Three for Thursday: Back from the Dead

Turkey Tail Feather / Don Van Dyke

It's Thursday again! Maybe that is nothing remarkable to you, but Wednesday morning around 4 am as I was leaning against the wall in my bathroom praying my children wouldn't find me unconscious or dead I was beginning to wonder if I would ever see another Thursday again.

Sparing you most of the gory details, let's just say Panda Express and I are through. For life. And not to slander Panda Express because it wasn't food poisoning that affected me so, but it just happened to be my last meal before...well, you get the idea. And now I can hardly type the words Panda Express without dying a little inside.

Moving on! 

Three things that I am grateful for from the year 2011:
1. Neighbors. I know, I know. I'm getting a little obnoxious with the I-love-my-neighbors thing, but they came to my rescue again yesterday when I called upon them for a priesthood blessing and help with my children. I am so grateful for good people!
2. Baby Cee. She was born right at the beginning of 2011. How I love this gorgeous, sweet baby of mine.
3. Getting laid off from my job. A few months ago I couldn't have said this, but I have finally been able to see what a blessing me not working has been for my family and home. Suddenly I have more time in my day. My house is cleaner, my children are happier, and I am more satisfied with how I am fulfilling my duties as "mama".


Three things “I’d rather not”:
1. I'd rather not give the kitchen table and chairs the deep down exfoliating scrub they so desperately need but that will require ninja skills and an exorcism to complete.
2. I'd rather not plan the Thanksgiving menu right now. My stomach just isn't up to it. Yet.
3. I'd rather not talk on the phone. Like ever. I really hate phone conversations. I freeze up. I can't hear. I would really just rather not ever use it for talking into.

Three Thanksgiving plans, traditions, or memories:
1. Plan: Cook my first gluten free Thanksgiving feast. Wish me luck!
2. Memory: A bird pooping on my head while I was hanging off the side of a moving suburban.
3. Tradition: Eat. Lots.

Three sneaky things I do:
1. Add spinach to the morning smoothie.
2. Watch the garbage man between the window blinds to see if he's irritated about my overly full garbage can.
3. Eat chocolate covered pretzels in the kitchen as quietly as I can while my children watch TV in the next room.

Three things that I missed the boat on:
1. Pop culture. Friends, Frasier, Lost, Harry Potter, Twilight, The Wonder Years, The Office. If it's popular I probably didn't read it or see it until it was all published or airing the final season.
2. Sushi. I didn't get brave enough to try it until a couple of years ago. Oh the years wasted!
3. Natural childbirth.

Three pictures:

Why wouldn't it surprise me to see Lady Gaga in this outfit?

Four of my greatest blessings

Thanksgiving 2009 in Arizona. Too small and too quiet. How grateful I am that we are close to family again.

Joy Toy Tuesday and Other Toddler Tidbits

Welcome back for the second installment in my new meme Joy Toy Tuesday, where happiness in motherhood is found through the not-so-random placement of my children's toys.

Today's picture only proves that children can see the "playability" in A N Y T H I N G.

Last week we had a conference meeting in my office. This week there is a scheduled training session in the front room. And oh look. Someone has already laid out the class materials.

In other kid funnies...

Yesterday three year old Elle helped me rake up the leaves in our front yard. All summer long the kids would play with the rolly polly bugs that live under the bricks in the front of our house. As Elle searched for them and realized they were gone, she asked where they were. I told her they had probably died with the cold weather.

She sadly agreed and matter-of-factly added: "They should have put their jackets on."

I just couldn't stop giggling from the imagery of little rolly polly bugs sporting jackets.

When six year old Dee came home from school yesterday he had a little confession. He looked down at the bottom edge of his shirt and solemnly said, "I let Jasmine and Alexi touch my little Yoda today."

My eyebrows about raised through the ceiling. "Pardon?!"



Oh.


Lastly, we are joining in with Sarah at Sarah Dawn Designs for a novel Thanksgiving idea. She is hosting a really fun Thanksgiving Photo Scavenger Hunt and Blog Hop. Make sure to visit her for the details.

We are a little late out of the starting gate, but we finally began searching for things we are grateful for for Family Home Evening last night.

One of the items on the list is "Something I'm grateful for that keeps me healthy and strong". Knowing the kids needed flu boosters yesterday, I tried to make it fun by adding it to our scavenger hunt.

