ROAD TRIP!!

I'm off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Fleas...just kidding....well, kind of. We are off to a ginormous flea market in Canton, Texas. I've got my camera and I'm ready to roll. Or I will be, just as soon as I fix my hair, slap some make-up on (just in case we run into Sean Connery while we're out and about), get dressed and find my most comfortable shoes. Just wanted to post and tell ya'll this. I've gotten quite a few good responses to my Banner Begging post and want to respond as soon as I get back. And Joan, I'm terribly sorry, but you may have to give a class on the proper technique for inserting names as links instead of the whole URL thing. (I know that makes sense to you, but probably not anyone else! lol). Des over at Peeking Thru the Sunflowers wants to know how to do it, as does Terri and Bob. (See, I would actually "link" to their sites right now, but I'm downstairs on the laptop and my directions from Joan are upstairs and without them sitting in front of me - I'm completely incapable!). Anywho- we'll handle all this business when I return! Can't wait to show pictures of this place (Marcia - at Joy is my Goal is the one who told me about it). "Talk" to ya'll soon!!

The Banner Blues

Hello, fellow bloggers. 'Tis I, the Village Idiot. I come to you seeking help. Now before your eyes start glazing over and you hit that back button, take a moment and listen to me, please. Shouldn't all of us, as good citizens of Blogland, strive to help each other whenever possible? Isn't it almost incumbent upon each and every one of us to share blogging tips and techniques when asked? Eh? Isn't it? Wouldn't you want to enlighten the ignorant if given the chance? Of course you would. And here I am. The ignorant. Now's your big chance. Enlighten me. Would someone out there please tell me how to make a banner for my blog? Hello? Anyone there? Hello? It suddenly got very quiet. HelLOOOOOOOOO! My good friend Joan over at Joan's Journeys taught me how to insert a link without showing the whole URL or whatever it's called. See? I'm teachable. Now please. Someone teach me something new. Like this banner thing. I see all these cool banners out there and I so wish I had one. Don't get me wrong - I don't just want it for me. Noooo. I want it for you, too. You few, you brave, you crazy ones - who keep coming back and reading my blog. I want you guys to have something lovely to gaze upon. See? I'm so, so selfless. Really. If even just one of you could help a sista out here and tell me how to do this, I'd be ever so grateful. And if more than one of you would help me out, well...actually, that'd probably be better since I am somewhat technologically challenged, as they say, and may need to hear the same thing said several different ways before it actually sinks in. So what do you say? Willing to reach out and help a fellow blogger? Anyone? Anyone at all? Oh come on, people! I'm begging you here. Help me! Please! Eliminate ignorance wherever you can! Help me. Hellllllp meeeeeee! Or not. The choice is yours. Let your conscience be your guide. I'll be fine without a banner. I've gotten by all this time without one. I can soldier on, bannerless and alone. It's fine. Don't worry, if it's just too much trouble. I'll still smile upon your banners with all the sweetness my poor shrunken soul can muster. (hmmmm. Too much? Yeah, I thought so. I'll stop. I've pleaded and begged. Now we'll just see what comes of it).

Christmas Movie Poll Results, Back Saver Chair and OU Football!

The results are in! It's a Wonderful Life is our number one, clear-cut winner of the Favorite Christmas movie poll! There were 59 votes (love that!) and of the 59 who voted, 21 of us voted for the story of George Bailey. That is a great movie so it receiving so many votes wasn't a huge shock. White Christmas came in second, with Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story tying for third. I thank every one who participated in this poll - it was fun to get up every morning and check the results. Now, what shall we "poll" about next....stay tuned!
See this chair?? It's my new back saver. I hope. I've been really struggling with staying on the computer for too long. My old chair was killing my back. I'd sit down and read a few blogs and post a comment or two and then I'd have to get up and walk around or go get the heating pad and stretch out flat. So, yesterday evening, Randey and I went to Office Max in search of a new desk chair. And we found this baby. Isn't it gorgeous? Okay, so maybe not. But here's what's so great about it: it's a massage chair. Yessir. It has an upper back massager and a lower back massager. See that little green thing there on the side? That's the remote control. (Although, come to think of it, why do they call it a remote when it's not like you would need it if you were sitting across the room? Things that make you go "hmmmmmm"). Anywho...I am diggin' it. (The chair, not so much the remote). Well, except that it massages so well that my head is kind of rattling right now. Oh wait a minute...it comes with a speed adjuster. Ahhhhh, much better. And finally, look below! It's that time of year! And here's a shout out to my friend Charlotte! BOOMER SOONERS!!! WOO-HOO! Here's to a GREAT season for the Oklahoma Sooners! And just as soon as the temperatures drop, I will be dressing in all this OU finery to show my support for my team (which might lead to me getting my brains beat in, considering I live in Texas right now, but I'm willing to chance it!).
GO OU! GO OU! GO OU!

