Tying lose ends

I don't care if you're a working mom or stay at home mom. I have no opinion on your stay-at-home/working/whateveryoudo status. I do however have a problem with advertising your precious infant, who hasn't even been in the world as long as your body took to make him or her, on craigslist. And my questions to the people who have "no one" in their life, but have to work [btw I think this is highly unlikely here in overly populated California] Do you have neighbors, co-workers, aquaintances, a church, a working moms group? Surely there is SOMEONE on this planet that can help them or give a decent referral. What do you want to bet that most of those people on there AREN'T in that predicament? We won't argue that point tho, since we'll never know. What really pisses me off is people that twist my words to make their point. I NEVER ONCE condemned single moms, working moms, ugly moms, or anything else you want to accuse me of. Very disappointing that more people don't advocate on the side of the children. Sad. I could write a novel, but I wont. Those who are truly my friends know my heart is in the right place and know I deeply care for all my friends and family, whether they be working moms or single moms or whatever. I get disgusted listening to moms who have the option to stay at home choose not to bc their "kids drive them crazy". THAT IS SAD! Being a parent is NOT about your sanity, it's about their well-being BTW. And if you can't stay at home THATS OK, WERE STILL FRIENDS. But the fact of the matter is MOST kids do get the short end of the straw. Parents who will put them with anyone, feed them til they are obese, material things mean more than anything else, spend every single night wasted and sleeping around. It's rampant in our culture!! AND ITS WRONG!! Your babies are a gift and YOU are responsible for their well being all around. I'm so sick of being pegged as not compassionate, a hater, a bigot and a judge. I would bend over backwards for the people I love and care for and maybe even some that I dont know well. You people have a seriously rude awakening coming when you sit before the throne and have to answer to your Creator.

I'm sad I feel like I've lost friends over this. Kinda pathetic, but you know what - You can be as different me in so many other areas. You can be atheist, democrat, black, purple or brown and we can be friends. You don't think kids should be NUMERO UNO - THEN PEACE OUT, I have ZERO respect for you.

Laughter

That's what this night has been full of. It's been quite the gigglefest looking at my sister and morgan's pictures and videos. Serious Hilar. I'm looking to debut my own music video with them soon. Stay tuned.

The baby shower went off without a hitch! So glad we could do that for our lovely friend, Andrea! Ashley's fattening fruit dip was to die for! The company was great and the weather was so awesome. Yay!

I FINALLY ran today. It felt phenom. It wiped me out, but it was great. I opened up "SHAPE" magazine today and they had an article called "the best rut-busting workouts" haha. had my name allllll over it! We also walked up to the park with the kids so Holley and I walked along the trail. I have a good 25 lbs I want to lose. Ugh. It's gonna be a long journey, but I've done it before, I can do it again.

Who is excited for Labor Day Weekend? MEEE!! BBQ's, friends, relaxing, running, games - I'm pretty much stoked!

Blessings & ruts

The blessings of the Lord come in many different forms and the Lord has been blessing us with some awesome new friends. Not to discredit the friends we already have because they are a blessing, too.

In the process of throwing Andrea's baby shower, I'm getting to know Ashley and we've had a blast together and now we're getting to know her husband, Aaron, who is a crack up. We've been hanging out and getting to know Linda's son, Jonathan. I've reconnected with Erika and she's been a real encouragement. And we've been meeting new people right and left, all of which are godly and genuinely sweet folks. I love the word 'folks' ha. It's just been great to see God opening doors on new friendships. Sometimes when you have 3 kids and are trying to build a business, you get a little detached from the social world.

Everything fell through on the one house we had an offer in on, but we are actually grateful for that door to be closed and we are just going to keep praying and pursuing another path. I know God has the perfect house for us so I'm not worried about. It's great how you discover and pursue something you wannt and then God closes the door and then reveals an even more awesomer (it's a word today) plan. In the meantime we'll just keep saving.

I am really looking forward to Andrea's baby shower this weekend. This is the first shower I have ever thrown. We've never really been a place financially to be able to do something like that. I've really enjoyed it and am looking forward to doing more of them in the future!

