Public Service Announcement

Let's talk about manners today, shall we? I'm going to shoot it out there plain and simple:

Do not ask a woman if she is pregnant unless a baby is currently shooting out of her vagina.

While this might seem obvious to some, let's talk about the implications here. You may think you are being cute or hoping to share a little secret with someone, but you aren't. Ever. Let's talk about some scenarios:

1. Woman is overweight. Not pregnant. You ask her this question, and you have just ruined her day. Odds are, she knows she's overweight, and you suggesting she might be hiding an 8 pound bundle of joy under there are not going to do any favors for her self esteem.

2. Woman is sick to her stomach. Not pregnant. What do you do when a man is sick to his stomach? Is he pregnant, too? Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but there are actually other causes to being ill besides being knocked up. And for those of that have serious stomach issues and are sick almost every single day, that question gets real old, real fast.

3. Woman is of child-bearing age. Again, do NOT assume she might be pregnant! Here's the clencher - this woman might be desperately trying to have a child, maybe just lost a baby, might not be able to financially have a baby, but desperately wants to be pregnant. While you think you are asking an innocent question, you are shooting a dagger through her already hurting heart. Think I'm being dramatic? Whoever you just asked that question and/or the often follow up "Why don't you have kids yet?" might have gone home and cried, because you just reminded them that their dream is not a reality, and it might be very much out of their control. I'm speaking from experience here, and from the experiences of those close to me.

And for all the mommies that want to throw out something about "it's such a great joy and we just want you to share and are eager for you to share too!" We know. And we want to, but for some reason, right now we can't. So please have some tiny consideration for our feelings and quit rubbing it in our faces.

And for the rest of you - just stop being so rude!

Ch-ch-ch-changes.

First of all - big thanks to Crystal for redoing my blog!! Totally loving the header and everything!

Second of all, let me just say this. I realize it's been nearly two months since I repledged to blog regularly. However, if you knew what had gone on the past two months, you'd cut me some slack, so we'll just go with that and yall forgive me, k? K.

Now that we've got that taken care of...

Have you ever wanted everything to change, while wanting everything to go back the way it was or just stay the same? Confused? Me, too. I think sometimes we long for the way things were because we know how to handle those life situations. We long for the comfort of a daily routine we know and understand and don't want to rock the boat. However, if we truly look at it, with the knowledge we know have, would we go back?

Some days I long for my early married days - steady paychecks, tons of shopping money, fun trips to take every month, eating at yummy fun restaurants, and always a good time to be had. However, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't go back. I wasn't using my full potential, I didn't love my job, I worked for my hubby, which induced a tense environment, both at work and at home, and there was always a pretense to keep up.

What about the now? Paychecks aren't always steady, but my bills are paid. I have a job that I actually enjoy going to most days. I can't even remember the last time I got to buy a pair of shoes, and I don't really eat out very often, but my husband and I's relationship is better than ever.

Some would say the now isn't so hot, but I realize as I sit here snuggled on the couch, drinking pumpkin tea in my house that's up for sale, that the things that are changing are a fresh start. It's a chance to hit the reset button on life. Yes, I'm selling the first house we ever bought, but moving means getting out of debt. It means moving to a community where my friends are, and back to my small town roots. It means Kyle and I get to experience some new foods that we make with our own hands - some good, and some not so good, but we try. It means getting eventually to starting a family and moving forward after several very hard years.

And this pumpkin tea will taste just as good in any home where my hubby is watching baseball on the couch, and my puppies are snuggled up by my feet. Those things will stay exactly the same.

Be Still...

I'm thinking a lot of my friend today. She's had turmoil after turmoil after turmoil. After being in the hospital on and off for over a year, right now, she's back in.

I arranged a hymn for our worship team to do on Sunday, and I've had it stuck in my head since rehearsal. It's a hymn I had stuck in my head a lot when we were going through all of our struggles two years ago, and I just love it. So, I'm going to post it here, and hopefully it will help some of you today - and hopefully it will comfort my dear Tish. Lift up a prayer for her today, please.

Be Still My Soul

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Foodie Monday - You be the blogger!

So really, I intended to start a mostly everyday blog a couple of weeks ago, but then we moved at my job, and the thought of sleep was way better than getting a post up here, so that's what I did. I slept. And moved. And that was about it!

So, now it's foodie Monday! I got a new netbook today, which means I'm blogging from my brand new computer, but now I have no foodie pics on this computer!

With fall quickly approaching, I absolutely love all things pumpkin! Tonight I'm going to be whipping up some pumpkin spread (low cal!) which will get posted next week. But for now - what's your favorite pumpkin thing? Feel free to share the recipe, too, and I'll add them to the blog!

Foodie Monday: Banana Fritters

Let's see if I can keep some themes going!

