The Calk Family

Looking Back....

2012-01-08T11:31:00.000-06:00

I know its been a really long time since I have blogged... I get on here from time to time and stare at the screen... I think, 'What should I write?'. I've been working so much lately and I haven't been very good at taking pictures either, so I feel like anything I post would bore the socks of you! I know that I have probably lost a lot of readers because of this. But here I am, 2 months later... but I'm still here!

Today is our 7th wedding anniversary to the greatest, funniest man I know. It seems like just yesterday I was in the dressing room (okay, it was really a very large bathroom, but oh well) and I asked one of my friends to go take a picture of Bonham in his tux, so that I could see him before the ceremony! I got a little teary-eyed when I saw the picture. He looked so handsome...

I remember bits and pieces of those days surrounding our wedding and I'm sure as time goes by I will remember things I had forgotten about the day and I will forgot some of the things that I thought I would always remember....

I remember feeling like the day was chaotic and looking back, I wish that I would have had someone make things flow better like I tried to do for brides when we DJ'd their weddings.
I remember guests walking up while I was having my pictures taken and I wish that no one would have seen me before I entered the doors to walk down the isle.
I remember that my bridesmaids disappeared into the restaurant bar (a lot) and I wish they would have been around more...
I remember the music was very soft and at times you couldn't even hear it... I wish we would have cranked it up and we would have danced!
I remember that we forgot to do a toast! I wish that we would have had one...
I remember that my mom made me this fake bouquet to toss and while I appreciated her effort to make it something that would last, I didn't like it and I wish that I would have thrown a real bouquet. And I also wish I that would have thrown it the traditional way (behind my head), instead of listening to my photographer... he told me to turn around and throw it to directly to someone. While that seems like a cute idea, I was also told a name of a person to throw it to. Unfortunately, there were 2 people in the group of girls with that name and I threw it to my cousin's date (who I had only met for the first time that day) and he broke up with her a few months later - what a waste of a throw!
I remember 2 of my 3 sister-in-laws not really talking to me at all that day. Looking back, I wish that there had been better relationships there and that it would have been a more joyous occasion for them.
I remember meeting Robert's parents for the first time at our rehearsal dinner. I wish that I would have talked to them more. Bonham and I didn't really become close to them until after Jayna was born. Bonham's grandma Calk (or Mimi as came to call her) passed away in May of 2011 and we miss her very much.

I know it seems like everything I remember is negative, but here is the good stuff....

I remember my dad giving me a bracelet that day and I cried.
I remember feeling so beautiful in my wedding dress.
I remember my bridesmaids trying to trick me by saying that they were going to wear these ugly, ugly shoes.... and I said, 'They're great - that will work!' and they cracked up laughing... I really didn't care about anything except making it down that aisle!
I remember shaking, crying, laughing as a I walked down the isle and my dad had to tell me to 'breathe'. Thanks dad! :)
I remember my uncle Rob (who preformed the ceremony) surprised my with a beautiful poem that I had always wanted as part of my wedding ceremony.
I remember my dad pulling me away from some pictures to have our father/daughter dance and just then, I heard someone call my name over the speakers... it was Sonny Burgess! He was there to perform a song for me and my dad to dance to.
I remember the funny moments of our ceremony where the crowd laughed.... one was where I really emphasized the words 'For Richer' (that might have been a jinx - I don't recommend this) and the other was when we were repeating our vows. I was so nervous, so I tried to really concentrate as Bonham said his part. When it was my turn and my uncle said, 'And to obey...' I turned my turned my head to look at him and I paused... not for comical relief, but out of confusion. I thought to myself, 'Bonham didn't say those words...' It wasn't until after the ceremony that I realized that men don't say that part! Haha! I'm doing my best to 'obery', but some times are harder than others....
I remember Bonham's dad telling us how he loved Bonham's mom more than anything on their wedding day, and when their first child was born, he loved her more.... and the love grew and grew over the years. That was really sweet and I hope that I never forget those words. He also told me that I made a beautiful bride.... Thanks Robert!
I remember our last dance and how we were interrupted 5 million times! Oh well!
I remember trying to drive away and there was so much on the truck and so many blind spots that Bonham asked me if I could drive, so I did. (trying to obey! lol)
I won't share anymore memories from that night except for the room service - that was awesome! With every order, the hotel brought us little carnations (which are my favorite flower) and these tiny little jars of ketchup, jelly, etc. My plan was to keep them forever. (I don't know where they are now)
I remember one of the first things that Bonham told me the morning after we were married... he reached over and put his hand on my stomach and the actual words escape me now, but it was something along the lines of 'I can't wait to feel our babies kick, or grow, etc.' Anyway, it was sweet and it started a CRAZY baby fever that continues to this day!!! We had originally talked about waiting 2 years or so to start trying for a baby... we waited all of 5 months to start trying! We were young and we didn't know how long it took for most people to get pregnant. It actually didn't take us long at all. Since then, we have known a lot of people who have struggled to get pregnant. We count our blessings and consider ourselves fortunate.
And lastly, I remember meeting up with my new in-laws the next day and the first thing my mother-in-law said to me was, 'How was last night?' ahahahahaha.... I looked at Bonham and looked back at Julie (in all of her innocence) and I said, 'What do you mean?' She said, 'The reception...' I said,' You were there...' And she said, 'I know I was there; I just wanted to see what you thought of it.' Since then, Bonham and I have laughed about that and thought of some pretty funny things I could have said in response to her initial question. I give you one.... 'Well, your son was amazing!' too much??? Okay, I'll stop there! I hope you got a laugh out of that!

I guess I remember more than I thought!!! That was fun!!! Hopefully, by blogging these memories here they won't fade as fast. In the end, I got what I wanted: Sonny Burgess singing at my wedding, a purple wedding cake, and I got to marry Bonham! Those were the 3 things I told my mom that I really wanted on that day and she could do whatever else she wanted.

Bonham and I went on a date last night to celebrate our anniversary and my parents kept the kids overnight. It was nice to have a little mommy/daddy time. I'm not a very mushy-gushy person. Bonham is better at saying, 'I love you' and being romantic... but I'm trying. :) All couples have their moments of ups and downs, but when I look at Bonham and I look at our children, I know that he is the only one for me and I DO love him more now than I did 7 years ago. I love to see him smile; I love that he still give me butterflies; I love to feel his arms around me; I love to hear him tell me that I beautiful or sexy (and most of the time it's when I feel the most unattractive - I love that LOVE is blind!). I love you Bonham!

Pictures of a stop in Austin....

2011-11-06T00:24:00.001-05:00

I know it's been forever.... I do apologize, but I am hoping that a few pictures will help make up for my lack of blogging....
We went to New Braunfels and San Antonio (our normal get-away spots) a few weeks ago and we stopped in Austin at the Capitol building to look around and take some pictures...

Never be a politician...

2011-09-12T21:52:00.001-05:00

I could never be a politician. I am way too sensitive. I listen to these debates and I get so upset by the way they talk about Texas. I am proud to be from Texas. I don't know a lot about politics, but I like Rick Perry. No one is perfect... maybe he's made some bad decisions. I could defend the things that he has done that they were attacking.

Rick Perry seems sincere.
Some of these other candidates seem sleazy....
Newt Gingrich seems intelligent.
Herman Cain is funny and seems ethical.
Ron Paul is too extreme for me.
Michele Bachmann's voice gets on my nerves and with EVERY question, she goes back to Obama-care.
Mitt Romney is complimentary of everyone, including himself.
Rick Santorum seems like a whiny baby and a finger-pointer.
Jon Huntsman - who? He is just strange and greasy looking.

They all have their flaws; they all threw out a few good points too. If I had to choose one of them, of course I would choose Rick Perry.
If any of them were up against Obama, I would choose any of them before I would vote for Obama.

I had typed more, but then I deleted it.... I will try to post more when I am not tired and can post clearly on the topics... or maybe I won't. Tune in later to see. HAHAHAHA

Sylvan House (Abilene) - Before and After

2011-08-21T21:05:00.017-05:00

I've been meaning to post this for some time now....

We recently remodeled our house in Abilene and rented it out. I say 'we', but it was more 'Bonham' than 'we'. =) There was a lot of work to be done, but he was able to get it all finished in a little over two months.

We bought this home in March of 2007 and our plan was to remodel it within a year to a year and a half. Almost as soon as we bought the house and started working on it, my commissions went WAY down with Countrywide. Since then, we have been a able to do a little here and there, but nothing major. Since things have been going well at my new job, we have been able to remodel the house with cash - Dave Ramsey would be so proud of us! hahahaha

Because of the way that blogger is and my lack of patience with it and the fact that I haven't blogged in a month and half, these pictures are not quite in the order that I wanted.

Here are the pictures from when we bought the house:
This is the master bedroom (converted garage):

What do you think about these curtains? It was hard, but we took them down....

This was the old master bedroom; also known as Jayna's room:

Here is the kitchen (before):

The living room (before):

The living room from a different angle:

The front living area/playroom:

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We started by ripping out the carpet. My thought was that if we started there.... there was No Turning Back!

Living Room (under construction):

The start of the kitchen tile...

The finished kitchen floor:

We tore out the temporary backslpash that we had put up. I should have taken more pictures of the things that we had done in between... oh well!

Bonham prepping the backsplash:

The backsplash:

Isn't it beautiful! We found it on sale and it was just the right color! When we were almost done putting it in, Bonham said, 'We should go get one more sheet of this' They were on clearance and we had purchased them a few weeks before. Oops! When we finished, we had less than 1/2 a sheet left - talk about cutting it close! Whew!

Bonham had to build a new cabinet and drawers for the oven cabinet:

The finished kitchen:

I couldn't get this picture to turn, but it shows the other side of the kitchen =)

Finished Master Bedroom: I wish I would have thought to take pictures of the other side to show no more crazy old, ugly curtains!

A shot of the finished living room/dining room/kitchen entry:

one of the bedrooms:

I wanted to show how much carpet pad we had to use for the house:

The finished entry way:

The start of the master bathroom:

Tile floor complete:

Finished bathroom - not all that impressive, but complete nonetheless:

The back bathroom/aka: Jayna's bathroom:

This bathroom had never been used as long as we lived there. We started to gut it and then stopped. Bonham finished gutting it and these some of the pictures of the process:

WOW! I can't believe that this house finished. It's so nice to know its done and we have a nice family living in there.

Reoccurring Theme...

2011-07-18T22:19:00.002-05:00

So it seems like every time I blog, I am apologizing for not blogging more often. I have been so busy with work that I barely have time for extras. I don't take very many pictures either, so there really isn't much to post.

Just a quick recap of events:

Barrett turned 3 in June!

Jayna and Barrett started day care last week

We rented out our house in Abilene

Bonham got 8 guinea hens and raised them from hatchlings... we are down to 1

I am still working towards being promoted by the end of the year - fingers crossed!

Jayna started 'Dance' class last Tuesday

Barrett is almost potty-trained! Whoo-hoo!

I have some pictures from our house in Abilene, before and after kind of pictures. I will post them as soon as everything is finished, which will be a few weeks from now. We have the house rented out and the new tenants should be moving in sometime in August. They are moving to Abilene from Azle! Small world....

They seem really nice. They have 3 children and they are around our age. We listed the house for rent a few weeks ago and Bonham got a ton of calls... a lot faster than we thought. We might have listed it a little too low... oh well, its done now. Bonham has been working to get the house ready for this family to move in. It's coming along really nicely. =)

That's all for now.... until next time!

Jayna's Blog

2011-06-02T22:47:00.003-05:00

I asked Jayna if she would like to help me write a blog post. Here is what she wanted me to write about:

Jayna in space with her Mommy and Daddy

Once upon a time, Jayna was out in space. Her mommy came out next. And then her daddy came out third. And then they saw flying socks.

And then they had a little snack called popcorn. Then they went away to home. The End.

Wow! What a moving story! LOL

I don't know if she has a writing career in her future, but she's very creative and very funny. Flying socks? What? Silly girl.... =)

On a different note... we had a really nice, relaxing Memorial Day Weekend visiting family out of town. I didn't open my work computer at all on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. I answered the phone a few times, but I put everything off until I returned to office on Tuesday. It was very refreshing! It makes me want to do it again very soon. =)

Seriously? Over a month?

2011-05-22T11:52:00.021-05:00

I have no excuses for not blogging sooner... I have been so busy and preoccupied. Every time I sit down to write something, I get distracted.

Last weekend we had gone to a birthday party at this place called the Azle Party Ranch. It was really cool. The kids got to ride on a golf cart up this dirt hill and all around the land.

There was a Party Barn that had an air hockey table....

They had dress up for the kids:

which Jayna enjoyed:

They drove down this path into the woods to find the donkey. Jayna is doing a 'donkey call' here:

After feeding the donkey, it was time to go fishing!

Jayna's first catch:

And Barrett's first catch!

There was a trampoline too!

Waiting in line for the ZIP LINE!!!

Getting suited up!

Harness - check!

Helmet - check!

...up the ladder....

I didn't take a ton of pictures of her up there, because I was trying to video tape it on my phone, but then someone called and it messed up the video =(

Now it's Barrett's turn!

He looks so small up there...

Off he goes!

He had a really good time!

Now it was time for birthday cake!

After the cake, they sat around the campfire and they were given jobs for the Treasure Hunt!

Jayna was volunteering for each job, but she finally got to be 'The Keeper'. After each clue was found, she was in charge of holding on to them.

After someone was selected for a job, they were told to stand in the 'ring'. Barrett didn't have a job, but he likes to copy Jayna.

Here they are receiving instructions for the Treasure Hunt!

And they're off!

Barrett had it easy... this is how he got around!

