The Mom Test

When I saw this one a few months ago, I knew it would be the perfect Father's Day post.


Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful dads out there!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her, and I asked her not to do that.

"Why?" my daughter asked.

"Because it's been on the ground, you don't know where it's been, it's dirty, and probably has germs," I replied.

At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked,"Momma, how do you know all this stuff. You are so smart."

I was thinking quickly, "All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mom Test. You have to know it or they don't let you be a Mom."

We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information. "Oh...I get it!" she beamed, "So if you don't pass the test you have to be the dad."?

''Exactly," I replied back with a big smile on my face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Father’s Day to the man who I’m really glad didn’t pass the test. You make the best Dad in the world!

Gratituesday 6

It's time for a little shout out to the Lord, so you know that it must be Gratituesday, where one can be vocally thankful for something in life.

Four days ago, when I was having an awkward day, I asked Mr. Right to make us some brownies. That sweet man knows me well; after pouring some into the pan, he handed me the bowl and spatula, making sure that he left quite a bit behind for me to lick clean.

Three days ago, when I had about 3 hours of sleep, Mr. Right gave me a massage to help relax me for a nap. He never once belittled me for being a lazy bum who read most of the day in hopes of it helping me to fall asleep. (I finally got an hour’s nap sometime in the afternoon.)

That same day when Mr. Right called one of our friends with whom we always eat Sunday lunch to ask about the Mother’s Day plans, he spoke briefly to one of the other men. We were all to go to someone’s house for a barbeque. I inquired as to what they wanted our family to bring. The look I received lead me to believe that bringing something never came up. Another call to our friend indicated that we could just bring a side and a dessert.

“So, what do you think you should make?” asked Mr. Right.

“Are you really asking what you think I should make to bring to a Mother’s Day lunch?” I inquired, arching my eyebrows to give the look.

“Ummm, I probably shouldn’t have asked that,” he meekly replied with a smile.

Two days ago, I awoke around 6:30 in the morning with a smile on my face. Ahhh! Mother’s Day! Rolling over to gently wake the man in charge of the morning festivities, I whispered, “If you want to make me breakfast in bed, you’re going to need to get the kids up and get started.”

“Huh?” and a glare at disturbing some sweet dreams is what I got from him. I repeated my statement, adding, “If you’re not doing breakfast in bed with the kids, then I’m getting up.”

“Oh. Yeah. So what do you want?”

“Are you really asking me that?” I asked for the second time in 24 hours.

“Ummm, I probably shouldn’t ask that either,” he meekly replied again.

40 minutes later, after quickly hiding the book I was reading and looking as if I was asleep, I “awoke” to a kiss from The Boy. Next, The Girl sang me a sweet little serenade to the tune of James Blunt’s You’re Beautiful song. “You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful. In every single way. Happy Mother’s Day.” After that came Mr. Right with a huge chocolate chip pancake, bacon and coffee that was going to hit the spot. Homemade cards, morning snuggles and breakfast in bed… it doesn’t get much better than that, no matter what day of the week it is.

The rest of the day was fun with multiple families and as relaxing as I’ll get out. (Oh, and he decided to bring chips and brownies to the bbq.) That night he cooked us steaks. They were so good, I even helped him with the dishes. (They were that good.)

I’m grateful that God has given me such a sweet man who has a funny sense of humor, as well as the insight as to how to treat me like a queen, his queen. Not only is he good to me, he encourages our children to show their affections in their own unique ways. I thank God for His goodness that is so visible through the people in my life.

Gratituesday 3

It's time for a little shout out to the Lord, so you know that it must be Gratituesday, where one can be vocally thankful for something in life.

This week, I've been blessed more and more with the knowledge that The Girl and I have a pretty good relationship. Never mind the fact that she's teetering on the fence from being a girl to becoming a woman. Never mind that I'm a walking hormone waiting to happen. We still get along and laugh most of the time.

Yesterday, when we had to get lost from the house because Mr. Right was showing it to some potential buyers, she and I ran to Walmart to look at shoes. For half an hour we tried on all sorts of shoes, making fun of the throwbacks from the 70's and talking ourselves out of some shoes because oh my lands! I'm not ready for her to be in heels yet... But can I just share with you how thrilled I was when this sweet girl walked beside me talking to me about anything and everything while holding my hand?! In public! Without a care for anyone who might see!

These are the things that make me realize that the best things in life aren't things.

An Ode to Mr. Right

(Thanks to Michelle Branch for putting into words how I feel about Mr. Right. Hey, why reinvent the wheel?)



So I'm a little left of center
I'm a little out of tune
Some say I'm paranormal
So I just bend their spoon
Who wants to be ordinary
In a crazy, mixed-up world
I don't care what they're sayin'
As long as I'm your girl

Hey, you are on my side
And they, they just roll their eyes

You get me
When nobody understands
You come and take the chance, baby
You get me
You look inside my wild mind
Never knowing what you'll find
And still you want me all the time
Yeah, you do
Yeah, you get me

So what if I see the sunshine
In the pouring rain
Some people think I'm crazy
But you say it's okay
You've seen my secret garden
Where all of my flowers grow
In my imagination
Anything goes

I, I am all you want
They, they just read me wrong

You get me
When nobody understands
You come and hold my hand, baby
You get me
You look inside my wild mind
Never knowing what you'll find
Still you want me all the time
Yeah, you do
'Cause you get me

Hey, you are on my side
They, they just roll their eyes
Yeah, yeah, yeah

'Cause you get me
When nobody understands
You come and take the chance, baby
You get me
When none of the pieces fit
You make sense of it
You get me
You look inside my wild mind
Never knowing what you'll find
And still I want you all the time
Yeah, I do
'Cause you get me

Sigh... I just love my man. Seeing as we'll be kidless again starting Thursday (an ode to the grandparents is certainly due), do y'all have any date ideas? Hey, it's been long enough, we might even stroll Barnes & Noble again...

WFMW - Personal Mailboxes

Since it's the day before Valentine's, I thought I would post a suggestion that would help your kids know that you love them... all year long!

I don't know about you, but I LOVE getting real mail. But with the convenience of email and postage being outrageous, we don't receive much in the way of real mail - only credit card applications, mailers and other stuff. Oh yeah... and bills. Going to the mailbox isn't any fun anymore.

