Christmas Tag Fun!!!

Who is up for a little Christmas Fun? 

 Thank you to my friend and fellow blogger, Krystle at "Life Revolves Around Them" for tagging me in her "Christmas Tag Fun" post. Unfortunately, i'm still new to the blog world and don't have many followers to tag yet! So if you're a fellow blogger reading this, please follow me! :)

1. What makes Christmas such a special holiday for you and your family? Growing up, Christmas was always a very special holiday that I always looked forward to! Now that I have children of my own, it's even more special! The best part of Christmas is spending it with my family. Watching my children jump out of bed on Christmas morning, running to the Christmas tree to see what Santa brought them, is better than any present I could ever receive!

2. Were you told the truth about Santa Claus by your parents or did you find out another way? I grew up in a very religious, Christian household. So my parents taught us that Christmas was not about Santa Claus at all. We read bible stories about the Birth of Jesus, and Santa Claus wasn't really apart of our Christmas's growing up. But as I grew older, and became a parent, I became less religious. So my children know about the birth of Jesus, but they also believe in Santa. Our oldest, Mackenzie is 12, and has figured it out by now, but still plays along. Our youngest, Jadyn is 8, and still believes in Santa...but she's starting to figure it out!

3. Real tree or Fake tree? I love my fake, pre-lit, tree!!! Real trees are nice and smell great...but they are messy, a pain in the butt, and a fire hazard!

4. Do you open presents on Christmas morning, Christmas Eve or both? We usually open a "family gift" on Christmas eve. Something we can enjoy together! But the rest of the gifts have to wait for Christmas morning!

5. What is your favorite Christmas movie to watch? The Grinch!! We love the Grinch...we also love the old Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie, Charlie Brown Christmas, Ernest Saves Christmas, The Elf...I LOVE Christmas movies! :)

6. Favorite Christmas song to sing or listen to? I love all the Christmas music by Trans-Siberian Orchestra, "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey, "Up on the House Top" by Jackson 5, "Christmas in Hollis" by Run DMC, "Chanukah Song" by Adam Sandler(I know...not technically a "Christmas" song...), and I've listened to the NSYNC Christmas album every year since I was 16!

Happy Happy Halloween!!!

I have really neglected my blog and really need to get back to blogging!! I have so many ideas for this blog, but haven't had the time to implement them! :) For Halloween this year, my 12 year old daughter, Mackenzie is a zombie homecoming queen, and my 8 year old daughter, Jadyn is a cat/tiger!! Here they are:

They ended up with massive amounts of candy!!!

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween!!

Here are some Halloween fun facts: 1. Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the Fall harvest and black is associated with darkness and death. 2. Jack o’ Lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday. 3. Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green. Great for unique monster carvings! 4. Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes. 5. Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America. 6. The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night. They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human. 7. Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States. 8. Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters with Snickers #1. 9. Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday, with Christmas being the first. 10. Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the roman harvest festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees. 11. Black cats were once believed to be witch's familiars who protected their powers.

"Halloween" Movie facts: "Halloween" was made in only 21 days in 1978 on a very limited budget. The movie was shot in the Spring and used fake autumn leaves. The mask used by Michael Meyers in the movie "Halloween" was actually William Shatner's mask painted white. The character Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis was named after John Carpenter's first girlfriend. While the setting for the story is in Illinois, the vehicles have California license plates. Halloween is on October 31st, the last day of the Celtic calendar. It was originally a pagan holiday, honoring the dead. Holloween was referred to as All Hallows Eve and dates back to over 2000 years ago.

Creepy Tidbits: 1. If you see a spider on Halloween, it is the spirit of a loved on watching over you. 2. Worldwide, bats are vital natural enemies of night-flying insects. 3. The common little brown bat of North America has the longest life span for a mammal it's size, with a life span averaging 32 years. 4. In about 1 in 4 autopsies, a major disease is discovered that was previously undetected. 5. The Ouija Board ended up outselling the game of Monopoly in its first full year at Salem. Over two million copies of the Ouija Board were shipped.

