Whitest Girl in the World

I am the whitest person in the universe. I am so white in fact, that I think I may even be a little purple.
There is a picture from when I was little that shows my whiteness the best. My parents, both German and my sister, Native American and me, Italian (but white as a cloud) sitting on the couch in the middle of summer. Everyone sporting a beautiful tan, but me. I am a white spot, hair included, with red cheeks.
So I have lived with my "graveyard tan" for so many years, I don't even notice it anymore, unless it is summer. Then I really notice. Especially since my husband is Mexican and my kids have inherited that nice olive skin from David. All summer they run around without sunscreen, becoming more and more tanned. I turn red and peel within a day.
For many years I visited the wonderful place known as a tanning bed. I would lay there for 15-20 minutes a day for about 6 months a year. I loved the warmth of the lights beating on my body, while a cool fan blew the horrible smell away from my nose. The loud fans interfering with my headphones, but not enough to stop going. I would turn from purple to orange, which matched better with my highly lightened (bleached) hair and summer clothing.
David has put a stop to these visits, pointing out the dangers. You know what I say to the dangers....WHATEVER. I am glowing here!! I live in California. No one who lives in California should be this color!
My best friend is white also. She has natural platinum hair and blue eyes. During the summer I was feeling a little cocky and told her that I was darker than she was, making a big deal about it. She calmly walked over to me, put her arm next to mine and guess what. She was darker than me. Really?
Since I have been banned from the booth, I have since adopted the idea of spray tanning. Although the orange is something from Jersey Shore and looks a little ridiculous for the first day, it works fairly well. I hate the fact that it only lasts a week or so, but that is the options are few and I am desperate.
So I have to choose carefully.....or is there really a choice at all?

Vacation

I am totally jazzed because we are officially going to Disneyland. We drove to Visalia today to get our tickets thru the credit union that the boys have their savings account. $432 later, we are officially going. It was a good deal though, alteast that's what the sign said. We have four two day hopper passes! I have checked the boys and both are over 48", so we will be able to go on the "scary" rides, which will change the second they see them. All I care about is going on Indiana Jones.
We haven't been able to take this adventure for over 2 years, due to the financial issues that go along with going to Disneyland. I have been trying to book my hotel via Priceline, but they aren't giving me the deals that I deserve....okay want, but whatever. Hopefully everything will work out and we will be able to enjoy our little mini vacation with the boys.

backyard fun!

We were supposed to go to Visalia today, but due to illnesses (in Visalia) we stayed home. I was bummed initially about not having our day trip because I was going to see Audrey, but the day actually worked out.
I don't know how I did it, but somehow David volunteered to hook up the backyard. If you had seen our backyard yesterday you would have agreed that some serious work needed to take place in order for my blinds to be open to the backyard. Today, not so much. The boys and David went into the backyard around 11:30 and the boys stayed out there until almost 3:30. David stayed out until 5:30. Yes folks, there was a lot of good stuff happening back there. Weeds got pulled, side yard got hoed and leveled and the entire lawn got edged, which is something I am not allowed to do since I am accident prone.
Since the boys left me alone, I was able to go grocery shopping, make pumpkin cake and jumbalaya for dinner. What an accomplishment! I feel like I can rest now.....for a week or so!

You did what?

I did a naughty thing....at least in the Mennonite community. I got my nose pierced. Now, this wasn't my idea. In fact I have always viewed facial piercings as a white trash type thing to do. Guess there is a little trailer park in me after all. Here is how it all went about.
My best friend Audrey told me six months ago, that she wanted to pierce her nose. I tried my hardest to talk her out of it and I hoped that she wouldn't bring it up again. But, as I started to think about it, I warmed up to the idea. It didn't seem as horrible as I originally thought. I even considered it a time or two.
So after out last trip to State Board we talked about it again, but both of us were really tired after this stressful outing and opted out. Still, the idea was thrown around several times.
So this last weekend, Audrey called and needed her best friend to talk to. My parents had decided to have the boys spend the night and David was working. How boring to sit at home by myself so I joined her. Our first stop? The tattoo parlor.
As we ran inside to get out of the rain, I knew that this piercing expedition was going to be very controversial. I knew my husband was not very excited about facial piercing and my parents....that is another story! I told Audrey she had to go first because if it hurt I was outta there. Audrey sat down and the guy got her all prepped. As he pierced her nose, her eyes watered and I could see she was holding back more than just the tears. She told me she wanted to cry and goes on about how much it hurt. I really wanted out of there by this point.
After a long debate between Audrey and I, I finally sat down (after she grabbed my arm and "assisted" me). That is when the whole mind over matter kicked in. I told myself that it would only hurt for a minute. If it lasted longer than that I was gonna rip that son of a gun out of my nose and throw it on the floor! The guy told me to breath in, meaning the pain was going to kick in. I didn't even feel the darn thing. It didn't hurt a bit. However, he had to stick the long part that fits inside my nose, up. The "ring" is shaped like an L. The short side sticks out and has the diamond on it. The long part goes up your nose. During that part I wanted to pass out or throw up....I wasn't sure which. I did lay down and was able to calm down and talk myself out of the sickness.
Audrey and I were really proud of ourselves after this excitement. We hit a couple places and had a couple drinks and headed back to her house. It was a success. Ahhh....
So that is how it all went down. The diamond you see in my nose, is in fact a piercing. I know I am a little old for this, but this is my time since I couldn't very well have had a pierced nose while wearing a police uniform. The rebel inside has again been satisfied for a couple years. Don't ask what is next because I don't know!