Lately I have been in a rut. This is my version of confession right now: Getting out of bed in the morning has been a chore. The other day I ate half a pan of brownies while watching Grey's Anatomy re-runs and when Josh worked last week I had a whole small thing of Ben & Jerry's in bed. An I had coke, from a bottle, for dinner last night. It didn't even taste good! SO. NOT. ME. I just cant seem to get out this slump. I haven't worked out, really done my hair or put on my face in like 3 weeks. I put on makeup yesterday and it was like my face rejected it. I need a pick me up, like get my hair did or get a facial or some sort of beautfying ritual to restore my faith of having the ability to start making myself look like a normal human being each morning. Today I will develop a game plan and tomorrow I will put it into action bc momma frumpasaurus is just NOT acceptable. My poor husband. I'll get back to my old self, honey, dont worry. xoxo

Well, I think we're preety much as updated as we're going to get here. I gotta go do something with myself, we have a playdate and I dont want to scare the children. Seriously.

So much to spill!

Just little things, I guess. Church on Sunday was so awesome. It was all about tithing. It was so touching. Probably not the first word you would think I would use to describe a sermon on money, but it was.

So the house hunt has done a lot of evolving. First we were in Lake Elsinore and we were so-so on that idea and then we decided to go with a different lender who was less conservative which allowed us to look into homes in Corona and then we weren't really being picky at all. Then we decided that we definitely only want a one-story. And now were cracking down on the lay-out and now we'dlike to move a little more down the 15. We're looking at Eastvale/Mira Loma. And we found an awesome house in Mira Loma for 230. Ranch Style, huge piece of land, but come to find out it's cash only. Probably dont have 230k laying around. I think there's a reason God hasn't really opened any doors in the house hunt. We're just going to keep saving and chugging along and be praying specifically for a path to be cleared.

Pristine Solutions - Our window washing company - is doing awesome! God has definitely opened more and more doors there and we just landed a HUGE commercial account! We love referrals! If you know ANYONE that could use our services, PLEASE give them our name and number. Josh with Pristine Solutions @ 951.847.6601

Im also doing Creative Memories again. More so I can get my stuff at cost, but you can order if you like from my website.

I think I'll blog more later. My brain is kapoot right now...

When the husbands away, the wife will play...or blog.

Has anyone noticed that my husband looks like James Van Der Beek? Anyone? Anyone at all? No? Well, I think so. He's actually on a job right now at 10 o'clock at night. Isn't he amazing? He amazes me. He wakes up plays with the kiddos while I try and peel my eyelids and get ready to greet 3 very vivacious little ones. Then he heads off to a job he has serious disdain for to provide for us. Tonight when he got home he juggled playing with the kids as well as helping me get everything ready for family to come over. And he does it all with such a cheerful disposition. He has such a servant's heart and it makes me melt. That's hotter than any physical feature EVER.

It blows my hair back how much we compliment each other. I push him to push himself . I encourage him. I show him a more broad or a deeper perspective on things. I help him think outside the box. He reminds me to have a gentle, quiet spirit and not worry. He helps me see past immediate hurdles to our bright future we are building. He is objective. He is my safe place and my best friend.

I love when we bicker. Bickering will save your marriage. I would LOVE to do a study on marriages that appeared to be well on their way to going the distance, but end after 25-30 years. I'm no expert, but almost every marriage that I've personally seen go down in a raging ball of flames after that amount of time, the person who was 'left' is EXTREMELY passive-aggressive. This is just an observation, I would love to hear if anyone else has seen this. Anyhow, our bickering keeps us in check. Keeps us on guard and attentive of each other's needs. It's worked for us. LOL

Are you enjoying my yapping about my husband and my observations? GREAT, I'll continue!

I just felt like writing about him cuz I miss him as he is making the fine establishment of chick-fil-a look beautiful! Being married to Josh makes it hard to watch other people in their relationships. Josh is a fine catch and there REALLY are other great guys out there and I hate seeing my girlfriends waste time on boneheads. I was just about to elaborate on some boneheaded stories, but my hottie of a husband just got home. Enjoy my random, semi-pointless-to-most-of-you blog!

ps. the neighbor across the way is singing, I think my ears are bleeding.