Years ago, my mother-in-awe sent a valentine present to my daughter. It was candy in a metal Snoopy mailbox. It even has a flag on the side. My daughter loved that candy and the container too. Have I mentioned that she also can be a bit of a packrat? Well, she can be.

One day, I left her a note in her mailbox, flipped up the flag and waited to see how long it would take her to discover it when she came home from school.

Not long. That's all I can tell you.

She walked right into her room, saw the flag was up and ran to it. She loved the note. She loved the communication. She loved that it was for her and her alone. She checked that box every day for a week and then some...

I think I'm onto something here.

You know how kids go beserk when they get a letter from someone? It works the same even if it doesn't comes in the "real" mail too. A letter is a letter is a letter to them.

Over the years, I've placed little notes, little gifts, whatever I wanted to put into that box. Sometimes it takes her a while to discover it; other times she finds it right away. She always loves the attention and little nods of love going her way.

My son wants a box of his own too, so I'll have to figure out something that will work for him as well.

So I guess leaving mail for my kids works for me. And so do the hugs and kisses that I get for taking the time to do it in the first place.

Head on over to Chilihead, our lov-er-ly surrogate host for this week for some other great tips.

Originally published May 5, 2007

The Switch

The other night as I was falling into bed, half dead to the world, Mr. Right said out of the blue, "I think we should switch up our marriage."

Screech!!!   Suddenly sleep didn't seem so close to coming as I swiveled my head and emoted a Tim Allen "Huuunh?"  In a matter of nanoseconds, these questions entered my mind.

What on earth does this man mean?  Switch up our marriage?  That's as confusing as the Presidential Primaries...  

Switch what?  Aren't we just fine and dandy in our marriage?  I don't know what he means, but I'm not going through that whole "find someone who will love me despite my many faults" process.  That's just pain waiting to happen.

As I was trying to get my brain to wrap around what he had just said, Mr. Right clarified, "Shalee, would you switch sides of the bed with me?  I can't play with your hair as you fall asleep while I'm on the laptop if you're on the right.  If you're on the left, then my hand is free to touch you while I work."

Sigh.  That man is too good to me.  And I really have to stop jumping to conclusions before that man finishes his half of the conversation.   Let me say for the record that the left is my new favorite side of the bed.  I did fall asleep to my man brushing his fingers through my hair.

Now, if only someone could clarify the Presidential hopefuls words as easily...

Homemade With Love 2007

Welcome to the wimps addition to Kisses of Sunshine's  Homemade with Love - the place where those who can't make a stinkin' thing that requires creative talent can feel good about their offerings.

First things first:  Mr. Right - GO AWAY!!!  YOU CAN'T SEE THIS POST!

There.  Now we can begin.

This year, The Girl and I decided to make Mr. Right a throw that is big enough for a six-foot man.  (One of Mr. Right's complaints about throws is that they're not big enough to cover all of him and his feet.)  But since I can't sew a hem, I had to find something that would be easy enough for a nitwit like me.

So I did what any good blogger would do; I followed Barb's step-by-steps instructions for making a no-sew throw.  If you want excellent instructions on how to make this project, check out her post.  If you want to see a screwball's attempt at this project, keep reading.

First off, we selected some manly colors for Mr. Right.  Unbeknownst to me, the plaid came in mighty handy when it came time to cutting.  The patterns helped even me cut a straight line.

Oh, do you like the bathroom?  It was the only place I could find to spread out 2 1/2 yards of material.  2 1/2 yards!  What was I thinking?  That's A LOT of material with which to work!


First line up the materials and cut the edges off the flannel. Then cut the sides so that they evenly match. (You notice that I told you to do follow more than one step? Yeah, I don't want to tell you how long it took me to even all the sides out. Let me just say that I really don't know the dimensions of the final product because I had to keep "fixing" it. You learn from my mistakes and do it right the first time, okay?  Line the material up and cut once.  Trust me.  You'll feel better in the long run.)


Now you stop to have a chocolate because you deserve it for not uttering a single swear word for All.  That.  Cutting.





Make sure that you put your pet away; otherwise, you're chasing her off the material all night. I suggest that you toss her in your son's room and slam the door on her. Not that I did it... it's just a suggestion in case you have this situation...


Make sure that you cut a 6-inch square from each of the corners. By doing so, you'll make this project a whole lot easier on yourself (assuming you cut the edges correctly in the first place... ahem.)


Next you put The Girl, if you have one, into slave labor. She's a great strip cutter. (We cut 6-inch  long strips into the sides of the material so that we can tie the strips to keep it together. (Hence the name no sew. Neat, huh?)

Now here is where I suggest that you don't even think about creating such a huge throw. We had to hide it from Mr. Right before he came home from work. Since we started it in the master bathroom, we had to move it. Dumb, dumb, dumb. But doable... because we had to do it.

Learning from the previous night's tight working quarters, we moved it down to the reading room. We had a bit more room there. Whew.


After finishing the strips, we proceeded to tie the edges. "We" is really a misnomer. The Girl kept getting frustrated because she couldn't get the ties to look "perfect", so guess who had to do every single knot. (I couldn't begin to tell you how to do it, so go read Barb's instructions again. She's smart.)  Also, I suggest that you take the camera away from the girl.  She will keep snapping photos of anything and everything - especially the cat that should have been tossed into your son's room.

As you can see, I was in the zone with this throw, loving every minute of it - especially with all that good help. She slaved over the entire process. I'm so glad that "we" decided to do it. At least she made time out of her busy schedule to read with her brother...

The finished product. A gift made with lots of love, patience and a glass or three of butterscotch schnapps.

All in all, it's a great way to tell Mr. Right that we love him and to get him to quit whining about his cold feet.

Opposites Attract

I’ve always said that Mr. Right and I were opposites. Last weekend I had my opinion validated scientifically. In other words, written proof – which really makes me happy down to my core.

We attended a Marriage Retreat this weekend, a very informative, very worthwhile time with about 20 other couples from church. There was deep fellowship, great fun and time spent on understanding each other, not only our relationships as a couple, but also the relationships that we have with each other as a spiritual family. After the retreat, we were blessed to be able to stay an extra night with a few couples for dinner and bowling. It was a perfect getaway in all.

