pbbbbllltltttttt

happy birthday. woooooooo.

Another year, another grey hair another line in my crows feet.
I wont lie, this year kind of sucked.
Since my last birthday post 1 year ago things have really changed.
I have started back to school full time. I am hardly ever home. I hardly have time to cook or clean. My house is a wreck and my kids live on cereal and PB&J sandwiches.
My husband finally has a good job, but works 2nd shift, so I hardly ever see him.
I go to bed late, wake up too early and feel like crap most days.
I have yo yo'd with my weight, struggled with my diet and my self esteem has taken a nosedive.
I have great intentions to go to the Y, but wake up feeling like garbage and decide to sleep instead of doing what I need to do, thus perpetuating the cycle.
I yelled too much at my kids and lost my temper too easily. i even had THREE friends take me aside in concern, asking if there was anything they could do to help me out and point out that I was not the same Sarah they used to know.
I attended a friends wedding as a bridesmaid and had a severe case of PMS with bloating and cramps the day of. I felt like humpty dumpty the whole night.
Peter had a health scare that just about broke my spirit.
I have struggled with my testimony and faith.
I have struggled with my callings at church.
I have struggled financially.
I have struggled with depression and anxiety.

BUT on the plus side this year was also really great:
I started back to school full time. I am almost done and in a few months will be starting off on a career that I really love. My in laws are living with us for the summer, watching the kids and helping out with the house. I am able to come home to a straight house, happy kids and they get real food other than sandwiches and cold cereal.
Yes I dont get to see charles as often, but he no longer works weekends so I get to see him all weekend and in the mornings before I go to school
I do go to bed too late and my kids do wake me up too early. Maybe that is something I can work on.
I have finally made up my mind, made the commitment and have the resolve to stop the madness once and for all with my diet and exercise. I have enlisted Charles to help and am forcing him along.
I have made the concerted effort to stay calm with my kids. I have really paid attention to my "hot buttons" and "trigger issues" and if I feel something coming along I can diffuse the situation easier.
I had three friends pull me aside and tell me I wasnt the same Sarah they used to know and they were concerned. It proved to me that I have loving and caring friends who are looking out for me.
I reconnected with old friends and made new ones at my friends wedding, humpty dumpty and all.
Peters health scare turned out all right in the end. A lot of "why me" and crying etc, but he is completely healthy and fine thanks to his medicinal regiment etc.
I have struggled with my testimony and faith. Then I was called to give a talk in church. My first talk in 12 years. It was exactly the lesson I needed to learn. It made me go back and revisit memories and feelings from my past. It made me realize what I was missing and how to get it back.
I have struggled with my callings, but realized that I just need to have an open mind and work hard and the blessings will come. I struggled with the Activity day Girls, but opened my heart to them and they are the nicest, sweetest most loving group of girls, who just want to love and share. They are so creative and fun and I have found myself so impressed with them and their sweet spirits.
I have struggled financially, but now charles has a really good job and is bringing home a steady paycheck plus commissions plus really great insurance. We can pay the bills, have leftover money and see a bright light at the end of the tunnel. We have set up a savings account, set up a coin and tip jar and see our savings and finances really picking up. In a few months I will have a job making money as well.

We got to go to Disney World, all expenses paid. We had a great time as a family.
We got to go to Disney On Ice, The WBT Skyshow fireworks, apple-picking, to the beach, to a UNC basketball game and had a feature story on Carolina news 14.
Finn started Kindergarten and despite all the notes and telephone calls home about him, he did exceptionally well on his report card.
Peter was in 2nd grade and did so well. His teacher and his PE teacher worked extra hard with him and I saw so much improvement.
We planned, booked and paid for a cruise to the caribbean with charles family for his mom and dad's 50th wedding anniversary. We planned, booked and paid for fun excursions for this cruise(when I say "we" i really mean "I")

so despite all the bads, there were a lot of goods.
So bring it on life, I am ready for this next year. Hit me with your best shot.

Laws of the Universe

I received this as an email from Lindsey the other day.
I was reading through and making a mental checklist of each Law that has pertained to me in my life.
nearly all. especially Browns Law about the shoe. Since I am a size 12 and nothing seems to fit, it seemed especially fitting.(har har) My comments are in red.

LAWS
Law of Mechanical Repair: After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch or you'll have to pee.

Law of the Workshop: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of Probability: The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act. (triple check on that one!)

Law of the Telephone: If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.

Law of the Alibi: If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

Variation Law: If you change traffic lanes, the one you were in will start to move faster than the one you are in now. (Also works at the grocery store)

Law of the Bath: When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.(Even if the phone has not rung all day. The second you are in that tub...boom)

Law of the Result: When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will. (this one rears its ugly head nearly twice a week in my life)

Law of Biomechanics: The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

Law of the Theatre: At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.

