Senior moment

So no trip down my ring memory lane would be complete without the obligatory senior ring photo. Why two? Well no self respecting girl from the class of 79 would be without her boyfriend's senior ring too. That's right. A young man would spend (or have his parents spend) a major chunk of change on a big ole senior ring (have I told you that in Texas bigger is ALWAYS better) and then he would then turn around and give it to some dumb girl. (well except for me) I chose the ring with the weird blue rainbowey hue to it. I have to question my teenage taste when I look at it now. I wore it for a year and of course ceased to wear it when I went to college. I mean who would be juvenile enough to wear it then. I am happy to say that my kids did NOT get a senior ring. It's not that the same exact company that sold my husband and I our dust catchers did not send out their glossy catalog to try and entice them, it's just they didn't care about it. My husband, possibly in an attempt to assuage his own guilt over making his parents buy him one, asked and offered each of our children a senior ring. They politely declined. Smart kids. Perhaps there is hope for this new generation.
P.S. If my son would have wanted one you can be sure that the only way he could give it to some girl would be over my dead body and when he paid for it himself. My husband is just lucky that he lives in the same house as me and can visit his senior ring whenever he wants.

Antsy. That has a nice ring to it.

Ok....so this picture just does not do this one justice. If you look very closely (old people put on your cheaters) you will see an insect. Which bug you ask?...hmm....not quite sure. When I was 10 years old I thought that it was an ant, but that was before I moved to Texas where every child quickly becomes an expert on ants. Ask any Houstonian about the brown mounds of loose dirt that dot our landscape and they will tell you stay away from those fire ants. Why would we call them fire ants you ask? (my you are full of questions today) Because when they bite you... and they will..... you feel like that area of your body is on fire. But that's not the worst part. After the burning and stinging subside then cometh the itching and scratching. But wait there's more and it is my favorite part, you are then left with a painful purpley pink pustule to pop. (ahh alliteration) But I digress....this ring was given to me by my parents after they came home from a trip. My mom said that they purchased at a museum. Ripleys Believe It or Not I presume. I didn't really like it at the time (sorry mom) and so it went in the jewelry box. I have come across it many times in my drawer and have never thrown it away. Funny thing is that now I kinda like it. In fact i think I will wear it to church on Sunday and see if it gets noticed. It's very 60's retro I think. Is that in?
Btw: I look tired don't I. Trips down memory lane can be exhausting.
Btw2: See that crooked pinky fingers. It never bothered me too much until Guitar Hero. Do you see the way that it turns inward towards the other fingers. It makes it so that I cannot play on any other level than easy. That stupid crooked pinky just slips right off the button. My children make fun of me and say that it is just an excuse. IT"S NOT! It is a handicap!

Moody!

I am a woman of many moods. How do I know this? Is it the fact that I am a woman and by my very genetics is a given? Is it because I have an incredible level of self awareness? Is it the frightened
looks on loved ones faces when a new mood emerges? Nay....it is not any of
of those things (Do you think that the use of nay "dates me") It is because
I have a mood ring.
Not just any mood ring. This is a bona fide mood ring from the early 70's. Not the cheap imitations that surfaced a few years ago when they tried to revive the trend. This ring was forged in a simpler time. No computers...no Wii....no cell phones....no gameboys to amuse or hypnotize us. This was not only jewelry but it was TECHNOLOGY! My friends and I all had one and we took very seriously the rings ability to gauge our moods and therefore predict our future. (Besides Quija boards were a no no for good mormon boys and girls.) For those of your who aren't familiar with the mood ring I will explain: First you put the ring on your finger and wait until it changes color.
The color black means: anxious, excitable
green means: sensitive
blue-green means: relaxed, calm
blue means: happy, love
amber means: nervous, tense
amber green means: troubled, uneasy
After you detemined your mood you were then free to make important
life decisions based on the power of the ring. As you can see today I am
relaxed and calm. Whew I'm glad about that!
I found it the other day while cleaning out my jewelry
box. (otherwise known as going down memory lane) I found a forgotten
cache of rings. It is an interesting and odd assortment. It's like a
time capsule of being a teen in the 70's. So dear readers
you are in luck this week. This is only the first installment on a series that
should keep you entertained all week. What....you don't care about my
rings?? Watch it my mood ring is turning amber!

