Here I Go Again..................

Here I go again. Today is the first day of the fall semester and it's going to be a new experience. In the past couple of years I typically took only one or two classes and during the adoption process I didn't take classes at all. Now I am taking four! Many people say that hind sight is 20/20 and boy is that the truth. I'm certain that it would have been easier to attend college right out of high school when life was more carefree with less worries. Don't get me wrong, I know that young college students work and study very hard to obtain their degree, but the challenge seems to multiply as a person ages. I know as a 40 uhhhhmmmm...something that I maybe tend to overthink, analyze, and worry about things that I typically wouldn't have given a second thought to 20 years ago. On the other hand, at times, I feel I have an advantage to younger students. I have more life experience and knowledge that has greatly assisted me in several of my courses. I have come to accept that maybe these classes pose a great challenge for myself, but if I had attended college right after high school I probably wouldn't have met my best friend, become the mother of three beautiful daughters and a unbelieveably handsome little boy from the People's Republic of China. I couldn't imagine those experiences not being part of my life. Although a challenge, I am at peace with the fact that this is all in God's devine plan.

I Miss You Brenda......................

Brenda Leigh McVean 7-31-1972 to 08-20-2007

You were such a pillar of strength for your girls and you fought the toughest battle that a woman could ever fight. I love and miss you so much Brenda.

Happy 17th Birthday!

Wow, it's hard to believe that Shanna and Lindsay are 17 and entering into their final year of high school. We celebrated their birthday on August 14 instead of August 16 because Shanna had plans to travel to Washington D.C. for the weekend. We went out to eat at Applebee's and their main birthday gift was new cell phones. I'm always reminded that they are my birthday gift since their birthday is a day prior to mine with the exception that my date of birth is a mere 23 years and 364 days prior. Ahhhhhhhh, another year older. I really don't feel any different, but maybe a year wiser.





Can you believe they are twins??? Nothing alike at all!!!

Time on my hands.......

What would you do if you had some extra time on your hands? I am currently on a 3 week break prior to my full-time schedule of fall classes, which begin on August 21. My husband and I decided to do a little work (I use the term "little" very loosely) in our kitchen. We thought this would be no big deal. We thought that we would just rip out the old cabinets and replace the cabinets with new (used) ones, paint and glaze them, and replace the flooring, right? Oh my goodness we were sooooooo wrong!
Let me start by saying, if you ever plan on doing a remodeling job in any room in your home be prepared for the unexpected. As we were doing a little demo we decided to move the front entryway that leads into the kitchen. This would allow us to have more space to place a large pantry in our kitchen. This grand idea lead into ripping a wall down, rewiring, replacing drywall, and a lovely thick layer of dust covering every possible inch of your home. Oh ya, I almost forgot that there is a 5 to 6 week wait for our new countertops.....eeeeeeek!
Honestly, I'm not really complaining. I actually feel very blessed that we can update our home and I know we will truly enjoy all the fruits of our labor(well eventually), but sometimes it can be a real pain in the you know what. We have always taken great pride in doing our own home improvements and I am looking forward to seeing the end result even if it is a few months down the road! Stay tuned for the end results!

My old Coca-Cola Kitchen

Cute, but tired of the Coca-Cola theme

No more sink.....yuck!

What a mess!

Don't look at the dust on my ceiling fan. Oh, I knew you would look...ha, ha, ha Who needs a darn wall anyway!

Only 7 More Days

I can't believe that in only 7 more days the Olympics start! The travel channel dedicated a whole week of programming about the People's Republic of China. Every evening I made it a point to sit down and further educate myself about China and its history and traditions. Viewing the footage of Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace and the Great Wall of China brought back wonderful memories of our trip in May 2007. Oh how I would love to go back and visit! The travel channel also aired several shows highlighting China's cuisine. I've tried to make several Chinese dishes, but let's just say that it wasn't too appetizing! I think I will stick to Chinese take-out from now on. I wanted to share a couple of photos of the Beijing Olympic countdown clock in Tiananmen square. I mean how many people have the same picture of the Olympic countdown clock during the same day, hour, minute and second?