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I’ve never even had a rose ceremony!?!?!

mama kats Welcome to the most shocking rose ceremony in writing prompt history.

Please award roses to the ten people (or items) in your life that you’d like to continue pursuing a relationship with.

In no particular order and without further ado…

single red rose

1 – I could fill half of this list with just those who reside in my home… But I am feeling the need to dig deep and really take a personal inventory of that which I am grateful for in my life… That being said… Those in my home deserve mention… Mr Amazing is the love of my life… He is my best friend… and I love him so hard. Small Child (not so small) continues to amaze me daily with his bright charismatic self…. He is the greatest thing that has ever happened to my life… and I can not express the gratitude I have for him… I admire him so much. Smallest Child (Ms SassyPants) is the latest breath of fresh air into my existence… we have really stepped up our StepParent/StepChild game… and I have loved every minute of it… She is so clever… and I am honored to be part of her upbringing…. So that is a Rose for my little Family. (With an honorable mention for Tall Child and her three Tinies!)

FamilyOh My Gosh!

2- Betty Perea – This woman has brought more joy to my life than I can express… She has given more wisdom…invited palpable spirit…  inspired more crazy… and driven more motivation than I can explain… I love her… She teaches humility and gratitude without even saying a word… She is wild and funny… you never know what she is going to say next… She thrives off of keeping people on their toes and she has been the greatest mother like friend I have ever known… She brings a different perspective to the table… and I love her mysticism, skepticism, and superstitions. She gave me my love of coffee and mexican food.   A Rose to my old soul (With an honorable mention to her children, who I love beyond measure)

Betty and Boys

3- Tolman – I have known this chicka forever! She is my Cookie Wife.. My Soul Sister… My Co Parent (for her smalls and mine :))… She goes on all my crazy adventures with me… She wore the Bloggess’s Red Dress with me… We’ve been through marriages and divorces with each other… we have laughed as well as cried the hardest in our lives in front of each other… we are linked by a special energy that is thicker than blood… She is the cheese in my enchilada 🙂 A rose for her… with all the thorns cut off… because just once something beautiful should come to her without the trials. (I would make it rain roses on her beautiful babies who I treat like my own)

Tolman

4 – The Fluffinator! My Stef! My favorite heavy metal loving animal enthusiast teenage rearing sexy beast on the planet… She is my escape… She is my safe place… she is my cohort on adventures that we are way too old to take… She is down to earth… a fantastic mother… she is beautiful… has a passion for purple and a strength like no one else I have ever met. She is so intelligent and she has the biggest heart! She is always up to something fun and most nights seem to end with fireworks and alcohol when we are together.  Raising our two boys together has been amazing… we call each other for advice… to vent… and to discuss anything supernatural. I do not know how I lucked into her entering my life but I am grateful for it every day…. Small Child (not so small) will always think of her as his other mother… She is my back up mom… and I miss her! Roses all around… (honorable mention to her crazy kiddos who I freaking love like crazy)

Stef

5 – Michelle – She is actually my cousin.. I mean that is how we met… but she became my friend in our adult lives… She has more integrity and acceptance in her little finger than I could ever hope to achieve… She is funny… She is talented… She is a great mom.. and has always always been there for me… no matter what I have needed. She is so kind… and when someone starts gossiping or being negative she is the first one to shut it down. She is always willing to try new things and lets me just be me. Our kids have trick or treated together every year for as long as I can remember… Eventually we are going to have to find someone else to steal candy from! –  A Rose

 

Halloween

6 – Danielle – There is a story behind Danielle.. She is a close friend of mine’s daughter… a few years ago… We lost her mother… It was heartbreaking. From this came something wondrous and miraculous into my life however… This stunningly brilliant young woman… she is amazing… my children worship the ground she walks upon… and we would gladly just keep her forever… She has this awesome throaty laugh that reminds my of her beautiful mothers laugh… and I cannot imagine our lives without her in it… She is the s’more master… the butt toucher… the ceiling walker… and the best kind of big sister  figure on the planet for my smalls… She will always always have a home to come too and a family who loves her…. (honorable mention to her brother who I love and have great hopes for)-A Rose.