I've been very into cooking new things lately. I was extremely bored with all of my "normal" meals, and since my hubby is actually a better cook than I am, I needed to step it up. I'm also trying to cook a little healthier, since most of what I eat is not considered normal adult food.

Breakfast for dinner is always one of my favorites, but pancakes just don't make the healthy food list! So tonight, we tried something new: banana fritters! I got this recipe off one of my favorite blogs, just changed it up a little. You can view the recipe here. Instead of ice cream, I served it with a little (lite!) syrup, scrambled eggs, and low fat turkey sausage!

These banana fritters were very low cal, and they were super tasty! We love all things banana around here, and this was no exception! They were so good!

New Blog Title

Since I'm not really doing as much Mary Kay, and my life is going in all different directions, I really can't say this is a "rambling of a Mary Kay Diva" blog! So, this will now be the diva diaries - my life in an all around way! Stay tuned for more!

And then there were three...

Ever since I can remember, there have been 4. 4 generations. 4 women. There was Nanny, the queen bee, the "elder." My great-grandma Nanny was full of spunk, energy, always adorned in leopard print, and the queen of crazy. There was Mema, my grandmother, who had only a portion of the energy and crazy that my Nanny had, but always ready for fun and some baking. There's my Mom, the quietest of them all, much more subdued - like the crazy skipped a step, but one of my very best friends. Then there's me. The baby in the 4 generation tree. Even though I'm quickly approaching 30 *shudder*, I'm still the youngest. The crazy train definitely came back with me!
The 4 of us were a wild set to begin with! Our close group would go to lunch together, sometimes the three of us traveling to see Nanny in Waco, or when Nanny lived here, we'd visit various places around the Metroplex. Hilarity always ensued, as Nanny would say a word I'm not sure sailors even knew, Mema would be shocked, and Mom and I would die laughing. Or maybe we just had girl talk over some chocolate, talked about upcoming weddings (that would have been mine several years ago), or just chatted about what was going on in our lives.
And the pictures, there were always the pictures! We took them at every event! Any holiday, birthday, lunch, or whatever we were all together for, a picture documented it. How lucky was I to have that much family!In early April this year, we lost my Nanny. She was a couple weeks short of 95, and although she lived a long good life, it doesn't always make a loss easier. As we gathered that warm April day to honor the life of my Nanny (all dressed in leopard, I might add), I had the sad realization that there would no longer be the 4. We wouldn't meet for lunch and talk about Nanny's latest leopard bra purchase, or talk about the silly things our husbands did, or just be there to love on each other. There were three.

Today, two months later, we had our first outing as "the three." Mema, Mom, and I met for lunch (and yes, pictures were taken) and shopping. We talked a lot about my Nanny today. It was as if the table was missing a person. We talked about things at the stores that she would have liked, talked about antiques that looked like would have been in her house, mostely just reminisced with each other. Is it different? Yes. We miss our Nanny, but I'm so thankful to still have two wonderful women that I can be with as part of my family.

Who says water parks are for kids?

Today my friend Shasta from college came to visit! We had a great night last night with a fun dinner and some shopping, and today we decided to go to NRH2O. We used to go to water parks when we traveled, and loved roller coasters, so we figured, why not? It was a blast! From the wave pool to the slides, and my favorite, the water coaster, we had a great day!

I have to give some props to NRH2O. First of all, it's only about 15 minutes from my house, so it gets extra points just for that. Second, two words: Free. Parking. Third, tickets are only about $20. The park is fairly small, meaning you don't spend your entire day walking around the park. Even though it's small, it's action packed! There's a huge kid area, tons of slides, a beach, a wave pool, a lazy river, and the water coaster. Let's get back to that!

The water coaster is the best of both worlds! You get in an inner tube, there are tons of drops, you shoot up and come flying back down, there are tunnels and waterfalls - it was a blast!

So if you are looking for something fun to do this summer, I definitely recommend NRH2O!

Sing me a song, you're the piano man!

Or piano woman, if you will!

As you know, this year I've been subbing for extra income. This job has not been without its interesting stories. I've been asked out on a date, told that a girl still had her dead dog, and most recently broken up a fight between two jr high kids! As fun as that is, it's booooring. I'm not doing any actual teaching most days, it's just glorified babysitting with a name badge.

About a month ago, after much prayer and research, I decided I was going to open my own lesson studio in our home! I was nervous - I knew I could do these things, but would others trust me enough to teach them?

Apparently the answer was yes! Registration has been open for 3 weeks, and as of yesterday, I have 10 students signed up! I have openings for 20 - I needed 10 to be able to not sub next year, but my hubby told me if I fill all 20 slots, I can hire a housekeeper as well, since we'll have people in and out of the house all the time.

And in case there was any question, yes, I can be bribed with housework!

Chirp, chirp. Chirp, chirp.

No, those aren't the birds on my newly redesigned blog you're hearing. It's crickets.

