We went to Hell this weekend

And we took the family.

Really, it was called Hotter 'N Hell

This is a picture of the picture on the television, which I turned on

after I drove to my friend's house, picked up her, her husband and

his bike and drove close to the beginning of the race.

Thank goodness they are locals and know the backroads and ways to get

around the traffic- because those bike people are crazy.

There would have been a picture of my mr getting the bikes on the rack in the dark,

but it showed our license plate and I'm paraniod about that kind of stuff.

So, unless you are my mother in law, you aren't going to get to

see that one.

We dropped the guys off, I took my friend home & went back to the hotel.

To cuddle my little son and go back to sleep.

But first, I wanted to see the start of the race.

And I'm glad I watched it on television.

my mr was in "gate three"

He passed the starting line at about 7:30am.

The race cannon went off at daybreak (it was about 7:10).

I'm glad my friend was wise and suggested that we just drop them off.

I think I saw more on the tv than I would have down in that mass.

One of my children really liked saying the name of the race.

She doesn't normally use certain words.

"Hey mom, how long will the H 'n H race last?"

"Do you think Dad's liking H 'n H?"

"When we come back to H 'n H next year ..."

(big assumption there)

She doesn't know I was on to her.

But I was.

Just like I was to her younger brother.

my mr rode the HHH.

Because he is crazy.

HHH is 100 miles.

He said it was harder than his marathons.

He's telling me right now that

his muscles are not as sore as they

are after a marthon.

The reason it's called the HHH is because it is in Texas.

In August.

And it's hot.

But thank heavens,

we were lucky this weekend

and it was only in the high 90s with pretty low humidity

while we waited (me impatiently) for him to finish.

We stayed at the hotel for a while.

Then we went to play with friends.

Then we ventured down to the festivities.

And finally, he came.

In the afternoon.

And we were very happy to see him.

"Daddy, Daddy! Go Daddy, you can do it!"

(This little guy is a very cute cheerleader-please note the almost smile

on the man walking by in the white jersey. You have to look really hard.)

Done.

And almost ready to recuperate.

How I've become versed:

Marriage brings all kinds of surprises, you really never know what you are signing up for.

And

It's really, really nice to get to see very dear friends.

(Someday I will have to tell you about my Mildred.)

And

I don't need to set insane goals.

I will leave that to other people

And be supportive.

He wants to ride is bicycle.

He wants to ride his bike.

He wants to ride his bicycle.

He wants to ride his bike.

In a crazy long hot race.

Wearing the funniest little padded tight bummed pants

and a helmet.

So we'll wish him good luck

and tell him to be safe and have fun.

And wait at the finish.

Hey man, good luck.

(and let it be known that he loves star wars)

(I promise to share pictures later, but maybe not of the bum.)
(Bum meaning bottom/behind/tukas, not the man. He is definately not a bum.)
(I told little mr j to scoot his bum up on the chair at the eye doctor yesterday.)
(The doctor laughed out loud at me.)
(Well, not at me, but at my choice of words.)
(At least that's what he told me.)

***This song's been in my head ever since he took up this new hobby.***
***I keep playing the video over and over.***
***I like it.***

18 Years. Almost.

18 years, almost.
That's how long I've not been alone for over a couple of hours at a time.
That's a long time.
(Ok, well, there have been a few days of respit here and there, but over all-most of that time has been spent in the presence of other human beings-usually the small kind.)

And now I am sitting here and I have been alone for one and one half hour so far.
It is very quiet.

Today marks the end of an era.

I'm not happy and I'm not sad.
There are weird noises in the house.
I keep getting spooked.

Little mr j. started PreK today.

Little mr b. started 5th.

The girls are out to lunch with a dear friend.

They go back to teenager school tomorrow.

I should be organizing. I should be cleaning. I should be doing something productive.
But I am not.
I am wallowing in the quiet
and getting spooked by house noises.

Little mr j. gave me permission to take a nap.
I think I will follow his suggestion.
In fact, I have been telling folks that's the plan until the end of September
and so has he.
My afternoons are booked.
Then I will be productive.

18 years is a long time.
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I guess the universe heard me writing that a few days ago, because I haven't had a quiet moment since. All those few quiet hours have been filled.
I have not been alone at all.
So, new plan.

I am scheduling in an appointment every weekday afternoon-no longer booked, they are now scheduled.
I am hoping tomorrow's appt. includes that nap.
And making bread.
As of now, there are no people on the agenda.
(No offence if you are a people, I enjoy you and everything. I just need a nap. Case in point: I am so tired that I almost forgot to go pick up that cute little boy pictured above after school yesterday. Thank heavens for long parent pick up lines. He has no knowledge of my mistake.--And the tired is my own fault. I need to go to sleep earlier. Every thing has a consequense. I know.)

