Teaching a Boy to Pee is like...

Potty training a boy, I have always heard, is more difficult than potty training a girl. Let me confirm that statement. Let me also add to it - Potty training a boy without the help of a dad is extremely difficult! There are things I cannot teach my son. Equipment I do not have! There are things I never dreamed one would even have to teach another, but it seems not all things natural are learned, they must be taught.

Emily and Kensley were both completely potty trained by the age of 2-1/2. As I recall they were both very easily potty trained, with the task completed within a weekend. I told them they were going to start wearing panties, we went out and bought cute little pink ones with Barbie on them and they started wearing them around the clock! I'm sure there were a few accidents but I only recall one of Emily's which took place while she and I were standing on a pier in Myrtle Beach. EASY, BREEZY!!!

Edison turned 2-1/2 in the winter and I decided to wait until Spring. All who have potty trained know that it is much easier to clean up an accident that involves only shorts and flip flops rather than long pants, underwear, socks and tennis shoes! Edison turned 3 in May, we started the process, he wasn't interested at all, we stopped. In fact, throughout the Spring, when I would mention big boy underwear, he told me quite a few times, "Mom, I'm a wittle baby, I need to wear diapers." As much as I would like him to remain my "wittle baby", the fact is, I hate changing diapers and even more than that, I hate to spend my money on them!!!

This potty training session with Edison has not been a weekend task as it was for Emily and Kensley. This has taken me ALL SUMMER!!! But today, I can proudly tell each of you that my son wears big boy underwear every day, all day long, even during naps, and he stays dry! I still put a pull-up on him at night, however, he stays dry almost every single night, so as soon as we run out of pull-ups (which I am using multiple times since they are staying dry), he will begin wearing big boy underwear at night time as well.

Now back to the things I have had to teach my son which have not been easy during this summer-long ordeal:

1. Aim! One day, we pulled into the driveway and Edison said, "I want to pee in the grass." He's a boy! He loves to pee outside in the grass. I got him out of his car seat, pulled his pants down and stood him over on the side of the driveway. He seemed to have everything under control, he was peeing on the grass. I turned around to get things out of the van while he finished up. I collected my belongings and when I turned back around (less than 15 seconds later) I find that he has peed on the grass, the concrete, two different rocks sitting on the concrete, on each shoe, down each leg, into his underwear and onto his shorts! "Edison, WHAT are you doing?" He looked at me (like DUH!) and asked, "Peeing?" I pulled his shoes off, pulled his shorts and underwear off, got the wipes out of the car and wiped off his legs and we walked into the house (he was butt naked!). As I walked through the house, I threw his clothes in the washer, his flip flops in the sink and took him straight to the bathtub! From now on, if you visit my house and see Fruit Loops in the bathroom? Just know that is what we use for target practice!
2. Tuck! Edison had to go to the bathroom one Sunday during Church. This visit to the potty required sitting as he needed to poop. I sat him on the toilet and then turned to check my own hair and make-up in the mirror. I turned around and saw that he had a lap full of pee! So much pee in his lap that it was filling his belly button! I'm not kidding and yes, it was soaking into his nicely ironed polo shirt! I immediately spread his legs apart to let his "sink drain" and said "You need to point THAT down there when you pee, Little Man!" He just looked at me like he was clueless. Once again, I'm grabbing paper towels and soap to give him a quick bath so we can return to church. While everyone else was out in the sanctuary singing "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus", I was in the bathroom teaching a little boy what to do when he can't stand up to do his business!
3. Hands Out of the Flow! Yes, I know it is necessary that the hands be used to help aim or to help tuck, but there is absolutely no reason whatsoever that the other hand should ever pass in front of the flow of urine! And if you are a curious little boy and want to do just that, PLEASE PLEASE, when your hand is dripping wet with pee, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT rub it in your hair!!! That is exactly what happened last night. He had to sit, he remembered to tuck, but then he felt the need to pee on his hand. I was in the same stall with him and before I could grap the toilet paper to dry off his hand, he dried it himself, in his HAIR!!!! I'm not kidding! These are the things boys do! I assure you that if either of my girls had EVER peed on their hands, they would have started crying, holding their hand out all limp and dripping, saying "ooooo, my hand's wet, get it off, get it off!" Rest assured, girls would never wipe it in their hair!!!

I'm learning to raise a boy! It's not an easy task! The other day I made the comment that men are pigs. Edison asked, "I'm a pig, Mom?" and I said, "No, honey, Mommy will make sure you are never a PIG!" Oh, he might get dirty, he might look and smell like a pig at times, heck, he might even follow in Wasband's footsteps and become a pig, uh... I mean police officer, but he will know how to treat a woman. One of my goals as his mother is to make sure that the name Edison Underwood and Male Chauvenistic Pig, are never used together in the same sentence (other than the one you just read)! I am also going to do my best to make sure he knows how to properly aim and that he remembers to lower the toilet seat after raising it. Some daughter-in-law will thank me for it one day :-)

For M Kat With Love

Tonight was one of those kid free Friday nights that I get every other weekend. Because of the week I have had, I welcomed an evening of taking care of only myself. Many weekends I hate the fact that I have to "share" my children, however, I try to enjoy the time I have alone and right now, I need some down time. The problem is that I have to weigh the alone time with keeping myself busy in order to keep the sadness and feelings of depression at bay.

Tonight was one of those nights where I didn't really want to do anything but I knew it would be a bad decision to sit home alone. I must admit the thoughts of coming coming home and snuggling in front of the tv to watch Season 1 of The Sopranos seemed inviting, as I have already watched Episodes 1,2 and 3 and seem to be hooked. I had a few options and decided that I really wanted to watch our high school football team play ball. The problem was that I didn't want to walk into the game alone. I talked one of my very best friends into going to the game with me tonight. Her sweet daughter, whom I will call M Kat, accompanied us.

On our way to the game, M Kat's mom and I were discussing my blog and M Kat informed me that she wanted a post written for her. I told her I would see what I could come up with but I felt like my youngest daughter, Kensley, would probably get the next post, since Emily had already had one dedicated to her. Of course, M Kat's request stayed in my mind and I admit that I thought about "her" post the whole evening we were together. That's how I write --- an idea comes along and then my brain begins formulating everything that happens or has happened in the past into a story. (Now if I could come up with a major plot which would formulate itself into a novel, I would be one happy girl! Believe me, I've tried, and I can't do it.)

I watched and listened to everything M Kat did and said while we were together tonight. I made a comment to her mom when she came walking across the wet dewy grass in her sock feet and laughed when I watched her struggle to get her shoes back on. I watched her walk around with her friends and play touch football with a co-ed group of middle schoolers. I complimented the adorable t-shirt she wore supporting her school and watched her reaction when I hid something from her that she wanted to see.