Stuffitis

Stuff-Itis: A common condition found in many individuals that causes strain in relationships and can ravage your financial state. Symptoms include but are not limited to out of control spending, putting "things" before people, living beyond your means, neglecting your actual financial obligations, etc. The cure for Stuff-Itis is practicing the word 'no' and discipline. For more information see 'Keeping up with the Joneses' and 'Spoiled Brat Syndrome'

I am happy to report at the ripe age of 25 I am a Stuff-Itis survivor, going on a few years now. **Hold your applause** Being on the other side of things now, it's hard to comprehend how I ever came down with it in the first place, but I definitely did and I can spot it in other's from a mile away. You may be thinking to yourself "Well, actually, I don't even know that many people with that great of 'stuff'" haha...that's the funny, yet sad part. Sometimes the 'stuff' is just the lack of being responsible enough to plan ahead and pack your lunch. Packing a lunch, I would venture to say, would save the average American a few hundred dollars a month he (or she) could be throwing at their debt or their savings or their kids college fund. 'Stuff' doesn't necessarily mean owning a Rolls Royce. Sometimes is does though, sometimes it is a hefty car payment or an outrageous toy that no matter how you spin it, there's no logical way to justify some people's purchases (I'm talking about the ones typically financed with an interest rate that would make grandma passout), except "I work hard, wah wah, I want it".

Stuff-Itis is a MAJOR, if not the ONLY, player in the reason our economy is taking as big of a dump as it is. Everyone wants to pass the buck, but it ALWAYS come down to the individual. The 'banks' did not do this. A bank is merely a building where people put money in vaults (loose definition, rest assured I'm not an idiot) Were there some corrupt individuals who swindled some folks? Absolutely. But you show me one swindled person and I'm sure I could find hundreds of people suffering from Stuff-Itis trying out-do the idiot in the next cubicle trying to get some bogus loan with his bogus salary. STUPID.

With each generation, its becoming more of an epidemic. COME ON MY 20-SOMETHING AND 30-SOMETHING YEAR OLD FRIENDS!! Let's turn this around!! Let's go back to the ways of our grandparents and great-grandparents. Let's take our work ethic up more than a few notches!! Let's pay cash and reduce our debt. Let's not make the mistakes of our parents and live on b0rrowed money or be a slave to our thousands and thousands of student loans. The cliche "if there's a will, there's a way" has more truth than I could ever describe and when you have the will and you find the way you will be 10- times the person you were before. Let's purge ourselves of all these worldly treasures and so-called status symbols when were actually drowning in debt and dont have a dime to our names. As Dave Ramsey says "Let's Live like no one else so later we can Live Like no one else."

Great resources to learning more about Stuff-Itis and starting to pave the way for our generation to pull a 180. check out Dave Ramsey's site that is loaded with advice and even more reliable resources and support.

Cheers to you for taking the first step in finding a cure for yourself and making it a better place for OUR kids and grandkids!

So full of joy

So many things running through my head today! Prepare yourself for the randomness that is to follow.

I started reading "Bringing Up Girls" by Dr. James Dobson. I'm looking forward to really diving in it and getting encouragement and guidance. Raising kids in todays society where there is immorality everywhere you turn is a daunting task. We, as parents, are going to be held accountable to how we raised our kids and what we allowed them to be exposed to. Being a parent is a huge responsibility. I lay at night often and go through what we did that day, how I responded in certain situations. Did I have enough patience? Did I discipline them appropriately and in love? Am I protecting them enough? Being a parent is rough. Raising them according to God's word is quite the calling. I definitely need to be in prayer and seeking God more in this area of my life, because I just flat out don't always know the right, or more appropriately, the godly parental actions to take. Anyhow that's been rolling around in my noodle, as it does often.

Few "why" & "how-is-it-that" questions on my mind:

- How is it that everytime I purchase an area rug it must smell wretched? The newest one smells like B.O. and no amount of fabreze will do. Boo hiss.

