Is May really already over?

I can't believe that May is over and we are entering the halfway point of the year. On the bright side the countdown for Paris gets even smaller! In just 5 weeks 3 days 22 hours and 39 minutes we will be on a plane for Paris!

I will probably post a lot about Paris from here on out just you know! Well happy weekend everyone! Here are some more from my scary stories series! I bid you adieu for now!

29 May 2014

Kristen's Long Day

It had been a long day at the prison and Kristen's day had not been any better afterward. That morning she had spilt her coffee all over the passenger seat of her car. Once she got to work, the first guard she encountered had clearly woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning and her inmates weren't any better. It seemed as if everyone drank sour milk that morning. She stopped at the store on the way home and when she came out she noticed someone had knocked off her side mirror. With a sigh of defeat she went home to lay in bed and relax only to find a fresh cat puke on her pillow.

“I am not dealing with this today,” she grunted as she tossed the pillow from her bed.

Kristen reached over to turn off the light next to her bed but when she touched the switch she realized there was already a hand on it.

“Hello Kristen,” chimed a sadistic voice next to her.

Suddenly the face of an evil witch appeared next to her and before Kristen could reach for her gun the lights went out and the witch was devouring her.

30 May 2014

The Clawing At Rachel's Door

Rachel had always had animals in her home growing up and hearing scratching on doors never made her feel scared. It was normal. The cat clawed at the door to get in, then out five minutes later. The dog pawed at the bathroom door because how dare you go pee without him being in there with you? It didn't become weird until Rachel and her son moved out on their own.

Scratch Scratch Scratch

“Gabe go to bed and quit screwing around!” yelled Rachel to her often playful boy.

“Mommy, I am right here,” quivered Gabe who was laying next to her in bed.

Rachel was confused. He couldn't be next to her, she just heard scratching at the door. She had put him in his bed anyway why was he in her bed? What the hell was going on?!?!

“Why are you in my bed? Why aren't you in your bed?” she asked him.

“Because it was clawing at the spare bedroom door,” he whispered.

“What do you mean...” Scratch Scratch Scratch she began to ask him who it was but the scratching came back.

Suddenly the scratching stopped and the door screeched open. Rachel and her son heard a deep, heavy moan coming from the doorway. Then they heard THUD THUD THUD THUD as the thing crawled towards them. Rachel and Gabe screamed as each hand pulled the rotting creature towards them. It pulled itself towards the bed they were sitting on and stood up. Rachel was throwing everything she had at it and finally grabbed her phone. The humanoid creature hissed and growled as maggots fell from its mouth then lunged at them. Just as it did a spear went through the things head.

“We have to go now! Your screaming attracted more zombies!” Yelled a man who was now in Rachel's room.

“How did you know we were in here?” a bewildered Rachel asked.

“I heard your screams from outside and I knew what was going on now let's go before more come!” the trio took off and to Rachel's horror, she could hear more moans and screams coming from her neighbors all around her. She grabbed Gabe's hand and ran as fast as she could following the mysterious man.

Maya Angelou

I remember being in high school and reading I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and feeling so much sadness but relief at the same time. Maya Angelou faced such tragic odds in life. The beginning of her life was horrid, absolutely horrid but she made a decision that would change her life. After finding inspiration in William Shakespeare, she choose to keep her head up and write about her experiences. She has been my inspiration to me as a writer as well. She has taught me that even through unimaginable circumstances you can still have a voice, you can still be a powerful force and you can overcome the worst odds. She inspired me to expand my horizons and learn from her as well as from writers like Hemingway, Shakespeare and F Scott Fitzgerald. I feel so much pride that I got to live in the time of one of histories greatest writers. R.I.P. Maya Angelou. May we learn from your life.

Now with that said, I must say that my learning experiences in high school have made my trip to Paris the most exciting thing in the world! I was never the kid who wanted to go to Disneyland, I was the kid who wanted to go to real magical lands where history took place. I wanted to go to the castles that inspired Disney. I wanted to be in the romanticized cities that writers got their inspiration. I am beyond thrilled to go to Paris in July with the love of my life and experience one of the grandest adventures of my life! 

