the annie blog

So, I haven’t posted in FOREVER. Which is fine. I mainly use to keep track of my books. Lame. Truthful, though.

Anyway, I’ve never been one to have friends – like BFFs or “my girls” – just don’t. Never really have. Recently, like the past few years, I allowed myself to kind of befriend a group of women that I was involved with in a homeschool group we joined. I NEVER intended to become friends – because, come on, I don’t fit the profile.  But it happened. I kind of got close to some of these women. Not like visit on the phone and go shopping – because I don’t really do that. But, we talked. Chatted. Visited. It was good. It was highly unusual for me. I even found myself kind of thinking I had “found my tribe”.  It felt really good. I started to think I actually had friends.  It made me smile inside.

But, things changed. Long story. I am no longer a part of the group.  And, well, no one seems to care.  So, what does that do for me?  It makes me sad. It makes me know that it wasn’t real. It was all in my head. I allowed myself  to be sucked up in the glamour of it all.  I’m mostly mad at myself that I fell for it. I won’t do that again. I’m old enough to know better. But, it seriously had been YEARS since I had a friendship with someone, so I was blinded by it.

The story why we left is long and drawn-out. The reasons we left are numerous. They are reasons where people take sides. Apparently, not my side.  I also, figured people would believe me/us. But, that’s not the case.  Reality sucks.  It’s a tough lesson to learn. I mean, I’m old. Why can’t I get this through my head, yet?  It leads me back to “family first”. That has worked for me in the past, and I need to remember that.  This is how it will be for me. I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but obviously, this needs to be my mantra.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

So in my quest to have an amazing summer – the wee one has been sick. Ugh. So, my time has been taken up with taking care of her.  She is on the mend. But, it’s kind of touch and go at times. Her fever peaked at 102.4. She is definitely better, but this afternoon she was not feeling good at all.  All she wanted to do was snuggle. Nothing wrong with that.  

 

She and i did create a summer calendar for her.  She gets to choose what she wants to do each day.  She picks from a list.  Today she picked crafting. So, after dinner she sat on her bed while watching telly and got busy crafting. She tends to be someone who loves to start projects, but really doesn’t care about finishing those projects. Obviously process-based.  I opened a little etsy shop for her.  She knows how to load her project photos and everything.  Hopefully she’ll get some more of her goodies in there. I would love for her to make a sale. Right now, Daddy has purchased something, and my mom has purchased something. 

 

Hopefully she’ll be better tomorrow. Hopefully she’ll add some projects to her shop. Hopefully she’ll make a sale.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

Got my FIRST TLC VoxBox from Influenster

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I love this holiday. I have had a “valentine” every year since my freshman year of high school. So, that’s why I love it. I have never been without. It’s always been a special and fun holiday.

 

However, I do know that those people who have had awful holiday experiences don’t like Valentine’s.  When everyone is bummed about it, I know they haven’t experienced as much fun as I have.

 

Every year we go away. Mark and I have been doing this for years. Then, when the wee one came along, we just took her with us. We go out-of-town for one night only. Hotel, dinner, movies, whatever. Of course, it was a different experience before the wee one arrived. But, that’s ok – we’ve adapted.  It’s all good.  Whenever we’re together it’s always good!

 

 

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

I found this here!

 

The Basics:

What is your Name?

Bethanie Frank

What is the Name of your blog?

The Annie Blog

What is your blog’s web address?

https://theannieblog.com/

The Survey:

1. What state do you currently reside?

Kansas

2. What color is your natural hair?

Brown

3. How tall are you?

5’6”’

4. What is your favorite food?

Sushi

5. What color shirt are you wearing right now?

Black shirt with a light brown cardigan vest

6. What are three cosmetic items that you wear every single day?

Moisturizer, eyeliner, lip gloss

7. What is your denomination?

Methodist

8. Describe your testimony?

Raised in the church all my life!

