Summertime!

I didn't mean to wait this long to blog again! The week has just flown by!
Last Thursday we dropped Meg & Em at the airport to head off to NC for a few days vacation. I was kind of sad to see them go - I just KNOW Emalyn will start crawling while they are there :(*
Then Morgan, Caleb and I, along with a friend each for them, took off, picked up Marion, and headed down to Galveston for a day at the beach to celebrate Caleb's 11th BIRTHDAY!
Along the way everyone was hungry, so I pulled into McD's, got everyone a hamburger/cheeseburger, $1 fries and $1 large drink - I fed 6 people for $18!!!!!!! I was SO excited!!!!
The beach looked pretty good. In fact, the bay water was bluer than I ever remember! Almost no buildings on the ocean side of Seawall were standing, but reconstruction has begun. We drove down to Stewart Beach and staked out a spot with our beach umbrellas!
The kids headed straight into the water, and I don't think the boys came out for a total of 30 minutes the whole time we were there! They had a great time on the skim boards and boogie boards. The girls buried the boys in the sand - that was great! Then they took a long walk down the beach and back.
Marion & I napped and read while keeping an eye on the kiddos - Stewart Beach is nice because there are lifeguards. It was a beautiful day - hardly a cloud in the sky.
Sadly, we had to return home that evening. It's not a hard drive, though. I was in bed by 11!!!
Friday was back to work! I met Leah for a (late) birthday lunch at Logan's - Kickin' Chicken' Salad is SO good!!!!
Saturday was Nonnie's birthday. She spent the day relaxing! I got up and went to my friend Keisha's Arbonne party. My friend Jennipher sells Arbonne as well - and I love their products!!! Then off to run a few errands, and back home to TRY and get the house in order.
Sunday was Father's Day. We met Nonnie, David, Rob-Rob and Boyd at Logan's for a lunch to celebrate Dad and Caleb and Nonnie's birthdays. It was great! Then home again to work on the house - we actually got quite a bit done! I'm so ready for my furniture to be here!
Monday was crazy! Worked all day, then did a Southern Living at HOME party for Heather. That was fun - I haven't done a home party in awhile!!! I got to meet some great people, and scheduled a couple more parties for July! YAY!! The specials really had everyone excited :D
Yesterday was back to work - kind of a crazy day. Caleb had an appointment, so I brought him on to work with me, and we didn't get there till 10 or so. Morgan locked herself out of the house, so David had to go unlock it for them. Crazy!!! Picked up dinner on the way home, and one of Morgan's friends. Everyone was SO tired - Caleb and Wade were taking naps when I arrived! I worked on my Southern Living at HOME stuff last night - should have a big fundraiser and sale coming up in July, so stay tuned!!!
Today is a pretty day so far - back to work - and it will be HOT!!! So far we're hitting up and over 100 with the heat index each day. WOOHOO SUMMER!!!! I love it!

Weekend Update

Well, it was an exciting weekend, to say the least!

Friday, I got to go to lunch with my friend Susie - she took me to Mar Teres (known around here as the Tea Room) for my birthday. That is one fabulous place to eat! We had the Luau Salad, a fairly new item I hadn't tried. It was WONDERFUL!!!! Of course I had almond tea, which I LOVE! Then a cookie for dessert. It was great.

Friday night was supposed to be a night for me to get some things done and put up around the house. I was in full swing about 9:30, when Wade called. He had stayed out after work to fish with some of his friends, was cutting bait and slid the knife right into his hand between the thumb and forefinger. NICE! He told me to get the hydrogen peroxide and super glue out! Of course, when he got home, it was not a big cut, but it was very deep. As he probably hasn't had a tetanus shot in 10 years or more, I had the bright idea that he really should go to the ER, just to be safe.

Well, needless to say, the ER was an experience! We were there for awhile before they called Wade back. There are definitely some characters in an emergency room at 11 pm.!!

We finally got home around 3 am - with a few stitches, a tetanus shot and some antibiotics.

