Now thats what I'm talkin about!!!

Ok I discovered last night that I have one more guilty pleasure. I knew it all along, but I just never really voiced it.

By the way there are ALOT of you who are in love with LOST. I am afraid if I started watching it, between that, Church, Twilight, Softball, and Blogging, my family would not have a mother.

So my other Guilty Pleasure.....ABDC, no I did not get dyslexic on my alphabet.

Its Americas Best Dance Crew people!!!!!

Oh to be able to dance that way. I was not gifted with any of these dancing skills. :( I wish I was.

This crew is awesome......Let me introduce you to Quest Crew. Please watch them they are AWESOME!!!!!! This was one of there performances last night!

Then they did this one!!

And to tie it in with my other guilty pleasure the guy who plays eric in Twilight, also helps sponser this crew with his clothing line. (I think I got that right)

Now they are up against another awesome crew! Its an all girls crew called Beat Freaks. I have never in my live been as amazed as I was with this performance!

Ok I am off to go find a hip hop class somewhere. Maybe they have a class out there for uncoordinated mothers who are 35. :) Hey Jennifer can you teach Hip-Hop????

Hi....

 

My name is Valarie and I am addicted........

 

to Twilight

 

I am not ashamed, I will stand proud and tell you anything you need to know.  I have read New Moon twice and am now reading Eclipse, again.  I have watched the movie 3 times (I know that's not very many) and have already pre-ordered the DVD.  I never thought I would be, lets just say slightly obsessed, with a teen vampire saga, but I am.  There is just no explaining it unless you are there.  I am trying to wean myself off, but its hard.   This is not something you can just go cold turkey on.   Especially when there are awesome things out there like this..........

 

 

So I am not some weirdo or anything, there are lots of us out there.  I am just a 35 year old mother of three who likes all things Twilight.

What's your guilty pleasure???  I know you have them, there are a bunch of American Idol obsessed bloggers out there.  I know your there, cause I read your post on it all the time.  :)

 

What children might learn riding the bus......

 

 

So some of you just can't even imagine me being trouble.  Well I am sure my family would tell you different. 

 

Another one of my thug moments, was again at Big K (I think, I don't know it could have been Wally World by then).  Anyway my Mama, Daddy, Robin and myself are leaving and some truck, I don't even know what kind, maybe a cement truck or a dump truck drives by.  I proceed to shout "What the H - E double hockey sticks is that!", but I did not say H - E double hockey sticks, I said THE word.   I am sure I learned this on the bus.

 

I learned something else on the bus.

 

One day after getting off the bus, Mama thinks it is was probably 1st or 2nd grade, I was outside, and she said I kept pointing up at the sky.  Picture this.......

Little 6 or 7 year old girl in the front yard pointing at the sky and trees, making noises like a gun.  Mother comes out and asks the little precious girl with the

Donnie Osmond haircut.....

 

Mother: Honey what are you doing?

Precious girl with Donnie Osmond Haircut:  Shooting Birds - bang, bang (of course the little girl was not saying bang bang, she was making actually gun noises, but I don't know how to spell a gun noise)

Mother:  Where did you learn that!!!

Precious girl with Donnie Osmond Haircut:   The boys on the bus, they do it all the time.... bang, bang

Yes, I was "Shooting Birds", and I was not pointing with my pointer finger, I was using tall man.

 

I really don't remember being bad after these episodes, I believe I was a perfect child after that.  ;)

 

I used to be a thug....

Yes you read right, I was a thug, a hooligan, a trouble maker. You see this face....

I explored my bad side people!

When I was in pre-school, I had to stand in the corner, do you want to know what for???? Well I will tell you. I was a drug-dealer at an early age! I Valarie Lea from Tennessee, now in Alabama, passed out Ludens Cherry Cough drops to the other 4 year olds in the class! There I said it! I did my time in the corner, but apparently that was not enough........

Along that same time, I was with my Mother and my Sister Lisa, (Robin could have been there, but she was just a little thing that I don't remember her being there) and we were at "Big K".

At this time in our lives it was ok for a 4 or 5 year old to go off and look at the toy section. Well I decided that I wanted something, and I was gonna get it! So I marched right up to the counter and grabbed me a pack of orange tic-tacs!

Its my one vice still to this day. I walked up to my mother and sister, just as proud as can be by my newly obtained love and thats when it happened.

Mama: Valarie Lea where did you get those tic-tacs!!!

Me: From up there

Mama: Where did you get the money to pay for them?!?!?!?

Me: Money? What's Money?!?

Mama: Come with me!

Picture it - Mother, dragging 5 year old through the store, while the 5 year old is screaming and crying and 12 year old sister is behind you probably saying, Oooo the police are gonna get you, you are going to jail!!!!!!

Mama: Here give this money to the cashier! You have to pay for those!!