9. How did you meet your husband?

Grad school

10. What is your favorite beverage?

Perrier

11. How many kids do you have?

One

12. Have you ever experienced an earthquake?

Yes, a couple of minor ones even though we live in Kansas

13. What is your favorite TV show?

General Hospital and the news

14. What was the last movie you saw?

Yikes, I have no idea

15. Who is your favorite Bible character?

Paul

16. What color are your eyes?

green

17. Are you a working mother, stay at home wife, or stay at home mom?

Working mom

18. Do you homeschool?

No

19. Did/do you attend University? If so, where.

Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Missouri in Kansas City

Master’s Degree from Western Illinois University

20. If you could change one thing in your life what would it be?

Exercise

21. Who is your favorite Christian singer or band?

Michael W. Smith

22. What is your absolute favorite color?

Purple

23. Think about something from the ocean and write it down: (yes, random…I know)

Seashells

24. Where is your favorite place to dine out?

Sushi places – Buffalo Wild Wings – Logan’s Roadhouse

25.  Did you attend church camp?

No

26. Name a blog friend who’s name starts with the same letter as your name:

Don’t think I have one

27. Do you have a Facebook Account for your blog?

no

28. Do you have a Twitter Account for your blog?

no

29. Name someone you miss right now:

friends

30. What is your happiest childhood memory?

Playing with my brother

31. Name one thing you can cook better than your husband’s mother: (if you’re not married, then your own mother.)

Fried pork chops with mashed potatoes and gravy

32. Would you consider yourself stubborn?

Yes, but I’m getting better – I think

33. Do you feel like you are a good writer?

Yes

34. Do you pin? If so, list your Pinterest screen name.

annieblog

3. How many hours do you spend on Pinterest per day?

About an hour a week

36. Do you use WordPress, Blogger, Drupal, or Typepad? (or another?)

WordPress

37. Where do you stand on wearing socks with sandals?

Uhm, the hubby does

38. Did you design your own blog, or hire a graphic designer?

I did it

39. What is your favorite widget/gadget?

Hooking up to my flickr account

40. If you had to choose only one, would you have a clean bathroom or a clean kitchen?

kitchen

41. Where did you honeymoon?

Vegas

42. Did you elope?

Kind of – we went to Vegas and only told our immediate families – my mom, brother and brother-in-low joined us

43. Do you have a favorite sports team?

Chiefs!

44. What is your favorite praise & worship song?

Amazing Grace – sung by people that can REALLY sing!

45. Were you raised in church?

yes

46. When did you start blogging?

About 10 years ago

47. What are your favorite blogs?

I have quite a few I visit every day

48. Have you ever lived in another country?

No

49. Have you done missions? If so, where & when.

no

50. What version of the Bible do you prefer?

NIV

51. What’s the story behind your blog name?

My middle name is Ann – and when I first started blogging I wanted to remain anonymous

52. Describe the ultimate hands down best date on a $20 budget.

Hubby – pizza – eating in front of the TV while watching a movie together!

53. Will you tell one blogger about this survey? If so, then who? (optional: include their web address)

no

54. What is your favorite scripture?

Romans 15: 13 NIV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

It’s time for me to have a break.  A serious break. that’s the beauty of education. Just as you’re ready to go mad – a break comes around. Mark and I are forever grateful for these breaks.  Right now, things have been mighty stressful at work. And we are going to relish this break more than  you can ever know.

With things being crazy, and even a bit scary at work, we haven’t told our families. The wee one hears snippets now and then, but nothing big. My mother would FREAK OUT. So, it’s best not to stress her out. My brother knows a little bit. He’s compassionate and understanding. My father knows nothing – that’s my choice.  So, Mark and I keep it to ourselves. We don’t even discuss it with co-workers – too risky.  The walls have ears if you know what I mean… And, we really don’t have any friends we discuss this stuff with, so we just deal with it amongst ourselves and count down the days till break.

Because of all this  – my mind is elsewhere. I’m easily distracted, and every now and then I turn a bit negative.

And this is not good.  So, I go play on pinterest and daydream…

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

So, I need to vent a little bit. I’ve said it before, but we live FAR from our families. No one is near us – seriously.  And, we happen to live in a smaller town where everyone is related to everyone else. Consequently – we have no family events to attend over the holidays. And, people seem to think that since we don’t have family around that they just assume we do NOTHING. A co-worker just told us that we could do the extra work because we don’t have family events coming up and she does. She won’t have time, but she knows that since we don’t have family around we would be able to do the extra work load. And, this is NOT the first time this has happened. This happens almost every year. Someone says things like, “Well, you can probably work on that since you won’t have family in town. I can’t because my wife’s family will be here one weekend, then the next weekend we are hosting the party at our house for my family.”  Seriously!?! I get so frustrated hearing that. It’s not fair. And then it seems like our bosses always agree, “Well, since Joe has all these family activities it only seems logical you can do the extra work. ”

tired of it!

 

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »