Refresh. Regrow. Renew.

1. I have read almost everything on Charles Manson. (Don't be scared!)
2. Prior to meeting Tim, I either wanted to work for Greenpeace or the FBI.
3. I was a vegetarian for 7 years.
4. I never wanted kids until I met Tim.
5. Becoming a mom has saved my life in many ways.
6. I love Elvis!
7. Painting takes me to another world.
8. Nothing smells better than the mornings during our camping trips, except maybe a fresh box of crayons. Mmmmm . . .
9. Gene Kelly makes my heart twitter.
10. The dinosaurs in Jurassic Park frighten me beyond belief but I can read Steven King books without concern. Go Figure!
11. I hate washing silverware.
12. As a child, it was my responsibility to fix the VCR when it broke. Today, I make Tim do it!
13. My Little Ponies were my favorite toys as a child and I played with them until I was 24. Not Kidding!
14. While living in Tulsa, I worked at Black-Eyed Pea as a waitress/bartender and was the biggest bitch ever! Seriously, I was so mean to the staff. I really don't know why they liked me.
15. Once, I flushed a 100 dollar bill down the toilet. By accident.
16. Swimming after midnight is so much fun.
17. I hate taking pills.
18. Its fun to be silly.
19. I almost drowned once and that's why drinking and tubing don't mix.
20. I love listening to Hanson. Mmmm Bop!
21. Barefoot is the way to go!
22. I once walked barefoot two miles and across a major freeway just after midnight so I could swing. Man I was stupid!
23. I love just about everyone I meet but I have the attention span of a cat so many people think that I don't care. But I do . . . hey is that a squirrel!
24. I love collecting porcelain dolls, but I have no idea what to do with them.
25. The angriest I have ever been was in the hospital when my blood pressure dropped so low that I was shaking and shivering. I just had Benny and I couldn't even hold him.

Snoopy was my sister's favorite show. I would like to wish her a happy birthday up in heaven hoping that she will take a second to see that we are all thinking of her today.

I wanted to write something inspirational about President Obama. But life happened. Just like it always happens and I no longer feel inspirational. I feel frustrated and melancholy with bouts of depression for a little fun. Single mom. That's what I feel like these days with my husband working thirteen hour days, six days a week. This week is worse because after work he has meetings. I pray that Obama can put a happy dent in the economy if only to see my husband for five extra minutes every day.

Yesterday was really bad. It started with a dead fish which lead to my crying daughter that made us late for school. Once at school, I received the news that school is moving thirty minutes away. Lastly, I had to pull my son out of school at which time I started crying to the school director about a dead fish. All within one hour. I think that I may need a drink . . . maybe a piece of Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.

Although, the inspiration has left me, I still feel hopeful about the choices we are making as a family and I believe that this horrid phase in our life will soon be over . . . even if I have to burn my husband's company to the ground.

If I had written something on Obama, it would have gone something like this.

We had a wonderful day celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr as well as this historic moment of our first African-American President. This was too great an opportunity to pass so I decided to make this a teaching moment for my princess. HBO broad casted a live concert to begin the inauguration festivities which turned out perfect because we were both able to enjoy it and she was able to learn about our president and Dr. King. While we were watching the concert (which I had recorded) we started working on our MLK project. I pulled out a poster board, all the scraps of accumulating paper from my crafts and lots of glue. The kids tore up the paper and glue it on until all of the poster board was covered. Then I printed out the word Equality, taught Tiffany what it meant and let her color it then glue it in the center of the poster. Next, we pulled out these paper dolls which just happened to be in various skin tones and glued them into a circle holding hands around Equality. I thought that it looked so awesome that I Modge Podged the entire poster for preservation. I love it and we had our school for the day. She learned about history, current affairs, music styles, art and vocabulary. I got nothing else accomplished but it was more than worth it.

This week has brought my husband and I to a decision that I believe God has been planting in my heart for a long time. Since my daughter started walking, I have been planning things to teach her. Astronomy. Geology. Weather. Art. Music. But I never really thought that I would teach her these things because that is what school is for. Or that's what I used to think . . . last week. This week however is different because we have made the decision to homeschool next year. I have been opposed to homeschool most of my parenting life. I didn't want to lose my personal time also my kids are very social and need school. But circumstances change along with my heart. As soon as we made the decision, I was completely at peace with it. It was as if this is what I was meant to do and apparently nothing is accidental with God.

" Joanne: You're calling me a freak?

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