I had so much fun using this stick figure family generator!
My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com Have fun making your own!

My Very First Blogger Awards!!!

I have been nominated for two blog awards! I want to thank my best friend, Krystle over at Life Revolves Around Them for nominating my blog for these two awards! I am still learning what this blog world is all about...so this is new and exciting!

The first nomination is for the Versatile Blogger Award!

 With this award nomination, I have to tell you 7 random facts about myself:

1) I was born in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida on Easter Morning 1982.

2) I have lived in Virginia, Germany, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Colorado, and Florida!

3) I am a bit of a control freak and very stubborn and hard-headed!

4) My obsession is the beach! It is where I feel most relaxed and care-free! Which is one reason we decided to move here to the gulf coast of Florida. I really think I was a mermaid in my prior life....

5) I am extremely proud of my brother, Aaron, who is in his 2nd year of med school at John A. Burns School of Medicine in Honolulu, Hawaii.

6) I love siamese cats...which is why I have 4 of them!

7) My biggest goal right now is finishing my college degree and starting a new career in the medical field!

The 2nd award I was nominated for is the Sunshine Blogger Award!

This award nomination requires me to answer the following set of questions:

1) What would you most like to change about yourself? Being overweight. I have lost almost 30 lbs. so far, and i'm on a mission to lose the rest! I'm not stopping until my goal is accomplished! I have made a lifestyle change which has made it easy....no more diets!

2) What is your theme song? I would have to say Zac Brown Band's "Knee Deep" or "Toes".

3) What is one part of your life, a memory, an action, etc, that you wish you could surgically remove from your brain? I was involved in a car accident in 2009. A 17 year old ran a stop sign and t-boned me. I am still dealing with injuries from this accident. It changed me in a lot of ways and put me through an emotional roller coaster. I have anxiety every time I get in a vehicle, and I will be dealing with issues from this accident for the rest of my life. The passenger in my vehicle passed away from her injuries and I don't think ill ever get over that...

4) What generation do you wish you'd been a part of? haha I've heard the 70's was a blast! But i'm happy with the generation I was born into.

5) What was your favorite childhood toy? I loved dolls and barbies!

6) What is your favorite household chore? Cooking my family dinner! I love trying new recipes!

7) Do you Twitter? Kinda! Nope....I've tried to get into the twitter world, since my husband loves twitter, but I just don't like it!

8) Any goals? Lose the rest of this weight and finish my degree!

9) Do you really drink margaritas all the time? Nope...I enjoy a good fruity mixed drink once in a while, but certainly not all the time.

10) What's the ugliest car you've ever driven? Oh boy...probably the 1980's pontiac bonneville that Jason's boss gave him about 10 years ago...I hated that boat of a car! lol




Well, that is it for now! Thanks for stopping by! :)

Favorite Beachy Quotes...

June Memories...

