Day 12

Day 12: Something you don’t leave the house without

 

I don't leave my house without my cell phone!  

Day 11

Day 11: A quote you love

"I'd love to be the one to disappoint you when I don't fall down!"

 

This is actually a line from Limp Bizkit's song Re-Arranged.  For whatever reason, this line has always stuck in my head!

I also love these quotes for my kids! Dr. Seuss is a genius! 

Day 10

Day 10: A photo of your favorite place to eat

 

The Elephant Bar in Palm Desert

My favorite restaurant to eat at is The Elephant Bar! They have the best food and great service! I have never ate something there that I didn't like!   It is also mine and my hubby's favorite place to go for a date! ;)

Day 9

Day 9: A favorite picture of your best friend

My best friend, Shelby, and I

 

What would a girl do without her best friend? I honestly don't know! I am so grateful for my best friend, Shelby! She has been through thick and thin with me! She is always there for me when I need her and I would do anything for her!  She is my confidant, my best friend and I would be lost without her! I love my bestie!!!!

Shelby was actually a customer of mine, when I worked in layaway at Walmart.  That is how we met! We have known each other for 13 years!

God chooses special people to come into your life and I am so glad that He choose Shelby to be my best friend!

Day 8

Day 8: A place you’ve traveled to and where else you want to travel

 

Navajo Lake, Utah

In 2004, Eric took me on a trip to his step-grandparents' cabin in Utah.  If you have never been to Utah, I highly recommend visiting it! It is absolutely gorgeous scenery and totally God's country! Being a born and raised California girl, I had never seen the likes of the colors in the forests. It was so beautiful.   We saw many beautiful places there and among them was Navajo Lake.  When we were there in 2004, there was a dyke that you could walk across at the bottom end of the lake. This past summer, our whole family visited Utah again. The lake had grown so large, you could barely see the white line of the dyke in the water. I took this picture and no it is not from a postcard! ;)  Simply gorgeous!   I would love to travel there again. 

I have always wanted to go to Hawaii and Australia. The beaches in Hawaii are just breathtaking! As for Australia, I am not sure what I would do there. But I have always wanted to go! ;)

Day 7

Day 7: What makes you happy

 Easy question... what makes me happy? 

And an easy answer...

 My family!

 

ENOUGH SAID! ;)

Day 6

Day 6: What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced?

 

The hardest thing that I have ever experienced is losing our first baby.  Eleven years ago today, on July 25, 2001, Eric had to rush me to the emergency room and I miscarried our first baby at 12 1/2 weeks.  It is the scariest thing that I have ever gone through. I didn't understand why I was losing my baby. I thought that I had done something wrong and I had caused it. It was a difficult time for me. The most comforting thing that someone said to me was "God thought that that baby was better in heaven with Him!"  The doctors didn't know what had caused it. They said that sometimes it just happens. 

I don't know if any of you have read Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo.  It is the story of a four year old little boy, Colton, who has a near death experience during an emergency surgery. He goes to Heaven. After his surgery, he starts telling wonderful stories about what he experienced.  Among those stories, was how he met his sister in Heaven. This sister was a baby that his mom had miscarried! I just bawled my eyes out when I read this and am choked up now.  I have peace knowing that I will someday see my son or daughter again!

I have had several friends that have lost babies or even several babies. I often wondered how they had the strength to go on and try again for another baby! I was terrified of it all happening again, when Eric and I decided to try to get pregnant. Our first baby was not planned, but totally welcome! It just ended up not being God's plans for our lives at that time!  I realized that God was in control and He knew what would happen with our child. When I got pregnant with my daughter, I was so scared, but right from the beginning, I knew that everything was going to be ok!  Her pregnancy felt so different from the last time! 

Even though losing my baby was the hardest thing that I have ever gone through, it just strengthened the love that Eric and I had for each other!  For two days that I spent in the hospital, Eric was by my side. My mom and dad said that it proved to them how much he really loved me!

Now, I am super blessed to have two beautiful children, a son and a daughter!

