This is my big 3 (thwee is how she says it!! LOL) year old at her Chuck E. Cheese party!! :) That was so much fun, and such a good idea!! LOL Everyone (even the adults, especially grandparents hehe) had a great time!! :) And, we didn't have to clean up after we left!! LOL It was just a great idea. I was a little nervous about it coming off well, because I've never had a party there (where I was the adult, anyways!! LOL), and I just wanted everyone to have a good time. I shouldn't have worried, of course :)

Mammy made her a cake, and it was as beautiful as it was delicious!! As usual :) She got a lot of neat presents, too, and like AuntSurvivor said, there are a lot more options as far as toys go, now, because most everything says 3+!! :) She was getting a little tired towards the end of opening her presents (I think she just wanted down to play) and I had a few "YOU WILL OPEN YOUR PRESENTS & LIKE IT!!" moments...She got a lot of cute clothes & toys & just neat stuff :) We've watched that 12 Dancing Princesses movie a lot this week :) She really likes it (and it's actually pretty good for a Barbie movie!! Amy said that it was one of those kid movies she doesn't mind her daughter watching over & over again, because she likes it, too!!). Anyways, she's had a hard time adjusting to it NOT being her birthday anymore, though.

But, today's another birthday in our house!! Steve's 31 today!! :) Happy Birthday, Honey!! We're going to The Dock tonight to hear my Uncle Jeff & Should-be-Aunt Kim sing with their band Diddley. It should be fun!! Jodi & Jim are coming up, even with such short notice!! :) So, YAY!! :)

Speaking of party stuff...I'd better go...I'm watching BigBlueEyes tomorrow, and I need to get Abbey's little tiny pieced toys up out of the floor. It still looks like the Princess Birthday Fairy threw up in the living room!! LOL :)

Talk to ya'll later :)

Wal-Mart Stinks...

That's right...I said that...I'm just a little upset right now. I went to Walmart tonight, just me & Princess, and I had to get a few things (plus a few things that I didn't necessarily need if you know what I mean), and they had a huge sale on glue!! Elmer's glue. Only $.05 a bottle!! So, thinking ahead to Sunday School crafts & VBS, I got more than I normally would (I only got 5-6, I think). Well, when I checked out, I wasn't really paying attention to how things were ringing up, and I looked, but I thought my total was a little more than I thought it would be...like, 7-10 dollars more...SO, I didn't think anything about it because my math's not great, but whatever...I got home & decided to look at my receipt, and she charged me for all-purpose flour twice, and only 2 bottles of glue rang up at the clearance price. Plus, one of the curtains I bought for Princess's room rang up wrong, too. That lady must've been on drugs or something, because she messed it all up, and I don't feel like going back there 20 til 10p.m. in the honking freezing cold, so they'll be getting a call from me here in a minute.

ARRGH!! I'm usually pretty good at watching things ring up, but I was just crampy, tired & distracted getting Princess all bundled up again. What a night!!

Other than that, it was a good evening. Princess and I went by ourselves to Cracker Barrell :) We had a very nice waitress & Princess was REALLY good!! :) She colored more on that menu tonight than she ever has!! LOL She ate really well, too :) It was nice & cozy in there with a roaring fire, the perfect night for that :)

I finally picked up my contacts from Sam's Club, too. I've been using these ones for too long...it'll feel good to wear fresh contacts tomorrow :)

I can't believe my baby will be 3 this Friday!! Time REALLY does fly, and it does seem to get faster every day.

Well, I'd better go. Princess is watching, you guessed it, Caillou (I'm SICK of that whiney kid, btw!! LOL). I'd better go in there. She likes to cuddle with me when she watches that show, and I like to get my cuddles whenever I can, now that she's not my cuddley little baby anymore...

