- jbalex's Blog - Victoria Advocate

- jbalex's Blog - Victoria Advocate http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex en-us 14 minutes and 59 seconds http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3659 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3659 Well folks, my time is ticking away and my fifteen minutes are about to expire. I have slowed down on my blog entries. And when I do blog, I have been rushing and misspelling every other word. I am too busy to check it like I should. I have 9 weeks until graduation, and as many of you already know I have completed this degree in lightning speed. It has been great but I am tired and overwhelmed now. We are building a house, which is stressful enough. I have class, and homework. I have three kids and a dog who need me. I have been subbing, so that has added to my stress too. I have a wonderful husband that I feel I only see through a revolving door here lately. If I dont blog I feel like I shouldwhen I do blog, I feel like I gave it half the effort I should. I am healthy and want to stay that way. So to protect my health and my sanity.. I am signing off for the last time. I feel like each moment I do not spend with my family is like throwing away an un-opened gift. I cant smell the roses because the thorns keep me from getting close enough.and all the other cliché things I can think of. The words of my precious 5-year-old son whom I call my Angel Baby, really hit home last week. He told my husband, You know why momma is stressed all the time? It is because she doesnt spend enough time with us. To John, and my babies I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!! You are what matters to me. Blog on my fellow bloggers. I will be back to read your posts. I will miss blogging. I know I have a great deal to say, but I am just at a loss for time in which to say it. When I am an old lady I do not think I will look back and say, I wish I would have kept blogging, when Angel Baby wanted me to watch him ride is bike. However, I am sure I would say I should have spent more time with him and the other two.so here I go, back to just being momma. Oh yeah, another reason to leave: I dont look like my picture anymore. :) For the last time, JB Not in charge http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3658 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3658 As some of you know, I am taking a blog class this semester.... I thought I would post my class blog here too. What are you doing next week? What about next month? Next year? I bet you have some plans. Well, dont be so sure. I make plans all the time and, I am constantly reminded I (we) am/are not in charge. God has his own plans for our lives. There was a song out not too long ago that had a part that said, I you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans. Lets take a quick look at some faltered plans. Yesterday I planned to do my Friday blog. I have been working as a sub all week, and decided Friday I would devote all day to homework. At 9:12 a.m. I get a phone call from the school nurse. My daughter is nauseous. I asked her to stay, thinking she would be fine once lunch came and she ate more. Then the tears start. I get up from the computer take a quick bath and go get her. "Ok, with one kid I will be able to do my work while she watches a movie or two," I think. As I am exiting the school parking lot my cell rings again. My youngest son is feeling bad too. Now it turns out he was really sick, and I never got on the computer again. My daughter, well, she only suffered from spelling-test-itis. My point, my plans did not suit what God had in store for me that day. Next one, my sister has tickets to see Sheryl Crow at the Houston Rodeo next Thursday. Well, Sheryl planned to sing, and my sister and family planned to listen. But, turns out God had other plans for them all. Sheryl found cancer in her breast and immediately had surgery. She has cancelled her tour. My sister will now have to see another cancer survivor take stage instead. The concert will now feature Melissa Ethridge. I have plans changed all the time. I suppose this further solidifies the point that we should live in the day. It also reminds me that we do not know what day will be our last. We should tell those around us how much we care, and we should make sure we are right with God. We may have plans of ascending to Heaven, while if we are not right with God, his plans might send us to another destination for eternity. Until next time, JB Type Oh http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3657 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3657 Eye dedicate just four ewe my friend rusty. I am such a busy (two busy) person that I rely in spell/grammar check two much. What happens is eye write a word that reads correctly but is spelled wrong. Dew ewe no what eye mean? Like eye road in a Karr to meat my friend last weak. This makes me wander what else eye am missing by rushing threw my life. Eye think that eye might have reached my 14th minute hear. Eye am thinking my time is running out, and I just have two much on my plate. Eye would like to wish you all a safe weak end and I hope it will knot rein two much when ewe drive on the rode. Until next thyme, Jay Bee Did you wash your horse today? http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3656 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3656 I am a Texan, and have lived here most of my life. When I moved away while I was in the Army, people often asked me questions about my home state. One question I was asked numerous times was, Did you ride a horse to school? This may seem like a crazy question to you and me, but this was a serious question from these people. I wondered, WHY? Last night, I saw why. The national news coverage of Dick Cheneys shooting incident put the spotlight on south Texas. In the story I saw, the reporter said that the Sheriff said he would mosey on down to the hospital to check on Cheneys friend. Mosey? I am not even sure how to spell that. Who moseys anymore? Texans are just as rushed in life today as anyone. Now the big kicker for me was the footage of a man riding his horse down the streetthe paved streetas if that was the normal mode of transportation. Now, I am well aware that our great state along with many others still have small, rural towns where life is slower. What I do not like was this particular reporter did not say this was a rural city; he made it sound like it was Corpus Christi itself. I guess that is why so many people from other states asked me if I rode a horse to school. I would stay and write more but I best get ole Bessie an ear of corn so she will be up to the ride into town today. Until next time, JB Affluenza http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3655 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3655 Finally I think my life is back in order will slow down a bit. I have about a 100 blog ideas. Let me start with this one. Affluenza When I say the word Affluenza, do you know what that means? I have just learned of this word this week. To my surprise, it has been around a good while now. If you are like me and clueless, this is a term for people (children included) who