Brilliance & Talent Come In Small Packages...

Last blog entry I promised to post some of Tator's art work and such, so here I am. These drawings were done when he was 6 & 7....he just turned 8 this month and is very talented if I do say so myself. This dinosaur was copied from the TV screen. We were watching Dinosaur Planet and he begged me to pause it so he could draw the dinosaur.... End result is amazing:



Great White Shark:



This one is Megaladon...a massive prehistoric ancestor of the modern Great White Shark (those are Clayton's words, lol):



Not a clue what this one is, but it was on a program about prehistoric sea life:



And this one was inspired by The Dallas World Aquarium...one of the kids favorite places to visit. Clayton said these are the sharks from the shark tunnel:



We literally have stacks & stacks of sketches, colored pages and even some painted art from Clayton...He's one of the few kids to be very pleased to recieve a pack of printer paper, lol And you can bet your bottom it won't take him long to fill up every single page!

Life, Family & The New Year..

I was informed that if you have a blog your supposed to put something on it more often than every few months....So here I am......you can thank insomnia for this one... Please accept my apology in advance for typos/spelling errors....... I'm typing on my phone at 2:00AM so cut me some slack.

Guess it's a lil' late to be posting a "New Year" blog entry, but it's my blog and I can do what I want. Shall we call this post "fashionably late"? Or perhaps, just late due to the blogger's affinity for procrastination?

Anywho....

No new years resolutions for me, I never keep them... but I am happy to say I'm steadily moving closer to my goals in life even if it's slow going at times. At 26 years old I've finally reached a point in my life to do what I want and just be me rather than play the part that's expected of me.

When we lost our home in '07 I learned what TRUE friendship is and since then I'll not settle for false friends and superficial acquaintances. I've expanded on this over the years and have really dissected my life....I'm not perfect, but I know my value....I know what makes me happy and I will no longer waste my time with people who bring me down, with those I can't be myself around or with those who will not invest the time and effort into caring about what matters to me. Sounds harsh, perhaps even selfish, but I must say, overall I've been a much happier person. Leaving behind the nasty bitterness of bridges burned is something I still struggle with from time to time, but I'm getting better. I've learned to appreciate my life so much more.... I have a wonderful husband who is truly my best friend. Sure... in our 10 years together, we've hit some rough patches....At times I thought I'd be better off strangling the man...but those bumps along the way have made us more honest with each other. He is my best friend....the one person who truly knows me and the one who can make me laugh in the most bazaar situations. He drives me crazy, but would move the world to make me happy. Me & Hubby:



In March Clayton turned 8 & it breaks my heart that he's growing up so fast. He is worried about what college to attend and wants to be a Marine Biologist and a Palentologist. He is so smart, analyzes everything with such amazing logic and and takes everything literally..... He is the funniest, most brilliant child I've ever met and every day I thank God for him. He's a little artist to boot... I'll come back and post some of his art. My biggest worry with him is he's his own worst critic.....everything he does has to be perfect or he beats himself up over it..... I think his drive will push him to high places and great things, but there is plenty of time for that later on in life. I love this picture of Clayton....love to watch him sleep because time freezes when he's sleeping and he's just my baby boy:



My beautiful Shayla will be 6 in April....My baby girl....seems like she was a chubby, curly haired baby just yesterday and today she's this leggy, clumsy lil' person. She has always been so easy going... Slept through the night her first night home from the hospital. Never fussy and always full of smiles. She even potty trained herself....Walked right up to hubby at 16 months old and said "Daddy, potty?" from there she went from diapers to big girl panties....never an accident, no pull ups, just instantly potty trained in one night with no help or work from us. In academics she's not like Clayton.....but she has her own strengths that make her such an amazing blessing in my life. She is the most compassionate human I have ever encountered. She has such empathy for all things....Her 1st day of pre-k she was so brave, not nervous at all....saw a classmate crying for mommy....She looks at me and says "I'm okay mommy, you can go, I'm going to make that girl feel better". She told the lil' girl not to worry, she would be her friend and stay with her so she wouldn't miss her mommy & then gave her her new bracelet to help make her feel better.. All this from a 4 year old child in a totally new situation! She has my love for animals.....loves all critters big and small and wants to be a vet. She is also very stubborn.....she holds to what she thinks is right and if she wants to learn something new, she is absolutely fierce in her persistence to achieve her goals...no matter how hard it is, how long it takes, or how many bumps and bruises she gets along the way. She is a social butterfly, the most caring friend & has the best sense of humor and not a day goes by that she doesn't make me laugh... That lil' girl wraps everyone she meets around her lil' finger and I couldn't ask for a more perfect daughter. Silly Shayla....always cracks me up the facial expressions I get when I try to get a picture:



