Vegas ANYONE!!!!

Greetings Family!!! Hope everyone's week is off to a great start.

Thanksgiving is just a few short days away, and with that being said....I have a number of things to be thankful for...starting with making it home safe and sound from a... interesting trip in Vegas. Actually, interesting doesn't really do the events on this trip justice...but for lack of better words at the moment... we'll leave it at interesting.

So, where to begin....
I've been concerned about my mommy (who happens to live in Vegas, for those of you that aren't aware) and her health so much over the last few months, so I thought I needed to take a trip to visit and make sure shes ok. We talked about her moving to CO after my last trip to Vegas and I thought it was pretty much a done deal until she up and changed her mind on me. I should have known it was too good to be true....that's classic mom, changing her mind at the last minute. My brother is there to help her and has been for the past several months so that definitely takes away some of my anxieties about her being there.

So sometime last week I decided....I'm going to go to Vegas so I can PHYSICALLY see my mom and know that she's ok. I also decided that I was going to drive AND that I was going to drive by myself. Smart? NO! For sooo many different reasons I find, during my fun filled trip. Hubby was not comfortable with my going alone, but I always think that I'm capable of things only to find out later on.....Ummm, not such a good idea. I used to drive from MN to MD to visit mom on a regular basis when she lived there. I would do that 19 hr drive in probably like 17, with very minimal stops and would rarely feel tired. After trying to reassure hubby, I packed up my bags and then on Thursday morning hit I70 to Vegas.

Vegas is an 11 hour drive which doesn't seem too bad when I THINK about it but actually DOING it is something else all together. Initially my plan was to wake up at 6:30 and be on the road, but (AHEM) due to circumstances beyond my control...that didn't happen. I was hoping to get most of the driving done during the day so I'd only have a few hours of night driving. Not sure what time I actually started heading out of the city but the first few hours went ok. I was thinking this isn't so bad. The weather was ok, traffic not bad, roads were good and then.....all of a sudden sleepiness hits. Then of course, the cell phone starts....No signal, then NO SERVICE, then dropped calls, then failed calls, then NO SERVICE. Gotta love ATandT. I feel like I really need to get a new cell phone provider because the issues I'm having with them are becoming too many to count and almost unbearable. So with no good cell coverage, especially when I don't care for driving at night in unfamiliar places, I decide it's time to call it a night. It's pretty sad when you can't do an 11 hour drive. I remember when road trips used to be easy; guess that's a thing of the past.

So with the exception of the unplanned hotel stay and issues with the phone the drive TO Vegas, annoying as it was pretty much uneventful. Coming back though....WHOA... Let me provide you with a few visuals if I may.

So it's about 2:30 in the afternoon...Just made it into Beaver Utah (lol), it starts snowing and then all of a sudden traffic is at a stand still. So I'm sitting and waiting and waiting and waiting....Next thing I know it's 4:30 and still NO movement. Now you all know that I can over exaggerate just so that you understand the degree of what I'm feeling at times...but Seriously...this time I literally mean I had not moved NOT ONE INCH in two hours. Notice the snow accumulation on the mirror. And of course I had NO SERVICE on my cell again. Freaking A!!!!

I think this is hour 3 sitting in the car with STILL NO MOVEMENT!!!! UGH!!!!

Did anyone notice that it was daylight? Well, now it's not!!! People were turning off their cars. Hopefully everyone had a full tank of gas. People were getting out their cars (notice the feet print up the middle of the road) to see if the could find out what was going on.

So, finally.... A police officer begins going car to car telling everyone to exit at the next exit because they are closing down the highways until they are able to get the roads plowed and clear up an accident. I later find out that there were several semi's that crashed, jack knifed or something.... They didn't have any clear idea of how long the roads would be closed.... So guess what people....yep another night in a hotel. So at this point it's going on 7. I cant get in touch with the family because I'm losing signal and service every time the wheels on the car spin. I finally make it to the exit and there is to my left a hotel called Flying eagle, a Super 8, to the right a Comfort inn and I think like 2 Best Westerns. So the first Hotel I try Flying eagle, because it was the better looking and less frightening of all the hotels. I'm mad I didn't take a picture because in order to check in at the hotel, you had to go to the service station across from the parking lot. HILARIOUS!!! So of course they are full. UGH!! Next hotel FULL!! And so on. So I drive trying to get a signal so I can call home and let everyone know what's going on and try to find another hotel in good old BEAVER UTAH!!!

