last post of 2008

Hey all! How's it going? All is well here, just busy. I wanted to do one more post to finish out 2008 and I don't have a lot to say except for


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

God bless you all and I will see you next year. Have fun and be safe tonight! :)

it came and went so fast

Isn't it funny how we all work ourselves up for Christmas and it is gone in a flash?

I hope all of you had a good Christmas, we did. We have been busy so this post will be short. We are going to look at cars for Chesney in a bit then I have to come back home and get cook for a small family dinner we have invited a few people to.

Bethany had her oral surgery Tuesday and it went very well. That day when we came home we thought we were going to have take her to the ER because she kept vomiting but that soon went away and she has had a pretty good recovery, she is a tough little bird.

I hope you all are having a great day today and that you all are getting a long weekend from work. Take care, be safe and have a wonderful weekend!

Christmas break....

Today is the last day of school for my two youngest until January 6. I am really excited about that because here lately I have wanted to snuggle under my very warm blankets in my bed instead of get up at 5:30 and get everyone else up. My eldest child started her break yesterday because she doesn't have to go today and take the exams because she had almost perfect attendance.

I will be going this evening to pick up stocking stuffers then I will be D-O-N-E with shopping. I have to go to the grocery store today as well and I am not looking forward to that, I never do, however I always feel that if I have to suffer through walking the aisles of the grocery store deciding what to buy for us to eat I shouldn't have to do it alone so I save my grocery buying for a time when Mr. B has a clear schedule and can go with me. I hate grocery shopping and even worse I hate carrying all those bags from the car to the house then putting it all away while everybody is in the kitchen, in my way, inspecting each item and letting me know if they approve.

This weekend we only have one thing on our schedule and that is Saturday morning we will be going over to our church to help put together Christmas food baskets for those in need. After the Christmas baskets are done Mr. B has promised to take Chesney shopping for a car because the mechanic still can't find what is wrong with her Toyota Camry and Mr. B is tired of her driving his truck so before we leave I am going to take some Advil Migraine because I know for certain I will need it after the car shopping.

Unbelievably, our high today is supposed to hit 68 then by Sunday it is supposed to be snowing a little. There is a motto around here in East Tennessee......if you don't like the weather hang around for a couple more days because it will change. I guess you have to live here or spent some time here to know exactly how true those words are.

I was thinking about this Christmas holiday and how the economy is. Most everyone is on a tight budget this time of year most every year but this year it seems to be worse because of the economy being what it is. All of this led my thoughts in the direction of what to buy for who because I am terrible at choosing gifts and I always want to get something I know that person needs or wants, I don't want to buy something that will be sitting in the closet. When I am undecided on a gift for people I start buying little things to make one big goody bag and this always seems to work good for me. I have done goody bags that included a small ground bag of coffee beans, a nice coffee cup/mug, and a good book from their favorite author, I have also done them with soft fuzzy socks, a soft throw, the newest edition of their favorite magazine, and some nice book markers. I have one relative that I never can decide on so one year I put two individual bags of popcorn, a soda of their choice, a hershey's bar, and a gift card to go towards the purchase of a DVD of their choice. My parents always told me that it isn't the gift itself or the cost of the gift that matters but the thought behind it and I have always taken that to heart. I want my gifts to matter, of course none of us are going to go purchase a gift for someone if we know they will hate it but you understand what I am saying. So if you are having a hard time buying a gift for somebody start calling others that know them and find out what they like and put together a goody bag. The goody bags are as inexpensive or as expensive as you want them and they are fun to put together because when doing a theme is kind of like a treasure hunt and when you start looking for things to put in it you will be surprised at some of the items you will run across that you didn't even know was available. And that, my friends, is about the extent of my gift giving advice when you are clueless on what to buy someone.

I think I will sign off now and get some things around the house done before I have to attend my son's Christmas Party in his classroom. You all have a great weekend! :)

SOLVED

This is a face that we all know, we have all seen on tv throughout the years since he was kidnapped from the Sears department store in Hollywood Mall in Hollywood, Floridia. On July 27,1981 Adam Walsh was with his mother, Reve, while she shopped for lamps. Adam didn't want to walk around looking at lamps so his mother let him stand in the toy section and watch other children play video games. That was the last time Reve Walsh saw her son. Two weeks later, in Vero Beach 120 miles from Hollywood, Adams severed head was found by fisherman in a canal, the rest of his body has never been found. On August 19,1981 Adam's parents, John & Reve Walsh, founded Outreach Center for Missing Children which is known today as the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. In the late 80's John Walsh also helped start a show "America's Most Wanted" that has captured many criminals. Thanks to John Walsh we also have Code Adam in most department stores today. On July 27, 2006 President George W. Bush signed into law the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act.

Last night, December 16,2008, it was announced that a killer has finally been named in this case that is 27 years old. Ottis Toole was the prime suspect from the beginning but after a poor and careless investigation evidence was lost or not retreived so the murder could never be solved. Ottis Toole was arrested on murder charges other cases and while in prison on October 21,1983 he confessed to the abduction and murder of Adam Walsh. Twice Toole confessed to Adams abduction and murder and twice he recanted that confession however, there were things that Toole knew that only the murderer should have known. John Walsh believed Toole to be his sons killer since the first confession. Toole died in prison in 1996 from cirrhosis of the liver and his daughter later told John Walsh that Toole had made a death bed confession regarding Adams case.

I remember watching this case as it was broadcast on tv and watching the movie that aired in 1983 called "Adam", also known as "Find My Child." Later in 1986 a sequel to that movie was made called "Adam: His Song Continues." Like many others this case put fear in my heart and helped make me the protective mother I am today. Several of you who read this blog know my past and know why stories like this are an interest of mine. Critics and naysayers claim that all John Walsh did was put fear in parents and children so that everyone was afraid of strangers and what not, I say that those critics and naysayers have never had nothing like this touch their lives.

In closing I would like to ask all of you to keep the Walsh family in your prayers, over the next few days/weeks Adams case will be sifted through like it happened yesterday and that will be hard on his family as it has been throught the years, at least this time around they can at least have some peace about it.

sickness, oral surgery, a Christmas program and a weekend recap

Sorry for my absence the past few days but things have been a bit hectic around here as I am sure it is for you also. We have two kids home with strep-throat right now and another preparing for oral surgery a week from today, might I add that Miss Surgery is fighting us all the way. Bethany, my 13 year old, will be having her wisdom teeth extracted along with some other work on a tooth that is impacted. She has never been put to sleep before and she is not looking forward to it now. The oral surgeons office called yesterday and the only time they had open to schedule this surgery was on the 23rd. Mr. Breazy isn't happy about the date because it is two days before Christmas and he thinks her holiday will be ruined but it can't be helped because it has to be done while she is on Christmas break or she will miss several days of school which we can't have. I am a real stickler concerning attendance at school, how will they learn if they aren't there .... that is how I look at it. The nurse said that she will still enjoy her break from school despite the surgery.

Chesney and Ty my other two offspring are both down with strep-throat and will be seeing the doctor today. I dread going into the dr.'s office because they were so full yesterday that they couldn't fit either of my kids in, not even in the after hours sick clinic.

Sunday was a busy day for us at church, we had our Christmas dinner after the morning service and immediately after that we started setting up the stage inside the church for our Christmas program. This years program was more of the smaller children except for singing and some of us adults pitched in to help there. We did have one little girl who sang "O' Holy Night" all by herself and it was probably the best cover of the song I have heard, did I mention the child that sang the solo is only 6?

