Poetry

I used to write a line or two, I used to write on paper. I know writing on paper is unheard of so I think I may start a Poetry blog. Hmm, yes I will.

All Mothers are slightly Insane - JD Salinger

I was just getting into bed with my 1 year old and thinking about this quote. As I tried to sneak out of bed so Molly wouldn't hear me, I realized I am slightly insane and I don't even mind. Does that make it worse?

So when did it start? Did it start during my first pregnancy? Cravings of KFC, added weight to my butt, realizing that my body was never ever going to be the same. Or was it when my first Mothers Day rolled around and thinking, "Wow, this is a it?..." ha ha. Was it the excruciatingly, joyful childbirth? The audacity to forget the excruciating part?

Maybe it was the first time I asked my husband to watch a pot of lasagna noodles cooking and came back to a burnt, stuck, mess. Realizing that day that dinner was my responsibility and mine alone, forever. Was it the dinners made, but then skipped so I could take care of an infant, only to come back to a big mess?

Was it the time I found my 1 year old little baby eating her own poo? Was it the time I got puked on, the 2nd time, the 12th time? Was it the time I couldn't find Cliah who was 2 at the time at the Phoenix Swap Meet, only to find her hiding right next to us under a table.. or the time she got lost in a big store, again only to find her hiding.. Maybe it is the number of personal items the kids have broken over the years, jewelry, collectibles, nick nacks.. The babysitters that quit, the crayon on the walls, the stitches, the dirty diapers, the late night terrors.. the chickens, the lambs, the lawn mowing, the oil changes, the oven cleaning, the schooling, the dishes, the spouses constant requirements, the getting ready on time, the fighting in the car, the pulled hair, the cut hair,the spilled milk, the spilled popcorn, the ouchies, the band aids, the clogged toilets, the laundry, oh the laundry, the ironing, the bills, the TV, the story time, bed time, bath time, time out, Dr. appointments, play dates, the Mom, Mom, Mom, the puppies and kittens and litter boxes and realizing that you are responsible for feeding the animals also, cupcakes to make, cookies baked, Christmas time, holidays, doing the hair or nails of my little girls, pretty dresses, making crafts, princess games, castles, witches and dragons, hearing Mattie singing a beautiful song, seeing Cliah dressed up so beautiful, answering Romans 10, 000 questions, hugging my sweet huggable kids, holding newborn babies, sleeping next to a warm little infant, watching a child sleep, tickle time, watching my children grow, teaching them, listening to Roman tell people about Jesus, playing hide and seek, looking at the stars, singing songs, playing games, being silly, being crazy.. loving, being loved, seeing love in the faces of my kids..

Well if all that has made me a little insane, then I thank God for giving me these wonderful kids to make me a little insane, because without them, I think I would be pretty gosh darn boring! I wouldn't trade them for any sane life, no way!

The Sickness

Well our first run of the flu hit the household this year, pretty good I would say considering the whole Pig oh sorry Swine Flu epidemic of 2010, no one in our house got a shot and we all survived. Well we got a little stomach bug, I say little because we have had far worse. Just when I thought we were all done with it, poor little Molly got it this morning. It is her first illness where she has had a fever. She is so sad looking, and it breaks my heart. She doesn't know why her tummy is doing what it's doing, and she is so very tired, and pale, and she doesn't want to be alone. My poor baby. It all started at ballet, everyone can try to deny it, but I know that is where it originated. Hey I would try to deny it to, if I were the one to bring it to class. I hate it when I get all accusatory that way, it's just hard when you have a big family and an illness is brought home and you know that every person you live with is going to get it. I have to blame somebody, someone has to be responsible for the sickness. But really it's just an illness and I shouldn't get angry at any one person for it.

Last summer we all got sick from the public pool, I know gross. I can remember looking all over the pool at all the people swimming there and thinking, it was probably him, or her, or that kid. I am so judgmental, it's absolutely ridiculous. I think that is a huge fault I have. One of many. One of the things that I am going to try to work on to be a better person. There is a woman in the homeschool group that I judge all the time, and I really shouldn't. How can you not judge someone who constantly wastes her resources and then begs for them back all the time. I just don't understand her. She is at least 45 years old and she is still a baby. Well I guess that is her sickness..

