I will give you a warning...guys this is a joke meant for my girl readers. Abort reading if you are embarassed easily! ;-)

I don't normally post jokes and forwards in my blog, but my mom sent this one to me today. I have never read this one before and as a mom of two girls who are always wanting to "help" I could SOOOO see one or both of them doing this! ENJOY!!

Ahhhhh...the joys of having girls. My mother taught me to read when Iwas four years old (her first mistake). One day, I was in the bathroomand noticed one of the cabinet doors was ajar.I read the box in the cabinet. I then asked my mother why she waskeeping 'napkins' in the bathroom. Didn't they belong in the kitchen?Not wanting to burden me with unnecessary facts, she told me that thosewere for "special occasions" (her second mistake)..

Now fast forward a few months....It's Thanksgiving Day, and my folksare leaving to pick up my uncle and his wife for dinner. Mom hadassignments for all of us while they were gone. Mine was to set thetable.When they returned, my uncle came in first and immediately burst intolaughter. Next came his wife who gasped, thenbegan giggling. Next came my father, who roared with laughter.

ThencameMom, who almost died of embarrassment when she saw each place setting onthe table with a "special occasion" Kotex napkin at each plate, with thefork carefully arranged on top. I had even tucked the little tails in sothey didn't hang off the edge!!My mother asked me why I used these and, of course, my response sentthe other adults into further fits of laughter."But, Mom, you said they were for special occasions!!!"Pass this on to your girlfriends who need a good laugh or anyone whohas a daughter!

Life is too short for drama & petty things, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly, and forgive quickly.

"Let not your heart be troubled .."

Have you ever had a day that when you woke up and even before you got out of bed you just wished you could go back to bed? Well, for some reason I just KNEW today was one of those days. Nothing really happened early on, I could just sense it was coming! All day long I just longed to climb back in the bed knowing something was to come.

We taught Sunday School at the Korean church today and even got out of eating lunch (which doesn't happen often). So, it was a decent start. We got home and ate lunch and did some laundry and cleaning. Then we packed up a few bags of some of our "stuff" from Korea. My dolls, tea set, hanboks, chopsticks, bowls, books, ducks, and so on. Then, we headed to a local church to speak to a G.A./Acteens group and then do a sketch during their church service. It went really well and the sermon was amazing. The people were so friendly and amazingly welcoming. Cali even went in their nursery without looking back (which is amazing since I normally think I am going to have to cut off my leg and leave it with her when we drop her off).

So, you are probably asking what was so bad. We still haven't gotten there. I was sure that my feeling of dread I have had all day was wrong and I was just tired and worn down. But, then it happened...we were walking back out to the car and the box broke and my favorite Korean tea set came tumbling out to the ground. The tea set that Clark bought for me as a birthday present that I shopped the entire country of Korea until I found the perfect one. It shattered and then I shattered. I sat in the car feeling down right silly and cried and cried.

The church was very nice to us and gave us some money to go out to dinner on, so we headed to a restaurant (Applebees) to try to get my mind off the shattered tea set. I excused myself to use the restroom and wash my hands. Well, as I was pulling off some toilet paper the entire plastic cover and a brand new roll (we are talking huge and heavy industrial style) came flying off the wall and nailed me on the bridge of the nose. My nose immediately turned bright red and the bridge swelled up. My head was throbbing. As soon as I got to the table Clark took one look at my swollen face and asked what happened. It looks like I got in a fight. GRRRR!

So, there you have it. I now know why I didn't want to get out of bed this morning. I just had to wait for it to hit. As soon as I am done typing this I am heading to that bed I have been wanting to climb back into all day and hope that tomorrow I wake up ready to go!

So...I officially got the job! YAY! I spent the week working out and learning the ropes as a curcuit trainer. I will work 3 to 4 days a week from 3:15 to 8:00. I am really looking forward to it...I have been a work from home mom for the past 5 years! I know it isn't full time or anything, but it will be a bit different getting out of the house that many times a week!

I will let you know how it goes! :-)

So, the past few days have been just slightly insane, but I finally see an end in sight.
On Tuesday Melisa and I cleaned and got laundry done. Our house looked like a small tornado had gone through it and the dust bunnies were threatening to take over! As I was cleaning, Melisa and I managed to get a day of school work done too. I felt like we accomplished a lot! Then, I had my first day at Curves. I went in and met the other girl who works in the afternoons and talked with the owner. Then I learned the curcuit and did a full 30 minute workout. It was a good workout. Not quite as intense as kettlebell training, but good all the same! It feels good to have the have the house clean after a weekend of messes, LOL!