Talk to ya later :)

Hey, Ya'll!! :) I've been missing a few days, huh? LOL Here's a pic to make up for it!! LOL

This is Princess pushing my SwifferVac!! LOL She was having such a great time I wasn't going to stop her...she's obsessed with those Swiffers...I'm DEFINATELY not complaining...there will be a time when she'll roll her eyes at me when I ask her to swiffer for me :) LOL

Not a whole lot going on this past week. I FINALLY got Princess's party invites done & in the mail, but I still emailed everyone we invited just to make sure we had given everyone ample notice. I feel bad about not getting those out sooner, but I can only do what I can do, ya know? I'm definately not a perfect Mom!! LOL Anyways, I hope everyone can come (I've personally told a few people, too, it's just a few I haven't talked to since Christmas time...) Anyways, it's at Chuck E. Cheese's next Thursday!! :) I haven't been to CEC since Steve & I dated (yes, we went there on a date!! LOL We even had a coupon!! LOL) Anyways, I'm about as excited as Princess!!

I keep asking her what she wants for her Birthday, and she hasn't given me a real answer. Her first answer was "A princess present, Mommy" like I was dense!! LOL Today we went to Target, and she saw that V-Tech V-Smile thing, and now she's saying she wants that...so, we'll see...I have no idea which to get her, the TV hook up or the handheld...I guess we could always get the handheld later...and maybe off of ebay for cheaper? LOL

Speaking of ebay, my husband is OBSESSED!! He's REALLY wanting a PS2...Because he's also obsessed with the kareoke ever since Christmas!! LOL What a dork!! LOL I love it, too, but not enough that I feel like I HAVE to have it!! LOL It'd be nice, but...really :) LOL

Tonight's just me & Princess. I think we'll have a movie night. She LOVES that!! :) She likes to turn off all the lights & pop popcorn & sit with Mommy :) She definately doesn't like sitting still through the WHOLE movie, but she does pretty well in the beginning :) hehehe Dinner's by Chef Boy R Dee tonight :) Well, Lean Cuisine for me. It's SO hard for me to justify making a big dinner for just Princess & I...I'd rather do "convenience" food for just the 2 of us, and cook for my hubby when he's home (He's a blockhead right now, in case you were wondering, and it's getting to be their busy season...) So, a nice lazy evening after we ran errands all afternoon.

Oh, I wanted to share with you a little about the Ladies' Luncheon...The theme is "Enjoying Life's Simple Pleasures ~ Friendship & Chocolate!" VERY cute & fun decorating theme. I think I'm gonna do a pink & brown polka dot theme, and glass jars/bowls with a pink rose in the center. I'll take pictures. Missy & Jodi, think my wedding reception (if you can remember back that far). The glass ball/vase thingys I'm thinking of are really short, so not distracting to talk over, but still very delicate & feminine to lend that to the whole ambiance. I have a strand of white lights (with the white cords) I can put on the food table, and I was going to ask Mom to borrow her chocolate fountain for a little "ooh" & "ahh" factor :) LOL Not only does it look & taste good, it SMELLS good, too :) I think it'll just add a little oomph :)

Okay, I could go on & on about all that, I think you know :) I had a very encouraging & uplifting moment with our female Elder last night, too :) She said, "I just wanted you to know, that I heard you had gotten some mis-information about how I felt about you being in charge of this whole women's ministry thing, and I just wanted you to know that I think it's wonderful you're getting this moving & I'm behind you!!" That was so sweet, and such a confirmation that I'm following the Lord's leading in this. You know how you have moments of doubting yourself/your abilities/"did I hear God right?"/I am so not qualified to be teaching or speaking to so many ladies who are older & wiser than me kind of stuff, and it was nice to have an Elderess (LOL) stop to encourage me. I really feel on the right track, now, more than ever.

You know, I'm really not confident in myself & in my understanding of God's word & direction...maybe it comes from just being indecisive a lot of the times, and definately from a fear of failure! That's a biggie for me, absolutely. Sometimes (actually mosttimes, if you wanna get down to it), my fear of failure is what holds me back from taking any kind of action, and that's not necessarily a good thing. There are times when I know after the fact, that had I taken a leap of faith & said something/done something, there would've been a seed planted, a person uplifted & encouraged, and maybe even another soul won to heaven. Fear can be paralizing, huh? And destructive...

