The Yearbook Was Signed 555-TOAD

Today I'm going to spread some bloggy love. (Hey! Remember that I'm primarily a "mommy blogger".... get your minds out of the gutter!)

Today, one of my favorite people ever..... one of my very best friends since we met on the first day of our sophomore year in high school..... today, she joins me in the "Halfway to 70" club!

I spent an extremely large chunk of my high school years at her house. We would hit the grocery store first, grabbing iced oatmeal cookies and orange juice for me, seltzer water for her, and then just hang out up in her room, talking. Laughing until we cried. Sometimes, crying until we laughed.

If I remember correctly, we did both after she got her first speeding ticket.

She met Coach before anyone else did. She was my maid of honor in my wedding. If we were Catholic, she would have been Jock's godmother. There has never been anyone else in my life who can both commiserate and celebrate--at the same time--like she can.

She understands me. She forgives me. She never judges me or my life decisions. She loves me. (And if none of that is true, well.... she allows me to keep my delusions, so that's ok too!)

I've known her for 20 years now. I followed her to Arizona. She followed me to Blogland. I'd say she got the better end of that deal...... it's less desert-y in Blogland, and always climate controlled!

So everyone do me a big favor, ok? Head over to peak in on Rockin' Austin at Another Leap of Faith and wish her a huge Happy Birthday! Check out some of her older posts. I really like this one and this one. She's awesome. She's honest. She's real.

Happy Birthday, B! I truly don't think I'd be where I'm at, or exactly who I am, if I hadn't had you in my corner for the last 20 years. You've pushed me when I needed pushing. You've caught me when I've needed catching. And you've always been available for oatmeal cookies.

You rock, and I love you for it.

Ummm....No Good Title Here Today

Well, that's not entirely true. I had a really good one. However, it sounded so incredibly naughty when I read it back that I had to take it down. Lord only knows what the damn Google searches would have looked like.

I've been given a couple of awards recently that I've been a bit slow in both acknowledging and in passing along to my friends. First, the awesome and wonderful Flea passed this along to me:

Wasn't that sweet? And, at least on my end here, totally true! Flea and I have children that share some common "quirks", and in discussing that we've begun developing a friendship. I am truly blessed to be able to count her among my friends. And in that spirit, I'm passing this award along to a couple of someone elses I've become fortunate enough to count among the number of friends I've discovering all the time: Lunanik at Secrets of a Black Heart and Karen at Lyrics of My Life. May you hear the same Randy Newman song from Toy Story in your head on continuous loop that I'm hearing from receiving this award.

Another recent addition to my Trophy Case came to me via Karen at The Rocking Pony. Can I just tell you how awesome she is? LOVE HER! I've stalked her.... I mean, read her blog for quite some time now, and finally... FINALLY its going to pay off! Stay tuned, and I'll fill you in on what I'm talking about in a couple of weeks......

Anyway, Karen gifted me with this gem:

Now, she abso-freakin'-lutely made MY day with this one, and I'm tempted to re-gift it right back at her! However, since that is against some obscure bloggy rule out there somewhere, I'm going to pass this along to a couple of other amazing bloggers that I genuinely consider friends of my heart. These are women I look forward to "seeing" every single day. Amy, at Musings and Memories of a Mommy and Cecily at My Chaos My Bliss. I just want to pack both of these women up and park them both in the houses on either side of me. Truly, they belong here in Arizona.

Thank you again, Flea and Karen. You two are awesome, and you rock! Of course, I tell you that all the time. But, if you are one of the two or possibly three people who have not read any of these women yet.....

Go! Go now!

I'm not going anywhere. No, really. I'm just gonna hang out here for a while, maybe roaming the blogging neighborhood.

Well, at least until the testosterone carriers start circling like vultures for dinner.

Let's Play A Game, Shall We?

Do you ever play the What If....? game with your life?

I'm not sure where I was driving, or what I was listening to on the radio at the time, but something got me to thinking.

What if I had married someone other than Coach?

So I started trying to imagine my life with each of my ex-boyfriends. The ones I was serious about, at any rate. Now, I don't still talk to any of them. I haven't spoken to any of them in years. I don't know if they are married, single, alive, dead, or even still male. (Although, that would be kinda creepy to find out that some guy I had dated was living life these days as a different gender. Nothing wrong with it, just odd to think that I'd once made out with him, and apparently it was life changing. Yes, I know.... it all revolves around me. Got it.) There were a couple of these guys that, at the time, I could seriously envision spending the rest of my life with. Granted, I was incredibly domestic-minded, and from the time I started dating I was always looking towards my future. But that's not the point.

