My relaxation techniques...

Whew what a week already! Blah... :( I, too, am kind of in another funk these days. Why can't it be nice and sunny and warm on the weekends for my enjoyment? Why does it have to be cold and rain all the time? Even a cute new hairdo hasn't brought about any new happiness. (But I do promise to post pics and updates soon.) :) Don't tell me it's this Arkansas weather...that part I won't miss. Well, actually I just might. I hear winter in Germany is brutal. Oh no...and it's almost April which means we are closer to getting there. Yikes!

Last night I took time out for a pamper me session. I DESPERATELY needed one. Yes, desperately. So I made the homemade sugar scrub I've read so much about. Yep, 4 cups of pure cane sugar to one cup of olive oil. Mix it up in a bowl or a cute jar if you are feeling all Martha Stewart-y. Take the hottest bath you can get sans kids...yes I said sans kids...I locked myself in the bathroom. I just didn't feel good and needed to do something for myself. I NEVER do that! Use the scrub wherever you choose. I hear it's even good for your face but I wasn't that brave. And it was pure heaven in a bowl I must say. I was in there for an hour! :) And I enjoyed every minute of it. I highly recommend it to all of you.

Now I'm trying to be my old self again and this week isn't as crazy busy as the past few so hopefully that will help to cheer us all up.

Have a great rest of your week!

EXHAUSTED!

After yesterday's fun-filled day, we can barely even move around our house today. Hair appointments, a birthday party at Party Central and an evening full of fun at Playtime Pizza was just about too much for us. So we're taking today off!

Will share more soon - - -

Wow!

I was looking at some maps on the internet yesterday and came across this map of Germany again. And...Yikes...see that red rectangle/square? Yep...that's where we're heading in a few short months. OMG! So.far.away!!! **Gulp** We can do this, We can do this...ok, that's not helping. And we will probably be overseas for quite a bit longer than three years it is looking like. We're not really sure and won't know until about 2 years from now what that part of our future will hold. Wow! So many changes...

A Blizzard? What?

Look at what Ronnie's going through right now, and I'm quite sure this isn't even the worst of it...Wow!

My first job: retail

Oh boy, that first job at Wal-Mart scared me to death! I was there for a whole 2 months I think! :)

Have y'all discovered these silly prompts from Plinky? Silly I know, and half the time I mess up the way they are presented on the blog but they are fun nonetheless! Enjoy!

Yes More Pictures...

I had forgotten all about these pictures I've had sitting in my email inbox for a while to include here for all the world to see. :) These are just some fun times we've had lately-buying new sunglasses, a day of fun at the beach, and being picked as a special helper during the Upward Bound awards program... Enjoy!









A couple of these are terrible pics because I forgot my camera and took them with my phone. Bad Mommy!

Ronnie's Pikes Peak Adventure

I am SO disappointed in these pictures. Of course, they had to be there for PT at like "oh-dark-thirty" so no wonder you couldn't really see anything good but here ya go...I am hoping he gets some better shots sometime. I am wishing their weather would be better this weekend...I told him to get adventurous and for them to go sightseeing so we can see it all too. I'm still so jealous! :)



This one has their class mascot in it. Not too sure about that one...:)



Hopefully we will have lots more pics to follow...

Sorry For The Bloggy Hiatus...

We've been just a tad bit busy around here. Showing the house continues to be a thorn in my rear end! :) But that means it will catch someone's eye sometime soon, right?

I finally finished New Moon and am still not impressed. I did pick up Eclipse and have read just a bit of it but am so far not so impressed even still. Neeley and I watched Twilight on PPV the other night and she LOVED it but I am still so-so. I really have no imagination :) and tend to be a realist I think. Hhhmmmmmm.....

Neeley got to wear her jammies to school on Friday of last week (as long as she brought $1) as a fundraiser for ACH. And since we love that place, this is what she looked like that day...

Such a silly girl! She got so many compliments on her crazy hair and I've even had a few mommies ask me how I did it because their girls wanted to wear theirs the same.

We've also been cooking a lot more here at home, or trying to at least. Do you know how hard that is these days? After having another crazy weekend, and finally having some time to get organized and try to get myself back on track, I found this recipe and we've been snacking on these off and on for the past few days.