Well I have to keep this short because Molly will be whimpering for me.. and to Mom and Dad, I apologize in advance if you get our sickness, because in a moment of weakness I went to your house yesterday and probably left a sickly germ somewhere in your house.. I love you and I am sorry!

Letting go..

So I pondered this week anger, worry and hate, and letting go of it.. you see I have a really nasty neighbor, she does things to try to make our life more difficult.. So I thought I should get back at her, but you know, love thy neighbor and all that, I decided to just let it go, yes she will still be mean, and I will still be me. I am not vengeful, I am not spiteful and I do not hold onto bitterness, it just is such a waste of time in my ever so busy life.

My worry comes from all of our financial trouble this past year, I worry constantly, I have tried to let go in the past, but it always comes back and I lose sleep, or I get anxiety attacks. So I am going to just let go of my worry, I am going to let God worry for me and just let him take it away. I am not going to try I am just going to stop. Amen!

Well hate, I don't really have any, well maybe for this one sheep we have, I do hate her a little, she baas constantly even right after I feed her, so God if you are listening, could you just take away my hate for that nasty sheep.. Thanks!

I am really trying to get certain things strait in my life, I feel like I have to, with 5 kids and all these animals, and the garden and the home school, I feel like I really have to start trusting in God fully and let him help me with certain areas that need work. So I am trying to get organized, trying to be healthier, trying to be more even tempered, I am even trying to quit swearing. I have been saying applesauce, witch and some other creative words.. Life can always be better, a better me, a better home, a better attitude, better!

Park Day

So each Thursday is the homeschooling group park day, it's from 1 until about 4pm, at a park close by. It is something everyone at my house look forward to, including me. Today there were about 10 Moms and countless number of kids, I would say 25-30 kids, give or take. The Moms all hang out with the little babies under the shade of the ramada while the kids do a sport with Jenn or play on the playground, or just run around playing zombies or princesses, or whatever is on the agenda. It is quite a nice time all around.
I realized this week, that Moms for the most part, are really just girls at heart. We like to joke, just like when we were teenagers, we like to gross each other out, we like to talk about our significant other, we like to laugh and hug and compete and gossip, we like to have the best idea, or the best recipe, or the best weird story of the week, or the best place to buy organic produce, or the best tincture for curing baby rash. We are mostly all nice to each other, but there is always that underlying bitchiness that no woman can escape, even really old ones.

Cattiness, bitchiness, it's there at every stage of your life.

I felt it when a certain Mom at Romans preschool used to never talk to me, just in passing each other in the parking lot, she would ignore me, while saying hello to every other Mother in the school..
I felt it at Cliahs school last year, when the Moms in the cool clique would always be buddy-buddy and exclude me at all the school events.. I wasn't the only Mom who got snubbed...
I felt it from certain Mothers at the midwives office, Moms who thought they were so special because they were uber cool and wore there shirts so there bellies were showing or had dreadlocks and ignored all the regular average Mothers..
I felt it when there was gossip going around about a certain woman in a Mom group that everyone started to ignore, someone who was my friend, and I knew that if I didn't give up as a friend, I would soon join in exile. Just so you know, I did not give her up, I ended up giving up the group.. Why is that always the option to conflict? Choose sides and then give up someone.. it really is not very fair
I don't think men realize what a big bunch of girls women really are.. The only thing left would be for us to start pulling hair, or pushing our boobs up a little higher.. how about if we just claw each other like cats?

But that isn't why I go to park day.. I go to park day because I get to be a grown up with some other Moms and I get to get out and have a few laughs.. I just wish some of the cattiness that I witness would vanish, it's so high school, and I am 35 and just want to chillax at the park.. that being said ------ Park day rules!

So very busy..

Why does this life I love keep me so busy all the time? I am not going to complain, I mean this is MY life, so love it right? I want to start writing again, it has been such a long time. I used to write short stories, poems, my blog, now I just sit and do nothing. Well if you count gardening, farming, cleaning, cooking and laundry nothing, yes nothing.

I used to have a way with words, now here I am in a big trial of my life, well not really, but things have been tough, and I find myself being pulled back to those words. So I will try, to use words to heal myself, to make myself happier again. I am happy, I am just so one dimentional, like oh, what is for dinner? Those are the kinds of words I mutter every day, oh can you please clean up the living room? Did you give the chickens water? Is Molly awake? Where is Mayleen? Is Dad home? Shouldn't you be studying?

