Well, Bryan's school election is officially complete.

Thank goodness.

Today the electoral college met and cast their classroom votes for president. By an overwhelming margin (17-7) Obama won.

Jim Mitchell Elementary has officially voted Barrack Obama into office.

Each class had a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 2 electoral votes, based on the population of each class. Bryan's class had 2 votes. One elector from the 5th grade didn't show up. Fortunately, the electoral vote didn't come to a tie.

It was a nice lesson for the kids. They all enjoyed being included in the voting process. They also got to vote on a school mascot and school colors. Those votes haven't been counted yet. They expect to have those finished by Friday.

I'm just so glad it's all over. I was able to get the ballot boxes out of my house on Monday. So my dining room is back to normal too.

I'm so proud of Bryan for thinking of and organizing this election. He did a great job.

McCain in 2008!!

Today was the big day.

I got out and voted!!

Bill said that Obama is going to win. For the last 17 elections, when the Redskins have lost, then the party not currently in power WINS. Since the Redskins lost over the weekend, that surely means that the democrats are winning today. lol

I'm still pulling for McCain though.

Get out and VOTE!!

Enchanted Rock

We went on a great Cub Scout campout two weekends ago to Enchanted Rock.

Enchanted Rock is a gigantic batholith...basically an enormous rock that formed underground that has been exposed over time by erosion. It is of pink granite (very common in this part of Texas).

When I was in the 5th grade, our class trip was to be to Enchanted Rock, but early that year the state bought the land and they made some renovations and the park was closed for the construction so our trip got cancelled.

I have wanted to go over since.

I finally got my chance. It was wonderful. Well, the hike up the rock wasn't so great...it was over half a mile straight up and it was a very difficult climb, especially with 10 little cubscouts.

I was able to get some great pictures of Texas from high up. These pictures were taken at the top of the rock.

After the hike, we all settled down at the base of the rock to camp. It was a great time!

We saw 2 skunks (they walked right up to our campsite), several squirrels that were the size of large cats, at least 3 feral cats, an entire herd of deer, a big snake sunning himself at the top of the rock, and Bethany woke up one time during the night to see little yellow eyes looking at her through the flap in the tent. We did not get out of the tent to see what it was.

I didn't sleep well. Mostly because I am too old to sleep flat on Texas but also because the rock makes noises.

During the day, the sun heats the rock and it expands. At nighttime, as the granite cools and settles, it makes popping and cracking sounds. I knew this before going to bed, I just had no idea how LOUD the cracking and popping would be. It sounded like gunfire. It was awesome once I figured out that some nutbar wasn't running around shooting.

Bill and I are planning on taking the kids back in the spring without the cubscouts so that we can take our time doing everything and really enjoy the experience.

For now, I'll just have to enjoy my pictures.

Halloween 2008

Finally, Halloween is over. It was very stressful for me this year. Bill was sent down to work in Houston and didn't get home until 8:30. So it was just me and the kids.

Bryan was super easy. He was Darth Vader and so had a store bought costume.

Bethany wanted to be a character from a video of one of her favorite groups, My Chemical Romance. The character's name is Helena and she is some kind of dead ballerina. I had to make that costumer. I didn't get it finished until just before we left to go trick or treating.

It turned out quite nice if I do say so myself.

Then trick or treating...me, Bryan and a mob of 12 year old girls. WOW! Next year I may just let them go without me. lol One of the girls talked to me non-stop. I don't even know her. She was the younger sister of a girl in Bethany's choir class.

Anyway, I'm glad it's over. Too much activity for me. I'm getting too old for it. haha

but I got some good pictures of the kids.

Volunteer work

Here lately I have become a volunteer zombie.

In an attempt to make up for last year (while I was soooo sick) when I wasn't able to help with the kids' schools, I have taken up volunteering for all of their various activities.

I am the volunteer coordinator/vice president of the choir boosters, volunteer coordinator for the theater boosters, chair of the sunshine committee for Bryan's pta, girl scout leader, popcorn kernal for the cubscouts...I just have lots and lots going on.

Did you know that people hate to volunteer? They are really good about saying yes, but they just don't show up. Or when it's time to call in that 'yes' they gave at the beginning of the year, you find out that they lied about their phone numbers and email addresses? How petty is that? If you mean no, just say no to begin with. It is NOT cool to just not show up.

Oh, and if you don't have any suggestions for improvement, please do not complain. Mindless bitching really doesn't help the situation. If you have a suggestion for improvement, by all means, let someone know. If you don't, just keep your mouth shut.

Okay, enough of a rant for today.