recipe

Birria

2 1/2 - 3 lbs beef (pot roast or anything with low fat content)
1 cup enchilada sauce
1 8 oz tomato sauce
2 garlic cloves (I usually throw in 3-4)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp ground marjoram (sp?)
3/4 or a 12 oz beer (i like the way darker beer tasts in this)
salt to taste

Throw all the ingradients in a crock pot and cook all day on low. The meat should shred and be delicious. I pair this with Mexican rice and tortillas. One of our families favorites!

bad day

Today I stayed home with my "sick" child who wasn't really sick. Quinten's teacher pulled me aside yesterday and said he didn't look too good and suggested that he stay home for the day. That's fine....I am always down for snuggling on the couch with him. Problem is, he bounced around all morning. He was laughing, jumping, running and being a healthy little boy. There went my free time!
So after I did my Biggest Looser workout, I showered and put on sweats. Every muscle in my body was sore. I couldn't even think of putting on jeans, makeup and the dreaded heels. So instead, I looked homeless. I like the feel of this relaxed look, however no one else appreciates this look or at least didn't seem like it. I almost felt like I had to be extra chipper to make up for the clothing, but being so friendly is sometimes so exhausting!
The next thing I looked forward to was dinner. I threw a bunch of stuff in the Crock pot and it smelled delicious. Problem was, it was gross. The boys were nice and ate as much as they could stand, but I was so disappointed. I could barely eat a little bowl.
What a crappy day. We all have them. I know tomorrow can't be worse. Unless I give a really bad haircut and get yelled at. Oh no....now I am nervous!

Appointment Issue

I am a little confused. Maybe some one can fill me in on something I am missing.

So I had an appointment with someone on Monday, the holiday. I talked to this individual on the phone and she seemed to be very excited about coming in and getting her hair cut.

Well, this person decided to change her plans and not show up for her appointment. Mind you, I had done about an hour of research on the hair cut and set up my entire kitchen (and cleaned my house) for this appointment. She called back that evening and I decided to make another appointment because everyone makes mistakes, right?

So, appointment number two was made for today at 4:45. This individual was going to get out of work at 4:30 and come to my house for a 4:45 appointment. David, the boys and I came home from their school and started cleaning. Vacuuming, Windex-ing, and all the other fun things that you have to do when you live with three boys. David takes the boys out to have some fun around 4:15. I had, during my cleaning episode, received a call from this individual asking to come in early. Obviously that wasn't going to happen. Then she says to call back to confirm her appointment. Well, by the time I got the message, it was 4:45 and time for the appointment. So I sat and waited and waited and waited. And guess what....she didn't show up. And didn't call me again until 5:45.

I thought that when you have an appointment scheduled for a certain time, you show up for it. There is no call ahead and confirm. I am not a doctor's office. You just show up! Part of my job is to write my appointments down so I am organized. That's one of my strengths....I am a note person. Everything is written down and adequate time is allotted for all services. I take pride in it! So this individual called a couple more times for this haircut that should have happened at 4:45 and taken about an hour.

Now let's get something straight, when David is off, I want our family to be together. We go out as a family and have dinner and all that fun family stuff. I have wonderful memories from my family doing the same thing growing up so I want to give my kids the same thing. So what did this experience do? Ruined my whole night. I freaking beat myself up over it. Was it my fault, should I have done this....or that....? What a horrible feeling this all is. It's not like the $25 for this haircut would make or break me, but the thought of letting someone down, even if the fault was not on my part.

What do you all think? Was I in the wrong? Should I feel guilty?