I had not looked forward to the program because of my part in it, I was to sing "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" and all week last week I struggled with my sinuses draining which made my throat all out of whack, it was a bit better on Sunday and I made it through the performance until the last verse and chorus when my voice almost went out two different times. The Christmas program turned out to be a success, not one person forgot their lines not even the 3 year olds. All of the kids had fun and it was a less-stressful program than what we normally have.

As far as a weekend recap, Mr. B's work has been slow, as it always is this time of year, he has been home most of last week and this week so we decided to take advantage of the time and do some touch ups around the house. Friday we worked on areas in the dry wall finish that needed attention like where the house has settled and nail heads were barely working out, which is usual when you build a new home or building of any kind. Saturday we sanded those areas that we had touched up and then we done some painting. We re-painted our master bathroom and it looks so fresh again. One thing I have learned through this entire building process and living in a new home is that #1 you are going to have areas the first year that need attention due to settling, #2 never use an eggshell finish paint again and #3 you will probably change your mind on some of the colors/themes you went with first in some rooms. In the spring we re-painted the kitchen and I did change the color from a very light soft blueish green with eggshell finish to an olive green semi-gloss finish. I love the olive green and most of all the semi-gloss finish because finger prints wipe off so easily now. We did go with the same color in the master bath but we used a satin finish instead of eggshell. We also re-painted the front foyer, living room and hallway however we did use what paint we had left from the beginning, we basically wanted a fresh look and to get rid of some of those hand prints my son can't seem to help leaving behind.

I have decided to change some of the colors in the house just a bit like in the living room. Our current color is like a sand color but I want to go a couple shades darker with a satin finish and paint two of the walls red for accent. Our master bath will stay the color it is now which is Irish Rose, a darker pink, but in the bedroom I am thinking about changing the sage color on the walls to a beige or sand color and using dark to meduim browns and pink to accent with. It might sound weird but I have a vision in my head of what I am wanting. I am thinking about going with a different color in the office as well. The blue in here is so light that everything stays on the walls so I am thinking about changing that, I don't know if I will yet or not.

That is pretty much what I have been up to, how about you?

a blast from the past.....

My daughter, Bethany, dances to the beat of a drum that only she hears. I always tell her she was born about 20 years later than she should have been. This morning as I was taking her to school she slips a cd in my player and we rocked out to Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns-N-Roses. Now when I say rocked out I only mean that we both were singing and doing the Axel Rose sway, we weren't head banging or anything like that...although we have done that before just not while I am driving. I am not much of a head banger, never have been really but I like to have fun with Bethany and music is one way for me to do that. Listening as dear old Axel belted out the lyrics took me back to my teenage years, my first concert was my favorite band at the time Motley Crue and opening for them were Guns-N-Roses. That was just a few months before G-N-R really became "big time" as a matter of fact at the time nobody really knew who G-N-R was but we all liked the music they were rockin'. I remember having to beg and plead for permission to go to that concert because I was only 13 at the time and my parents weren't too thrilled with the idea of letting me go but alas they gave in since my cousin, their favorite neice, was taking me. When we arrived at the concert I didn't know what to stare at first, all the people or the stage but I figured it out real quick when the G-N-R took the stage. We were on the floor as close to the stage as possible which was spitting distance and I think I learned more that night than any other in my life. The first thing I learned was "if you wear a mini-skirt always remember to wear panties, especially if you are attending a concert and you plan to sit on some mans shoulders for a while." I also learned that when the crowd starts swaying back and forth, sway with them, I learned that you can get a major contact buzz just from being around folks who are passing joints around and that if you are a short person such as I, (5'.5") you do NOT need to stand in the crowd on the floor because those wild people will swallow you whole. Within a half hour after Motley Crue hit the stage I remember feeling out of sorts because I couldn't breath from all the hot bodies, cigarette smoke and smoke from joints being passed around. I was very disoriented and the next thing I knew some gigantic tall man had me on his shoulders and I could barely hold myself up, I did have one heck of a view of Vince Neil though :). Once I got my breath back and could stand on my own, my three cousins and I decided to move on up to the lower balcony.

That concert was the beginning of my love for concerts. Poison was also another favorite band of mine and I saw them perform 5 times and neither of those times did I even think of getting on the floor. Since then I have been to so many concerts that I have lost count, the most recent concert that I attended was on April 12, 2007 when I took my 15 yr old daughter to see her favorite country singer, Dierks Bentley. That night Miranda Lambert opened then Jason Aldean then Dierks Bentley, it was a great show and of course it brought back so many memories. The Dierks Bentley concert was held at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum which was where I attended the Motley Crue/ Guns-N-Roses concert, most of the other concerts I have attended have been held at Thompson-Boling Arena or The World's Fair Park.

Anyways, there is a small blast from my past, how about yours?

time for Christmas cards...

It is once again time to start sending out Christmas cards, I have most of your addresses but some of you I don't have. If you would like to exchange cards then send me your address at eazybreazy@gmail.com, or a new address if you have moved.

Sorry this post is so short but today is a busy day for me. Y'all have a good day, be safe and stay warm! :)

are our children safe on the bus?

Each morning as I am taking my two youngest to school we stop by a gas station so that the kids can get a snack for school. This gas station sits on the side of a very busy highway that we have to cross and you wouldn't believe the stuff that we see during this stop, this morning I was pulling out of the stores parking lot and watched a school bus come barreling down the highway, full of children mind you, and drove right through a red light. The bus driver was barely honking the horn to let the drivers crossing who now had the green light know that he/she wasn't stopping at the RED light. All I could think to myself was that God must have had his hand on that bus protecting those children because other wise there would have been a devastating accident. The bus was going so fast that I couldn't even get the number off of it to call in and report this incident, and folks wonder why my children do not ride the bus in the morning. I want to know where the school systems are hiring these wreckless drivers at, what are the requirements to driving a bus and is it going to take a near fatal and or fatal wreck to get the idiot drivers off of the buses our children are on? Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that all of our bus drivers are bad but I think that our county needs to check them out a little more before they give them the go ahead on driving a bus.

All of this has had my mind going in all directions, one thought I had was that normally when a bus is involved in a wreck the population always thinks it is the driver of the other vehicle that was at fault but I am wondering how many times the fault was on the bus driver and how many times that detail has been covered up to keep counties from being sued. My two youngest ride the bus home because there is no way I can be at the elementary school to pick my son up at 2:45 then turn around and pick my daughter up at the middle school, which is about two miles away, by 3:15. I don't have two hours to wait in line at schools to pick my kids up so they ride the bus home and both of their bus drivers have been driving for our county for years and years, as a matter of fact my daughters bus driver was my bus driver when I was in high school, he had just started...he was a great driver then and he is a great driver now and my favorite thing about him is he treats the children on his bus as if they were his kids/grandkids.

When I was in 7th grade we went on a field trip to see a play in Knoxville, there were three buses and our driver was a woman I had never saw before. On our way back just a couple of miles from the theater our driver was talking on her CB, not paying attention and rear-ended the bus in front of us, a lot of us ended up with minor injuries from that wreck including a handicapped girl that was sitting on the back of the bus we hit. Our driver kept saying she didn't know what happened, the brakes had failed...yada yada.., after the investigation not only on the brakes but the entire bus, they concluded that she wasn't paying attention so she was given a warning and had to have another adult that worked in the school system ride with her for x amount of time. It wasn't even a month later this driver had another at fault rear-end wreck and that was the end of her in our county.

I think it is absolutely terrible when you put your kids on a bus and you don't know if the driver can be trusted. As I said previously, I trust my kids' bus drivers and if I didn't then I would sit and wait for however long I had to to keep them off the bus.

I know this post is boring but these are the thoughts going through my mind this morning so I will ask all of you to tell your bus stories about bad drivers..etc...if you have any.

Y'all have a good day, be safe and stay warm! :)

catching up

Good morning! I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving, we certainly did. It's been a while since I posted so I thought it was time for an update.

