Have you seen her?

I haven’t read anything in a while – summer got pretty busy with learning how to me a [step]mom and [almost]wife all at the same time!! I had very little downtime to read, but I did some.

 I have finished the book, HAVE YOU SEEN HER by Rich Silvers.

 Everyone keeps secrets from those closest to you. Do you ever REALLY know your spouse? When Susan and her unborn child, Alison, die in a car wreck on the way to a doctor’s appointment, Jack Logan gives up everything he has worked hard for in life and just gives up trying to succeed. 3 months later, he comes across a letter his late wife had written to someone named A. He assumes it is written to her former lover, Allan. As he digs deeper, along with the help of her manipulative sister, he uncovers a world of secrets about his wife he never knew existed. Have You Seen her depicts a missing 15-year old girl that Jack has never met, nor ever heard of, but he insists on finding Alyson because she resembles his late wife. He feels this is doing something good for her, since it is his fault his wife is dead. 

I have to admit, this book was interesting with the twists and the “AH-HA” moments, but in the very end, I was left confused. Is this story real, or was I reading a story within a story? And why does the editor want to find her now? You decide for yourself.

It's baby time!

I love babies.I also love buying baby stuff.  Two of my awesome friends have had babies in May and I went to their baby showers. I always give the same general gifts, and then I have to incorporate some special 'home made' stuff as well. It's more personal I suppose.

One of my friends, Kari and her husband are huge Bearkat fans.  They go to all the Sam Houston State football games as well as baseball games.  They also are huge into comics.  Their baby, Logan, is the Wolverine's real name, so I wanted to go with a Wolverine theme.  I couldn't find Wolverine fabric anywhere locally, so I couldn't stick with it.

I made this awesome blanket for them in Sam Houston colors.  This way, they can take it to games and keep the baby boy warm. I made a blue one for Jeanette. but forgot to get a picture of it.

I took a regular paper box, covered it with fabric that went with their theme, and used that as my gift box. Turned out pretty great.

Lunch with the big dawgs

It’s not a really big deal, but it’s unique for a company and unique for me as well. A week ago my boss told me that he chose me from our department to have “Snacks with Steph”, to be scheduled June 24. Steph is our CEO/President for my company. She tries to be down to earth and relate to the employees. She does a monthly blog (sometimes bi-monthly) to keep us informed if what’s going on. My company employees 680 people currently, in about 15 different cities, some 3 hours away, so it’s nice for her to do this to keep all informed. Anyway- She extends this offer to several departments each month to select 1-2 people to have lunch with her. This was the first time my department got the offer, and I was chosen. I didn’t ask to have lunch with her. It made me feel honored that my boss thought of me first. It was 1-1/2 hour lunch where about 15 of us sat in a conference room and just got to talk with her. It was pretty neat to be a part of that. The culture of my company is really genuine for the most-part, and we stick out. We were even voted one of the top work places in the Houston – area.


 

Independence Day

A serious post here.  This past holiday event, Independence Day, got me to think a different way than I ever have before.  I want to open your eyes as well. Everyone needs to be aware, and considerate, and think about it some. 

July 4 every year our nation celebrates our Independence Day with BBQ and beer and fireworks.  If nothing else, Fireworks is the one thing almost everyone participates in. The cities spend lots of money and put on great fireworks shows.  It's beautiful to watch them light up the sky.

Something we need to realize is, the fireworks are loud. They make loud BOOM noises.  The noises sounds like guns and bombs going off if you might be living in another country that you hear that noise often.  For me, it sounds like fireworks.  For the one I love, it gave him flashbacks to the war he has been fighting since he joined the Army in 2002.  I never thought about the affects our fireworks, our normal traditions on American Soil affect our military men and woman.  I looked into it a little, and found this article:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/4th-july-fireworks-nightmare-shell-shocked-war-veterans/story?id=19554318#.UdmXZ9iXuSo


 Once I realized that the noises I was taking for granted, enjoying, made him feel the way it did, it put the fireworks in a whole new perspective.  I was no longer enjoying this beautiful site, yet having my own 'flashbacks' of what it might be like for our men and women who are in the middle of this 10-year war and what they may be dealing with.  As someone who will never go to war, I will never fully understand, but this can put it in some perspective...

