When I knew we would be on the road for so many hours I decided to use my iTunes gift cards that I got from the hubby for my birthday and Christmas. I downloaded some games including Trivial Pursuit. I sometimes get aggravated at those games. Some questions are completely impossible, while some are downright laughable. The hubby kept getting questions that are easy for him including video game related questions and car relation questions. There was a question about the gauge on a car that tracks the RPM. This is elementary to him. I think I would have gotten it, but not instantly.

There are others that are easy for me. I am awesome at the Science and Nature category. I didn't know if I would be, but they seem to ask a lot of questions that I find simple. Or it was just something I recently learned in my college courses...of which most are science related! Then of course there is Arts and Literature. I love to read, and I am somewhat of an artist. Both on paper and musically so I find some of that easy. They asked where Anne Frank wrote her diary. That was a trick question since it was NOT where she was born. Perhaps I could take one difficult question every now and again and throw it out here on my blog...see who gets it right! haha

Anyway I am enjoying my vacation. I have really gotten to know this area now. I love the mountains. I love the ocean but that's a few hours away still. We thought about taking a drive to look. I would so love that. Maybe the hubby and I could take a little stroll along the beach. :)

Today is my father in law's birthday. I am in North Carolina still of course. I am about to shower up and get ready for the day. I have procrastinated a bit. I am just relaxing but that is ok. That's what you are supposed to do on a vacation! We are heading out to a favorite Mexican restaurant of theirs tonight. This is good because I love Mexican food!! Real stuff too...not just the Americanized stuff. I had a dear friend in high school whose mother made some seriously good Mexican food. She passed away in a car accident (my friend) at the tender age of 16 only months after getting her license. I still miss her today...but will never forget the good food her family always prepared. She had such a huge family! Now her sister is my aunt! She married my dad's youngest brother. I think it's special in a way since I lost a good friend and gained an aunt only a couple of years later. I went to school with the woman who is now my aunt. She is just a year or two older than me. She graduated high school with my hubby actually! It's a small world. :)

I am sitting here thinking of really how very interesting my life is. I have led a life with many twists and turns. I no longer just expect things to go normally because really, there is no such thing. I have become strong because of all the twists and turns. Maybe I'll go into those another day. In the mean time I'm going to go make myself look drop dead gorgeous to go out tonight!

I got to a computer. haha Well, my father in law, my hubby and our oldest daughter all went to get an oil change for the van. We just drove over 800 miles. It kinda needed one. So we are doing that while I sit here and just relax for a bit. I am in North Carolina. I got some amazing pictures of the mountains. They are so beautiful. I have seen them before, but not these particular mountains. I was in South Dakota as a teen with my family. Those were beautiful as well.

I really needed this trip. It's such a wonderful thing to drive and get away from home for awhile. I like the comforts of home, but I also really enjoy traveling with my husband Jason and our children. We've been together for a long time. We've always really enjoyed traveling. Before we had kids we'd just drop everything any time, day or night and go wherever our hearts desired. Things changed after kids of course, but one day that part of my life will be back. I can't wait. It might be hard to ever keep me in one spot by then! I'll be wanting to just travel the entire world.

We'll be seeing some different sites on the way home and while we are here. I am planning on getting plenty of pics, so stayed tuned.

I'll be gone from today until the 31st. I may or may not get access to a computer while I am away. I am making my road trip to see my doc and then off to North Carolina for awhile. I won't be able to make my entrecard drops while I am gone but I'll make up for it when I get back. I appreciate every one's understanding! I'll have pics to post upon my return.

Tomorrow is the day. We are going on our trip. Somehow we are making it work. I think I have been looking forward to this more than about anything at all lately. I am ready to get on the road and just drive. I have been so stressed since about November so I need a good stress relieving trip. There is nothing quite like getting in a comfy vehicle and just watching the scenery pass. I hope one day to make it to places like Scotland, Paris, Venice! I want to really really travel someday. I don't take one moment of life for granted anymore. I used to have a fear of flying. I guess I kind of still do but I also am determined to not let any fear control me. I have to live my life and not let anything hold me back. I cannot wait to see the world.

