Cara & Michael

June 15th!

2009-06-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

Today is the official start of Monsoon Season! I should be happy considering that this is my favorite time of year. But an out of towner would never know what today was! Where is the wind? Where is the rain? Where is the ginormous, massive wall of dust that you can see coming for miles until you are in it and cant see 2 inches in front of you? Not here? I LOVE monsoon season. I really do look forward to it! Makes for crapping birthday planning when both Darren and Jaycee's birthdays land in the middle of it but still! Bring on the monsoon!!!

Idol

2009-05-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

I watched American Idol last night while the kids were sleeping and Michael snored on the couch. I was SOOOO excited to see all the famous singers that they had as guests on the show. It just kept getting better and better! Then came Rod Stewart. I know what you are thinking. What does she know about Rod Stewart, right? Well truth be told, I am a HUGE fan of Rod! My dad got me started quite a long time ago and I have loved him ever since. He sings some of my all time fave songs! Broken Arrow, For the First Time, Have I told You Lately, I don't want to Talk about It and If We Fall in Love Tonight just to name a few lol. He seriously is the best! I agree that he is getting up there in age and that his dancing, or what was perceived as dancing, on stage looked more like a drunken stupor, but regardless, I love him! That got me thinking about other faves of mine. Like Steve Martin! LOVE him too! I don't know if its because he is a comedic GENIUS and that I love ALL the movies that he has EVER made or if it is that he looks like an older version of my dad. Father of the Bride hooked me and I have loved him ever since! And then, my beloved Robin Williams. Oh how he makes me laugh! Patch Adams, Mrs. Doubtfire and so on and so on. I cant get enough of these guys. And there are a couple of my other faves like Journey and Houie Lewis and the News. There is my dad again! I can thank him for hooking me at such a young age to these oldie but goodies. Lastly, I will end it on the weather, yet another thing that I am LOVIN the last couple days. I love the rain, I love Monsoons and the rain the last couple days is reminding me of the storms yet to come. Bring it on!

Ran across another Oldie

2009-05-12T07:29:00.001-07:00

It is crazy to see this picture. My Aunt Cindy sent it to me a couple of weeks ago. At first I laughed, cause I don't think any of us look the same, except maybe Michael lol.

This picture was taken on Thanksgiving day in 2003. I found out a couple months after this that I was pregnant with Darren. So it was only about 2 weeks after this picture that I was pregnant and didn't know it.

There is one person in this picture that passed, a second cousin I haven't seen in years, a great Aunt that lives in Colorado, my cousins old girlfriend and then the rest of my family that I get to see on a pretty regular basis. All in all though, its hard to look at this picture and think that at that time, Michael and I were both living in our house without kids. Weird. I cant imagine my life without them.

Oldies

2009-05-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

I uploaded some pictures from Vancies party at my sisters house yesterday and found some old pictures that she had taken that I had never seen. Here is a new/old fave.

Horoscope

2009-04-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

Your horoscope for April 28, 2009

You may find that an emotional issue is rubbing you the wrong way today, Cara. Your tendency is to want to escape. Try to do so in a healthy manner. Go out and see a movie or read a book. Don't fall prey to the temptation to indulge in large amounts of drugs and alcohol. This will only push the problems away temporarily. When they resurface again, they may be even harder to handle.

Okay, now aside from the drugs and alcohol part, this is so dead on. Weird that it was brought up in my horoscope though, considering the circumstances. Oh well, here's hoping for a better day than yesterday, and the day before for that matter!

Blah!

2009-04-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

My allergies have gotten the best of me, yet again! Really, just ask my right nostril!

