Totalled

As you all may recall we were in an accident a week ago (you can read about it here if you don't know about it yet). All of my aches and pains have gone away. All except for one. My right shoulder still really hurts. This morning I called the Dr and went in for an appointment. It has now been determined that I hurt my Rotator Cuff in the accident. I now have physical therapy to do here at home for it not to mention that I'm not to do that much with my arm. For a person that is VERY right handed this isn't going to be easy. He even stated that I shouldn't put any "undo pressure on it whether it's lifting, pushing or lying on it". Well guess which side of my body I sleep on! That's right! My right side! Doesn't make for comfortable sleeping that's for sure. If it doesn't feel better in another 2 weeks I'll need to see a specialists and one that deals in car accidents. In other words a specialists that not only deals in this type of injury but one that will work with accepting car insurance payments. Oh...and since the visit to the Dr's my shoulder really hurts! He put it through the "ringer" during the exam. Guess it's a good thing to have thorough doctor...but dang it hurts even more now.

It really stinks being the "good guy" right now. We're having to pay for everything while the person that hit us, the one that has minimal insurance, the one that didn't get a ticket, the one that will probably not even lose a penny to his name gets off completely free! Once we got home from my doctors visit we got some news on our van. There was $8421.30 worth of damage done to our van. It is now totalled. After Sam gets home from school today we'll go over there and clean it out. Luckily the car dealership is willing to take that as a payoff so we don't own any more on that van. You see we just purchased it last May. The VERY bad side of this is that we now need to purchase another vehicle. We have absolutely no money right now. Our rent payment is due this week (1st of the month) and that will take most of Andy's next paycheck leaving us with some to live off of until his next paycheck. I know that we'll make it through. God is on our side.

I have spent most of these past hours just sitting here (because I'm not to do much with my arm) crying, feeling royally pissed, angry, upset, and hurt right now! I can't verbally talk about it without breaking down. I hate feeling this way but I guess it's a good thing to get it out. Guess that's why I find myself writing it down here.

Texting

WARNING: MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN!

I know that a lot of other bloggers out there have posted this video. But for those of you that have yet to watch it I'm begging you to do so right now. This is the "PSA Texting while Driving U.K. Ad" that will probably never be shown here in the USA because of how graphic it is. After our accident last weekend, after seeing teens/adults texting while they are driving, and now being a very jittery and nervous passenger I'm now posting it on here so that maybe even more will see this. I don't know for sure but I'm pretty sure that the person that hit us wasn't texting. But now days you never really know who is and isn't. Sam now really watches other drivers and comments on them while we are driving around. I know that even though Sam wasn't physically hurt in the accident that it did drive home the importance of seat belts and paying close attention to your driving. I hope that it stays with him for a long time. I don't text at all and in fact I don't even have a texting plan on my phone. But some day I may and I'll remember this PSA for sure. If you have a teen or know of an adult that texts while they drive either have them watch this PSA or sit down with them and have a heart to heart.

Looking at the Moon

Last night I noticed that the moon was out right after I tucked Sam into bed. I quickly grabbed our telescope and focused it in on the moon and then called Sam out from his room to look at it. This time I remembered to grab my camera! He's really interested in watching the moon, stars and planets. Looks like I created a monster. BUT I LOVE IT! I loved learning about them when I was younger so now I get to do it all over again with him.

Now a question for all of my readers out there. What books would you suggest for Sam to learn more about space?

Here's one of the pictures that I took last night. You can even see the moon in the distance up in the sky.

Business Card Giveaway

I've entered a giveaway for Business Cards from U Printing Giveaway at Mission Mommy and thought that you might like to also enter.



Here is what you can win:
(2) PRIZE WINNERS WILL RECEIVE

* 500 Business Cards
* Choose size: 2x3.5”, 2x3”, 2x2";
* Choose paper: 14pt card stock (matte or gloss coating) & 13 pt card stock uncoated
* Choose Color: (4/4) Color both sides; (4/1) Color 1 side , B/W backside; (4/0) Color 1 side, black backside

Check it out!

Fourth Grade!?!?!

