I'm still here...

Hello! It has been quite some time since I last blogged. Since March, lots has changed. And some of those changes are why I haven't blogged. I am hoping to get back on the blog wagon and stay up with it better now that things are getting settled down.

Back around spring break we decided to move back to Longview. Basically, we needed to be back here to be around our family and Mike's job. The job he had in Bryan was almost over and his company wanted to send him to work in Plano after the Bryan job ended. He'd be staying in Plano during the week and home on weekends. I wasn't too keen on being a "single mom" during the week and he wasn't too keen on staying in hotels. So, as it turns out, the place he worked in Longview when we lived here before needed another project manager and when they found out we were moving back they wanted him to come back. He was excited about it too. He really enjoyed working there. That was pretty much a done deal as soon as they talked about it too. So, plans were made and we needed to get them set in motion.

I started applying for jobs in April. I contacted my principal from Kilgore and also applied at Pine Tree ISD. (I had worked for Pine Tree my 1st 4 years of teaching.) I actually got the Kilgore job and accepted it when I got a call from Pine Tree. I really really wanted to work in Pine Tree at their new schools and have the girls attend school there so I decided to go to the interview. I was up front and honest about the Kilgore job, but a few days later the Pine Tree principal offered me a job. I was ecstatic. Things were falling into place.

During all of this, Mike and I decided to try to buy a house. We weren't sure if we'd be able to buy a house with all that is going on with the housing market, especially since we had decided to use his VA eligibiltiy to get the house. It was such a stressful time! We found the house we wanted immediately. We just knew it was the one. I looked at it on the internet every day. I even had the MLS number memorized -- 122910. :) Getting this house seemed so surreal. It seemed like it was just in sight but not quite in our reach. As we went through the process we were dreaming about all that we could do to it to make it ours, all along waiting for that elusive final approval from the mortgage gods. We literally lived with upset stomachs for about a solid month. I can not begin to tell you the weight that was lifted off our shoulders when we got the e-mail with the approval. We were absolutely elated. The best part of it all was the looks on the girls faces when we told them that we had our own house. Smiles beamed from ear to ear. That's a great part of parenting. Makes it all worthwhile.

Mike and I started packing the house up in April for the move that would take place at the end of May. We were determined to have everything in a box. Sounds so easy, right? Once you get down to the "little things" it seems to get hard. Here we were labeling everything so we'd be able to find things and then we had "leftover" stuff. How do you label that? I finally made the executive decision (brought on by just being tired of all the packing) to just start dumping into boxes and sorting it out later. I can honestly say that this is the first time that we didn't have a lot of loose stuff to throw on the moving truck. We did a great job. And, we moved ourselves with very little help. Our friend, David, helped load the piano on the truck, but Mike did most of the loading himself. I helped when I got off work and then we were off ot Longview.

We moved to Longview on May 29th. We got here late and slept at his parents' house. The next morning his brother, uncle, and parents showed up and helped us unload stuff. So nice since we were still tired from the day before. Over the past few weeks, I have been getting things in order. I still have plenty to take care of, but it will get there.

I have also taken on the task of "redoing" the kitchen. I decided that I wanted to have barn red cabinets. Not the bright red, but a deep dark red. I have been working on that for a few weeks now. It is a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. I have to paint the cabinets with a dark brown before I can paint the red or the red just doesn't cover. Needless to say, painting the cabinets with multiple coats of paint takes time since everything has to dry. I am currently working on the upper cabinet doors. I painted them red yesterday and hope they are dry enough to hang later today. Then, it's on to the bottom cabinets. Can't wait until they are done. Then, I'll paint my kitchen dining room walls. They are currently red and clash horribly with my new red cabinets.

I have lots of projects to tackle in this house. I want to do the girls rooms to match their bedding, paint the girls bathroom, and last but not least, organize and decorate my scrap room! Yep, I finally got myself a scrap room! I am super excited and totally inspired. :)

Mike has lots of projects to tackle outside of this house. We have pool and it is wonderful! It has been frustrating at times because we just didn't know a lot of about it. But I have to give kuddos to Mike. He is amazing at learning new things and troubleshooting problems. I like my pool boy. :) He also wants to do some landscaping in the backyard. He has so many ideas and they are all really great. Now, we just need to get them in motion.

All of these changes really seem to be good for us. We are happy and finally feel settled. That's a great feeling... Pictures coming later!

Much love-
B

Drum Roll Please...

This past week we got our preliminary TAKS Reading results back.  No scores, just pass/fails...  And the results were...

They passed!  Woo! Hoo!  What a weight lifted off my shoulders!