So did the kids catch on to the fun??? You know what they say..."A picture's worth a thousand words".

P.S. I don't think my son knows what "the bird" is yet...but I could be wrong.

Enjoying her first chocolate covered pretzel. Life is good.

The Absent-Minded Traveler

Last week it was my phone charger.

He accidentally grabbed mine instead of his, accidentally packed it in his suitcase, and then accidentally flew 1,839 miles to Georgia with my phone charger as his companion.

But it was just an accident. And a funny accident at that. We got a good chuckle out of it, especially considering what a habit he's making of buying new phone chargers in exotic lands like Wyoming and Arizona. I believe his current count of new cell phone chargers purchased in late night haste at 24 hour Super Walmarts is up to 3 now.

Funny, but "Please Dear...send me back my charger so I don't have to be both husbandless and phoneless for a whole week."

As he packed for his trip this week we joked about how he has learned his lesson now and will never make the mistake of packing my charger again.

And he didn't.

Instead...he packed my pants.

Of Grieving and Gratitude

I spoke with my Aunt Jane this morning.

She called me on the phone. She was laughing. She said she couldn't talk long, but wanted to know how I was doing. She also wanted to tell me that she was busy and happy.

And she giggled infectiously through out our entire conversation. That wonderful, irreverent giggle that simultaneously puts you at ease and convinces you of just how much she cares for you.

Then almost as soon as it had begun it was over. Still laughing, she said she had to go.

I tried to convince her to stay on the phone with me, but even as she told me she loved me and hung up I started to wake up.

I had been dreaming. I gazed at the room around me, blinking with the cold realization of it.

And then I began waking up again.

I had been dreaming that I had been dreaming that I talked to my Aunt Jane.

Yet, as I woke definitively, the sound of my Aunt Jane's laugh and love reverberated in my head. Before the memory of it could vanish as dreams so commonly do, I turned to my husband who was waking beside me.

No "Good morning, Honey". No "And how did you sleep?".

"I just talked to my Aunt Jane", I said.

He didn't miss a beat. "Oh yeah? How is she?"

"She's happy and busy and she loves me."

As the words left my mouth, the ache began to set in. I rolled on my back, staring at the ceiling. And then I started to cry. I grabbed my pillow, crammed it over my face creating a hasty sanctuary, and let the tears flow.

You see... My Aunt Jane passed away in February 2008. My beautiful, hilarious, talented, loving, red haired Auntie Jane has been "gone" for three and a half years.

Skin cancer. Malignant melanoma. Nasty stuff.

Long after my tears had stopped and dried, I laid in bed. Wondering. Pondering.

One could conjecture that I dreamed of Jane simply because the night before I had been shuffling things around in my storage room and had found the large wooden box I have that bears her name. My thoughts had most certainly lingered on her more than usual the night before as I hefted the box from storage, carried it upstairs, and placed it in my family room.

She had been in my conscious. In my subconscious. Is that why I dreamed that I dreamed that I spoke with her?

One could also speculate that those gone from this earth are not truly gone, that they speak to us in dreams. That they are very near and watching over us. That it was not a trick of the mind, but a true and sincere conversation with a beloved aunt who still lives just not in the same world as I. That she is indeed happy, busy, and that she loves me.

I am not exactly certain what happened in my dreams this morning.

But I am most certain of a few things.

She does live. And I will see her again. We will be reunited and when we are it will be as family. She will know me as her niece and I will love her as my Auntie Jane. Death cannot break the bonds we had on this earth.

Today, I am most grateful for that knowledge. Families are forever. Death is but a temporary separation. A painful and heartbreaking one, yes. But in the end, nothing but a fleeting moment. I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and for the power of the Atonement that will make that sweet reunion possible.

Today, I can't help but be sorrowful as we enter another holiday season without Jane, but filled with hope and happiness that we will meet again.

And not just in dreams.

Three for Thursday: Waxing Nostalgic

I just can't help it.

There's something about the end of the year and the holidays that gets me in a bit of a nostalgic mood. But a little jaunt down memory lane never hurt anyone, right? Why not? Let's take the memories into another Three for Thursday.