M Kat is one of the smartest young girls that I know. She is wise beyond her years and very inquisitive. M Kat recently allowed me to borrow the entire Twilight series of novels. Granted, she let me know up front that she had spent her "own" money on the series and wanted to receive them back in the same condition she lent them to me. As I read each book, being extremely cautious not to bend the pages or spill my drink on them, I kept thinking how intelligent she must be to have been able to follow them at such a young age. In addition to some difficult words in the books, the plot spins off into different directions. I sometimes had to stop reading and think about what was actually going on, so I was very impressed that she read, understood and thoroughly enjoyed the entire series. Each novel, I might add, is very thick and they are not the most easy reads!

M Kat informed her mother and I on our way to the game that she intended to be picky when it came to boys. I told her that is the way she needs to be! I shared with her my motto, "Better than nothing is not good enough!" She agreed with me and said she would not "settle"! Thatta girl M Kat!! Just please keep that in mind when your hormones kick in :-) There is no doubt in my mind that this young lady will grow into a very strong woman, similar to her own mother. She is going to let you know where she stands on an issue, will not let anyone walk over her or take advantage of her, and will fiercely protect the things that are important to her. She will also be kind, compassionate and willing to share. She already exhibits these characteristics and I feel sure, that with the excellent parenting skills of her wonderful mom and dad, she will continue down a path of success!

M Kat helps keep me in check too. She likes to play with my iPhone and check out all the latest games I have downloaded. I enjoy sharing my latest fun finds with her. She is my iTunes police and recently let her mother know that I have lots of "inappropriate" songs with bad lyrics. Now, for the record, not all of my music is bad - I have 749 songs on my iPod - and I have warned her not to listen to a song until she gets the okay from me! I do enjoy some rap, pop and alternative artists who use some r-rated lyrics. It's my iPhone, I'm 39 years old, and I can download what I want to! Right M Kat????

I was trying to think of some things that M Kat and I have in common and I came up with a list.

• we both like my iPhone
• we both like cheerleading
• we both like to read a lot
• we both like to know the latest gossip
• neither of us like to clean (I told her when I walked into her house tonight that her Mom's house always makes me sick 'cause it's so clean and that you would NEVER see my house as clean as her's and she said, "you will never see mine this clean either!" haha)

and most importantly

• neither of us will settle on just any guy!!
  

Better than nothing is not good enough for Mary Kat OR me :-)

I love you Mary Katherine! Thanks for helping fill that empty spot when my girls aren't around.

No Comment

I've told you before, my friends, that I have a lot of anxiety. I can go for a few weeks and nothing bothers me. Life is good and it feels good to be me. And then, one incident can change my mood and it seems as if life snowballs from there. For instance, something happened on Sunday afternoon that made me very angry. It made the "mama bear claws" come out to protect my son from the very person from whom he should NEVER have to be protected.

I dealt with the issue (sort of) and tried to calm myself down. I decided that ice cream would help with the process. Now, there are two places to get ice cream in the city where I live and they are on complete opposite sides of town. I was returning home and passed up one of them for the ease of driving thru McDonald's drive-thru. I happen to live in a small rural community where the only chain restaurant we have is McDonald's and we've not had it for very many years. In my opinion, it is also the slowest McDonald's on the face of the earth, partly because there is always a long line of customers and partly because they are just slow.

I waited in line in the hot sun. Keep in mind that I do not have air conditioning in the Swagger Wagon and the temperature was 87 degrees outside. When I finally got to the speaker I ordered a kid sized ice cream cone and before I could get the rest of my order out, I heard, "I'm sorry, ma'am, our machine is broken." I asked, "what machine? the ice cream machine?" and she replied "yeah." Again, keep in mind that I not only needed the ice cream to help cool me off mentally, I now needed it to cool me off physically. I have a hard time keeping my "cool" when I'm sweating! Through gritted teeth I said, "I have been sitting in the hot sun WITHOUT air conditioning for more than 10 minutes waiting with my cranky child for ICE CREAM! I think the least you all could do is place a sign in line that states your ice cream machine is BROKEN!" No, I wasn't nice, but she was. In her best, "can I help ya" voice she said, "is there anything else I can get for ya, a frappe' or an iced tea?" Oh, it sounded good but I didn't have the money for a mocha frap and I refused to buy anything if I couldn't get ice cream. We pulled out of line and headed back to the other side of town where Edison and I were eventually able to enjoy some ice cream.

This week, things have continued to snowball. As always, I have financial worries and right now I'm having to make a pretty big decision, on my own, with some counsel of course. I always enjoy heading to Facebook to update my status when I get stressed out. Facebook always poses the question "What's on your mind?" I can never truly type in that little box what is really on my mind so I search for clever, funny sayings to try to let people know what I am feeling while also making them laugh. That way, it keeps it light, gets some "likes" and maybe a few comments of encouragement. My choice of finding and posting clever sayings is better than the alternative of posting what's really on my mind - trust me!!!

Yesterday I posted that I was a little like Dorothy...always finding men who are either cowards, have no heart or no brain. It was not "man bashing" just a funny statement I swiped from Status Shuffle that sounded funny to me. It was actually a statement about ME and really doesn't even apply because I'm not always "finding men". As soon as I posted the update, I logged out and when I logged back in a few hours later, I was surprised to see the post had received quite a number of responses. I soon had people texting me on my phone, calling me at home, sending me chats via Facebook and even inbox messages from people who "didn't want to get involved" but who were very offended by a comment that was made by a man on my page. Oh, once again, I had an opinion, and I so wanted to share it, but I chose to take the high road and keep my mouth shut (for the most part).

To take a break from the stress of my Facebook post, I decided to take a look at my blog and there I found that again, a man had a comment about something I stated in my recent post about visiting the Kentucky State Fair. Evidently, a comment I made had been "tracked" by the Kentucky Lottery and they felt compelled to "set me straight!" First of all, I find it interesting that my words are "being tracked" by our State Government and it makes me wonder who else monitors our "freedom of speech." Lesson learned --- Now I know not to voice any threats toward anyone in future posts. Secondly, I'm not sure whether to be excited that my blog is drawing attention or offended that people feel the need to always comment on something I have to say. I invite encouraging comments to any Facebook posts or blog entries because that's what I need in my life, positive encouragement. It seems the past few days I have been verbally attacked but I'm a big girl, I can handle it. Thirdly, Mr. Polson of the Kentucky Lottery will get a response from me because I think I made it clear in my blog that I do not participate in the Lottery and I have my own reasons for that. Right now, I am collecting some statistics that I intend to share with him and the rest of my readers.