First day of school for the munchkins last year:



This year I'm am getting a little bit closer to a more self sufficient life style. Moving away from overly processed foods and eventually will have most of our food produced right here at home. A small little farm is my goal. I grew up with this for part of my childhood, it was some of my best memories and I want that for my kids.

I want steroid, chemical free food for them...I want them to know that food comes from the land, not wrapped in plastic wrap on a shelf. I want them to appreciate what goes into the food they consume.....to know eggs aren't from a carton and milk isn't just in a red capped jug. Society is so detached from where it's food comes from...perhaps if more people raised their own livestock for meat, milk, eggs there would be less taken for granted and less wasted.

I want my kids to value things that matter....not superficial crap like the latest reality show or video game. Sure my kiddos watch TV and play the Wii or PS3 but their life doesn't revolve around those things and I allow them these things because they limit themselves....Even if I tried to entertain them with video games or TV, the most I could force on them is maybe an hour...after that they want to be outside playing, building things or doing crafts.... I LOVE that they seek out stimulating entertainment all on their own and aren't satisfied by mindless activities! Have I mentioned how proud I am of them??

So far we have dairy goats....Alpines and Miniature Alpines....they are a lot of fun and the kids really enjoy them. They've witnessed birth, cared for them, helped with chores and have learned to appreciate them.

Goats are very dog like...they bond to their humans, love attention, like to play and are highly intelligent. When I can I'll come back and post more about them with some pictures.... if I don't post it separate, this blog entry will turn into all goat talk.

Hopefully, this year we will be able to fence in our entire property and clear or everyone's junk that has been stored here for years.... I understand Noodle is remote, we don't have zoning laws and can do whatever we want....BUT, that is not an excuse for everyone to be inconsiderate and store their crap here indefinately!

You need long term storage??? Get a storage building!

The way I see it, we pay for this land, pay the taxes & have to deal with the clutter...So little by little I'm clearing it all out and whoever doesn't like it better come get the crap they've parked out here or kiss it goodbye! Hauled off furniture that's been stored here for 3 years and am slowly getting the rest of the crap out little by little. The progress I've made has me exited! I'm going to have so much storeage space and tons of extra grazing for the goats. If we can get it all done this year and fence in everything, then we will be adding free range chickens and a garden...

Wish I could get the chicks now, but with my idiot neighbor who breeds those wretched "chi-weenies", "puggles" & "malti-poos" and doesn't contain them, it limits what I can do on my land (ridiculous right?!). Her new blue heeler already tried to kill my baby goats and one of her stupid mutts got the kid's bunny and shredded his poor ears...Didn't think he'd make it, but we worked really hard on him and he's much better...

Side rant- I loathe the whole designer dog thing! THEY ARE MUTTS! Not a special breed just because you think your a genious to put a boy and girl dog together of different breeds and get puppies....You can get these same MUTTS from the shelter for a fraction of what some charge and you SAVE A LIFE IN THE PROCESS! But, fools like my neighbor think they are oh so clever by creating a "designer dog"......Worst one I heard is the "Shih-Poo".....Seriously? You bred an animal you are now going to give a name that sounds like FECES?! *Gag* Anywho, on top of thinking the whoe designer dog fad is nonsense, I have to deal with hoards of them coming over to harass my livestock, make messes in my property and bark constantly..

So yea...that goal of property make over and new fence is my to priority this year. Anywho, dear Emily, there is your recent blog post, courtesy of my insomnia. Now be a dear & quit harassing me about being a terrible blogger! lol As of today I will *try* to be a bit better about maintaining my blog, but I make no promises.

