Well in some pictures anyway since my stupid effing camera is crap and my memory card ate half of my pics. Thank The Universe for Art Plus Digital Photo Recovery 3.1 for recovering about half of my pics :)
SnowElf should be almost back to The Frozen Northern Lands, upon which time I've asked her to send me the pics she took.
Between the two of us, there should be plenty of them.
Here are a few of my favorites :)

Labels: Amanda, Beach Trip, Being Mommy, Emilee, The Universe, Triniti

There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.
~Marshall McLuhan, 1964

Labels: Amanda, Being Mommy, Emilee, softball

That is all.

Labels: Being a Chic, My pathetic excuse for a love life

New Dude Who Rides A Moped "Where are you going on vacation?"

Me "[Beach Town, known as a party town], I went to highschool there." Which caused both guys I was talking to chuckle.. "Hey, I studied when I wasn't drinking"

New Dude Who Rides A Moped "What did you major in?"

Me "Teenaged Pregnancy."

Operations Manager "It was a double major!"

Labels: Amanda, At work, Being Mommy, Emilee

"You know what Mommy?"

"What?"

"Leslie spit today at school. And she shouldn't spit. Girls shouldn't spit."

"That's right baby, little girls should not spit. It's yucky."

"Yeah and they don't know how."

Labels: Being Mommy, Triniti

You don't know me but I just wanted to take a few minutes to share a couple of things with you. Things that you probably don't think too much about since you are only thirteen years old, but hear me out anyway.
I know that right now your primary concerns are hanging out on the phone with your girlfriends and reading. Spend less time on the phone and more on the books or with a pen in your hand. Those girls that you spend ten hours a day gabbing with? You won't even know how to get in touch with them in five years and in ten years? You won't remember half of their names. Spend more time getting to know your sister because she will still be around in fifteen years and you will hardly know her.
And when you aren't reading? Go for walks outside because one, you live in fucking Hawaii and two,, that isn't "baby fat" that you are just going to "grow out of" like your mom keeps telling you. If you start working on it now, you may not have to struggle with it for the rest of your life.
Next year, your whole world will change. When you are older you will look back and be so very grateful that you were pulled away from a place that held no opportunities for you but the next few years will just be this whirlwind of change and chaos.
Hold on to yourself.
You will work hard, try and work harder. Spend less time thinking about partying and more time thinking about school. You won't finish, but the skills you will learn will save your ass later when you are looking for a real job. Of all the boys you will want to play with, only a select few will actually mean anything a month, weeks or even hours later. Why bother? You're going to be very single for a very long time and have plenty of time to play with boys who have much more going on for them than just good looks or a car. And as much as you will want to, don't waste your first kiss on that guy. He doesn't care about you and you will kick yourself later for wasting a memorable occasion on an asshole just because he had his own brand new truck and wanted to get into your pants.
Before you know it you will meet a guy who, against your better judgment, you will fall for. I wish I could tell you how to fix him because you will spend the next five years trying to. And the rest of your life wishing you'd been able to save him. But, you'll spend so much time trying to fix him that it will be years before you realize that you really need to focus on yourself and that he is the only one who can help himself.
I wouldn't want to be you for those five years.
All I can tell you is to hang in there because it gets better. And living through all of that will make you so much stronger. I know you will journal and dabble a little in fiction, write more. Write every second, every feeling, every thought or idea, write it all. One day you'll want to describe those feelings again and you'll be smart enough not to relive them so your writing will be the best way to go back.
You'll find yourself conflicted about what is best for your kids. You'll doubt your ability to take care of them yourself, you won't even know where to start. It doesn't matter how much you hem and haw about it, there is only one way to start: start. I can't tell you how much time and heartache you'll save yourself by leaving and beginning a life for just you and your girls. I can't even imagine the strides you could make if you just believed in yourself and got out before he left you no choice but to get out. You won't see him again after that last time. You'll barely even speak to him but there isn't anything you can do, he's chosen his path and you have to let him go. You have to depend on you. And girl, you so can. You'll love it once you do.
You'll meet another guy and you'll love what he wants to be. You'll love the idea of normal after all the crazy you've lived through. And he won't be, not even close. He'll put you through stuff girl but you'll know better this time, you'll get out just in the nick of time. And you'll end up with a fantastic parting gift.
You'll meet an amazing girl at the end of your relationship with this boy, tell her you love her every chance you get because one day you won't be able to anymore.
Now here is the point where you stop wasting your time on bull shit jobs. You are able to get an awesome job, you just have to put your feet to the pavement and believe in yourself. Believing in yourself is really the key element here.
That's really the only nugget of wisdom I can throw at you. Believe in yourself. All of the stuff you want to accomplish? You can. And you can do it without sacrificing who you are and who you want to be.
Oh and don't forget...
Call your grandmother because she never thought any less of you when you became a mom. Write down birthdays because you will never be able to remember them. Avoid that tattoo. Don't be ashamed of yourself, it will keep you away from people who love you for too long. Don't feel like you have to keep apologizing for the same mistakes over and over. Talk to your sisters whenever you can and call your friends and ask how they are, sometimes you'll forget it isn't all about you. Sit up straight and take your vitamins. Don't expect easy, easy isn't worth it. Listen to your girls. Tell them you love them and hug them, every day.