So - many things - my bad mood, multiple wrongs in my life, broken ice cream machines, money problems, big decisions, and comments that everyone seems to have to everything I have to say caused me to get only 3 hours of sleep last night. There is one other pattern my moods seem to follow and I will clue you all in. This is PMS week and my PMS week always coincides with Full Moon week. I don't sleep well during PMS week. I don't sleep well during Full Moon week. Add PMS with a full moon, sprinkle with lots of anxiety and you get one sleep deprived Be-Otchy woman!

My advice to anyone reading this...if you can't comment something nice, please don't comment at all! Have a nice day :-)

A Doughnut Burger and Lavender Linen Spray

I spent an enjoyable Thursday with my mom at the Kentucky State Fair. I last attended the State Fair about 6 years ago. My mom informed me that she had not been since I won a 4-H blue ribbon for my Peanut Butter Cookies at the county level and got to take them to State. That was when I was in the 4th grade, circa 1980 --- 30 years ago!


The reason we attended this year was to watch Cashius O'Neil Logan, my great-nephew, her great-grandson, compete in the State Little Miss and Mr Pageant. He and Miss Mayson Molen proudly represented Garrard County. Although they were the most adorable couple on stage (yes, I was biased), they didn't place in the pageant. There were 69 Little Couples competing and I can't imagine what a judge must look for in a pageant like that. I wasn't overly impressed with the outward appearance of the winning couple; however, I was not privy to the backstage interviews nor did I see any of the children in their casual wear, so who knows. There were LOTS of beautiful children on stage and each of them had families who were hoping they would walk away with the trophy, crown, sash, flowers and check. Cash and Mayson, your cheering section was very proud of you. Do not be disappointed because you will forever hold the title of 2010 Little Miss and Mr Garrard County Fair!!!!

Mom and I walked around all day. We first hit the exhibit hall which contained the 4-H and county fair entries. Mom wanted to check out what a blue ribbon jar of green beans and pickles look like because she thinks she might have a winning jar to enter next year :-). We enjoyed looking at the cakes, pies and candy and I was thinking that I would enjoy being a judge in those divisions. I don't recall seeing any peanut butter cookies this year. I remember when I went as a child, I was disappointed to learn that I had only received a white ribbon at the state level. The state fair gives you a much bigger ribbon than the county fair gives. I didn't want a big white ribbon. I wanted a big Blue ribbon to compliment the smaller one I had already won. White is the equivalent of 3rd place. This was my thinking as a child. Blue = 1st = A; Red = 2nd = B; White = 3rd = C. At that point in my life, I had never had anything other than an A on my report card and darn it, I didn't want a big fat C for my big fattening cookies!!! To add to that disappointment, they had placed ALL of the "C" cookies into a HUGE cookie jar and then listed the names of the people whose cookies were inside. I didn't want people to know that my cookies were in THAT jar.

We spent a little time looking at the photography and painting exhibits and then moved to textiles. We enjoyed looking at the dresses, jackets and clothing and then the quilts. I love quilts and there was one in particular that caught my attention. It was a block quilt that had a woman representing each month of the year. Incorporated into each of her dresses or as an accessory to each of her outfits was an old handkerchief. I took photos with my iPhone because Mom and I wanted our friend, Carolyn, to see the detail of this quilt. We immediately thought of Carolyn's mother, who recently passed away. Gran, as her grandchildren and I called her, was the most talented quilter I have ever known. Any quilt she has ever quilted could hold its own in any competition in the world, I'm sure of it!!!




There were tons of exhibits but I think the one my mom and I enjoyed the most was a miniature replica of "my ole' Kentucky home". It wasn't the Stephen Foster "My Old Kentucky Home" located in Bardstown, Kentucky. This was a miniature mobile home that detailed every backwoods stereotype that Kentucky has to offer. The wheels were still on the mobile home and it was propped up on concrete blocks. There was a crooked little outbuilding sitting to the side and a moonshine still hidden in the woods. There were cats, kittens and dogs everywhere (even in the garbage can), beer cans in the yard, a rebel flag in the window, old metal lawn chairs, a satellite dish on the roof, and I could go on and on. We looked at it forever and just kept finding things. It didn't even win a blue ribbon, it got a big white (a "C") but I personally think it deserved a Championship Purple!!!


Next we moved to the County Exhibits. Many counties were there promoting tourism in their area. Some of their displays were very inviting. Most of them offered a drawing for either a gift basket showcasing items that were made and sold in their county or for a hotel stay and golf package, among other things. We collected tons of brochures, key chains, ink pens, and candy. Mom took a piece of coal from Harlan County and I got a bottle of "hope" water from Manchester, the City of Hope. We saw lots of people walking around with yard sticks but neither of us ended up with one of those :-( and I really needed one because Edison broke mine!!! Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure the one I previously had came from the State Fair...

On down the hall were vendors. Everyone wanted to sell us something! There was jewelry, toys, clothes, purses, sunglasses, Primax windows, hot tubs, outdoor buildings, gazebos, health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, Dish Network, Direct TV, cookware, steam mops, food items, decorative flags, and I could go on and on. Mom bought three garden flags and a little school bus for Edison. There was one thing I wish I would have purchased and that was a nightgown. It had a bedside table on it with a book, a lamp and some other items and at the top was written "One Night Stand". I went back at the end of the night to purchase the gown but the lady had already shut down her cash register. I didn't purchase anything...well, yes I did...but that comes later in this story...

Disbursed through all of these booths were the service provider booths. Police departments, sheriff departments, and KY State offices (Secretary of State, Tourism, Transportation, Health and Family Services, etc.), offering various information. The democrats and republicans each had booths encouraging people to vote for "their man". The FEI Alltech World Equestrian Games had lots of information about their upcoming event and I signed up to win two tickets to an event (even though I've already purchased tickets to attend with my family one day). There was a big beautiful John Deere tractor on display and various hospitals offered dermatology cancer checks, hearing tests, vision tests and colon cancer screenings, etc. While I visited many of these booths to see what they had to offer, there is one that caught my attention. Sitting next to a brand new Sheriff's cruiser, was a BEAUTIFUL bright red 2010 Chevrolet Camaro - MY DREAM CAR! My only purchase (besides food) was a chance to win this car. I normally don't spend money on chances but I stopped and said, "Mom, that is my dream car". She said, "Buy a chance". I told her that I only brought $45 in cash with me to the fair and didn't want to use my debit card unless I had to but quickly said "I guess I might as well spend it on that, I just spent $10 on lunch and that would be better than buying something I don't need." She then reminded me that my grandfather had won a truck many years ago at the Boyle County Fair and I said, "Well, that just confirms why I shouldn't buy it, what are the chances that two people in the same family would win a car at a fair" and then she said, "Aunt Evelyn told me the other day that her dad won a car one time too" and I said "well, then, maybe I should, it sounds like our family is lucky at winning cars!" Eventually, with the "okay from Mom", I made the decision and purchased one $10.00 chance on my dream car. All proceeds benefit Trooper Island.