I can hardly believe that I have a fourth grader now. This is his last year in Elementary School here. It seems like I was just taking him to preschool. So far he LOVES his teacher! This is so great because he had a pretty hard year last year and had difficulty with his teacher. I can't begin to tell you how happy this makes me. He told me today that his teacher is, "making learning fun"! Granted that it's just the second day of school but I'm still doing a little happy dance. I did remember to take some pictures yesterday morning. I'm not that happy with them because he wasn't in the "mood" to have his picture taken. But by golly...I always take his picture on the first day of school and I'll probably do it until he's out of high school. Or at least that's what I'm saying now.

Before getting in the car to leave.

At the school and just out of the car.

I don't know why but this next picture is one of my favorites from that morning. He was walking towards the school and still had some worries about the day. His feet are carrying him along the way. I just had to focus in on them.

On the first day of school he came home with a sheet of questions that they all got to answer. I loved some of his answers and thought I would share them here.

1. My favorite place is: Silver Dollar City.
2. After school, I like to: skateboard.
3. When I feel sad, it helps to: play football.
4. My favorite time of year is: summer.
5. I wish I were as tall as: my dad.
6. I'm good at: soccer.
7. If I could rule the world, I'd: eat candy.
8. I could make school a better place by: more recess.
9. If I had $100, I'd: make more libraries.
10. My favorite possession is: my dog.
11. If I lived in another country, I'd like to be: famous.
12. On my birthday I'd like to: swim.

On a completely different subject...our van. If you don't know what happened read here. Our van was towed away yesterday. We now have a rental car...it's nice. Don't know when we'll here what the total of the damage will be. Just from when Andy was there he found out that the hood, grill, and front bumper will need to be replaced. What's scary about that is the front didn't have that much damage compared to the back! The sad/frustrating news is that the guy that ran into us has insurance through the dealership that he purchased the truck from. It's a broker and they said that they couldn't get someone out here to look at the van until the end of the week. Wouldn't even do a rental car until possibly then either. So...we're filing with our own insurance and they can fight with his. It's really frustrating that those of us that do have insurance and are not at fault in an accident still end up paying for everything. I'm still really sore. Mainly my right shoulder and elbow. I'm giving it a few more days and if it doesn't show sign of starting to feel better I'll head to the doctors. My headaches are finally gone and my neck and back pain are starting to go away. But I still do feel the aches all over.

Last Weekend of Summer Vacation

Yesterday was supposed to be a day celebrating the last weekend of our summer vacation. It started out GREAT!

We had promised to take Sam out to the Lego store so that he could spend his allowance that he had been saving up. He'd never been to one of there stores and could not wait to go. What was really fun was watching him as he was wondering around the store. He was so awe struck!

I love the fact that he kept his hand in his pocket and on his money. Check out his hand!

We also took him out for lunch at Tin Star. It was WONDERFUL! By that time it was time to head back home. It was roughly an hour or so drive and with it being the tax free weekend her we knew that we would run into some traffic.

Then on the highway home it happened. W.H.A.M.!!! We were hit from behind. We had heard the squealing of tires before it happened. We also hit the person in front of us. But since we were pretty much stopped on the highway (actually due to an earlier accident) we didn't hit them hard at all. They had a small dent in their fender. The front of our van has some damage but the back is where it really is. The alignment is off and we also have a flat tire in the front. I'm guessing we picked up some debris on the road from the accident and it was pretty much flat when we got home. Looking at the pictures just doesn't seem to do the damage justice. In real life it looks much worse. Here are some pictures of the back of the van:

Sam, Andy and I are all fine. I'm pretty darn sore. I jammed my right arm when it happened so from my shoulder down to my fingertips hurt pretty badly. I have a terrible headache and neck/backache to go along with it. It will take time but I'll heal. My emotions are going all over the place right now. Which is driving me crazy. I'm the one in this family that keeps most of her emotions in check. Now I'm walking around fine one minute, sad and crying another, then turn around and I'm raging mad. TIME will heal it all...that I know. But for now I guess I'm living in the moment.

Peaches

This afternoon while I was fixing our lunches I remembered that I had some cut up peaches that were nearing the end of their life in our fridge. What to do. I got out our blender, poured in all the peaches and their juices, poured in some milk, added a couple of handfuls of ice, some wheat germ, and a couple of Sweet n Low packets. Blended it all up and I had a wonderfully cold peachy smoothie! Sam will not drink any of this so I ended up with 3 cups worth left over. So I poured it into a container and have stuck it into the freezer. I'm hoping it will make for a great frozen dessert. We'll see.

