I'm free!!!

Ok, so the title is somewhat misleading, but that is exactly how I felt last night. Why, you may ask, because I took my first ever (and definitely not the last) trip to the chiropractor. HOLY COW! I think I'm addicted. I've moved on from Craigslist, and now I'm officially addicted to the chiropractor. It doesn't hurt to mention that he's pretty darn cute as well.

Back to the subject at hand.....I couldn't help myself Sunday night, but I had to dive into the ever looming task that is like a huge elephant in my living room.... (da da da daaaaa) Spring Cleaning. Yes, it's not spring, but I needed to start. I couldn't think of anything else but doing it. Well, my spring cleaning is another term for cleaning out my closets and storage because I clean my house all the time. Oh and yes all the junk drawers are cleaned out as well. I couldn't refrain from spring cleaning, so I took that task Sunday night and began. I was loving it. Can you believe that I cleaned out my 2 closets in my bedroom, and I wound up with 6 large trash bags to give to my dad! He takes them to school for foster kids. That doesn't count the bags of trash that I ended up with. Amazing!!! Although, my husband kindly pointed out that if I were going to start my spring cleaning that I needed to be aware that we weren't in a financial position at the moment to replace all the clothes I was going to get rid of. Yeah, I knew this. I'll just get a little at a time...... :)

So after hours of up and down, hauling bags to the trash, hauling bags to my car...I went to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night with my hip hurting. It wasn't life threatening, don't worry. I will live. It just hurt enough for me to wonder if I was ever going to be able to go back to sleep. The next morning my hip was still hurting, but when I lifted my right leg, it hurt my lower back. Funny how the back works, isn't it?

Well.....long story short...I went to the cute chiropractor. I hate going to the doctor, but I've been going a lot more lately because I've got the insurance. I figure I may as well since I'm paying for it. So a million "POPS" later, I feel free......my arms I swear are 2 inches longer. My shoulder blades are farther apart than they have ever been, and I guarantee you I was taller. I felt like Gumby. He was just moving me around in every which way. I literally felt free. That's all I could talk about last night. My poor sister had to hear that over and over and over.

So....I am extremely sore today, but I am an official advocate for chiropractors. The school that they go to must be overwhelming. I don't know how they do it without breaking bones.

Later dudes!!!!

Nobody ever paid my ransom!!!

Ok.....so I wasn't kidnapped. I did disappear for a little while though, but please know that I have kept up with you all via blogs. ( I promise, that is the truth! )

What actually prompted me to write again after having such a long lapse in what others would NOT call creative writing is Am's last blog. Yes, Am, you have inspired me. I thought that since I've been terrible at keeping everybody updated, the best response from me would be to bribe you all to remain my loyal and loving friends by writing a blog praising you on the priceless friendships that you share with me. ( Hopefully it works! )

I am able to say all this because you three are the only ones that read my blog. I have been in somewhat of a funk lately, and I want you to know that you all 3 have made my day in one way or another (even though you may have never realized it). Whether it was via a random email about day to day things or an email with a special thought specfically for me, I have appreciated them all. Just receiving an email from one of you three really brightens my day.

Even though we are all many, many miles apart, it's nice to know that we're still friends. We've all been through times and moments where we didn't necessarily feel like we needed each other. No matter what your opinion, I've always needed my 3 best friends, and I regret the days where I thought I didn't need you. I hope that I will continue to realize that I need you, and I know, no matter what, you will always be there.

Our very distinct personalities I think make us the perfect friends. Please note, I said DISTINCT. :) I think we can all agree on that.

I am constantly reminded of the good ole days because Josey is 12 now. I am her go-to-parent to talk about cute boys, silly stories, etc....... Now, I distinctly remember us being funny. Here's a great example as to why we really may not have been, and we just thought we were:

The other day while foling laundry and watching a Law & Order episode that I have seen a few times before, I heard continuous giggling from Josey's bedroom. I take that back, it wasn't giggling. It was hysteria. I just knew that whatever was happening had to be hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing listening to her chuckle, chuckle, chuckle.....