Surviving Ike

Well, we are two days out from Ike making landfall. Last week, amid constant radio announcements that Austin was doomed and was surely going to be without clean water and power for weeks, I (some say foolishly) bucked the norm and disregarded all the warnings.

While the rest of the greater Austin area was buying up all the emergency generators, bottled water and gasoline, I bought only some poptarts, tunafish and 2 loaves of bread.

Saturday night was a chaotic mess of flippin' thru the channels getting updates on the real hurricane danger zones. When Ike finally did make it all the way into Austin, he just kinda waved as he passed my house.

Not a single drop of rain fell on my house and the leaves on my trees barely rippled.

Now there are thousands of people in the Austin area that have emergency generators and gallons upon gallons of water that they aren't going to use. There were very few gas cans to be had in Georgetown on Sunday and I am trying desperately to believe that it was evacuees in the area that grabbed up all the gas cans. I am having trouble believing it just because of the hysteria in the area the entire week prior to Ike making landfall.

It all made me think of Y2K again...when everyone I knew was hoarding food and toilet paper.

So for those of you who were worried when you turned on the news and heard that Austin was going to have a terrible time with hurricane Ike, rest assured we weathered the storm just fine. Although my live oak could use a bit of rain.

Preteen girls, stalkers and mothers in denial

Okay, so everybody knows that preteen girls are pretty much out there in their own little world.

Bethany has been getting some really bizarre voicemails on her cell phone for a couple of weeks now. Well, last night she got three really creepy emails. We didn't recognize the email address, and since this has been somewhat ongoing, I called the police.

Well, as it turned out it was one of Bethany's friends (so called). Once we discovered who it was emailing her, I called the girl's mother. The mother was in total denial (even though her daughter admitted that she sent the emails) and accused Bethany of making the whole thing up.

I was just livid. I still am.

What I want to know today is what on earth made that child think it would be a good idea to send a message to her friend from a strange (to us) email address saying "I know who you are" "I know your email address" and "am I scaring you?"

Sometimes it makes me wonder if preteen girls have a functioning brain at all. Bethany and I talked about this weird child and we decided that it's probably best if she limits her time with this girl. Her mother admitted that this wasn't the first time this has happened "where the accuser was making the whole thing up" and that really sent up some red flags for me.

gggggrrrrrrr

But none of this connected with the emails explains the bizarre voicemail messages. That was definately a boy.

So she's got TWO stalkers???

Okay, so after all, my countdown was a bit anticlimactic...oops.

Well, I was counting down to the first day of school when once again mothers across the nation rejoice because their house again is QUIET!

The first week of school was extremely hectic this year, which is why the countdown fell flat. By the time I got the kids off on Monday morning, I was too pooped to get online and post anything!

The first week is over now and things are starting to get back to normal.

Of course, now that school is in full swing that just means that my soon to be teenage daughter is going to require her personal taxi cab...tonight it's auditions for the Shakespeare club, then a Performing Arts Alliance meeting, then a choir meeting.

Today is one of those days that I am glad Bryan is still in elementary school.

My first card for my blog

With all the excitement from the release of the new Stampin' Up catalog, I decided to also add some halloween excitement of my own. My next stamping class is going to focus on Halloween cards and my favorite is this waterfall card. Today seemed like a good day to post it. :-)

I used Really Rust, Creamy Caramel and Chocolate Chip cardstock.

Really rust and versamark inks.

And the stamp set is an older one--Trick or Treat.

Sleeping on the beach

I decided since I told about a bad camping experience, it was only fair to post something about a good experience.

After the Deliverance experience, we headed out for Port Aransas. We weren't really planning on staying over night, but when we learned that we could camp on the beach for a mere $10, we were sold.

I am so glad we did. We pitched the tent and got all of our blankets and pillows situated, decided on a sleeping arrangement and settled down to sleep. Like always, I couldn't fall asleep in such cramped quarters and we put the tent up at the wrong angle, so we didn't get a very good breeze. So I decided to sit outside and watch the ships go thru the channel.

Truly, I think that night may have been once of the best experiences of my life.

After an hour or so, I started to get a little chilled (imagine that, chilled in south Texas in JUNE) and really, really wanted my comforter. The only problem with that was that instead of buying sleeping blankets that we knew would be too hot, we just brought along all the comforters in the house to pad the bottom of the tent so we'd be more comfy.

Bill was still in the tent asleep. On my blanket. About 3 am, I decided to try to 'sneak' the blanket out from under him. It was no use. I finally had to wake him up. So he grabbed two comforters and we kicked back in our canvas chairs. They are slightly reclined and even had footstools. We slept soundly until the alarm on Bill's crackberry went off just before dawn.

