~Insert Catchy Blog Title Here~

I couldn't think of a blog title.  :(

It has been months since I have blogged - well, if you count the one about Mammie or the one about Kolaches then it has been a few days.  However, I haven't blogged in a really long time about the things going on around our house.

Where to start:

AMANDA - Amanda has been in preschool for almost 5 months now and she absolutely loves it.  Her teacher, Ms. Norris, is a true delight and we love her dearly.  We also love Ms. Amy, the preschool director.  I don't think that we could have chosen a better place for her to learn and grow in God.

She is getting so smart.  She is really good at remembering.  I smile when I catch her singing little songs from school.  It fills my heart with gladness and joy with her being in my life.  It is simply amazing.

MAMMIE - Mammie went through surgery well.  Her hip is healed.  However, you may recall that when she was in the hospital she suffered at least one stroke.  She was put in a rehab facility in Fort Worth and due to either Medicare or Healthsouth rules (I don't remember which) she had to be moved to a different rehab facility.  She is now in Cleburne trying to make a full recovery.

She wants to go home so badly.  She has her good days and her bad days.  I want to bring her home to my house - as I promised her when I was a small child, but I can't take care of her the way she needs to be cared for. 

I HATE seeing her in a nursing home.  She never wanted to go to a nursing home.  But, it is funny, when you plan your whole life out, God has a different version of how your life is going to go.

I will take this time to mention that if YOU or your LOVED ONES do not have Long Term Care (LTC) Insurance - IT IS TIME TO GET IT!  Medicare is tricky to understand and doesn't pay for things you might think it does.  You never know when you will need it and when you do need it it's too late to get it!

NOVEMBER 12, 2011 - Mike and I got married.  Nothing too big, just a small ceremony with family and a few friends.

KENNEDALE HIGH SCHOOL WILDCAT BAND - I announced on FB a while back that I took a Color Guard/Winterguard Instructor/Choreographer position with KHS Band.  I LOVE every minute of this job!  Our marching season was learning experience for not only me, but the girls as well.  They loved their old "coach" (quite an endearing term - I love being called coach) and it took quite some time for them to get used to me, my teaching style and my color guard habits.  Most of them have come around.  I love these ladies.  They are an extremely talented group of girls.  My captain and lieutenant are tireless.  I share a bond with each of them.  I look forward to the days where I get to go to Kennedale and hear about their lives. 

They have "adopted" Amanda and have made her the guard mascot.  Amanda calls them "The Girls" and loves going to Friday night football games with me.  They even bought her her own little flag.

Winterguard season is in full swing and I am designing my own show. 

The whole band is just full of awesome kids.  It is an honor to be doing what I love for this band.

DIVORCE CARE - DC went well.  I learned so much about myself, about J and about where I stand in the process.  I was much better off than I thought I was....but I still worked on a lot of things.  I met some awesome people and I LOVE my DC leaders.  Dr. A sends me an e-mail every once in a while to check on me.

MIKE - For the past 5 weeks Mike has been in a cast.  He tore two tendons in his ankle.  We don't know when, we don't know how.  All I know is that shortly after we got married he had to go in a cast.  I lovingly joked that I didn't know "in sickness and in health" would come so soon.

That also means his Aiki training has been off for 5 weeks and looks like a few more.

STONEWATER - StoneWater Church.  I have attended several times and I have absolutely fallen in love with this church.  It is so easy to just go and worship.  It is so laid back - no pressure, no demands.  Just come and love and worship Christ.  So different from my experience at Southside and for that I am thankful.  I needed something different and found it at StoneWater.

CHRISTMAS - We had a wonderful Christmas.  Amanda got tons of presents!  She exclaimed that she couldn't be on the naughty list because Santa brought her so much stuff. 

LIFE - Life in general is going pretty good.  I have spent the last few months on a roller coaster of emotions and have found myself sad sometimes.  There are people in my life that are mad at me for reasons beyond my control.  I worry that others are mad at me simply because their lives have changed.  My grandmother being in the nursing home really makes me sad.

I made the mistake of jumping the gun on something (I won't go into detail) before I talked it out.  This has put a kink in a few relationships in my life.  I had to defend myself and my actions and yell at the one person I would have never wished to yell at.  This hurt me a whole lot (as I am sure it did that person).  However, I had to stand up for myself, my actions and what I thought was right.  In the end, I believe I have set things right - why? - because I talked it out.  Maybe, by doing that, I can work on the other relationships that have kinks in them.

I am a pessimist.  I never expect a good outcome on anything.  I expect the worse and when the best happens I am pleasantly surprised.  I am trying so hard to work on this one aspect of my life.  Mike asked last night if I ever talk through the positive things I have done for others.  No, I answered, because I can't do that.  I guess I am going to have to start. 

I love my life, the people in it and the things that make me, me.  I always fall back on this line from Modest Mouse:

"We have one chance, one chance, to get everything right.  My friends, my habits, my family they mean so much to me."