Wednesday is our crazy day. It stared at 5:30 when Clark and I woke up to exercise. Then the girls and I took Clark to work and ran some errands. Cali had gymnastics from 10 to 11. After gymnastics we headed to Chick-fil-a and met a dear friend for an accountablity time. The girls have fun playing and my friend and I get some much needed time together. Then, it was home to start baking. School today was reading directions and measuring as we made 3 batches of brownies and ate WAY too much! We baked and baked and before we knew it, it was time to run Melisa back to the gym for her gymnastics class at 4:30. I had to drop her off and then run back to Chick-fil-a to pick up some trays to take back to the University for our International Student Organization meet and greet. As soon as I dropped of the brownies we had made and the trays from Chick-fil-a it was back to the gym to pick Melisa up. THEN we turned around and headed back to the school to pick up Daddy...they joys of being a one car family! We helped clean up from the meet and greet and then we were finally able to head home.

On the way home we decided we were all too tired and it was too late to cook, so we picked up Raisin' Caines and ate it at home. By the time dinner was over we were all ready to collapse. I think we were all in bed by 10!!

Today, Thursday, was relatively calm! We had a normal day of school this morning and did just a little bit of cleaning. This afternoon, I had my second afternoon of going to Curves. I went in and did the entire workout. As I was finishing things got really busy, so the owner told me to come back tomorrow and we would talk more!

Tonight we got the girls in the bath and ready for bed but we had to head up to the school at 9:00. It is rush week and Clark is sponsoring one of the fraternities. They were having a big event tonight and he needed to be there. They invited the girls and I, so we tagged along. By 10:40 the girls were fading, so we politely said we had to leave as they were still going strong...boy I am getting to old for this kind of stuff. The girls are finally out for the night and now I am heading to bed myself.

SOOOO...that is our week in a nutshell, as if you wanted all the details of what we have been up to. Anyway, I am glad tomorrow is Friday, I need a break from this week!

...about the Curves job.
The lady told me last Wednesday that she would call me the next day. Thursday came and went and she never called. I called up and gave the information from my previous jobs and the girl said that she couldn't wait to meet me, but still no official word from the boss. Friday, Saturday and Sunday all passed with no word from her. I was sure that was a sign I just needed to let go and realize I should start applying other places.

Well, the phone just rang and it was CURVES. I stil haven't officially been offered the job, but she has a policy that all possibly employees come and work out for a week to get used to the machines and the workout behind curves. So, tomorrow I will go and do a 30 minute cycle at Curves. At the end of the week she will observe how well I have the exercises down and how well I relate to the members. If she thinks I am a good fit, she will hire me. SOOO, here we go! The hope is back and maybe, just maybe I will be working at Curves by next week! :-)

WOW, we had an entire weekend with NO plans! It was wonderful and relaxing...I really hated to see Monday morning roll around after all that down time!

Friday evening Clark suprised us by showing up at the house at 4:45 to pick us up. He rushed us in the car and took us back up to the school to watch our soccer playing international students. We have about 10 that are on the soccer team and love to get up to cheer them on. They lost by one goal, but had a lot of fun cheering for them. Melisa and Cali played on the practice feeled with some other kids. As we made our way back to the car after the game we got stopped at least 50 times by students who wanted to see Melisa and Cali....I think they are becoming shcool mascotts!

After the game we headed to a great Mexican place near our house and had dinner out. We have not gone to a sit down restaurant as a family since the beginning of June! It was nice to sit, eat and talk! :-)

Saturday morning we slept in and then enjoyed a lazy morning around the house. We exercies, cleaned a little, did a little yard work, washed the car, and played a lot! Saturday afternoon we headed to an exercise park that the girls love. It has a walking track with two paths and all kinds of fun exercise equipment to stop and play on (pull up bars, rope climbs, monkey bars, squat boxes, balance beams, and so on. We brought Chin Goo and walked over a mile and played for a few hours. When the mosquitos started biting, we headed home to order pizza and watch a movie. :-)

Sunday, we went to church then came home and ate a quick lunch. Then we headed out on a swan hunt. You see about a year ago an organization in town did a big fundraiser. They sold large...5 foot swans that were plan white and told everyone who bought one to paint it to represent their organization/company or our community. Then they had the festival of the swans last winter and put them all on display. It was really cool..but I forgot to bring my camera. Now, all the swans are on display outside the company or organization who painted it. So, we drove around town stopping at swans to take pictures with them. :-) It is fun to see the neat designs!

After the swan hunt we went to Boarders (or as Cali calls it the "Choo Train 'Tore). We spent 2 hours sitting at the bookstore looking at books and letting Cali play with the big "Choo Train". Ahhh, relaxing. We finally ended the weekend last night with dinner at home and a few rounds of hide and go seek before bed time. Let me tell you though...there aren't many places in our little house that i can hide without being spotted very easily! I learned REALLY fast why it is a KIDS game, LOL!