Day 5

Day 5: A photo of myself two years ago

Ok, so I have two different blog challenge lists that I am pulling these from. And if I don't like the challenge for that day, I get it from the other list. So today's challenge is from my second list! ;) Hey, it's my blog and I can do what I want! Right?

 2/10/2010: My kids and I at the park

Here we are two years ago... my babies are so small!

 

Mind you, I hate pictures of myself. But I don't want my kids growing up and looking back at old pictures and saying, where was Mommy?  So, for them, I try to take as many as possible! Ah, the things that we will do for our kids! Pure love!

Day 4

Day 4: Your parents

 November 17, 1973

My parents on their wedding day

My parents are Ken and Melody. They met while they were attending Bible college in Oklahoma. My dad saw my mom through binoculars and had to meet her! Awwww!

They will celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary this November! They have two kids, my sister and I,  and six grandchildren!

On March 13, 2011, my dad had a heart attack! The doctors called it a widow maker, because that is how severe it was.  Those first few days were really scary. I have never seen my dad look like that. It is always hard to see someone you love hurting or in pain. I am so grateful to God and all of those who prayed for him, that he survived!  Our world would not be the same without my Dad and my kid's Ampa!

I am very close to my parents. I am glad that we live so close to each other and that my kids get to see their Nana and Ampa. With our busy lives, we may not see each other as often as possible, but we try our best.

I am the person I am today because of my parents!  If wasn't for the upbringing that the parents gave me, I don't know where I would be today! I am so blessed to have them as my parents! 

 

I love you, Mom and Dad!

My parents - November 2011

 

Day 3

Day 3: Your first love

When I was 5 years old and in Kindergarten, I fell "madly in love" with a little redheaded boy named Jason. Thus started my infatuation of boys with names that started with J: Jason, Jimmy, Josh, Jesse....  how I broke the "J" thing and ended up with Eric, I may never know! ;) Haha! 

So, my little 5 year old "boyfriend", Jason, and I informed our parents that when we turned 6 years old, we were going to run away and get married! LOL!  Wow, the things that kids say!  Of course, that never happened, and I don't know what happened to Jason. I don't even remember what he looks like or even what his last name was.  

So, that is my story of my first love!

Day 2

Day 2: Nicknames


I had several nicknames growing up.  My parents called me Peanut and Hot Rod.  My Grandma called me Mouth of the South, because she said that I was really loud (and I was)!


In school, I got called Heidi Ho. I hated it, but with my name, it was bound to happen! 
 
In college, I had one friend who called me Dee.  He said that it was repetitive to say Hi Heidi, so he would just say Hi Dee (my name Heidi), LOL! 

These days, I am Babe to my husband, Momma to my kids and still Peanut to my mom!

Day 1

Today, I am starting a new blog challenge. I had so much fun doing the last one, that I thought that I would do it all over again! For the next 30 days, I will be answering the questions that you all wanted to know. Well, probably not, but here goes anyways!


Day 1: Introduce, recent picture of yourself, 15 interesting facts.

This is me....Heidi! Well, this is me all dolled up for a party. This picture was taken the day of my dad's surprise 60th birthday party. On a normal day, you would see me with no makeup, in my lounge around  clothes, relaxing with my kids! LOL!  


15 interesting facts about me (and I will try to do something different from the previous challenge)


1. I have been to Canada and Mexico. Although I have been to several states other than California, but those are the extent of my "international" travels!
2. I was in labor with my daughter for over 26 hours!
3. I was only in labor with my son for 3 hours from start to finish! HUGE difference!
4. I like to think that I am Hollywood buff and know random facts about actors. I am the person who can name everyone at an award's ceremony.
5. I am the crazy coupon lady at the store with her coupon binder. You call it crazy, but I call it smart with all the money that I save!
6. In 1999, while riding my bike home from work, I was hit by a family van. I smashed my knee and my chin into the pavement. I ended up getting 7-9 stitches (I don't remember exactly how many) in my chin.
7. When I was a teenager, I had an accident and ended up smashing my knee cap flat. I had what was called a bone bruise.
8. I love cats. When I was little, I had cat posters all over my walls in my room. I still have a whole box of cat figurines that I had collected over the years.
9. My husband and I would go on vacation every year to Laughlin, Nevada.  Of course, that was before kids! LOL!
10. I like alternative music. I mostly listen to our local station, Mix 100.5.  
11.  My husband and I have been together since 1999. We have been married since 2003. We will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary in February!!!
12.  I got engaged on Christmas Eve and then married the day after Valentine's Day. We did it all in 6 weeks and with a VERY tight budget.
13. For my senior trip, we went to San Fransisco. We visited Alcatraz and Haight/Ashbury Streets.
14. I only have one sister. My husband, on the other hand, comes from a family of 6 boys!
15. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 21 years old.

