Did December really just happen?

Oh my...where does the time go? I must have blinked because December just came and went in a flash.

Well...to recap my December so far...

I have officially completed my Associates Degree in Accounting. Now I'm sending out resumes left and right. I just want "a foot in the door" kind of job. I feel like I'm not giving this degree enough credit. It is my second associates degree. I've been teasing that if I add the two degrees together then they might equal a bachelor's degree :) ? I'm am just teasing though. Part of me is a little disappointed that I didn't "go for the gold" so to speak, but I am proud of my accomplishment. I worked my hiney off for it! We won't have a graduation ceremony until June or July so that kind of stinks. I am anxious to begin working somewhere soon. I am dreading the whole interview process though. I'm not a people person initially. It takes me a while to feel comfortable around someone new and that shows through when I am interviewing. I had a mock interview for my internship class and that just about drove me to drink! I made it through it with a few laughs along the way. I got the evaluation the other day and I actually did quite well for a nervous Nellie!

With school behind me, I finally got to focus on Christmas. I did the usual basket for the hubby's office which is a two day event in the kitchen for me. I did let Olivia help me out this year. She told one of her friend's mom that she doesn't get to help me bake. Actually I don't bake all that much and I'm usually in a hurry when I do it. This time I decided to slow down and let her help me. She had a blast and she was a natural! Go figure coming from this family! She helped me make chocolate chip cookies (from scratch), muddy buddies, and hot cocoa mix. We had a great time. She has been awfully patient with me this year. She has whined about me always doing homework, but she was so excited the day I told her I was finally done! It was a nice mother/ daughter experience. Everything tasted really good and the office really appreciated everything. I have been doing this for years and I may gripe and complain about doing it but secretly I love every minute of it!!

Fast forward to Christmas Eve...

We did the traditional gathering in Portland for Christmas Eve. We all brought finger foods to munch on as we opened the Mt. Everest pile of presents. We're still looking for Britney. We lost her in the pile! It was a fun yet different gathering. The lack of Missy's presence was definitely felt by all. It had rained and rained and rained all day long (and the day before), but as we loaded up the car to make the drive down to TN it all of a sudden stopped. The sky that was left was like a beautiful painting. The clouds and sun rays were indescribable. I tried to take a picture, but there was no way to capture what my heart was seeing. When we arrived at Jeff's, we were in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on a couple of the dishes and the sunlight in there was absolutely blinding us. I made some crack about how Missy was telling us to get the heck out of her kitchen! Grandaddy did the annual 'Twas the Night Before Christmas reading and then the paper started flying. Everyone had huge smiles on their faces. We cleaned up the mess and left for home because Olivia wasn't feeling well. The was the oddest part. I usually hang around and chat with Missy after everyone leaves. It was the only time when I knew we wouldn't be interrupted by random phone calls from her work. Last year I stayed for two hours or so later than everyone else and we chatted and laughed at the kids playing sing star together. She and I played too. We sang Chasing Cars (one of her favorites at the time). That was the last time I saw her. The year has gone by so very fast. It feels as if God has put it on warp speed just to help us all make it through it.

The kids had a great visit from Santy Claus the next morning. I made a small Christmas dinner for the three of us (Gavin had his usual) and spent the rest of the day opening boxes and loading Ipods. So that's it in a nutshell.

We're still looking for Gavin...we haven't seen hm since Christmas morning. Every once in a while there will be a flash through the kitchen that kind of resembles him, but it quickly disappears down the hallway into his room.

"I'll bet they were thinking...now why don't she write?"

I'm baaacccckkk!!! Did ya miss me? I sure missed posting. I love that line from Dances with Wolves when Kevin Costner is talking to the skeleton. So much has been going on around here this past few weeks. It has been hard to keep up with everything.