Well I want to enhance my spoken and written words, I want to increase my vocabulary and clean up my potty mouth. These are my goals, and they start today, I am more focused, more driven, and I am going to revamp myself.

Starting this week with my cleansing, I will start with this, what should I call it? Colleens Cleanse.. this week will be verbal, spiritual, next week physical, emotional. I am doing a liver cleanse next week, yes I know, ouch. But I have heard it can do wonderful things, so I will keep you posted, literally. Got to go, the kids just found me!

Reflecting..

Looking back on the last few years is interesting. Five years ago we had just moved to Prescott Valley, things were very positive. We had no idea what to expect when we moved here, but we did know we were happy to leave Phoenix. We moved from a little rental with 2 kids and a dog to a big house in the country with 5 kids (which are now homeschooled?), 4 sheep, 20 chickens, 7 turkeys, a cat, a dog and a bunny named Thumper. How can so much change in 5 years? What can I expect in the next 10?

Life is so interesting, but I am so busy with the kids and the house that I am unable to see it. We now eat a more "natural" diet, we don't buy stuff that is made of corn syrup or buttery substances that are made from soybean oil and are then bleached and scented and dyed to "look" like butter. We don't eat fast food anymore, except every great once in a while in an emergency. We now eat almost all of our own home-grown meat. We have raised lamb, pork and chicken and on occasion have traded any of those for grass fed beef. But that is just one part of our lives..

We also stopped our Satellite TV service, however we still watch the tube a lot more, we just don't see news, sports, or reality TV, but we do have our own news, sports and reality that we live every day anyhow. I am completely hooked to Facebook now. Yoville, I like, but I just go on there every few days, unlike someone else I know, who flirts and goes dancing on Yoville with her friends..

My kids have been born and have sprouted, Mattie is something of a little Miss Independant. Mayleen who wasn't even a twinkling on here is 2 and says things to me like "That is disgusting!". She can also count to 15 on her own and I didn't even teach her. Roman is still Roman, he is still short and full of life, and drives me crazy every day. Then there is Molly, she is 4 months and she is a little cutie. She is my latest addition and I am so happy to have her. Then there is Cliah, and I wonder sometimes where I would be without her. She is a fun girl and I love hanging out with her. She is AWESOME! We like the same music, mostly, the same movies, the same Taylor Lautner from Twilight Saga, and we talk about pretty much everything. I am so happy with the gift that God gave me in the form of Cliah, she loves all the kids and she is like my right hand.

So 5 years ago, we moved to Prescott Valley, and 5 years later this is my life. It is busy, chaotic, tiring, inspiring, dirty, and hard and I love it!!

Going to start updating more ... sorry!

So I have been so caught up on Facebook and have completely neglected by Blog. So I vow on this day, this first day of summer vacation that I will come by and post pictures, tell interesting stories and update my wallpaper on a weekly basis! Please forgive me Bloggidy Blog, for being so neglectful!

16 days until Christmas

Well Christmas pretty much snuck right up on me this year. I guess it was the big Thanksgiving that threw me off. I was sick for about a week after and couldn't get off the couch. Stomach troubles! I am finally feeling a little better, stomach isn't 100% though.

I just put up my Christmas tree yesterday, we went to the Mogollon rim and cut a beautiful white fir down. We saw a little teeny bit of snow. I haven't done the Christmas decorating that I normally do though, no lights outside yet, not holly and ivy strewn about the house, not even a twinkle light anywhere but on the tree. I guess that is what happens with 4 kids!

I have been busy with those kids, of course, Roman spent all weekend with terrible hives and I never did figure out what caused them, then Mattie is either Happy Mattie or Very Mad Mattie, and that can take up some time. I made two batches of cookies on Friday and we took them on our tree trip and they were all over the back of the truck when we got there, the container busted! So I haven't made any more, I was pretty mad! I made my own tamales today, Red chili pork tamales. I haven't tasted them yet, so...

There was about 50 people at my house on Thanksgiving. Pretty good day. It rained, but everyone was still able to go out and enjoy the animals, and some even played a round of "Buddy in the middle".I had my sister and her family stay for the whole week of Thanksgiving as well. We had a really nice time with them. My brother in-law made a door for our shed and really helped get that thing going. Now I just have to get my husband to finish it. My nephew Owen had a blast here, I think he burned every tumble weed on our property (supervised of course) and was driving around in Romans jeep a lot. Cliah and Ella were up in Cliahs room doing girly things the whole time. All the girls go to go see Saltimbanco, a Cirque de soleil show, it was really amazing! Would definately recommend it!