SO, that's it, I won't bore you with anything else about that until I have pictures of what all I'm talking about :) LOL

I'd better go...Princess fell asleep after we went to Target, so now she's sleeping in her bed (thank GOODNESS she didn't wake up when I took all her coat/mittens/hat off of her!! LOL Now she'll take a nice nap :) And I can clean the kitchen...*cue Debbie Downer music* "Wah-Wah."

Have a great weekend, Journal Goddesses!!

Ahhhhh, have you ever had a conversation with someone that just brought peace to your soul? Refreshing & encouraging? DreamGirl was just here & we talked about our church's Women's Ministry (or lack thereof) and it was a breath of fresh air. We're on the same page, and both have a heart for where this is going. We talked about NegativeNelly's leaving the church, and I found out some of the deeper issues, and now I feel like I can pray more specifically for them. The Negatives both suffer from bouts with depression. A few months ago, a new couple came to the church & visited our Thursday night choir practice & what he said has stuck with me ever since. I think I've shared it before, but what I learned about the Negatives today really confirmed/validated for me that these words were spoken for me/us because of this whole situation (not that they haven't applied themselves in other areas, too, but this is a pretty specific case). He said, "There aren't so much problem people as people with problems." That mentality, spirit, attitude can help us react out of love instead of spite or bitterness. I'm a people with problems as much as the next guy, so I'm not trying to "diagnose" the Negatives by any means. It jsut became apperent to me today, though, that all my ideas or suspicions about the Negatives weren't crazy or just in my head. They're real, and I saw that....or the Lord showed it to me, more like...I had no idea of how deep it really went, though, and how personal it was for a lot of people.

Okay, enough of that. We had a pretty productive meeting!! :) We set a date for our first luncheon!! :) We're going to hand out personal invitations to all the ladies in the church, and announce it, too, during Sunday worship. We talked about it being a potluck, and how we wanted door prizes, ice breakers, a devotion/testimony time, and free it up to be a good time of fellowship. Isn't fellowship the crux of our relationships? Isn't that how we get to know each other & start to trust each other so that we can eventually share on a deeper level with one another? Can you see what my tidbits have all been about? Women's relationships with (not just each other) but the Lord, most importantly...

I'm excited, can ya tell? It's TIME for this ministry...actually, past time...

Oh, and another thing. It was so hard for our Women's Retreat to really be effective, because we didn't have the foundation of fellowship beforehand. At both retreats I went to it was like getting re-aquainted with each other each time, because we had no follow up from the retreat...

WOW, DreamGirl & I had a very productive talk, can you tell? I just keep thinking of stuff...

Tonight's AWANA, and Princess is GOING!! :) LOL I've GOT to take down the church Christmas trees....can you believe they're still "up"? They removed them from the stage (fully decorated, mind you) this past Sunday, but they still need to be torn down & put away. Princess's earache really put a wrench in my plans for that. My tree is partially down. The ornaments are off, but the lights are still on...that's my project for tomorrow.

EnglishTeacher's birthday is next Wednesday!! :) I ALWAYS forget her birthday, but since I got hooked up with Birthday Alarm, I know exactly when it is, and I even know what I'm getting her :) But I can't tell, just in case she's reading :) LOL I was thinking of asking Carebear & Daisy to come over the Friday night after & surprising her with a little cake or something (WW friendly, because I think she's still doing that). We'll see :) Maybe brownie sundaes...I think she likes those a lot...

Well, I'd better go...I need to piddle around on the computer for a minute, and get Princess's invitations started on...

Talk to ya'll later :)

Happy Monday...oxymoron...

Nothing much going on the last few days...Cropping on Saturday was F U N!!!!!! It was a lot of fun!! :) I probably spent more than I should've (they're so "nice"...they start a "tab" for you & you pay for everything at the end...LOL). I got a double LO done, and a single LO, but that's all. I could've done more, but we stopped to talk some, too :) And, I stopped to shop a couple times, too :) LOL I'm addicted to rub-ons...They're AWESOME!! :) So cool & easy...and you can put 'em on anything...so cool...The store's really cute, too :) It helps that they have "example" pages all over the store, and example homemade albums & stuff, it really gets my creativity flowing...