Man, I was exhausted!
Saturday, we slept till almost 10 am! I really needed to get up and work on the house and do some grocery shopping early, but none of that happened. We all got dressed, dropped Morgan off to babysit, and the rest of us headed to Target and Sam's (With a stop in between at Hobby Lobby). Our friends The Carlisles came over for the afternoon. All the kids got in the pool, and we adults hung out having a BBQ. It was HOT!
For dessert we had a little homemade ice cream. It was delicious - and hit the spot.
Sunday Wade had to work, and the rest of us slept in (yes, we skipped church again. I know - I know!) I pretty much laid up in bed until about 2 pm - then got up and did a few loads of laundry. But most of the day I laid around - I had a pretty good sinus headache, so I probably needed the rest.
Monday was back to work for everyone. After work I ran over to WalMart with Meggan & Emalyn to pick up a few things, and decided to see about Sam's. Well, lo & behold - there was a table & chairs that I needed. Counter heighth, 8 stools, butterfly leaf, antique cherry...PERFECT! So I got my brother to come over and trade car for truck, then headed home to put it all together (RIGHT!) I think we got one chair done!
Tuesday David & I ran over to Lowe's to check out rug prices. Our new furniture should be in sometime this month, but I still don't have a big rug for the living room. I may have to break down and buy the one at the furniture store that costs $700!!! Maybe I'll check out IKEA first, though. They did have a 5x8 for only $68 that would be perfect in the dining room.
Tuesday evening Wade & I spent about 3 1/2 hours putting the legs on the table and assembling the other 7 chairs. It was kinda hard work, but SO worth it in the end! It looks great. Now if I can just get everything cleared out and get my house put together - I'll feel better!
Today it's just HOT! Not much else going on.
Tomorrow my baby boy will be 11 years old! Meggan & Em are heading to NC for a visit, so we'll be taking them to the Houston airport and heading on down to the beach! Pictures and updates will follow!

In memory of my dad...

Today, my dad would have been 70 years old. He's been gone for 3 years now. Sometimes it seems like yesterday, other times it seems like forever. He was 66 when he died, but seemed at least 10 years younger! It would've tickled him to tell people he was 49 this year!!!

I was born 2 days before my dad turned 30. That's always made our birthdays really special - and most years since I've been grown we've celebrated them together - along with my daughter Meggan (born on my birthday!) and Nonnie (June 20). Once Caleb came along (on June 18) we just started combining all these June birthdays and Father's Day for ONE BIG PARTY!!! And what a party it would be!

So the rest of us still have our birthdays together, but there's always something missing. Of course we still do Father's Day for Wade, but I miss celebrating with MY dad.

I feel like today is also a good day to celebrate my dad's life. He was such an awesome man, a great dad, a loving husband, the world's best Pa. He wasn't afraid to tell us and show us how much he loved us - and when it came to his grandkids you could DOUBLE that. He loved Jesus, and could tell you about it in such a way that no one felt uncomfortable. He believed he was here to take as many as he could back to Heaven with him. He wasn't perfect, but he did his best.

Dad, you are missed. I love you.

Life after 40...

HAHAHA that's a funny title, right? NO! I have to say though, after really dreading it leading up to THE DAY, it wasn't so bad!
When I got to work, Shanna had REALLY decorated up my office! Caution tape EVERYWHERE that said "WARNING 40th BIRTHDAY!!!!" Cute! I got a Hot Flash Fanner, a big balloon bouquet, lots of stuff with "40" on it!!! And a really cute set of turquoise/red jewelry. Thank you Shanna! The best part was the Cookie Card - that I managed to eat all by myself throughout the day!!!!

I got lots of calls & well wishes through the day. My friend Paula had asked me to lunch at Olive Garden, so I headed over there to be surprised by my friends Angela, Rhonda & Suzanne as well! Of course, Meggan came - it IS her birthday too, and Olive Garden IS her fave place to eat! She had Emalyn and Caleb with her (Morgan was babysitting Boyd, so they couldn't come)- so we had a good lunch visiting and scarfing salad, soup & breadsticks! Angela brought me a wonderful gift from her salon, Expressive Images, where my wonderful BFF Leah works and does my hair!!! I love Bare Minerals makeup!!!

