Small Bloggy Break.

Sorry friends.

I am very congested and feeling pretty lousy due to a miserable cold. My little Charlie Bird is running a high fever and feeling pretty crummy as well. So I'm going to be taking a break from blogging until both of us feel a little better. Carry on amongst yourselves.

See y'all soon!

Day 8 ~ Not the Best Day Consider the Whole Fat Lip, Fever and Vomiting Thing.

Today has not been a great day.

For some reason I'm just mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted. I've struggled all day long and fought some MAJOR sugar cravings. I didn't eat any sugar, but the cravings were still there. I think a large part of it stems from the fact that I'm exhausted from not getting sound sleep. Monk's phone went off in the middle of the night last night TWICE. When you add Hope's screeching, grunting and general murmurings in the night it just makes for a very tired momma.

I was going to cover some pretty unusual, and almost humorous, observations I have made over the last few days concerning the cleanse, but the day has been long, non productive and a little stressful so I think I'm just going to wait and share those later.

However, I will quickly cover the other exciting, but not necessarily good, things that have happened today.

Charlie has learned how to climb. She climbs in and out of one of the little rocking chairs in our family room on a regular basis. What she hasn't mastered is leaning forward in them without doing a face plant onto the floor.

This would be the fat lip part of the day. She fell face first out of the rocking chair today busting her top lip and tearing that little skin thingy that holds the upper lip to the gums. There was a lot of crying, a fair amount of blood and WHOLE lotta fat lip.





...and a fairly pitiful look...





I still think she's pretty doggone cute ~ fat lip and all!

Then poor Charlotte's day didn't get any better. She started running a fever around 5 pm and by 9pm she had a nice little fever going. And then came some vomiting. On me.

Oh yes, my friends, that is one way to curb your appetite. It was so bad the dog didn't even like it. Are y'all profusely gagging now? Good. Now we're even.

Time for me to go line the bed with beach towels and find the bucket to keep handy. Good times, friends. Good times.

Good night, y'all. Everyone sleep well!

Cleanse Day 7 ~ Confession is Good for the Soul. Plus I Really Hate Guilt.

So I cheated a little this past weekend. Not as bad as Monk, but I did cheat. (How's that for deflection?)

I let myself get too hungry and then ate a few french fries. Oh, the guilt y'all! I wanted to get down in the floorboard of Phil the Suburban and start confessing rightthatverysecond. I was more mad at myself than anything after I did it, but let me tell y'all ...

...there was definitely pleasure in sin for a season.

But my conscience bothered me the rest of the weekend. Monk on the other hand ate two chocolate cupcakes at a birthday party, drank a cup of coffee with a hot chocolate chaser and didn't have nary an ounce of guilt. I think he needs to have a little talk with Jesus.

What I have come to realize is this: I. Can. Do. This.

Some moments are harder than others, but by and large I'm managing to get through the days without thinking about food 24/7 like I was those first few days. As a matter of fact, I'm starting to 'crave' particular salads and vegetables. WHO KNEW!! This is what's supposed to be happening and that is a good thing. It means that I'm retraining my taste buds to like things that are good for me!

Does it mean that I still don't crave a Ding Dong? Um..no. I still crave sweets, chips and soft drinks .... just not all-the-time-every-second-of-the-day sort of craving. It's occasional now and fairly short lived. (However, the other day I did want to jump some kid with a bag of Doritos, but I don't feel the need to go there right now.) I also have a supplement called Gymnema that is supposed to help curb those cravings. My plan is to start taking this supplement tomorrow to see how it affects me.

(That is if I remember to take it. I am horrible at remembering to take my supplements!)

Today was a chilly, dreary, rainy day here in this here part of Texas. The perfect weather for soup! Rainy day + soup = comfort. One of our standard favorites around here is Tortilla soup. Normally tortilla soup has corn, tortilla chips and cheese, but today we left those things out and just added some carrots to add some color and texture to the soup. I didn't feel like we were missing anything eating this soup! It was extremely flavorful and filling and we walked away from the table not feeling deprived at all.

(Although Monk missed the tortilla chips a little and I missed the cheese ... well... a lot. But it was STILL good!)



Another little gem I have come to discover is the Pomegranate.

Y'all the Pomegranate is like a little burst of sunshine in your mouth! You open it up and it's like a little game of hide 'n seek trying to find the juicy little bits of goodness!

