to read my blog if you don't want to :)

So what's everyone's thoughts on Obama's speech to all the school aged youngsters? Wanna hear mine? Good....I think he's an idiot. I think he wants to control the American population and he is punishing the hard working Americans. I think he promotes indolence and who does he think he is trying to help our kids set education goals. First of all, he isn't even on the level of middle class America. He sends his kids to a $29K a year private school. Thank you, Mr. President, but leave my kids up to me. I think I can handle it. I think he had ulterior motives. I don't trust that man. It's not because he's black or because he's democrat. As much as I disliked Clinton I wouldn't have been opposed to a speech given by him to school kids. There's just something about Obama that reminds me of the Jihadists :-| That's what I think about that!

So....over 14 years ago Charles gave me an engagement ring. He spent about $300 on the ring and the band. I have worn them ever since. After I graduated high school I flew to St. Louis and took a 2 hour bus ride to visit him at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. This is when he gave me my engagement ring. I was so proud of that thing! I stayed at this dump of a motel when I arrived in Missouri and Charles came over as soon as he could. He was dressed in his class A's and we walked to a nearby gas station to get some supplies. I left my ring set at the hotel. When we arrived back to the room our door was wide open. I was a little concerned and when we stepped inside there was a chubby, black lady standing there holding my ring box. I asked if I could help her and she put the ring down and said no and acted as if it was completely normal to be gazing at someone's belongings without their permission. I was sure if we had been any later the rings would have been gone. Well, I wake up Saturday morning and look down at my hand and notice that my diamond had fallen out of my ring! I have been sick about it ever since. That ring holds so much sentimental value to me. When I look at that ring memories of my life with Charles flood my mind. I have spent nearly half of my life with him. At least it's just the diamond that was lost and not the ring itself. I don't even know where it would have fallen out so of course I had no idea where to even start looking. It wasn't a big diamond by any means but it holds big memories of where we came from and how far we've come. Dadgummit!

We had Josh's baptism on Saturday and it was great! Events like that are always nice to have behind you! Not that I don't love them but that the stress of it all is over :) Next big event will be my know-it-all son turning 13 next month! He will officially be smarter than me on the 14th of October!

Happenings....

I've been gone a while! Plus, it's taken me a minute to get my thoughts together. I went away for the weekend and had a great time! It was a super long drive and hotter than blue blazes at our destination. I went with a friend of mine to St. George for some essential oil training and to learn an aroma touch technique! It's amazing all that essential oils can do for you. I mean heck, the Wisemen brought them to Christ! It was great training and a good time was had by all! St. George is one of the most beautiful places I have seen. The red rocks are amazing and I can't even compare it to anything I have ever seen. We stopped on Phoenix so I could get a cute haircut and then again in Vegas to see Stephanie's brother. Finally got home Sunday evening after a 10 hour drive!


Charles was released from the bishopric on Sunday and was extended a new calling. Our old bishop moved out of our ward boundaries so we got a new bishopric! Charles was sad to go but is excited about his new calling and all the training it entails! My word. That's about all the happenings around the Woods' home front. My kids are still driving me nuts, I still think Obama is an idiot and I haven't stopped eating sugar. Some things never change:)

Oh yeah, I read an article today about my beloved Ben & Jerry's ice cream. They have a flavor, which I love, called Chubby Hubby! Well in honor of all the homos out there they are changing the name of it for a month and they will call it Hubby Hubby! Yes, you read that right! I mean, ok great, if you want to have things inserted in certain orifices of your body that is your right. But for heaven's sake don't slap the reminder on an ice cream container that someone is going to be eating from. I don't want to be reminded of homosexual activity when I sit down to eat my pint. Thanks Ben & Jerry! Now I have to switch to Dreyer's fully loaded peanut butter cup!

On a happier, non disgusting note, my little Josh is getting baptized this Saturday! I cannot believe he's old enough! He's definitely my sweetest child. Josh tries hard to stay out of trouble and do the right thing. His older brothers pick on him like mad but he can hold his own. He WILL NOT eat eggs unless they are in a batch of cookies or brownies! He's super messy and HATES homework. I will never forget his baby years when he didn't want anyone else but me and all the conversations I had with my sister when I told her I was for sure all the crying would stop when he could sit up, crawl, walk, or turn 18! Little Joshy was a hard baby but turned into the sweetest kid! I love him!

Just a few things...

that have bugged the crap out of me today....first of all, the car pick line at the elementary school is enough to make me want to home school, well not really, but it does make me mad! So many idiots don't follow the rules and park in the line and then get out of their cars and block everything up! FRUSTRATING! Another thing, people who get on facebook and blab all their personal stuff. People, I do not need to know who your ex-husband is boinking and that your kids have to go to juvenile court. I mean, please, folks, have an ounce of class. One more thing that bugs me and I don't really know why....when people use made up names for their kids on blogs. This is so silly to me. I get why you wouldn't want to blab your kids names on a public blog but don't make up corny names for them. You could say my oldest child, or use them by their birth order (i.e. child 1, 2, 3 or 4). But the corny nick names are a bit much for my taste.

Did you know that 17% of the population actually exercise for pleasure? I am NOT in that percentage! I also read that when your heart gets used to one cardiovascular exercise you have to either go longer, exercise more frequently or increase your intensity. All this translates to exercise will never be fun.

