It's Friday!!

I went and ordered my IPhone today and I am so excited!!! Nobody has them in stock and it will take 10 - 21 days to come in, which should work out with my August birthday!! I watched a 30 minute video on all of the features of the phone and it is incredible! I can't wait to get it! Happy birthday to me!!!

Walter & our neighbor, Allen, are working hard this morning on our screened porch! It is really going to make a difference, not to mention, make it possible to actually sit on the porch when we want to. Between birds slamming into the window (yes, that still happens daily), mosquitos, bugs, and the weather, it is really unpleasant to try to sit out there. Also, my cats will be able to go out on the porch and soak up some sun. We are going to get some white rocking chairs to put out there and that is really going to look nice. I'll take some pictures of what they get done today.
I called the court in Harris County, TX this morning and JP's co-defendant's attorney is apparently dying and has to be reappointed, so that trial is reset, but I don't know the date yet. If it's after JP's trial, I could care less what happens, but if he is tried first, I will have someone there to know what is going on. It would have been nice if both trials really happened in the summer while i'm off of work, but as usual, I just deal with it as it comes. Something really weird that the court man told me is that they don't even know which trial will start on the day one is scheduled. He said there will be 4 or 5 scheduled and when the attorneys show up, they all go in a back room with the judge and he decides which one is most ready to start. Yikes. JP's attorney is top notch and has a great relationship with the court, so maybe that will help us somehow.

I am very proud of myself for saving some money today!!! I was looking at new planners yesterday because mine is expiring and thought about trying to find an online planner that would work good for me. Walter suggested I try google's calendar, so I did, and I LOVE it!! I can access it online and print it if I need to! And it will automatically update birthdays & things for me. Yeah!

Questions & Comments:

Hilltop closes a couple of times a year so that they can take a vacation! It is a family run restaurant and I guess they don't think their employees can manage without them or maybe want to give everyone a vacation?? They also randomly close when they have family events (like graduations, wedding receptions) at the restaurant. Must be nice!!

Thanks to everyone for the comments on my bookcases. They aren't actually white, but a cream color that matches the trim in our house as well as our kitchen appliances. Here is a picture of the kitchen.
I hope you all have a nice Friday!!

!!!**&$*^@E*^@%#*

I consider myself pretty lucky because most days are really good for me. It's rare that I have anything happen that could really make me feel like I had a "bad" day. I guess with all the counseling training, coping skills training, having 10 close friends who are social workers, etc. has taught me a lot over the years and I can generally deal with anything and keep on going with my happy day. And don't get me wrong, I deal with a lot. I'm not saying I don't have problems, because like everyone, I do. But I can usually deal with it, decide the best thing to do, and move on. Well, today can be classified as a BAD DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I am angry, ticked off, disappointed, let down, frustrated, and my blood pressure is probably off the chart!! Why, you ask?? Well, even if you didn't, I will tell you!!!!