- How is it that some of the most "educated" people (that brag about being "educated") have the most atrocious spelling? Kinda makes me LOL...ceep on bragen, sweats!

- Why do people, who dont have nice things to say about others, still try and befriend them? This one really baffles me, if you dont like them then go make new friends. Difficult? I think not.

- Why must people complicate Christianity? There is a God. He sent his Son in human form who died for your sins to offer you the gift of Salvation. You MUST accept this gift, not JUST believe it and you must seek him and strive to live by his word.

- Why do people withold forgiveness? Not smart. It will only eat away at you.

Ok that is all, I'm looking forward to answers for any of those, fill free to chime in.

ALSO, I see there are many readers/perusers/stalkers/fans - please become a follower. Not only will it allow me to seem very popular and cool, I can check you out, as well. Win-Win.

Thanks for all the feedback on my last blog. I was really bracing myself for a whiplash from Cali-Lifers, but EVERY single comment I received here and on FB echoed similar thoughts. We should start a movement. A literal movement. Move where the buffalo roam and let
California go down with the twisted liberals and those they support taking advantage of ALL the systems in this great state.

If you haven't read my "note" on fb yet about letting Wal-Mart execs take over, you should. A great point was made.

Quick weekend recap for those that love hearing about my whirlwind weekends. Friday, I had a great night shopping and chatting with mommaKat. She has some awesome stories. She has a dresser that used to be owned by one of the Beach Boys. Stories like that. And I so value her wisdom and encouragement.

Saturday we hung out then hit the Crusade after Chevy's! The kids LOVED it. We went with my Dad, Yi and her family. The music and message were touching. Watching people give their lives to Christ is a feeling that's unexplainable. I really thought Madison & Haylie would have checked out by this time, but they couldn't take their eyes off all the people flooding the field. I explained that all those people were asking Jesus to come into their hearts and they were giving their lives to him. Madison had a small grasp on this concept and she looked back at the crowds and said "it's beautiful." Yes, baby girl, it is beautiful. My life is SO rich.

Sunday we went to Xander's Pirate birthday. My girlfriend Andrea had it decorated so cute! Xander and his Dad even made the pinata themselves. It was a pirate ship and the kids had to launch softballs, aka cannonballs, to get it down. He was so cute opening his gifts and so grateful for everything. I love that family and we are blessed to have them as friends! Later we watched night 3 of the crusade and it was just pure awesomeness. You can still watch the crusades online. You can also give to support the crusades. They announced that this year has been tight and the funds are lacking. Can't think of anything better to give to.

My blog title is as random as this blog. Hope you enjoyed!

The end of a love affair

Beaches, mountains, deserts, diversity, energy, raging technology, beautiful people; what doesn't California have to offer? I have never had slightest inkling of not wanting to live here, raise a family here and really deepen my roots. I thought it was pretty cool that a good majority of people are envious of those that get to live in this paradise.

How the tables have turned.

I would KILL for an opportunity to move away from this way of life that has sucked me dry. I have NO desire to raise my kids here or continue building my life here. The school system is completely out of whack. I'd love to homeschool my kids and here every narrowminded, ignorant person on the planet crawls up my rear about ME doing what I believe is best for MY kids. Get off my back, sheep. There's a sexual offender around ever corner. Don't believe me? Just check this out. The morale of society as a whole is going out the window. Gay marriage? Wake up, Californians!! People rarely are taking time for the important things, everyone here is on the go or not on the go, actually. They're spending 2-4 hours in traffic every day. Not cool. I'm just over it.

I wanna live in the country with sprawling plains and have a porch with rocking chairs in the front of my huge Ranch house, which probably have cost half of what a shack will cost us here. My kitchen will be giant with open shelving with a modern country feel. When you walk into my home it will smell amazing, be so inviting and you'll never want to leave. I won't have to worry about my kids getting snatched from my front yard. I definitely hope I would develop an accent. My husband's every day attire would be snug fitting Wranglers and boots. He'll drive a big truck that always has mud on the tires.

