so very tired...

We've just had a big day today and I'm worn down.

Currently I'm trying to reach the great reps at Turbo Tax to try and get back into my taxes.  I guess I accidently 'paid' for my return (which is dumb cause it's free) and once you 'pay' you can't change anything even though I haven't sent it in!  grrr.  

Taxes have been a major annoyance in my life this year.  Not that they are ever easy, but this year it's especially complicated, first of all because Rob has been self-employed for the entire year so blah, and then cause I started ATP this year.  And we totally did the self-employment thing right with me this year, but with Rob, I didn't take any of the deductions we are allowed (mileage and extra expenses, etc)....   So we were getting whipped by self-employment tax and due to receive a very tiny return.  My friend (and tax guru) Mirna, highly recommended that I look into our mileage, etc, so I did and turns out I have very good records of where we went and what we did last year, but silly Turbo Tax won't allow me to change anything.  Very annoyed.  Bout ready to drive down to Badgett and let them deal with it instead.  I've definitely spent $200 in headaches already.  grrr.

So I'm standing by.

ObnRanna Observed

Rob and I took a much-needed day off together today. We just decided to head out of town early and spend a few hours at Barnes and Noble. We perused the bookstore and brought a pile back to our own little nook where we holed up and read away the morning. At about 11:30am we decided we were hungry and went to Cheddar's for lunch. mmmm..... Spinach dip and salad and cajun catfish and we were stuffed. We stopped on the way home at a beautiful park and just enjoyed the scenery. With a few minutes to spare once we reached Baytown, we swung by the library quickly to pick up a few books. After we retrieved Sarah we hit Happy Hour at Sonic and it was a perfect day!!

So I Almost Fell to my Death This Afternoon

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And no, I'm really not kidding. I'm not even being dramatic, although I do have a tendency to flare towards the dramatic.

I've been heavy duty into Spring Cleaning my house this week. I've already been through the master bedroom, the master bath, the kitchen and the guest bath. I started in on Sarah's room too, but I'm not done. So today my major project was to finish the garage, which I'd been purging for a few days. I spent most of the day in there, rearranging, discarding and sweeping it out. During that process I filled about 3 rubbermaid tubs to take up to the attic. So fast forward to this afternoon... I'm dragging a bit from all the heavy moving in the garage, plus I've made three trips to Purple Heart, so I'm just a bit worn out. I was on the phone with Lori (very common for me to do dull household chores with her as company, really breaks the monotony of the chores) and schlepping giant rubbermaid tubs up the rickety attic fold-down stairs.

Our attic should barely be called that. It's large, but as you may remember from our roofing project, we have a very steep pitched roofline, so very little of the attic is actually usuable. Even less when you realize that most of it is unfinished rafters/drywall/insulation. Even less when you see that our heater and water heater are in the center of the attic and the duct work spreads all out to each room from there. Basically it's like a giant metal and aluminum foil tube Spider who lives up in the center of our house.... Back to my story.... So there are about 3 or 4 pieces of plywood screwed into the rafters around Spidey, places to walk and potentially store things. (you have to remember our lack of basement here - storage gets creative!)

So I was negating the rubbermaid tubs in and around the plywood pieces, one of which has about an 8 inch step up, the plywood pieces are kitty kornered together overlapping by about a foot with a large section of drywall/insulation on each side. Over this same portion is a giant leg of Spidey swinging overhead, actually at about chest level, so you have to duck to avoid hitting it. Not a big deal since it's soft duct work (I've brushed up against Spidey many times!!) but perilous to swing rubbermaid tubs around. So I was manuevering one particualarily heavy tub (misc. leftover Christmas stuff) over the 8inch step and under the ductwork when I lost my balance and fell, I kid you not, into the insulation and, you guessed it, through the drywall into my bathroom. My feet and hips were hanging out of the ceiling over the kids bathtub. Poor Lori, I was still on the phone with her and she was clueless as to what just happened!! Shoot, it took me a few seconds to figure it all out!! Thankfully I caught myself on my ribs and elbows and was able to climb back out virtually unharmed. The insulation ate up my arm a bit and my wrist and ribs and back are a bit sore - I think mostly from the trauma of jerking in a fall. It was terrifying though! I think my first thoughts were about the kids and what if I had hit my head on the side of the tub or the shower curtain pole and how terrifying that would have been for them. Thankfully, they were both oblivious. Sarah hasn't even noticed the hole yet. Eli seemed a bit surprised that I would knock a 2 foot square hole into the ceiling of the bathroom, but it othewised unimpressed.

