I love Bon Jovi....

and not in the 14 year old girl "someday I want to marry him" way, or not in the "he's so wonderful" way...but in the Jon Bon Jovi is a wonderful man, doing good things, who is down to earth and REAL. Not only has he been able to keep his wife and kids out of the limelight for like 20 years, he keeps working hard, cranking out good tunes, working with the same guys all that time, and in his "off" time, he does things like help with Habitat for Humanity (did you see that video Jon and the boys did with Jennifer Nettles??) and now he is involved with Project HOME. (Actually, I think that he founded it). I saw a little interview on Fox News this morning with a family that received their home this way. Jon Bon Jovi was at their house (can you say- WOW) and the little girl who was like 9 said that she didn't know that he was a rock star. He was just "a normal human"...how darling is that?? So, I love Bon Jovi- the band, the music, the man and the whole dang thing.

It's happening already....

Baby now has magazine posters on her wall. (Tiger Beat to be exact) One wall, three posters (zac Efron, Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers). I remember when I was in 7th and 8th grade and started putting posters up. Rick Springfield, John Stamos, Paul King, any cute boy that was in one of those magazines. Now, a "few" years later, the only ones that have still survived are the Rick Springfield ones. (and I'm sure that some of these were Tiger Beat- now I have to check!) But let me just say, Baby is 8....is that too young for magazine posters? And when she told me that she was talking to the posters while she was playing in her room, I knew that she was destined to be just like me. before you know it, that poster of Zac Efron will be hung on the wall to match his actual height and she will be standing in front of it to see how their heights compare.

Lyric has has posters on her walls for a couple of years, mostly Daniel Radcliffe...she is a huge Harry Potter fan...There are a few other ones up there as well, but mostly those.

And I can't really say anything, because Fisher is the one who bought the mag for Baby. He actually went back to the store later to get same magazine for Lyric. Now, there is something wrong with that. they are 4 years apart. Aren't they supposed to like different things? Or am I way off base? Any thoughts?

NaNoWriMo...and more...and more

Wow, this writing thing is crazy. I've actually been disciplined enough to write 6 out of the past 7 days. Go me! I'm trying to stay on task for my total word count of 50,000, but I'm hand writing so it's hard to say if I am or not. Mostly what I've done is written a page, counted the actual words on that page, and then guestimated for the rest of the pages in that notebook. So, I could be over or under my word count and not know it. I'm hoping to transfer everything over to computer over the next week or so, so I really know what my word count is. And if I hit 50,000, I want that certificate darn it!

So, I'm off to continue writing...and writing...and writing....wish me luck.

The biggest leaf ever...

I will post a photo later, but you will not believe it. I was walking across the yard this morning and found the biggest leaf I have ever seen. I took a pix of Baby holding it, but I don't have my cord with me, so I can't upload it right now. It's bigger than my head! wait til you see it.

Night two of Basketball...

Lyric is trying to be an all around student. The play finished Friday night and Saturday morning she was off to basketball tryouts. Tonight is night two. At the end of the night, she will get an envelope. Inside it will either say- "Thanks for trying out, sharpen your skills and try again next year" or it will say - "See you tomorrow". IF you get a see you tomorrow envelope, that means one more night of try outs. Then on Wednesday the team will be posted. The 8th grade team will actually be posted tomorrow. And then tomorrow night is just for the 7th graders. I'm a bit worried for her. But, she seems to be okay with whatever the turn out will be.

So, to that end, I hope she's channelling her dad's energy and maybe Sahara could just give her a little boost!

It's the end of the weekend....

I missed my blog entry yesterday and I'm a lot of words behind in NaNoWriMo, but I have two happy healthy children so there's the trade off. Sahara's Celebration of Life (www.saharaaldridge.com) was yesterday. Pamela is going to give us an update on the blog tomorrow and I've been working on pages for the memory book. I feel like I want them to be perfect for Amy and Shannon. Even though I don't know them, and won't meet them, I hope that they know that the pages were put together for them. I'm trying to picture how I would feel if somebody was doing that for me. What I would think of when I looked at those pages if the words in them were for my daughter. I hope that it will help them with their grief process. I can't say healing process because I don't think they can heal from this. They can only go forward from here. I know that they are different people than they were a week ago, and that's just how it is.

Getting one in....