Three long lost hobbies:
With the arrival of each new baby I've had to bid adieu to more and more of my favorite past times. Some days an empty nest looks so appealing, doesn't it?
1. Scrapbooking. Which is rather ironic since my children have given me loads to scrap about. It's just finding the time to do it. What a paradox!
2. Card making. Now you're lucky if you get a scrap of paper with your name scribbled on it.
3. Reading. At least adult fiction. No! Not that kind of fiction, ya' pervs!

Three jobs/careers I have had:
1. Counselor at a summer Boy Scout camp. Oh the things you will learn when surrounded by 12 year old boys.
2. Emergency Department Technician. Best job ever! The blood. The guts. The drunks. The twelve hour night shifts. The crazies. The coworkers. Loved just about every minute of it!
3. Freelance writer. You mean you can make money doing something you love?!

Three childhood dreams that came true:
1. Marry Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. Check.
2. Be in a musical. Check.
3. Drive a mini-van full of kids. Check. And check.

Three childhood dreams that didn’t come true:
1. Be the first female president of the United States of America. Hey! I guess there's still a chance.
2. Hone the ability to magically draw animals to me with the sound of my luscious vocal chords. What's Snow White got that I don't have?
3. I can fly. With nothing but pure mental exertion.

Three toys I asked for Christmas when I was a kid:
1. Books. Yes, I was that kind of kid.
2. Riverdance on VHS. Cue aging jokes now.
3. I never asked for much. I'm too indecisive and I always hoped my parents would just know what I wanted even if I didn't. So I always got clothes. Even still, I really...really...really hate getting clothes for Christmas.

Three pictures:
Since this is "Memory Lane" 3 for TH I'm using three old pictures. Ahhh...The good ol' days!

Told ya' he was dark and handsome. You'll just have to take my word on the tall part.

Halloween 2006. Dee and Jeigh as Nacho and Sister Encarnacion. My first attempt at homemade costumes and not to toot my own horn but also my favorite costumes to date.



Squishy, squishy.



Thrift Store Thoughts

I've been a busy little bee working to get my house in shape for the holidays. For the first time ever, we're having Thanksgiving and Christmas at our place this year. I'm so excited to share my home with all of our family, but only if I can get it looking presentable.

Through my cleaning and dejunking I collected several bags full of things to donate to our local D.I. (Deseret Industries). Today I made the drive over there with every intention of unloading some extra clutter. I handed over about half a dozen garbage bags, drove the car around the back, and found myself parking in the front. Let's just take a look inside, shall we?

I can't resist thrift store shopping. There's something exhilarating about finding a treasure in the trash heap. Something enticing about giving discarded items a second chance to be loved, used, and appreciated. Today we found several toys in spectacular condition! I know Christmas is right around the corner but I just couldn't resist.

I purchased all of these and a few other items for about $15! With the help of some Lysol disinfectant wipes they are as good as new. In fact, if my children hadn't been right by my side finding these goodies with me, I could have used a few of these as Christmas gifts.

Only...when it really comes down to it...I just can't do it.

Used thrift store goods as Christmas presents???

I don't know. I can see the practicality and thriftiness in it. I know in a ever declining economy this would be a great way to make Christmas happen. But I just can't do it. It just seems so tacky to me. So...brutal. I can just picture it now: My children telling their therapists about their used Christmas gifts and how the downward spiral was perpetuated by the realization that they just weren't good enough for "new". And while I don't believe that my children are entitled to lots of big, expensive toys, I just don't think I could look them in the eye on Christmas morning knowing they just opened up someone else's "junk".

And for the record, I don't mean to sound like a snob either. While I get fidgety about gifting from the thrift store I certainly have no qualms about buying toys, clothes, dishes, and other goods for my self and my family from the thrift store year round.

I'm curious to hear what others think about this. Do you or would you buy thrift store items to give as gifts? Whether for children or adults? And in turn, what would you think if someone gave you a thrift store item as a gift? Like a wrapped "Here! I thought of you!" gift?

Don't be shy. Give it to me straight.

Joy Toy Tuesday

For the past seven years I have noticed something about my home.

There are toys...E V E R Y W H E R E.

And those toys must be breeding like little bunnies because some days I wonder if they are going to take over the house. Typically it irritates me to have the mess of toys around the house but every now and then I find one placed just so that I can't help but laugh and remember just why I love being a mom so much.

Enter my new meme: Joy Toy Tuesday. Every so often I want to share a picture of the toy that was placed ever so carefully such that it reminded me just why being a mom is such a hilarious endeavor.