Caraology

2009-04-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Do this so I will know a little more about you! If you want to do this, re-post this as your name followed by "ology".
***********FOODOLOGY***************
What is your salad dressing of choice? Ranch
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Right now, Joe's Farm Grill or A&M Pizza
What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? Chicken salad
What are your pizza toppings of choice?Cheese and pepps!
What do you like to put on your toast? just butter, the real stuff, no whipped margarine for me!
Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla
***********TECHNOLOGY***************
How many televisions are in your house? 4 but only 2 get watched
What color cell phone do you have? Blue
Do you have a laptop? yes and BOOO! I have to replace the battery!
***************BIOLOGY******************
Are you right-handed or left-handed? Righty
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Just my wisdom teeth!
What is the last heavy item you lifted? The water jug at work. I seem to be one of the few that changes them lol
Have you ever been knocked unconscious? no amazingly enough!
************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? nope!
If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I think I would pick something that doesn't come up as a vegetable on spell check, like carrot! haha
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? Yes I would
************DUMBOLOGY******************
How many pairs of flip flops do you own? oh don't get me started! That's all I wear so probably around 20 or so
Last time you had a run-in with the cops? I wouldn't call it a run in, but pulled over for speeding and illegal tint a couple years ago, knocking on wood here!
Last person you talked to on the phone? Michael
Last person you hugged? Dare and Jaycee when I dropped them off at Lisa's this morning
**************FAVORITOLOGY****************
Season? I like them all but love the summer sun! I got my first sunburn of the season yesterday! lol
Holiday? Thanksgiving cause it involves all my fave food and family
Day of the week? Saturday mornings
Month? March cause it can be warm or cool
***********CURRENTOLOGY*****************
Missing someone? yeah my little sister
Mood? tired and lazy. I had Monday off so technically today is my Monday
What are you listening to? typing
Watching? my phone light up blue with messages from Lisa
Worrying about? home crap
***************RANDOMOLOGY****************
First place you went this morning? to Lisa's
Do you smile often? I do indeed
Sleeping alone tonight? nope, its not deer season yet! lol
Do you always answer your phone? most of the time
It’s four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it?probably my brother Danny trying to beat me to the morning wake up text lol. Normally I win those!
What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? vanilla to my coke
Do you own a digital camera? Yes.
Have you ever had a pet fish? yes, my dad loves Koi so we always had them
What's on your wish list for your birthday? since it recently passed, I have a lot of time to think
Can you do push ups? from my knees! lol
Can you do a chin up? no
Does the future make you more nervous or excited? eh, so so. Excited for new changes
Do you have any saved texts? yes, my brothers polly want a cocktail parrot picture haha
Ever been in a car wreck? yes
Do you have an accent? I hope not lol
What is the last song to make you cry? I don't remember but I am an emotional fool sometimes so it doesn't take much
Plans tonight? AI with Michael and the kids and start making our shirts for softball
Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? Yes.
Name 3 things you bought yesterday? I was home all day and my stupid computer battery if crap so nothing for me!
Have you ever been given roses? why yes I have
Met someone who changed your life? yes
Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? Yeah I would
Have you ever dated someone longer than a year? Yes.
Do you have any tattoos/piercings? I don't have any tattoos and no piercings other than my ears
Does anyone love you? yes
What songs do you sing in the shower? I dont sing in the shower
Ever had someone sing to you? yeah Michael lol
Do you like to cuddle? sometimes. I feel claustrophobic sometimes too when the kids are climbing over me or Michael puts me in a headlock lol
Have you held hands with anyone today? no, and that's good since I work with all women! lol
Who was the last person you took a picture of? The boys.
What kind of music did you listen to in elementary school? oldies with my dad
Do you believe in staying close with your ex's? I don't have any
Are most of the friends in your life new or old? mostly new although I don't have many
Do you like pulpy orange juice? I like any form of it
What is something your friends make fun of you for? being forgetful
Have you ever ridden an elephant? no
Do you like to play Scrabble? actually I hate it! lol
When was the last time you ate PB&J? Never! I hate that crapola!

5 Years

2009-04-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

Today marks my 5 year wedding anniversary. It seems like it has been so much longer, but then at times it doesn't seem like it has been that long at all.
Michael started a new job yesterday and thankfully he is working close to home! Not only is he lucky for that, but with this new job we get free water! Sounds like no bid deal right? Wrong! Especially if any of you have water through Johnson Utilities! Boy oh boy do they like to nickle and dime! So that in itself is big news! I am happy for him and to see how excited he is that he will finally be working again after a 6 month period of going from employed to unemployed, back to employed and so on and so on... He is most happy about the physical work he will be doing and the chance to lose some weight. Although I think he is perfect just the way he is, if it makes him happy, then I am too.