I got up EARLY this morning, which I hate, to do those last minute things before the housekeeper comes. She puts my bath rugs in the dryer IF the dryer is empty, so it's things like that - folding the clothes in the dryer, picking up things in the bedrooms because I only have her sweep/mop - not clean the bedrooms, etc. So, I get that done and leave home at 8:00am so that she can have the house to herself and so that it isn't so awkward for me sitting here watching her clean and getting in her way. I drive 1/2 way to my mom's since I'm planning to get there around 11 and I go to Target in Baton Rouge and replace my new mesh float that the kids busted a hole in Tuesday night ($15 - not amused), bought a cute shirt that was on sale ($8), a $2 magnetic tic tac toe game to use with my students at school, and a HUGE battery operated toy fish that Landen saw on a commercial and really wanted ($10). It's called a Rainbow Reef fish and is too cute. It swims in the pool with you and I can't wait to see it work. So, anyway! I went to Target because there is a coffee shop next door that has wireless internet and I brought my laptop so I could chill out with a cup of coffee and check my email, blog, plus I had some research to do for free school supplies for one of my students and was looking forward to some quiet time. Well, my internet connection on my laptop would NOT work! And trust me, I am NO computer dummy!! I could install the wireless internet and hook every computer in the coffee shop up if I was so inclined (and well, it's already there so it would be a waste of time), and no matter what I tried, the computer kept telling me that I was not able to reset the wireless internet due to my network connections!! I take the laptop on trips and it always works with no trouble. So, I take my stupid laptop and my stupid coffee and it's only 9:30. I call my mom and tell her that I will be 1/2 hour early (which is no surprise - I am NEUROTICALLY early everywhere I go, but I had PLANNED this out to be casually on time!!!!) So, I go to my moms & visit with her & my step-dad for awhile and my mom & I go to lunch. We had a nice lunch and I resisted the French Dip Roast Beef Poboy and got a shrimp & crab meat salad and it was good. We went back to my moms and I visited a little longer, then drove home knowing the housekeeper would be gone and it would be around 3pm when I got there. I drove the 1 1/2 hours home, walked in the door, and wouldn't you know, SHE HADN'T BEEN HERE!!!!!!!!! My money was sitting on the counter where I left it and every bit of dirt was right in place where it was this morning. And we have company coming over this weekend that haven't seen the house, which will require a tour of the WHOLE house. And, I've just spent SEVEN HOURS wasting time so that she could do this. While I am glad that I got to see my mom, had I known the housekeeper wasn't coming, I could have visited her YESTERDAY when I drove Amy's kids home within 15 miles of where my mom lives. So, I called the lady, who lives on my street so you don't want things to be awkward, and asked her what happened today? She said, "oh, was this your day?" I said, "yes!" She said, "oh yeah, I see it on my planner. I forgot!!" Then she says she will come in the morning, but we are having our screened in porch started tomorrow and the house will have people in & out, including me because I am NOT leaving! So, I just said that wont work. Then she says she can come Wednesday, but I have an all day training for work Monday & Tuesday (if I don't have to go to JP's co-defendant's trial in Houston) and I am NOT going to be leaving the house Wednesday, so I just said no and I would call her later and decide what to do. She called again this evening wanting to come tomorrow, but I said no and that i'm not sure what we'll do. Here's my thing - I can't deal with people who aren't dependable. My motto has always been "say what you mean, and mean what you say." If you tell me you are going to do something, then you dang well better do it or i'm done with that. People have good excuses sometimes, but for the most part, it's just plain irresponsible and disrespectful to treat people that way. I felt REALLY good because my normal response would have been "it's ok" and told her when to come back. Instead, I said "this has really inconvenienced me and i'm not sure what i'll do." One of my co-workers says I don't speak my mind because I try to make everyone happy, and I do. It comes from being a middle child and the family peace maker, but when she told me that I recognized that I still do it even though I KNOW what I think and feel, so I'm working on saying what I think. And then, to top it off, Hilltop, home of my beloved steak night, is CLOSED this week!!! And I knew that!!!! I just forgot!!! Walter & I went to another seafood/steak restaurant near our house and it was good, but nothing compares to Hilltop. So, I just had to create this post to vent a little about my very frustrating day, and now I will let it go, along with my housekeeper! My next door neighbor's niece cleans houses and i've been wanting to know what she charges, and this is as good of a time as any to find out! So, thanks for listening!!! You've been a big help!

You KNOW what night it is!!!

It's STEAK NIGHT!!!! It's my most favorite night of the week!!!! Unfortunately, Cathy & Brent left for New York this morning, so Walter & I will be on our own, but we will enjoy ourselves anyway!!!! AND, when Cathy gets back, she will know if our Labor Day plans are on for New York where Brent's boss let's them borrow a beach house on Long Island!! All we would have to pay for is the airfare, so i'm crossing my fingers!!! My mom will sure be proud of me because she always says I need to get "out of my box" and this summer, I sure have done that!! The quote and picture above fits me to a tee!