     This is post a little late...ok, a LOT late! My niece, Lauren had her high school graduation from The James Monroe High School in Fredericksburg, Virginia on June 15. So we made a last minute decision to drive up to Virginia and attend Lauren's graduation! We drove up Wednesday night, June 13, and got there early Thursday morning. We checked in at the Sleep Inn Hotel in Massapponax, VA. Since I had class that I couldn't miss, I was only able to stay until Sunday, June 17. My husband and kids were going to stay a few weeks longer and visit with family, then drive back home. I rode home with my sister-in-law and niece(who had decided to come to back to Florida till Dec.) that Sunday night, the 17th. My time in Virginia was short and sweet! A lot of it was spent on driving...15 hours each way. So I was beyond exhausted when I got home!
     For the few days I was in Virginia, I was able to visit with my in-laws and 2 of my nephews, and of course the new graduate of the family, Lauren. I was also able to catch up with my best friend, Krystle. We met up for lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, which was nice! I don't miss Virginia much, but I sure do miss some of the people there!! A few of Jason's cousins also came by for a visit. His cousin, Bobby and his girl, Heather recently had beautiful twin babies who are almost a year old. A girl and a boy, Lili and Liam. They are too cute for words! Me and the girls had a blast with the babies! Of course that just made me want to have another! Hopefully, when the time it right, we'll have baby #3. Until then, ill just enjoy everyone else's babies! I was really hoping to catch up with more friends that I haven't seen since high school. But there just wasn't enough time! Hopefully next visit I'll be able to catch up with some old friends from high school. While I was there, Jason and I took the girls around the area to show them some landmarks that had meaning to us. We showed them where we first met. We also showed them around some local battlefields and historical sites. They definitely got a good history lesson in. Lauren's graduation went great. We are extremely proud of her! Since Lauren came back here to Florida to stay with her Mom, we've had a lot of fun together, and have been able to catch up on a lot! Of course, I took Lauren to Clearwater beach for her first real beach experience! We have also spent some time at the YMCA pool and Fred Howard Park and Beach here in Tarpon Springs. We also endured our first tropical storm together! Tropical storm Debby hit this area hard. We had massive flooding and 9 confirmed tornadoes touch down in the area. A lot of homes and businesses were damaged and destroyed. We were very lucky! We didn't even lose power!
     My husband and kids are still in Virginia, but will be coming home soon! They have really enjoyed spending time with the family in Virginia. Jason has been a huge help to his parents there. I know his parents are going to have a hard time saying good-bye to him and the girls. But I really miss having my hubby and kids! It's been a nice break, and i've enjoyed some of the alone time. But it's just not the same without them! Here are some photos of my favorite memories in June:
                                          

                                               Celebrating Lauren's graduation at El Charros!

Tebowing! lol

My 3 Loves and I

Mackenzie, Jadyn, and my nephew Alan-Michael having a blast at the hotel pool!

      My bff, Krystle and I                                                                                          Lauren and I

Cousins!

                   

Mom is finally home!!!

What a very long crazy rainy day! So I left around 9am this morning for A&P class. Before my A&P class, I decided to run by my Mom's house for one last clean up, vacuum, and to wash the last load of her laundry before she was discharged today!  After class, I headed to the rehabilitation facility to go pick up my Mom who was finally being discharged, only to find out they had somehow lost a bunch of her personal belongings that she really needed! So we went around and around with the people there until finally requesting to speak with the administrator who was able to take care of it and resolve the problem. So 4 hours later, she was finally able to leave! I loaded up the car with her stuff and helped her into the car....then realized my headlights had been left on!!! Soooo yeah....my battery was dead...very very dead. It was POURING down rain most of the day, and a very nice gentleman offered to jump start my car....but it still wouldn't start! Finally, after about 20 min. of jump starting, sparks flying and popping...my car finally started. This poor man was drenched! I couldn't thank him enough. We were finally able to leave and I was able to take my Mom home. I know she was so excited to be back home! Her standard poodles, Belle and Cherry, were thrilled so have their Mom back home, too! After getting her settled in and unloading her stuff, I headed over to Publix to pick up some groceries for her, and by Wendy's to pick up a couple burgers and fries for us. Then I went back over to my Mom's house and hung out for a little bit. After more than 4 weeks after her accident, I am so glad she is doing much better, and so glad she is home! She still has some recovering to do, but I am optimistic that she will continue improving! <3

It's a Hard Knock Life...

