6 Years Today

Today is our Anniversary! I can't believe that we've been married for 6 years already! It seems like yesterday that we just took off from Corky Bell's to go to a movie on our first date, but that was over 9 years ago! Whew!

Traditionally, the gift for this year's anniversary is "iron" or "candy". Well, with my Weight Watchers Journey underway, candy would have been a mean gift, but I did get a pretty cherub charm and necklace. When Rusty and I first started dating, we were planning a trip with our Humanities class to Europe. In the class, we were studying the Renaissance Period of Art. A cherub (or Putti) is one of the things that we were studying, and it just became a joke of sorts between us. I always called them cherubs, but this class made me redefine them to putti! It is a funny word, you must admit! Every time Rusty or I see a "putti" we smile.

I got Rusty a new grill. The last one that I got him (almost 7 years ago) bit the dust right before Christmas. I will be putting the new one together sometime this week. I know, I know. It sounds a little weird for ME to be putting it together, but it's become somewhat of a tradition. I put the last one together, and it lasted for a long time!

As much as I cannot believe that we've been together for 9 years, I can't wait to see where God will be taking us in the years to come!

New Blog Layout

I am sure that you have all noticed that the blog layout has changed. Drastically!

It all started with my cousin, Amy, getting a new signature for her blog that I stole from her to put on my blog (thanks, babe)! When I tried to put it on my "green" blog, it screwed up and wasn't clear enough to really see, so I gave up. Then, I started exploring other blogs out there, and I came across this blog that gave away free layouts. I hope you all like it.

The Fail Blog

Joey introduced me to this blog quite some time ago. It's where random people see "fails" and send them all in. It's pretty entertaining sometimes. Basically, a "fail" is when something doesn't work right, or sound right, or look right. I have put a link to the blog on the side bar, but here it is again, for those lazy bones out there.

Fail Blog

For Example:

I'm gonna try to find some good ones from time to time, so stay tuned!

6 Word Stories

My fellow blogger, Marsha , published her "six word story" the other day. Her story read, "exercised hard, collapsed into a heap". Brilliant! How many times have I sat here on the couch wondering how I should word an entry into the blog. I told Marsha that I was gonna use the "6 word story" from time to time, and she referred me to this website. Apparently, it's a pretty popular thing to do.

I have thought about what my 6 Word Story would be, but I've not been able to come up with anything that I think is "good enough". Why is it that now I'm sitting here, on the couch, trying to come up with just 6 words rather than what to write in the blog!? I looked over at Rusty and asked him what his would be, and without hesitation, he came up with "I am saved! Thank you, Jesus!"

I thought long and hard about this one...
My "6 word story" is: "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Does it end?"

Here are a few examples from the website:

Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.- William Shatner
Lie detector eyeglasses perfected: Civilization collapses.- Richard Powers
Epitaph: He shouldn't have fed it.- Brian Herbert
Dinosaurs return. Want their oil back.- David Brin
Deadline postponed. Five words enough...?- David Brin
Will this do (lazy writer asked)?- Ken MacLeod
wake,connect,learn,share,propogate,bluescreen-George Williams
"I blog daily. Only God reads."-anonymous
Clones demand rights: second Emancipation Proclamation.- Paul Di Filippo
Hope to die with mind intact-Marsha Cruce
Had my cake and ate it.-G.Gordon
Daydreamed daily of spending lottery winnings.-Kate Tomchik
MAD, LIFE, PLAYBOY, TIME, AARP, BIBLE- Keith
I am great but not modest.-Anne Simonoff
I am more than six words-J Tony
Burned-down house. Can see the moon.-ML Spinrad
Insomniacs make the best midnight snacks.-Queen Mab
Shook Family Tree; nuts fell out.-Chris Baker
Like Charlie Brown, not as popular.-Paul J
Down for maintenance. Be back soon.-Greylond
Had two brothers, now just one.-Joel Best
I am ten, and have an additude-Tillie Seger
Still lost on road less traveled-Joe Quesada
Brought it to a boil, often-Mario Batali
Thought I would have more impact- Kevin Clark
Can't we all just be friends?-Brenda Macgibbon
Wasn’t born a redhead; fixed that-Andie Grace
On the seventh word, he rested-Stephen J.Dibner
Dog buried underwear, buried dog today.-Carolyn Collier
I managed not to destroy anything-Tucker Frazier
Ug fix, Ug fix, Ug smash-Matt Hopcraft
Well, I thought it was funny-Stephen Colbert
The party is at Mimi's house.-Marsha Cruce
There's always room for human error.-Matt Hopcraft
Socially irreverent. Morally bankrupt. Rock on!-Stephen Thomas

What's your 6 Word Story?

