Weekly Letter: May 13- 19
Dear Aunt Flow,
There is no other way to say this except bluntly. I hate you.
I despise you so much I refuse to call you Aunt. Anyway, we aren’t even related. Don’t both with the “blood relative” excuse because I am positive that wasn’t what they meant when they coined the term. Read more 
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A Quick Question and Only a Few Minutes to Answer…
Just answer the questions below. QUICKLY!
Pick a Base color.
Pick a Highlight color.
We’ll see you on the flip side!!
Chrystalyn
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Wow Me Wednesday WHAT?
Whoops it is Thursday again. I hardly recognized because my sinuses and allergies are raging. Seriously. I haven’t felt this bad in a couple years. I only know this because I have the vague memory of looking at an Alavert box thinking, “I don’t care if I OD on sinus- Allergy medicine. SOMETHING has to work.” I lived obviously. Anyway. I haven’t done much. I hate to post this but oh well. Gotta keep it honest. Here:
I cannot account for how I lost anything except snot. Seriously. I should take stock in kleenex and tp. Plus, I haven’t been getting good sleep and it is proven that people with healthy sleep lose more. I have been taking the late shift with the baby 
Anyway. Thought I would post this before passing out again! Hopefully I kick this soon.
Till next time.
Chrystalyn
I seriously wouldn’t look for me. I’m sure I’m considered a bio hazard at the moment :/ I promise to be back when I am better and decontaminated.
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Thirteen Things about Tornado Alley
I originally wrote this piece a year to the day. On Thursday, April 14, 2o11 my boys and myself were hunkered down in my Mimi’s closet with a Tornado in a town over and rotation a mile away. Sadly, today we are in a high risk situation and local stations are saying the storms tonight are life threatening. Living in tornado alley can be a very sad and scary adventure. However, being born and raised here adds a special kind of charisma to the culture. Here is the side of Tornado Alley most people will never understand, unless it is in your blood:
Thirteen Things Tornado Alley Thursday
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Being Oklahoma born and raised has taught me so much about the way weather works and how it affects the people experiencing it. Tornado Alley is a pretty exciting place… Not because of the storms, the people are way more titillating. Don’t believe me? Here are the top thirteen lessons of being a Tornado Alley resident:
13. It takes a truly gifted person to be 100% on the money when it comes to Oklahoma Weather. Read more
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Whoops! Wow me Wednesday Was Yesterday…
Hello there! I’ve missed you!
I have been incredibly busy this week. The Hubster and I are now on our way to being homeowners!!!! Happy Dance! So, as you can imagine this is taking up MOST of our time with research, research, research. I think we have figured out what kind of loan we want to get. We know the round about that we can spend and also what we’d prefer to spend. We have about a month to iron out some details so by next month we will be ready to make a contract if/when we find the right home. We also have been looking into what we could live with square footage wise, amount of rooms, and things we’d have to fix. Thankfully, we aren’t too picky. We have crammed 5 of us in a 800 Sq Ft apartment and we are both quite handy, so hopefully it will be an enjoyable experience. With that said, I AM FREAKING OUT! It’s a bit unbelievable and freaking scary!
Onto the other big thing that has been just as scary and keeping me just as busy. I have started my path back to being physically fit. Read more
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Teaching Apologies is an Art
It’s been a long week at the Hope home. Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday. Living with 4 boys under the age of 8 will always be eventful and tiring. That said being a parent is also hard, tiring, and often humbling.
As an adult, especially a parent there is a very special and fine line between ego and the greater good. In all actuality those things are miles apart but human nature presides in times of trial.
How often do we show children that we are wrong? Do you admit to not knowing everything? Do you apologize for wrong doings and misunderstandings? Do you argue and try to fix things in front of your children?
Are you leading and teaching by example?
From the talented Alireza Yavari's Google+ Click to see
We want our children to do and be many things. Love their siblings. Be friendly and respectful. Handle criticism with integrity. Not curse, drink, or smoke. We want them to be responsible, be accountable, be forgiving, be compassionate, and be confident. Ultimately we want them to grow into a great and happy person. Well guess what people! That means practicing what you preach. That means being and DOING the things you want to instill in your children. This means being the change. Trust, Gandhi was on to something HUGE.
