Day Thirty Nine: Your Favorite Picture

Need I say anything more???

Day Thirty Eight:A Picture of Your Favorite Drink

Yes...if given enough time, I could drink all of this. Actually in two days. I love my Diet Coke.

Day Thirty Seven:A Picture Taken at School

So I haven't been in school for a LONG time, so I am going to use some poetic license here, and use a picture of Logan waiting to go to school...LOL. Here, he was waiting in the backyard for the bus to drive by because he thought it would take him. I am pretty sure you have to wear clothes to get on the bus, but he wouldn't listen.

As a side note, "going to school" has been the magic bribe to get him to potty train. For a week or so now, he has done all his bathroom business in his little potty, and after he makes you close your eyes while he yells
SURPRISE!!!" and shows you his hard work...the first thing he says after is, "Can I go to school now?"

Adorable.

Day Thirty Six: A Place Where You Spend A Lot Of Time

Actually, this picture has two of the three places that I spend the most time. One is home...one is my car. The third is work, in case you were wondering...lol. I do all my deep thinking in my two hours a day of commuting, and I do all my playing and relaxing at home.

Day Thirty Five:A Picture of Your Favorite Movie

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this movie. All of it. Except maybe the "Like a Virgin" scene...as that gets old after awhile.

But the "Come What May" song was my wedding song, and someday, when I win the lotto I am having a swing installed into my front room so that I can sing and swing to the "Sparkling Diamonds" song.

Day Thirty Four:A Picture of Your Favorite Morning

Every once in a while, I go through a "Let's try and be a normal family" mode, where we go to the park and frolic...complete with a blanket and juice boxes. Usually, these moods don't last long since my family is one of those that puts the "Fun" in disfunctional...lol.

This particular morning was a Sunday. We got up, went to church, and then went to the park to play baseball. This was, of course, before Logan could hit the ball farther than Tyler, but he always looked so cute in his batting helmet.

He walked around like this for two straight hours...ROFL!

Day Thirty Three:A Picture of Somewhere You Went Today

I have split days off this week, and just found out the hard way that having Sundays off stinks. Nothing is open, or it closes early. So, I went to McDonald's three times, and Wal-Mart once, but spent the majority of the day in the backyard. So glamorous, I know!!!!

We never run out of things to do there, between the new flower boxes, the leaf blower, and the never ending battle against the weeds. Today, I was crawling around ripping them out by hand when Logan decided he wanted to "ride on me" while I was working. He's adorable, so I let him. He giggled the whole time, and if I stopped to rest he'd yell, "You gotta work Momma!!! Keep pulling!!!!"

All in all, a good day, despite a little sunburn.

Day Thirty Two:A Picture of Something You Did Today

Saturdays mean work, and work means that my ADHD goes wild when things sit too long, so I ripped apart the front table and made it fantastic. Plus, it helps sell items that normally don't move in my store.

So now instead of a boring swim table, it's an explosion of color!!! Yeah!

Day Thirty One:A Picture of A Food You Made

You probably can't tell by looking at this (unless you are laughing at the outdated stove), but this Easter Ham picture is eight years old. I don't cook very often, and because of that, when I do we feel the need to capture it on film.

What...a woman who doesn't cook??? Blame it on my mom. She always said that she told the men in her life to pick one room they wanted her to be good at, and most men didn't pick the kitchen. Perhaps the best advice she ever gave me.

So, while I can't find my way through a recipe book, I am still a top notch chef in other areas....ROFL!

Day Thirty:A Picture of Your Breakfast

So I have a confession to make. I didn't read this prompt until 9:38pm, so this isn't an actual picture of my actual breakfast. I stole it from google images. Shame shame.

Now that that's out of the way, you are probably wondering why I am eating fries for breakfast? It's simple. I slept until noon, and no matter how much you freak out on McDonald's...they won't serve you breakfast after 10:30.

Since I am stealing images, I figured I'd steal a clip too. This is hilarious, and very much how I felt when I realized I couldn't get a McGriddle this afternoon. ENJOY!!!!