Conference meeting in my office. Stat.
We'll be discussing the downward trend of glitter, Barbie segregation, and how to cut the risk of snarly manes. 

Skool iz rill kul

In my quest to express my gratitude this month I choose to pick on our education system. The gratitude will come later. For now I can't help but share this bit of the kettle-calling-the-pot-black...or however that culinary saying goes.

This is a spelling test that my six year old first grader Dee brought home a few weeks ago.

Can anyone tell me why I was almost doubled over laughing with the irony of it?

All joking aside...I really am grateful for the public servants who take on educating our children. Every now and then I go through the inner debate of taking on homeschooling my children and every time I decide it's just not for us.

Thank goodness there are wonderful people out there who have recognized a talent for teaching within themselves, dedicated themselves to learning how to guide children, and then sacrificed all hopes of lavish salaries to work day after day molding the minds of our young ones. Sure, I've questioned if a few people really should be in the education system, but for the most part I appreciate those who help me in creating intelligent, noble, and wonderful little human beings.

thank you teachers!--I mean: Thank you, Teachers! ;)

Three for Thursday: Just Doing My Thang

It's Thursday and time for another Three for Thursday! Not much going on here. I'm just a mom doing her thang. And yes I spelled it "thang". Hope your Thursday is similarly...normal.

Three things I stole borrowed from my kids’ Halloween candy stash:
1. Butterfingers
2. Kit Kats
3. York Peppermint Patties

Three things I buy that have to be name brand:
1. Crayola crayons. Nothing beats the classic brand.
2. Cheese. Tillamook Cheese. Blocked, not stringed.
3. Trident gum.

Three things I spend more than fifteen minutes doing every day:
1. Debating whether to get out of bed now...Or not yet...
2. Dee's first grade homework! *groan!* head--->desk
3. Waiting in the school parking lot as my very social little kindergartner wishes the entire morning kindergarten class and their parents and siblings and their dentist's sister's uncle's first cousin twice removed a very fond farewell. Sure wish I could convince that child she will see everybody again tomorrow.

Three things that put me in a fantastic mood:
1. Loud music!
2. Running!
3. Rain and snow storms!

Three things I do that a grown woman has no right to be doing anymore:
1. Running up the dark stairs as fast as I can so the Boogeyman doesn't get me.
2. Using words like "thang".
3. Spilling everything I eat on myself.

Three pictures:

I call this picture..."Obsession".

I ask you, Does it get any cuter than this? I submit, it does not.

Our pineapple from Bountiful Baskets. "Bountiful" isn't exactly the word that came to my mind.

P.S. Today I am grateful for all those bloggers out there who play along with my silly little meme. Make sure to leave your link below so I can come visit. Cheers!

Sister, Sisters

Today I am grateful for sisters.



I spent the entire day with my sister, Erin, who lives a mere 30 minutes away and was in desperate need of some adult time.

As our children ran around my house we sat and talked about our childhood memories. We swapped tips on local grocery deals and clipped coupons. We rolled our eyes at the things our husbands do as we professed our gratitude that they saw past our dorkiness and actually wanted to marry us.

We made Christmas plans and wondered about the future of our aging parents. We debated the pros and cons of sister wives as we fed seven hungry children. We ate leftover Halloween candy and coaxed little ones to smile for the camera.

It was a long full day of sister time. Time I no longer take for granted now that I have spent a few years living far far away from "home".

I love both of my sisters. Erin and Camille.


 I'm grateful for the companions they were in childhood and remain to be as we stumble through adulthood, parenthood, and onwards through sisterhood.

From climbing trees, giggling in our bunkbeds late at night, and dancing in the basement to swapping babysitting, sharing recipes, and laughing over sushi. The calenders and faces are changing, but the fun and love is ever the same.

I look at my three little girls and can't help but smile with the anticipation of their forming sisterhood.

They will learn as I have learned that sisters are one of the dearest things we can have in this life. I hope they hold tight to their sisters no matter who steals who's clothes, no matter what friends may come and go, no matter the distance or time that separates them.

Sisters will always be there. Teasing, listening, provoking, cheering, advising, competing, gossiping, remembering, suffering, lifting, laughing, loving as no one else can.

The Little Things

The calender says it's November 1st today.

Funny.

I'm still stuck in August.

I couldn't really wrap my head around September starting and now it's November? Whew. Time is just not kind to me these days.

