I'm so proud of my Boo Bear!!

I got a surprise call from my Dad last night to let me know that my little brother, Richard (aka Boo Bear), is signing up for the Air Force tomorrow with my parents happy consent. Bud (his main nickname) made the decision to go into the Air Force and study to be an airplane/jet mechanic instead of going to Embry-Riddle in Daytona, after a few guys he knew there told him they always go out partying. He wants to stay on the straight and narrow, and he knows it will be much harder to do so when the people around him are pressuring him to do otherwise. So for his decision to be a hard-working, focused student in the AF, I applaud him!!

Dad told me that they took him to the recruitment office, where they gave him a preliminary test (reading and word comprehension, basic math, etc) to see if he would qualify for the AF. The minimum score you can get to pass is a 35 ... my awesome little brother scored a 45!! Woot!! So they got all the paperwork together for my parents to fill out and tomorrow they go back to sign him up for the AF!!

Now, for those of you wondering, my "little" brother turned 17 this past July. Even though he is not 18, my parents are signing their consent for him to join the AF after he graduates from high school this fall/winter. He goes to a private school in Jacksonville, and completed both 9th and 10th grade in a year. So he only needs two more credits when school starts this August! I was proud of him for finishing school early, and I'm even more proud of him for setting a goal for himself and knowing what he wants to study and learn about in the AF.

There have been a few people who have chided him for his decision, but besides his parents, grandmother, and myself, he has other relatives that are very proud of him!! And no matter what anyone thinks, he needs to remember that he's not doing this for them. He's doing it for *himself* because it is what he wants to do! I am SO super proud of my little brother!!!

Also, as an AF mechanic, he will not be on the front lines of any war. If, for any reason, he gets sent to Iraq or Afghanistan, he will be sitting in a hangar working on jets and planes. But he still has a few years of schooling within the AF before he'll be sent on his way as a mechanic. =D I definitely don't want to see anyone, especially my little brother, having to fight in a war ... but again, I applaud my little brother for his dedication and bravery, knowing quite well he could be sent somewhere dangerous. My brother, my hero! <3




**All pictures were taken July 9 & 10, 2007, at Magic Kingdom and Islands of Adventure**

My First (Completed) Crocheting Project!!

At the beginning of June I decided to follow in the footsteps of two women I love dearly -- my mother and my grandmother. For years they have been crocheters and have created beautiful blankets (and I think some pillow covers and little baby sweaters too!). So I went to Wally World and got myself a 3-pack of crocheting hooks and a skein of yarn!

Unfortunately, I decided to start big ... a blanket for Jaimie that would also fit our (queen-sized) bed. Not too terrible, I admit ...but I was using a 5.00mm hook ...which isn't very big. I ended up doing five rows of single crochet, then started (and completed) three rows of double crochet before 'forgetting' about it.

I had borrowed a book from the library, Kids Crochet (because all the 'adult' crochet books were way over my beginning crocheter's head =D) and decided I wanted to make the little tool pouch. Finally, last week, I went back to Wally World and got two skeins of yarn (pink and mint green), as well as a few new crocheting hooks (of larger and varying sizes) and some yarn needles. On Saturday, I got to work!

By Sunday night I had finished a 14 inch by 12 stitch rectangle of beautiful crocheting goodness! And here's what it looked like!

Next, it was time to assemble this long bit of material into a tool pouch. So I took the mint green yarn and a yarn needle and sewed it all up! I sewed on a few pearly buttons and VOILA!! Here is my masterpiece!!!

I am super excited that I made this cute little pouch and now I also have a great place to store all the hooks and needles I bought! =D My next big feat will be to learn how to crochet in the round (circular crochet), so I can make a hat!! I tried it out on Sunday night, but I don't think I did too well! lol Not to mention I need a few stitch markers to help me keep track of where my initial stitch was in the circle!

So look for more fun crocheting projects to come! ...that is if I don't 'forget' about them again!