Danielle

7- Enough with all the estrogen! Lets give some Testosterone some attention – My Christian! This guy has been my friend for 18 years now… I have watched him grow up… and he has watched me mature (see how delicately I handled the age difference?) He is my hot cuban mess… and he is the greatest thing since sliced bread… I love him so much… he is so well spoken.. he passion for history is contagious… his love for family is admirable… I have told him things I could never tell another soul on the planet and knew he would tell me how stupid I was when I needed him to… he would also tell me how loved I was when I needed him to… I love to discuss philosophy and politics with him… and I love that no matter how much time passes… when we hit rock bottom… repeatedly… respectively… we will always have a friend within each other to lean on and shoulder to cry on. I am a better person because of him. – A Rose

Christian

8- This Guy… If you know me… you know why – Zip the Wonder Dog – A Rose to you my buddy… you did it! I remember pleading with you when you were hit by the car to just live long enough to get him through the divorce… then again when he lost his dad … to stick around long enough to get him by… he couldn’t lose so much at once.. but you just keep ticking… Please… just get him through High School… You are the most constant thing in his life and we love you. (Honorable mention to the cat…  Shadow Cat… I remember the day I brought you home to my very scared and sad little family… you were enough of a distraction to get through the first days of some very hard realities… and for that I am grateful… You tolerate us.)

 

ZipZipShadow

9 – Now,.. The Prompt did mention items… and I cannot forget this little beauty I am typing this away on…My cute little purple coated macbook air. I am sorry I neglect you… I am sorry I never update you… I let your battery die… you collect dust. You are the tool of my creativity and I have slept snuggled up to you more often that I care to admit…. A Rose.

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10 – Myself… I am taking the easy way out… I have the most amazing list of people I should have included… I have nieces and nephews who I adore… such an awesome list quirky  life long friends… Family… But the truth is there was a time in my life I didn’t have any of you… and Depression worked rather determinedly to keep it that way… But this awesome woman never gave up… she never forgot that depression was lying to her… she worked her ass off… as a parent.. as an employee… as an artist… as an individual with a different way of seeing and doing things… and I would very much like to apologize to her for the abuse she has endured at my own hand… from my own stupid decisions.. and I would like to thank her for hanging in there… despite it all … and being such a bad ass. I’m funny… Smart… and my cleverness is overflowing. I kinda like me. Thanks to everyone who loved me enough for both of us on the days I cant love myself. – A Rose

Kerry

You Matter…

Picture if you will…

It was a beautiful Saturday evening… sitting in the courtyard of the local shopping plaza on plush out door furniture… and fake green grass being cartwheeled across by a handful of rambunctious children.

The fountain is spraying in a choreographed multihued performance to the music playing from the well placed speakers… out of sight in flower boxes as if the flowers themselves were singing to us…

Happily seated between Mr. Amazing and Small Child… waiting for our XD 3D center row seating to the latest magic Marvel has put before us.

Perfection … halted by the alert of a text on my phone…

The following image was received from my  best friend… She explains that she was cleaning her teenage daughters room while she is off at camp when she climbed into her bed which is in a nook and saw something that could only been seen by someone laying there… that is was not visible from any other angle… and she sent me this image as she lay there as her daughter does daily…

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A lump formed in my throat and dread settled around my heart like a cloak… and I can only imagine this is a sliver of what my friend is going through… I try to imagine how she must be feeling… and try to say the right thing…

I do not need to imagine how the girl is feeling… I do not need to imagine the depth of shame and self loathing that drives someone to write such things… to punish oneself so brutally. No Imagination required… I have an infinite pool of experience to swim in to know exactly what she must feel like… and what it must feel like to wake daily and look at those words. I run my fingers along the scars on my arms… they are 23 years old… I touch the deep gouge of a scar on my thigh… I can still feel it even through my jeans… I remember carving the word “Worthless” on myself… I remember my journal entries filled with too many feelings… filled with hate and pain.