I hope everyone is having a great week! 

27 May 2014

Nikki's Bad Timing

The house was peaceful and all was calm that night. The breeze rolled into the LeVasseur home and only a few happy crickets could be heard outside. Nikki slept so soundly for the first time in a long time, as if an ease had settled in her house. Little did she know, a door to evil had opened in her closet and would take her that night.

Unforeseen forces had awoken Tituba but she needed the heart of a girl to go back to her original self. She was rotting, her hair was loose and falling out and her body was just a decrepit mess. Spiders crawled put of the holes in her cheeks and a wheezing moan escaped her cracked lips. She clawed at the door gaining strength to move and finally pushed it open. The door creaked as she stood and walked towards Nikki sleeping peacefully in her bed. She smiled at what a fine specimen she had stumbled upon.

Tituba walked up to Nikki and covered her mouth, it would do her no good to have Nikki scream since she was too weak to fight off multiple people. Nikki awoke as Tituba placed her hand on her mouth and began to panic. The last thing Nikki saw was her alarm clock flashing 12:07 before Tituba pushed her long rotting nails through her chest, Nikki's screams muffled so no one could save her. That's when Nikki woke up, for real this. She bolted straight up from her nightmare sweating through her night shirt.

“It was just a very bad dream,” Nikki breathed a sigh of relief.

She took a few deep breaths and turned to grab her water off her night stand. That's when she noticed her flickering alarm clock. The time was 12:06. Her heart stopped and she turned to the her closet. A few seconds went by and she began to calm down. Just then her closet door creaked open and a wicked moan came out from behind it.

28 May 2014

Richard's Sleepless Night

My name is Richard and this is my story to anyone who will listen, or can listen. I don't know if I am sleeping or awake, dead or alive, dreaming or in a terribly never ending nightmare. I lay in bed, I am always laying in bed, and I try to close my eyes but they never actually close. I begin to drift and just as the darkness closes in and begins to surround me I see spiders everywhere. Crawling on my face, all over my body, throughout my bed and room. I sit up fully awake to find myself in another room paralyzed completely. I try to move or scream or do anything and I cannot do a thing. Hooded figures enter the room and set upon me with knives, chanting as they stab me. I scream awake to a room on fire. Over and over again I drift asleep and get tortured awake. I never know what is real or fake. I never go to sleep, but I keep waking up.

Finally my Gone Girl review.

Where do I even start with this book? I guess I will start with Gillian Flynn's writing style. It flows onto the pages with so much ease that you can't help but continue to turn the pages and ingest the book until it is finished. I have been consumed by many books but I have never woken up and done absolutely nothing but read until the book was finished. Gillian Flynn is absolutely brilliant. When I was finished I really wanted to open the book back up again and reread the story.

Without giving anything at all away I will explain that the book is broken into 3 parts. Each part gives you a piece to the puzzle that is being put together. You start off the book absolutely hating one character, I mean really loathingly hate them. Suddenly events turn and you suffer from so much confession that your brain starts yelling "WTF is going on? What a liar! What a manipulator!" Suddenly your feelings of rage and anger shift to the other main character. Suddenly you realize that you have never even considered someone being so malicious or so evil. Your brain just tries so hard to comprehend how the hell everything in this book is happening to the very last word.

Now, most people HATED the ending, my husband included. If I remember correctly his exact words were, "Are you f****** kidding me?" he said the book was great and the ending just wasn't. Several other friends said the same thing so I finally caved and read the book knowing how much people hated the ending. I think this made me love it! I honestly could not imagine a better ending. The psychopath throughout the whole book gets their last word. OF COURSE they would get their last word. Frankly, the two main characters deserve each other. One is a narcissistic, emotionless asshole while the other is straight up sociopathic and terrifying. They both are horrible people and both play each other in horrible ways. To me this ending was the perfect way to explain the mentality of the craziest character I have ever read about. 

