"Not me!" Monday

Today is Monday and time for another round of "Not me!" Monday.

I did NOT just blow off my calorie counting the week of Christmas! And, I did NOT gain 1 lb because of it! I also did NOT just blow off excercising, too! Oh no, no me!

I did NOT go Christmas shopping for my family 2 days before Christmas, not me!

I did NOT lose my Aunt's Dillard's Gift card....oh no, not me!

I do NOT still have 20+ Christmas cards in my possession! I DON'T need to mail them off anytime soon!!!

I did NOT let my kids go to New Mexico to visit with my in-laws for a week. I do NOT miss them terribly right now!

I did NOT think of my brother, Bryant all day. I do NOT miss him terribly. Today is NOT 1 year since he passed away. I am NOT feeling numb right now...

***Prayer's Needed***
MckMama's baby boy Stellan is in the hospital so please keep her family in your prayers.

Wordless Wednesday

Not me! Monday

This is my very first Not Me! Monday.  What a great idea!

I did not just walk off from my hubby when we were in the middle of an intense conversation.  Not me!!!  I just needed to get out and clear the air!!!

I did not forget about the time and leave late to pick up my hubby from work last week.  Not me!!  I'm *always* early!

I did not go over my calories on Friday intentionally!  Oh no, not me!!  My co-worker brought donuts to work on Friday and what did I NOT do???  Yeah, that's right, I did not start my day with a donut!  On this very same day, I did not go to Applebee's and indulge on a Grilled Cheese BLT & a Fried Chicken salad with Ranch combo.  Oh no.....not me!!!  I also did not devour 3 homemade cookies a friend baked and mailed to me & my co-workers, not me!!

What are you brave enough to admit that you did not do this week? Come on and join us! It's free therapy! Be sure to check out everyone else's links. It's a great way to blog hop!

Write your own Not Me! post, and then link back to this one. Once back here, sign up on Mr. Linky below so all of us can hop over to your blog to read what you so did not do this week. Please read this for detailed instructions on how to play and feel free to leave your Not Me's in the comment section of this post if you don't have a blog or if you'd just rather do it that way.

H is for.....

I was blog surfing late last night and seen this on cool game on Alicia's blog.  I thought it was neat so I clicked the link where she got the idea from and Alicia (Queen B) gave me the letter H.

This game is simple.  What you do is make a list of ten of your favorite things.  Here's the catch... Everything on your list has to start with a specific letter of the Alphabet.  That letter is randomly assigned by the blogger who you are playing with!

If you'd like to play, let me know and I will assign you a letter.  Let the game begin :)


1.  Happy:  I couldn't be any more happy with my family.  They make my world go round!  there is never a dull moment in my home.

2.  Horton hears a Who:  This movie has been played in my house at least 50 times since it was released on DVD!!!  It's a great movie and I really like it.

3.  Healthy:  On December 1, 2008 I started a new journey in my life; a journey to losing weight and being a healthier me.  You can follow me if you'd like, just click here.

4.  Hello Kitty:  Ever since I could remember, my oldest daugher loved Hello Kitty.  Just when I think she's finally over, she surprises me.  Does anyone ever really get over Hello Kitty???

5.  Helium:  When my kids were younger, I used to have huge birthday parties for them.  My hubby & I would buy a small helium tank from Wal-Mart or Target and air up the balloons with it.  To see the expression on their faces was priceless.

6.  Help:  When I need help with things it takes a lot for me to admit it or to ask for it.  It's something I need to work on.

7.  Ham:  I love it when my husband makes ham for our Christmas dinner.  mmmmmm, it is yummy with yeast rolls.....mmmmmm

8.  Hamburger Helper:  It's a life saver when we are running late from work.  It's fast, simple and my kids love it!

9.  Hot coffee:  I love sipping on hot coffe with Hazelnut cream.  Mmmmmm, I want some now :)

10. Heater:  We live in Phoenix and lately the weather has been suprisingly cold.  It's not something we are used to, that's for sure.  I was about to turn the heater on last night!

Picture Tag

I came across this idea from Jenna.  I thought it was  neat so I decided play along.

Here are the rules:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder
3) Explain the picture
4) Tag 4 people to do the same NO CHEATING! (cropping, editing, etc!)
***Note: I edit and crop almost every picture I take.

This photo was taken when my mother-in-law & sister-in-law drove from NM to AZ to visit us.  We were taking pictures for a calendar, right before they traveled back home.  You can see me trying to brush my daughter's hair in the back.  LOL....