Where did the week go?

Did you see it?
I know it was here.
It just flew away so quickly, I can hardly even believe it.

It started before the weekend before.
Everyday and every evening, there were things on the calendar.
Family things.
Friend things.
Sports things.
Cuddling things.
Service things.
Fun things.
Preparing things.
Social things.
Busy things.

And then it was this week,
and there was more.

And it's all good,
but I feel a little bad
because I haven't
been here.

And here makes me happy.

So, as this next week revs up, and tries to get away,
I will catch it
and hold it
and share.
So we can see it and know this week was here.

This Sunday Afternoon

Well, really it's early Sunday evening, but as I took a nap, it's seeming to still be afternoon.
I am sitting here thinking that I really should do a Sunday School entry, but don't know what to write, so instead, I'm going to tell you something different.

Right this moment, I am listening to my mr tutor little mr b a bit on the tuba.
"b flat, c, d, e flat, f -- now you need to do it with more confidence. what's the first note?"
little mr b knows the treble cleff, but that bass clef is a bit more challenging right now.
We're looking forward to the umpas coming soon.
my mr played the trumpet and the drums.
little mr b's experience is piano
and he tried out for all state choir, even though the only experience he has singing is from church (and at home-but all our singing is silly and would not have prepared him for that).
He didn't make the it, but a lot of other boys chose to try out & I think some of them made it.

He's started football training camp.

Our fall has started.

The girls didn't want me to come with them to look for school clothes. 
The boys aren't getting any.
(Until it gets closer to cooler weather.  I don't get their long pants or schoolish shoes until it's time for the weather to turn, because every time I have, they grow out of the new before they even get a chance to wear them. And little mr b will just rip holes in the knees on the third wear, so really-I'm conserving, right?)

"e flat, e flat, come on, you're guessing.  e flat is first valve. e flat is what?"

I am thankful that my mr is a part of the kids' lives.
He used to not be so much.
Life used to be harder for us.
It's much better now.

"bom, bom, bom. bom, bom, f, e flat, d, c, b flat."

little mr j can swim now. He still kind of scares me, but I think if he fell in, he most likely would be able to get himself out.

He starts preschool in three days, or if you count hours-it's less than 72.

I did not get a sunburn this summer. My daughters did.
They also found some great deals at a consignment shop.

~Insert real tuba noises here~bom, bom, bom, bom, bom

"Put this back in the case and go ask your mother if we are going to have dinner now. Close the lid and shut it up. Bom, bom, bom, bom, bom."

Guess I'm on.
Bye.

It is August. We are Melting.

one of my miss girls took this one

When we moved to San Antonio, TX from the northwest & summer hit, I thought I was going to die.
I didn't, though and am very happy about that.

So when we moved from there to here, we were excited about living in four seasons again.  Except there are way more than four seasons here & sometimes they all come in one week. (I will not address this further, but will leave it at: living here is a weather adventure.)

Take humidity. I grew to love the Texas humidity (and I know that we probably never had it as bad as other places in Texas-thank goodness). When I walked outside, I got a free facial - even though it was hot.

Then we moved to Oklahoma, which is less humid, but definately not dry.
And my wrinkles appeared. Oh man! We better never move anywhere dryer-who knows what will happen to my skin then.

Anyway, last Thursday morning, the boys and I stepped outside and it wasn't steamy humidity.  It was full on french fry oil air.  So weird (we don't live near any restaurants).  I was very grateful that it blew out in a couple of hours. That oil would not do wonders on this face.

Heat index-did you know that the humidity makes it hotter. And when the wind blows and the temperature is hot and there's humidity. Think full body blow dryer.

Again anyway, I've been told that this crazy weather year (ie: ice storms followed by snow, hail storms, not many tornadoes, early summer continuous rain, flooding, crazy hot) is just a little unusual. I'm not sure if I should believe them.

Today I saw a weathercaster say (regarding later in the week), "This is the forcast for the rest of the week but, you know, it's Oklahoma" and shrug his shoulders. Made my day.

In honor of the heat, here are some reminders of what happened last winter.

(you get brownie points if you find something unusual in this picture)

one of my miss girls took this one, too

and my feet are really not this big

I borrowed someone's boots

I need to get boots this winter

maybe then it won't snow

Knowledge gained: it is really hard to clear snow when you have to deal with the inches thick layer of ice underneath, if you wait, things will change, & if the ice isn't cleared off the driveway, it is impossible to get in and out. We deal with what we're dealt.
And-when it's hot, we melt.

