I think that about covers it...

The only thing he could have possibly added was 'chili and Lone Star beer'.

He may not have actually been born in Texas, but I think we've pretty much caught him up to speed. ;)

'Something Good'

I am absolutely beside myself.

Tomorrow, for perhaps the first time in history, I will be recording the Oprah Winfrey show. (yeah, yeah… I’m just not a big Oprah fan. Shocking, right??)
But tomorrow?

Well, tomorrow… Maria, the Captain and all seven von Trapp children will gather on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" show to celebrate the 45th anniversary of "The Sound of Music." Be still my beating heart.



Friends, here is a little known fact about me: ‘The Sound of Music’ is my ALL TIME FAVORITE movie!!!!!! (Well, it might not exactly be a ‘little-known’ fact.)

(Oh, and for the record, my husband thinks watching ‘The Sound of Music’ with me is a special brand of torture. Because I like to sing. And I can’t sing. I’m really, truly awful.)

Anywaaay… I know every song in the movie, word for word. I own the CD boxed set. I own the movie. I have attended a Sound of Music Sing-Along (where I bonded with my now BFF, who incidentally, did not seem to mind that I ‘sang-along’. At least she didn’t mention it, which is certainly one reason I love her.). I have the entire soundtrack on my iPod, and I ponder how ‘to solve a problem like Maria’ while I mop the kitchen floor.

I grew up wanting to be Liesl, who is forever ‘Sixteen Going on Seventeen’. I wanted to dance in a gazebo, and leap from bench to bench. *sigh.
I never tire of hearing ‘The Lonely Goatherd’, and when the Captain and Maria realize they love one another, and that Maria will never be a nun… well, I get chills.

I thought about listing my top ten favorite moments from the movie, but I think that would be next to impossible. I love it all.

When the children first meet Maria, and put a pinecone on her chair? Love it.

When Maria fashions their playclothes from the curtains in her room? Love it.

The thunderstorm and the resulting sing-a-long of ‘My Favorite Things’? One of my favorite things.

When the children sing ‘So Long, Farewell’ at the party? LOVE it. Especially little Gretl. Awwwww.

When the Captain chokes up at the Music Festival, while singing ‘Edelweiss’?? *Sob!

When the nuns disable the Nazis’ cars? Love it.

When Rolf exposes their hiding place in the convent? Okay, I admit. I hate that part. I always wished that he had made the decision to run away with the Von Trapps.



Because I know that given half a chance, *I* would have run away with the Von Trapps.



What can I say? I’m a flibbertigibbet. ;)

Lesson learned

I have discovered that 11 days post-op is NOT exactly the best time to go out in a stretch Hummer limo for a friend’s 40th birthday party.

And go to 5 bars in as many hours.

And dance. A teeny bit.

In heels.


Plus, when I leaned out the limo’s window to shake my pom-poms, I had to be extra careful. And when I say pom-poms, I’m not being euphemistic. There were actual pom-poms.

And somebody *might* have done a birthday cheer with the pom-poms. I’m just sayin’.

Because while I'm feeling soooo much better in the last couple of days, and pretty much back to my normal self... rolling in at 2:40 a.m. is NOT the best way to continue feeling that way.


Soooo… today, I feel like I’m about to die, or bust a stitch. I’m sore, I have a headache, and all I want to do is crawl back into bed, pull the covers over my head, and say…






“Damn. That was fun.” ;)

Did you know that the 12 year anniversary is the 'silk' anniversary??

This weekend was my 12 year wedding anniversary. Actually, it was both of ours… mine and Phil’s.

And as he was helping me up from the couch for the umpteenth time, so I could hobble to the bathroom, my arms tucked protectively around my healing bellybutton, I asked him…

“Isn’t this just how you pictured it? 12 years ago? When you saw me walking down the aisle toward you?”