Typically I would be celebrating that Halloween is over (Ghosts and gore...*shudder*), but this year I kind of maybe actually really enjoyed it. This year my children were old enough to enjoy trick or treating and not too old to be twerps yet. They all looked so cute in their costumes...even if they wouldn't cooperate with our Goldilocks and the Three Bears idea.

What every three year old girl wants to be for Halloween. Fairy, Princess, Princess Fairy, Fairy Princess...Take your pick.




We always knew she was Super!




"Walt Mario" or "Wario". The boy is obsessed.




At least she's a warm flower.

 

The Eternal Quest: To get one picture with all four looking


This was our first year trick or treating door to door and we had a blast! The weather was perfect, the temperature was cool, but not cold. The kids quickly grasped the idea of how trick or treating works and they really enjoyed themselves.

Trick or Treat!


I was so touched by all the neighbors that prepared ahead of time for my little food sensitive kiddos. Dee is allergic to milk (no chocolate and caramel) and Elle has Celiac Disease (no wheat, barley, or rye). Neighbor after neighbor pulled out special treats for my two little ones.

Surveying the loot! Any Milky Way Midnights in there for Mommy?


Have I ever mentioned how much I love my neighbors and living in this area? I really do! It means so much to me that other people care about my children and family and do something so thoughtful. (It's okay to cry when you're trick or treating, isn't it?)

Seeing as how it is November 1st and all...that means anything Christmas is fair game! The music! The decorations! The GOODIES! Not even you Scrooges out there can deny it! It's the holiday season!

For now I'll stick with the season of gratitude and share a few things I'm grateful for. After such a wonderful Halloween night I can't help gushing a bit with gratitude.

I'm grateful for the little things.

I'm grateful for good neighbors and friends!

I'm grateful to be a mom of four young ones. Watching them soak up the season makes me ever so happy!

I'm grateful to be a stay at home mom. Today I am snuggling with my kids watching the snow and rain fall outside. I love the snow and rain! But I love even more watching it from the comfort of my home.

I'm grateful for cute chubby babies that wake up at 4:45 am and help me get out of bed to exercise.

I'm grateful for a mother-in-law who is a fantastic grandma to my children. Happy Birthday Grandma Rochelle!

More "gratefuls" to come as this festive month whooshes by. Watch out! Before we know it it will be February.

Easy Halloween Decorations: Pass the Popsicle Sticks Please!

Halloween is riiiiight around the corner. So what if I just barely got my Halloween decorations up this week? At least they are up! 

One little treasure I found in the bottom of my Halloween decoration box was these cute little ornaments the kids and I made last year. My children felt that my collection of Halloween decorations was sorely lacking and wanted to supplement with something homemade. I had a ton of Popsicle sticks sitting in my craft drawers. With the help of my trusty glue gun and some paint we had some new Halloween decorations in no time. Very easy, a little messy when the kids got involved, but loads of festive fun for everybody.

We made pumpkins and Frankensteins. The Frankies were my favorite so that's the one I'll show the tutorial for. You could probably figure out how to make these simply from looking at the finished result, but for those who are craft-challenged like me, here's the how-to:













Arrange about 6-8 Popsicle sticks *** in a row. Don't worry too much about everything being nice and neat and even. The fun of Halloween is that "messy accidents" look "spooky" and "intentional".

Hot glue one stick across the row of sticks to secure everything in place. Make sure to leave some of the stick out on both sides of the row of sticks. This will serve as Frankie's bolts.

Flip the whole thing over so that the one glued on stick is in back.

Paint and let dry.

When dry paint the bolts black and paint on hair. Let dry.

Go crazy decorating Frankie however you want. I used my paintbrush to flick black paint over the entire face.

I cut out yellow paper circles for the eyes and glued them on. I also glued on black pony beads. A black sharpie marker worked perfectly for the mouth. My kids used the marker and other beads to add facial features.

A layer of Modge Podge sealed the deal nicely. I also hot glued some string on the back so that Frankie could be easily displayed. Right now all our Frankies and pumpkins are hanging on our dining room curtain rods with the help of some fishing line.

The pumpkins are just as simple to make with a few variations. I used more sticks (11 to be exact) in the row of sticks and glued on two sticks in the back in different spots to make the decoration more secure.