However, Friday night was pretty hard on me. Although I was really excited and willing to participate last weekend, I was at the end of my rope with being able to function. I don’t know if it’s the change of season, the change of schedules or me just being me, but for the last week, I’ve had a very hard time sleeping. Little sleep = tiredness = emotional. So when we were instructed to take a timed test at 10:20 PM, my cranky side kicked in.

Did it matter that the “test” was just a personality test that had no right or wrong answers? Did it matter that I wasn’t penalized in any way for not wanting to take the test at that moment? Did it matter that no one was going to think less of me if I was having a hard time? Yes, but only to me. As the words were literally jumping around on the page, I put my glasses on, read the first box of words to select my answer and thought, I don’t know if I’m more or less for each of the words. I looked at Mr. Right and said, “I think I’m going to cry.” The stress/work was just too much for me.

He did what he always does. He took my hand in his and gently reminded that everything was going to be okay, that I should just take one box at a time and that he loves me no matter what my answers will be.

Needless to say, I finished the test in the proper time. He gave me the reassurance I needed to hear.

We stayed up for a very little bit to talk with the other couples and then hit the hay because we were the cranky, old couple at this Young Marrieds retreat. (Young Marrieds is really a misnomer… The group has couple ranging from newlyweds to 15-years married. Some really don’t want to move up into the Young Families Group until everyone decides to promote.)

The next morning’s sessions began at 9:30 AM with another devotional and then we hit the ground running on the results of the tests. Everyone had agreed that we would share our results as a group, so it was interesting to see the difference in couples and individuals.

The names discussed were as follows:

• D for Dominance (Lions) are daring, adventuresome, direct, demanding, decisive, results-oriented, inquisitive, forceful, self-assured and competitive. 
• I for Influence (Otters) are enthusiastic, influential, impulsive, emotional, gregarious, trusting, persuasive, self-promoting, pleasant, social and generous. 
• S for Steadiness (Golden Retrievers) are patient, loyal, deliberate, team-oriented, serene, undemonstrative, protective, relaxed, passive and possessive
• C for Conscientiousness (Beaver) are accurate, fact-finding, diplomatic, systematic, conventional, cautious, careful, restrained, analytical, sensitive to criticism and detail oriented.

What a great goldmine of knowledge was found in these sessions! We discussed not only how we think our mate wants us to be, but also how each of us react under pressure or stress, which are not necessarily the same. Then it gave a chart about how we really are. The extra bonus of information included was now that we know how we are, how do we work as a couple to emphasize strengths and how to deal with each other well when we have stress and disagreement. (What can I do to help Mr. Right understand where I want to go and why? What can Mr. Right do to help me understand where he wants to go and why? Good stuff! I only wish we had it 10 years ago… Oh the misconceptions and arguments that could have been avoided had I known all this back then…)

When the leader pulled out our charts to compare Mr. Right and myself, he asked what we thought we were. I said I know I’m a D/I. Mr. Right replied that he was a C/S. We were dead on.

When the leader showed our charts under pressure/stress, we were as opposite as opposite can me. The group gave a quiet groan when they saw our chart. It was perfect X, which really means that we need exactly the opposite things from each other when confronted with difficulties. Where I need to DO something ASAP, Mr. Right needs as much DATA and TIME to make a decision. Me? Data and time are the last things on my list to need. Mr. Right? Making a quick decision sets him on edge and gives him absolutely no sense of security. He likes to analyze and reanalyze and then, just for good measure, go over all the options one more time until he makes a decision. You can see how we aren’t the best when it comes to arguing or making decisions and how we have been unintentionally frustrating and compounding the problems by not understanding each other’s needs in order to feel safe and secure.

When the leader showed our chart of how we really are, again it was opposite from each other. Where Mr. Right is quiet, reserved and slow to change, I’m outgoing, outspoken and quick to jump into an activity and participate. Crowds are intimidating to Mr. Right; I love being in the center of things. I’m quick to make a decision or just to jump into a situation without reviewing everything; he’s slow to accumulate all the details, facts and sees each process in his head before he makes a move. I dive right in wanting a solution when we argue (and I want to be right!); Mr. Right shuts down, needing time to process every bit of info that I’m throwing at him, feeling more and more freaked and clammed up when I push him for agreement. In other words, I leap before I look, thinking that everything will work itself out, and Mr. Right looks 29 times before he leaps, thinking of all the outcomes in detail before he moves a foot. Exact opposites.

Yet, with all these polar differences, I still know that God put us together with forethought and goodness in mind. He might have chuckled a few times when he thought about the fireworks that would ensure from our union, but he still blessed it by allowing us to love each others’ hearts. And I can’t tell you how many times I have thanked God for his divine wisdom, for putting me together with a man who makes me slow down, forces me to think things through before making big decisions and encourages me to think about others as I make decisions. In return for all these wonderful things (and more!), all I have to do is to help Mr. Right to make decisions at a quicker speed, loyally love him with all my heart and encourage him to have more fun. I so got the better end of the deal.

So don’t tell me that God doesn’t perform miracles. I’m living one every day.  And I love it.

Happy Birthday Mr. Right

Today is a special day in the Diner.  Ribbons are flying.  Pies abound.  Balloons glide from stool to stool. Presents are stacked high.

Why you ask?  

Because Mr. Right turns 41 today!! 

So it only seems fitting that for my post I define 41 of the millions of reasons that I love that he’s alive and kicking.

