My poor pitiful blog {sigh}

I feared this would happen. My blogging would take a backseat to my job.

{sigh}

Truth be told, I have a lot I want to say, but not a lot of time to sit down and thoughtfully put it into comprehensible text. So, I neglect.

I know... I KNOW! I have put a lot of time, effort and energy into this blog and to see it dwindle down to 1-2 posts a week... well, quite frankly, it breaks my heart. It is like a clock that is slowly winding down... tick, tick, tick, until finally it stops. Frozen in time.

I will say, I do not want that for my beloved blog. But, truthfully, I just can't keep it up like I used to. So, don't "unsubscribe" to my blog simply because I am not updating as often. Rather instead, keep on subscribing to my blog to help me celebrate the small victories I call "create a post".

Much love,
Erica

Another tooth?

The toothfairy strikes again!

Look what we had!

At least there is an upside to spring storms!

50 days

Oh my... Elisan came home from school today and informed me that she has 50 days of school left until the end of the year.

Wha? Already? I'm JUST now getting into the groove of school and the nerve of it all... it is almost over.

I don't know about you, but 10 weeks is just around the corner. Please someone make time slow down... for goodness sakes!

Coming Clean

I know most of you will probably have one of two reactions to my update:

1.) Really? I'm surprised...
2.) It was only a matter of time...

The news is that I have gained about 5 pounds. Yes, it is true. Five pounds and it is all in my butt.

I can blame it on several things... since working I've lost the luxury of spending 1.5 hours in the gym every day. Or, the fact that I scaled back my cardio in lieu of weight lifting, thus lowering my metabolism... of course, if I had been weight lifting consistently, my metabolism would probably still be up there. Or, I could blame it on my winter evening snack which consisted of a big ol mug of steaming homemade hot chocolate... don't forget the mountain of whipped cream I would occassionally add (oh, who am I kidding... it was more than occassional) AND the tablespoon of choc. syrup I'd add as a finishing touch.

Honestly, I blame my weight gain on the hot chocolate. Furthermore, I blame Elisan's school for it. See? The reason is that they had a Valentine's Ice Cream party and I signed up to bring 2 cans of whipped cream and 2 bottles chocolate syrup. But, they didn't use it all, so I brought it back home. Rather than seeing it go to waste here, began (slowly) adding a smidgen here and a smidgen there. Then, it was so yummy, I could hardly control myself. Soon, I was piling on mountains of the yummy whipped cream! I even bought another can once I polished off the leftover cans from the party!

I quickly snapped to my senses (when all of my homemade hot chocolate mix was gone) and have repented. And what do I have to show for it? Five pounds of stubborn weight that is not budging!

There is a lesson in all of this... stay away from the whipped cream.

Impending Dread

About this time each year I get that feeling in the pit of my stomach of dread.

I dread the upcoming 7 months of excruciating heat. Yeah, that's right... April through October. And don't say I'm exaggerating either... you Texan's know good and well that most Halloween nights your kids are sweating in their costumes.

So, the dread part... yeah, that is sad isn't it? Don't get me wrong, I love Spring. LOVE IT. I love the promise that Spring brings... new life, green grass, budding flowers, etc., etc. Oh sure, that's all great! But, what I don't like is the drastic end to winter we always seem to have around here.

There is not 'easing' into Spring. Nope. It's cold one week, then BAM! it's 80+ the next week and there ain't no looking back.

I know there are some of you out there that love the heat and say, "Bring it on!", and yes, to some teeny-tiny part of me agrees, because I don't do winter well either...but man, it is already hot outside.

So, now the dilemma is: since we are experiencing 80+ temps, is it okay for flip-flops? How about sandals? Tank tops? Bright Spring-y colors? Summery handbags?

What's the protocol here? Because really, I don't know how much black I can wear in the blazing sun.

Okay, that's all on the matter...

Dirty Little Secret

If I had more time, I'd submit a weekly blog post called "Dirty Little Secrets", but I don't have time anymore since I began a job and since I've turned off the computer.

But, here is today's dirty little secret...

Did you know that you can pop whole kernel popcorn in a brown paper sack in the microwave? Ummm, yeah. I didn't know either until I can across an article somewhere about it. Honestly, the idea escaped me until last week when I was cruising the popcorn section looking for those 100 calorie mini-bags of popcorn. Then I saw the price - and then I remembered the cheap version of microwave popcorn.

