She Cracked the Rules!

Last night Halle was wailing- loudly. I knew she wasn't hurt because it was her angry cry. Travis went to investigate and Halle wailed "she cracked the rules" at the top of her lungs. Travis said "what?" clearly confused and Chloe said nonchalantly "she means I broke the rules, that's how she says it". Very funny.

So we're 3 days out from our trip and we have transmission trouble. We know a guy that just put brakes on our other vehicle and he took a look at our main van and said there's absolutely no way we could drive to Florida with it as it is. He said it's a something or other but if we fix it now we won't have to have the transmission rebuilt- good to know. But we haven't been able to get it fixed because we can't get in touch with him- because he has to talk to somebody...and we're running out of time. He fixed the brakes on Trav's van but it took two days. And that was for brakes. I'm no mechanic but it seems like a transmission is harder to get to- being in the front of the car with the engine and all. Hmmm. I think it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Thankfully Travis handles the car stuff. And God has it all under control. I wouldn't say I'm nervous- just curious. Ok, and really excited because I know that God has some big things in store for us. So right now it looks like the bottom is falling out- two big car repairs in the last two weeks and we absolutely refuse to use credit cards for anything. We've drawn a line in the sand so to speak. But things aren't always as they appear. 2 Kings chapter 7. We're leaving Saturday. And everything that God has purposed for us for this trip will be accomplished.

Because It Was Horrible to My Taste

This past Monday was family night of course, and I made burrito fixings since everybody loves burritos. Mostly. Actually, Chloe and Halle like bean burritos- the Taco Bell variety. I forgot to buy a can of refried beans so they were out of luck. But I did grill some chicken breasts that were marinated in Mojo. I love that stuff (it comes in a big bottle at Publix- do not buy Publix brand, blech) actually I love Cuban food and am very glad that I married a Cuban. Anyway, if you marinate the chicken for about 30 minutes (there's citrus in the marinade and it can start to cook the meat if you do it for longer) and grill it and it's fabulous- and really simple. We made burritos for the girls and all of a sudden Halle spit out something and we asked her what she was doing. To which she replied- "I spit out da chicken 'cause it was horrible to my taste". I wanted to be upset but I couldn't help but laugh.

Something that Travis brought home last night was horrible to my taste too...this pretty little apricot. So sad...

I've never actually had an apricot before that wasn't dried so I was excited to try it. Unfortunately it was mealy and tasteless and dry. I didn't finish eating it. It had to be that particular fruit because Travis loves them but he didn't like this one either. We'll have to try it again sometime.

In other news I've figured out my remaining sickness issue. Yeah, really I have. I'm allergic to TN. That's kind of anti-climactic, right? But I've noticed that my fatigue, headaches, feeling like I have a cold or flu symptoms were the same as when we had the cats. It left when we got rid of them and came back when allergy season started. So now when there's no tree pollen I feel fine, when it's low I start getting sinus headaches and really tired- any more than that and I'm done for. But I'm not the only one. My dad said he used to feel like he had the flu a couple weeks out of every month when he lived in FL. So yeah, that's it. It's nice to know that I'm not really, actually sick. My immune system isn't wrecked like I thought it was and that's encouraging. The not encouraging part is staying in bed for two to three weeks at a time because I'm allergic to trees. I love trees. And I love TN. But it's making Florida look even better. I wonder if I'd be OK vacationing here? We used to vacation in NC and I was just fine. Very sad.

And on another note- I finally have Amanda's schedule! And I don't think I'm going to be all that busy with her stuff. I need to look at it again but she really wants me there for her competitions and for the award ceremony- for which I need at least a semi-formal dress. I don't really feel like buying one of those right now. And I'm having a bit of trouble not being critical about some aspects of this whole thing. I know that acting is my daughters passion and I appreciate that. I just hate the whole modeling, image aspect of it. I found myself being a bit sickened as I watched a little girl of about 5 posing for her dad when I was at Amanda's last practice. She was made up like a little model and clearly that's the aspiration. It's just not my thing. So I need to make it a goal to not judge and be loving and excited for these kids- and adults- that are trying to make a career in a field completely about image. And talent- a lot of these kids are really talented. And this is what Amanda is called to. I'm supporting her and praying for her. I just need to leave my condescending, self righteous attitude...well, I should just lose the attitude. Ooh, I think it worked...I feel much better now ;)

And I think that's all of my ramblings for the day.