The clues took them everywhere!

even down the Secret Trail....

And finally.... 'X' marks the spot!

All of the kids received goodie bags...

And everyone got to ride the Firetruck!!!

I didn't get any pictures once we were in motion, but we got to drive out of the camp area and down the road. It was really neat!

The last thing that we did was roasting marshmallows:

Jayna didn't want to, so I didn't get a picture of here.

The kids had a great time. The party was scheduled for 4 hours and the time just flew by! We had a great time there and I think we might try to book a party there sometime. It's fun for kids and adults.

Spring Cleaning...

2011-04-18T21:21:00.001-05:00

Today we finally got motivated to do some spring cleaning. With Jayna's birthday just passing and Barrett's birthday fast approaching, we needed to clear some space! The toys have been piling up for some now and we have been saying that we should do something about it.

It was so nice to have some space cleared up. Bonham and I are admittedly, boarder-line hoarders. Not the dirty kind, but we hate to throw things away. We bagged up several bags of trash and several bags of donations. We listed some larger items on craigslist and we are really trying to de-clutter. Its been so refreshing!

Jayna and Barrett weren't too happy about getting stuff out of the house, but it's so much more manageable.

(I wrote this post a while back, but never posted it)

Major Changes...

2011-04-09T15:22:00.003-05:00

As mentioned in previous posts, school has been going really well. At this point and I am still making A's. One of my class grades dropped to 89.94%, but I'm confident that I can still pull off an A by the end of the semester!

When I had started my Spanish class, I really thought it was kind of easy and I was retaining a lot of the information. I was SUPER excited, because I thought that I might actually be able to speak Spanish someday! As the weeks have gone by... I don't feel as confident. I started thinking about graduating and wondering how I will ever graduate if I have to take 3 more Spanish classes????

When I was fresh out high school, my original major was Psychology, minoring in Criminal Justice. My plan was to become a criminal pyschologist and work for the FBI. I wanted to write book about serial killers. My, how things have changed. Even when I started doing mortgages, I didn't change my degree plan. I really wanted to finish is Psychology.

Before we moved back to the Fort Worth area, I spoke with an adviser at UNT and we decided to change my major to General Studies, so that I would be able to graduate sooner. For a Psychology degree, there is one class that I would never be able to take because it is only offered once a year (not a semester - once a year!), on Tuesday/Thursday at 2:00 p.m.! Yeah right! I wouldn't be able to get that schedule to work in a million years. So I switched majors for the 1st time since I started college in 2000, but I still have the foreign language to complete - yuck!

Over the last weekend, I started thinking more about the Criminal Justice degree plan, so I called UNT and I briefly talked to a different adviser who told me I don't have to take a foreign language for a Criminal Justice degree! Praise the Lord! I am so excited! I can't even tell you how much stress this takes off of me. Most likely, changing degree plans (again) will only require another 12-16 hours for me to graduate. Fingers crossed! I should know something for sure this next week. Please say a prayer this is the case and I can finally graduate.... 11+ years later!

You wanna see some pics????

2011-04-03T22:24:00.019-05:00

Bonham and I got new phones a few weeks ago and we are LOVING them! I may have mentioned this in a previous post, so I apologize if I am being redundant.... but now we can get online, send and receive pictures, etc. It is so nice to be 'modern'. =) I have a lot of pictures... I hope that you are ready!

My mom's birthday was March 31st, so we went out to eat. I was trying to get some pictures of Jayna, Barrett, and our niece, Presley. The camera was working, but the kids..... um.... =)

Here is my mom with Jayna:

And my dad with Jayna:

Jayna was so funny.... I didn't even have my camera out. She grabbed my dad around the neck and said, 'Mommy, take our picture'. Well of course, I pulled out my camera and took their picture! She is such a little ham!

My dad was mowing last weekend and he found this little bunny. He asked us to hold onto it for a little while, so that he wouldn't get run over. He mentioned keeping it and we were on board for a few minutes. Ha!

It was very cute and sweet, but it is a wild animal. When we do get some rabbits, we would like to get some that are more domesticated. Jayna was sad to let the bunny go, but we told her that Papa (my dad) would get her one eventually. You're welcome, Papa. =)

These are just some cute pictures that Bonham took and texted to me when I was at work last week:

I decided not to even open up my work computer today.... we wanted to get outside, clean the cars, go to the store, etc.

Here are some pictures of the kids helping us with cleaning the truck:

The kids wanted to do their own thing, so they played in the mud!!!!

Classic!

Bonham was going to bring the kids to meet me in town to eat one day, but texted me this picture and said, 'Maybe another day...' Barrett had fallen asleep. Tired boy...

Jayna made this picture and wanted to show it to me, so Bonham texted it to me. Did I mention how much I love technology???

Maybe they will be architects when they grow up:

I know that these pictures are all over the place! This next picture is of the newest baby cow. This was the day after he was born. We actually got to see the majority of the labor.

It was very interesting to watch.

It led to a few questions, but fortunately they weren't too hard to answer (or avoid).

Jayna, Barrett, and Daddy at the Fort Worth Zoo:

Barrett is a little more camera shy than Jayna is...

The new penguin exhibit. Jayna's new favorite part of the zoo:

Another favorite for the Calk children: The Flamingos!

Silly boy:

Sweet girl:

Country like: riding on the tractor!

I hope that you enjoyed the pictures!

Quick Little Update...

2011-03-27T21:41:00.001-05:00

Bonham and I just recently picked up some new cell phones and we are really enjoying the technology. We are able to take good pictures and videos and most them to Facebook, text and email them to friends and family. Bonham took the kids to the zoo the other day and he was able to send me pictures of what they were doing; it was so neat. It's nice to have little things like that throughout the day to keep me motivated. I have been working a lot recently. Most nights when I come home, I eat dinner and then I get my computer out and start working! A few weeks ago, it was a combination of school work and work-work, but right now, it is mostly work-work.

I have captured the attention of quite a few people at Chase for my efforts at work, which is a very nice compliment, but it keeps me even busier because other branches are sending me their leads. I am also helping some fellow loan officers with their questions, etc. With all of this work, I am hoping to make some BIG paychecks!!!

My manager and I have been working together to get me in a position to be promoted by the end of the year - fingers crossed. This promotion was not something that I thought would happen when I took this job, but now that it is an option, I am very excited about it. This could mean a lot for us financially. My new boss has said to me on several occasions, 'Tell your family that this is only temporary (working so many hours)' and 'Just remember, that it’s all worth it!' These comments help to keep me encouraged that good things are coming my way!

Bonham has been so great through this too. It's a blessing in disguise that he didn't get a job this year. With him being home to do all of the stuff with the kids and housework, it helps me to be more productive at work. I was joking the other day that we only thought that we were moving for his job, but it turns out that we moved for my job! Back to Bonham being so great (and no, he didn't hack my blog page).... he does the laundry, does the dishes, irons my work shirts, goes to the grocery store, cooks the meals, cares for the kids, vacuums the floors, and cleans the bathrooms! Can you believe it? He is a better homemaker than I am! =)

This is a verse that we have had hanging on our wall for years: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 I look at this every day, but I don't really read it. I've posted before about all of these plans that we've made and how they never turn out the way we thought. I've always thought this to be a negative thing in our lives, but now I am starting to think it's positive!!! His plans are coming to fruition and ours are constantly changing to be more like His. We are so blessed, enough said! =)

We have success!

2011-03-20T16:09:00.004-05:00

I have to apologize for the video being sideways... I have a new phone and the camera was confusing me! Anyway, we are really excited for our little bear! He is growing up so fast and he isn't a baby anymore....

Okay, here I am!

2011-03-13T21:52:00.004-05:00

After all this time and after many claims that I will blog more... I am finally here. I still don't have much to blog about. I have been working so much lately and still in school... classes don't wrap up for another 2 months. Still making straight A's! Yippee for me.

I really need to upload some pictures, but I haven't taken them off of the camera or the phone.

Jayna just had her 5th birthday last weekend. Five suits her well. She is such a little lady. She is getting really excited about starting school in the fall. The only problem is that she thinks that she will be planting a 'garden' in Kindergarten. Funny stuff!

Jayna got a lot of really cool things for her birthday, thanks to a bunch of generous friends and family. We are so truly blessed to have these people spoiling our kids and filling our house with more toys and goodies! =)

To list a few things that she got: clothes, bathrobe, microphone, baby doll and accessories, pink guitar, pink BB gun, hair bows, art supplies, aqua sand, roller skates... I'm sure that I am leaving some stuff out.

I think that Barrett is excited about his birthday coming up in June. Here are some funny things that he has said recently:
'Jayna, I don't like your birtday'
'Mommy, where my presents?'
'I want Papa make my cake'
'My birtday June sebenteent' (June 17th)
*Imagine all of this in little-kid-talk and it's a lot funnier. He is becoming more and more vocal.

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My job is keeping me really busy. Things are going well and picking up. I started at 2 branches. One of them was an hour away and the other was about 45 minutes away from our house. About a month ago, there was some re-districting and I ended up getting a new manager and 2 new branches. My new manager has been great and my new branches are both about 30 minutes away from home. I was originally worried about getting a new manager, because I was working for a long-time friend and former co-worker from Countrywide. But the change hasn't been bad. My production has gone up and the future is looking really good.

More to come.... maybe not soon, but it will come....

What was I going to say????

2011-02-23T20:32:00.002-06:00

So... I keep thinking of things to blog about during the day at work or driving in the car. You know, the places that I can't blog? I have some really great ideas, but of course when I sit down in front of the computer - nada! (That's Spanish for 'nothing') See.... I am learning. =)

So what's going on with the Calk family? Not much....
Have you taken any pictures recently? Not really....

I feel bad that I haven't blogged, but I've been really busy and kind of in a 'funk' for a little while. When I start to write something, it just has such a negative tone. I'm trying to turn this ship around!

I really, really will try to blog more soon.... promise! =)

Doing Alright, Making Good Grades...

2011-02-09T12:11:00.003-06:00

My future's so bright, I've gotta wear shades! Do you know that song?

The grades are starting to be posted for my classes thus far and it's looking good for me. I have A's in all of my classes! I have to admit that the courses really aren't that hard. There is a little bit of 'busy' work for each class, but because I have taken so many classes before, this is a piece of cake. I've only had one test so far, but I made a 100 on it! I was pretty impressed with myself. =)

When I finish these classes, I am hoping to take more this summer and have all of my school stuff finished within the next year and a half to two years. Here's hoping!

It has definitely helped that we haven't had any DJ gigs since I started school, so I am been able work on them in the evenings and weekends. Once 'Wedding Season' picks up again, it might be a little harder to stay on track. Until then, I will keep plugging away! =)

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On another note, Jayna's party planning is coming along nicely. The invitations should be going out at the first part of next week. She already knows what games she wants to play at her party. Would you like to know?

She would like to have a pinata, play 'Pin the tail on the donkey', and 'Spin the bottle'!!! Yes, Spin the Bottle!!! Can you believe it? I was said, 'What??? Where did you hear about that from?' She saw in on a Bernstein Bears episode. I know that it's an innocent game when you're that young, but it's still a little weird....

To those who are coming to the party: Don't worry. We will not be playing 'Spin the Bottle'.

Hope all is well... see you later!

Am I Giving Up?

2011-02-02T17:44:00.003-06:00

I haven't blogged... I haven't gone to my WW meetings... I haven't lost any weight. I don't want to say that I have given up, but I am tired. Going back to work has been hard on me... mentally, physically, emotionally.... I really hope that Bonham gets a teaching job this next year.

Everywhere we turn, we hear of more teachers being let go or being asked to retire. You never know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. If they are looking to replace them, it might be good... if not, that means less jobs and now more certified teachers out of work fighting for the same jobs! It's so frustrating!

On a more positive note: Jayna's birthday is coming up! I'm not sure when we will have it or what time. Her birthday falls on a Saturday, but I am scheduled to work that Saturday. I can't decide if we should have it later in the day or possibly the next day. I don't know if I can get off of work any earlier, because I am about to have a new boss and I just don't know how well that would go over asking for time off, etc. It will all work out.

I didn't make a New Year's Resolution, but if I had... I might have resolved to worry less. Is it too late to start?

Spanish is foreign to me...

2011-01-23T17:13:00.003-06:00

First, let me apologize to everyone who has been checking this on a regular basis. I haven't really been in the mood to post anything... every time I sit down to write, I have to stop because it sounds so negative. I don't want this to be a 'complaining' blog.

I did want to post a few little updates. I started school on the 18th. I am taking 13 hours and they are all online. I really only need about 26 hours to graduate from UNT, but because I have to complete my foreign language, it is going to take me a little longer and 2 semesters. Since can't I take all of the Spanish classes at once, I figured that I would take some other classes that might help me when I am teaching and some that might be interesting. I spoke with an advisor at UNT and I only have to complete 12 hours from there, so I am taking the others at Tarrant County College, because it is a lot cheaper! I am hoping to be finished in the next 1 1/2 to 2 years. The Spanish class is going to be the most time consuming, but it's actually pretty fun. I took Spanish in Junior High and High School. And then I took this same college Spanish class about 7 years ago, so I am retaking it because there is no way that I can remember everything from that one to pass the next level. So I should do really well in this class.

Jayna is preparing for her upcoming birthday. I can't believe that she is about to be 5 years old in March! I remember bringing her home from the hospital like it was yesterday!

In the past few weeks, Barrett has gone from being more 'baby-like' to being more like a big-boy! He is using larger sentences and saying phrases that we didn't even know he knew. (I hope that makes since.) I am trying to get this typed up and then I need to get back to my homework.

