The Journey

I recently received an e-mail titled "Life's Laundry List" and it was a list of 45 things to remember as you celebrate growing older. The list was compiled by Regina Brett and served as a reminder to remember what's important as we travel through this thing called Life! Here are a few of my favorites:

• Make peace with your past so that it won't screw up the present


• Don't compare your life to others, you have no idea what their journey is all about


• Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks


• Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful


• No one is charge of your happiness except you


• What other people think of you is none of your business


• Don't audit life. Show up and make the best of it now


• Envy is a waste of time you already have all you need


• Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift

Have a Happy Friday and a Happy Life!

Nightmares in the Night

Last night as I lay in a peaceful slumber I felt a small hand pulling at my arm. I awoke (@ 3:15am!) to find my son had made his way downstairs in the dark and was trying to pull himself up into our bed. When asked what was wrong he said he had a bad dream so, I helped him up and he wedged himself between me and his father.

I started to drift off again and was awaken when he sat up in the bed and announced, "Mama, I never want to go to the park again,". "Huh?" I asked groggily. "Monkeys are shooting people in the park in my dream," he said. What?! My husband woke up and realized he was in the bed and I tell him about the pistol packing primates in the park. We assure him that there will be no monkey's shooting people in the park and he eventually falls asleep. But then I lay awake wondering where in the hell did that come from?!

He is not allowed to watch movies with violence especially shooting, he has never had a toy gun, we have not watched or witnessed anything with monkeys lately and the last time we went to the park was two weeks ago. VERY BIZARRE. Me being the paranoid schizo that I am wonder if this is a premonition and we should avoid parks in the near future or if perhaps there is some monkeying around going on at his school. Hmmm.

Collage Calling

Gather up your old magazines and let your child flip through them to find things they like or places they want to go. Cut out the images and have your child arrange them in any order on a poster board or on a large sheet of construction paper. Be sure to leave room across the top for a title like, “Ahmad’s Favorite Things” or “Places Jasmine Wants to Visit”.

Once you get the desired design apply glue to the back of the cut outs and affix them to the poster board/construction paper. A couple of cool effects include letting your child trace the outline of the cut-out with a marker or crayon, applying a glitter border or you can find old photo’s (like that photo you made 20 copies of on their 1st birthday or the 75 wallets you have left over from the school pictures) and cut out your child’s face and place it on the bodies of the people in the collage. See picture of my son’s collage for an example. . .we pasted his face over the picture of all the children in the collage doing things he likes.

Once the masterpiece is complete find a place of honor on the wall in their room or on the refrigerator (I don’t do refrigerator art in my house- drawback of OCD). This project is fun and very easy, just be sure to pack your patience!

Backyard Fun

If you get a chance be sure to check out the Backyardigans Live show when it comes to your town. This is my son's FAVORITE show and soon as he is off of house arrest he can resume watching it.

The Backyardigans is an animated musical-adventure series for children ages 2 to 5. In each episode, the show's five high-spirited preschool friends--Uniqua, Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha, and Austin--rely on their vivid imaginations to transform their backyard into a fantastical 3-D landscape, and together they embark on amazing epic journeys.

The Backyardigans are on the NickJr./Noggin network and are the creation of a sista named Janice Burgess who has also worked on Little Bill and Blue's Clues. If you're not already a fan of the show be sure to tune in for some backyard fun!

Crush and I'm not talking about soda. . .

I need to get my priorities together. . .but I just had to put this out there. . .I'm happily married and all but I have to admit I have this odd fascination. . .actually it's a huge crush on ANDREW DAN- JUMBO. . .I don't know if it's the accent, the carpentry skill or that he is the perfect blend of rugged and KEY-UTE. Man, I need to start cruising the aisles of Home Depot and see if I can't get the Take Home Handyman to come to my house and help hubby with some reno projects! Then again I don't think my husband would take too kindly to my drooling. So, I guess that's just a fantasy deferred.

My Son the Klepto

(I was supposed to post this yesterday but between the exorcism and intervention I was a little busy!)

Yesterday after having such a wonderful two hour session of ME TIME, I went to pick my son up from school. When we get in the car he is so excited to show me a toy in his pocket. I have never seen the toy before. Here's how the conversation goes:

Me: Where did you get that?

Him: School.

Me: Did your teacher tell you that you could bring that home.