Other than all that, haven't been up to much..

Okay I made it... and I am here

Thankfully it was only 1 migraine. I made it through the three birthdays, I made it through the stores opening, I made it here. (although I still don't have a sign up on the building :-0)

So I have four glorious days off! Hallelujah! Jason is off hunting, he just left and I don't know when he will be back, hopefully by Sunday, but his tag is for a week, so it could be longer. Hopefully not too long, it is really hard being here with all the kids alone.

I am going to spend the weekend cleaning out the office/guest room, and maybe mowing our front acre, if someone will loan me a ride on mower. There is a huge oak desk I want to get out of there, but it weighs about 150lbs, and so I am either going to throw it out the window and break it, or try somehow to get it down the stairs. Should be interesting. My sister and her family are going to be staying with us for Thanksgiving, so I am really trying to get their living area nice for their visit. I am so excited that they are going to stay with us, because they usually stay with my parents, but finally we have room for them and it's going to be so fun. Mary (my sister) was such an awesome hostess when we visited them at their Moser bay house, I mean she baked cookies like every day, and when I was sick the last two days, she made me wonderful thermos's of tea and brought them to our little cabin and let me take a nap. It was absolutely wonderful! Except for the bear that almost ate us in our little cabin.

For Cliahs birthday I did a room makeover. I love doing those. I got her a new queen size bed, and Grandma Holloway got her a new comforter set. It is pink with brown and white stripes. So I painted one wall of her room the same color pink, then I made a brown and pink stripe border on the same wall. I got her a few new things also, like a rope ladder that goes up to her loft and a new mirror and a few other things. I will post pictures later.

About every two years, she requests a room makeover for her birthday, which is fine with me, because I absolutely love doing it. Her room came out really nice. She had her two friends from school sleep over, Jill and Kayla, they are the only girls in her grade. She has a total of 7 kids in her grade. It's a really small school.

On another note she just started ADHD medication. I have been resisting it for years, but I feel like I have no other choice. She has been to the phsychologist, the neurologist, and all the teachers and experts agree. She has a serious attention problem. I just pray that this medication works, because I feel like it is my last hope at getting Cliah better.

Mayleen had her first birthday on October 4th. She is such a smart baby, she tries to say some of her abc song and can say "taint chew" (thank you) "uh-oh", "mom", "gamma" (Grandma). She is trying to catch up to Mattie who is only a year and a half older. Both Mattie and May are such sweet girls. I cannot believe that I have three daughters!

Mattie is such a little talker. I just can't believe some of the things she says to me and things she says to other kids as well. She has a friend Madeline who is 2 also, but 4 months younger, and Mattie is on the floor with her trying to teach her how to do a puzzle. You cannot even understand Madeline when she talks, and Mattie is there saying, "No, turn it around". I think being a middle child has helped her progress quicker. I just cut her hair in a bob and it is soo cute. She has such thin blonde hair, when it was long it was always tangled and Mattied. Sorry.

Roman of course is completely going nuts because Halloween is for sale in every store. Poor guy, he doesn't even know why he loves Halloween so much, and it is all because of the Wizard of Oz. He watched it when he was two and was bewitched by the Wicked Witch of the West. When he was 3 he wanted to dress like a witch and play like he was the WWOTW (wicked witch of the west). I thought there was no harm, that is until Halloween came around and he wanted to be guess what for Halloween? That's right a wicked witch. So we went to Mt. Vernon with Roman dressed like a witch, and he loved it! Oh, everyone thought that he was the cutest little witch ever! So that is how Halloween became such a fascinating holiday for little Roman. He is going as a werewolf this year, I said absolutely no more dressing like witches. Although, whenever I cannot find my broom, I know who has it.

So that is it. I am updated, I just need to post some pictures and I will post pictures later, as my camera is currently on it's way to Flagstaff Unit 5B south to take pictures of a dead cow elk (hopefully).

Love,
Colleen

How Much Can I Take?

Stress that is? I had my first migraine the day before yesterday - whoo hoo!