Renee is finally back at home with the hubby and kids. We all miss her terribly. It is so difficult to have to say goodbye to her. I bawled like a baby the whole way home the night before she left. She was bawling too so I'm not the only softy here! I think saying goodbye to her is so difficult because she has stepped into an empty place in my life. She has stepped up into the position of a sister to me. That spot has been a big hole in my life for 10 long months. Saying goodbye to her is almost like saying goodbye to my sister again. There is nothing like the relationship you have with your sister!! There is only one person in the world who can understand what it was like growing up to be who you are. A sister! I have known Renee for ten years, but I didn't really get a chance to get to know her until I visited her in March of this year. She's a beautiful and sweet lady and I have grown to love her and her family dearly. No one can EVER replace Missy as my sister, but it is so great to have a "sis" again. Love ya Nay!!

Another great thing in my life is my girlfriends!! This group of very special friends (including my moms) fill my heart in a way no other people can. I just want you ALL to know how special you are to me. I read this card about girlfriends while I was waiting at Cracker Barrel the other day. I can't remember everything it said but it was so true. I will have to find the quote and share it with you. One of my girlfriends and I were chatting one day back in January after Missy's death. I told her about how weird it feels to lose a sister and how alone and empty it feels sometimes. It felt like I had this huge hole in my heart. She told me that's when I should rely on my girlfriends. She said that my girlfriends were like pebbles trying to fill that boulder sized hole in my heart. She was right! I've realized since then that my girlfriends are not pebbles. They are the most awe inspiring diamonds that have gradually filled my emptiness.

To ALL of my girlfriends...I love you all and I hope you know what extraordinary women you are!!! That is definitely something I am thankful for this year! Hope you all have a beautiful day!

We did it...we did it...we did it...

Whew!!! I can finally break my silence!

Charlie and I pulled a fast one over on my in laws! We secretly flew their daughter Renee in from Arizona! I have kept quiet about this for two weeks and it is so nice to finally be able to share it with others. It's been a long two weeks and we have been so excited.

She flew in on Wednesday afternoon and I have been hiding her at my house since then. It's been a riot! She is so funny and bubbly. I love it! We have sat outside by the fire and chatted. We have watched movies and laughed until our sides hurt! She and I have ventured out into town during the day carefully avoiding any store that her mom might visit. Our plan was to surprise her mom and dad by meeting them at a restaurant and for Renee to pop out and surprise them. It worked out well because a family friend was visiting and I love to see her whenever she was in town. So it was easy to convince them to come out to eat with us.

We got to Wha Bahs (the restaurant) early and hatched our plan. When Janice called to let us know she was on the way, we had Renee go hide in the bathroom. She and I texted until her mom and dad arrived. They sat down and she snuck up behind them. Neither one of them had any clue that she was going to visit and it's been 2 years since Janice has seen Renee. It was a good surprise. We all had a great time.

Now let the good times roll!!!!!!!!

Birthdays, Fall Festival, and all that jazz...

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but as you can see from the title, it has been a little busy around here.

It started last weekend with my birthday. Two of my dearest friends kidnapped me Friday night and took me out on the town. Sarah drove all the way from Louisville to see me. Unfortunately she was ambushed as soon as she stepped out of the car by political discussions. She was a trooper and stood her ground! This is one of the things I love about Sarah. She can be completely ready to kick someone's behind, but she's keeps on smiling! My other kidnapper, Dana, she smiles because she knows what to do with the body when she's done! I have great friends! We wound up going to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner. Afterwards...and this is truly representative of how small our town is...we sat in my car trying to decide what we wanted to do next. We played the merry go round version of "I don't know what to do...what do you want to do?" We finally decided to head to Dana's house where we could hang out without distractions (her distractions were already in bed and asleep). We ran by Wal-mart to pick up provisions of chocolate and more chocolate. We proceeded to spend the next 4 or 5 hours getting hooked on a new HBO show that Dana watches. Sarah and I are still cursing her for that one! I had a blast. I could think of nothing else I would rather do for my birthday than hang out with my friends and wait for the sugar high to go away. Love...love...love...the white chocolate!

As if that wasn't enough birthday excitement for one weekend, the next evening (my actual birthday) was our first neighborhood block party. It was a lot of fun! We ate like pigs and got to know our neighbors. The kids had a blast running all over the place playing. It was very chilly, but luckily my hubby had bought a fire pit for my birthday. We broke that bad boy out, lit a couple of logs, and we were warm in no time. I love fall! One of my friends in the subdivision brought me a birthday cake that she had made. It was so sweet because she has only made 2 or 3 cakes in her life (most of them were made this year). It was very good too.

