Merry Christmas

This is what most people think of when they think of Christmas...the Tree and the Presents. While I enjoy watching people open presents that I give them, and yes enjoy receiving...Let me show you my favorite picture of Christmas...

My daughter and son in law standing, my two roommates sitting...at Christmas Eve dinner. More family is coming over tonight. Christmas is spending time with family... This year we celebrated Yule on the 21st with Tryn, and Christmas today all the more reasons to have time with family :)

So Sorry for the long Pause

There has been alot happening...and I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping the blog upto date.

I will do full posts when I have the words to say but in a nutshell:

I am no longer engaged

Tryn and Aaron are having fun and enjoying UNC and have some great new friends

Halloween is tomorrow

Empty Nest syndrome really bites.

Elections...TeaPartys and stuff

Now that the computer situation is sorting out....longer posts detailing the last 5 months will be coming.

Wedding Slideshow

Aaron & Tryn's Wedding

Here is the YouTube link to a YouTube video done by my friend Christina of the wedding. Great job Christinia!

Aaron and Tryn

25 June 2010 is a very important day, it was the day that Aaron Christopher Barela and Tryn Leigh McCardell joined together as man and wife.

It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. It was more than worth every single panic and stress attack. The Bride and Groom both expressed their happiness with the ceremony that they created and with the reception that his parents put together. They are honeymooning in Denver for 6 days.

I have never looked at this as "loosing a daughter" my daughter has new last name, and now the young man who I have considered as a son for almost two years is now officially my son-in-law.

The Bride - Tryn Leigh McCardell

(Photo of the Groom Coming Soon)

Danny Dewalle (Best Man) McKenzie (Flower Girl) Alexis Sadowski (Maid of Honor)

Photography by Jerusha Johnson

Memorial Day 2010

Happy Memorial Day

It is Memorial Day 2010, and in the midst of our personal countdown rush (5 days til Tryn's Graduation, 24 days til Tryn and Aarons Wedding, 21 days till the end of my college semester…). Here is a moment to take a deep breath and say thank you to our veterans and to the families of the veterans who have served and given their lives.
This morning on the way to work I heard “Some Gave All” by Billy Ray Cyrus, granted I am not a fan of his daughter Miley but I still enjoy some of Billy Ray’s songs and this one in particular. It is a good reminder that while I work at a nice safe place where my biggest danger is emotional trauma from being yelled at by customers, there are men and women right now in danger of losing their lives to keep us free.

Thank You to all our veterans and to their families.

Slideshow:Homeschooling Myths~10 - LoveToKnow Home School

Here is a Homeschool Myth Slideshow. I thought it was pretty interesting there are alot for thoughts and misconceptions about homeschool and I also promise to get back to the regularly scheduled blog soon...right now please be patient with random bits of my thoughts.


Slideshow:Homeschooling Myths~10 - LoveToKnow Home School

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Exclusive: Seagate confirms 3TB drive

I am just imagining how many pictures I could put on this thing....

RaeAnn

From Help on the Net: Tech Support Guy Blog

Exclusive: Seagate confirms 3TB drive: "

Needs UEFI, 64-bit OS and new partition table
Look for an end-of-year launch of this product.

Feminism in 2010

Right now Tryn is working on a project for school involving feminism, not the first go round where we got the right to vote, but the second one with wages and birth control.

It got me thinking about what feminism means to me. Because of the women and some brave men before me I have never lived in a world where I couldn't vote, where I couldn't open my own bank account. I have always been encouraged to be whatever I want to be. I have experienced wage discrimination. I have never called myself a feminist - in fact honestly, most of the time I disagree with the violent hatred that I see projected by the face of the feminist movement. When you lay out the facts, equal rights, equal pay, equal voice - absolutely. Not just for women but for men and all races. Everyone has a voice as should be paid by the quality of their work, not by their gender or color of their skin. When it comes to birth control I am glad we won that battle too. The ability to take a pill or insert a piece of plastic and reduce the chance of pregnancy has improved the health of many women and children. When it comes to abortion, well, yes things get tricky. Let me just say that I can't imagine ever having one personally - but I cannot, and will not make that choice for any other woman who is in her first trimester.

What I don't understand about some in the feminist movement is the hatred. I have been both a working single, a working wife, a working mom, and a stay at home mom. All have joys and challenges. None are better or worse, all are choices and results of where you are in life. Why the hate and "I am better than you" Why the hate for men? I personally enjoy and embrace the differences between men and women, we really are different and I love the differences between us. I don't want to act or think like a man, and I don't want men to act and think like me, I do want us to try and understand when we don't agree however. And therein lies my basic difference with some of the "militant" feminists. I should be able to vote, and speak, and get equal pay and still be a woman. Wearing skirts or pants as I choose, hair long or short. I should be judged by the quality of my work not by whether my name is listed as J. Smith or Jane Smith.
I am a woman and I enjoy being a woman and all that that means. Wife and Mother, Sister and Daughter. In my own case I am equally at home fixing your computer, scrapbooking photos, unclogging a sink, fixing dinner, or homeschooling my daughter.

