Friday Favorites ~ Splendor in the Grass

Every woman likes to receive flowers, especially when they are delivered to where they work, I can't quite figure out why. Maybe it's because the people we work with don't necessarily get to see our relationships outside of work, but getting flowers kind of validates all the bragging we do about the loves of our lives. Or maybe because it verifies for us that our significant other thinks about us when we're not together. I'd like to believe I lean towards the latter reason, not that I ever have reason to wonder, but it's just nice to know he's thinking of me. Ronnie sends me flowers frequently and I love it.

About 5-6 years ago he found the BEST florist in town. The shop is called Splendor in the Grass, and it's located on 2767 West and 12600 South in Riverton. The owner is named Jesse and she's great. I love the arrangements she puts together. The other day was Administrative Professionals Day and I received several arrangements from several different florists. Although I love all the flowers, the arrangement I got from Ronnie, which of course was from Splendor in the Grass, was by far the best!

Here are a few pictures of arrangements from her website (with her permission, of course):

They also do topiaries, baskets, weddings, and funeral sprays. Please, if you ever are in the need for flowers, call Splendor in the Grass. http://www.splendorinthegrass.biz/

You will not be disappointed!

Happy Administrative Professionals Day to ME!

I just want to thank everyone who has made this day so great. I’ve been overwhelmed by the cards and flowers.

I take my job seriously and I happen to love what I do. Helping people has always been in my nature, so it’s only fitting that I would find my way to this position. While I appreciate being thanked for doing my job, I would like to believe that it’s really all the little things I do that are NOT on my job description that make me stand out and shine.

So, again, thank you to my bosses, coworkers, and my cute husband for showing me how much I’m appreciated.

Enjoying The Ride

Every parent believes their child is special, that he or she is destined for greatness. We hope that our children will be better off then we are, that they will be able to provide more for their children then we are able to provide for them. We dream of their happiness and success. We pray that not only will they have more success then we've had, but they will find that success doing something they love and are proud of. Somewhere along the way, most parents neglect to prepare them for the bumps in the road. The times that aren't so happy or where they feel like they've failed to live up to the standards, that unbeknownst to us, we have helped them set for themselves.

I was reminded of all this Friday night. Ethan didn't win his race and that wasn't something he was prepared for. As is evident by the room bursting of trophies, defeat has been somewhat of a distant memory for him. He has forgotten what I have failed to remind him; win or lose, the most important thing is enjoying what you do. As I leaned over to explain that we don't take him to the races just to win, but rather to have fun, I watched the tears of defeat well up in his eyes and my heart broke.
If I can pass on any wisdom from this, it's to remember to teach your kids there will be times they lose, there will be times of sadness and frustration, and that's ok. What is important is the lessons those times teach us. Teach them to remember that the road will have bumps, but the important thing is enjoying the ride.

WE ARE ALL BORN ORDINARY; IT'S WHAT WE DO WITH THE BUMPS IN THE ROAD THAT MAKES US EXTRAORDINARY!

Friday Favorites ~ D and D Toys

I need to take a few minutes to thank D and D Toys.
You see, Ethan is scheduled to start racing tonight. For some reason, Ronnie picked yesterday afternoon to take apart Ethan's bike to "fix" it. I'm not sure what he was fixing, I think he was more tinkering with it then anything because it worked just fine when they went riding earlier this week. Anyway, at some point he broke the water pump impeller. Apparently this part isn't very easy to replace, as no one within a two hour driving radius had it in stock. They all told us that they could order it, but it was too late in the day to overnight it, we'd be looking at 3-4 days. Which would mean Ethan would have to miss the race tonight.
Well as any good mother would do, I continued to try to look for a miracle. I receive the same answer time and again, until I tried D and D Toys. I explained my situation and the response I got was amazing. Although the store was closing in less then a half hour, he said that if we could bring the part down they would see what they could do to find a replacement, or try to fix the part. Ronnie walked in the door over an hour later, and, drum roll please......Ethan will be racing tonight!
I'm so glad I didn't give up, and found someone who was willing to try to help. These days it's hard to find people willing to go above and beyond what is expected, but I believe we were lucky in finding them last night. Needless to say, we will be doing business with this company from now on.
Thanks again D and D Toys! With that act of kindness and dedication to your job, you jumped to the top of my Friday Favorites list.

