Peace on Earth???

I'm having a hard enough time with good will toward men!!!

I think most of my "disgust" comes from retail/facebook - I have a darling bloggie/adoptive/facebook friend who's heart is breaking because it's taking so long for her FOUR babies to come home from Ethiopia at the same time i have a customer calling every few hours for a tracking # for her monogrammed car mats - SERIOUSLY?!?!?!
Has everyone gone crazy for the "what we have" and lost the "who we are"?

I am also having a BIT of a time with "treat others as you would want to be treated"
at what point do you say enough is enough of the beating and bullying??
(figuratively - i'm not actually getting beaten)

I read something on a friend's facebook page (yes, these days it's where i get most of my wisdom) about having lots of leaves and branches on your tree that have fallen off and disappoined you so it's best to stick with your roots that are your true support system.
(is it sooo sad that it's a Madea's advice from you tube - hahahaha)

And even though it really came from Tyler Perry dressed as a grandma it still rings true
and that's what i am going to do - prune my tree to the roots and focus on keeping them nurtured - more is not more if it's crap - less is always more when it's supportive, nurturing and reciprocal...love those who love YOU and rid yourself of the rest..

as for peace on Earth - sadly it's never going to happen until it happens...

I could rant and rave about things but i have realized (through a few ups and downs) as i am sitting in the stillness - God has made this path for me and I am just going to meander
and see what happens....cause so far so good!

We wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS????

Seriously!?!?!? Didn't I just say that LAST week? How can another year possibly have come and gone?!?!? BUT it has and we had a wild wacky wonderful CHRISTmas filled with lots of fun and amazing blessings!! we started at Steph's house for a CHRISTmas Eve celebration...gifts, food and yes, of course fun!

Mike is of course my best Christmas gift of all times!

The Josh and I - I love that kid to the moon and back and may be the only soul on the planet that loves college football more than me (if that's even possible)!

Mike and Tobie - no he's not a Christmas gift - he belongs to Stephanie and Josh - the only thing he wanted for Christmas was receipts and beer (yes, he likes the hooch)

Mike's sister Stephanie and I...She's a great sport ~ she puts up with the 3 of us and smiles all the while - and anyone that has Josh as a son and Mike as a brother has got to be pretty damn funny so of course i love her!

Oh how excited are we...Josh is CRAZY about hockey and lookie what he has - tickets to see the Carolina Hurricanes (he's a caniac) so look out raleigh cause we're coming soon!

I really don't think this needs much explanation...coozie "Beer Belly Under Construction" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Early the next morning we head to the lake for CHRISTmas....Look at that face!

GrandDennis got her a Cranky Monkey - he screams and cries when you take his banana (i think he's making fun of her little tantrums)but dang if she ain't cute!

COOKIE ~ COOKIE ~ COOKIE - that is ALL this child has been asking for - she heard him in Walmart wimpering and said "cookie is crying because he wants to come home with me" so that's what he did!! and does she love him!!!

you can nevah have too many pictures...

Oh MY - who knew a Grannie Pad would score such high marks!! Grannie LOVED it and now wants "grannie business cards" hahahaha...yes, she'll get them!

LOVE HER!

a blackberry just like mommie's - she also got a leap pad "lap top" so she can work with me from home she'll be oh so cute!

That girl LOVES a baby doll and because she has every sickness you have - bad cough, broken knee, her foot hurts and she has a headache - she got the baby alive doctor doll so we'll have all the tools needed to make her better!

Family Christmas at the yake ;)

Me and Grannie

Merry Christmas!!

from all my girls!!! we are looking forward to a HAPPY, HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!!

I SWEAR I am not old enough to....

have graduated from high school TWENTY YEARS AGO!!!! but all these people and damn name tags say i did....REALLY?!?!?! it seems like yesterday i was in high school ok not really but my mirror says there's NO way I'm almost 40!! I had the pleasure (there is some sarcasm and humility in that statement) of planning the reunion - it was wonderful to go through the process - i have become friends with people i haven't seen in years or may not have "known" in high school (there were 800 of us in my class so it's possible) I am amazed by people and where the many roads of life have taken us - we have lost some classmates who were far too young - they were missed and remembered...we had someone fly in from CHINA (yes i'm saying i am a kick ass party planner) EVERYONE looked great (a few so good i now hate them) but it was a BLAST! Friday night was an oyster roast at Miler Country Club ~ they were great to work with and even said we could come back again...hahahahhaha

Me and my cutie Mike! He's the BEST date and party co-planner

Me, Dyana and Sheriess (i was jumping in as many pictures as possible ~ i made a sport of it)

ahhh - me and my girl jen ~ LOVE HER - HOLLER

Dyana and I - she swears she graduated with us - i keep telling her being ONE grade older does not make her old and she did make me look purdy!

because a party ain't a party without a lame line dance!

We had a picnic Saturday morning - I wore our "Seniors" T-shirt ~ Jen had saved it all these years it said "enough said" on the back - gaw were we silly! Saturday Night was at the boat club - the weather was gorgeous and dyana turned it into the perfect setting for a party!

with a blackberry in one hand and a drink in the other i could rule the world or at least a large part of it!!!