I would give up everything here for me and my family to go live like this. This is my new paradise. I am honestly going to be praying that God can provide an opportunity for us to move. It's kind of odd actually. Those words could have never left my fingers 2 years ago, the thought af moving away from my hometown scared me to death! And now it would be the most thrilling adventure ever.

Matthew 7:7
Ask and it be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open unto you.

OH! I'm sorry! Ya'll musta mistook me for a cheesecake!!

You know, where you take a slice here and take a slice there. You take the slices of me that fit into your box. Ya, no, sorry. I'm the whole enchilada and I only need/want people in my life that want all of me. Not just my kids or my great ideas or my encouraging nature. No more "make pies for this, but dont make them in my kitchen" or "hey whats the best way to do this?" and then I never hear from you again or "I'll have a relationship with you the way I want it". Negative, good buddy. That's not even Biblical. I know I may seem a little rough around the edges, but the rough parts of me are built for protection. Protection of my family, protection of my beliefs, protection of everyone and everything I love. Within my inner most inners is the softest heart. I will ALWAYS have the backs of those I love and stand up for what's right and be there in a jif if you need someone or bring you a pie or put on a pot of coffee and talk for hours or not get upset when you text at 1 am to tell me about your date. Nope, I just love and my heart is an open door. Unfortunately, in the last few years I have had some tough learning experiences and have learned that your heart can't always be a revolving doorway for people to waltz in and out as they choose. If you look deeply at many people you hold dear sometimes the qualities that can drive you crazy, when looked at in a different light are also the same qualities that make a person loveable, dependable, trustworthy, protective and so on. I have felt like a punching bag for quite a few and have done much praying and soul searching to make sure my heart and attitude are right and if they weren't, I never let my pride keep me from apologizing. I've asked for God to show me what areas of my life I need to mature and be working on. I have never been a saint, by ANY stretch of the imagination. I have made adjustments that others have requested of me and have yet to be afforded that same respect.

I am so thankful to have such a supportive, objective husband who can give it to me straight. If I need to be put in check, he gently does it, but if he sees an injustice he firmly encourages me, gives me advice and gives me a place to fall back on.

Some of the most amazing people in my life are those that we agree to disagree and our frienship transcends our differences. I can totally agree to disagree. What I'm not putting up with is a lack of respect from others, those that put me or others down or are constantly negative, those that look down their noses at others. We are equal in God's eyes and he loves us all and his grace abounds and you haven't walked a mile in their shoes. You can love someone and show a person compassion and not agree with their lifestyle or their choices.

I know this blog is kind of all over the place, but I have had a lot of these thoughts jumbled in my head for some time. If it doesn't make sense to you, that's ok, it makes sense to me and I think it's a piece of art!

I'm in Heaven

I am blogging from my new laptop from my bed on top of my new memory foam mattress topper. I couldn't figure out why my back has been bothering me so much lately. My lower back has been aching like no other. When I laid down last night I realized how unbelievablyun comfortable the bed we inherited is. And night after night has really done a number on my back. First thing this morning I headed to Sam's and bought the memory foam and voila: instant comfort.

Then shortly after we got home, Mr FedEx came with my laptop! LOVE IT!! My computer is such a dinosaur so this is AWESOME!!

ALSO! On the home front: Our offer on 2 homes are being submitted to the bank. One of which is the one we've really been holding out for! I'm excited to see what the future holds!

Today has been a great day! I'm so content in my life these last few years and I have been overwhelmingly blessed by God. Read a great passage in my one year Bible the other night it spoke to so many areas of my life and I would totally tell you the passage if I could locate my One Year Bible right now.

One more random thought: I logged onto MSN and one of the headlines was that the Duggars would have a baby #20 if it were the case. I know a lot of people harp on them, but honestly they already have 19. What's one more? Maybe we should stop giving them so much attention. I honestly don't have an opinion on the matter persay, but it is definitely not my cup of tea. She has spent almost 15 years of her life being pregnant. NO THANK YOU!

Ok, I'll leave you with that! Ciao!