Another first!

The other day, the subject of glamour shots and prom pictures came up and after the hysterical laughter died down, the idea was brought up that we should all post some of those said pictures. Well, I am a confident woman. I know who I am today and I am not afraid of what my past "looks" like. So, here they are. One of each. Don't hurt yourself when you fall on the floor laughing!




Some things to note:

My hair is "crimped."
I'm wearing a "chambray" shirt.
That day was a very good bangs day.
Apparently, the Glory of God is behind me, thus the glow.
My lip gloss is something frosty by Bonne Bell.













The guy's name is Craig and I didn't see him again after that night. He was a friend of a friend.
The dress is "Jessica McLintock" from Dillard's.
If only I had a chi back then.
Another good bangs day.

I'm First!

There's seems to be this thing going around about being the first to do something. Well, normally I just leisurely follow the crowd in no hurry to make a statement, but I'm stepping out with my own version of this list trend that is going on.

100 Things I love.....

1. Jesus
2. My hot husband
3. My sweet and funny children
4. My church
5. The heart-shaped rock by the door to my house
6. Central heat and air
7. Modern appliances
8. Everything Apple makes
9. Coffee club
10. The El Dorado Royale
11. My Polynesion heritage
12. Cook's Illustrated
13. Road trips
14. Caves
15. Key Lime pie
16. Online bill pay
17. Vacuuming with a Dyson
18. Logic puzzles and Sudoku
19. Most of the shirts in the Anthropologie catalog
20. Survivorman
21. Bitter chocolate pieces mixed with walnuts
22. Unsweet tea
23. Silent snowy days
24. Watching a thunderstorm roll in
25. Really severe weather
26. Chinese food buffets
27. All my fabulous girlfriends
28. Sleeping with a blanket and no sheet
29. Antique stores
30. Girl's Night Out
31. M. Night Shyamalan movies (yes, all of them)
32. Clipping my kids nails
33. Someone else washing my hair
34. Someone else brushing my hair
35. The Paramount theater
36. Roasted garlic hummus
37. Turkey (the country, not the bird)
38. Coconut Lime Verbeena stuff from Bath & Body Works
39. Fuji Steakhouse
40. Little House on the Prairie
41. Really good bras
42. Venus razors
43. Any kind of frozen coffee drink
44. 40's music
45. Eva Cassidy's version of Fields of Gold and Autumn Leaves
46. Really scary roller coasters
47. Grapefruit Fresca
48. The smell of purple Fabuloso
49. Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser
50. Ironing with starch
51. Remote controls
52. Attic fans
53. Pomegranate seeds
54. Tubing in the Gaudalupe
55. Fishing (love, love, love fishing)
56. Lamplight
57. Warm, fuzzy socks (but not worn to bed)
58. Uni-ball Deluxe Micro pens
59. La Madeleine's Tomato Basil soup and Ceasar salad
60. Looking at the stars, meteors, satellites
61. Gathering eggs
62. Refinishing furniture
63. Peeling tomatoes after they've been blanched
64. Google images
65. Old fonts
66. Ebay
67. Antique Clocks
68. Gathering anything from the garden
69. Hard-boiled eggs
70. Mowing the grass
71. Putting things together (toys, furniture, etc.)
72. Staying up late and working
73. The back of a baby's neck
74. Thrift and junk store shopping
75. Exploring
76. Camping on the Llano River
77. Hotel rooms
78. Taking pictures
79. Cooking
80. Making things for people
81. Chewing ice
82. Sleeping with the windows open
83. Shade trees
84. Pepsodent (blue)
85. Christmas
86. Gameshows (especially family feud)
87. Toffee
88. Being a housewife
89. Pulling out splinters (Ahhhhhh)
90. Mango sours
91. Boggle
92. People from foreign countries (The more exotic, the better)
93. The smell of gasoline, goof-off, sharpies, etc.
94. Bike riding
95. Getting the mail
96. Tempurpedic mattresses and pillows
97. Epic, movie-like dreams
98. Innocence Mission
99. Seeing God do miracles in people I know personally
100. Lists

comic relief

For those of you who don't have sons, I apologize for the grossness. For those of you who do have sons, or are boys yourselves, enjoy!

Elliott had a suitcase laying out that contained all of our smaller bags. He took the smaller bags out and left the big suitcase on his side of the bed. John found it tonight and started playing in it. At first, he was saying things like, "Cool Mom, I can fit my whole body in here!" That was followed by a scene from "Survivor Man" with John in a small boat stranded on the open sea. Then, I heard him say, "Oh sweet. I just tooted in here and closed it up. It smells like roses in here!"

