Because I Had Children

Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement. - Brian Tracy, Eat That Frog I'm a goal setter by nature, but I love it when the whole world (or at least most of it) is setting goals with me.  I can feel it in the air, everybody is inspired and charged up for doing better and making positive changes.  That is what goal setting is all about, right?  Making ourselves better.  My goals last year included writing my novel - check, graduating from college - check, and doing a better job of keeping my house clean - that one is debatable. On the other hand, I hate it when people write resolutions or goals without having a plan to succeed.  What good is an offensive line without a plan as to how to get the ball down the field?  I plan on reaching towards my potential this year with my goals and I'm going to do it play by play, yard by yard.  It may even come down to inches next December, but I'm gonna score a touchdown in the end. So, I offer you the su...

I am so selfish. You see, I am not that great with little children.  Don't get me wrong, I love them, I'm just not patient enough to be the kind of mother I wish I was.  Ok, maybe it isn't that I'm not that great with them, I just don't really enjoy them as much as I would like to.   I'm better with other people's little kids because I only spend a few minutes with them at a time.  I'm so sick of the snotty noses, the crying, the whining, the diaper changing, blah, blah, blah, blah.  It just really isn't fun to me.  Ironic that I've had eight of them, isn't it? On the other hand, even though I'm not a big hugger, I love to kiss and love all over my sweet babies.  I love their wet kisses and their hugs.  I love when I ask, "Who do you love?" and they answer "Mom!"  I love it when I go into their rooms in the morning to wake them up and they are so happy to see me that they practically jump out of bed and into my arm...

There has been a lot of discussion lately in my life from different sources, about feminism.  While doing some research for my literature class earlier this semester, I had to do some reading on this type of literature critique.  Then, on a friend's Facebook, I saw a post about a more contemporary view on feminism.  It really got me thinking about my views on feminism. I just have to say, thank heavens for the women who forged the way for me to live the kind of life I lead.  I'm college educated, I am employed (even if it is just a few hours a quarter), I can drive, vote, and do lots of things women in my stage of life could not do many years ago.  But, I am still "just" a housewife (don't get me started on that term), what I mean is, that I do most of the cleaning, cooking and taking care of the children, and I do it by choice. I don't have a job that requires me to be outside of my home earning a living, I have found ways to make some money here and ther...

As I have been getting "older," several times over the last few years, I have wanted to have a makeover of sorts, you know, buy a few new outfits, wear makeup more often, do my hair every day.  I do good for a few weeks and then I sorta revert back to the "old" me.  I get it in my head that I need to act my age better, or dress the part of a 40 year old.  It isn't that I feel old or even think I need to wear old people clothes, that's not my point.  I just feel like I dress like a 13 year old boy because I wear tennis shoes and t-shirts every day, just like I did in the 8th grade. When I was in the 9th grade, I tried a little harder and it was fortunate that on the days that I cheered for football, we had to wear our "game day" clothes and when I played basketball and ran track, we had to dress up for school on those days. When I was in high school, I loved to go shopping at the thrift stores and buy my clothes there.  My friend Renee was so go...

Woo Hoo!! Yeah for me!!  I did it!  I finally graduated from college.  I am proud and embarrassed at the same time to say that it took me 23 years and 6 months from the time I started back at Rick's College in the fall of 1989 to get me a Batchelors degree from ASU with a degree in English Literature.  It literally took a village to get me to this point; schools, teachers, friends, Facebook and especially my immediate and extended family. I attended several schools; Rick's College, MCC, Rio Salado, a school in Albuquerque, but I can't for the life of me think of the name but it is now called Central NM Community College, AZ Dept of Real Estate school and then ASU.  Yes, that is a lot; I don't recommend it. I went to school off and on for several years, between having kids #s 1,2,3,4, and 7 & 8.and jobs and helping Ben finish his degree, it was hit or miss what years I went.  I was pregnant a lot in college. I had tons of people help me with bab...

I am no genius, but I learned a long time ago that I hate that smell of onions that lingers on my hands for days after I cut up even just one.  Yes, I could wear gloves, but I don't.   We use a lot of onion around here, sometimes chopped, sometimes in strips, but whatever, we use a lot of it.  Since I mostly use it for cooking, I cut them all up at one time and stick them in the freezer.   When I need a cup of chopped onions for a recipe I'm cooking with, I just bang the bag on the counter and dump out what I need.  The same goes for peppers.  I don't eat them raw...ever, but I love them cooked.  I cut them into strips and freeze them too.  I have several freezer bags full in my fridge and I probably go through a few gallons of onions and peppers every other month.  At least that is when I go get more and start chopping.  I do always leave one red onion and one yellow out so if I need them cut up for a salad, I have them. When I find a g...

You know how it is when you have a baby?  You are so relieved to have it out of you that within a pretty short time frame, you feel like you could conquer the world?  You can put on your own socks and shoes, sleep on your stomach, sweep more than just the major crumbs on the floor, vacuum, etc.  Well, the day after my last final at school, I did just that, I got movin' on all kinds of stuff around here, you know, a lot of the things I wrote I said I would...just not all of them. Within a day or two, I was exhausted, worn out and too tired to care.  Then I started to read.  Well, that took my laziness to a whole new level.  It wasn't until I finished the Hunger Games series that I was able to get anything done.  Since then... I did get something like 30 quarts of beans and chicken bottled, my deep freezer thawed and cleaned, the garage straightened, the old non-working fridge in the garage hauled away, bedroom cleaned, shopping done, house decorated...

I’m back, and I did it.  I wrote a whole novel of 50,111 words in 30 days, 28 to be exact because I finished two days early.  I don’t want to give out too many details but this story has been in my head for months now and I needed to get it down on paper (or in the computer, depending on how you look at it).  It is a story of a woman who struggles with post partum depression and her incredible journey to recovery.  It was an amazing experience as I wrote late at night, early in the morning, sometimes instead of eating or cleaning and certainly a lot of writing instead of doing homework.  (Did I mention I have senior-it is really bad?)  Well, I’m glad I had NaNoWriMo to help me over the November blues.  As I sit here today with one final done and one more tomorrow, I find myself wandering around the house wondering what to do next.  That is my next topic, my imminent graduation.  It is right around the corner on the 15th.  I am proud to ...