So, that was Saturday...Mom ended up watching Princess, btw...After Steve got done being a blockhead (H&R, I'm not insulting him, hehehe) we went out to Bob Evans with Mom & Dad :) YUMO!! :) It was very good :) And, where I'd had junk all day, it was nice to feel like I had eaten. The boys took Princess back to Mom & Dad's, and Mom & I went to Kohl's...Mom had to take back 2 punch fountains, and needed help taking them in...So, we of course had to shop around while we were there (they had a good sale this weekend), and I bought Princess's first spring/summertime dress :) It's cute, and it was only $11 :) Not bad for a brand name dress...Anyways, that was fun...

Sunday we went to church, of course, and then we weren't going to go anywhere Sun. night, but MathTeacherCousin called & said they were getting together at Giovanni's (the nice one) for her bro's birthday...we'll call him RatherbeFishing...He turned 24!! I can't believe he's that old!! LOL He's so cute & sweet, too :) Last year for Princess's birthday, he brought her a gift just from him, and he picked it out & everything. It was a Barbie accessory set that had a cell phone, car keys & "clicker," sunglasses, "makeup" compact & purse. They're still some of Princess's favorite toys a year later :) LOL But wasn't that sweet? He picked it out himself, he didn't ask his mom to do it, or go in on it with her, or whatever. I thought it was sweet :) Anyways, so we went there last night & then went to Mom & Dad's to hang out a little with Daisy & BigBlueEyes :) She's so stinkin' cute, btw!! :) She's just a doll...

Today I've not been feeling so great, I don't know what's up with that. I've been fighting a headache all day & don't know what's up with that. My tummy's been upset some, too, nothing debilitating, like, I'm still eating everything in sight (haha), but it's just not normal right now...

Steve brought me home a Women's World magazine tonight that had something in it about the South Beach Diet (because that's what Dr. H had suggested I try because of the whole PCOS thing), and they pretty much said that SBD was trying to concoct a SBD meal shake to help make it easier to follow the diet. I'm thinkin' that's pretty cool, but anything (besides lite coolwhip) that has the SBD name on it is at least $1-2 MORE than all the other stuff like it. Their frozen meals are at least that much more than Lean Cuisine, and their meal replacement bars are more than Slim Fast...SO, it's a little more expensive to go that way with SB, but I'd be paying more if I went to WW meetings. I'm already paying for the gym, so I'm thinking that I'll just WI there, and start with the water aerobics...Daisy said they've got a water "Salsa" class right now, too, so that sounds interesting...I think just to give the water aerobics people some spice (haha) or variety :) LOL

Hmmmm, well, since I'm just rambling, I'd better go...Oh, I'm getting excited about my meeting with DreamGirl (she has some VERY spiritual dreams...it's so interesting to hear her talk about them...nothing freaky or anything, but the Lord definately talks to her through dreams, as a way of comforting & validation & ministering to others...). Anyways, we're going to talk about Women's Ministries & start planning & stuff...I'm so excited!! I've been reading & actually doing daily devotions, and one of the scriptures the Lord led me to was Acts 13:15

"15After the reading from the Law and the Prophets,
the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying,
"Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement
for the people, please speak."

SO, I've been having all these words of wisdom from my Dad & wise teachers I've had in the past, and all these scriptures come to mind, and for our first luncheon, I really feel like I should open up with my testimony & words of encouragement. I need to just sit down & write it, or at least write down the tidbits as they come, it's just hard because I'm usually doing something else & am not near a pen & paper!! LOL :) Because of the spirit of *discouragement* has just left the church, I feel the Lord's telling me it's time to start up with this WoF Bible study called "Encouraging One Another." Is that appropriate or what?!?! LOL

SO, please don't stop praying...I feel like we're onto something here, and that something big's a gonna happen :) I LOVE fellowship with other women, and I love sharing & laughing & learning & studying the Word with them...I've REALLY missed that...that's how a church grows it's sense of community is by fellowship & sharing burdens & God's Word...just sharing our lives with each other, and not being so distant with one another. That's what I feel like is the biggest obstacle.

Okay, enough "deep" thoughts...that's not helping my headache!! LOL I'd better get a move on...I'd like to get to bed before midnight tonight...