The closest hotel I could find with availability is 30 miles away in a town called Milford. I know, scary right? The hotel Oak Tree Inn took me over an hour to get to because I had to travel on a one lane road and the car in front of me was going like 30 miles an hour. So I get there and low and behold....gotta check in at a diner across the parking lot. So I'm looking around waiting for someone to jump out, put a rag with chloroform on it over my face and pull me into a van with no windows. Straight out of a scary movie. I drive up to the diner and theres a scary skinny man outside smoking a cigarette, and no one else in sight. I walk in and talk to the woman at the register slash front desk (too comical) and get checked in. Then another guy comes in and somehow starts talking about cell phones and him being stranded as well. I slip and mention like a ding dong "nope, my cell phone isn't working either" and then as soon as it comes out my mouth.... think to myself, he may be some killer guy and now that he knows I have no way to call 911 in the event of an emergency I just made myself his next victim. Dramatic I know...but hey, it's late, I'm sleep deprived, physically tired, beyond cold, hungry, stomach ache and just wanting to be in a bed...so my mind comes up with these crazy, but NOT SO crazy thoughts. Hey...it's happened before. At this point it's about 9pm. Keep in mind this all started shortly after 2.

The room isn't too bad....it's just for a few hours so I'm guessing and HOPING I'll live through the night. I call hubby from the hotel phone which was way too complicated. I would have given up had the family not been so worried and had I been able to have some type of communication with them while all this mess was going on. I wake up and call the front desk. No word on when the roads will open, so I call state patrol and there's accidents in both directions with the roads still closed. By time I was able to get back on the road it was going on 12pm, but hey...at least I'm on the road again.

Oh, but wait....the fun doesn't stop there. I'm driving...thinking I'm making pretty good time then all of a sudden I see a red little lightening bolt on the dash board in my car and my car loses power. Like what else could go wrong. I'm searching the little manual trying to figure out what this means and wondering if something was really wrong that it would have been noticed when my car was serviced about a month ago. So I find out that it's a throttle sensor and it say that if it flashes the car needs to be service immediately; and of course it was flashing. All I could think to myself was REALLY!!!!! So I pull over, shut my car off and of course I have no cell signal. I turn off the engine let it cool for awhile and it looks like we're back in business....for a little while. So it did this the remainder of the way home.

I think by time I got home it was about 11pm and needless to say I was physically and emotionally exhausted. More so emotionally; I think I cried more times last night than I have in a LONG time. Lol I STILL haven't unpacked. I showered and jumped in the bed and was out in 2.2 seconds. I don't snore, but I just may have snored last night. So on my list of things to do tomorrow...unpack and on my list of things not to do...Road trip....NEVER. Well at least not alone.

On the bright side...it was great to see my mom and great to see my little big brother. She's doing better than I thought. I'm still concerned, but not as much as I was before going and I'm glad that brother is there to take care of her. Thank goodness for that. If he weren't I'd probably be crazy by now from stressing over what's going on with her. Funny how roles between children and parents change as we both get older.

I do wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving holiday or whatever you chose to celebrate. Peace and Blessings.........

To celebrate being 40 here's 40 things about ME

Yes today is my b-day. I was initially, and had been feeling somewhat glum for a bit about turning that corner from 30s to being 40. I had a friend Miss Kalimah Iman (thanks Lady) remind that I should think of all of my accomplishments, all the storms I've weathered and how fabulous 40 is. So, needless to say I'm feeling a bit better and will be embracing this new stage in my life.

I have gone through sooo much in my 40 years of life, and with everything I've gone through I've learned and grown and appreciate every single up and down from the good to the bad. Had it not been for the people that have come and gone, those that have endured WITH me and all the experiences in my life I wouldn't be the person I am today; so for that I am grateful and happy that I can say I'M 40 TODAY!!!!