I strongly suggest you read this and keep your mind open to the ending. When you read it think of the personality of the characters before you judge the final words. I will definitely be reading more of Gillian Flynn's works. She is simply brilliant.

Now that I have described one excellent story I am humbled to share two more of my short stories. Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend

25 May 2014

Scott and the Intruder

“Scott! Scott! I think there is an intruder in the house? Scott call 911!” my wife whispered with fear in my ear.

I shot awake in the middle of the night because my wife woke me up to tell me there was an intruder in the house. The only problem is she was murdered by an intruder 2 years ago. She was home alone while I was away for work and someone broke in thinking we were gone. The police said it was a robbery gone bad. I sat in bed sweating and trying to figure out what was going on. I heard her like she was sitting right next to me in bed. I felt her hand shake my shoulder and I felt her warm breath on my face but she wasn't here. That's when I heard the window break.

I moved from our old house. I just couldn't deal with her loss in that home. I also couldn't sleep any longer without a shotgun next to me. Was I really being victimized by an intruder again? I could not believe this. I also couldn't believe how eerily I was woken up. I sat on my bed and waited. When the footsteps got closer I pumped my shot gun and the shuffle of feet stopped but didn't leave.

“I will shoot you if you don't leave in 5 seconds,” I yelled then started counting.

Once I quickly reached 5 I shot and called 911. There was a little bit of blood in hallway that the police took. This is where things got weird. The police found the man who broke into my house. His finger prints matched the prints from the night my wife was murdered. The man was in utter shock when he found out he had targeted the same family for a second time. He told the officers that he had a dream where a woman whispered in his ear to go to my house. I can't help but thinking that my late wife saved my life and helped catch her killer.

26 May 2014

Memorial Day

An extra day off from our daily jobs,

We sip our beers and grill some brats,

We enjoy the start of our summer fun.

As we sit and enjoy our weekend

Take this time to reflect further.

Wives lost husbands in WWI

Then lost their sons in WWII.

Men never came back from Vietnam

And the ones who did,

Were later lost to Agent Orange.

Afghanistan saw grandfathers

Send off grandchildren and never get hem back.

Since the American Revolution

We have lost brave men and women.

They gave their lives to protect our freedom.

This is our day to thank them for their sacrifice,

To commend them for their service,

To support them for defending our great land.

As the saying goes:

All gave some, some gave all.

Happy Memorial Day

 

Graduation party and Memorial Day

Tomorrow is Memorial Day and it means something a little bit different for my family this year. This weekend many people are BBQing and enjoying a 3 day weekend but for many the weekend is much sadder. Thank you to all the men and women who are serving and have served and a bigger thanks to those who lost their lives serving this great country we live in. Today, my family and my brother's friends will not only be celebrating my brother's graduation but also his enlistment into the Marines. We have so much pride and joy for him and we are all so very proud of him!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and Happy Memorial Day!

23 May 2014

Nikki's (Not So) Lonely House

In all the time I have lived alone, I swear I have closed more doors and cabinets than I have opened. Yet I wake up and find new things to shut or I wake down my hall and find the closet doors open. I have always wondered what it could be. I was scared at first but I am a rational person. Ghosts don't exist! I would tell myself. I decided it was probably residual movement from living near the highway or possible vibrations from normal daily activity of all my neighbors. Living in an apartment building will do that. My dog sometimes seemed on edge in the mornings but Lily never truly freaked out.

Things were getting too weird around my house. Things began to move and shift and I swear I never moved it! I saw on a ghost show to put baby powder all around where you think things are happening. I suppose I will do this and lock Lily in my room with me so she doesn't decide to roll in it. I went to bed and everything was fine. There weren't any weird sounds and even Lily seemed calm. It was when I woke up that my heart jumped through my chest and I nearly stopped breathing.