I patiently waited for her to get off the phone with her friend because I, now feeling 12 again, was completely anxious to hear what I knew what going to be the funniest story I had ever heard. Finally, after listening to hysteria and trying to concentrate on Law & Order because I was growing extremely impatient, she got off the phone.

Here comes the story........are you ready?.........ok, I'm not going to tell you the story. Why, you may ask...because it wasn't funny at all. I had to fake a smile throughout this entire story so she wouldn't see the look that I was feeling like I should have posted on my face. Oh, and I had to fake this smile while she can barely even tell me the story through her giggling. Can you believe it? I was all worked up for nothing. Now I would tell you the story, but it really is a waste of time.

It just got me thinking.....were we funny? Did we really spend hours upon hours laughing at things that in no way seemed to contain a hint of humor? I'm hoping and praying that we were funny because we weren't even normal. Our "crew" would not have spent 30 minutes laughing, we would have spent hours, so.....did we waste hours upon hours thinking we were funny? Were we funny?

Believe it or not, this bothered me so bad I asked my parents if we were funny. Now, I consider my dad a "cool" person, so I trust his judgement. He said we really were funny, I'm hoping...my fingers are crossed......

Actually, if we weren't. I don't want to know. I want to continue to marinate in the fact that we were the funniest group of people I had ever been around. We were. It just doesn't matter. :) WE WERE FUNNY!

Thanksgiving has come and gone.........

Whew! I'm tired, full and not ready to go back to work even though I know that I have to. Over the weekend I got a little jealous over, Am. Yes Amber you!!!!! :) It's a good thing though. I love cooking and entertaining. I love decorating and doing crafts. It just never seems like there's enough time for me to thouroughly enjoy those things in life. I do enjoy them, and I cherish every one of those moments. I just wish that I could be a stay at home mom. (It doesn't matter that I don't have kids. I could still do it!) I would have enough time to cook and clean everyday. I could do arts and crafts. I would have more time to stay in touch with friends and family. It just seems that life just grabs hold and speeds off. It never slows down. Oh well. Life has different plans, right?

Well, I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I got to see my family at my Grandma's, and the cons and white trash didn't show up! Yeah!!! I think one of them was actually in jail. Too bad I missed them. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it through the holidays without them. (sarastic tone was used in the forementioned sentence) I ate, ate, ate and ate some more. I'm sure we all did.

We did have to take our rottweiler, Moose to the vet on Wednesday. He's been limping a lot lately, and we couldn't take it anymore. We searched for a vet that was open on Friday, and we found one. Sad news though, our poor baby has hip dysplasia. It's only in one hip, but it's still not good. He's got two different medications that we have to administer for 2 weeks. Then we have to take him back for a follow-up appointment. I just feel for him. So.....our plans for another puppy have temporarily been put on hold until we find out all we need to know about the big baby.

I also made my first Craigslist deal this weekend. I traded a few pieces of jewelry that I just don't wear anymore for a truck full (not an exaggeration) of tile. Even if I don't use it all on this house or our house we will build in a few years, my dad can use it on his rent houses. I definitely was thrilled this weekend. Go me! My husband wasn't very thrilled though because she wound up living 2 1/2 hours away. Oops! My bad. I guess I should get all the information next time. Oh well. I'm still thrilled.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I'm sure you're looking as forward to Christmas as I am. Maybe life will slow down a bit here in the next few weeks. Nobody wants to pay for pictures when they have Christmas presents to buy. I'm still excited about photography. Don't get me wrong. It's just wearing me down. I just need that surprise door to open with all different opportunities!!!

Have a great one girls!

I'm hiding......

Ok, my Halloween party this weekend was a blast. It was definately a long night, but I made it through it. I'll have pictures that I'll post later. In the end, Dorothy did realize that there really is no place like home, so she finally made it there about 4:30am. Mind you, I wasn't awake the entire time. I found a very comfortable couch and made me a little abode there!!!!