Well I am supposed to be taking a little bit of an extended trip this week following a doctor's appointment. I am super anxious and want to go. I have been getting pretty excited and worked up about this thing. The problem is cash flow. Everyone is hurting for cash these days and we are no exception. Especially with medical bills constantly pouring in, it's hard to get caught up. So this may well be a last minute vacation if we do indeed get to go. It looks like things could be too tight. I hate that! I just want to get up and go. That would be nice! Unfortunately we have to be responsible and make the right decision so we'll see. We are supposed to be heading to North Carolina and I have to say I can't wait. Really can't wait so I hope it happens!!! Send PRAYERS. haha ;)

I never was a very big fan of having a Christmas birthday. Mine is the 29th of December. I cannot count how many Merry Christmas Santa type cards I got that had Happy Birthday scrawled into them. I had presents that had *Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday* written on it. Now, if you do not have a holiday birthday then you most likely will not understand how incredibly annoying this is. Not to mention it makes you seem inconsiderate and cheap. Just because it's Christmas time does not mean it's normal or ok to wrap my presents in santa paper. How much is it for a roll of wrapping paper really that is bithday-ish? Well I have heard now for 33 years (eeep) "I'm broke", "things are really tight after Christmas", "I'll get your present later", etc. By the time February or March rolls around, it's no longer my birthday so I'd really rather not get a pity card or gift. I mean, if you can't get it, don't get it, but spare me the speeches. I am broke too. I understand...really. I have just heard it a zillion times. I don't want to hear it again. So yeah I guess this is a pet peeve of mine and really I am not a mean girl who doesn't appreciate what she gets. I do. I just don't want you to give me a tin of Christmas cookies on my birthday and call it a birthday/Christmas combo gift because really, you aren't fooling anyone!

I bring this all up because today is my daughter's birthday. My little girl Angelina is 7 today. Her birthday I think is long enough after Christmas to be spared all the things I have gone through I think. She's pretty excited and I still need to bake her a cake!! I must mention really quickly here and for the benefit of my big sister if she reads this that I am and have always totally envied her July 2nd birthday. Swim parties and excited people! My birthday is really just snow and people who feel bad that they are broke. ;)

I got all dressed up last night for a work Christmas party. I bought a new dress since it's a formal type of event and had a great time. After the party I sent my sister a text and ended up at a nice bar where I sat in my evening gown (talk about out of place) and my husband in his nice suit minus the tie and had a couple of drinks. I love hanging out with my sister. We always have a really good time. They had a live band that consisted of two guitar players/singers. They were pretty good! It was a really nice evening. A man at my husband's Christmas party grabbed my hand as I walked past and thinking he wanted to introduce himself to me, as many do since most know my husband, I said hello and then he asked if I was with someone. I just smiled and said "Yes, my husband." haha Hey, there was no harm done and it made me feel good so I am certainly not complaining. Anyway, my husband happens to work with Jerry Lisenby. You may have heard the name before. If you are a fan of The Biggest Loser he was on last year's season. He was at the time the oldest contestant. He was on the blue team. Yeah my hubby used to be his boss but now Jerry is working at a different site or something. Jerry came up and talked to us. He really is a happy, outgoing wild guy. Perfect for that show I think!! He's kept off the weight too! I am including a couple of pics of me in my dress from last night.

I think I am going to have to do it. It's a bone chilling -6 degrees outside right now but that's a warm up from yesterday's -14. I have needed to make a run to a store that is a good 30 minutes away for 3 days now. I have put it off hoping for a warm up in temps but my need for milk and a good facial moisturizer has made me question whether or not to risk it. The cold does a number on skin making it very dry so I lotion it up pretty good. I lotion every single inch of my body. The kinds that give a slight sun kissed glow are very nice on my fair complexion. They don't *tan* you but rather just give a little glow. I love that.

Any good recommendations for a facial lotion without oils in it would be great. I am always trying out new products. I like to try something new almost every time. Now, back to the issue at hand though. Is it worth going out in this cold? I'm still on the fence on this one.

Just a picture post. Hubby and I were cheesing for the webcam. I did a little goofing off myself. I got my baby girl into it too. haha:) Thought I'd share.