Jungle Mojo

Joey brought Mojo over to play with Riley today. This was the first time that Mojo has ever come over to our house. It's kind of hard to believe it, but before we cleared out the backyard, it was just better for us to go over to Joey's house to let the dogs play. Mojo and Riley had a great time playing together when they weren't fighting over sticks, toys, or attention.

Rachel made a swing out of the ropes hanging from the trees. We had a good time hitting the dogs with the kids. Mojo and Riley were very curios to see the kids flying through the air, so as they approached the kids on the swing, they got hit by the kids! It made for some pretty good laughs!

We will definitely have to have Mojo come over more in the future. I think he would agree. It's not every day that Mojo can run through the jungle with his choice of stick!

I Da Boss!

Riley has an unlimited supply of energy as do most puppies, but when you have a bouncy puppy and a three year old that are at the same height, you kind of have to establish who the boss is between the two. At any given moment, Riley will run by Sam and either kiss him or bounce at him, and it inevitably happens right in Sam's face!

When they are having problems with Riley, I say, "Who's the Boss?" I certainly don't want the kids to be scared of Riley. He's gonna be a pretty big dog, so I need them to know that they are the boss of Riley so he doesn't run them over.

We were out in the yard, and Riley was up to his usual antics of bouncing and playing with the kids, but Sam got tired of it pretty quickly. He looked at Riley and said, "No Wiley! I DA BOSS!"

Funny thing is, Riley listened!

Now I Understand!!!

A friend of mine sent this out today. It has really helped me to understand "science" a little better!

A new element has been discovered: Scientists at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories have discovered the heaviest element yet known to science... The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take from four days to four years to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2- 6 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.

When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

No sensible purpose for this new element has been found.

Fly By Real Estate

There are many ways to shop for a house, but this one goes down in the books for me!

Joey has finally decided to buy a house here in Tallahassee! He has looked around and found several in a newly developed neighborhood that he liked.

Yesterday afternoon, Joey and I went flying all over Tallahassee looking for this new neighborhood that he has had his eye on recently.

I'm always up for an airplane trip, even if it is just over Tallahassee for 30 minutes! He was concerned with me being nervous about all of the "bumps" in the air because of the heat. I smiled! Flying with Joey is so much fun! It's like a roller coaster on steroids (in a good way)! But flying with Joey to go house hunting is one thing that I never expected that I would do in my lifetime! He wants any one of these three houses, and I'm so happy that he's ready to buy a house. It's gonna be great for him...and me, if he decides to go look at them in the future (hint, hint).

Urban Diaries

This past Christmas, I announced that the Christmas presents from the Corleys would not be extravagant in hopes that no one got us anything really extravagant. We took an unexpected trip to Smith Mountain Lake and Tennessee for Christmas, so most of our extra spending money went to our trip.

We always have our own Tallahassee Christmas celebration with Beth and Joey once we all get back from our various destinations. This year, we got Joey a 4-pack of RedBull and an Urban Dictionary.

I guess the best way to describe the "Urban Dictionary" is to say that its contents include definitions of every possible slang word out there (including the ones that are rated NC-17).

Recently, I responded to someone on Facebook with a "snerk". No one seemed to know what I was talking about, so I included the link to the Urban Dictionary's entry: Snerk basically means to laugh under your breath, but you can look at the definition for yourselves on the website.

A few more favorites from the Urban Dictionary, compliments of Joey and Patti are as follows:

Joey

• snapwaddling wardlemonger - a person who sells penguins illegally off of the North Atlantic coast of Indonesia
• micrognomoperianaltrichotillomania - I'm not even gonna give you the link to this one. It's disgusting. If you are extremely curious, you can do the work! (This would be classified as TV-14 just so you know)

Patti

• snarble - To talk at someone about inane or boring subjects in the most drawn out or involved manner possible, typically situating oneself in a manner that prohibits escape from the victim

I could have probably gotten more favorites from other people, but I think you all get the idea. Now, if I could only get rid of my Snarcarfullated symptoms, I'd be great!