These last few weeks have been the hardest, most stressful, emotional weeks of my life.  Starting a blog for me is more like starting a diary.  I feel like writing down and reflecting things that happen in my life will help me a lot.  I am a full-time college student. This is my 5th semester at Pasco-Hernando Community College.  I am almost finished with my AA, then plan on going to nursing school in the spring to pursue an AS in nursing.  So I will be a registered nurse by 2014.  I cannot wait!!! Nurses in my area are making $60/hour. We have too many hospitals to even count around here. So finding a job in that field should be no problem. Since marrying my husband at the age of 17 and having our first daughter at the age of 18, my life has been quite a roller coaster ride. We have been through some really amazing times, and some really hard times. My husband and I both decided to pursue our college degrees so that we don't ever have to worry about struggling or living paycheck to paycheck. We want to be successful, and be able to pursue all of our dreams. We also want to set the best example possible, for our 2 daughters. Making sure our children go to college is a top priority in our house. Ok, now i'm getting off topic....so like I said earlier, these last few weeks have been crazy. A few weeks ago I started my summer semester at PHCC. A few days later, I received a phone call from friends of my Mom's, letting me know that my Mother had been in a minor accident with her horse. I rushed to the hospital, even though I was told she was ok. When I got there, her friends were sitting in the ER waiting room. I spoke with the security guard at the front desk and he said they are not letting anyone back right now because she is in the Trauma unit. Finally, a nurse came out and got me, and said the Doctor will only let me back, but that he needed to talk to me about her condition. The nurse lead me to a room.....the kind of room they lead family members into only to give them bad news. I was scared out of my mind. The Doctor told me that my Mother had very serious injuries. She was thrown off of her horse after a man on a 4-wheeler spooked the horse. She landed head first. She had a fractures skull, severe concussion, bleeding and bruising on her brain, and bleeding out of her ear and nose. She had a TBI(Traumatic brain injury). He said I could come see her, so I did. I held her hand and stayed strong. I assured her that everything was going to be ok. I then walked back out into the ER waiting room to speak with my Mom's friends who were there worried about her, and let them know what was going on. Then I told them I would be right back. I walked out to the parking lot, to my car....got in the passenger seat, and cried hysterically. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Would my Mom even survive this? Would she have permanent brain damage? So many questions went through my head. I called Jason and cried on the phone with him, only because I knew he would be able to comfort me, which he did. Once I got myself together, I went back into the ER. I called my grandparents and my brother. My brother is in his 2nd year of med school in Hawaii. So I wanted his opinion and wanted to make sure he was able to speak with the Doctors. I spent as much time as I possibly could there at the hospital with my Mom. She developed a 105 fever, which then caused more panic and worry. She spent almost 2 weeks in ICU, then they finally moved her to a rehabilitation facility. It has now been 3 weeks and 1 day since her accident and she is doing remarkably better at the rehab facility. The physical therapy and occupational therapy have helped a lot. Her cognitive skills are almost back to normal, but she is still in a lot of pain. She has some issues with her short-term memory, but only someone who is close to her would know it. I go to see her every other day. I am amazed at her progress. But about 10 days after my Mom's accident, I get a phone call from my brother. He had gotten a call from our step-mother in Colorado(My Dad lives in Colorado Springs). My Dad was now also in the hospital and being admitted with pulmonary embolisms in both lungs. My parents are still pretty young, in their early 50's. So this was a lot to deal with, especially all at once. I was so worried about both of my parents. My Dad is doing much better, but is also dealing with nerve damage in his legs from his diabetes. We're hoping he can reverse the issues he's having by taking better care of his diabetes. So both of my parents are doing better, but still have not fully recovered. Dealing with school, home life, taking care of my Mom's house and her dogs, visiting my Mom as much as possible, making sure my kids get to swim practice and gymnastics...etc...etc...etc...has made these last few weeks practically unbearable. I have never felt so stressed and worried in my entire life. I was afraid I was going to lose both of my parents. It was just too much to take in all at once. But i'm thankful they are both still here, and I hope to have many many years left with them. An event like this really makes us realize how very important family and close friends really are....

This is a picture of me, my husband, our 2 daughters, my mom, and grandparents at Red Lobster for my 30th Birthday dinner on April 11, 2012. When my Mom was in ICU, I looked at this picture constantly...

This was a couple of years ago when my Dad was visiting from Colorado. Me, my Dad, my cousin Elizabeth, and the kids(Mackenzie and Jadyn).

                                  One of my favorite pictures of my Dad and his granddaughters :)

                                      My Mom and Mackenzie riding horses a couple years ago!

                                      My Mom and one of her standard poodles(Belle or Cherry)

It's About Time!!!

I have wanted to start a blog for years! I finally decided to say screw the housework and screw my homework...time to make a blog! This will be a blog about our day to day life...enjoy.