And for those of you who are wondering if there was a lesson learned...yes, Ronnie learned never to "fix" the bike the day before a race.

My Wish

Last night while I was getting ready to go work out I caught a music video of a Martina McBride song. In the video a girl walks around New York City with a large pad of paper and asks people to write down their biggest wish. Some people wished for peace, some for help for the hungry, and others for more money. It got me thinking, if I could have one wish come true, not just for me, but for this world, what would it be.

I've realized my wish would be for everyone to have more empathy. The dictionary states the definition of empathy as "the ability to identify with and understand somebody else's feelings or difficulties", while the thesaurus lists under empathy: understanding, sympathy, and compassion. Now, just take a minute to think about that........let it soak in.

If everyone was concerned about everyone else's feelings, think about the drastic changes that would occur. No wars, no hunger, no abuse, no murders...(the list could go on and on), just a peaceful, beautiful world, where every single living soul pitched in to care for those who aren't able to care for themselves.
So that's my wish. After reading this post I hope you'll have a little more empathy then before you read it. And you'll be able to pass the importance of this quality on to the people around you, the people you love, and the people you empathize for.

Tagged by Melinda

One of my "blogger" friends tagged me with a little request to reveal 7 mostly unknown facts about myself.


This is for you Melinda

1. I want a teacup Pomerainian puppy. Look how adorable.


2. I have two half sisters, Shawna and Vanessa, that I wish I was closer to.


3. I love baking and gardening, and that doesn't make me old.
4. My favorite person to have a deep conversation with is my brother, J.D. Growing up with him and having a single mom, made us very close.


5. The sound of silverware rubbing on plates is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.
6. Even though I've lived in my own house for more then 8 years, I still think my mom's house is more "homely" and love being there when I'm sick or sad. It may also be because she's there to take care of me, or because her house is always cleaner then mine.
7. When I was in second grade, my mom had to take a job out of state and I spent the year living with my grandparents. I am so blessed with the memories I have of the time spent with them.

I tag you Sioux!

Friday Favorites ~ Gardening

Finally, the weather is nice enough for me to do one of my favorite things, gardening.

If you would have asked me three years ago about gardening, I would have probably just looked at you with a blank stare, it's completely different now. There's something peaceful about gardening, something I just can't explain.

It all began three years ago, with Ethan asking if we could grow a vegetable garden and since then it's become this huge, enjoyable part of my life. The first year was just the vegetable garden, the next year was the garden and some flowers. The digging, planting and then watching the flowers bloom brought me so much enjoyment that last year I just went crazy with the flowers. I loved every minute I spent in that garden. Before this, when people would talk about there favorite things to do I would wonder why I hadn't found a favorite hobby. I was enjoying it so much, I hadn't even noticed how happy it made me, Ronnie was the one who pointed it out to me.

Then Ethan's birthday came, and he wanted a dog, so we got Shortie. Little by little that puppy tore apart the gardens in our backyard. I swear it sent me into a depression. I stopped enjoying the flowers that were left; I stopped going outside to tend to the garden. It was like he took that love away from me.

But I won't allow that to happen this year. Ronnie has been working on training Shortie, and we've even talked about paying for some training classes.

This weekend I'll start digging and who knows when it will end....

Here are some pictures of things that are already blooming in my yard:

Daffodils

Tulips

Here are pictures of things I need to replant, after Shortie pulled them out last year:

Butterfly Bush
Lilac Bush

Bleeding Heart

Here are some new things I want to plant:

Zinna's
Daisy's

Purple Daisy's

And lastly, some ground cover I'd like to plant:

Lithodra

I'm sure I'll find other pretty flowers to plant along the way. I'll try to remember to post some picture of the garden once everything starts blooming.

Happy Gardening Everyone!

~Advice

I just got an email with this perfect "poem".

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will.

You will have your heart broken probably more thant once and it's harder every time.

You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken.

You'll fight with your best friend.

You'll blame a new love for things an old one did.

You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love.

So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.

Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.

~Unknown

That's some great advice

In Remembrance

Tyler Nelson Lugo

November 5, 1981 - April 9, 2007

We miss you!

Compliment

I just had to share this compliment that my darling cousin Bree gave Ronnie and I on Sunday. She said: "You two are still like newlyweds after all this time. It gives me hope."

