• Today’s been a pretty good one so far. I’m in an unusually good mood. It’s kinda freaky, to be honest with you. I mean, yeah - it’s good to be happy…but this chipper?  

• I just remembered that I need to install a smiley pack on here. I know I’ve said it a billion times before, but I think I will really do it today. I’m so tired of the lame default smilies.

• My daughter is next door playing with her friend. They’re having a blast on the Slip ‘n Slide.  I used to love those things when I was a kid. I’d be out there playing on it, too, but I have work I’m supposed to be doing.

• Uh, yeah…blogging isn’t the work I’m referring to.

• I just finished off a pot of coffee. I think I’ll stop there. One pot per day is enough for me lately. When I drink two or more pots, I get a bit hyperactive. The last thing my family needs is me bouncing off the walls.

• I made the slutty bunny graphic I’m using on here earlier today. The blue color is the same blue that’s used in the clouds in the header of my blog.

• I feel all bloated and icky today. Don’t ya’ hate it when that happens? Or are you lucky enough to never get that feeling?

• Some jackass left a few rude comments on my blog yesterday. Really mature.

• OH! I can’t believe I haven’t blogged it sooner, but my Step-Mom called me yesterday to let me know that my Dad had just gotten out of surgery. The doctor said that it couldn’t possibly have gone better. My Dad is doing really, really well! Yay! I’m so relieved.

• For the first time ever, I’m considering not voting. That’s a huge thing coming from me. I’ve always been a big advocate of voting. The problem is that I don’t want to vote for someone I don’t want to be in office. It’s basically down to Obama and McCain now. I cannot stand either of them. I honestly can’t even say which of them is the lesser of two evils. They’re both evil squared. I absolutely hate the idea of not voting…but I don’t know what else to do. I refuse to place a vote for someone I don’t support. That’s pretty much like lying.  

• I can’t believe I just said anything about politics. The last time I blogged anything about politics, it created a big ol’ debate, and bah! I don’t want people bitching each other out on my blog.

• I’m very worried about my friend, Carlos.

• I baked two loaves of Banana Bread a couple days ago. Did I already blog about that? *thinking* I don’t remember.

• My son has a window air conditioner in his room now. He’s keeping it so cold in there, I’m concerned that he’ll get frostbite or something.

• My foot just fell asleep!  I hate that! Pins & needles! Pins & needles!

• I guess I should go get some work done now before Lonnie gets all pissy with me. I can’t really blame him…it’s not fair that I’m sitting here having fun while he’s working. I’m such a spoiled brat sometimes!

• Have a wonderful day…don’t let anyone get you down. Nobody is worth that.

 • I don’t have much time, but I at least want to get a couple random things rattled out.

• The reason I don’t have much time is that I’ve got to make dinner for everyone. I’m not sure what to make yet, so I’ll just have to wing it.

• I wonder when the first day of school is around here? I’ll have to call around and ask.

• I’ve been drinking this bottled water called Earth2O lately. It’s excellent. I know most people are like, “Give me a break. Water is water.” …but it’s not. Not to me, anyway. There are some waters that taste raunchy and others that are good. Earth2O is a good one.

• I’ve been in a really snuggly and cuddly mood for the past three or four days. I kinda like it. I’ve missed being all affectionate. I think that Lonnie and I kinda chilled on the affection when we were having to share a hotel room with my mother and two kids for three weeks. Now that we’re in our own home, we need to get back in the snuggly mood!

• I mowed my lawn and also the neighbor’s lawn yesterday. I’m amazed at how awesome the lawn looks after only three weeks of being here. It went from being all dead and icky to being one of the nicest lawns in the entire development! Yay!

• I got a really ugly rash on my neck and upper chest two days ago. It’s still there, too. I have absolutely no idea what it’s from. I’m thinking it’s an allergic reaction to either my new conditioner or my new facial scrub. I’ve discontinued using both of them and once the rash has cleared up, I’ll try them again…one at a time. Hopefully that’ll tell me what’s causing the reaction. Until then, I hope this goes away…it’s freakin’ gross!

• We installed an air conditioner in my son’s room a little while ago. He overheats pretty easily and when that happens, he gets really bad nosebleeds. He’s been that way since he was a toddler. Hopefully it’ll stop now that his room is the same temperature as a meat locker.

• My daughter made friends with the 7 year old little boy who lives next door. His name is Ronnie…or Ronny…whichever. He’s a really well behaved boy with wonderful manners. Such a pleasant change from the kids I’m used to her hanging around.

• My Dad goes in tomorrow for his heart surgery. I’m nervous and worried. I’m sure he’ll be okay, but still…how could I not worry?!

•  Well, my kid just came in to ask what I’m making for dinner, so that’s my cue to get off of here. Have a wonderful evening/day/afternoon…whatever it is when you’re reading this. Catch ya’ later!

 I really don’t have a lot of time to write lately, but I’ve decided to make time. I’ve been so busy with serious stuff lately…the not being able to goof off on the Net is getting to me. I’m not a serious type of person, so having time to chill and be immature is really important to my sanity…what’s left of it.