Hope everyone is having a great start to their New Year!

It's a SHOCKING kind of love!

As some of my past blog post may show, I have an odd sense of humor…. 

Thankfully I married a man who totally gets me and is touched with same warped goofiness as I am. 

We act a bit juvenile at times….constantly joking around with one another and the majority of our antics are the sort most folks just wouldn't “get”... 

Sarcasm is our language & it’s not uncommon for things like practical jokes, mock battles and water fights to spontaneously happen in this house….  In many ways, Jerimiah & I are complete opposites and I think the humor and the ability to goof off without reserve is what has held us together for almost 10 years.

These antics are the cause for my upcoming tale….

Typically, Jerimiah & I rarely have time together thanks to a job that has him traveling quite a bit these days…One rare weekend that he actually got to be home, we were sitting at the table after breakfast with my mom having some lighthearted debate (honestly cannot tell you what the discussion was even was about now). 

He chimed in with a random comment to which I replied: “Stooopid” in an exaggerated cartoony type voice. This of course was the start of one of our usual banters and my poor mother was already rolling her eyes at us….

For retaliation he playfully reached out to kick me in the shin…. However, his playful kick connected a lil better than he had planned and it hurt like the dickens! Of course, retaliation from me was in order and it was “on like Donkey Kong!”

We carried on like this for a while, harassing each other and at some point during all of this foolishness my mom decided to leave us to it…. In the end, I eventually scored the last bit in our game and went to go sort some laundry in the living room……

Of course I didn't let my guard down though…. I knew retaliation was coming in some form, despite the fake innocent look on Jerimiah’s face and false declarations of “truce”… . Perhaps retaliation would come in the form of a wedgie, or worse, maybe he’d tickle me to death….. I knew must remain ever vigilant, even while getting some necessary chores done…. I’m female after all and I rule the domain of multitasking!

It’s early in the day, kind of a lazy day with nothing very pressing, so I hadn't got around to putting my contacts in yet and I was basically blind. I see him enter the living room and he’s got that look. I KNOW he’s up to something and I’m NOT buying that sweet, innocent act. He acts perfectly normal, very nonchalant, and I return to my task….

I’m tense and ready for whatever trouble he’s got brewing in that mischievous mind of his….  I hear him approach quickly behind me, I spin and see the hand by his side start to rise and instinctively I reach out and grab it to thwart whatever he has planned…. I’m thinking there’s a mega wedgie in my future and I intend to turn the tables on him… The next thing I register is PAIN….

Pain! Hot, awful pain shoots through my palm and I hit the floor!! It burns and it feels like the very insides of my hand and arm are just buzzing with the intensity of the pain…. My brain is a bit fuzzy, trying frantically to catch up with the events around me….

Jerimiah is bent over me, very concerned, apologizing profusely and I’m sitting there thinking: “I am down, though last I recall I was up… .. I just peed my pants and I don’t know why”.

He’s actually getting on to me, scolding me, asking “Why did you do that?!?!”

Do WHAT I wonder….surely I didn't cause the burning in my hand and I dang sure did not intend to pee my pants….. I glance at my hand… it’s tingling now, the pain is starting to ease a bit and directly in the center of my palm are 2 glowing red dots side by side. Kind of like a miniature vampire bit me… A miniature vampire with hot fangs and the ability to make me relinquish control of my bladder …. There’s no blood or broken skin, only these dots and the first traces of bruising underneath the skin....

You’re wondering what on earth happened right?? Well I’ll break it down for you.

Hubby bought me a hand held taser, it’s not very big, and fits in your palm with the “on” button held upward for easy access for your thumb. It’s an ingenious lil device and though I've never been mugged, there is not a doubt in my mind that this sucker wouldn't stop someone dead in their tracks.

And before you go getting the wrong idea, NO my husband would never, ever willingly cause me pain of any sort. We kid around quite a bit, but never set out to hurt one another….that’s just warped. His intention was to sneak up behind me while I appeared to be so engrossed with the laundry, and pop the thing in the air, thus startling me with the loud, shocking noise. What he didn't factor into his plan is the fact that I was not engrossed in my task…I was on edge, waiting for his next move. Thanks to the lack of contacts, I couldn't see anything in his hand, just the hand….