Trooper Island Camp was developed by the Kentucky State Police as part of a long range program of public service to the youth of Kentucky: a place where the tensions and turmoil of our everyday lives can be forgotten; and for one week young people can be given a touch of hope and desire of a better tomorrow.

I was told that the drawing for the car will be held on Sunday, August 29th. I teased my mom and told her that I would be holding a special prayer after church that day - LOL! Only 20,000 tickets will be sold and they told me that they didn't think they were going to be able to sell all of them this year so that would increase my chances. I know that I probably won't win but my odds of winning this car are better than if I played the lottery (which I do not do). The best thing is the money I spent will benefit a good program - unlike the promises that were made when the Kentucky Lottery was instituted!!! I think the lottery promised major improvements and tons of money going into our education system... which NEVER happened and NEVER will. That reminds me... a huge corner of one of the exhibit halls was dedicated to our fine Kentucky Lottery. There were as many tables in the lottery area as were in the food area and the tables were full of people sitting and scratching off tickets hoping to become one of Kentucky's newest millionaires. All I want is a vehicle with air in the summertime and heat in the winter - one I can depend on to get me back and forth to work and if that vehicle happens to be an "arrest-me-red" Chevy Camaro then I will have the added bonus of driving to work and getting a few heads to turn my way. I could use that too :-)

We did a lot of walking, even walking across the Kentucky Fair Exposition Center, to see the dairy cows on display and the Mules and Jacks. Unfortunately, not many mules and jacks had arrived so Mom and I were a little disappointed to have walked so far only to see about 10 mules. I had to use my iPhone to Google the difference between a Mule and a Jack. I knew what a mule was, and I thought I knew what a Jack was but we needed some clarification. FYI - a mule is a cross between a mare (female horse) and a male donkey (a/k/a a Jack Ass). We didn't see any Jack's, just a few mules. Our Google session also informed us that you can also cross a male horse (Stallion) with a female donkey (a/k/a a Jenny) and get a "Henny". Jack's, Jenny's, Mule's and Henny's - they should teach things like that at the Kentucky State Fair! Once again, thank goodness for my iPhone, I don't know what I would do without it. The best thing about our walk in the hot sun from the Expo Center to Freedom Hall to see the Jack's and Mules was the fact that we got to hear Sugarland warming up for their concert. We even got to peek through a curtain and get a glimpse of them. We also saw their big trucks outside and tour vans so that made the walk all worthwhile. Well, that and the information we learned from Googling :-)


Of course, you can't go to any Fair without talking about the food! I had a Ribeye sandwich from the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association and it was very tasty. I later enjoyed some German Roasted pecans and cashews, you know the kind with the cinnamon sugar coating? My favorite! I also had some popcorn and a chocolate/vanilla twist ice cream cone. There was something new I had never seen and I was tempted to try it but just couldn't imagine how it would taste. It was called a Doughnut Burger. Evidently, it is a hamburger sandwiched between two Krispy Kreme doughnuts! Now, I'm all about a good hamburger and I enjoy the occasional Krispy Kreme doughnut, but together? I just couldn't do it! I admit I was and continue to be curious about this so-called doughnut burger. I guess if you are going to try one, the State Fair would be the best place because as soon as you finish eating it, you can head back inside to the colon cancer screening desk to let them know what you've just done! They might recommend a colon cleansing and then a trip to the booth next door - the American Heart Association.

We ended our night watching the Little Miss and Mr Pageant and Mom and I spent the night at the Crowne Plaza. I had told her that I wanted to sleep late and that she should wake me up at 10:00 a.m. That would give me time to take a shower and get everything ready before check-out at 11. Mom assured me that she would be quiet the next morning as she planned to work on her own writing while I slept in. We sprayed our beds with Lavender Linen Spray and the next thing I knew, I looked at the clock and I thought it said 10:40 a.m. I rubbed my eyes, tried to open them a little wider and brought the clock closer to my face and again saw that it said 10:40. I looked over at the bed next to mine and my mom was sound asleep. I said, "Mom, it's 10:40!" She sleepily asked, "What?" and I repeated, "It's 10:40!" Neither one of us are morning people. My mom has to have at least one cup of coffee before she will even talk to you. I prefer to lay in bed until the very last minute before I have to begin rushing around to be out the door to barely arrive at my destination on time. The problem with it being 10:40 was that we had to check out of the hotel by 11!! Luckily, they offered check-out via television. Mom checked out right at 11 and we monitored the location of the housekeepers which gave us a few extra minutes to get out. Neither of us had time for showers or much of anything else. When we left, Mom said, "I think this is the first time I have ever left a nice hotel without using the shower, or at least one of their towels." We laughed and said it must have been the lavender linen spray. Both of us are ready to return to the Crowne Plaza Hotel for another good nights sleep. Next time we plan to get to bed a little earlier than midnight. I guess we also better schedule a wake-up call to get the most we can out of the hotel during our stay. We want to be sure to enjoy their hot water and use some of their bath towels!

I'm Moving to Bali!!!

I invited my sister, today, to go with me to see Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts. I remember when the book was released several years ago seeing the author, Elizabeth Gilbert, interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and enjoying her story. Although I thought her story was interesting, I didn't even think about reading the book because I couldn't relate to her story. At that time in my life, I thought I had a happy marriage that would last until death did us part. I had no desire to travel the world in search of myself, good food, my spiritual self, or a new love, because I was HAPPY with what I had.

After separating from Wasband, I read lots of books on how to fix your failing marriage, how to deal with divorce, and how to move on. I highlighted and dog-eared pages and pages of several different books, including the Bible. While searching bookshelves at my favorite bookstores, I picked up Eat, Pray, Love on more than one occasion. I would try to start reading it, but every time I tried, I would think about how I didn't want this book to apply to my life. I can't drop everything and travel the world in search of myself! Why bother with a book like this??

After seeing the movie today, I wish I would have given the book one more chance before seeing it on the big screen! I could definitely relate to more than one of the characters in the movie and I now want to read the book.

Since my divorce, I have wanted to escape reality to try and figure out who I am. I have craved alone time. Oh, I have people who think this aloneness would lead to depression and do me no good, but I think it could be amazing! I could handle getting away to spend time with myself, getting in touch with my inner me, my spirtual self, enjoying good food, making new friends and embracing newness in my life. Packing my belongings into storage and taking a year to find myself is not possible with the many responsibilities I have here at home. Unlike the author of this book, I have children who NEED me and I NEED them and it would do none of us any good to be separated for a year.