So what are our plans to celebrate? Well, since today is Thursday and Michael is working Saturdays with this new job, we plan to go to YC's, a new Willis Family favorite!, followed by a drive in movie. (drive in movie subject to change as my allergies have gotten the best of me these last couple days :(.

Things have definitely been looking up for our family lately. There are some big changes in store so right now we are all going with the flow of things. Michael has really made some awesome changes and his true self has really shown through. He was always a good dad, but now, after spending so much time at home with the kids, he has bonded with them on a different level than before. The kids admire him, want to spend lots of time with him and cry if he leaves. They always have to know where dad is at all times. Darren is a mini Michael and Jaycee knows just what to say to put a smile on his face. The other day Michael told a friend that Darren just went through a growth spurt. All I could think was who are you and where is Michael? hahaha. I love it though! I love that he pays attention to those kind of things and notices the funny quirks and things that the kids say. I love that when I got home from work he would tell me how the kids were that day and still have a smile on his face.

Here is to 5 years, and many many more to come!

Allergies

2009-03-30T09:04:00.001-07:00

Its Allergy season and I am dying. That's all.

Excited, kind of.

2009-03-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, so today is my 4 year review. Woot woot! I am excited because it wasn't supposed to be till Monday but it got switched to 10:30 today. Now I am nervous! Come on big money! no decimals PLEASE! hahaha. Come on, its Friday the 13th! I need all the luck I can get!

Pay It Foward

2009-03-03T06:13:00.001-08:00

The first THREE people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise. The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment here, write up a pay it forward post on your Blog to keep the fun going ( or you can cut and paste from this one like I did ) then come back and let me know you're going to play. Then sit back and wait to receive your fun gift : ) Remember that only the first THREE comments will receive a gift from me, so hurry, hurry, hurry !
If you are one of the three, email me your address so I can send you a gift!

Laugh-lin

2009-02-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

Didnt get many pics of my trip but this one. In fact, this was the only drink I had! haha. I had an awesome time! I missed my family but other than that, the time flew by. I didnt lose or win any money, just broke even. I had a room all to myself and actually had some quiet to read. All in all, a good time!

Great Balls of Fire!

2009-01-27T10:29:00.000-08:00

The details aren't necessary when all I hear is Jaycee scream "MAMA!!" Michael and I came running from our room to see what was going on. We could hear in her voice that something was up and even more so in Darren's when he yelled too. Our door, not even shut but maybe leaving a 6 inch gap before, flew open. All I can remember is I see Jaycee. Okay, just her face. Her body was swallowed in smoke and all I could see was her face, lit up, orange. The entire living room and kitchen was filled with black smoke. I grabbed Jaycee and Darren and brought them to the garage, the only place at that point that didn't have any smoke. Michael grabbed the pan, bad idea but the answer to the flames, opened the sliding door in the kitchen and threw the burning pan outside. And just then, all the smoke detectors went off, scaring the kids even more than they already were. A grease fire. Yep! It happened to us. And what is more ironic? My aunt Cindy, also a victim of a grease fire just over a year ago had sent me an email that same day, video included on what to do when you have a grease fire in your house. Let me tell you, although insightful, unrealistic. Your head goes a million miles an hour and from listening to the radio that same morning about survivors I remembered this: "a survivor doesn't have time to think, they just do." Now let me tell you, you bet I would have thought. I would have thought first, that something like that would never happen to us and second, that I would never grab a hot, burning pan. But Michael did. He didn't think, he just did. And thank god for that! Our microwave, or whats left of it (mostly melted plastic) can still tell time. Too bad it was needed for more that a time piece! haha. That is replaceable. All we can do is laugh about it now knowing that everyone was safe and besides tons of cleaning everything but the microwave is okay. -oh and Michael's arm hairs too. All I can see if Jaycee's face lit up from the flames and Darren screaming when the alarms went off. If it weren't for them, it may have been too late. Michael and I talked to both of the kids about what had happened. Darren was told he was a hero, and he gladly took on the title. When we talked to Jaycee about it, all she could say was "Fire care me, it care me." (translation: "the fire scared me, it scared me!") So sad, but so cute. Both "hero firefighters" were awarded with McDonald's for dinner partly for their good work and the rest because dinner was ruined. Man, what a night! Bad things happen in 3's and that made tres!