1. He’s a great kisser. (He says I taught him well, but I think it’s the other way around.)

2. He’s the world’s best Daddy.

3. He’d rather spend time with his family than do just about anything else.

4. Patience is definitely one of his virtues.

5. He has a funny, dry sense of humor that catches me off guard consistently.

6. He laughs at most of my idiotic moments, of which there are many.

7. He’s dependable, trustworthy and a hard worker.

8. He loves to volunteer when someone needs help.

9. Our lawn looks great because he puts in good time to make it nice.

10. He’s the official bug killer at our house.

11. He volunteers to clean up puke when the kids are sick.

12. He reads with the kids almost every night.

13. He’s not afraid to cry or to let me cry and turn into a big blotchy blowfish.

14. He tells me that he loves and needs me and then his actions back his words.

15. He has warm, wonderful-to-hold hands.

16. Without him, there would be no pie at our house. He’s the crustmaker extraordinaire.

17. He likes to watch chick flicks with me.

18. It’s not uncommon for me to be awakened with a kiss, followed by a nice hot cup of perfectly made coffee.

19. He vacuums… and he LIKES it. (Of course he likes it even more now that we have a Dyson…)

20. He likes to be in the great outdoors with me.

21. He loves God.

22. He does the dishes before he goes to work.

23. He walks our daughter to the bus stop per her request.

24. He plays a mean hand of Spades, a great round of Sorry and his the King of Yatzee.

25. He’s great at *ahem*. (Oooo – am I going to get a talking to for including that one on the blog!)

26. He likes to play with our children – games, sports, pretend.

27. He encourages optimism when things look dire.

28. He loves the beauty of God’s world and His nature.

29. Road trips are fun and lively when he’s in the car. He makes a fantastic traveling companion.

30. Seeking God’s will is a desire that he has everyday.

31. He writes marvelously romantic love letters.

32. He’s not afraid to try new things.

33. When he sees others hurting, he goes to pray with them.

34. He’s not afraid to use his past mistakes to help others avoid making theirs.

35. Dancing together in the living room gives him pleasure.

36. He encourages me in blogging and in meeting my friends.

37. He’s learning to sign with me so that we both can communicate with the deaf.

38. When I cannot sleep, he’ll wake up willingly to massage my back to help me relax.

39. He has the best smile. His entire face lights up when he smiles.

40. He can make fun of himself (but maybe that’s because he knows that if he doesn’t, then I will…)

41. Having an amazingly beautiful relationship with me is one of his primary goals.

Happy Birthday, Baby. You are my greatest blessing. Oh, how I love you so!!  

Tra La... The Magical Bloggity Tour

First off, we saw our kids, we had a lot of fun and we can't wait to see them again in 12 more days.

Life is very good on their end. The girl is at camp now, enjoying time with her friends. I've already lined up for her to receive 3 packages while she's there, each with some good camp snack foods like mini Oreos, mini Nutter Butter cookies, Teddy Grahams, Twizzlers, Laffy Taffy and more Jolly Ranchers than she and her cabin can eat... or not. They're all 11ish in age. They might have each of the items devoured before lunch. My only satisfaction is that she has to sing or, in one case, to do the Chicken Dance in order to get her mail. (I wrote that specific instruction on the outside of the package.) I love being the parent. It's thrilling to know the power I have over the child who wants a package of love from home.

The boy is with Grandma with ever intention of getting spoiled this week. He's already informed me that he is going to ask Grandma to take him to get a Frosty. He has high ambitions, but at least they're realistic.

Now for the BIG NEWS...

Mr. Right and I will be celebrating our 15th Anniversary on the 24th of this month. (15! Where has all the years gone? We were just a couple of young lovers a few years ago... now we're the mentors in our Young Married/Newlyweds link at church. We're more of the "What NOT to do" examples, but hey, if it keeps others healthy and happy in their marriage, I'm all for being that example. I think I got off course here somewhere... I'm getting back on track now.)

For our celebration, we've determined to go to a place that neither of us has been, yet we both have a wish to visit. So we've made plans to take a trip to the Smoky Mountains. We both long to see those mountains, walk the trails and just breath in God's presence in some of the great untouched beauties of his world. And way back when, when I was trying to decide what my boss would get me for Assistant Appreciation Day, I decided that he would buy us white water rafting rides for Mr. Right and me and I decided that he would throw in horseback riding too. (He was shocked in the good sense when I told him what he bought me. I think I moved up a couple of points in his eyes.) So we have quite the outdoorsy week planned in the mountains, and it couldn't be any more perfect if I had planned it. Oh wait. I did plan it. Well, that makes it even better! But really God deserves all the glory in it, so I'm giving it to him.

Knowing that we were heading in that direction of the U.S., I begged and pleaded asked Mr. Right politely if we could carve out some time to visit with some bloggers who I knew to be around that area. After staring at me as if I had 3 heads and then rolling his eyes only once, he said that it sounded like fun to meet some of my friends, and he only made the condition that the meetings be scheduled for the weekend before and the weekend after our time in Gatlinburg (TN), which I thought was fair considering it is supposed to be our "I'm so glad I'm with you" anniversary trip and all... So, before he could recant his act of generosity, I contacted some of the bloggers who I knew to be from that area of the country and asked if they would meet with me for some one on one fellowship and, of course, some great food.

So I proudly announce to you my Blogging Tour and those who were foolish enough bored enough bullied into kind enough to carve out time in their schedules to meet with us:

• The Thankful, Always Encouraging and very courageous Peach from Without Fear, who said yes before I gave her any details
• The ever-elusive because she's on a temporary blogging break (which has nothing to do with me!) Shayne from Better Is One Day In Your Courts
• The blogger with whom I found out I actually went to college and we have multiple co-friends who'll get to meet when I go back home to Memphis Karla from Ainsley's Mom
• The other blogger who is just a tad on the side of being obsessive about her boyfriend Clay Aiken, yet I just knew I had to meet in Memphis too - Southern Girl
• And I need y'all's help with this last one because only God can make this meeting happen, but I told her that I would be asking all of you to lift up this request for a meeting to God on my behalf. If you would pray that God will make it so that I can throw a real hug around the neck of Boomama, I would be ever-so-appreciative. (But seriously, it ain't gonna happen without God's help, so please add that to you're prayer list, would you? That girl is busy beyond belief, but I'm really praying that she can squeeze me into her schedule, along with some good southern food of course...)

So that's it. We'll be taking the Magical Bloggity Tour starting on the 2oth, and I'm really hoping that I can blog about it as I go. We'll wrap it up around the 29th in Memphis. It should be fun and exciting! Oh yeah, and I'll be having a great time on my anniversary trip too...

P.S. To you burgulars out there who might be getting a notion or two: We've a housesitter who has a bat and isn't afraid to use it, not to mention some very nosy neighbors who will come over to see what you're doing and then boss you around when they see you. Not to mention a cat who will shed all over you if you make it into the house. Besides, we don't have the good stuff. We don't watch tv and we bought our stereo for $70 at Walmart 2 years ago. Really, it won't be worth your time at all. You really want the rich neighborhood two streets east of us. But I can sell you the house if you're in the market for one...

