Wow! It has been a LONG time since I posted on my blog. As you might can tell from reading the archive posts...I went through a rough patch of life. But isn't that how life is? Full of ups and downs; smooth roads and rough paths; and so on...
I'm happy to say that I'm in a better place for most part. Still loving my job, still working towards my degree and still surrounded by great family and friends. I have 2 classes this summer semester, then 2 in the fall and 2 in the spring and then I will graduate with my bachelors degree May 2011!!! Yeah! It's nice to finally see the light at the end of that tunnel.
I'm certain that after that milestone and goal is completed, then I can focus more on me and maybe putting myself back out there on the market. Nope, I haven't dated since the divorce and have not wanted to in any way shape or form. Just staying focused on me and my daughter for now. But she is getting older and I'm getting more of my "ducks in a row" for some fun life changes. We'll see how that pans out.
Also, just realized that this fall will be my 20th high school reunion! WOAH! I need to kick the diet into high gear and get ready for that! ;o)
I'll try to keep up with this blog better in the future...not that I have any followers. It's really just more of a journal for me.
Peace, love and chocolate!

Trying to catch up and catch my breath...

It has been way too long since I last posted. My apologies. So much has been going on....

My husband and I filed for a divorce on our 8th anniversary (June 19th) which was sorta long overdue. We've been separated for almost 4 years and the reasons we were waiting, no longer seemed important to me. The separation did have its benefits such as allowing all of us to get used to the idea of living separately, time to mourn the death of the marriage and heal the wounds, time to pay off marital debts and split up assets and allow our daughter to make the adjustment and grow up enough to understand a little bit better. The divorce was more than civil, friendly even; no drama for us...never has been. I did all the paperwork myself and it is uncontested so we are just waiting on the copy of the signed final judgement. It should be final by the end of August.

Our daughter turned 7 at the end of July and I planned out a huge LUAU for it. That took up most of my July getting all that planned and organized. We had about 30 people there and it turned out terrific. I even made the birthday cake myself! Two days, 5 boxes of cake batter, 14 cups of homemade buttercream icing and a little help from my neighbor...and this is the resulting work of art:

Now we are preparing for school to start back for us both. Sydni is going into the 2nd grade and I have two classes at night this semester. Thankfully, Ms. Patty will be coming over to sit with Sydni while I'm in class. I've been dreading the start of classes...they are getting harder and more time consuming. But I keep trudging along....keep moving forward and eventually I get to that bachelors degree.

We are looking forward to our trip to Boston to visit my friend, Kirsten and her family. This will be Sydni's first trip in a plane. She is becoming quite the traveler. She went to the Grand Canyon with my folks in July, she's been to the Smokie Mtns, Orlando, Atlanta SixFlags, Missouri and so on. I think she loves to travel as much as I do! She keeps reminding me that I told her I would one day take her to Italy. That will be my reward to myself for finishing my degree. She should be 10 or 11 by then!

Until then....I'm thinking our next trip may be to St. Augustine or maybe Ashville or maybe Cedar Park, TX or Sacremento, CA.... who knows?!

Hillbillies on Parade

What a great trip! I brought back lots of inspiration from my time on the road and visiting with family. I realized how much family means to my entire family. No matter what dramas might be swirling in their lives, they come together with love in their hearts and they do not drag each other down but lift each other up. What a comfort it was to be around that kind of love and positive attitude.

We ate a great dinner of BBQ with all the sides and desserts you could imagine. We sang, played or listened to the music made by our families. The kids swam in the pool to beat the heat. It was a successful reunion. This is my daughter in the pool.

My granny on guitar and a cousin on banjo....told you we were hillbillies! hahaha

The highlight for me had to be looking through the scrapbook that one of my cousins has lovingly put together of our families beginning back in the late 1800's. It was another inspiration for me. I have had intentions of gathering all of the old family photos and putting them in my own scrapbook to preserve our stories and history. Now, the fire has been stoked to get the book completed. It was so awesome to look through her book and see my great grandmother on her wedding day and my grandmother at age 19...so beautiful! This picture shows my granny and her sisters.

Here are a few photos of my "hillbilly" family reunion.

This is some of my cousins...my granny's neices. Lots of love in their hearts!There's my granny playing guitar.