I ♥ Faces - Bubbles

At I ♥ Faces this week the theme is "bubbles". First thought was the usual. Either take a picture of Sam blowing bubbles outside or in a tub full of bubbles. Nope. I wanted something different.

When you only have one child and you take 1000's of pictures of them there are times where they really don't want to have "just one more" taken of them. But tonight I gave my son permission to do something that he is not allowed to do. You should have seen the light in his eyes when I told him that he could blow bubbles in his milk. He didn't even mind me taking the pictures. So I give you our take on "Bubbles".

Here is a collage of the pictures that I thought were the best. Sam wanted me to share them with you. See, I'm telling you...let you kid do something that he shouldn't do and he'll want you to not only take the pictures but to share the pictures!

Alice in Wonderland

Alice has grown up and so has Wonderland. I can't wait for this movie to come out next year. For those of you on Facebook the Mad Hatter has his own page and they have some photos up there that are great teasers too. But until now here is the teaser trailer:

Naked Footwear Has It's Own Storefront!

I've spent the past few days getting my Naked Footwear business up and running with it's own store! I only have a few items listed so far but I'll be putting more up on there in the coming days. For right now I'd love to have you come on over and check it out!

Also, don't forget that I'm having a giveaway that will end on this coming Friday over at the Naked Footwear blog.

Even if you don't have a girl living at your house I'm sure you know someone that would love to win some socks! Or you can always use them for presents...Christmas is only about 18 weeks away now.

PhotoHunter - Artificial

Today's PhotoHunter theme is 'artificial'. I had taken the upcoming list of themes with me when I sent to see my parents a couple of weeks ago and I found these artifical flowers at the Ozark Empire Fair while we were there. To see more participants click on the PhotoHunter icon above.

Helping A Friend Out

Please help a good friend of mine. He's a cast member on Wizards of Waverly Place and does an amazing job. He's trying to get the role of Curly in the Farrelly Bros. Three Stooges film. He's put together a great "audition" for it too.



Go to his site here and read all about it (for you Wizards fans there is a picture of him and Selena Gomez on there) and then write those letters, post this on your blog, Facebook, and Twitter pages! We'd all love to see him back up on the big screen again. Let's make his dream role come true! Thanks everyone.

Friday Fill-Ins

Friday Fill-Ins is a fun way to participate in a meme. My answers are underlined (or a link). If you'd like to see more answers click on the icon above.

While you are here don't forget to go HERE and enter my giveaway!

And...here we go!

1. When will the drought end? I'd love to have some good gentle rain for a few days.

2. The Twilight Series was the last good book(s) I read.

3. Everything has its beauty but sometimes I often wonder if there is beauty in cock roaches. They are not my favorite at all and I don't see much beauty in them.

4. Grilled chicken sandwich is what I had for dinner last night.

5. I'd like your comments and I'd love to have you follow me or become a fan.

6. Here is where I want to be right now or at least for a small vacation.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dropping off my son at the church for his cub scouts overnight and then going out with my hubby to finally celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary, tomorrow my plans include picking up Sam from his overnight, finishing up some chores around the house and then watching a couple of movies with Sam and Sunday, I want to go to church and then relax!

Looking At The Sky On Friday

As you all have probably noticed I like taking pictures while I'm in the car. Most times it's while I'm driving. I don't really look at what I'm taking a picture of. I see what I like, reach my hand over to my camera and then point and click. I look at what I captured later. That way I can keep my eyes on the road. I've gotten really good at it too. Now if there is an image I want to be sure that I get then I'll pull over and take the picture that way. Here are some pictures of the sky on our way into Springfield MO, this last trip up there. I love the blue, blue sky in contrast with the white fluffy clouds and green trees and grass. What I find interesting is how the colors differ in the last photo compared to the first two. If you'd like to see more sky pictures then head on over to CrAzY Working Mom's site and take a look around.

