I recently told you about sending my nephew in Dallas a CD of songs personalized just for him. Well, I got the call I’d been waiting for - he got it! And he LOVED it!!!

My brother called yesterday and was telling me all about it! I’m so excited!

The CD came from PersonalizedStories.com and it is so cool! They didn’t have DJ, so I chose Daniel. And on the CD, like ..actually …physically - on the CD is his name. You know, on the label. So DJ knew that his name was ON the CD, but when he heard the people actually singing his name, he completely flipped OUT! So cool!!! Oh gosh, I wish I could’ve been there!

But knowing DJ so well, and hearing my brother describe his reaction, I felt like I was there!

And when more and more of the songs played - singing his name - he said,

“Dad! Aunt Lisa told ALL those people my name!”

It cracks me up just typing it! Man, I love that kid! He said another cute thing, but, now I can’t remember it - I knew I should’ve posted this yesterday!

And, I was quite amused and quite pleased to hear that his favorite of all the songs was, “You’re A Winner!” And it tickled me absolutely pink to tell Patrick that when he got home from school! Fourteen-year olds - what do they know, anyway?

We had the family over yesterday for two birthdays, that of an aunt and one of the cousins. We really lucked out, because, the aunt’s daughter did all of the work. She even cleaned up - it was awesome, especially since I had a migraine. But we had a nice time hanging out with everyone. Some people were in the kitchen. Some people were relaxing in the dining room. Some of the kids were playing out front. Still more of the kids were playing out back. Still more of the kids were playing video games downstairs. Most of the menfolk sat outside under the pecan tree, around our firepit. And it was just a really nice evening. When Mark’s cousin was leaving - the two of them were talking about getting together to grill some fish. I don’t know what kind of fish and I don’t know what kind of grilling. Maybe they were talking about using a billet grille. I don’t know, though - I don’t really even know at whose house they were talking about having it. I guess I will just find out when I find out.

I just got the coolest music CD for my nephew, Scooter Pie. I can’t wait for him to hear it. His name (other than Scooter Pie) is DJ. They didn’t have DJ, but, they did have Daniel. I am hoping that he gets called Daniel enough to appreciate the fact that the singers are singing to/about him. It is a good thing I am not the only one I’m relying on to have him familiar with the name Daniel, because, pretty much the only time I use his full name is when I’m disciplining him! I’m pretty sure he’s already working on writing out Daniel, though. So if I’m remembering that correctly, all will be good.

I got him the CD called “You’re a Winner” and it is all about having positive self-esteem and knowing that you are unique, and indeed, a winner! I can hear him in my mind walking around the house singing the songs! And I sure do hope my ‘visions’ come true! The CD is en route to him through the USPS right now, but, I will report back when he gets it and listens to it. I listened to the whole thing before I sent it and I really liked it! (My fourteen-year old, rotten teen that he is, had good fun making fun of it! No worries - I’ve got plenty of goods on him! HA!)

There is a really cool Spiderman one that I would love to get him, as well! And then, of course, I want to pick out some for my nieces, too!

And I wouldn’t just have to pick CD’s for them, they have a large selection of personalized childrens books that I would love to get for them! And they also have the personalized baby book that I have been looking for since my second child was born. When my first was born, the hospital was giving them away. Then by the next year, they were no longer doing that, so my other son and my daughter don’t have one all about the day they were born! So I have been trying to find one all this time and I’m thrilled that I can finally do that, too!

And you all know that I am a self-proclaimed children’s literacy advocate, and there is no better way to get a kid excited about reading than to put him IN the story! I just love personalized books, especially for hesitant readers!

That is what is on the way to my house right now! A Doc - my Daddy’s sweet dog. A Daddy - my Daddy. And a Dell - a new Dell notebook all for me!

You will just have to pardon Doc’s wounded-pride picture, he was shaved too closely at the doggy barber’s and he is not happy about it, I think. He might’ve had a date that night or something, and he was just really upset. He is a Malamute, so should definitely be darker in color - as in, his ‘body’ should match his head and the end of his tail. Poor guy.

What’s that you say, you don’t really think Anthony Hopkins is my father? Well! So you! Ok, ok, he is not really my father. But when my harddrive crashed in November, I lost all my photos. Ugh. And Anthony and my father remind me so much of each other, that I figured he was the perfect substitute. They sound alike, their mannerisms and facial expressions are similar, and, they were born just three years apart - he’s a perfect match. My dad, however, is on his way to Alabama right this very minute, to visit me.

And he is also coming to bring me a brand spanking new Dell notebook! Oh my GOSH!!! I am so excited and I still can’t believe he’s giving me this thing! I was supposed to be getting a hand-me-down, and after one twist and turn in the road of life after another, it turns out that he is giving me a brand new one! How unbelievable and amazing!

He called around 1pm and he was in Louisiana - I think he could be here any minute now, or in an hour and a half, tops.

This is very cool, because he hasn’t been out here yet, and we are excited to show him around and we are excited to show him our new house! It’s no Imperial Palace Las Vegas, but, it’s the biggest house we’ve ever lived in!

…I’m having a killer allergy attack!  The husband, or the kids, or someone - is gonna have to GO!!!

I simply cannot work under these conditions!

Good heavens!

And now the hubs is playing chase - in the house - with the girls!  Yikes!

Will the madness ever end?