I tag the following 4 bloggers:

1. Jennifer
2. Trina
3. Amy
4. Tina

Flashback Friday - Christmas Memories

I've been browsing many blogs and came across several memes that I would like to participate in. Here's on of them....Flashback Friday brought to you by BlogMommas.com

"Christmas is next week so I thought today we would flashback to some of our favorite Christmas memories. From time with family to favorite gifts, just remember some of your most cherished times and tell us about them." - BlogMommas.com

When I was younger, I remember how we would always have Christmas dinner at Grampa & Gramma's house and participate in a family gift exchange. We would always draw names by age groups and send gifts to each other. Not only would my brother's & I receive a gift from a cousin, we would receive gifts from mom and dad, too.

We would first have breakfast with mom and dad and then open our gifts & stockings Christmas morning and then in the late afternoon/early evening we would go to Grampa & Gramma's house for our Christmas dinner.

Everybody from my mom's side of the family would attend. I enjoyed our time because we would see cousins, aunt's & uncle's who we had not seen in such a long time. As a young child we would sleep over at my grandparent's house because that's where everybody stayed when they traveled in from out of town. I remember how all the cousins would stay up late playing board games and just spending time with each other.

Good times!

Then Sings My Soul Saturdays - Brandon Heath

This week's song is Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath.  I hope you enjoy it.

Grilling Goodness #11

It's time for Grilling Goodness with Tina!
If you would like to join in the fun, click here.

1. What pain reliever do you swear by?
Tylenol! I've always been a Tylenol girl.

2. Have you gotten up-to-date with a flat screen HDTV?
Oh yes! My hubby HAD to have it!

3. Have you honked at anyone lately?
No, not lately :)

4. What is your favorite household product?
I would have to say my favorite is Borax! You can use it for just about anything!


5. What is the earliest you've gotten up this week and why?
The earliest I've gotten up is 4:45 am. I didn't have a choice! I had to get up for work.

6. Do you travel out of town for Christmas?
No, most of the time our extended family travels to Phoenix.

7. Have you been listening to Christmas music? (Favorite?)
Yes, I have. After Thanksgiving the radio station was changed so we listen to it all day :) My favorite is Rudolf the red nose reindeer. It just brings back a lot of childhood memories.

8. When do you exchange gifts with family?
Yes, I do. My mom's side of the family has an annual Christmas dinner with gift exchange. It's fun and I always look forward to Thanksgiving & Christmas with them. Good times.

Grilling Goodness #10

It's time for Grilling Goodness with Tina!

If you would like to join in the fun, click here.

1. How many Christmas parties have you attended or will you attend?

I will not be attending any Christmas parties this year BUT will be attending the annual Holiday Christmas dinner.

2. What is your favorite dish to take to a party?

My husband's cooked ham

3. When you're at home and your feet are chilled, do you wear socks or houseshoes?

Neither, I grab a blanket, curl up in bed and watch a DVD.

4. What are your plans for this weekend?

My last minute Christmas shopping.

5. What is the most expensive Christmas gift you are buying for your children this year?

Since we're crunching for cash this year, I pretty much didn't go crazy.  They each made wish lists and we stuck to that.  I think my kids knew we are on a tight budget.  I say that because they didn't get crazy with their wishlists.

6. Do you have a family portrait made each year?

No, I do not!  I would love to but my family is horrible with pictures :(  They don't like their pictures taken.  I'm grateful for what pictures I have taken so far!

7. Do you drive your kids around looking for decorated homes?

We used to but somewhere along the way we stopped.

8. What is your least favorite thing about cold weather?

Having to bundle up in a huge coat each time you go outside.

I meant to post this on the 12th but got busy and never published it.  I figured it's not too late to post :)

Grilling Goodness #9

1. Do you send out Christmas cards? Have you done it yet?
I’ve been bad about Christmas cards. I still have my Christmas cards from last year! I bought more this year and hope to get those out soon!

2. When you cook chicken, do you cook a whole chicken?
I have never cooked a whole chicken. I don’t like the skin so I usually boil the chicken first, take the skin off and then grill them outside and add BBQ sauce.

3. What is your favorite Christmas movie?
My favorite is a Christmas Story!

4. How often do you go to the grocery store?
We, my hubby and I, usually stop by every day during the week since it’s on our way home.

5. Do you play games online?
No, I don’t.

6. Do you make your bed everyday?
I make it 90% of the time

7. What is one of your favorite websites? (Hopefully this is understood, but please share only the G rated sites! lol)
First it was MySpace. I got in contact with a lot of people I grew up with and went to high school with. It’s always fun catching up! Now, I’m on Facebook almost every evening.

