"You cannot put the same shoe on every foot." -Publilius Syrus

Today I am going here (well kinda...it's close to here)

with her (ok...that's not really her but that's how she says she's going to look so I'm going with it)

 

to see a LOT of these.

And I'll leave you with a few shoe quotes to get you thinking...

"Funny that a pair of really nice shoes make us feel good in our heads - at the extreme opposite end of our bodies." ~Levende Waters

“A pair of shoes can change your life. Just ask Cinderella.” -Anonymous

"I’m having a wicked shoe craving." -Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"He noticed my shoes! I think that was the highlight of my whole day! He liked my shoes." -Serena Williams

"I can’t be funny if my feet don’t feel right." -Billy Crystal

"I’m going shoe shopping. I need a wagon." -Hilary Banks (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)

"Holy Mackerel! Call headquarters. Get the lieutenant."

I think I've found my new favorite donut place. Rocket Donuts in downtown Bellingham is just a lot of fun. My bismark was delicious, my latte was yummy, my company was great and the decor was original.

Who would have thought donuts and 50s sci-fi? Not me. And why donuts and 50s sci-fi? Their answer "Why not?" Well...that's good enough for me.

Mr. Harley: "Your impatience is quite understandable."

Klaatu: "I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it."
Mr. Harley: "I'm afraid my people haven't. I'm very sorry... I wish it were otherwise."

Klaatu: "I'm worried about Gort. I'm afraid of what he might do if anything should happen to me."
Helen: "Gort? But he's a robot. Without you, what could he do?"
Klaatu: "There's no limit to what he could do. He could destroy the Earth."
OR...he could steal your donut (I added that myself...)

Reporter: "I suppose you are just as scared as the rest of us."
Klaatu: "In a different way, perhaps. I am fearful when I see people substituting fear for reason."

Army physician: "I don't know whether to get drunk or quit the practice of medicine."

Klaatu: "We have come to visit you in peace and with goodwill."

All quotes are from The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Now doesn't reading those make you want to go watch it? My thought is to watch the original...I mean really...50s sci-fi? You just can't recreate that! Or maybe watch both - Keanu Reeves does make a good cheesy movie.

Happy Thursday friends!

Homecoming.

As I type this my little boy, my baby, is at his first high school dance. His first official date including dressing up, buying a corsage, paying for dinner...the whole shabang. And to be honest I feel pretty good about it. It was fun to be part of the excitement before hand and it was so wonderful to see kids that I have known "forever" go on this journey with Archer as well. The homecoming was for a different school than his own which evidently didn't faze him one bit. This homecoming was about firsts, friends, and fun...

*Archer & his adorable date, Jayna*

*looking good*
I could not think of a better girl for Archer to go on his first real "date" (he doesn't like calling it that) with. Jayna is funny, down to earth, and an all around great girl.

*the whole gang*

*and of course a little bit of fun*

*you can never pose for enough pictures*

*and again*

*the boys*
this is one of my favorite pictures. Archer & Kelby. They have been friends since first grade. I think of Kelby as my own...Love these boys.

*sealing the deal?*
dang! I can't believe how big these boys are...Trevin and Archer met through Kelby (above)...they became fast friends and brothers.

*New Horizon boys, friends, family*
Archer, James, Trevin, Kelby
These boys, while not all related, are family. I love each and every one of them. I am so blessed to know them and be a part of their lives. (fyi...New Horizon is our church where most of the kids in all these group shots go to youth group...fun times).

*mom Teresa*
We share our boys. I trust her completely with Archer and I think of her boys as my own. We often call Archer the triplet and he thinks of Teresa as his other mom. We are blessed.

*my boys*
Archer's best friends. He is lucky that when he met Kelby (left) that he also got another best friend in Trevin. I love that every time I see them I get a hug still and that they call me mom (or old lady sometimes).

And we're off...on the adventure that is high school. I am thankful for good friends (that are practically family), good role models, good decisions. I am thankful for fun and freedom and the knowledge that Archer has a great head on his shoulders.

"Home is not where you live, but where they understand you." - Christian Morganstern

I am a simple girl. I live in a small house and I like it. I am thankful for what I have, a fantastic family, good friends and my stuff. Ya, I like my stuff. My fiesta ware is the tops. I like my little knickknacks, my books, you know my "stuff."

Another thing. Almost all of our furniture has been aquired as hand-me-downs. And that is okay. I like our furniture for now. One day my dream is new stuff in the living room. Well, maybe not "new" but not what we have, however, for now, it is fine.

All I ask of my used furniture is to work. Such as when I want a shirt out of the bottom drawer of my (hand-me-down) dresser all I ask is for said drawer to open. And if it doesn't open after a few minutes of fighting I might a) bang around loudly early in the morning to let Troy know I am pissed at my dresser, b) swear, c) cry, d) all of the above. Depends on the day.

After a few (consecutive) mornings of being woke up by my banging/swearing/crying/all of the above (after all I have had this problem for YEARS) Troy said, "Why don't we get you a new dresser?" After some discussion and me saying no a hundred times because of the lack of resources (read: money) we decided to start looking. Troy browsed online to show me he could find something in a reasonable price range. Then he mentioned the new/used/discount furniture store across town behind Safeway. I said there was no store there. I should know. I go to Safeway - a LOT. Um...FYI there is a store there. Who knew? Troy maybe, but I think only he knew, it was hidden from the rest of us.

