RANDOM THOUGHTS AND TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS/PROCRASTINATION RESULTS IN THIS KIND OF ENTRY:





First of all, I would like to just let everyone know the injustice of letting this show go. It was, in my opinion, the most underrated show on TV. It was so good!!!! I am TiVoing the past shows that are on the family channel. I feel let down, that it wasn't allowed to continue. Was it a contract issue? Ugh. Amy Sherman-Palladino should have been given whatever she asked for . Then, I was excited to hear that Ms. Sherman-Palladino was launching a new show with Parker Posie....yay! I really like her. Could it be? Another show by my beloved Amy Sherman-Palladin? It could never be another Gilmore Girls, but it could be a great show!............O.....M......G.....it was the worst piece of crap I have ever seen on TV. What? How? I can't wrap my brain around the monstrosity of "The Return of Jezebel James". Lorelei's ex-fiance was in it, "Max". That was the only thing that was remotely GilmoreGirlish. So much disappointment............I will continute to watch my GG's on TiVo and delight in the fast-talking, whitty beyond belief, incredible mother-daughter bond that is Gilmore.....



All that being said about Gilmore Girls, leads me to(one) of my new fave shows..."Samantha Who?" The premise is a nasty, mean, snotty woman.....Samantha......gets in a car accident, slips into a coma, then comes back out, having amnesia. She remembers nothing at first, then gets "snippets" as she goes on with her life. The kicker is that she is now a very nice, trustworthy and sweet person. She must deal with people coming up to her and slap her or scream obscenities... I LOVE Christina Applegate and Eva Mendez, as her still somewhat snobby friend. Guess what???? Do you know who is Samantha's other best friend? SOOKIE!!! AKA: Lorelei Gilmore's best friend! Oh, it is just so perfect!

My new fave thing in water enjoyment.

I went on and on about the Smart Water. I love it. I do. But....I feel bad about buying water in plastic water bottles. The #7 bottles I have are, amazingly, not all that good for you! Go friggin' figure. So, I purchased two of these babies. They are great. When I used to put our home filtered water in the plastic bottles and let it sit....it developed a "taste". It was a waste, in that I would have to throw it out. However, water left in these, taste just as good as when you first filled it up. Love it!!

BRAZIL, HERE I COME!!!!
So, I have a huge adventure coming up.....I am leaving for Castanhal, Brazil June 6th. I will return June 14th. A group of people from our church went last year, and I really wanted to go. However, the amount of money you need to go, just seemed impossible, so I didn't go. This year, Eric told me to get the hell... out!! (just kidding.... not really....well, a little) Anyway, I committed to going, and have since regretted it a couple times. I began to let doubts enter....."What if something happens to the kids while I'm gone?" "What if I get sick down there?" "Am I christian enough?" But, I am pushing those thoughts out of my head. I am really getting excited!!!
Our group will be working with missionaries connected with Arms Of Love (www.armsoflove~brazil.org) They are building/rennovating a complex that will house orphaned children. It is acres of land that is used efficiently to grow their own food, farm their own fish..etc. Their first house is done, and there may be children there by the time we get there. We believe we will be working on the caretaker's house and also screening in a shelter on the property.
We will also be taking a boat ride down the Moju River, which is a tributary of the Amazon. Last year, an EMT that was with the group, cut gangrene out of a woman's leg. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn't done that. These people lack so many of the basic needs we all take for granted. Initially, I was thinking, "Hey, I could give a couple shots"................ Cutting infection out of a leg?......o....k.......and yeah, I've seen Grey's Anatomy..........I could do brain surgery!! Although, I wasn't actually watching McDreamy's..hands...........
Now that the trip is only a couple months away, we are meeting as a group a little more often to make sure we all :
1. Have our passports ...~ Check
2. Keeping up with the fundraising.....(ugh)~Check.
3. Getting our immunizations...~eek.
4. Learning some Portugese...~eek.
So, I still have some work to do, here. I get the yellow fever vaccine on April 24th. I'm still undecided about the hepatitis A. It is food-bourne, so my plan is to just not eat. Cool, need to lose weight, anyway!! No one took the malaria pills last year, and everyone came out fine.
As far as the Portugese, my brain is apparently at capacity for learning new things. I just made flash cards to study, but I believe the most important phrase I need to learn is:
Eu preciso de um me`dico (que fale ingl`es) translation: I need a doctor(who speaks English)
Just kidding......kinda..... not really. I really wanted to find a Portugese website where I could download some phrases to my iPod. Well, haven't actually gotten that far. Let's all say....procrastination?????!!!!
The kids are nervous about me going because................they are afraid of a form of torture called....work! One joking comment was made by Eric that they'll have NO fun while I'm gone. He will make them work the whole time. Those words have been reverberating in their brains. It is hilarious. I assured them I will have a "talk" with him before I leave! :)
All in all, I'm ecstatic about this opportunity and want to thank all of you who have so generously contributed to my fundraising.....loathe the fundraising!! I am praying for a safe trip for everyone and safety for all the family members left behind.
Wish me luck on my biggest adventure, yet!! ( You know, besides the giving birth, moving 5 times in 5 years, starting a new career......) :) :):)