Proud to be Czech - Proud to be a Simcik

Paul Matthew and Eunice Simcik had six children of their own.  Those six children grew up and had children of their own making 11 grandchildren.  Combined, the grandchildren had 11+ children amongst them and those great-grandchildren are now having children of their own.

I am one of those great-grandchildren.

I never knew my great-grandfather, Paul Matthew Simick.  He passed away at a very young age (45, I believe).  However, my great-grandmother, Eunice (Grannie, the grandchildren called her, G.G. the great-grandchildren called her), lived to be 97 years old!  I remember her as a little lady, very petite with white hair.  She wore glasses and always had her hair curled.  I remember she always had some piece of jewelry on.

Christmas has always been a very important holiday for our family.  Every Christmas Eve was spent at G.G.'s, no matter where she was living.  I only remember her living in a little 2 bedroom, one bath bungalow right outside of Whitney, TX not far from the dam.  You didn't miss Christmas Eve at G.G.'s for anything.  That was the time where our entire family gathered to hear of the news, gossip and going's on of the previous year amongst families.  That little bungalow was filled to the brim with food, laughter, reminiscing and family members.

After G.G. passed away each family started doing their own thing for Chrismas and it seemed as though the time between visits were few and far between.  I have cousins that I haven't seen in years.

My family opted to spend Christmas Eve at Mammie's house and that is what we have been doing since 1998, right up until this year.  This has been a tough year for me, and especally for Mammie.  She got through the stroke and the hip surgery, but now she is in a nursing home/rehab facility waiting for the day she gets to go home.

I had made the command decision this year to take on the task of baking Kolaches.  A Kolache is a Czech pastry with a fruit (Apple and Poppyseed in our case) center and sprinkled with a sugar, cinnamon crumble called Posypka. 

My whole life I have been eating Kolaches.  G.G. made them, Aunt Polly made them, Aunt Katie made them, Aunt Eva made them and a few years ago Mammie started making them.  The Kolache has been an important pastry in my family for years.  Unfortunately, most of my aunts have passed on and the two remaining Simick girls are to the point now where making Kolaches isn't feasable.  This thought truly broke my heart and saddened me.

So, being a descendant of Paul Matthew and Eunice Simick, I knew I must take up the torch, so to speak and learn how to make Kolaches.  This is a daunting task - it takes roughly 6 hours from start to finish to make Kolaches - a task I was willing to take on.

I bet you are starting to wonder, "Why a blog dedicated to a pastry?"  Well, it really isn't about the Kolache, you see, it is about why I was inspired to take the time to bake the batch of Kolaches.

I had found myself working up to Christmas Eve and being in a quite the bah-humbug mood.  I was sad because instead of being at Mammie's house, eating Mammie's delicious food we were going to be in Mammie's room at Colonial Manor spending Christmas Eve.  I know that isn't where she wanted to be - she wanted to be home too.  Every time I leave I just want to bundle her up and take her with me.  I know I can't because she needs to be there to get better.  I knew baking the Kolaches would make her feel some sense of home even though she couldn't be there. 

Mike was my taste tester.  He LOVED them.   I was so overcome with emotion when he said that I just cried.  I was so happy that I had made an edible Kolache!  He said I should be proud to give these to Mammie and my mom.  So I did. 

I took Mammie two apple and two poppyseed kolaches.  When we walked in I told her that I had something for her.  Not one to want gifts, she got this disapproving look on her face.  I told her that they were Kolaches - and I made them.  I think my uncle was more shocked than she was.  She didn't feel like eating one at that moment.  But, before we left, I gave her a kiss and she told me that she was proud that I had taken the time to make them and that she thinks I am the only great-grandchild that has ever attempted to make them.  I am waiting to go back to visit to see what she thought.

My mom loved them.  That is all that I needed.  I have now been deemed the new Kolache maker!

Even though my Mammie couldn't be home this Christmas, I brought a little bit of her home to her.  It is amazing how a simple Czech pastry can bring back the fondest memories and warm your heart and make everything better.

Ode to Mammie

If you have known me for any significant amount of time, then chances are you know all about my grandmother, Ruth Marie Simcik Toole.  We call her Mammie most others call her Aunt Reetsie and she goes by Marie to everyone else.  I gave Amanda the middle name Marie because of her (and a few other of my dearest friends who all share the same middle name) and I do most of everything I do because of her.  After my parents, she is one of my sources of inspiration.

Mammie lives in modest means.  For almost 50 years she and my granddad (who you will hear more of later) lived in the 5000 block of Vicki Street in Haltom City.  I can remember the day she moved out of that house just like it was yesterday.  She moved in at that time with her mother, my great-grandmother, Eunice Lonie McGuire Simcik; or G.G. for short.  After G.G. passed away she decided she would live in Kopperl.

