Blech!

So there's this project I'm working on...I had planned to show it off to ya'll yesterday. But, I wasn't feeling so hot, and couldn't find any motivation no matter where I looked. Besides, I was busy looking up reasons why I was so burpy, and why they tasted so horrible.

I'll spare you the gory details, but last night was very unpleasant, and I was seriously considering setting up a bed in front of the loo. I opted for the couch with an empty ice cream bucket next to me. Turned out to be an excellent choice.

I am feeling quite a bit better this morning, although my throat has been pretty well torn up, so it feels funny when I swallow. I have a lot to catch up on today, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to accomplish everything without my daily dose of Dew, but I'll try. With any luck, I'll be able to show you my latest project by the end of the week! Hint: it includes a window and a TV...

Awareness

I've been wanting to write this post all month, but I haven't been sure how to go about it. I want to tell you about my amazing, strong, courageous, and beautiful grandma. She is the woman that both my mom and I compare ourselves to, and we both try to live up to her legacy.  If I can be even half the woman my grandmother was, I will be able to say I have no regrets.

Grandma was first diagnosed in the late fifties, and spent the next 30 years on one of life's most cruel rollercoasters.  Around the time I was born, she went into remission - again.  A year went by, then two, then five, then six.  She had been declared cancer free, and could finally fully concentrate on spoiling my brothers and I.  My grandpa retired, and they had plans to travel the world.

Nine years after she went into remission for the last time, the cancer came back, and on March 16, 1988, it took one of the most remarkable women I have ever known.

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, and I urge you to do a little bit of research and talk to your doctor about early screening.  Usually, by the time the cancer is found, the prognosis is devastating.

Acceptance - I don't always like it.

How does that prayer go? God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

This morning started out as a fun, beautiful fall morning.  I took my boys out to take their fall pictures, and my sister-in-law was bringing her kids out so I could take their pictures, too.  The oldest one is a senior this year, and asked me to do his senior portraits, so I was excited.  We took many pictures of everyone, then I came home and started really looking at the pictures while playing around with different editing software.  I was dangerously close to tears by the time I was done.

Did you see what the problem was?  It wasn't this picture of the little boy I once knew who will be graduating in the spring,

it wasn't this picture of the adorable little guy who was barely big enough to hold his baseball bat a few years ago,

It wasn't even this picture that proves that my little man is trying to turn into just that - a man,

or my first born who, with his goofy smile, is only 2 short months shy of hitting the double digits.

Nope.  What almost brought me to tears was this:

My oldest sister-in-law's youngest child.  The only granddaughter, the only niece on my husband's side of the family.  She's only a 14-year-old girl, but today she looked like a young woman ready to conquer the world.

I'd buy it!

A friend of a friend posted this ad on Craigslist. I had to share...

It's a steal! 13" color tv!! - $5 (Pensacola)

Do you want to punish your misbehaving children? Want them to ONLY be able to watch TV? No DVD players or video game systems for this bad kid! Well we got the deal for YOU! No AV hookups on this bad boy. It's just pure Phillips Magnavox color tv goodness. Got a lazy child who just sits there and watches the boob tube all day? Keep them active with no remote control! That's right guys! NO REMOTE CONTROL with this tv. Do they want to watch something different than when it was turned on? Good ol' channel and volume buttons right on the front of the tv screen.

We got this tv, it has dust on it, but it's $5. Just come get this bitch and bring me $5.

Oh, Martha...We really are worlds apart!

Oh, that Martha. A few years ago, I signed up to receive Martha Stewart's email newsletters. Sometimes there are really cute, do-able ideas, but I just like seeing how she decorates for the different seasons and holidays.

Yesterday, I recieved one that was titled "Get Organized for Fall!". One of the links included in this email was called "Quick Breakfast Ideas for Busy Mornings". I'm getting all excited, thinking it would be full of ideas for breakfasts that I can shove into the boys' hands as we are walking out the door for school.

There were smoothies, yogurt parfaits, and oatmeal concoctions. There were also a few bread and muffin recipes, but there was also a lot of this:

It all looks delicious, but when you your kids oversleep till 7:15, and your kids have to be ready for the bus at 7:45, there really isn't time for eggs.  You're lucky if there's time for toast!  I used to have some links saved that led me to recipes for homemade granola mixtures and granola bars, but they have disappeared.

So, my dear friends, do any of you have any recipes/links for healthy breakfasts that my uber picky kids can just grab on their way out the door?