Him: Yes.

Me: Which teacher?

Him: Miss S

Me: Let me go ask her.

Him: NO!! (As he cowers on the floor of the back seat in the car)

So, I proceed to peel him from the floor and march back in the school to ask the teacher if she in fact said he could take the toy home. Of course, she had NOT. I made him put the toy back in the toy box and yanked him out of the classroom.

I chastised him all the way home about the evils of stealing and how one day he could end up in jail for taking stuff that doesn't belong to him. At the end of my ranting he says, "I should have just asked," DUH! I was still so disgusted- wait let me back up- did I mention this was NOT the first time he's done this?! This is like the second time he's been caught. Anyway, when we got home I swatted his butt a couple of times (so light he probably didn't even know it happened) and then I made him go to his room. He acted as if he were a dead man walking and started crying uncontrollably.

After listening to him for ten minutes I went upstairs and gave him a stern talking to. This little boy is honestly- SPOILED. He has gotten pretty much whatever he's wanted in his short time on Earth and I don't even want to get into the insane amount of stuff he gets from family every Christmas. There are toys that are unopened that I've hidden from him! There is absolutely, positively NO REASON whatsoever for him to be taking stuff that does not belong to him! My dilemma now is sharing this news with his father. . .he might have to put on an orange jumpsuit!

I've heard some people say that this is typical for this age or that it's harmless but I'm sorry I can't treat it that way. He needs to know in no uncertain terms that if he even THINKS about doing this again life as he knows it will change drastically. I swear on everything I will box up ALL his toys and give them away to a shelter! First comes stealing, then smoking cigarettes, gambling and making homemade bombs in his room! This madness must be nipped in the bud now!

I think what it boils down to is feeling like he can have whatever he wants because this has -to some degree-been his reality. . .well, reality is about to get checked!


Disclaimer: That picture is at 7 months old. . .in 2004.

Not-So Guilty Conscience

I'm at home right now. Actually I've been at home for almost an hour. ALONE. Aah, it feels WONDERFUL. I went to work at another location and got off two hours early and did not have one iota of guilt when I passed right by (literally) my son's school and kept going. It wasn't even a consideration to go and pick him up early.

I love that little boy and his father, dearly but I am so in heaven right now relishing two hours of alone time at home. It's a true rarity around this camp that I don't have someone in my face or underfoot. I stopped by the GAS STATION (because I was too lazy to drive three red lights down to the grocery store) and bought a big bag of Tostito's and a 16 ounce Sprite for $5.79! Then I came home opened up two beautifully ripe avocados mixed in some garlic salt, ground pepper and lime juice and made myself some guacamole!

At this very moment I feel so sick to my stomach because I SCARFED down all but about three bites. But man was it good! I was going to go crazy and relax in a hot bubble bath for 40 minutes but my husband is having a rough day at work that might not end at 5:00 so, I am almost certain I will have to go and pick up The Genius. It's all good. These two hours alone have been fabulous and I'm totally decompressed from my day. I guess I could have been a bit more productive and started dinner. . .oh, but wait I had dinner already (guacamole and chips is quite a meal) looks like the boys are on their own tonight!

BTW- T-Ball ended last week. That is why this time has been so special because I no longer have T-Ball Thursdays to look forward to for ME time. . .so this was a great "make up" day!

Flip Flop You Don't Stop

My son and I were shopping and I went into Gap Kids (looking for a belt) and he saw these flip flops and flipped out! He said they were "cool" because they had an orange iguana on them and he said I should buy them because nobody else at his school has them. Well, I'm not so sure no one at his school has them. I think he's never saw anyone at his school with them because they can't wear flip flops to school!

He continued to plead his case and I of course was worn down and broke down and bought them. After we went into another store where they were $5.00 CHEAPER (!), I pulled out the sign in my purse that said "Sucker" and wore it on my forehead for the rest of the day.

Masterpiece

Looking for a fun activity to do with the kids? Unleash their inner artist! Pick up a couple of blank art canvases (Garden Ridge, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, etc.), washable finger pants, and small art brushes.

You can use a paper plate as a palette paints by placing a few dabs of each color on the plate. Allow kids to use their fingers or the brushes to create their masterpiece. Art is an extremely important part of a child's development. It's been proven that early exposure to visual art, music, or drama promotes activity in the brain. Art nurtures inventiveness as it engages children in a process that aids in the development of self-esteem, self-discipline, cooperation, and self-motivation.