It is wrong how we sometimes treat ourselves… If someone on the street… or in the children’s school spoke to our children that way we would beat their asses… we would intervene… we would get them help and support them and make sure they knew they were not alone…

But what do you do… when the bully… the abuser… the hate is being spewed by the person you love… in the case of our offspring more than we love anything else on the planet… People are left speechless… afraid and confused in these situations… They say horrible things… “They just want attention”… “Its the media… the marketing… the music… their friends”

So we did what anyone in my situation would do… We awoke early this morning… and I went to the craft store… I took small with me… not only to talk about the situation… but because we all love this girl so very much…  Her amazing mother and older brother hauled the bed in pieces to the carport and covered the words that beautiful girl… whose only vice is feeling maybe a little too much… and they painted over them in her favorite colors… Small Child and I went to work with stickers, stencils, acrylic paints and sharpies… 3 hours later…

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She may be angry with us when she discovers it upon climbing into her bed… and finds we paid little attention to her want of privacy… and space…she may be embarrassed… she may be revolted by the cheerful affirmations.. and flowers… and butterflies… but the message is loud and clear… “You Matter”… “You are loved” and if anyone had seen two teenage boys painting her bed pink and moving it around so that us mothers could tell her to “Shine” they would understand how very true those words we adhered onto her bed… with nothing less than gorilla glue…. were.

They were true for this young woman… they were true for the young men taking the time to make sure she heard them… without judgement… they were true for the mothers so concerned as we worked so hard to give her a different perspective…

They are true for everyone…

So if you needed to be reminded… as we all do from time to time… You are Loved… and You Matter!

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Husbands.

This guy right here…

20150215_133832  20150215_133759 20150215_133611.

An ode to my Husband…
There are many reasons why I love you…  too many to share…
It’s not just for your handsome face… or sexy… floppy hair
It’s in the we found ourselves from what started as a sordid fling
and the way you make up the words when you’ve forgotten what to sing.
It’s how you tuck me in at night hoping that I will sleep
How you listen to my troubles… and are afraid of water too deep
It’s for your big broad shoulders and strong arms that hold me tight
It’s how you make me laugh no matter what… every single night
It’s the way you’re eyes disappear every time you smile
For all the fun and silliness that makes our lives worthwhile
It’s the way you love our children, and amuse them for hours
Playing knights and spies and dolls and building all the towers
The way in which you look at us with love… you love us to extremes
But most of all it’s for being you…the man of my dreams

 

So here is the thing… I know more people would read this if I talked about how he leaves paper towels everywhere… They would probably share it if I wrote cleverly about his bodily functions and when forgets the dishes he leaves soaking … but the truth is even though I laugh when I read other wives accounts of their husbands habits… I know I could never write a satirical post about him… He gets enough of it from TV… and other woman. I just love him.

Inspired by MamaKats World Famous Writing Prompts….

“Husbands. A post that hopefully will not get you in trouble.”

                                                            mama kats

Having your cake and eating it too…

mama kats A blog post inspired by the word: sweet

Okay… I will be honest… I read through the prompts this week and just couldn’t come up with a single thing… So I went to my fall back and depended on others to make the magic happen, and by magic I mean cake!

me:  I want cake

Mr. Amazing:  LOL that was random

 me:  Random yes… but true still …in fact, even more than cake… I want pie

Mr. Amazing:   Lemon Rasperry cake 4

 me:  okay… fuck pie… I want that cake

Mr. Amazing:   ROFL

 me:  these things are important dear!

Mr. Amazing:   should I stop by the bakery on the way home? ROFL

 me:  I dont think the bakery will have that cake…And now that I have seen it… nothing else will do…I should show it to The Cookie wife LMAO!

 Mr. Amazing:  ROFLMAO it is butter-cream with lemon curd and fresh raspberries

http://dailydelicious.blogspot.com/2012/01/lemon-raspberry-cake-with-lemon.html

 me:  Cookie Wife… we need to have a serious talk…

I know cookies is your thing… I get that…

I married into the idea…. but… I NEED this cake

Lemon Rasperry cake 4

CookieWife:  LOL!! It looks tasty!!

 me:  I NEED it, from the very pit of my soul!

it is butter-cream with lemon curd

and fresh raspberries

Mr. Amazing:  ROFLMAO

 me:  Why is everyone laughing! This is serious! clear to the pit of my soul I NEED that cake …. BAHAHAHA

Mr. Amazing:  Why are you laughing then?

 me:  because I am deranged…. I part of my soul is missing… I think its that cake!

CookieWife:  Where’s the recipe???

 me:  http://dailydelicious.blogspot.com/2012/01/lemon-raspberry-cake-with-lemon.html

 CookieWife:  It has GRAM and CELSIUS measurements!!!!

Where did you find it??

 me:  LOL! I just saw the pic and hunted it down ROTFL!