Me: Waahaaaaaa!!! (as Mama forces my hand with the money up to the cashier)

Lisa: Snickers

So that was it, the end of my walk on the wild side, (that is until my teen years, we will not go there). I straightened up an flew right after that. (or did I)

To this day If I were to walk out of the store and have accidentally forgotten to pay for a pack of cough drops that were left underneath my purse, (not that that has happened or anything) I will march right back in and pay for them. That's just how I roll now.

I will completely understand if you do not think the same about me anymore. :)

So were you ever a trouble maker???

Update!!! -- I am using this for my Fro' Me to you. Go visit Kristin and see more stories of people back in the day. :)

Lets make something!

 

Have you seen these....

I got them at the Dollar Store after seeing a post on them at Joys of Home.  Then Amanda at Imperfectly Beautiful made something with them.  If you live near her you better hope you can find any of these, cause she is buying them up!

So I thought I would do a chalkboard out of them.

So I got my trusty chalkboard paint out and went to town.  Then I let it dry.

Then I took the green paint and put polka dots all around the edge.   It was a bit neon looking so I toned it down by off seating the teal on top of the green after the green had dried.

Next I just added a cute little ribbon and Whalah!!!

Easy Peasy!!!

And it continues...

 

Today is the first day of our softball season!  To say that I am excited it an understatement.  Yet with that excitement comes some wonderful memories and anticipation for the future.  You see last year was Jessie's last year for softball.  Gosh I am getting teary eyed again just thinking about it.  She has been playing softball since she was five, and I had a harder time letting go last year than she did.

Jessie walking away after her last game ever.. :(

getting a hug from a fellow player

 

Now the legacy will continue. 

See Jessie and Sydney are four years apart, which means Jessie graduated last year, and Syd started to the high school this year.  So we are starting all over with high school softball with Syd this year.  Like she did in middle school, she has taken her sisters number.  Maybe I wont cry tonight.

This is the look I always get when I take her picture while she is playing ball. :)

Don't believe me?? Let me show you....

Last night I came home to hear Syd complaining.  She was complaining about all the stains, Jessie had left on the uniform.  :)

Jess about to steal a base and slide to get the uniform dirty

I think when Syd graduates I am asking for the uniforms.  They can just retire their number. 

Ok I have to stop writing this now before I start crying my eyes out at work.

 

For more Sincerely Fro Me to You's go to Kristen's place at We are THAT family.

Is anybody wondering?????

Is anybody wondering who the winner of my giveaway was?!?! No you did not miss the announcement, you did not miss the drawing. I just finally got around to it last night. :} (sheepish grin here)

What its only 38 day after the fact. Really I am so so sorry..... :(

Anyway lets get on with this thing!

Drumroll please......................................

My lovely assistant

Tidymom come on down!!!!

For participating and being oh so patient. You are the lucky winner of a Week in the Bahamas!!!!!!

Ok, not really :)

But you did win these lovely prizes!

Mango and Lime Sugar scrub!

Tea towels that have a magnet attached that will stick to your fridge!

(unless you have a stainless steel fridge that magnets wont stick to like mine)

A spa mask... ahhhhhh

and this oh so cute nest with eggs in it!

But oh that's not all!!!!!!

You have also won a wonderful chalkboard made by yours truly!!!!!

(tutorial to come later)

Now because I felt bad for taking so long to get this done (which is the reason I have not had a giveaway sooner) I decided to pick one more name. :)

This person will receive a chalkboard that I will make for them. So lovely assistant who is it going to be?!?!??!

Its Archie Mck!!!! Hey Archie, I hope your a crafty kind of person. :)

I will try not to make it so girly, unless you are gonna give it to your wife, then I will make it girly! :)

Again I am so so so so so so so so so so sooooorrrrrryyyyyyyyy, for being a procrastinator! I am working on it, not very hard, but I am working on it. :)

Bang Bang Choo Choo Train

 

 

Does this get on your nerves as much as it does mine?!?!?!??!?!

 

 

Ok just checking....:)

Photo 101

Now this is gonna be good. Me explaining how a picture was taken.

Many of you have wanted to know how these pictures were taken.

Well its pretty simple. You might not even believe me when I tell you.

• Have your subject get on their knees
• Stand over the top of them with them looking up
• get as close as you can without them going out of focus
• snap the picture

Told ya easy

Now the difficult part is this

Keeping younger sister from putting her fingers into the shot

Keeping your feet out of the shot

Keeping younger sister from crawling into shot with you

and then messing your hair up

And again keep younger sister from messing with your hair, and then having the other younger sister (me), wait until older sister is ready. :)

If you need to and your subjects are being difficult...

Pop them in the head to get them in line....

Two other tips to make your big head little body photo shoot go well are these...

• Make sure there knees are in the picture
• shoot on a solid surface (green grass works best)

The camera used was a Nikon D80 with the smaller of my lenses, I do not know what the name of the lens is. Its a standard lens, maybe its the 18-135mm (Lisa says 18-55)???? I also have my camera on auto ALL the time. I know, I know I am hearing the gasps now, but I don't know all the settings, and frankly when I try to learn them it just overwhelms me. :(

So go try it out this weekend. Then I want to see what you come up with. :)