John has been coming home from school and asking me things like, "How many meanings does this word have?" and "How many meanings does that word have?" I guess he's been going over words that have more than one meaning. Tonight, I was fixing a bottle for the baby and I couldn't find the top to the bottle. Apparently, I should've phrased it like that, but instead I said, "Where is that stupid nipple? I need to feed April." I heard John snicker and say, "Mom, there's another meaning for that word isn't there?" What a cad!

I've been buying organic milk from HEB and I have tried to explain to John what that means, but I think he got it confused with pasteurization. He got the milk jug out, poured himself a glass and took a gulp. He made a face and said, "There's something wrong with this milk. I think you need to stop buying unorganized milk."

Guest blogger

My name is Elliott. Today I am a blogger. This is a guest blog. I don't think I could ever be a good daily blogger because I am not a conversationalist. My thoughts dive too deep too often. I flip things around and analyze the underbelly of everything... which simply ruins romantic walks on the beach.

An essayist and a poet are closely related. One gives you a delightful meal, the other a cube of chocolate. Or an Altoid. Or a Lemonhead. You shouldn't eat too much. Can you imagine eating a bowlful of lemonheads? They'd find you in a puckered coma.

Anyway, I think I'll post a poem every so often here in Blogville. Pam said that would be okay. This one is for all you women. These are song lyrics. That's why there's a chorus...

These Women Of Ours


They can dance and fill our heads with twinkling stars
They can love and knock the edges off days long and hard
They can smile and give us a reason
To open these old stubborn hearts
Thank God for these women of ours


They can climb any ladder of so-called success
Take control, steal the show in a red satin dress
They can stand firm and stubborn against hell's better demons
Then fold at a handful of flowers
Thank God for these women of ours


Chorus:
We can climb up mount Everest, leave footprints in Moondust
But still, we'll never go higher
Than the love – just one woman's sweet soft love


Just one glance can change all our wild crazy plans
Just one kiss can tame any rambling man
Just one tear can melt us, render us helpless
One touch can set us on fire
We're all fools for these women of ours


Repeat Chorus


So I move that we bring back a few old-fashioned things
Tipping hats, opening doors, and giving up seats
And I hope you don't think I'm saying they're weak
It's a matter of honor not power
I just thank God for these women of ours


© 2007 Elliott Park

Snow Day!

I love snow days because I don't have to get up and ready and out of the house to get the kids to school, but after that wears off, I realize that I have all the kids, all day! As you might expect they were whining to go out as soon as they knew what was going on. I decided to just jump into it rather than whine myself. I got all the layers they needed, hats, gloves, boots, etc. and let them out. They are so funny to watch.

Taste the snow on the bird bath - check. 

Taste the snow on the car - check. 

Taste the snow on the driveway - check. 

Make a snow angel on the driveway - check.

Slip and fall - check.

John and his "arctic lord of the flies" pose

After about 45 minutes, they came in, frozen, stripped down to their long underwear, and sat down in front of the tv to watch a movie. I'd call that a full day! 

God's Bling!

Just some shots I got of scenes around my "neighborhood."

Game Night 2006

Game night 2006 was a success! In case you weren't there, Mr. Park's brother, Eric,  was the game night champ this year with a narrow win gained by a tie-breaking round of rock, paper, scissors. 

2006: The year in pictures

I am not the world's most avid photographer, but I did take some pictures last year. So, to chronicle the year that the Park family had, here they are...

The kids got a new cousin, Alayna,
on January 17.

Took a spontaneous trip to Ft. Worth to take the 

kids to the zoo. I am greatly pregnant 

and uncomfortable!

Our Anna Banana turned 4 on March 28th.

Added another Park on April 1st.
 Her name is April...no joke!

My peeps took me to my favorite restaurant 

for my birthday, Fuji steakhouse.

Lucky John shoots unlucky rabbit 

in our front yard in June.

Elliott finishes his second house 

on our land....this one's for the kids!

Anna started school with John in August. In case 

you're counting, that's two down and two to go!

The West Texas Fair and Rodeo. A September 

tradition that's eating away at our savings!

John turned 8 on September 13th and had his first 

real slumber party with five other wild boys!

Elliott and I got to take a second 

honeymoon in October to celebrate our 

11th anniversary on May 13th.