My job is going alright... the mortgage industry has never been an easy industry to work in. I have days that I am really pumped and excited about making some real cash and then other days, when loans are falling apart and I can't seem to get people qualified, it's wears on me. It doesn't help that I miss my kiddos when I am at work.... And I miss my 'Mamo-day!'

I am going to wrap up this post and try to post more later. I am hoping to have some pictures soon too. =)

2010 and 2011

2011-01-02T17:50:00.002-06:00

I don't even think that I could re-cap this last year... it seems like it went by so fast!!! I definitely remember how 2010 started! It was one of the worst starts to a year... our truck broke down on January 1st on our way back from a New Year's Eve Party that we were DJ'ing about an hour and a half away from Abilene. We were pulling our trailer and the transmission went out. My father-in-law had to come pick us up off the side of the road at 3:00 am. We had planned on going out of town that weekend to visit Bonham's grandparents and out trip got delayed, but we still went. While were there, I washed the pants that I had been wearing that contained the check from the gig the night before. It really felt like 2010 might have started out on the wrong foot! We were able to get the DJ customer to send us another check and we got the transmission fixed ($1,800 later).

Since then, things haven't been too bad... Things haven't gone exactly as we planned, but who are we kidding? They never do! Bonham and I are the 'King and Queen of Great Plans'! What is that saying about the best plans... I don't know. It's probably something like, 'the best plans, don't work out'!!! hahahaha =)
Good thing we've gotten to good at 'switching gears' and trying something new. =) We persevere.

I am now working at Chase bank and it is going well. I am enrolled in classes for this next semester and I am hoping to finish schooling in the next one and a half to two years, so that I can teach. Bonham is trying to align himself with the right people, the right tests, etc. to get a job this next year. There we go with our 'planning' again...

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope that all of our 'plans' come true! LOL

1 More Test.... Heck, Why Not 2 More?

2010-12-29T21:31:00.002-06:00

Bonham is getting ready to register for another teacher certification test. He is going to take the High School Science test. He was able to find some good study material online, so hopefully it will be helpful. He has been able to pass all of his other tests on the first try, so I am confident that he will do well on this one too.

Do you remember learning all of that information in school that you thought you would never use? Well, Bonham is really good at retaining a lot of useless information, so he remembers a lot of stuff from high school. =) Today, he took a sample test online. It was an exit-level science exam for high schoolers. I can tell you right now that I would have failed that exam. I can't remember anything from high school. There were 55 questions on the test and he only missed 5! He doesn't think it's that big of a deal, but I was pretty impressed. =)

After he takes (and passes) this test, he will have five content areas covered: Generalist 4-8, Special Education, Physical Education, English as a Second Language, and High School Science. It might also look at taking the High School Social Studies test.

We are really trying to secure the chances of him getting a job next year! =) Fingers crossed! Letters written to Santa! Prayers said over and over!

No Pictures From Christmas???

2010-12-27T22:09:00.003-06:00

I know that I have not blogged in forever... I'm sorry to those of you who have been checking back. I have been so busy and I really haven't had the motivation to post anything.

I wish that I had pictures from this past weekend... but I don't. I did take some video of them on Christmas Eve, but I haven't been able to get it to upload. I asked my family to send me some pictures, so I might have some.

The kids got so much stuff - it's insane!!! They got clothes, games, books, cars, dinosaurs, sheets, some outside toys, some inside toys, and it goes on and on.... =)

I will try to post more soon!!!

Updates

2010-12-15T20:51:00.003-06:00

Sorry I haven't been posting anything recently. The new job is going well. Today was my first in one of my branches and it was so much better than I had expected. I am going back to the same branch tomorrow and then on Friday I will be visiting my other branch. Hopefully, all of these leads will turn into loans... and then fundings... and then mega-bucks! =)

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I didn't go to my WW meeting this last week, because I was training. I am going to try to find a meeting that I can go to with my new work schedule. I don't feel like I have done awful in the past 2 weeks, but I haven't done great either. If I can get into a meeting by this weekend, I will post the results... I'm not expecting a loss, but as long as there isn't a gain, I will be happy.

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Tomorrow is the last day of Mother's Day Out for Jayna and Barrett. They will begin full-time day care in January, so they are going to have a little min-vacation at home with Bonham over the next few weeks.

There is a Christmas Program at school tomorrow and Jayna is playing 'Mary'. She can't wait!!! We are so excited for her.

I will try to post again soon... =)

My cousins...

2010-12-12T12:00:00.000-06:00

My cousin Lacie got married last weekend and my mom took some pictures that I wanted to share with you. Bonham and I DJ'd the reception, so after we got everything set up, Jayna wanted to sing:

She really gets into it....
This is my cousin Lacie with her husband, John, their son, Christian, who Lacie adopted in November of 2009, my Uncle Lynn, and my Aunt Kelley.
The wedding was so nice. Lacie is so happy and we are so happy for her & John!

This is their wedding cake that my mom made:

Jayna & Barrett dancing:

Jayna was trying get Christian to dance with her... she was unsuccessful. =(

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And lastly, I have to say that my cousin, Chelsie is a picture genius!!! My mom sent her the pictures of the kids with Santa that I posted on a previous post. The kids were looking in different directions and Chelsie was able to create this:

Thanks Chelsie! I just love it!!

Seven Years Ago Today...

2010-12-09T19:38:00.003-06:00

'Looks aren't important to me, because I know that God will make my wife the most beautiful the woman in the world to me!'

These are the words that caught my eye 7 years ago, when I met Bonham online at christianmingle.com. For those of you who didn't know, Bonham and I met on a dating site. We had both recently signed up to try to meet someone and we did during our 7-day, trial period, so we were able to cancel before had to pay anything for the service. What a deal! =)

When I looked at his profile information, I saw the line above and I thought, 'this is the man for me!' I didn't really know exactly where Abilene was, but I knew that it wasn't too, too far from Fort Worth and I had driven through there once to go skiing.

I saw that he had already looked at my profile information, so I decided to send him an instant message.... this dating site had these little lines that you could choose from to send to people like, 'I was looking at you, looking at me...' I'm pretty sure that this was the one that I chose, but I can't remember exactly. Whatever it was, I sent it and he didn't respond.... for a really long time.... finally, he sent me a message. I think he said, 'hi there' or something like that and then I responded with, 'Well, it's about time!' He was really confused....

Didn't find out until later that he never received my first message, because of a pop-up blocker on his computer. So for the longest time he thought that he contact me first. We joke that he thought it was kind of weird for me to say that and that he considered not talking to me, but he did! It was some time before he said anything to me about it. Funny how things work out!

That night, we 'chatted' for 4 hours via the instant messenger. The next night, we scheduled a time to talk to each other on the phone. I was supposed to call him, but I was nervous, so I waited and I got online and almost instantly, he sent me a message! We 'chatted' online for a little while and he asked me to call him, so I did. I was nervous about pronouncing his name, so when he answered, I asked him, 'Who is this?' and he said, 'Bonham. Who is this?' and then we talked for 6 hours that night!!! During that conversation, we picked out names for our 4 children... and then we would say, 'That's crazy! We don't even know each other! We can't talk like this!' So we would change the subject, but we kept going back to the topics of marriage and children.

The next night, we talked online again for several hours and then every night after that we stuck to talking on the phone.
On the 16th, we met in person. On the 23rd, I met his sister and brother-in-law (which are now my sister-in-law & brother-in-law). On January 4th, I met his other sister and his parents. January 4th is their wedding anniversary. I was so nervous to meet them. His parents were having their Sunday lunch and they made fajitas. At the time, I couldn't stand eating fajitas! I had told Bonham that some of the foods that I couldn't stand were fajitas and grilled chicken. I asked him not to tell his parents... I would just eat it anyway. I tried them and they were the best fajitas I had ever had! I have been a fan of fajitas ever since! =)

In May of 2004, Bonham and I got engaged and we were married on January 8th of 2005. Our 6 year anniversary is coming up in a few weeks. The years have gone by so quickly. We currently have 2 of our 4 children that we originally discussed! LOL We didn't use the names that we had talked about, but here they are: Kelly Jo, Rebecca Faith, Andrew Bonham, and Robert Wesley. We did use Robert for Barrett (Robert Barrett), but I don't think we will use any of the others...

What fun times!

Jayna's Christmas List

2010-12-06T19:30:00.000-06:00

What four year old asks Santa for a fly swatter for Christmas? Well, our four year old, of course!

My mom and dad took Jayna and Barrett to see Santa and they both did really well. We weren't worried about Jayna, but we were worried about Barrett. He didn't talk to Santa, but he sat in his lap and took a few pictures. That is much better than we thought he would do.

When Santa asked Jayna what she wanted for Christmas, she spouted off her list right away! She told him that she wanted a pink fly swatter, pink binoculars, a pink fishing rod, and a pink yo-yo. The girl likes pink! =)

Next week, we are going to work on her official letter to Santa. She was surprised to know that Santa has a mail box. This is such a fun age, because she is really starting to understand how this all works! Fun, fun, fun!

Here are some pictures:

Mommy, how do babies get out of your tummy?

2010-12-02T21:19:00.004-06:00

Seriously???

I'm not prepared to answer this question yet. Jayna is very inquisitive. And she had asked this question about a month ago and I couldn't stop laughing, so I just didn't answer her. We were in the car and I acted like I couldn't hear her. Is that bad?

And then she asked me again tonight!!! Arrghh! So this is how the conversation went:

Jayna: Mommy, how do babies get out of mommy's tummies?

Me: Um, doctors help them out.

Jayna: I know, but how do they get out?

Me: I don't know. Doctors just help them out. (this is a lie... I do know, but I didn't want to tell her. hehehe)

Jayna: Do Mommy's and daddy's make babies?

Me: God makes babies (this isn't a lie, even though it's a group effort)

And then I just finished reading the story and put her to bed. Oh, the things that she comes up with!!!

Keeps us laughing.... keeps us on our toes too!!! This was just too funny not to share! =)

Goodnight....

Keeps reeling me back in...

2010-12-01T08:00:00.002-06:00

The mortgage industry, that is! A few weeks ago, I received a call from my friend, Justin. He had been promoted to Mortgage Lending Manager at JPMorgan Chase Bank and he was calling to see if I was interested in coming to work for him. I thought about it for about 2 seconds and then said, 'Yes!'
Justin and I worked together at Countrywide Home Loans and we had discussed that if he or I were promoted, the other would try to get moved to their team. I ended up working from home when I worked for Countrywide, so when Justin did get promoted, my manager refused to let me go to his team. That has been several years now. We have remained close friends with Justin and his wife, Alyson since our Countrywide days.

When Bonham and I decided to move, our plan was that I would stay home with the kids until the go to school and Bonham would teach full-time. Many of you know from reading this blog, that Bonham didn't get a full-time teaching job and he has been substituting and will hopefully have a full-time position next year. Bonham and I always have the best plans..... LOL
As much as we both were hoping that I could stay home, it just isn't meant to be. We have tried many different ways of either one of us staying home, but unfortunately it's just not going to work for us. I thought that when I would go back to work, it would be a different line of work, but that's alright. =) I am excited about this new job and working for someone who knows me on a personal level; that will make this transition back to work a lot easier.

I am going to be originating mortgage loans out of 2 different Chase branches. I officially start my new job this coming Monday, the 6th. I will be shadowing other loan officers and watching what they do on a daily basis. The following week, I will have my 'official training' in..... Florida! Can we say vacation? =) hahaha
Unfortunately, I won't be able to take Bonham or the kids with me, so it's not really a vacation... or is it? hahaha =)

I'll post more information about it soon... until next time!

WW Update - Week 11 (kind of)

2010-11-30T18:12:00.003-06:00

I know this isn't technically my 11th week, but it is as far as weigh-in's are concerned. =) I missed last week's weigh-in because I had an interview that I will blog more about later.... but I did weigh-in today and I lost the 1.2 pounds that I had gained the last time that I weighed-in!!! Yea for me! I was so excited to not have another gain!!!

Because of my new job, which I am starting on the 6th of December, I won't be able to go to the Tuesday meeting, so I'm not sure when my next weigh-in will be, but I will definitely blog more about it when I do. I have added a ticker on the left of this page that will keep my weight updated.... when I created this, I put in my start weight and my goal weight, so it's all out there now! On the Weight Watcher's scale, I started at 247 lbs and my goal is to lose 102 lbs and be down to at least 145. The weight-range for my height is 117-146, and once I have lost 10% of my starting weight, I have to 'declare' a goal weight, so I went ahead and chose one now. I still have just over 9 pounds to lose before I hit my 10% milestone. Hopefully, I will be hitting that in the next few weeks.

Weight Watchers just introduced a HUGE change to their Points program, so I am hoping that this will really help me to lose more and get to the 10% goal quickly.

The stats for this week:
Week 9: 1.2 lbs lost!!!
Total: 14.8 lbs lost
Pounds to Goal Weight: 87.2 to go

Gearing up for the Christmas Holidays.... we can do this, we can do this!!! =) LOL

Turkeys, Hams, & Bears, Oh My!!!!

2010-11-28T17:24:00.014-06:00

We had a good Thanksgiving break... and we ate too much, of course!!! We went to my Aunt Kelley's to eat on Thursday and we had a good time hanging out and pigging out! =) She had ham (our favorite). Even though we had ham at my family's Thanksgiving last weekend.... it was good there too and I'll bet that if someone offered us ham for next weekend, we'd eat that too!

We didn't have a DJ gig this weekend, and it almost felt like we were playing hookie.... we weren't, but it's very rare for us to not have to be somewhere. I kept thinking, 'Was I supposed to do something or be somewhere today?'

I'm pretty sure that we weren't supposed to do anything important today except have some fun at the ZOO!!! So that is exactly what we did!!!