Today is also the day that my housekeeper comes, so I do my best to make plans so that i'll be gone all morning. Today, I'm going to my mom's to visit and have lunch at our favorite restaurant in their town, Magnolia Cafe. My mom lives about 1 hour & 15 minutes from me, so it's a good little way out there, but it is SO nice that they are not still 9 hours away in Big Canoe, Georgia. They lived there for about 15 years and have been back in Louisiana for about 4. I've mentioned before that my mom was recently diagnosed with a small brain aneurysm and it scares me more than I can say, but she is being monitored closely by her neurologist and his team.

I lost another pound!!!! I am at 151!! That makes NINE pounds that I have lost in 13 days!! Yay! I only have 4 to go and i'm so excited!!!

WebMD had a good article yesterday comparing low fat diets, low carb diets, and Mediterranean diet. I don't know what a Mediterranean diet is, but if I can eat all my meals at Albasha, i'm in! Low carb dieters tended to lose more weight initially, but in the end, all the dieters lost weight and the issue is maintaining the weight loss. Over 24 months, low fat dieters lost an average of 6.5 lbs, Mediterranean dieters lost an average of 10 lbs. and low carb dieters lost an average of 10.3 lbs. Low carb diets help with HDL (good cholesterol), while the Mediterranean was helpful to those with diabetes, leaving them with better blood sugar and insulin measures. Anywho, I like to know the facts, so it was an interesting story to me. http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20080716/diet-debate-3-top-plans-go-toe-to-toe. And being who I am, of course I looked up the Mediterranean-style diet, which is basically a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and healthy oils, such as those found in fish, olives, and nuts.

I called a customer service person at AT&T about the IPhone 3G monthly service charges after a salesman at Walter's job told him his monthly service charge is $120!! Woah! But fortunately, to add it to my service since we already have the family plan and unlimited texting will only be $30 month. Yeah, I know, ONLY $30, but hey, i'm worth it!!

A few funny moments with my little friends yesterday:

Before they left home, Payton called and asked, "can we bring Lucy to your house?" Lucy is their teacup poodle and I said, "no." He called back 5 minutes later. "Do you want a cat?" I said, "no." He said, "well, can we bring our cat to your house??" I said, "NO, and if you need to spend more time with your dog or cat, then STAY HOME!!!" He said, "no, I don't care about them!"

They were all 4 in the pool and Camille was asking for someone to push her around the pool on a float, but everyone was playing by themselves and didn't want to push her. She shouted at Payton, "YOU ARE SO SELFISH!!!!!" We got to have a little talk about how SHE was the selfish one for expecting everyone to stop what they are doing for her!

Payton does not eat anything. Literally. Anything. He eats Whales crackers, waffles with no syrup, and cheese pizza. He doesn't eat ANYTHING from any fast food restaurant. He doesn't eat pudding, popcorn, macaroni & cheese, chicken nuggets, ANYTHING. This has been a life long issue with him and whenever they go to other people's houses, people always think they will change him and FORCE him to eat, but he will sit at the table until he goes to sleep. It is a control issue, in my opinion, but i'm not out to "fix" him in the short time I spend with him. When I told Walter that the kids wanted to come over, the first thing he said is "well, they can come but Payton is going to have to eat....." and I stopped him. Noooooo, this isn't my issue and I will gladly feed him cheese pizza. But the funny part is, upon request, Payton will LICK the bottom of his SHOE and not mind it at all, but he wouldn't put Coco Puff cereal in his mouth to save his life.

Camille & Ava came over wearing their bathing suits, so when it was time to get out of the pool and get dressed, between them they only brought 1 pair of panties!! Camille thought Ava would bring some extras, and Ava only brought 1 pair! Once Walter got home, I had to go out and buy panties!!

Questions & Comments:
Payton did wake up at 5:30, so I got up and took a bath so that I could get downstairs and fix him something to eat. I got out of the bathtub, came back downstairs and he was sleeping on the sofa and slept until 9:45! Nobody else got up until after 7am, but at least I managed to get a bath in before they were all up.