I woke up just like normal except my locked bedroom door was wide open and Lily was under the bed. She wouldn't come out. That's when I noticed the hand and footprints. They were all over my bed. Little baby powder prints everywhere. They led all the way to the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen and saw my name drawn all over the kitchen in the powder. Nikki nikki nikki NIKkkkkiii NIKKI NIKKI! Everywhere there were prints and my name! No one broke in, I could tell because the prints never went near either door leading outside or any of the windows.

“Who the hell was in my home!” I yelled in pure terror.

“Hello Nikki,” whispered a voice over my shoulder.

I turned around to see who was there and no one was there. I then looked at my shoulder. There were two hand prints on my shoulders. It was as if someone had grabbed me and whispered my name.

“Haha let's play tag Nikki! You're it!”

24 May 2014

Buddy's Diary: The Storms

The weather never seems to give me a break. Thunderous sounds boom in the house and giant ice balls fall from the sky. I try to hide next to the couch but it just does not make me feel very protected. My people have been cuddling me but sirens keep going off and the sky is black as night in the middle of the day. I think that one day the weather will be nice enough to enjoy but who knows when that will ever happen. At least it stopped snowing.

My brother graduates today!

How exciting is life right now? Scott and I purchased our tickets for Paris, my grandparents brought me a rocking chair for my future children and Christian graduates from high school today! Christian is the youngest and has such a bright future ahead of himself! I am so proud of him and so happy to see him walk across that stage this evening.

Paris. I don't even know where to start there. I am BEYOND thrilled to go! My heart and soul lives in Paris. I want to visit the cafés that Hemingway wrote at, I want to walk the boulevards Audrey Hepburn walked, I want to climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower and kiss the love of my life! I am shaking with excitement over going to my favorite city in the world with my favorite person in the world!

Now the rocking chair. My grandpa told me that his mother bought the chair when she was younger and it was already 75 years old. He fixed it up for me and handed down a 150 year old children's rocking chair for my future babies! It is a very touching hand me down from my family. Here is a picture:

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! Enjoy some stories!

21 May 2014

Chip's Past Life

One night, I awoke to hear my wife standing next to our bed, comforting our first born child. I happily yawned at the noise and rolled over, brushing my arm against my wife. Immediately I shot out of bed. We don't have a baby! Our boys are grown! Why did I hear my wife cooing a baby? Why was there a baby in our room? No one was there. My heart was racing and my palms were sweaty.

“Chip what's wrong?” she asked me. I wasn't sure if I should answer.

“Nothing. Just a bad dream I guess.”

Uneasily I drifted back to sleep. The rest of the night went well. I slept fine, it had to of been a dream. I smiled and went about my day. The very next night, I began to feel this reality I was in was actually the dream. I awoke to the scent of burning fire. I jumped out of bed seeing orange flames licking the doorway of our room but this wasn't my room. This was an older room and my wife was calming a baby in an old cradle but she wasn't my wife.

“There is a fire! We must go!” I screamed at this nightmare wife I had.

“I know Josiah,” she said with an eerie smile, “I started it. Hush little baby don't say a word, Mommy is going to buy you a mockingbird, and when that mockingbird won't sing, mommy is going to burn down everything! HAHAHA!” she cackled.

I grabbed the baby and shoved that woman out of the way. Who was Josiah? When I grabbed my child I looked down at my arm. This isn't my arm! What is happening to me? Why am I not waking up this time? I ran down an unfamiliar hall, smoke chocking me at every turn. I thought I had finally made it to the exit but I was wrong. A wall of flames engulfed me. When the smoke died down, I stood staring at the ash and noticed some men who must have been police, they were wearing clothes from the late 1800's.

“Hello! Officer! What is going on here?” I was yelling at them but no one would respond to me.

“Poor Josiah, we told him his wife needed help and he didn't want it,” said one officer.

“He was too proud,” said the other.

“I am not Josiah! My name is Chip! Why is everyone calling me Josiah?” I walked over to the officer and went to tap him but my hand went right through him, “I'm dead! Wake up! Wake up! I can't be dead,”

Just then everything disappeared, but nothing ever reappeared.