And guess what?! I convinced 3 of my girls to try it ~ very much against their wills ~ and they LIKED it!! This would lead me to Tip #3 ..

Let your children try all the fruits and veggies! You wouldn't believe the things I've discovered my girls will eat! The pomegranate was proof enough for me!

But who wouldn't love this...





The only area of the cleanse that I'm slacking in is sleep. Mostly because our non-sleeping child named Hope tends to yell and talk and scream in her sleep which pretty much means I'm awakened sometimes hourly. Nice, huh? So that means I'm trying really hard to go to bed earlier. Which is really hard for this night owl.

So I'm wrapping this post up and hitting the sheets! I'd love to hear any questions or comments from y'all out there. Especially you lurkers ~ you know who you are! Do you like me chronicling my journey or am I boring the daylights out of you?! I need to know these things!

Goodnight, y'all!! Hoo-hoo.

Weekend Snapshot

Hope's love for Charlotte is deep and abiding .... in that choke hold sort of way.



I think they will be alright. Eventually.



But Hope's need to have a firm grip on the situation at all times could prove to be a little problematic... Especially when Charlotte learns to, you know, grip back. And that day is coming my friends, it is.

Because this little crooked tooth grin right here ....



... it pretty much means she's up to somethin'. Yup.

So you better keep an eye out Hope ...



Charlie's comin' to get ya ...

Day 4 ~ What a DIFFERENCE a Day Makes!!

Oh. My Word. Y'all.

I cannot even begin to tell you how incredibly different I feel today! It is absolutely amazing! All along people told me (and the program did, too!) that the first 3 days were incredibly difficult and once you could get past those first days then you would feel totally different.

They. Were. Right.

I have had NO headaches today and the cravings have decreased SIGNIFICANTLY! I just can't believe it. Monk agreed with me and said he felt really great, too! I even went to the grocery store today, yet once again to buy MORE vegetables, and it didn't bother me a bit. I actually found myself wanting a spinach salad of all things!

If someone had told me the difference between Day 3 and Day 4 would have been this great, I never would have believed them. It's been very interesting to witness these things first hand. It's almost as if I were a 'junky' trying to come clean. I truly believe my body was in withdrawal from all of the caffeine and sugar.

And the best part about these last four days?

I went to get dressed this morning and I only had one pair of clean jeans. I wore this particular pair of jeans last week and they were a little ... um .... snug. As in, I had to go old school and do a few squats to be able to wear them. Well this morning I pulled them out of the closet and lo, and behold, guess what?

They zipped right up ... and WITH NO SQUATTING!!! They didn't even feel tight!

To say I squealed with delight would be a severe understatement. I might have even done a little jig and quite possibly whooped a time or two!!

Don't get me wrong, it's still hard. I still have cravings and moments where I think I can't do this another second. But if today is any indication of how the next few days will go ... then I think I can make it. And I really want to make it. Remember? I don't like quitting.

I'm also learning some new things to cook and that would be my Tip #3 for this cleanse.

~ Have meal ideas prepared before you start the cleanse. Talk to people, get ideas. Then make a grocery list and buy at least a few things more than what you think you will need. Trust me, you will eat it! Let me just say that Portabella mushrooms make a great meat substitution!

Today's fare included some stir fried veggies and they were yummy!! Monk even said he could eat them ever day! Well isn't that the point of this whole thing? To change our tastes and habits? Score for me us!



And some more for dinner along with some brown rice and a little fresh cod for me!



(And can I just say that my dinnerware is SO 1990's! Ewwww. I've been looking for new stuff for a while, but I just don't know what to go with. Something simple yet classy ... but kidproof. Yeah. That's why I haven't found anything yet. ::sigh:: Any ideas?)

So I'm taking the weekend off from blogging about my little 'cleanse' ( I really hate that word), but I'll be back Monday to fill you in on all my new, clean, veggie ways!!

Day 3 - Just Kill Me Now...

Today is the end of Day 3. I hated it. I hated every cotton pickin' last minute of it. Why?

Well for one, I had the most horrendous headache of my entire life for most of the day. It was like someone had my head in a vice and just squeezing all day long. I was not a happy person, my friends. As a matter of fact, I was just downright mean. I was absolutely going crazy with pain and Lord help anybody who got in my way. Monk was pretty smart and just tried to lay low and acknowledge me with grunts and hand signals. The kids just stayed in the other room and tried to ignore my ranting. It was a fairly ugly situation.