When I got off work, we all headed over to Nonnie's, where Rob-Rob had been slaving away all day to make our birthday dinner. The awesome part was, she had downloaded recipes off of the Olive Garden website so that Meg could have an authentic OG dinner!!! The Chicken Veranese was AWESOME - better than OG! And our salad tasted exactly like an OG salad - it was the best!!! Thanks for cooking. We had a princess cupcake cake for dessert ~ Meggan picked that out!

Then, just like that, no big deal - I'm 40, Meg's 20, and the world is still turning...

Birthday Wishes...

...not for me, silly! For my oldest girl!!! While, yes, today is technically my (*GAG* 40th) birthday (which I think should qualify June 9 as some kind of National Holiday!) it also happens to be the 20th birthday of my eldest child.
So here's wishing her a Very Happy Birthday Day!!!!
It's so weird...20 years ago today I was in the hospital in labor. I totally forgot it was my birthday, because all I wanted to do was get that baby out of there!!!! LOL.
Now she has a baby of her own. Time really does fly, doesn't it?

Weekend Update...

Well, it has been a long weekend! Of course I could always use an extra day or two to myself, but I think I work harder at home than I do at my job!
Wednesday night I picked Nonnie up at work (her car was in the shop) so I got to visit for a few minutes with her. Thursday I stopped and picked up steaks on the way home, and hubby grilled for us. Steaks, salad and corn on the cob - it does not get any better than that!!! Morgan & Hannah went to a ballgame so she was out for the night.
Friday Meg & Em picked me up at lunch - we went and looked around at a furniture store here in town. I've already ordered my living room furniture, but can't seem to decide about the dining room.
We don't have a formal dining room, but I want something nicer than a typical "dinette". I really thought I wanted the counter height, but I'm not so sure anymore. So the search continues...
After work Friday I ran home and made out menus and grocery lists. Wade and the boys from Boggy Slough were treated to an appreciation dinner down at Scrappin Valley, so he was out for the evening. Caleb spent the night with a friend, so after they picked him up the girls & I headed to town!
First, of course, we headed to Target (a must for any trip the girls & I take!) Morgan got a cool new pair of sunglasses, and checked out the latest home furnishings.
Then it was over to Old Navy, where Meggan found a pair of shorts.
Stopped by Nonnie's to pick up a cooler bag, then on to Sam's Club! There's something about buying your paper towels in bulk that just makes me feel satisfied, as if I've accomplished some kind of long-term provision for my family :P I know it's dumb, but still...
Then we headed over to Wal-Mart (and you KNOW I don't like Wal-Mart). It wasn't too bad for a Friday night. We actually got everything else we needed and were out in less than an hour (miracle!) We picked up Katelynn on the way home to spend the night with Morgan.
It took me a good hour to get everything in and unpacked, but for the first time in a while the fridge & freezer are full! In fact, I don't have enough room for everything. It's time to rearrange and organize the kitchen & dining room - just not much time to get it done!
Saturday I slept until 10:00!!!! I did wake up for a few minutes around 5:30 am when Wade was getting up - they had to work the Neches River Rendezvous at Boggy Slough.
Jacob called for Meggan (YAY!) so she and Emalyn got to talk to him a couple of times today!
I got some cleaning done, then Meggan, Em & I headed over to my friend Christina's SCENTSY Open House. We picked up a warmer (early bday gift for Meg) and a couple of new scents. I love my little plug in Scentsy warmer (that I won at Bunco!) and I love the summery, coconut scents I have to go in it. Meggan's warmer is called Liberty and is perfect for the decor of a USMC family! Chasity Smith also had Homemade Gourmet, so I got a few mixes to do up. The cucumber dip is chilling in my fridge as we speak!
Then we headed home and cleaned some more! I actually got quite a bit done, considering the amount of "stuff" I'm dealing with scattered everywhere. I don't really know where to start with the whole organizing my house thing...especially since I don't have my furniture yet. It'll come together, though.