So, we go. We shop. We find great dressers out of our price range (and some couches and chairs too...must start saving money - I hate saving money!). Then, in the back, under a pile of rolled carpets we find the perfect dresser. We paid our hard earned dollars then left, without dresser as we drive a car that won't fit a dresser.... And if you think, 'great they went and got a big truck and picked up the dresser' you would be correct. If you think it was easy...hahaha!!! When we got there Troy realized he didn't have the key to the lock on the back. He asked the guy at the store for a hacksaw - they had one, did NOT work.

Listen, this is an OLD, diesel, pain in the ass to drive much less back and forth across town, truck to drive. So I think, 'I will call Cheryl.' She will come get us to get the key which is at the museum. And she did. Thank you Cheryl. She takes us to the museum. Troy goes in to get the key(s) - he has a LOT of keys - not sure which one of hundreds it could be...Troy had left his car in front of the museum so our thought is that we would take our car and Cheryl could go on her merry way. WRONG! Neither of us brought keys to our car. We are on a roll. As Cheryl is pulling away I am waving her down to stop (she hadn't actually GONE anywhere just pulled out of the parking spot) and she, LAUGHING, drove us back to the furniture store. Once again, thank you Cheryl. From there Troy tried all the keys, none worked, so ended up cutting the lock off with bolt cutters (which he grabbed in case NONE of the hundreds of keys worked). By the way we had great conversations in Cheryl's pimp-mobile (mini-van) that cannot be shared with you here...

In conclusion (as this feels like an essay) the dresser is home. It is in the bedroom. The drawers ALL open and shut ALL the time.

Lessons learned: make sure husband has keys to locks before actually leaving the house, better yet get him combination locks; keep friends on speed dial; always take car keys even if you aren't driving a car (go figure); there is a furniture store behind Safeway; and said furniture store ROCKS!

Look who came to visit...

It's Nick!
Nicholas is up for an extended visit. He will be with us through next week. He is staying at mom's house (he is loving being with Grandpa) and spending a few(6) days with us. We are so glad to have him. He is quite a character. On our first day together (yesterday) we had grand adventures. I brought him out to Lynden (an adventure in itself) and my friend Cheryl came to visit.
Cheryl and I took him to Dairy Queen for lunch. He loved his cheeseburger and french fries and very clearly requested ketchup. I did find out that he does NOT like soda. I tried giving him Sierra Mist (he spit it out with quite a disgusted look on his face), so then I gave him a taste of my Dr. Pepper (he really didn't like that...looked quite disgusted), so then I tried lemonade (not a fan of that either evidently)...I did, however, find that he liked water. Yep water. When I gave it to him he said, "Water" like it was a cheer and was so happy! Good boy not liking the soda...hope that lasts! We even let him have the ice cream cone at the end which he LOVED!

Cheryl took this picture right before he fell asleep for a much needed nap. Look at the eyes...you can see the water just pooling. Sweet boy.



Then...after the nap and after Archer got home we went to the City Park which is fabulous.


"Now your turn." Archer swings as Nick pushes.
Laughing at Archer.
After playing in the park the real fun began. As soon as Nick noticed the water he wanted nothing more to do with the park which was fine with Archer who loves the creek as well.

Outdoor Kitten

It has been a month (gasp) since I blogged about any of our feline friends. I think they may be upset about that. :( So sad.

Well, Jazz or Spaz or Kitten...she doesn't know her name it is so sad- she will respond to Kitten most often, but that makes me feel like a child..such as Archer who names their stuffed animals 'Lamby' (the lamb) or 'Beary' (for the ....wait for it...bear!), okay back to the kitten. She has decided she like the outdoors. She wants to run free...just like Ellie May. She was born to be wild (or our small-town version of 'wild' which is not so 'wild' but please don't tell her that).

As our loyal blog readers and friends know Jazz (given name) came into our home about 8 months ago and life has not been the same since. She is kitten through and through. From early morning wake ups to bird stalker, to Horton harasser. She has been yearning (yes, yearning) to go outside for, well..about 8 months and we have finally just given in. Opened the backdoor and out she goes. We tried the leash thing (not her thing) and tried just keeping her in (really not her thing either). So, she goes out.

Ellie May isn't sure about that situation. I think she feels responsible, like she has to babysit (and she does babysit). The kitten (like Ellie May) doesn't wander far. She can be found within a few (maybe 20) feet of the backdoor, but if this makes her feel like a big, bad outdoor cat we are happy to oblige her. Horton likes to venture out as well, however not quite as often, and never very far. I have to say that since she (Jazz, Spaz, Kitten) has been going outside she hasn't been so obnoxious. Still a little, just not so much.

Ready

Bags are packed. Animal care is taken care of. Mail is stopped. I think we are ready for our grand adventure. I will let you know when we are there. Settled. Pictures are promised (given that we have the promised internet connections). I think we are ready. And we're off......