To backtrack a little…and to be altogether honest… our wedding day turned out to be a day that I could never have pictured. I pictured a bright, beautiful October day. A day chosen PRECISELY because it was supposed to be a bright, beautiful October day. Plus, it was the only weekend the Longhorns weren’t playing that fall… seriously, people… I couldn’t make our friends choose between us and the Horns. I just wasn’t that confident that we’d come out on top ;)

Oh, and P.S.?? The forecast hadn’t mentioned rain. Well not until a few days before. Not a drop had fallen. Not a drop fell until after our rehearsal dinner. As I was getting in the car to head home after the dinner, I stood at the door to say good-night to my soon to be husband, and I watched the first raindrops come down. Giggling, I ducked into the car, waved bye, and headed home for my last night as a single woman. The rain started in earnest after midnight.

You know that Alanis Morrisette song, “Ironic”? The line… ‘it’s like rain on your wedding day’… that’s not irony, people. It’s just a sucky forecast. It’s just chance.

And despite the fact that it rained 12 inches in just a few hours… despite the fact that about ¼ our guests could not navigate the flooded streets to make it to the wedding… despite the fact that they actually CLOSED OFF sections of the interstate (crazy, I know!)… in spite of it all, we still were married. And we still had a blast at our reception with our friends and our family. And we were every bit as happy, even if we’d had to stomp through puddles and huddle under umbrellas to make it all happen.

Because it gave us a good head-start. Marriage can be a lot of stomping through puddles. And holding umbrellas over one another.

And sometimes, one or the other can forget to do that, and can let the other one down. Let the person they love most in the world get a little bit drenched. Drenched by the worries of the world. The weight of life around us. Not intentionally or purposefully, but it can happen nonetheless.

But if you’re lucky and extraordinarily blessed, that doesn’t happen very often. And your umbrella-holder holds your elbow as you leap together across the puddle.

And me? I am lucky. And extraordinarily blessed.

My husband is an amazing person who still makes me laugh after 20 years together. He helps me to the potty after I’ve had surgery. He gave me three beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed babies, and he makes me a better person.



I love you, Prince Philip. You are my umbrella-holder. :)

What I expected vs. What I got...

What I expected:

A routine outpatient hernia 'procedure' followed by resting quietly at home for a day or two. Add strong doses of ibuprofen, and children tiptoeing quietly around me as I rest and recuperate. And my recuperation would include watching television, reading novels, and making productive 'to-do' lists. I just knew I'd be back to my old self by the end of the week, and have accomplished so much in my 'down time', as an added bonus!




I know, I know. Call me naive.


Because this is what I got:

My 'outpatient' surgery required an overnight stay in the hospital. And while my first (yes, my very FIRST) experience with general anesthesia was marvelous, I came out of it like a bear coming out of hibernation. That is, if said bear crawls out of her cave in tears, growling and squawking at the nearest nurse about how much her back hurts.

I got exhaustion, wooziness, a vicodin haze, the inability to get out of bed on my own for the first 2 days (darn stomach muscles!), drain tubes (sorry... gross, I know), the inability to think lucidly, extreme soreness, three crying children who didn't understand why Momma was staying in the hospital instead of coming home... "like you PROMISED!!"

I can barely stay awake during a 10 minute phone conversation, much less make lists and check them twice. This is the fourth occasion I've sat down to type this blog.

But I also got... a wonderful husband who completely re-arranged his calendar to take care of me... good friends who have called to check on me, brought me cards and goodies, delivered lunch to me and dinners to my family, made sure that my kids are cared for, and don't mind that I practically fall asleep on the couch when they drop by to check in.

Thanks to everyone for your kind messages, phone calls, thoughts, and prayers for a speedy recovery. :)

Oh, and thanks for not thinking I'm a big weenie.

Or at least for not mentioning out loud in my presence that I am a big weenie.

Love y'all.

Six thoughts for Sunday...

