Jenna's Bridals

Love to All,

midRae

Dori's Newborn Photos

Sweet Baby Boy Munk

Love to All,

midRae

The View From Here!

Love to All,

midRae

One Word Wednesday.....

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!

Love to all,

midRae

'not me' Monday........

 
 

Here we go again. Yeah!! And now it's time for that fun weekly carnival that we all love, 'not me Monday!' Let's all join in and see what we got. I'm sure we have a lot of those 'not me's' just stored up and ready to share.

Wow it's been awhile!  And I really don't have much to share, at least not right at this moment, who's to say I won't think of more as I type.

You all know tailEnd, right?

Isn't he just the cutest?  But then again I guess all of us moms think that way about our cute kids.  This is a photo of tailEnd taken last fall after he forgot to get me the info for school photos, I always do the school photos just so I can get a good one, I'm new at this taking of photos thing, but as you can see not this time.

OK, moving on to 'not me' Monday.

So it was not us who straightened tailEnds hair this past week.  Nope not us. 

And then I did not let him go to school with all of that long hair.  Nope I would never do that, I would never let my child be the big distraction at school.  My boys have always had a neat and tidy appearance at all times, so neat and tidy in fact that they usually get looked over (NOT!!).  I would never ever let my boys just try things just because.

Guess what?  I didn't think of anything else but that's OK.  I hope you all enjoy the quick glimpse of tailEnd because by the time he got home from school he was over the straight hair.  Quick shower and wash and he was back to all curls.

Have a wonderful Monday.

Love to All,

midRae

Ma'am!

As I was getting ready to leave the check out line yesterday the sweet younger bagger person nicely asked me, 'Can I help you out with that, Ma'am?.  How nice and respectful.  I promptly told her no and went on my merry little way to my car.  As I was getting closer to my car it hit me, she just called me Ma'am, and I did not like that! 

Not one little bit!

OK, yes I am middle aged and yes I do have a full head of grey hair.  But I don't feel like a Ma'am now, just like I have never ever felt like a Mrs. midMan.  I would always just cringe inside every time one of my boys' friends did the polite thing and called me Mrs. midMan.  That just makes me sound so old, and apparently I have a problem with that.

I started going grey in the head when I turned 22.  I tried to dye it once, which promptly turned back to grey in 30 days.  Such a waste of time and money so I decided to go grey gracefully.  I really thought I was doing a good job of this until yesterday.  I guess I don't want to get old, I don't want to get slow, and I don't want to be called Ma'am or Mrs. midMan.

Now on the other side of this issue I am so excited about becoming a Grandma in two months.  I can't wait to be called Grannie midRae.  I can't wait to hug and cuddle and kiss and love and hug and cuddle and kiss and love that wonderful little bundle of joy that will call me Grannie midRae.  I shall relish the joy of being a Grandma.  I can't wait to sit and read and spoil and bake cookies with this little guy.  Grannie midRae, what an honor. 

Let's see if we can figure this out.  I have grey hair, lots of grey hair.  I am middle aged, 45 to be exact and proud of that.  I don't like to be called Ma'am, it's what I used to call the ladies that were way old.  And please don't call me Mrs. midMan but you can call me Grannie midRae.

HUH?!?

I'm a middle aged woman on the verge of menopause, slowly letting go of my youth and not liking the fact that I need to embrace my middle aged womanly self.  I probably should have embraced the middle aged woman years ago and then I wouldn't be having these issues.  Poor midMan, he has a lot to deal with, no wonder he likes hibernating in our bedroom.  I need to do something about this.

Here goes:

I shall smile nicely when called Ma'am and thank the parents of the nice bagger person for raising such a respectful young person.  I shall smile nicely and love that I am Mrs. midMan, I have always been proud that midMan loves and wants me.  I shall love my grey hair and wear it proudly, thank you Mom, Dad, and God you have all blessed me with some really nice hair.  And I shall find all of the joys of Grandparenthood and roll around and wallow in them until I am nothing but joy and laughter all of the time.  And I promise to finally decide and accept that I am middle aged, but I am still going to wrestle tailEnd and sit on him until he decides he's had enough of getting beat by his mom. 

Middle age can be wonderful.  I am in the best shape of my whole life, I have so much time to share with midMan now that the kids are pretty much grown, I have Grandbaby's to love and watch grow, and I am Mrs. midMan, what a blessing.

Love to All,

Mrs. midMan

6:50am View

This my friends is the view right outside my front door each morning this week as I left for work.

What is really not right with this is the fact that I have to go to work each morning when I would much rather be out and about taking pictures of some really amazing sunrises.

Such is life.

Love to All,

midRae

One Word Wednesday.....

POWERLESS!

Love to All,

midRae

midThoughts

I think I shall make this a weekly little post and just let you all know the thoughts running through, around, and up and down in my head.  Not that you would be interested or even care but sometimes I just need to write it down to clear a little room up there in the nether regions of my head.  I need to make room for all of the new stuff coming in.  Ouch, it really sucks getting old.


The month of April has gone by like a whirly wind and has lefts us all wondering, 'Is spring real or has it always been an illusive dream of warmth and sunshine after a dark, cold and dreary winter?'  And what was up with this weekend, snow, hail, and more snow.  Come on it's May.  Spring, spring, please we need spring and we do not want to just jump right into summer.  A little transition time from cold to hot would be greatly appreciated.

(snow on blossoms, beautiful blue sky, snow and hail on the ground)

This past month I have had a lot going on, probably not really but it sure felt like a lot.  It seems that every weekend we had to do something, be somewhere, or take care of something else.  The whining midRae shall appear.........now!  What ever happened to mmmmmeeeeeeee timmmmme?  I want it nooowwww!!


Oh wow, she's gone.  Man that was fast, good thing she left, I have been working on the pity party's and banishing them from my life forever.  Not quite there yet.  But someday.........I promise you all, there is always hope.  Say it with me..........Pity Party Gone!  Pity Party Gone!  Pity Party Gone!  Now just keep repeating that until it becomes.....Pip Pat Goo!  Pip Pat Goo!  Pip Pat Goo!  Now exactly why am I saying Pip Pat Goo?  HUH!!??


Moving on.


This past weekend was Graduation for my daughter-in-law, Ada.  What an amazing girl.  English is her 3rd language and she still manages to pull out a 4.0 GPA across the board.  Amazing!!  She has such an amazing work and study ethic and will always do her best to be the best in what she has chosen to do with her life.  She finished her Bachelors Degree in December of last year but decided to walk in the Commencement Exercises this weekend with her friends.

She will be finishing her Master's Degree this December and both Ada and my son will be graduating in the Spring of 2011, him with his Bachelors.  It is nice to see such drive.  Along the way this year they will bless us with our first Grandson this July.  We are so excited and I still find it amazing how much they do each and every day.  They have a lot on their plates but always manage to enjoy life and make great friends and memories.

(check out the old lady with the grey hair......SCARY)

It was a crazy busy weekend. 

Sunday we took midMan's brother and his wife on a tour of our fair little city to get them familiar with what the area is like.  midMan's brother has started working for the same employer, and they are actually working together today on the same route.  Let's hope midMan show's Jeff the right way to do the job along with some tricks to make the job easier.  Jeff's first week out on the truck was pretty hard especially the day the guy that was supposed to train him slept in.  Picture this:  It's 4:30am and Jeff is at the yard waiting for the other guy.  No guy.  Call midMan.  Get 2nd boss's number.  Call 2nd boss, get voice mail.  Call midMan.  Get 1st boss's number.  Call 1st boss.  1st boss calls guy.  Guy shows up at least 2 hours late, he slept in.  Not a great start to the day.  AAAHHHHHHHH!!!  So far this week has gone much better.  Let's hope it stays that way.

So I want to leave you all with a preview of the next month.  This weekend plant the garden and see if the boys remember its Mothers Day.  Next week & weekend, send tailEnd to Lagoon for a day, prepare for baby shower and have baby shower on Saturday.  The next week looks free so far, workouts here I come, and we'll see what happens.  Gotta squeeze those workouts in every chance I get.  The next week is my niece's Graduation and then it's on to a three day weekend, maybe camping.  YES!!  I can not wait to sleep in.  Let's hope midMan doesn't decide to get me up at 3:30am for a French Vanilla Coffee, no French Vanilla on the mountain.  I keep telling him I don't want any but he still makes me get up.  Whoops, I am hearing a little bit of noise from Whiny midRae.  Hurry kick her so she goes away.  hehehehehe  Hurt her bad, we do not like Whiny midRae.

I'll give you all an update as to how this month goes.  I am sure it will rock and I will have a blast all month long.  I really do dislike being bored.  Oh, and middleSon should be moving forward with a partnership in business this month.  Cool for him!!  I know he can do this.

I shall keep you posted.