Do you want to know what the majority of these guys have in common today? Almost all of them, actually. In fact, there are only three exceptions. Its a bit embarrassing for me to admit this, but heck.... I've already revealed one of my biggest skeletons to you all, so what's a little more shame? :)

I don't remember their last names. Seriously. Only those three exceptions. The rest? Complete blanks after the first name. And I didn't keep a diary, so there's no chance I'll be able to go back and find them that way. I suppose I could go trolling through those websites geared towards reuniting you with old high school friends; and while I AM registered on a couple of them... it just seems like too much trouble. Besides.... if memory serves (although I've just admitted that it doesn't always!) I never dated anyone with an unusual name. Do you have any idea how many different guys were named Scott, Chris or Jeff in my high school? The unusual ones I apparently remember.

I must've racked my brain for over an hour on this. I've gotta tell you, not remembering their last names completely ruined my What If...? game I had started. I mean, how can you plan a make-believe life if you can't remember what your last name is supposed to be?

I was pretty serious about one guy who was getting ready to go to Seminary to be a Baptist Minister. All I can remember about him is that he was from Oklahoma, was blond, and his first name was Chris. (I'm assuming it still is, but you never know. Those ministers are sneaky that way! Kidding!!!)

There was also a guy that used to treat me like an absolute queen. He brought me flowers all the time. What I remember about him? Red truck and his first name was Lee. That's it. I'd really be hard pressed to even tell you if he was blond or brunette.

Then, there was the guy I was seeing when I met Coach. Again, this was one I was envisioning a future with. We had even been talking about how we'd plan our wedding, what we'd name our kids. I spent a weekend with his family at his elderly grandmother's house over Independence Day! Do you know how long it took me to even remember his FIRST name?!? I'm too embarrassed to admit that one.

So. My point? I really do love my life. It's rough in patches. Its one helluva bumpy ride occasionally. My children are not perfect, and my husband of choice is nothing like any of those other guys. BUT.... he was my choice. Really, he was the perfect choice for me. He is my lifeboat in my personal sea of insanity. It occurred to me why its so hard for me to play that silly game of What If...?

I can't imagine my life any other way, as I don't regret any part of it. Not the valleys or the mountaintops.

Which is probably a good thing, as I'm not so sure I would have made a very good preacher's wife!

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On a different note, I really want to thank all of you who have offered me words of support and encouragement during this particular "valley" I'm trudging through right now. This blog has been so therapeutic, and the biggest reason is the friends I've made as a result of it. Should any of you ever need me, I'm just an email or a phone call away. What? Do you find yourself without my phone number programmed in your cell phones? All you need to do is ask....

It would make me look just a tad desperate to post it here, don't you think? :)

Sharin' The Love

I'm going to do something a bit different today. I'm going to send you all somewhere else. Oh... don't fret. Its just for today. :)

I've met many wonderful people through this blog. Sometimes, you make me think. Often you make me laugh so hard it hurts. You always make me smile. I've really enjoyed getting to "know" so many of you. But occasionally I come across someone who's life, and resulting stories, really touches my heart. Hallie, at Wonderful World of Wieners has done that.

Hallie is incredibly witty, and the constant wiener references crack me up! Her dachshunds (or doxies, as she calls 'em) are the cutest dogs, and obviously important to her. Hence, the name of the blog! However, its not the dogs (cute as they are) that have touched my heart so deeply. She and her husband, like Coach and I, married young and started their family young; and she's got two boys, like I do, but that's not it either. No, the reason Hallie has touched my heart so much is because she's a Military Mama.

I think I might have mentioned on here at least once that my baby brother is in the Navy, and has been there for over six years now. And while I might not be a Military Mama, myself.... I obviously have one! :) And with ten years between the Baby Brother and I, he's kinda like one of my boys anyway. Needless to say, I'm EXTREMELY supportive of our servicemen and women, and of their families left behind here to be their support "behind the lines".

Hallie's oldest son, CJ (aka Schmoopy), is in the Air Force. Once finished with training, CJ will be flying on an AC130U Gunship. And as Hallie has mentioned, that sounds *slightly* more frightening to a mama than say... the Good Ship Lollipop! She's doing a countdown to when he comes home for Christmas before reporting to his duty station, and calling it The Twelve Days of Schmoopy. CJ has gotten into the spirit of the countdown, and has been sending her pictures to post reflecting the numbered days. I absolutely recommend you head over there and check it out! And while Hallie is asking for everyone to be sending positive thoughts, prayers and good wishes to CJ and the other men and women he serves with, I'm asking for everyone to send those same things to Hallie, her husband John, their youngest son, Connor, and the girl waiting at home holding onto CJ's heart for him, Tristen.

So go. Go on over to Hallie's blog and leave her comments full of love and support. I'll be here when you get back.