So when I reached out, I grabbed his hand firmly –intending on taking full control of the situation- and in doing so, I pushed that button on the top of the taser. The current hits me, grabs me and holds on tight! My muscles seize, contract, forcing my hand to take an even tighter grip on the taser..... Poor hubby is trying very hard to get it away from me but I simply can’t let go. Literally, my hand was glued to that demon spawned, bladder emptying inferno…. After what feels like an insanely hot eternity (in all actuality, it was mere seconds), he finally wrestles the taser away from me and I hit the floor, hurt hand, wet pants and all.

He’s torn between worry, laughter and I think he’s a bit mad too. “Why on earth did you GRAB THE TASER CRYSTAL?” “What were you thinking?!” …”Are you okay?”…..”I am so sorry, let me see it”…

All the while I am slightly bewildered: “Why did you ELECTROCUTE me you jerk?!” “That’s not funny!” “The Taser is NOT a toy!” “And no I’m not okay, my hand hurts, my arm burns and I peed on myself!”

It took a bit for the SHOCK of it all to fade from my muddled brain and for me to realize what happened. You would think I would be angry, but once the pain ended, I found myself hysterically laughing at the entire situation. Of course I would be the only person to essentially tase myself!! Jerimiah spent half of the day apologizing at random and even offered for me to get a freebie on him as payback, which I declined. I must confess, some days I’m tempted to take him up on that offer, but somehow I think the offer to return the shock was kind of a one day, one shot kind of deal….

Not sure if there is any sort of moral or purpose to this story. Perhaps I could say: “Don’t be lazy and put your contacts in every day when you wake up” or “Tasers are not toys” ..or maybe even: “Be sure to empty your bladder before engaging in a battle of any sort” ….

Or I could go all sentimental on y’all and say: “Enjoy your loved ones, always be able to laugh at yourself and remember you’re never too old to play….though play involving tasers isn’t condoned nor is it recommended…take it from someone with 1st HAND experience!” 

Hardy har har....I know that was corny, but deal with it :)

Strange lights on the Noodle skyline...

Anyone know if there is anything special or significant about July 19th?

Before bothering y'all with such a question I did at least google it to try and find the answer myself. Only info I found is that it is the 200th day of the year (201st in leap years)& I also discovered that it is a Burmese National Holiday, though neither of these insights provided me with the information I was searching for.

I bet your wondering why I'm even asking right?? Well I was looking for some old holiday that is observed on this very day that requires the hanging and plugging in of your CHRISTMAS LIGHTS! As I stood out on my porch this evening, enjoying the first bit of bearable outdoor weather we've had all day, I hear a bit of a ruckus (the moving of a ladder to be exact) and then all of the sudden the house down the road from me is lit up like Christmas morning... Literally.

Since we don't have much light out here (we have a few street lights, but my neighbor got annoyed by a few and shot them out, so artificial light is minimal after dark) this sudden burst of light was a bit of a shocker. As far as I know the residents of this house aren't Burmese, and even if they were, what I read about the Burmese National Holiday (more accurately known as "Burmese Martyrs' Day") it isn't exactly the kind of holiday where you hang up your Christmas lights.

I thought it was quite odd to say the least, but I have yet to work up the courage to willingly interact with the residents there (though they have had no issue with forcing their presence upon me a time or two) so I think it would be a bit weird for me to knock on their door at 10 o'clock at night and ask if anyone residing there happens to be Burmese!!

Not to mention, what on earth would I do if they said: "Yes, I am in fact Burmese."?!?!? Since this holiday is a day when high ranking officials of that country visit the Martyrs' Mausoleum to pay respect to long ago assassinated independence leaders, I could hardly offer a Hallmark card or a gift basket...It just doesn't seem like that sort of Holiday, but in my defense, it also doesn't seem like the "Hang your Christmas lights and shine them brightly in the middle of July" type of holiday either....

I'll just have to leave this as one of those Noodleville Mysteries best left unsolved I suppose.