When the alarm went off, we woke the kids so they could see the sun rise over the Gulf. The only disappointing part was that there were clouds on the horizon. It was still beautiful and we got some amazing pictures (like the one on the left) and we decided right then that camping on the beach in Port Aransas was going to be a yearly vacation for us.

If you have never camped on the beach, I *highly* recommend it!

Okay, the Harbor Bridge in Corpus Christi. It's enormous. I have a fear of even little bridges. But because the bridge is part of IH 37 and you HAD to cross it to get to the USS Lexington from IH 37 and we were ON IH37, I put on my big girl panties and gave it a whirl. (Actually, the truth is it came up on us so fast, kind of around a corner and we didn't even realize there was nowhere to get off before the bridge). I got about 20 feet onto the bridge at the very very very bottom and PANICKED. I slammed on the brakes, Bill started screaming at me that I can't stop in the middle of traffic on a BRIDGE and he swears there was a semi heading straight up our tailpipe.

I had my meltdown where the pretty orange flower is at on the picture.

As efficiently as I could, I got to the far right. But there was no breakdown lane, so I was still RIGHT SMACK in the middle of traffic.

Well, then I had to change seats with Bill so he could drive. Meanwhile, I'm about to toss my eggs from fear. I couldn't even get out of the van. And the van was loaded to the top with camping gear. I'm climbing over tents and toys and coolers while Bill is waiting outside the van on the busy interstate.

It's pretty funny now. I think Bill may still be a little miffed about the whole thing though.

What's so bad about hotels?

For our vacation, we thought we could get the most bang for our buck by not staying in hotels, but rather camping everywhere we went. Bryan is a cub scout, Bethany is a girl scout, so we really thought this would be a great opportunity for them.

A few weeks before we were scheduled to leave, we called the lakes in the area we were going to be and made arrangements. Have I mentioned that you should never ever EVER reserve a campsite that you have never seen?

So, Monday morning, we load up the family minivan and head out. A few short hours later, we pulled in to Corpus Christi. (Remind me to tell you about the Harbor Bridge). We figured we would do our thing in downtown Corpus and THEN go make camp at supper time. We had a cooler full of pork chops, hot dogs and hamburger patties, all I needed was a grill.

The Lexington was great--hot but really interesting. The Texas State Aquarium was incredible. Then it was time for supper and so we headed out to Lake Corpus Christi.

Yes, I said Lake CORPUS CHRISTI. That name implies something, don't you think? Well, Lake Corpus Christi is in Mathis, TX. About 38 miles back towards where we came from. WAAAAAAAAAAYY out in the sticks. I swear to you, I could hear the banjos dueling in the background music of my life.

But, we were "roughing it" so what the heck, right?

We get all signed in and they let us know that there is a burn ban and there were to be NO FIRES, even in the bbq pit. So, I guess cooking is out of the question and we didn't pass ANY restaurants on our way in, so where are we going to eat??

We table that and go to put up the tent. No such luck. We had rented a screened shelter, with the understanding that it was a picnic table that was screened in, with an area to pitch a tent nearby. NOPE. We had to sleep in the shelter. That wasn't too bad, except even dirt is more forgiving that concrete. Oh, and the trees were so thick around the campsite that absolutely no breeze got thru.

So, we get settled and head back into town (really, I can't think of another word, but 'town' is just a bit too civilized for what this place was) to try to find someplace to eat. By this time we were all starving. We did find a MickyD's, Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen. We opted for Dairy Queen. Then we decided to try to find a camp stove or something for the next morning.

They didn't have a walmart. They didn't have a Kmart. They didn't have a Target. No Winn's, no Woolsworth, no TG&Y and their only grocery store was an HEB. A very very very small HEB. After a bit of searching, I found a single electric burner. So we were set for breakfast.

Back at camp, it was getting late so we all went down to the bathrooms. Bethany and I headed to the little girls' room on one side and Bill and Bryan headed around to the other side. Well, Bethany and I never made it all the way in as it was dark out and there was NO LIGHT inside the bathroom. Ick.

So Bryan and Bill stood guard while we used the men's room. Icky icky icky. Between the stalls there were half walls (and the stalls had no doors, but who needs them anyway when all you have is half walls between you??) You could actually sit there and have a face to face conversation with your potty mate.

UM, no thanks.