Let me tell you about my worst nightmare that came to life last week. I walked into my bathroom preparing to shower, I believe it was Friday. I looked up at the little window that is in the shower. It's one of those little ones that sits up high so nobody is able to look in it. Anyway, I notice there is a bug in between the windows. I step up on the edge of the tub to see exactly what type of bug it is. A roach! Hate 'em. The window is slid open so this means the bug is on the inside between the 2 sections of windows.. I was a little nervous because I have a wicked aversion to insects. I know they won't hurt me but I still don't want them on me! I had to shower though so I kept a close eye on the thing while I was showering. Well as I was rinsing my hair I had to take my eyes off of him and as soon as I was done I look up to see that he is nowhere in sight. Of course I say a curse word in my mind and start speeding the shower along. The next thing I know the damn thing has crawled off the ledge and landed in the shower....with me! Screaming, I sling the shower curtain back, hop out of the shower in my shower suit to see my 8 year old standing there and he says "what's wrong mom?" completely nonchalant as if he sees me everyday getting out of the shower screaming! The roach had landed belly up in the water and I stood there until he was down the drain. It was awful, y'all. I have chills as I write about it. We need to think about moving to another house. I can't take all these critters!

Ashley's tip of the week-This is for the ladies-go have yourself fitted for a bra. Statistics show that almost 90% of women are wearing the wrong size bra! Dillard's does this service for free. Victoria's Secret does to, but, to me, these ladies don't seem to know much about a GOOD bra. Dillard's people know what they are talking about. I have been to VS twice to get sized and both times I got an idiot! If you have never been properly sized you must do this. You will thank me!

Smart cars.....

are ridiculous. Have you ever seen one? They look like little Tonka cars. It is so hard to take anyone serious when they are driving around town in one. I can think of little that is cornier than owning a "Smart" car. Not to mention how silly one looks while crammed into one. All this "green" nonsense is getting a little out of hand, don't ya think? I mean, I'm all for saving the Earth, but it's hard to take it serious when we live in such a world of abundance.

If you had asked me a year ago if I liked to read I would have said hell no. BUT....I have read 5 books this summer and I am so proud of myself! I started The Time Traveler's Wife on Sunday and have pretty much been worthless ever since. I finally finished it today and feel complete. I think I have an addiction to good love stories. They make me want to rape Charles, I love him so much. The book was much better than the movie for anyone that's interested in seeing the movie or reading the book.

So, Charles and I have started going to the gym 3 days a week during his lunch hour to lift weights. Now, I'm not a gym pro or anything but I do know a thing or 2 about weight lifting since I saw a trainer back in 2005. Reggie taught me my way around the gym. What cracks me right up when I go are the guys that don't know very much and they lift these massive amounts of weights and scream out as if they are dying in the process. Charles calls them gym gorillas because that is exactly what they sound like. Then you have the guys that Charles refers to as having I.L.S. (imaginary lat syndrome) The guys that walk around with their arms beefed out to their sides as if there is no room to put them down since their lats are so huge, but they're not huge, they actually have no lats at all! Think Chris Farley in Tommy Boy when he's walking by the pool and runs into the girl and asks her where the gym is. Not that either one of us is all muscular and ripped out, however, we also aren't walking around as if we are either!

By the way, I'm one hell of a baker. I know that's bragging and I hate when people do that but I feel that it's important for people to know :)

Can someone pleeeease.....

tell me why in the hell women do this? Ok ladies, I am not calling myself a style icon, artist or anything in the style industry, BUT for heaven's sake I have enough sense to know this is the biggest fashion faux pas known to man. So why in the world would someone humiliate themselves like this? Are women seriously thinking they look good when they walk out of the house like this? A bit of free advice from Ashley....don't EVER do this....EVER. Also, if you're in your 30's. stop shopping at Forever 21. If there are 2 things in fashion that leave me baffled beyond belief it is the accentuated muffin top and older ladies that are desperately trying to hang on to their youth. Women in their 30's can still be classy AND sexy all at the same time. Please girls this has to stop....NOW! Could you imagine BEING the chubby girl in the picture? This picture pops up when you google "muffin top." If that ain't a wake up call....cover it up sweetie!

I took my two young sons to the pool today and the pool side was filled with girls trying hard to look good in a bikini. I felt so bad that most of them thought they had the stuff to be out there barely clad. It wouldn't have been any worse if I had been laying out there in a 2 piece. There is no way, after 4 kids and looking as if Freddie Krueger clawed me from head to thigh, I would ever step out in public in a bathing suit that resembles panties and a bra. So where are these other gals getting the assumption that they need to be out there like that? I would love to know where this confidence comes from. I'll stop there......Sweet Mary!

Went on a date with Charles tonight! We saw The Time Traveler's Wife. It was a sad little movie. I need to steer clear of the death thing for a while. It was a good movie though. I'm thinking I should read the book since it left me with a lot of unanswered questions.


This is a real picture from a facebook page. Apparently the chick was at a NASCAR race, go figure, and snapped this picture! Don't ever try this! Please Fred! Low waist jeans, another no-no! Especially on a fat person.

I LOVE.....

coming home when all the kids are tucked safely away in bed! I had enrichment meeting tonight and left dinner up to the boys! I had to teach a class and I was a little on edge. My day went well until I got a call from the school nurse telling me the other side of Josh's face was swollen and he was in pain. Got him into the doc and they are running some blood work and hopefully we can get it all figured out. Poor kid! Once all the kids got home I felt like my voice couldn't get below 800 decibels. I hate when my kids get into the mood when they don't want to listen to me. I make them pay me if I have to repeat myself and that drives Charlie crazy. The other ones usually don't have any money so they couldn't care less.