Practicing what you preach is hard. More importantly, including your children to keep you accountable is harder. Many people disagree with my take on this. They feel children shouldn’t have a say in adult matters. The way I see it, adult matters are just as much the matters of our children for this is their world, future, and life we are shaping. Plus, children are the uncut geniuses who have yet to be told “that is impossible,” “that isn’t the right way,” or “you are crazy.”
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"Live Long and Prosper" My Son
I think I finally figured out my 6 and a half-year old son. He isn’t Autistic. He is Vulcan. Okay, wait for the eye rolls and criticisms. I am not going to geek out on you into some nerdcore Sci-Fi. Okay, well maybe a little. Just give it a moment of your time and some thought.
Weekly Letter 3/25- 3/31
Dear Mother Nature,
I love how complex your workings are. So much so that I have tried to teach my children that everything has its importance in life and death. With this being said, we prefer life. I don’t appreciate our home being invaded by your wicked creepy crawler: Read more
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Living Dreams Within Dreams
Smells like Rain
To say I went on vacation would be a dream. With much ado I have worked harder in the last few weeks than I have since summer. Actually, summer is never that bad because it is SUMMER; hot, fun, and most importantly SUNNY! Well it has been Spring Break here. YAY! Four boys at home get some much needed R&R in the rain. Wait. What?! Yes, that is right the freakin rain.
The Last Week +
So, with my boys rain does not equal fun UNLESS there is not thunder and lightning involved. There has been LOTS of thunder and lightning involved. Plus since the inclement in weather, our satellite and internet has been haywire. So this week I have had to be VERY creative and VERY interactive to keep the cabin fever at bay and keep the boys from going Lord of The Flies on each other. Read more
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Say it Saturday: Watching Competitions with the Hubster
He's a great role model... but he'll tell you he is {just a} model...
We have talked about how my Husby tries to entertain himself with antics of Humble Pie and with telemarketers. Well he also likes to interact with either television or radio shows that ask questions or have judging. Today we watched back to back episodes of The Voice on E! These type of shows and info-mercials are what my Husby considers to be “Inter-Active” television. He is judge, jury, and very opinionated commentator. Here are a few quotes of the day: Read more
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Not a Screw You but a Thank You
I am done pleasing others.
Never have I received such an audience. You all are very warm, welcoming, and accepting. I couldn’t ask for better readers. I am beyond grateful for the community of writers and readers I have found myself surrounded by. I’ve been caught up writing award blogs, tag blogs, interviews, and viewer driven pieces. Since, I have felt like writing is a burden. I have put off my own ideas to fulfill the obligations that I took on, but now is a time where I say, no more. I have been writing since I was 7 years old. And in those 22 years, I have never felt this crappy about my writing.
I need my inner carrot back, please and thank you.
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WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!
My readers, My Friends!
As you can only imagine I have been busy. If you haven’t caught on by now, or it is your first time reading, I am a very busy woman. Read more
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The Mystery of The Disappearing Chap-stick
Disappearing chap-stick is the equivalent of the dryer eating ONE sock. It sucks. Especially since it never seems to turn up. You buy a few and stick them in obvious places. A week later, they are gone. You go buy more and more and more. Then you find one in the dryer eaten alive… Damn dryer. You buy more. A dollar here. A dollar and change buying a fancy kind. All vanish. It is something we just accept. We even laugh about it.
In line at a local grocery, I saw these little egg looking things near the row of chap-stick. Luckily I read in a magazine (most likely while at Jakin’s therapy which is mostly the only place I read mags…) about these little egg-shaped guys. They are USDA certified organic lip balm. I wondered if the reviews in the magazine held to their words which were VERY high. I also wondered about the texture and taste.
The EOS spheres (I call them eggs)
I have issues with texture and taste. I also often bite or lick or rub my lips. Some say it is part of an oral fixation. Anyway, I don’t like my lips to be sticky, waxy, or smothered. Original Chap-stick is too waxy. Carmex is thick like Vaseline. And most lip glosses are slick at first then they gum up to a sticky mess. If the textures weren’t bad then typically the tastes are. Medicated and Carmex taste like vitamins you that get stuck on your tongue by accidental non-swallow. BLEHH. Original, Cherry, and many more taste like your licking a candle. No, not an edible massage oil candle… Now I find some that do taste good but then they have the texture problem. See my issue. I know there are more out there with these problems. Read more