Busy Busy Life

I haven't forgotten my blog...I have been so busy that the concept of taking the time to write it down seemed foreign. No matter how much my mind tells me that is exactly what I should be doing. Tryn is in her final week of High School, and catching up on homework she put off. I chose to try (and sometime fail) to not pester her about finishing her work, even though inside I wanted to scream - I won't be there at UNC next year when she has to manage her own time, it better to learn now while there is still a safety net. And she will finish, tonight she will have 3 of her 7 classes complete including the finals, leaving her 9 days to finish the other 4. At roughly 2 days a class she should be fine - and even get one day off :) Not my favorite personal choice, but hey, its hers.

Aaron is working on his own business, making Duct Tape Apparel and Accessories, the website is just starting but functional http://www.zerosducttape.webs.com/
The hats and wallets are cool, the roses are sweet... he is currently working on a hammock that should be very awesome.

Glenn has restarted his computer repair/network management business, http://www.lightningfastsystem.webs.com/ and that's going good.

Tryn and Aaron's wedding is June 25 they have their wedding site up and running http://www.weddingofaaronandtryn.webs.com/ so we are all over the web these days.

It will slow down soon, and life can return to normal chaos...

18 - Here We Are

Please bear with me today, I'm feeling more than a little nostalgic. You see my daughter turned 18 today.

Here she was a baby playing in her crib....

I couldn't wait until she started walking and talking

I wanted to show her the whole world

Here she is at 18 months, it was Christmas 1993 and she found Mommys make up!

Fast Forward to age 10, here she is at the Butterfly Pavilion the year it was at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

A few years later she turned 13 and we celebrated at Joes Crab Shack

In her Eight Grade Year Tryn decided to try out black hair, its been black ever since.

This is Tryn as a Sophomore at Fountain Fort Carson High School

Tryn at 17, this picture was take during the photo shoot for her engagement photos

Tryn Self Portrait 2010

We have gone from at newborn baby, I can't say tiny because you were 8 lbs 15 oz, but from a helpless newborn to a strong independent woman. You always speak your mind and your passionate and loyal. I am so proud of you Tryn, and I am excited about what the future holds for you.

This Week

These last few weeks Glenn has been in Michigan, on Wednesday his mother passed away from cancer. I am so glad that he was able to be with her. He is taking care of everything for her and got to spend time not only with her but with his brother, his sister in law, and friends. I was able to talk to Ruth a few times on the phone, I wish that I had got to know her better. I know her son is an amazing man. I was suppose to be able to fly up there...but well, God had other plans.

This week our furnace went out while it was snowing...thank you to Mom and Mike for getting it fixed...

Tonight Tryn gets to go talk to UNC about admissions. I'm excited for her, this is her dream school.

Glenn gets home Friday.

Have a great week everyone.

Emotional--Whatever

So I really hate being the topic of my own posts, especially when I feel like I'm whining. But this emotional roller coaster is really bringing it all to my attention. First of all I love most roller coasters - unless they are the emotional kinds. I can do with out that kind of drama. Second of all lets get some perspective here...

In January 2001 my ex and I seperated, in October 2002 we divorced, my daughter was 10. No matter what the paperwork says about shared custody, I have had primary custody for most of the time, there was a very short time where it actually came close to 50/50, and it was for maybe a year - maybe. So it was me and my daughter. I didn't date, I worked. I took care of her. I tried to make sure she kept a good relationship with her Dad. I tried to maintain a good relationship with her Dad. Her Dad moved to New Mexico, then was in jail for 18 months. Even more just me and her. My parents have helped but really, when it comes down to it- I have been Mom and Dad, and because of the way I am and how I hate whining guess what else? I really suck at telling even my close friends "i'm not doing okay, I'm scared of this." add that to never truly dealing with the betrayal and rage from the situation around the divorce and guess what? I'm about one truly messed up emotional mess (or one repressed one). So where is all this leading?

To this... life is amazing sometimes, this great guy named Glenn is in love with me, and I am in love with him and he doesn't care that I'm an emotional wreak. In fact he wants to help me with it. Whats even crazier is that the human body and mind due funny things sometimes. Here is what mine is starting to do. 'hmmm, you have a partner now who is supporting you emotionally. Time to slowly start putting away the Superwomen cape' as I'm starting to learn to lean on someone else for emotional support all this 8+ years of emotional crap is starting to flood. I swear I have had more emotional breakdowns in the last 3 months than in the last 3 years.

Glenn tells me this is healthy, that my system is cleansing, I feel like a girly wuss. I have been Superwoman and Wonder Woman wrapped into one for so long, now I'm doing crazy stuff like second guessing and questioning...hmmm like a normal person. Part of me really misses my keep strong and keep going, the rest of me likes being able to call up my honey and say "what do you think?"

But the emotional waterworks need to cease post haste.