Yes, I am going to be taking a little vacation. Starting January 22nd I may not be around as much. It will last about a week but if I do get to a computer I'll do my usual Entrecard drops and I'll be posting here as well.

I have a regular doctor's follow up on that day. Again refer to my other blog for details. It's so hard to not mention details but I am determined NOT to. Anyway my husband and I have decided to take a nice long trip to see his parents and brothers. His parents and one of his brothers moved there in 2007. His brothers are 26 year old twins. One is married, one lives at home but has a great job. Can't say I blame him. He's got it made in my opinion! haha

I guess I should mention it is North Carolina. It's a long drive. I cannot wait. I love road trips more than about anything. I will get to spend a lot of time sitting there with Jason (hubby) talking and getting excited at everything we see. We're like a couple of kids on a road trip. I will make sure to get a lot of pictures.

We're going to see mountains. Oh I have this feeling it's all terribly romantic. Maybe we'll get grandma to even watch the kids for awhile and we can sneak away somewhere. hmmmmmm.....

Anyway, it's going to be a whole lot of fun!!!

I went back to college in 2005. I had gotten married quite young and had my first baby by the time I was 21. I had had big dreams of being a Newscaster. Surprised? Well I have been told by many that I have a fast, yet clear and firm speaking voice. I was told in high school that I needed to go into some kind of field that required speaking such as Radio and Television Broadcasting. I loved the idea. I really did and pursued it hard. I had everything lined up. Things didn't quite go that direction. I married instead. I have NOT regretted it for one second. I love my husband dearly and though I sometimes do wish I had went to school AND gotten married I didn't even think of it back then.

I went back to college with the idea of becoming a dental hygienist. I realized shortly into my courses of Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology and Chemistry that the classes were the same as a nurse would take. I realized that I would MUCH rather do that. So I changed my dreams. I still didn't know what *kind* of nurse I wanted to be. Then I got sick. Again I don't talk too much about that here, but just know that it made me want to be an oncology nurse. I want to pay it forward as they say. So I must get my application for the college of nursing in before February so that I qualify for the fall of 2010! Ugh. I hate that it takes so long but at least I finished all the prerequisites. I loved school. I still love it. Some think I am crazy but I just LOVE it. I made honor roll. It is nice to do it as an adult. I mean, come on, an A in Chemistry?? Woot!!! Haha Yeah. I still have the talent for public speaking it seems because in my college speech class the teacher AND one of the older students said I should be a lawyer after a persuasive speech. I get just as nervous as the next person...but when I am called up there I just put on a whole new face. And a little tip? Look at people's foreheads, not their eyes. It still looks like you are, when you really aren't. Frankly if I imagine people in their underwear it just makes me laugh!!

Well I didn't do too much really. I stayed home for the most part. Last night though because of the giant moon we decided to get out. Did you know about the moon? It was closest to the earth as it gets making it look bigger and brighter than ever. It was gorgeous. I just love those kinds of things. I went out and had some Mexican food which is a favorite of mine. It was tortilla chips covered in some kind of a sauce with chicken all over it. Delicious!!! I am drooling now thinking about it. I can't believe tomorrow is already Monday. I am not quite ready for it yet!

So this has been of some concern to me lately. I see myself leaving other blogs that take a long time to load. It can be tempting to add widget after widget but you really shouldn't. Keep photos small. I try but I think sometimes it feels like my page still takes too long. Not so much this particular blog as my other one. So, I am asking for some opinions here. Do you think this blog takes too long to load? And go here: Pregnant With Cancer and let me know what you think of the loading time there. I removed a lot of stuff and am trying to archive more frequently. I just want to make sure it doesn't lock up computers or take an eternity to load as that is one of my OWN pet peeves. Constructive criticism appreciated by the way. ;)

I was browsing through the submissions yesterday for that contest on myspace. They have them all the time so you'd probably eventually find a singer you liked. Pink is the one for now. I sang two of her songs thinking oh whatever...I'll enter it. It's fun. But I need 100 views on the song for it to even be counted. That stinks. I didn't realize that at first. I have like 24 views. Wow it will take awhile to get to 100. It's fun though. I don't expect to win. I would never expect it but I have a good time doing it regardless. I come from a singing family. My sister actually finally has her own band. It's something she should have had a long time ago. I am glad she finally does. Now, maybe some day I'll get my band too. lol Scroll down to yesterdays post to check out a few of my songs on myspace.