We used black paper and wood triangles for the eyes, nose, and mouth. I had some spare fake greenery that we glued on for the pumpkin stems and leaves.

Simple and cute. Just the way I like all my crafts.

Happy Halloween everybody!

***Unless you happened to save all those sticky Popsicle sticks from summertime you can find Popsicle sticks for sale at any craft store or Walmart's craft area.

Three for Thursday: By Golly!

My apologies but I just can't seem to get myself back into blogging mode. Between busy Mommy schedules and just plain unadulterated apathy towards anything "extra" nary a post has made its way to the beautiful blue skies of my blog page. Even fun, friendly, and frankly pretty darn easy meme Three for Thursday has suffered.

But not today, folks! By golly if I accomplish one thing today it will be this: a real Three for Thursday blog post.

*deep breath*

Three objects to my left:

1. Elle's pillow pet that came unstitched Christmas morning 2010. I've been intending to restitch it ever since. Maybe today I'll shoot to accomplish two things I've been putting off for far too long...
2. A clean and organized office space that I have been meaning to tackle for...hmm...about 8 months now. Sheesh.
3. Procrastination. It used to be on my right, but I moved to the left hoping I could get to it later. *har har har*


Three songs I can’t get out of my head:
1. Love You Like a Love Song by Selena Gomez and The Scene (It's just so darn catchy and it doesn't help that my girls walk around singing it nonstop.)
2. Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5
3. With a Little Help from my Friends by The Beatles (We've been watching The Wonder Years on Netflix lately.)


Three favorite Halloween movies (or songs):
Let me make one thing clear...I hate Halloween. It totally freaks me out and in my opinion is just an excuse for most people to get crazy weird or crazy slutty. I have never really enjoyed it until I had kids and was able to celebrate Halloween with cute "scary" stuff. Therefore my answers for this one are pretty low key when it comes to scare factor. Whatever. At least I can sleep at night.
1. Hocus Pocus
2. Any of the Harry Potter movies
3. Dead Man's Party by Oingo Boingo


Three things I’ve learned to just let go of:
1. The $200 our very first landlord "forgot" to refund of our deposit.
2. The 50 pounds I lost this summer.
3. Youth. (Weeelll...I'm still hanging on to this one with a few white knuckles.)


Three reasons I could wear the Super Woman costume on Halloween:
1. I got the office area organized...Finally.
2. I can raise four kids on my own...That is, in week long increments of course.
3. Blue makes my eyes "pop".
 
Three pictures:


Me and Sami, my favorite ax murderer in Texas. More blog posts to come...



I can't help but think of Max from Where the Wild Things Are.


And for my final trick...I am cheating. Instead of a third picture here's a little video clip I snuck of my three year old Elle. After an endoscopy and biopsy we have discovered she has Celiac Disease. This is her on the drive home from the hospital procedure. The anesthesia is still wearing off, yet she just can't resist singing one of her favorite songs. Sad, but oh so cute. (It takes a while before she starts singing. She was singing before I pulled out the camera, but you know what happens once you pull the dang thing out.)

Blog Swap: Semi-Single Mom

Cannwin from The Great and Random Ramblings of Cannwin is back to guest post. The poor girl has been waiting on me for another blog swap. Life has been hectic as it always is and I think she gets that seeing as how she is also a mom with four kids and one perpetually absent husband. Thank you to Cannwin for her patience with me! Read on to see what she has to say about married single motherhood.

I guess this is supposed to be one of those whitty, funny blog posts that makes everyone laugh, but the truth is that no matter how hard I tried I couldn't come up with a funny way to say "I'm a Semi-Single Mom."



I have a husband, but he's gone a lot and I miss him.



I miss having someone around to help when the kids start screaming, or vomitting, or crying for no reason beyond pre-pubescence.


I miss having someone to pawn the fraction homework onto and to delegate cub scouts to.



I miss having a warm body to cuddle up to at night. A body who can lift my eight year old son and carry him back to bed at night, so that I don't have to endure a night with him in mine... because I can't carry him.



Having a husband whose not around is like smelling sweets but not being able to find them.



I think Adele puts it nicely when she says:




Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead.

Nothing compares
No worries or cares
Regrets and mistakes
They are memories made.
Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?




So that's me. Cannwin the sometimes semi-single mom of four. I'm tired 70% of the time lonely 80% of the time and humorous 99.9% of the time, just not today.