Tag, I'm it!

It has been sooooooo long since I have written a new post. I'm surprised the blog police have not tracked me down and given me a warning! There is so much to catch up on and I will promise to do so soon. However, today my friend Laura at Goose Hill Farm tagged me with this survey and I decided it was a good place to start. My life is not that exciting but here it is, for what it's worth!!!!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:00 AM
2. Diamonds or Pearls? I'm not picky I will gladly accept either
3. What was the last movie you saw in a theater? What happens in Vegas
4. What is your favorite TV show? Law and Order (all versions)
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Oatmeal
6. What is your middle name? Faye
7. What food do you dislike? Asparagus
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Craig Morgan
9. What kind of car do you drive? Dodger Charger (aka Thekthy)
10. Favorite sandwich? Can't have sandwiches anymore. Used to be a Reuben
11. What characteristic do you despise? Selfishness
12. Favorite item of clothing? Jeans and hoodies
13. If you could go anywhere where would you go? Scotland
14. Favorite brand of clothing? Nautica and Ralph Lauren
15. Where would you retire to? I don't think I'll every be able to afford to retire!
16. What was your most memorable birthday? I actually have two. The first was when James was driving "long haul" and drove all night across several states to surprise me, and actually did! The second is when the best boss I've ever had took me to Disney world for lunch and made me ride the rockin' roller coaster!
17. Favorite sport to watch? Football BABY!!!! NFL rocks!
18. Are you a morning person or a night person? I'm more of a midday person.
19. Shoe size? 8 - 8.5
20. Pets? 1 dog - Lil bit, 1 fancy tail goldfish - Fritz
21. Any new exciting news? Nope
22. What did you want to be when you were little? A professional singer/musician
23. How are you today? Very tired from being up so late finishing homework
24. What are you listening to right now? Anni humming and talking to her toys.
25. What was the last thing you ate? A piece of chicken and a small salad
26. Do you wish on stars? I would if I thought it would help! But I'm with Laura, praying is better.
27. If you where a crayon what color would you be? Periwinkle
28. How is the weather right now? Overcast and COLD!
29. Who was the first person that you talked on the phone today? James
30. What is your favorite soft drink? Diet Barqs Root Beer
31. What is your favorite place to eat at? Outback Steakhouse
32. What is your hair color? Auburn
33. What was your favorite toy as a child? Spyrograph (is that how you spell it?)
34. Summer or Winter or Fall? What happened to spring? Cause I really like spring!
35. Hugs or kisses? Again, I'm not picky, I'll take them both!
36. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate! I miss it.
37. Coffee or tea? Coffee
38. When was the last time you cried? Last week
39. What is under your bed? Kick butt dust bunnies
40. Salty or sweet? Depends on my mood.
41. What are you afraid of? Being alone
42. Do you make friends easily? I'm usually shy around new people. It takes awhile.

Thekthy Is Theckthy No Matter How You Spell It!

This all started back in October when my husband decided to lavish me with gifts for my birthday. I have to say the guy earned some major brownie points! First of all he decided to take me to a concert in West Virginia, and then he had my car windows tinted. Pictured above is the last installment of gifts; personalized plates. This is where it gets a little sticky.

You see, James is known for coming up with some strange little names of affection like boogashay, and shugaboog, and shugalump all of which he knows would be very dangerous (for him anyway) to have printed on my charger!



The only little name he thought would be safe was "Sexy". Well, I'm not at all convinced the term applies to me; however, it was an acceptable tag for my car. Of course when he went to the DMV to order the tags, the standard spelling was already taken. So, after lots of combinations, this is what he came up with. THEKTHY! He said, "I just thought of how Anni says it - and Sam too!"

I laughed and thought it was cute, but now I have realized something. James has taken my intimidating, sexy car with an attitude and given it a lisp!!!


Oh well, if Tham Kiefer can be thekthy, so can my charger.


So if anyone laughs I'll just rev my engine and threaten to run them over!

No Snow Yet But She's Training For It!

Last weekend Daddy had a paper to write and we needed to vacate the homestead and let him have some quiet time. So Anni and I set out to the back yard to find something to do and hopefully Mommy would not freeze her backside off. It was one of those grey cold days in Virginia, where wind was kicking up and it bit you every now and then. Any way, Anni said, "Mama, I got a good I-Plan!" And she was off into the garage to get her shovel.



One thing Anni loves to do with her daddy in the winter is shovel snow. Well, since we haven't had our first snow yet, Anni decided to take advantage of the opportunity to get in shape by shoveling leaves. While most people would use a rake, not our Anni, she prefers her handy-dandy-Anni-sized-little red snow shovel!

Of course the whole process is about having fun so when the pile is complete the only thing left to do is........................... Pick up as many as you can hold and .....................................

THROW THEM INTO THE AIR!!!!!! YAY! She was having such a good time I had to take some pics. The snow is on the way, you can feel it in the air, but playing in the leaves was just fine for now.