8. What gives you the most laughter in life?
It would have to be my family; mostly my kids. They do the silliest things and always have me laughing. If it’s not my son “growing” a mustache it’s my girls or husband being goofy.

Follow-up to when accidents happen....

This morning I took Kate to her follow-up appointment with the orthopedic. Everything worked out and as it turns out, she just bruised her elbow. Thank goodness she didn't break her arm!

When accidents happen...

I had a rather interesting day.....

Last night (11/30) I sent my kids to bed early. They were a little hyped up and just winding down when the closet door fell on Kate & Krissy. It hit Kate's elbow and Krissy's head. Both immediately started crying. Kate couldn't move her arm at all and thought it was broken. Krissy had a bruised head and was ok.

Cordell put some ice in a bag and had Kate ice her arm for the night. The next day Kate's arm was still hurting so I took her to the Emergency Room at the IHS. They took x-rays and everything seemed to be fine. The doctor put a splint on her arm and sent her home with no PE until the Orthopedic cleared her. Her appointment is tomorrow morning at 9am....

Oh, in case you're wondering about the closet door.....they had fell off the tracks and we had just leaned it up against the wall to fix later. Somehow the kids managed to knock it over and it fell on the girls.

Thanksgiving 2008

So how was everyone's Thanksgiving break?  We had a great Thanksgiving break!  Our dinner was hosted at my cousin's house in Scottsdale.  Family drove in from New Mexico and from the reservation.  My Uncle & his family flew in from the east coast as well.

Our dinner was delicioius!  We also enjoyed family time!  It was much needed!  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Prayers for a dear friend...

As most of you know, I grew up on the Navajo reservation. I lived most of my childhood life there. Coming from a small town, you practically know everyone! So you can imagine that just about everyone you went to school with is a childhood friend....well, that's how I see it. With that being said, I had this good friend DS, who lived not too far from me. We would always hang out before and after school with another good friend, LN. We would hang out at the recreation center and play pool, watch MTV, play card games, play volleyball, basketball, tennis or go swimming. We all became really good friends and then right before 6th grade DS's family moved. I didn't hear from her until I was going to high school in Kirtland, New Mexico. I joined volleyball and our team traveled to Blanding, Utah for a volleyball game. After 5 years I finally got to see her again and it was so much fun catching up. I'm not sure if we exchanged contact info or not but after that, I did not hear from her for a long time. My Aunt and her mom were best friends so she would let me know how DS was doing.

As the years went by she got married and had kids. What I didn't know was that she was in an abusive relationship with her first husband and finally got out of it. She was re-married and had kids with her new husband. Since he was in the military they got to travel a lot.

I would say about 3 years ago, we were in contact again!!!! Thank God for MYSPACE!!!! We exchanged email addresses and phone numbers and caught up with each other's lives. She is living overseas and I was supposed to travel to meet her family. She has beautiful and adorable children!

The reason for this blog is recently her family had a horrible tragedy occur in their life. My heart goes out to her. I could not imagine what she is going through right now. I told her that she is a strong woman and that with the help of God, family, friends and prayer they will get through this. I'm glad that they will be home soon. You NEVER know who you can trust anymore!!!!

Here's her blog from myspace:

Saturday, November 22, 2008

NO ONE CAN BE TRUSTED!!
Current mood: indescribable
Category: Life

***CAUTION*** THE COLD HARD TRUTH***
MOST OF YOU THAT KNOW ME.. KNOW THAT ALL I WANTED IN LIFE IS TO BE HAPPY.. TO HAVE A FAMILY AND WATCH MY CHILDREN GROW UP TO BE HAPPY AND DO WELL IN LIFE... IN WHATEVER IT IS THEY CHOOSE TO DO.ON NOVEMBER 11, 2008 MIDNIGHT... OUR FAMILY WAS DESTROYED BY MY HUSBAND OF 5 1/2YRS ACTIONS. HE MOLESTED TWO OF OUR FIVE CHILDREN. HE DID IN FACT CONFESS TO 1 OF THE 2 MOLESTATIONS TO ME AND THE MILITARY AUTHORITIES THAT NIGHT. HE WILL BE GOING TO PRISON AND WE WILL BE MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR LIVES AND BECOME STRONGER.

WE ARE ALL CURRENTLY RECEIVING HELP FROM THE MILITARY IN THEIR BEST EFFORTS... LOCAL FRIENDS HAVE BEEN A BLESSING AS WELL. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FROM MY HEART.