I am sitting here in my office with my blinds opened so I can watch it snow, we aren't expecting any accumulation but the flakes are big and fluffy so it is pretty to look at. Each year on Thanksgiving night I drag my Christmas tree out and put it up but this year I haven't done that yet, I am thinking about doing it Friday night and making an evening out of it with the kids.

Did any of you go shopping on Black Friday? I never do because I am not willing to risk my hide over material things around a bunch of "my kids gotta have it first" lunatics. Here in our local Wal*Mart there was a fight between two women over an item, one of them went to jail and let me tell you that is the Christmas spirit! I don't see a point in fighting over things that are supposed to be gifts for your loved ones, I mean this is the season of giving but at what extent? Just be the bigger person and let them buy it, a better deal will probably come along for you anyway. I love all of my people but I refuse to be arrested over a gift, to me that takes away the meaning. Some people get off on that kind of thing though and they think fighting over an item or getting arrested makes the item mean more.

At church we are preparing for our Christmas play, this year the smaller children are doing the play and I am so excited to see the finished production. All three of my kids and myself are taking part in this play, Ty will be Joseph, Bethany will be an angel, Chesney will be singing "O Holy Night" with a sweet six year old who has the singing voice of an adult, and I will be singing lead in "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" and the entire cast will join me after a few lines. I am excited because the lines the kids have to remember are very simple and short, Chesney and I have no lines to remember thank goodness.

I have talked about how I love to cook in previous posts and about my habit of watching the Food Network Channel, this time of year is my favorite time to watch the FNC because you can get all kinds of ideas to change up regular recipes. This year for Thanksgiving I took Tyler Florence's idea for awesome mashed potatoes. You use Yukon Gold potatoes and boil them in 2 cups of milk and 2 cups of heavy cream, a bay leaf, and extra virgin olive oil.....oh my goodness they are delicious. Tyler also added a clove of garlic to the milk and cream then when he mixed them he added spicey grained mustard, I didn't use the garlic or spicey grained mustard because my mom doesn't like garlic. When you drain the potatoes you keep the milk and cream mixture to mix your potatoes with, you will have extra liquid left over and you keep that to freshen the dish up if you have people coming in and out throughout the day if you are serving them for a Thanksgiving meal or some type of meal where people will be in and out at different times of day, they are absolutely delicious. If you would like to try the recipe then click on Tyler's name and I have it linked.

I guess I am going to sign off now and finish up everything I have to do this morning. Y'all have a beautiful day and be careful out there for those of you who live in areas experiencing winter weather conditions.

my dad, the veteran

For Veteran's Day I had planned on doing a post regarding my dads time in the military but I got sick and didn't feel like posting so today I have put that in this post.

Right before Christmas in 1967 my dad received his draft notice, he was 20 years old. On January 16, 1968 he was inducted into the United States Army and was sent to Fort Campbell, Kentucky for basic training then on to Fort Polk, Louisiana for Individual Training (combat). On June 13, 1968 he left from Fort Lewis, Washington headed to South Vietnam. In Vietnam my dad served as a rifleman with the Americal Division, Co. A, 4th BN, 196th Infantry Brigade, 31st Infantry. He was near Da Nang and Chu La Provinces until April 13, 1969 when he contracted Tropical Sprue. He was then transferred to the 95th Evacuation Hospital in Da Nang then on April 16, 1969 he was transferred to the U.S. Army Hospital in Camp Zama, Japan. On May 16, 1969 he was transferred to the U.S. Army Hospital at Fort Campbell, Kentucky until June 16, 1969 when he was then released for a 30 day leave. On June 28 during this 30 day leave my parents were married in a small country church near my mothers home. On July 21, 1969 my dad returned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky where he served as a Drill Instructor in the Training Brigade, Co. B, 4th BN, U.S. Army Training Center until January 20, 1970 when he was honorably discharged. My dad served in the U. S. Army Reserve until January 20, 1974.

Throughout my life we have never talked much about my dads time in Vietnam because we all feel that it is a disrespect to bring up an unimaginable time in his life and if he wants to discuss it he will. We have all asked some questions but nothing that delves into "why" he was there or the "what" he was doing. I mentioned my parents wedding in a small country church near my moms home, on May 1, 1993, almost 25 yrs later, in the same church using the same minister my husband and I were married then on May 9, 1997 in the same church using the same minister my brother and his wife were married. I feel so much gratitude and respect for my father because of his time fighting for this country's freedom.

My dad and mom met through my moms brother who was also drafted at the same time my dad was. All of Uncle Ervin's information is the same as my dads except that he was in the 198th Infantry Brigade and he was killed on September 13, 1969 when a rocket propelled grenade hit the area he was in. Three days later on September 16, 1969 a car from the Department of Army pulled into my grandparents driveway, the two officers informed my mothers family of my uncles death. It took two weeks for my uncles body to arrive back home for the funeral.

Y'all have a good day and I will be around to read all of you throughout the day. :)

my apologies

Hey y'all! I am sorry I didn't get my post up for Veteran's Day, I have been sick along with others in my home.

I hope you all are doing okay and I will get that post up in a day or so when I feel better. :)

I'm still kicking...

I have not posted lately because I have been busy, fighting sickness, partially lazy, and most of all not wanting to get into the whole election thing so I figured it was time to drop a word or two.

Last Monday Tennessee Volunteer head coach Phillip Fulmer announced that he would be resigning at the end of this season. This resignation comes not because Fulmer wants it but because the University of Tennessee athletic administration and a lot of the "so called" fans want it. It was very hard to watch the live conference of the resignation and I do have to say that I am not happy about it. I know that this season the Vols have done absolutely terrible but I believe if you are a true fan then you will stand behind them and continue to support them even through the bad times and not dog them, no matter what team it is simply because not every team can be winners all the time. I do hope that whatever coach they hire to replace Fulmer will not be a whiny, crybaby as some that you see in college football. My personal opinion is that the UT athletic administration should have started getting rid of other people such as our offensive coordinator David Clawson. Our offense stinks to put it plainly, everybody knows it but nobody wants to look at the real problem, they just want to lay blame solely on Fulmers head which is unfair in my book. Anyway....I don't need to get on that soap box so I will move on.

Last Tuesday we elected a new President. All that I will say on that subject, simply because I don't want to argue with anyone, is January 20, 2009 will be the end of an error. I wasn't in favor for Bush in either of the elections he won and I am still not in favor of him, I believe that the shape our country is in is proof that we needed a change and no I am not laying that blame all on Bush's head because his word isn't the last word in the Presidency anymore if you know what I mean. I pray for our country and pray that the right man has been chosen. I do want to say that even though I am not wild about Bush's leadership skills I do believe that he would be fun to hang out with as a person.

It has been nice not having four nights a week of football practice. We have reclaimed our evenings and we are enjoying the time together as a family. This Saturday we will attend the awards banquet then in early December we will participate in the Christmas Parade here in town and after that we will be done with football until spring practice.

I do want to give a reminder that tomorrow is Veteran's Day. If you know anyone who has, is, or will be serving in the military for this country please give them a call tomorrow to show your appreciation for what they have done, are doing, or are going to do for us. My dad is a Vietnam Veteran and I plan on doing a post all about that so come back tomorrow for more reading, if you want of course.

Today is the 6th anniversary of my cousin Flora's death. I have mentioned it before, nothing detailed or anything. She was only 16 and her death has affected many members in our family and for some, including me, it was something that has changed the way we look and live our lives. Keep my family in your prayers today please.

I guess that is about all I have for today. As I said earlier, tomorrow I will be doing a bit of an in depth post on my dad who is a Vietnam Veteran so I hope to see all of you commenting tomorrow.