This masterpiece was done by my son and is titled, "My Garden" can you spot the bugs, rain and flowers?

H-Town Reviews: Discovery Green

There is a new park in Houston. This park is not your typical run of the mill park with slides and swings- in fact there are no swings but there are a few slides. The park is somewhat "upscale" (if a park can be described as such) and nestled in the heart of downtown across from the George R. Brown convention center and surrounded by Minute Maid Park, The Hilton Americas hotel, a plethora of high rise luxury buildings, and the Toyota Center.

The park has a jungle gym play area, manicured lawns, splash pad, dog runs, concert stage, grassy knoll, mini lake to run (and rent) remote controlled boats, and two restaurants. One restaurant is just for snacks- burgers and fries but the other "The Grove" is tres chic. Very upscale atmosphere. We took our son to play in the park yesterday and joined friends for dinner last night. I recommend the salmon and chile-lime corn. The only draw back is that the restaurant closes at 11:00pm. While we were sitting at the bar last night a fireworks show erupted. It was really nice.

Not many people know about this gem since it just opened in April. I really hope it stays nice, clean and classy. Because it's a free park that's centrally located anyone has access and we witnessed people allowing their kids to run up the slide and block the water holes (there was a BIG sign that said NOT to do this). You know some folks just don't care about keeping things nice but hopefully Discovery Green will continue to shine.

TGIF

It's been a rough week. . .this is the goofiest song/video ever but it ALWAYS makes me feel better. Enjoy!

Grilled to Perfection

My favorite fish is salmon. Pronounced saa-men for those of you Southerners like me who may remember the silent L but add a long O at the end.

This past week my husband has taken to firing up the grill almost every other day. Could be because of my injury or it could be because he realized that the grill is just taking up space on the patio serving as a constant reminder of all the things we thought we couldn't live without and plunked down a chunk of change to get and we never use! I'd like to think it's the former.

The first time (four years ago) my husband ever tried to grill fish it was comical. The fish literally fell apart and ended up in every crevice of the grill. The man has gotten wise with age. He bought a fish basket/cage-thing to use on the grill. I generously seasoned the salmon with lemon pepper, garlic salt and a hint of Tony Chachere's (Chachere's just makes EVERYTHING taste better). He grilled the fish for about 10-12 minutes on each side and it was like BUTTA!

We could have eaten it by itself but I prepared (opened the can and poured in the pot) a can of green beans and baked some steak fries with olive oil and kosher salt. Mmm Mmm good!

Holey Moley

I am in the process of drafting a letter (in my head) to the Hungry Jack people- actually the JM Smucker Company. They have a serious product flaw in their redesigned microwaveable bottle of pancake syrup. The hole in the top is big enough to stick your arm in!

I like a lot of syrup on my pancakes (actually we mainly eat waffles) just as much as the next person but I don't need enough to drink! So, if you buy one of these new bottles, please be careful unless you just happen to like pancakes with your syrup!

Home Plate

At Christmastime we bought the most ginormous package of compartment plates we could find at our local discount club store. We host both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at our house so we needed to make sure we had enough of the disposable stuff.

Fast forward four and half months later we STILL had some of the plates left. My son has gotten quite accustomed to eating on those plates since they remind him of the school trays. Imagine my delight while shopping in Target one day when I saw his little gem for $1.99. Reusable, sturdy melamine in the cutest fish design. So, of course I bought him one because far be it from me to ever deny him anything- ha! Dr. Frankenstein would be proud. Anyway, the plate is just too cute and the colors are so vibrant. It could almost be used as decoration, if my kitchen were blue and green or had a oceanic theme, which it doesn't so I guess it's okay to fill it with spaghetti, green beans, apple sauce and bread.

Buzz Words

The past three days have been very interesting to say the least. I am a member of the NBCDI and the mission of the organization is quite simple: to improve and protect the quality of life of Black children and families.

On Saturday the Houston chapter hosted a Spelling Bee in the Cuney Homes Housing Project. We had about fifteen kids participate from ages 9 to 12. It was my first BCDI event and it was quite rewarding. Make no mistake about it despite the circumstances under which many of them are living these children are incredibly bright. All participants received McDonald's gift cards and the final three won trophies. Afterwards we stayed and served hot dogs and nachos to the participants and their parents (plus a few others. . .word spread fast about the FREE FOOD).