GO OU! GO OU!

The Following Post is...Disturbing. Or it Shows that I'M Disturbing. Or Maybe Just Disturbed. It's Hard to Tell. YOU Be the Judge.

Yep. That's me. Dufus. You can call me Dufe for short. And let me tell you why....I went to Ross's today, looking for some fall decorations because, as I believe we've all decided here in Blogland, September 1st is an acceptable - nay even a preferable - date to begin autumn decorating and my supply of cool (no pun intended) fall do-dads is woefully sparse. So...I go to Ross's and, lucky me, I see what I'm looking for right when I step inside their door. All kinds of Halloween and fall stuff. Not wanting to look like a total fruit basket, I bypassed the Halloween things and went on over to fall. Oh come on. Halloween? Now??? Christmas on September 1st? Yeah, okay. Halloween? You'd be crazy to even try. (And why does that actually make sense to me? I'm somewhat disturbed that it does. Now stop it. We don't need any "Kari is disturbed" comments just yet. You'll have an even better reason for saying it by the time we get to the end of this tale.) Okay, moving on. I stepped over to the last aisle that featured the aforementioned fall decorations. I picked up a few things. Ooooohhh'd and Aaaaaah'd over a few others. Picked up a huge cornucopia. Saw the price. Put it down. Picked up, oh I don't know...something. I can't even remember what it was. It contained dried flowers, I do remember that much. As I picked up this item, I apparently flipped it over to see the other side. At about the same time, I glanced down at my shirt. Eeeeeck! And I do mean EEEEECK! A spider. A spider sitting on my left breast. I. Damn. Near. Fainted. (Pardon the cursing, I beg you). The world started spinning, I tried to scream, but nothing came out...it was awful. Then I took action. I proceeded to beat my chest with my right arm, as hard as I could. I looked like a one armed Tarzan in heat. I started jumping up and down. I saw something fly off of me, but didn't see where it went. That's when it occurred to me that it might have landed on my head. In my hair. I started shaking my head and rubbing my hair like a madwoman. And I still couldn't scream. I hopped, I slapped, I whimpered, I shook...all the while looking for this horrific creature that had dared to sit upon my bosom. I never did see it. Of course, I was traumatized beyond words. My skin was flushed, I was freaking out, it felt like things were crawling all over me. Yick. Awful. Just awful. So anywho, I twitched and twaddled my way over to a full length mirror on the other side of the store, spun around in front of it a few dozen times, bent over, shook my hair, patted my body down like I was a cop at central booking ...nothing. No spider. Whew. I spent the next 30 minutes perfecting my twitch and trying to think of happier things. And then a stray thought flitted through my mind. I thought, "Hmmmmmm. I don't know that I've ever seen a pumpkin orange and chocolate brown spider before. Was that a spider?" Okay. So here's the thing. When I glanced down and saw that "thing" on my chest, I flipped out pretty quickly. The slapping and shaking started almost immediately, although it felt like I was moving through molasses. But, upon further reflection, I've come to the conclusion that I was beating the T-total fool out of myself over a piece of dried flower that had fallen off "the object" and unto my chest. See? Told you there'd be a better reason to call me "disturbed". Thank God everyone was either too scared or too polite to approach me during my Tarzan moment. I might have had to do my future blogging from the looney bin. And wouldn't that be...uuuhh, what's the word? oh yeah...disturbing.

'Tis (Almost) the Season. Sort of.

Uhhhhhhh....how do I say this without sealing my reputation as a total nutcase Christmas freak? Guess I'll just throw it out there and see what happens. It's August (but pretty close to the end of August, right? That's gotta count for something!). It's still in the 90's here in Texas. Halloween is still in the distant future. And what have I spent my time doing this week? Blogging. But that's not the point. When I haven't been blogging, I've been....making Christmas cards. Yeah, there. I've said it. Any problems with that? Got something to say? Did you call me crazy? Huh? Did ya'? Hey! Yeah, you! The one snickering and rolling your eyeballs! You wanna piece of me? Do ya'? Bring it, Baby!