Then I texted my friend Cindy. I begged her to tell me I could take a Tylenol, an Advil ... a 5th of Vodka. ANYTHING!! Seriously. I just needed some relief from this headache. She told to try and sip a little unsweet tea to sea if that would help. I hate unsweet tea, y'all. But you know what? I did it. And guess what? About six sips of unsweet tea and a little bit of chicken breast took that headache right away. Holla! You've never seen a happier momma.

Well, except if she had a cheeseburger and a Coke .... she'd be really happy then.

Today has just been crap. I usually don't use that word on my blog as I really don't want to offend anyone, but I just can't help it. I'm miserable and I don't want to do this anymore and crap is the only word that seems appropriate. I mean, what was I thinking? 21 DAYS?? REALLY? Birthing a child doesn't even take 21 days!

I guess I'm just mad. Mad that I let myself get in the position where I need to do something like this. Mad that I can't have what I want. Mad that what I want is a cheeseburger and a Coke. Mad that I spent money on this. Mad that I sound like an ungrateful sin wad who can't be thankful to see an opportunity to get healthy.

But mostly I'm just mad because I want to quit. I hate quitting anything and yet here I am. I'm tired, my head is throbbing again and I just don't want to care anymore.

But I do.

And so I will just go to bed and pray that tomorrow is a better day. Pray that the visual assaults I see while driving in the form of advertisements, billboards and restaurants, just won't get to me. Pray that I won't gag when trying to choke down yet another shake/smoothie/gag-me-with-a-spoon drink. Pray that I can get through another day even if it means hour by hour, minute by minute and moment by moment. Pray that the stupid headache will go away. Pray that I won't want a bowl of cereal in the morning. Pray that my unnatural love for the Ding Dong would be replaced by the more natural love for the ... eh .... carrot.

Because I could cheat. I could SO cheat. I have plenty of things in my kitchen rightthisverysecond with which I could cheat. Namely this....



See! I'm healthy! It's organic for crying out loud! And do you see the price on it?!?! Do you?! I got it for HALF it's normal price!! And I can't even eat it.

When I showed it to the girls their little eyes lit up and they bared their little Piranha-like teeth and I just looked at them and said, "Seriously? You seriously think I'm going to give you my chocolate? My Green & Black's Organic Chocolate? That I only paid $1.72 for?". And I promptly placed it upon the shelf to act as some trophy or prize I've yet to attain.

*Note to self: Eat ALL chocolate in house BEFORE starting a 21 day cleanse.

So I could cheat. I really could. But I'm not going to. At least not today.

Hopefully I can say that tomorrow as well. And the next day .... and the next day ... and the...

The Cleanse - Day 2 ....Day of the Pounding Headache

Well, I think my title pretty much sums up Day 2 of this cleanse. My head has throbbed all. day. long. I wanted a Coke so bad I could hardly stand it ~ for medicinal purposes, of course ~ but I managed to make it through the day with the headaches coming and going. I know they're going to get better, but let me tell y'all .... it's hard to function with small children when you feel as if your head is going to explode.

Food wise I did fairly well. I had some cravings today, but nothing I couldn't get through without a little thing I like to call .... distraction. When I began to think about various foods I just started doing something else. I did accidentally lick a tiny smidgen of peanut butter off of my finger this morning while making Grace's sandwich. After I did it I sort of froze. I wasn't sure what I should do. Should I spit? Should I gargle? Should I ::gulp:: purge? And then I realized I was being an idiot and went on with my day.

The morning was the most difficult part of the day and then I made myself this big, honkin' salad for lunch and I felt much better after that. Wouldn't this make you feel better?



And there was homemade dressing on it to boot!!

On Day 1 I had felt really woozy by 5 o'clock pm. I truly thought I would pass out. I didn't realize that because I was still nursing Charlotte that I was still allowed to have some protein. WELL, HEELLLLOOOO ENERGY!!! Thanks to my friend (and former chiropractor and wife of my current chiropractor) Cindy, she informed me in the comments of my Day 1 post that I was supposed to keep the protein in there. So because of her wonderful news (Cindy, remind me to kiss you when I see you ... okay, that'd be a little weird.... a hug will suffice.) I was able to eat a few extras on Day 2 and wow (WOW!), did it make a difference!!