The final word that crowned our winner was exactly how I felt to be a part of this event:
P-R-I-V-I-L-E-G-E-D

Now I guess I should have started this posting talking about what happened when I woke up Thursday morning. I woke up feeling all twisted in a knot like I had been practicing contortionist moves in my sleep. I stretched and did some basic yoga moves to get my blood flowing. After a hot shower everything felt pretty good except my right arm. I had a little "twinge" but figured it would be all good by the time I got to work. After being at work most of the day typing at a furious pace and using my mouse with my right hand in rapid fire motion- my right arm started to HURT.

I went home and put some ice on it and elevated it- because by that time my elbow was swollen. I am in straight panic mode and thisclose to going to the ER. But I wait it out and fall asleep upright in the big chair and head to my doctor first thing in the morning. I was referred to an orthopedist to make sure I didn't have a fracture (!), which now I'm looking at my husband crazy because I'm thinking, "Did he jack me up in my sleep?!" So, I go in for -x-rays at the orthopedist office and I cry like a baby because my arm is literally locked in place and the x-ray tech has to try and stretch it out to get the x-ray.

Once I pull myself together the films are ready and I go back to take a look with the doctor and there is this little ball out to the side of my elbow that he refers to as a "calcification" build up. Better known as "tennis elbow". I have NEVER EVER in my life played tennis. I don't even play sports. In fact, the only time I'm exert any energy outside is when I go check the mailbox. Dang, that mail must have been heavier than I thought! He said, I probably had some trauma to the elbow a long time ago and slept on it wrong and aggravated it. I have banged my funny bone really hard before but I didn't think any damage had been done. After giving me a sling and a Rx for Cortisone tablets I was told it is a chronic condition that can flare up again if I'm not careful. (Despite my injury I was at the Spelling Bee serving hot dogs!)

The thing that is so wild about this entire freak occurrence is that Sunday was my birthday (yes, on Mother's Day) so it was quite appropriate that I celebrated another birthday on Mother's Day because getting old is a mother-shut-yo-mouth!

Unconditional Love

I reached out to about twenty mothers and asked the question: what do you love about being a mother? The challenge however was to answer with only a word or sentence and as difficult as the task was- because every mother could probably write a BOOK on the things they love- I did have ten mothers reply with what they loved about being a mother.

Not a big surprise that most of the answers were exactly the same and the one thing that resonated with the majority: unconditional love. Unconditional love in its truest form only exists between a mother and her child. All either has to do is simply exist and the amount love given and received is infinite. Regardless to the disappointments that are sure to come along there is no breaking that bond. I don't care what kind of mood I'm in when my son says, "Mama, I love you more than the whole world and all the planets and the aliens in the sky," my heart swells because I know he REALLY means it! I don't think I've ever hand anyone love me that much. . . .maybe except my own mom. ;-)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL YOU PHENOMENAL MAMAS!

Ten Minute Meal

I like Rachel Ray but some of her 30 Minute Meals take too long and are a bit too involved. I am a working mother whose least favorite things to do are iron, vacuum and cook!

Thank heaven's for the ROTISSERIE chicken cooked and ready to eat from your local neighborhood grocery stores. They even have different seasoned varieties like barbecue or lemon or Italian. The best thing about this ready to eat meat is that it actually tastes GOOD! The meat is very succulent and full of flavor.

Open a can of corn, steam some broccoli and you've got an instant meal in less than ten minutes! Now that's YUM-O (to steal Rachel's favorite phrase). Another great thing about rotisserie chicken is that you can make sandwiches, wraps, chicken salad, chicken spaghetti or soup with the left overs!

Hair Apparent

My son was a few layers away from having an Afro so, after new clippers were purchased my husband strapped him down to a chair and threatened him to within an inch of his life. . .

Just kidding, please don't call CPS. It's just that my son's two least favorite things to do are getting a haircut and going to sleep. It was so funny when he asked his dad what time he was going to be finished and when his dad told him, he said, "That's too long," and what? You STILL have to sit there. I just think it's interesting that he doesn't try to negotiate with his dad the way he does with me. He just sat there with a disturbed look on his face and endured the torture.