On a completely unrelated note: My bunnies are here from Louisiana and have finally settled in!! They are Castor Standard Rexs and I'm quite pleased with them as they are the beginning of my "rabbitry" and yes, to you non-rabbit folks, that is a real word. (Oh and, "rabbit folks" exist too..I found a whole slew of them online, so I'm not the only one who has this "crazy hobby" haha) It's my newest hobby and I am well aware that 95% of the people who know me think it's extremely bazaar, crazy or downright stupid and to those of you who think that, even though I may love you (or at the very least tolerate you) I just don't care what you think so keep your negative opinions to yourself if you don't mind. Be forewarned, at this point in my life I have finally grown a big enough "pair" that I am quite content with telling you where to shove your negativity, and since my methods of doing so are "socially unacceptable" I find it's best for all parties involved if the negative opinions and discouraging remarks be kept silent.

Anywho, here's a couple of pictures:




Cute eh? I surely think so :-)

Goodnight y'all!

Love & Hugs
C.W

Clown for a night..

Oy.....my last day off. :-(

Quite sad actually that now I must start preparing myself for two back to back doubles and all the drama that sometimes goes along with waitressing. I chant to myself: "I will survive, I will smile and I will resist the urge to slap some of my fellows co-workers and those annoying guest that are an inevitable part of my work life". Some days I must chant more than others, but since I haven't been at work this week, I only need to repeat this to myself twice...Tomorrow, after my 1st double I may need a self help tape and hours worth of chanting, but today I'm alright. :-)

Part of preparing is the usual: gathering up work uniforms, getting laundry done, getting the kids set up with clean clothes & easy snacks, thawing out Socrates's food and freezing the water bottles for my rabbits.

Also part of my ritual is super gluing the bottom of my shoes back on. The floors at work are like a damn ice skating rink and non-slip shoes are a must, so much so that if your not wearing them, you get sent home. The back area of the restaurant where the dish pit is located is like a horrible swamp of unknown liquid that is quite hard on your shoes, hence the gluing. These shoes are my 3rd pair in 2 years. Kind of ugly, solid croc style that can thankfully be disguised by bootcut jeans. The non-slip bottoms are coming off though and since the rest of the shoe still functions and looks presentable, I'm being frugal and going to squeeze as much time out of them as possible. :-)

The front part on the right shoe is coming loose so it has a 3 inch flap and there's a lil' loose part on the back. That 3 inch flap was the cause of me getting caught on a rug and loosing an entire tray of drinks last week BTW...quite messy, sticky & embarrassing if you must know.

Anywho....Break out the super glue, squeeze on and squish the pieces together and wipe away the excess. Decided to get a good stick so I put the shoe on for extra weight/pressure.

So, I'm standing there, one shoe on, chatting with my mom...our chat comes to an end and I start to walk around her.

Take off with my left foot, my right foot goes to follow and the next thing I know I'm eating the couch!! My mom is in hysterics, wheezing, snorting (now I know where I got THAT from!) and making NO move to help me. I'm trying to set myself to rights and having a hard time of it since my foot is still stuck in the shoe and I'm flat out across the living room with only my shoulders/head on the couch...getting vertical again was awkward to say the least...

Apparently I didn't wipe enough of the extra super glue away and I glued myself to the floor! Haven't been so happy about jerking the carpet out of the living room as I was today. Managed to pry my foot/shoe free (all without my mother's help BTW since she was too busy trying not to pee her pants) and got to the task of getting the super glue off the floor and off my fingers.

But, the good news is my shoe is solid and flap free once again, I didn't break anything (thanks to my couch) and my mother is still being insanely immature and giggling every time she looks at me, so I'm happy to have provided her with entertainment for the evening. According to her, when she looks at me she gets the image of the punch balloons.....ya know those clown type ones that have a weighted base and you can punch them, they fall straight down and then come straight up again?? Yea, when my mother gazes upon her only daughter, she's sees a punchable clown, cute eh? She's so loving...there have been times in my life when my gene pool worries me and I wonder if I could have possibly been adopted. Tonight just so happens to be one of those nights...


Wish me luck for tomorrow folks, dunno if my shoe incident is a sign of how my weekend if going to be, but I really hope not.

Love & Hugs

-C.W-