22 May 2014

The Monster On The Bed

Kim was an excellent mother, her children were never without a thing and they always got tucked in with a bed time story and a kiss on the head. This night was a night like any other. Kim tucked in all her children and was headed to her youngest son's room last. He was far more precarious when it came to bed time and she needed more time with him. She read him his story and tucked him in. Just before she kissed her son on the head he had one last request.

“Mommy, please check under my bed for monsters.”

Kim always appeased her children when it came to monsters. Of course she would check for monsters to make them feel even more safe. She lifted up the comforter and gasped. All her children were under the bed shivering with fear.

“Mommy, there are people on our beds,” they whispered.

Kim dropped the comforter and looked on the bed. Her son wasn't there. She ran room to room and her kids weren't in the beds she had left them in. Kim ran as fast as she could to her youngest son's room, her heart was racing. She grabbed the kids from under the bed and turn to run out. Standing in the doorway blocking their exit were evil versions of her children.

“Hello mommy, you found the monsters under the bed,” they cackled. Suddenly all the doors slammed shut and the lights burst as the monsters rushed towards them.

Scary stories

19 May 2014

Nakita's Cat

“I always thought my cat had a staring problem- she always seemed fixated on my face. Until one day I realized she was looking just behind be,” admitted Nakita, “I turn to look what she is staring at but there is never anything there.”

“What do you think she is staring at? Cats are weird. They stare at things,” responded Javaneh.

“See I thought the same thing but she doesn't just look, she stares at me. Her eyes get really big and her tail doesn't move. Like she is entranced. And she doesn't look behind me like at the wall, she is staring just behind my ears like someone is right behind me! Freaks me out dude,” replied Nakita.

“You should just take a selfie,” laughed Javaneh.

Nakita thought about it for a minute. Maybe she should but did she really want to? She really did not want to see what was behind her. It hadn't bothered her yet right? That night she was sitting on the edge of her bed, feet dangling off, and her cat had sat right in front of her, staring again. Nakita's palms were sweaty and her heart was pounding.

“What the hell are you looking at?” barked Nakita at her cat.

She pulled out her phone and took a picture. She made sure not to take a front facing picture. She wasn't sure she really wanted to see it. Building up her courage, Nakita edged towards her wall at the pillow end of her bed. She figured if something was behind her, it couldn't stay there with her back against the wall. She took a deep breath and flipped her phone over to see the picture. Sitting behind her in the picture was a ghostly face of a woman with hollow eyes, stringy hair and a missing jaw. Just then Nakita's cat hissed and a voice whispered in her ear, Nakita, before she felt a bone chilling freeze go through her whole body. The end.

20 May 2014

Jennifer's Burial

Death was never a fear of mine. I have always been a woman of God so dying in my very aged state of life was obviously the next step. I was ready, or so I thought. Now I lay here and can't do much. My soul is gone. I have no connection with it or with the rest of my body for that matter. My brain is still thinking though. I can't move, breath speak or hear and it's so dark all the time. If I knew it would be this lonely, I would have been cremated instead. How amazing is life that we wistfully think of our bodies in a coffin but really it's nothing but bones in there. Its not just bones. I am here. I want to scream but I can't. I can't even hear the worms churning the dirt in my fresh grave. My tombstone read Jennifer Lynn Gerdes... Loving mother, sister, daughter, wife. Now I am just a decaying body with nothing, not even a soul to comfort me. How do I go on? I am forced to endure total darkness, utter silence. The loneliness is the worst. The voices of my loved ones are far gone, the touch of my sweet husband is unmemorable and I am just alone. Alone forever in a coffin, six feet under with nothing but darkness to fill my thoughts.

Today, everyone had a case of the Mondays.

It seemed like today especially obnoxious for everyone. I personally had very little motivation for the day but alas this day is finally over so all is well. This past week has been great! This is the painting that I did with my cousin Nikki at our paint nite: 

For not being very good at painting/drawing, I'd say I did a pretty good job!