What?

Yes, crickets. I'm really not that good at keeping up with this thing. K says I need to be recording all of the times I fall or do something stupid in here, and while I'm sure yall would enjoy that, it just doesn't paint me in the best light.

Anyway, I've been thinking a lot lately. It's like my brain just won't shut off and I'm trying to process all of these thoughts that are coming into my head. Jobs. Babies. Death. Church. Jews. (Yes, Jews.) There are so many things that I can barely take a minute to collect my own thoughts and go through the day, much less bring all of those thoughts into one coherent thought and make that thought into a blog post. However, writing things out seems to somehow provide clarity, so once again, I will take up my blog writing and you can think along with me!

Or go running in the other direction and remove my blog from your favorites. It's whatever.

Slug Nissan!

If you have ever had the experience of buying a used car, you know it is just that: an experience. 2 weeks ago we set out to find me a new (to me) ride. I was fairly set on a Nissan Sentra, and had a few in mind to go look at. So, on President's Day, my parents and Kyle and I piled in my parents car and we were off!

We started the day at Texas Nissan of Grapevine. Close to home, nice people, so we settled in to talk to Dwight, the car man. He brought a few things up for us to look at, but also brought his manager in to talk with us. Now, I can't make this stuff up people. His name? Johnny Utah. I'm pretty sure with a name like that you either go into porn or used car sales.

Since we didn't find anything in our budget there, we decided to head out to Trophy Nissan in Mesquite. This was the worst place I have ever been in my life. They conveniently had just sold the car I wanted to look at, and the guy that I talked to was "no longer with them." Hmmm. I couldn't wait to wash the sleeze off from that place, and as we left, the sales guy in front of me let the door slam in my face instead of holding it.

Next, it was off to Randall Noe in Terrell. That's where i purchased my last new car and had a great experience. This one, not so much. This was the true used car experience. Sleeze, trying to get me away from the rest of the family, "what can i do to earn your business," and all that crap. Blech.

At this point, we'd pretty much given up, but since we knew we were passing Bankston Nissan of Dallas on the way home, we decided to stop, just because. I really had no hope at this point, but that's when things changed. They had a Nissan Versa that was in our price range. This is not a car I considered before, but once I got in one, and started looking at it, I knew I loved it. We drove it around, felt like the dude was totally honest with us, and within an hour we were signing papers and getting ready to purchase a car! Several hours later we were done with paperwork and on our way home with our new Versa! It's a 2008 with only 25,000 miles, still under the factory warranty. And it's bright red. The perfect car for me!

And the title of this post? Well, similar to the "slug bug" game, we started punching each other every time we saw a Nissan. It was especially fun going into the dealership surrounded by Nissans!

I'm a truck drivin' (wo)man!

Disclaimer: This post is not in ANY WAY meant to be taken as complaining! It is merely observations - so nobody take offense!

Before I get into this post, let me first say that I am extremely grateful for my family members that have been willing to temporarily loan my some wheels so that I can get around!

My sweet parents are letting me borrow my mom's truck for a couple of weeks while I'm in the process of getting my cash together for a car of my own. Here's a few facts: I grew up in the country. My parents own a farm. I learned to drive in a big ol' suburban. For fun I drive go-karts, four wheelers, tractors, anything that moves over road or land. You can take a girl out of the country...you know the rest.

Apparently you can take some of the country out of the girl. Or maybe I've lived in the 'burbs for too long. Just as a recap, I used to drive this:

And I am currently driving this:
(not actual cars)

In the last few days, I've noticed how a few things have changed in my transportation:

1. In my car, I slid into the driver's seat. In the truck, I take a running leap and haul myself up into the driver's seat. I'm 5'2", so this is actually pretty funny to observe.

2. My car was small, so it fit nicely into the garage, never having to sit out in the cold, and was always mildly toasty, ready for me to get in and go in the morning. Therefore, I don't own an ice scraper. The truck doesn't even think about fitting in my garage. So on a chilly Monday morning, when there was ice covering the windshield, what's a girl to do? Yep, I was out scraping the window with a spatula.

3. While parking my car, I always went for the closest spot possible. When I got these, I called it "Princess Parking" and slid out of my car with ease, gliding happily into the store or wherever I was headed. In parking the truck, I look for the farthest spot away from all other cars. Embarrassed? No. I just can't park the damn thing! 5 minutes later, after many many tries, I make sure I am somewhat in a spot, jump down out of the seat, and pray that by the time I get out of the store all other cars around me will have moved, because Lord knows I'm not going to be able to back that thing out!

All that said, I'm so grateful to have a way to get around, and I'm sure everyone else is really enjoying the comedic value of my plight.

Also, how in the world my 5'3" mother drives this thing?

DIY Tuesday - Sweater Boots!

