Memorial Day.....madness.

OK, it's a three day weekend, extra time to get stuff done right? wrong?

My kids have been out of my hair for most of the weekend and instead of getting a 

jump on all the chores around here I've been ....wait for it... relaxing!!!!! 

Yeah, the queen of making the most of situations and squeezing everything into the 

time without kids has been chilling and procrastinating all over the place. 

I have taken a lot of pics this weekend which has been so much fun but then having

to edit them is a chore... a chore!  Although I have to say most of them don't really

need much more than a little crop here and there... cool. 

I snoozed through the Indy 500 yesterday, yep, snoozed on the couch with my

little shih tzu laying on my lap with me. How indulgent is that???

Peace and quiet... it's totally what I needed. I feel ready to take on the 

preps for our camping trip today. There's still a ton of laundry to do before we 

pack but I can do it, because I'm feeling good people, feeling good! 

The girls are SO excited and are ready to help pack up, I'm so happy

they are finally at an age to REALLY help with packing! So my friends, it's out

into the wilderness crowded campground we go. Hubby is worried we may

need a gun in case we come across a bear, hmmmm now he's got me thinking.

Just when was the last known bear attack in Chatanooga? anybody? no, 

didn't think so. 

We do have wifi at the cabin (I know) so I may post from there at some point this 

week, no I haven't had the forethought to prepare and schedule posts. I'm not

that good a blogger!!!! but you know that already. 

Have a great Holiday Monday and if you see a service man or woman today

hug them hard!!!! tell them I sent you!!!!! 

All the Randomonium I can stand.....

hmmm don't know how this got in here... and those are not my feet... this is what happens when you leave your phone lying around!!!




Its been too long since I did a randomonium.....here goes.....

My new little photography business is slow, I know its early days and it takes work but I can't help having anxiety attacks about it being a complete bomb... why do I doubt myself all the time? If you are a marketing wizz and want to work for nothing please apply within.....serious applicants only...no time wasters or weirdos.

There is a little place in my hometown (in England) where people have walked their dogs and cycled and exercised for a million years; apparently some woman has closed off access to it and a friend of mine is rallying the townsfolk into having it reopened....it warms the cockles of my heart! You go Martin!!!!!!

Seven year old kids have their own brand of comedy that can make me pee my pants. I wish we could all be seven again.

If you leave a fan on all night the white noise is very soothing and will help you sleep, really, then you realize one is just a bitch and the lack of sleep has nothing to do with ones own personality flaws.

Leaving a fan on all night will not stop a whiney ass shih tzu from waking you up! Only placing the kennel three blocks from your home will do that.....you're welcome neighbor!

His gorgeousness and I had lunch together this week and witnessed something so hideous we were stopped in our tracks, a "lady" in the diner was wearing a tank top with the slogan "biggest breasts in town" blazened across the front. (She was a complete moose by the way). My lovely hubby commented it wouldn't be socially acceptable for him to get a shirt that said "biggest dick in town"....there's just no equality these days. And no....neither slogan appears to be completely accurate....although how would one really know? Or more to the point care?

The "I have to have the last word" brigade are irritating the shit out of me lately and I think fb is to blame. Just say something and move on, don't pollute the atmosphere with your meaningless quips and mindless cliches....not to mention that thing they do when giving a compliment...pause....then add a zinger! You look great today.........for a change. Eff you, zingerman...its all Karma.

And finally if you must talk about karma, learn to spell it correctly. That is all.

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Summertime......

I think that for most of the my friends and family it's Spring, but for us here in the deep south it feels distinctly summerish.

The girls finished up school last Friday and have spent three days at summer camp, yes three days, and this is how Syd looks already. Blonde highlights, tanned skin and a lovely relaxed glow about her. They spend the days playing games, getting lots of exercise and swimming.... bliss. The past couple of years we had teens coming to the house to take care of them in the summer but this year decided to send them to camp at the local YMCA instead. My reasoning for this was that it cost about the same, they would get plenty of exercise and have a routine and mostly because for the last two summers they ate us out of house and freakin' home!!!!!! It was quite astonishing to see how much food a couple of kids and a teenage sitter could get through in a day never mind nine weeks. I think they had to have eaten at least the equivalent of three baby hippos every day quite happily. Unfreakin' believable.