A beautiful Sister Leah Salmon (So love her) shares this day with me. She turned 30... Happy Birthday Leah!!! and did a blog post entitled 30 things you probably didn't know about me... So I'm following suit, but listing 40 of course.

1. I am originally from Chicago IL, but still consider myself to be a Minnesotan since that's where I was raised from 12 and lived until I was 35. Minnesota and I have a love hate relationship. Love and miss many of my friends there....but the weather....Ummmm HATE IT!!!

2. I have 5 Children, 4 that I birthed and 1 step daughter. 21, 19 (both boys) 13 and 13 (both girls, no not twins, one is my step daughter and still my baby even though I didn't give birth to her) and my 5 year old little boy. People are always amazed by my age and the number of children I have...LOVE IT!

3. Changed my name at 35 from Gerri (UGH) still hate the sound of that to the ever fabulous Amira. Interesting story with this.... My 19 year old gave my 5 year old a teddy bear 2 days ago that he absolutely ADORES and has spent every waking moment with and has taken everywhere. When asked what the bears name was he said she was a girl and he was going to name her Beary Gerri, which I found interesting. 1 because my Mommy used to call me that, even as and adult and 2. he's never known me as Gerri or even heard anyone refer to me as such. ODD

4. Lived in 3 different states (MN, GA, and CO) in 2006. Would love to go back to Georgia. Absolutely loved it there....plus I could use some warmer weather right now.

5. Met my husband at 33, Fell in love with him at 33. Had our son at 35 and Married at 36. We've been on quite the Journey and will be celebrating 4 years of marriage on December 15th. Surprised he hasn't divorced me yet. Kidding. :)

6. Lived in California from the time I was 2 until I was 8 or 9. My momma was a gypsy I swear. We moved all over the place. Probably why I'm always so disturbed at the idea of moving. Although I loved CA and have very vivid memories of our time spent there, don't think I'd ever want to live there again.

7. My father, whom I'd never met died in 1994. On his side I have 3 sets of twin brothers and sisters. Met the eldest sister who moved to CO the same year I did for the first time this past summer. She now lives in GA (amazing) and is considering moving back to CO. She has a daughter and 3 grandchildren here. I was amazed by how much we looked alike (scary) when I met her and instantly loved her. Sad that I missed out all these years and looking forward to meeting many of the other relatives on that side.

8. Am a Mama's girl!!! Was rotten when I was younger, didn't realize it at the time. I used to throw SERIOUS tantrums every time my mom would leave up until I was 6 or so. I have no idea how she tolerated that. I cried so bad one day she had to take me to work with her. Ridiculous. All my kids were the same way. Lol Payback.

9. Still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Thought I knew, but it seems to be changing with the wind.

10. Knew how to drive, but didn't actually get my license until I was *cough* 26. Lol Funny thing is I had 2 cars before I could actually drive. Pure silliness!!1

11. Was incredibly shy until I was probably 19 or 20, but once I got to know you.... I was a clown. Lol Still a bit goofy at times, but hey that's me!

12. Have 2 friends that I love dearly Dinah and Carlita. Dinah and I have been friends since 13 and Carlita and I since 16 or 17. That's a long time. Wouldn't trade our friendships for anything in the world. And one guy friend Bryan who I've been friends with since I was about 14. We thought we were boyfriend and girl friend back then...but all we did was hang out. He's a great guy although he's made me want to kill him more time's than I can count. Lol But he's my boy and I still love him too.

13. Have made 2 attempts to finish college. This January will make my 3rd and final attempt. I'm finishing this time. I wish I had known at 18 what I know now. So wise to go to school when you have NO or very few responsibilities.

14. Desperately wanting to move to Africa and hoping that upon my daughter graduating from highschool (5 long years away) that move will be made. Hoping that ALL my children come with me, but knowing that it wont be a reality.

15. I'm a very emotional person. I cry at the drop of a dime. Well, not literally.... When we watch movies as a family everyone is always watching me waiting for the tears to start falling and then make fun of me. Crappy family!!! I cried watching Lion King, Toy Story 3, Despicable Me and several other cartoons. Lol

16. Used to hate not having something to do and not having people around, but as I've come to LOVE ME and get older I so appreciate that quiet quality time alone.