There was even some hummus among us...



My tip #2 (tip #1 is in the first post) for this cleanse is - Have a plan for what you're going to eat. The worst thing I've done so far is let myself get too hungry because I wasn't prepared for the next snack/meal.

I had to go to the stinkin' store again and once again ... it was a nightmare. Not as bad as Costco, but still hard. I can't tell you enough, if you're gonna do this make sure you have enough groceries for at least 3 days!! And normally I do, it's just been a very crazy week AND I didn't anticipate just how many veggies and fruits we would go through.

Today's trip only happened because the organic carrots that I bought at Target the other day were slimy when I opened the bag. Yea, pretty gross. I needed carrots for Day 2 dinner so I didn't have a choice. I ended up buying some lemons, limes, cauliflower and some butternut squash while I was there. I'm not very good at the whole "I'm gonna just grab one thing" at the store bit. Besides, I figured if I bought it then, then I wouldn't have to buy anything the next day.

Well, at least that's my theory.

Anyway, I took Day 2's dinner of Lentils and Veggies from, once again, my friend Cindy! She finished the cleanse a few days ago and documented a bunch of yummy recipes on her blog. Go check it out!!

This particular dinner didn't make us feel deprived one stinking little bit. We loved it! It was a cold weather, meat on your bones, comfort food meal if I've ever had one. And it was healthy to boot!!

My picture is not that attractive, but I assure you ... it was G-O-O-D!!!



Day 2 is now complete and I'm feeling pretty good. My moods seem to swing back and forth between, "I can totally do this!!" to "I'm never gonna make it, just pass the chocolate". If I can work past a craving then I'm totally fine.

This morning I woke up more rested than I have felt in a very long time. That was because I got ....wait for it ..... wait for it ..... 8 HOURS WORTH OF SLEEP!! I wasn't sluggish and my head felt clear ... until the pounding headaches started, but overall I felt great! I'm looking forward to how I'll feel tomorrow and hoping it continues to get better and better. And that being said ...
since I was already asleep by this time last night, I do believe it's time for me to wrap things up my little friends.

I need to go to bed before a Ding Dong craving hits.

Because I Felt the Need to Torture Myself...The Cleanse...Day 1

You know, it wasn't too long ago that my eating habits were vastly different than they are now. I tried to buy as much organic as I possibly could, I avoided artificial anything and all the snacks at my home were made by me so I could control exactly what I was feeding my children.

Well after Charlotte was born I fell off the bandwagon. Not only did I fall off, but I'm pretty sure I rolled under the bandwagon and was backed over about a 152 times. It was a bad fall to say the least. My healthier eating habits went to the wayside and I threw caution to the wind, not really caring what I put into my body.

As evidenced by my deep and abiding love for Coca Cola.

And Ding Dongs.

Well all that tomfoolery (now there's a cool word, my friends) is now coming to an end. Why? Honestly, I just became convicted about what I was putting into my body and my children's bodies. When Hope would see a Sonic and start asking for a Coke, it started making the momma (HELLO, ME!!!) look real bad. When the other girls would beg to go to Sonic Happy Hour on a daily basis, it started making the momma look real bad. I can site several more instances, but since I feel bad enough already I'll just shut up about it.

So. I've been noticing several people, that I either know personally or indirectly, that go to my chiropractor's office that have been doing this cleanse. Now y'all. The word 'cleanse' would strike fear in my heart by the mere mention of it. I couldn't imagine denying my body of certain things for a whole 21 days! That would be crazy! Especially sugary things!

Well, guess what I started today? Apparently I'm crazy.

I've seen and heard of the many positive experiences people have had doing this and I'll be honest .... I'm tired of feeling like garbage. My joints hurt, I'm tired, I have no energy and I just want to feel good again! Believe it or not .... Monk is doing it with me!! When he said he wanted to do it too, I told him, "You do realize you can't have meat for the first 9 days, right?!?!". My bacon-loving man just nodded his head yes and well ... here we are.

I'm going to try and document the 21 days on here the best I can. Why? Well, it gives me a little accountability and seeing that it's only the end of day 1 and I want to dive head first into Hostess truck I figured it might be a good idea to 'see' my progress in print ... or type ... or whatever you call what I'm doing.