A few blogs ago I wrote of Kopperl and the significance this tiny town plays in my life.  Mammie has lived there for quite some time.  It started with two travel trailers on the lot behind their antique store.  One belonging to she and my granddad the other belonged to my granddad's cousins who would come down every weekend with us.  In the beginning there were three; Aunt Bertie, Deenie and Maree.  I lovingly deemed them the Golden Girls.  Sadly, people pass away and  ultimately she sold both the trailers and converted one of the rooms of the antique store into a little apartment.  She has a sitting area, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.  For her, that is all she needs.

Mammie is tireless.  For as long as I can remember she has been doing for others.  She took care of my granddad, Charles Clyde Toole, Jr., Pee Paw, as we called him, when he was diagnosed with Emphysema and Lung Cancer.  He passed in 1992, almost 20 years ago!  Time really does fly.  As I stated above, she then went and took care of G.G. She passed away in 1998.  I remember this because G.G. was born in 1901, she would have turned 97 in August of 1998.  After that, she just lived. 

Mammie would also give you the shirt off of her back and the last penny in her bank account if you needed it.  Mammie always helped my sister and I with our finances.  My parents did as much as they could to buy my sister and I the things we wanted and needed.  Mammie and Pee Paw filled in the gaps. 

I have never seen Mammie get mad either.  She has such a sweet demeanor and caring nature.  She also doesn't mind telling a story.  I could sit and listen to her tell stories for hours on end (even if I have heard them a million times).

Mammie is also very independent.  She will be 84 in December and she drove herself everywhere up until a few months ago.  And until Monday, she lived by herself.

She has seen alot, watched a lot of her relatives pass before her, witnessed a few wars, been alive for several different presidents, had a few different cars, held a few steady jobs, lived a few places and has never really been anywhere. She love watching the Rangers, the Mavericks and the Cowboys.  She loves Suduko and loves the weeks she gets to come and be with Amanda.  She enjoys cooking, especally kolaches and she wouldn't miss Sunday morning breakfast for anything.  She can play a mean hand of 42 even though she won't admit it. 

Monday I received one of the most devistating phone calls of my adult life.  My sister called and asked me if I had heard from Uncle Mike.  I told her I didn't receive his message and didn't hear my phone (it was in my purse).  She proceeded to tell me that Mammie fell and broke her hip, that she was in the hospital and they were going to have to do surgery. 

I was on my way to band practice and I couldn't leave practice...so I had to endure two hours of worry, angst, and frustration until I could get out and be there.  When I finally made it to the hospital she was there.  Laying in that hospital bed not looking like the Mammie I had seen a few weeks prior.  That was hard.  She was in good spirits though and spoke as if she wasn't in the hospital.

At the time they had her hip surgery scheduled for Tuesday.  Tuesday morning I took off work and drove to the hospital.  When I arrived she wasn't in the room.  My uncle had told me that they took her back to have a CT scan done.  They think she had a stroke.  When she returned, she did look as thought she had a stroke.  She had left side paralysis.  Again, not a sight I wanted to see in a million years.

To make an already long story short; she keeps having small strokes and until they figure out the cause of those, they can't fix her hip.

I know people can't live forever, but I was sure Mammie was going to.  I am closer to realizing that now that I ever cared to.  However, we all loose loved ones....the great thing though?   We get to see them again one day.

If you have never met my grandmother, you are missing out...if you have, you are lucky.  I hope that she has touched your life just like she has touched mine.  And for that...I will be forever greatful and never the same.

"But, We Didn't Eat At The Pancake Store."

Isn't it funny how children interpret things?  Amanda is really bright and super smart.  Last Saturday I had to go to Lewisville to get my 10,000 mile maintenance check on my car.  The appointment was at 9:00 a.m. and I had to leave the house pretty early.  I had given Amanda the option of staying home or going with me.  After going back and forth several times on what she wanted to do, she finally opted to go with me.

Next door to Lewisville VW is a Cracker Barrel.  When we arrived and got the car checked-in, I asked her if she wanted to go have pancakes for breakfast.  She said yes.  We walked over there and unfortunately the wait was pretty long so I made the command decision not to eat there.  Telling her we were leaving really upset her.  However, we she calmed down pretty quickly after I told her we would go to McDonalds and get something. 

We finally got the car, went to Micky D's, made it home and I layed down to nap.  Being three, Amanda doesn't want to nap so she and Mike drew and cut while I was napping.  That night after I dropped her off with Justin for his time, Mike was telling me about their time together.  He said that she told him all about our trip to the dealership.  How she wanted to go look at the cars, but I told her no because it was too hot outside to be walking around, how the guy gave her a football chocolate that I would only let her eat after she ate some chicken nuggets, but how we didn't eat at the pancake store.  I laughed, I said "I think she meant Cracker Barrel."  I can see how she thought it was a store. 