Have a beautiful day and God Bless!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

I haven't had a lot of time here lately to post as I would like to but I did do some refreshing yesterday afternoon and I hope you all like it. I do not have a lot of time now because I am cleaning house and I am going with the team mom of my sons football team to get all of the items we need for the Halloween Bon Fire/Bash that is scheduled for tomorrow evening. I also have to clean my van a little because if I have to drive it with it looking like it does now I am going to go insane.

With all of that being said, what little there was, I hope each and every one of you have a very safe and fun evening doing whatever it is you have planned to do.


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Monday again, where'd the weekend go?

Good morning, I can't believe the weekend is over already. Over the weekend we didn't have a lot to do but it seemed we stayed busy the entire time. My kids love when I take them out for breakfast before school so this morning I took my two youngest out for a nice breakfast before school, my eldest daughter won't get up that early to go out so I bring her something back. On the mornings that we go out for breakfast I always know that the morning is going to go smoothly meaning that everyone is going to jump out of bed all bright eyed, bushy tailed and ready to face the day ahead. From the way they act you would think I never provide breakfast for my offspring, I guess going out is a lot more fun.

We have a cold front moving through today, the temperature is supposed to get to 50 then start dropping rapidly and tonight they are saying that we might get snow flurries. Snow flurries are unheard of this time of year around here, we haven't had a good snow since the blizzard of "93" so we are due for a winter full of the fluffy white stuff. The bad thing about this little cold front is that by Friday we are supposed to be back in the lower 60's which means that everybody is more than likely going to end up getting sick because their bodies can't adjust to the rapid changing temps.

My kids are ready to find something scary to do for Halloween, I have seriously thought about driving them to North Carolina to see the Brown Mountain Lights but I am not sure if we will do that or not. I'm certainly not going to go dragging them off chasing some ghost story or other but there are things you can do that isn't delving into the dark side. Another idea I had was to go to Savannah, GA or Charleston, SC for a ghost tour, for that matter we could go take Gatlinburg's ghost tour but I think the lights would be the best thing because people have witnessed them for years and there is nothing evil or dark about them. We still have a few ideas on the table and one of them is staying home and having a movie fright night which sounds lovely to me. What are your plans for Halloween?

I have today pretty much free because I have everything done that needed to be done. I was on the phone with friend last night and got all of my sweeping, mopping and laundry done so here I am with nothing to do now...I might take a power nap, the weather is perfect for it because it is all cloudy and overcast so it is darker than usual outside. I am sure I will find something to do with myself throughout the day.

Tonight we have Ty's football homecoming to attend, the folks that run the football program wanted to wait and have homecoming on a day when we had no game or anything that would rush things, I along with my family will be dressing very warm for this event.

I think I will sign off now, just talking about the chance to take a nap has my eyelids getting very heavy. It could also have something ot do with the fact that I was very cold after taking the kids to breakfast then school then came home to a nice warm home. Y'all have a beautiful day! :)

still around.....

Good morning. It has been a while since I posted so I figured it was time. Football season is almost over, we only have one more game to go and we are done as far as games go. Monday we have homecoming then there will be a Halloween bon fire party, a banquet and last the Christmas parade. We are riding the fence on football being over because on the one hand it will be nice to have our evenings back but on the other hand we will miss watching the kids have so much fun practicing and playing.

We have been busy as a person can be but at the same time we really haven't done anything, we haven't had time to do anything for pleasure the past week or so. We are all fighting off a cold right now, I am dealing with a kidney stone and a cold which is very lovely.....NOT :( . The temps around here have dropped and I can't remember how long it has been since it has been this cool this early in the year, we have already had our first frost and freeze...unheard of around these parts nowadays. Normally we don't see our first frost until mid to late November and some years December so with the cooler temps I am praying for a snow filled winter that is colder than a well diggers backside. Maybe if we could have a very cold winter some of this sickness and insects would die off. The one thing I don't like about cold weather is that my bed feels to good to get out of each morning, this is a good thing on those days when I can stay in bed but not on school days. Yesterday I broke a record, I slept until 10:30, got up ate a bowl of Special K and put some clothes in the washer then went back to bed and got back up for the day at 12:35. It felt so good however if I had not been sick I wouldn't have been able to stay in bed past 8 or 8:30.

I am ready to get into the Halloween spirit now that our schedule is slowing down. I am ready to watch all of the scary shows and take the kids to the Corn Maze and all that good stuff. Our oldest one will not go to the Corn Maze because she is afraid of the corn, she watched the movie "Children of The Corn" about three years ago and I am beginning to believe that it scarred her for life..heehee.

Well, there is really nothing more to talk about except for the same day to day things that we have been doing which will put you all to sleep so I am going to sign of now and do something productive around here. Y'all have a beautiful day!

we have braces....

Today was the big day for Bethany, she had her braces installed. Thus far she doesn't have the entire set on top or bottom because they are wanting her front teeth to move some then in three weeks we go back to have spacers put in then a week after that we go back to have the brace bands and the remaining brackets installed on her back teeth. She has an upper cuspid that is impacted, it basically has no where to go so we have been referred to an oral surgeon which I have to call Monday. The oral surgeon is going to(after the initial exam of course) put her to sleep, remove tissue off of the impacted cuspid, place a bracket on it and a pull down loop so that the orthodontist can insert a wire that will slowly extract the tooth from the gum. This is a good thing because Beth was afraid that they were going to have to pull the tooth that is where the cuspid should be but the orthodontist said it wouldn't have to be pulled, the only drawback is that the ortho. wants all four of her wisdom teeth removed at the same time they remove the tissue and place the bracket and loop. I said "the only drawback" and I want to clarify that, Beth is the only one that sees this as a drawback and I have to say that since it is her teeth she has the right to see it that way however as her mother I feel that getting the wisdom teeth out of the way is the best thing. She will have the braces for 2-2 & 1/2 yrs.

Ty played his last football game last night, tonight they start practicing for the playoffs and Super Bowl. I am glad that football is almost over but I do have to admit that I will miss it for a couple of reasons one being that Ty enjoys playing so much and it keeps him busy. Next year the football program will have a new administrator and this new administrator has approached Mr. B about being head coach of the Midgets next year because he said he had watched Mr. B and the kids really respond to his positive attitude and also because he knows football well. Once football is completely over I will have a lot of extra time to do the things I enjoy doing again like blogging.

Pastor Appreciation Day is this coming Sunday and guess who is hosting the day of food & fun? correcto mundo..yours truly. I am doing things different than what has been done in the past by simplifying everything. We are going to have food then move outdoors for lots of games, inside games for backup in case of bad weather. I have to go this week and pick up the gift the church is purchasing for our Pastor and his wife, I hope they like it because it is something beautiful and I would love to tell you all what it is but since this is a public forum and anyone can find me I will wait until after Sunday to tell you.

Who has their fall decorations out? I meant to have all of mine out but so far I have put nothing out. I still have plenty of time because I leave my fall decor out until Thanksgiving Day.

I am so happy that the election is only three weeks away because that means that it will soon be over with, I am seriously dreading this election because I am not in favor for either candidate but we have to vote for somebody so I just want it over with. Anyone else feeling that way?

Now it is time for me to sign off and go fold my towels in the dryer. Y'all have a beautiful day!

Friday again....

We finally received some rain after I can't remember how many days without. Everything was starting to look all yellow and dead but now it is looking more like fall which is my favorite time of year. Yesterday we took the kids and went to Gatlinburg for a day of fun. The scenery on the drive was absolutely breathtaking, to me anyways. It doesn't really matter what season we are in I love our mountains.