So, here we go ...

The first 9 days of this cleanse include the Standard Process supplements, fruits, veggies (lots and lots of veggies), small amounts of brown rice and/or lentils and some special shakes. You can also use healthier oils like Flax, Coconut and Olive oil. And I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus loves me by the mere fact that I can have butter on this cleanse!! On day 10 I get to incorporate some fish and/or chicken. But right now ... I'm in the trenches.

This was my first shopping trip ... I labeled it just because I love you all. You're welcome.



You're supposed to use all organic fruits and vegetables, but since that is just not fiscally possible around here, I just buy a little organic and a little non organic. I LOVE all the colors in this one!



And here's all the supplements. Exciting, eh? Especially the Gastro-Fiber. Yuuuuup.



I didn't quite finish my shopping on Saturday, so I had to go to Costco today to pick up a few more things. NOT A GOOD IDEA!!

Oh, the temptation swirling around me!! Costco is a veritable sampler's wonderland!! I nearly accosted the man giving out samples of chocolate covered almonds because those are one of my most favorite things EV-VER!! I could have literally thrown my body onto the bagel table and rolled around in all the carbohydrate goodness for hours. I was just too hungry to be there and it was dangerous!

Tip #1 - Have all your shopping done before you start so you don't have to leave the house for a the first few days when it's SO dang hard not to want other food.

Here was my Costco trip today ....



Let me tell you something, my friends .... you've never seen a happier woman upon realizing she could make GUACAMOLE!!!! I used carrots and {English} cucumber today to dip with and am thinking I may even try some celery!!

It was pretty yummy if I do say so myself...



Around 5 o'clock today I hit a wall. Headache, body aches, no energy, etc.. and I haven't recovered since. I knew I need to cook dinner fast and opted to make Monk and I a raw vegetable soup in the Vita-Mix.

It was yummy, but it was yummier after I made sweet potato chips and put them in there!!



It is not even 9:30 pm right now and I am struggling to stay awake. I knew this would happen as the brochure made no efforts to cover up the fact that I'm going to feel wiped out the first 3-4 days, but good golly y'all!!! I certainly didn't expect to be THIS wiped out! Wow.

Anyway, I had planned on giving a whole lot more information tonight, but since I've had to wake myself up about 3 times while typing this .... I plain just don't care right now and I'm going to bed.

I'm happy to have Day 1 behind me. Now I can go to sleep and have sweet dreams of creme fillings.

Obviously my train of thought is not quite where it should be. Then again ... has it ever been?

Betcha Thought I'd Never Post Again, Huh?

Surprise! I still know how to type!

In all honesty.... I've enjoyed my break. It's funny because my blog was originally just supposed to be some sort of online journal of sorts. A place to share funny stories, post my opinions or just get my feelings out there. It wasn't really supposed to be read by other, you know... PEOPLE! Little did I know that a few years later I would have actual relationships with people that I've only known online! Crazy! And when those people don't post I actually worry about them. Really. I do. So whether or not you've missed me .... I've missed you.

I'm feeling a little revived and I like it. It may something to do with the fact that that the planet Sun decided to finally make an appearance again after two straight weeks of nothing but dreary gray days. And the rain! I could swear I heard the cats talking about finding 'ark buddies'.

And I'll be honest. I'm trying very hard to find balance in my life once again. Don't get me wrong ... it's still crazy ... but I'm trying to control the crazy now. I'm trying to ...::gulp:: even make a schedule of sorts. I KNOW!!! You-Know-Where just froze over!

At any rate, I'm not feeling so out of control and that, my friends, has made a world of difference. Some days I just have to stop and pray and ask God to show me what's important and where to slow down. I'm here to say, it's working!

I feel like I need to catch you up on SO much that's going on, but then that seems like such a daunting task that I figure I might as well just pick it up right here and now. It's easier that way. Y'all aren't scratching your heads saying, 'huh?' and I'm not having a nervous breakdown at my computer because you didn't know that Monk took the girls to the State Fair of Texas last week and ate Fried Butter. (Seriously, he did.) Or that Madgirl started Driver's Ed tonight (BUCKLE YOUR SEAT BELTS!) or that I once again switched my photography blog, or that I spent the weekend having a blast with old college friends (one that I haven't seen in 16 years!) and I didn't take one dadgum picture! Seriously, I'm stupid.