Isn't it funny what our children retain and then hold us accountable for?  Amanda can tell me about Sadie, the Siberian Husky Justin had when she was little.  She can tell me about our old house.  She reminds me constantly that she wants a playscape for the backyard.  She calls me out when I tell her I will do something and then don't do it or I forget to do it and she knows when we don't eat at the "pancake store." 

I would give her the world if I could.  I feel bad when I don't get her what she wants or I forget to do something for her.  Last week it was putting her "baby songs" back on the iPod so she could listen to them.  But what is funny, when I forget, and I tell her I am sorry, she is truly forgiving.  She says "Okay momma, can I listen to Johnny Cash, or Poker Face or Big Green Tractor?"  I turn the tune on....crank it up...and we jam together.  It really can't get any better than that.

Some Things I Don't Want to Forget.....

My Dearest Munchkin,

I just had to take some time and write to you.  It seems these blogs are informative of your doings, but I have not written one directly to you.  You are doing so many things these days that I am trying to encapsulate into my brain, but I find that I am having trouble remembering the things you do or say that make me laugh.

We are just a few short weeks of you starting pre-school.  This thought makes me happy and sad at the same time.  Happy because you are going to get to start school!  I loved school and my hope is that if I pass on one thing to you that it is a love for school and learning.  I am sad at the same time, because this means you are growing-up.  It is inevitable that you are going to grow, but it just seems like yesterday I was holding you in my arms for the very first time.  Time flies so quickly.

Currently, you are in the "Why" stage, you LOVE listening to Johnny Cash and "Big Iron", you are a hula-hooping pro, t-ball playing queen and a slip-n-slide junkie.  You don't want to eat these days.  However, I can put a donut in front of you and you will scarf it down.  But, when it comes to corn, lasagna, or something good for you, you don't want to have anything to do with it.  I am positive you will grow out of that. 

One of my favorite moments lately has been your insistence on being right all the time.  For example, Johnny Cash sings a song called "One Piece at a Time."  The song talks about building a Cadillac out of one piece at a time out of parts that were taken from a GM plant.  The song goes like this:

Johnny sings: "...the first year they had me puttin' wheels on Cadillac's."  One day, as we were driving to Danny's you were singing.  I noticed that you didn't say "Cadillac's" but "Gavalin's."  I turned the music down and asked you what you had said.  You said, "Momma he is saying Gavalin's."  I told you that was not what he was saying and that he was saying "Cadillac's."  However, you were so insistent that you were right, I couldn't bear myself to tell you that wasn't right.  You are still saying "Gavalin's."

I am sad when you leave us to go visit your Daddy.  I know he needs his time with you too, but I miss you when you are gone.  It is like the laughter minimizes significantly when you aren't there.  The best part of the week is getting you back.  When I haven't seen you for 4 days and you hug me so tight, tell me that you have missed me and that you love me, that is the best feeling in the world. 

I will cherish the time we have; like when we play t-ball, go to the park or pool, play golf and hit the ball into Mike's special pillow and we yell "GOAL" at the top of our lungs, when I tickle you, when you tickle me, playing doll house, coloring, watching you learn something new and listening to you laugh and seeing you smile.  You make my life worth living and you have so much space in my heart.

I am so thankful, despite everything that you daddy and I have been through, that God gave us you.  You are so special and you touch the hearts of everyone you meet! 

I Love You, more than I will ever be able to show you.

Momma

In Fact....It Has Been A While.

Goodness!  Has it really been almost 2 months since my last blog?  It really does seem like time flies.

Justin and I officially enrolled Amanda in pre-school.  Starting in the fall she will be attending Lakeside WEEschool!  Her want to go to school varies on different days.  Some days she is really excited, while others she is pensive and says she doesn't want to go.  I guess we will see how that works out.

Summer is offically here.  I know because we have already been to the pool twice and the lake once!  There are two pools in Pecan Plantation, where we live, and we just recenlty went to the one at the club house.  Amanda really enjoyed that one because she can touch the bottom of the shallow end.  She was even brave enough not to wear her life jacket while swimming!

We found ourselves leaving Memorial Day for Vegas.  I had been once, but stayed away from the strip.  This time we stayed at Treasure Island.  We took in "Mystere" at Treasure Island and "Absinthe" at Caesars Palace.  I would highly reccomend both shows...but if you have to choose just one....see "Absinthe" (or "O" at the Bellagio, which we didn't see this time)  "Absinthe" is a raunchy, burlesque type circus show with acrobats, skaters and stunts!  It was a good show...but totally not what I expected.  We also rented a car which was lovely.  It really saved or legs by not having to walk so much.    I met Lady Gaga and Judy Garland too!  Not really.  We went to the wax muesuem, saw the Hangover II (I do not reccomend it), and scoped out the Hoover Dam.  This is an AMAZING feat of engineering.  We also got to see the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge which is another amazing feat of engineering.  All-in-all it was a great time.  I only lost $10.00 and that was playing Keno my first time.