I only have a few minutes before Friday is over and I wanted to get in my daily blog. Lyric was in a play yesterday and today at school. It went well, but there were a few mic problems. I took Lyric and 3 of her friends to Dairy Queen ( affectionately known as DQ) and they caused trouble for about an hour. It sure did seem longer, and it wasn't just "my" kids. There were several from the school, and really, really, they weren't bad. Lyric and her friends are looking at pictures and videos from her camera on the TV screen and they are having a ball. Baby is over at a friend's house for the night. Her friend's mom is our babysitter and one of Lyric's friends that is spending the night is the babysitter's daughter. So basically we did a kid switch. Tomorrow starts bball practice. I hope she gets on the team.

how many words...

how many words can you write in an hour?? You would probably be amazed. I wrote 1188 words in less than an hour. That makes this NaNoWriMo thing seem like a piece of cake. In a little over an hour, I should be hitting my goal for each day. Now, writing for 1 1/2 to 2 hours each day should make me totally be able to hit the goal for the month, right?? RIGHT! It's actually harder right now to blog everyday than it is to hit the goal....go figure. Anyway, peace love and happiness to you and yours.

Hug the ones you love and don't forger to tell them how much they mean to you.

Healing broken hearts....

Sahara's support continues, although it has been transferred to her parents, family, friends. Sahara is playing basketball in Heaven and there is no doubt that she is hitting all the 3 pointers! How do you heal a broken heart?? I don't know if you can. I think time lessens the pain, but the extrodinary loss is always fell. It's hard to see the good in things like this. It's not for the best- the best would have been for her to not have to be sick at all. She's not in a better place- because what better place is there than her mom's arms. I am a believer in God. I believe that God has a plan for each and everyone of us. He had a plan for Sahara and now he needs her in Heaven. There is no doubt in my mind that Amy and Shannon will use their grief to do something wonderful in her honor. No doubt at all.

God has a plan....

I keep telling myself that, even when it doesn't make sense. Sahara Aldridge passed away last night, and I can only imagine what her parents must be going through. Her blog link in over there on the right. Click on it. You can read her story, and post a comment if you wish.

She was a little girl with a big presence, and she made an impact on many more lives than she knew (or than her parents knew). I want to thank Amy and Shannon for sharing their lives and Sahara's story with the world. We are still here for you. Do you feel the collective hug of all of us wrapping our arms around you?? We are.

I'd tell you to be strong, but you already are, so I can only pray for peace for you both.

There's also a note from Rick Springfield on his website. That link is over there to the right as well.

A day behind....

I'm only a day behind for NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo...go figure. I'm at almost 5000 words as of last night....so if I write a few hundred words extra for the next few days, I'll be back on track. This novel that I am working on is not what I started with, but so far I'm liking where it is going and I have an idea for a twist here and there. Wouldn't it be funny if this turned out to be better than the Derek and Abbi story?? I promise, Derek and Abbi's story will get done. It will, really! Actually, it is mostly done. What I need is the time to type it, but that won't be happening in November, now will it!

How to make a tortise shell...

otherwise known as "I opened my big mouth again". LOL. Lyric is Mrs. Tortise in the fall play. As of last week, they weren't sure what her costume was going to be. So I got this idea, Lyric ran it by her teacher and he said "Sure" as long as he didn't have to do anything. So, today we head out to the store to get the stuff I think we need. I had a great idea, we'll see if it comes to light. SO for I have the front and the back pieces made, but I have to put it all together and see if it really looks okay. Then we have to take it to the teacher for approval. So I ask you this- How would you turn your daughter into a turtle/tortise?

Lots of good stuff....

1) I was checking Lynn's blog the other day, and then clicked "next blog" at the top of the page. I was surprised and thrilled to find http://www.mamarazzi.org/. Cute, funny, cheeky. Check it out.
2) another of the blogs that I happened upon (and I'm sorry that I can't remember which one) but it was written by a mom. She had code names for those in her family. I loved that idea. I try really hard not to put names in, but oldest and little one are kind of lame. So from here forward: hubby will be known as Fisher, Oldest will be known as Lyric and youngest will be known as Baby.
3) NanoWriMo is into day two, as is Nablopomo (is that right?) Anyway, one is for writing every day and one is for blog posting every day. (For the month of November anyway.) So far, I'm doing great at the blog thing, not so good at the writing thing, but I have high hopes that I will complete the challenge this year (even if the writing doesn't make a lick of sense, which, at this point, seems highly likely).

NaNoWriMo...or less

Today is the first day of NaNoWriMo 2007...the goal- 50,000 words written by the end of the month, no editing, no going back, just writing. This works out to be 1667 words per day. Think I can do it?? I'm sure that I probably do write that many words in a day, but they don't all count. :-) So wish me luck on my journey, as I try my best to complete this goal. Feel free to bug me about how it's going, how many words I've written and it any of it makes sense.