Shrimp alfredo

Last night, I tried out a new recipe. I asked my best friend for a good shrimp scampi or shrimp alfredo recipe and kind of played off of that.  So here is what I did.

This is my shrimp sauteing in butter and minced garlic. Love the steam coming off of it!

 

I cooked some mini penne pasta to go with it. I took a jar of Ragu Cheesy Alfredo sauce and mixed it all together. 

The finished pasta

 

 I steamed some carrots to go with it and Voila! dinner was ready! 

 

 

Mind you, I am not a huge fan of alfredo, I prefer tomato sauce, but this turned out really yummy! My kids loved it and ate two servings of pasta! Yippee!

 

And I made rice kripsie treats for dessert, even though the kids ate ice cream sandwiches instead. They are this funny greenish color, because I used multi-colored marshmallows.  I remember now why I never make these at home.  They just never taste as good as the ones that you buy at the store! 

List 10 things you would hope to be remembered for

Blogging Challenge Day 30: List 10 things you would hope to be remembered for.

This blogging challenge has been fun and challenging, go figure! This is the final day of this challenge. I think that I will start another one, because I like how this has made me write a post every day!  

1. Being a good mom.  I may not be perfect, but I do my best! I hope my kids love me for that, because I sure love them!

2. Being a good wife.  Again, I am not perfect, but I love my husband with all of my heart and that will never ever change!

3. Being a good daughter. I never want to disappoint my parents. I may be 35 years old, but I still want to be a good daughter and do everything right. I know that I didn't always achieve that, but I hope that my parents are proud of me. I am so grateful to the way I was raised and am thankful to my parents for that. It has taught me how to be the parent that I am today. Thank you, Mom and Dad!

4. Being a good sister. Growing up, my sister and I fought like cats and dogs. But now, as adults, well, we still fight. No, not really! Just kidding, Laura! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful sister! (as I type this, it brings tears to my eyes!)  I am so sad that we live so far away from each other. =( I would have loved for our kids to grow up together, like I had always imagined!  I am glad that we are close now and get to talk whenever we want to!

5. Being a good friend. (I guess that all five of those could have been lumped together. Oh well!)  I feel like I am always there for my friends to lean on when they need it. I always have a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen to them vent. I love my friends and am so grateful for each of them!

6. I want to be remembered for being a happy and positive person!  I have always considered myself very happy. I have a positive outlook on life.  God is good all the time!

7. I love to scrapbook and I hope that those books will carry on my legacy! I want my kids to look at their scrapbooks and know how much love that I put into them!

8. I love to study my family's history. About 6 years ago, I started I went to a mini family reunion and started writing down all my family's information. I talked with my Great Aunt Jean (who passed away this year) and my Grandma. I am glad that I was able to do that, because about 2 years ago, my grandma, who is our family historian, had a stroke and can no longer talk.  Before any of this happened, I had sat down with her and had her tell me in detail, how she grew up, where her and my Papa met and how, and the different places where they had lived.  I even went through old photos and had her tell me who everyone was in the pictures! I am so glad that I did that, because in all the old stories that my grandma had told me, I don't think that I had ever heard the story of how my grandparents had met! It is a great love story and they just celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary!  So in all that, I guess that I would like to be remembered as someone who carried on our family history!