 

We did it!

One of the main reasons I moved back into my parents house closer to my parents last year was because I was missing out on a lot of fun events and life of my nephew and nieces.  I've watched Brynnlei learn to walk, and talk. I was one of her first words she'd say, Jujee.  I watched her cut her first tooth, and many more since then. I've gone to school plays for Austynn and Coleton, I've gone to almost all their soccer games and her dance recitals.  We go swimming and to the park and watch tv and hang out together.  It's great to be a part of those moments that I've missed for the past 4 years.

My greatest pride of the most recent is when I taught Austynn to ride a 2 weekends ago, withOUT training wheels.  Truly an amazing experience.  I forgot that riding a bike isn't easy when you first learn. I don't even remember learning to ride a bike.  I have heard the phrase often about getting back up and trying again when you fall, just like riding a bike. I never paid much attention to the saying, until this weekend.  Austynn fell probably more than 100 times.  and each and every time, she got up and tried again.  We spent the entire day Saturday outside from sun up to sun down.  We did take a few hours break to run out to the Sea Center and look at fish and learn how fish are hatched there. It was really informative, maybe more so for me than then, but whatev. lol did YOU KNOWWWWW  a red drum can have over 60 million eggs per day?  Not all turn into fish, but a lot do. When they release the baby fish into the wild, 4% survive.  When a fish in the wild has eggs that turn into fish, they only have a 1% survival rate.  but- anyway- back to the bike story.

I bragged on her all day about how proud I am of her constantly getting up and trying.  She never gave up. well, she sorta did a lot. She'd throw the bike down, cross her arms, sit on the ground and stick out her bottom lip. but that would last less than 10 seconds, and then she'd get up and try again.  Her struggle was taking off on the bike.  And she still needs to learn to stop, but we'll work on that.

Check it out:::::

Time to wash our hands

Kids are pretty funny.  I'm sure you have been around enough to know this. They think funny things, they do funny things, they are just funny.  I love kids - not in a crazy psycho kinda way of course-. 

I spend almost every weekend with my favorite nieces and nephew.  Sometimes during the week as well.  I can't get enough of their funny crazy personalities, but this one tops all other right now.

Austynn (5) and her cousin, Elli (4) play together all the time. they play and fight like sisters.  I fear their relationship when they are teenagers.  a few weekends ago, Austynn was at Elli's playing.  Austynn went home later.  After she left, Elli's mom went to the bathroom, then proceeded to wash her hands.  Only she noticed something funny about the soap she pumped out of the container- it was more liquid than it should be, and had an odd smell to it.  She then realized it was pee.  How did pee get a soap dispenser?  She asked Elli, and she just said that Austynn did it.  so Austynn's mom asked her, and this is the story she said, (and remember, Austynn is very honest and will admit to anything if she did it).  Austynn had to go to the bathroom, and Elli runs in with her and hands her the soap bottle and tells her to pee in it, and Elli held the soap bottle for Austynn to pee in.

I laughed SO HARD when i heard this. I still laugh. Austynn and Elli will one day appreciate me blogging their crazy moments, or at least their boyfriends will. 

It scared the plate

Last weekend, one morning Austynn was eating cinnamon toast and was giving the crusts to the dogs. Sadie snatched the food out of Austynn's hand a little too quickly and it scared Austynn, causing her to spill her plate. I laughed and said "did that scare you?" And she quickly came back and said "no. It just scared the plate. It scared the fuck out of the plate."  It took all I had not to laugh at that comment. So I had to leave the room and laugh.  My 5 year old niece being witty, sarcastic, and using swear words in perfect context.