With fall underway I always start changing our menu around so that we can have more seasonal type foods but still stay in the fresh department. I have been craving beef stew for a couple of weeks now and since we really have nothing to do today I threw all the ingredients in the crock pot to cook and simmer for a few hours, my house is smelling so good right now. I have been using my crock pot a lot lately because I haven't had time to stand over the stove and make a meal, I refuse to serve frozen sodium loaded dishes that you pop in the oven for thirty minutes or more and after eating them you feel as if you swallowed a balloon and gained a hundred pounds while doing it.

Football season will be over for us after Monday's game, the only thing after that is the Super Bowl, award banquet, and the Christmas parade none of which require four nights a week of practice well they may continue to practice some until the S.B. but I don't think it will be four a week.

I have noticed that once again stores are already displaying their Christmas items. This really bothers me because I feel like they need to let us get Halloween over with. I love Christmas and decorating for it but it seems each year the Christmas items go out early and that burns me out as far as the decoration part goes. By the time the holiday arrives I will be praying for stores to remove the items.

I will be making my way around blogland today at some point or the other to read all of your blogs.

Y'all have a great day!

mumbo jumbo

Good Friday morning! I am so happy to see Friday finally arrive, it has been one "those" weeks around here. We have been fighting sickness and keeping up with our non-stop schedule. Speaking of our non-stop schedule...it will calm down soon because football season is almost over, I don't know if that makes me happy or not because on the one hand I am ready to chill for a bit and on the other I am really enjoying watching my son have fun playing football.

Bethany has a big day coming up soon, she has been waiting for this day for some time now and she is ready to get it over with. October 14 is the day and the event is that her braces will be installed. For some reason some of the kids she attends school with has told her horror stories about getting braces put on and how painful it is. Either there are some pretty wimpy kids out there or they are just trying to scare her because it isn't that bad, some gum soreness but nothing to take to your bed over just take Tylenol or Advil and viola!

I was in our Hallmark store yesterday buying some cards for some folks and I happened upon the Yankee Candle tarts. Candles, potpourri, and things that smell good are a weakness for me because I love good smells especially seasonal smells. So now my house smells like Spiced Pumpkin. Normally when I purchase the tarts I buy 20-30 of them at a time which equals out to 10 or 15 different scents because I have two tart warmers but yesterday I only purchased two tarts however I will be going back to get more. I would rather put jar candles on a warmer instead of burning them because I have found that the candle smells and lasts longer that way so you are basically getting more bang for your buck, the tarts are perfect for me because you don't actually burn them you melt them.

I had mentioned in my last post that I needed some help on researching a certain someone and that it related to my eldest child, Chesney, in a way. What was going on was that a sex offender was harassing her and some of her co-workers. This man is 45 and he has a thing for young girls between the ages of 16-18, and was charged several years ago with more than one count of rape, why the sicko isn't still in jail is beyond me. After scaring the daylights out of my daughter one Saturday evening and not leaving her alone, at the request of a very sweet woman that watches out for the young girls working in that particular area of the mall, Chesney called us and after we arrived the man was escorted out of the mall and banned for 30 days. His 30 days will be up on the 20th of this month and if he has a brain at all he will not come near my daughter again. We have been told that we can do nothing about it unless he physically does something to our daughter or if he follows her around other than just coming to her workplace. My thoughts are that he isn't going to get the chance to "physically" do something to her and if he tries then he will meet my evil side very quickly. It is kind of like putting crack near a crack head and telling them if they turn around and smoke it so that you can't see them and nothing will be done. I don't think so, not in this life time so if he comes near her again I will be taking the law into my own hands. There has only been one incident since he was banned from the mall and it was small.

Cooler temps have made it here, how about where you are? We actually had to turn our heat on last night because it got so cool. With cool weather I start thinking of comfort foods so this morning after taking the kids to school I came back home and filled the crockpot with meat, veggies, and seasoning.

I am in the process of getting Mr. B a blog going on his hardwood company however my time has been limited so I haven't got very far with it, there isn't even a post up yet. Once I get it going you can find it in my blog roll listed as CB&T Hardwood Flooring.

The dryer is buzzing so I guess that is my sign to go fold the clothes and put them away. Y'all have a wonderful day and a great weekend!

God Bless You!

absence.....

It seems just when I think I will be able to have more online time our schedule fills up and over once again. I do have an update concerning Ty and his football team, he has been moved to A Team defense (first string) since my last post. I also made mention in my last post about not being able to see out of my contacts and thinking that my doctor prescribed the wrong prescription...the prescription wasn't wrong however, they weren't the toric lenses either and since I have astigmatism I really need the toric lense. I also have severe dry eye and the brand of contact that I wear, Acuvue, didn't have a lense for sever dry eye and astigmatism until last month. I now have a trial pair of the Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism and I am loving them because I can see again and my eyes aren't irritated by the lense. Tuesday morning we found out that our dental insurance is going to cover Bethany's braces 100%...yay! We feel extremely blessed by this decision because a lot of insurance companies will pay only a small percentage which leaves you paying the rest of the bill and an expensive bill it is.

Gas prices have went way down from where they were when Ike hit, they went from $4.99 a gallon to $3.34 a gallon for regular unleaded. Now if they will continue to drop more because even though it is cheaper, $3.34 is still too high if you ask me.

I really don't have anything more to post about but felt that I should at least post something. I do want you all to know that I am not trying to ignore any of you, we are dealing with a very scary, frustrating situation concerning our 16yr old daughter. I do not feel that right now would be the best time to elaborate on such a public forum. I will say that my daughter has done nothing wrong and is in no trouble.

If any of you have any pointers,shortcuts..etc... on searching for a persons background information (especially criminal records) without having to pay for it please let me know, if it comes to the point that I have to pay for the records then I will but I don't want to if I don't have to. I am starting at the library then moving forward because I have tried the internet and so far I am coming up with the pay x amount for these records. The reason I do not want to pay for the records at this time is because I do know the middle name of the person I am searching for. If you have advice you can contact me at eazybreazy@gmail.com.

Y'all have a great Thursday!

why East Tennessee/ Saturday morning football game

Before I talk about my sons game on Saturday I am going to climb on my little soap box for a minute and talk about gas prices. Did you all know that East Tennessee had higher gas prices than anyone since before Hurricane Ike hit? Here is just a small mention from people who drive a lot to make their living. The only thing I have to say about the article is that the reason our stations ran out of gas was because of the high demand Thursday night through Saturday. I was lucky because a friend of a friend of a friend who works in the oil industry put a bug in my ear before prices started climbing early Thursday, my friend called me about two hours before the pipes were shut off in preparation for Ike's landfall. Until then I hadn't even been concerned about gas prices, my focus was on all of those who were leaving their homes that might not be there after Ike was gone and those that chose to ignore the evacuation and stay. Here is another article issued from the same local news station gas prices being highest here. The one thing I will say regarding that article is that Knoxville isn't the only place where the prices are high like that. I live in the county directly South of Knox County (Knoxville) and our prices are that high as well. Now I am stepping off my soap box and moving on to football...










































Ty had a game on Saturday for B Team only which he is on since he has never played before. It is a great opportunity for those B Team guys to show what they've got on the field and that is exactly what my son did.