Last night in Ada was the official trick or treat night for as you know Ada is the official Church Town, so we can't have it for sure on Wednesday. Well, I never realized how much candy costs these days. Joe went to Wal-Mart to get candy because I was really wanting to be the cool house in town that gave the good candy and a handful of it. Well....my bubble bursted when I was informed that Joe got enough candy for 4 kids and it cost us $10. Now, $10 isn't extravagant, but those four children were my niece, nephew, step-daughter and her sister. I just could not afford to purchase enough candy for all the kids that I initially wanted to. :o(

Well, we had someone knock on our door, and I thought it was my sister. I opened the door and there was a pile of kids. Now, complete embarassment took over because I DIDN'T HAVE ANY CANDY. So I informed them politely that I didn't have any as a small, let's say two year old, takes off into my house. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm not going to grab a stranger's kid for fear of some sort of law suit. You never know these days. So I'm following the kid and trying to get permission from the parents for me to pick up their child. I am vaguely remembering panic on everybody's face for it was least expected on all of our parts. So as the kids makes his way into my kitchen, and I have yet to receive permission, an older sister about 12 steps up to my door and asks if she can come in. The look on this poor child's face was priceless. I told her yes, so she came in and picked up the little glow in the dark skeleton from my kitchen. Well, I could have gotten away with the no candy scenario had this girl not looked at my buffet as she walked out the door and there lying on the top were 4 bags of candy for the 4 predetermined Halloween guests. Ok, so now I, the one who wanted to be the cool lady at Halloween that passes out all the good Halloween candy, is now the lying lady on the corner who hogs all the candy for herself.

Now, when I used to go trick or treating, we went to the houses that had their porch light on. Obviously that scenario has gone out the window or I'm dealing with a load of total idiots. Actually, I'm assuming the latter is the best option. My door got knocked on ALL NIGHT. I felt so bad each time, but then I would get mad because obviously my porch light was not on. Oh well, so I hid in my living room all night. We finally resorted to eating in the dark hoping it would deter the little ankle biters who now hate me. I hid. In my own home, I hid. Now if you can't be safe and comfortable in your own home, where can you be.

ps.....I hid in my own home.

The Stress is On.....

OK. The one day out of our entire blog life as a group of 4, we have never all written a blog on the same day. (or at least if we have, I haven't noticed!)

So therefore, since you all three have surprisingly posted today, I now realize that it is my endearing fate to post one as well. (even though I'm bored out of my mind today at work!) If I were the least bit creative in writing, I would make something up. It just so happens to be that I am not.

You know that song, the heat is on...the heat is on....(it's on the streets?)...the heat is on.....whatever the words are. Replace them with the stress is on....

So I've still got Halloween on the brain. I'm going to go to our party location with my sis-in-law tonight because we have to paint our yellow brick road. You see, for the party everybody dresses up, but there is no set theme. However, a small group are doing the Wiz of Oz theme. So therefore, being the all-important human beings that we are, we decorate with our theme. I mean, it is all about us so why not let everybody else know.

So.......I will be busy with that tonight as long as the Wicked Witch of the West doesn't come get me. Did I mention that I have the cutest 4" ruby red peep-toe pumps? They are surprisingly adorable. Don't worry. I won't start wearing them to work!!!! (I figured Stacy would be the first to think I would!!!!)

Oh, and Happy Birthday Ash and Eric!!! Am--you should be a psycho soccer mom and put all those bows that you make in your hair, slap on some bright pink lipstick and be all about the kids! haha!

Halloween is almost here!!!!!

Halloween is right around the corner. Now to most, this may seem like a Pagan don't teach your kids about witchcraft holiday, but all it was created for was for perfectly mature adults to dress up like children and pretend to be idiots for the night! Now, how can a lot of proud Americans be against that? I just don't understand.

Now, as for me, I am the one and only (better be!) Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz that will be at our party. My "group" shall consist of the following:

The Tin Man (sister-in-law)

The Cowardly Lion (family girl-friend)

The Wicked Witch of the West (family girl-friend)

Now, wasn't that creative? We also have a yellow brick road leading to the party also accompanied by signs galore. Oh, and there's the traditional cemetary that we have created high on a hill! I'm so excited.