We are trying to get this store open and everything is standing in our way, money, suppliers, deadlines, too much to do, and not enough help... How do people do it? I want to just give up!

Plus, I have my 11 year old who is really stuggling in 5th grade, and my 6 year old, he's fine, but since Halloween is approaching he is getting to be quite nuts, and then the 2 year old, and the 11 month old. So, why am I stressed?

Well at least nobody is sick and I may winde up in the nuthouse before too much longer, because frankly, I don't know how much more I can do..

My 11 year old will be 12 in three weeks and my 11 month olds birthday is in three weeks, plus we have the Holidays and the animals, and the car problems, what am I doing????

So, I am going to go do something I can at least control, I am going to re-arrange my bedroom...

Later

It has been a while!

Buttercup

I know nobody like a boring blog, so I decided I had better update mine, since it has been well over a year, in fact almost two! Holy Cow!

Our Country House

So let's cover some bases, shortly after my last entry we moved to Poquito Valley, also known as Prescott Valley, AZ (North). In the country, to a country house with a country mouse (seriously - they live in my garage :-(-), and a country cow "Buttercup" (Who else?), two country pigs (which now reside tastefully in my stand up freezer- mmmm) ,about 22 country hens and three country roosters. We live in a beautiful country house with a big roomy porch and a lovely grass lawn in back. I hope I can live here forever!





It has been an adventerous year and 7 months. I had another baby Mayleen Laura in October of 2007, right here in my country bedroom! Mattie is now 2 and a big handful, Roman is now in Kindergarten and Cliah is in Mid-High. We have traveled the Globe (the US Globe) visiting dreamy Ketchikan, Alaska traveling to luxurious Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts and even losing 2 year old Mattie in the Bronx, New York. It has been a wonderful year and a half! We have lost no loved ones (thankfully) and have had no major illnesses in our family, and yet we don't realize how blessed we are!!!!

Mayleen Laura

Our business has been keeping us very busy! We have a showroom/warehouse and are just about ready to move into the old Quality Bumper place and have an even bigger showroom and warehouse. Our business has given me many sleepless nights, but we are still here and proud of it!





I will try to keep this more updated, I have learned how to post via email. One day I would like to print my blog, as it is somewhat personal and something I hope to never lose!
Happy Mothers Day!!

Pictures!!

My mom is always saying, "When are you going to put some pictures on your blog?''. It's not like she lives right down the street.

Cliah, Roman & Mattie up a tree..

Happy Mattie !

I guess she didn't like this - Unhappy Mattie!

Looks like a nice day for a walk....

Well I know it has been a long, long time, but we had the holidays, and then I do have 3 kids, and I am working part time now. It seems like there isn't enough time in the day for anything. It's already 5:30 and I haven't even started dinner yet.

I had a fun time earlier chasing Mattie around. She is really fast crawler and it is fun to get down on your hands and knees and chase her. She gets so excited and goes really fast.

Two of my kids are sick this week, well Roman a little more, I don't even think Cliah is actually sick. They are both going to school tomorrow. Summer is going to be a real bi**h. Anyways, I felt it was time to update my blog, not that anyone reads it, but you never know.

Bye,
Me

FW: Some Interesting AZ Facts

Bet you never knew that ..

 

The amount of copper on the roof of the Capitol building is equivalent to 4,800,000 pennies.

 

The Arizona trout is found only in the Arizona.

 

Wyatt Earp was neither the town marshal nor the sheriff in Tombstone, Arizona at the time of the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral.  His brother Virgil was the town marshal, who had temporarily deputized Wyatt, Morgan and Doc Holliday prior to the gunfight.

 

In Arizona, it is against the law for donkeys to sleep in bathtubs.

 

Arizona leads the nation in copper production.

 

Petrified wood is the official state fossil. Most petrified wood comes from the Petrified Forest in northeastern Arizona.

 

A class 2 misdemeanor occurs if one places a mark upon a flag which is "likely to provoke physical retaliation".

 

The bola tie is the official state neckwear.
 
Arizona observes Mountain Standard Time on a year round basis. The one exception is the Navajo Nation, located in the northeast corner of the state, which observes the daylight savings time change.

 

In Arizona, it is unlawful to refuse a person a glass of water.

 

The Castilian and Burgundian flags of Spain, the Mexican flag, the Confederate flag, and the flag of the United States have all flown over the land area that has become Arizona.