The Sunday Post

I don't know if you keep track, but I rarely post on the weekend. I figure that I'll use that time with my family, especially since I work full-time on weekdays. It's just one of my gestures of love towards my family, which in reality they probably don't notice at all, but I do it none the less.

That remindes me of a plaque that my mom had hanging up in our house when I was growing up.

Housework is something you do that nobody notices unless you don't do
it.

I need one of those signs now...

Anyway, I'm posting today because two things happened: Mr. Right just left to get the kids so that we can send them to the other grandparents house and I hurt my back on Friday, so I'm taking it slow and easy under doctor's orders. I've got time to do some things I want to do, like posting and catching up on bloglines. Woo hoo! (I'm not bed-ridden, but I was told to do nothing so as to let the muscle heal. I was also ordered by Mr. Right to not do anything that could make it worse, so being the obedient wife that I am, I'm faithfully following those instructions. I'll explain why I'm so adamant at obeying in a later post.)

I told Mr. Right as he was leavingthis morning that I hate being the one to stay home when one of us has to go away. It doesn't seem so lonely when you're the one doing the going away. I don't like being the one left in the empty house full of reminders of who I love. Plus he's going to have the joy of seeing the kids in front of him and I have the "comfort" of sleeping alone and waking to an empty house tomorrow morning. Yeah, fun. But that's just me.

Enough moping...

Last night, Mr. Right went to my mother's day gift, the Jim Brickman concert. It was a gorgeous night at the open-air Starlight Theatre. A pleasantly warm night, with nary a weather complication. Jim Brickman's piano music was exquisite and enchanting and the concert was aptly named An Evening For Romance. Brickman was appealing and amiable and is a kind of Victor Borge of new-age pop. He was funny as he poked fun at himself while recalling the title "America's new romantic piano sensation" and recalling little antidotes about himself as a child/teenager. He had a great sense of timing with the stories and the music.

It was also interesting as Brickman had a talented musician named Tracy Silverman touring with him. The interesting part was that Silverman played the six-stringed electric violin, or guit-fiddle as he named it. It was the most unique and fascinating instrument, and yet, it fit so well with Brickman's talented piano playing and it was enticing as a solo performance as well.

The down-sides to the night were two-fold. First, Brickman didn't stick to his piano-only music. If you don't know a lot about Brickman, he's a wonderful pianist, but he's also a collaborator with singers, producing such wonders as "Valentine" (with Martina McBride), "The Gift" (with Susan Ashton and Collin Raye ) and "The Simple Things" (with Rebecca Lynn Howard). However Brickman was touring with Anne Cochran, a performer who went to high school with Brickman. The first song she sang had me looking at Mr. Right and signing, "I don't like her voice and she's flat." He agreed. I thought that if I had to listen to her all night, I would really regret the concert. She sang better the second song, as it was more in her range, but really, she did nothing to enhance the night, and it would have been better for the audience if Brickman had stuck to instrumental only.

In addition to being disappointed with the singer, there was also the fact that Brickman himself sang. He had a pleasant enough voice, but it was not stage worthy, by any means. He had the kind of voice that worked for explaining the jingles he used to write or for giving a collaborating singer a feel for what he wants in a song, but it was not good enough to be featured in anything, especially his concert tour. So, Brickman, if you're reading this post, please stick to your piano playing only, leave Anne at home and let the audience come and enjoy what they came to enjoy - your piano music. Because had we known you would have brought a singer, we would have not chosen your concert.

The other down side to the night was that the concert didn't last nearly long enough. For as much as the tickets cost, we had expected a lot more music for the money. As we don't go out on dates like this often, there's something disappointing in knowing that a lot of cash was doled out for a less-than-desired performance. I don't mean to sound as if we didn't have a great time or that it was a complete bust because it wasn't. We thoroughly enjoyed the piano music and the night was full of romantic sounds. We just wanted to feel as if we received our money's worth for the entertainment and this performance didn't fit that bill, especially when you throw in an average singer and not enough piano-only music.

Something funny did happen in the concert though. Around early twilight I noticed something flying from the theatre wall. As I looked up, I could have swarn it was a bat. I told Mr. Right what I saw, and later he remarked that there were indeed bats coming from the building. They were swooping here and there, which probably explains why we didn't have a huge mosquito problem that evening. And it was truly funny to see the bats flying around the covered stage. You could see the performers eyes venturing upward at the movements in the air. I kept picturing one landing in Ms. Cochran's hair and her getting so freaked out that she couldn't sing anymore. But that wasn't really nice, so I knocked it off. (But it would have been funny!)

So that's my Saturday. Do me a favor and talk back would you? Tell me something that made you smile yesterday to distract me from missing everyone today.

Have a fantastic Sunday!

I'm Baaack!... Sort of...

Well, believe it or not, I actually survived my trip to Wichita and back. The horrors of it all! I know you heard about the slop I had to eat and the way I was forced to spend my time (read another great book, Hearts and Bones, which I'll review later too), but I don't think I told you about the rigorous exercise regime that was on my itinerary as well.

On Wednesday night, I went to the workout room (which was pretty nice) and I ran my 20 minutes. It was wonderful to have the place to myself and to use my new birthday iPod from Mr. Right. The time seemed to fly by and I didn't really feel as if I were suffering too much. (I wasn't so lucky the next morning when my boss was using the workout room when I went to run. I don't know about you, but I hate working out next to someone who does it all the time and who normally only sees me dressed nicely... I ran anyway and did my sit ups, but I booked out of there soon afterwards.)

My evening after that consisted of showering (thank goodness!) and reading (see above). I actually slept better than I thought I would, so that was a nice surprise.

Thursday was chucked full of activities. Another run in the morning, a great breakfast and then I was off and running. I had two sessions to set and complete, a yummy lunch to scarf down and then in the evening, there was an area picnic for the local offices and their business contacts. That was a lot of fun! Good BBQ, excellent company and a live band that was phenomenal. I did dance the white girl's dance, which we all know by now was named after me. But it was fun and really great exercise! I left around 9:30 and was tucked in bed by 10, reading again (because you know there was nothing on tv despite the 30 something channels that were available to me...)

Oh, and I found out the next morning that there was actually a "bar fight" over a woman after I left. Now I told both those guys that I wasn't interested, but would they listen? Noooo. (And in case you don't know this yet, that was tongue in cheek. They weren't fighting over me, but rather over some other woman. And yes, they were both drunk and stupid and one of them was arrested for their moment of stupidity.)