Now, if you want to talk about religion during this holiday, it will definately be prevalent at our party. No, it won't be a worship service, but I can guarantee that Jesus, Zeus and Buddha will be there. Let me know if you would like their autograph. I would be more than happy to get that for you.

So.....what are all you other perfectly mature adults dressing up as this year?

The weekend is right around the corner......

And a busy one it will be at that!!!! Here's the low down on what Tina's weekends generally look like. There's not too much of a break, but it's ok. It will all pay off in the end. If it doesn't, BEWARE OF TINA!

I begin the weekend with pictures tonight of a little cutie in her Halloween costume, a ladybug. There will also be some pics with Mom and some family friends. It's a good hour, hour and a half. Emma, she's definitely a cutie.

I begin Saturday morning dropping off some pictures to a client, attending a fun-filled soccer game of 6 year olds that basically just chase each other. They haven't learned the concept of anticipation. We don't guess where the ball will be going and get a headstart. We just run as a herd of cows being chased by a cow dog around a field. Sometimes, once in a while, the ball does go in the goal. I'm not promising it's the correct one, but it does end up in there at times. My little prize of a niece, which stayed the night with me last night, made a goal last week! GO JERSEY!!!

The rest of that day on includes the following:

Meeting with future client/business partner. He's a videographer. We're thinking we can come up with some packages that incorporate what does. In the end we both benefit. This future business partner is also needing some pictures taken of his band which therefore makes him a client as well. YEAH!!!

I need to upload and finish working on the pictures of the wedding I took last weekend. Yes, you guessed it. I haven't even started working on them. I'm not in too big of a hurry to begin though because they still owe me their remaining balance. I know they're good for it, but I've eaten time and money before. Not going there again.

I need to upload and finish the pictures that I will be taking tonight. In case you weren't aware, all of my pictures, when I am through with them, I upload onto the internet for clients to view. It's like what Ash sent out of her nephews. It makes it a lot easier on me because I don't have to take orders and stuff of the like. YEAH AGAIN!

I have to work on a future project that I really should have started months ago. I'm working on a calendar for the local fire department. No, I'm not the genius behind this plan. GO STACY! GO STACY! IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY! SHAKE YOUR BOOTY!! I already have the layout, but I just need to throw in some pics of them working to give them a better idea. Not everybody can imagine, and I know it will go over better if they actually have something to show to the crew. I have to go snap some informal candid photos on Sunday to put in the calendar.

I have a new business client as well. I have to come up with some drafts of different forms as well as take all their pictures, headshots to be exact. I am designing a business card, form that stands on the lobby desk, license display that holds license and picture, collage that shows everybody in the company, and sheet with picture and educational background and work history to display as well. Work, work, work, but I'm extremely excited to begin this adventure.

I have a construction company that I need to draw their logo, design a brochure for them to handout to help broaden their horizons. I'm also doing a deck of cards for them as well.

Then, last and definitely not least, I have to study for my EMT test. In case I forgot to mention (ok, maybe I didn't forget!!) but I didn't pass my first take at the test. The majority of my questions were over acid/base balance. Oh yeah, I know you wouldn't have guessed this but that's not my strong point. Kidding, I know you could have guessed that. So basically, I knew leaving my test site that I didn't do so well. Oh well. I have two more chances, but the positive person in me only needs one. YOU HEAR THAT COMPUTER BASED NATIONAL EMT TEST, I ONLY NEED TO TAKE YOU ONE MORE TIME! I think it heard me.

Weekends are great, and I look forward to each and every one of them. However, I really look forward to the day when I can work on photography more throughout the week so I can come above ground on the weekends. I think my husband started printing MISSING posters for me last week. It took him a while. I think he enjoyed me not being available for a while. I think the house might be getting dirty. That's why he's looking for me.

Oh and I have to clean my house this weekend.......

It's neverending.....

Ciau!