In Mesa it is illegal to smoke cigarettes within 15 feet of a public place unless you have a Class 12 liquor license.

 

In 1926, the Southern Pacific Railroad connected Arizona with the eastern states.

The geographic center of Arizona is 55 miles (89 kilometers) southeast of Prescott.

Bisbee, located in Tombstone Canyon, is known as the Queen of the Copper Mines. During its mining history the town was the largest city between Saint Louis and San Francisco.

When being attacked by a criminal or burglar, you may only protect yourself with the same weapon that the other person possesses.

 

The state's most popular natural wonders include the Grand Canyon, Havasu Canyon, Grand Canyon Caves, Lake Powell/Rainbow Bridge, Petrified Forest/Painted Desert, Monument Valley, Sunset Crater, Meteor Crater, Sedona Oak Creek Canyon, Salt River Canyon, Superstition Mountains, Picacho Peak State Park, Saguaro National Park, Chiricahua National Monument, and the Colorado River.

 

No one is permitted to ride their horse up the stairs of the county court house in Prescott, Arizona.

 

Once a rowdy copper mining town, Jerome's population dwindled to as few as 50 people after the mines closed in 1953.

 

The capital of the Navajo Reservation is Window Rock.

 

Located in Fountain Hills is a fountain believed to be the tallest in the world.

 

Four Corners is noted as the spot in the United States where a person can stand in four states at the same time.

 

The age of a saguaro cactus is determined by its height.

 

Arizona, among all the states, has the largest percentage of its land set aside and designated as Indian lands.  

 

Oraibi is the oldest Indian settlement in the United States. The Hopis Indians founded it.

 

Grand Canyon's Flaming Gorge got its name for its blazing red and orange colored, twelve-hundred-foot-high walls.

 

There are 11.2 million acres of National Forest in Arizona and one fourth of the state is forested. The largest forest is comprised of Ponderosa Pine.

 

It is illegal to manufacture imitation cocaine. 

 

The largest freshwater striped bass caught in Arizona was at Bullhead City. It weighed 59 lbs. 12 oz.

 

Any misdemeanor committed while wearing a red mask is considered a felony.
 

The original London Bridge was shipped stone-by-stone and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City.  When the bridge, built in the 1830s began to sink into the Thames River in the 1960s, it was replaced by a more modern concrete bridge. Then, England put the stones up for sale in 1967.  A man named Robert P. McCulloch Sr. purchased the bridge on April 17, 1968, at a cost of $2,460,000.   The 10,246 blocks were shipped to Arizona and reassembled over a lagoon at the edge Lake Havasu at a cost of $3 Million. The Bridge opened in 1971.

 

In Globe, Arizona Cards may not be played in the street with a Native American.

 

The famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral did NOT occur at the O.K. Corral.  When the Earps and the Clantons shot it out in Tombstone, Arizona in 1881, their famous battle took place in a vacant lot between Fly�s Photograph Gallery and the Harwood house on Tombstone�s Fremont Street.  The O.K. Corral was located nearby, however, and somehow its name became attached to the famous shootout.

 

Mattie Earp, Wyatt Earp�s second wife, who was with him in Tombstone during the O.K. Corral gunfight committed suicide with an overdose of laudanum on July 3, 1888 in Pinal, Arizona.  She was despondent because Earp had left her for another woman.

Grand Canyon's Disaster Falls was named to commemorate the site of a previous explorer's wreck.

 

Arizona became the 48th state on February 14, 1912.

 

The world's largest solar telescope is located at Kitts Peak National Observatory in the city of Sells.

 

At one time camels were used to transport goods across Arizona.

 

One must be 18 years old to buy spray paint in Tempe, Arizona.

 

Phoenix originated in 1866 as a hay camp to supply Camp McDowell.

 

Tombstone, Ruby, Gillette, and Gunsight are among the ghost towns scattered throughout the state.

 

The Grand Canyon is 227 miles long, 1 mile deep, and has an average width of 10 miles.

Navajo Community College in Tsaile, was the first college on an Indian reservation.

There is a possible 25 years in prison for cutting down a cactus.

Arizona is roughly the size of Italy.

Arizona has more parks and national monuments than any other state, more mountains than Switzerland, and more golf courses than Scotland.

The famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral only lasted about thirty seconds.