Law of Coffee: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Murphy's Law of Lockers: If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

Law of Rugs/Carpets: The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug.

Law of Location: No matter where you go, there you are.

Law of Logical Argument: Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.(I have daily conversations with people who live by this law)

Brown's Law: If the shoe fits, it's ugly. (YES YES YES!)

Oliver's Law: A closed mouth gathers no feet.

Wilson's Law: As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.

I would like to add my own. THE LAW OF THE "FART". Your shoe or chair makes a tooting noise you will not ever be able to replicate said tooting sound to prove you did not pass gas in public.

Beauty School Drop Out

Back in college i used to cut hair for free. If guys needed a trim I would pull out the orange handled scissors and trim them up. I gave some cute haircuts to my roommates and girl friends as well. I had always enjoyed doing it and thought it was a profession I would be good at. I decided that Cosmetology was the route I wanted to take. What was I going to do with a French degree?? I didnt want to teach. I didnt want to translate. Unless I was going to live in France as an expatriate, then French really wasnt a useful degree for my situation.

Soon afterwards I married, and did not have the time or money for cosmetology school as I had planned. Then a big move to Charlotte, then a baby with heart problems who took up a lot of my time and all of our money.
Then another newborn.
My life was devoted to working full time to get my husband through school, taking care of kids and juggling doctors appointments...all while trying to lose weight, keep our financial heads above water and making it my lifes mission to buy a house AWAY from the apartments with paper thin walls.
Here we are 5 years later.
The kids are both in school.
Peter had a heart transplant and no longer requires constant dr. appointments.
Charles has a full time job and a college degree.
We have a house...and a dog.
I have a cabinet full of cleaning supplies and nothing else to show for yself except a failing mastery of the French Language.

Well I decided it was time for me.
Down the road is a Cosmetology school that offers new classes every 8 weeks. They offer full time or part time. They offer financial aid, job placement, and all the other good things.
so this morning I am going to their school to take a tour and get an enrollment packet, learn about tuition, classes available and hours available, etc. See if it is feasible. See if Cosmetology school is FINALLY in my cards.

Charles says to go for it. My parents say to go for it. I have support all around and a desire to do it. i am really excited, and hope that this will be the opportunity I need to spread my wings and finally do MY dream.

My week in photographs

Every Spring down south the Bradford Pear Trees bloom. They are usually the first tree to flower and are quite beautiful. The blossoms last about a week or so, then they scatter like a blizzard of snow leaving behind leafy green foliage. Charlotte is FULL of Bradford Pear Trees. They line streets and avenues, and no front or back yard is complete without a BP Tree. HOWEVER, my husband and I have dubbed them "pee pee trees". The scent from these blossoms smell like cat urine and old baby pee pee diapers that have been left out to sit too long.

This is Oliver. He is the stray cat that followed my dad home before Christmas. My dad was taking a walk around his neighborhood. As he was strolling past a new home development, a tiny kitten came strolling out of the woods and started to follow him. This cat crossed the street(almost getting hit by a car) and meowed at my dad and followed after him. My dad walked faster, the cat meowed louder and started to RUN after my dad. He said this cat meowed the entire 1/2 mile home and wouldnt leave him alone. he sat outside their house for 30 minutes meowing as loudly as he could. My parents finally brought him in and he has been there ever since. He is their baby and the SWEETEST thing ever.

At one of our favorite Chinese restaurants in Charlotte they have a giant koi fish display. It is about 3 feet tall by 12 feet long. It is a long open "pond" full of these giant koi fish. Off to the side they have a gumball machine full of food. You put in your quarter and out comes a little snap on lid container with fish food in it. You can feed the fish. They are greedy little beggars. They will come right up, stick their heads out and their little mouths are just open shut open shut. It looks as if they are saying "feed me!" They will eat the little pieces right out of your fingers. My kids LOVE feeding these fish, and the chinese restaurant makes a KILLING off of these 25 cent feeder containers.

I took this picture of Peter at my mom and dads house. He was out in the backyard, enjoying the beautiful weather. How I managed to get a picture of him without his fake smile or without his eyes half closed is beyond me.!! I think it is adorable.

We went over to my parents house for dinner the other night. It was my dads birthday. We had a great time . So happy Birthday Dad (66).

This is Finn in theratty old hammock in my parents backyard. (forgive the ugly lawn, they are in process of ripping everything out and start afresh...) They have this old hammock in their backyard that should have been condemned long ago. It is ratty and full of holes and I am quite positive the rope was made in the 15th century. This thing is decrepit. BUT Finn loves it. He loves going out there, laying on it(avoiding the potholes) and just swinging. My favorite thing is watching him try to get off. It usually ends with the hammock swinging upside down and finn on his back covered in dirt.

That was my pitifully dull week in photos. Hopefully next week will be a little more exciting!