Friends from the Blog-o-verse!

I search the internet daily for bloggers that I feel like I connect with,

but rarely do I find any.

I am too old,

or too young.

Sometimes, not religious enough,

or maybe not cool  or hip enough.

I don't have a gaggle of sorority sisters to follow me,

and I haven't been featured anywhere for a slew of people to start following, either.

Honestly, I have been blogging for nearly 4 years and only have 77 followers.

...and of those, I am 99% sure only 10 read on a regular basis.

I want to say I am discouraged, but really...I am not.

I write for me.

It warms my heart putting my words out there.

Knowing I am blessed in so many ways;

Sharing happiness, sadness, adventures, everything.

Every friendship, I have ever had, I feel like I have given my all...all the time.

I guess, that is why I am devoted to this thing--followers or not.

In the end, 

it appears,

it has turned out to be one of my best friends.

Language Lesson from myself...and Jen

Yesterday, after I posted the story about my hubs, I kept looking at the title.

. 

For some reason, it looked wrong to me...it looked long to me, as well, but that is how I write.
I decided to ask a friend of mine about it,
I was pretty sure what needed to be changed,
but I didn't like the way it looked either...LOL.
Thus started this convo:

JEN:1.     PIZZA IS BETTER THAN CHICKEN!

          2.     Thank Goodness you scratched CALIGULA!

ME:  LOL...piizza is just about better than anything!!!!

...and I am sure names will change again...LOL.

I think there should be a comma after hubs in the title????

what do you think?

JEN:Commas are for pauses.  I do not think there should be a comma.

ME:dang it...I meant apostrophe...LOL

JEN:Should be hub’s face as it is a possessive

ME:http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/621/01/

this was great!!!

:I call him hubs...so I think it should be hubs' face????

JEN:In that case hubs’ lol

However you said my hubs in which case I would think it would still be hub’s as opposed to I want to say to hubs’ face. :P

Also following the rules

add 's to the singular form of the word (even if it ends in -s):

 so it would be hubs’s

ME:but that would be saying my hub and then making it poss...

since I said "my hubs"...I think hubs' face would be OK

but now I am thinking it would be hubs's...LOL

maybe i should blog about this...LOL

JEN:Well there is only one of him! So the singular would be hubs’s but are intending hubs here to be the plural of hub (husband). I’m going with my hubs’s face on this one lol

ME:I am leaving it alone...and using this as tomorrow's blog post...LOL

I guess, maybe...

I found this funny because,

I am a total English/Grammar snob, and if someone corrects me( "Thank you, Former Alice Lloyd College President, Jerry Davis"), 

I feel I should learn from it.

However, I think we own our own language, too.

I pause. I inflict. I pronounce. I enunciate. I write the way I talk.

(Hence, many ellipses for good ol' me.)

I know I use the word THAT waaayyyy too much, but it is what it is. 

I don't write for the Washington Post, New York Times, or the New Yorker...

and probably never will.

My biggest lesson though, is to let it go...to an extent.

Never will I let there, they're, or their go!

EVER...LOL.

Things I want to say to my hubs face, but can't...it would be too weird, but I want him to know.

• When I eat an apple, and I twist off the stem...I always hope it comes off on the letter "C".
• I like looking at his butt when he has on blue jeans! I mean, I really like to stare at it...LOL.
• I secretly like that it upsets him, when the girls haven't called, text-ed or Skype-d me for a few days. (He knows how heart broken it makes me.)
• He REALLY needs to try pizza...not just bread sticks.
• Getting email at work from him makes me giggle like a school girl.
• I trust him more than anyone in this world...and for some reason, it worries me immensely.
• Love that he sacrifices his wants for me and the girls.
• I can only hope that we do have twin boys named, Churchill and Chamberlain--to go along with my girls, Catarina and Claudia.
• Thinks it is amazing how he has stayed true to his roots without compromising his integrity.
• Wish that he would NEVER have cancer again. Life without his love would be a very long road.

The Christmas Creep

I think it rather funny that there is a term for stores putting out "holiday" stuff months before the holidays. (I have already seen it.) They call it the Christmas Creep. That term is hilarious, and I have used it every day since I heard it. Surely though, you have noticed it. You know, the Christmas tree by the spider web stuff and Santa by a jack o' lantern?

Years ago, we were astonished to find stuff before Thanksgiving.
I mean, I was.
Then slowly, Halloween got meshed with Christmas.
Before we know it, we will be spending our Labor Day holiday off shopping for Christmas. (I managed a Hallmark for 3 years and the third weekend in July was ALWAYS ornament premiere...yes, Christmas ornaments.)

However, there is one retail chain fighting back.
Nordstrom.
They have declared war on the Christmas Creep.
How refreshing?
I think I know where I may do some of my shopping this year!

 Thank you, Nordstrom!