Six Thoughts for Sunday…

1. Yesterday my husband took a hunter education course so that he could go deer-hunting. He went hunting last year, but he had a deferral. This year, he had to actually attend the course if he wants to get his license.
And he was worried about the test. He studied. He fretted. He looked things up on-line so he could be prepared.

Him: “ I really hope I do well on the test.”

Me: “Um… honey? Have you *seen* some of the toothless nitwits that hunt in our great state? You’ll be fine.”


2. Turns out that the week after you get home from Disneyworld is chock full of laundry, homework, cranky children, and… laundry. Lots and lots of laundry.

3. Our fall schedule has now kicked into high gear, and I think we have something on the calendar for every single weekend until Thanksgiving. And I *wish* this was one of those times when I was exaggerating. (not that I *ever* exaggerate. Nope. Never.)

4. I love yummy, smell-good candles, and I love to burn them and fill up my house with the smell of fresh baked sugar cookies, or apple pie, or pumpkin bread (funny how I always pick food-scented candles.) But I have to admit that I’m forever astonished at how expensive wax has gotten. It’s WAX, people!

5. Oh, and speaking of candles… did anyone EVER go on a tour of that Candle Factory that was in Georgetown? I spent years driving past it, and reading their roof, but I never actually made it in. Was it actually a candle factory (aka: expensive wax storage facility) or was it a front for the Georgetown mafia?

6. No time for thought #6. As we speak, my husband is trying to pull my son’s tooth with a pair of pliers.

Yet another time when I wish I was exaggerating…

From Guest Blogger Davis:

"One time I was excited when my Mom and Dad suprised me. We were walking to school like any other day and we met my Mom at the park. I was suprised! She handed us each a sack. We opened them. My Mom said, we are going to DisneyWorld. In a few months.

Okay. We said.

You know what? Get in the car. We are going now.

No we are not. I said.

My Dad opened the car door. There was a bag on our seats. Hop in!

Okay. We piled in. Here we come! We drove about 700 miles when my dad slamed on the brakes. We saw a tornado forming. It never hit the ground. Insted, it went back up.

We kept driving. We stoped at a hotel in Pencicola. On Saturday, we kept driving. That day we drove for about 8 hours. We stoped at another hotel.

The next day was our first day! We rode all of the rides. We had a great time! We went on Space Mountain. All that stuff! We had a great time at all the parks. I was sad when we left the last day. I will never forget that trip."

Awww... isn't that great? The funniest part to me about the 'suprise'? Nobody even batted an eye that I was at the park with a video camera trained on them. When asked if they were suspicious when they saw me taking video of them walking to school, their answer?

"Momma, you ALWAYS have a camera."

Good to know some of my lunacy has paid off. ;)

Disneyworld by the numbers:

Full days spent at Disneyworld: 6

Number of times we stayed until the parks closed for the night: 4

Rides on Space Mountain: 4

Rides on Expedition Everest: 5

Rides on Mission Space: 1

Chances of me ever riding Mission Space (Intense Experience) again: 0

Days we wore matching/ coordinating t-shirts: Oh, come on… you know the answer to that one. ;)

Mickey ice cream bars eaten: 1 per day

Parades we watched: 5

Fireworks shows: 3

Number of times Davis said, “This is the best vacation EVER!!”: 15

Number of times Davis said, “This is the worst vacation EVER!”: 15

Percentage of rides that Libby is now tall enough for: 90

Number of times that Libby said, “I rode that one time~ I don’t have to do it again!”: 3 (Space Mountain, Expedition Everest & Tower of Terror)

Character dining experiences: 3

Pictures taken on my digital camera: 400

Bags of dirty clothes lugged back to Texas: 5

Number of times my kids had ever heard of Disney trading pins prior to this trip: 0

Number of Disney trading pins we now own in the Linson household: 60

Number of times this week that I wished I could check my calendar or send a quick email: 4




Number of times this week that I wished I could put the calendar on hold, slow down the passage of time, and keep my kids little for just a little bit longer: 1,873,477

:)