Ch...Ch...Ch...Ch...Changes!!

OK. I've decided that it's time that I work days. I'm tired of being gone @ night & staying up all night. I love F, but It's just time. I've been working nights for a while. I was offered a job that is M-F 8am - 4pm. Which means that I can get the kids off to school in the am & I'll be home right after they are in the afternoon. As an added bonus I'll be able to sleep in the same bed @ the same time as my hubby. The only downfall is that I will be losing my overtime, but my company is looking to take that away from me anyway. I feel really bad for the family. I really hope that my company can find a replacement quickly. I gave 3 weeks notice.

WTF???

Last week I was sick & missed 3 days of work. Not "Oh I have a stuffy nose & headache" sick, Body aches, fever, I can't swallow, I can't get out of bed, & I'm coughing crap up sick. It was awful. I am still a little stuffy & coughing. Well guess what? Friday night I got sick again. I was freezing, had stomach cramps, my skin on my back hurt & I had to lay on a heating pad to keep warm. Sat. the chills were gone but I was very sore still had the cramps & was wishing that I could either puke or crap so that I would feel better. Neither of those happened. Sun I felt better but I was very sore. I wanted to get out of the house so we went to Austin to run some errands & have lunch. I was only able to eat part of my lunch & I got so weak we couldn't finish our errands. O & the stomach cramps came back! WTF????
I feel like I'm going through chemo again.

Just feeling ick......

I'm just feeling pissy & stressed out lately. I think most of it is b/c S has been in "a mood" lately. It always seems to make me pissy when he gets this way. I love him to death but he's just a terd sometimes. I know there are times when the same can be said @ me.

Shelby on Nitrous @ the Dentist

Busy...Busy...Busy...

It's been a busy few days so I have a few new posts. Sunday I got my house cleaned!!!! There are still a lot of boxes that I need to go through but my bathroom is organized & the rest of the house is clean.

I decided to stay @ my current job w/Faith for several reasons. 1) money- I took the kids to the dentist today & spent $350 & N still needs @ $1000 more worth of work done. He may have to have 2 teeth pulled to make room for his adult teeth. He also has 4 cavities. 2) What if I start a new job & hate it? 3)I'm off on fri. & if we want to go out of town we can leave whenever instead of waiting until after work. 4) I feel that I would be letting Faith & her family down.

Sh had 3 cavities filled today & d/t her fear of needles we decided it would be best for her to have conscious sedation which means Valium & nitrous oxide. She was higher than a kite. It was too funny. She kept laughing & laughing. She also kept asking where her tongue, her teeth, & her lips were. Then I kinda felt bad for her b/c she would start crying & she didn't know why. So she would laugh then cry then laugh then cry. I told her it was like she was on a roller coaster. To which she replied, "No mom, roller coaster make me happy whole time". I cracked up because she sounded Chinese when she said it. I have video on my cell & if I can figure out how to post it I will.

Everybody was Kung-Fu fighting.......

I've been wanting to take the kids to a Japanese steakhouse for awhile. So this weekend after N's soccer tournament we decided to go to Sushi Japon in Austin. It was partially to celebrate S & mine's 15th anniversary too. For an appetizer we had a spider roll which is sushi w/fried softshell crab. Yes, even the kids liked it. For dinner we had soup, salad w/ginger dressing, a few shrimp, fried rice, hibachi steak & hibachi chicken. S & I shared a little peach saki & the kids split a Japanese fried ice cream. It was all DELISH! We had a lot of fun & so did the kids. Notice our chef is South American & not Japanese. :)

Soccer Superstars!

Sat. N was in his 1st soccer tournament. It was a long day but it was pretty fun. We were there from 9am to 5pm. They played 6 games & N's team won 1st place Bastrop team & 3rd place overall. Now we have to go to Austin next Sat for another tournament. Yay! (sarcastic)

Stressed Out!