Well, as much as I like to think about all the fun and relaxation we had this weekend...the house is growing dust bunnies that will threaten to eat my children if I don't clean today and laundry is piled up to the point that if I don't do laundry I'm not sure what we will wear tomorrow! Then there is school waiting and bills I need to pay today. SO, I don't need to sit here typing, I need to get busy!

I hope you all enjoyed a fun weekend and have a better than usual Monday! :-P

Ok...I typed this up the day after our first day of potty training, but never posted it. This was the highlight of our potty training so far...we have not done this well since, LOL!

OK. Well, I was slightly discouraged after Day 1...but not too bad. She wore big girl panties all day yesterday and had 4 accidents. Every time she had an accident she would stop just before she was finished and give me a drop or two in the potty. Then she would proudly tell me that "Mommy, I peepee". In the middle of the day she let Jessie (from Toy Story) go potty while I was making lunch. It was quite the mess, but she proudly announced "Mommy, baby peepee" LOL! At least she is starting to get the idea.

After her bath I put her in a diaper for the night and she had a stinky diaper shortly after. I changed her again and she was out for the night. At 5:00 am I heard her stirring and kind of crying. I went to her room and saw her pulling at her diaper in her half asleep, half awake state. So, I asked her if she needed me to change her diaper and she said yes. However, when I got it off it was dry. So, I asked if she needed to go potty and she came awake fully and said "YEP!" So, off to the bathroom we went at 5 in the morning. She sat down and went potty! We clapped and cheered and she grinned as big as she could. Then asked me "Mommy, sit in chair?" She wanted to sit in the cuddle chair. We curled up in the chair together and in about 30 minutes she was back our and I laid her down. I checked on her a few minutes ago and she is still sleeping AND still dry.

Maybe it is just wishful thinking, but if she woke up in the middle of the night to go potty...maybe we are on our way! I will let you know how today goes!

****THIS IS A MOM KIND OF POST...GUYS NOT WANTING TO READ ABOUT DAIPERS, DIAPER RASH, AND POTTY TRAINING ABORT NOW, LOL****

So, I have known it was time to potty train Cali for a while now, but I have not been ready to commit to it, LOL...what a bad Mommy! Well, for the last few days she has had an awful diaper rash. She is 2 years and 5 months old and has NEVER had diaper rash, much less a red bottom at all. When I noticed it a few days ago I went out and bought some rash ointment. I made sure I checked her diaper every hour or 2 and changed it if it was the slightest bit wet and applied more ointment. However, it has been getting worse and worse. I have tried 3 times of ointment and last night it was actually starting to have places where the skin was breaking. It broke my heart. She kept pulling at her diaper and crying. I went out and bought some Baby Golds Bond Powder and she finally went to sleep last night. However, it is still bad this morning and she does not want to put a diaper on.

So, I decided to bite the bullet and put big girl panties on her. She is SOOO happy about them. Between the powder and the panties her bottom doesn't seem as irritated, so maybe it will work. I keep taking her to the potty every 30 minutes or so to keep from having accidents. She did have a small accident but stopped herself and finished in the potty. Maybe we are off to a good start.

I wasn't planning on starting this today, but I guess now is better than never. We will see how it goes! I just hope the rash clears up...it is awful and she is pitiful!

WOW...I let it pass without even realizing it! My blog is TWO years old as of Sept. 2! I can't believe it is has been that long!

So, I get a few comments here and there but not many. However, my page views keep going up...so someone is reading it. Who are you? Let me know who is out there! I know I am bad about commenting on others blogs...but I will try to get better. I am just curious about who is out there reading!

So, tonight we went driving around town looking to see who was hiring. My husband spotted a brand new Curves having a Grand Opening. So, I ran in and asked if they were hiring. They handed me an application and asked me to fill it out and then meet with the owner. Well, the owner and I hit it off. She informed me that she had a lot of applications but didn't have a gut feeling about any. She has been running Curves for about 5 years and her best emplyees have been the ones she had gut feelings about. She was pretty sure she would be calling me tomorrow.

If she calls and offers me the job, I will work from 3:15 to 8:00 Monday through Friday and 1 Saturday every 6 weeks. I am SOOO excited! She is a strong Christian woman and runs a great business. We talked for 45 minutes. I really think this was a God thing! I don't know if I am going to sleep at all tonight because I am so anxious to see if she calls tomorrow!
Please pray that if this truly is God's will He will continue to open the doors for this to work out! God is SOOO good! I never thought I would find a job that I was this excited about! YAY!!!!

Hmmm...More Changes!
I don't know if you will remember my blog about ANewChallenge a few months ago, but we have made a decision about it...say a prayer that God opens the doors! If you don't want to click on the link and go read about it we want to be RKC certified as Kettlebell Instructors. We absolutely LOVE working out with Kettlebells and love the results we have seen!