I also had my first tap recital also since the last time I blogged.  It was quite scary I must admit.  I messed up a few times, but I feel that was nerves more than not knowing my routine.  I can spin a flag blindfolded...but tapping isn't something that comes natural.

I started my first Divorce Care class yesterday too.  I really thought about not going, but realized yesterday that this may just be the thing I need to help with my healing process.  About halfway through I told one of our leaders that I didn't think I deserved to be there and she asked why.  I told her that since I was already in a relationship (something they tell you not to do), not a member of a church (although I think the Lord is leading me to a new church home), and I was the divorcer, I felt as though I didn't have the right to be there.  She told me that was nonsense and we discussed my story.  It was a little nerve racking to share....but I was open and honest.  I have realized that I may need more healing than I know.  More updates as that goes along.

I also have started writing.  I told you about my book a few blogs ago, but I have started writing out letters to those that have been an important part of my life, as well as those that have decided that they didn't want to be a part of my life after my divorce was final.  I am finding that is is a great catharsis for me to get out all of these feelings and words that have been stored up for so long.  I know these words will never make it to these people, but it helps me to heal also.

Amanda keeps growing and learning and I am amazed at just how much her small mind retains.  She is in the "Why" stage now.  She follows every answer with "Why?" or "How Come?" or some form of a question that will allow her to expand her knowledge base.  She is so amazing to me.  I look at her and just marvel at the awesomeness that God has done for us by giving us this little girl.  She has a plaque above her bed that says: "Heaven sent, handle with care."  There isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank God for putting this little being into our lives.  I am lucky that Justin and I decided to have a child.  I don't know what I would do without her.

Here We Go Again!

So, here we are again, blogging time!  We have had a AWESOME few weeks since my last blog!  We have done a lot.

We went to Fall Creek Farms as mentioned in my last blog.  Amanda had a great time!  After we learned how to pick the strawberries we became pros at being strawberry farmers!  If you have never been I highly suggest you go.  It is really a great time and all age friendly.  Visit their website at http://www.upicktx.com/.

Our freshly picked strawberries

Amanda enjoying some berries right off the vine!

All done...very juicy!  Notice our messy hands and face!

Amanda finally got her picture next to the "big strawberry"

After our morning of strawberry picking was over we made the trek to the Fort Worth Zoo.  We saw the west side of the zoo, opting to leave after only seeing half the zoo.  It was extremely crowded, hot and we were just plain tired!

My parent's bathroom project is ALMOST finished!  One Sunday we got all the staples out, the toilet pulled and the inner tile of the bathroom laid down.  We finished it up this weekend with getting the hall tile laid down and the outer tile pieces cut and laid.  We got two thresholds in as well.  I am really excited at the progress we made and the difference in the way that it looks!  I think my mom and dad are happy too.  Next, Mom and I are going to tackle the pool.  After that, who knows! 

Saturday (the 16th) was a big day as well!  Amanda went to the Southside's annual Easter Egg Hunt.  I dropped her off with Nana and DanDad and they went to that while Staci (Justin's youngest sister) and I went into Fort Worth!  I was super excited that she accepted my invite.  I had a really awesome time just getting to hang out with her again and chat it up.  She even said she would LOVE to do it again.  I am so happy that despite all the things that Justin and I have been through his family is is still an important part of my life....that really means a lot.

We also drove to Austin for Mike's friends housewarming party.  It was a long trip, but we had a great time.  The host and hostess (M & J) threw most of the guest a curve ball by getting MARRIED!  Yep, M got up and made an announcement that they knew we were expecting them to make a big announcement, and they were making it right then and even going to follow through.  M introduced his pastor and he and J got married right then!  Is that not just the most awesome thing?  Mike and I were completely shocked (as were most guests) and we talked about it all the way home.  Too bad I didn't think of getting re-married that way!  Pretty clever.

I have wind symphony rehearsal tonight.  Our first performance is May 1, 2011 at the Concert on the Lawn.  I am really excited!

I think that is it for now.  Hoping to get Rangers tickets for Friday nights game.  More to come later!

Lacey

"Everybody Get's The Blues...."

For whatever reason, this week has been pretty tough.  It all started when I had to drop-off Amanda for her 4 days with Justin.  We had to go to Lowes and in the middle of the paint aisle I cried.  We had dinner and I vented and on the way home I cried and cried.  I really thought I was moving past all of these feelings from the divorce, but I guess I haven't.  So, I had a good cry.  I asked Mike a lot of questions...ones of which he can't answer.  But, if I didn't ask them to someone I was going to burst.  I signed up for a Divorce Care class a few months ago and I was thinking that I needed to call the lady back and tell her that I wasn't going to come after all because I was over it.  I see now I am not and really think I could use the class.  How sad.

Monday and Tuesday were okay.  I have just missed Amanda these past few days.  I always do, but it seems as though this week has been particularly hard for whatever reason. 

Today was tough because I had a very long and complicated cost basis project I had to work on and the further I got into the project the more I just wanted to cry. 