Whew. Sorry. Breathing in. Deep breaths. I'm good. Thanks. Trying to get over that whole "Blogland has declared me the Village Idiot" feeling I'm getting here. I don't care what all the world's spies tell you, people. Paranoia is NOT your friend. Trust me on that. And really and truly...does it matter if the entire community you've come to embrace as your own thinks of you as a lunatic who sits in a corner playing with your Bubble Blowing Santa while listening to Jingle Bells on a red and green Dr. Seuss discman? Nah...friends don't mind you being crazy. It makes them look that much more sane. That's my theory. And I think it's a good one. Don't disillusion me. I mean it. D.O.N.'T.

Anywho, I made a decision this year that I was going to make our Christmas cards. How hard can it be, eh? Well, actually, as it turns out...pretty flippin' hard! For me, at least. This one, pictured below, is my first attempt. The ribbon I used is sheer so it doesn't show up very well. And "inking" is not my forte', as I've come to realize.
And the card below is my second attempt. Hmmm. I think my first one is looking better and better now. I've actually completed four cards total and I just have to say...thank goodness I've started in August. At the rate I'm going, I might finish them by Thanksgiving. Of 2010. I'm bound to get faster, though, right? I mean, I know I'll get the hang of this before too much longer. Surely, I will.

But, alas...I've spent too much time blogging already this morning (I went blog surfing before I posted) so, unless I want to whittle our card list down to just 4, I'd better get crackin' on some more paper Christmas cheer. (I'm almost in tears at the thought. Who knew this would be such a challenge for me? Oh. I'm the only one who didn't know it, is that what you're saying? Fine. I'll show you. Keep making snarky comments and I'll add you to the card list. Think about that. Odds are good, it won't be pretty. Your children will suffer. Your dog will howl. Your friends will laugh. Yeah. Ugly comments now could cost you big later. Except for you Aunt Sandi. Your fate is already sealed. You're gettin' a card. Moving now won't help you. Your boys will give me your forwarding address so you may as well brace yourself. Oh, and those same boys will be checking to make sure you display said card prominently throughout the entire holiday season. Ahhhh...'tis good to have cousins you get along with, know what I mean?)

Des at Peeking Thru the Sunflowers is Having a Giveaway!

Great news, guys! Des over at Peeking Thru the Sunflowers is having a wonderful giveaway to celebrate her 50th post! Go over there and leave a comment to enter. And then, when you're done putting your name in the hat, take a few minutes to read her blog, if you haven't already discovered it. The pictures of her "before and afters" will blow you away (and make you sick with envy, but you'll get over that. I did. I think. Well, I'm almost over it. Yeah. Okay. I'm lying. I'm not over it, but I am coping.) I know how scary it can be, leaving yourself open for a bad case of Decorator Envy, but be brave! Go check it out . They're awesome transformations and well worth the risk! And for those of you smart enough to enter the drawing, GOOD LUCK!

Brighton Products...Closer Than You Could Ever Imagine! (Trust Me!)

Does anybody remember my post from 9 or 10 days ago about Brighton perfumes? I had first heard about them from Annie when she had gotten Laugh (her favorite Brighton scent) for her birthday. I was intrigued so I started looking around for these perfumes (there's 4 scents; Live, Love, Laugh and Dream). I checked every store I went to. Nope, no Brighton perfumes. And then, one day while I was shopping in Granbury, I saw the sign. No, not like a sign from above. I mean, it was pretty cool, but not that cool! What I saw was a Brighton sign. I was so excited. At last! The ever illusive Brighton perfumes were within my grasp! I really felt like I was the luckiest woman in the world - here I'd searched high and low and there it was - in a little bitty town miles from home. Wow - talk about having the Luck of the Irish, eh? Well, as it turns out...perhaps my luck wasn't really as...earth shattering as I believed it to be and maybe, just maybe Brighton wasn't as difficult to locate as I had originally thought. You see, last week I took a little trip to a local mall. I've been to this mall quite a few times over the last 2 years. In fact, I had just been there a few weeks ago, when Nick and Jodie were visiting. Apparently, however, I don't actually open my eyes when I'm traipsing through the mall. If I did, I would have known that this was located there: Yep. An entire Brighton store. Right there. At the mall I frequent most. Although, in my defense, I will say that "frequent" is a relative term. It may be the mall I go to the most, but that's not to say I actually go to malls a whole heck of a lot. Still. The store has been there all along. I know because I went in and asked. Yeah - they've been there for about 6 years. Who knew? So, while I was still reeling from the knowledge that I am a big, fat, huge, blind dork, I was in enough control of my emotions to stifle my sobs of disbelief and take advantage of the fact that I was actually standing in a store that sold all things Brighton! And here's the best part! Brighton, being the savvy company that they are, has a lovely little thing you can fill out called a Wish List. Not only can you fill it out, the wonderful Brighton personnel will even call anyone and everyone you want them to, to remind them of those special little dates in your life...like your birthday, your anniversary, your dog's birthday...you get the idea. How's that for service? Well, you can imagine how over the moon I was at this, right? Even so, just to show you what a rock I am, I held off listing people like my mom, my father, my kids, my sister, the mailman, the guy who goes door to door selling Omaha beef steaks here in our neighborhood, etc., etc., etc., on my "to call" list and just put down Randey's name. And cell phone number. And work number. Oh and his e-mail address. Both work and personal. Don't want to leave anything to chance, now do I? And then I spent a little time writing down the names of some Brighton products that I'm fairly certain will enrich my life immeasurably. Oh okay. Maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. But they'll make me pretty flippin' happy, that's for sure! A Brighton store right around here. My goodness. Will wonders never cease?