This blog is just basically me venting. My house is driving me nuts! It's not that it's dirty, there are just a lot of things that still need to be organized. We also still have boxes that need to be gone through in the garage, so that we can have a garage sale. I've just needed a few days free so that I can get things done but i work all week & every weekend we have had something going on. I thought this weekend I would finally get the chance to do some of it & BAM! N's team has a soccer tournament all day Sat. I know that I can do some of it on Sun but I was planning on getting a lot done this weekend & now I only have part of one day to do it. UGH!
2nd vent: Stressed out @ my job. I was offered another job today. It is days Mon-Fri. Which would be really great, but I would get no overtime. We don't rely on it to pay the bills, but it sure has been nice having the extra $. The other problem is Faith. I'm so attached to her. I love her so much & hate to lose her. I would also feel bad for her family. What if they can't find someone else to work nights? That would be very hard on them. I would feel bad for leaving them. On the other hand I'm sick of working nights. It would be great to have a normal schedule. I don't know what to do. Again UGH!

Even more concert pics.....

Natasha Beddingfield, She was actually singing to me in this pic.

OK, so I was more than a little drunk.

Happy, Happy, girls!

More concert pics....

Me & Jon. AHHH!

Me (front & center), Michelle(far left), & Adrianne (squatting down w/me & Danny).

Jon & Donnie. I want to be in the middle of that samich!

Jon, looking ever so HOT!

Another pic of us & the guys.

NKOTB weekend in San Antonio......

Awsome awsome weekend. I won't post the whole story here b/c i don't think anyone but Jenn reads this anyway. Long story short, met the guys before the concert Fri. It was an amazing experience that I've been waiting a long time for. It was very rushed & we didn't get much time so we were a little irritated @ that. Jon was very sweet & gave the best huggs. Danny was very personable & really took time to talk to me. He is now my 2nd fav. Here are some pics from the concert.











Sorry @ the sideways pic.

New member of the house...

My 15 year old nephew J is going to move in with us in a few weeks. He's a really great kid but is having some problems w/other kids @ his school. Sounds to me like he has become an outcast. He is catching hell from other kids. It's a shame that kids can be so mean. On top of all that, his girlfriend of more than a year broke up with him. He is depressed & heartbroken. He needed somewhere that he could start over new so we offered for him to come live with us. I'm excited that I'll be able to spend so much time with him but saddened that things at his school have gotten so bad.

Update....

Just a quick update. One of the cast members broke her leg & isn't supposed to walk on it for 6 mos. or something. So the part of the judge is being reserved for her in hopes that she will be able to do that part. I got my second part choice though. The part of the Evil Stepmother. She is the Big Bad Wolf's lawyer. I like this part too. The only thing I'm worried @ is memorizing the lines. I have 100 lines which is the most of the whole cast. Well gotta go. Later.

The Big Bad Musical......

So I just got back from the class & I'm no longer freaking out. Turns out there is a teen class & an adult class & we will be putting on separate performances. There were 8 people in my class & from what I understand there are 1-2 missing tonight. We will be doing a musical called "The big Bad Musical, a howling courtroom comedy". It's about the trial of the BIG Bad Wolf for eating red riding hood, blowing down the 3 little pigs houses, & steeling sheep from the boy who cried wolf. It's really cute, basicly for kids but anyone is welcome. I'm excited but still alittle nervous. She walked around while we were singing to hear each of us. What if I get a part w/ a solo? I'm not sure I can pull that off. I'm going to try to get the Judge part. I like her, she's funny. Anyway, the play is Dec. 6th & again on the 12th or 13th I'm not sure which one. Hope to see you there.

OMG......What am I doing?

OK, so one of the reasons that we moved to Bastrop was b/c there are so many activities for the kids. They put out a catalog of community activities every spring, summer, & fall. The classes are relatively cheap & range from physical activity, to cooking, to accounting & they are offered to kids & adults depending on the age range of the class. It's pretty cool. Sh will be taking Izzy to the dog obedience classes.
Looking through the catalog I decided that I would sign up for a class. Maybe I would meet some people & make friends here. All of my friends live hours from me & I miss having friends come over & hang out. Any way, I considered Yoga but the class is only offered on Sat. morning & we are usually busy on the weekend. Plus, you aren't really supposed to talk during Yoga so how would I make friends? Then I considered Hip-Hop dance, but it is offered Thurs. during the day when I am sleeping after work. Tai-Chi, maybe, adult basketball league, overlaps N's soccer & Sh's dog training.
There was one class that caught my eye, but could I possibly be that brave? Even though I'm an extreme extrovert, would I really be able to step out of my shell that much? I mean, it is something I've always wanted to do. As a matter of fact I often wonder if it was my true calling & I missed it. I get so jealous when I see other people doing it that I almost cry because I want so badly for that to be me.
For those of you that know me well you have probably already guessed what class I will be taking. Public Performance. From what I understand, based on our talents & the things that we learn in class, the students will be putting on a performance in December. My first class is tonight & I'm freaked. What if I have no talent? The class is for teens & adults. What if I'm the only adult? OMG, what am I doing?