Here is Jayna showing off her zoo pass:

Barrett doesn't have one.... sorry, Bear!The first place that Jayna always wants to go when we get to the zoo....

See the Flamingos!!!
All of them were sleeping...

This was the first time that we took the kids down to the 'Texas Wild' section. And we didn't really know what to expect. We didn't know that they had all of these things for kids and we weren't prepared to pay for a train ride, carousel ride, ice cream, etc. And we didn't... kids are so awesome in the way that you can get them refocused on something else so easily (most of the time). =)

This is free and was fun for them to get into. And we got some cute pictures too!

Jayna, AKA, the Superstar!

Barrett, AKA, the Navigator!

All around the zoo exhibits, they have these phones that you can pick up and listen to facts about animals in and around the exhibit. Very Cool!

Admiring the Bald Eagle and trying to explain to Jayna why it is a symbol for our country... I would have passed the conversation over to Bonham, because he is the History-man, but he was wrangling our other one...

Jayna has the wingspan of a Barn Owl.... interesting. Maybe she will scare away any rodents that try to come in the shed or the house or the yard... I know it's a lot to ask a 4 yr. old to stand around like this for hours, just to scare away mice we haven't even seen yet.... but she's a trooper! hahaha

This was something that Jayna couldn't stop talking about doing again! She couldn't wait to show Bonham the birds and how she feeds them. This trip with feeding the birds was actually a lot better than the first time (you know, the time that I took them and got some great shots and then deleted all of those pictures.... I shouldn't have brought it up again - now I'm sad again.) J/K These pictures are cute too....

'The Bird-Whisperer',

The Man!

Calk, Bonham Calk

They loved feeding the birds and birds love to eat. Can you say, 'Win-Win'?

We went to see the Tigers and only got one picture.....

These next few pictures are HiLaRiOuS!!!!

Jayna's turned out cute, but then Barrett and the gorilla

couldn't get on the same page for their picture together....

See Below:

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If you noticed that my regularly scheduled post about WW was not up this last week.... I wasn't able to make it my Tuesday meeting. I thought about trying to get into another meeting to weigh in, but time got away from me.... I don't know what the numbers will look like this coming Tuesday, but hopefully, it's a loss of some sort. I still have so much to lose. There is no reason to put it off - now is the time!!! So, Let's Do This!!! =)

I'll update you more on the things going on around here very, very soon!

Merry Christmas to Jayna & Barrett!!! (Part 2)

2010-11-23T08:00:00.004-06:00

Here it is!!!! Well, the progression.... see it to the end! =)

our old playgroud.... sad, isn't it?

The slide is on.... and they are going on their first trip down!

Fun, Fun, Fun!!! Jayna wanted to play out there until it was dark.... and we let her!

Thanks again, Nana & Papa!!!

Merry Christmas to Jayna & Barrett!!! (Part 1)

2010-11-22T12:00:00.003-06:00

For Christmas, my parents (AKA: Nana & Papa), bought the kids a swing set!!! It came in this past week, so we started setting it up today. The instructions say that it should take 6-8 hours to complete and even though we knew we would lose some daylight, we couldn't help but get started on it! Bonham, Jayna, and I started to get everything out of the box and put together and then my parent's came over after the football game... and then Barrett woke up from his nap and came out to help too. =) We got a lot done in just under 4 hours, so we should be able to put the last little bit on it tomorrow and then the kids can play!

I tried to take pictures of the process, as much as I could. I was able to snap more shots after my parents got there and they had some extra hands. =)

Here is Jayna showing you the 'Before' shot of the area where the swing set will go....

Still in the box...

The box was actually a lot smaller than we thought it would be

But we went through the checklist and all of the pieces were there!

And for a little over an hour, it was just me, Bonham, & Jayna, so I didn't take any pictures. After my parents got there, I pulled the camera back out and got the rest of these pictures...

(Everyone thinks that they have to smile, just because I'm taking their picture. That's why we have so many 'goofy' shots)

For the most part, the instructions were good. We only caught a few mistakes. =) Fortunately , my husband and my dad know so much about construction that they could tell if something wasn't right with the instructions and then they could correct it. I feel bad for the families that don't have that and they might get stuck on a step, or go as far as taking the set back because they didn't know what to do next...
Look at our rinky-dink little slide in comparison to the new one going up...
Jayna, our little helper:
The steps are on!

Barrett is ready to get the slide up now!

Jayna was kind of getting in the way =)

So I told her to get some dry grass for us to make a campfire later...

Barrett wanted a close up...

'Good job, Nana! Hold that board right there....'
Bonham always has to make things look complicated.... For those of you who don't know him really well, it's all an act! hahaha

Jayna's close up:

get the kids a swing set and they want to play in the box... typical

Dork!

It's getting dark.... Nana went to make some dinner.

Kids are snacking before dinner...
A few last things by the light of the moon... (really, a flashlight)

I will be posting more pictures tomorrow of the finished product! Stay tuned!

Our little climber....

2010-11-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

Barrett loves to climb on EVERYTHING!!! Here are just a few pics of him!

The other day, we were all out playing in the yard and I told Barrett, 'Go play in the sand box'. I turn around and....Silly Barrett!!!

WW Update - Week 10

2010-11-16T14:19:00.002-06:00

Sad news to report... I gained. Gasp! I know. =)

I did really bad the week before last.... and then I did better this last week, but not as good as I could have. I am going to try harder this week, because I am only a few weeks away from the first of December and it doesn't look like I will be reaching the goal I set.

One thing that our meeting leader says:
'Your weight-loss journey is a lot like a marriage. You don't throw it all away because of a few bad days.'
This is very true. So many times when I'm on a weight loss plan and I start to struggle with it, I give up. Not this time! I am going to work harder this week so that I can see a BIG loss next week!

The stats for this week:
Week 9: 1.2 lbs gained
Total: 13.6 lbs lost
Pounds to Goal Weight: 88.4 to go

No WW Update

2010-11-10T15:04:00.002-06:00

I didn't go to my Weight Watchers meeting yesterday, so I don't have any numbers to report.... I should have some for you next week. =)

I did good at the start of last week, but didn't do as well over the weekend. I am going to try harder this week,so that when I go back, I can get another 5 lb star and be on my way to my goal for the first of December!!!

Until next time....

Dear DJ Diary - I don't want to work with you!!!!

2010-11-06T09:30:00.004-05:00

Dear DJ Diary,

Some people are difficult! We had this bride inquire about our services over a month ago for a wedding that was 7 months away (now 6 months away). She seemed nice enough... she wanted me to send her the contract and questionnaire. She also wanted some references. A few weeks passed and she called me to let me know that she had finally contacted the references. I did appreciate her getting back with me, but I was starting to feel 'funny' about the fact that it took her 2 weeks just to call the references. Sometimes we have a 'feeling' about gigs and the people that we work with - good and bad. We have never backed out of a gig after contracts are signed and money is exchanged. I can't even think of a time that we have turned someone away because of this feeling.... until now.

After the second time she contacted me, she told me that she hadn't heard back from 2 of the 3 references and that one that she talked to said, 'they did a good job, but they didn't make any announcements, per the bride's request.' True, but not true. We did a good job! =) But we did make announcements, so that frustrated me. The bride at that wedding didn't want us to announce the cake cutting and her dance with her granddad, but other than that, we announced everything else. This reference was the sister of the bride and the only reason that I gave this potential client her number was because when she initially called, we had just done this wedding and because it was so awesome, I wanted a good report from it. Does that make since? Anyway, I thought that the bride might be on her honeymoon... not important, just giving some background. I was just mad that the reference didn't go as well as I had hoped.

She emailed me about a week ago and asked me to contact her if anyone else contacted us about that date, because (she said) 'we are already working together'. I really don't consider this 'working together', because all she has done is question every aspect of what we do. I understand that people are particular about their weddings and that's fine, but it's insulting when people act this way. I told her that I would let her know if someone else calls about that date. And no one has... which is probably good (for now), because I think that if they had, she would have sent in her stuff. LOL

In her most recent email, she started asking us to change the wording in our contract to suit her needs.... um, no. And then she said:
'After I hear from one more reference, I will send in the contract and deposit. Once you receive the deposit, I would love to see examples of music commonly requested at different points throughout the reception. What do you all wear to the event? I spoke to a few DJ's who wear Tux's. While that's certainly nice, I would not expect that. Formal attire would be good though. Just wondering.' I know that email can be interpreted differently than expected, but this just rubbed me the wrong way. Bonham normally wears a suit for weddings, unless the bride requests otherwise, and I wear black slacks and a nice, dressy shirt.

Also, her wedding is Abilene at a place that we have DJ'd before. It's a great venue and the owners are really nice. When we originally spoke, she wanted to know if we had ever been out there. I told her that we had been there once before. She had wanted references from us of people that we had done at that venue and around the same age-range. Even if you aren't a DJ, are you getting where I'm coming from? We don't' ask people their ages when we DJ their events. And since we have only done 1 gig out there, that limited the amount of references that met her criteria. I did tell her to talk to the venue owner about us, but I guess she never did... I asked her in subsequent email, she didn't say.

This post is a lot longer than I anticipated, so I will try to wrap it up! Basically, when she emailed me to let me know that she was waiting on one more reference, I emailed her back and said:
'I appreciate you getting back in touch with me. Unfortunately, we are not going to be able to proceed with trying to book your wedding. I apologize for any inconvenience and I do wish you the best in finding a DJ that suits your needs for your event.'
I tried to phrase it in a nice way, but I wanted to let her know that we weren't interested in her business.

This is what she sent back:
'I am very disappointed and am not sure I understand. What happened? On Monday you were still planning to proceed and told me you would contact me prior to booking another event. This is very unprofessional and I have spent a lot of time reaching out to the references you provided me.. I would like an explanation please.'

And then I said:
'No one else has called about that day. We strive to be professional and we want all of our clients to be extremely happy, but after much consideration, I just don't feel like we will be the right fit for your reception. I know that you have been doing your research and gathering information, but we also state in our contract that we will hold a date for 2 weeks and we have been holding this date for you for over a month. From past experiences, when we hold a date for this long, people tend to not book, or they cancel before the event and we are left with an open date. Since your wedding is still 6 months away, no money has been exchanged, and no contracts have been signed, I feel like now is the best time to dissolve this relationship.
Again, I do apologize. I am confident that you will be able to find someone to meet your needs and provide you with the service that you desire.'

I am still waiting for a response to the last email. Bonham thinks that she will ask me for more of an explanation. The funny thing is that when people decide not to book us, we don't expect an explanation from them.... we just move on. Most of time, someone will say, 'I found someone cheaper, I'm going with someone else, or my mom already booked someone, etc.' And we leave it at that. I think that it would be unprofessional for us to pry anymore than that. It's such a double-standard when they don't want to book us versus if we don't want to book them. Why is it not okay for us as a business owner for us to turn down business? We aren't obligated to work for someone.

I don't know if you read part of this.... all of this.... or none of this, but thanks for reading. I am just venting. =)

Best Invention Ever....Yeah, I Think So!

2010-11-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

You probably think that I am talking about some little gizmo.... a laptop, an iphone, etc. But I'm not. I'm talking about my dishwasher! Yes, my dishwasher. =) Strange? Well, try going 3 months, washing all of your dishes by hand, when you've always had a dishwasher. It's not easy. My former roomies can tell you - I hate, hate, hate doing the dishes. I would rather clean the bathroom, than do the dishes. But being a stay-at-home mom, dishes are at the top of the list and that bathrooms.... that's another story. Moving on... =)

The house that we are living in didn't have a dishwasher, so Bonham cut out the cabinet and set one in there (teasing me). And we have been waiting for cooler weather for someone (my dad) to crawl under the house and run the electricity and connect the water/drain thing. I don't completely understand all of that. All I know is that I have a dishwasher now!!! My hands are so grateful.

Catching up with the Calks!

2010-11-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

I do a lot of posts about specific things that we do, but I thought that I would give everyone an overview of life-in-general. So here it goes!

The kids are in a Parent's Day Out program on Tuesday and Thursday from 9-2. They love it (Jayna more than Barrett). This gives me time to go to my Weight Watcher's meeting, do some grocery shopping, clean the house, etc.

Every Wednesday we go visit my Mamo for lunch and try to do something fun with her.

Mondays and Fridays.... I don't really know what we do. I just know that they get absorbed into the weekend or a busy weekday!!!

Our weekends have been pretty busy since we moved, with a DJ almost every weekend, and sometimes 2 in a weekend. Things are slowing down during the holiday season. We only have 1 DJ gig booked for November. It's nice to have a little break, but honestly.... it's better to have the money! =)

Bonham is subbing everyday of the week now, so that is good. He is making some contacts at the schools he subs at and we are hoping that it will lead to a full-time position. There is a special ed position that opened at a school district a little closer to our house that he applied for. They are accepting applications until 12/17, so we are thinking that they might be trying to fill the position for the next semester. Please say a little prayer for Bonham that he is able to get a full-time position. That would be great.... =)

Pajamas & Pumpkins

2010-11-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Last week at Parent's Day Out, the kids had 'Pajama Day'. This is something that Jayna really looks forward too... Every daycare or program she has been a part of normally has a pajama day and she gets so excited. Barrett, on the other hand, he could care less... he was probably more confused than anything! =)

After we got home and had a snack, we carved our pumpkins! Here are some pictures from that:

Surprise! Someone is taking our picture!

Barrett is becoming a little ham, like Jayna used to be....

She won't even look up at the camera to smile... she just keeps on working.