Spring break ends today.  I am sad.  I wish I had some more time off.  I spent a lot of my time working on the house.  It is nice to have a clean house though.  I have enjoyed sitting in it.  haha  :)  On Friday, we headed to Kilgore for the weekend.  It was a nice trip.  The girls enjoyed being around their cousins.  Last night we went to Big Pines Lodge at Lake Caddo.  It was a nice night.  We had to wait a while, like you always do when you do there, but it was nice.  The girls had never seen whole fried catfish and were just amazed by the bones.  They were kinda funny.  I had to finally tell Whit that she couldn't walk around with the fish skeleton.  When we left Whit went with Nana and Papaw while Ally went with Uncle Don and Aunt Claudia.  She ended up spending the night at their house since Bailey, her cousin, and a friend were staying the night.  I was really happy to hear they all got along and had a good time.  Ally definitely enjoyed herself.  

Overall, we had a good spring break.  I am a little refreshed and ready to tackle work tomorrow, but I am still counting down until the next break!

Much love!

B-

Spring Break is here!

Spring break officially started for me today at 3:00.  I couldn't have been happier to see arrive as I was today.  I so need a break from the daily grind.  Sometimes that just wears a girl out.  That and stupid people.  I won't get into that though.  It's a long, boring story that involves too many people....   Just note -- I am tired of stupidity.   I wish people would think just a little before they do things... Enough of that...  On to the next topic...

I have a few goals for spring break.  I am making my official list here.

GOALS:

*Work out -- we have boot camp only on Wednesday.  I think I'll take advantage of the free week at Snap and work out there too.  Kelly is prolly going to do it too so it should be fun.  

*Work on the house -- these wood floors need some TLC, plenty of laundry to catch up on, and a little spring cleaning....  OH!  And I am officially cleaning Whit's room.  She's not going to have much left when I get done....hopefully it won't look like a tornado scene anymore if she doesn't have as much to string out.

*Create something -- not sure what yet.  I'll have to see what mood hits me....

*Take a couple of naps -- right now I am so tired that just sounds really nice!

I think I am getting sick.  I hate being sick.  It sucks.  Hopefully, I won't be sick the entire spring break.  I think right now it is just a head cold though.  I need to get some medicine in me so it will clear up.  

Tomorrow is Ally's birthday party.  She has invited 5 friends to U Paint It to paint ceramic stuff.  Not sure what they'll paint yet, but she is excited.  One friend is spending the night tonight.  Harper and Allison are like 2 Peas in a Pod.  I'll get some pictures tomorrow and upload them as soon as I can.  

Now, let's talk about dog pee.  I am tired of it.  Every time it rains my dogs don't want to go outside.  What the hell?????  Are they retarded?  No.  They actually think they are human and neither one likes to be outside in the weather.  They are going to have to get over this or they will be in doggy jail for a very long time....

Not a lot of news in the Lackey household this week.  Allison's steri-strips and dermabond came off this week and her forehead looks pretty good.  As a matter of fact, it kinda looks like a scratch. Should heel up nicely.  She also had her 4th grade program last night.  She had several speaking parts, a dancing part, and was a song leader....gasp!  She was so cute.  She kept "posing" for me whenever she'd see me trying to get a picture.  I'll have to post pictures of that too.  

I am going to bed now.  It is late and I am exhausted.  This week was the longest week ever.  And, today was the longest day in history.   That and its cold and rainy...  What a way to start spring break!

Photo Post

Okay, so last post I said I'd get some pictures up here. Here they are...

The first two pictures were taken by the girls. I really like them. I have been wanting some with the girls and this was on my birthday. We left school early and went home to wait on Mike to get home so we could go to Wings. These pics are the result! :)

This is a picture of my hair. I put the red streaks in my hair on Valentine's Day. I really like the results. Needless to say, I'll prolly get them again when these fade out. They are fun... I think they fit my personality... :)

Me and Kelly. She is way fun! We had a lot of fun this night. It was nice to get out and do something with friends.

I don't think this picture needs a lot of explanation. This is Whitney. She has an 8 year old attitude. The end...

Me and Ally cheesin' together. She is a crack-up. She LOVES to pose for pictures. Or just get in them....

Mike prolly wouldn't like it if he knew I put this picture of him on here. I like it though. And I think this is a kinda cool picture. We were in the Katy Mall after Ally's swim meet in Jan. The place in the background was like a 50's soda shop. They had hamburgers and stuff. The food wasn't all that great but it was fun.

This is Ally's arm. At meets, the kids get their heat number and lane number written on their arms so they can keep up with when they swim. It also helps the swim officials get them where they need to go. She thought this was really cool.