9.  I want to be remembered for my banana bread or my no-bake cookies! Those are both family favorites of ours!  ;)

10. I want to be remembered as a woman of faith. I love God with all my heart. I may not always be the best Christian and I don't shout it to the rooftops, but God has ALWAYS been there for me and will ALWAYS be there for me! I pray that I can be the best witness that I can be. But please remember, that I am human, and I will make mistakes. But God is an all forgiving God and will never leave you or forsake you!

What do you think people misunderstand most about you?

Blogging Challenge Day 29: What do you think people misunderstand most about you?

 I don't think that there is really anything that people misunderstand about me. I am pretty much an open book. I am a pretty shy person. I don't like big crowds. I prefer to be a wallflower vs. a social butterfly at a party. It is hard for me to meet new people.  I am easily intimidated by people.  I am fiercely loyal to my family and friends. If you ever did anything to my kids, I would hunt you down like a mama bear protecting her cubs. I would do anything that is in my power to help my family and friends. 

What are you grateful for today?

Blogging Challenge Day 28: What are you grateful for today?

 My son, my husband and my daughter

Today, I am grateful for my family! That's a given, but I will say it anyways! I love my husband and my kids! I am so blessed to have a such a wonderful family! 

I got up this morning and I was planning on taking the kids to the mall and making a day of it.  Most of all, it was to get us out of the house. Well, I forgot that Eric had today off!   

We had lunch at McDonalds. We walked around the mall. I made an appointment for my daughter to get her free haircut at the JcPenney's salon.  For the month of August, they are giving free haircuts to kids, ages Kindergarten through 6th grade.  We went to GameStop and got some new Wii games. We had frozen yogurt at Tutti Frutti. Yummy! We went to Barnes and Noble, looked around at the books and the kids got to play with the train in the kid's section. I found some discount books for the kids. I am tired, but we had a good day! 

So yes, I am most grateful for my beautiful family! They make my life complete!

What is your favorite part of your body and why?

Blogging Challenge Day 27: What is your favorite part of your body and why?

Ok, when I read this one and actually laughed out loud! I was going to say my eyes, but I am going to be completely honest, which I try to do as much as possible.  I would have to say that my favorite part of my body is my boobs! I may not be the prettiest girl or the skinniest girl in town, but I do think that I have a nice rack! ;)  And my husband would agree!   I am not the most confident person in the world and may not have the greatest self esteem (which is something that I am trying to work on for the sake of my 6 year old daughter, who I want to have a good self image), but I have felt this way forever! LOL!   But hey, this rack fed my two kids, so there! ;)

That's all this big chested girl wrote!

Sunday dinner

This is what my family ate for dinner last night! 

 BBQ bacon chicken, baked potato with bacon, corn and Bush's Grillin Beans Southern Pit Barbeque

I had seen this baked potato recipe on Pinterest.  You peel your potato and then slice it in chunks, but not all the way through.  You put bacon slices in the cuts and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Well, they didn't turn out exactly how I thought they would. They were still pretty hard after 30 minutes in the oven, so I popped them in the microwave to finish baking them.  

For the chicken, I took chicken breasts, laid bacon on top of them and then slathered them in BBQ sauce. I baked them for about 45 minutes or so at 400 degrees. 


And of course, you have to have Bush Grillin Beans with BBQ chicken.  Last night, we had the Southern Pit Barbeque flavor.  I could totally eat those beans out of the can, they are so good. I have not found a single flavor of those, that I don't like! So so yummy!

And the corn was just frozen corn that I made for the kids! They are not big baked potato fans! 

This was the first real meal that I had had since I had my wisdom tooth pulled and it was worth it! Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!  If I don't say so myself, even if I am the one who made it!

What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?

Blogging Challenge Day 26: What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?

This is a hard one. I am not quite sure what to answer to this question.    So, I think that I will skip this day. 

Good deals

Yesterday, Eric and I found some really good deals! Stores are getting ready for back to school time, so they are already having sales! So far, Staples is the best! But I also did some regular shopping at Target and Vons and found some good deals (even without coupons)!
 

7/13/12: Staples, Back to School Savings Pass for $10. Gives you 15% off on most back to school items! Totally worth it!  FYI: you can only use the savings pass once a day!

7/13/12: Staples

2 reams of papers $6.99 each, with a $6.74 easy rebate on each making them $0.25 each!