I always feel so bad for days or weeks like this.  I say that because in comparison to some, I have a particularly fabulous life.  But, I guess we are all entitled to our days in the dump, or in my case, a week.

However, Amanda comes home tomorrow and I am looking to a wonderful weekend with her.  I think we are going to go pick strawberries at Fall Creek Farms, take in the zoo and some shopping on Saturday and spend the day at my parents Sunday.  I am really looking forward to having her back. 

There.....that perked up my week.....a lot!

Visit's, Car's, Class and Becoming a Demon!

I love the day's I get to pick Amanda up from her visit with Justin.  She is always full of energy and just wants to be with me.  That makes me feel sooooo good!  I enjoyed this last pick-up day because I got to visit with Justin's mom and two sisters.  I think that is one of the main things I miss about being married to Justin; my time with his family.

I am always amazed at just how smart Amanda is and how well she remembers things.  She is a virtual treasure trove of stories and information, it never ceases to amaze me.  Her latest go-do for me has been her "Team Umizoomi Car".




The "Team Umizoomi Car" with 25+ years of dirt and dust.

 


A clean "Team Umizoomi Car"

 

If you are my friend on Facebook, you probably have seen these pictures.  This car is one of the last things I have that my grandparents gave me when I was a child.  This car means a lot to me.  I am excited, and sad at the same time, to be fixing it up for Amanda.  I know she will enjoy getting to drive it, but it is hard to let go.  Please check back for more updates as we work to restore this car.

I am actually getting do do more crafts as well.  My dear friend and former youth group member is having a baby very soon!  She has asked me to do the letters for his room.  I may make this a career!  I also have another project I am working on that I think is going to be pretty cool.  I will post pictures of that once it is finished.

Tap class is going well.  I love dancing.  I am actually going to tap a duo with my teacher at the next recital.  I am pretty excited for Amanda to get to see that.  I missed our last wind symphony rehearsal due to Amanda coming home that day.  Our first performance is May 1st; Concert on the Lawn at Tarleton's Langdon Center.

Speaking of Tarleton, I have sent away for some information from Northwestern State University in Louisiana regarding their online Bachelors Degree program.  NSU was where I wanted to go when I graduated from high school.  I wish I would have...but things didn't pan out and I am really glad they didn't.  I was stoked to find that they offer the same degree online that I was working towards at Kaplan.  I am going to try and persue that.  I would love to graduate as a Demon!

I am glad the beautiful weather is back.  It really makes me happy to be able to play outside with Amanda.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. 

Lacey

Loving This Blogging Stuff

So, I really have to give a shout out to this new website I found yesterday.  It is:





Go there!  It is really a cool place!  I fell in love with it!
 
Lacey

All That Hard Work Paid Off.

So, we have had an interesting past couple of weeks. We have been extremely busy! I found that at the end of all of those HARD days of work I was very tired, yet more so, I was filled with a great since of accomplishment for the tasks that we had done throughout these two weeks.

Last Sunday, the 12th, we went over and helped my mom and dad with some chores they had in their yard.  They had a peach tree that had a few broken limbs on it from the mass production of peaches they had last year.  They also had a massive rosebush that was about 10 feet in diameter that had almost took over their driveway that we cut down.  We cut the limbs off the peach tree, and piled that brush in a pile.  Next Mike, my dad and I cut away at this massive rosebush.  I failed to take before and after pictures, but I if you have ever been to my parents house you know that these tasks were no small feat.  After the peach tree, trimming the rosebush back and cutting back a few more of their trees we have several piles of limbs and brush that we need to burn (and with a burn ban on this isn't possible) or have mulched.  Next I plan to help them tackle their pool area.

I love my parents to the ends of the earth and back.  I felt so good being able to go over there, put in a hard days work and come home tired, sore and ready for bed.  My parents have done so much for me, especally here the past year or so, it was rewarding to be able to give something back to them.  My dad drives a frac sand truck and when he does have time off he is usually really tired and doesn't want to take the time to do things in the yard.  Understandable.  I am just so glad that I can help them out when I can.

I also started crafting.  Mike's sister and brother-in-law just built a new house (about 5 feet from their old house) and so I wanted to make his niece's something for their new rooms.  I asked Mike for a Cricut Scrapbooking Machine for Valentine's Day.  I used that for this project.



I had Rachel's in mind first.  She is all about the pink, black and zebra prints.





Sara's was next.  Her room decor uses a black, gray and ivory color scheme.



Emily is the youngest and used the brightest color scheme.



 Each of the girls were just extremely thrilled to have gotten the plaques and letters for their new rooms.  I was really excited that they liked them so much.  I might actually keep making things.  I am such a perfectionist that I didn't want to give them to the girls because they weren't perfect.  However, I learned a lot about this crafting stuff and I think I can do it again!

It is really rewarding to do work or make things and see the results of the hard work.  I like that feeling and I LOVE doing things for people and making gifts for people.  It makes me feel really good.

