Here it is again........

Today I..........

What a weekend!! We had such a fun time this weekend with all the family down. And by all the family, I mean ALL the family. We met Darren's girlfriend Nicole, hung out with Tracy and her fiancee Jake, took in a day at the Art festival and had a great BBQ with the cousins. I need a nap!

Linds loved all the goings-on at the Art festival - she loves anything that involves people - and we were all flabbergasted when she sat ever so still to have her face painted. She was like a statue! I had never in my life seen her sit so still! Maybe in order for her hair to not look like an electrocuted ponytail I'll need to bribe her with face paint from now on!

She also found every puppy in the place and was in love with a large, curly haired dog that she sat and pet for a good five minutes. She loves her some puppies!

We also had our annual family BBQ at Aunt Gayle's house complete with the obligatory Easter Egg hunt. It's fun to remember participating in the hunt when I was younger and now seeing my little one have as much fun as I did! Linds was more fun this year since lately she has been obsessed with hiding eggs so she had a blast!

It was a great, tiring weekend! I'm excited for NO MORE HOLIDAYS for at least another month! They may be fun, but they are EXHAUSTING! Pessimistic, perhaps. Realistic, for sure.

Finally, finally, three more finallys, I've gotten the motivation to update my blog!

And now it's time for my favorite segment..........

Sorry folks, I have no excuse for my lapse in blogging other than my ability to continually procrastinate what I should be doing.

So, to catch you up with our lives, little Lindsay is no longer little. She hit the year and a half milestone on September 4th and is as crazy busy as ever. She know where her eyes, mouth, nose, and belly button are, she is still obsessed with her shoes and doggies, and testing the limits of my patience.

She enjoys going to day care and every mornig when I drop her off she makes the rounds to see which kids are there today and where the doggie is at. I'm glad that she's able to have more social involvement and hang out with other kids her age. I miss her during the day but she seems to be adjusting quite well to me working.

As for me, I really love my job. I love the people who work there and there's never a dull moment. I have to admit that there's a different sort of people who come to court than I'm used to dealing with on every day occasions. Let's just say that the majority of people I see on a daily basis aren't the sharpest tools in the shed. In fact, most of them are old rusty tools who haven't seen the light of day in a long time. But it's fun to meet interesting people and, well, maybe know a little bit of dirt :)

I have some pics to post of Linds and as soon as I work up the motivation to get some new batteries for my camera I will post some to show just how big she's getting.

Hope all is well with everyone!

I've been lazy about my posting - but mostly nothing really new has been going on. Such is my boring, monotonous life.

I"m really enjoying my job though and I'm really grateful to be able to work there. Everyone there is so great and friendly and I enjoy what I do all day long. I've had jobs where I dread going to work in the morning but this job is different and I'm really appreciating the difference in attitude I have towards it.

Lindsay has been learning like crazy and is now obsessed with the book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" she just can't get enough of it. She has now learned to say Grandpa (Bupa) and teacher (teta) and it's just such an amazing thing to watching this little person constantly learning every day.

I still am adjusting to the fact that I don't see her as much as I'd like to because I miss her a lot while I'm at work but I just concentrate on the fact that she's able to socialize more with other children and I'm able to appreciate her more when I do see her. She loves her grandma, grandpa, aunts, and uncles and it's such a great feeling to see her relationships developing with the family. Kids are amazing and I feel so blessed to have such a beautiful child to call my own.

This weekend is the Talbot family reunion so Jeremy and I will be taking Lindsay up to Delta to see all her relatives and I'm excited for her to have more time with jeremy's family and her cousins that are near her age. It's always fun to get together with family and just hang out.

I need to get more batteries for my camera (I've just been lazy) and then I can post some cute pictures of my baby girl because she's just growing by the second!

Hope all is well with everyone!

What a whirlwind week it has been for me!

Right now I am currently resting on my bed because I feel like I have the back of an 80 year old - too much lifting I guess!

On Monday I got a call from the 5th District Court where I had interviewed for a job. They called and offered me the position of deputy court clerk. I was so excited! Of all the jobs I had applied for this was the one that I really, really wanted. I had prayed so hard that I would be able to get this job - so prayer does work! Luckily since I was looking for work, I had already scouted out day care places and found the perfect one. It's right between my new apartment and my parent's house and Lindsay loves it there. But I guess I could leave her anywhere there was a dog and she'd love it!