So I am thankful to be alive and relatively uninjured. I could have really broken something, especially since it was the tub I was over. God's hand was definitely on me, cause when I see the size of the hole, I don't understand how I stopped myself from falling the rest of the way. I can tell you He is good and I am thankful for Him!!

So I've learned 3 things today...

1.) I'm not going to be up in the attic on the phone again. It requires more concentration then I was giving it apparently.

2.) I've got to stop overdoing it. I was pushing through, trying to finish the task, even though I was exhausted. I wouldn't have lost my balance if I wasn't already tuckered out!

3.) God's grace is sufficient for me!!


PS - I took a few more photos to try to explain it a bit better, but I don't have time to upload them. I'll get em up later. Off to church now!!

My Daughter is Officially a Reader

Sarah read me her very first book today. It's a momentous occasion in my book, I still remember the day Eli showed me he knew how to read. I'm so excited for her. We had a long talk about how reading opens a whole new world for her and now she's really on the path to being a grown up!! I, of course, had to take a few photos.

Random Photos from a Day Away

So I wandered away from home today, and it was delightful. Sometimes when I'm home (or at the office) it's really difficult to unplug myself and allow for some relaxation. Plus, I had a few things I needed to hunt for so Baybrook was calling me today. I hit 3 scrapbook stores in one day, and I honestly can't remember the last time I did that. Oh wait, I can. It was with Lori and Kim up in Illinois (technically St. Louis) probably 3 years ago!! I didn't leave home with the intention of three stores. I went to my favorite store, By Design, first, hoping for some new Sassafrass Lass, some Jenni Bowlin or a little bit of Heidi. No luck, but here's my purchase from there - a grand $5. Some inspirational paper though, turned out to be a theme for the day.
I was especially excited about the salt and pepper shakers for my 'Fireproof' dinner pages. I've been meaning to share these favors that we handed out at the dinner, they are symbolic of the differences between man and woman, but how they compliment each other. The idea is they are glued together, (when you marry) and if you pull them apart, one or the other or both will break in the process.I noticed while I was cleaning the other day that Rob had put it up on our shutter-shelves in our living room. That man is so sweet! He also put these letters (props I purchased for ATP and used for the Fireproof dinner) up prominently in our bedroom. I'm very inspired by that. I think ultimately I'd like to do a photo series of he and I - hands intertwined, our heads pressed together, that type of thing and put them up in our bedroom. Seriously no one ever sees our bedroom because we have a divided suite layout, which I love!! Anyway, I love the idea of creativing an exclusive getaway type room. It's well on it's way, minus the laundry baskets. I have so many plans for our house, but sadly, no real money to execute them with!! I'd really like to change out the minibinds with 2 inch faux wood and put up some really beautiful deep brown curtains. Someday. But here's the 'LOVE'.
I think I'd like to move it to the other wall when we make our tv transition. We are currently saving for a flatscreen for over our living room fireplace. It's been Rob's dream for a while now. Then our living room tv will move into our bedroom and replace this tiny 13inch I bought a month before we married. :) I am enjoying the gold accents in this room, the chair landed here by lack of anywhere else to put it, but I really like it, especially with the 'LOVE' on the wall now. I think I could add a couple gold pillows and maybe some additional art and it might be a cool complimentary color.
The laundry baskets are part of a new experiment I'm trying with the kiddos, where we all sort our own laundry as we create it, hopefully making it easier to throw a load in on a regular basis!