So yummy! This is just sugar free vanilla wafers, strawberries, blueberries and sugar free/fat free Cool Whip layered with a mixture that is fat free cream cheese/sugar free-fat free vanilla pudding/sugar free-fat free Cool Whip. Yum! Healthy heaven...well only if you don't eat them all in oh say 2 days. :)

And tonight for dinner we had these...

We have a favorite restaurant out of town that makes these yummy BBQ baked potatoes and we love them so much that tonight I tried my own. Absolutely none of this was actually homemade/from scratch: Lloyd's bbq, baking potato nuked in the microwave, a can of bbq beans, slaw mix with slaw dressing, s & p, shredded cheese. Dump it all on a plate and there you have it...

And that's been the highlight of our not-so-fab week. Hoping this weather will straighten up soon. And I mean like right now...there's heresay that we will get off at noon tomorrow so I am hoping to take my book and a sammie and enjoy some "me" time out somewhere...the park, the lake, in my bed, wherever... :) . Because the next few days are going to be crazy busy finishing up some small projects and then we have several birthday parties this weekend and a hair appt. Oh what fun!

Good night!

I wish I could get a new If I could change the fact that we even have a mortgage right now, I SO would. :) Come one, someone buy this house!

I Cheated!!

The biggest chocolate chip cookie you've ever seen and a HUMONGOUS Diet Coke from San Francisco Bread Company. Yep, I did. That's what an afternoon of shopping will do to a girl on a diet. I'm sorry! :)

Boo Hiss...

No promotion for us this year. :( But here's to looking forward to next year! :)

SOMEONE got to experience a short hike up part of Pike's Peak this morning...and I'm jealous. Pics to come later. And he passed another test today so we're in this for at least another week.

I'm off to read more in New Moon. I need another break! What a day it has been...

Crossing My Fingers AND Toes...

Don't have a lot of time to post much today but just wanted to ask for a HUGE favor for our family...

Y'all please keep your fingers AND toes crossed for our lil family today. Ronnie is getting ready to take his next test. I know he will do fine. He is a brainiac at this stuff...

But here's the kicker...we also find out about his E-7 promotion today. Y-I-K-E-S!! Please say an extra prayer for us to allow us this next step. This is a very big step for us and we so need it.

Please and thank you... :)

Just Stuff... :)

Ok, remember that Flat Belly Diet I mentioned before? Yeah, so Oprah lied... that Sassy Water is some nasty stuff. Yuck! Go Google it. It will make you sick just reading over the recipe. But I have lost 2 pounds since the weekend. Well, that was until we made the lunch stop at Smokin' In Style in Hot Springs yesterday. Have y'all tried that place? Yum...

And, oh, btw...have you heard of the Red Swan company? Now Rachael Ray knows what she's talking about! Go check it out here. I have boxes if anyone needs one. I got almost a hundred bucks back. Yay! Momma needs a new pair of shoes...

Happy Thursday!

A Much Needed Break!

Hasn't the sunshine been nice? It makes me smile. I was supposed to go walking last night but instead we spent some fun time on the Wii with Ryan and Tina. And yes it was a much needed break. I have been working so hard to get some form of exercise in every day but I needed just one day to veg again. :) So what's the story with Jon & Kate Gosselin? Are they still a couple or what? Anybody have the scoop? Inquiring minds wanna know...

Getting Over A Case Of The Funks

I am so glad to FINALLY see the sunshine and hope it does stay with us for a while. I have definitely had a case of the funks. With the house and the move in general and keeping up with work and Neeley's social schedule *chuckle* and everything else in between, I just have not felt like myself. Overwhelmed? Yes! Tired? You bet! Stressed? Oh Boy! Grouchy? Why Not! :) I hope to get over this soon. To quote a favorite from over at Spousebuzz.com, I too "have been at a loss, fuzzy, dazed and confused, overwhelmed and tired." Every day is a struggle. I have been trying to exercise and get out of the house more for "me" time, not just to run errands or conduct family business. Guess I better get used to the cold weather, though, huh? It's not often that I think of Germany when I am dreaming of a tropical climate and beautiful beaches. :)

Oh What A Monday!

Yes, it has been one of THOSE Mondays! First of all, I was getting ready this morning and heard a lot of knocks and banging and bumping coming from Neeley's room. When I walked in the room, yes this is what I found.