Well, I will tell you. Actually, I think I’ll let a fellow blogger tell you. I went looking on the web for basic miga recipes to share with you, as I had a reader ask about them. And on my little web-searching journey, I found the answer on a blog! That was just perfect, to me, as I love showcasing other bloggers! Charlotte, is based in Berkeley, California and her blog is called, Love and Cooking - gotta love that title! And you will find quite an interesting (and two year long!) conversation attached to her migas post, which is called, Migas (Mexican breakfast).

Here at our house, we make probably the most basic miga recipe ever! We just tear up the tortillas, fry them, then crack a ton of eggs and get them ready for scrambling. (We probably use about 12 tortillas and 12 eggs. I often do more than 12 tortillas, though - because so many of them get eaten while I’m trying to cook! Dirty little homemade tortilla chip scavengers!!) I put the newly made tortilla chips aside for a bit, then start scrambling the eggs. When the eggs start to dry up a bit, but, not too much, then I start tossing in the chips, a little at a time. You don’t want to put them in too soon, because then the eggs make the chips all gooey, but, if you wait to long, they don’t attach to the eggs. And that’s just no fun! I love those perfect bites of semi-crunchy chip with a big chunk of egg stuck to it!

And that is my miga story! Yes, we are gringos, I fully admit it. We don’t do it right. But we like it that way. And - I was taught by a Mexican friend. So that should count for something!

Sammie and I were really wanting to make them the other day, but, my back was killing me! There was no way that I would have been able to stand there frying the tortillas in the oil. It is a lot of standing around. When we lived in Richardson, we had bar stools, so if I was achy or sore, I could just pull a bar stool up to the stove and sit there and cook them. My sister-in-law had bar stools in this house when she lived in it, but, I think that kitchen is just too darn small for them! And I think we actually haven’t had migas since we’ve been in Alabama! Which is dumb, because all five of us love them! And you know how hard it is to please a family of five at dinner time! Well, we’ll get to them one day - especially now that it’s on my mind! Hey - maybe that would be a great dinner for the first night of school. Yeah, that is a good idea!

Mark and I have been together for fifteen years and we have been renting for fifteen years! Do you know how much money that is that was just basically flushed?! We were, of course, young and just starting out when we got together. So it made sense that we were renting back then. And just about the time we were getting more financially stable, credit card offers came in the mail! One right after the other! And - you guessed it! We wound up in a heap of trouble! Well, we are almost out from under all of that mess, and thinking about buying again.

But all of the millions of details that go into lending and mortgages can really get confusing! But, there is a wealth of information to help us out at America’s Lending Partners. And they have two main mortgage and lending services that they offer.

If you choose to use the 4 Loan Offers service, you will submit your information one time and then you will be contacted by four different lenders, and deal directly with them.

Or, if you choose to use their new Mortgage Planning service, America’s Lending Partners will do all of the work for you. Your Mortgage Planner will conduct a personal consultation with you, offering their guidance and expert advice. And with this service, they will do all of the negotiating with the lenders for you.

LendingPartners.com has been such an informative website for me this afternoon - I’ve learned so much! Their help center is packed with information - a mortgage library, articles, and even several mortgage calculators. Their site has been very helpful for me!

I got an email from my big brother, who happens to live in Pueblo, CO andwork in Colorado Springs, CO and has plans to eventually move hisfamily to Springs.

So the subject of the email was: Colorado Springs

The body was as follows:Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado SpringsColoradoSprings Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs ColoradoSpringsColorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado SpringsColoradoSprings Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs ColoradoSpringsColorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado SpringsColoradoSprings Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs ColoradoSpringsColorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado SpringsColoradoSprings Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs ColoradoSpringsColorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado SpringsColoradoSprings Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs ColoradoSpringsColorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado SpringsColoradoSprings Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs ColoradoSpringsColorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado SpringsColoradoSprings Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs ColoradoSpringsColorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado SpringsColoradoSprings Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs ColoradoSpringsColorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado SpringsColoradoSprings Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs ColoradoSpringsColorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado SpringsColoradoSprings Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs ColoradoSpringsColorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado SpringsColoradoSprings Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs ColoradoSpringsColorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado SpringsColoradoSprings Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs ColoradoSpringsColorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado SpringsColoradoSprings Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs ColoradoSpringsColorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado SpringsColoradoSprings Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs ColoradoSpringsColorado Springs Colorado Springs



You see, we may have mentioned to him that we were thinking of maybe movingto Springs.

I don’t know, I’m a little daft here - do you think he was trying to tellme something?



Hmmm….’Colorado Springs’ written ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-EIGHT times!!

*scratches chin*

“Whatever could you mean, dear brother?” _________________________________________________________________________________

…is happening to me since I’ve been back. I am not only going through the ‘getting use to being house’, and trying to readjust to the after-vacation-ness of it all. I am also feeling this all over again: What? I live in Alabama? How totally peculiar and also, rather annoying, that I should have to go through all of those feelings again! Gah!

I knew leaving my family would be hard, in fact, I almost didn’t want to go to Dallas just for that reason! How silly is that?

But who on earth knew that I would have to go through all of the shock of having really, truly moved away from home again?

It probably has a lot to do with the fact that we stayed out there so long - almost a whole month - and also with the fact that I think I still haven’t accepted the fact that we have actually moved out here. Yes, folks, after one year - I am still in denial!