Picture 1. The coaches are pep talking the guys before game time.
Picture 2. The are getting ready to run through the banner that the cheeleaders made.
Picture 3. The run through the banner. I love it when they are getting ready to run and when they do run through the banner because they are all so pumped up and shouting EAGLES, EAGLES, EAGLES in unison.
Picture 4. Here they are on the line getting ready to play ball. My son is #48, second man from the right in the green jersey. My son made the first tackle of the game, he also played several positions during the game even running back. I had my contacts in and I didn't get to see him running the ball but his dad and his coach were so excited about it because he done so well. Coach J told me when Ty had the ball he was twisting, dodging, blocking, and turning like a pro. He joked with Ty telling him that they were going to start calling him Fancy Feet because of the way he had his feet going when the ball was in his hands. He didn't just break through the crowd but he was out running them by a good distance and headed for the endzone, less than five yards away from it the referee blew the whistle. The ref was actually being a smart aleck by blowing the whistle to early because our coach had mentioned something to him Monday night, when we played the same team, about blowing the whistle to late. All of the guys done a great job Saturday, not just my son..it was a great team effort however in the end the opposing team took the victory with one point more than our team. You couldn't tell that the other team had won by looking at our guys because they along with the coaches and parents were very happy with their playing in the game and if you ask me then that is all that matters, not the win. Just so you know, when I mentioned I had my contacts in and couldn't see the reason is because I am almost 100% sure that my eye dr. prescribed my contacts wrong because I have not been able to see out of them since getting them. I haven't been able to wear them constantly either because of hay fever and all that.

Since Friday was Ty's 11th birthday we had a small gathering here at home Sunday after church with family only to celebrate with cake and ice cream.
Picture 5 & 6 are of the cake. I was very upset over that cake because I had ordered it over a week in advance but when I went Saturday afternoon to pick it up it had not even been started. Somehow it had been over looked in the orders so I told the lady (very nicely) not to freak out because he wasn't having a party that day but I did need her to go ahead and do it because we were having a small paryt the next day. I picked the cake up Sat. night about 8:45 and it was not right but the bakery had closed so we couldn't take it back. This is the first time I have ever had problems with this bakery, all the other times I have ordered from them I have been so pleased but not this time. The only thing they did get right about the cake were the colors but oh well it is over with now.

Oh yeah....picture 6 also shows my new antique table and china cabinet. We have not had time to go look for raw wood chairs so you will have to excuse the metal chair sitting there.

Y'all have a great day!

Ty's day...

Today is a special day around the Breazy house, it is Ty's 11th birthday! He is my youngest and I am not believing that this day is here. Each year I am shocked because it seems the years keep getting shorter and shorter. Not only does it seem the years are getting shorter but it seems when compared to Ty so am I. He is already wearing the same size shoe as me. I am destined to be the shortest in our family of five. Ty always tells me not to worry about being short because he will always take care of me, isn't he sweet!

This pic is of Ty (#48) and his team getting ready to kick-off. I am glad I snapped this when I did because on this play Ty made the tackle.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful day!
Happy Birthday Ty, I love you!

this, that and a meme

It has been over a week since I have posted so here I am. I was going to try to post some pics of the antiques I recently bought but I haven't even had time to do that. Between school functions, Girl Scouts, Football four nights a week and sometimes on Saturdays, church, and a few other activities/functions we rarely have extra time for anything these days. Tuesday evening I had Mr. B to finish up supper (all he had to do was stir then turn the heat off) because I went to visit my mom and sister. They had to have their dog Beethoven, a standard Schnauzer, put to sleep so they were sad. They have owned Beethoven for almost 16yrs so it was like losing a family member. He looked just like the picture except he was silver and white with no black at all. R.I.P. Beethoven.

Yesterday I had to pick up some dish liquid, the only brand I have ever liked using is Dawn. I normally use the Antibacterial but I noticed a new Dawn on the shelf. It is called Hand Renewal and it is supposed to keep your hands from drying out after washing dishes so I bought a small bottle of the pink (Pomegranate and Splash) to try it because I hate dish pan hands. Yes I have an awesome dishwasher but I never put my pots in there because they are brushed stainless steel and they will lose their luster after a small number of times in the dishwasher. Speaking of dishwashers, here is what I use and I do recommend it. After supper I washed my pots and I could tell a difference in my hands, they weren't as dry and my pots still came out squeaky clean. If you are a buyer of Dawn then I highly suggest this new line.

Now since I really have nothing else to blog about I thought I would do a fun meme that I saw on Peachz blog. I wasn't tagged so I am not tagging anyone however if you want to do it I would like for you to let me know so that I could check it out when you are done.

Finish the sentence Meme......
Rules: finish the first half of the sentence which is in red with a true statement about your life.

1. My Uncle once...picked me up by the belt loops on my jeans and swung me around my grandmothers kitchen.

2. Never in my life have I...been like normal people....heehee.

3. When I was five my parents...found out that I have a weird love for automobiles. My brother learned of my new love too when he tried to play with one of my hot wheels cars without asking me..to make a long story short- he bled and I had a sore bum and that is all I am going to say about that because it is a painful memory..heehee.

4. High School was...the second school I attended in my life because I attended K-8 in the same school, times sure have changed since then because we have elementary, middle and ninth grade academy schools now.

5. I will never forget to...thank God for all He has blessed me with.

6. Once I met...Shawn, better known as Mr. B, I felt like I had found the half of me that I didn't know was missing.

7. There's this boy I know...who is very good at football even though he has never played before this year...go Ty!

8. Once, at a bar,....I felt very out of place since I have never been a drinker but I was the only one who would volunteer to be designated driver for the soon-to-be brides party. Her favorite local band was playing at the bar so she wouldn't go anywhere else. I haven't stepped foot in a bar since that night 15 years ago and I don't plan on it either.

9. By noon...yesterday I was already worn out because I had cleaned like a woman gone mad.

10. Last night I...went to church then came home and got online.

11. If only I had...went to bed instead of playing online I might not be yawning now.

12. Next time I go to church...my son will be 11. Tomorrow is his birthday.

13. What worries me most is...our choice of candidates running for President.

14. When I turn my head left...I see the office door which lead in through the front foyer.

15. When I turn my head right...I see the office window.

16. You know when I am lying when...just trust me you will know if you are looking at me because my face is like an open book or so everyone tells me. I can't lie anyway because I would have a guilty conscience.

17. What I miss most about the Eighties...is that you could have a bad hair day and nobody knew because they thought you were just trying out your very own style.

18. If I were a character in Shakespeare I'd be...hmmm..why don't you chose which you think I would be.

19. By this time next year I will...no longer have a child in elementary school..yikes they are growing up!

20. A better name for me would be...Mrs. Clean.

21. I have a hard time understanding...what is so hard about picking up after yourself or putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

22. If I ever go back to school...I will either go into Forensics, Medical Transcriptionist, or Meteorologist (I love knowing what the weather is doing/going to do).

23. You know I like you if I...keep coming around.

24. If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be...God for enabling me to do whatever I done to deserve the award in the first place.

25. Take my advice, never...just tell someone you love them, show them.

Before I go I want to mention that today is the 7th anniversary of the terrorist attack on our country. Remember to pray for those families that lost loved ones and for those that worked rescue/recovery who had to see the tragedy up close and personal.

Y'all have a beautiful day!
God bless you!

productive holiday....

Good morning all! I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday yesterday.We had a very productive day yesterday, all weekend actually.

I am the type of person who isn't all about the fashion or having the best, most expensive decor in my home. I am picky when it comes to certain things that go in my home and a dinning set is one of those things. The reason for this is because my family and I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and dinning area of our home. Mr. B and I have always been real big on everybody gathering at the table for meals and that is partly why the furniture in there is important to me. Friday I stopped by a yard sale that was being held by some friends of ours that attend our church. After going to church with this family I never knew that they collected antique furniture. I bought a dinning table, buffet, and china cabinet from them and oh my my these pieces have been taken care of because they look new. There were three chairs that came with it but I told her to keep them for the other antique table that she has for sale, we need six chairs and I am not willing to mix match. Mr. B is on the look for chairs in raw wood, he wants to stain and finish them himself.