Allison and Ryan. This is my friend Kelly's daughter. (She's in the picture with me a couple pictures above this one.) They both swam in the 50 freestyle at the January meet. They actually don't compete against each other because they are in different age brackets. (They are only a year apart in school and age though.) They were both nervous, but they were so cute. They buddied up that day.

This has been a busy week. We had our Reading TAKS test at school this past Tuesday. That day alone is enough to wear a girl out. My kids were really good. I can't wait to see their scores. Wednesday was my birthday. Ate at Wings-N-More with the Provacek's. Thursday was a pretty normal day and Friday was fun day at school so the kids got to watch a movie and play games. They had fun but it seemed like a long day! Glad that the weekend is here....

More later. Much love!

B-

Hello! Remember me????

It has been an awfully long time since I last blogged. I have been busy and uninspired, but lately I have been finding myself again. It is so nice too! I re-evaluated what I wanted in my life and let go of something that just seemed to be weighing on my shoulders. I quit my (scrapbooking) design team. I had a hard time staying motivated and didn't have enough time to devote to the message board. I really felt disconnected from that group of girls. I guess that I had just outgrown it. Since I quit, I have taken time off from scrapbooking. I think it has helped me find my mojo again. I have been feeling really inspired lately. Inspired to do lots of different things. I want to create art again... That hasn't happened in a while... It is kinda nice to have that feeling again.... :)

I also found something to get involved in that makes me feel GOOD. I started a fitness boot camp. It was so time to take care of me. Snap Fitness came to school and a group of us worked out -- more like let them kick our asses -- every week. It was awesome having the support of my friends there with me. I have never had that before... We were sore, aching, and some days barely walking, but I can tell you that it was a great experience. Duce and Julie were great cheerleaders. When I was ready to quit, they always were able to push me just a little farther than I thought I could go. Thanks Duce and Julie! But, PLEASE, no more leap frog! hehe Boot Camp II starts in a week! Can't wait for the pain -- bring it on!

Since making these changes I feel liberated. Is that the right word? Don't know, but it sounds good. hehe I have set some goals that I hope to meet in the next few months. Maybe if I put them on here I'll stick to them. :)

I have had a hard time wanting to blog because I just hated the way my blog was looking. I tried my hand at creating my own background and stuff, but it just stunk. I visit lots of blogs and Ginnifer Maloney has a background from thecutestblogontheblock.com. I stopped by there and found this background. I really like it. It just seemed fun. :) Now, I just need to update some of my links. So, one of my goals is to update this thing more often. Maybe then, people will actually come visit it every so often. Visitors.....wouldn't that be nice!

I am trying to take more pictures. I lost the want for that over that last few months too. I think that kinda went along with losing my mojo. I am trying to take pictures weekly so that I can do a project with them. I am calling it: Project 52. A Year in the life..... I have the pics started. Should prolly start the project...

I have another goal of living a healthier life. I am doing another boot camp and trying to eat better. We are cooking at home more often and that helps. I am trying to make better choices for snacks and even meals. So far I think I am doing pretty good. I found out about a site called thedailyplate.com. I am still figuring that out, but it is pretty neat. A friend of mine swears by it and she has lost weight and is looking great. Definitely want to learn more about it.

Since I have been feeling inspired lately, I decided I wanted to look how I feel. My hair was already short and I decided to make the back have the kind of messy/spikey look and I added red highlights to my hair. I look like a rock star now! hehehe Well, maybe not, but I LOVE my hair. It is fun and "artsy" -- kinda how I have felt lately. I surprised a lot of people at school. The kids told me right away whether or not they liked it. Most of them did. A lot of adults did too, but some were kinda funny. They would look at me and do a double take and then act like it wasn't there. That cracked me up. I have to say that I did like it when a few people told me they liked my rockstar hair. That was pretty cool.

Now that I am feeling motivated to create some art, I need to get to it! I would really like to get an etsy store or some sort of business selling my stuff. That would be awesome! I have started selling my frames and that has just been by word of mouth. I need to get in touch with Micah and get them in her gift shop soon. That's a start!

The last goal I have is to get more organized. I have been going through & getting rid of things. That in itself is pretty freeing. We took a load to Goodwill not long ago. So glad to get those boxes out of here. We have lots more to go through, especially in the girls' rooms, but we are slowly getting there. Hopefully in the next couple of months we'll have put a good dent in it.

A few goals written down... Although I have already started working on them it makes them more real to read them, you know? Keep me honest -- Ask me about them!

I'll be back in a day or two to post some pictures. It is definitely time for that. I have lots of them to post! Talk to you soon!

Much love!
B-