~KHE (fifteen years later)

Labels: Being a Chic, Being Mommy, meme

I got this forward today and wanted to post it since Snow is fixing to be in my lovely state :)

If someone in a Lowe's store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you may live in Texas
If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you may live in Texas
If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you may live in Texas
If "Vacation" means going anywhere south of Dallas for the weekend, you may live in Texas [hehehehe]
If you measure distance in hours, you may live in Texas
If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you may live in Texas
If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked, you may live in Texas
If you carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you may live in Texas
If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and everybody's passing you, you may live in Texas
If you find 60 degrees "a little chilly," you may live in Texas

Need to be cheered up?
Happy, Texas 79042
Pep, Texas 79353
Smiley, Texas 78159
Paradise, Texas 76073
Rainbow, Texas 76077
Sweet Home, Texas 77987
Comfort, Texas 78013
Friendship, Texas 76530

Love the Sun?
Sun City, Texas 78628
Sunrise, Texas 76661
Sunset, Texas 76270
Sundown, Texas 79372
Sunray, Texas 79086
Sunny Side , Texas 77423

Want something to eat?
Bacon, Texas 76301
Noodle, Texas 79536
Oatmeal, Texas 78605
Turkey, Texas 79261
Trout, Texas 75789
Sugar Land, Texas 77479
Salty, Texas 76567
Rice, Texas 75155

And top it off with:
Sweetwater, Texas 79556

Why travel to other cities? Texas has them all!
Detroit, Texas 75436
Colorado City, Texas 79512
Denver City, Texas 79323
Klondike, Texas 75448
Nevada, Texas 75173
Memphis, Texas 79245
Miami, Texas 79059
Boston, Texas 75570
Santa Fe, Texas 77517
Tennessee Colony , Texas 75861
Reno, Texas 75462

Feel like traveling to far off lands? Don't bother buying a plane ticket!
Athens, Texas 75751
Canadian, Texas 79014
China, Texas 77613
Egypt, Texas 77436
Ireland, Texas 76538
Turkey, Texas 79261
London, Texas 76854
New London, Texas 75682
Paris, Texas 75460

No need to travel to Washington D.C ..
Whitehouse, Texas 75791

We even have a city named after our planet!
Earth, Texas 79031

And a city named after our State!
Texas City, Texas 77590

Exhausted?
Energy, Texas 76452

Cold?
Blanket, Texas 76432
Winters, Texas

Like to read about History?
Santa Anna, Texas
Goliad, Texas
Alamo, Texas
Gun Barrel City, Texas
Robert Lee, Texas

Need Office Supplies?
Staples, Texas 78670

Men are from Mars, women are from:
Venus, Texas 76084

You guessed it..it's on the state line..
Texline, Texas 79087

For the kids...
Kermit, Texas 79745
Elmo, Texas 75118
Nemo, Texas 76070
Tarzan, Texas 79783
Winnie, Texas 77665
Sylvester, Texas 79560

Other city names in Texas , to make you smile.....
Frognot, Texas 75424
Bigfoot, Texas 78005
Hogeye, Texas 75423
Cactus, Texas 79013
Notrees, Texas 79759
Best, Texas 76932
Veribest, Texas 76886
Kickapoo, Texas 75763
Dime Box , Texas 77853
Old Dime Box , Texas 77853
Telephone, Texas 75488
Telegraph, Texas 76883
Whiteface, Texas 79379
Twitty, Texas 79079

And last but not least, the Anti-Al Gore City
Kilgore, Texas 75662

And our favorites...
Cut n Shoot, Texas
Gun Barrell City, Texas
Hoop And Holler, Texas
Ding Dong, Texas
Muleshoe , Texas