I don't want to give up too much about the movie for those of you who plan to see it, but Eat, Pray, Love took a woman to Italy to eat, to India to pray and finally to Bali to find love. Along the way she discovered herself and how to balance her life while also learning that sometimes the most important things throw you off balance and that's okay. I laughed and cried and pondered many of the statements made in the movie. I can definitely relate to this story NOW!

So, why am I moving to Bali, because according to the movie, Bali is where you need to go to heal a broken heart following divorce. And if you can find what Julia Roberts found while she was there, then I'm all for moving to Bali!!! :-)

Go read the book or watch the movie, or do both, and let me know what you thought of it...

Really? There's no one???

My plans changed at the last minute last weekend and I found myself all "gussied up", hair done and make-up on with with no place to go! What a total waste of makeup that night was turning out to be - LOL!!!! I got on facebook and updated my status to say "Dana Woods hates it when plans change at the last minute, now what?" My friend, Misty, happened to be on and she asked what I was doing, I said "nothing now, but I need to go to Wal-Mart". She replied, "me too, wanna go?" I replied "I'm ready now" and she said "b there in a minute". Problem solved, I had something to do. I thought my Saturday nights spent at Wal-Mart would end once I became single. Not so much...

SURPRISE! She picked me up in her Jeep and the top was off - LOL! Actually, the Jeep belonged to her fiance' but he had borrowed her truck to take his kids to meet their mother. Off we went with my hair blowing everywhere! I have a head full of fine hair which tangles easily. I was thinking "great, how am I supposed to find a man on a Saturday night with my hair looking all crazy?" and with the same thought, I continued with "what are you thinking, Dana, how many single men hang out at Wal-Mart on a Saturday night-LOL?" Everything I do brings back a memory of Wasband. My hair blowing around reminded me of when we first started dating. He owned a banana yellow 1970-something two-seat Triumph Spitfire convertible. My hair would be a tangled mess and I would have to spend 10 minutes trying to comb the tangles out whenever we arrived at our destination. He loved that little car and I didn't, althought it was fun to sit on the back and wave my best beauty queen wave while pretending to ride in the county parade as he drove around.

Back to Wal-Mart...Misty and I had a good time talking while we looked around and made our purchases. As always, the conversation led to "So, are you dating anyone?" and I said "No" and she said "You have to get out there and meet people, they're not just gonna come and knock on your door!" I asked the same thing I always do, "Where do you meet people?" I work in an office with 7 people, five of whom are married and the other in whom I am not interested. I don't want to find a man in a bar, there are none at my church, where are they? She said, "you should try e-Harmony". I told her I would think about it.

Well, I thought about it until the next morning. I woke up with plenty of time to get ready for church so I sat down at my computer and registered to become a member of e-Harmony. I spent a long time trying to answer each and every question as truthfully and honestly as possible. If I'm going to find a man on-line, I definately want to make sure the match is accurate and I don't waste time! I spent probably an hour and a half answering the profile questions and taking the personality survey. FINALLY, I was finished and I hit the submit button...

The computer said, please wait while we find suitable companions for you. I waited some more...and then...finally...a map popped up with Bryantsville, Kentucky pinpointed in the center with a circle indicating a 60 mile radius around Bryantsville and a message that said: We're very sorry, but our matching system cannot predict good matches for you.

WHAT? Does that really say "We're sorry, but our system cannot find a match for you?"

Really? You mean to tell me that there is NO ONE within a 60 mile radius of where I live that is even a remote possibility of being a suitable match for me? Not one man in Nicholasville, Lexington, Berea, Richmond, Lancaster, Stanford, Liberty, Danville, and those cities are just within a 20-40 mile radius from me!!!

Of course, eHarmony went on to tell me the results of my personality profile. Evidently, with regard to Agreeableness, I am best described as taking care of others and taking care of myself. As far as Openness, I am Curious. I am sometimes steady and sometimes responsive when it comes to emotional stability. My conscientiousness is flexible and with regard to extraversion, I am reserved. (I'll let you read the whole thing, Mom!) The personality profile gives a general description of how I interact with others and told me both the positive and negative reactions that others may have toward me. It was very interesting. I'm anxious for my mom to read it to see if she agrees or if I answered some of the questions wrong :-)

I'm not to feel too bad according to eHarmony's disclaimer. The disclaimer states "e-Harmony's patented matching system was developed after extensive research into marital satisfaction. We use each person's responses to our Relationship Questionnaire to predict the pairings of individuals that are highly likely to result in satisfying long-term relationships, based on what we learned through our research. Unfortunately, based on responses to our questionnaire, we occasionally find situations where our matching system cannot identify high quality compatible matches, and this has happened in your case. Please understand that it is a result of our matching process and in no way reflects on you as a person or your ability to be in a happy relationship. We apologize and regret our inability to find good matches for you. The time you spent completing our questionnaire, however, has enabled us to provide you with a free Personality Profile..\ This Personality Profile lets you learn more about yourself and should provide you with valuable insights. We wish you all the best in your search for that special someone."

Well, THANK YOU e-Harmony for wishing me all the best as I search for that special someone. I appreciate all of your help and I especially enjoyed the fact that I WASTED an hour and a half of MY LIFE to have you tell me that! I'm not really looking for a satisfying long-term relationship at this point, I just want a DATE! I like to think that my man is out there somewhere, but he doesn't spend time on the internet. He's outside working hard and thinking about ME - he just doesn't know who I am yet!

Warming Up

My daughter, Emily, begins her junior year of high school tomorrow --- at a new school. Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday I was taking her picture in front of the bulletin board on the first day of Kindergarten!

I am very proud of Emily for taking this step and transferring to a new school. For those of you who know her, you know that Emily does not like change! I learned in college a few years ago that there is a term to describe her temperament. She was and continues to be a "slow-to-warm-up" child. This means she doesn't like new things in her life but will accept them after repeated exposure.

As an infant, Emily would only go to sleep in HER bed which meant that if we were away from home at naptime or bedtime, on vacation or riding in a car, she would rather have SCREAMED her head off than slept anywhere other than her own bed! At age 3, when we moved from our 1100 sq.f. house in Lexington to our 1650 sq.f. home in Lancaster, she cried for a week saying "I want my little house! I want my little bed!" The first night was horrible - we were exhausted and I recall having to get up at 1:00 in the morning and dig around in the garage until we found her toddler bed and baby mattress to set up in her room next to her new full-sized bed so that she could sleep. Silly girl!