Day Twenty Nine:A Picture of Something That Always Makes You Smile

So once upon a time in high school, a friend and I got these balloons. In all honesty, I cannot remember why we got them. I only know that they were GINORMOUSLY HUGE, and that the day we brought them to school it was cloudy. They stuck out like shiny yellow smiley faces on a cloudy day.

Oh wait...they were shiny yellow smiley faces on a cloudy day! LOL

Anyways, they were fun and no matter how many years it's been, every time I run across this picture in my photo box it makes me smile.

Day Twenty Eight:A Picture of The Shirt You Wore Today

Let me just start by saying that the reason my hair looks like this is because the Badmitton game was INTENSE!!! Lots of diving, rolling (in Tyler's case) and lots of falling down and eating grass (in mine).

Tyler was whooping all over me while I was running around in flip flops and work clothes, so I changed into my sneakers and my lucky number 19 shirt. I figured since he was running around in a 45 Jersey, it was the least I could do.

And for the record, I whooped his little 9 year old butt in the second game...ROFL!!!

Day Twenty Seven:A Picture of Your Favorite Night

I love New Year's Eve. It's the one time of year I get to pretend like we all have a fresh slate, and get to start over. Plus, there's fireworks...and who in their right mind doesn't LOVE fireworks???

New Year's these days involve staying at home and trying my hardest to stay awake till midnight. LOL.

Once upon a time they involved all types of craziness, like the year we decided to go to Vegas at three in the afternoon, while we were in Yucca Valley. (Trust me on this one...DON'T EVER go to Vegas for New Year's unless you planned WAY in advance and have a room on the strip booked). Then there was the Rawhide fiasco, but I'm gonna blame that one on Pete's Marguaritas. Those are fierce, and unless you are an alcoholic, you want to stick to one or two, or you wind up looking like this...

Day Twenty Six:A Picture of Something That Means A Lot To You

Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family.  Most of us would give our own life for the survival of a family member, yet we lead our daily life too often as if we take our family for granted.  ~Paul Pearshall

Need I say anything more?

Day Twenty Five:A Picture of You From A Year Ago

Looks a little blurry and crazy, huh? That's why it's a great picture...it captures where I was this time last year. Off track, and certainly out of focus.

Stuck in between two worlds. Where I was, and where I wanted to be. And trying to come to terms with the fact that neither was somewhere I belonged.

It's been a long year, full of tears, sorrow, self pity, self hatred, friendships coming and going, and finally a lot of prayers, healing, forgiveness, and finally above all else some peace.

***As a side note...I am a quarter of the way through this challenge, and have not been late once...except for today. But technically, in my head, it is still the 25th. Regardless of what the clock says. If the store closes later, and I get home later, then I post later...my challenge...my rules. LOL

Day Twenty Four:A Picture of Your Favorite Purchase Ever.

Yeah, so I have no idea what my favorite purchase ever was. Or if I even still have the item. My house is a random, crazy mix of eclectic things displayed all over. I don't buy stuff just to have stuff...I buy it because it's cool, interesting, inspires me, or just makes me feel good. This little guy is one of those things.

When I was very little, my Mom used to tell me that she loved me more than the man in the moon. Being so very small, and the moon being so very big...well, at the time I thought that must mean an awful lot. So twenty some odd years later, when I ran across this crazy looking, cantaloupe sized "Man in the Moon" at a thrift store I snapped him up quick. I remember laughing about it, because I was having a very serious "I need my Mommy" day, and there he was.

He sits on the entertainment center, and no matter how long I have had him...every time I see him I smile. :)

Day Twenty Three:A School Picture

HAHA! This is me in Second Grade. Can you find me?

Yeah, I'm the dork in the top right corner. This was a crazy school year. The Challenger blew up and we watched it on TV in class. I also was placed into a spanish reading group, because I read at too high of a level to stay entertained long enough to be quiet in class.

Didn't slow my talking down any (you saw the report card from 5th grade...lol) and I am fluent now at a 2nd Grade Spanish level. Eat your heart out Dora, Diego, and Handy Manny!!!

This challenge is crazy...but I'm staying on track!