Lonnie’s dental nightmare is still continuing. He had four teeth extracted…his lower right side. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he ended up getting dry socket in all four holes. Ouch.  The dentist he went to had to scrape the holes out and then pack some clove oil soaked gauze strips in there. It was totally heinous. There’s a lot more to the story, but I’m honestly sick of having to explain it to people, so I’ll just leave it at that.  ;)

Things have really been coming together for us lately. It seems as though we’re being rewarded for all of our hard work, perseverance, and faith. I’m certainly not taking any of the good things for granted. I never fail to stop what I’m doing and silently say, “Thank you so much!” I hate it when people pray and pray for good things to happen and then when the good things come their way, they fail to be thankful for it. Nobody is perfect, and we all make mistakes…but still. Be thankful, people!

My Mom’s birthday is coming up on the 17th. She’ll be 61. I’m not sure what we’re going to do for it, but we’ll figure something out. We went to the beach on her birthday last year. Lonnie said he doesn’t really want to do that again this year, so we’ll have to think of something else. If anyone has any neato ideas, feel free to send them my way. I’m having a difficult time thinking of things that she’d enjoy doing.

My Dad goes in for heart surgery on the 13th. I’m really nervous about it. I think it’d be kind of unhuman not to worry. I’m glad he’s getting it done, though. It’ll really pay off in the long run. It’s too bad I can’t go to Minneapolis with him and be there for him for it, but that’s okay. His girlfriend, Michelle, will be there with him. She’s really good to him. It makes me feel pretty awesome to know that she takes such good care of my Dad. If not for her, he might not even be here. I’ve actually been wanting to write an email to her to let her know how important she is to me, but I keep chickening out. I’m not sure why…I just feel uncomfortable opening up too much to people.  I guess that sounds kind of odd coming from a habitual blogger.  :lol:

We’re completely in love with the new house. We’ve been here for three weeks and couldn’t be happier with it. We even like our neighbors a lot…which is a first!  There isn’t a divider between our front yard and our neighbor’s front yard. We have a fence separating the back and side, but not the front. Well, when we first moved in here, our grass was almost totally dead. Three weeks later, it looks like something from Better Homes & Gardens! The neighbors are little old ladies, so I told them that I’m going to mow, water, and fertilize their yard for them. That way they don’t have to bother with it…and I also benefit from it because they won’t have weeds anymore that’ll work their way over to our side.  They really appreciate me doing it…and I completely love doing it. I’ve got a knack for gardening. Lonnie keeps saying that I should run a landscaping business, but nah. That’s not my thing. I’d rather just work on my own yard…and the neighbor’s yard.

Unfortunately, the time has come for me to wrap this up. Lonnie has another dentist appointment in about a half hour, so I need to go put my make-up on and whatnot so I look presentable. I’ve enjoyed writing this…I can’t tell you how therapeutic it is for me to write my feelings and thoughts out. If not for blogging, I’d keep everything inside. I’m really crappy with communicating my thoughts to other people.

Anyway, have a terrific day, and thanks for dropping by! I’ll probably be using this blog a lot more than I have been….I’m enjoying it more than before.

 It took me taking a walk a couple days ago to realize how negative I’ve become. That really bothers me. I have tried so hard to overcome all of the negativity in my life, so to come to the realization that I’ve been creating so much of it is quite disheartening.  :(

I’ve been whining and griping about the rain so much lately. This is my first full year in Oregon. I knew it was going to be a pretty rainy place, but I guess I wasn’t mentally prepared for the actual gloom that goes with rain. It’s really been getting to me…especially lately. I’ve been pretty depressed and have been finding it difficult to be happy about anything.

Well, the other day I took a walk…which is something I do regularly. The thing that was different about this walk was that I brought my camera with me. I figured that I’d probably see a random person or two and I’d take their pictures. Before I even got around the corner, I began to realize how beautiful this area is becoming. I’d been concentrating so much on the rain and gloom that I’d overlooked all of the really pretty and uplifting things that are everywhere!

I walked for a couple miles…and took a few pictures of my surroundings along the way. I’m so happy that I brought my camera with me. If I hadn’t, it would have been like every other oblivious walk I’ve taken.

By the time I finished with my walk, my mood had gone from depressed and stressed out to happy, smiling ear-to-ear, and grateful! I’ll post the pictures I took now. None of these were taken in my own yard. They’re just random shots of random things I saw while walking…

There are so many tress with really pretty flowers all over them right now.
Here is one of the many trees…

Here’s a close-up of the same tree…

Please keep in mind that it was very gloomy and sprinkling on and off during the time these pictures were taken. The pictures don’t do the actual plants, trees, and flowers justice! They’re much more beautiful in person.

Someone had a cute little patch of flowers popping up by their mailbox…

You’d think this picture was taken in Fall due to the color of the foliage…but it wasn’t…

I totally fell in love with this little shrub!…

Here’s a small portion of a huge patch of Daffodils I stumbled upon…

Lastly, here are some pretty little flowers under someone’s tree…

I realize the pictures I took aren’t anything too spectacular to look at…but they meant SO much to me at the time I took them. I was very depressed, sick of the rain, and finding it difficult to smile - let alone be happy. I learned a valuable lesson. NEVER forget to count your blessings! Even when you feel as though nothing is going your way, you’re wrong. There is always something to be grateful for and happy about.From now on, I am going to live on the positive end of the spectrum instead of the negative end. The only person I’ve been hurting with my negative outlook is myself. After all, without all of this rain and gloom, Oregon wouldn’t be the truly beautiful state it is!

I apologize if all of this seems like something a lame motivational speaker might say. I realize how cheesy it may be coming across. That’s okay, though. I’m still smiling!