Love to All,

midRae

One Word Wednesday

APRIL MORNING

Love to All,

midRae

Baby Mady

Baby Mady was my first newborn session and the only thing that keeps going through my head is that babies are hard.  Mady's mom and dad were amazing and I want  to thank them so much for giving me this amazing opportunity.  Mady was also very cute and adorable, but that little girl has some really strong legs.  I had a blast!

Such a sweet baby girl.  And full of spunk!!  Watch out mom and dad she will soon have us all wrapped around those cute little fingers.

In the mean time can I just tell you that I am in love with this sweet little girl. 

Love to All,

midRae

midSons Car

Guess what all?  Last week was my birthday and it was a really great day.  Lot's of cards, love and well wishes from all those that matter the most.  I was even gifted with 'The Blind Side.'  Now I just need to find time to watch it. 

What I did find time to do on my birthday was to take some really amazing photo's of my midSons really cool, and really fast, and really scary fast car.  He was laughing so hard at me as we drove around.  As his turbo would such in air I was suching in air and chair, I kid you not, I almost hyperventilated.  Fast cars and midRae are not happy when put together.  And please let's not talk about the fact that he also goes 'Drifting' with his car.  Too much scary for this momma.

NICE!!

He won a contest and a picture of his car will be gracing the pages of a drifting calandar.  Pretty cool!  He has worked so hard on this car, rebuilding the engine from the block, and he just loves it.  I'm pretty proud of him.  What talent he has when you realize that he has never been to school to learn any of this mechanical stuff, laymom's terms, and he even rewired the whole car.  Amazed!  Really, really amazing.  Raw Talent!

SUPER NICE!!!

So yes, mom, gets to take the photo for the calandar, and the oldest son did a little editing, I feel pretty honored.  I will actually have a photo in print.  The world may not know that it was my photo, well our photo, but who cares, they will know it was midSons car though.  Isn't it nice?!

REALLY SUPER NICE!!!

What a blessing this middle child of mine has been.  Actually I have been so very blessed with the amazing family and friends that are a part of my life.  I could not ask for more.  So yup, I had a really great birthday. 

Love to All,

midRae

HI!!!

I have to confess that I feel that I have been very remiss in my blogging.  I have been unmotivated and uninspired, frustrated and mad at life, and I could add quite a few more but I better stop before this turns into a pity party.

Moving on.

What is up with me?  Is it Spring?  Is it the end of Winter blues?  Is it camping withdrawals?  Maybe, just maybe, it's a little bit of it all.  And let's not forget that we all have our lives and the chaos that can ensue right along with everything else.  What to do?

First I wanted to do a little more update on the jogging aspect of my life.  I have been told that I can not jog for a while because I did too much too soon after the knee surgery.  What!?!  Me do too much too soon?  That would never ever happen. 

Anyways, I was stuck walking the 5K as fast as my bigger than little legs could carry me.  What a bad attitude I have, stuck?!, I should feel blessed that I could actually do it.  I was doing so good, at least I think I was I even managed to pass a few joggers.  But then we got close to the finish line and 5 people behind me decided to jog.  I found myself getting very upset and mad.  How dare they?!  How dare they pass me when I worked so hard and kept the same pace and passed them?  How dare they save up to the end and jog, when I couldn't!?  I found that to be very unfair and then I got a hold of myself and slapped me upside the head.  I decided that I needed to be thankful that I could even be there.  I decided that I needed to cheer them all on and tell them what an amazing job they did.  I decided that I needed to get beyond myself and be happy for them.  So yeah, we did it!!  We all finished, and finished with pride.  Good for us! 

Next we have a few changes going on in our lives.  We are adding one new member to our family, one more member to our household, and losing one member of the household.  Now did you all keep up with that?  Let me explain.

My oldest son and his wife are expecting their first child, my first grandbaby, this July.  It's a boy and we are so excited.  We know how to do boys.  They are both enrolled full time in college, with the daughter-in-law getting her Bachelors Degree this past December, graduating Summa Cum Laude, and getting her Masters in Accounting this December 2010.  Ada, my daughter-in-law, just became a citizen of the United States, also.  And to top that all off, her parents are coming to America before the baby is born.  Crazy.  My son should also be able to graduate next spring, yeah for him, 4 years of college in three years.  Motivated and busy!!