The emphasis this summer is exercise and the great outdoors; activity, activity after wonderful activity. Tonight we took a walk around our local lake, at lease we thought we were taking a walk at the lake. It's been a few weeks since we have been over there and obviously they are doing some maintenance drainage type stuff. Where the waters edge used to be now there's nothing but mud flats, and yes, despite the warning signs we did see a group of young boys playing in the mud, and it made me nervous. What the heck do you do as a responsible adult... do you shout "Oi, you little shits get outta there or I'll call your mothers"... not knowing who their mother's are... actually we did know one of the little boys and I know his mother quite well. I wished I had taken my Droid with me but alas I had planned an unplugged walk with the girls and left it at home. I worried for a moment that they would get stuck in quick sand or something, do you think there is quick sand in the middle of a little town in GA with a dredged pond? I don't know, I guess anything is possible. Well I think they got out alive and all is well apart from some muddy clothes and maybe a lost tennis shoe or three. Why do boys have to give us mothers such trouble? even when they don't belong to us? Thank God I have two girls and although I have to worry about the youngest being a little too inquisitive and courageous at times I don't have too many occasions to get all fearful hense pissy because she's doing something potentially dangerous. This could be the excuse I need to get out of all this physical torture "sorry kids, it's just too dangerous to be outside in the summer!".... cough, cough... "yes there's mud and sun and nasty little boys, not to mention gnats and killer Canada geese"..... "prolly should stay home and let me take pictures of you all summer!!" Hmmm now that sounds better. Tune in next week when I'll be blogging from the mountains of Tennessee, yes you know that means more activity and more creative excuses from me!!!!

Silent Sunday

ok..can't be silent... just have to add that his look of disdain is because of the crap hair cut we gave him, yes a homemade do. sorry mac, it will grow, and we DO love you!!!

Her Third Eye.......

When I first started blogging I "met" several bloggers online who seem to 

have stuck with me and I with them over the past couple of years.

So much so that we've exchanged little gifts and cards etc in the mail and 

kept up with each others lives here and there. 

One such blogger is Mari Mansourian who you can find here. 

She's a very talented EVERYTHING!!! 

She writes, take fabulous pictures, cooks, raises her boys, blogs, 

runs her own business and now is setting about changing the lives of

any unfortunate soul that she happens to run across when she next visits 

her home country of Armenia. 

This is where you come in, Mari has made some of her fabulous prints

into greetings cards and is selling them for her project... you can read 

about it here....Postcards for Smiles.

Please check out her work, I promise you'll love it! 

Good Luck Mari. xxxxx

Awards, Honors and all around Congrats....

it's been very busy around here this week. 

the kids have been getting awards and honors left and right and i'm as proud as

can be. honestly i love how well they have done this year and it's

all to do with the teachers they have had this year and the 

support of everyone in the schools. 

i am in awe of these people who do so much to help the kids

and they genuinely love what they do. i feel so humbled

when they tell me how much they love my girls and they are 

happy to have taught them and want them to stay in touch 

as they move on in the school system. 

the principals know the kids by name (for a good reason) which shows they are out 

there, being involved in the school and really making an effort to enrich the lives

of each student. i am so thankful for our little town, the fact that i have such

great people rooting for my girls and helping us raise well rounded,

intelligent, happy people. 

Thank you Thomas County School System... YOU ROCK!!!! 

Feeling like a new Mom again...

You know the feeling of complete and utter exhaustion when you're a brand new parent?? well that's how I'm feeling right now. Urggghhhhh if I don't get some serious quality sleep soon I swear I'm going to fall off the deep end. I'm not sure what's causing it other then I will hear every tiny itty bitty sound, or the fact that I just have so much to do I'm in bed later than I like to be and up before I like to be. I'm just one of those people who do not function well on less than nine hours a night.

Yes you heard me... nine hours!!!! of good quality shut eye... not just laying there thinking, thinking, thinking or listening to the damn dog licking themselves.. eeewwww!!! I NEED it... I can't think straight without it, I'm grouchy and miserable to be around. Sleep is very important to our wellbeing and completely underrated by modern society as a whole, particularly in the US (in my humble opinion).  I have been telling his Gorgeousness that for years now, he's one of those aggravating asses who can just fall asleep wherever, get four hours and be good to go for the next sixteen or so and then do it all again. He doesn't understand why I am so tired or why I need more sleep than he does; I would say that if you take four times per week and multiply it by 52 weeks in the year then times that by the 14 years we've been married, it seems we've had the same argument conversation over 2912 times with no resolution. After almost three thousand times of being told "I need more effin' sleep than you do!!" you'd think he'd stop asking why I'm so tired in the mornings. Dang it we've had that convo more times than we've well you know.......done the wild thing!!!! There's something just sad about that!!