This weekend also brought on the start of racing season! Scott did so amazing and came in 4th at the end of the night. The car was absolutely beautiful and so fast! My husband is pretty spectacular if I do say so myself! Here are a few shots from racing:

My brother Darren came out with us. :)

The skies looked scary but luckily they cleared up.

Stickers in memory of Alby and Brenda (My fabulous father-in-law, Ken's late brother and sister) and Ted and Dottie (My kind mother-in-law Karen's late parents) it was a very sweet touch to our car.

Getting ready for the heat race!

The end of the night. The car is filthy, we were all exhausted but it was a great night!

The best part of the night was watching Scott sleep. He was in his car, waiting for his A Main and he was sleeping. the micro's were before him and they are NOT quiet at all. Everyone was a buzz and cars were roaring but my adorably sweet husband was sleeping in his car. His mom said he has done that since he began racing as a kid. It just makes me smile at how wonderful he is!

After a long weekend racing and celebrating grandpa Al's birthday, I am happy tomorrow is Tuesday! See you all on Wednesday where I will finally review Gone Girl. I forgot to when I finished it. 

Love you all!

17 May 2014

Are You Alone At Night?

Gwen lived in a small apartment near campus. She had had roommate before but now she was finishing up her last year at the university and felt a great need to be on her own. The campus was a safe place, no one ever described being fearful even at night. Campus was always a buzz with determined students and the town roared with youthful coeds on the weekends. Everyone was full of life and happy, especially Gwen as she glided off to her dreams that night.

The morning started like any other. Gwen woke up, grabbed her phone and made herself a delicious cup of dark roast coffee. She checked out Facebook and Instagram and was about to Snapchat her best friend when she noticed an odd picture in her photos app. She clicked on the picture and it was her, sleeping, that night. A chill went through her body and Gwen froze. Who has been watching me? Who was in my apartment? After a few minutes of fear, she thought maybe her friends had been joking with her. Maybe Marie had come in with her key and was trying to scare her but they all seemed as frightened as she was.

Gwen went to the police but they weren't much help. They found no finger prints and no proof that anyone had even broken in. They told her that she should only call the police for a real emergency and scoffed at her like she had made it all up. Defeated, Gwen sat at her table thinking of what she could do and she decided she wasn't going to let it happen again. That night she went to bed with her gun. Her father always taught her to be her own defender. She was a skilled shooter and an avid hunter. Unless this intruder was supernatural, she was going to get them.

The night seemed oddly eery but that may have been her nerves. She drank a lot of coffee before bed so she could catch the intruder. Gwen laid very still in her bed, She had to be believable as asleep. Around 3 in the morning she heard a noise at her door, This is it, she thought. It was someone with a key. Only Marie and Alice had keys. They came in and she could hear very heavy breathing, it was definitely not a familiar person in her apartment. The intruder got closer and closer until he was at her bed. His breath smelt of sweet onions and his outline was fairly average. I can take him.

The intruder grabbed Gwen's phone to snap another picture. Suddenly there was silence. Gwen had the gun pointed at him and the camera and that is what he saw in the picture.

“Back away now!” She grunted at the stranger by her bed.

Suddenly he lunged and BANG! Gwen pulled the trigger. It was over. She ran to her living room and called the police. When the police arrived they checked the body. Gwen didn't know him but he knew her. He had a bag by the front door with duct tape, rope, plastic bags, a scalpel and a bone saw. At his house, 7 miles from campus in he woods, police found an underground bunker with pictures of Gwen plastered all over the walls and a table labeled “Gwen's Resting Place, Mine Forever.”

The police determined that Alec, the intruder, had been stalking Gwen for nearly 4 years. The night she found the picture on her phone was a bad night for Alec. He took pictures of her sleeping with his own camera every night but the night before. He had several keys from everywhere she lived that he had stolen from a friend or from Gwen throughout her time at the university. He had pictures of the police at her house and probably escalated to wanting to kill her because he was nearly caught. He may have one day succeeded in harming her had she not noticed the photo of herself sleeping in her phone.

