COTM - Dad Life

Saw this and had to share it for all the truly cool dads out there!

Tales From The Dark Side

Blogs don't usually tell the whole truth so I thought that I might 'keep it real' and put some reality on here. Why? I guess I don't completely recognize myself when I log onto this blog. Sure, I see all sorts of nice things going on, but, come on, life is not THAT rosey.
So, here's some dirt. Hope it's refreshing.

The biggest thing I struggle with? Weight. Wait a second, that's not realistic. Overeating. That's better. I thought i was getting a real good handle on it. About a year ago now I lost 50lbs. That was awesome. Then...whammo. Head trip. (aka, brain hemmorrage). That was followed by a few different meds, incuding, my nemesis...steroids. Uuuggh. Hate them. Mine as well have handed me back 25lbs, with instructions to 'call me in the morning'.
And while we are on that subject, everyone of those blasted drugs they gave me caused hairloss. Not that they warned me of that. I got to figure that out on my own. I have lost at least 35% of my hair. Not only that, but it's all wirey and stuff now. Don't get me wrong. I am thankful for my heartbeat, but I miss my hair. And, it doesn't seem to be regrowing. (What's left is still growing, but not what fell out). Ben is sweet about it. He calls me his Fozzy Bear. I do love that guy. Thank goodness for that wonderful ceramic hair iron thingy! Dont' know what I'd do without that! ---ok, that's too much optimism in what is supposed to be a more darkside blog ---

Hmmm, what else.

I don't have much fashion sense. Not long ago, my sister Noelle and I were looking at some high school pics of us and I was wearing cotton shorts and some athletic t-shirt of some sort. I looked at it and laughed and said, "How funny, I am still wearing the same kind of clothes" (I had on red, cotton shorts and a Shock t-shirt). Noelle did a few fake chuckles and then matter-of-factly said, "not funny".
I can't say that it really bothers me that I can't put a decent outfit together. I just don't care about it. If it matches, is clean, and void of any stains, and preferably denim, then it should be good. And, if I'm having a bad hair day, which is pretty much every day now,or an 'I don't care day', then a doo-rag is my hair-style of choice. I have many different colored ones, to match whatever t-shirt I might be wearing. Luckily, I have no need to dress up much. Sure there is the occasional wedding or something, but usually I were the same old stand by thing.
Those who know me might be surprised to know that if I could figure it out, my dress of choice would be a jean skirt or khaki skirt and sweatshirt of some sort. Or maybe a polo or something. Not that that's a far cry from what i do already though.

I have lost 3 grandparents and a beloved auntie. That might not compare in numbers to many other people, but I deeply miss them all the same.

I feel as though I spent the first 32 years of my life accepting what the majority said concerning 'truth'. Now I've spent the last 4 years of my life going over some of those details and realizing there may be a whole other side to the story.

I make faces at my kids. Not just the, 'hey you better quit that' type of faces, but the ones that let them know EXACTLY how you are feeling. I have to apologize for it a lot. I hate that I do that. Not exactly the humble mother approach that I would love to have.

I procrastinate.

I stay up way too late most nights when I should be going to bed with my husband.

I have friends that I haven't seen or even talked to in a really long time. I miss them.

There's more, but that's about all the dark side I can handle right now. Time to turn the lights back on & go to bed.

Alive & Well

Quick update for anyone who has been wondering. My carnie fish are still alive and well. They are now 4 years old, this summer. Unbelievable. If you dont' know the story, you will have to check back to my post about them last summer.
Whenever I think they might be on their way out, they always seem to bounce back. Ben said that they only act sick so I will clean their tank. Works everytime too.
Maybe I should give them official names. Carnie 1 & Carnie 2. That works.

Weird Phone Call

Back in April my dear friend, Kristan W. gave me a call around midday and started the conversation with, "Hi Sonya...this is going to be one of those 'weird phone calls'..." She then proceeded to tell me that she had just been informed that she'd won an all expense paid trip to Hollywood California! Then, she tells me that her husband was not ging to be able to go and she wanted to take me! I was shocked and speechless, and when I got over that, I was esctatic! Three short weeks later we were on our way. After 12 hours of travel, we arrived in LA, and no sooner had we landed when we got a call from Jay Leno (a recording actually) inviting us to his 60th anniversary show taping...in 1 hour! Kristan had 'worked her unexplainable magic' and got us on a waiting list and we were chosen! Somehow we managed to arrive in time and got 3rd row main floor seats for the show. They are the seats for the people who get to go up and high-five Leno as the show opens. (I wanted nothing to do with that as we had come straight from the airport and looked like something the cat dragged in, so I just stayed where I was). It was a blast though, and I will never forget it. The next day we went to Six Flags. We thought, 'what better way to test out my brain issues...it passed,... although that could be argued. :-)



Here are some pictures of Rodeo Drive. I didn't think that I would care much about this place seeing as I have zero fashion sense or care, but it was actually pretty neat. I even spent some money buying some stuff for Ben at the Guess store. The girl who helped me out was actually from the U.P.,eh? Pretty small world!


(My version of concrete jungle)

Pacific Ocean & Venice Beach

About this picture, to make a long story short, I have been searching multiple cities and states to find someone who could make a 'Mint Julep' beverage. I love the 60's song by the same name, and when trying to figure out a name for my first camper, my sister suggested 'Mint Julep'. Being as it was green, that name was perfect. So, I was determined to try this drink one way or another. The bartender at the hotel we stayed at in Santa Monica (I think that's right), knew how to make one, so I ordered up! It was horrid to say the least! I even asked him to put it in a taller glass and put more pop in it, and it was barely tolerable! But, I had to document this rare find in a picture, and mark it off my 'to-do' list.

Wish the song was titled, "Tall, Cold, Slurpee". That would be more accurate for me!

I made a few pizzas on the grill a couple night ago. Here are pics of two of them. They were quite gourmet tasting, and the family loved them so I will be adding them to my vegetarian list.

(For the sake of reality, I should have taken a picture of the smore's that we cooked and the pop that we drank that night too...).

Melting

This little cutie loves to be in the water, so she asked us if she could get a pool. Well, where we live, you can't have a pool up overnight, so I just bought her one of those sad, little rinky dink pools, but she loves it.

Well, yesterday I looked out the window, and this is what I saw.

This shot shows why he melts my heart all the time. It's not like he is just in a kiddie pool in a fenced in back yard! He's out there, playing with his daughter, for all the world (or at least our neighbors) to see. Love it!

Happy Camping

We spent this 4th of July camping with the Kahaian's, Williams and Wilmoths at the Port Huron Koa. What a great time we had!

LOL

I thought TODAY would be a PERFECT DAY for this funny story. The girls and I were at Family Dollar this morning and I saw this pair of jeans and literally, Laughed Out Loud. They are not normal jeans. They are super tight, denim 'looking', shiny, no idea what kind of material, faux jeans. If you wore them, it would look like they were just painted on.

Well anyway, about 15 years ago now, my friend's mother had bought her a pair of 'jeans' just like these for Christmas! She showed them to me, and I made her put them on and we about died laughing. It is an everlasting visual! They were horrid, and she took them back. I will never forget that.

Well, I guess they are back in style now. You should have seen Jordyn when I took them off the rack and handed them to her so I could get a picture. Her look was priceless. She thought that I wanted her to have them.

Fun times. Happy Days.