(I carved that - we can't trust Barrett with a knife.) =)

So proud of his pumpkin...
Everytime I take his picture, he tries to say, 'Cheese' or, 'Smile'

I let Jayna make her own design for her pumpkin. (no knives for her either)
And then she has to sign her work, of course...

pumpkins are hard to write on...
Finished product:

Hope that you had a good Halloween!

WW Update - Week 9

2010-11-02T14:48:00.003-05:00

And the numbers are in for this week.... I lost 2.2 lbs! I can't say that I did the best at tracking my points.... and can't even tell you if I really 'worked out', but I know that I lost the 2 lbs that I was shooting for! So I guess that's all that really matters. I really don't know what to set my goals as this week.... I have a goal for the first week of December. I want to lost another 9.2 lbs on or before the first week of December. This is another 'milestone' for Weight Watchers and it is a point that I am eager to reach.

I was telling Bonham's grandma today (Hi Shirley!) that I didn't want this blog to turn into my Weight Watchers blog, so I do apologize. I will try to post more about the kids and what we are doing soon.... I promise.

The Stats for this week:
Week 8: 2.2 lbs lost
Total: 14.8 lbs lost
Pounds to Goal Weight: 87.2 to go!

Next Goal: Lose another 9.2 lbs by December 7th!!! Wish me luck! =)

WW Update - Week 8

2010-10-27T09:33:00.003-05:00

8 weeks in and still going strong! LOL =)

At my weigh-in yesterday, I lost 1.6 lbs! So I met my goal of at least 1 pound and we got a zoo membership to the Fort Worth Zoo, so I got in 2 days of walking last week.... About 2 hours of walking each time. I think that counts. I also just tried to 'do more'.... more trips to the mail box, taking out the trash, etc. I also tracked my points better this week. The last few days of the week, I trailed off a little, but all you can do is try again! So this week, I am making very similar goals:

1.Working out 2 times for at least 30 minutes
2.Lose at least 2 pounds
3.Track!!!!

The Stats for this week:

Week 7: 1.6 pounds lost
Total: 12.6 pounds lost
Pounds to Goal Weight: 89.4 to go!

Here's to another good week! Wish me luck! =)

Pumpkin Patch Pictures!!!

2010-10-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

This isn't your traditional pumpkin patch, but it was close to Mamo's house, so we went...

Jayna, please look at the camera...

Barrett: Climbing, of course!

He is so proud of himself, even though he climbs on everything!

This is one that he picked out and we are going to make a bird house out of it. I will have to post pictures of that project. It's all dried out and ready for us to carve!

Both kids are drawn to the smaller pumpkins.... (thank goodness, because of the BIG ones were pretty pricey!)

Trying to get them both in one shot....

Mamo...

I couldn't hear what she was saying... but I think she was talking about trying to carry one...

Over here guys!
It is really hard to get them to both look at the camera!

Now.... trying to get ALL of them to look at me - Yeah Right! I joke with Bonham that we've got 2 kids that don't listen and a Mamo who can't hear! LOL

Look at that BIG one! $50! (we didn't get that one)

Trying to pick it up....

Okay, he's ready to go!

Not really impressive, I know... but we might try a 'real' pumpkin patch before they are all gone. =)

Deleted pictures...

2010-10-25T09:37:00.002-05:00

I was planning on posting some extremely cute pictures on here of when the kids and I went to the zoo last week. On Wednesday, Mamo went with us and then I took the kids again on Friday (just the 3 of us). I took some pictures on my phone both days.... some of the best pictures were of the kids feeding the birds.

When I take pictures on my phone, I take out the little card, put it in a bigger card, and then I can put them on my computer.... but first, I have to save them from the phone to the card. It's not that hard of a process and I have done it several times, but I messed up this time. =( I copied the pictures to the card. Then I opened another album in my phone and I copied those to the card too. Yesterday, I went to look at the pictures and all that was there were the ones from the second album, which are a bunch of old pictures that I have already put on the computer and should have deleted from the phone! The pictures from the zoo and a few others - GONE! So this is what I figured happened.... instead of 'moving' the pictures to the card, I 'copied' them, and I think it replaced the old pictures with the new ones. I know that I can take more pictures.... but they were so cute!!!

I apologize that I haven't been posting very much recently. Hopefully, things will slow down long enough for me to get more up here soon....

Until next time!

WW Update - Week 7

2010-10-19T21:48:00.004-05:00

Well, I did it! I lost 2 pounds. Actually, I lost 2.6 pounds! I didn't track like I said that I would.... and I didn't really work out, but whatever I did, it worked! =)

This week, my goal is to lose at least 1 pound. I know that's not a very big goal, but it means that I will reach a particular mark on the weight watchers path that is a big deal. Also, even though 2.6 isn't a HUGE loss, it's a substantial amount in 1 week since the average is between .5 lbs and 2 lbs. So I figure 1 is good for a follow up to losing 2.6. Does that make any since?

I am going to set the bar a little lower with the goals this week:

Working out 2 times for at least 30 minutes
Lose at least 1 pound
Track!!!!

In the meeting today, the leader challenged my mom and I to check each other's weekly trackers.... so that we will be held accountable. So I should be able to stick to it.

Weight Loss Totals:
Week 6: 2.6 pounds lost

Total: 11.0 pounds lost
Pounds to Goal Weight: 91.0 to go!

Until next time!

So Not Motivated...

2010-10-18T09:58:00.003-05:00

Lately, I have been so good at posting, but the lazy bug has hit! I haven't been motivated to write or post pictures.... so, I apologize for that. We did go to the pumpkin patch last week, but I didn't really get any good pictures. I have a few and I will have to post them here soon.

I took the kids to see Mamo yesterday, because it was the anniversary of my Papo's death. Papo is my dad's dad. Yesterday marked 10 years since he passed away. I thought that Mamo could use the company.... We took her some flowers for her and some for Papo. We also took her some pizza. After we ate, we went over to the cemetery and she showed me around. I haven't been to the cemetery since his funeral. The cemetery is in Saginaw and I have passed it several hundreds of times.... I just never stop. Mamo showed my all of the veterans' graves. 3 times a year, she goes around and puts flags or flowers on their graves in their honor. I took some pictures of the really old graves.... some of the oldest in there were buried in 1899. I like old graves. I think they are neat, during the day. But at night.... cemeteries are a different story!

We're about to go outside, so I am going to wrap this up! I will try to post more tomorrow!

WW Update - Week 6

2010-10-13T09:57:00.004-05:00

Not much to report here... I weigh exactly the same as I did last week. If you are wondering about my goals.... I didn't work out 3 times and I didn't track religiously. =( This is a new week and I am going to do better!

Here are the stats anyway:

Weight Loss Totals:
Week 5: 0 pounds lost, 0 pounds gained
Total: 8.4 pounds lost
Pounds to Goal Weight: 93.6 to go!

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Since this isn't a very long post, I thought I would add a little extra.... Bonham is at work and the kids and I are about to go see Mamo and go to the pumpkin patch! Hopefully, I will have lots of good pictures to share. Bonham is working today at an Accelerated School. He texted me to let me know that he likes it. Yesterday, he was at an Elementary school in a 4th grade class. He said that is was the best group of kids that he has worked with as a sub so far. He definitely likes the younger classes better.... the attitudes aren't as bad and the language is a more mild! LOL

Keeping this short and sweet... hope that you are doing well. =)

Until next time...

Died and gone to HEB....

2010-10-11T10:26:00.003-05:00

When I saw this last Saturday, I just had to take a picture....

Since we have moved out of Abilene, we haven't had an HEB to shop at.... very sad. If you've ever shopped at an HEB, you know what I am talking about. It has a lot of 'off brands/store brands' and name brands, so you have a great selection to choose from. We have been back in Abilene several times since we moved at the end of July. Every time we are there, we have stocked up on a few of our favorite (and inexpensive) items. =) We really miss HEB, especially when we see the grocery bill at another store!!!!

Well, I saw this HEB in Burleson on our way to a DJ gig, so we had to stop when we were done and get a few things, of course. I have heard that they are going to be building more in this area in the near future. Yippee!!! I can't wait!

Hunting with Grandpa!

2010-10-07T14:42:00.008-05:00

The last 2 times that we have been in Abilene, Jayna has gone hunting with Robert (AKA: Grandpa). I'm not sure who had more fun, but I know who did more work!!!! Jayna loved going hunting, even though she didn't shoot anything. I think Robert let her shoot the dirt with her BB gun. =)

These pictures were taken with my phone, so they aren't the highest quality, but you get the idea.....

WW Update - Week 5

2010-10-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's already been a month! In a way, its gone fast.... and then again, it seems like it's taking forever. =) I am happy to report that I did have another loss! So, that is exciting! But again... I didn't try really hard this week. I didn't track my points while we were out of town, I ate out, I had ice cream (again).... but I still lost 1.8 lbs! I was quite shocked! But I almost feel guilty for a loss..... strange.

My goals for this week:

Workout at least 3 times this week for 30 minutes of more
Track my points - religiously!
And I want to lose more than 2 pounds this week, which should happen, if I do the things above!

Here are the stats for this week and my progress:

Weight Loss Totals:
Week 4: 1.8 pounds lost
Total: 8.4 pounds lost
Pounds to Goal Weight: 93.6 to go!

Loving this weather....

2010-10-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

This weather has been so great for the kids to go outside and not get too hot.... I love it! We went to the park yesterday and had a picnic. We stayed out there for a few hours, but then we had to head back for Barrett's nap.

This is a newer park in Azle and they have lots of thing to climb on, so of course Barrett had a great time! Look at this little rock wall climber!

He climbed to the top all by himself and he wanted to climb over the top of it. (I didn't let him) I think his goal is to give me a heart attack! I would have taken a picture of him at the top, but for obvious reasons, I needed both of my hands free! =)

Jayna spinning around....
This is more like the size I am comfortable with!

Slide Static:

Then we went on a half-mile walk around the park (to really wear them out!) and there are little exercise stations around the trail.... we had to stop at everyone of them! Jayna wanted to look at the pictures and tell me how to do the exercises. It was so funny!

At one station, we saw this fuzzy caterpillar. They look scary, so we didn't touch it.... They may not be dangerous, but they look it, so better safe than sorry. The kids love bug-hunting!

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This last weekend, we were in Abilene and I hardly took any pictures - bad mom! I did get these of Barrett swinging on Grandma & Grandpa's backyard swing though:

Check back tomorrow for more.... =)

Until next time!

It's Not Here Yet, But They Are Ready!!!!!

2010-10-04T14:30:00.006-05:00

For Halloween, that is! We got their costumes over the weekend and they love them! Jayna has been saying for some time now, that she wanted to be a Super Hero for Halloween, so I am making Barrett do the same.... because I think it's cute to make them match! hehehehe =)

She says, "Up, up, and away to save the day!'

She's trying to teach Barrett....

Showing off their capes!

With counting today, I have 28 days to get them both look at the camera and have regular smiles (not cheesy ones)! We can do it!!!!

Rayfield Wright

2010-10-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

A little over a week ago, I started working at t local restaurant to earn a little extra cash, because we weren't sure if Bonham would ever get a sub job! If I would have waited a little longer.... hehehe =)

Oh well, it's too late now! And the extra cash will be nice anyway. So tonight was first night to work on my own. I did alright, made a little green. =) This week, I am working 1 night and next week I am working 2 nights. I am hoping to get about 3 shifts a week to make it worth my while.

While I was working Wednesday night and a man came in and put in a to-go order. Someone said that he was a former Dallas Cowboy, so of course I texted my husband, AKA: Mr. Dallas Cowboy! He asked me to get a picture of him. Mr. Wright was very polite and humble about the whole thing. He jokingly told me that that wanted my autograph!

Here is his picture and what he wrote to Bonham:

Very Cool! =)

Mamo Day!!!

2010-09-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

Every Wednesday is 'Mamo Day'. I take the kids (and Bonham, when he is not working) and we go see my Mamo (my dad's mom). She enjoys the weekly visits with the kids, getting out of the house and just having someone to talk to! And the kids have the best time with her too!

I am writing this before Wednesday, since we are heading out of town and I have been wanting to post this for a while now. Our plan for Wednesday of this week is to take Mamo to story time at the local library with the kids. We were going to take her last week, but I had to take Jayna to the doctor, so we didn’t make it on time. I think that she will like it… and the kids will too! LOL

In one of our previous visits, we went to a movie (just me, Jayna, and Mamo). We saw Toy Story 3, in 3D. It was a good movie, I laughed, I cried…. =)

Jayna didn’t want to keep the glasses on the whole time. She loves going to the movies and getting popcorn. She ate a half off a large popcorn by herself! A little more than half-way through the movie, I realized why she didn’t want to keep her 3D glasses on… other than the fact that they are made for adult sized heads, the lenses were covered in buttery fingerprints! We switched and I tried to get her to stop touching them. It was so funny!

Mamo was trying to tell to keep them on to take the picture...Now, give me a BIG CHEESY smile!

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Most Wednesdays, we go to lunch and we will either go play at McDonald’s or Chuck E. Cheese. Mamo is like a big kid! She is so fun! Last Wednesday, we went to the park to swing and slide, etc. The kids had a great time, and it looks like Mamo did too! Just look at these pictures:

Mamo had climbed up on the play ground. I thought that she was just going to walk around there with Barrett, and then I looked over and she was starting to slide!!! I couldn't get my phone out fast enough to take her picture. And she couldn't hear me telling her to wait....

She made it!

After she slid down, she said that she didn't realize how narrow the slides were. (She was okay)
I asked her if she wanted help getting up.... she said, 'no'. She's kind of stubborn that way. =)

Once Barrett saw me take a picture of Mamo like this, he wanted me to take his picture too!

Just a few more pictures....