Here are some little known, very interesting facts about Texas .
1. Beaumont to El Paso : 742 miles
2. Beaumont to Chicago : 770 miles
3. El Paso is closer to California than to Dallas
4. World's first rodeo was in Pecos, July 4, 1883.
5. The Flagship Hotel in Galveston is the only hotel in North America built over water.
6. The Heisman Trophy ws named after John William Heisman who was the first full-time coach at Rice University in Houston ..
7. Brazoria County has more species of birds than any other area in North America.
8. Aransas Wildlife Refuge is the winter home of North America 's only remaining flock of whooping cranes.
9. Jalapeno jelly originated in Lake Jackson in 1978.
10. Worst natural disaster (a hurricane) in US history was in 1900, in which over 8,000 lives were lost on Galveston Island ..
11. The first word spoken from the moon, July 20, 1969, was " Houston ."
12. King Ranch in South Texas is larger than Rhode Island .
13. Tropical Storm Claudette brought a U.S. rainfall record of 43" in 24 hours in and around Alvin in July of 1979.
14. Texas is the only state to enter the U.S. by TREATY, (known as the Constitution of 1845 by the Republic of Texas to enter the Union) instead of by annexation. This allows the Texas Flag to fly at the same height as the U.S. Flag, and may divide into 5 states.
15. A Live Oak tree near Fulton is estimated to be 1500 years old.
16. Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in the state.
17. Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. There is no period in Dr Pepper.
18. Texas has had six capital cities: Washington -on- the Brazos, Harrisburg , Galveston , Velasco, West Columbia and Austin ..
19. The Capitol Dome in Austin is the only dome in the U.S. which is taller than the Capitol Building in Washington DC (by 7 feet).
20. The name "Texas" comes from the Hasini Indian word "tejas" meaning friends. Tejas is not Spanish for Texas ..
21. The State Mascot is the Armadillo (an interesting bit of trivia about the armadillo is they always have four babies. They have one egg, which splits into four, and they either have four males or four females).
22. The first domed stadium in the U.S. was the Astrodome in Houston .

Labels: Texas

Compare with Octobers pics:

Labels: Amanda, Being Mommy, Emilee, Triniti

Discover Your Muse Calliope: The Muse of Epic & Heroic Poetry. Her name means "the beautiful of speech". Invoke this muse's help if your art or literary style is bold and sweeping. You may like to paint or write about grand adventures and big personalities.

Click Here to Take This Quiz

Write about Grand Adventures? Who me??

Labels: meme

Picked this up on my girl Snow's blog... Except I did mine backwards...

20 Years Ago
1988...
I was eight. It's hard for me to pull out memories that are attached to a certain time from that long ago because my life was so chaotic. Between my parents fighting and us moving so much, I don't really know where I was before I was ten half the time. I think we were living in Dallas... I went to third and fourth grade there, had a best friend, there was a boy named Jonathan who bought me ice cream from the ice cream man... He was one of several Jonathans I adored in my youth.. Maybe Jonathans were the way to go for me instead of all of these boys whose names begin with "M"...

15 Years Ago
1993...
This was the year before we left Hawaii. This is the year I became a teenager.. I turned thirteen... The next year our house burned down and we left Hawaii and moved to Port Aransas, Texas. I started my life when we left Hawaii.

10 Years Ago
1998...
2 kids later... :) 1998 was the year Em was born. She was born May 18th, 1998 at 8:48 in the morning. She was all about the eights. Her name was Elizabeth for the first twenty four hours and I just didn't like it. So I changed it :) I made her name Emilee Hope because it had the same amount of letters as Amanda Kate and because it had three E's and Amanda's name has three A's (now Trin's has three I's). And also because my best friend from high schools middle name is Lee. God I was such a mess back then. I was so... scared. Or unsure... I knew that my life sucked ass and that no one was going to change that but me but I didn't know if I could and I didn't know how and I didn't know where to begin. I look back at ten years ago and I am so glad I've already made it through these last ten, they were hard years and while necessary, I'm glad I don't have to relive them.

5 Years Ago
2003...
If I was scared shitless ten years ago, I was ready five years ago. I was done taking shit off of... anyone really. I knew what I needed to do and I was ready to do it. Five years ago I was confident that there was an arriving place in the journey to become me. I was confident in myself... and really, isn't that the hardest part of becoming yourself? Actually believing that you can do it?

Labels: meme