Belated Zoo Pictures

Mid-June, Jaimie, Miah, and I went to the zoo with Jaimie's nephew, John, and his little girl, Jessalynn. I hadn't been to our zoo in over a year and had been dying to go back. There were so many things I hadn't gotten to see on my first trip, and they also added a new butterfly exhibit. So we decided to go back and show Jessalynn our wonderful zoo! Here's a few of my favorite pictures from our wonderful afternoon!!

Jaimie and I in front of a waterfall

Jessalynn and I with Mr. Octopus!

Penguins in Love!New picture of our hands on the water wall <3My, what big teeth you have!Instead of a car, we got him a rhino ...we figured it's just as dangerous! =D And, hey, it's got a 60% speed increase!So many pretty butterflies in the new butterfly exhibit ...but this one was most definitely the prettiest!!

Hooray!

I haven't posted in eons ...so what will this post be about?!?!?

My Vacuum!!!

Yes, that's right ...I am very excited to announce that I dug all the nasty clumps of dog hair out of my vacuum and got it working properly again!! =D And just in time too ...I had a few potential clients over yesterday and my carpet actually looked rather fantastic!! And, omg, the stairs to the basement are amazing!! I am soooooo thankful that I kept plugging away at that darn vacuum! The state of the carpet has been my biggest concern with clients coming over ...all I could think was, "They're not gonna want their kids playing on a dog hair infested carpet. Gross!"

So, we have success! And I'm super stoked about it!!

A Monster in the Basement

Even though my discovery of the monster in my basement occurred last week, I am still haunted by the memory every time I go back down there. As I did laundry today and kept looking around like I was about to be attacked, I decided to share my story ... hopefully you will never have a run-in of your own!

So last week ...Wednesday night, I believe... I went down to the basement to put Jaimie's work clothes in the dryer. As I entered the room connected to the laundry room, I saw something on the wall. In all my twenty-seven years, I can say I had never seen anything like this creature before. It looked like some sort of mutant spider that was nearly two inches long ...with tons of spider-like legs and two sets of antennae on both ends. All I could think was, "What in the hell is *that*?!?!"

I quickly went into the laundry room and put the clothes in the dryer ...and when I finished, I went back into the room with the monster. It was still there on the wall ...not moving ...not twitching its freakish legs. I searched the room for something I could flatten it with! ...Finally, I decided on a large box of stickers. I grabbed it and *WHACK* ...dropped the box after it hit the monster and kinda jumped back to be safe. I didn't know what I was dealing with here!!

So I got up the courage to move my rolling cabinet out of the way and pick up the box. The monster was laying on the ground, still alive, but not trying to scurry away. Just to be sure it wouldn't be coming upstairs, I smashed him a few more times... That was one dead monster.

After telling Jaimie of the episode in the basement, he told me it was probably a centipede. Now, when I picture centipedes, that creature is not what comes to mind. The next day I showed Jaimie and he again gathered it was a centipede. Well, my curiosity was still not abated so I did some online research to find out what exactly the monster in my basement was.

Well, Jaimie was indeed right ...what we had was a 'house centipede.' According to a bug-loving website, they are helpful in that they eat insects, spiders, and roaches in your house. Of course, I remember centipedes being the poisonous ones (between them and millipedes, that is) ...and this site did confirm that they do carry a venom. Supposedly, their jaws are too weak to penetrate human skin, but it does happen, and their venom usually just causes an irritation or feel like a bee sting (tho in some cases, if a person is allergic, the reaction can be more severe, just like with bees and wasps).

Either way, I'm glad my "save the bugs" instinct did not kick in for this one. I'm sure once you see the picture, you too will agree that this monster should not be left alive in your house!! I couldn't imagine waking up to it on me or even on the wall. Blech!! So ...beware of monsters in your homes!! Squish 'em quick!!