Myspace has this karaoke feature. Anyone tried it? Well I do. You can record yourself singing 10 different songs and they even have a video feature now. I have done one that way but found that the music sounds off. It sounds fine when you are recording but when you play back it seems delayed. I hate that! It drives me crazy the whole time I listen. So most of mine are just singing. They announced a contest to sing a Pink tune today. I do love Pink so I decided what the heck and sang a song. Then I got crazy and sang another one. I then did a totally different song by Regina Spector. I do love to sing. I see there is a link on my songs. I am pasting them here. You should be able to have a listen if you have myspace I think.


Don't Let Me Get Me ~ Pink (as sung by me on a little computer mic)

So What ~ Pink (as sung by me)

Fidelity ~ Regina Spector (as sung by me again)

OK so yeah of course now you are thinking which one? I know she has two. I am referring to the one with Leonadro Dicaprio. Oh how nice to see Leonardo and Kate together again! I am a romantic fool ok? I loved Titanic. I think my favorite part in the entire movie was how their hands intertwined on the front of the ship at sunset. *sigh* Yes I love that movie and I am so anxious to see them together again. I guess it would do me good to remember the name of the movie. I love Kate Winslet. I think she is one of the best actresses in my generation. I happen to think she's beautiful to top it all off!

Yes, the weather has been odd this winter. I am not sure what to think. Some days it's so cold and windy it's hard to even step outside. Then there were days when it was warmer. You think you'd be thankful for those days. Well, it's a mixed blessing really. When you go from really cold to nice and warm you get tornadoes. We had a tornado warning about a week or two ago. I can't remember specifically. We had all that snow and tons of ice then it rained and rained. It warmed up to around 50. (Illinois, in December...50 degrees) After that it was just the perfect mix for some tornadoes. I called my parents so they would be aware. Really you do not expect it in December but hey, it can happen. I honestly LOVE strange weather. I admit it. I am a storm junky. If I could sit outside and watch a tornado I would. I have yet to see one. I came close once.

When I was about 5 my parents had some friends over. They had a little girl. We all fell asleep while the parents played cards. The next thing I knew I was being yanked from bed. We lived in a home with no basement so our only alternative was to seek shelter in a local church. This meant going out in the storm. I really am not sure if it was the best plan but anyway, as my mother was putting on our coats a tree branch came crashing through the living room window. I had 2 sisters and the friend there so we were all good and scared at this point. My dad picked me up and out we went. I remember squeezing him to death but thinking maybe I'd like to see it. It was late. I looked up and saw nothing but pitch black. We got to the church and spent the rest of the night in the basement there. The next morning we came out and saw the damage to the town. Downed trees and really mostly minor damage. It was awesome though. I have other experiences but as a child that was my most exciting. I think I'll stay warm and snug in my basement watching TV during the next storm. :)

Did you make one? Yeah. Me either. I don't know. I aways think about it but nothing seems right. I don't really need to lose weight, I don't need to quit smoking (since I don't) ummmmm what else is there? haha I should come up with something. What are your New Year's Resolutions? What should it be? Hmmmm Maybe this year I'll resolve to go to the movies more often. Seriously though, I don't go often enough. I saw two movies I think last year. That's just pathetic to me. Netflix is my friend though. I do love getting my movies and also watching them online through their website. I spend so much time blogging now though who has the time? I want a resolution to really mean something and I am coming up blank here. Ahhhh well. There is always next year. ;)

I had a great New Year's Celebration with my sister, her hubby and some friends along with my hubby. We welcomed the New Year at a club that wasn't too terribly packed. I am not fond of huge crowds. The crowd did get bigger right at midnight when they did this balloon drop from the ceiling. There were prizes in the balloons. My brother in law won an MP3 player and I got $5 in two balloons winning myself $10 for the night. That was nice. :) I only managed to get two pics at dinner because I didn't want to lug the camera around all night. My sister and my hubby Jason are in the second and myself and the hubby are in the first. We had a great time!