Friday saw the last session in Wichita, and then I was on my way back home. Mr. Right brought me roses and gave me great kisses the moment he walked in the door. There's something about going away that makes me really look forward to coming home!

His work gave everyone a gift certificate to Dave and Busters, so we went out to eat and played games just like little kids. We didn't stay too late because, seriously, I was pooped out. How do I know this? Well, when we got home at 9 PM, I crawled into bed to wait for Mr. Right and the next thing I knew, it was 8:30 in the morning! Oh Glorious Sleep! How I love thee!

We bummed the entire weekend. Saturday - we watched 2 - TWO - movies and just spent good time together. On Sunday, I took Mr. Right out for breakfast at Panera's, we went to church, ate with our friends and talked with the kids. And Mr. Right was allowed his uninterrupted marathon nap! (I read - no surprise there, huh?) We went over to some friends house in the evening and did some great catching up with them and then we headed home. I finally downloaded from iTunes with the gift certificates that my boss gave me for my birthday. (It's amazing... I still have $50 left!)

And now, I'm back at work, gearing up for the next meetings at the end of this week. And I'm really looking forward to it.

But my real questions are these: Did you miss me when I was gone and what song would you suggest that I get for my iPod?

(And just so you know, I'll attempt to get caught up with everyone soon!)

I Got Checked For Ticks

I know y'all are all dying to hear what I did on my night/day alone, aren't ya? Well, keep breathing because I'll tell you. You may want to take your bathroom break and get your coffee first. It's not short... Don't worry; I won't start without you. Ready now? Here I go.

On Friday around 3ish, I realized I hadn't eaten lunch, and since I was out and about for the office anyway, I thought I'd get a Chik-fil-A sandwich. I love Chik-fil-A. If I didn't already have a job I really love, I would apply there solely to get a daily sandwich fix. Later, I ran by the library and picked up a few movies that I'd been wanting to see lately: Wings of a Dove and Elizabeth. Then I ran to the store to pick up meat that was on sale, which was really necessary because our freezer was almost bare! Now we have all sorts of goodies just waiting to be eaten this summer. I also picked up an avocado; I figured if I'm by myself, I might as well eat what sounded good to me, and I knew that a single serving of guacamole would be calling my name later in the evening.

Isn't this just all SO EXCITING so far? Ummm, yeah.

When I made it home, I sat in the setting sun and read the rest of A Walk in the Woods. (I'll do a review of it later.) It was about 8 PM by the time I made my guac and was able to sit down to watch Wings of a Dove. (By the way, I was totally wrong about the movie Wings of a Dove following the book. It kept the same plot line, but it varied greatly in details. And if the truth be told, I thought the movie came out on the winning side. But that's just me.) I tried to watch Elizabeth, but the tape was busted. A no-go on that one...

Surprisingly, I slept well... well, I would have slept really well if my stupid cat would have left me alone. She kept walking all over me, sticking her whiskers in my face and being an utter pain. I just kept throwing her off the bed. When I awoke in the morning around 7 AM, which, mind you, is sleeping in for me, I discovered the reason for her all night visits: she was out of food. Stupid cat. I fed her and she left me alone after that.

I ate half a cantaloupe for breakfast and then I ran to Starbucks, courtesy of Antique Mommy, the now really famous and published authoress in a magazine! And no it's not the centerfold, although she could surely pull that one off... You go, AM! (Can you believe that I STILL have money on that card? It won't be for long, let me assure you. But thanks again for the thoughtful gift.) I sat in the sun, sipping my wonderful coffee when the kids called. They were having so much fun in the RV with the grandparents. You're all correct when you say that they're making memories that will last them a lifetime. I'm really glad that they get to have something that I didn't.

One of the things I've been wanting to do lately is to walk the arboretum near our house. It has miles and miles of trails, so I can hike in a safe area and not get lost. Two pluses in my book... So I packed a backpack with water, Melba toast and cream cheese garlic dip (Hey, I said I was BY MYSELF... I wasn't intending on breathing on anybody...) and a book. I hiked for two hours at a great pace, stopping for my light lunch when I was ready and I felt fabulous. I marveled at God's nature, listened to the birds and did some good talking with God. A perfect morning...

Just as I was finishing, Mr. Right called and said he would be back in town in 30 minutes. What?! I didn't expect him until 4 PM, so this was a great surprise. He said he awoke very early and took off for home because he couldn't wait to see me again. (Isn't that man sweet!) Even though I was all sweaty glistening from the walk, I asked him to meet me in town to go to the library sale. He said he wasn't smelling his best from the long drive, but he would love to go to the sale with me. We met up, had some good kissing and then we bought books for 50 cents a pop. Not bad, if I do say so myself!

Mr. Right had already said he was tired and that he needed a nap, so when we returned home, I was totally prepared to not bother him for requests for *ahem*. (In case you're new here, that means sex. But really, but telling you that, I should have just said sex, shouldn't have I? Well, now you know...) I even felt that I could join him in his napping, a rarity with me. He jumped in the shower and I jumped in the bed: earplugs - check, pillow over head - check, clothed for sleeping - check. I was in the sleeping zone.

As I'm resting, Mr. Right comes out of the shower, lifts my pillow and said, "Shalee, you're sending mixed signals here!" Now, I don't know about you, but I thought my signals were all but screaming "NAP!!!" Sheeze Louise... Men! And they say we're not clear in communication... I totally read his signals though, and yep, I gladly watched the vapors of sleep vanish. It was really nice to have him back home.

Sunday was church, lunch, nap (for real, this time!) and then another walk at the arboretum with Mr. Right. We had such a great time. Sometime during the walk, I started singing Brad Paisley's Ticks, as it was fitting to the theme. Mr. Right said, "I sure like to check you for ticks when we get home, Baby." And I said, "Only if we walk through a field of wild flowers!" We laughed about how silly of a song that was as we climbed rocks, made new paths and were all and all having fun.

I took him through a mile loop that I thought was gorgeous as our last part of the walk. It came out at a weird place, but I knew the park well enough to know how to get back to the entrance. We just needed to make our own path to known section of paths. As we're making our shortcut, all of the sudden Mr. Right said, "Hey Sha! We're walking through a field of wild flowers." And he flashed me his knowing smile.