Last night was the Fall Festival for Gavin and Olivia's school. They had a blast! I was quite positive that Olivia would not fall asleep for a year after all of the "baby crack" (sugar) she ingested! She did however crash and burn around 11pm. Gavin had his face painted really cool. I took a picture and maybe I can post it soon.

I'm not so fond of Fall Festival. It is so loud and crowded and there are kids running around everywhere you look. Some of the kids are older (like 5th or 6th grade or junior high) and I think their parents just drop them off hoping they will behave. I did live to tell the tale. I'm not sure why I get so overwhelmed when we attend? I'm sure it's some lovely trait I inherited from my parents. I can most likely point my finger at my father. THANKS DAD! :) Neither one of us is fond of crowds. Oh well...like I said...I survived. I quickly retreated home to sit outside and enjoy my fire pit with the hubby and a neighbor.

I told you I've been busy!

Peace and Quiet (or something like that)...

I'm doing my happy dance this morning!!! The kids are back in school!!

Fall break came and went and things are back to normal (or at least what is considered normal around our house). There is the beautiful sound of nothing in my house now. There is no Hannah Montana or Spongebob Squarepants on the tv. No one is yelling about so and so breathing on them. Ah...life is beautiful!

You see around my house, silence is a rare thing. My husband is in sales. He talks for a living! Olivia is the spitting image of him in EVERY way! I sometimes think that she believes that if she is silent for more than 30 seconds that the world will cease to exist. The Earth will stop spinning, the sun will become cold, and the stars will fall from the skies. She talks ALL the time! She's like the picture of that cat that has been going around in emails. It's a picture of this HUGE cat sitting and the caption reads "he knew holding his farts in would come back and bite him in the end." That is Olivia. She's not holding in farts, but if she stops talking she thinks she will explode!

Gavin, on the other hand, is so quiet you honestly forget he is in the house! He's very much into doing his own thing. He spent last week in his bedroom playing video games. He would occasionally leave the room (in his Hugh Heffner robe and boxers) and grab a glass of milk or a bag of doritoes. He really does look like Hugh Heffner when he's in his robe. It is his routine every day to come home from school and instantly put on his boxer shorts and his red plush robe. His dad loves to pick on him. He'll say "how's it going Hef?" Gavin will just growl the word daddy, slap himself on the head and walk back towards his room shaking his head.

We didn't really have too much excitement last week. We made numerous trips to McDonalds, had lunch with friends, spent time at Aunt Dana's, colored Aunt Dana's hair, got haircuts for the kiddos, and had a few sleepovers. Joey and I got to enjoy a night on the town with a couple of our friends. It was a lot of fun! It really wasn't a bad week. I'm looking forward to heading back to my internship tomorrow!

Hope you all have a great day!!

Someone up there is laughing at me right about now...

My day started off well. I was enjoying my second day of my internship. My supervisor was showing me how she does her posting to her ledgers at the end of the month and makes sure that everything balances, when my cell phone rang. It was the kids' school calling to inform me that there were several cases of head lice going around in the second grade and that Olivia had a few nits in her hair. After saying a few choice words in my head, I said I would pick her up as soon as I picked up some "supplies." Instant panic set in because I had never dealt with head lice before. I know it's not an embarrassment like it used to be. I know my kids and my house are kept clean. I also know my fair share of mothers who have dealt with it.

I leave work and head straight to CVS to pick up the treatment kit and bleach. I get to the school and the secretaries smile knowingly. They tell me that it's no big deal and they have dealt with it themselves. Meanwhile my overactive brain is FREAKING out! What the heck do I do? I called a friend to make sure I had everything I would need and she tells me what to do. We get home and I strip Olivia's bed of everything and throw it all into the washer. I gather up anything that resembles something that would come into contact with her head or anyone else's and throw it into the trash. My faithful soldier of a hubby comes home because I am in a total panic trying to get everything done. He asks what he needs to do and I tell him to spray all of her toys and put them into a garbage bags and put them into the garage.