17. Became a full fledged vegetarian almost 2 years ago and became vegan (although we still eat salmon and fish so maybe technically we're not really vegan) about a year ago. LOVE IT!!!

18. Have developed some awesome friendships and met some truly beautiful people through blogging that I love dearly.

19. Gave up Television about a year ago. We agreed as a family there were too many negative influences for our children and felt there were more productive things we could ALL be doing with our time and as a family. Don't regret it at all, although sometimes I do miss my HGTV.

20. Have 2 brothers 50 John, 30 Eugene; who is known to family by his middle name Wes. So hard for me to call him Eugene and a 1 sister Rosalie 41, who has always been Lee Lee when I was little and then Lee. Cant call her Rosalie....Just doesn't seem right. Lol I used to cry when I was little and she would leave for school. Man, I was a brat! Lol These don't obviously include the million of siblings on my fathers side.

21. Started a blog in 2004. Blogged pretty regularly until 2008. Introduced to FB and it was all down hill from there. I enjoy blogging but rarely find the time to do it. Shut down my original blog and came over to blogger, so lets see if I can pick this thing back up.

22. Was a huge Tom boy growing up and didn't willingly put on a skirt until I was 16.

23. Had my first real boyfriend and real kiss at 15. We dated for like 2 weeks. Lol. So is that really considered a real boyfriend? He's a recent friend on FB so I won't put his business out there or embarrass him. Broke up over some silly girl.... he's a cool guy though.

24. Moved out on my own a few days before my 19th birthday.

25. Everyone seems to consider me a Mother type figure and call me Miss Amira. I have no idea WHEN this started, but I don't really mind it.

26. Used to fight ALL THE TIME from 5th grade on up. Used to be quite the quick tempered little individual. Never Started a fight though. Well maybe just 1, literally.

27. Used to go out and used to drink ALL THE TIME. So glad I out grew that stage. Don't know what the fascination was but, UGH! Glad it's over. Tequilla was typically my drink of choice. Had several embarrassing moments while drinking that I WONT share, but pretty hilarious when I reflect back on them.

28. Used to be really insecure. So glad I'm over that!!! I'm very happy with me and who I've grown to be. Still have some growing to do....but then don't we all.

29. Ran track in middle school. For some reason my kids don't believe this. Lol. Their so goofy.

30. Played the Bassoon and was really quite good from 7th grade to 9th grade. Had a crush on my band teacher in middle school, Mr. Mazyck. Wonder where he is now and how he's doing.

31. Love to read.... Love old school hip hop and old school R&B. Hate the new artists out today, with the exception of my girl Chrisette Michelle and maybe a few others.

32. Got mad at my mom at 16 and went to stay with my Sister Girl Dinah. Her mom used to work nights and we used to sneak out almost every night. Got into so much mess and had sooo much fun. We have so many fun memories it's not even funny. I'll have to blog about the car crash one day. That was HILARIOUS!!!!! She's is still to this day one of the craziest (in a good way) people I know. Hubby's running a close 2nd. VERY close. Lol

33. Took my first vacation as an adult at 27 (crazy) to the Bahama's. Again Dinah was along for the ride on this one. Had a blast. One of the best trips of my life.

34. Never been on a real vacation with Hubby. We've got to work on this cause that's down right ridiculous. Goal for 2011.

35. Have some insane pet peeves.....Hate doing ALL the laundry and then for someone to put dirty clothes in the laundry room. Like I expect for people to not change clothes. Hate when I vacuum and then someone walks on the carpet or when I clean the bathroom and someone goes and showers or uses the bathroom. I know I'm special. Lol

36. Hate Banana's and peanut butter and peanuts. The smell of bananas makes me want to gag. Actually just saying the word and talking about it makes me sick.... moving on

37. Terrified of bugs and deathly afraid of birds. Fish even freak me out. Have no idea where these fears came from. I've got to overcome them seriously!!!

38. Absolutely LOVE ALL of my in-laws. They are all such an amazing bunch of people....even though their all crazy. Non stop laughs. It's the ONLY reason I look forward to the holidays, so we can all hang out.

39. Speaking of holidays...I'm quite the grinch. As I get older the more I dislike them. If I had no children I wouldn't celebrate any of them.

40. Have not cooked a holiday dinner in the past 4 years since moving to CO. Another reason to LOVE the inlaws. I learned to cook when I was somewhere between 8 and 10. Although I'm a great cook (made Hubby gain soooo much weight once we moved in together) I don't particularly enjoy doing it, only because I had NO choice but to cook EVERY DAY. Now that Hubby has learned how to cook (still think he lied for years and always could) and I get breaks occasionally, I'm starting to enjoy it again.

All right, this was extremely long and because of that I probably wont blog for another month or two. Kidding! Hope you all enjoyed learning a few things about me, I definitely enjoyed sharing.

Have a fabulous Sunday and as always..... Peace and Blessings.

So much and so little.....

Hey blog world...the world is yours!!! Lol, why did that song just pop into my head as I was typing this? You all know the song I'm speaking of right, Hey young world by Slick Rick. Funny how things just pop into my head sometimes. Lol

Anywho......

So I feel like there's been so much and so little going on in my life all at the same time. Does that even make sense???? As uneventful as life can be around here sometimes, it's been pretty busy. It seems like between me and the Hubby we've been at the doctors, specialists, physical therapists, primary physicians, chiropractors every single day for the last 6 months. I'm to the point where I almost want to just throw in the towel, but I know that wouldn't be medically beneficial.....so we push on.

I feel like with my back issues, I'm making absolutely NO progress. My doctor has made the suggestion several times to try injections, and as we become more aware of the things we put in our bodies and even ON our bodies, the thought of injections has me feeling very uneasy. And I say if I'm having doubts and feeling uneasy about it then it's obviously not something I should even consider. So that's OUT. He also suggested acupuncture and today I actually had my 2nd.....what do you call it....treatment???? I don't know.

The chiropractor that I'm seeing now Dr. Bruce is super cool. He takes his time and explains every little detail and always seems genuinely concerned with how I'm doing. He ALWAYS notices when I'm not feeling as well as I typically am. Gotta love a Dr. that really know's their patients. I was seeing this other guy, at the same office who just wasn't real personable and I haven't even seen him around much at the clinic. The last time I saw him he must have been P.Oed or something because I swear I thought he was going to break my back in two. I'm usually pretty quiet with my pain, but when he cracked my back I actually almost screamed..... I think I said something along the lines of "OWWWW. OH MY FREAKING GOODNESS!!!!" Funny as heck when I think back on it, but not funny then in the least bit.

Hubby is really tackling this math class and I have to say I'm soooo very proud of him. He's always done everything within his power to avoid math and he went into this class full force determined to not let it defeat him. He's got a little over a week left and is standing at a pretty high B at this point. I have to admit I find it really humorous when he starts getting frustrated. It's written all over his face and he starts talking crazy about the math problems and is so animated about it. It takes everything I have NOT to fall out laughing. I know he'll be mad at me, but when he get's mad and starts making up his own curse words it's hard to control your laughter.

Little one is doing pretty well with us homeschooling him. He's kind of getting into a regular routine and he's really enjoying math and learning to read. I've also been trying to teach him Nuwaupic and he's catching on pretty well, and I'm trying to learn at the same time. I have to thank our many of our Nuwapian family and Nuwaupic for Nuwapians on FB for helping because learning another language as an adult (at least for me) is no easy task... No joke! Speaking of school, I decided to return to school finally, or should I say AGAIN. I think I mentioned this on FB and I'm pretty excited. Classes start in January and I've got all my ducks in a row so far.... just waiting for November 15th so I can register for classes. Yeay!!!!

So.....ummm it's one in the morning and I'm up blogging instead of having myself in bed asleep. I have my 2nd round interview for a job (mentioned this on FB also) in the morning so I think being up now when I have to be up in less than 4 hours, probably isn't the wisest move. What do you all think????? My mind has been so preoccupied lately it's ridiculous.

So that's it for me folks. I'm off to bed in the hopes that I'll actually be able to settle my mind and sleep. Hope everyone enjoys the remainder of the week.... as always.....

Peace and Blessings.