So I let him check me for ticks when we got home. All I can say is that it's been fantastic to be kidless and free these past couple of days. We're honeymooning again, and I've a permanent smile plastered on my face. This is going to be one fabulous summer...

The Oooo and Ahhh Post

Love is in the air... There have been weddings left and right around here. And the one of which we've really been waiting finally arrived past weekend. Our past babysitter, Laura, found herself a sweet boy from Texas when she was in college and they finally got hitched. All of us were delighted when Laura asked both the Girl and the Boy to be in the wedding.

They've never been to a wedding, let alone in one before now. (I don't like to mix happy wedding bliss with kids who may or may not cause disruptions. Okay, I meant to say I don't want to mix others' wedding bliss with my kids... at least until they were old enough not to cause a ruckus. We've finally arrived...)

Anyway, we've been talking a lot about how to behave at a wedding, what it means to the bride and groom, what they'll have to do as the flowergirl and ringbearer and how this day was all about Laura and Blake and if they do anything to ruin the wedding they will rue the day they had been born and they'll never see the light of day again and no wedding cake will pass their lips if they didn't behave... or something like along those lines.

Never fear, they did just fine.

At the last moment, I assigned myself the task of staying with the kids until they walked down the aisle. I mainly wanted to make sure that the Girl didn't bean the Boy with the flower basket and the Boy didn't mess up the Girl's $45 dollar trip to the salon. ($45! for a 10 year-old girl! Sheesh! But, I have to say, she looked adorable. And yes, I watched that lady like a hawk because I could so do what that lady did to the girl's hair.)

Since I didn't want to walk down the aisle after Laura, I just sneaked in the back to watch it all. The kids behaved wonderfully, although the Boy kept looking back at Mr. Right and doing a little smile and wave. Mr. Right would smile and wave and then sign (ASL) to him, by making a "two" with his fingers and then pointing at his own eyes and twisting his wrist so that the "two" pointed to the wedding. The Boy completely understood the sign, nodded his head and then watched the wedding. Of course he would repeat the look back to his dad and his dad would repeat the "watch the wedding" sign. This happened enough that the boy when looking back at his dad and seeing his father do the sign, he nodded his head and then signed what he was supposed to do to his dad. Imagine a little boy flicking a two from his eyes to the wedding couple and smiling. Quite the snuffled tittering occurred from the audience... Well, that was the worst of his lack of attention. Really, I imagined him tossing the pillow into the air and doing huge twirls on one foot...

Anyway, here is where I give you the opportunity to oooo and ahhh over our really cute kids. And why yes, I am smiling a mother's smile right now... We did have pictures taken by the photographer, but I think it will be a while before we get to see those. So here are a few of ours.

10 Things I Love About Mother's Day

1. Tender wake-up kisses from two sweet kids
2. Sausage Cheese Biscuits
3. Breakfast in bed
4. Homemade Mother's Day cards
5. Gleam of excitement in kids' eyes and seeing their smiles as I exclaim how much I LOVE their thoughtful presents that they asked to get for me (eyeglasses holder, cedar planks for cooking salmon and a handmade picture frame)
6. Present from Mr. Right (Jim Brickman tickets! A DATE for later... Woo hoo!)
7. Not having to do dishes/permission to not show the house for a day if anyone called - no one did, thank goodness
8. Picking out the restaurant for lunch (favorite Chinese restaurant)
9. Knowing over and over again in my heart how blessed I am to be with family who loves me
10. Realizing that I wouldn't change a single thing in my life because it's perfectly satisfying

(Old picture, but I love it!)

The Day After

And no, this post has nothing to do with nuclear war...

First of all, let me thank each and every one of you for your birthday wishes. When we checked it out this morning, the girl was delighted to see so many comments. Now that I mention it, so was I! Thank you for sharing the birthday wishes, and thanks to those of you who sent me e-cards. I was smiling all throughout the day as I thought about them. Hoops and Yoyo were playing a lot in the office y'all. It's a good thing my boss had a flight to catch. I think I would have driven him nuts... well, more than usual anyway.

Here are some more highlights from my special day:

• I talked with GiBee and Jeana.
• My mom and dad called and also received her gift subscription to "Taste of Home Simple and Delicious"... And can I tell you what I think of it? Oddly enough, the recipes look simple... and delicious. Who'd of thunk?
  
  
  
• My in-laws sent me a cute change purse that wasn't empty, and yet - it wasn't full of change either. Nice!
• Mr. Right planned a surprise birthday dinner at one of my favorite restaurants (it's a mongolian grill) where he invited people who I might expect to come and others that I wouldn't. He stole my phone and called some people who were more "my" friends to invite them. And Addie, all I can say is that you should tell your relatives to plan their visits to be a little more Shalee-centered and not show up on my birthday... I would have loved to have you and Ben there as well.
• My friends are too generous, but I thank you for the gifts and gift cards. They will be spent quickly I'm sure. As a matter of fact, Panera just got their first swipe from that card... And I had to laugh at my friend John's gift.
  
  
  
  He said he found it three months ago and he's waited all this time to give it too me... It cracks me up! "I blog, therefore I am." Hmph... "Comments (0)"... not with you people around the internet.
• The girl really surprised me. She found a cookbook called bills food that she really liked and bought it for me with her own money. She was worried as to whether or not I would like it (which I really do!), but knowing that she really invested a lot of thought and spent her own money on it, I would keep it no matter what... Fortunately, I'm not put into an awkward position of wanting to take it back but not being able to do so. It's a delicious-looking keeper with some simple, tasty and fresh recipes. And to give you a teaser, the first one we're going to try is the chocolate self-saucing cake.
  
  
  
  Mmmm mmmm is all I can say... And if you show up, I'll share.
• And just look at this card from Mr. Right.
  
  
  
  He's such a romantic man. I don't deserve him at all, but I'll just hold tightly onto him, because there's no way I'm letting any other girl have him! (And Shannon, I'm glad I didn't try to think BIG as you suggested with the Admin Gift... Mr. Right had it all along.) And to top it off, on the back of the iPod he engraved:

Proverbs 31:10-29

Shalee

Before going to bed, he read those scriptures to me. Sigh... My life is so blessed. And I well know it.