So, I get to church tonight and prepare everything for my lesson. I wasn't nervous until I got there and starting sorting through all the handouts. I start teaching and I couldn't stop sweating and then I couldn't catch my breath! Completely embarrassing. I had to teach the class twice, too! The 2nd time around went much better. In the first class, I gave my experience on collecting a food storage, since that was the subject matter I was to teach on. I started with the basic items and blah, blah, blah! I went into my spill and this well-meaning lady comes up to me at the end and tells me that what I had just taught was basically "old school." But I got all my info from the church website.....hmm.....interesting. Apparently she has a food storage website and gives her ideas, which are fabulous ideas, but a little more overwhelming than what has worked for us. Oh well, take it with a grain of salt....right? :-|

I am attending a funeral tomorrow for a man that was in our ward. He died of cancer and leaves behind a wife and son. He was relatively young and had a pretty drawn out illness. It is very sad and I am a little nervous about it all. I know we have a better life when we go beyond the veil and all that but death is still very sad to me. Especially when there are people left behind to mourn. I can't imagine ever losing Charles. I don't know how I would go on. I mean, yes, there are definitely times when he is lucky to make the cut on my facebook friends list but I love that man like mad! He's perfect for me and I could never find someone better than him. Plus... he has a really cute butt! ;) That's my standard!

Long week......

Yes, it has been a very long week. I have much to report since my last posting. First and foremost, school started on Thursday! I didn't get to enjoy Friday as much since Josh had to miss his first day of school on Friday. His jaws were swollen like chipmunk cheeks. Apparently, the doc thought he had some swollen lymph glands. His jaws were swollen and painful and I didn't want his teacher and the school nurse to freak out and think he had mumps so he got to stay home.

We also we got our first chicken egg on Thursday! That was exciting. I'm a little nervous about eating our own eggs so I will throw that one in a batch of cookies or something. And speaking of baking, I made a delicious, homemade peach pie for our ward chili dinner on Friday! I had it sitting out to cool when Charles and I headed out for our daily bike ride. We were about a quarter of the way through the ride when Charles grew concerned that Charlie and Ryan would pick at the pie when they returned home from school. He called around their return time to inform them that the pie was for the dinner and "DO NOT touch it". Well sure enough we get back home and there's a huge finger poke in the dadgum pie. This happens quite frequently. It's not like my kids are small children or never get desserts. I am constantly baking for my family. They had no regard for the fact that I had worked hard on the dang pie and that they had been told not to touch it. So....they had to go without dessert at the ward chili dinner and that's as good as Chinese torture for my kids. Since nobody fessed up to the hole in the center of the pie all 4 of them had to suffer the punishment :)

And speaking of our bike ride, Charles was hit by some old broad yesterday. We took a new route that was busier than our normal one. We get to the last part of the ride and come to this very busy intersection. We waited at the light for our turn to pass through the crosswalk. We had been waiting a while when the light finally turned. I head out into the crosswalk with Charles close behind me when this lady pulls up and smacks right into his front tire. I look to my left and see the car coming at me and my hiney puckered right up and I had to swerve my bike so she wouldn't hit me and then I hear Charles yell at me and realize she has hit him. Then she just sits there and stares at Charles and didn't say a word. Since I was all nervous about the situation I had to say something to the woman to ease my nerves. I told her she needed to be more careful and watch what she was doing or she was going to kill someone. I was so frustrated. People have died because idiots haven't been watching what they were doing while driving. I was never so glad for a bike ride to be over by the time we got home. Even though he wasn't seriously hurt got a glimpse of just how pissed I would be if someone killed a person that I love because of carelessness. Then when I think of other people who have forgiven idiots that have killed their loved ones, it makes that all the more amazing to me that they can do that. I would have a hard time with that situation.

We took a trip to Phoenix today for a youth temple trip. I would NEVER be able to live in Phoenix. It is so hot and it takes the a/c in the car way too long to cool off. I don't think I stopped sweating the entire time I was there. It was a long day but at least I didn't have to sell anything off to get there and it only took 3 hours of driving time and not a 3 day journey. We're pretty lucky! Glad to be home sweet home though :) Plus, I have the cutest husband in the ward!

It's been a while since I've posted. Charles has been on leave for over a week and he's been distracting me! It's been a fun break. It will be more fun when the kids get back to school on Thursday! Our friends, the Budge's, came last week so we got to do things we normally don't do. We took them to Kartchner Caverns. Apparently, this cave is one of the most pristine, living caves in Arizona or maybe even in the country. I can't remember. It was huge though and our guide was a hag so she made it hard to want to listen to her. At one point Tyler, the Budge's 4 year old, sat down on a man made ledge. The guide went over to where he sat and marked the place so she could send a clean up crew in to properly clean the lint from the area so the cave would remain living. I felt like a was in a scene out of Monsters, Inc. The part where the monster comes back from the kid's closet and he has a sock attached to his back and the clean up crew comes over and strips him down and shaves all of his hair off! Ridiculous! First of all, there were people in there putting in lights and walkways and working to make the cave accessible to the public. Anyway, the lady had no people skills and she made the humidity in the cave hard to deal with. I'm still having flashbacks so I need to move on.