She still feels most comfortable when she is in HER room and in HER bed and she considers these things to be at her dad's house. I would be lying if I didn't admit that this hurts me a little but I agreed to allow her to live with her dad to attend SCS because I think it is a wonderful opportunity for my daughter. This change will allow Emily to get an excellent education in a Christian environment where she will meet lots of new people and make many new friends. I want the very best for each of my children, even if the decisions I have to make hurt me.

There will be lots of changes for Emily. The biggest is wearing uniforms EVERY DAY! She seems pretty excited about it though. I can't wait to see her with her beautiful, curly auburn hair and her studious looking glasses in her plaid skirt and polo shirt :-). I'm thinking she's pretty enough to be the cover girl on the Land's End Uniform catalog. Maybe I will get a picture :-)

Emily, you know I love you! I wish you the very best at Somerset Christian School and I am SO PROUD of you!

Back in the Woods

Every time I hear the song "The Box" by Randy Travis (click to watch the video), I think of my dad. One year for Christmas, he gave my sister, my brother and myself a cherry box with a hinged lid for Christmas. Mine has turned into a junk box which I never intended. It has some pieces of costume jewelry, a few pictures, the extra buttons you get when you buy new clothes, an old prescription bottle, and other trinkets. Nothing of any real value is kept in it. I need to change that. Not that I am going to keep valuables in it, but there are some special things I should probably put inside so that my children can enjoy looking through it someday.

I am very thankful that it was not stolen when my jewelry box was stolen last year because this box is very special. First because my dad gave it to me as a gift and secondly because he signed his name on the inside of it. My dad is almost ten years older than my mom and he had a stroke in his early 50s. We have been blessed that he is still with us and did not sustain any major brain damage as the result of the stroke. Several of my friends have lost their father's over the past few years and I think often how blessed I am to still have him in my life.

You've heard of men of few words? I wouldn't describe my dad as a man of few words - he talks alot! Sometimes he goes on with so much foolishness that it drives me crazy! My dad has worked hard all of his life, especially when we were little and when he came in for the night, he ate dinner and then laid in his recliner and watched tv until bedtime. We joke about being his remote control before remote controls were invented. We also remember getting into a lot of trouble if we happened to be playing in front of the tv while he was trying to watch it.

Every now and then I like to recall some memories that I have of my parents when I was little. Not the ones you have in pictures, but the real memories, the ones you have of stuff they said or did that you never want to forget. Here are a few memories of my dad and I am so happy there will be more!

• I remember when my dad was in a really good mood and probably when I was being a really sweet, good little girl, he would call me "Sweetcake".
• I remember riding on a tractor with him one time when I was probably no more than 7 and he put his arm around me and gave me a hug and told me that he "loved his little farm girl"
• I remember getting up at 6:00 on Saturday mornings, just him and me, and drinking coffee together. He would mix mine, half coffee, half milk and two teaspoons of sugar and we would watch The Lone Ranger together :-)
• I remember him making me drive in REVERSE out in the field until my neck hurt, calling out LEFT, RIGHT, NO! THE OTHER WAY before he ever let me put the car in DRIVE to go forward. His reasoning was "if you can drive backwards and know which way to turn the wheel, you can drive forward with narry a problem."
  
• I remember him letting me drive on the back country roads long before I turned 16 and having to grab the wheel to keep me from hitting a concrete bridge in a curve on Sugar Creek Road. (I guess maybe I should have driven backwards a little longer :-))
  
• I remember when I started dating, he told me one time "I've barely ever laid a hand on you and you better never let any man hurt you."
  
• I remember him taking me out for breakfast the morning I got married.
• I remember when I was on bedrest with Kensley, stressing over money, he brought me the money to get the oak rocking chair I had been paying on out of layaway. He said he didn't want the money back, he just wanted to make sure that the baby knew that was HER rocking chair and that it would be given to her one day.
• The most recent thing that is etched into my memory is the day he said "I want you to hire the meanest damn lawyer you can find and I'll pay for him!" (I did hire a mean one but Wasband and I worked most everything out and he didn't have to pay too much :-)
  

I think in just these few things I've listed, you will see a Daddy who loves his baby girl, who has spent some quality time with her over the years and made some wonderful memories, who cared about her safety and watched over her, who taught her that real men would never abuse (and for the record the one I had never did), who has helped out financially in some tough times, and who was hurt beyond measure when he saw his baby girl was hurting.

The feelings I have for my dad and what a good man he is played a role in my decision to take back my maiden name. When I first divorced, it never occurred to me to change my name. I had been an Underwood longer than I was ever a Woods. I made the decision to change it approximately 7 months later. You can look through my old posts to see what might have precipitated my wanting to change it. It was not an easy decision given the fact everyone identified me as Dana Underwood and it was the last name of my three children. My decision to change came down to this:

MY DADDY is the only man who has never hurt me and I am proud to carry his last name. I can tell you that I might not be so quick to give up that last name should there be a next time. I'm thinking a hyphenation might be in my future. For now, I am enjoying being back in the Woods (where I came from).

P.S. To those of you who have my number programmed in your cell phone, please do NOT pass GO, do NOT collect $200, and change my last name. I now prefer to be listed under the W's.

Mama Knows Best

I am a person who gets overwhelmed. I wouldn't say that I get "easily" overwhelmed --- its just that ten stressful things always seem to happen to me at one time and then I get overwhelmed. I feel like I don't know how to cope or where to turn! During those times, I scream and yell, I get angry and I CRY - uncontrollably - and I hate that!

In the past I took medication for fibromyalgia and related depression. When I feel like I need to blame myself for some part of my marriage going bad, I like to blame the medication. Whether it was the medications I took to control the depression and the symptoms of pain associated with fibromyalgia or whether it was the depression and fibro that caused me to need the medication to deal with life, I cannot differentiate but I do know that when I was "medicated" that I was constantly tired, I slept way too much, I was unmotivated and medically classified as "morbidly obese". (Yeah, I just typed that!)

Soon after separating from Wasband, I began seeing a new doctor. I didn't feel like my medication was working the way it was supposed to. I talked to him about my feelings --- of course I was depressed, my husband of almost 20 years had left me for a younger, skinnier woman, I had lost 70% of my income when he walked out, I was stressed over money and the fact that I had inherited the "hunting truck" that was having major mechanical problems, I had a toddler, a tween and a teen who were all grieving in different ways, I had moved to a much smaller house, I was way overweight, my self-esteem had been shot to hell, shall I continue? I knew I probably needed drugs to get me through this. Regardless of all of these things going on, I was still dealing with the widespread pain throughout my body and that is what I wanted to fix. There were some new fibro drugs on the market that helped with both depression and fibro symptoms and he gave me some samples. I absolutely loved this new drug and the good thing was that it replaced all the other stuff and so I was weaned off the other meds. Even better was the fact that I quickly began losing weight and that made me feel good about ME!