The thing I thought was hilarious (and so cute) was when he was done he came running to me and said, "Look how handsome I am!" Very handsome indeed.

Somebody Has To Say It

Why are school resources for pre-k and summer school programs in Texas being allocated mainly for children who speak English as a second language? And only one group is being benefiting from these programs- Hispanics.

You know how Anglo folks do before they say something disparaging about blacks, "Some of my best friends are black," Well, truthfully some of my dearest friends are Hispanic. However they were born and raised in this country and are entitled to the same benefits as any American and like any other American they pay taxes and can't stand the current President.

I am referring more to the illegal immigrant population whose children are born here and are automatic citizens by default yet their parents don't speak the language or pay taxes (not paying taxes upsets me more than anything, I don't want to pay taxes EITHER!). Because there is such a large population of these children entering school unprepared I feel the school districts are in a way discriminating against other groups of people by excluding anyone who doesn't speak English as a second language- in America? Are you serious?

I could go on and on 'til the break of dawn but I will stop myself. I just had to put it out in the Universe after a conversation I had with a co-worker who says the school district where she lives has gone STRICTLY to non-English speaking pre-k students only. The other criteria used to be if you were below a certain income level but now, if you can speak English they feel you already have an "advantage" and you can wait to start kindergarten. . .where no doubt the teacher will still be focused on getting those students with "language challenges" up to speed.

I wonder if I go Mexico will they let my son in to Pre-K?

Computer Literate

If it wasn't just an over indulgent and unnecessary purchase I might break down and get my son his own laptop. Seriously. I have a personal laptop, my husband has a work issued laptop that he brings home daily and we have a desktop. Granted the desktop is a bit of a dinosaur but it is still fully functional. But my son never wants to play his games on the desktop he has the nerve to say it's too slow.

So, he asks to use my computer and then get this- he places a timer on his use. He'll say, "I'm going to play my games until 7:35, okay?" Um- no, it's not okay I have stuff to do little boy! I'm glad he is getting exposure on the computer and can navigate it like a champ but he might need to save a lot more money in his piggy bank to get his own laptop!

Here are a few fun and educational sites:

http://www.noggin.com/

http://www.nickjr.com/

http://www.pbskids.org/

Scentsational

Before my ranting rampage I had started a post about one of the gifts my cousin received for her birthday then I remembered the injustice I'd suffered. . .

Looking for a cool Mother's Day gift? Hit up your local Macy's and get an engraved bottle of perfume. My cousin received the large bottle ($70 retail) of Calvin Klein's Euphoria, which I had thought about pocketing until I saw that it was personalized with her name on the bottle! The bottle is sleek and cool and the scent a magnificent mix of exotic fruits, seductive florals, sensual champaca flower with a rich creamy texture of liquid amber, mahogany wood with an addictive cream accord.

Mother's all over the world deserve this fragrance!

Blowing off Steam

God forgive me for over sleeping and being at the computer instead of church.
Amen.

Kim Wayans used play a character on In Living Color named Ms. Bonita, the neighborhood gossip monger. She talked about everybody but when people started talking about her favorite person, Ms. Jenkins. She would get upset and start proclaiming, "Nobody bet not say nothing bad about Ms. Jenkins!" as if Ms. Jenkins was beyond reproach.

I use that point of reference as I start into a story from yesterday. First of all contrary to the way it may appear on this blog I do not proclaim to believe that my son is perfect. Not by any stretch of the imagination. He is four and he behaves like a four year old. He is past the age of throwing tantrums but he still does things that he has no business doing -like pushing a chair in front of the sink turning on the water and transferring water and a BUNCH of dish washing liquid from cup to cup and then perching them on the edge of the counter where they inevitably fall to the floor creating a pool in the kitchen, when asked why he did it he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I was making lemonade,".

He tunes my husband and I completely out when he's watching t.v. and often times I have to do the whole "don't let me count to three" thing to get him moving a little faster. But there are some non-negotiables like I've mentioned before- you do not talk back or yell at your mother that is daddy's number one rule and failure to comply has ended up in spankings (probably 3 in four years) and punishment (no television all day, no toys and remanded to his room). So, again I recognize that I am dealing with a typical kid.