Neeley discovered the teeny-bopper magazine section at Wal-Mart the other day and I caved just because it was another one of THOSE days. Yes, I did, and yes I know she's only 7 y.o. Now I'm kind of nervous for her to be coming of the age to be finding her "style" while over in Germany. I figure they all will be so hopefully it will all be okay. But the Jonas Brothers? Really? :)

I'm off to go for a much needed walk or try to at least. My mind has been exercised enough today. We showed the house...1, no wait...2...yes 2 times today. I got the first call this morning so I had to take an early lunch break to hurry home and do some straightening and get the dog all packed up and over to my parents house. Did that, went back to work, had an appt off campus so went to that, stopped back by my parents house to pick up the dog and take her back home. Was not at work 10 minutes when I got the call asking if it was still in an ok-to-be-seen condition. Oh yes, but the dog was there. So apparently our lil Anna Banana had a play date with some stranger's kids. All's well as long as this house gets sold. Will keep you all posted!

I do have another errand to run this evening. I was going to start reading New Moon yesterday but instead I had to return a DVD back to Red Box so I picked up this too. Needless to say, I boo-hooed for a couple of hours. EVERY ONE HAS TO SEE THIS!

Humph...

I don't get to see my hubby for about another 5 weeks or so...and I have no kind words for that! :( We miss our Daddy!!

Oh The Excitement...

Ok, there's no real excitement here. I was only kidding... :)
In fact, life here in the Bowden household is quite boring these days. Well, sort of...but I kind of like it that way.
I so wish the cold, rainy weather would go away so I can get back to walking and feeling good again. My thrift out front is making me happier these days when I pull up to my house...isn't it gorgeous?

Last weekend, Neeley and I were able to get out a little bit and go for a walk. Here's my lil cutie patootie cheeser...

Yesterday was our final Upward Bound cheer...maybe forever. **tear** :( I'm sure she will be involved in everything under the sun over in Germany like she is here. :) Here are a few pics from that. Apparently I'm not very good at taking action shots so I missed the best ones. I can definitely call it operator failure. :)



Other than that, we are very B-O-R-I-N-G these days and there hasn't been much to do for the upcoming move. Yay!
Oh, this is another one of my new ventures... :) Yes, I actually buy this junk...

I am bound and determined to look and feel better by the time I get on that place headed to Germany. Yes, even if it kills me. :)
I'm off to work on a little bit of Children's Choir stuff, and then it's back to snuggling up with this...

You all told me it was better than the first and not to give up reading it just yet. So here I go...........

I love Plinky!

Have you ever answered any of these Plinky questions? HILARIOUS!!! Go try their prompts now...

This one is asking if I have ever bought anything from an infomercial. Haha! Oh yes, I have purchased SmoothAway and hm...let's see...I really have to think about this one. Oh, I bought a lens repair kit for eyeglasses. And I know I have bought some other ridiculous things, I just can't remember them at the moment.

Bloggy Blahs...

I'm not feeling so creative or wordy today so I'll just keep it to the facts, ma'am. :)

We may or may not have an offer on our house. We had a somewhat kind of an offer today so we are now going through that back and forth process. I put it that way because it's nothing to really even consider. :( But we must do what is easiest and best at this point. Who knows what will happen but please be thinking about us. This is getting more and more stressful as the days pass before us. We will soon be on that plane to Germany.

We are also selling a car. Please share with any and all...2009 Ford Fusion. Yes, it needs a new home and QUICKLY!

I will finally be able to breathe once all of this is over with...can I please just have one day for myself? Actually, I'd take even just one little bitty short moment of just me time. I don't even know what that is anymore.

Isn't this weather just lovely?................NOT!!!! Humph...

Ronnie passed his test today. So that's on to another week for us. Yay! Please keep your fingers crossed for us still. Only a few more weeks to go!

I think I took some pictures to post here but I do believe they are in my email or on my computer somewhere and since it's now 8:20 pm, I'm not looking for them tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

Heading to put on my jammies and snuggle up with a good show. What's even on TV on Friday nights any way? :)

We have Upward Bound cheer bright and early tomorrow morning. Our last game...nope I'm not sad AT ALL! So ready to finally have a free day. Then it's come back home to work around the house, finish up some items for our upcoming Children's Choir musical. Yes, I do that too. Just add that to the plate. Love it and wouldn't have it any other way but I am so tired by Wednesday evenings. And then I get to (hopefully) work on the other 3,297 things on my to-do list. I should post a pic of my recent to-do list. Some of you say you are OCD and very particular about things. Oh no...you should ask Ronnie...I have you all beat. My to-do list is color coded by priority/type of chore/etc. Yep, it sure is...would make any other absolutely c.r.a.z.y but I love it! Organization makes me smile! :)

Signing off until next time ~~

Ash

Girl Scouts, And Snow, And All That Jazz...