So recently he had to take a defensive driving course and there was a whole segment in there about driving your vehicle while fatigued... I think it made him sit up and listen. He's now completely impressed with the Spanish who have "got it down" with the common practice of taking a siesta, you see the body has a natural tendency toward fatigue during the noon hour of the day and that is why there are so many traffic accidents in the middle of the day (apparently). We should all be heads under wings and beaks under blankets at that time instead of out there narrowly avoiding death and destruction on the highways. I am wholeheartedly in agreement with that suggestion.... can we get a lobby on this please???  Also he actually conceded that I may have a point about the amount of sleep we need and that you can't catch up on lost sleep overnight... yeah you know what I mean. It takes a few good nights of a little extra sleep to catch up on that wild weekend of burning the proverbial at both ends. It's far better to have a regular sleep pattern, go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time in the morning. Is this ever going to happen in my house????? Doubtful, one can but dream, if one could get some damn SLEEP!!!!!!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I took this afternoon off to be with my children following their recent successes at the respective school honors days, we are about to cuddle up, and take a nap!!!! Yep, they love to snooze as much as their Mama does and it won't be long before they won't want to nap with me so I'm making the most of it while I can, doux rêves mes enfants!!!! 

first tomato .... for many a year...

first tomato, originally uploaded by McGillicutty1.

I haven't grown my own tomatoes or anything much for that matter in a gazzillion and a half years. I don't know if we can count the cress that my Mum sent for the kids... and by the way I loved it on my egg sandwiches. YUM.

So I am over the moon to see my little plants producing the first fruits of my labor (well my fannying around, really), it's like giving birth all over again without the drugs. I remembered to tickle the flowers with my fingertip although there are enough bees around here I don't think pollination would have been any problem at all. I have almost trained Syd to water my little plants every day when she gets home from school, there is that slight problem with the nozzle on the end of the hose in that it's almost impossible to adjust it from anything other than pressure washer mode. Those poor plants are a little weary from the tornadoes inflicted on them once (almost once) a day! They start out standing up eagerly awaiting a drink, looking all bright and pretty, and end up flattened and soaked and wondering wtf hit them... poor bastards they don't deserve to be in the care of my family, they ain't done no wrong mister.

So... here it is... my first baby in about ahem... what... squirm.. twenty seven years??? I have to say it's like riding a bike, although now that my sense of fear is good and established I couldn't help but fear nothing was going to become of all the love and tender tornadoes care that we have bestowed upon it. I wonder how long it takes for this little beauty to grow big enough and red enough to embellish a salad or tasty up ham sandwich. Oh Lord... all that care and then I'm gonna eat it!!!

YUM!!!!!

Dang It Friday... and other stories....

So I weaved a wonderful tale of how my electronic equipment sometimes fails me and how frustrated I get. It was brilliance, I was very happy with it, which is a rarity in itself these days.

And guess what, Blogger ate it.

So here's just a little regurge of what i can remember.... there was a question asked on a FB page about how long photographers give their clients to order their prints. I read the comments with interest and came across a comment that mentioned something called Instaproofs, so I had to investigate and I decided it was essential to my new little business adventure. Well it's totally sucked me in and I have spent a lot of time getting my account up and running and working like a dream. All this time I had to ignore my nagging need to get that red box out again (see previous 2 posts) and do something different with the pics I took. Sigh... I should have been playing but all the while the real world and real obligations were getting in the way.

I set up my laptop again last night to finish up the tweeking of my instaproofs site but the damn thing was limping along like a sad kipper, frustration bubbling under the surface I enlisted the help of his Gorgeousness (who is sometimes extremely helpful in this area) his suggestion was to defrag it. He then offered up this nugget of genius... "perhaps that thing is outdated and it's time for a new laptop". Whaatt??? this thing is less than two years old and I don't think after paying what I did it should be shuffling off it's coil so soon. I'm so cheap when it comes to electronics, they are expensive and therefore should last longer... lots of money = length of service in my book. So we set to defraging and it took a while... precious time ticking away while I could do nothing to help my fledgling business!!! URGH!!!!!