Me... ain't I purty?

It was a good trip but alot of driving from Florida to Missouri! I'm exhausted. Off to bed.

PS Happy Birthday, Daddy! I love you!

On the Road Again...

Heading to Poplar Bluff, MO today for the Moore Family Reunion. I haven't been since 2002 and I'm eager to see my relatives. Especially my Uncle Ricky. What a cool cat! He's a confirmed bachelor so to have his sisters, mom and neices under his roof is a hormone overload to his male senses!! It shouldn't be so fun to watch him squirm... but it is!

This reunion... the name of my blog... they are intertwined you know. Sometimes I feel like my life has been over shadowed by a "weight problem" even when I was at a healthy weight. My parents both told me over and over when I was young...I don't even know when it started... that I would ALWAYS have to watch my weight because of my genetics. My family. Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Great Aunts and Uncles... mostly over-weight. The women on BOTH sides of my family (except my Mom) are big women. I'm talking 200+ pounds.

Do you have any idea what this barrage of messages to watch my weight does to a girl's mentality? I grew up thinking I was fat and that nothing I did would change that fact. I've never been satisfied with my body. Not even when I was a healthy 125 at age 22. I look back at pictures of myself in high school and after and think how gorgeous I was and how could I have even thought I was fat???? It saddens me to look at those pictures and I grieve for the girl that couldn't even enjoy herself at that time.

Now days... I know what fat really is. I'm unhealthy, inactive and over-weight. I just had to start taking pills for my cholesterol. I'm depressed most of the time over seemingly nothing and basically just can't seem to love myself. And yes, my parents still will make comments about my weight but not as much as they use to. Simply because I told them how I feel and that I didn't want to hear it ever again. They basically made me this way with all of their negative badgering.

So here I am today, in the process of taking control of my life and my health, about to rub elbows with the relatives that can share in my struggles, understand my feelings and maybe show me that I'm okay.

Next time I post, I'll share some photos of the family. What can I say...we love to eat!

Random Thoughts....

My feet stink. I hate these leather slip on shoes because they got wet once and now they smell anytime I wear them. No, my feet don't typically stink or sweat for that matter. I swear, it's the leather in the shoes that makes them do this! GAG! Hope no one in the cubicles near by can smell them.... more Exotic Coconut lotion to cover it up! Ah.... much better! Opps, everyone that walks by is asking if I just got back from the beach! ;o) hahaha

So I'm a little bit miffed that Bachelor Andy kicked Danielle to the curb. Seriously, she was the one that he said fit him in the areas of family and morals. But no, he keeps Tessa who is doing a bang up job of playing hard to get and stringing Andy along; and he keeps Bevin because he has chemistry with her, but she has some major issues brewing below the surface I think. If I have to guess which one he chooses at the finale, it's going to be Tessa. Something about her... I just don't like, all that stand-off-ish-ness is just too cold for me. I was hoping it would have been Danielle. Yes, I know that there are hours of footage on some over-paid editor's floor that could probably explain why he chose the girls he did, but.... we will never see that footage so I am basing my opinion on what we were shown.

Hemorrhoids suck! Nuf said! Oh, and my last remaining wisdom tooth is trying to break through...yippy!

Will my daughter ever really know how much I love her? How my heart aches and bursts all at the same time when she laughs? She is such a wonderful person already. She makes me laugh all the time. Life is so much brighter through her eyes!

Dude! Shrek 3 hits theaters this weekend! I might be even more excited than my daughter is! Heeeellllloooooo? Why do you think people have kids? So they can see animated movies guilt free! Yeah, she's my cover story.

And I cannot wait to see the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean! Orlando Bloom is yummy eye candy! Summer movies ROCK!

Tylenol PM is the BOMB! Allows me to sleep each and every night pain free! Amen!

Now, I'm off to snag another Diet Coke...

Sand Castles

I took my daughter to the beach this evening so that I could try out my new camera and also get some shots of her to use on her birthday invitations. She'll be 7 at the end of July and she's having a Luau themed party.

There was an awesome sand castle on the beach that I had her pose by. The wind was blowing hard and the seas were rough. But isn't it beautiful?!

I'm so glad spring is here and summer is right around the corner! I hope to take many pictures like this in the coming seasons.