Lastly, Mr. Right left this comment for me on yesterday's post, but I had to share it front page and center. It was too good not to highlight, in my opinion, and since it's my blog, I guess mine's the only one that ultimately counts.

36 Great Memories of Shalee in a Nut-Shell by Mr. Right

1. Reading James and the Giant Peach aloud to you on the bluff at Wildwood
2. Not enough garlic in the spaghetti sauce (defining moment!)
3. “Doubly Good”
4. Playing in the rain (Harding)
5. Fire alarm at the ski resort (Colorado)
6. Monet in Chicago
7. Tubing down the Platte (and the walk back)
8. Dancing on roller skates
9. Posing for drawings
10. Kissing in the Rain Forest (Omaha Zoo)
11. Crab ambush (Galveston)
12. 4th of July on the Peabody, Memphis
13. The ultimate Battleship finish (Brocks) (cheater)
14. Gravy balls
15. Ice cubes for Thanksgiving, 1999
16. Moo Juice (Jamaica)
17. Castor oil + long bumpy ride = baby
18. Reading Sense and Sensibility to each other (York)
19. Breakfast at Chances R
20. French Quarters (Memphis)
21. Hot tub in the rain (Eureka Springs)
22. Riding horses in the rain through the forest (Eureka Springs)
23. 4-wheeling to the access road around traffic jam
24. Long walks holding hands
25. Halloween at the Colts-Chiefs game
26. Stogies and a Mango Martini (J Gilberts)
27. Jumping in the pool fully clothed after a long walk on a hot day (convincing the kids that it’s ok)
28. Dancing all night in Memphis
29. The “Nerd Dance”
30. Your love letters on flowery paper (and perfume!)
31. Seeing you, your son and your daughter sitting up on our big bed reading books
32. Tying a cherry stem with your tongue in ten seconds
33. Mashed Potato fight (NYCamp)
34. Halloween in footy pajamas (no, not the kids)
35. Throwing Mystery Dinners (all out)
36. Being in my arms

For Heather

Remember this?



Well today's the day.

Head on over to Boomama's to send some love to a blogger in need. Let's show this self-centered world that when one of us hurts, we all hurt, and when one of us needs something, we'll give and give and give until we can make the hurt go away, even if it's just a little bit of comfort - all to the glory of God. That, my friends, is part of the blessing with being a family!

And if you can't spare anything in the financial realm, please stop what you're doing, and give Heather the gift of prayer. She needs that more than she needs the other. (But give the other if you can.)

Sadie Hawkins Day

Well y'all, I don't know about you, but we had a fantastic Sadie Hawkins Day date.

Our day started out great with (what else) biscuits and gravy and excellent coffee. Then we had to hustle out the door because a couple of families were viewing the house that morning. We used the time wisely by dropping off old paint at the recycling center and driving around to look at houses. Yeah, we're getting prepared because we KNOW that God's got this house thing covered... Eventually we wound up at some friends house where we had more coffee. Good time was had by all!

I kind of cheated because the girl had a skate party with a group at church, and I asked Mr. Right if he would go skating with me. He jumped at it, even though neither of us had been skating in years. We had a blast! We skated with our kids. We skated by ourselves. We skated with each other. I dedicated a song to him (This Kiss by Faith Hill) and we did some fun pull-push-go-around-each-other moves. I'm telling you, if I could dance the way I skate, I'd say move over J'Lo...

And the best part? We skated the entire 2 hours with nary a fall. The only time we left the floor is when we lost the "Lucky Light" game and we were forced to leave. And for the record, I stayed in two turns past Mr. Right on the Limbo game. However, in answer to the running limbo question "How low can you go?," we have to say, "Not far enough to beat the ever-so-limber four year olds... punks." Not that it bothers me or anything...

And I'll have you know that I will gladly do the Chicken Dance and the Cha Cha Slide, thank you very much. See, I have proof!

Here the kids are laughing at their mom... I think they can't believe they've got such a cool and hip mother for everyone to behold... or else their laughing at my dance moves.

That's me on the floor in disbelief that I haven't died from so much exercise in one day!

Afterwards we went to the LTC Awards ceremony where my daughter collected her plaque and awards for her convention work. She received golds and silvers in all that she participated. Woo hoo. And I have to post this next picture and then tell you what she did.

Do you see all those kids on the stage? They're the high schoolers who also did LTC, and all the kids were supposed to walk across the stage to shake their hands. My girl received her award, confidently walked across the stage, bypassed all the boys and only shook hands with the girl. Yep, that's a 10 year old with NO interest with boys on her mind! And that's just fine with me.

Afterwards, we took the kids home to be with babysitters (friends who watch our kids for free - woo hoo!), and Mr. Right and I took off for the $2.50 theater in town. We saw Night at the Museum and really enjoyed it. We even decided that it was one that the kids could see. Afterwards, while trying to decide what we wanted for dinner, I spotted a Dairy Queen and made the remark that an ice cream cone sounded really good, so we had that for dinner. Not bad, I think...

So that was our date. We had a fun, energetic time, and I even got a good night kiss from my date. I think I'll see if he's free again some other night too...

Please, let us know about your Sadie Hawkins Date too! I'm looking forward to hearing all about your date with your man.

What A Wonderful World This... IS!

Boomama is at it again. She swore she would never do it again, but she's a big liarhead.

And for that, I'm very grateful.

You want to know more? Click on the button to find out how you can be part of this wonderful bloggityworld of love, making it better one prayer at a time... and thensome. Internets, on April 18th, it's time to show some really good love, just like Jesus did when he walked this earth. We may not be able to do the healing like he did, but we can sure show others that miracles DO exist...




And thanks Boomama for being God's vessel, yet again.

Reason # 88

... why Mr. Right has my heart.

Look at what was awaiting my arrival to bed last night.

Now just a closer look so that you can see all the goodness.

(In case you can't read it, it's something from the French bakery that just opened in town.)

What was inside, you ask?

Well, just this delicious little goody...

(It was a chocolate creme brule that was divine!)

And this.

When I questioned Mr. Right as to why all the delightful gifts, he said it was just a first anniversary present for our 15th anniversary... in July... that's 3 months away in case you're counting.

Oh my lands... does this man know one of my love languages or what?!

And Chili, this is just one in a sea of reasons why I will take the tangible, heart-stopping/makes-my blood-rush of Mr. Right over eye candy anyday...