Summer ‘22

This summer is packed with events & milestones! Over the months from June to August are all 3 “kids” birthdays. June was the hubs homecoming from his final deployment/rotation with the army. He hits 20yrs in the army this summer. June also marks our 20th wedding anniversary ((this fall makes 26yrs together)). 

Last week all of us were under the same roof again and my heart felt so full🥰 My son and daughter (his wife) came up from Texas for Pookie’s birthday, who is now 1yr shy of officially being an adult. They say “time flies” and it surely does. 

Overall, I feel truly blessed❤️

A little homecoming video from my TikTok

😊😊😊😊😊

All 3 of my joys together again❤️

A Friend to All is a Friend to None

“If you don’t like the girls, the gays and the theys, and they bother your spirit, that’s fine, you don’t have to be one of them.

If you don’t agree with abortions, you don’t have to have one. If you don’t agree with gay marriage, don’t get gay married. 

If you feel comfortable with the gender stereotypes that were taught to you as a child, that’s good for you but not everybody feels that way. 

You can’t run around screaming land of the free with your American flag on your shoulder and then vote to take away the freedoms of other people simply because you don’t agree with it.

And if your opinions come from a religious background, this is a friendly reminder that freedom of religion means ‘oh I’m sorry, I can’t do that because of my religion’. It does not mean ‘oh I’m sorry, you can’t do that because of my religion’.

Don’t tell women that you respect them and then vote take their rights away. Don’t tell gay people that you’re an ally when you vote for a party that labels them as ‘groomers’. Don’t tell people of color that you’re not racist and then vote for a party that refuses to listen to them screaming that their lives matter. 

This isn’t about policy, this about people. So I’m not gonna sit quietly by to appease any friends or family members that are against a woman’s right to choose. 

A friend to all is a friend to none and sitting quietly is allowing it to happen. I won’t do that.”

Credit: TikTok - twindadwoodwork 

TwinDadWoodWork on TikTok

Meaningful Tattoos 🖊

People get tattoos for lots of reasons. I chose to have a meaning behind all of my tattoos. I will show my tattoos and give the meaning behind them. 

The first picture I will show is a “collage” of my oldest tattoos. It’s just the names of my husband and kids. Now, I have a plan on getting Alexis’s name covered with something else for her, but I won’t go into my design idea just in case someone tries to snag it lol 

The next photo is a collage of some I got within 2months each other while we were in El Paso, TX.  The Paw Prints in my left ear represent my fur babies I’ve had so far (Baby, Dallas and Gemma). In my right ear is a Gladiolus - it stands for strength of character, remembrance, faithfulness and moral integrity. It’s my reminder to myself to always take the high road and never let anyone or their actions influence my morals. “Still I Rise” is on the right side of my neck. I got that because my “go to” song when I’m down and need lifting up is “Still I Rise” by Yolanda Adams. It’s there to remind me that after all I’ve been through, when most people would break, I’m still here. These were done by Andre at Sun City Tattoo (on Montana in El Paso,TX)

IG/andre_the_tattoo_giant

Next, also done by Andre at Sun City Tattoo, is my memorial tattoo for my mother and my brother. I gave a friend some tattoo pictures and my idea and she drew it up for me. I gave the drawing to Andre and he put a more realistic spin on it. I’m absolutely in love with this tattoo. It was my reward to myself for losing almost 100 pounds. The skull is there because my brother liked skull tattoos and had several himself. The frog is there because my mother collected frogs. The five of course is the heavenly symbol. The violets are the flower of February, the month they both were born. 

Next up - my constellations on the left side of my neck. I got the Scorpio constellation first to represent myself. A few months later I got the Capricorn constellation with color splash behind it. The Capricorn constellation represents my husband. These were done at Pumping Ink in El Paso,TX.

Also done at Pumping Ink, was my upper chest tattoo. Just a small sunflower with the words “Cherish Every Moment”. I got this in honor of my Aunt Robbie and my Grandma Dot. They both passed away on the same day, years apart. They both liked Sunflowers. I got this on the anniversary of their death. 

I have a Queen’s Crown on my right wrist to go with my husbands King’s Crown on his left wrist. What makes this tattoo even more special to me is that it was personally drawn for me by one of my fave co-workers, Karlita. I gave the drawing to Fernie and he hooked it up. Also done in El Paso, TX.

For my birthday in 2021, I went back to El Paso, TX and Fernie added onto my sunflower with words. Also a very meaningful tattoo to me for two reasons. Number one, it’s two daisies, representing Christian and Connor (our twins). The daisy is their birth flower. Number two, these daisies were drawn by another co-worker of mine who I adore. I truly miss her. 

So, that’s it for now! I have plans for more, but you know they take money🤣🤣 When I get more, I will be sure to share. Happy Tatting! 

Let Me Count The Ways🖤

Karma, sweet karma..

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.. haha

Helping karma is grand. I mean really.. it’s always been a passion of mine. Maybe that’s the scorpio in me, the bitch inside loves to see others get what they deserve. Especially when they’ve wronged me. Will karma come back around to me for some of the things I’ve done? Oh, I’m sure it will. I know I deserve it for a few things, but I’m willing to accept that. I won’t run or hide from it. Until it comes for me, I will run along side of it.. watching as it tears through certain others and I will enjoy every minute of it.

