52 of 365 Detour Ahead

I took this picture outside my office window. About once a month a truck gets stuck trying to pull into the parking lot. It it quite amusing to watch and see how many people it takes to get the struck straightened out and moved out of the road. Several times police officers have stopped by to ticket the driver.

51 of 365 Got Pot???

Think it's time to throw away the paper plates that are catching the water and buy a new pot?

50 of 365 Brown Bagging It...

...zebra style.

Today I did something very unusual. I took my lunch to work and ate in my office. Normally I insist on going out to lunch just so I can get away for an hour and forget all of the stressful things that happened in the morning. Now that things have really settled down at the office, it was nice to bring my lunch and read my book. Not only did I save about $10 today, I probably saved about 10,000 calories.

49 of 365 Under Construction

I feel like certain parts of my life are always under construction. Seems lately several relationships I've had with various people have been torn down and I'm slowly trying to rebuild new relationships with new people. It's HARD because I don't allow too many people to get close to me. Some people may think that if they screw up in my eyes then they have no chance at forgiveness. I guess that is true to some extent. At this point in my life I'm just too busy to have BS all around me. I really start to analyze whether the relationship is really worth pursuing and in most cases, it's usually not.

My marriage is one of those relationships that was under a lot of construction and more often than not, I didn't think it was worth pursuing. But my heart has changed in the last couple of years. I'm so glad that our foundation has been built and we are working together to build a happy home and life for our family. Marriages are always under construction so I like to say that it's a work in progress type of construction.

48 of 365 New Bible

This is my new Life Application Study Bible. I LOVE IT!!!!

47 of 365 Don't Mock the Mock Test

For those of you who don't live in Texas, this photo will need some explanation. When kids start Kindergarten in this state, the teachers have to start preparing them for the TAKS test. Please note that the students don't actually take the TAKS test until 3rd grade. Every aspect of school work and activities revolve around the TAKS test. The teachers live and breathe TAKS test. The students are always taking bench mark testing often called MAP test and then they'll take a Mock test to see how far they've progressed. At that time if the scores are low then the students will mostly like be sent to tutoring to help them pass the TAKS test.

As a parent it's very challenging to keep up with all the testing because I have to know when to NOT throw my children Pop Tarts or cold cereal at them for their breakfast. Usually the mornings of the test I will get up and COOK breakfast because somehow making eggs are going to stimulate their brain cells and they're going to score much higher. Or so I thought...

Earlier this week my youngest daughter took a reading Mock TAKS test. She scored a 100 on the test!!!! Guess what she had for breakfast? COCOA PEBBLES CEREAL!!!!

46 of 365 Happy Belated Birthday, Mom

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. It's been a long time since I've been with her to celebrate her special day. This picture was taken and emailed to me so technically I didn't take the picture but I still had to share.

I think I have the best mom in the world. Being a parent now, I realize what a great foundation my mom and dad built for me. I wasn't the easiest child to handle (especially during the teenage years) but my mom stuck by me and loved me unconditionally. Being the wife of a military man and a long haul truck driver, she was often left to raise 3 children herself and I think she did a pretty good job of juggling things around. Me and my siblings turned out pretty darn well.

Now that I'm raising a teenager, I often catch myself yelling into thin air, "I'm sooooo sorry for what I put you through, mom." And hoping she can hear me 2,000 miles away. I never knew just how annoying eye rolls could be until I had my own daughter.

Growing up my mom and dad always made sure we had food on the table, clothes on our back and a loving home. I can never think of a time when we had to do without something. At the time I probably didn't seem very grateful but as an adult I truly appreciate all of the scarifices she and my dad made for us.

She raised the bar high for me as a parent. I really try to raise my daughters how I was raised and make sure they are never in need of anything. I want my husband and I to be role models for my children just as my parents were for me.

I can only hope that I pass on the torch to my daughter's and they can continue the legacy of raising great kids.

Happy Birthday, mom. I love you!!!!