We had a good time and we are looking forward to more fun times!!! =)

WW Update - Week 4

2010-09-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

So I really didn't do well this past week with tracking my points and a few times I used my extra points, but didn't keep track of those either. I was going in there expecting to not lose at all, but I was just hoping that I wouldn't gain!!! I shaved my legs that morning (every little bit helps) and I tried to have a light breakfast and not too many liquids.... all these little tricks that I learned from watching The Biggest Loser! LOL

So, what's the number? I lost 1.4 pounds again! I was very surprised! And now I think, 'How much would I have lost if I didn't eat a whole pint of Haggan Daas? Who knows! Who cares! I enjoyed and even though I wasn't very motivated last week, I am more motivated this week to have had a loss. I think in a way I was prepared to have a gain and give up.... Our WW leader talked about 'Positive Self Talk' week before last and she talked about this exact thing - the irony. She mentioned that we set ourselves up to fail, then we fail, and then we feel as though we have succeeded in our failure. Does that make since? I understood what she meant and it has happened so many times... there is this little voice inside that says, 'You knew you wouldn't stick to it and you will always be fat.' I am really hoping that the voice will just be quiet and go bother someone else!!! hahaha =)

Weight Loss Totals:

Week 3: 1.4 pounds lost

Total: 6.6 pounds lost

Pounds to Goal Weight: 95.4 to go!

Our Dream Home....

2010-09-28T10:00:00.001-05:00

Bonham and I are dreamers... and if you are going to dream, dream BIG! We would love to have a place like this someday.....

With a nice view....

Tons of trees....

Nice Paths to walk.... and a gazebo....

It would be nice to sit on the back porch and look out at a view like this every morning....

We DJ'd a wedding at this ranch last Saturday. The bride and groom were probably some of the most thoughtful people we have ever worked with. They even asked us to sign their guest book. No one ever asks us to sign the guest book. They had place settings and little 'thank you' gifts for us. All of their guests totaled about 40 people, so it was a smaller, more intimate wedding. Everyone was nice to work with and no one there claimed to be a DJ! (Inside joke, that I will have to post more about later!)

I didn't feel like I had taken enough pictures of this place before the sun went down, so I took a few more.....

This is the back of the house....
And this is the front of the house....
These pictures don't do it justice.

The funny thing is that Bonham had literally asked me a few days before this if I would like some type of 'log-cabin-look' on our Forever House. And I said, 'Um, no'. =) After seeing this house, I'm okay with it. This wood is actually Canadian Cedar and it was absolutely beautiful.

This ranch was probably on several thousand acres.... we were doing some calculating to see how many years we would have to work, what we have to sell, how long we have to eat 'beans & rice, rice & beans', how many times I have to make my own laundry detergent, and how many coupons I would have to clip for us to save enough money to ever be able to afford something like that! Yeah right! We would have to win the lottery! LOL Too bad we don't play.

We might have to go with something a little more modest! =)

Love should not be divided...

2010-09-27T09:40:00.004-05:00

But Multiplied. (According a new show on TLC called Sister Wives). Did anyone else watch this? It is just so mind boggling! The show is about a polygamist family. This man married his first wife 20 years ago, then the second wife 17 years ago and then the third wife 16 years ago. Weird! I've seen little shows now and then about polygamy, but I think this is going to keep following them around like the Duggars and all those other family shows. Even though those women say that they like the arrangement, I feel so bad for them.... I wonder if they have issues with self-confidence. Or maybe they all have issues, period. I can't imagine sharing my husband.

And those poor kids.... what a messed-up way to live your life. Anyway, it's just a sad thing to watch. A part of me doesn't want to watch it.... but it's interesting too. What a dilemma! hahahaha

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On a different note.... the class that Bonham had on Friday was a Resource/Content Mastery class and he said that he really enjoyed it. He said, 'I actually got to teach them!' =)

Today he is in a High School French class. The special instructions on the job stated that French was required. Well that's good! I told him that maybe they could teach him some French and then he can teach it to Jayna.

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We are DJing in Abilene this weekend. We have a gig on Thursday night and on Saturday night, busy times. =)

I have a few other things that I was going to blog about, but I thought that I would save them for another time. I don't want this post to be too random!

Bonham's First Day of School!!!

2010-09-24T08:48:00.004-05:00

It's about time! Bonham has been signed up sub at a local school district, which will remain nameless (well, until I forget that I said it would and then I accidentally mention in another post). He has been signed up/approved/employed, whatever you want to call it since before school started. We have been told by several people in several districts that you could almost sub everyday in larger districts, but he wasn't receiving any phone calls and nothing was coming up on the sub-finder..... He called and left messages for the sub-coordinator and sent her emails... still no response. Occasionally, an aide job would pop up, but they would be gone just as fast. He was finally able to get in touch with the sub-coordinator earlier this week and she said that there was a computer problem and that he was only signed up for 1st grade & below and aide positions. Well, no wonder! She said that she fixed and almost immediately some jobs came up.... but again, they were aide positions.... no teachers' positions. Not that there is anything wrong with aide positions, but they don't pay as much as the regular teaching positions do per day. So he called her again the next day and she told him that she had corrected and that the jobs just go really fast..... well, later that day, a teaching position came up and he took it!!! We don't really know if the second time he talked to her was when she fixed it or not, but it doesn't matter now... it's fixed and while the jobs still go really fast, at least they are there!!!

Bonham had his first day of school yesterday. He was in a Technology Applications class at a high school. He didn't want me to take his picture, but he finally gave in.... I told him that I would blog about whether or not I had pictures, so it would be good if he would just cooperate. =)

And this is what I got:

He was going to high school, so he needed to get his 'mean face'. This is more like a 'goofy' face, instead of a mean face though....

Okay, now for a real picture.... =)

He is substituting in a Special Ed class today at an Elementary School, so hopefully that goes well for him. Yesterday, after I dropped the kids off at Mother's Day Out and I came back home.... it was so quiet. Too quiet. It gave me an eerie, uneasy feeling. I had to turn on some tunes, just to break up the silence. LOL

Hope all is well... until next time!

WW Update - Week 3

2010-09-21T20:43:00.002-05:00

I'm not really sure exactly how to label the weeks.... this was 2nd full week of WW (Weight Watchers), but my 3rd meeting, so the start of week #3. At this weigh-in, I lost 1.4 lbs, so I've lost a total of 5.2 lbs. I got a 5 lb sticker. I think I get one for every 5 lbs, when I reach 5% body weight lost and 10% total body weight lost. I was hoping that this week would have been more, but at least it was a loss and not a gain. =)

I started out this last week with a rotten and defeated attitude, but I turned it around and stayed within my daily and additional weekly points.

... Just a short post for today. I will try to post more tomorrow....

It Definitely Tastes like 'Diet' Food

2010-09-19T20:53:00.002-05:00

I love to bake, but most things that you bake are made with flour (high points), butter (higher points), and sugar (pretty high points too!). A Few weeks ago, I had made these picture perfect blueberry muffins, but I didn't take any pictures of them. They were pretty good right out of the oven, and they were okay the next day. Strawberries are lower in points, so I really wanted to make some of those too. WW website has a feature that you can put all of the ingredients in and it will tell you how many points something would be. Bonham entered it all in and based on the substitute ingredients that I used, including Whole Wheat Flour, No-Calorie Sweetener, and Applesauce, instead of oil, these muffins are about 2.5 pts each. They looked pretty good.....

They weren't as pretty as the blueberry ones that I had made, because I didn't do the streusel topping, because that would have added another point to each. I think that they look pretty good though. They definitely tasted healthy and they weren't as sweet as I would have wanted, but it's alright. I put a little fat-free cool whip on top and I ate it.

Jayna tried the batter, because she always wants to do that when we're baking.... and she gagged! =) LOL She's such a drama queen! She blamed it on my using applesauce. She asked me to make her some without applesauce.... maybe another time. She didn't want to try the muffins after they were cooked. Oh well, I guess. =)

Barrett tried the batter and he liked it. He tried the muffin and he liked it too! He'll eat anything. Bonham and I didn't try the batter. I was scared! It looked gritty, but the muffins weren't gritty. They just weren't as sweet as I expected them to be. Trying to find sweet stuff that we can eat that is low in points is kind of a challenge. There is this dessert that I really like. It's a Limeade Pie, but you can make it with lemonade or pink lemonade. Anyway, the ingredients are cream cheese, cool whip, eagle brand milk, and limeade all mixed together and put into a graham cracker crust. Then you freeze it. It's really good, but extremely high in points. We already buy fat free cream cheese. There is fat free cool whip. And I few days ago, I found fat free sweetened condensed milk! I was so excited, because now I can make that dessert and really lower the points..... I got home and started calculating the points..... no such luck! I should have taken the calculator to the store with me!!! The crust alone is 16 points for the whole pie, so you are starting with 2 points per slice of whatever you make if you cut the pie in 8 pieces. I was very disheartened. I continued to calculate and found that all of the ingredients together would make for about a 5 pt piece of pie. That's really not too bad, but I was hoping it would be less.

Instead of making that pie, Bonham suggested that we make a pudding pie. So we did! =) And even with the crust, it's only 3 points! We used Sugar Free, Fat Free Pudding mix and Skim Milk. That has been good to have something sweet that doesn't totally ruin that day's points.

My next weigh-in is on Tuesday and I feel pretty confident that I will do well. I struggled at the first part of the week with negative thoughts of not wanting to do this, etc. I am back on track and it's a daily battle to not give into temptation...... daily, hourly, sometimes minutely (is that a word?). Check back soon for this week's results.

Goodnight. =)

They keep getting bigger!!!!

2010-09-16T19:24:00.003-05:00

We ( I really mean Bonham) found another snake! This one was bigger than his brother (or however they are related). And he was in the same place as the last one, so at least we know where to be more cautious. I just asked Bonham today if we might want to take out the bushes right next to the house, just to reduce the snake's temptation to come closer to our house.... =)

Bonham tried to stretch it out so that we could show the difference in length, but after a snake is killed, it still has some nerves (I think I am explaining this correctly) that keep reacting, so it kept trying to curl back up. But as you can see... it was bigger than the last one. It's still a juvenile snake though.Bonham asked me if I was going to post pictures of every snake we find. =) I might at first, but I'm sure it will get old if we find too many. For now, it's how we live 'life on the edge'..... Country-living-extremists, you know what I mean! =)

Weight Watchers

2010-09-14T09:00:00.001-05:00

My mom and I joined weight watcher last week. If you have known me for a long time or if you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you might know that I have battled weight for a long time. Bonham and I have both been going back and forth on losing weight and what is the best way to do it. I have literally tried EVERYTHING and if I stick with it for any length of time, I normally end up gaining all of the weight back (and then some). That is pretty common with overweight people who try to lose weight. I think that the biggest challenge is really truly changing the way that we eat for the rest of our lives. This can't be a short-term thing that we only do until we lose the weight; it really has to be the for the long haul.

There are so many people who eat healthy everyday, that's just their way of life. And that is what we need to do. We need to think about the food that we put into our mouths and the effect that it will have on our bodies. This not only has an impact on our weight, but our kids' too. Jayna is starting to get a little pudgy! LOL I really don't want her to have to go through what I have gone through my whole life. I want the kids to be active and have a well balanced diet.

Okay, I am moving on now.... I am not going to post my starting weight, because I'm just not 'there' yet. =) In previous posts, I posted my weight and I thought that it would be a good motivator for all of you to know what it was and knowing that I was embarrassed about the number.... but that idea didn't work. I will tell you that I do weigh more than I did over a year ago when I started losing weight. I lost about 40 pounds by taking an appetite suppressant with a doctor's supervision. I didn't exercise, I just let the medicine do it all for me. And of course, I failed. I wasn't really committed to making a change. I hate to go on and on and say that I am committed now.... I thought I had been in the past... several times.... so I think I am now, I hope. Looking back, I wish that I would have posted more about my weight loss and when I hit certain goals... I wish I would have shared my struggles when I starting putting the weight back on..... I am now 10 pounds heavier than when I did that program, so now I have to lose that much more, again.

If you have never been a part of Weight Watchers, it's actually a really good program. You have so many 'Points' that you can eat per day and an additional 35 points that you can use, but don't have to. This gives you a little wiggle room if you want to have a 'treat'. The good thing about Weight Watchers is that you can eat whatever you want, as long as you count the points of whatever you eat. I have some examples later in the post. The points are calculated by the calories, fat, and fiber in an item. There are a lot of vegetables that are zero points, so that helps when you are hungry and running low on points. Your points are determined by your age, weight, gender, job type (whether you are on your feet or sitting all day, etc.), and your height. I have joined off and on about 4 times over the last 10 years. The only other time that I really did it seriously was right before I got pregnant with Barrett. Bonham and I did the program together. I went to the meetings without him, but we tried recipes and stuck to it. He lost about 30 pounds and I had lost a little over 20 pounds in just a few months.... and I got pregnant with Barrett and the rest was history! Bonham did well to keep the weight off a little longer than I did. LOL

My mom and I are going at 12:30 today to weigh in, so I will try to update the amount lost later today. Weight Watchers sets a weight range based on your height and you have to determine what you want to your goal weight to be. If you hit your goal weight, then you can become a lifetime member and you get to go to meetings to for free if you come in once a month to weigh in and you have maintained your weight within 2 pounds. I don't know a ton about that, because I am quite a ways away from that. =) I am very excited about going this time, because this is first time that there is a class leader who really lost a lot of weight. She told her story at last week's meeting and it seemed so familiar to me. She lost a total of 104 pounds!!! When I have gone to meetings before, the leaders have lost anywhere from 17 to 40 pounds to reach their lifetime membership status. Now, I know that losing weight is hard, no matter how much you have to lose. But when you have over 100 pounds to lose, it helps to have someone who truly understands leading you that direction. She is super sweet and I am looking forward to going back to the next meeting. I want to make her proud.... I want to make my mom proud, and my husband, and my daughter, and my mother-in-law, and my friends, and everyone else who has encouraged me the many, many times I have tried to lose weight. Most of all, I want to be proud of myself!!! I can do this!