Well, in less than a year now...about 10 1/2 months actually, we will celebrate our TENTH wedding anniversary. It is a big one and we wanted to do something special. We talked about going on a cruise or saving for a special trip somewhere. But, after talking about it, we have decided to go to the RKC training weekend together! Going on a cruise or on a special trip is just way too conventional for us, LOL! We have to be unique!

Unfortunately it is VERY expensive. We have talked about it and prayed about it. Clark still hates that this is what we are doing, but I am excited. I am going to get a part time job outside the house. There are a few places within a block of our house highering. There is a McAllisters Deli and a FireHouse Subs and a Photography Studio. I can work for the University in the mornings while I homeschool Melisa. Then around 3:00 to 4:00 I can go in and work for the evening. We have two GREAT students who between the two of them can cover most afternoons until Clark gets home from work. Then Clark can get some special Daddy/Daughter time with the girls and do dinner (he is the better cook anyway) and then I will be home by bedtime.

SO...pray that the doors open up for me to find a part time job out and about.

I am REALLY excited about the possibility of getting RKC Certified. We love training together and it has been a dream of ours to get certified together. We realized today that we are both only about a month away from being able to meet the requirements for the tests! We are both SOOO close that I can't see not shooting to go to the class next summer. What an exciting, fun, and unique way to spend our tenth wedding anniversary

I got Misa and Cali in the home-school room this morning and as we were reading Melisa and I spotted it at the same time. There, sitting on the school computer was a baby lizard. Melisa and Clark (Daddy) have been talking about how funny it would be if one of the many lizards outside made it into the house and became our "pet". I personally think they caught it and sent it in because Melisa wasn't nearly as shocked as I was AND was quick to give her a name...Lilly Lizard. I called my husband who immediately laughed my head off and reminded me just how happy it had made the girls...once again, i think they plotted against me! So...it seems that my unwelcomed guest is now running free in my school room as our new student or classroom pet. I must admit that it is pretty funny. Everytime I start to teach Lilly comes out to watch and then when Melisa sits down to do her seatwork it disappears behind my desk. I cannot believe I have not kicked the guest out of my classroom yet, LOL!

Before I start I want to make sure everyone knows that I realize I am not the most eloquent writer around. In fact, I am really just a rambling homeschooling mom. So, I am not going to pretend that this is some great grand piece of writing...it is, once again, JUST my rambling...so don't think I am trying to be something that I am not, LOL!

It seems that we have not had a single day in the past week without a thunderstorm. Each time a storm comes I am in awe of the power of them. They are so very intimidating. The deep thunder can literally shake our house. The rain comes down in buckets and floods the backyard. The storms cause the satellite TV to go out and even the electricity at times. The wind blows and howls and shows the power of the storm. There is nothing you did to cause the storm and nothing you can do to stop it. Sometimes we just sit at home and wait through the storm. Other times we go about our daily business like there is no storm. Other times we have to change our plans because of the storm.

But then, there is one element of the storm that we have yet to mention...the lightening. You see the storm brings the dark clouds, the heavy rains, the rolling thunder...it is dark. However, when the lightening comes it actually lights the entire sky. Take away the danger of it striking and it is absolutely beautiful. Tonight, as we drove home from New Orleans, I found myself in awe as I watched a thunderstorm out in the distance. The lightening was amazing. It was beautiful. It was a side of the thunderstorm I never really take the time to watch and pay attention to...the beauty of it.

Then I got to thinking about the storms in our lives. It seems that for quite a while now one storm after another has come into my life. This life storms have come in ever size, shape and form recently. I honestly feel like I barely have time to catch my breath from the previous storm before a new one rolls in. Sometimes I can just sit back and wait them out. Other times I do my best to go on with every day life pretending they aren't even there. Many times I have to change a little (or even a lot) to survive them. Sometimes I have to change my attitude...other times I have to change my plans...and so on. Unfortunately, I forget to find the lightening in my storm. I am SO afraid of getting struck down that I forget the beauty in the storm. I forget that God has allowed this trail for some reason and will use it for good. If I slow down, step back and take a look, I can often find the beauty that is in the storm. There is always a beautiful bolt of lightening just waiting for me to spot it.

When the storm is over, you can often see a lot of damage that has been done. The storm will strip away layers but underneath all of that you will see signs of growth. Do I allow myself to grow and learn from my storms or do I choose to stay buried under the rubble? I may not have a choice about going through many of these storms but I do have a choice as to how I handle them. I have a choice about my reactions after storm is over. I may not see it at the time, but each storm has a purpose. Each storm is growing me and making me the person God has called me to be. I just hope I remember this throughout the next storm. I pray that I don't find myself hiding under the kitchen table or being washed away in the flood waters. I pray that I hold fast to my rock and keep looking for the lightening during the storm and the growth after the storm.