Chicago....my kind of town!!!!

Last thurs I flew to Chicago for the weekend. My sis was there on business & invited me to come out for the weekend. We had such a great time.

The very 1st McDonald's


Millennium Park
Cloud Gate Sculpture


underneath the sculpture


Jay Pritzker Pavilion @ Millennium Park (very cool architecture)


Navy Pier


view from the top of the ferris wheel


me, just messing around



bucket drummers on the street walking back from the miracle mile



Subway (or EL train)


Lincoln Park Zoo





MMMMM! Chicago deep dish pizza


My camera was messing up so my sis got more pics for me. I will post them when she gets them to me.

Dog allergy update

It's been a little over a week since we changed the dog's food due to allergies & I'm amazed @ how well they are doing. Abby hasn't needed any of her allergy/steroid pills, she is hardly chewing her feet at all, & best of all she has had no more itchy breakouts on her tummy. She has gained some weight though. Izzy is also doing well she isn't scratching at her ears anymore. What's kinda funny too is that the dogs aren't as stinky anymore. If I'd have known it was this simple I would have bought expensive food a long time ago.

Allergies...They run in the family

Most of you know that we have been battling Abby's severe allergies since we got her 2.5 yrs ago. Recently I changed her food to a very high quality (& expensive)dog food called Blue Buffalo. I got her the lamb & rice flavor because that supposed to be less allergenic. She has done great on it, her skin started to clear up & her coat has never been softer or shinier. I highly recommend this dog food to anyone. I had to take Izzy to the vet the other day d/t the fact that she kept scratching at her ears & was yelping some. You will never believe what the vet told me.....Izzy is having an allergic reaction to the new food!!! UNBELIEVABLE! This is a new vet since we have moved but I really liked him & he was very honest. After telling him about Abby & her problems he recommended that my dogs be put on a strict diet for at least 4 weeks to see if they did better. They can't have any chicken, beef, lamb, corn, wheat, or rice. Do you know how hard it is to find a dog food that doesn't have some form of one of those in it? I was going to make them food w/venison, potatoes, & veggies but you need to make sure they get vitamin supplements if you do that & every one that I looked at had at least one "bad" ingredient in it.
So after literally 8 hour on the computer looking at dog foods, the ingredients & Internet forums, I finally found something. Taste of the Wild dog food, it has one that is made from fish & potatoes. There is also one called Natural Balance (@ Petco)& they have a few different flavors for the dogs. They are also pricey but they are @ the same as the Blue Buffalo. The other reason that I had originally changed their food is because all the crap (fillers, preservatives) in regular dog food. My mom has had 2 dogs die from cancer & it is becoming more common so I wanted to try to avoid this with my 2 babies.

End of a legacy....

Thurs. Night my mom called me to tell me that her dog Rex wasn't acting right. After some nursing asessment over the phone I told her she should take him to the vet in the a.m. if things weren't better. She called Fri. night to inform me that Rex had a 3 pound tumor on his spleen & had passed away after the vet had tried to remove it. My mom was crushed.
It was hard for me too b/c he wasn't just my mom's dog. He was the only link I have left of my beloved Boomer. I got Boomer for my 10th b-day & he was & always will be the best dog I ever had. To say the least I loved him very much. It devastated me when he died @ 15 yrs old. Rex was his son. RIP Rexy-boy 1996-2008

Fun weekend!

We had a great time this weekend! Stace didn't work & we decided to do something fun as a family. We drove to Natural Bridge Caverns, by San Antonio. They have several things to do there, cavern tours, mining, rock climbing, & a wildlife park. The kids have always wanted to do some mining so we decided to surprise them & do that. They have mining pans & water running through these trough like things, to help you wash away the dirt. It was a lot of fun. The kids found arrowheads & lots of "gem" stones. Stace & I also found some good stuff. I even found a pretty decent size amethyst. Although, I doubt any of it is really worth anything. It was still lots of fun.
After mining we drove through the wildlife park & saw lots of really cool exotic animals. The coolest part by far though was when a momma & baby Zebra came up to our car & we fed them from our hands. They were sooo sweet! They walked into the woods though b/c it started pouring down rain. After the wildlife drive we went to the petting zoo. AKA, a bunch of goats in a pen. They weren't that interested in our food they just wanted to eat the bags. There was on that really enjoyed getting a butt scratch from S. :)
Then we went to Clear Springs Catfish for dinner. We met my mom, dad, brother, sister, & nephews there. It was a goodbye party for my brother, who will be headded back to college next weekend. It makes me sad b/c although he has been home all summer I don't feel I have gotten to spend much time w/him. I'm going to miss him lots. :( We also ate a wonderful strawberry cake my mom made for S b/c his b-day was 8-13. It was de-lish! Thanks mom.