Later I dropped off Morgan & Kate at the mall, picked up Caleb and got home in time to see Wade for maybe 10 minutes (LOL). Then he & Caleb headed out to go fishing, Meggan and Emalyn left to spend the night with Nonnie, and...
LO & BEHOLD, I WAS HOME ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I didn't know what to do! I mean, it's such an unusual phenomenon! I did actually do some more picking up, made up my bed with fresh clean white cotton sheets (Mmmmm!) and had a clean kitchen. Then I sat down and watched most of "He's Just Not That Into You". Everyone said it was a really good movie, but it kinda depressed me!
Then I got the call to head over & pick up the girls, so we dropped Katelynn off, but took Rachel home (:) see how it always works! But I LOVE having the kids around. Of course we ran back into Target, where I picked up a glass shelf for my bathroom. It doesn't sound like much, but I was excited!
Sunday I slept until 9:30 (So wrong, I should've gotten up for church). Meg called & I ran over to church and picked her & Emalyn up (church ends at 11) so we ran over to Old Navy - ALL Men's Clothes 1/2 off!!! YAY! I scored shorts, shirts, swimsuits & flip-flops for Caleb & Wade.
Today Emalyn is 5 months old!!!!!
Then home to GET IN MY POOL - FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! Again, I was all by myself!
Wade & Caleb were fishing again, and the girls had ALL gone to the mall.
It was so great, I got in on my pool float, and just twirled around for two hours! Of course, today I'm paying for it with a bit of a burn, but it was SO relaxing and wonderful.
Then I had to go pick up Morgan & Rachel and drop them at Tori's house to swim. Came home, Wade and I grilled hamburgers, hot dogs & corn! I made some killer tater salad, and the girls all came home just in time to eat :)
Wade hung my wonderful new shelf in our bathroom, and I FINALLY got to use my Sutton Vanity Set from Southern Living at Home. I was SO excited!!! I have lots of those brown boxes sitting around just WAITING to be opened and put to use with our new furnishings!!
Now, the bad news...this was such an odd weekend. I got a call Saturday from a friend who is also on FB, asking what had happened to another friend. I wasn't sure, but further investigation led to the discovery that our friend Staci had lost her son Kyle, 17, in a car accident early Saturday morning. It is absolutely heartbreaking. Kyle just graduated last week from high school, and had such a bright future ahead. Today is the funeral, so please pray for this family. This is the hardest thing she will ever face, and it's breaking my heart that she has to go through it. Keep this family in your thoughts through the coming days.
Be back later in the week...after all, tomorrow is Meggan's 20th birthday (which means it's the big 4-0 for me!)

ABC's of Holly!

A - Age: Do I really have to answer this?
B - Bed size: Queen (like me, a queen!!)
C - Chore you hate: Cleaning house
D - Dog's name: Shiner
E - Essential start your day item: Shower & Diet Coke
F - Favorite color: RED
G - Gold or Silver: Silver
H - Height: 5'8"
I - Instruments you play: piano, flute
J - Job title: ACCOUNT MANAGER/OFFICE MANAGER
K - Kid(s): 3 wonderful children, 1 son-in-law, 1 GRAND baby girl
L - Living arrangements: with hubby & kids
M - Mom's name: Charlene
N - Nicknames: Mom, hey you
O - Overnight hospital stay: when I was 12 and had pneumonia, when I had each of the kids, twice when I had my gallbladder out, then a week later had to have my insides worked on from the hole in my liver!
P - Pet Peeve: Clutter, liars, drama, thieves, extreme liberalism, people who abuse animals and children, disrespect, I could go on and on...
Q - Quote from a movie: "I'm your huckleberry!"
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: 1 sister, 1 brother
T - Time you wake up: anywhere from 5:30 to 6:00 am
U - Underwear: yes!
V - Vegetable you dislike: beets
W - Ways/Reasons you run late: oversleep
X - X-rays you've had: abdomen, ankle
Y - Yummy food you make: Creamy Chicken Casserole
Z - Zoo animals you like: the otters are my favorite

Now its your turn! Copy and paste to your blog so everyone gets to know a little bit more about you!