Tap class is going well and I am catching on pretty quickly.  I may be able to do the next recital!  Wind Symphony is going well...especally since I got a new mouthpiece for my clarinet and got it repadded!  Our first concert is May 1st!  I am really excited about that.

I have taken on the personal goal of getting my Series 7 License for my job.  It is a very tough and tedious test.  It is a 7 hour long test with 250 questions.  Possibly the most difficult test I have ever taken in my life.  This will open many doors for me in the finance industry and I am looking foward to starting the study process all over again.  I love my job and I love this industry.  I come to work everyday and it is always something new.

Lacey



Thankful

• I am thankful for my beautiful daughter. She was born healthy, happy and full of life. I couldn't imagine having to live without her. She is my reason for living. I do everything I do because of her and the decisions I make I make because of her. I have recently started following this blog: http://kandjstaats.blogspot.com/ and it helps me to remember just how blessed I am. I hug Amanda tighter and kiss her a little more. Because you never know and I sincerely take that for granted.
• I am thankful for my family. My parents, siblings and Mammie (plus all my extended family). How many people out there don't have a family? How many people miss out on holidays and celebrations just because they don't have someone to celebrate it with? Many.
• I am thankful for Michael. I have a love I have never known before. I am thankful that he has been there for me when I was at my lowest point in my life. He has kept the sunshine in the sky and the tears from falling (as much as he could). Words can't describe just how much I feel for him, I know, because I have tried to tell him myself.
• I am thankful for the many people that I can call my friend. The ones I lean on when times are tough, the ones that offer advice and the ones that I can offer advice to. They have all made me who I am and some have helped me learn who I want to be.
• I am thankful for my ability to see, hear, and touch. I am glad I can hear the music as I play it, read the music that I am playing, be able to grasp the Clarinet and play the right notes, most of the time. I take for granted these even simple tasks.
• I am thankful that I live in a country where I can have my own set of beliefs, about anything, and not be made to enter into a centeralized think tank.
• I am overly thankful that there are men and women that fight and some that have died for the freedoms that we have.

I am thankful. I have to keep this in the forefront of my mind and not let the days go by without remembering that we all have troubles, ups and downs, yet we have happy times as well and that no matter what life throws at us we need to never take that for granted.

Just an Update

Things are very hectic these days, but going well.  We have had a lot of things happen over the past couple of weeks and we are coming up on some pretty exciting times.

Amanda turns three on Saturday!  Time has really just flown.  It really seems as if I was just holding her when she was a little baby.  She is all girl...and she has informed me that she no longer wants to be a baby.  I can call her baby as an endearing term, but I am not allowed to call her a baby anymore. 

We are currently potty training and this job is quite frustrating.  She will wear big girl panties all day long, but the minute she has to tinkle she wants to put a diaper on.  It is a uphill battle and we take it a day at a time.

I recently went and rehearsed with the Paluxy Wind Symphony.  I really had an amazing time.  The band is under the direction of Jonathan Hooper.  Hooper was my director at Tarleton and the one who auditioned me for the marching band.  I sit next to my middle school band director and mentor, David Talmage.  I am a little rusty yet, but nothing that time and practice won't cure.  I am looking forward to playing with them on a regular basis.

Speaking of Tarleton; I e-mailed the registrar earlier this week to find out if the university accepted transfer credits from Kaplan University.  Hallelujah....THEY DO!  I am 60 hours away from finishing my bachelors degree in Business but I really wanted to finish at Tarleton (where I originally started college).  I have a few hurdles that I have to clear but then I will be able to apply.  I was so excited to hear that news. 

I also enrolled in dance class.  Amanda tried it for a few weeks a few months before Christmas, but to no avail, she didn't want to pursue a dance career at this time.  So, I took the liberty of enrolling myself.  I start in March and I couldn't be any more stoked to dance. 

Lady Gaga's new song, "Born This Way" came out recently and I absolutely love it.  I love Lady Gaga as an artist...she is a little crazy sometimes when it comes to wardrobe, but as an artist she is truly a genius.  Vogue had her on the cover this week and I picked it up in Barnes and Noble.  It was quite an eye-opening and touching read.  I also got to see her interview on Indian television that was quite moving.  I find Lady Gaga to be intriguing.  Not everyone is a fan and that is okay.  I love ALL music and you can find a wide array of genres on my iPod.  Like food, I will listen to anything once.

I am about three months from my braces being removed.  They thought it was going to be December or January...but alas it wasn't.  I have waited 28 years for straight teeth so a few more months won't hurt.  My teeth were a major self-esteem issue for me when I was in middle school/high school.  They were crooked and big and I was so self conscious about them.  Plus, kids can be cruel and teeth isn't the only thing some people get made fun of for.  Thankfully, my parents couldn't afford for me to get braces when I was in school.  Yes, I said thankfully.  I think if I would have gotten them then I wouldn't have appreciated them as much and have taken care of them as well as I do now.