18 May 2014

The Kiss

He saw her from across the room and could not shake the feeling that he had met her before. Just then she turned towards him. The lights in the room illuminated her face as if the heavens themselves opened up to reveal the absolute beauty that she was. Their eyes met and she felt the same unwavering feeling he had. As if time stood still, they gazed at each other from across the room while everyone else laughed and danced amongst themselves.

At that moment something moved them and like magic the crowd unknowingly parted as they walked towards each other. One step at a time until they were face to face. They looked into each other's eyes, still not knowing why they felt such a desire to be with each other, how they knew each other and what brought them together that night. Without hesitation he leaned in and kissed her. Time stood still and the stars aligned, they did know each other they just needed true love's kiss to remind them.

“Amelia,” he whispered.

“Finn,” she whispered back.

“I promised you I would find you and come back to you,” he said to her as he held her close.

It all flooded back to them. Their love, the life they once had and the witch's curse that doomed their souls to wander the world apart from one another so long as the witch had power. The witch must have been defeated for their souls to find each other and remember their love again. It was as if hundreds of years had faded away and disappeared. They held hands and walked through the park all night deciding on what they would do next. Never again would they be apart, especially not after so much time lost and such a magical kiss.

Racing!

Today is the first race of the season! Woohoo! I will post pictures on Monday! My post won't be long because I still have to go to the gym and shower and eat before 11 when we have to leave so happy Saturday everyone!

15 May 2014

The Spring Snow

Giant, fluffy, wet snow flakes fell from the sky. The ground was slushy and the air was freezing. It was the middle of spring and it was snowing. Only in Colorado. As everyone stayed in and turned their heat back on and lit their fire places, the sky was covering the ground in a thick layer of white frost. No one was very happy about the freeze, just days before it was 80 degrees. In the great white void that was winter in May I saw a flash of life. Robins were swooping down and picking up extra stuffing for their babies high up in the trees. Green leaves were pushing through the heavy snow fall. Prettiest of all, bright red roses were peeking through the chilly snow from their newly planted home. Just simple reminders that the cold would only last a short while, spring would come to life again soon.

16 May 2014

My Ode to Christian

My little brother, you are the precious baby of the family, today you finish your last day of high school. I sit here and ponder how time went by so fast. It seems like just yesterday you were born. I still remember that day over 18 years ago like it was yesterday. I was excited to have you around, Darren and I grew up together so we didn't know what a baby would be like.

Your birth wasn't easy. When you were born, the umbilical chord was wrapped around your neck and you were very purple. Mom was very scared. The doctors did an amazing job and there was nothing wrong with you! We gushed over you and showered you with kisses. Darren and I had a new living doll and a new buddy to play with (or tell what to do) and that just made the world a better place. All I can think now is poor mommy! Your head was in the 90^th percentile but your body was average!

Although that day was very scary, life has been so joyful having you around. Now you have grown up from a sweet little boy to a smart, brave (almost) man. You have joined the marines soon will go further than anyone else in the family. As sad as it is watching you grow, there is always a happy memory and story to share. Our family is so much fun and it won't be the same with you traveling the world but I know none of us will ever forget the day you came into this world!

Paint Nite!!!!

Tonight I am going with my cousin to a paint nite! I like doing the painting but I am far from artistic. Luckily the instructor is excellent. Nikki does a beautiful job at painting and has a good eye for what to put on canvas. Plus we have a lot of fun drinking and chatting! Before painting time I still have to practice my French. I did learn something useful in French: Je suis americaine. I am American. The French may not be too receptive but I figure if I buy a couple more pairs of skinny jeans, plain tees, scarves and simple heels I will look and act French enough for them to not hate me :) wishful thinking I know. At least I learned how to say I am sorry in French (Je suis désolé) maybe that will save me. Probably not but that is no matter. I know the French hate everyone so I will just smile and give them a does of my Colorado charm.