A question I was asked was about Elizabeth's awkward baby shower - what was my answer to the "who are you & how do you know Elizabeth" game. Keep in mind that her adoptive mother was there and I had very recently met them. As the people went around a circle answering the question, my friend, Lesley, and I whispered back & forth about what to say. Lesley was sitting before me, so she gets the question first. She answers that she is Lesley and knows Elizabeth through me! Good answer, but it didn't do anything for my anxiety! So, I said, "I'm Dawn and I'm a special friend of the family." I felt SO stupid!!!! Elizabeth just laughed and said "that's my biological mom!" After the shower, knowing there was ANOTHER shower coming up soon, Elizabeth & I talked and she said she would make a point to be sure NOBODY played that game again. And personally, nobody ever had before and hasn't again, at least in my experience!!!

And yes, Lesley! I do remember when we were at the hospital when Landen was first born!!! I was very honored that you not only went to the baby shower with me but also wanted to see my little grand baby!!! Here is a picture of that day and I don't remember seeing this in the 300 pictures I put on your cd!!

Also, Lesley wants to know what the 3G in the IPhone stands for? Hmmm, probably the 3 grand that it will cost me in fees to get it activated???? Nah, maybe since this is the 2nd IPhone, they know that once I blow my money on this one, they will make number 3 and say GOTCHA!!! Ha Ha! Well, a google search shows that it stands for "Third Generation" so I wasn't all that far off! I should probably hold out for the IPhone 200G, but I really want one now!

To HotTubLizzy - yes, certainly you can be replaced in all the pictures from yesterday so that you can be the one enjoying yourself. And yeah, maybe not the ones in Walter's lap cause people just might not understand!!!

And Tam, my husband built the mantle for the fireplace and we hired a cabinet maker to build the cabinets, but Walter designed them, hung them, and I painted them. Here a picture of the whole thing, but keep in mind that we have NOT decorated the shelves all the way out of lack of things to put on them, so they look sort of goofy in places. And posting this picture can really open me up to a whole different post about the things ON the bookcase. Walter is a bit eccentric and I'm just used to that. We have everything up there from a trombone, to an old camera and book collection, to a Hillary Clinton nutcracker!

Molly mentioned that she can't diet because she loses 2 lbs and then becomes invincible and gains 6 more. I am the same way, but I suggest trying Atkins if you haven't already. The results are so immediate that you end up wanting to stay on the diet!! It is the only diet I have ever lost more than a pound or two on.

I hope you all have a great day!!

Worn out Wednesday!!!

Nah, it really wasn't that bad, just that I'm not used to having small kids in the house and especially ones who don't listen very well and fight all the time. Yikes!! But, i've been around these kids since they were born and they pretty much know I don't put up with all that and they don't push me too far. Emily (13) and Ava (5) have been angels and are very pleasant to have around. Payton (8) and Camille (7) are so mean to each other and fight all the time that it's difficult to have them here together, but we managed. I even let the best behaved two pick where they wanted to sleep and that left Payton & Camille sleeping in a room together, but they did ok. Did I mention that Payton got up at 5:30am? Yikes. My kids at least slept until 7ish (don't get up til you see the sun!!!) and Landen and Mack will easily sleep until 9, so I'm a little spoiled there. So anyway, they swam a lot, fished with Walter, went for a boat ride, ate pizza, made all sorts of crafts, watched a movie, and were in bed for 10pm. I will be loading them all in the car around 11 to head home, which is over an hour from here.

My birthday is August 13th and I have decided what I want: the new IPhone 3G!! I am eligible for an upgrade on my AT&T cellular account, so I can get the 16GB white IPhone for $299. I am not one to buy all the latest gadgets and have never even used an IPhone, but I just plain want one!! I still have to see what the monthly service costs because i'm hearing different things, but so far, this is my plan!

My diet is going great! I ate the cheese & topping off the kids' pizza last night and it was SO good!! I cooked a Bubba burger later and really wasn't hungry at all. I have decided to treat myself to a bowl of that Bluebell Candy Jar ice cream when I lose 4 more pounds and then, with only a couple more to lose, I will get off the really strict phase of Atkins and just work on eating less carbs and maintaining my weight. I feel really good and have to say there is nothing bulging out of my clothes anywhere!