In Bloom

So spring has finally started to show itself here in Papillion. The weather has been absolutely beautiful the past week and all the trees have been getting their leaves back and all the flowers are starting to bloom.

I decided to go out today and take some pictures. I didn't realize how many flowering trees/bushes we have in and around our yard!! When I got here in July, most of the flowers were already long gone. Also, the smell in our backyard is amazing (an allergist's nightmare! lol) ...all the flowers create the most beautiful aroma!

Here are some of the pix I took (don't mind the blurriness ...my camera sucks at close-ups):

The lilac bush near our deck ...I can't wait till all the flowers bloom!!
A couple of the flowering trees in our neighbor's yards (far away, then close-up, then the white flowering tree)
Then, as I walked over to Marklar (Pam's dog who we've been pet-sitting while she went on vacation) to take his picture, I got a big surprise!! Right next to our rose bush (which hasn't bloomed yet, and I can't wait for it!!) were these beauties:
I have no idea what kind of flower they are ...they almost look like tulips ...but wow! They are so pretty!! I want to snip them and make a flower arrangement! lol ^.^ But there's only about 6 or 7 of them total, so my pictures of them will have to suffice. If anyone can help me identify my new favorite flower, I'd appreciate it!!

Ahhh ...I look forward to more of spring's surprises. =D Who knows what else could be growing?

Rock Band Drums ... Easy Mode

So after months of owning the game Rock Band for Xbox 360, I finally decided to take a 'stab' at playing the drums.

When we first got the game for Miah for Christmas, we made our little band. I was the singer, Jaimie played the drums, and Miah rocked on the guitar, as usual. Well, since then, he's been completely powering thru the drumming in the game and he gets a decent work out from it. Granted, he plays on Expert, just like he does with the guitar ...so yeah... =D

Well, I decided last night to give it a go. So this morning I sat down on the couch, pulled the drum set towards me, and proceeded to make my little drummer chick. I named her Edyth (my middle name with a Y instead of an I) and gave her light blue long hair. lol I then proceeded to start off drumming on easy ...just to get used to it. I made it thru 10 out of the 43 songs on easy mode, and I got four stars on all the songs. I was quite proud of myself. =D I'm more coordinated than I thought.

I tried again a little while ago and ended up with five stars on each of the first five songs. Then I got to "Gimme Shelter" and fubar'd that one up. ^.^ But I still did better than the first time I played thru. So Easy Mode drums is my newest thing. I'm hoping to eventually make it to at least Hard. =D I told Jaimie that maybe one day I'll be as awesome on drums as he is. He said he's been drumming for 30+ years ...so ...maybe when I'm in my 50s I'll be a total rock star drummer. =D lol

We'll see...

Jessa's Sunshine Corner

Well, it's official. I've started an in-home child care!! =D I have an ad running in a free publication called the Thrifty Nickel, as well as a few online classifieds. Surprisingly, I received an email today from a woman named Daisy inquiring about my day care!! She won't need my services till late April or so, but I can't believe I had someone ask about it!! Yay!!

The same day I put in my ad, I made a website for my business! I figured I could put the address in the ad and save on word space so I didn't have to pay a lot per word!! The website has a lot more information about the day care, so I think it was a great idea. I also think it looks really awesome ...almost like I'm a professional! lol

I finally broke down and decided to call it "Jessa's Sunshine Corner." I've been calling it Sunshine In-Home Child Care for the longest time, but whenever Jaimie talks about it he's used Jessa's Sunshine Corner. The former sounds a lot more 'professional' to me and I thought it would interest people. But apparently Jaimie may have been right. He felt that it might make people think it was a bigger day care and not just a small, two or three children in home day care.

Either way, I hope to get more emails and/or calls over the next week or so. My ad runs for two weeks in the Thrifty Nickel, and the online ones might stay there till I remove them. I can't wait to get at least one child and start building my day care into what I dream it will be!! Not to mention I'll finally be makin' some money!! lol =D