Charles and I were on our 10 miler today and it was hard for me to get through the ride for some reason. I started to think about the Tour de France competitors and it made me feel that my 10 little miles isn't that big of a deal to some people. But for me it's a doozy. It's quite an accomplishment for Ashley. Of course you can't think about the Tour de France without thinking of Lance Armstrong. Little Lance. Hmm....he once was this excellent cyclist. Well he still is a great cyclist he just doesn't seem as humble as he once was. He starts out with testicular cancer and had a hard time getting a sponsor, postal service sponsors him and he becomes a cycling legend. He marries a great lady that gives birth to his 3 children. Now, I'm not all knowing, believe it or not, BUT, it seems as though his cycling greatness and fame went a little to his head. He beats the odds with his cancer, wins a million Tour de France races and then divorces his wife, starts hanging out with Matthew McConaughey and just acting like a frat boy in general. He retires and I suppose the no attention thing started getting to him so he enters the Tour de France once again and takes 3rd place. Now he could have just stayed married to his wife, enjoyed the fame while it lasted, retired gracefully and gone away a cycling legend and he could be fulfilled to this day with the good life the good Lord gave him. Like I said, I'm not all knowing. It just seems to me that he is trying to find fulfillment in other areas, like cycling. I guess another way satan takes a good thing and turns it into a bad thing. Just a few thoughts I had out on the trail today :-| I just wonder how long it would take Lance to do my 10 miles....I'm sure a lot less time than it takes me.

This post was abandoned yesterday, August 3rd.

We went canoeing yesterday afternoon. It was pretty fun. The last time we went canoeing it was pre-weight loss. I had to sit in the middle of the canoe as to not tip it! We had crammed all 6 of us in one canoe. I was a little concerned about the trip yesterday because of the bad memories I had from the last trip. Charles assured me all would be well. He's bigger than me now and he was confident I would not have to sit in the middle of the canoe. Once we launched my fears were calmed and we had a grand time. Charlie and Cody were in my canoe and Charlie was enjoying making me madder than a wet hen. He kept swirling his paddle and we were going around in circles. Charles was sure I was the incompetent one. We were doing great until Charlie started his crap. The funny thing though, on the way back to the dock Charles was caught in the same type of current we had been in when we couldn't stop going in circles :) This made me happy! He was for sure that I just didn't know how to row. Good Fairy! We had a good time though.




School starts Thursday and I couldn't be more excited!

And then there were 10....

chickens, that is. Yes, one of our chickens died last night. It was a complete shock to all of us. None of them had been sick or anything, at least not that we had noticed. I'm not much of an animal person but this was very sad. A lifeless chicken being toted around in a garbage bag by my 6 year old. He was very concerned for her. There was no way we were going to be able to dump her in the trash can like we had the baby chick. Charlie wouldn't hear of it. He went to the back of our huge acre yard and dug her grave. I guess that's one less chicken we have to give us eggs:(

Charles and I were out on our bike ride yesterday when we saw a Ferrari. Can you believe that in a tiny, miniscule town like Sierra Vista, someone would be bopping around town in a car like that? Charles couldn't believe his eyes and I couldn't have cared less. Cars don't impress me at all. As a matter of fact, nothing that gives away someone's status impresses me. Now if it had been some beater car that someone had gotten for a deep discount and then rebuilt with their bare hands and made it beautiful, that would have been impressive! But the Ferrari was clearly purchased as is and had not been built by the owner's bare hands. It was his status symbol. He probably had a small penis or something like that! Who knows?

So you know how people do this facebook thing? It is addicting at times but mostly I only check it out if I get something in my email. Charles was looking through his the other day and noticed that one of his sisters had a guy that used to bully him in her friend list. Now, my sweet husband is the easiest person in the world to get along with and his feathers rarely get ruffled. As a matter of fact, it takes so much to get his undies in a wad that it irritates me at times. Well this guy clearly got his feathers ruffled and was appalled at the fact he was sitting right there in his sister's list of facebook friends! Andy Swafford is the guy's name and he made life HELL for Charles during his middle school years. A constant bully he was, but as we all know, a bully is really just a coward. I shouldn't fail to mention that the good fairy got a hold of him because he got ugly as hell the older he got. So naturally, my defensive claws come out as I ponder my sweet husband being bullied as a kid. I hate bullies. I wanted to write something on my sister-in-law's page but Charles woudn't hear of it. Dang it! Anyway, I as we were discussing this a-hole, I recalled a story my brother had told me of this Andy character. Apparently, he got what was coming to him by a guy that I have failed to remember his name. Andy was getting threatened and hid behind his mother. Well, the failed memory prompted me to get out my old yearbooks in an effort to find the guy who had offered sweet revenge on Andy! So of course the kids were interested in going through our past lives. Man, what a trip down memory lane. You couldn't pay me enough money to relive my teenage years. I would only go back if I could be equipped with the knowledge I have now. Even then, I would never want to have to live with my mother again, so all of that is out of the question. I don't care what the $$ amount would be. Anyway, the kids got a huge kick out of seeing the yearbooks and I received realizations that have never occurred to me before. I don't have a lot of good memories of my teenage years until AFTER I met Charles. I'm glad we met as young as we did and he is a part of all of my GOOD memories. Plus, he's aged so darn well! YUMMY!

Other than the 60 mosquito bites I have on the lower part of my calves, there is nothing else to report. I have a few bites on my ankle bones and I would rather stick needles in my eyes than to deal with the itch of those little friggers. It is absolutely torturous. Oh yeah, and we finally got a second car. It's nothing fancy like a Ferrari. It's a little rice burner. We've been holding out for something newer with fewer miles and a good deal. We found a Kia from a guy in our ward that gets cars through the wholesale auction. We're pretty excited to give up our second go 'round of having only one car! We've been born again!

We're not perfect.....we know this

I will give you a glimpse of just how not perfect we are. I have NEVER tried to look perfect for those of you that may not know me well.