 CookieWife:  If you convert all the measurements, I’ll bake it! ;)

me:  SHADDUP! I will get Mr Amazing in on this… 

 me: It has GRAM and CELSIUS measurements!!!!

If you convert all the measurements, She’ll bake it! ;)

MR AMAZING!!  I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!

Mr. Amazing:  ROFLMAO http://www.onlineconversion.com/ temperature is Celsius and weight is grams

 me:  Quick! Find me another cake…

UPDATE!!!
2014-05-21 14.37.51
These magical little goodies showed up at my office today… they are Lemon Curd and Fresh Raspberries on Shortcake? I think… They were divine! I have the coolest life ever. That is all

Happy Birthday Mr. Amazing!!!

Friday (October 11th) is my best friends thirty-eighth birthday. 

Mr. Amazing

We’ve been through a lot together… you and I…  the expression “married the minute we met” fits us so perfectly…because of our smalls and our devotion to them… because we thought of them first.

Sometimes I worry you think I married you for the children… but it is very important to me you know that You are my rock… my best friend… my lover… my hero… the love of my life.

Below are thirty-eight of the infinite number of reasons why.

I love you because:

  1. You make me feel safe;
  2. You listen to your heart;
  3. You drink tea, and you love opera and rock;
  4. You stood by me when I needed it most;
  5. You put your arm around me in public;
  6. You smell wonderful;
  7. I know that if the boogeyman ever shows up and tries to come for me… you will tear him into millions of tiny pieces and scatter them to the four corners of the earth;
  8. You love my son;
  9. You’re willing to reflect and learn and grow;
  10. I can still make you blush;
  11. You’re different;
  12. You are the one who comforts me in the middle of the night;
  13. You humor me;
  14. I can’t resist your hair;
  15. You kiss me goodbye everyday;
  16. You crack me up harder than anyone else for reasons that would make no sense to anyone else;
  17. Stories about helpless people or animals overcoming great odds move you to tears;
  18. You created a space just for me… My paint room;
  19. You are genuinely interested in me;
  20. You smile with your whole face and light up a room;
  21. You will sit and listen to Smallest Child talk for hours;
  22. You are the most intelligent individual I have ever had the pleasure of knowing;
  23. You show compassion toward those in need;
  24. You’ve supported me through a period of growth even when you weren’t sure of the outcome;
  25. You hold me tight when I cry;
  26.  You told me I’m beautiful;
  27. You let me thaw my frozen feet on the backs of your legs;
  28. You pretend right along with me that I’m perpetually only 29 years old;
  29. The sound of my snoring is actually comforting to you;
  30. Little kids are drawn to you like it’s the most natural thing in the world – you have “The Baby Fu”;
  31. You always encourage me to try new things;
  32. You think I’m smart enough to be a challenge to you;
  33. You know when to play it safe and can be prodded into taking a risk;
  34. My friends feel safe with you;
  35. The lines in your face and the way you shove your fingers in your hair are so, so sexy;
  36. You worry about people I care about;
  37. You love your siblings fiercely;
  38. You love me back;

Happy Birthday Mr. Amazing … I would have posted this on your actual birthday… but we are going to be on a plane!

What are you going to do next?? We’re going to Disneyland!!!!

Disney-Image-Mickey-Mouse

The Cookie Wife…

mama kats Share a Fall recipe that you’re loving this season.
Soooo I don’t really cook… or bake… But I do love me some fall recipes… So let me let you in on a little secret I have… It’s kind of a magical thing…. I live in Utah… Where not only do plural marriages have a reputation of being practiced… but some of the best baking happens! So I did the only logical thing I could do …. I took a cookie wife! You heard me right!

 

me:  <Yawn/stretch/puts an arm over her shoulder move/Drops Recipe in lap>

Cookie Wife:  Aren’t you hilarious???

me:  Smoooooth… I believe the word you were looking for is smooth

Cookie Wife:  Or subtle…

me:  Bahahaha!

Cookie Wife:  Guess what is the best thing ever??

me: ??

Cookie Wife:  Maple blueberry sausage!!! I’ll bet I could make it just as yummy with ground turkey!

me: MMMMMMMMMMMMMM I wanna eat it all!

Cookie Wife:  I made blueberry pancakes, maple blueberry sausage, crock pot hash brown scrambled eggs & juice & milk.

me:  … Small Child ate at school … I ate a leftover taco time bean burrito.