The throwing continues until she's exhausted or the leaves have to once again be shoveled. (Got to keep up that training you know!)

Of course she had to show me them "shuga lips" and beg me for some "warm shocolit" (that is the correct Anniese term for hot cocoa.)

Then it was back to the leave pile. Where's Anni?............................. Are you kidding me? She actually almost fell asleep in there. I had to make her get out and get cold again. Then it was time to go bug Daddy.

My Little Fairy Princess

I know, I know, Halloween is over but I was busy with finals last week and I wanted everyone to see my Fairy Princess! She can give you a black eye one minute and the next she wants to be decked out in pink wings and jewels! Go figure!

Well, the Mitchell family as never celebrated Halloween before, because we seriously have some issues with the holiday, however, Anni's school was having a special event the night before and we wanted her to be able to participate. This way she got to do the whole costume thing and get a small amount of candy and be with her little Kindergarten buddies.



This is the principal of Luray Elementary. Don't know what she was smokin'! The assitant principal, pictured below definately had the force with him all evening. I'm beginning to be a little worried about the leadership at this school! Yikes! (actually Mr. Baker (Darth) is pretty cool) But the star trek babe I could do without. Anyhoo!!!!!!


Anni made a finger puppet with Daddy. Looking like the beautiful princess she is!

And then it was on to monster bookmarks with Mom. Still looking like royalty in her little costume.

She got to hear stories, play games and then it was off to get her goodie bag complete with candy, peanut butter and jelly crustable, juice box, and prize. All in all we had a really great time and Anni loved getting dressed up.

Somebody Call 911!!!!

Thursday, the Kindergarten class went on a field trip to our local Police Department and Fire Department. The tour of the LPD was pretty much textbook. First Sergeant Anderson took us through the offices, introduced us to the detectives and gave us a tour of the training room.

But the tour of the fire department was a whole different ballgame. When we entered the garage with about 65 Kindergarten children and about a dozen teachers and parents, the alarms started going off and the men were rushing children across the room to get them out of the way, fire fighters were running to get their gear. A few of the kids started crying but we got them calmed down. If it had been planned it wouldn't have been more exciting. Two tankers and a Haz Mat truck left sirens blaring and lights flashing. The kids had a blast. Then they returned before we left. And the classes were able to talk to the fire fighters about their call. I think it really made an impression on the kids. Many times they see emergency personnel as something fun. But that day they sensed the urgency of what was going on and knew those men were going to help people.

Hope you enjoy the pics below.

It's All Good

October has been a pretty good time for the family. We have gone on a field trip with the Kindergarten class to a pumpkin patch, taken in a concert in the mountains, and enjoyed a evening by the fire pit in our back yard to celebrate my birthday. It's all good, as they say around here.

You know there is just something about looking into a fire that makes you think. (At least it always has that affect on me) As I sat there I thought about everything that has changed in my life over the course of the last year. Wow! The first thing that came to mind was I was convinced that I probably wouldn't be alive this year. I was battling fatigue and depression and the enemy almost won. That's not something I'm proud of but God had mercy on me and helped me get to this point. I have met wonderful new friends, had a great spring with lovedones, and actually got my dream car. I'm 44. Big deal, so I'm getting old. I love my husband, I love my daughter, I'm losing weight, how could I ask for more? When I look at the shape this world is in. I'm glad I've got it this good. It's all good! It really is!

Mommy and Daddy Visit School!

Friday, October 10 there was a special celebration in Anni's class to show off the class' writing skills and achievements. Each child was given a folder in which to keep daily written or illustrated work. I think the idea is to understand the concept of expressing oneself creatively. Since Anni is only beginning to write letters, most of her work was of the illustration variety. But Mommy and Daddy were proud!
The teacher took our picture while Anni was showing us all of her pictures. Many of them were pictures of Mommy, Daddy, Annie and Bit Bit (the dog). She's all about the family! I was happy to see that. She was so proud of her class. She took us around and introduced us to her friends.
We finally got to meet the children we had been hearing about for the past 6 weeks. She really loves her teacher and I am so thankful for that. She seems to really care about the kids and communicates weekly with parents. I failed to get a picture of Mrs. Johnson. I'll be sure to do that next time.I was a little sad though. James and I and one other parent were the only ones to show up for the celebration. We tried to visit all the other kids tables to let them show off their work too. They all seem so little. My heart breaks to think they are disappointed. But I think we spread the love pretty well. Anni seemed to act as hostess taking us from table to table telling us who was who. She always seems to be so sensitive of other people's feelings. I think she felt bad for the other kids too.
This is Anni's beautiful masterpiece of buttons and letters and of course the portrait of Mommy and Daddy dancing at the top.

All in all it was a great time. She's growing so fast. I don't want to miss a minute of it. I know this may not be such an exciting blog for most of you out there, but my little family is one of the most precious gifts God has given me, so that's what I write about.

We love you Anni. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!