Sundays are long days for Charles, and for me too, for that matter. He leaves at 10:30 for meetings and usually doesn't get home until 5:30 or 6. Well yesterday was no different. I arrive home with the kids around 4:15 and promptly start making dinner. I am good at making sure Charles has something hot to eat after his long Sundays. Well, we notice the dang dog has something hanging out her backend. Ryan gets a gander at what it is and tells me it's a turd. Oh for heaven's sake! Well, get her out of the house, I tell him! Didn't want dog turds smeared somewhere in my house. I figured I would let Charles take care of it when he arrived home. I know this isn't very nice of me, but I am not digging in a dog's butt to loosen up a turd. This has happened to Dixie before, when Charles was in Iraq. I paid $70 to the vet so I wouldn't have to deal with it. I told Charles what the vet had done last time so he could render the same service to Dixie this time. He was quite the sport about it! Hey, I made dinner! We compromise in this house. He shaved her butt and got to work. He fixed her right up and saved us at least 70 bucks. I sure love him. I know Dixie appreciates him too! Oh and the miracle medicine that helped her stop yelping when she had to go to the bathroom....Carmex! So if your dog ever has a raw butt...now you know what to use! Way to go Charles! He's my jack of all trades!

Well....

I have taken notice, lately, of the people who are rude to bikers. I have noticed that most of the ones that are rude are obese. Now I'm chubby, I admit it. I am still a polite person though. When I'm out riding and come to a crosswalk most people let me through without trying to shoot out in front of me. Whenever someone doesn't want to let me through first they always seem to be a fat person. Just a little something I've noticed. No big deal.

We're less than 3 weeks until school starts! I am beside myself waiting for this. I am looking forward to spending lunch time with Charles again. We've been riding bikes together lately. It's a fun, free thing to do. You would think with all this riding I would be thin by now, but no such luck. It's about the ONLY exercise I enjoy doing.

Not a lot has been going on around here. Our friends, the Budge's, come in a week and we are ecstatic! We have some fun things planned for their visit. Well, as fun as you can get around here. And speaking of fun, today was fun filled. I had to sit at a hot, 8 year old birthday party for 2 hours today. Outside the entire time, no less. The kids had a blast though. Charles fixed the hole in our ceiling in the laundry room. It had leaked from the swamp cooler about 2 months ago. When he cut out the sheet rock, after the leak, rat turds fell out of it so I have been chomping at the bit for him to get it fixed ever since. I mean the laundry room isn't exactly a room I can avoid. Now I don't have to worry about a rat falling from the ceiling while I'm in there. I can finally use my toilet again too. He fixed that today as well. He's such a man. I love him. So now we'll have 2 working toilets when our friends come. :) Trisha, you can't be jealous of my tan when you see me! Well, Charles is gonna post some pictures with this post for me. Everybody can see what we've been up to or at least what some of us have been up to.

Scout Camp on Mt. Lemmon

He seems so grown up now...

Fun at the optometrist's office. I love the reflections of the lights across the lenses.

Boothill Cemetery, Tombstone, AZ

Fishing at Parker Canyon Lake (that's definitely a keeper)

New day....

Just so you know I have been working on being positive. On that note, you can take this post how you want! Friday night, or Saturday morning, around midnight, Charles and Charlie returned from scout camp. I was grateful for this! It had been a long week of kids making me nuts. I had also started a true crime book the night they left and it had me sleepless all week. But nothing beats the events of Friday night. I put the kids to bed early so I didn't have to deal with them any longer than necessary. I sat on the couch to read the rest of the 3rd Twilight book. I let the dog out one last time and nestled in. I heard some racket going on outside and assumed it was Dixie ready to come back in. I went to the door to let her in and realized she was clear across our acre yard. I was little nervous about this. She came running and I locked the house up. I sat on the couch to read again and heard more noise. I turned all the outside lights on and the inside ones off so nobody would be able to look in. I head to my room when Dixie is barking like a mad dog. I was pretty nervous by this time because I have 3 kids in the house and really, no way to protect me or the kids. Dixie calmed down and I continued to read. If I was gonna die that night I had to know how the 3rd book ended! So then Charles calls my phone and since I was already on edge, his "Pour Some Sugar on Me" ring tone scared the hell out of me! I answer and was super excited to hear from him. We had been talking a bit when Dixie starts barking again and I hear the side door shaking. By this time my panties are in a wad and I scared to death. Charles was sure everything was ok but he wasn't there and didn't hear the commotion. I then heard something dangling outside my bedroom window. It sounded like dog tags shaking because for a minute I thought that Dixie had somehow gotten out and was standing outside my window. I hung up the phone with Charles and dialed 911. Now, I lived alone with the kids for over 2 years. I am not a paranoid person. Someone was clearly outside my house. Police come and scope it all out. Nobody was found, nothing seemed out of place, but I know someone was there. I could feel the presence. Of course by this time there was no way I was going to bed and closing my eyes. The cops left and I called Charles, his signal was dropping in and out and I discovered this was frustrating. I called my sister at the ER. Somehow it felt like I wasn't going to have my throat slashed as long as I was on the phone with her. Plus, she a lot like me and understands me well. They finally arrived home and we were all safe throughout the night. But fate wasn't done with me yet! I went into the kids' bathroom, since ours has a leak right now, and wouldn't you know there was a big scorpion sitting right beside the toilet. I just went on to bed and started over the next day! It's been well since then.

We finally got renters in our Tennessee house. We were in the 11th hour when the good Lord stepped in and helped us out. We've been paying more than our fair share of mortgages and next month will be the first month since April that we don't have to pay 3 full mortgages. Nice, eh! Well for us it is. I'm gonna feel like we hit the lottery. I'm just glad that we've stayed out of debt so that we had the money to pay what needed to be paid.