We finish our nightlies and head back to camp. Get the kids all settled down and sleeping and then the locusts and katydids come. I didn't sleep all night. I played brickbreaker on Bill's crackberry all night. Sometime between 3 and 4, I decided that the Texas sized drink from Dairy Queen was a mistake. I needed to make a potty run. Bill and both kids were sleeping, so I was preparing to go alone, until I remembered there was no light in the bathroom and there was no way I was going in there in the dark. (Yes, I am a big chicken).

Now there were some options for me.

I could suck it up and go potty in the girls' potty like the big girl I am.

I could use the men's room and take my chances that nobody scary and male interrupted me.

I could go find a nice bush and hope I didn't get poison ivy on my bum.

I could pray to God to not let me wet myself before first light.


I weighed my options and decided that prayer was my safest bet. So I prayed until first light and didn't even THINK about liquids until I saw the first streaks of dawn.

We left that town as soon as the Lake office opened up.

Lesson learned, never ever reserve a campsite you are unfamiliar with, or "what's so bad about hotels?".

Better Late Than Never

Well, I promised some pictures of Wendy's wedding, I just never got around to posting them, but here they are. I got to dress up in a purdy dress and be a bride's maid, and the kids were ushers.

back for more

well, it's been a while since I've posted, but hopefully, I'm back on track now. Nothing like being sick and near death experiences to throw a routine off.

Quick recap of the last 9 months...

November 2007--monster staph infection invades my body. Two doctors and 6 rounds of antibiotics later, the infection is still struggling to hang on, but I am definately on the mend.

Thanksgiving was an experience, let me tell you!! I was delirious at best. We were in Georgia visiting my in-laws for the holidays and I guess I remember about half of the trip. That was when the infection was at it's worst, and there were several times, I was sure I wasn't gonna make it.

Fast forward several months...June 2008...during one of my healthier moments, Bill and I took the kids down to Port Aransas. Possibly the most awesome experience of my life!! We slept in chairs on the beach bundled up in blankets and watched the sunrise and the ships go thru the channel. I could have stayed there forever!

So now July is winding down and I have had a relapse with the infection. It just doesn't want to die. After this last round of antibiotics I am much much better, so keep your fingers crossed and the prayers going that this will be the last of the staph.

I'll try to post updates and pics periodically over the next month, and I'll really be able to start keeping up on a more regular basis once the kids are back in school. (yea school!! Come on August 25!!)

I have tons of artwork (cards and scrapbook pages) to post, along with some great pics of our vacation.

Thanks to all of you who have hung in there and kept reading!
Becky

It's finally over!

Well, Wendy's wedding is finally over. Last week blew by in a frantic rush of last minute wedding garbage. You'd think for as much time, effort and money as I put into this, *I* would have been the one getting the ring!

But Bethany and Bryan looked beautiful and as soon as I get the pictures developed I'll add those too. The both look so grown up. Almost makes me want to cry. The next wedding in the family will likely be Bethany's. YIKES! That makes me feel a bit old!

Bethany the Songbird

The latest on Bethany is that she was recently invited to audition for the TCDA concert in San Antonio this summer. She auditioned via audio recording last month and we are expected to hear back by the middle of April. 160 students from across Texas will be chosen to sing. That will mean a week in San Antonio in July.

Aside from the fact that she is freakishly brilliant, she is very talented too.

Obviously, she gets her smarts from me (haha) but nobody is sure where her voice comes from. Neither I nor Bill could carry a tune in a bucket.

Keep your fingers crossed and the prayers flowing that she makes it!

Getting started

Y'all just hang in there with me while I get going on this blog. lol It's not really my thing, but I'm tryin'!

Since this is my first entry, I'll just do a little history of Bessie...

I'm from Killeen, Texas. I was born there and up until recently I was pretty sure I was gonna die there. I graduated from Killeen High in 1991, left for college (Tarleton State), met Bill and got married, dropped out, went BACK to Killeen (what was I thinking??) and started having babies. Bethany is now 12 and Bryan is 8.

Last year, Bill's job moved him to Austin, so we bought a house in Georgetown and settled down there. (YAY, Becky left Killeen!!!)

I've finally decided that when I grow up (if I grow up) I want to write. I've toyed for years with the idea of being a teacher, but the older I get, the less patience I have with other people's ill-behaved children. So, teaching's probably not the best job for me.

While my book is in the works, I am spending my time being a stay at home mom and selling Stampin' Up. I spend lots of time making greeting cards and scrapbook pages, sewing, gardening, cleaning...I spend LOTS of time cleaning.

Not quite the way I pictured my life 20 years ago. Probably not the way anybody that knew me back then pictured my life either. I'm a sweet little homebody. (Me? Sweet? Whatever...)

I'm sure if you keep reading, I'll eventually post something worth reading. My life is generally full of comedy.