When finally I could use the darn thing I did my stuff, customized, adjusted settings, played with this, messed with that.... when I went to add some links to my blog what do you think happened... could not use Blogger for Ef's sake!!! I tell you I was more frustrated than the style advisors to Princess Beatrice and Eugenie!!! Those poor people have to be either laughing their asses off or have gone into the Witness Protection Program never to admit to their part in the fiasco of the outfits worn by both Princesses to the Wedding of the Century. Anyhoodles... suffice to say there are days when I love, love and squeeee technology and days when I could cheerfully throw my laptop across the room.

So apparently sometime today all is back to normal and the global crisis of Blogger outage has been averted. I don't want to hastily hop over to wordpress like a fickle teenager, Blogger who has served me pretty well, wordpress is not without it's problems either. I will continue and keep the faith because it's rare to experience this kind of interruption in service, it's been pretty good to me these past two years.

OK.... back to the Red Box.... I used  Pioneer Woman's Boost action in PSE... c'est tres jolie n'est pas?????

Here's to a lovely weekend and I hope that all you Blogger users out there have calmed down and are now happily blogging away again. For more little red box adventures check back over the weekend!!! Au revoir mes amis!!!

Texture Tuesdays with Kim Klassen...

Yes yes yes... I know I put a version of this picture on the blog yesterday when I linked up to Macro Monday but guess what, I'm using it again. I have added a couple of Kim's textures, KK believe and warm vignette. 

I also adjusted the levels and took down the saturation alot. 

Maybe I can use the same picture all week for several different link ups... lets see!!! 

Head back to Kim for a look at all the other SUPER DUPER links.. really they are awesome! 

Macro Monday

I live for little gifts in pretty little boxes... don't you?

for more macros head over to Lisa's Chaos.

Kids in Sombreros

I really must get back to using my moleskin notebook to jot down my 

ideas. I have had a lot of ideas lately but for some reason when I sit down to blog

absolutely nothing at all comes to mind. 

It's the same when I go to the grocery store, I walk in with a vague idea of 

what I may want to get then I become all overwhelmed and simply cannot think!!! 

It's like being paralyzed by the enormity of the consequences of not getting

the right thing, or forgetting a key ingredient or having to try and think of the

shopping list in terms of three meals a day for four people who have differing 

tastes, not to mention remembering the dog food. 

or the toothpaste.

I'm getting worse as I get older, I have said this before on this blog that I 

have no imagination when it comes to preparing dinner so that when I get into 

the store I just CAN NOT THINK.  This weekend it happened again, I was

trying to plan Sydney's birthday party, yes I was planning it 8 hours before 

it was actually due to begin. We were at the party store and it was like I was having

a panic attack. You would think a list may have helped.... luckily Syd and her

friend had made a list. Phew... then we went to Walmart for the rest of the 

components to make this do a success and once again, panic stricken. 

I just could not muster up a clear vision of what this party was going to look like and what

these poor kids were going to eat and drink, except that it was a Mexican theme. 

We got all the stuff home and threw together a little gathering in the back yard. 

All the stress of the day only showed one time, when I felt like Mother of the Year.

Ash had gone to a different birthday party earlier in the day and I was supposed 

to have picked her up at 5:30 (or at least sent his Gorgeousness to get her).

Well at sixish she comes running into the back yard with her little friends mother!!! 

O.M.G!!!!!! I had forgotten about my youngest child. 

Luckily this family are good friends and brought her home and laughed it off. 

I felt like a total ASS!!!!! 

Oh well, it happens, I can only feel shitty for a while before some other major 

Duh comes along to take it's place! Things could be worse, they could have 

left her at the bowling alley where the party took place. Thank GOD 

someone is a better parent than I. 

It seems the thrown together stressed over party was a success though. 

The fake mustaches and sombreros were a hit, the girls had fun and it was over for 

another month. Ash turns seven next month; this time I'm making lists.

Thursday Morning {hurried} thoughts...

For crying out loud I'm always on a freakin' tight rope when it comes to having 

time for doing things... it's squeeze in this and throw together that. 

URRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's been three days since my last post and I like to check around other blogs, twitter,

my inbox before clicking away at the keyboard and getting my next post together.

Unfortunately effin' life time has not allowed me the luxury of a 

couple of hours of research before this post. 

So it's gonna suck. 

What I wanted to carefully craft was a post about how lucky I am in the 

grand scheme of things. I have to be particularly careful and not be my own true

foot in mouth self with this post because the last time I laid it out in 

plain speak I got Dooced.. if you don't know what that means.. go back to sleep. 

I have been particularly pissed at the world lately, seems like I can't get ahead and 

it's wearing a little thin on the old nerves. The older I get the less patient I'm becoming 

and them more vocal I am with my pissed offedness.... yes I made up that word 

and I like it.. you may use it if you wish. 