For all the peanut butter lovers out there I must tell you about my new creation...Peanut Butter Granola. I've been wanting to adapt my original granola recipe somehow to make it taste and clump better. What better way to make it taste better than peanut butter? Let me tell you....it was a masterpiece. I'm quite the baker ya know! That's one area I can toot my own horn, so I'm tootin'!

Well I must go and ride my bike, not to feel amazing but to work off all the PB granola! :

So....

does anyone else ever feel like they are seriously going to go crazy? Cuz I feel that way right now. I can literally feel the crazy juice flowing through my veins. I hear my kids fighting in the background and I haven't seen my husband for a week. Yes, I know, there are spouses separated around the globe for much longer than that. But I've done that too. Twice. This week is different. When they're gone for a year it seems as though you are given "gifts" to get you through that hard time. When they're just gone for a week to scout camp you just have to suffer through the irritation. There's no gifts for that separation. All I got this week was one less kid, the one that helps the most, and 3 kids left at home to drive me nuts all week. And believe me they have taken every opportunity to do so.



So we were all in the kitchen the other day and the kids were pulled up to the counter eating breakfast. Cody tells me in a concerned voice "MOM! Josh has a bleach spot on his shoulder!" We have been to the pool quite a bit this summer and Josh's shoulders were peeling a little. The lighter skin was coming in underneath the peeling skin and apparently Cody thought he had gotten bleach on his skin! It was pretty cute.

I made it to book 3 in the Twilight series. They're good. I can't really put my finger on why I like them so much. I have read over and over of how wonderful Edward's breath smells and how luscious his scent is. For this very reason I am surprised at how much I am enjoying these books. I just need to know what happens! Does Bella become a vampire or not? Who does she end up with, Jacob or Edward? I must have these answers and therefore I am reading the books.

I left a little later than usual this morning for my bike ride. I couldn't seem to get the mattress off my back this morning. I finally got out the door at about 10:30. It was a late night. So there I was in the middle of my 10 miles panting like a dog going up the hills and thinking of how badly I want to talk to Charles. He's up on some mountain with no reception whatsoever and I have missed him dearly this week. I have even called his phone several times just to see if maybe he'll answer. No luck at all. So I return home from my bike trip to Ryan telling me how he just used his phone to call his dad and got to talk to Charlie and his dad. He was elated since he has actually missed his big brother this week. Of course I was no where around when this occured. A little bit frustrating to say the least. I guess that's what I get for not getting the ride over with sooner. I'm not much of a morning person. He'll be back tomorrow night!

PLEASE.....

enough with Michael Jackson! Don't we have better people to memorialize? Sweet mother of pearl!

Dang it....

I really should start being nice, huh? I don't need an answer. I know the answer. I shouldn't let people who want perfect lives bug me. Maybe I'm at the point in my life where I know perfection is unattainable and I'm ok with that. It just bugs me for some reason. I promise to do better. maybe it's all the sugar in my system that makes me so irritable. Who knows? It'll take a while before the blogs don't irritate me, so be patient :)

Charles and Charlie left this morning at 5 a.m. I was so grateful it wasn't me. I am not a morning person and the thought of having to leave that early for a week long scout camp is a bit much. Ryan went to a friend's house most of the day and I have to say I rather enjoyed having only 2 kids around. I had forgotten how easy life is with 2 big kids not around being mean to their little brothers. I remember when Charlie and Ryan were little and they NEVER fought. Looking back my life seemed so easy then. Maybe I did have more fun when there weren't so many of them. Maybe it was more fun to make cookies and do frills with them when I didn't have to worry about 4 kids wanting to lick beaters and make messes. I think I did use to be a good mom. But 4 kids is double the amount of my better half and me. Well there's no looking back now! Besides I want lots of grandkids so they can irritate their parents. I want my kids to know, one day, just how much I love them and just how much crap I put up with because I do love them.

I rode 10 miles on my bike today. I had more energy today than usual. I have been bushed ever since though. I keep waiting for the "amazing" to hit me. I'll keep you posted.

Have you ever wondered....

why people write blogs? They really do remind of those chain Christmas letters. You know, the ones where each member of the family has their own dedicated paragraph to how wonderful their life is? I've said it once and I'll say it again, there are some blogs out there that seriously make me want to vomit when I read them. I have no problem admitting that raising 4 kids takes up a lot of time. My kids are messy, I feel like I'm constantly cooking and cleaning up after everyone and it makes me nuts some Sundays that Charles doesn't get to come home after church with us, homework with kids makes me insane and if I have to listen to anymore kindergartners read I may slice my wrists. I have absloutely no problem admitting to any of this. So someone please tell me why I must read about some people who want to portray their life as perfection. We read about the wonderful trips and all the baby showers and the cards these people make with their kids and how much fun they have in the process. Ok...now....I have 4 boys and making anything with kids has never been fun for me. Now, we, as mothers, do it because it's our job. But fun? Please girls, don't tell me it's fun to drag out scrapbooking supplies with a 2 year old when you have a certain task at hand. Maybe I'm Debbie Downer. Or maybe, just maybe, I'm brutally honest. These blogs always have and always will drive me frigging NUTS. It's just who I am! Not a fake, what you see is what you get and I have no problem admitting to any of it. So why do I write a blog? Maybe I need it as a sounding board or a journal of sorts. I mean I can't just go around and tell just anyone how I feel about things. So for anyone interested in my take on life they can come to me. Anyone wanting to hear about card making, fluff and perfection need not stop and browse.