So I started work on Tuesday and I love it. It's a lot of busy work but I'm one of those people that love that. Everyone's commented on how great I'm doing and everyone there is really friendly. I've even learned how to swear someone to documents they're sigining which is my favorite part - "Do you solemnly swear the information contained in these documents is true and correct to the best of your knowledge?" :) It's a fun job, has great benefits, gets me more socially connected, and keeps me busy. I miss Lindsay during the day but I sure appreciate the time I spend with her more.

On Friday I signed the lease to my apartment, the loan on my townhome didn't go through (stupid lenders not accepting alimony) - but it's a great little place and Lindsay's room is huge. More room for more messes! Hopfully I don't receive Melenie's curse of the neighbors and I can make some new friends shortly. I started moving in Friday night, and Darren, Carson, and my Dad helped me move all the big stuff on Saturday morning. Thanks guys!! I've got everything moved in, decorations up, and the only thing left is hanging my clothes in the closet which I am continually putting off because I have too too too many clothes.

Like I said, all is well and I'm glad things are looking up for me now. I've had to learn to readjust a lot lately - I'm still readjusting - and I'm thankful for the new opportunities that have opened up for me. Now it's rest time - at least until tomorrow.

Too tired to post......don't count me out :)

Hey everyone,

After this post, I am going to change my blog address to http://www.shannonandlindsay.blogspot.com . I plan on making the change
one week from today so make sure you change your settings accordingly

Happy Father's Day to All!!

My new favorite addition to the articles in US Weekly is a 25 things you don't know about me section of a certain celebrity. And since I'm a well-known celebrity in my eyes.....lol...I'll share what you don't know about me.


1. I do not like olives due to an overly traumatic situation involving a girl eating a stinkbug. I have since associated the two and it doesn't mix. That and olives just taste disgusting

2. I don't like non-touching food to touch. Cranberry sauce and other Thanksgiving foods? No thank you. Fruit and non-fruits? Let's keep 'em separate. Sure they end up in your stomach all mushed together but that doesn't mean they need to get there that way.

3. I type over 100 wpm

4. I hate irrelevant information in converation. (Ex. So you'll never guess who I ran into at target! Or was it Wal-mart? No, target was yesterday, I think it was Wal-mart...IRRELEVANT!)

5. I consider myself the female Ross. Like I said, always the bride, never the bridesmaid :(

6. Sometimes when Linds's poops are so gross I just shower her off to avoid the task of massive wiping. It's amazing what surprises diapers can hold

7. I am left-handed except when I bat or golf. Althought I don't play golf and can't remember the last time I played baseball

8. I dry heave at the thought of someone drinking cereal milk. I am dry heaving as I type.

9. I am irritated when I can't fast forward through commercials because I'm watching a non-DVR recorded program. Technology is a double-edged sword :)

10. I am a little OCD when it comes to checking locks at night. I know its locked but sometimes I have to check and recheck. Maybe I should go on that Obsessed show.

11. I drink way more diet Pepsi than I should. And now my child thinks its the best thing on earth.

12. I change the channel if I feel embarrased for someone I'm watching on TV. (Ex. Michael on the office)

13. I rarely read a book twice. There's just always another new book out there I could be reading.

14. I am a shoe hoarder. It takes a lot to get rid of a pair of shoes even if I know I will never wear them again.

15. I would never vote for a woman president. Sorry, ladies I just won't.

16. Spelling and grammatical errors drive me up the wall. I will always point them out.

17. I am severly distraught that I will never be able to volunteer at the National Spelling Bee.

18. Laundry is the bane of my existence. I hate that more than anything in life. Except maybe spelling and grammatical errors.

19. I consider my dogs to be my furry children. And right now they are overly furry and deserve a good groom.

20. Sometimes I am way too blunt and should think before I speak.

21. I like to sing sentences Christina Aguilera style.

22. I hate unnecessary whining. And I find all whining to be unnecessary

23. I just watched my child dump an entire Costco sized bag of trail mix all over the floor and just rolled my eyes while she and the furry children went to town.

24. I once had some neighbor girls walk my dogs cuz they were trying to earn money for Summer vacations. I paid $12.00 for a 3.5 minute walk. They saw me coming lol

25. I hate way too long blog posts. And this is one of them. But oh well. There you have it

Okay, so my blogging reprieve was not as long as I thought. I decided that in order for me to process what's going on in my life, talking about it will help.