However, it appears that there's a higher power willing to show me that it ain't 

so bad, and he/she (remember God was Alanis Morrisett in that Matt/Ben movie)

is trying to give me a sign on a daily basis that I should put on my girl panties and move on.

He/She is telling me that I have in fact got it pretty good and that I should be 

thankful; well I get it, I am thankful... ya hear me... Thanks... now will you just stop already.

You may think there's some snark in that offer of gratitude and you'd be right, there is. 

That is because the signs I'm being sent are all involving people I love and care 

for. I am thankful these things are happening to me personally but I am very upset that

they are happening to those near and dear... and not just little things either but life 

altering situations that are causing pain and heartbreak! 

I can't keep up with any more stories that make me want to cry, or that leave

me speechless and angry, I don't know that there's any more empathy left in me. 

So dear heart.... just lets leave it alone for a while shall we, no more drama, I get 

it.  My life on the whole is good and I'm very appreciative of the gifts I have. 

Now leave everyone around me alone. 

Thank you and have a great day.

this collage has nothing to do with the post... it's just pretty 

Ten Years Ago...

Ten years ago today, I became a mother. 

I'm reading that phrase over and over because I still can't believe it. 

My first born is ten years old. She's growing like a weed and is very bright, witty,

loving and kind. I want to be just like her when I grow up. 

Here's to you Syd the Kid... I love you more than you can imagine... 

and here's to ten years of incredible experiences all rolled into one fantastic package! 

Just some random shots from her little life... 'scuse the quality... had to scan

them, we had a computer failure a couple of years ago and lost a ton of
pictures on the hard drive... lesson.. back up your hard drive!!
 Happy Birthday my lovely young lady, sorry about the lame post,
I'm tired, depressed and just plain out of mojo tonight.

in which she does in fact lose her mind...

I realized yesterday that we have reached a milestone in our household. 

We have moved into another phase of our family life, we're totally done with the 

infant and toddler stage... the preschool stage is a recent memory but 

it is behind us all the same. 

We are about to embark on unknown territory, Syd has three weeks of fourth grade

left before she officially becomes a rising middleschooler. 

In three short, hot, fun-packed months we'll be dropping her off at the Middle 

School and she'll be in a totally new phase of her life. As will I (and of course Dad).

Ash will be heading into second grade, she's no longer reliant on me for the

little things like washing her hair (she still likes me to brush it), or dressing her in 

the mornings or even helping her to read a book. 

We took them out to eat yesterday lunchtime, it was quite a drive to the restaurant we had

chosen and they had books in the car. There was no whining, no drama, no screaming

or fisticuffs in the back seat. WTF??????

When we arrived at the restaurant we sat at the table and they busied

 themselves with the kids menu's and the crayons. 

His gorgeousness and I didn't have to help with the word search or games, there

were no outbursts of frustration or interruptions; we, the McK family had a 

lovely lunch in a restaurant and didn't have to suffer the "looks" from childless people 

surrounding us.  And then it hit me. 

They are not babies any more. We are a family of two adults and two children.

Not little kids but growing girls who can read and write, ride bikes, help 

themselves to snacks and drinks, help around the house and do the dishes or the 

laundry when I beg them to. They are intelligent and have, from what I can see, a good 

grasp of what's right and wrong and they know how to be kind to others. 

As I was processing all this I mentioned to his gorgeousness that the hard

part is over, then Ashley held up her kids menu and she had drawn a picture on the 

back of four people, two kids and two adults, at the top she wrote 

"I love my family"

And then I lost my mind. How could it be that we're doing so well raising 

these girls when it seems like we suck at everything else. Our lives seem in chaos most

of the time and I'm a grumpy old biotch!!! I forget appointments, I'm late with 

projects, I shout at the girls when I'm pissed (at myself) and I still haven't 

taken care of that damn root canal I was supposed to have three months ago.

Apparently none of that matters to them, so maybe I need to lighten up and let it go.

I'm not sure that I'm ready for this next phase of motherhood, I still don't feel like 

I mastered the baby stuff very well, but hey... it's behind me so I can let it go!!! 

I am so in love with those girls and so thankful for what we have as a 

family, and I have a lovely husband who stands by me when my mind is lost, what more

could a mid life mama ask for????

A day off maybe... well Mother's day is next week.. maybe they'll send me to a spa

to find my mind again... hint hint.