have too much or want too much for status sake. I have also learned that there will be a show covering this topic that will air on Saturday, February 11 at 12p.m. on ABC-13 (for those of you near Houston). I read that it would talk about brand names and such. I can remember when I was growing up, and I always wanted brand name everything. I wonder if it is worse now, or do we just live in a time where everything we do is given a name and equated with an illness. I am sure it will be interesting. Until next time, JB Missing the norm http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3654 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3654 What a week this had been! I know people have it worse than mebut this week was rough. Saturday: My 5-year-old can't breathe. He has been hospitalized for this before; they say he will grow out of it. It happens about twice a year when he gets croup. Sunday: He starts throwing up, and my husband and I are up all night —no one goes to church at all (that is a BIG deal for us) Monday: Same as Sunday. We also learn our brick selection on our new home may not be available. My daughter also stayed home from school and I had no choice but to tote these two kids with me to a design center to choose the color for our granite and the texture of our tile floors. Tuesday: Son goes to ER and gets IV. I miss part of a very important class. Wednesday: He is still sick— he and I sleep until 12:30 p.m. Older man friend at church dies. Thursday: We all go to school and work, but come home and fall out from exhaustion. Friday: My husband starts feeling bad. Goes to bed early so he can work OT on Saturday to pay for the 30k in upgrades we chose for the house. Saturday: We learn another man we talk with all the time at church had died on Friday. Top it all off—- my husband is now puking too. So when will it all stop? I hope I am not next. Have you been sick this flu season? Until next time, JB 2 busy 2 B busy http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3653 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3653 Where does the time go and why are we all so busy? I started a blog on Monday night with the good intention on adding photos every day for the whole week. I am scratching that and changing to every Monday for a month. Why are so many rushing all the time? When I was in the Army I often heard the saying hurry up and wait. That can hold true for so many aspects of our lives. When I was a child, I wanted to be older. I believe most children want this, and in todays world it seems as though adults want children to grow up faster too. Why the rush? When I was a child (I was born in 1969) we simply played all day until we started Kindergarten, and then in Kindergarten we went only a half-day. Now, parents are putting children in programs before school so that they can read and do math by Kindergarten. As a parent you almost have to do this just to keep up.what happened to letting kids be kids? If kids want to play baseball or some other sport in high school they have to start early to be competitive by their teen years. In a hurry and cant possibly fathom the idea of making a meal for your family? Mc Donalds and other fast food restaurants are there for you, but sadly it seems that this cycle is helping you speed up another processes as welldeath. With so many eating high fat high cholesterol convenience foods more Americans are now being diagnosed with diabetes, heart problems, and such that stem from being over weight because we were in too much of a hurry to make a healthy meal. I try each day to slow down but it just seems impossible in this fast paced world we are living in. If we keep on rushing to build bigger and better when will we hit the ceiling and not be able to go further and how will we all react? I am so busy with things to do and in a hurry to get them started that I have resorted to copying parts of an old blog of mine and pasting them in this blog. Today I need to catch up on reading the hundreds of posts (similar to e-mails) from fellow students in my five classes, I need to drive into Houston to sign a paper on the new house, I need to go grocery shopping, at 4 p.m. I want to take my kids to a thing at the public library, I need to help the kids with homework, make dinner, I need to work on a speech, and begin a writing a paper, and go to a meeting. And, the funny thing this is my day off, an easy day if you will. So, in this world of crazy hectic busy schedules I am wondering to myslef, did you read this whole post or are you in a hurry too? Until next time, JB The many faces of JB http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3652 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3652 This week I am going to walk you through some of the looks I have had throughout my life. Some are really bad, so I encourage laughter. Here we go, as my mom titled this picture.. this is where it all began. <img src="images/whereitallbeganwiththecurlontop.jpg" class="blogImage" |~maxWidth~| /> Next is me as a young child. <img src="images/slidescopied102.jpg" class="blogImage" |~maxWidth~| /> And the last one for today is my senior picture from high school. <img src="images/julessrpict.jpg" class="blogImage" |~maxWidth~| /> That is not make-up under my eyes just a bad job by a photographer to remove lines. Sorry about the bad quality of the last one. Just wait for the Army pictures...make sure you pee before looking at them. I will post them tomorrow sometime. Until next time, JB Tom-A-toe or Tom-ah-toe http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3651 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3651 Lets say you are from Anahuac (anna-wack), Texas. How many ways do think people would pronounce that? Several months ago on a Texas A&M football website my husband frequents, we came across a thread on a message board about how sports reporters were constantly miss-pronouncing the names of many Texas towns. Here are a few. What others can you think of? Hico (high-ko) Elgin (l ga-n) Mexia (ma-hey-ah) Humble (um-ble) No H Goldthwaite (gold-wathe) Tell us all the towns you hear miss-pronounced over and over again. Oh, yeah here is one. The town of Rosenberg is spelled with a berg, but a highway sign on Hwy 36 just outside the town of Bellville says RosenbUrg 60 miles. OOPS!! Until next time, JB Dream Job http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3650 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/jbalex/3650 What is your dream job? I do not think it has to be prestigious or something that comes with a hefty salary necessarily. This is just looking within yourself and saying what would I really like to do? You may never do it, may never attempt it, and even if you did you might end up not liking it but what is it? I urge all our bloggers and readers to share. My dream job: I guess it would fall under graphic design. I would love to be the person who deigns the font and style for movie titles. I would like to be the person who develops the interesting fonts and designs on opening movie credits. Ever since I was old enough to pay attention, I have thought that this would be a fascinating job. So tell me, what is your dream job? Until next time, JB