So as of right now, Bonham wants to lose about 60 pounds and I need to lose 102 to get to my goal weight. I think my mom wants to lose about 45(ish). Sorry mom, I didn't get your permission to blog about... I guess you'll let me know if it's not alright. =) hehehehe

This is a fish dish that I made the other night..... 5 points:

Beautiful, isn't it? The fish is Flounder

I made this topping, using corn, black beans, spinach, minced garlic, olive oil, and some chili powder

I cooked the topping first and then I cooked the fish. I sprayed some 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter' spray (zero calories), I sprinkled it with garlic salt and chili powder.

Let it simmer for a little while on each side....

Almost done....

Serve it up on a plate with about a 1/3 cup of the topping:

Picture Perfect! I really need to learn to take awesome pictures and maybe get some 'display' dinner plates to take pictures! HAHAHA

The true test... How does it taste?

Bonham?

He was exaggerating a little.... but he said that it wouldn't be the end of the world if I didn't make it again! He added a little ketchup and he ate it.

The thing with this flounder is that it's very, very bland. I have been trying to find ways to 'spice' it up... just something to give it more flavor without adding a ton of calories, i.e. Soy Sauce. These fillets are only 2 points each, and the topping I made was really low in points also.... it sounded like it would be a good mix! I'll keep trying. =)

Now for some Point Trivia:
Have you seen these cosmic brownies? They are awesome little brownies (no, I didn't eat one. We bought them to send a few to Bonham's cousin in college and of course the kids wanted one, so we opened it to give them one.... he won't get the full 6 brownies. Sorry, Leroy)

One little brownie or 1/2 of the packaged brownie (pictured below) is 3 points!

So for a full brownie, it would be 6 points. Not worth it if you only get 32 points a day!

You've probably seen those books, 'Eat This, Not That', well, this is my mini-version of that. Instead of eating that 6 point brownie, I could have 2 pieces of this bread (1 point for 2 slices) with 2 Tablespoons of Peanut Butter (5 pts). The same 6 pts, but now I can toast the bread and spread the PB and have a bigger snack that would keep me fuller longer.

Most of the foods that we have had to choose this week have really made our minds work. We're still trying to retrain our minds to not always think 'fast and easy' for a snack, but put forth some effort for a smarter, lower point snack.

I love to bake and cook, so this week I have looked for some alternatives that I can use in baking. Bonham jokes, 'If you are going to make cookies, just make regular cookies' I think I will at least try to make them with lower calorie ingredients... just to see how it would taste. =)

Food (Sugar) For Thought:

1 Cup of White Sugar is 15 points!

The Sugar Substitute: 1 Cup is only 2 points!

This is quite a bit more expensive than regular white sugar, but most stuff that is better for you is more expensive..... that is just the way it is, unfortunately.

I hope that you enjoyed this Weight Watcher education. =)

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UPDATE!!!!

The official numbers are in:

I lost 3.8 pounds my first week and my mom walked away the winner losing 6.2 pounds! She will be out of town next week, and won't be at the weigh-in, so I am pretty sure that I will win next week's challenge. Congratulations Momma!

No Barrett, we don't throw puppies!!!

2010-09-13T17:03:00.004-05:00

Okay, so if you have ever had a 2 year old boy, you know know that they love to climb on things, jump off the things that they just climbed on, wrestle with anyone, and throws everything!!!

My mom's German Shepherds had puppies almost 6 weeks ago and we have been going over there to let the kids pet them and play with them before they all go to their new homes. Last night, we went over while the puppies were out running around and eating some puppy food, etc. We showed Jayna the proper way to hold the puppies with 2 hands, so we let her pick up the puppies (under supervision), but Barrett doesn't quite get it, so we don't let him.

The puppies were all over the place last night and we were all spread out too. Barrett was jumping in a puddle of water and a little puppy walked by. He bent down and picked up under it's arms... which is better then by the head. I said, 'No Barrett, put the puppy down!' And I started his way, just in case he didn't.... I probably should have jogged or run over there. As I got closer, Barrett tossed the puppy away from him. I think we were all in shock. Did this just happen? Oh my goodness. Have you ever tried to explain to a 2 year old that a puppy is a living thing that can be hurt? I don't know that it sank in. Needless to say, Barrett is banned from playing with the puppies. =)

The litter consisted of 9 puppies and 8 of them have already been claimed and will be picked up this coming Saturday. Jayna is going to be so sad.... she really wants one of these puppies. Of course, she is only 4, so she doesn't fully understand the responsibility of a puppy. Maybe on the next litter.... we'll see. It would be convenient if the next puppies came around her birthday or Christmas and then we could count that as her gift. =)

Look what we found!!!!

2010-09-12T21:34:00.005-05:00

a little baby snake.....

We knew that it was only a matter of time. We were actually surprised that we didn't find one sooner and that we have only seen a baby snake so far. And this is why we did our snake hunt with Jayna (see a few posts ago). With this being so soon after our 'snake hunt', this was a good follow up to the lesson of where to be cautious of snakes. This little guy was in the tall grass in Mr. Turtle's little home.

Bonham took pictures with his phone, so the first one wasn't really clear. This is a Great Plains Rat Snake. It is not a venomous snake, but Bonham killed it anyway. =)

Bonham did some research and there are about 79 species of snakes that are native to Texas. Bonham said, 'Well, that's one down!' I really hope that we don't find the other 78 species around our house!!!

Mother's Day Out & Rainy Days!!!

2010-09-10T21:56:00.004-05:00

I only got a few pictures of the kids' first day of Mother's Day Out. They both have their back packs on and they are ready to go!

Barrett really didn't understand what we were doing, but Jayna did! Barrett is just so happy that Jayna got a new backpack so that he could have her old one!

They are going Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. They seem to like it alright (Jayna more than Barrett). Jayna loves to go to 'school'. She is so cute.

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Jayna was outside talking the cows about the rain.... (it was only sprinkling) =)

If you look really, really, closely, you can see the double rainbow. It was only there for a second and then it was gone!

All of this rain has been so nice. It cooled things off.... it gave us a little burst of green.... but now we have to mow!!!! Take the good with the bad, I guess. =)

Check-In/Random Post

2010-09-09T22:17:00.003-05:00

I can't believe that it has been so long since I have blogged something.....

I thought that staying home, I would be able to post more and keep everyone up-to-date on what is going on. I guess not though. It seems like everyday we have something to do or somewhere to go, etc.

With all of this rain, we haven't used the computer a lot either. The internet doesn't work really well out here when the sky is filled with clouds and rain.

I do have some pictures to post, so I will try to get those up soon.

We don't have a DJ gig this Saturday, so that will be a nice break. =) We were thinking about going out of town this weekend, but with the weather and this being one of our only weekends to be home, we decided not to. Hopefully, we will be trying a new church this Sunday. Jayna really enjoyed AWANA last year and we want to get her back into it this year. One of the local churches starts AWANA next Wednesday, so we need to get over there and check it out!

The kids both started a Mother's Day Out Program this last Tuesday. I have pictures of them getting ready to go to their first day. So cute!!! I will try to get those up on the blog tomorrow.

This post is kind of all over the place... I am tired, so I am going to bed and I will blog more tomorrow (hopefully).

Country Living...

2010-08-31T21:08:00.025-05:00

This first picture is kind of random.... It's not safe for the kids to run around without their shoes when we play in the little pool, so these are our water shoes, drying in the sun!

Here is our little swimming hole... deflated for now, but you get the point. Just giving a tour around the yard....
Here is our compost:
I was going to post a picture of the inside of the compost, but it's kind of gross. We are going to plant a garden next spring, so we thought we would start composting now. Everyone in the country does this, right?

This is Mr. Turtle's new home... I think he likes it. =)

This is Jersey's new home! We know she likes it!!!
This yard is about 20 times bigger than the yard she had in Abilene, so she is loving the extra space. We are planning on fencing off the portion of the yard that the kids play in, so that Jersey can run around with them a little too. She is so good with the kids and when they are outside, she just barks and barks to let us out to play with them.
Sit... Stay.... Good girl.

Country Living wouldn't be complete without COWS!

These are my parents' cows, but Papa (my dad) told Jayna that we could 'share', so we don't have to get our own cows. Thanks Papa! That's a big load off.

This big white-faced cow is the 1 of 3 mama cows. We call her Cowlick because, well, she has a cowlick! My parents don't name their cows anymore, so we decided to. Bonham is calling this baby 'Chuck'.

This big mama cow is 'Wild Red'. She is named after our favorite soda. It works well because she is red. She's not wild though... she is probably the most gentle and personable of all of the big cows.

Now this guy... we call him 'T-Bone'.
Bonham was gathering up some long grass for the cows to eat. This was doubly good, because it provided entertainment for the kids and cleared out some tall grass in the flower bed area.

Stinky Cows....

Allergies... the cow can wait.

Right back at it!

We found some green stuff to give them and they came running!
This is what cows could look like if you were an ant....

I was trying to get a shot of what they would look like if you were a bird, but this is more like if you were just really tall...

I took a lot of pictures on this day... I hope you don't mind.
This guy also wanted to watch us feed the cows:

Getting more green stuff....

Trying to anyway...

Okay, we're going to walk to the mail box... Jayna is faster than Barrett, so she is going ahead of him. Hugs and kisses....And she's off! He gets distracted. A.D.D runs in the family =)This is our drive way looking toward the house from the road...

Bonham got some feed, so no more pulling grass and plucking trees!
Get a hand full!
Or hands full!Aftet that, we had too much fun feeding them pellets, so I stopped taking pictures.

The next day, the kids were ready to go out and do it again!!!

Sorry for the poor quality of these last few pictures... they were just so cute looking out at the cows. =)

Learning is FUN!!!!

2010-08-30T21:37:00.011-05:00

Since we are living in the 'country' now, it's important for the kids to know what areas they need to avoid because there might be snakes. So we went on a Snake Hunt! (fake snakes, of course)

I made these 'snakes' out of paper:

I made this chart for Jayna to follow, so that we knew how many snakes we needed to find.
We needed to find a red snake, a brown snake, an orange snake, and a green snake.

We waited until it got a little darker... I went out and hid the snakes where we might find real snakes.... in the bushes:In taller grass:

Next to this old bath-tub/flower bed:

Under the shed: (Do you see it?)

A closer look:

We discussed with Jayna about where snakes may hide... and what to do if she sees one. After finding each snake, we went over it again.

Snake Hunter Jayna is ready!!!

Checking the bushes.... this was the start and we told Jayna to just 'look' with the flashlight, not her hands.... Just in case we found 'real' snakes. Yikes!Looks like we may have a winner!

Yep, there's one!!!

Lying just outside our house.....

One down, three to go!

Just around the corner... to the backyard. Every yard has little spots that the ground isn't even, which means that the grass might be a little higher.... meaning that a snake might want to hide there too.
Two down, two to go!

Looking around the shed.... a great place for little critters to hide...
Hey Jayna, snakes are normally on the ground... she was looking all around. =)

Yep, there it is!

Three down, one to go!

Barrett's starting to get into it now!

Because Barrett wouldn't fully understand what to do if he saw a snake, we told Jayna what to do if Barrett was around a snake. We told her to grab his hand and tell him to 'RUN!!!' I guess grabbing his shirt is good enough. =)

So here is the last snake. As I was putting these snakes out, I was thinking, 'What if I come across a snake while I am putting these out?' Of course I didn't....

But if you notice this cinder block right next to where I put the last snake....

It had spider webs on it... not a big deal. We are getting used to seeing spiders around here.

Bonham's keen eye saw the little red dot.... see below:
Yes, that 'was' a black widow!!! Bonham took care of it! Another learning lesson for Jayna too. We have told the kids that they need to stay away from spiders, but a little education won't hurt.

Alright! All of the snakes have been found! And Jayna asked if we could play again tomorrow. Why not? It would be good to keep reiterating the importance of being aware of snakes and where they would hide and what to do if she sees one!

Snake Hunter Reward: Bath and Brownies!

I have more pictures from our time feeding the cows and other things...

I also have so many topics that I've wanted to blog about, but I just never get around to it. Hopefully, I can find the time soon to get some things on here soon!

Until next time...

Azle Police

2010-08-23T11:04:00.001-05:00

Bonham ran to the grocery store (which isn’t a quick trip since we are country folk now), but I thought he should have been home a little sooner…. When he pulled up, I walked out to see if he needed help getting the groceries in, because that’s the kind of awesome wife I am!!! Hehehehe. The first words out of his mouth were, “42 in a 30 and no insurance card.” I felt my heart drop.

I said, ‘What? Did you get a ticket?’

He said, ‘No, she let me off with a warning.’

I can’t tell you how many times I have been pulled over in the past 12 years, but I very rarely ever get out of a ticket. When I was younger, I would cry…. Not to get out of it, but because I thought that my parents would kill me. As I got older, I would cry….. not to try to get out of it, but because I was broke and didn’t know how I would pay for it! I haven’t had a ticket in a few years (knock on wood), but I just accept the fact that I will most likely be getting a ticket if I get pulled over. =)

Now, don’t get me wrong…. I don’t want Bonham get a ticket, because that means that we have to pay it!!! But he has never had a ticket! Ever! And he doesn’t even try to get out of them. He just told the officer that he didn’t know the speed limit on that road, since we had just moved here and he had taken out his insurance card to make a copy of it and forgot to put it back in the truck. He had an expired one, and she was able to verify on the computer that we have insurance, which she told him isn’t exactly enough, but she would let him off with a warning – not even a written warning… only a verbal one!!!