Amazing Night Skies

Last night I let Sam stay up really late. We drove around until we a decent spot to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower. We didn't get to go on the peak night but what we did see was great! If you haven't watched a meteor shower before I highly recommend that you do at least one. And if you have kids take them with you. Your child will be amazed! I know that I'm already planning our next one as Sam and I have been bitten by the "bug" so to speak. When we came home from our trip up to see my parents we were able to bring home my dad's telescope to look at the skies. So far Sam and I were able to get a great glimpse of the full moon. He LOVED it! I wish that I had pictures of him using it but camera battery was dead. I have found a schedule of the remaining meteor showers. The Orionids Meteor Shower will be at it's peak on October 21, and will be best seen during the early morning hours. The Leonids Meteor Shower will be at it's peak during the night of November 17, and in the early morning hours of the 18th. The Geminids Meteor Shower will be at it's peak on the night of December 13, and in the early morning hours of the 14th.

To Foul or not to Foul?

I know that there are people out there in this world of ours that may not think that this is something to be proud of. But I am. One day (maybe) my son may actually get on my blog and start to read about our lives and I would like for him to be okay with what I wrote down. I read a lot of blogs out there and it's okay if I read foul words. It's that person prerogative and I'm okay with that. But I am proud to announce that for my blog:




Around 0% of the pages on your website contain cussing.
This is 100% LESS than other websites who took this test.

So...how about you?

I ♥ Faces - Crazy, Funny, Silly Faces

This week’s photo challenge themes at I ♥ Faces are: "Crazy, Funny, Silly Faces". I had to really search my photos to find one with a crazy, funny, silly face. The one that I'm entering was taken this summer and I should have remembered it as it is one of my favorites of my son making a silly face. Lately this is the face that he makes when I get the camera out. What I like about this one is that not only is he making a funny face but since we were at the local water park his hair is all wet and going just as crazy as his face. If you'd like to see more faces just click on the icon above. Better yet? Join us!

I ♥ Faces is also having a second, non-judged category this week of "Pets." It doesn't need to be just an animal that is considered to be a pet. As soon as I read this I knew exactly which photo to enter. This past week Sam and I were up in Springfield, MO, visiting my parents and we went to their zoo. Here is a photo of the Highland Calf that they have there. It was raining that morning so that is why he looks so wet. What is really funny about this photo is that he too is making a crazy, funny, silly face. Enjoy!

18 Years Ago...To Last A Lifetime

It's hard to believe that 18 years ago today I was getting married. Eighteen years ago seems like such a lifetime. To a teenager it really is. But once you've been married for 18 years you realize that no, 18 years is not a lifetime. I do however hope to be married a lifetime to my husband. He is such a wonderful husband, terrific father to which our son looks up to constantly and is still the best friend any one could ever ask for.

We have been through more ups and downs than anyone ever should have to live through. But you know what? I really wouldn't trade them for the world. It has made me a much stronger person and I know that it has made our marriage much stronger too.

Andy...I loved you then with all of my heart and it has grown tremendously over these past 18 years. I see it continuing to grow for the rest of our lifetime. I LOVE YOU!

Camera Critters

Jumping in for the first time with Camera Critters. This is a photo from a recent trip to the Fort Worth Zoo while my parents were down here visiting us over the 4th of July weekend. I promise that I'll post more pictures about our "adventures" this summer some time in the coming week. If you'd like to see more camera critters just click on the icon above.

Unconscious Mutterings

Unconscious Mutterings :: It's all about free association.

I say ... and you think ...

Death :: Heaven
Identified :: the problem
Saturday :: Sunday
Dumped :: spilled
Division :: math
Stilted :: stiff
Crimes of :: the heart
Stumped :: speachless/dumbfounded
Future :: past
Team :: player

So...what do you say? Want to play along? Just click on the link above.

PhotoHunter - Low

This weeks PhotoHunter theme is: Low. I had a hard time deciding on what to do for this one. Last night I was going through my photos that I had taken while in Springfield, MO. This was taken at the Dickerson Park Zoo. I got down "low" to the flowers to take this picture. I wanted to get a different perspective of the flower garden there. So here it is...my "low" picture for this week.

If you'd like to see more "low" pictures just click on the PhotoHunter icon above.

Looking At The Sky On Friday

Now that I'm back from our vacation I'm going to start updating this blog again. But first I'm going to share a photo with you that I took back in June for Looking At The Sky On Friday. In June we had many nights with amazing sunsets. One of those nights (okay more than one of them) I went outside and captured them. Here is just one of those photos.

If you'd like to see more amazing photos of the sky head on over to The CrAzY Working Mom and check them all out. Better yet, join us!