Walter has a board meeting tonight, so I will be all alone (in a QUIET house!) and will probably just relax and play on my computer or read a book. I have certainly earned it!

Tuesday morning

Elizabeth called last night after realizing that Landen has vacation bible school all week, so he can't make it to our slumber party tonight. I really just didn't want him to find out that the kids were here and he wasn't invited because he gets very jealous of them being here, so atleast he will know he was included if "word gets out!" Not much gets past that boy!

Yesterday was JP's court date that got reset to December 1 and i've emailed the attorney to let her know that the court date wasn't changed on the jail's website, which to me means he would be brought to court yesterday to reset the trial date. I wanted to make sure the attorney would be there if JP was brought to court, but she didn't feel that he would be. Sure enough, JP called last night to say that he was called to court but had to wait all day without anything happening because his attorney wasn't there. I checked the website last night and now it shows today's date!! I emailed the attorney again to ask her to please check on this incase she is supposed to be there and she emailed me this morning to say she called the court and had them straighten it out on their docket. I'm sure JP was called to court again today anyway since they get them there VERY early (3 or 4 am is when they start the process) and it's just a long day for him. The jail's website is usually pretty accurate. I just wish people would listen!! It was nice to hear from JP though and he is supposed to call back tonight to let me know what finally ended up happening. His co-defendent's trial is set for next week, although JP's attorney says the judge is out of town, so I don't think it will go as planned, but if it does, I plan to be there to sit in. The attorney suggested I call the court on Friday and see if the trial is supposed to start on time or not.

I actually lost another pound on my diet - a total of 8! I was so excited when I weighed this morning!! I resisted the ice cream and sent it home with Cathy yesterday afternoon!! Then when she called later to see if I wanted to go work out, I didn't go!!! I'm not sure how that fits with the good diet news, but I just didn't want to go!!! I did some sit ups this morning, so maybe if I start doing a little bit of exercising around here, I will either tone up or get motivated to go to the health club. This morning I had a few pieces of bacon for breakfast and plan to have a Bubba burger for lunch. No telling what i'll do about dinner since I'm planning to get pizza for the kids. I may have another Bubba burger, which is fine with me! I love them!!!

I'm off to clean the house so that the kids can tear it up!!! Wish me luck! They've already called to ask if they can bring their dog (NO!!!) and again to ask if they can bring their cat (NO!!!!!). I finally told Payton if anyone wants to be with their dog and cat, they should STAY HOME and play with them there!! Amy was going to bring the kids to Blue Bayou Water Park this morning and bring them here afterwards, but as luck would have it, they'd rather come HERE than Blue Bayou! Seriously?? So anyway, they're on the way now. I wont likely be around for the next 24 hours, but I'll have some pictures tomorrow afternoon!!

Adoption story

A bonus post today for anyone who is interested in knowing the story of Elizabeth & I. I waited until Elizabeth turned 18 to join the different adoption websites (because you can't search until the child is 18), but never found any information or got any responses from my information that I put on the websites. I had told Walter about her and we were looking for ways to try to get information, when one day I noticed an ad on an adoption site that caught my eye for some reason (divine intervention, i'm sure). We had been searching on our own for a year and I had never contacted anyone for help and wasn't interested in sending money to someone who I knew would not having any information and rip me off, but this ad said "If you are looking for someone in these states (and Louisiana was one of them), I can probably help you." I emailed the lady and we exchanged some emails and then talked on the phone several times, then she told me that she had the information I needed. She said if I sent her $300 by Western Union, she would give me my daughter's name, address, etc. Now, I will admit to being impulsive, but I am SO not naive or gullible. I talked to Walter about it and we agreed that it would be a cheap lesson (some people spend thousands)if we got ripped off, but I had spoken with the woman enough times that I just felt it was ok. So, we sent the money. The next day, just as promised, the lady called me with my daughter's name, address, and had spent some time looking up her phone number while waiting for me to send the payment. She found my daughter, who's name I learned for the first time in 19 years - Elizabeth Gail! The lady wanted to call her for me, but I wasn't sure what to do. I talked to my step-dad who adopted 2 of my step-brothers years ago and he felt that I should contact Elizabeth's mother and not Elizabeth. The lady was telling me that she does this ALL the time and if I contact Elizabeth's mother, she will most likely threaten me with attorneys if I call there again. So, we made the decision to have the lady contact Elizabeth directly. In the meantime, knowing where Elizabeth lived and freaking out that it was SO close, I called my friend, Carol, who's daughter goes to school in Elizabeth's area and asked if her daughter knew her and she said YES! I couldn't tell her why because I didn't want Elizabeth to hear about me from someone else, so I just told her Walter's son was dating her and could she PLEASE scan and email Elizabeth's yearbook picture for me!! And she did!!

