Birthday Wishes

Yesterday was Mike's birthday.
Shhhhh....it was his 40th Birthday!
Yep.
What an old man.
And being the slacker wife that I am, I didn't even wish him a happy birthday on my blog on his actual birthday.
Only because I have been sick for the last 2 weeks.
And really, it was all I could do yesterday just to drive to the Cheesecake Factory and pick up his cake. But I did it. Because well, I am not usually a birthday slacker. Just this year.
So, really, all I want to do is say

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!!! 

HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY YA OLD GEEZER! 

Can you feel the love? :)

Seriously, Happy Birthday Mike and I promise next year, when it's your birthday, I'll be there for ya. 
Really. 

With bells, and whistles and...Jack. 

Lots of jack.

 

Feeling Like a Freezer Pop

I know that we are only 11 days into this month but I have made an interesting discovery.
I. am. not. equipped. for. weather. below 70 degrees.
Yep.
Here in good old sunny South Florida it has been freaking cold. Now, all the people who live anywhere north of the Florida state line, I must say, you are not right in the head. You know what I'm sayin'?
And just so you know, I feel like a freezer pop and I think I'm dying of frostbite.
Really.
OK, not really, but really. I am freakin' cold. 
And those of you who believe in Global Warming? Well, suffice it to say, that global warming is not going down here in the sun capital of the world. In fact, Florida is so currently not global warming conducive that it actually...you might want to sit down for this....snowed.
Yep.
Let me repeat that for ya-S-N-O-W-E-D.
Uh huh.
Here in Florida and yes, even South Florida. 
This past weekend areas in Central Florida, like Orlando and Ocala, got to see snow. And if you were one of those people excited to see snow, well, then all righty. I am happy for you. Hope you were warm and toasty amidst all those cold flurries. 
Here in South Florida, Fort Lauderdale area to be exact, we got some snow flurries about ten minutes or so from my house.
And no, I did not go outside to see them.
Because really, snow?
Snow is cold, in case you didn't know. And I do not do cold (see the first paragraph of this post). And for it to snow it even has to be cold outside which is all well and good for those who like to be outside. I am not one of those people. Well, at least not in the winter time. Honestly, this is probably the one time in my life when I am glad to be fat. My blubber is helping to keep me warm and really, who could ask for more?
All you skinny biotches, I hope you freeze.
Just saying.
Seriously, Mike and I had been contemplating moving north of the Florida state line. Now, however, I really don't think that is at all plausible. He might have to go without me and the kids. We are staying here in good old, warm and sunny Florida. And even though it is Africa-like hot in the summer, I think I can tolerate it. That's why we have a/c's, pools and beaches right? And those of you who might want to harpoon me while I am on the beach in my bathing suit, well, all I can say is not. I am grateful for my blubber. I welcome my blubber and I will never dis my blubber again because it has performed miraculously well so far this winter, thank you very much.
And really, I'll take hurricanes and Africa-like heat over snow and cold temperatures any day.Yo, can I hear an Oh Yeah?
Ohhhh yeaahhhhh.
All righty then.
With that being said, it's time for me to go and suck down some hot chocolate, with lots of marshmallows and wallow under my blankets until Friday, when I can finally turn off my heater that is set at 75 degrees and go outside barefoot, in my shorts and t-shirt and sit under the blazing hot sun. And if I'm lucky, I may even have to kick on my a/c by Saturday because it is so hot.
And just so you know, I'm praying that I'm lucky.