Cookies, Fear Me!

I've always struggled with my weight! That's no secret! This May will be 2 years that I have been paying better attention to eating habits, exercising, and bettering myself. I started attending Weight Watchers meetings in May of 2007. By the time March, 2008 rolled around, I had lost 75 pounds! I had gone from an enormous size 26 to a size 14/16. Then, I got pregnant!

Now that Emmy has been born, I no longer have any excuses. I started back to Weight Watchers in mid-December, but have yet to really lose any weight. I'm procrastinating! No, I've not gained anything, but the whole point to Weight Watchers is to lose weight and then to maintain a healthy weight. I've maintained, but I've not maintained a healthy weight!

I gained 35 pounds with this last pregnancy, so, I'm still down from where I was, but nowhere near what I'd like to be.

With that, I'm letting everyone know that I have started back FULL FORCE this week with the Weight Watchers program. I know that doing the program correctly will help me to lose the weight, but telling people about it (such as yourselves) will hold me much more accountable. I've even decided to let you all know my progress from time to time.

I've got 90 pounds to lose! One of the local radio stations has one of its DJs that is also losing weight this year. His motto is, "90 in 09", so that's what I'm gonna try to shoot for!

I wanted to attach an inspirational video. Consider this video the christening of my journey!

OHMN, OHMN, OHMN, OHMN, OHMN, OHMN!!!

Emmy - 3 Months Old

Miss Emily has gone and turned 3 Months old on us! I am having such a wonderful experience with her. I get to spend so much time with her these days! I can't wait for the day that I can talk with her. As it is now, she is trying her best to communicate! She coos and grunts on a regular basis, and she is smiling ALL of the time! She is absolutely adorable, and her brothers and sister are really doing well with her! They are used to her being around now, but the love is only growing! Rachel still wants to hold her and care for her at every possible opportunity, and Sam wants to kiss her constantly! Her red headed attitude is starting already!

3 Months

2 Months 6 Weeks1 Month Birth

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Mental Block

For some reason, I cannot wrap my mind around two simple words.

Rachel has homework nearly every night, so naturally, that means that I have homework nearly every night! I am usually very good at math. I get it! Rusty has always said that there are two types of people: Math people and English people. I beg to differ, but arguing with him on this has no end! I understand math very well, and I would like to think that I have pretty good grammar.

I can remember struggling with these same two words when I was younger. The two words actually come in a "set" of three, but the third word is easily understood. Maybe by writing a blog entry about these two will help me to finally grasp the concept.

mode - /moʊd/ Spelled Pronunciation [mohd]
the value of the variate at which a relative or absolute maximum occurs in the frequency distribution of the variate.

mean - /min/ Spelled Pronunciation [meen]
a. a quantity having a value intermediate between the values of other quantities; an average, esp. the arithmetic mean.
b. either the second or third term in a proportion of four terms.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??
I have to try to explain this to a third grader that is not good at math? I don't even understand it myself! It's almost like it's a bad joke or something that these teachers send home. I wonder if some of my former teachers are after me. I've often wondered if any of the stuff that they made us learn in school would actually be used in the real world! I find myself still wondering that today with these two words.

The best explanation (that one could tell a 9 year old) that I have been able to come up with is that the mode of a set of data is the number that appears most often. For example: There are 6 children. Their ages are 15, 9, 7, 7, 3, and 1. What is the "mode"? The answer should be 7 because there are two 7 year olds, but really! Who cares?

The mean is basically an average. Ok. I understand that, but try to explain the word "average" to a 9 year old! Let's refer to our trusty dictionary here!

av⋅er⋅age /ˈævərɪdʒ, ˈævrɪdʒ/ Spelled Pronunciation [av-er-ij, av-rij]
a quantity, rating, or the like that represents or approximates an arithmetic mean

Oh! Well, that just makes it easier now, doesn't it?!

Sheesh!

"Extremely" Bad News

George Kadzis passed away early this morning. His family was the recipient of the Extreme Home Makeover that finished up this past weekend. I did not know this family personally, but I know what they are going through from experiencing my own Dad's passing away from brain cancer. My thoughts and prayers go out to their family.

Click on the link below for the full story.
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