MY senior prom date and his gorgeous wife!

Shawn my FFFF ~ for those out of the loop that's FUNKY FRESH FRIENDS FOREVER

Me, David (he tried to get in more pictures than me and lost) Emily (my maid of honor and God Mother to Annabelle) and of course Mike!!

I must say a BIG ASS THANK YOU TO.... Amy Her photography is amazing Dyana - she did my hair and make up and of course MIKE he kept me as calm as i could be, put tablecloths and candles on tables and cleaned up afterwards...seriously love him!!

And the MOTHER OF THE YEAR GOES TO......

ME OF COURSE....Do you ever do sh*t that sounds like a good idea but afterwards all that crosses your mind is "WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?!?!?!" THIS is one of THOSE moments...Annie as you all know has epilepsy...her seizures are pretty much under control but sometimes when you pick her up she has a "limp spell" she twitches a little and has no real control over her muscles - if you put her down she would fall right over...the doctors can't figure out what it is... they say neurological reflex issue - i say isn't that what you'd call a seizure? SOOOOOO...they said "let's do a 48 hour EEG to see what's happening" ME "great - it's taken 3 years to get here" OMG OMG OMG - WHAT THE HELL DID I DO?????

Would YOU want this happening to you in the BEST of circumstances?? Well ADD visually impaired, a little developmentally behind and epileptic to it... AND to top it all off she wasn't feeling well....oh yeah and she's SEVEN.. We had to restrain her little self to let them put all those nodes on her while she whaled at the top of her lungs and the technicians couldn't figure out how to work the machine they even looked for the MANUAL... HELLO - THERE'S MY FIRST and SECOND SIGN DUMB*SS!

MENTAL STATUS - SHAKING & BREAKING

I think THIS may be what broke the proverbial camel's back....SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?! YES - I woke up Wednesday morning covered in HIVES from HEAD TO TOES! hmmmmm....whatthehellhappened??? Apparently I am allergic to an ingredient in a decongestant... Theraflu - several shots of "the hooch" did me in - OFF to the dr. I go - NOT my usual dr - the one that you get when it's a non urgent emergency...Let's just say he had a stethoscope to my throat making sure i could breathe....hahahaha then I had to go HERE....It was Judy's priss pot grandaughter's 5th birthday party and I couldn't have her miss it!!

I LOVE my job and I HATE my job....i ADORE the girls i work with BUT i am constantly amazed at the outright RUDENESS of the customers....J'adore retail in all it's pink and green, polka dotted magic...and it's a combo of EVERYTHING i love - children's clothing, gifts, monogramming, stationery and invitations...I get to spend someone else's money (i've taken over MOST of the buying for the 2 stores and all of the marketing) and not work on weekends.... BUT THEN THERE'S THIS...."girl" she's probably in her 30s comes in - says we had a conversatiion about a bracelet - long story short..it wasn't me - we had called her (had it written down) - she said she didn't believe us - the ONLY time we could have done it was while her phone was switching over to international whilest they were in the BAHAMAS - let's just say this "HONEY - I don't make enough money to be called a LIAR...." we'll leave it at that and ps that she called back and said i was rude (she speaks the truth bc i won't tolerate that) which then brings me to THIS

We were out having cocktails at a friends' house the other night - of course the girls were gabbing...we were poor mouthing about the economy - WHO ISN'T?!?!?! The girls were spatting about how much they make - I giggled and said "oh lawdy - i am working retail and i shall not tell....One of the girls says "whatever - you'll always be fine" now for those of you not in the know - we own some properties...I WANTED to say (but i'm more polite until i get here) anyway you look at it - i have taken a $50K pay cut over the last year...YES i said it for ALL the world to hear!!! Which brings me to THIS

I want one of these...I've been living in an apartment for over a YEAR - there is stuff everywhere (CLUTTER KILLS ME) I have 4 (yes only 4) purses and i don't have anywhere to store them...my perfectly precious upstair neighbor got a perfectly precious pup who runs around ALL the time - and I can't say for sure but I could just SWEAR he drops weights on the floor and never sleeps...UGH - Annabelle has TOO many toys and i have crap under my bed!!! I want to walk around and have neighbors.. I have moved 15 minutes from where i used to live ~ work in the opposite direction and haven't really seen a soul... my commute to work is an hour (thank goodness i am working from home 2 days a week) but i miss my friends and my life it is a journey i am taking - i understand - i'm pretty good about knowing this is the valley but this week has got me to the point of no return...i want to toss everything non essential into a dumpster while screaming and cussing!!! which then brings me to THIS (maybe this purge will make it all better)

the grannie nannie (my mom - who is like having a nanny/wife/maid combo) the news hound says to me don't you EVER watch the news? I say " NO - all the scoop i need to know is whats trending now on my yahoo account" SERIOUSLY - could this week be ANY sadder/pathetic/worldgonetohellinahandbasket??? I LOVE college football and am just devastated by the Penn State "scandal" i wouldn't call it that - i would call it "serve the ENTIRE staff that was working on a silver platter to the police, parents and victims" now - the Oklahoma State coaches that got killed in a plane crash and the syracuse sex scandal... WHY OH WHY WOULD I WANT TO WATCH THE NEWS WHEN I CAN WATCH PEOPLE BUY HOUSES???? So needless to say I am eager for the weekend and in DESPERATE need of defouling!!!! If you see me on the street - you MAY want to run the other way.....HAHAHAHA - you know i'm not kidding!!! I know BUT it clearly states MIS adventure of the Bailey girls!!!