So, I cruised on over to the paper good aisle, bought 100 brown paper sacks for $1.50 and never looked back at the popcorn aisle again!

So, how do you do it? Well, it is a trial and error kind of thing, since everyone's microwave is different. But, I'll tell you what worked for me.

1/4 cup popcorn
1 brown bag
2 mins in the microwave on High.

There ya go... Easy enough! I am sure you could add a drop or two of oil and salt, etc. before you pop it, but since I wanted plain 'ole non-flavored popcorn, I just added a smidgen of popcorn salt at the end.

So, go on... try out this dirty little secret!

When I think about my childhood

When I think about my childhood friends, my first thought is about Amy and Amanda, my two oldest friends.

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to get together and visit. Amy, who lives in Dallas drove down to Austin to see a friend who's husband is stationed in Germany. Her college friend was in town for a couple of days and Amy was able to sneak away to come for a visit.

While she was down in Austin, we all made plans to meet at Amanda's house (who also lives in Austin) for a visit!

It was just like old times and before we knew it, THREE hours had passed and we were still talking and catching up. We even broke out the old high school annual and talked about all of the people we've reconnected with through Facebook. It was such a great time and I wish we could get together more often.

It is a good reminder about what having a GOOD friend is all about! Someone who knows you... (from the time I was 8/9 years old) who has seen you have failures and triumphs, yet, still loves you. Someone who accepts you... knows the basis of your beliefs... and at the end of the day, understands you completely.

Thanks Amanda and Amy for such a great time yesterday. LOVE YOU!

Sans Kids

We are without our kids again this week! This week makes 3 weeks we have been without our kids since July!

We have gone from zero time together since having kids to lots of time together. I'll admit, it has been nice.

But, of course, I miss my girls. They are having fun and being well cared for... so that is all I can ask for. Heck, they must be having fun, because they haven't checked in with us today.

Hmmmm, perhaps I need to call them and make sure they are not having too much fun. Uh oh... too late... they are already in bed Randy just found out. Oh well... maybe tomorrow...

Until then, Randy and I will have a nice quiet (or maybe not - hint! - hint!) evening to ourselves!

Musical!

The second graders put on a musical last week! It was so cute!
Elisan also had a musical, but I was busy video recording it,
that I didn't get pictures of her singing at the microphone.
But, rest assured, it was very sweet and made my heart proud!

How do you... (edited)

... handle a question of integrity? When a person you respect acts in a way that is unbecoming... or, you simply question their integrity behind their decision and/or action (even if it doesn't affect you)...

I ask because recently Randy presented a situation to me that happened to him and I was amazed at his lack of response. My initial reaction was "getting all emotional" about it... But, he was... "Why even waste my energy..."

So...how do you respond?

Do you:

1.) Get all emotional?
2.) Vent to anyone who will listen?
3.) Bottle it up inside?
4.) Ask God to help you get over it?
5.) Never get upset over other people's actions/decisions that don't affect you?

I'm curious.

Me? I think I am #1-4 (in that order...)

First Game

Saturday marked the first soccer games for both girls!
It was a good day... although very windy and cool outside.

Here is Randy congratulating Elisan after she scored a goal.
I think this is my new favorite picture!

Here's Kyla and her teammate celebrating a score for their team!

Here's Kyla and me snuggling to keep warm!

Locked Out

Oh not what you're thinking... I was not locked out of my car, home, office, etc. I've been locked out of my computer.

See, the problem is...

"I'm a computer addict and my name is Erica."

"Hi Erica" - the listless crowd responds...

And because of that I had Randy change the password on my computer so when I shut it down, I can't turn it back on. Seems extreme right? Oh, no my friend... it has been a blessing.

Once that computer is off, I don't turn it on again, until after the girls go to bed. What freedom! How liberating it has been...

So, that is why I haven't been around much... I've been locked out of my computer. And, I'm loving every minute of it.

Another blur... um, weekend

Wow, the weekend is over already. I was just getting used to Friday! This year has gone by at an extremely fast pace. It is already March. I'm going to start fishing out my shorts, tanks and flops here in the next week or two...

Lord, please help me to stop and take in all that is going on around me. I pray that I not take any day for granted, but rather enjoy each day for the gift that it is.