Creative Mommy

With Jack Frost taking up residence in South Florida, we have been holed up in the house to stay warm. This means lots of family togetherness. Really, it's overrated. Something about warmer weather where children are forced to go outside and play is good, really good. Like maintaining my sanity good.
But since Jack has been here, we have been trying to deal.
Enter Wii.
Yep, the best thing ever invented. Did I say ever?
EVER.
Because that is the only thing that has kept my children from killing each other the last 2.5 days. Really.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl is majorly awesome. My children have been playing all weekend. Normally, I would cringe. This weekend, I am like have at it kiddos.
Only on Saturday, we had some issues. And because two of three people under five foot tall (ummm Panda and Monkeyboy) thought it was okay to beat the crap out of one another, they had the honor of writing an essay.
1,000 words for Monkeyboy and 150 words for Panda.
Yep.
Because taking away the computer and the video games does not work all that well. Soooo, forced to be more creative, I have been doling out essay assignments. Which means improvements in handwriting and writing thoughts coherently.
A win-win for all I say.
Well, mostly for me.
Monkeyboy was not at all happy when he heard his essay had to be handwritten because as he puts it "how will I know when I reach 1,000 words?"
Ummm...by counting?
The old fashioned way-like one word, two words.....
Stubborn that he is, he wrote his essay on the computer first, and then wrote it out by hand to meet my guidelines. Pretty funny, because 1) he was doing it twice and 2) kept him quiet/busy longer.
I am thinking I won, thank you very much.
And after that little essay writing episode?
Everyone got along much better.
Who would of thunk it? 
Ahhhh.....the power of the mommy.
I still got it! :)

The Challenge Continues

I have been MIA the last couple of weeks. Basically, I am just trying to decompress from the holidays. As much as I love them, they stress me out. And those family gatherings are way too much drama for my liking. So for the last couple of weeks, I have been unplugged and hanging with my family, just enjoying their company.
Relaxing.
Well, as much relaxing as a mom with three kids, racing around the house in pajamas all day, playing Wii and annoying the heck out of one another, can do. 
Just saying. 
And in the midst of all that Wii playing, I had the rare opportunity to watch what I wanted to watch on TV and stumbled upon the Dave Ramsey show. I am always looking for new ways to combat debt and resuscitate my financial health so I watched a few episodes of his show. On one episode, Dave had a caller who needed to reinvent himself after losing his job. The caller was discouraged and adamant about not finding another J-O-B. Dave told him that he needed to spend his time looking for a job he would love to do because then it would no longer be a job.
Sorta kinda like my quest to "find my passion."
Dave recommended the book "48 Days to the Work You Love" by Dan Miller to the caller as a starting point.
Always open to new ideas and information, I went to Barnes and Noble and purchased a copy to see what the book had to offer.
Honestly, it was not what I expected.
Well, let me rephrase that.
It was what I expected because it didn't tell me "how" to find my passion, but it did give me some good starting points and an interesting perspective.
For instance, the premise of the book is finding what you like to do that spotlights your "God-given skills, personality traits, values, dreams and passions." It is an introspective look at what you perceive your talents and skills to be, kind of like a mission statement for your life.
And this mission statement, although written in generalities to some degree, reflects you, the person-how you want to live your life, what you want to do, how you would like to be remembered and the steps you are going to take to accomplish that.
A much different perspective than I have had in the past.
Really, I had never thought about writing a mission statement for my life.
And this new way of thinking is such a simple and common sense concept that I had forgotten. The author likened the process to being young again and having the belief that we could do and be anything we wanted to be. He stressed that as we grow older and experience life, we allow the expectations of others to influence how we choose to live our lives, our career paths and so forth. And really, we should be using our natural instincts, our talents, to do what we love. If we are doing what we love, we are in that happy zone-we feel good about ourselves, we are content and most importantly, we are happy.
Powerful stuff.
For me, the process of listing my God-given talents, my special skills, and my values and dreams has given me a new perspective of myself. I guess I am a step closer to finding my passion, although I do wish there was a twelve step program to finding your true calling because all this introspection stuff, is draining. LOL!
Anywho.
If you are interested, check out the book. In the meanwhile, I am still on my quest. So far, 2010 has proven to be challenging and I am ready to embrace that challenge. Most importantly, I hope that by detailing my journey, I will be able to help some of you who are also on this same quest.
Happy New Year everyone!