The hottest recorded day in Phoenix was June 26, 1990, when the temperature hit 122 degrees.

 

The Saguaro Cactus blossom is the official state flower of Arizona. The white, funnel shaped, night blooming flowers, grow on the trunk and branches of the saguaro cactus during May and June. The red fruits of this largest American cactus are edible.

 

It is illegal in Tucson for women to wear pants.

In World War II, many Navajos enlisted as secret agents.  Our enemies could never understand the Navajo language to learn our military secrets.

If you bother the cottontails or bullfrogs, in Hayden, Arizona, you will be fined.

The sun shines in southern Arizona 85% of the time, which is considerably more sunshine than Florida or Hawaii. 

 

In 1876 the Chiricahua Apache chief Geronimo began ten years of raids against white settlements when the U.S. government attempted to move his tribe from their traditional home in Arizona to a reservation in New Mexico.

 

The Navajo Reservation, the nation's largest reservation, lies primarily in Arizona.

In Tombstone it is illegal for men and women over the age of 18 to have less than one missing tooth visible when smiling.

In Glendale, Arizona cars may not be driven in reverse.

It snowed 400.9 inches during the winter of 1972-1973 at Sunrise Mountain.

Arizona Highways has an approximately 85% circulation rate outside of the state of Arizona.

Don't believe everything you hear.  Legend has it that the barrel cactus is a good source of water in the desert.  Well, you can try it, but you won't like it.  The pulp can be crushed to create a liquid, but the juice would peel the hide off a Gila Monster.

It is illegal to hunt camels in the State of Arizona.

 

Arizona once had a navy consisting of two boats on the Colorado River. They were used to prevent California from encroaching on Arizona territory.

 

A saguaro cactus will take between 50 and 100 years to grow an arm. The saguaro cactus flower is the official state flower of Arizona.

 

An ordinance prohibits the wearing of suspenders in Nogales, Arizona.

Hmm interesting!

Colleen Miele

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Check the weather nationwide with MSN Search: Try it now!

August Update

Oh brother!

My very happy baby girl

My little litter

Sisters

Happy birthday to Jason!

Well August was an eventful month, not really, but we did travel over 3000 miles. To New York, then to Conn, and then to Mass. We celebrated Jasons 34th birthday, I celebrated what would have been Franky's 6th birthday. We had some family over, made some new friends at church, and had a lot of work come our way in the tile biz. Now we are going to go camping and school starts next week (HOORAY). Summer is coming to an end, the weather has been far too nice for words. I am looking forward to the coming season and can't wait for next year. I am finally going to get back to the gym and start another attempt at healthier living, hopefully my smokin toned up body won't get me knocked up this time, and just think only 3097 hours left until christmas. I know, it's sickening, I think I may start my Christmas shopping soon.

Giving up on 13

Well I think I have officially givin up the Thursday 13. I can't think of anything, I can't remember to do it, and I just have too much other responsibility than to worry about the Thursday 13. So anyways, here is a picture of one or two or three of my responsibilities, that I am sure glad to have!

Thirteen Reasons I Love Arizona..

1. Summer Monsoon Rain
2. Mild Winters, snow melts midday (usually)

3. Mild Summers (where I live)
4. Jerome, Arizona (google it)
5. Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona (google this too, so pretty)
6. The Rim Lakes (with the Monsoon - perfecto)

7. My Mom and Dad are here (the best)

8. We're not in California (but very close)

9. We're not really a hot hit for terrorism
10. Very Close to Puerto Penasco Mexico - Muy Bien!

11. A very diverse state, desert, mountains, rivers, beaches(lake beaches)!
12. Excellent selection of Mexican Cuisine

13. Did I mention the summer monsoon - my favorite!
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Thirteen of my Favorite Foods1.Grilled Marinated Steak2. Shrimp Cocktail 3. Spaghetti4.Chocolate Cake 5.Pumpkin Pie 6. Baked Potato with all the fixins7. Lays Sour Cream and OnionPotato Chips (can't eat anymore - get a tummy ache)8.Grilled Chicken Breasts 9. Oatmeal Raisin Cookies 10.Lasagna11. Cheese Pizza12. Chow Mein 13. Sesame Chicken from Pong Pongs

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Happy Fathers Day!

Here is a picture of my father (and Mom), whom I love dearly. Happy fathers day to all the Dads out there, and thank you!