Blackberry is my favorite flavor!

I know it's not 3G and it's not an iPhone, but I love it just the same. Now Avi's phone is on my plan too. Thanks to Linda for helping him for so long.

I haven't quite figured out all that my phone can do. I have a "don't be bored" app, a Pandora Internet radio app, and my email and Facebook. It's fun to get updates through out the day.

The camera is very nice. I just need to get a Micro SD that will work with my Blackberry so I can take and keep more than 10 pictures.

I love getting free wallpaper photos and changing my background on a regular basis. I have a picture of Sweden right now and I've had a few pictures of Paris and Italy. It helps my pass the time to see pictures of beautiful places.

UPDATE: This just in... Linda and Kevin got tires for my bike! As soon as Avi gets it put together, I will be riding in style. WHITE WALLED and everything! Love it! Thank you!

I have been officially nominated for President for the July-June 2010 Toastmaster's term. I'm looking forward to learning more about leadership. I know I could learn a lot more about leadership.

Did my bike just backfire?!

I don't have a picture of my bike with it's popped tire. But I had so much fun last night riding my bike for the first time. I was hesitant to go too fast because I wasn't sure how reliable the brakes were. The front brake works really well. Little did I know that the treads make a huge difference. My back tire popped. I'm bummed as I know I don't have the finances to replace the tread and inner tube right now. I really had fun last night. I freaked out the neighbors because the pop was so loud. The walls of the tread were weak. The tread part itself looks new. It's just too old. It's just a silly bike, but I was really hoping to get to ride it in the mornings. It was fun til it lasted. 

Now I have to go get ready for work. Sometimes being a grown up is lame. 

;-)

Tzipi and Nee

The boys left for Sunday School this morning and after Tzipi and I mopped the floor, we were ready for more breakfast. We had tea and bagels. It was very yummy. Tzipi is a big helper. I love her enthusiasm for work and her love for a clean house. She's precious.

Armed and Hilarious

Meet.... Walter

   

On Friday, Avi and I went to the shooting range so that I could fire my Walther P22 for the first time. I guess all parents have to deal with balancing work, children and marriage, but I'm glad that Avi and I have found a "hobby" that we can do together. Avi asked Aunt Linda to watch Tzipi so we I can take my lunch hour on Friday and go to the range.

 Avi made sandwiches and when we got there, we were the only ones there. I filled out this sheet for first timers and it asked general safety questions. Avi ran through the basics. We had only been there a few minutes when an older couple came. When Avi shot the gun for the first time, I didn't realize that the shells would come towards your face. That kind of freaked me out. Then I heard the lady shoot her gun and it was loud and made me jump. I didn't know that guns were so loud. So trying to focus on the target, trying to cock the gun, and trying not to jump all at the same time... It was an experience. Then after I got use the noise and figured out how to use my gun, and tuned everything else out. I did get to feel a hot shell go down my blouse, but I didn't burn myself. 

My work policy doesn't allow concealed carry, but I can keep it in my car. It's instant termination. I've always wanted to have a gun. I used to dream of being a police officer and making it to detective. I know now that I wasn't supposed to be a police officer, but this is like getting to fulfill part of that fantasy.

I'm going to work on getting my Concealed Carry License. I'm looking forward to learning more. It's going to be a big challenge to get time alone with Avi, especially this summer. It's a great way to blow off some steam. Boss make you mad, shoot a 100 rounds. Kids freaking you out.  Shoot at a range.

Mine is a Walther P22. I named him Walter. Avi's Ruger is named Beulah.

Tea Time at Work

 

Every morning  I grab my Strawberry PopTarts and my cup of tea and get my day started. These two tea bags and the bag rest made my morning so special. Darla found these somewhere. One of the teas was lemongrass and that tasted like Chinese food, but the other was white tea and was so good I didn't want my glass to go empty. This has to be my favorite time of the day. Quiet and delicious start to my day. I don't take sugar or any kind of sweetener. I know it's better for me. Are you a tea drinker or a coffee drinker?

(I hate politics, sorry my dear sweet Avi, so please don't take that to mean which side are you on... I literally mean, what do you get the most pleasure from drinking in the morning.) Do you prefer drinking in the morning or is your favorite cup right before you go to sleep?

My cheap bike

I had a fun time last weekend when I was out and about. I saw this sign in this nice neighborhood for a garage sale. Right away I saw a bike. I was so excited. 5 dollars. It was a bit rusty and I'm a little worried about the brakes, but I called my Dad and from what we could tell, this was a good deal. Today I went to Wal-mart for inner tubes and I found a new seat, handle bars and a round basket for my cell phone. Once Avi gets my inner tubes replaced, I'll get to ride and see how bad the brakes are. There's a bike repair place in the neighborhood, so hopefully even if they need to be replaced, I still won't spend what it would have cost for a brand new bike. 