Bree, don't ever give up hope, your prince is out there too.

Turning a bad Monday around

For those of you that don’t know, my husband was married once before he met me. Just for a few months, but none the less, married. Sometimes I catch myself wondering what went wrong between them. Whatever it was, I’m sure glad it happened. I have a wonderful husband and I thank God everyday that he brought him into my life.

Yesterday was a perfect example of how he goes above and beyond just for me. I was having a typical crappy Monday (bad morning, late for work, bad day at work, etc) and it was worse because Ronnie was sick. Since I’ve known him he has missed work just one time before this for being sick. Yesterday morning he felt so bad he was having a hard time getting out of bed. But I’m sure he could hear my frustration trying to get me and the kids out of the house on time, and he certainly heard it all on my way home when I called to check on him but ended up venting until I cried.

This is where I am reminded of how great he is. I walk in the door not more then 20 minutes after my call with him and realize he has been up, cleaned the house, was starting dinner, and even had one of my favorite movies on. At this point I don’t think I could possibly love him more, but then I notice a card on the counter, which say’s “open in the kitchen”. The card told me how proud he was of me for giving everything I have to our family and then points me to a post it on the wall which has an arrow drawn on it. After several more of those I come to one that points me into the bedroom. On our bed he has laid out two shirts, a pair of shorts, and the cutest pair of heels. He had actually gotten up, sick as he was, and went shopping for me. And when I smile, he says “I did my job, I made you happy.”

Now I can only hope to make him as happy as he makes me.

What Year Do You Belong In?

You Belong in 1985Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

Does anyone see the resemblance between this picture and my mom in the 80's. She's still just as beautiful.

Do you want to know where you belong?http://www.blogthings.com/whatyeardoyoubelonginquiz/

Friday Favorite ~ Our Las Vegas Trip

In Febraury 1978 two boys were born, two boys who would become two of the most important men in my life. Ronnie was born on the 26th and my brother, J.D. was born on the 27th. Being that it’s 2008, this years birthday was a milestone for them, they both turned 30. Now, I’m not normally a person who likes to make a big deal about adults having birthdays, but how could I let these two turn 30 and not make it a big deal? I couldn’t, so I decided to do something huge. A few weeks before their birthdays, I started making plans with my brother’s girlfriend, Kenna. I found a great deal on flights and a hotel and the four of us flew off to exciting Las Vegas. Now, just so you know, I’m not a big Vegas fan. I’m not into “clubbing” or drinking and I’m not a big gambler, but I choose Vegas because the weather would be nice and regardless of what time it was, there would always be something fun for us to do.

I knew I’d miss my kids, (which I did, immensely), but I have to say, I had such a good time. The weather really didn’t cooperate (when does it cooperate with me), but we didn’t let that spoil our plans.

We stayed at the Red Rock Casino and Resort, which happened to be quite a ways away from the strip …but there was so much to do at the hotel, it was amazing.

This place is like a little city inside itself. Not only is it a hotel and casino, there are several restaurants, including a little food court and two Starbucks, a two or three clubs, a movie theater and its own bowling alley. We spent most of our time at the hotel, except for one day, which we spent shopping and site seeing down on the strip. Ronnie and I even managed to sneak out onto the garden chapel were we were married. It brought back some very fond memories for both of us.
We had two taxis drivers during our visit which each seemed a little crazy in their own way, one overly friendly, and the other, I don’t know if he was trying to break some sort of record, or just wanted to give us the scare of our lives, neither of them were my favorites. But this will be one of my favorite memories with my husband, J.D. and Kenna. I hope they enjoyed this weekend with me as much I as did with them.

I hope you enjoy these pics...


This is an amazing picture of the clouds and the valley from the plane.

Look at this spectacular chandelier in the lobby of the hotel.

Here we are, enjoying the wonderful weather. This is the day we when sightseeing and we stopped to take a few pictures by the palm trees.

We made a stop at the Nascar Cafe to eat lunch. After lunch the boys decided to try their skills at racing on the simulator, neither of them won....

Here are some pictures from the evening...







There is alot of construction work going on down in Vegas right now. These are two of Ronnies favorite pictures from the trip. He loves cranes...