I wash Olivia's hair and apply the treatment. After the treatment is done, I comb through her hair with the special nit comb. As this is going on, I am in a conversation with my friend again asking her what the heck am I looking for? I keep inspecting the comb but I don't see anything. I had read that these "cooties" as she called them would be about the size of a sesame seed. She said that they were smaller than that. I'm still wondering what the heck am I looking for? She can tell I am majorly stressing and says she'll call me later. I then called one of my neighbors who is a registered nurse. She had me bring Olivia to her house so she could look at her head. Of course while all of this is going on I keep feeling this itch on my head (which freaks me out even more). My neighbor carefully checked Olivia's head and proceeded to tell me that she didn't see anything at all. She also said that it didn't look like she had ever had any signs of lice. At this point, the whole world freezes for a few minutes as I soak this all in. I am picturing my house which is thouroughly torn up by now, thinking "you have got to be kidding me!" Just to be safe she checked my head and gave me the all clear.

Now for those of you that don't know me all that well, my motto is panic first think later!! Any who...crisis resolved. She is free and clear (for now) and I now know how to handle the "cooties" if they happen again. Hope you all had a better day than me! I'm off to fight my way into the laundry room so I can see the floor.

Whoa Momma!!!

OK...picture this.

Young girl walks into a tattoo parlor and asks "Is my mom here?"

While this may not seem weird to some people, it sure as heck felt strange for me. That's right everyone. My mom got her first tattoo yesterday. I'm so very proud of her. My dad got his a few months ago and it was awesome too. There's a story behind the sudden urge to get tattoos, but that story is best told by my mom on her blog. I just wanted to take a moment and give her a big thumbs up and say way to go Squirrelly!!

Meanwhile back at the ranch...

Today was a ramblin kind of day. I have been off from school for a two week break and so far it hasn't been much of a break. It's been one thing after another. So much for my grand plans to read a book (that I picked and for sheer pleasure), organize the house, get caught up on paperwork, and take a nap. I did manage to get "caught up" on my household paperwork only to realize that you never really quite catch up on paperwork. There's always a pile of it that sneaks up on you just when you think you are finished. It's like a couple of rabbits. You walk out of the room for one second and when you come back it has procreated all over your office!!!

I did manage to go through my office closet and my son's room on my hiatus. I begin classes again on Monday which also is the start of my internship. I'm not sure how much else I can get done before then. Oh well...c'est la vie!! For those of you that don't know me very well, I am an organizing freak!! Disorder and chaos cause me anxiety. Trust me...I will get this done even though I would love nothing more than to simply sit back and relax. I listen to what the voices tell me to do :) Thanks mom. Thanks dad. You did this to me didn't you :)

I'm not all about boring! I did have some fun this past weekend in Louisville. I had the pleasure of visiting one of my very best friends and confidants as well as her husband (whom I adore). Trust me ladies...everyone needs an Aaron!! I had a blast. It was one of those rare opportunities when I got to take off sans kids and enjoy a little spontaneity. Sarah and Aaron laughed at me quite a few times because I didn't know what I wanted to do while I was there. I couldn't imagine someone actually asking me what I wanted to do and I wasn't limited by children. You don't give a mom that kind of freedom!! It will make her head explode because she's not used to having so many options. What do people do in their "free" time?

We went out and ate at a great cafe (get this...) at 9:30 at night. How freakin cool is that? Then I got to witness a girl fight in the parking lot across the street from the restaurant. The cops showed up and everything. Needless to say, my senses were overwhelmed and we made our way back to their apartment. Sarah and I went out the next afternoon while Aaron was working and enjoyed a stroll down Bardstown Road. Once again the looming question of what do we want to do came up. We wound up hitting the local Barnes and Noble (a favorite past time for myself and Sarah). We looked around for a while, got some Starbucks (loved the spinach and feta stuffed pretzel), and went back to the apartment. We were going to venture out to Bardstown Road again but our sleepiness got the best of us. We watched a cute movie called Son of Rambow and said our goodnites. I had so much fun that I didn't want to leave the next day but I knew I had to go. So, thanks Sarah and Aaron for reminding this mommy what it's like to have a little freedom every once in a while. I deeply love my children but every mom needs to get away now and then!!