Oh wait. I just caught you up.

This past weekend here in Texas was what's known as the Red River Shoot Out. It was the University of Texas Longhorns versus the Oklahoma Sooners college football game. And in case you didn't know ... I LOOOOOVE me some college football! And in case you didn't know again ... I LOVE THE TEXAS LONGHORNS!!! I'll be honest, I'm rather fanatical about it. Monk and I love nothing better than to sit and watch college football on Saturdays together. We bond through the tossing of pigskin. Now that's true love right there, y'all.

Anyway.

This game is HUGE down here and we've been looking forward to it for weeks! So I made us up some Buffalo Chicken Dip with mandatory Frito's and a couple of Cokes and we planted ourselves right there on the couch. It was a much needed time of rest and quite relaxing if I do say so myself. Might I add that there was a lethal amount of cream cheese in that dip. Amen.



We also had a couple of little girls that we're starting out early to be little Longhorn fans. We raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord first ... then we teach'em the Hook'em Horns sign....



We start young ....



.... reeeaaaal young.



And just so you know .... our team won. We were happy. Or ecstatic might be a better word.

But in the midst of all of this celebration, I looked to my 4th daughter or 5th child, and saw this ...



Apparently, Hope finds it not only appropriate, but quite comfortable to wear shoes that are two sizes too small and on the wrong feet. And you know what? I let her.

Choose your battles is what I always say.

See y'all tomorrow ~ you'll NEVER believe what I'm fixin' to do!

Me -1 Discover Card - 0

I think I mentioned before that Monk and I have started doing Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. If you've never heard of Dave Ramsey or FPU, you really need to go to daveramsey.com and check it out. It will change your life. Guaranteed.

Anyway, just over a week ago I had the exciting privilege of paying off my Discover Card. (Give me an AMEN!) This particular credit card has been a thorn in my side for many, many years now. When the opportunity arose to pay it off ~ I was more than elated!

Monk and I gathered around my computer and he watched me check the little circle that said 'Pay Full Amount'. And then I held my breath and clicked the button that said 'Submit'. Then those beautiful words appeared on the screen ...

Payment Accepted

Monk and I whooped and hollered and then we fist bumped. I could swear I felt a chain fall from my wrist at that very moment. I logged in a few days later just so I could see that under the balance it read, '0.00'. What an amazing feeling.

Anyway. I kept meaning to call and close the account and just kept forgetting. Until today.

Y'all. I tell you it took an act of Congress to close that stinkin' account!! I was nervous at first. Then I found it hilarious. Then I became angry. Then it got funny again and I finally convinced Discover Card that I was D-O-N-E!

The conversation went something like this:

Discover girl: Hi, this is Mindy, how may I help you today?

Me: Yes, I'd like to close my account please.

Her: I'm very sorry to hear that (me thinking: yeah, I bet.). May I ask why you are wanting to close your account?

Me: I'm trying to close out all of my credit card debt and only use my debit card.

Her: I understand. I see that you've recently paid your balance in full. You do realize that credit card debt is not something that we are responsible for (really?) and now that your balance is zero you could treat you card as a debit card and still earn 5 % blah, blah, blah, blah. Are you interested?

Me: No, thank-you.

Her: I see that your interest rate was recently raised from ?% to ??%. I could lower that interest back down to your old interest rate for you and credit back your account $50 for some of your interest charges (REALLY? $50?? This is where it was almost comical), does that sound like something you might like to do.

Me: Um, no. Just close the account please.

Her: Okay, I understand. I see that you've been a long standing customer with us for the last 14 years (me: don't you mean 'sucker' for the last 14 years, lady?!) and we would certainly hate to lose you now. I could offer you a guaranteed interest rate of 3.4% for the next six months and you could take advantage of that low interest rate on some purchases that perhaps you've been wanting to make (But they don't encourage debt, right?). How does that sound?

Me: That sounds like debt. I think I've paid y'all enough for the last 14 years, I don't care to give you anymore of my money. Please close the account.

(This is where she changed her strategy. She was done trying to woo me back, now she was going to use fear mongering. This is when I got a wee bit angry. Okay. I was ticked!)