Ok, back to the scrapbook stores. Store #2 was Scrapbook Junkie and this great cloud paper was completely worth the trip there. This is new Prima, if you can believe that?? I love it paired with the old rainbow Sassafrass Lass. Can't wait to work on that page!! and the green bows and the green rubons, aren't they just yummy??

And the last store was completely by accident. The ladies in the line behind me at Junkie were asking about any good stamp stores and the cashier directed them to Novel Approach just down the road and around the corner. I thought, why not? It was also worth the trip, found a few pieces of the S.L. christmas paper, and some never before seen in real life Bam Pop paper. Also, I thought those animals would be super fun for my zoo page. Overal, it was pretty exciting and I really only spent $20, so not bad at all. Now, I just need to find some time to play. :)

This photo is of my haul from Old Navy last night. I found some great deals for Sarah - an additional 50% off their already low clearance prices. Seriously, most of this stuff was $1.74 a piece!! I went crazy on the jacket and spent $3! The super cute green polka dot hoodie in the back is for me and I'm pretty psyched to wear it!!
And last, but not least, here's a page I lifted from Jenni Bowlin. I love how the HKS mask worked with the October Afternoon paper. These are Sarah's teachers from last year. They did a great job!!

and the tweaks on the 'blow me away' page. very fun.
Well, I need to prep a present for tonight's baby shower and probably rustle up some grub for the kiddos. I'm too excited to drive to church with a detour at Jennifer's for my girl scout cookies. Yum!!!

PS - I just saw on S.L.'s blog that Michael's is now carrying 2 pads of their paper. Yay!!! Gotta find me a 40% off coupon!!

New Pages from Friday Night's Group

We had a great time on Friday night! I love having an evening set aside for scrapbooking - I wonder if I would ever get to it otherwise. From left to right pictured are Dina, Mirna, Danielle, Heather and then Marcella and myself in the front. As you can see, we really enjoyed ourselves!!

This whale was a simple watercolor that Sare brought home from school I saw potential and had a blast pulling this page together. I'm thinking it could use a pink scallop border on the bottom though, to tie the pinks together....
And these cute trees were a $1 Target clearance find - formerly a placemat. :)
I happened upon this quote earlier this week and it so reminded me of Rob, had to sb it.
And I seriously can't believe my kids were this little at one point in time. wowsers. The last two pages were heavily inspired by pieces I found on 2peas. So much inspiration on that site, if you haven't checked it out yet, you should!!

Should Be Walking Out the Door

But I wanted to post really quick-like, since I've been such a lousy blogger in 2009.

This is a self portrait to show you my new purse. One of my clients gave it to me after a few sessions with them. It's so me!! I love it!
And these are our wardrobe choices for tomorrow night's Olan Mills session. YES, I totally feel like a cheater using Olan Mills, but it's for the church's directory and NO I could not have done it for the church as cheaply and efficiently as Olan Mills will. They did offer it to me, which I certainly appreciate, but it's too much time and headache and formal portraits are a little straight laced for my taste. :)

So, eye or nay on the outfit choices please. And I'm seriously considering throwing up my lights and backdrops and shooting a few of our own before we go, cause I'm a pill like that and we need a picture for Ordination which is less than 2 months away!! eeee! off to church!! toodles!

Tomorrow.....

I"m too excited. I promised the kids our very own copy of High School Musical 3 when it comes out tomorrow. I'll be doing good not to wait up until midnight to run to Walmart for my copy!! :) (jk - oour Walmart is so not that safe!) Anyway, if you were disappointed in HSM2, don't let that sour your opportunity to see 3. They had a huge Disney sized budget and it shows. It's a great family film and I can't wait to see it again. and again. and again. and again.

The best part about the enhanced dvd release? It comes with a free small mp4 for my ipod. Yehee!!

Big Huge Long Day

Wow. This week has been a little ridiculous! But awesome simultaneously. Ever have weeks like that? Next week isn't looking real good either, but that's ok. My kiddos are home on Monday and I'm looking forward to a low key day.