1 4-pack of super glue $2.99 with a $2.99 easy rebate, making it FREE

1 5-pack of Sharpies $1

4 packs of mechanical pencils $0.25 each = $1

2 Bic pen packs $0.01 each

2 Rose art crayons $0.01 each

2 Staples glue $0.01 each

Total was $17.43!  After I get $16.74 in rebates back, I will have only paid $0.97! Wow! 

 

 7/13/12: my free lotion from Bath and Body Works. It smells so good!  

7/13/12: Target, before coupons $64.11, after Qs total OOP $42.80. 

2 shirts  (hanging on the red bucket) $6.58 each - $3 TQ = $3.58 each! My favorite find!

4 Lunchables $1 each
2 jars of pasta sauce $1 each
3 different kinds of Bush's Grillin Beans on clearance $1.54 each
1 water $1.57
2 packs of ice cream sandwiches $1.69 each
1 bag of ice cream cups $3.99
1 NYC nail polish $1.12 (was supposed to be $0.99) - $0.50 TQ = $0.62
tweezers on clearance $1.20 (they are purple leopard!)
2 Neutrogena makeup remover towelettes $4.19 each -$2MQ -$2TQ = $0.19 each 
red rope tub on clearance $2.99
paper plates on clearance $1.49
2 boxes of fruit snacks $1.69 each - $1/2 TQ = $2.38 for both
1 Neosporin $4.29- $3MQ =$1.29
2 Benadryl anti-itch sticks  $2.79 each -$1 MQ = $1.79 each
1 red and silver First Aid bag FREE, after buying 3 first aid items
 I saved $35.69!

  

7/13/12: Eric went to Staples and got this. He signed up for his own rewards card, but my savings pass didn't work, because it was the same day! =(

Basic paper towels-on sale for $5-$1MQ=$4

1 3-pack of erasers $0.50

2 Bic pen packs $0.01 each

2 Rose art crayons $0.01 each

2 Staples glue $0.01 each

3 really useful boxes (that is what Staples called them) $0.25 each

2 4-pack of glue sticks $1 each

2 magnetic white boards $1 each

1 small tool set $2

1 pack of Strata pens $2

1 pack of washable Crayola dry erase markers $2

Total OOP $16.57

 7/13/12: Vons. total OOP $2.48! Eric had forgot that he had a Vons card, so I signed him up for the Just4U program! The eggs were free for signing up, the cereal was on sale, $1.99, and there was $1 store Q making it $0.99 and the jelly was a personalized price of $1.49!

 

7/13/12: Vons. Before card, $92.04, after card and coupons, total OOP $44.10

I did not use alot of coupons for this shopping trip, but with sales and the Just4U program, I was still able to get some good deals and still save 52%!

Kraft Mayo with olive oil $1.99-$0.25MQ= $1.74

Kraft Mayo light $1.99-$0.25MQ-$0.25 for doubling= $1.49

2 cans of tomato sauce $0.78

Crunchy Raisin Bran $2.50 (my son loves this cereal and this was a good price, even without a Q!)

Marshmellow Magic cereal $1.99-$1 SQ = $0.99

4 cans of tomato paste$0.45 each = $1.78

2 cans of Hunts diced tomatoes $0.93 each =$1.86

Quaker Oats cereal $2.50-$1MQ = $1.50

6 different kinds of Ragu sauce $1.50 each

3 boxes of pasta = FREE, when you bought 2 Ragu sauces!

Rice Krispies $1.88

2 boxes of Fruit Loops $1.88 each = $3.79-$1 MQ = $2.76 for both

3 pasta and rice sides $1 each

2 big cup of noodles $0.50 each

2 packs of Lucerne sliced cheese $2.49 each

1 gallon of milk $2.89

2 loaves of bread $0.98 each = $1.98

2 packages of hot dogs $0.98 each = $1.98

1 Johnsville chicken sausage $2.99-$1 MQ = $1.99

1 bag of Craisins FREE, from the J4U program

  

I am running out of room for where to put my cereal! I have totally been stocking up! This is making use of a useless space! It works! There are 3 bags of cereal behind these 10 boxes and also 10 or so more boxes on top of the fridge! Ok, I think that we are good on cereal for a while! ;)   (That's my cat, Collins, in the corner!)