Day Twenty Two:A Picture of Your Favorite CD

I love this album. It makes my soul bleed and my voice soar, and is a favorite to listen and wail to in the bathtub on the rare occasions I decide to actually shave my legs.

Here is some info on it:

Tori Amos
from the choirgirl hotel

Tori Amos's fourth album, from the choirgirl hotel, was released on May 5, 1998. It was the first album she recorded at her home studio, Martian Engineering, in Cornwall, England.

"I got pregnant at the end of the last tour, it wasn’t planned, but I was very ready at that point in my life to be a mother. Then, when I miscarried, the music just started to come. You know when you have this emptiness - internally, literally - your hormones are crashing and everything is happening? When I’m in some kind of trauma, the songs usually tear across the universe to find me. I have a really good relationship with the Muse, and she usually comes and brings a lot of girls with her also, and they started to really pull me out of it. So although I couldn’t create on a human level, I was able to create as a musician." [Mojo - May 1998]

Day Twenty One:A Picture of Something You Wish You Could Forget

4-5-9

So yeah...I'm a jerk. Surprise, surprise.


But if I had a magic wand, or the magical sands of time, I would rewind and this day would have never happened. And yes, I know what that entails. And yes, someday I might be sorry for saying that. But today, when prompted to think of something I WISH I could forget...this was the first thing that came to mind.


Sue Me.


Interestingly enough, here is some scripture quite fitting to this event (following along the 4-5-9 train of thought), and all it entailed. Perhaps I should have been reviewing them ahead of time.


Proverbs Chapter 4:5-9


(5) Get wisdom, get understanding: Forget it not, neither decline from the words of my mouth,
(6) Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee. Love her, and she shall keep thee.
(7) Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore, get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding.
(8) Exhalt her, and she shall promote thee: She shall bring thee to Honor, when thou dost embrace her.
(9) She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

Day Twenty:A Picture of Your Report Card/Grades

So I had to break out the big box of old stuff for this one, but I managed to find my fifth grade report card. These were the "Mickey" days, where I refused to answer to Michelle. LOL!

I am not overly wowed and amazed with the grades, but the comments crack me up to no end...especially in the second quarter.

Glad to see the more things change, the more they stay the same!

Day Nineteen:A Picture of Something You Love To Do

I love me some merchandising. Always have...always will. And surprisingly, it is one of the few things I am REALLY good at.

Day Eighteen:A Picture of The Sexiest Woman Alive

I have this picture of Gina Gershon hanging on the autograph wall in the living room. I love it. I love her. I have thought she was amazing since I saw her in ShowGirls, popping out of the volcano. She oozes mean sexuality in that movie, and in the 4,563,354 times I have seen it, I have never tired of her character.

Interesting side note: My senior ambition (according to my rotting old yearbook) was to "Move to Vegas, become a showgirl, and marry Gina...the mesh goddess."

In case you were wondering if I lived up to this... I live in Arizona, have been married twice, have a gaggle of kids, and will never get to marry Gina. But I would still sell my soul to be a showgirl...ROFL

Day Seventeen:A Picture of Your Pet

This is Juno.

She's my first cat in at least 15 years...mainly because Perry told us he was allergic to cats. Guess what...he wasn't.

She's adorable. She had a rough start when she first came home, mainly because Logan thought she was a stuffed animal and tried to squeeze her to death for awhile. Then he thought she was a zombie, and tried to attack her with his plastic bat. Thankfully, nowadays they have a truce.

Day Sixteen:A Picture of Someone Who Inspires You.

This is Taryn...Yes I have pictures of her where she looks like a glowing supermodel, but I like this one the best.

I could write a novel as to why she inspires me, but I promised myself to keep these brief.

She is talented, dangerously intelligent, funny, and a true blessing in my life. She adds warmth to my soul and joy to my heart daily. If she in not my biggest inspiration in life, then she is most certainly my salvation.

She is the living, breathing embodiment of the benefits of hard decisions. And of the possibility of giving forgiveness to one who makes a decision that only she can understand. Her grace and her compassion measure far beyond her years. I will always be able to look at her and know I did something right in this world.