Weekend Update (even if it is Midweek!)

Since last Wednesday, there's been a lot going on! I've got to get better at blogging daily!!!

Last week ended up okay - Thursday we headed over to Old Navy, Target & WalMart. I love Old Navy (great deals on the kids' stuff!) and Caleb bought his first pair of "men's" shorts. They're always out of size 16 boys, but he can wear the smallest men's size, and he's so tall it really doesn't matter. Of course I know they cost more, but hey, Old Navy always has a great sale. Morgan picked up a cute skirt & pair of shoes for a birthday party on Friday, so they were both happy. We also found the CUTEST flowered dress with a hat to match - all on clearance! It doesn't get any better than that!

Friday night we were invited out to eat with some good friends. After dropping Morgan off at Loren's party, we headed over to The Beach for dinner. It's a fairly new restaurant/club here in town. The food was okay, the company was great! We all headed back to the house to visit for awhile afterwards. The "boys" all rode in one car, us "girls" in the other. Seeing Keith & Wade rocking out to 80's hair bands in a minivan was priceless - we all laughed so hard we almost wet our pants!

Then Meggan and I went to Wal-Mart (YES I went to Walmart) about 10:30 to get some formula and kill time before picking up Morgan at midnight. It was interesting, to say the least, to be in Wal-Mart at that time of night. Let's just say, I am getting OLD! Of course there were lots of graduations around tonight, so people were out after those as well. Speaking of that -

Congratulations to Zayne (Central HS), Mark (Corsicana HS) and all the other 2009 Grads out there!!!!

Then picked up Morgan and a couple of extra friends to spend the night & headed home.

Saturday I tried to sleep in, but Wade had to work, so I got on up around 7:00 and started cleaning house. Rob-Rob was doing her yard sale, so we headed over there to see if she needed help. Dave came over and helped me load our old refrigerator to head to the dump.

After we got home, I headed over to the ball field to help with Red Sox concession stand duty. It's a good thing I went~ Wes was there alone working it!

Headed home, back to town (to exchange pool filters), then home again to finish setting up the pool. I call it our ghetto pool, since it's the fill up, raise up kind - but it's 4' deep and I'm cool with it!!! I love summer and water...it's my backyard oasis LOL! I spent the rest of the night watering plants and watching the Women's Softball College World Series. ('Bama was my favorite to win, or at least ANY SEC school - NOT a Pac10 school again!) Ryan came over to spend the night with Morgan, so I got to visit with her mom for a few minutes. I never have pics of Morgan, so I thought I'd put this one on!

Sunday we got up and spent the ENTIRE day going back and forth to storage - clearing out the storage building for GOOD!!! We got the last load (my piano) out around 6:00 pm. It was HOT! The kids helped early on, then we left them in the pool while we went back and forth. Grampa and Pat had to help us for the piano with a low trailer. But HEY we got it all in. Then the kids, Wade & I made a line and hauled it all in the house.
I know one thing - we have TOO MANY "THINGS"!!!!! So begins the process of cleaning out and throwing away.

We also stopped by Home Depot & I picked up lantana for the back yard, and some stepping stones for the pool. That made it look a little bit better, but there's a long way to go out there!

Monday morning was HARD to get up, but I managed. After all, it was JUNE 1!!! Can you believe it? June already.

That evening were baseball closing ceremonies - Caleb & I headed over for that. They all got their trophies and we headed home. One of the coaches told Caleb he had the best batting average in the whole league - YAY CALEB!!! He hit the fence this year, so it was a good one. Of course, apparently not good enough for the AllStar Team (HUH?) but that's just a mom griping! I don't think Caleb even cares :)

Next week is baseball camp, and we're excited about that. Caleb loves sports, and he's definitely athletic. Now to develop that talent!!!