As for adding to our household, midMan's younger brother, Jeff, will be moving in.  He has been unemployed for a while; he got hit with a layoff, and was finally able to get a job doing what midMan does.  He and his family will be moving to our fair city in the near future but right now they just need to be able to catch up and we are so happy to be able to help.  So with all of that we needed to clean out midMan's hunting room.  Where oh where are we going to put all of that stuff?  The deer head had to stay but I am sure Jeff will not mind.  Anyways we figured it all out and he should be here in a week and a half.

Now on to losing a member of our household, my middle son's girlfriend will be moving out the end of this month.  She has decided that she needs to move forward with her life and that working at Subway was not where she wanted to be.  I am excited that she is looking towards her future.  Sometimes it is so hard for our children to make that move and I am glad that we have been able to be here when she needed us.  I hope that my son can see where she is headed and that he can figure it all out for himself, too.  I do have to say that life is hard when you are starting out and sometimes you just need to make that JUMP and see where you land.  Family is always there when it's needed.  So JUMP away, we will catch you if you need us.

Now for our other news.  tailEnd just turned 15 and is all ready to get his driving permit.  Oh boy, please help me.  Am I ready for this again?  I don't know.  But he sure is, so I had better get there and get there quick.  tailEnd also just took his ACT.  No score back yet but we are praying, he needs to pass so that he can take college classes next year. 

So my life has been flowing over with moves in and moves out, new arrivals, graduations, even a wedding coming up, working, working out, cleaning house, cooking lots of food, visiting with old friends, worrying, and ............... I sure feel like there should be more.  Oh I almost forgot photography.  I have had a few photo shoots lately with a few more planned for this week.  Can't wait.  And it's only the beginning of summer.  WOW!!  I am sure that I have missed more, but.......

I think this summer is going to be amazingly busy and fun.  What blessing we have received to be able to take part and enjoy all that we have.  We have been smiled upon and I guess I need to be reminded of that sometimes.  Good thing I got this blog, it seems to work really good when it comes to needing to be reminded of what blessing I have been given.

Love To All,

midRae

PS.The oldest son has promised me an updated blog layout.  I think it's time to push it a little harder.  I mean how many free haircuts does he think he gets anyways?  It's time to earn that perfect look that he has.

Our Babies

ZOE

14 years old and full of fun and life.

She makes us laugh and gives us loves.

And she's half blind.

BELLA

2 years old and weighing in at only 2 pounds.

She is totally in love with midMan and barely tolerates the rest of the world.

And she's blind.

Yes world, we are the proud parents of 1 1/2 blind dogs.

But we sure do love them.

Love to All,

midRae

One Word Wednesday

Swheatness!!

Love to all,

midRae

Our New Planting Bed

Last year we tried growing our garden in old water heaters turned on their sides, which you can read about HERE.  Our little garden didn't turn out too bad but this year we decided we wanted to go just a little bigger.  We got our plans for our planting bed from The Pioneer Woman, and you can read the step by step instructions HERE, but as you will see from our pictures we changed it up just a little.  Less hammering and screwing makes for a much happier midMan.

First we measured.

The we being used very loosely here.

hahahah

Then we measured again. 

Can't you see my hand right next to the amazing hand of midMan?

Then it was on to the drilling.  Lots of drilling.

And then we played with some screws,

two different sizes mind you.

After everything was screwed tightly together, we carried this big 4' x 8' box over to where we felt we would get the best results for our little garden.  No pictures of the major move, I was busy holding up my end and tailEnd just could not be bothered to get off of the computer long enough to help.  In tailEnds defense, he has been working really hard the past couple of months studying for his ACT test, which he took Saturday morning.  He really did need some down time, he's only 14. 

Boy does he have me wrapped around his little finger or what?

Notice the perfect placement of the stakes. 

That was my other job along with taking pictures.

I managed both quite well, thank you very much.

With some alignment and fear of the knots,

midMan continued on his way to success.

Ohhh how I love this man's hands, they are so strong and provide so much for us, but they can also be so very tender and loving when needed.

With a little bit of hammering.........

Some strategically placed stakes and screws.........

And some more hammering........

we have finished the frame.

No pictures yet of the finished product, I would like to get just a little dirt in for fun.  The Major Planting Bed Build went great except for the one little moment when midMan thinks he just might have hit a sprinkler line. 

OhOHOh!!!!

I guess we'll figure that out when we finally turn on the sprinklers, but for now no dirt until we can get through that little task. 

Let's hope we don't make water bubbles under the planting bed.

On a slightly better note I leave you this post with the thought that midMan's younger brother may be moving in with us for a couple of months and let me tell you, this man can grow a garden. 