I don't complain about the weather.  I just describe it well.

And if it snows tomorrow, you are invited over to help dig out.

Love this.

It's 8/9/10  11:12.

We also get thrilled whenever it's 1:23.

"If You Really Knew Me"

You would know that I let my kids watch too much television.
Just really mostly in the summer. Rules change when school's in session.

But I almost flipped when I saw they were watching an MTV reality show---that just crossed a line.
Until I thought, "I really know them. They don't watch stuff like that."
So I sat down by them and started asking questions.
And they super-kindly asked me to be quiet
and watch the show.
So I did.
And I cried.

The website for the program describes it as "a reality version of the breakfast club."

I think (& hope) our culture is changing.
Please keep going in this direction MTV.
Please keep going in this direction world.

____________________________________________________________________________

Side note- this week's episode (tues 10c) takes place in an OKC school-not ours, but still it's OK, so we're looking forward to it.

Happy Blogday Little Blog

I don't know what to call this day.
Is it a birthday? Is it an anniversary?
I don't know, but when I told my mr what today was he said, "Well, Happy Blog Day."
And it fit.

One year.
Weird.

So, Becoming Versed, in honor of your special day, I want to tell you how you came about & how you were named.

A year and a half ago, I started to read these things called blogs-what a world I found. (Ok-I know I was slow to find it, but it was amazing none-the-less.)  I read and enjoyed. I perused and found some I enjoyed, but thought, there has to be more than this.  Why are all these people doing this?

A continuous discussion regarding facebook and blogging was going on at my house. A certain oldest daughter of mine said, "Mom's blog, kids facebook."

Well, ok.

And then I started thinking, why not me?
And this was big, because-even though I could talk to anyone like a long lost best friend, I had become incredibly shy. Any sharing of anything of "mine" seemed very scary.  {Oh, I'm an enigma ;).}

But, why not me?
I kept having the strong feeling that this was something I was supposed to do-and an idea formed in my head.  An idea that I am happy to say, has grown well over this quick year.

Little did I know what a gift this little Becoming Versed would be to me.
I knew I was supposed to write & it's been helping me find my voice.
Who knows where this voice will travel.  If it doesn't travel far, I am ok with that.
If it does travel to parts unfamiliar, I will accept that & learn from the experience.
And enjoy.

You see those little pictures of the wonderful people over there ---->
I am very grateful to them. 
The family with somewhat anonymousness, the folks who publicly follow BV (I smile everytime I see your pictures), and those who are so awesome to come take a peek at what is going on here in less public manner--Thank you.

And now I will tell you the real reason I started BV & just know that this is how I felt at its conception and I don't know if it is totally accurate-it's just how I was seeing and feeling the world at that time:

I had become invisible. My opinions were not sought out & even if I was brave enough to speak up, I was talked over. I felt as though only one or two people really knew me. I might not have even known myself.
I think I had lost me.

I started this little thing to leave my kids and someday grandkids & someday maybe others a little record that I did exist and I did know a thing or two. I felt like I was supposed to.

A funny thing has happened.
I am more confident. 
Sometimes in real life, I speak up & voice my opinion (ok-I am really good at this in the walls of our home-it's just now that certain children are paying more attention). I'm less afraid of the world.
I feel like a real person again & like I exist.

And I even surprise myself sometimes.

So, thank you, little blog.
I am so grateful.
And as it's getting late, I will have to tell your naming story another day.
Good night.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Important information regarding the photograph at the top of this post: There have been no cakes in this house for about a month.  This is an old picture from an old celebration.

Just wanted to make sure you knew that.

And

I am on facebook now.

As the real me.

With the same legs.

What we learned last weekend

and hope will not be repeated for a very long time, if ever, for any of us.

It costs between quite a bit and a lot (after insurance pays it's 11 miles) for a vehicle to get a ride from McAlester to OKC.

Here's the logic in having it towed so far (because I know you're thinking, "why didn't they just get it fixed in McAlester?"): the shop was closing, they couldn't get the parts till Tuesday, and it would have probably cost us almost that much in the alternative ways of dealing with the situation.

I am extrememly thankful for the folks that helped out & for the adult who dealt with this mess.

I am also very, very thankful that I did not have to be that adult.

How I fell off the no sugar wagon yet again

These babies and a huckleberry shake.

Don't have a picture of the huckleberry shake, my focus was on consumption.

(And G-it's not your fault-I have free agency, I chose to break my vow, and now it's up to me to deal with the consequences.)