Yesterday was a long day! My whole body hurt from all that moving!!! We did get to take it easy last night, though, and just hang out eating taco salad & watching the last game of the WCWS (BOO! Washington) Florida just couldn't pull it out. Oh well...NEXT YEAR!

I've been reading the Left Behind book series again. I decided to start at the beginning and read them, considering they don't sound so far-fetched to me anymore! I mean, who would've thought, even a year ago, that we'd be where we are today?!? Referred to as a Muslim nation by our President, an economy that is dying, government ownership of private car companies! It's so crazy!! But the world IS uncertain; therefore, you should only trust in God, who is certain. Part of my problem with President Obama is that he tells the citizens of this country that the government will take care of them. So wrong! And who are our elected officials who let this go on? Someone really needs to step up. I am looking forward to more TEA parties on July 4!! I mean, in an economy where unemployment is on the rise, and our President is preaching to all of US about conserving energy and how we can't drive our SUVs, eat all that we want, keep our AC on 72 degrees, etc. etc. and expect the rest of the world to look to us to set examples... then why is it OK for him to use OUR taxpayer money to take HIS wife on a date to NYC that ends up costing US around $50,000???? That's not rhetoric - you can look up the actual costs - it's HAPPENING! There are people in this country who can not afford to take their wife out for a steak dinner right now, THANKS TO DECISIONS MADE BY OUR GOVERNMENT, and they are flying around for dinner and a show? THAT'S not being a good example!!!

And my anger is directed at almost EVERYONE in the Washington government setup - Republicans and Democrats alike!!! Most politicians are the same, no matter what party, out for power and personal gain at OUR expense. And we keep electing them!!!!!!!!!!

There was a lot of news over the weekend, and I missed it until Monday. Mainly, the murder of Dr. George Tiller, the abortion doctor from Kansas. Now, I've read many blogs from both sides about this, and some of them are horrendous! Many liberals are blaming ALL conservatives who oppose abortion (HELLO? WE ALL pulled the trigger?) Many conservatives are saying he got what he deserved. Both of those views are SO WRONG!

First of all, Dr. Tiller was in violation of the law when he performed late-term abortions AFTER they had been outlawed. So all of you PROCHOICE (who's choice? I always say. Where is the baby's choice?) PEOPLE can just get over the whole "he isn't doing anything wrong, abortion's legal" argument. And if he WASN'T doing anything wrong, why did the Kansas governor need to lie about how much money he had donated to her? All of that being said, this lunatic - who, SUPRISE! - is not a NORMAL conservative ProLifer - was so wrong in what he did that I cannot emphasize it enough! Dr. Tiller has to answer to God in the end, no matter what! That's where justice comes in. So many things on this earth are just not FAIR - but if we all got what we truly deserve, we'd all burn in hell, cause we're all sinners. God's grace is what saves us. Who knows, given the chance, Dr. Tiller might've made that decision somewhere down the road and been a great warrior for God. Now we'll never know.

And these lunatic truly extremists do NOT represent the majority of conservative Americans. Do the Muslim extremists represent all of the Muslims in the USA? I hope not. Do they all agree with the shooting at the Little Rock Recruiter's Station? Or that a young man serving in our US Army was killed by him? Simply because he hates America (his native country) and what we are doing? Where is the national condemnation for him? Where is the word domestic terrorist here? Because THAT IS WHAT HE IS!!! And he had plans to kill more - he was just stopped too soon. Of course, the media would rather tell you about how FOX radio hosts are the reason Dr. Tiller was killed. LUDICROUS! Since when do we as Americans TOLERATE these actions???

I'm off my soapbox for awhile, but these things affect ALL of us! If you think they do not, pay attention! All of the hidden taxes add up, and they affect YOU - in your food, your gas, your car, your electricity, it goes on and on and on...

VOTE FOR US - AMERICANS - NEXT TIME!!!