I really think we are going to use his expertise this year. 

Lucky for us!!!  Yeah!!!

Love to All,

midRae

1st 5K

(I really need to teach midMan how to work the camera)

So yes, we did it.  We completed the ROTC 5K.  Shannel, my sons girlfriend, joined me in my 5K endeavor and left me way back just looking at her dust trail, not even in the cloud of dust, just way back there looking at it as it dissipated.  Shannel is an avid runner and usually runs every day.  She is amazing.  I on the other hand managed to keep a steady pace, walking as fast as I possibly could, and managed to finish in less than an hour.  I think the time was somewhere between 45 and 50 minutes.  Not too bad for an old lady with a bum knee and tedonitis inflicting it's unearthly pain in said knee.

But just watch out next year everyone, I plan to finish in a little more than half the time it took me this year, if the knee lets me.

Love to All,

midRae

Easter Hike 2010

Just a couple of views from our Easter hike.  Please enjoy as much as I did, although the knee was screaming and crying out in protest (for another post, agony), I really did enjoy our Sunday hike in the desert.

Love to All,

midRae

Carmen's Family

Love to All,

midRae

One Word Wednesday

SPRING?

Love to All,

midRae

Deserving

First things first.............I miss Spring, Summer, and Fall.  Winter has been here too, too long and I need warm temps, pretty flowers, and sun, lots of sun.  Color, please.  I have some early bloomers in my yard, and me with no pictures of them, cute little tiny purple ones.  Maybe when I get home at some point today, between the ortho appointment for tailEnd, cooking dinner, picking up the house, and working out, at least I did laundry last night, I will be able to catch those cute little ones for you all to see, unless it snows.  Which it might.  Oh wait, that could be a really cool picture. 

I have finally run out of admiration for the beauty of Winter.  The frost and the snow on the trees, the perfect, uninterrupted length of a field covered in such blinding whiteness, what beauty!  But please, please.  I surrender.  No more wind, no more shoveling, no more cold, cold car in the morning.  Just give me a little warmth so that I can go out taking photos.  I need to take some photos, but I am a chicken and it is so cold out.  Maybe I should dig out midMan's old coveralls and go for it?  I am sure the world would laugh and sigh, 'Too cute, NOT!!'  But alas, it's still cold out, and windy, and supposed to rain, which will turn to snow about the time I go to work in the morning.  Cold, cold car in the morning.

So moving on.........

A little background.  About 5 years ago I was a smoker.  Yep, that's right, me a smoker, who started that awful habit at the young age of 15.  I loved smoking and I am sure that if I let myself I would jump right back in to being a smoker, but I won't let myself.  Quitting is hard and I don't want to have to quit again.  It was so hard!!  Everyone trying......I feel your pain.  My process of quitting was to eat everything and anything in sight and I had the weight gain to prove it.  I managed to gain a lovely 55 pounds.  Yuck!!  midRae at 210 pounds, scary.  But I managed to quit smoking which was the best part. 

Next I needed to get control of myself and find the new and improved midRae.  Did I find her?  You bettcha!!!  The quitting process took about 11 months, the new midRae took about 6 months of doing the Weight Watchers Point Systems online and beginning my love of working out.  Yes, I did manage to lose 55 pounds in six months, but I worked hard for it, and I found a new addiction.  midMan says I changed my addiction to nicotine into an addiction to working out, which I am sure every one is getting sick of, sometimes that's all I talk about, working out and photography.   I think it was a great trade off.  I still feel that I need to lose at least another 15 to 20 pounds, but that will come in the next year. 

This has not been a quick process.  I have had a few stops along the way, and then I would jump right back on and off I went, back to better eating and harder working out.  And one of the best things to come about from all of this is that I can take a really deep breath.  I mean really deep.  I love the feeling.  Just close your eyes and take a really deep breath.  What JOY!  Just to breathe.

The next destination on my journey will take place on April 10th.  I have signed up for a 5K.  It's only 3.1 miles but I can promise you, for someone who has never run before and used to be a smoker, just being able to cross the finish line in a decent time will be like winning a marathon.  I didn't leave myself a lot of time to train so I am pushing things right now, last nights jog was hard, 3 miles against the wind and with a sore body, too.  OUCH!!  Better today and moving on. 

All of this just to say, I read a blog the other day that said, I do deserve to feel better, I have worked hard and I do deserve this, I do deserve to take the time to be healthier and happier, and I do deserve to take time for me.  And guess what?  I agree!!  I do deserve this.  I have worked so hard.