They were consumed on two different days. That is important for me to know that you know.

What led me to break my vow:

A beautful maple bar - the likes of which I haven't seen here in the more southern states.

(Recently, I've found out they call them longjohns here. That's why I haven't been able to find them. But, with another name, they just wouldn't taste the same.)

This -ok, these- were the best maplebars ever.

Am I saying that because of a few year's deprivation?

Probably.

You can get them here.

A place run by a man, who used to be a boy, who I used to have a crush on, but then decided I liked his friend better. Who both lived in a different town than the store.

And to whom I say hello to every few years when I go there.

(And G, that's probably TMI, but you knew me when I was a teenager. It's a good thing that I've matured and I believe you've forgiven me. I want you to know I've always liked your son the best even though when we broke up the first time it's because he decided to date another girl without telling me- his "girlfriend.")

Huckleberries.

Have you ever even heard of huckleberries?

I can't decide if I like them because I like them or because of their name.

Huckleberries.

A few months before I fell this time, I was in another town, in another city in the same state & rekindled my huckleberry fantasy.  If you go to this other city, and you have a hankerin' for huckleberries or breakfast or lunch, you need to go to this place and  order the huckleberry/zucchini bread (don't you love the spelling of zucchini?) french toast.  It comes with huckleberry syrup.

Technically, it was breakfast-so I wasn't cheating that much on the no BLATANT sugar thing. And my friend and I split that and eggs, so we got some protien to help cushion the sugar effects.

(I know, I have honesty issues when it comes to sugar.)

You can find out more about huckleberries here.

But after you read that, just know that the Idaho huckleberries I am talking about are purple and tiny and don't have too many seeds. And you have to pay extra to get a huckleberry shake.

Because they are more valuable.

If you are looking to kick the no sugar habit, I reccomend going to this place.

Order a huckleberry shake, some fries and remember the fry sauce.

Side note:  As it is now almost the last of summer & I am very disappointed in myself, I will be jumping back on the no BLATANT sugar wagon.  I think I will be ok. We are not scheduled to return to Idaho for quite a long time. And it's all Idaho's fault, you know. Please wish me luck.

____________________________________________________________

Here, this place, & the other place have no idea that I am talking about them and have not compensated me in anyway. But, if they wanted to talk, I might be willing to listen.

____________________________________________________________

Post Edit--I made a mistake--my travels did not take me as far as my link to the breakfast place link takes you. Try going here instead. (Thanks for the heads-up, R OK!)

Permission to Blab

Woo Hoo- Someone gave me permission to blab.
Thanks Someone.

Someone is a crazy writer girl and let me read a couple of her manuscripts.
Which I enjoyed.
And read too quickly.

Go visit her blog (linked above).
She's very imaginative.
And creative.
She's an artist.

And she follows this blogger/writer's advice.
(And she doesn't even know it. Someone, I think you should check him out.)
If you'd like to read the first chapter of the above pictured manuscript, click here.
                                                                                                                                                     
I am very grateful for the human connections this world affords us.
Crazy Writer Girl (and I know I am not spelling it the way she does) is a friend I've made in our most recent locale & I am getting to know blogger/writer. I am looking forward to the day (school starts in a few weeks, then I'll have some time-yay) when I can sit down and wrap my brain around his type of writing. It's extremely intriguing.

Sunday School

Did you get the memo?
I am so excited.
I almost shouted "HALLELUJAH!"
from my seat.

But in my congregation that's not typically done.
I'm afraid I would have really disrupted the ongoings.

And that would have been bad, because the memo was regarding the disruption on the ongoings.

I was so sure they were going to call out my mr. for using his i-devise in meetings to look up things being discussed. It is a huge distraction. (But this was a worldwide memo, so really it wasn't directed at him. phew.)

But no, they announced (HALLELUJAH!) that in our main meetings, many speakers are using visual aides and excessive asking the audience to follow along in their own scriptures-so (dun, dun, dun...)

Please to not do that anymore.

HALLELUJAH!

Because it is a distraction & it takes away from the words that are being said.
The words that teach and inspire.

I am an early adapter.
I have followed this teaching all along.
And I am so happy the world's catching up.
(I'm typing that with a giggle in my heart-because really, who am I? I'm just me, who's always sat and listened, even when they asked us to pull out our scrips and all that and who can thankfully look past excessive visuals {really that's never been a problem in the meeting's I've attended-except once many years ago when someone pulled out a boom-box and played a country song-fitting and all that, but when teaching and speaking in Church, we should only be using Church approved materials}.)

So Hallelujah and happy day!
See you in Church
(as my grandpa used to say).