Fast forward to no more free samples and trying to get my health insurance to cover the new drug. They wouldn't and at any other time in my life, I would have fought them until I won, but there was no fight left in me. My whole life was a fight and the last thing I needed to add to my list was an insurance conglomerate! My solution - I just quit taking everything!

My mother, who is also a Registered Nurse, almost freaked out when she learned that I was not taking anything for my depression or fibromyalgia. I told her then and I've told her many times since that I'm not depressed. I just get overwhelmed and who wouldn't in my shoes? And yes, sometimes I am full of anxiety, but it's all situational to my life! I wanted to face the crap that was happening in my life HEAD ON! I didn't want these raw feelings to be numbed by some crazy pill because I knew that if I could get through this and feel every single stab of the pain, that I could deal with ANYTHING life had to bring! I believe that then and I truly believe that now.

NOTE: For those of you who do take some sort of medication to deal with medical problems and life issues, I do not want you to feel that I am judging you or that I am opposed to taking medication under a doctor's care. Like I said, I have been medicated in the past and it was a wonderful thing for me during a different point in my life. It just didn't think it was what I needed at that or in this particular time of my life. Power to the Paxil and Prozac!!!! I have a sign that used to hang in my kitchen given to me by my sister. It said "God made us sisters. Prozac made us friends." There was never a statement so true :-)

So, after being off ALL medications for almost a year, I like to think of Dr. Phil asking, "Dana, how's that workin' for ya?" and I would say this.

• I have lost more than 45 lbs (215 if you count losing Wasband - LOL)
• I do not need a nap every day (but I choose to take one on Sunday afternoon)
• I have tons more energy (and I need it to chase after Little Man)
• I care about things again (my life, my health, my appearance, my house)
• I feel emotions (it's no fun to feel dead - I would rather feel the hurt than nothing at all)

There was a time in my life that I was depressed. I became depressed when Wasband shut me out of his life and this happened long before I realized what was going on. Many years ago, I had a husband who adored me and our children. I was spoiled and I became too comfortable in that role. Long before I was clued in, I stopped receiving what I needed from him. He was no longer there for me mentally, physically or emotionally and I admit that I shut down. I don't know that I can ever forgive the choices he made when he realized he was unhappy. They were not fair to either myself or our three children. His choices shattered my heart and like I said, I'm feeling every stab wound from the brokenness while trying my best to mend it.

I continue to have things happen in my life that cause me to feel overwhelmed and anxious and on most nights, I don't get much sleep. But my mother told me something the other night that I would list as a "defining moment" in my life. We were talking on the phone and I was complaining about all of the things that were going on in my life. Bless her heart, I'm sure I sound like a broken record to her. She has been there for me over and over and over again. She said "I don't know how to say this, but I'm going to try." I was thinking "oh great, what is this gonna be about" and I don't remember her exact words but she told me that she knew I got upset about things in my life, that she knew that I got lonely and that my life wasn't what I had planned and she knew things were hard for me. And then she told me that even through all of the difficulties that I had gone through and was experiencing now, that she saw me as a much happier, stronger person. That I was the Dana she remembered from a long time ago. Wow! Really? All I could say was "Mom, you're gonna make me cry - but, thanks?"

I've thought about her words a lot since then. Despite the fact that I continue to shed a lot of tears and I get really frustrated with my life sometimes, I think maybe I am a happier person and I know I am a much stronger woman. Regardless, I have come to one conclusion -- mother's know us best. We may get mad at them, have differences of opinion, struggle through teenage years and even into adulthood, but our mother's remember what we were like when we were little. They remember how we played when we didn't think anyone was watching us and how we treated others, what made us "tick". Mothers know our true personalities. They know the people we were before outside influences began shaping our lives.

Mom, you know I'm much better at writing my feelings than I am talking them - so this blog post is for you :-)

I LOVE YOU!

Back to School

Back to School! Some mom's are crying because they HAVE to send their "babies" off to school and other mom's are cheering because they GET to send their "babies" back to school. Either way, the first day of school is a big deal. I think my kids are ready to go back to school - not ready for homework or sitting inside all day, but ready to be with friends and make those school memories we all fondly remember.

Some children are starting school for the first time, entering an elementary school that coddles and takes care of its own, some are moving to the next level, Middle School or High School, some are moving into new buildings (that's happening for our Middle Schoolers and our High Schoolers), and others are switching school districts...

My "tween" is a 7th grader - she knows all the teachers and has lots of friends but she is moving into a new building so that change made her a little nervous. The good thing is that all of the teachers and all of her friends are moving to the new building with her. The weird thing for me is that she is now in the HIGH SCHOOL building where I graduated! It seems so BIG for those little ones, but just like everyone else, I will adapt to the change. I am excited that I am one of the Parent Representatives on the Site-Based Decision Making council at her school. We have our first meeting today right after school so I am anxious to see how things are going with the transition to the new building.

The hard part for me is that I didn't get to do "Back To School" with my tween. She was at her dad's house and so he took her to school this morning. I'm sorry and I apologize to any dad's out there who might read this - but some things have "mom" written all over them and the first day back to school is one of them! I have always enjoyed buying school supplies, writing their names on them, strategically placing the exorbitant number of items into their backpacks so that (1) everything would fit and (2) it wouldn't pull the child backwards as they tried to walk into school! I like helping my children decide what they will wear to school, taking the tags off and making sure it is wrinkle-free and ready. Laying out new underwear and socks and having all of the school forms neatly filled out and school fees nicely labeled in separate envelopes. I thrive at things like this and this year I didn't get to do ANY of it.

Again, you ask why? Because Wasband made a deal that he would be fully responsible for all school related expenses and I am holding him to it. I gave up something I enjoy to save money because I have to count every single penny I spend. For the record, making smart financial decisions is sometimes hard on the heart! Trust me, I've made more than my fair share lately, and each time, it hurt my heart more than anything else. Yes, it hurts my pride sometimes too, but I can deal with that. Heartache is seeing the look on your children's faces when you have promised them a trip to the beach for months and you have to tell them two weeks before leaving that you don't have the extra money and you can't go. Pride is having your 3 year old son remind you every day when you pick him up from the sitter that you are "sweaty" and your hair is a mess and asking if you peed in your pants because you have driven 60 minutes in 90+ degree heat with the windows down because the air conditioner is broken and you don't have the extra money to fix that! One day soon I will write a post about how much my life has changed since becoming single. There is a lesson in that - I just know it!!!