But make no mistake about it when we are out in public my son knows how to act. I'm sorry if there are doubters out there who don't believe it but it's true. Besides that is where I draw the line- I am not going to be embarrassed by a four year old who appears to have me on a string like a puppet- that's where my "old school" mentality comes out and trust me he knows when mama is serious. When I am away from him he knows that the adults that I have entrusted to take care of him are in charge. They have my unspoken permission to discipline him if he gets out of line.

Having said all this- whew- yesterday I was totally pissed off when an elder in my family "chastised" him without provocation. There was a birthday party/baby shower for a cousin and kids were in attendance although they were all in another room playing together. However my son, the mama's boy, was underfoot the entire time. He was not running, yelling, crying, disruptive, or anything else. He was just being my shadow. At one point I was taking a picture and I had the camera on a strap around my neck and when I let go of the camera it hit him in the head. He grabbed his head and said, "ow'. I picked him up and kissed the spot and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't see you," From ACROSS the room comes this comment: "That's because he needs to sit his ass down somewhere," And suddenly the room was quiet. My cousin knew I was about to spew some disrespectful vulgarities, so she immediately starting opening another present and oohing and aahing.

I on the other hand forced my child (who was convinced he had did something wrong) to sit as still as a statue until my cousin opened her last present and I bounced. I know that to some perhaps his presence was irritating being that he was the only child physically in the room the entire time but that comment was still- in my opinion- unwarranted. Or maybe, I'm acting like Ms. Bonita and not wanting anyone to say a word against my son?

I have to add before I sign off that had this been any other party/shower that was aimed at only adults or women there is NO WAY my son would have been there. I am not that mama who drags their children to every event invited or not. First of all, I was told it was okay if he came since my husband had to work, secondly it was a "CPT" affair that was set to start at 4:00pm and didn't officially get started until almost 6:00pm not to mention it was hotter than hades in the house. The entire affair was busted from the jump so to make it appear my son was disturbing the mood was just unfair.

This is Bonita Jenkins signing off. . .

Baby Products

I saw these two items on line and had to share. The first is a very cute idea for a baby shower gift- they also have blue for boys. It's something different and the perfect gift for a group to chip in and purchase so, that you can divvy up the $149.50 price tag! But it contains a lot of STUFF:

* A Pink Polka Dotted Moses Basket (baby carrier)

* Original Plush Big Baby Rattle

* Original Plush Little Baby Rattle

* Personalized Pink Infant Cap – 100% cotton

* Personalized White Bib - 100% cotton

* Personalized White Long Sleeve T-shirt -100% cotton

* White Personalized Onesie - 100% cotton

* Pink Personalized Onesie - 100% cotton

* Pink Personalized T-shirt - 100% cotton

* Adorable Pink Knit Infant Socks

* Handprint/Footprint Plaster Kit

* 56 Diapers (1 bag size 1 disposable diapers)

* 5 Baby Wash Cloths* Water Filled Teether

* Plastic Rattle

* Teething Keys

Available at http://www.simplybabystuff.com/

The second item I saw was a line of baby products especially for black babies!!! Check out the site and read the testimonials. Also, check out the Wal-Mart stores in your area to see if the products are available.

Another Year

In ten days I will have another birthday, God willing. I will leave behind an age and a year that I will never get back. As I think about how profound that is. . .that I will never be this age again- EVER. I pause and contemplate, was it a worthwhile year? Did I live enough, do enough, love enough?

Since my last birthday I've:

• Visited the Bahamas, San Francisco, Nashville, Disneyworld and New York
• Lost ten pounds and gained six
• Read twenty books
• Started this blog
• Walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure
• Donated time and money to various charities
• Made peace with my vocation
• Prayed more
• Experienced the death of my biological father
• Taken my son to the library once a month
• Done some home improvements
• Survived strep throat
• Finished three college credit courses
• Published a book!

Wow, I didn't realize I'd experienced so much until I wrote it all down. I think I focus way too much on all the things I want to do and things I haven't done instead of appreciating and celebrating all the things I have done. As I enter this new year of my life, I vow to try to be the best person, wife, mother, sister and friend that I can be and not worry about what others are around me are doing. I vow to start living life at my pace and relish all of the opportunities and encounters that come my way.

I thank God for my health- both mental and physical- the health of my family and for the gift of another year to live on this Earth. No need to make any wishes this year- I've got everything I could ask for plus a lot more that I probably don't deserve and I am extremely grateful!

Here's my theme song for the year ahead!