My daughter loves photography and anything that has to to with pictures. When she was little she would take

the family photo albums and stare at a picture for the longest time which for a girl we called the whirling dervish is pretty amazing. She was the child I knew would appreciate the thousands (my kids would say millions) of photos that I have snapped over the years. I knew that no matter what happened to me she would carry on my tradition of tormenting others with her camera lens. What I wasn't prepared for was just how good she would be at it. Now I can sit at the computer (photo albums are so yesterday) and stare at her pictures for the longest time. Your photos rock my world, peanut. Thanks

This is my son.
He is serving a 2 year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Guatemala . He is serving a mission for 2 years and I will not see him for 2 years except for the occasional pictures like this one. I will.......I DO miss him terribly but I could not be prouder of him. I could not be more in awe of his strength, dedication and character. If you want to know more about what he is doing and why a 19 year old boy has devoted 2 years to sharing his testimony of Jesus Christ or even how I can let a piece of my heart live in a jungle in Guatemala go here. http://lds.org

Heartbeats

A piece of my heart lives in this country. Look toward the North and you will see the spot. Yup.....that's where it is. Some days I have a hard time keeping my brain from joining that piece of my heart. It's easier to deal with if I don't think about Guatemala at all but who am I fooling...there is no chance of that. So here it has popped up right on my blog where I shall see it often. Who lives there and what are they doing there???.......a picture and a post tomorrow. Tonight my heart with a piece missing is tired and wants to go to bed.

This is a picture of when it cold outside and your webcam has too much gamma or not enough gamma or just the right amount of gamma. I don't understand a gamma thing about the photo editor on this web cam. But I know I am cold and 68 degrees does not seem as warm as it use to. Maybe I should stop chewing ice and adjust my gamma. Does anyone know what that even means?

GRUGGLE

I was looking for a picture of something that started with a "G" ( I won't tell you now since it will ruin the element of surprise once I actually do find it on this crazy piece of machinery) and I could not find what I wanted but was intrigued by a photo file simply known as gruggle. Well what the heck...doesn't my site need more gruggle? I downloaded and anxiously awaited my dose of gruggle. Couldn't help but smile. Turns out it was exactly what I needed today. Who knew?

Yay Megan Yay!

Yay Dave Yay!

You did it! Congratulations!

Snowflakes....snowflakes.....snowflakes.
I am seeing them in my sleep.
Big wedding coming up.
Friday!
Theme: Winter....snowflakes
So much to do before I sleep.
Snowflake dreams
Praying for NO real snowflakes on the big day.
Thrilled for my daughter...
love my future son-in-law!
Snowflakes.

Did you think I dis-ta-peared???

(Note the serious look...I have not yet mastered smiling at the right time on the webcam lol)

One of my children (I can't say I remember which one for sure) when they were little loved to say when things were mysteriously gone that they just dista-peared! I am sorry to say that for quite awhile I think I just dista-peared. I would like to say that there were hugely compelling reasons but it just sorta happened. Sure there were things like Christmas shopping and wedding planning, candy making and airport shuttling, package wrapping and movie watching but really the long and short of it is that me...Momshell......well just kinda dista-peared. I don't know if that means I am just not cut out for the blogging world or if now that a new year has begun I will reappear and stay for good. I guess it will be something to watch out for. Maybe the webcam on my new laptop that Mr. T so sweetly gave me for Christmas will keep me appearing on a regular basis. Maybe my blogging nap is over and I can resume this experiment with all of the joie de vive that it deserves. Stay tuned my loyal readers.

P.S. Thank you Joey for the kind words on your blog! You made my day!

P.S.S. Happy New Year everyone!!