Back during December, I was stalking some boots at DSW. They looked like a sweater, very cute, cute little buttons, you know, perfect. When I finally got some Christmas money, it was time for the boots! I drove excitedly over to DSW, walked down the right aisle, and...

No boots.

Kyle heard about my boot debacle (not because I complained about them, of course), and when he came across a link for some DIY boots, he passed it on. I ran to the store, got some clearance shoes, dug around for Kyle's old sweaters, got the glue gun, and went to work!

The cheap starter shoes

Removing the bling on the top
Kyle's old sweaterGluing the sleeves onto the shoe

Flip it over...

Sew on a cuff (made from the bottom of the sweater)

Add a cute button, and...
Boots!

Several of yall have commented on them and requested an interest in their own pair of boots, so here's your chance! I'll make them for you for $20 (covering my time and materials). I just need to know your shoe size and your color preference!

Updates to the Situation

Thanks to all of you who have been so supportive. It was such a hard decision to make, even if it was the right one, and it's something I'm still dealing with. Some days are good, some are bad. I need a little time to grieve. I know that doesn't make sense to some, but I just need some time.

On the job front, thank you everyone who has messaged or called me with jobs and ideas and suggestions! I have some possible positive job things going on that I truly believe are God led, but I can't talk about them yet. Yall will just have to be patient and keep praying. I can say that Kyle and I are really excited about these possibilities. :)

We are still trying to figure out the whole car thing. My MK car will get picked up sometime this week, so I'm still needing some temporary transportation. I have started my car fund, and even though it's starting slowly, my accompanying work these next few months should really help to build that up quickly!

Thanks everyone for your hugs and prayers. Keep 'em comin.

What I'm dealing with...

This is kind of embarrassing, but I'm writing it out to the blog world and facebook world because I don't really know what to do, and this is the biggest network of people I know. So, I'm falling on my sword, letting myself be embarrassed in hopes that it will help me move on faster and get some help.

In the past I have been the Mary Kay Diva. While I still am a Diva with my own sales, my unit kinda fell apart the past couple of months, and on January 1st, I lost my status as director. On Saturday I got a letter stating that I no longer had enough consultants on my team to maintain car status and that they would be coming to pick up my car.

I'm still licking my wounds on this one, but after a lot of prayer and talking with Kyle, our Pastor, and some close church friends, I've made a few decisions. One, I will continue with Mary Kay, but on a dialed back basis, as in, I will still do a party if someone wants one, but mostly I'm just going to take care of my customers and keep getting my personal discount. I still believe in this company and I love doing this, but right now it's best for my family if I take a step back.

Two, I need to find another source of income. For years I've been patching together a career with various things, and I'm not necessarily opposed to that, but it's time to bring it together. I'm a musician. It's what I'm good at. I need to be doing what I'm good at. Here's the tricky part - musicians don't get paid all that well. I absolutely love my job at St. Peter, and don't intend on leaving, so I've got to find some 20 odd hours during the week to do something musical that I'm good at. During the school year I can sub, but my heart isn't in that. I love the accompanying work that I do, but again, it's only during certain times of the year.

And the one that's probably the most urgent - I need a car. Due to our past year, we don't have the funds to purchase one. And because of some poor mistakes that I have made, I don't have good credit either. We are hoping someone will have an extra car we can rent for a few months while we get some money together to be able to purchase a decent car for me.

So there's where I'm at. I'll be glad to take advice on jobs, cars, etc. I'll also take some prayers, because I've got a lot to figure out.

Thar's a hole in my bucket...

I guess it's inevitable with the new year. It's a chance to refocus, decide what we really want out of life, what we're going to do about it this year, what we didn't do well last year, etc. You know how it goes. It's what all goes into deciding on those New Year Resolutions that we all throw away and forget about by Valentine's Day.

Since I am inching closer towards 30 every day, it really makes me think. A couple of months ago we had a sermon at church about our Bucket List. Sorry Pastor, but I don't really remember what the point of the sermon was (was that the bucket of grace sermon?), but it did get me thinking about my own bucket list. What do I want to achieve? What are some things I definitely want to do? So, in no particular order, here are 10 things I would like to achieve in my lifetime:

1. Be a mother. (Of Kyle's children of course, not just anybody's.)
2. Drive a pink cadillac.
3. Travel to Rome, Italy. (I'd like to see the Vatican while I'm there.)
4. Have a leading role in a musical.
5. Live by the lake. (I'm pretty close right now!)
6. Have some land.
7. Take the Sound of Music tour in Switzerland. And sing The Hills Are Alive while I'm there. In a dress.
8. Have a wall full of shoes. I'm thinking Carrie Bradshaw's closet in the Sex and the City movie.
9. Hire a housekeeper.

And those that know me best, know #10:
I want a lady that will be in my house with a taco cart and tableside guacamole, to make me tacos on command. Her name will be Escuela.

What's on your bucket list?