Release

2009-01-16T20:35:00.000-08:00

I'm tired, its late, yet I feel like I needed to release some thoughts. My mind is reeling. I cant stop thinking about my family. I wish I could explain to them what exactly they mean to me. I am thankful for what I had, have and will have. I am appreciative of Lisa for the relay and her role as Sweden. For being the voice when I can not speak. For never taking a side, being there - an ear. I question myself and I question others. I appreciate genuine thoughts and suggestions. I want to describe my feelings but cant. My intentions are good but perceived differently. That doesn't change that my intentions ARE good. I am not a selfish person. This works to my advantage sometimes. Sometimes not. I am fair. I am genuine. I am willing. I will not be finagled. I will do whats best. Things happen for a reason-sometimes with out the answer to why? Everything makes sense-eventually. I am not a manipulator. I will make good decisions and never harm. For now, I am going to bed. Tomorrow, ?

Kids

2008-11-24T13:42:00.000-08:00

Kids. My kids. They crack me up! I love how they play together! And believe it or not, they were actually sharing this little wagon/bucket on wheels. They are both getting to the age where they either love each other or hate each other. Luckily for me, they love to hug. When I look at these pictures, I cant help but burst out laughing. In the first picture, Darren looks like he is ready to dump Jaycee right out of the wagon. But my favorite has to be the second picture. I love both of their facial expressions! They both keep me going. They both make me laugh. I couldn't imagine having one and not the other. They definitely belong as brother and sister. All in all, I just love the heck out of these two! I couldn't ask for better kids.

Just for laughs

2008-10-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

Just some funny signs and sayings that caught my eye! Thought they were worth sharing a laugh!

Michelin Man

2008-10-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

I really think that we should purchase stock in Michelin tires. Why you ask? Well, Michael fractures his wrist in softball last Sunday and his hand swelled nearly double its size. He is out of work for a while and we are waiting until we get results back from a specialist that is reviewing his x-rays. Michael was in a lot of pain but is feeling much better. His hand still swells but the brace he has to wear has been really helpful in stabilizing his hand and relieving him of some of the pain. I am sure that the Vicodin is doing its part in that too! I think his hand shows a striking resemblance to the big Michelin Mans, don't you?

Good Ol Days

2008-09-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

Every year my dad makes caramel corn for my sisters and brother and I to take home with us around the holidays. Every year I try to eat it all before Michael or anyone else can delve into it. Every year I have been succesful. So the other day I was craving this caramel corn and decided that I couldn't wait until Thanksgiving or Christmas for it. You know the holidays are near when I am getting a hankering for it and willing to make it myself! hahaha. So I asked my dad for the recipe. Today, I am proud to say that I can officially make the same dessert that my dad has made for so many years. I was so happy about that! Or so I thought. I tried it, and yes, it was good. Yes, it took a while to make. Yes, I could easily make it again no problemo. So whats the deal? The deal is that even if it does taste the same, my dad didn't make it. He didn't put everything together, plan on sending us kids home with it knowing that we would all cram it down our gullets before our spouses and kids could their mitts on it. No, it just isn't the same. Not the same at all. I have realized a couple things here recently. The best food never tastes the same as when someone else makes it in comparison to you. That's a given. But the hard part is knowing that I am getting older. Pretty soon, I will be the one making it for my kids and having them wake up on Christmas morning asking if they can have that before breakfast. What I am trying to say is that I miss my dad, his baking, the little things like that he used to do for us that would bring me back to my days as a kid. I know I am older and nothing will change about that. I decided that although I followed his recipe, I think I will leave the baking to him. It was more fun, more significant to me to have to fight for the damn caramel corn with my sisters and brother over who gets the bigger bag, with or without nuts. Me and Marisa always without. Danny and Ash with. I am making a quick pit stop on my way home from work tomorrow. I am going to leave some for my deserving sister in her house. Hopefully she can get to it before the kids get home from school. aww the good ol days.