Day Fifteen:A Picture of Something You Want To Do Before You Die

I want to can can dance at the Moulin Rouge.

It doesn't matter that it's in Paris. It doesn't matter that I am not really a great dancer, and even less likely to be able to can can dance. I'll try anything once.

The question wasn't what I could do...it was what I wanted to do...LOL.

Day Fourteen:A Picture of Your Favorite Store

This should be an easy one. Any store that is my store is my favorite store at the time. So for now, that's DownEast Basics. I love the location. Love the workload. And above all, love my absolutely FANTASTIC Boss and crew of superheroes.

Wanna see the whole thing? Click here!

Day Thirteen:A Picture of Your Favorite Band or Artist

Yeah...it's Rob Thomas. You've all heard the story...seen the pic...but whatever. I didn't make the questions up...LOL.

Day Twelve:A Picture of Something You Love

I love carnival rides. And roller coasters. And rock climbs. Anything that goes fast, flips upside down, or pushes my limits is guaranteed to make me smile.

This particular ride was at the AZ State Fair. It whipped back and forth and went upside down and was amazing. I was the only one in the family brave enough to ride it...except for Tyler, but unfortunately, he wasn't tall enough.

Day Eleven:A Picture of Something You Hate

This is a picture of our horrible under the stairs closet. I call it the Harry Potter closet. It is long, it is dark, and it is the only part of the Masterson household that is never clean longer than five minutes.

It is the dumping ground for everything that is ever placed on the ground on our first floor. On any given day, it is a wicked combination of toys, clothes, jackets, games, and whatever miscellaneous crap the kids can throw in there. It is also famous for eating ONE of each of my shoes on the days I am running late for work.

Cleaning it is a chore unto itself. Trying to do it after you clean the house is pointless, because let's face it...it's a big house and we're lazy to begin with. Cleaning it before you clean the rest of the house is enough to wear you out to where you no longer have the energy to do anything...for a week. I try and remove 50 items a day, and 150 more show up later that afternoon.

I hate this closet, and this closet hates me. I am often found in the horrible Harry Potter closet, at least once a week, screaming at the top of my lungs, "I HATE THIS F*&%$@# CLOSET!!!!!" And when I come home, it is twice as messy. :)

Day Ten:A Picture of Your Bedroom In Its Current State

If I were on MTV Cribs, I'd totally tell you that this is where the magic happens. If you asked Perry, he'd tell you it's the room in our house that looks like a French Whore threw up.

I call my decor sleek, sexy, and inviting...He calls it whore decor. In all Fairness, I did let him finally put a TV in there.

Either way, it's a whole lot of velvet, leather, and drawers that are best left closed. LOL!!!

Day Nine:A Picture of the Person(s) that Have Gotten You Through The Most

I have had many good times in my life, and certainly my fair share of bad ones.

While I cannot detract from the various groups of friends who have gotten me through some rough times, I cannot state enough how lucky I am for these three little faces.

This picture was taken the day before I figured out my life would be forever altered. It may possibly be the last moments of my best, most attentive mothering, caught right here on film.

After this, I slipped into the darkest part of my life. Had it not been for them, I am positive I would not be sitting here writing this silly photo blog. Knowing that they are here, and that I have a job as their mother, is the only thing that ever made me get up and try to live again.

Day Eight:A Picture of the Happiest Day of Your Life

So there should be a picture here of my wedding, or the birth of my children, but for all intensive purposes it is not fair to try and determine between them what my happiest day was. In all honesty...I don't know. Happy is subject to the mood you are in at the time the happiness occurs. What I can post here, is a picture of the most thankful day of my life, which in turn, made me the happiest I can remember in a really long time. This is a picture of the family on an Easter Sunday, taken at church.

It was the first time in 19 years I felt the presence of God. The closeness of my Heavenly Father. The first time in an incredibly long time that I felt in my heart that someone was looking out for me. That someone cared for me...no matter how far gone I had become.

This day, and those feelings, will be with me always.