Our 4th celebration was fun! We had a crap load of people in our swamp cooled house and a ton of food to gorge on. And gorge I did. I have an obsession with sugar. It ended last night though. I have made a promise to myself that it will be given up. I'm like an alcoholic when it comes to sugar. Once I start I can't stop. My most favorite thing of all time is anything chocolate slathered in peanut butter. Whoever invented the Reeses' PB Cup is an absolute freakin' genious. But...I must give it up. (sniff, sniff) Food has been my companion for a while. It's always there, it doesn't talk back and it so dang good. Anyway, at least I live in a free country!

Charles and Charlie leave for scout camp tomorrow. It's been a while now that I have gone so long without seeing my husband. It almost seems weird he won't be around all week. He's been home for almost 8 months now and there is no fear of him having to leave anywhere in the near future. It's a nice feeling too. I can't think of anything, in my life, that is worse than dropping a loved off at the airport when their R&R is over. There are body parts I would rather remove than to do that again. I can handle a week though!

Monsoons.....

are nice in Arizona. It has been raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock around here lately. It's nice though. The clouds normally roll in in the evening and we get really good thunderstorms. The only bad part is the dadgum swamp cooler that brings in all the moisture and makes our house feel dirty. But at least there isn't as much dust around.

Charles and I rode 8 miles today on our bikes. We went the uphill route and I thought my lungs were going to explode. I slow him down but he stays with me for the most part. My chubbyness and the less oxygen here makes those climbs a booger bear. I better be skinny in the next month or 2. We took the kids on that ride a few weeks ago and as Josh and I were climbing the hill he tells me he would rather pick up dog poop with his bare hands than to do that hill on his bike!

We got our first tomato from our garden today! Very exciting. Our chickens are doing well too.

I finally got around to all the chores that have been needing to get done. I cleaned out our car yesterday just in time for them to randomly inspect on post today. The security guy even told me how clean it was. For some reason I was thinking that would fall into the man of the house category, now that Charles is home and all. I guess I was wrong since I don't have a penis. And speaking of a penis, I wonder why men don't feel uncomfortable to shower in front of other men. Whenever we go to the pool, the kids will always tell me how there are naked men walking all over the locker room or showering with no curtain to cover anything. Charles tells me the secret to this is to act like you are the only one in the locker room. He says meat gazing is a big no no! I'm sorry, I would have to look. Not because it's some huge turn on but it's like a car wreck. I just wouldn't be able to turn away if I saw something like this. Apparently, Cody has some of me in him. I remember when he was about 3 years old and we were at the gym. I had started going to the gym when he was about 2 1/2 and they were pretty familiar with the gym I used. He went into the bathroom one day with Ryan, while we were there. I was speaking to my trainer when Ryan comes out to tell me that Cody won't come out of the bathroom. He said that he was enthralled with some man in there and was literally standing there watching the guy while he was butt naked! The man, I am hoping, was uncomfortable. I know I would be if some 3 year old was staring at me while I was nude. That would definitely make me never want to walk around another locker room undressed. We finally peeled him away from the peep show and he's been o.k. since.

I should run and get the floors prepped for mopping. All of my kids will be gone tonight and I'm excited :)

Have you ever noticed....

when someone has good intentions you can just feel it. And vice versa, of course. By the way I finished Twilight on Friday night and watched the movie last night and was completely disappointed. Back to my first thought, though. Two people can do the very same thing, you feel that one has good intentions and the other has not so good intentions. You take the action completely different. Am I making any sense at all? For instance, I was reading a blog yesterday about someone I know who had run a 5K. You could clearly tell from her blog posting she had worked hard for this goal and she was excited she had done it. It was really inspiring to me. I felt her intent was not to brag or make someone else feel like crap but that she was truly happy that she was able to do that. On the other hand, my little facebook "friend" who is constantly making her status about how she just ran a 5 mile hill/interval and she's ready to start her day. Her intent is clearly that she wants to feel sexy, and great and others to compliment her. I mean even through facebook pages you can tell someone's intent. At least that's how I see it. And while we're on the topic of exercising, it is my intent to brag, I'm a biking fool! I did 8 miles in 3rd gear yesterday! Don't worry though, my intent is not to make others think I'm sexy or great, but to let myself know that chubby people can still be fit!

Ok, like I said, we watched Twilight last night and I was completely disappointed. They did not do justice to the book. What have I become? I can't believe myself, I'm a Twilight reader and can't wait to read the next book. AND...the worst part, I thought Rob Pattinson was cute! :- He's is everything I'm against. I bet you anything he doesn't know what to do with a tool belt and has never shot a gun! After reading the book, I was disappointed in who had been chosen to play the part of Edward. After seeing the movie I thought he was great. For those that know me, this entire paragraph has to be a complete shock! Dang it, what has come over me. Charles wasn't at all interested and still has no desire. That's a good thing though.

It is summer time in Arizona and we have a swamp cooler. Do you know what that means? Monsoons and IRRITATION! It is constantly humid in our house. Your clothes feel wet all the time and everything feels dirty. It is driving me nuts. I know all the Alabamians reading this are thinking they have to deal with humidity everyday of the year. BUT....at least when you are indoors the humidity stays outside. I will admit, though, there is nothing like Alabama humidity. Of course, I've been in San Antonio before and thought the same thing.

I had sharing time in Primary today, and let me just say, kids around the 10 year range are so annoying and corny. I hope and pray I wasn't like this when I was that age. I can't imagine that they would ever know what I was thinking because they think they are so cool and funny. They could never imagine that I would like to slap them! Charlie told me, the other day, he didn't think we were like other Mormom families. I asked him why he thought that and he says because we don't act or talk like other Mormon families. I told him it's because I refuse to allow my children to act so dadgum corny like other Mormon families might allow. I have no tolerance for silliness and I'm not talking about the good silliness. I'm talking about the silliness that only my sister knows :) You know what I'm talking about, Ericka, don't you?