I also have a teen who will be a junior this year. She is transferring to a private Christian school and will be living with her dad through the week. She has one more week of freedom before buckling down to a new school and I'm sure she enjoyed rubbing it in as her sister got up extra early this morning to make the commute from their dad's house to school. I am really excited for the opportunities that await her - new friends and a good education in a Christian environment. If I did not think this would be a wonderful opportunity for her, I would never have agreed to it. As excited as I am for her, this is still hard. I love the county where we live - I love my community - I love the schools - I mostly love that all of our family is here and it hurts to lose her to a place that I am unfamiliar with. I guess it's like sending her off to college 2 years earlier - I'll get every other weekend and maybe a few other days thrown in there. She's excited though. She fully intends to "rock" the school girl uniform - LOL and she's even talking about playing softball again. I wish her the very best and she knows that I love her!!!

Little man may possibly go to preschool this year. I will find out in a few weeks. If that happens, there will definately be a post telling you all about it! I'll be buying school supplies (of course they will be picked over by then - LOL), new shoes, new clothes, new underwear, fresh haircut, filling out forms in my best teacher print, writing checks for school fees and placing them all in separate envelopes, carefully packing his backpack so that he doesn't tip over while walking and then following him in with all the extras, and then...

I'll be one of those mom's who are crying because she's sending her "baby" off to school.

That didn't quite turn out the way I'd planned...

I enjoyed Saturday evening and most of Sunday with my middle child, Kensley. It's a very rare occasion that I get the girls one-on-one, so this was a special treat for me! It wasn't supposed to be that way, but that's the way it turned out and I thoroughly enjoyed it - I think she did too :-)

We had planned to spend Saturday afternoon and evening with one of my very best friends, Stephanie, and her daughter, Ali. Stephanie's husband was out of town and she wanted me to help her hang some pictures and do some things around her house she had put off since she had moved. I was looking forward to hanging out with them and just having a relaxing evening away from home. Stephanie called me Saturday morning and said "I've got something for us to do tonight! I have four free tickets to see American Idol LIVE at Rupp Arena, do you want to go?" At that point, I had some details to work out with my children but I told her that it sounded like fun and I was in if I could work it out!

As it turned out, everything worked out wonderfully. Stephanie and Ali picked Kensley and I up at 5:00 and we headed to Lexington. First stop - Logan's Roadhouse for a tasty dinner and then downtown Lexington to Rupp Arena. Our seats were awesome! We were in row CC which is three rows off the floor. I admit I did not watch the 2010 season of American Idol but I heard enough talk on the radio and around the water cooler at work to recognize some of the names. It was a pretty good concert. Lee, Crystal, Katie and Big Mike - they all did a fantastic job. I was especially fond of Casey James and I thought Siobhan was "freaky weird". I posted on Facebook during the concert that she was "freaky weird" and that I was ready for her to get her screaming, punk self off the stage - LOL! I also met some new people (one of which was the mother of an NFL football player who shall remain nameless but who plays for my very favorite NFL team!!!!) That was pretty cool and so was she!!! Thanks Stephanie for inviting us to go with you - Kensley and I had a blast!

We ended the night with a stop at Applebee's where we each had desert. Kensley and Ali had the Triple Chocolate Lava Cake, Stephanie had the Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae and I had my favorite, the Maple Butter Blondie! Life was Good! Kensley and I crawled into bed well after midnight and didn't wake up until 10:15 the following morning :-)

I had been promising Kensley for a month that I would finish the Twilight series of books and then watch Twilight and New Moon on DVD so that she and I could go to the theater to see Eclipse. It was Sunday morning and because of scheduling conflicts, we had not been able to work that out. While laying in bed, we grabbed my iPhone and went to one of my favorite apps "Flixster" to see where Eclipse was playing. To our disappointment it was no longer playing at Danville (the closest theater) and the only times it played in Nicholasville (the next closest) was at 6:35 and 9:45 p.m. That wouldn't work because she had to go back to her dad's house some time late afternoon. We finally found that it played at 1:30 at Fayette Mall in Lexington and we were getting ready to head that way when all of a sudden our plans changed. I won't say why they changed, they just did. Kensley was very upset as was I. We really wanted to see this movie TOGETHER and we DID NOT want to wait one or two more weeks! She had waited long enough considering Eclipse was released on June 30th!!!

Back to Flixster we went and found that Eclipse was also playing in Somerset (where her Dad lives). Okay - we can do that! On the plus side, it would save me some driving later in the day, and we could both see the movie without waiting any longer. The flip side, our time was cut short because it started earlier than the one in Lexington. We would be pushing it to arrive on time. We quickly went to MapQuest, printed out the directions to the movie theater and off we went. We were making excellent time and then we realized that MapQuest took us on a wild goose chase. The movie had started 10 minutes ago and we still had not found the movie theater. Oh yes, I could have called Wasband and asked for directions but there was no way on this green earth that I would have done that. Lucky for me, Kensley understood that :-)

I told her we weren't going to make it and I could tell she was disappointed. Heck, I was too! I had driven to Somerset - a place I do not like to go and for what purpose? None that was helpful to me! Just about that time, I saw a sign that said CUMBERLAND FALLS, 25 MILES. "Hey Kens, you want to go to Cumberland Falls?" She said "sure!" so we kept driving.

I was in jeans and a t-shirt. The 90 degree weather called for shorts and a tank top. We were driving the swagger wagon with no air - and we were sweating before we ever got out of the van to go on our little hike. We spent a short time at The Falls. I've been there numerous times over the years, even going as a child with my mom and dad. Since seeing the movie "The Last of the Mohicans" I can never visit that place that I do not think of the movie. If you've been there, maybe you think of it too. If not, I can't explain it. It made Kensley think about Niagara Falls and she told me she wants to visit there sometime. I told her that we would add that to our list of things we want to do. That list seems to grow but that's okay, it will keep us busy with things to do TOGETHER for years :-) We also decided it would be neat to visit Cumberland Falls sometime during a Full Moon so we can see the MoonBow, a natural phenomenon that only occurs at Cumberland Falls in the Western Hemisphere and in Zimbabwe, Africa on the other side of the world. That's pretty cool!

I drove 167.5 miles today - unplanned, in a very hot vehicle with nothing but the wind blowing our hair into a tangled mess! Our short trip to Lexington to see a movie turned out nothing like we planned, but it was a good trip and a day with my daughter that now has memories attached! Before she got out of the van I told her I was sorry that we didn't get to see Eclipse, she said "That's okay, we had fun!"

Enjoy our pictures: (Emily - next time is your turn!)