Her: You do realize that your 14 year relationship with us is on your credit report, don't you? By closing this account you do realize that you are erasing that long credit history and thereby affecting your overall credit score. You don't want to do that, do you?

Me: My credit score is of very little importance to me at the moment. Getting out from under credit card debt means more to me than that credit score at the moment. Please close the account.

Her: Blah, blah, blah....(I really don't remember what she said here because I was mad and had tuned her out by this time.)

Me: (interrupting) Have you ever heard of Dave Ramsey?

Her: Yes I have.

Me: I'm doing Dave Ramsey's program right now and Dave told me to get out from under credit card debt. I don't want to waste anymore of your valuable time and nothing you say is not going to convince me to keep my account open or otherwise. Please do us both a favor and close the account.

Her: (pause) Okay, Mrs. Monk, your account is now closed (FINALLY!). Please destroy all cards and or checks you may have pertaining to this account. (pause) And just so you know, your account can possibly be reinstated in the next 90 days without a credit approval should you wish to reconsider.

Me: ::sigh:: Okay.

Her: Thank you Mrs. Monk. Have a nice day. (don't you know she was banging her head on the desk and and sticking pins all over her little Dave Ramsey voodoo doll!!! haha! Then I bet she yelled to the whole room ... ' we lost another one to that dang Dave Ramsey!')

Me: I will.

Y'all, it took me TWELVE (12!!!) minutes to cancel my dumb credit card! I've heard the stories, but I've yet to experience it until today!! CUH-RAZY!!

Poor Mindy. She probably hates Dave Ramsey.

This will be the first of many debts we plan on paying off and quite honestly, I can't wait to call the next person to cancel an account!! I'm just gonna have fun with it and mess with some people's heads! Because I'm a little evil that way.

Oh, y'all. That conversation pretty much made my day today!

And in the word's of Dave ...

"Live like no one else so you can live like no one else"

I think he'd be proud.

And Yet ... Nothin'

I bet y'all are thinkin', 'this is another blog post about her telling us why she's not blogging!', right?

Well yea, it is.

Except this time I'll try to give a little more of an explanation. One that doesn't necessarily rectify the situation, but at least gives you and idea of why I'm not blogging. Or something like that.

Friends and family have been giving me gentle hints about my neglected little corner of the blogosphere and I have told them that I honestly want to blog. I really do. I just can't seem to find the time these days.

Or should I say, I can't seem to make the time. Or I'm mismanage time. Or all the above.

Since school has started I've been busier than I care to be. I'm homeschooling one child, taking another to a homeschool enrichment program two days a week and yet one more to a private school where I take her every morning at 8 and pick her up every afternoon at 3. I'm not complaining about these arrangements as they are what is working best for our family right now, I'm just having a little trouble finding balance.

I've also been doing a fair amount of photography these days which is exhilarating and frustrating all at once. Exhilarating in that I'm am SO excited about this whole new world (hey, isn't that a Disney song?) which is opening up before me and frustrating in that I can't learn things or spend as much time learning as I would like. At this very second I am editing 3 different photography sessions. Whew. I still pinch myself some days because I get to do this! It really has changed my life and I hope it will impact other's lives. I really do love it!

Throw a husband, two babies 2 and under and a house to upkeep (and I'm using that term loosely) and you have a woman who is living on the edge.

That would be me in case you didn't get that last part. I'm the woman on the edge.

I don't like the crazy in my life right now, but it is what it is at this very moment. I'm trying to set things in order to take the crazy level down to just mildly manic, but it's going to be a process. And in case you didn't know....processes to take some time. ugh.

There are plenty of things that I want to blog about (namely my new adventure in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University!!) at the moment, but by the time I'm done taking care of the day to day things, putting children to bed, editing pictures and just sitting brain dead for 2 seconds, there's really not much of my good humor left to blog about.

Right now I consider my facebook page as my mini blog. I tell Hope's latest shenanigans there, post my feelings concerning things like rain, Sonic Happy Hour and how much I love my family. It's just easier and faster. And frankly .... it has made me lazy where my blog is concerned. It's like the fast food of writing. It's a quick fix that limits you to how much you can blabber on about.

Unlike now where I just keep going on and on and on... about nothing, really.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. I can't say that I'll be around tomorrow or the next day or even next week, but I'm certainly not giving up.

Not just yet.