I AM SHARING THIS WITH YOU ALL BECAUSE IF YOUR A PARENT, I KNOW YOU WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR THEM... TRUST NO ONE!!! IT IS SAD TO SAY THAT HE IS STILL WORKING AT THE BASE POST OFFICE FOR NOW. WE DO HAVE A MILITARY RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST HIM SO HE CAN NOT COME NEAR US.

IT WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED IF YOU COULD PLEASE PRAY FOR US. THANK YOU

2:56 AM - 3 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment -

☆.mS.cAiT.lOvE.lOcKdOwN.☆
i honestly dont think he should be working. he should be in prison right now. from the moment he confessed. wtf. i was at the post office yesterday. yuck! i wanna punch him in his face! he doesnt have the right to have the freedom that he has right now.
Posted by ☆.mS.cAiT.lOvE.lOcKdOwN.☆ on Nov 22, 2008 5:57 AM [Reply to this]

Krisha
I'm sorry to hear this and can not imagine what you're going through. I will keep you and your beautiful children in my prayers. You're a very strong woman and with the help of God, family & friends you all will get through this.
Posted by Krisha on Nov 22, 2008 10:03 AM [Reply to this]

Native ISIS MOM....
Hey Sis, I had no Idea. I'm truly sorry for what happened to your family. When are you coming home and are you okay, are the kids okay. This is such a huge ordeal for you and your family. I know your family is their to support you and the kids, I hope to see you home soon.You are in my prayers, I'll cedar for you and the kids today and make a short prayer for you and your family this moring. Love you and the kids.Marcy....
Posted by Native ISIS MOM.... on Nov 24, 2008 7:16 AM [Reply to this]

Familiar scents...

As I was leaving work today I found myself thinking of helping my Gramma at her sheep camp near Kayenta, AZ on the Navajo Indian Reservation; Skeleton Mesa, to be exact. Here’s a map so you can see where I’m talking about. Kayenta is near the four corners and Skeleton Mesa is not too far.

As children we would help my Gramma a lot. Can you believe we (cousins I grew up with & my brothers) used to herd my Gramma’s sheep from Kayenta to Skeleton Mesa? We were not scared and it was always an adventure for us.

It's funny how I was able to think of that time. The reason, I say its funny is because when I walked out of the building, the first thing I smelt was the manure from the nearby cows. I guess it just brought back a familiar smell and I associated it to helping Gramma with her sheep.

I’ll never forget the time we got Gramma’s sheep mixed up with someone else’s sheep. We were so scared we were going to get into trouble. We were too busy playing that we forgot about the sheep until it was too late. Luckily Gramma’s sheep was branded so we were able to separate them. Can you imagine if they weren’t branded???? OMG…… We always had good times with Gramma and Grampa….

During the summer time we used to stay in something like this:

My Weekend....

I had a good weekend. On Saturday we (the kids & I) were going to go see Bolt with Jennifer & Travis but after reviewing my budget I was not able to take them. After all, I rented 9 movies on Wednesday so I figured we would just lounge at home while Cordell was at work and watch all of them.

In case you're wondering, I rented the following movies:

1. The Happening
2. Kung Fu Panda
3. The Strangers
4. Tropic Thunder
5. This Christmas
6. Baby Mama
7. Get Smart
8. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
9. Incredible Hulk

These came in the mail from blockbuster :)
1. The Mist
2. Mr. Brook
3. The Other Boleyn Girl


I loved this movie! I also liked the first one :)

This movie was hilarious!

I couldn't get into this movie....so I stopped it like 30 minutes into the movie......Sorry Kevin Costner!!!

This was a good movie, too! I still can't get over it!!!!

I love you Edward Norton!!!!! This was a good movie, we all liked it.

I didn't get into this one either...

This was another good one. We watched this 2 times!

I really liked this one!!! Chris Brown you're a cutie!!!! Sorry KRW, I know you LOVE him! We watched this one twice!!! I think KRW watched it 4 times!!!!! She's in love with Chris Brown!

I was too scared to watch this one. I started it 2 times and never finished the movie.....ha, I know I'm such a girl.

This was kinda lame. I couldn't get into this movie. I stopped watching after 15 minutes......

I didn't get to see this one but the kids seen it 3 times!!!

This was a little creepy...but retarded!!!! I can't believe I sat through the entire movie!!!!

That was my weekend. Hope you all had a great weekend.