 

HAPPY OCTOBER EVERYONE!!!

October

… in my neck of the woods.

Spring  Sming … I’m not convinced it exists… it has been cold… and snowing still off and on … With just a dash of sunshiney days to keep us from going all “The Shining” on each other… so before I wrote a post complaining and moaning the woes of the winter that just won’t end… I jumped on my local news page to check the weather… because I am a good blogger… who takes her prompts seriously and never gets distracted off the topic… WTF is this???

looses

Soooooo here is the discussion that spawned…

Tolman:  I’m such a grammar/spelling snob…. *Loses *losing

 me:  BAHAHA! Yes! That is sad honestly … They are supposed to be professionals

Tolman:  Good on that woman though! I should take up pole dancing!!!

me:  Uhhh Somehow… I just know that’s how I would die…. Death by Pole Dancing to lose weight… you know it is true… I would fall on my head

Tolman: HAhahaahahaa!! Oh come on!!

me:  You know its true… Broken Neck… From pole dancing

Tolman: It would make for a VERY interesting obituary!!!! Probably go viral!!!

me:  Great! I will finally be discovered when I am dead

In conclusion… This is what Spring looks like in my neck of the woods…. and I am finally going to be discovered!!!

Inspired by

mama kats

 

… Ever been so out of touch that you don’t even know this about yourself?

Yeah… That happened, I thought I would take the cheat prompt this week… Not have to put a lot of thought into it… have been soooooooooo busy that I haven’t had time to really sit and write… sad… because this blog is the one thing that is truly me… that I do for myself and I honestly love it… so I grabbed the questions… and sat down to answer them…. and I didn’t know the answers… Have I even listened to a full album this year? I have not, I have not slowed down or connected to much of 2012… So this took a lot longer to write than I anticipated… because I have to do some of the things on the list… to actually get to know myself again… so I can share it with you

mama kats

  1. Favorite 2012 Movie: We are Movie Fanatics! We see a lot of them! I know it got a lot of criticism … but hands down… Les Mis
  2. Favorite Album: This morning I slowed down enough to listen to the Les Mis soundtrack … I loved it!
  3. Favorite Song:  Viva La Vida – Coldplay … Somethings just dont change 🙂 But I do post a theme song each week – if you want something a little different
  4. Favorite Tweeter: Nik & Erika’s Mom (She is my best friend – And is mostly who responds to my drunk new years eve tweets) 
  5. Favorite Blog: The Bloggess
  6. Favorite TV Show: Sunday Morning News!! Everything about it!! Lately Charles Osgood has been closing out the show playing the piano and singing…. he reminds me so much of my Grandfather (his voice, My grandpa loves to sing barbershop)
  7. Favorite Instagramer: AlJazeera Witness (Stunning)
  8. Favorite Moment: Putting on the red dress 🙂
  9. Favorite Conference: I did not attend any this year (Insert sad face here) I would LOVE to go to a few in 2013. NMX, SXSW, BBC.
  10. Favorite Viral Video: Okay – I don’t think this went too viral… But I laughed to tears… bahahaha… only because well… me and small child sing like this to the song…. and Mr. Amazing hates it.

Humble and Grateful

We’re going around the table and it’s your turn to share what you are thankful for…go!

  • the fact that I’ve been given some bit of awareness… of spiritual awakeness
  • my humor … twisted and sick as it is.
  • my friends … Everyone says this… but in all honesty… My friends are magic… They are like the cast to a B sci-fi movie… and I truly love them with all of my heart
  • my family … All of them, The smalls, and the distant
  • my husband … Mr. Amazing
  • whatever talent I have as a writer that perhaps lets me help a few people
  • the opportunity to experience life from this vantage … it is unique
  • the insane overabundant beauty of nature … especially the rain and the moon.
  • a roof over my head and food on my table
  • an inquisitive mind that is easily amused and delighted
  • my surrogate family… with whom I spend many holidays … including this upcoming Thanksgiving
  • my love of music of almost all types… (except Country music  which makes me want to stab my eyes with a fork) …which entertains me … and often… brings me happiness.
  • you … whomever you are… however you got here… today as I type this… I am so grateful for you.

Your Turn … What are you thankful for? … Pass the wine!