Hope everyone is having a pleasant week! I will post an update on Saturday of my painting. Saturday is also the first race of the season! Woohoo! Happy Thrusday everyone!

13 May 2014

To Scott With Love From Javaneh

Oh my!

What a sight!

My love for you

Has taken flight,

For it has no wrong

It is only right.

Like the mystical winds

On a warm summer night,

Your love guides me

And shows me the light.

Our love is strong

It has seen a new height,

I will love you forever,

With such great delight.

14 May 2014

The Pretty Girl

Abby was a pretty girl but her mirror was distorted. She saw so many flaws in the way she looked and no one could tell her any different. Her hair was brunette but it would look better auburn. Her eyes were hazel but they should have been green. Her legs were long but her torso was so short. Her cheeks were high but her nose was too long. She told herself so many negative things that when people said nice things about her she never believed them.

One day she was looking in the mirror when a little fairy appeared on her shoulder. The fairy buzzed around gushing about how pretty Abby was.

“You are just so beautiful I cannot stop staring at you!” cheered the fairy.

“Oh you are so kind little fairy but you are not really seeing me. I am not as grand as you must think,” replied Abby as she told the fairy all her described flaws.

This did not make the fairy very happy. She balled her hand into a fist and shot fairy dust at the mirror, changing the mirror so that Abby could see what she looked like in Abby's mind.

“What did you do to me?” cried Abby.

“Nothing my dear! I am showing you how you see yourself. Of course you do not think you are pretty. Look at how you see yourself. This is not how people see you. Not at all!” responded the fairy. The fairy then shot fairy dust back at the mirror and made it back to normal, “See my dear! You are lovely. Look at yourself this way, with your eyes, not your malicious mind.”

For the first time Abby saw herself as pretty. She was humbled by the fairy's mirror trick and she was so pleased to not feel unattractive. Her heart was happy and she smiled more. She would remember the fairy's advice everyday and would share it to every girl she met.

New couch and new entertainment center!

My wonderful mommy bought us a pretty new couch and I love it! It is huge and makes our house look so much better! To compliment it we went to Ikea and bought a new entertainment center! I am so happy with our new stuff. I know it is only stuff but our house truly feels like a home now! Here are some pics of our new things and some pics of Mother's Day weekend.

Darren snuggling Wes. Wes hates this and Darren thinks it's funny.

The men in my life.

My old man Jack

Buddy on his new big bed! A little bed just won't do with an ego like his.

I hope everyone enjoyed the Colorado snow and if you live outside of Colorado I hope you enjoyed being lucky enough to not get a snow storm mid spring. Happy Tuesday everyone!

11 May 2014

Mom

Mommy, my being and idol,

She raised me through life,

Sweat and tears,

Aches and pains,

Broken hearts and band-aids,

She kissed all the boo boos

And kept every memento,

She cried at all our hardships

And cheered at all our games.

We put her through the ringer,

We made her life hell sometimes

But she never gave up on us

And loved us no matter what.

My mom gave me her all

To give me the best life,

Even if it meant she gave up everything.

She raised me to be strong,

Independent and kind,

She worried and had many sleepless nights,

She helped me plan a beautiful wedding

And takes great pride

At being a grandma someday.

She made me the woman I am today,

Which makes me so grateful

To call her my mom.

12 May 2014

The Cricket and the Cat

The cricket worked its way into the house. He saw the dog food sitting out and wanted to munch on it. He hopped up the stairs not seeing the sly black cat purring around the corner. So up he hopped one step at a time. He jumped right to the bowl and began to chow down. Just as he was full he took a break thinking about the delicious meal he had. His break was over and out he hopped out, right into the green eyed cats paw. SMASH flat on the ground, the cat played with the half dead cricket until her amusement was up then gulped up the cricket. Such a delightfully unexpected treat for such a cunning little cat.