Now that I have rambled on profusely...I need to get back to the real world and wait for ER's season premiere tonite. Missy loved this show so it's kind of bittersweet to watch because it is the final season. Hope you have a great night!

Home sweet home...

I am experiencing something very new in my life.

We moved into a subdivision in October of last year to my great delight. I am not a country girl by any means! We have lived in the boonies most of our married life. I have ran off escaped cows, listened to coyotes fight outside my bedroom window, had the tee total snot scared out of me by various glowing eyes in the dark, dodged diving bats, and watched big snakes eat live frogs out on my patio. I am not built for that kind of life! I do not like it Sam I Am!

I can honestly say moving was one of the best decisions we have made. We live in a peaceful subdivision, but it is still in a very rural area. It is honestly the best of both worlds. Charlie gets to go hunting about 2 minutes away and I have neighbors (beautiful glorious neighbors). Every person I have met is super friendly. Charlie has even found a few buddies in the neighborhood. He and the boys get together just about every weekend at our house to drink a few and play. They break out the corn hole and play a few games while talking smack to each other. I get the biggest giggles out of watching them strut across the yard and dole out high fives! After they have finished playing, they retire to the deck and out pop the guitars and mandolins. It is a beautiful sound listening to Charlie and his buddy Gill play together(unless it goes on until 4 am and I worry about them waking up the neighbors). I usually go to bed before they are done but I can hear them outside the window telling jokes and singing songs that Charlie has written.

Best of all...the kids have other kids to play with. They can safely ride up and down our street and I don't have to worry. We can go out for walks and go fishing in the pond. It was quite funny yesterday because I was watching two of my neighbors kids and they were outside with my two kids. The next thing I know there are nine kids riding their bikes up and down the street laughing and having a great time. It was so cool to watch. They were just riding back and forth singing Soldier Boy and enjoying being outside.

This is exactly what Charlie and I were hoping for when we moved here. We have truly been blessed with so many new friends. I believe God truly wanted us here (there's a story there). We prayed and prayed about it and believe this is exactly where he wants us. These are the people who have welcomed us with open arms and made us feel at home. When Missy died in January, we had only been living here for 2 months, but everyone was so kind and asked if there was anything they could do. Imagine that...two months and we were swarmed with offers of food and babysitting. Where else can you find that?

I look forward to the third Thursday of the month because the ladies of the neighborhood get together and play bingo. One of the ladies, Linda, invites us into her home and makes a great dinner and we play and chat and laugh. We are also trying to get a block party together for October and we are trying to put together some boxes of goodies to send to Linda's son's battalion in Iraq for Christmas. This is the kind of neighborhood I have dreamed about. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity in our lives to connect with some truly extraordinary people.

so here it goes...

My mom has often suggested that I needed to start blogging. I have a husband of 10 years, two kids ( a boy and a girl), and 3 crazy cats. What more do I need you say? AN OUTLET!! Somewhere that I can divulge the insanity that is my everyday life.

Why the title of "What Was I Thinking?" My life is filled with moments where I say to myself, "Karri, what were you thinking?" As a matter of fact, I say it everyday...all day long!! You see...I was "blessed" with naturally blonde hair. Do I need to go on? :) After 30 years of showing it, I finally dyed it red. Ha Ha I know...you can run but you can't hide!!

Anywho...enough blonde jokes. The other possible title was "Out of My Flippin Mind." I think that one a lot and I say it even more. I love the blank stare my kids give me when I use that one. I get a little giggle imagining the mental picture that floats thru their heads.

So, I asked my husband for his opinion on which title to use. He gives me the standard "I don't know honey. They both sound good." The funny thing is that I knew he would say that. So after I mentally knock him upside the head, I walk out of the room and mumble to myself, "What was I thinking?".

And thus a blog is born!