Day Seven:A Picture That Makes You Laugh

So I cheated, and decided to use two pictures today.

These were taken in the bathroom at some podunk diner in Tortilla Flats...one of the crazy places we went riding on the motorcycle. They made me giggle then, and they still make me giggle now.

Day Six:A Picture of Your Favorite Quote, In Your Handwriting

Ahhh...remember my fun facts? I love quotes, and I have one for every occasion. It was hard to nail down a favorite, but this one spoke the most to me today.

"If you always do what you've always done,
You'll always get what you've always got."

It's ok to think outside the box. It's ok to march to your own drummer. And it's ok to change course when things don't make sense anymore...

"You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing called failure is not the falling down...it is the staying down."

Day Five:A Place That Makes You Happy

I love Magic Mountain. Love it more than any other place on earth. When I die, I want to be cremated and have my ashes dumped by someone on the Batman ride. It's my absolute most favorite roller coaster in the world, because my feet dangle out of the bottom.

This picture was taken on one of the dozens of times my friend Cindy Lou and I played hooky from work to drive all the way from Yucca Valley to Valencia to partake in all the madness that Magic Mountain had to offer. Awesome coasters, crazy themed pictures as gangsters and barmaids, and the never ending search for Marvin the Martian.

I miss this place, and I miss her. :)

Day Four:A Picture of Yourself From 10 Years Ago

This isn't actually from ten years ago. It's from 9 years, and 9 months ago (that's Baby Tyler in the Snuggy), but I like this picture a lot...regardless of what was going on with my hair from the wind.

This is the newly formed Masterson Family at an amusement park in San Francisco. Back before life got hard, and fights turned epic. Before mistakes changed courses in our lives. When the whole world felt in front of us, instead of trying to put the whole world behind us.

Good times.

Day Three:A Picture of Your Favorite Book

That being said, I LOVE this book. I actually posted two pictures...one of the cover, and one of my favorite page. I truly think that John Steinbeck's views on "Monsters" is one of the most influential things I have ever read. At the very least, food for thought. Enjoy.

Day Two: A Photo of Something That Makes You Happy

Logan makes me happy.

In all actuality, Logan makes EVERYONE happy.


This child was born with a radiance around him that attracts people to him like a magnet. Small children, grown adults, animals, the elderly...it doesn't matter. People have always flocked to him. Wanted to talk to him, to touch him, to have him near  them.


Now that he is talking up a storm, he makes me even happier with all of the funny, charming, endearing, and just down right adorable things that he says on a daily basis. He is generous with his physical affection, and attention.

Not a day goes by that I don't wonder about what impact he will make on the world.

Day One:A Picture of You and 15 Random Things About You

1. I am Left Handed.

2. My Favorite Color is Red, because it is bold, sexy, and makes me feel more loving/loved.

3. I know the words to every single Matchbox 20/Rob Thomas song, and can have an hour discussion about any of them.

4. I was a mascot in High School.

5. I have given birth 5 times, but NEVER gone into labor. I have been induced every time.

6. I hate parks. They are a breeding ground for sunburn, bee stings, and Mommies prepared with Juice Boxes...three things I detest.

7. My entire bedroom decor is based on an Emily Adam's painting Divine Silhouette, down to the red dress hanging on a body form, but I do not actually have the print anywhere in my home.

8. I am addicted to quotes. I have a favorite quote for every subject, except the subject of having a favorite quote.


9. The biggest lesson I have learned in life is to not judge people, because you never know when you may find yourself in a similar situation.

10. The second biggest lesson I have learned is to NEVER SAY NEVER. All of the things I swore I would never do in my life, I have done. To counter that, of all the things I swore in my life I would do, I have not accomplished even one.

11. I play favorites. With my kids, with my employees...with whatever. I can't help it.

12. I am super opinionated. And in all honesty, I could care less if anyone agrees with me. That's why it's my opinion.

13. I could live off of a diet consisting of nothing but Diet Coke and Little Debbie's Chocolate Pies and be happy.

14. The scariest sound in the world to me is silence.

15. My favorite thing to do in the world is read.