OUCH!!!!

We are officially moved into our new house. The the timing could have been better though. This weekend was one hot MF. After moving on Sunday we decided to take a dip in the neighborhood pool. It felt sooo great until.....I BROKE MY NOSE! Yes, I broke my nose while swimming! I was swimming a lap under water w/my eyes closed (the chlorine Burns them)when I felt that I was on the surface of the water so I dove down deeper. Well guess what. I was actually only @ 6 inches from the bottom so I did a face plant onto the concrete bottom. OUCH! It hurt so bad that all I could do was come up & hold my face. When I finally took my hands off S looked @ me & said "Baby what happened? Your nose is bleeding!" To which my daughter Sh freaked out! I looked @ my hands & they were covered in blood. I went to the bathroom & stopped the bleeding. I have a scrape on the bridge of my nose & it's all bruised & swollen. S felt bad for me but he also kept laughing at me. We had to leave the pool because I needed some pain meds. It hurt all the way down to my teeth. I couldn't smile or raise my eyebrows, any facial movement hurt my nose. I felt better after the meds. Today it's still swollen & bruised but I'm OK as long as I don't touch it or bend down. It's not crooked it just feels stuffy from swelling. I think I just cracked the bridge. I have never broken a bone in my body & leave it to me to break my nose swimming.

5 YEARS!!!!

I am officially 5 years out from breast cancer! I saw my oncologist today & he said I'm doing great. I don't have to go back for a full year. Woo Hoo! That makes me feel great but I'm not sure if I'll ever shake that thought in the back of my head that at some point it's going to return. It's not near as bad now as it was though. I was pretty freaked out @ the possibility up until @ a year or so ago. I still think about it a lot I'm just not as consumed w/fear anymore. I think what helped was at my last visit w/my doc he said, "When you do this for a living, you start to get a feel for which patients are going to have a recurrence & which ones aren't. I really don't think you are going to have any more problems." I realize that he can't be sure but I trust him very much & hey, I'll take it!

Funny Realization......

I don't usually post things like this but... This morning on the radio the DJ was talking about how most people who are funny are that way b/c it's a coping mechanism. He said that the reason he is funny is b/c he had a very difficult childhood. This got me to thinking. I think most people consider me to be funny, & although I didn't have the worst childhood, it wasn't all picket fences & fresh baked cookies either. My mom & dad divorced when I was 9 & although we have a great relationship now, my dad wasn't the best father @ the time.
The breakup really did shock me. Most kids know that there's trouble, but really I didn't. My mom was great. I don't know how she did it. My dad on the other hand waited MAYBE 2 months to introduce us to his girlfriend who I later found out was the woman he cheated on my mom with. It was very difficult as he slowly lost interest in seeing us & we were replaced with his "new" family. On the weekends when we did go visit it was parties, alcohol, & I'm sure drugs (although I never saw any). Some nights I could hear my dad & step mom beating the hell out of each other in the other room. They weren't always very nice to me & my sister either.
My dad didn't help my mom with child support either. Which gave my mom leverage. She was tired of us coming home from his house upset so she told him to either pay up or give up rights to us. That way we would only have to see him if we wanted to. That was probably what hurt the most. He agreed to terminate his parental rights. Which meant we no longer had a dad, legally.
My mom had remarried when I was @ 11 & he adopted me when I was 15. Things changed w/my dad @ the same time. He divorced my step mom & we slowly rebuilt our relationship. It took a long time to trust him but now we are very close & I love him very much. So now I'm lucky, I have 2 dads.
I was thinking about all of this tonight when I realized that my kids are almost the same age as my sis & I were when all of that started. I cannot imagine my kids having to go through something like that. I see N & think WOW, I was that little during all that.
Over the years I seemed to do OK, but my sister didn't cope very well with it all. She made some pretty bad decisions & b/c of that, our relationship suffered. She is doing great now though. She's really turned her life around & I'm very proud of her. We have become close again & I feel a hole has been filled.
Now, back to the funny. I have no doubt that comedy helped me through infertility & cancer. Some of the jokes that I cracked @ them would get a laugh but it was usually followed by a sad "Oh, Stef", as if I shouldn't be joking @ such difficult things. That also got me thinking about my earliest childhood memory of being funny. It was @ the same time all of that stuff w/my parents was happening. I was with my 2 cousins & I was doing this whole comedy routine that was cracking them up, the routine was @ my parents. Maybe that's when the funny started.
OK, I know that post was a little deep for a funny girl. It was just a bunch of realizations that I made today.