Remembering 9/11

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/memorial/lists/by-name/

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,62151,00.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_September_11_attacks

Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,

The power, and the glory,

For ever and ever.

Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace.

Our Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women,

and blessed is the fruit of the womb,

Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

A special text

LSU MOM

My baby started classes today @LSU.

7:30am Chemistry.

On my phone, this is what I awoke to:

Catarina-Bo-Bina: Hey Mom, thanks for getting me to this first day of college.

I'm so glad to have you and I want to say thanks for prepping me to be the woman

I will be after these first years at LSU.

I love you so much.

Catarina, you are greater than anything I could have done on my own.

You make the world a better place and great, GREAT, things lie ahead for you.

I pray.

I love you,
Mom

Wealthy in my Friends

I think we ALL have hard days.
The days where,
we may not need Cymbalta,
but we need a shoulder to cry on.

I am really weird about this.
I like to be the shoulder,
but rarely ask for one.

I know I need to sometimes.
Yet, I feel if I reach out...I am saying,
"Poor me, I am weak and need help".

Lately, I have had so many friends, many that are family, to just reach out to me.
I haven't asked for anything...they have just been there.
Inviting me to swim,
calling and asking about my day,
making fun of my "works in progress"...there are several,
praying for my job search,
and my addiction to spray painting everything...LOL.

Anyway, today...I am very wealthy in my friends.
And I am thankful.
CBB

-ing Randomness

Things I am always up for:
singing back up for the Stones on Gimme Shelter
riding in the Cash Cab...it is going to happen!
watching infomercials
crying at sci-fi movies
cooking mac and cheese for eldest baby
making Manwich (on little buns) for youngest baby
acting out WICKED when no one is around
baking homemade angel food cake or any kind of cupcakes
driving to LA for the weekend...just to smile...and see smiles
going that extra lap to make 2, maybe 3, miles
blogging about my life
having those I love laugh
laughing with those I love

Really try-ing to get back into the swing of things.
Today's randomness was courtesy of me half awake and half asleep...
think-ing about my blog!

Come Monday...it will be alright.

Spending some much needed time catching up on my blog.
Well, mainly reading those that I follow...LOL.
Have decided that it isn't worth throwing away...and I will pick things back up on Monday.
June 20, 2011!

I have been editing posts that I have written, but not posted.
(Should have just left them alone...they weren't half bad.)
So check back with me soon...
Read...
follow...
enjoy your life and who you are...
and blog yourself.

CBB

My 1st love graduates...from HS!

Today, my beautiful and wonderful, 1st born child graduated from HS.
Catarina graduated with honors from Lafayette High School in Lafayette, Louisiana.
She was president of both the National Beta Club and Mu Alpha Theta and will be attending LSU in the fall studying chemical engineering...and hopefully minoring in anthropology. (Go, Bones!)
It was such a wonderful day.

A heartfelt thank you to those that shared it with her.
Please, enjoy the pics.

 Catarina getting ready to receive her diploma!

 Catarina and Leah...friends forever!

 Catarina with her dad and 2 sisters.

 Here with her grandparents, Bob and Nona...

and a sneak peek of Ella!

 Three Generations: My mother, Catarina, and I.

 Getting love from little sister.

 Hugs from Ms. Diana!

 Woo Hoo! Diploma!

 With her other grandparents, Jeff and Gwen...

and another surprise from Ella.

 My little family: Mr.Chad, me, Catarina and Claudia

 Ella-Bella and Grandma Suzie!

She was so happy that Bri was there!

Kissing Grandpa Bob and then on to kisses for Jess.

...and they lived happily ever after!

Yesterday a commoner,

Today royalty.

Every parents' dream.

Congratulations to Kate Middleton...

and the lucky Prince William.

An Ode to C2

2186

No Joke.

Promise.

Oh, HAIL NO!

Saturday--Biblical Hail Storm...here are a few pics!

This was an hour after...so it had melted some.
Truly, the size of baseballs!

Knocked the umbrella out of the table...

then destroyed all parts of it!

The hail was so sharp,

it ripped through the plastic grill cover

and the canvas on the swing!

The hubs lil' car

that he loves so much!

Both windows were broken out, too.

Poor Civic.

Look at the holes put in the ground.

It was horribly amazing!

No post for WR4W...oncology report on Mr. Chad.

Spent the evening at the docs.
He believes the hubs could have suffered a TIA.
(A TIA is a pre-cursor to a possible major stroke.)
Now, that may seem odd with his age, but since Mr. Chad has had both chemo and radiation for his Hodgkins, his chances are higher than others his age to have something like this to occur.
Strike 1.
His father also has high cholesterol which means it is likely Mr. Chad will have it, too.
Strike 2.
Along with a 30 pound weight gain over 18 months, primarily in the stomach.
Well, you know what I am trying to say
Having an MRA and a 2D echo next week.