It's been a journey, these past 5 years.  But so worth it.  I have grown as a person and I think I have grown as a parent and as a wife.  I have also grown more athletic and I love the feel of muscle.  I took it all for granted when I was younger.  Muscle feels so cool, especially when it's your own strong legs and arm.  When I can now keep up with midMan while hiking, so cool.  When I can out last two of my boys, ages 25 and 15, doing P90X, so very very cool. 

My life?  So very, very, very cool.  And I am worth it.

Love to All,

midRae

My Stream of Thoughts This Morning.

They are placing my big brothers headstone as I type this.  I have never been part of something like this and I am not sure how to handle it.  Yes, we have had other deaths in our family but when it came to Grandparents headstones they were already in place by the time that I was old enough to understand or comprehend. 

Should I leave work and be there while they place it, or should I just wait until after?  My mind and my heart are so unsure at this point.  I want to visit his grave, but I almost want to do it alone.  Yes, I have visited a few times since he died, but never alone and never to cry.  I seem to have a really hard time crying in front of others, I always have to be the strong one.  I miss him. 

My big brother, Roy, was such a contrast in who he was throughout his life.  But in the end he was so close to God and managed to teach me so much about love, faith and dignity.  How I wish I could look into his eyes and tell him how much I appreciated him, how much I miss him, and how wonderful his girls are.  They help their mom so much, more than most kids will ever have too.  He would be so proud.

I am so very thankful for our last phone conversation and will always hear him say, "Hey Sis.", forever in my mind and heart.  I will never forget his voice or his one armed hugs, just thinking about the hugs makes me smile.  I really miss my big brother. 

My heart is breaking as I think of all of the time that we missed.  Thank you Roy for teaching me that God is in control and that God will always know.  Faith!!  He taught me what a gift faith can be.

I miss you.

midRae

'not me' Monday........

Here we go again. Yeah!! And now it's time for that fun weekly carnival that we all love, 'not me Monday!' Let's all join in and see what we got. I'm sure we have a lot of those 'not me's' just stored up and ready to share.

So this week it was not me who, faced with a frozen car door, managed to break the door handle completely off of my car.  Nope, I did not just do that!  And I did not decide to not get it fixed because there is one little tiny piece that I can get a hold of to open the door.  Nope, I would never consider not spending money, just ask anyone.  I promise that my nickname is not 'Cheap'!  And I would never be proud of said nickname.  Nope not me!!

And on a brighter note, it was not me who was called to handle a photo shoot for a return customer.  And it is not me who is so completely excited and terrified at the same moment (can you just imagine what my stomach is doing right now) that I may go hide under the covers until my excitement overcomes me and I jump for joy.  Nope not me.

And it was not I who, while on the treadmill watching a scary movie, got so surprised at a moment in the movie that I almost fell off of the treadmill, which then caused midMan and tailEnd to completely lose it and start to laugh hysterically at me.  No that was definitely not me!!  I promise I never get startled, ever!!

So there you have it, I have bared my little soul to you all.  Come join in the fun and let's see what we all did not do this past week.

Love to All,

midRae

Family

I wanted to share and show the world

my most favorite wall in my whole house.

It's my 'Family Wall'.

And as my family grows, which it definitely is,

my 'Family Wall' can grow with it.

See if you can figure out my thinking,

in the way that pictures and photos have been arranged.

Love to All,

midRae

'not me' Monday........

Here we go again. Yeah!! And now it's time for that fun weekly carnival that we all love, 'not me Monday!' Let's all join in and see what we got. I'm sure we have a lot of those 'not me's' just stored up and ready to share.

I did not need to go to the bathroom so bad that I just had to 'take care of business', under a tree with a sheep herder just over the hill.  Nope, I have never ever taken the chance of being seen by someone else while I 'take care of business'.  Nope not me, and I have never gotten caught.  Yeah, right!!!  Sometimes in life you just have to take a chance and live on the wild side.

And I did not get Girl Scout Cookies this week and proceed to encourage my family to open and eat them all just so that I could also enjoy them.  I would never encourage midMan or tailEnd to do anything so unhealthy.  I just wouldn't.  Never, nope not me.  And I would never be sitting here, thinking to myself, that I should have saved those cookies for rides and hikes in the mountains.  Nope, not me.  I always live my life with no regrets, at least I like to think I do.

Come one, come all, please come join us on our Monday adventures of remembering those wonderful 'not me' moments that we each have in our lives.

Love to All,

midRae