So I Was Just Thinking

Have you heard of Groupon ? When I first heard of it, my friend ABW was trying to use hers up before moving back to Texas. I was unsure about them. Now, I know that they are a great way to go on vacation. If you haven't used them before, they are basically deals that give you about 50% off meals, lodging, services, entertainment. When you sign up for Groupon notifications, you will get a daily email letting know about the latest deal. Each offer is only available for a short time and often for only a limited number of deals. When you see a deal that sounds interesting, you go to the main site and read the "fine print". This is VERY important. I will explain more about this later. You will then purchase a voucher for the meal, hotel, or service. This will stay active in your account until you redeem it. For example, if you buy a $20 voucher for frozen yogurt for $10, you can redeem it for $20 until the expiration date. (Watch out for those.) If the expiration date passe...

The long expected day finally arrived; the day when their dad came to get them for over a month; the day when they find out that all his promises are true or not. I don't like putting them in that situation, but he has his rights and the youngest so wants to be with him. They listen to his grand ideas while he raises their expectations about some magical mystery job he has been going on about for two years with mysterious salaries that never materialize and they believe him. And I will be here to pick up the pieces when they come back with a new look at reality. In the meantime, I will get Little Man's room ready with the sports theme that he has been wishing for. Maybe it will soften the blow. And in the same meantime, I will take my savings and go back to school shopping for both children to wipe out the memory of a year ago while we lived on public assistance when every other word I wanted to say was, "No, we can't afford it." What got me through all of thi...

Yep. They did it. The Pirates won citywide championship. Earlier in the season, we had a few games rained out. The season was supposed to end on June 8th and the championship was to take place, yesterday. Because of the postponed games, the schedule moved everything to ending to the end. This meant that the kids had to play two regular season games Saturday in the early afternoon and then had to play the final championship at 7 o'clock in the evening. It made for a VERY long day. However, the kids did great and won the first place in the city. Afterward, the we had a pizza party and the coach handed out trophies and medals. The team will get to go to district playoffs in July. We have to decide what will happen because James is supposed to go to Kansas for the summer. He is upset about missing both. It's a hard decision for an eight year-old to make. We have a lot to think about. In the meantime, I will share my ICADs (Index Cards a Day) that I have fin...

I have been literally counting the days for the past three weeks. Work was especially stressful for at least two months. The last day of work there wasn't much to do because I was on top of everything, so I spent the day listening to Audiobooks and watching the clock. I was reading Marit's blog and saw that she was participating in Index Card a Day at Daisy Yellow so I decided to join in. Can you tell what I am ready for? I am so ready that on the last day of work,  I couldn't even spell VACATION on my first index card. The first order of business: Sleep in. And sleep in I did. Actually, I woke up at 8:15 and said, "In 15 minutes, I will get up and mow the lawn." Fifteen minutes later came an hour later to find me sound asleep. I woke up surprised to see how late it was (during the year I wake at 5:00 a.m). I then got the kids up to pick up anything that might get caught in the mower. I put the new edger together and put gas in the mower. Index ...

Now that Spring Break is over and we are back to our regularly scheduled programming, I have some things to share. First, I want to share with you something nice that my friend RLD made. He had been looking through the Internet for something to do with a broken plate. He found Kintsugi - the Japanese art of repairing ceramics. The problem was that the only kit we could find was from the Netherlands. We started researching and he found an epoxy that he could make black. RLD repaired the plate and added the Zentangle skills he learned from watching me and from the Internet. The result is below. This was someone who didn't consider himself artistic. I think he is wrong. I also think we will breaking a lot more plates...on purpose this time. On to my latest project...I enrolled in Mixed Emotions  and finished most of the assignments. It was a great time. I ran out of time in my life to finish the course, but I will get to it after I move. Yep, you heard...

My trip is wrapping up. Tomorrow, I hit the road and make my way back to get the kids. Speaking of the kids...This little boy is not so little anymore: He turns 8 today! He told me he got a bicycle from his dad and that it DIDN'T have training wheels. He was worried about falling. He would have loved going to this place with me: White Sands Missile Range Museum This would have been even more fun: White Sands National Monument If you have never been to it or don't know much about it, you can learn more here . That is gypsum sand, not snow which is why the kids are barefoot and wearing shorts. I didn't come ready to play ( I sure will next time ), so I stopped to take some pictures instead. As you can see, it was a very bright day. After some time in the sun, we headed to the historical town of Old Mesilla. Everywhere you go, you will find references to Billy the Kid . But the most beautiful part of the town is the Basilica of San ...

This year is my first year that I am spending Spring Break without the kiddos. It was around this time last year that I made my decision to move back to Texas with them. Since their dad is in Kansas, he only gets to see them on holidays and summers. So what to do?? Go on a road trip. After driving my kids from central Texas to Oklahoma, I turned around and stayed the night at a friend's house in Abilene on my way to El Paso. While in El Paso, I have already been on one road trip to Cloudcroft, NM.  Click on picture to see full panorama  Click on picture to see full panorama We took lots of pictures as we drove through the desert and mountains. The town of small, quiet village of Cloudcroft is tucked up in the mountains. The main street is lined with interesting gift stores and cafes. As you drive past the center of the village, you will find some unique cottages and log cabins. We even saw a cabin in the process of being completed...