I've Been Tagged - The Name Game

Cassie slapped me with a tag bright and early this morning! I don't know if my brain is awake enough to handle this, but I'm gonna give it a shot. Here are the rules for those that choose to follow them: Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Little did I know, blogging would change my whole way of thinking, coping and even looking at things!
Energy is what I miss most about my long-lost-youth (and even my so-recently-passed 30's)
I'm oh so ready for cooler weather to arrive!
Girly stuff is my new obsession (and I had to wait until I was 43 to start this???).
Hot flashes - it's whats for dinner. And breakfast. And lunch. And every other waking moment.

Now let's see who I should torture with a tag....(just kidding - I think tags are fun. The things you learn....). I tag Joan, Aunt Sandi, Marcia, Jodie and Sue. Now let me get to the business of notifying these people. Thank goodness I don't have a middle name as long as Cassie's! Whew!

Another School Year Begins...

It's happened. The boys first day back to school. See their expressions? That's about how I feel. I go from being as blah and unenthusiastic as Kaleb looks, to being as optimistically goofy at the prospect of a new school year as Jacob seems to be. On the one hand...here I sit, all alone. I'll be by myself for about 8 1/2 hours a day. Five days a week. Week after week after week. On the other hand, here I sit, all alone. I'll be by myself for about 8 1/2 hours a day. Five days a week. Week after week after week. Should I be sad? Should I be happy? I just can't figure it out!

My problem is figuring out if solitude is a good thing these days. I used to think it was, now I'm not so sure. What am I going to do all day? I think I'm having an identity crisis. 'Lo these many years, I've only worked when we absolutely needed the money. Otherwise, I stayed home. But now the kids are older. They don't really need me to be at home for them. Nor do we absolutely need the money we'd get if I worked. So where does that leave me? What good am I? What am I worth? I don't feel like I'm contributing much by hanging out at the house all day - it's not like I'm baking up a storm or spending hours cleaning the baseboards with a toothbrush or anything even close. But what skills do I have to bring to the workplace? All my skills are outdated or rusty. What could I put on a resume'? I know I haven't spent the last 18 years sitting around eating bon-bons and watching soap opera's but how do I translate what I have been doing into marketable skills? I'm lost between The World of Stay At Home Mom and The World of the Giant Empty Nest. It seems like Randey's spent our marriage working towards a specific long-term employment goal and I've spent it doing the things that got us through the day to day issues with no thought to what changes the future would require. Randey's still working (and doing quite well in his job - I'm so proud of him), 2 of our kids are grown and living outside our home, the youngest 2 are both less than 3 years away from being legal adults and I'm...well, I'm still at the same spot I was all those years ago except the little people who needed me have become big people who don't. Oh I know they love me and, in some cases, they do still need me, but they don't need me like they used to. And that's a good thing, I know it is. I just wish I'd thought a little more about what my purpose should be after I've fulfilled the Mommy phase of life. How do I get to the next phase? How do I keep from disappearing from the landscape? I want to matter and I want to do things that matter. I've just got to re-learn my life and look past being a mother and look further into being a person. A person who is seperate from her kids because I know that's the way it's supposed to be. Kids grow up, start their own families and their parents become...well, really - just "relatives". See - that's the problem with being a good stay at home mom...eventually, you work yourself right out of a job. lol And then what? What do you do then to fill your days and make your life important?

Hello, World. My name is Kari and I'm looking for a purpose. Anybody willing to hire someone like me?