DMB!!!!

I've heard Dave Matthew's Band most of my day!!!! (Ok, maybe I overexaggerated, it came on about 4 times)

That was one of Bryant' s favorite band's!!!

Losing someone you love...

L-R: Kendra & Bryant, July 4, 2007

It's almost been a year since my brother's passing. I have had the hardest time dealing with it. I miss him so much and wish I could have told him so much more. One thing I made sure he knew was that I loved him.

Growing up I was close to both of my brothers. Being the oldest of three, I used to make them do my chores or pay them to do it for me. LOL, I laugh now thinking about the silly things we did. There wasn't anything I wouldn't do for them. After graduating from high school I always knew I would be married and have a family of my own. I never thought that I would live with my brothers. I wouldn't have had it any other way. I liked knowing that my brothers were near and I wasn't wondering where they were at or what they were up to. All I had to do was knock on the room door across from my room to see what they were up to.

They have always been a part of my life. We leaned on each other when we were going through rough patches. We always knew we could count on each other. That's how close we were. So, when I say that I had a hard time dealing with my little brother's death, you'll understand that we were really close.

I remember growing up I used to babysit them. I can't believe how my parents would trust me home alone with them!!! I was home with a 7-month old and a 5 year old. I was about 10 years old! Can you believe that? I guess that's life on the reservation....LOL

I remember changing Bry's diapers, making his bottles and feeding him!! They were always at my side, especially Bryant. There was even a time when my mom was at work and we were at my Gramma's house. I was trying to go play outside and he was crying after me, calling me mamma.

I think of him often. December 29th will be 1 year since his passing. Sometimes I think I could have done more for him or I shouldn't have been so hard on him or we should have done this or that with him. I should have help him finish high school. I should have put JW in daycare so that Bry could have been more independant. I should have done this or that.... I can't change anything now. All I can do is keep him close to my heart and know that the Lord took him home and I will one day see him again.

It's one of the hardest things to for me to deal with. At first I kept thinking he was back in New Mexico with my mom and then toward the middle of the year I was just numb to it. As we get closer to the year, I feel like I am going to lose it.

Everybody kept telling me I had to be strong. You have to be strong for you mom, you have to be strong for your dad, you have to be strong for you kids and your brother, Donovan. I think what about me? Who is going to be strong for me? I just feel like I have held it all in all this time and one day I am going to break down.

Sorry, this started out as a remeberance to my brother and just led to something else....

OMG...

So Cordell and I were headed home from work today and noticed this girl driving next to us. As Cordell was pulling up next to her to pass, I glanced to my right and noticed she was TEXTING on her cell phone while she was driving!!!! OMG, she was swerving all over the road (ok, maybe I am exaggerating) but there were a couple of times she swerved into the other lane.

It drives me crazy when people do that! **hint, hint Cordell** not only does texting and driving get on my nerves BUT talking on the phone and driving!!! It's a distraction and drives me crazy!!!!

Ok, that's my rant about texting and talking on the phone while driving.

My weekend...

I'm disappointed that I didn't get to hang out with Trina this past weekend. I saw her on Friday at work for a little bit but, that was it. We had talked about going to see Saw V with Jenna & Jennifer but nothing was confirmed. She left to have lunch with J-Dog & K-Mad. I told her that I would call but I never did. I sent her a text and since she didn't have a ride, we didn't go out.

Saturday I was home with my kids and made plans to go with JKSY & T to go see Madagascar 2 at the drive in. My kids had ONLY chore; it was to clean their room. It took them ALL day to get it done! OMG.... They were goofing around and when it was time to get ready for the movie their room was still a wreck and soooooo, JW was the only one to come with me. That was his first time at a drive-in and he liked it.

He was very shy and kept to himself. I was thinking to myself, JD please don't be shy....but I know that as soon as he warms up to JKSY & T, he will be himself and I will be trying to control him.

Sunday was a day of catching up on all my TV shows and doing 6 loads of laundry. CW & his brother BBQ'd and watched the Cardinals game.

Test

Just testing to make sure I set this up right.

My girl Trina is planning to visit from Orlando this weekend! I'm excited to see her. I hope that she gets her tickets in time and she makes it on her flight! Heres a photo from her last visit. We ate & had some drinks at the Four Peaks.

So what are we going to do on your next visit Trina?

Here are some pictures from her "going away" party. Whatcha talking about??? Going away???? She didn't go far!!!

This was our bowling night out! We had fun bowling. After bowling we moved the party down the street to Max's....