Family Pictures

Here are some photos that my sis-in-law took of us. She said that she isn't happy @ all with them but I love them. She also took pics of my parents along with the rest of the crew. I'll post them later when I get them.

My beautiful babies. How fast they have grown.


All of us.

We're Moving!!!!

Well, we finally did it! We sold our house! After months of consideration we decided to move to Bastrop. I work there & have really fallen in love with the town. It's bigger than Moulton but not near as big as Cypress. The great thing too is that there are a lot more conveniences there. No more driving a20 miles to get to a crappy HEB or Wal-Mart, or an hour to get to a Super Wal-Mart. There is a Big HEB there & a Super Wal-Mart. There may even be a Target coming soon!
We are moving into our new house August 1st. It's in a nice, newer neighborhood. We thought it would be great if the kids lived in a neighborhood b/c they would have other kids to run around with. S & I both grew up in neighborhoods & are still very close w/our friends from there. I really want my kids to develop those kinds of friendships. The timing couldn't be better either. Sh will be starting intermediate school & all the kids will be from 2 different elementarys so she won't be the only new kid.
Our new house was built in 2006, it's a 4bed 2bath, large living, dining, & kitchen. Open floor plan, tile floors, fireplace, covered patio, & best of all central AC!. The kids will have to get used to having smaller rooms though. We will also have a guest bedroom so feel free to come visit. The neighborhood has a park, pool, & stocked fishing ponds. The kids are very excited. Anyway, here's a pic of our new house. Jenn, it kinda looks like yours on the outside.

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Free family tree - Free family history

80's Flashback!

When I was a kid, in the 80's, my sis & I loved Cyndi Lauper & Joan Jett. So naturally, when I heard that they were coming to play in Houston I thought we had to go. It was Cyndi's True Colors tour which various artist are playing in cities across the country. I think we got the best artist combo of the tour though. Here was the lineup. Lily Hayden (didn't know who she was, but her music was cool), Andy Bell from Erasure, Wanda Sykes, Joan Jett, The B52's, & Cyndi Lauper. OMG! Can it get any better!
For those of you that know me, you know I love to take things to the next level. You know, just for the fun of it. Well I thought it would be great if we dressed 80's for the concert. My sis went along w/the idea. I think she was a little more hesitant though. You know me, I could give a sh** what other people think. They just don't have the balls to do it themselves. So after weeks of planning, here are the results.


Did you notice the jellies? It was funny to watch people double take after we walked by. Everyone seemed to love it though. And one lady even wanted her pic made w/us. We only saw 2 other girls that had the same idea, but they weren't near as 80s'd out as we were. We even wore electric blue eyeliner & mascara!
So now back to the concert. Andy Bell was OK, but sis & I think that he is the poster boy for a gay mid-life crisis. All I'm gonna say is "Just Jack!" (You won't get that if you didn't watch Will & Grace.) Wanda Sykes was hysterical. We were crying, we were laughing so hard. The B52's were good, Rock Lobster was my fav. Joan Jett, OMFG! The woman has to be in her 50's. She came out in black leather pants, a black string bikini top, & rock'n 6-pack abs. Hello! She's awesome! Then Cyndi Lauper came out. She was great too. She kept coming out into the audience. The camera guy couldn't even keep track of her, she was all over the place. She is very funny, by the way. I guess that's @ it. We had a blast, & I wouldn't have wanted to share that experience w/anyone but my sis.

More Somerville Pics

Even though I look like a heifer, I still love this pic of me & my nephew T.


White-trash tubing!