A catchy headline would go here.....

I am not one of these mothers that makes her kids' summers educational. We sleep in, swim, play outside and other fun summery things. We don't read or do librairies or anything boring. Bad, I know, but so good for me. It's a break from homework, getting up early, and making lunches everyday. My kids get to make their own lunches during summer. I get nice from time to time and make something for them but I feel like I'm finally at a time that I get some partial retirement.

Yesterday, the outdoor pool finally opened. I was so excited to be able to sit in the sun and not have to be the lifeguard. All of my kids are old enough to swim on their own without me being in arm's reach! (government pool rules) I have waited for this for quite a few summers now. I have sat envious of the moms who get to cart their kids to the pool and watch lovingly as their kids swim and have fun. Yesterday was going to be MY day, or, so I thought. I sat our things up and doled out goggles and got everything ready to nestle in and read my book. It took each child a minute to have the balls to jump into the chilly water. Each child swam for about 10 minutes before getting out and telling me how cold the water was. At one point every, single, one of them was literally hovered over me, blocking my sun and dripping all over me. I couldn't believe it. All the summers I have waited to have my kids leave me alone while they swam and enjoyed themselves and here I was being annoyed. I gave them a choice, though, because that's what good moms do. It was either swim in the icy waters or go home and do chores. I mean, hell, we are in sunny Arizona. It wasn't a hard choice.

I have fallen victim to the Twilight books. This is 91% of the reason I wanted to be left alone at the pool! I've heard all about them and had absolutely NO desire to read them. I'm not a reader, unless it's a gossip magazine, BUT, a friend of mine loaned me the first book in the series the other day so I thought I would read a page or 2 and see why everyone was acting foolish over this book! I couldn't put the dadgum thing down! I don't know what's wrong with me. I mean, I've read a few John Grisham books in my life and that's it. I made it to chapter 6 yesterday and haven't picked it up YET today. People I talk to either love it or hate. I just knew I would hate it. Now that Edward's character has been described I am a little disappointed of who plays him in the movie. I guess people's definition of beautiful differs somewhat!

I was awakened this morning at 5 a.m. to a woodpecker pecking on the storage shed! Completely frustrating since Charles wanted me to take him into work. I had actually told him I would drive him in today. He is supposed to be riding his bike to work but Charles isn't one to enjoy the heat, so his riding days have been put off a bit lately. It's actually cutting into my sleeping in time! It gives me a reason to get out of bed and go to the gym. Oh and speaking of exercising, we rode the 6 mile loop last night and I did 90% of it in 3rd gear. There were times when I begged Charles to ride home and get the car but he wouldn't hear of it. Today I feel as though someone has kicked me in the buttocks repeatedly with a steel toed boot. My butt hurts so bad from the bike seat but I was pretty excited that was able to reach that goal! Of course I made the goal quite a while ago, but better late than never, right?

Lazy days of summer....

We've been spending lots of our days at the pool lately. It's nice because I can swim laps while the kids play. Normally when I swim with the kids I have to watch everyone dive, jump and swim for diving sticks. Then they want to swim under me, around me and between my legs. Usually it isn't a very fun experience for me. But when I get to do laps nobody bugs me and I can swim as long as I want. Only lap swimmers are allowed in the swim lanes so kids are off limits! Don't you hate when you have to hear about everyone's exercise experiences? Not to be mean, but there is a girl on my facebook list of friends. I'm not really friends with her other than through facebook. I met her when Charles and I were first married. I'm sure she's a nice gal and all. But every time I log into to facebook it tells me that she has set her status as just having run 5 miles and feeling amazing and ready to start her day. She ALWAYS uses the word amazing too. When I exercise, which I do everyday, the word amazing never comes to mind. I mean that is great that she can run 5 miles without stopping and passing out but I really couldn't care less. Plus she puts it up every day, I mean think of something new. It just bugs me. My issues!

On the way to the pool today, Ryan reminicsed about days gone by. He was recalling a time we went swimming when we were here for our last jaunt and he and Charlie were the only children. It was something about Charlie wanting to go off the slide and the lifeguards wanted him to pass a swim test before he could use the slide. They asked if he could swim and apparently I told them he wasn't an olympic swimmer but that he was a decent enough swimmer to patron the slide. I don't recall that incident but everyone in the car was convinced it happened. I was cracking up because it very much sounds like something I would say and I thought it was hilarious that Ryan remembered that!

For some reason pools on a military base have the craziest rules. For instance, the one we go to now makes you swim the length of a 25 meter pool, with your arms out of the water, and back, to be able to jump off the diving board without a parent waiting in the water below. That makes no sense that they want you to do that because once you jump off the diving board, it's like 6 feet to get to the ladder. Again, my issues. I can't complain, it is free and believe it or not there are no black people there, with it being free and all that's just hard to believe.

So I learned how to make tamales today. I never realized just how unhealthy those suckers are. The recipe called for 2 pounds, yes, 2 lbs of LARD! I don't think the greasy feeling I have in the roof of my mouth will never go away. Won't be making those again. Plus, there are way too many ingredients and time involved and I just DO NOT cook like that. It's one thing if the majority of the ingredients are spices but when you have more than 10 actual ingredients, that's just way too much. Plus.... my attention span is super short.

Just in case you're wondering of the randomness of this posting, it was over a 2 day period. So we actually went to the pool yesterday. Today, Saturday was the tamale making :)