I'm still looking for a bike for Mr. Avi. Hopefully I can find a good deal for him as well.

Zee learned how to ride his bike sans training wheels, so it should be loads of fun to ride as a family.

I should get my Blackberry phone tomorrow. I've been tracking it through FedEx. 

Robert Benmosche will be in Amarillo this week. He's the CEO of AIG. Even though our company isn't AIG, we are still under the umbrella. It's a huge honor for him to come to our little company. I'm a bit excited.

Tzipi's School Program

 

She sang two songs, "going on a bear hunt" and a song about the alphabet. She did a very good job and didn't try to jump off the stage until the end. I'm very proud of her. Such a pretty girl! I was competing to get good pictures with other parents, so I ended up with only three pictures.

Safety

 

This weekend I'll post pictures from Tzipi's school program, this morning I just wanted to take a minute to say a few words.

We went to the Parent Meeting at Tzipi's school and there was a police officer that had a presentation about child safety. I "know" all of the rules about protecting your children, but hearing and seeing the facts brought it all to my mind. Thankfully child abductions don't happen as often as people think. Most of the time it is a custody battle. If anything, it just helped me remember how precious life is and how most parents do not realize how important it is to be in the moment. We struggle to get everything done most of the time and we're thinking of a million things and not paying attention to what is currently happening. I'm always going through the rules before we enter a public place together. It's easy when it's just one of the kids, but take them both and they turn into Indiana Jones and sis. 

It wasn't a scary presentation, but it was serious. Life is so precious and last night just brought it home. I've never been in the situation where I didn't know where my children were, (thankfully they are both very loud). When Zee was tiny and couldn't hear, he wandered away for a second and I could see him, but he couldn't hear me. THAT was scary. I guess the scariest thing about the statistics were that most bad things happen with family members. It's important to know your family. I don't know most of my extended family, but they are many miles away. The thing about trust is that you have to know the person. Spending time with all of your family is important. I'm blessed that the family here in Texas spends so much time talking, blogging, attending family dinners, attending family functions and the like. I feel safe in knowing that I know my family well.

PS. I wanted to say that I whined and whined about no one responding to my newsletter, but I was so out of it that I totally forgot that TINA was the very first to respond (within seconds) and she was very sweet. So I wanted to apologize for being whiny. I hate being whiny. Thank you for always being so encouraging Tina.

My turn!

My Mom posted a really sweet blog post about how much she missed me. Well, it's my turn. My Mom is lots of fun. I miss her a lot. I love her so much!

If I can say one thing, my parents are wonderful grandparents. They never miss an opportunity to love their grandbabies. I know it's hard for them to come visit, but my Mom always tries to send boxes of fun for the kids and encouragement through emails, text messages, phone calls, Facebook posts, you name it! And my Mom even does extra stuff on Facebook games for Zee and Zippy. Oh, and Webkinz too. How many grammas play video games for their grandkids? My Mom does!

My Mom and I were together all the time when I grew up. I doubt most people get to know their moms as well as I know mine. My Mom's heart is bigger than most. She taught me to never give up. Never quit. That God's Word is the last word. She showed me to love even though it hurts and to give until there's nothing left. She's the reason I work so hard to make my marriage work. Marriage is hard but worth every effort. She's a passionate person. Her heart is so tender that she feels every pain. From the hurting person at the grocery store, to the sick goat in her barn. The mother-daughter relationship isn't always perfect, but just like everything we do, we will make this work too.

I hope to bring the kids to their farm as soon as school is out. We miss them so much. We miss their goats too. But I miss my mom's hug the most. Hope to see you soon Mom! Nee

PS, this would be longer, but it's time for me to get ready for work.

Upgrade! So excited!!!!

I am so excited! I got to upgrade my phone this weekend. I ordered it online at AT&T and  it cost me a penny! YAY! It's being fed exed and should be here soon. I am not exactly sure what I should do once it comes. But I've seen Avi change his SIM cards lots of times, so hopefully it'll just be a matter of doing that. If not, I'll take a trip to AT&T I guess. I doubt I'll ever be an iPhone owner. I don't like the whole tactile thing where you have to use your touch and not a stylus to activate the screen. Plus I like to have actual QWERTY keys to text. I've tried texting on a touch screen and I don't think I'd ever like that. I know there are a lot of fun applications with the iPhone, but I would rather stick with something that is a bit more consistent and older with a good rep. Most of the IT guys have a Blackberry at work. I'm sure there's a learning curve but I'm looking forward to it. OK, I'm done rambling.

Happy Spring Day

Good Morning!

I couldn't come up with a better picture.

I'm doing better. My Jingles don't hurt as bad but they are still there. I'm sleepy this morning because my sinus' woke me up and then my brain wouldn't let me go back to sleep. Can anyone say Nap?