Did you really think there would be no consequences?? That karma, or I for that matter, wouldn’t do something about it? If you’ve still got some years left, live and learn. If you don’t learn from it, the next time “karma” hits will be much worse. Count on it.

🐾National Doggie Day🐾

Let me introduce you to Gemma Rose❤️

We got Gemma while we were stationed at Fort Stewart, GA. She was born in Savannah, GA - Sept2014

Feel free to follow Gemma-

*Instagram*

Here’s my baby—-

When we first got her…

On our move to Fort Bliss, TX…


At work with me checking in patrons…


At her favorite field at Fort Bliss, TX…


When we moved to Fort Riley, KS…


Giving me lovins’…


Gemma loves eating, sleeping, cuddling under blankies and barking at the kids in the neighborhood😆 She will be 7yrs old this year and has now lived in 3 states (so far). She’s a spoiled, bitchy little brat and we love her🤣

🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Happy National Dog Day!

Sugar & Spice

We all know that cute little saying about girls...

"Sugar and spice

and everything nice

that's what little girls are made of

Sunshine and rainbows

and ribbons for hair bows

that's what little girls are made of

Tea parties, laces

and baby doll faces

that's what little girls are made of"

Growing up, I was NEVER a "sugar & spice" girl. As a matter of fact, I hated dresses and cute little bows in my hair. I never did tea parties. I loved little dolls though. 

I was a little "tomboy". I was the girl playing in the creek with my friends (who were mainly boys) and catching bull frogs and tad poles.... playing in the "gunky" end of the lake, putting worms on hooks and catching "Sunnies" only to pull them off the hook and throw them back in... I was the little girl always running around barefoot with feet blacker than a sky with no stars at night! 

We had these huge dirt hills at the edge of the woods that we would play on... we pretended all kinds of things on these hills... we were in a war in the desert, on a pirate ship in the sea, in a castle fighting off ogres.. in the winter time when it snowed those dirt hills were our mountains that we went sliding down,hitting bump after bump and knocking the wind out of our chests... I loved those dirt hills.

Behind the dirt hills we had a little trail that went into the clearing... some of the boys made a fort in the big tree in the center and we would go around getting furniture and odds-n-ends from peoples trash to make it our own..you couldn't tell us nothing, our little fort/tree house was the best thing ever! As the trail continued it went off deeper into the woods... at one point there was this abandoned yellow car off to the right... it was a big deal to go near it, it meant you weren't afraid.. of course we had a few stories of how that car ended up back there, most involved murder and bad things happening to girls who didn't listen to their parents.. continuing on the trail it got narrow and led to this lake with another set of woods.. rarely would you see us in the woods at night... stories of little creatures with red beady eyes floated around and none of us were quite brave enough to find out if the stories were true... lol

When you couldn't find me in the woods or on the hills or in the lake or at the creek, you could find me in the fields with the boys playing tag football... as we got older it turned into tackle... I was always bruised up and bleeding somewhere! lol.. fun times...

All that really stopped with me once I turned 13 and became boring.. that was when I started noticing boys in a different manner... than came the cute clothes and lip gloss... making sure my hair looked pretty... no more dirt hills or football...

Sometimes I sit around and remember back to those times and think of the friends I had and all the memories we made.. I wish I had stayed a tomboy a bit longer... man do I miss catching "sunnies"...

"Our Love Story Is My Favorite"

 This quote is on a plaque that my husband bought and put over top of our bed. Where did this Love Story begin? The year was 1996, in a small town in New Jersey. At 16yrs old, with a recently shaved head, I nervously boarded the school bus on the first day of school as "the new girl". As I got on the bus, I heard someone call out, "Hey, it's a new dude!" I knew this person was talking about me because I was the only one who had boarded the bus at that stop. I turned to face him and he said, "Oh shit, he's got tits!" And that was my first encounter with my (now) husband🤦🏻‍♀️

Obviously, I couldn't get away from him fast enough. We arrived at the school and went into the cafeteria to wait for the homeroom bell to ring. When it rang, after what seemed like ages, I headed to my homeroom...only to find that the boy from the bus was there too, in the back of the room. I decided to sit directly across from the teacher, at the very front of the class. I thought that surely he wouldn't sit at the front of the class. When the bell rang, the teacher called him by name and said, "You know where you're suppose to be." And with that, he came to the front and sat across from me, right next to the teacher. I assumed at the point he was trouble lol...

Sitting directly across from me, I didn't want to speak to him. I pulled out a notebook and started to write my best friend a letter to tell her about my summer so far (I had moved away). After a few minutes, he asked me who I was writing to, I told him. He asked me to write him a note, so I asked him his name and told him I would write him. He said he expected it the next time he saw me in the hallway. I wrote him and asked about the school, how long had he lived in the area, what kind of things was there to do around there for fun, etc... he wrote me back right away and we've been inseparable ever since.

25yrs and counting...