And lastly we had to snap a shot of ourselves at the chapel where we exchanged vows in May of 2000

m-o-t-h-e-r-h-o-o-d spells Stress

Will someone please tell me how moms are supposed to “reduce” their stress? I hear it all the time, people telling me I need to find a way to have less stress. I’ve heard it from my husband, my doctors for years, and just this week my trainer told me to “eat right, drink plenty of water, get 6-8 hours of sleep a night and to reduce my stress”. I know they all mean well and I appreciate that they are worried about my well being, I just don’t know how to do it. Sophia is sick today, she was up all last night, as was I making sure she was ok. I generally worry about her less, just because she tends to have less for me to worry about.
Ethan, now he’s the one I tend worry more about. When he was born I was struck with this intense urge to have him blessed, it was as if someone was pushing me, telling me the sooner the better, and I’m glad I listened and had him blessed. I dread thinking about what may have happened had we not blessed him, but he still has had his issues. It started with the diagnosis of reflux at two weeks old, several bouts of this and that, three surgeries, what I believe is a false diagnosis of ADHD and this was all before he turned 8. Earlier this week on our journey to find the real cause of his symptoms (which are similar to the symptoms of ADHD), I received some test results from his pulmonologist. We’ve found that Ethan has some extremely severe allergies, something we already knew, but not to this extent. We believe these allergies are the cause of his sleep apnea, which in turn is the cause of his hyperactivity. I know he has so much potential and there is nothing I wouldn’t do to help him succeed, and because of that, since speaking with his doctor, I’ve spent my days looking at HEPA filters, vent filters, Petri dishes, de-humidifiers, hypoallergenic mattresses, hypoallergenic carpet and soap, etc. I know one of these days all this worrying and research about this and that will finally pay off and I may actually have a few stress free moments to myself. But for now, I know at the end of each and every day, I’ve done my best to help him be happy and healthy.
I’ll always want better for both my kids and I’ll continue to strive for it. I love my kids and I love being a mom, so if stress is part of motherhood…I say Bring It On!

aPRIL fOOLS dAY!

Have you ever wondered where this silly "holiday" comes from? I should have asked myself that question yesterday, before my two curious children woke up this morning and asked. I didn't know what to say, so I decided today, I'd find out. This is what I found.....
Unlike most other "nonfoolish" holidays, the history of April Fool's Day, or All Fool's Day, in not clear. There is no specific year the "first April Fool's Day" took place. Some believe it sort of evolved in several cultures at the same time, from celebrations involving the first day of spring. However, the closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this so called holiday was in 1582, in France. Before 1582, the new year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25 and ending on April 1. With the restructuring of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Years Day was moved to January 1.
Communications being what they were in the days, many people did not receive the news for several years. The more obstinate crowd, refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the new year on April 1. These people were labeled as "fools" by the general public. They were subject to ridicule, and were often sent on "fools errands" or were made the butt of other practical jokes. This harassment evolved, over time, into a tradition of prank-playing on the first day of April. It eventually was introduced to the American colonies. April Fool's Day thus developed into an international fun fest.
April Fool's Day is a "for-fun-only" observance. Nobody is expected to buy gifts or to take their "significant other" out to eat in a fancy restaurant. Nobody gets off work or school. It's simply a fun little holiday, but a holiday on which one must remain forever vigilant, for he may be the next April Fool!
"The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year." -- Mark Twain

Locks of Love

Yesterday we finally did it! Sophia is 4 ½ years old and she’s never had a haircut, a trim, nothing. Her hair had grown past her waist, and lets just say she has sat on it from time to time. For about a year I've been saying how wonderful it would be to donate it to Locks of Love. Locks of Love is a great charity that takes donated hair and makes wigs for cancer patients. But even though it's a great cause, I was still hesitant, her hair is so beautiful and for a mom, it was hard to let go of. So I made a promise to myself that as soon as she could understand, I would suck it up and do it.
Well, the last few weeks she has been randomly telling people that she is giving her hair to sick kids that don't have hair, so they could feel better and that’s when I knew it was time. So last night we drove over to have it cut. She was so excited; I've never seen a kid so happy to have their haircut. She smiled the entire time. We cut more then 13" and it's still to the bottom of her shoulder blades. Of course I was sad to let it go, I did get a little teary eyed, but I feel good about it. I know she may not truly understand what she’s done, but I hope one day she will love that we did this on her behalf.

(Pictures will be posted soon)