Is it Wednesday already? And almost the middle of March? Good grief! :)

We're just back to the ol' grind in our lives after putting up with the fever virus last week. Yuck!

Neeley will be excited...I FINALLY heard back from the Girl Scout leader in Stuttgart today. They have over 300 girls in their mini-groups. Yes, 300 girls! And yes, mini-groups. Oh boy! She won't know what to do with herself. The current leader told me if we can get her transfer form sent in by the first of May she can go to camp with them this summer when we get there. She will miss the first one since it begins the day we actually fly there but she can go to another one they have in July with a sleepover and everything. I can just picture it now...over 300 girls at a sleepover. Remind me not to volunteer to help with that one. #1 on my to-buy list for that one if I am there: EARPLUGS! :)

Ronnie is still enjoying himself in Colorado. Here are a couple of pictures he posted a few days ago of the snow there. Apparently the weather is about as crazy as it is here. 70 one day and snowing the next. Enjoy!

Hi From Neeley

Hi!

Today has been a busy day for Mommy. She has been doing stuff with the dog all day to get ready to go to Germany. Here is a picture of our family dog, Anna.


I will write more soon!

Love, Neeley

Saturday Already?

We've spent the past 2 to 3 days fighting this "fever virus" but looks like today may be a better day. I am so ready to get out in the sunshine!

Good News! Praise the Lord! Ronnie passed his test for this week! Yay! Yay! Yay! Only six more to go! We're so proud of him! Now if we can just find a cheap way to get there to visit over Spring Break. :)

Enjoy the rest of the weekend! We...well I...have quite a few things to accomplish this weekend. #1 on my list is to do something about my nasty floors. #2 is to get out there and do something fun outside. I am having a serious case of Spring Fever. And then tomorrow will be kind of crazy for us so we will share more on Monday!

Ash

I Don't Have Time For This...

Apparently the wee one in the house has this stinkin' "fever virus" as they are calling it. Too many kiddos are being sent home from school with this stuff. Just a 102.8 fever and a very lovely sounding cough for us so far. So this is what my grocery shopping looked like this morning:

I also had to pick up these books for myself. I have some things to take care of on the computer today, but other than that not much else to do so I had to indulge a little. This one I just saw and liked. I LOVE Debbie Macomber so this is my next read. I haven't seen the movie but I've heard it and the book are awesome so I picked this one up too. And I have caved...oh yes I have...and said I would never...nope never...don't even get in to those kinds of stories...but I am now the proud owner of this. So here I go to lay on the couch and enjoy these books while hopefully avoiding the germs. Guess I'll get to wash sheets and spray tons of Lysol later. Oh boy! :)

A Case Of The Yucks

Anyone else out there feeling so tired today? Ugh... We just can't get well at our house. I'm hoping we can have some time this weekend to get out in the warm weather and feel alive again. Life isn't quite as hectic this week as the past few weeks. THANK GOODNESS! :) Y'all just please continue to help us pray that our house and car will sell quickly. Like right now... heehee! Please and thank you... I am going to have Ronnie post about his class soon. It makes me nervous to even talk to him about it. He is taking it all in stride but it has my stomach in knots. The class is VERY difficult-they are being filled full of information-and I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed (is that possible?) that all goes well. I have faith in him! More to come soon...

A Little Bit Of This And That

Is it Monday already? I've been asking myself that question all day. And what a day it has been! After spending my weekend at home enjoying movie thanks to Red Box, I'm still not ready to get back in to our weekly routine. Maybe another lazy evening will do me just fine! :) Ronnie made it to Colorado and he will be posting soon too to share his experiences. Passing this class may in fact require a few extra prayers so y'all be thinking about him and the 8 others in his class. We HAVE to pass this class to go to Germany. And I think he said there is something like a 20% pass rate. Oh.My.Gosh! I have faith in him! :) I'm off to take my nightly bubble bath and enjoy some more chick flicks. Will keep you posted on our adventure...

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