When Daddy's Away....

Hottie husband is away with the National Guard, again. This time it's only for a couple of weeks. You may be wondering how I do it all...three boys, a full time job, community involvement, baseball practices, Boy Scouts, laundry, cleaning, dinners...(enter halting screech)....yeah, about dinners...this is where I make it easy. You see, unlike my mommy dearest, I didn't inherit the gourmet cooking gene (okay, that's not entirely true...I can cook, I just choose not to cook). Most of the time hottie husband does the cooking, the rest of the time we eat out. So, when daddy's away...the kids and I have ‘Make Your Own Dinner Night!'

“KIDS! It’s make your own dinner night!”

They know the rules- eat anything you want. Waffles with peanut butter and syrup? Sure. Ice cream and chocolate fudge PopTarts? Uh- huh. Cereal by handfuls straight from the box? You betcha!

Thankfully my kids don't know about the Child Abuse & Neglect Hotline....yet.

An Open Letter To Botox...

Dear Botox,

I hate you. I love you. Why do you torture me?

I flirted with you only once, and it’s been over a year since our little hook up. It’s true, I can’t stop thinking about you. I swore I would never cheat on Aging Gracefully, but there you were with your sexy, shiny needle and your empty promises of youth and beauty.

I have a few questions for you. I know they say beauty is pain, but why do you have to hurt so darn much? (I mean, seriously, I felt like poison was being injected painfully into my face!) Can’t you woo a girl with a few stiff drinks first or something? Also, you need to let people know about your little reaction to 800mg of Motrin that they might take in preparation for the pain. How was I to know my entire face would bruise like I just lost to the Russian Ivan Drago in some kind of cosmetic Rocky IV? I had people staring at me for weeks thinking I was beat up by my other lover, Restalyne (or a piece of printing equipment).




One more question too, you pricey witch. What’s up with how much you COST? Do you have any idea how many weeks of grocery shopping money we have to skim to pay you? Someone needs to come out with a generic version of your uptown ho-riffic self.

I want you back, but I’m afraid. I don’t know if I can take the pain. I can’t afford you! I may have to settle for slumming with some trashy chemical peel off the street. Also, you wear off so quickly, leaving me looking tired and worried again. Darn you!

Please come back. No, GO!
Love/Hate,


P.S. I've started seeing a sexy Dermabrasion on the side, and he never hurts me like you do. Take THAT, you needle-happy FREAK!

Big Deal....

If the gym doesn't start making a bigger deal about me showing up, I'm gonna stop going.

Poppo.....

This past Tuesday my dad (step-dad) was admitted to the hospital. About three years ago he was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and he hasn't been the same since. Because he is also diabetic the MS has really progressed quite quickly. On Tuesday he was taken to the emergency room for what we thought was a stroke. At this time a stroke has been ruled out, this is totally MS related. He has very little use of his legs, his balance is almost non existent, his eye sight comes and goes, he is often confused, he can barely speak above a whisper, the list goes on and on. He is only 59 years old.

It's a scary thing to watch someone you love and care for slowly deteriorate. Especially when that someone is the epitome of what a truly good person is. My dad is a hero. My dad is admirable. My dad is a man of God.

Today I wrote down a few things about my dad that I love, things that I've tucked away in my heart. Anyone who knows my dad understands that we are truly blessed to know such an awesome man!

What makes my dad so special:

1. Although we are not his children, he has cared for my brother and me and never made us feel like we were not "his" kids.

2. He is very rarely serious. He loves to laugh and make others smile.

3. His corny (but funny) jokes.

4. His ability to put others first, no matter what.

5. His faith and trust is Jesus Christ.

6. His extremely hard work ethic.

7. He is incredibly intelligent.

8. The hick way he says words such as "barrette" (he says bar-ett) and "creek" (he says, crick).

9. His love and patience with his children (all four of us).

10. His ability to stay strong and level headed in the worst situations.

11. The rhyme he made up for me with all my names that he often sings (to the tune of BINGO):

"Ellyn Elizabeth Hockaday Fine,

Ellyn Elizabeth Hockaday Fine,

Ellyn Elizabeth Hockaday Fine

and Betsy was her name-o!"

12. The nicknames he made up for just about everyone in our family:

My brother Cal = Dill

My sister Jordan = Gordo

My son Hayden = Woody

My son Jack = Jake

My son Benjamin = Ben Chuck (Charles is his middle name)

My Aunt Charlayn = Aunt Tan (see post about Aunt Tan)

I could go on and on...

Tell the ones you love and care for just that...that you love and care for them. Never take them for granted. Never waste time. Because as my family is experiencing, time goes by too quickly.

The Gift Of Friendship...

Today I had lunch with a fellow blogger friend and "Betsy At The Movies" fan! Her name is Patti. Amazing how when you are with someone you have met for the first time yet you feel like you have known them forever! Our conversation was easy (of course I talked the ENTIRE time, sorry Patti), we laughed and we shared stories about our families! At the end of our lunch Patti took out a small gift bag and presented me with a gift!! Because she reads my blog she knew that my hottie husband and I were baptized on Sunday. Her husband (who is a blacksmith) HANDMADE me a cross from a railroad spike. It is absolutely the most thoughtful and beautiful gift!! I LOVE IT! When Patti dropped me off at the office after lunch I went up to my office, took the cross out of the gift bag and I began to cry. I couldn't believe how incredibly thoughtful and kind this gift was! It means so much to me.

Funny how friends come into your life at a time that you need them most!

To Patti and her husband Bernie: Your gift touched my heart more deeply than you will ever know! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

Here is a photo of the cross made from a railroad spike...



.......Beautiful!