We had a DJ gig to get to, so after we got our stuff together and got in the truck, I saw the police officer’s business card. Strange….

(Bonham is kind of naive about these things) He didn’t think anything of it. Then he told me how she gave him the business card…. It was under his driver’s license when she handed it back. So it’s like she was trying to slip it to him!!! Didn’t her fancy computer tell her that he is married?!? LOL We don’t know if this is standard procedure in Azle, but it was kind of funny.

Was there ever any doubt?

2010-08-17T09:58:00.002-05:00

That Bonham would pass his most recent certification test? No, of course not!!!

He got the results today from the certification test that he took on Friday, and he passed! It was a Special Education Certification, so no he can teach Special Ed, P.E., and anything 4th-8th grade. He is still applying for jobs. I will keep you posted on anything that comes up.

Not a whole lot more going on around here. We are still unpacking boxes and organizing stuff. Our goal is to have it done by Christmas! LOL

Hope that you are all doing well.....

Until next time!

Jayna's Pictures....

2010-08-11T19:30:00.008-05:00

Here are Jayna's pictures from today. I didn't feel like they turned out as good as Barrett's, but I was able to find a few that I liked and of course, I bought some. She tried to do a lot of formal poses, but then she didn't have Jayna position her head or hands to where they would look good for a more formal picture versus a candid shot. I hate to be the mom that is saying, 'Do it like this... no, like this.' (I did a little though...) =)

I scheduled the kids an appointment together for next week, so I will try to get some of those pictures up too!

Today after pictures, we went to pick up my Mamo and we went to lunch and then to Chuck E. Cheese. Mamo likes Chuck E. Cheese as much as the kids. Mamo wears hearing aids, but she still has a hard time hearing certain pitches. Unfortunately, I think mine is one of them. =(

She seems to hear men's voices better, so I ask Bonham to tell her things for me and I leave her notes so that she knows what I want to tell her. I told her that we will try to come over every Wednesday, unless she has an appointment or something else to do. I think that she appreciates the company (at least that is what I am going to keep telling myself). =)

Bonham is signed up to take another certification test this Friday. Since he hasn't received any phone calls about full time positions, he is going to try for another certification, to cover more areas. I am pretty sure that he will pass it, but it's a little nerve-racking to wait for the test results. It is scheduled for Friday at 1:00 p.m., so say a little prayer for him!!!!

Barrett's Pictures

2010-08-10T18:22:00.009-05:00

So this may not be completely legal.... but I wanted you to be able to see the pictures of Barrett that we had taken today at JCPenney. I could post the link, but the people there created so many little 'special/enhanced' ones that it was hard to just see the regular/original pictures.

We tried to take Barrett for pictures around his birthday, but it didn't work out. I think I blogged about it when it happened.... anyway, two months later.... here we go!

I am taking Jayna to get her pictures done tomorrow and then we will take both of them for pictures together. =) After pictures tomorrow, we are going to go visit Mamo (my dad's mom). We are going to make it a weekly visit, because she lives alone and doesn't get a ton of visitors. The kids love her and she gets a kick out of them coming over.

That's all for now.... I will try to post more tomorrow!

Yes, we moved!!!

2010-08-10T00:43:00.002-05:00

I realized that I have been so busy unpacking, rearranging, trying to get this organized, and running around like a crazy woman that I haven't blogged in over a week!!! So I'm sorry to those of you who have been checking in daily... we are here and up to our eyeballs in boxes!

This house is a little smaller than our house in Abilene, so I am having to adjust to having less room for all of our stuff. This is a great opportunity for us to get rid of a few things. We joked that from now on for gifts, we are going to tell people that we want gift cards to the grocery store.... that's something that won't stay in the house long enough to move with us!!! LOL

The kids sharing a room is working out fairly well. The biggest change has been that we now have both kids coming in our room when the sun comes up! With Jayna, we could usually get her to lie back down and sometimes she would fall back asleep or we could turn on a show in the living room and Bonham and I could go back to bed.... not so much with Barrett. When he is up, he's up and ready for us to get up too! This will take some getting used to. He is also going to bed a little later than normal because he is sharing a room and he wants Jayna to go to bed too, but she doesn't go to bed as early. I asked Jayna today if she wanted her own room again, but she told me that she wanted to share with Barrett. Okay, I guess. =)

Re-cap of the last week:
We had a wedding to DJ this past weekend in Abilene. It was a little weird to come back and not live there anymore. It's only been a week, so it still feels very normal to drive into Abilene and just be prepared to drive home.... it will take some getting used to.
It is so nice to have all of this space though.... the sky is so pretty at night and everything is so peaceful. I had forgotten what it was like in the country.

My parents' German shepherd had puppies last Wednesday and Bonham, the kids, and I got to be there for 4 of them being born. It was a neat experience. Jayna wanted to name them all. She and Barrett just want to hold them, and kiss on them.... we are trying to explain to them that they need to get a little bigger.... it's cute though.

The job hunt is still on! Bonham is taking another certification test this Friday to be more marketable. Keep your fingers crossed and say another prayer that he gets something soon!!! He is signed up to substitute in Saginaw. Hopefully it will turn into something full time! The good thing is that our DJ business is still staying really busy! We booked one today in Waco in October that will be HUGE for us! That was a nice little bonus! =)

Jayna and I went to the Azle library today. It was so nice. It's all new and fancy.... we didn't spend a lot of time in there, but we will go back soon. They have story time almost everyday, they have computers for the kids to use, and all of kinds of other things. I will have to post more about that we are doing....
That will have to be all for now though.... It's 1:00 a.m. and I need to get to bed, because I will have two little 'Bonham-clones' trying to crawl in our bed in about 6 1/2 hours!

Goodnight/Good Morning!

From weeks, to days, to hours...

2010-07-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

The countdown hasn't quite reached hours... yet! =)

The kids are officially moved and they (with Bonham) stayed at our new (to us) house. Barrett got to sleep in a 'big-boy' bed! We set up his baby bed, because our plan was to slowly transition him into a big-boy bed, but he had different plans!

Bonham said that he put him in the crib and he cried and cried, 'My Mickey bed.... my Mickey bed...' So Bonham put him in the Mickey bed, which is a twin bed. And then Barrett said, 'Night-night, Daddy.' Bonham said he would lay down and pop back up and this went on for awhile.... so Bonham put him back in the crib and he cried and cried... this went on a few more times.... back and forth, back and forth. =)

Finally, he did go to the Mickey bed and he slept all night! Which Barrett really doesn't have trouble sleeping through the night, that is our other child! =) Bonham called this morning at 8:15 and said that Barrett was still asleep and that he had slept through the night. Bonham woke up between 2 and 3 a.m. and he went in there to check on him. He had moved some and was sleeping sideways, but when he went in there this morning, he was back on his pillow and sleeping normally.

Not sure if I've explained the set up of our new house, but its kind of a funky-set up. There is a room at the very back of the house that looks like it used to be 2 rooms, but someone knocked out the wall and made it one big, long room.... As of right now, we have the following things in that room: 2 twin beds, which will eventually be a bunk bed, but they are separated for now, a baby crib, 2 dressers, and lots of toys! We are going to let the kids share a room for a little while to see how that works out.... Our only concern is the sleeping. Barrett is used to going to bed before Jayna and sleeping longer than Jayna. It worked out fine last night, because Barrett probably never realized that he was sharing a room with anyone else! Once he figures out that Jayna is in there, he might not want to sleep as much; he'll want to play! The good thing is that nothing is permanent.... we can always move beds and change things up if we need to! =)

Two more days until we are officially moved! I can't believe that it's finally here! Tomorrow is my last day of work.... and then I will be a stay-at-home mom (again)! LOL

We are hoping and praying that Bonham will get a job offer soon!!! Fingers crossed! =)

Dear DJ Diary,

2010-07-27T08:00:00.002-05:00

The wedding this last weekend was one that I was kind of looking forward to because the bride was so easy to deal with when I talked to her on the phone, she didn't have any weird requests or song selections, and they weren't doing a lot of things during the reception. She was having her wedding and reception in a place that we had been a few times and it always went well.

We always try to arrive about an hour before the event starts, so that we can set up, do sound checks, and change into our 'DJ attire'. We were starting at 6:30 p.m. We arrived in this town around 5:10, so we stopped at Taco Bell to grab a quick bite to eat. While we were there, Bonham's cell phone rang. It was a 254 area code, so we thought it might be for the wedding that night. I answered the phone. It was the lady who runs the venue. She asked if we were DJ'ing the wedding tonight at their hotel. I told her that we were. She said, 'Are you going to be here soon?' I said, 'Yes, we are right down the street.' And then she said, 'Well, we were just getting worried, since you were supposed to be here already.'

Excuse me?

We get there.... go check out where we are setting up... and we head back towards the elevator to get the equipment to bring up and we hear, 'With the DJ being so late....'

Again, Excuse me? So late? We were not so late... we were there in plenty of time! AARRGGHHHH

So this is not going well so far. We unload everything, get set up, sound check, change clothes, and we are ready to go with almost 10 minutes to spare! There is no reason for us to get there any earlier than that. If we get there too early, then we either stand around with nothing to do or they want us to start playing before its time. And not to be a 'time snob', but we are scheduled to start a certain time for a reason. We aren't in objection to starting a little earlier if guests are arriving, but we don't want to get there so early that it is just expected of us. Come to find out, the mother of the bride (and others, I guess) thought that we were going to be there at 4:00!!! Yeah right!

So that was one thing that happened....

And then as we were setting up, the mother of the bride came over and asked if we knew what was going on. Her question kind of caught me off guard. It was worded very strangely. I said, 'Do you mean the music for the ceremony and reception?'
'Yes', she said. And I answered, 'Yes, Kathryn and I went over all of it.' She looked at me like I was an idiot. If you remember from my previous posts, we send out a questionnaire for the bride to complete and then I call the week od her wedding to go over all of it in detail. Her questionnaire was almost completely pointless, because they changed the order and decided not to do some things on their list.... it was very disorganized. That bugs me, but oh well. What can you do?

When we went downstairs to change clothes, I was stopped by a 'wedding helper'. Every wedding has one! The good thing is that this one has never dated the groom! =) (Read HERE if you are very confused)
She was going over the instructions for the ceremony, but she was referencing songs as 'track #s', instead of the title of the song. Well, we aren't using a CD, so I wanted to clarify with her what she was talking about. And then she was calling the groomsmen and bridesmaids by name... I don't know who they are, so that was just more confusing.
The thing is that with a wedding ceremony, if you tell me that you want this song for the parents, this song for the bridesmaids, and this song for the bride, I can do it! People really doubt our ability and it is so frustrating! We've done a few weddings! Okay, more than a few.... several! HAHAHA!! How many have you done helper? Anyway, so this attracts the bride, a bridesmaid, and the mother of the bride. All of which have different things to say about everything! Uber annoying! (Is Uber a word?)

We finally get it all straightened out and everything went fine. The bride and groom seem to have had a good time. It wasn't an awful gig, but it didn't feel like one of our best. The crowd wasn't overly nice or receptive to anything that went on that night.

The bride and groom decided to leave around 9:40 and we were booked until 10:30, so because we are so nice.... I went downstairs to see if they would like us to continue to play music. They said that they were just going to come up to clean, but no more dancing. I told them that we could play music while they clean since we are technically booked until 10:30 p.m. The mother of the bride, who seems to have loosened up a little more, said, 'Yeah, that would be good.' So I turn to walk away and I hear someone say, 'Yeah, get your money's worth.' Okay, this is valid statement. I came down there to ask them if they wanted us to keep playing so that she could 'get her money's worth', but that comment sounds so rude and she could have waited until I was out of ear-shot! People annoy me!

Do you know that there are some DJs that consider the party completely over once the bride and groom leave? Normally, a party will wrap up then, but we always try to keep playing the entire time that we are contracted unless told otherwise. The people cleaning up like to hear music too and this gives them a chance to request something that we might not normally play during a wedding reception.

We are off this next weekend, because we are moving... and then our schedule goes as follows:
August 7th - Wedding in Abilene
August 14th - Wedding in Stamford
August 21st - (nothing, yet)
August 28th - Wedding in Fort Worth
September 4th - Wedding in Abilene
September 11th - (nothing, yet)
September 18th - Wedding in Fort Worth
September 25th - Wedding in Strawn
October 2nd - Wedding in Abilene

We still have a few weekends to book, so hopefully we'll get some good calls. I wish we could put on our website 'Nice People DJ'ing for other Nice People' =)

8 days & counting!

2010-07-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that we are moving in 8 days! It can't seem to get here fast enough though. We have the majority of our stuff moved already, so next weekend will really be 'unpacking & organizing' more than moving! =) And then we are going to start planning for our garage sale - fun, fun!
We were going to have a garage sale before we moved, but we just haven't had the time. We have been so busy every weekend. The house that we are moving into is about 600 square feet smaller than the one that we are living in now, so a garage sale is a must! There are a few things that I am just not ready to part with yet though... mainly the baby stuff. Bonham and I go back and forth about whether or not we will have another baby. Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. I would hate to get rid of something and then have turn around and buy it again! So we will be storing a few things until the decision is made.... =)

I'm not really in the mood for a long blog post today (you're probably relieved). I wanted to give everyone time to look at the pictures before I got too many more posts up here. I will try to post something at the beginning of next week... maybe another 'Dear DJ Diary', if something exciting happens this weekend. =)