The dinner last night went awesome. Everything moved fluidly, the food was delivered on time, our help was impeccable!! The teenagers were so helpful, they really 'got' the concept of serving the church last night. I am so proud!! The room was fantastic, just the exact romantic getaway I was hoping for. And all the details fell into place, right down to delivering kleenex boxes to the tables at a crucial emotional point in the movie. The decorations were so cool, so many favors came together in the last 24 hours. I was blessed!! And my dear friend, Jennifer, made us a real live wedding cake - it was fantastic!! So ridiculously yummy!

Anyway, about my other pictures...

You see Eli and Sarah's annual V-day picture. It was a bit tricky to pull this off with Rob home all day, but when he was grilling lunch I got sneaky and pulled it off.

Then there are a couple pages I did about a week ago. This first one is a busy descriptive of Sarah. All glam and sparkles and fluff, just like her.

And the second is kind of an inside joke between me and my missionary friend Autumn. We always laugh about how we are both in the missions field. She's in Thailand and I'm a misplaced Yankee. :) And yep, that's really a map of Texas.

I finally pulled it out of our glovebox, since Richard (Rob's GPS) has been such a help to us. Well, Richard was kind of a moron today, so I may need to find another TX map. I'm seriously out in the middle of nowhere - on the way to my shoot today - and Richard keeps saying "You have reached your destination". Seriously, nothing but wet marshy grass every direction I looked. Absolutely maddening.

Love At Any Age

This is the video/skit I've been working on for the past 3 weeks. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it on Sunday. Stay tuned for the blooper reel. :)

2 Weeks of Randomness on my Purse Camera

I don't know if I ever said on here that Rob got me a new point and shoot Nikon for my Christmas. This camera has officially become my purse camera - meaning I always have it with me. It's WAY better than the cell phone camera (blah!). I'm still not quite in the habit of remembering it, but I'm working on it! Anyway, I haven't cleaned it off in several weeks, so here are some of the crazy things that were on it. enjoy!


A few weeks back we had a sectional Speed The Light Rally, here's Sarah getting ready to put her money in the offering. :)
This is the famed Marty Burroughs motivating us on the subject of missions and giving.

These are some cute little birds I saw at Garden Ridge a week or two ago. I thought they were so adorable, but I'm being good right now and these birds stayed right where they were.

But this is what my car looked like when I left Garden Ridge that day. All stuff for the Fireproof dinner this Friday. Have I mentioned it's going to be amazing?
Here's me texting (at a stoplight, I promise). Amber and I went to see Bride Wars and we took a photo in front of the sign, but it's REALLY unbecoming, so it's in the recycle bin now.
You probably remember my pal, Jennifer. Here she is with Sarah 'fixin' to get a haircut. The monkey is Sarah's class pet, Moe.Jennifer, Bart and Rob and I participated in a night of Bunko last Saturday. Unfortunately, we didn't think to take a group photo :( but I did get a photo when I got a bunko. It should be said though, that Rob won the men's wins for the evening. And there were 68 people there!! I definitely think we need to bring Bunko to Trinity, I see our Goldenaires really getting into it!

And this is from last nights life group. Kevin taught me how to make gaucomole from scratch. Oh, it was soooo yummy!! I'm guessing I have a new addiction!!

We watched Fireproof on the wall during life group. Our students really enjoyed it. I did too, even though it's my 3rd time seeing it! :)

Katie cracked me up, she was really concerned during the car wreck scene!!So, lots going on. Rob's home with some sort of neck problem today. He says it hurts when he turns it at all to the right, didn't think he could drive himself to work! I'm pretty sure this is his first sick day since we moved to Baytown!! poor thing. And Sarah's home sick too, with a yucky cough and all congested. She's watching Wonderpets now.

I'm going to make an attempt at our taxes today, but I'm totally not afraid to bail and take them to a pro to get them done if I get in too deep. :)

Perhaps I'll find a bit of time to scrapbook today too. I did a bit on Friday night, so I have a few pages to share with you later. I promise to be better in the area of blogging, I've really missed it!!