Latest and Greatest

2008-09-01T14:27:00.000-07:00

At the end of August, my car lease was up. I have been dreading this moment for 3 years now, on the day that I signed the papers to it. I used to work at Ford Credit as a recovery specialist as well as lease end customer service. In other words, I knew what I was getting myself into, and I knew about what happens at the end. Well, really it didn't turn out all that bad. I had been driving the truck for 4 months prior to turning the car in trying to spare the mileage on my car. It took me until the day before I turned it in to realize what I had actually been spending on gas the past 4 months. I was filling the dodge 3 times a week at $85 a pop! Do the simple math on that and you get $1020 a month on gas! Holy hell! What was I thinking? It would have been cheaper to go over the miles than to fill the tank as much as I did! Bottom line, I needed a gas efficient car, end of story! We traded the truck in, turned my Altima in and bam! Out we walk with a fuel efficient Nissan Sentra. 33 road, 37 highway miles. Best thing yet? I am paying less on this car than I did on the lease! Wahoo! I was sad to see the truck go. We brought both of the kids home from the hospital in that truck, many camping trips later, scouting for deer hunts, high centering, stuck in the mud, shooting and teaching Darren to drive, all done in that truck. Shoot, both kids were made in that truck! haha just kidding. But you get my drift! We had tons of memories in that truck and we both were sad to give it up. Michael had a hard time until I promised him that in a couple months when we recover from the over 4k I had spent in gas, we will go down and get him the 4x4 of his dreams. That was all it took. I am one to keep my promises and cant wait to make new memories. Here are some pics of the new rice burner! haha

Motivation

2008-08-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

I am at the start of my 6th week of working! wahoo! 2 more weeks and I have made my goal of 2 months. It seemed like a long stretch but I am so close I can taste it. I started working out mostly because I have 0, zip, nada energy and cant seem to keep myself awake past 8pm lately. I thought working out and eating better would help that but so far, not so much! If anything, I have been more tired! That being said, I had lost motivation. It didn't stop me from pushing through, but I almost started to dread it coming home to work out.

My goal was to get myself to a place where I could chase after the kids and not be winded, or running for the ringing phone for that matter! I couldn't keep up and I just felt lazy. I sit behind a computer all day and there wasn't much I could really do outside with the 110+ degree weather. So a couple of friends and I started running the 5 flights of stairs at work on our breaks. They are just the emergency stairs so we have them all to ourselves. We have been doing that twice a day and they help to keep me motivated. After I get home, the kids take a short nap and I take advantage of that time with all my recorded videos from the Fit channel. Man do they kill me!

Everything that I had been working so hard for finally started to show through last night. I was teaching the kids how to play Simon Says in Jaycee's room. I played Simon for a good 15 minutes and the kids gladly did as Simon said. Darren decided that it was his turn to play Simon. His first direction was "Simon says jump as high as you can and keep going!" So I did. Then he said "Simon says jump and pat you head!" So I did. Now pre-working out, this really would have been difficult for me! I used to get winded so easily and most likely would have told Darren at that point that I had to get dinner started and to play with Sis. But I played for another half an hour with him, of which all commands were to jump as high as I could hahaha.

That little game made me realize that the kids will only get more active. They will play sports, have friends and run wild and I don't want to be left in their dust. I want to be right there with them, to enjoy the things they enjoy, to do the things that they like to do, to be active with them and experience life as they do. I don't want to sit behind and miss all the wonders that they will. I want to be healthy and live a long life for my kids. I want to see all the things that they become and do with their lives. The road I was on was not a good one. Eating bad and being lazy? Definitely not what I want for myself and my family. So, all in all, I got my motivation back. I don't want to be a muscular freak by all means, just healthy and toned.

To Vent, or not to Vent.

2008-08-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I had to make my own blog to let off a little steam. I have a lot of questions right now and no answers. I am in a situation that can shift 1 of 3 ways and unfortunately, I cant say too much. I feel irritated, aggravated, used, strung along and pretty crappy to say the least.

I have begun to question the worth of certain things and just how much I am willing to put myself through for things. I don't want to put too much detail in this to avoid hurting peoples feelings and questions, but all I know is that things are changing at a rapid pace. Each day has something new for me, which isn't always necessarily a good thing. Right now, the best that I can do is to roll with the punches.

Not the best way to start off a blog huh? Well, the kids blog is so much fun and a great way to let their family watch them grow, but this is more of a rattling off on a tangent rant and rave kind of blog for myself.

For posts to follow, well, hopefully I will have better news. In the meantime, I need to get my act together!