Sweet Autie turned 3 on October 12th!

The kids got another new cousin on 

October 16.  Caroline Emma Park.

 Hallelujah Night in Clyde was 

fantastic. The girls were a princess 

and a mermaid...

and John was a pirate (seen here with Capt. Jack).

In November, Elliott received his ASCAP 

award for #1 song in the nation! Here he is telling 

everyone about the destiny God has put on 

"I Loved Her First."

The year ended with John becoming more of a hunter,

Autie becoming a cheerleader,

Anna becoming a bride,

and April meeting someone very special
for the first time!

One more thing...

Okay. I thought of one more thing for my list. This one is a doozy! I'm not sure I even want to put it on the list because that would make it official and it would be out there for all the world to see. Here goes. Last year, as in a couple of months ago, Elliott requested that I find some place other than Wal-Mart to shop for, let's see.....EVERYTHING. He and I read a book called the Wal-Mart Effect about how they have swooped in and taken over all the mom and pop places and the tactics they use. It made me think twice about them, but necessity won over conviction. There's just no other place I can go for, let's see....EVERYTHING! Anyway, long story short (too late) I have resolved to not spend any money at Wal-Mart this year. And, shoot, if I can do that for a year why would I ever go back - ever? I am doing it not so much to take a stand, because I know there are lots of other stores that have tried to do the same thing but were unsuccessful. I am doing it because my husband requested it and I would like to see if I can do it. I am creative. I am resourceful. And gosh darn it, it's just a store with lots of stuff and I can get stuff anywhere!

My new hang-outs will be:
● H-E-B - they have all kinds of stuff and some of it is gourmet!
● Target - cute, cute clothes...for the whole family! They'll probably last a little longer, too.
● Payless, Shoe Carnival, etc - Even Wal-Mart has stopped carrying size 11 shoes and Target rarely has them.
● Save-a-Lot - I used to shop there all the time. It's kind of scary for some people, but I love it. Oh, this place doesn't work with kids and you have to bag your own groceries, which is sometimes fun! They have all the basics I need and you really can save a lot!
● Walgreen, CVS, Shutterfly - I won't actually be hanging out at Shutterfly, don't think that's possible. I will be doing my photo organizing online, uploading to those places, and picking them up when I'm in Abilene.

I did go into Wal-Mart yesterday, but I was exchanging something that my mother-in-law bought for the kids. I walked in, exchanged, and walked out. The item I bought was defective, however, so I do need to go back in there one more time. Ridiculous!

The List

I need my own computer! It is getting increasingly harder to find time to read all the blogs I love, let alone keep mine current. By the way, I've decided instead of getting irritated when friends complain that I haven't blogged in a while, I am going to be flattered that I have such a captive audience of people on the edge of their seats hanging on my every word! That's never happened before, outside of my children and even they are becoming less and less interested in what I have to say!

I have a list of things that I would like to accomplish this year, but I don't want to commit to calling them resolutions. I'll just call it a list. I like lists. They're not extremely demanding. When I get to the end of the day and there are things on the list that aren't checked off, I just roll them over to the next day's list. No pressure. If you've heard me mention some of these before, it's probably a roll-over. Just believe with me that this is going to be the year I check it off!

☐ For my house to be clean (or rather, picked up) more than it is dirty (or rather, cluttered).
☐ Have a full sit down meal (everything on the table - no grazing) at least 3 times a week.
☐ More fruits, veggies and fiber for the whole family!
☐ Laundry (nothing specific, any improvement would be appreciated by Mr. Park).
☐ I have several cabinets full of artsy stuff and a head full of ideas to go with it so I just need to get busy.
☐ I've been neglecting my best friend in the whole world and I need to make it up to Him.
☐ The saying, "It's the thought that counts" applies to something you've done for someone that didn't quite come out the way you wanted it to. Not something you thought about doing but didn't have the time or energy to do, so you decided it was enough that you at least thought about doing something for that person because you remember someone once saying, "That's okay, it's the thought that counts." I'll do no more of that!!!
☐ This one is R rated. Make that NC 17.
☐ I would like to entertain more. This one has a lot to do with the first item on the list.
☐ Speak the truth more. I am so not that person. I am very careful and safe.
☐ Make some new friends. Not to replace old ones, just to keep from getting too comfortable.

That is all I can think of right now and, I must say, enough to keep me busy for the rest of the year! I promised pictures and they'll be up when I remember to upload them from my camera!