I was so surprised that she had hair the color of mine! Her biological father was Italian and had black hair & brown eyes, so I just assumed Elizabeth would have his dominant features. I found out later that she DOES have black hair and just randomly colors it the same color as mine!

So anyway, the lady contacts Elizabeth, who is just OVERJOYED to hear that I'm looking for her, gets my number to call me right away, but first calls her mom to let her know! Her mom is a teacher and was in the middle of a class (why she answered her phone, who knows) and when she heard the news, she went ballistic! But, it was too late because Elizabeth already had the number and called me anyway. I have to say, it was one of the best days of my life!! We talked and planned to meet for dinner that weekend, with her parents & brother who wanted to be there, and Walter, Sean, Cameron, & I.

Then I had A LOT of explaining to do! My family, including my older son, JP, knew about Elizabeth, but Cameron did not. Neither did any of Walter's family or any of our friends that didn't know me back when I was a pregnant teenager. It's one of those family secrets that just don't get talked about. And how do you bring that up in conversation??? So I sat down with Cameron and talked to him about it. JP was living with us at the time, so I asked him if he remembered me telling him about his sister when he was younger (probably 8 or 9) and he said yes. I said, "well, she's calling here today!" I knew he would be home to answer the phone and didn't want her to feel rejected by someone not knowing about her. I emailed everyone else and received nothing but support then and to this day!

The dinner was one of the most awkward moments of my life, but I got to meet her and her family. This picture is from that night:

I found out shortly afterwards that Elizabeth had just found out she was pregnant the week that found each other! And God gave her a little boy who was not black haired & brown eyed like Elizabeth & her boyfriend, but blonde haired and blue eyed like me! I think if we hadn't been reunited when Landen was born, seeing him would have prompted Elizabeth to look for me for some answers! She had already tried going on the internet to look at adoption websites but said she didn't know how to use them. Our second meeting was lunch with my sister and Elizabeth's childhood friend who they had always said if Elizabeth ever met me, the friend would get to come with her! I was really touched by that.

Here are pictures from Elizabeth's birth until now.

This is the day Elizabeth went home from the hospital. I had held her earlier that day and had always had that head full of black hair & sweet little face in my memory, so to see her again was incredible!!




This was taken at Elizabeth's baby shower shortly after we met when things were still really awkward. I begged my friend, Lesley, to go to the shower with me and she suffered through one of the most bizarre days of my life along side me! Elizabeth's boyfriend's family threw the shower, so they didn't know much about the whole story, other than his immediate family, and the shower host played a game where we went around the room and said who we are and how we know Elizabeth!!!! I am pretty sure I made it through the game, but it was the longest 5 minutes of my life waiting for my turn and whispering back & forth with Lesley trying to figure out what to say!



This is Elizabeth, Landen, & Cameron - one of my favorite pictures!




All 3 of my kids in one place!!! Never before done!


Mack's baby shower
It is incredible how many times our lives have crossed paths and we didn't know it and how we know so many of the same people! I thank God often for bringing Elizabeth and these boys into my life!!! Hope you enjoyed the story!

A great contest!!!

My lesbian best friend from myspace brought her greyhound dog to my house this morning while I was in my beige shower to tell me about a contest over at http://mamakatslosinit.blogspot.com/. I was so excited about the prizes that we had a discussion about epistemology and I nearly injured myself with a fluke!! LOL!! Go check out the contest and get entered before it's too late!!!!