If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?

Blogging Challenge Day 25: If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?

 

If I could have dinner with anyone in history, it would have to be with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  As for what I would eat, probably nothing, because I would be in awe of the man sitting in front of me!

In what ways are you a nerd?

Blogging Challenge Day 24: In what ways are you a nerd?

This was me, minus the glasses!

Definition of nerd (n): bing.com · Bing Dictionary

nerd   [nurd]   

1. offensive term: an offensive term that deliberately insults somebody's physical appearance or social skills 2.single-minded enthusiast: somebody who is considered to be excessively interested in a subject or activity that is regarded as too technical or scientific

 

Hmmm.... was I a nerd? I would have to say yes.  I was the goody two shoes kind of girl. I never, well, hardly ever got in trouble when I was in school. I would say that I got in more trouble fighting with my sister than anything!   I was a bookworm. I studied hard. I didn't play sports and not for lack of wanting to either.  I went to volleyball camp and tried out for the team.  I didn't make it, but I did stats! Yippee! I was on honor roll all 4 years of high school, except for 1 QUARTER, because of stupid geometry! Grrrr!  I did not date. I was not popular. So, yes, I was a nerd!  But hey, being a nerd is what put me through college! My nerdiness and aptitude for good grades got me academic scholarships.  So, do I complain about being a nerd? NO! I hold my head high and shot from the roof tops that I am proud to have been a nerd! And maybe, I still am! ;)

 

 

List your top 5 hobbies and why you love them

Blogging Challenge Day 23: List your top 5 hobbies and why you love them


1. Scrapbooking
I love to scrapbook. I have about 15 or so scrapbooks done for my family. I am way behind on my kids. When you only have one child, you have plenty of time to work on it. But once my son was born, I fell behind. My daughter has like 5 albums done.  My son on the other hand, maybe has 5 pages done! Sad, but true! I really need to make an effort and time to work on them! My daughter loves to look through her albums and see her baby pictures. And that right there, is the reason that I do it! 
 
2. Photography
This goes hand in hand with scrapbooking. I have always liked to take pictures.  When the hubby and I would go on vacation, pre-kids, I would always have my camera on hand. I have great pictures from Laughlin, Nevada and Utah!  When my kids were born, I took tons of pictures. They change so much in the first few months, that I took daily pictures of them until they were 2 months old! I love looking at those pictures and seeing how much they did change, day to day! 
 
3. Reading
I have always been an avid reader, for as long as I can remember. I read all the Hardy Boy and Nancy Drew books in our school library, multiple times. I loved anything that had to do with Greek mythology.  
I love Danielle Steel novels and science fiction. Actually, I like to read almost anything! I read The Hunger Games series and really enjoyed.   I recently discovered Cassandra Clare. She is a great author. She has two series, The Mortal Instruments (5 books so far) and The Internal Devices (2 books so far), that I have really enjoyed reading!  Now that my 6 year old daughter is learning to read, she has the same love of reading as I do! 

4. Shopping
I have to admit that I am a shop-o-holic!  I am very frugal when it comes to shopping though. I hate paying full price for something. I will always shop the clearance racks first! I love shopping at Target for that reason! They always have really good deals! 

5. Couponing 
This has helped with my shopping habits! LOL! I started couponing in June of last year. I mean, before that, I had used a coupon here and there, but nothing consistent. Well now, I am the lady you will see at the grocery store with her big coupon binder in tow!  I have saved my family a ton of money! It is so exciting to see how much you can save at the register!  I have a great group of friends that help each other out in our couponing!

#32

I am in pain and I paid someone to do it to me! You ask, why? I shall explain...

Yesterday, I had my bottom right hand side wisdom tooth pulled. Years ago, I had a cavity in it and instead of pulling it then, my old dentist put a filling in it.  To this day, I don't know why and other dentists that I have been to don't know either.  So, a few weeks ago, my filling fell out. No fun. I was doing fine and thought that I could deal with it. Then, I started having excruciating pain along my gum line, because apparently my nerve was starting to become exposed. Blah. No fun now.  