We finally had a nice weekend!! There was sunshine, warmth, bugs!!! Already?! The kids broke out the quad and things got interesting.
Let me just say this....Ally is a flipping maniac!! She's scary. She takes off on the quad, and you just don't know....until you figure it out as she's driving into the side of Eric's company car. Dent.....big dent. The only thing hurt on her was her pride.
Nope~ still not done with the laundry consisting of piles and piles of muddy clothes.
It WAS a nicely mulched flower bed. It is now a ramp. It's alright, the dogs destroyed it before Max got ahold of it.

OMG!!! WHAT A NIGHT WE HAD IN THE ER!!!!!!! IT WAS SO SCARY!!!!

Doggon kids!! They are too smart for their own good! What I've learned is that I need to get them right away in the morning with my pranks....before they are really awake. Also, I refrain from talking about April Fools Day prior to the actual day. That being said, I only got one of the pranks over on Max. I went in to their rooms in the morning, in a slightly panicked voice saying that our basement and house is flooding and that the water is coming up, so they need to get up and see if they can salvage any of their stuff in the basement. The playstation, the TV, toys...will we be able to save it?? They got down to the kitchen and the jig was up. Max said he knew it wasn't real as soon as he saw Eric...casually putting on his tie. *Let me say that in no way am I making light of people who have dealt with floods/water. It is a horrible experience~which we know, since we dealt with it on a smaller scale a couple years ago.......

So, of course I cannot just do ONE prank, I had to get them again. I picked them up from school, and as luck would have it, my gas light was on in the van. (Luck? Hell no. That damn light seems like it is always on.) Anyway, I take off out of town on a road that I hoped wouldn't be busy with traffic. I start tapping the brakes a little here and there, then said, "Oh man, this isn't good. Kids, pray that we don't run out of gas! Pray, pray!!" So, I then tap the brakes more frequently, then pull over, saying I've run out of gas. I pretend to call Eric and said that we could walk to a house behind us where one of the teachers lived. I get the kids out of the car, and start walking......unfortunately , a couple cars were coming down the road, so I knew we wouldn't get far. I figured they'd stop to ask if we needed help. So, I announced "April Fool's!!!!!" We all run back to the van before the car could stop. Max knew it was a joke the whole time.....he was too awake for this joke. However, the other two were concerned about having to walk in the chilling wind. Next year, I will have to plan ahead even more..........

Ally brings home a folder each school day with a calendar marked with a green, yellow or red color for that day. The color corresponds with the behavior for the day. Ally has only once received anything other than green (good). But, on April Fools Day, she had a red!! I keep asking her about it and she keeps saying it's an april fools joke. I have yet to corroborate her story with the teacher, but it's really hard to believe she did in fact get a red. I think she got me! :)

I hope you all had a wonderful April Fools Day!!!!