Living Out Loud

I have been wrestling lately with the concept - I have had a TON of changes over the past year and a half - closed my store, moved (into an apt WITH my mother), gotten a new job and a few others...when i began this journey - these were not places i saw myself EVER - it's hard to be GULP 38 and starting over - Annie has had some health set backs which has led to both of us having frustrations....

I feel like i have to "contain" myself because in this day and age everyone is watching and EVERYONE is judging....I am constantly thinking "should i say that?" "will it offend anyone?" "did someone get left out?" "did they get my tone"" "what if people get mad or don't approve?"

Can't i just put the friggin' picture up without worrying that someone is out of the loop or may take it the wrong way....or if my denaisms and profanity bother my CLOSEST 868+ friends on facebook....

Do I have to always be nice back when people aren't nice to me?

Do you really lose friends because A) they don't agree with what you say/did or
B) because they didn't bother to listen to the whole story?

Am i REALLY what I have and not who i am?

I guess when you have 850 friends to spare it's easy to just say f - it...it's the times

I (believe it or not) don't put the whole of my life on display - for several reasons - but the biggest one is - SOME OF IT'S MESSY - i have gotten to places that my heart is overjoyed with in ways that i'm NOT necessarily in like with...


Some of it I put in the "DENIAL PILE"

Annie is 7 and a half - legally blind, has epilepsy and my 4yo that could count to 20 in spanish, could recite my family tree, alphabet, shapes and was progressing is now not counting at all...can't distinguish shapes, count to 10 or say her abcs - is this permanent? Is it caused by epilipsy or medicine? and i've learned (the hard way - which is usually how i roll) that people don't want to know because it causes anxiety in their shiny lives....I know it does suck but mostly for ANNIE!!

So this is what I leave you with...if you are my FRIEND - I LOVE YOU to the MOON AND BACK - no matter what you have done, said or how you got where you are going...

AND PS ~ If you don't like it or you disagree you can A) not listen B) defriend me or C) talk about me to others but do NOT call, email, or write me telling me why you won't or don't because - I am taking my life back and LIVING OUT LOUD!!

Twick or Tweat!

Priss Pot decided she wanted to be a Princess for Halloween ~ she's a princess everyday ~ So here is Cinderella!!

Hope your night was filled with lots of treats!!!

Pumpkin Carving

I'm not sure why but Annie has been very into getting her picture taken lately - usually all I have to say is "you want me to take your picture to put on facebook?" I know it's sad but hey it works....So here we go to carve a pumpkin all dressed (with bow again I might add)!




Miss Priss all dressed up and ready for photo ops with the pumpkin! Where dat punkin and what we gonna do to it???




You would think I would take photo ops lessons from Annie and at least put some make up on - hahahaha..I figure after 5 years y'all have seen the good, the bad and yes, even the ugly!




Soooo....we thought Annie would like putting her hands in the pumpin and help pull out all the guts but after sticking her little hand in ~ she wanted NOTHING to do with it..hahaha




Here's the finished project! She loves her punkin and thinks he's bootiful!

Happy Fall Y'all!!

So we took Priss Pot to the Pumpkin Patch......she was SOOOO excited she even agreed to a bow in her hair ;) she had fallen at the lake so she's got a slight fat lip but it didn't slow her down one bit!



Wow - look at all the punkins - how will we ever choose???




We let her pick enough for everyone in her class...let me say A) there's only 5 kiddos in her class B) they are still on the floor in the living room - she just couldn't part with them



This is the one she picked for HERSELF...I really thought we'd have a fight to get her to leave but once she realized when we paid for them she could take them home and have them all to herself she was ready to roll!


We have been having a busy happy fall and hope y'all have too!!

First Day of First Grade!

Yes I know I am LATE - I am playing catch up because I've missed a lot and am having blogger's remorse!! So Annie started FIRST GRADE - where did all the baby time go (and with it went most of the smocked dresses)She had the same teacher for 2 years so moving on was a big deal!!





What does a sweet little girl have on her first day of school? Chocolate chip cookies - the breakfast of champions!



Waiting for the bus....she has NEVER been on a bus so this is new stuff - she's kind of excited.



It's here! It's here! As most of you know Annie is visually impaired so she is riding on a handicap bus...there are just a few kids on it - I must say it made me a little sad for her to not be riding with all the other kids and worried that people would make fun of her...but so far so good - Ms. Jessica and Ms. Buckey are wonderful!




One final glance back at mommy to make sure it's what she's supposed to be doing..I tell her to have a great first day!




And off she goes....she now wakes up excited to go catch the bus because it's "her bus" no anyone elses...I don't even have to shove her up the stairs!!
hahahhaha