Seeing as Eric and I don't have any dental insurance, I had to find the best price, because we would be paying out of pocket.  I posted in my mom's group on Facebook asking for recommendations. Everyone that my mom friends suggested was too expensive. So, I pulled out the phone book and started calling  different dentists to see how much they would charge.  It truly is ridiculous how much a dentist will charge you! One place wanted over $1000, for one tooth! Geez!


I ended up finding Dr. Lee in Palm Desert.  But the thing was, they didn't have an opening for a week! The lady asked me are you in pain? Ummm, yes, that is why I was calling to get an appointment! Duh!  So, I dealt with the pain and went yesterday.  Eric and the kids dropped me off. They took and xray of my tooth and then Dr. Lee did an exam.  He tells me, since this is a wisdom tooth, I don't recommend a root canal and a crown, it should just be pulled. Well, isn't that why I was there? 


I was under the impression that I was going to be given nitrous oxide. I had never had that and asked how exactly it worked and how it numbs you. The dental assistant told me, we are just going to be using a local anesthetic. Oh joy! I told her that it takes almost 3 sets of numbing shots to actually get me numb.  Really no fun! I am not a big fan of needles. So, Dr. Lee numbed the inside of my cheek with some gel stuff and then proceeded to stick me. Just a little pinch, he kept saying. Relax, he kept saying. Breathe through your nose, he kept saying. I was shaking. Well, just like I thought, it took 3 sets to completely numb me.  (After I had the procedure, someone told me that the nitrous would have relaxed me. Wish that I had known that then!)


A little over an hour later, the dentist had my tooth out. My jaw was so sore, but hey, he prescribed me pain meds and antibiotics, just in case.   So, I texted Eric and they came and got me. We went to Target and had my prescriptions filled. I spent the majority of last night on the couch with an ice pack on my face.   You can't really eat anything, because your mouth and jaw are sore and food can get into the huge crater in your mouth. So needless to say, I was pretty hungry!   I slept horribly, because after the numbing finally wore off, the pain set in. The pain meds were not helping and I ended up getting an ice pack and sleeping on it. 


Today, I am majorly sore. My mouth hurts and I keep reminding myself that I did this, because I was in pain. I was able to eat some cream of wheat, but am totally craving a cheeseburger! LOL! 


So long story short, going to the dentist and having your tooth pulled is no fun! But in the long run, I won't be in any pain anymore, but it looks like it might be a very long run! ;)

 #32 tooth (I hope this doesn't gross anyone out!)

My 6 year old daughter wanted to see what my tooth looked like, so I asked for it back. Ouch!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?

Blogging Challenge Day 22: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?

Everyone has dreams and aspirations for their life. But sometimes, life takes a different turn and things change! And sometimes it's for the better and sometimes it's not.  So, where do I see myself in 5, 10 or 15 years?  

In 5 years, I hope to be out of debt and our credit is much better. I pray that we own our own home! Since my son was born, we have totally outgrown our two bedroom apartment. We have been looking for something bigger and that we can afford, but haven't been able to find anything. God willing, that will be different soon! My daughter will be 11 and my son will be 8. That is hard for me to believe!  
I hope that my husband has found a job where he is happy.  I probably will be at the same job, because my boss will never stop working! ;)


In 10 years, we will be hitting the teenage years. My daughter will be 15 and my son will be 13! I take it back, that is hard for me to believe! When your kids are as small as mine are now (6 and 3), it is hard to imagine them that big!   We live in our beautiful home and have awesome jobs! We will be able to travel if we want to.


In 15 years, once again my kids are way to old for me to think about! My daughter will be 20 and my son will be 18! We are heading into the college years! I hope that if the Lord hasn't come yet, that they get to experience college and the fun times to be had! Well and have a great education! ;)   In 15 years, I will be 50 years old! OMGosh! 


Now I am thinking about my own mortality, it's something to ponder. Where do you see yourself in 5, 10 and 15 years?