I'm looking forward to the Amarillo Public Library Book Sale today. I'm also hoping to go by the AT&T store to upgrade my phone. I tried to do it online but it just wouldn't work. Frustrating.

Work was hectic this week. We did a lot yet we don't have much to show for it. I'm glad I get two days to recuperate before I have to hit it hard again.

Avi worked hard to help our boys this week. I don't have any good pictures yet but Zee and his cousin Ethan learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels. I'm so proud of them. (Blake already knew how.) Zippy is now attempting to bypass the whole training wheels thing and ride her bike. I'm hoping maybe I can go to a garage sale today and find a bike for Avi and I. Kid bike seats aren't that expensive, so surely I should be able to put Zippy on my bike and the four of us can ride around and lose this squishy winter flub.

Avi is so excited to be working today. He'll get to be with two of his favorite people enjoying the sun and earning some moolah. I'm sure he'll be tired when he gets home but I know he'll be happy.

Well, I'll stop rambling now. I could so go back to bed. Maybe I will. YAY for the weekend!

Doesn't it look great?

OK, so maybe it's not Pottery Barn, but I am happy. I could have shelled out a bunch of money for those fancy cloth boxes that are so popular or the wicker baskets that are all the rage but these are my KIDS we're talking about. Plastic maybe an environmental nightmare, but we're using them because they are cheap and long lasting. (Even cheaper than $ Tree. 94 cents at Wallyworld with a lid!!)



And here are some of my favorite moments with my baby girl and her favorite thing in the whole world: tiny DOGS!

(She told me she was whispering to the puppy here...)

See how cute I could be with a puppy of my own?


I need him.


How close can I possibly get to this puppy?


Puppy smell is the best!



Petting puppies is so awesome!

A place for everything...

And everything in its place....

My life's goal. It's happening slowly but surely. This is the picture that came with the shelf Avi built. It's for Zee's room. He has a matching smaller book shelf. I'm hoping to feel a bit better later this afternoon so I can sort through the toys and put them in their own separate containers. This way Avi can prevent messes from getting out of hand. The kids know to clean up after they are done playing but there hasn't really been a place for the toys. This will in theory make my house look perfect. Hee hee hee... and then again maybe it's the pain meds I'm on. :-)

I'll take real pictures later, when the room is the way I dream it to be.

Ladies' Night

I called Leelee and she said I could come if I felt OK. After I took a pain killer, I felt OK, so I got dressed and did my hair. It was the first time since Sunday that I cared to try.

We laughed and had a good time. Leelee had seen cake pops on one of her favorite blogs, so she got all of the stuff ready so we could try. It is evident that the lady who made these, had lots of practice. Our pops didn't quite look like the picture above. They were definitely fun though.

When Zee and Tzipi woke up and saw the pops in the fridge, they were so excited. They each bit in to one this morning and were so happy.

Thank you Leelee for so much fun!

I have the Jingles!

I'm trying to blog while lying in bed and on my side. So much fun! NOT!

Avi was talking to Tzipi on her way to school and asked her about why I was sick. She said I had the Jingles. :-) I like that name so much better than Shingles!

I'm sleeping a lot. My Dr. called to apologize for making me wait so long for pain meds. (Did you know that Walgreens will Text you when your RX is ready? SO 2010!) I got them yesterday afternoon and boy do they work! The trade-off is the pain is gone but the itchiness takes over. I don't have a single desire to scratch. It would be like wanting to scratch a gun-shot wound. That's how I describe the pain. I feel as if I have been hit with buck shot.

I really want to go to Leelee's tonight. REALLY REALLY. It's not fair. I don't want to be in bed. I don't want to hurt. I want to play. I want to clean my house. I want to do anything but have the Jingles. Maybe I can get ready and just go for a little while. I don't know. But maybe one of her friends has never had chicken pox. I don't want to give anyone this. SUCKS! SO! BAD!

Thanks for listening. Can't do much. Keep blogging so I can read!

Tina, LOVE the swing set. SO MUCH FUN! It's a lot of work but he'll be busy for hours have so many adventures. Icy Hot and Advil? (Maybe a glass of wine?)

Mom, LOVE the workshop you are having. What a cool project. Where did you find it? Is it a Stampin' Up pattern? Wish I could come! Is it card stock with paper glued to each section?

Leelee, I so hope to get to come tonight. I miss you so much and would love to spend some fun time with you. It depends on how I feel I guess. And if you feel safe letting me come over.

Darla, had so much fun at Passover, in spite of the pain. I was honored to cook for so many great people and am glad it was such a success. Tzipi and I are both so silly because when I asked her what her favorite part was about Passover, she said Puppies and I agreed. (Don't quite remember which part of the Haggadah holds the chapter about puppies, but it's the best!) LOL!

De, thanks for the prayers. I certainly need them. Thank you so much for letting the kids spend the night. They had so much fun!

Well, I love you all! Looking forward to better health and lots of fun,

Nee