Yesterday was a day for getting those things done that are on our "one day when we have time" list. We accomplished much throughout the day, I got all of my house work done yesterday so today I am free to do what I want to do.

I was disappointed with the Tennessee/UCLA game last night, the referee's made some bad calls that really cost us, I am just glad that we didn't lose by major points.

Well, I guess I will go now and surf the net for a bit. Y'all have a great day!

my Unspectacular Quirks

Good morning all! I have been tagged by the beautiful Mona.

TAG RULES
1.) Link to the person that tagged you.
2.) Post the rules on your blog.
3.) List six unspectacular quirks you have.
4.) Tag six bloggers by linking them.
5.) Leave a comment on each persons blog to let them know they've been tagged.

My quirks....

1. Spontaneous singing in public. My kids hate this quirk about me because if a song is in my head then it automatically comes out of my mouth no matter where I am at and you never know what song is going to come out. Sometimes I think the song itself is the most embarrassing part for my kids because I am a mom therefore I am not supposed to know all the cool hip songs, to their way of thinking.

2. Most women have a thing for shoes or purses but not me,no sir, my thing is for automobiles. That is right, anything with four wheels and a steering wheel and I am lovin' it, it doesn't matter if it has a manual or automatic transmission just move over and let me take a drive. The quirk that comes with this is that at night I can see headlights/tail lights and identify the make, model and most of the time the year of the vehicle either coming towards me or going past me. If you ever want to see me really drool then take me to a vintage car show, my hands itch to get behind the wheel and feel the power especially if it is a 68 or 69 Super Sport Chevelle.

3. When I buy a book I can't get rid of it even if I don't really care for it that much. A lot of people I know will take their books and trade them or swap with friends but I can't seem to make myself do that.

4. I can't stand seeing an unmade bed. I do not know where this comes from but at my house if the beds are not occupied then they have to be made neatly.

5. I can't take a shower with the bathroom door closed. When the steam from the shower starts flowing through the room I will get very claustrophobic and freak out if the door isn't open. This sometimes causes a problem when we are on trips or not at home. By freak out I mean that my chest feels like it is being squeezed, I break out all over with sweat, my heart feels like it is going to beat out of my chest, I get lightheaded, and I have been known to cry almost hysterically to keep from fainting.

6. I am a detail person. I pay more attention to those little minute details about things. If someone is explaining how something works to me they need to include those details because if not then I will have question after question after question about it. My middle child, Bethany, shares this quirk with me.

As for tagging other bloggers, I normally wouldn't tag but in this case I would like to know a bit more about each one of these ladies. You will notice that the last one is my daughter, I am curious about her answers as well because sometimes it is things like this that we don't think to talk about so there might be a quirk about her that I haven't caught on to or noticed.
Peach
Shari
Angela
Erica
Bethany

Y'all have a beautiful day and be safe!

hello, hello.....

Hey all! It has been almost a week since I last posted so I thought I better go ahead and take the time to post real quick. We are finally getting some rain after a very long dry period and I couldn't be more happy seeing the wet stuff fall because this means that the air will clear some and then our sinus/allergies will clear as well. We are also expecting rain tomorrow and Wednesday..yay!!

This is going to be a very busy week for us starting tonight. Our church is having it's yearly Harvest Revival this week from 7-9 each night (mon-fri). I do not know how tomorrow evening is going to play out but I do know that in order to attend everything that it is on our schedule I need to have three bodies instead of the one. We have Ty's first actual football game from 6:30-8...GO EAGLES!! also at 6:30 we have the first parent meeting of the 2008-09 Girl Scout year, and then of course the revival. I have told Bethany's troop leader that we will probably not be there because there is no way I am missing my sons first football game, the troop leader will just have to email me all the info they go over or call me Wednesday with it.

If any of you have been over to Bethany's (my daughter) blog then you know that she is a crazed fan of the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer. Bethany and I share a love of books and we often discuss the books we are reading with one another in the evenings if by chance we find ourselves alone in the living room. Since Bethany started reading the Twilight saga she has told me about the books, no spoilers just a basic storyline and I have been very fascinated from the first moment. As I mentioned in a previous post, I bought her the fourth book that hit the shelves on August 2 for her birthday which was August 3. I pre-ordered the book online and when it arrived I couldn't help but read a few paragraphs which then lead me to stop and ask Bethany if I could borrow her set so that I could read them in order. I started the first book and read about two chapters in probably two weeks because I was so busy that I couldn't get a chance to sit and dig in while reading so last Monday I finally picked the book back up, started at the beginning and couldn't let go until I had finished with the fourth book yesterday. Now I too am a huge fan of the Twilight saga and I can't wait until the movie comes out in November so that I can take Bethany and my best friends daughter to see it. I am not getting my hopes up though because the books are always better than the movie but I am excited to see what they do with it.

I am sure that all of you heard about the tragic school shooting that happened in Knoxville last week at Central High School. I find it very scary that in the past month Knoxville has been on national news twice, the church shooting and now the school shooting. When these things happen in your backyard it lets you know that yes these things can happen where you are. My prayers go out to all of the families involved in both incidents.

Well, I hear the dryer calling my name buzzing once again. Y'all have a beautiful day and take care!

catchin' up quickly...

Hey all! I wanted to post an update here. I am still breathing even though I haven't been around much lately. On top of being super busy, we are all sick with sinus/allergy problems.....gotta love hayfever time!

I hope all of you are doing well!

what do you fear?

Each morning as I am taking the kids to school I listen to my favorite radio station, 107.7 WIVK. It is a country station because you all know how I am about my country music and all but anyway.....I listen to this station in the morning not for the music but for the information. This station is the first to announce important closures, traffic reports, weather reports, urgent news articles or what have you. Not only are the up to the minute on all the important details of life, they also talk of weird and/or odd things that you usually wouldn't hear. Today they were talking about weird things (fears,phobia's,superstitions..etc..) that has stuck with us from childhood. They were talking about fears/phobia's that are most common which are spiders and snakes. There was a woman that had emailed in and told them that if she is watching tv and sees a snake(s) that she can't sleep that night and if she is walking in a park and sees a snake she will never go back to that park from fear of seeing another snake. She said that her husband wanted to take her to a pet store that had snakes so that she can get up close and personal with them to help her fear but she refused, her husband calls her crazy over her fear of snakes however, she calls him crazy because he thinks that if she were around snakes it would take her fear away.

I can relate to this woman because I have a very deep ingrained fear of snakes, as a matter of fact snakes are my worst fear. There are a lot of things in this world that I fear but snakes top the list for me. I have had this fear of snakes for as long as I can remember so there wasn't one incident that put this fear in me. If I go to a pet store, which I often do to pet the puppies, kittens, & birds, I stay away from the snakes because I will have nightmares about them that night. I can watch shows about them like "Venom 9-1-1" and sometimes I do not have nightmares but more often than not I won't sleep well that night. If I am driving down the road or riding in the car with someone and we see a snake slithering across the road I will have my feet on the dash before you can blink and for our remaining time in that vehicle I will keep looking in the floorboard to see if the snake slithering across the road has somehow got stuck around the tire or caught near the motor and is making it's way out via near my feet. Sounds crazy and is funny to some but this it is real to me. I honestly believe that snakes are evil and as Kathy Bates' character in "Waterboy" says about everything, "they are of the devil." Now if I am walking in a park and I see a snake, that doesn't keep me from going back to walk at that particular park but it does make me hesitant when I come upon the area where I previously saw the snake and most times I will not walk near that area until someone else comes along if I am alone.