TIA

Keep your fingers crossed and your hands to heaven.

when the hubs gets sick...

Very scary day.
My man calls me from work
and tells me that he has lost his vision.
Not completely.
Peripheral and sections, but still frightening.

We spent the day at the doc having blood work and a CT scan.
All was normal.
Now, eye exam tomorrow and oncology next week.
(He had Hodgkin's before
and was treated with chemo and radiation.
Panic comes easy.)
Brain tumor is unlikely,
but have to check for it anyway.

So far, possible migraine.
Yet, when he gets sick or minor things occur,
due to his past illness,
nothing is just a passing thing.
We all start to worry.

Just praying for the best.

Today, I'm crushin' on my own kid!

Eighteen years ago,

at 8:32 am,

my life changed forever.

I became a mother.

 My first daughter,

Catarina Paige Jae Buettner,

was born!

(This is her at around a year...couldn't find the pic from the hospital.

I think SHE threw them away...LOL.)

For me, it seems like it was just yesterday,

yet here she is working,

driving everywhere (except out of state...LOL),

registering to vote,

getting ready to go off to college,

she is now her own person,

not an offshoot of me or a tax credit for her father.

She is a "legal" American.

Amanda Compton Photography

Happy Birthday, Catarina.

I love you very much!

Oscar Loveliness 2011

To start, I love Hathaway and Franco, but last night's Oscars were a tad bit boring...just sayin'.
With that out of the way, here are my fave dresses from the red carpet.

Hailee Steinfeld in Marchesa

This was an amazing dress for this young lady.

I thought it was age appropriate

and was a natural look for her.

Turns out...she helped design it!

Amy Adams in L'Wren

I love AA and I thought she looked FAB.

I loved the green jewels.

It made this "plain jane" dress stand out!

...and the jewels,

that's another story:

1.35 million dollars worth!

Gwyneth Paltrow in Calvin Klein

I loved her look, tres' chic!

However, I think she should have

either darkened her hair a tad,

or wore the same dress

in a darker tone of this color.

Does that make sense?

I thought she kinda looked washed out...

but I loved it...

and her!

Reese Witherspoon in Armani Prive

I didn't love it,

but I thought she looked nice and comfortable

...and I own this dress.

OK, so not the Armani version,

but one very similar,

 that I wore for Mardi Gras

several years ago...LOL.

I'm not even joking.

To end though, I must say, "NO ONE stood above Hathaway".

I loved EVERY outfit she changed into for the night!

(Except, maybe, the tuxedo.)

Anne Hathaway 2011 Oscars

That pretty much sums up what I thought was the best dressed.

All in all though,

pretty boring overall.

What did you think?

CBB

P.S. Congrats to The King's Speech.

I love Colin Firth.

I have loved him since he was Mr. Darcy

in Pride and Prejudice

over 15 years ago.

*In fact,

Helen Fielding said that

Colin Firth as P&P Mr. Darcy 

was the direct inspiration for her Mr. Darcy

in Bridget Jones's Diary.

Don't you just love that?

Happy Birthday, Miss Olivia!

A year ago today, my baby brother and his wonderful wife gave our family one of it's most treasured joys--my niece Olivia! She shares this special day with another icon, Mr. Elvis Presley.

I am currently, sitting at my computer watching what was to be a light snow, come down in blizzard form. I am already looking at 4 inches and I don't see it stopping anytime soon. With that being said, it is unfortunate that I will not get to be a part of her 1st birthday. I do want her to know, though that my whole heart is with her as she celebrates her big day. I love you, Miss Olivia!

scrapbook room does not equal junk room!

This post is a simple rant!

I always hear people say they have a junk room.

It annoys me.

Every usable space in a house...

needs to be used:

guest room,

craft room,

music room,

game room,

"scrapbook" room,

etc!

Whatever you want...just use it!

Somewhere between summer and Christmas,

my scrapbook room disappeared and a junk room appeared.

OK, so it is not a hoarding episode yet.

And, it really isn't junky...

just piled with THINGS.

(I can not handle piles.)

I am going to fix this issue...now.

I will post before and afters!

Wish me luck!

CBB

*Pic above and other examples of before/after shots,

can be found here:

http://simplyorg.com/beforeafter.html

Good Mornin' Crow's Feet...where did you come from?

I woke up a few days ago and there they were...crow's feet! Where did they come from? How did they get there? Why didn't someone tell me they were coming so soon?!

Thirty-seven, really? I'm still a kid!

These things, crow's feet, they "scurr" me. I am afraid that I will get obsessed with them and start beating people up in the "eye cream" aisle. I mean, what's next cheetah cheeks?

On the other hand though, after some research, it turns out they are a sign of happy people that like to laugh...in essence, an "attribute" that I would consider a trophy!...So today I notice, a few lines that I have to get all up in the mirror to see...for 37 awesome years of life. I consider that a pretty fair trade!