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Blogging Challenge Day 21: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

When I was younger, I read some science fiction books by Anne McCaffrey.  She just recently passed away at the age of 85! She wrote the Dragonriders of Pern and many other books. My favorite book series of hers was The Tower and the Hive. It consists of five books: The Rowan, Damia, Damia's Children, Lyon's Pride and The Tower and the Hive.   It tells the story of Angharad Gwyn/The Rowan and her family.  The Rowan had telekinetic and telepathic powers that made her the most powerful Prime.  I always thought that those powers were very cool.  She could speak to others in their mind and move things with her mind!  I could totally use those powers! If I had gone somewhere and forgotten something at home, I could just think for it and it would blink to me! Instantly! That would be great! So, I would want to have the superpower of telekinesis! ;)

Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.

Blogging Challenge Day 20: Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.

 1.  1993 trip to Canada

Every year, my sister and I would visit our grandparents for almost 6 weeks out of summer.   We took many trips over the years, but this has to be my most favorite one!   When my grandparents picked us up at the Sacramento airport, they told us that we were taking a special trip.   We were driving up the Pacific Coast Highway all the way to Washington and then taking a ferry over to Victoria, British Columbia and staying there for a while.  For those of you who have never driven PCH, it is a beautiful drive all along the West Coast.  We started in Paradise in Northern California, and drove through Oregon and Washington.  We did many cool things along the way. We visited the big redwood Trees of Mystery in Klamath, California; we dug for clams on the Oregon beaches; and visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory and to this day, I love Tillamook cheese!  We had lunch in the Space Needle for my 16th birthday. I hate heights, and even though it is all caged up at the top of the Needle, it was super scary for me! I clung to my grandma's hand and wouldn't let go!  And once we were in Victoria, BC, we went to many other places. We went to Butchart Gardens, Royal British Museum, Crystal Garden and we even went to a wax museum.   We stayed at Shelter Bay Resort in Campbell River. My sister and I had so much fun, exploring the beach and going fishing!  We saw a 20 legged star-fish! They had no dock, so the boats had to be carried to the ocean on a forklift! It was the weirdest thing that we had ever seen!   I just talked to my Papa the other day and he asked me what my favorite trip was that we had taken. I told him this one and he said, I knew that you were going to say that!

My sister and I on the deck of the ferry. It was so windy! 

This is my Grandma, my sister (who was 13 1/2 years old here) and I (who was turning 16), on the ferry to Victoria, BC.

My sister and I in front of the Royal British Museum.

2. High school Grand Canyon trip

My sophomore year of high school, we took a trip to the Grand Canyon.  I went to a private Christian school, so my whole high school was only a 100 kids or so. I think there were about 75 of us that went on the trip.  I had never seen the Grand Canyon before. The morning that we got there, it started to lightly snow! It was so cold!  I had the brave, or stupid idea, whichever way you want to look at it, to hike all the way to the bottom of the Canyon and see the Colorado River.  I wore snow boots, thinking that it would be best, because of the weather. Well, I ended up twisting both of my ankles.  But hey, I made it all the way to the bottom and took a picture of the Colorado River to prove it! ;)  I don't remember exactly, but I think that it is an 11 mile hike to the bottom!   Well, I proceeded to try and make it back up to the top.  I made it all the way up to a mile from the top and I couldn't go any further.  Another student had mild hypothermia and one of our teachers had pulled his hamstring. So, the three of us were waiting at a rest stop or something like that.  We ended up having to be carried out of the canyon. Wow, what memories! But hey, that trip was pretty awesome! 

3. Trip to my Grandma and Papa's house for Christmas

 

From left to right: my Grandma, my Mom, my sister, Laura; my Dad, me and my Papa!

For the Christmas of 1990, my parents, my sister and I drove up north to visit my grandparents in Paradise, California.   We live in Southern California, where the weather is pretty warm.  The thing about this trip that was the most significant, was that it snowed! It was our very first ever White Christmas! We had so much fun playing in the snow and throwing snowballs at each other! Unfortunately, my Grandma slipped and fell in the snow, and her wedding ring came off. My mom came to the rescue and found it! It was so cool!