Another fear I have is of heights. When I was pregnant with our oldest child, Chesney, the farther along in the pregnancy I got the more I dreamed of a glass staircase going up into nothing with no hand rails and nothing below it and that is where my fear of heights came from. Before I became pregnant heights didn't bother me at all but the older I become the worse it gets for me. I love Tennessee Volunteers football and I always wanted to go see a game at Neyland Stadium, better known as "The Big House", so finally Mr. B took me and the next year he took me one more time, I have not been back and don't see myself going back because when I get in that stadium my equilibrium goes berserk and I am left unbalanced and disoriented. Mr. B likes to sit up higher in the stadium but each time I have been if I stand up I start falling sideways but I think I am standing straight, also when it is time to go or if we are taking a bathroom break I have to close my eyes and hold on to Mr. B while walking down the stairs because those really throw me off, we probably looked like a couple of loons walking down those steps when we went because here I am with a death grip on Mr. B with my eyes closed and he is telling me to step now, step now, go to the right for this group of people coming up and so on.

Everybody always laughs about it but I am a double checker. When we leave I double check curling irons, straighteners, lamps, tv, computers, windows, dryer, dishwasher..etc... to make sure that nothing is left on, open, or running, I do a repeat before bed. Another fear for me and this one sounds somewhat silly but I fear uncleanliness. To explain my fear of uncleanliness here is are some examples. 1..I am busy cleaning house all morning and wait until I complete what I am doing to shower but before I get to shower someone calls with an emergency and I have to leave. Not only do I have to leave but on my way to or from where I was going I end up in an accident and have to be taken to the hospital, they wouldn't have to worry about injuries from the wreck killing me because I would die of shame at not having took a shower. 2...I am busy or tired and don't get the hardwood swept or the kitchen mopped or the dishes in the dishwasher immediately so that I can take rest a moment then while I am resting someone stops by unannounced. Mr. B tells me I worry too much and that as a child I shouldn't have taken the saying "never leave home without clean undergarments on" so literal.

So now you know what some of my fears are, what are some of your fears?

we made it...yay!!!!

It has been such a hectic week here. First of all the kids went back to school a week ago today. Saturday we went to watch our friends son play in a scrimmage game of football. Once Ty saw the game he wanted to sign up ,so he did. He is on the Peewee team because his birthday falls after September 1 however, Mr. B and I think that is a good thing because he has never been in pads until Monday evening at practice, he really impressed me since all he had ever played was front/backyard football. His team practices on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 6-8PM, when the regular games start they will be on Tuesdays and sometimes on Mondays. Their Jamboree game will take place tomorrow so we are excited to see what comes of that. For now Ty is starting on the B team which is second string (most of you probably know this but I didn't) but yesterday at practice he really got the coaches attention so he may be moved up to A team before the season is over.

Sunday was Bethany's 13th birthday and all she has talked about for months is the new book in the Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer, Breaking Dawn. This book was released on August 2nd but I had pre-ordered it online so that we could get her copy without waiting in the long lines at the bookstore. The book came on Monday and when I opened it I couldn't keep myself from reading an excerpt from it so now I am going to have to read the entire series to answer my questions from the first two or three paragraphs in the first chapter of the new book, Bethany wouldn't answer any of my questions about the situation being explained in those paragraphs. I have been telling her that I wanted to read them so now I am definitely going to make good on that one.

I don't think I have mentioned it in any of my previous posts but Mr. B and I have been losing weight since the last week in April and we are doing very well with it. Yesterday morning I climbed on the scales to see if I had lost any more weight and I was surprised to find that I have lost 31 lbs. This really excites me because I haven't really worked that hard to lose the weight and we haven't denied ourselves any food that we wanted. At the end of this year I will post before and after pics of myself.

I hear the dryer buzzing so I guess that means that I need to sign off and get busy again. Y'all have a wonderful weekend!

special wishes.....

Yesterday was a special day around our house, Bethany turned 13. She has finally made it to her teenage years. At church I teach the Teens Sunday School class and for months Bethany has complained about being in the Juniors class and having no other girls in there because the other girl(s) moved up over a year ago so now she is an official student in the Teens Class with all of her friends and her big sister....Congratulations Bethany! Bethany, like me, is a book lover and she has been crazy over the Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer so I made her a little something special for the celebration on here. Her cake will look like this as well.

I am proud of you, I love you, and it is a true blessing to be your mom.

Happy 13th Birthday!!

Love,
Mom

an award....

Kelly at My Utopia has given me a blogger award, the BrillANTE Weblog Premio-2008. Here is what she had to say about me....

Breezy: Besides having a cool blog title, this mother of three's blog is a breath of fresh air. I love reading about her everyday adventures. Quote "My two youngest offspring have decided to trade bedrooms and why they didn't do this in the first place when we first moved in a little over a year ago is beyond me".

Thank you Kelly for your kind words. I too love reading your blog and seeing you experience motherhood for the first time.

Here are the rules:
Put the logo on your blog. Put a link to who awarded it to you on your blog also. You need to nominate 7 other bloggers for the award and put links to them also on your blog. Finally, leave a comment for those you've nominated- so they know they've received a special award.

Normally I wouldn't list anyone but this is different than a meme and it is also a great way to let someone know that they are not only a blessing but an inspiration to you.
Here are my 7:

Lime: A beautiful mother of three who can make me laugh until my sides hurt and/or leave me speechless with just a few words. She is intelligent, creative, kind, caring and thoughtful. Lime will tell it like it is, she just says it in the most unique way. I have never read a dull or boring post on her blog and every Friday you can read a post called "DaCount" to find out what she is thankful for each week. It is a true pleasure to read her blog and I thank her for sharing pieces of herself with us all in Blog Land.

Logo: A beautiful, sassy, red-head who is very adventurous and likes to post about her adventures with pictures as a bonus. Logo is very creative, intelligent, kind, caring, thoughtful and hilarious. She has two sons who are just adventurous and creative as she is. I really enjoy reading about her life's travels, new things she has found on the big web and her day to day life as a wife and mother. Thanks Logo for sharing yourself with us.

Susie: Another beautiful mother who is also creative. Susie is a hoot and you never know what will be posted when you are headed for her blog. My favorite posts of hers are about India. Each December Susie takes a trip to India and she posts pictures and tells how different it is from our America. Thank you Susie for sharing India with us.

Jillie: A beautiful nurse who has a very kind heart. Jillie is full of energy and passion and it all shows in her posts. I enjoy reading Jillie's posts concerning her travels, times out with friends and just life in general. She has a very kind heart and will be the first one to send a birthday card out to all of her friends. Thank you Jillie for all you do and for being a breath of fresh when sometimes no fresh air can be found.

Shari: This beautiful mother of two has opened my eyes to a genetic disorder that I didn't even know existed. Shari has Usher Syndrome Type II. Her posts are centered around how she deals with life while dealing with hearing loss and loss of sight. I admire Shari for speaking out and teaching others about her disorder, also for sharing her day to day life. Thank you Shari, you have taught me so much about appreciating the "little things" in life.

Mona: A beautiful mother who lives in India. Mona is very intelligent and she too is adventurous. Mona has her own way with words that makes it very fun to read. Her posts will cause you to stop and really think about the difference in how things are done here in America than how they are done India. She is most always very upbeat and happy and always has something positive to leave in your comment box. Thank you Mona for sharing your life with us.

Ameratis: Last but not least, A beautiful new wife who has big heart and a way with words. Most of her posts nowadays are concerning her married life. I enjoy reading her Flash 55 posts because she has a very creative mind and like the others she is wonderful with words. Thanks Ameratis for letting us see bits of your life.

It was hard for me to think of things for each person I awarded because I could go on and on about each one of them, they are very special to me.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but things here are busy with trying to get the kids ready to go back to school tomorrow on top of everything else we have to deal with.

I hope you all have a great day, week, weekend!