Also, I am starting a book.  I am not going to leak any details about that.....but I am writing one.  Thanks to my good friend, E.B. for pushing me to write it.  Although she didn't tell me to write it, her thought provoking conversation, honesty and opinions pushed something in me to write this book.  I have changed over the past couple of years and the change in me and the experiences I have had has helped people.  I know because they tell me.  I enjoy helping people and if my situations or thoughts can help someone then I am all for it.  Back story:  I started this book about two years ago and just really didn't have time, motivation or support to write.  If I ever finish and it happens to get published then you will know at that time what it is about.  So thanks E.B. for the friendship and most of all the support.  You will be the first to read it!

I really think that is it for now.  I will try to keep the blog updated as to all of these happenings.

Lacey

Nostaliga Hits You Like a Rock

Kopperl, Texas is a small town located northwest of Lake Whitney; right where the praires start rolling into the Texas Hill Country.  If you don't know exactly what you are looking for Kopperl gets no second glance in your rear-view mirror.  If you blink you pass right by it.

This tiny town doesn't hold much of anything in it.  Three churches (Baptist, Methodist, and Church of Christ), a Masonic Lodge, Volunteer Fire Department and a school that still houses Pre-K through 12th grade all in one building.  If you look really closely you find that there is a rarely opened antique store, and old Santa Fe Railroad depot and the remnance of a few buildings from Kopperl's hayday.

You may wonder why I am writing what seems like an obscure blog about a town you have probably never heard of.  I spent every weekend in this town when I was a kid.  My grandmother owns the afore mentioned antique store and Santa Fe Railroad depot.  I had some of the best times of my life here.  

I write this blog because this is a part of me.  This little town holds a very special place in my heart and I know one day my trips to Kopperl will be few and far between.  My grandmother, who we refer to as "Mammie", is getting older and I have to start preparing myself for the day she passes through the gates and waits for me in Heaven.  

I digress (because those thoughts are not easy to bare yet).  My uncle is currently working to get a Historical Marker put on the depot.  This is not an easy task.  It is very time consuming and tedious and a lot of things must go in to getting a Historical Marker put on a building.  My contribution so far has been taking the pictures of the depot to send to the Commissioner.  

As I took the pictures I thought about Kopperl as a small town starting out.  I bet it was booming!  The railroad ran through there, the town had an actual main street full of horses, carriages and maybe a car or two.  However, after they moved the railroad out to the west of town the town slowly died.  Kopperl has an interesting history and in 1969 Steve Fromholz wrote a song about Kopperl:



Eventually Craig Hillis wrote a book about the song in 2002:

If you look closely in the upper right hand corner our depot made the cover.  If you look even closer than that there are two little girls playing patty cake next to a window...that is me and my sister.  No Lie!

Kopperl is deep in my roots and I hold dear the time spent there.  I know there may come a day when Kopperl is back on the map as a town that booms with people, places and things!  I am sure I won't be alive to see it...but some of my future generations may.

I took these pictures a day before I turned 28.  Nostaliga really has a way of creeping into your thoughts as you approach a birthday.  My picture taking adventure helped me dream back to when I was a kid and on this birthday I really enjoyed that.  It is hard as an adult to slow down and think of a time when we weren't so stressed, pressed for time or on the hook for so many responsibilities. 




Santa Fe Railroad Depot



Old Bank Building - it currently holds a collection of run-down classic cars



The Toole Shed
"Unique Antiques and Other Fine Junk"






Thanks for reading.....you are finding out more about me as I write!

Lacey

2010 In Review

I don't know about any of you, but I am really kind of happy to see 2010 go.  Don't get me wrong, there are a few things that have made 2010 bearable, but for the most part it has been a really rough and trying year.  I have thought a lot about what has happened and what I have garnered through this time.

I have learned:

• The hardest thing to do it take that first step.
• That I have hurt several people and that there have been several that have hurt me. 
• That when it comes down to it my parents always have been and will continue to be my hero's.
• Who my true friends are; those people that stand by my side...no matter what happens in my life.
• That I have welcomed new friends into my life...people that have made the transition easier and less painful.
• That I am a Moderate Republican and a very tolerant Christian.
• That I am learning more and more about my relationship with God.
• That I can truly be happy being myself.
• That Amanda is the best little girl in the world (I have always known that) and makes the world melt away with her contageous laugher and playful ways.
• That as long as I am alive I will always love Justin's family.
• That there is someone out there that can love me for me even though he has seen me at the bottom and not ask me to change.
• That my word's and action's can help those that need guidance or realize they are going through the same things that I am.
• I love sushi more each time I eat it!
• I have to be patient.  This I didn't pray for because I didn't want to know what God was going to use to make me more patient.
• That things are always going to be okay and when I think it is bad for me, there is always some one out there that has it worse than I do.

So...here's to 2011.  Waiting to see what my life has in store for me this year.