So, here's the lowdown - - - - -
Yes, I'm getting divorced. Is it fun? Not the first time, certainly not the second Maybe
the 3rd, 4th, or 5th won't be so bad :)

Am I upset about it? Absolutely. But I cannot change the past and I cannot change
the decisions of others. I can only move forward, face reality, and repave the future.

I never imagined that my life would involve being a twice-divorced single mother. It just sounds more like a Bravo show - The Real Housewives of St. George (minus the wealth, mansions, and reunion shows). But nevertheless, it is something I will accept wholeheartedly, adjust to accordingly, and try my utmost to give my daughter the best me I can because she deserves nothing less.

Jeremy is a good guy, he is taking care of us financially, he loves Lindsay more than anything and despite the end of our marriage he will remain an involved father. Although divorce involving children is always disheartening, I do feel that since she's so young it won't have such a dramatic effect on her childhood as it would if we had parted ways later on in life. So, to quote something Jen & Brad might have said ...."we remain close and committed friends" and will do our best to raise our daughter together and show her that although we're not married anymore we both love her more than she could ever imagine.

I've been looking for places and have found a nice little townhome that I've put a reservation deposit on. Hopefully everything works out with that and we can move in once the construction is completed at the end of August. In the meantime, Linds and I will move back in with the parents. Although I always said I wouldn't want to have to live with my parents again (Hello, I'm almost 30), I feel very blessed that they would open their home to us for a couple months to help us get back on our feet. I'm very lucky to have a family (both on my side and Jeremy's) who loves and supports me no matter what.

Thank you everyone for your prayers, your love, and support. And since many of you have asked how you can help ----here's something: Someone get married and for tradition's sake, let me be a bridesmaid. Because it seems my lot in life is to be always the bride and never the bridesmaid. :)

So the saying goes.

The last few weeks have been a really rough time for me, hence my infrequent posting, and recently life has decided to open its clouds and unleash a storm upon me, the likes of which only the Andrea Gayle has seen.

Without getting into specifics, I will be taking a bit of a hiatus on my blog until the first of July - so that I can configure a new direction for mine and my daughter's lives, regain some inner strength, and face my new and different future with my head held high and hopefully some newfound courage, and faith in myself.

Life never turns out as you expect it to and I know the Lord never gives someone more trials than they can overcome. So, as I conquer the trials and tribulations that are placed before me and those that will arise in the coming months, please keep me in your prayers so that I can pull out my umbrella, put on my galoshes and weather the storm.

All is well.

-S.

So, my little dear child is now re-entering the wonderful "I don't want to go to sleep" phase again. I swear we just got over this! She sleeps through the night just fine, but getting her to GET to sleep is now a recurring nightmare! I will put her down and she will cry, and cry, and choke cry, and choke cry and CRY AND CRY and - you get the picture :) It's like a bloody murder cry where I keep thinking, Is she like dying in there?? And then, what makes it the most frustrating, is that anytime I go in there and take her out she instantly is happy and wants to play.

So, I end up listening to the choke cry for an hour and a half - including the time I spend in the backyard so I don't have to constantly hear it, or, my nerves fail me and I take her out and say do what you will. It's a good thing she's cute but this phase better pass quickly or else my sanity will be out the door.

She does like being sang to, so I've ended up singing my own little rendition of Silent Night to help her settle down. It's more of a gentle pleading on my behalf that sounds like a sweet little Lullaby:

Here are my weekly annoyances: Fortunately, there are only 2 :)

1. Jon & Kate + 8 - I don't think I can read another article about this couple's obviously disinterating marriage without wanting to wring my own neck. We get it - he cheated. And obviously now, she gets it. What's even more saddening is that now that their needlessly bicker-filled lives boasts an obvious sex scandal, more people will now tune in. America at its best. At least their kids now have numerous articles and videos wonderfully chronicling every aspect of their, what is sure to be from now on, dysfunctional childhoods.

2. Miss California USA - For the love of Bo the Presidential Dog, could we get over this? I think that from now on, every pageant association should just assume that any contestant and subsequent winner will eventually have nude photos leaked somewhere. What has our society come to that nude photos have become the norm? Is every prospective pageant contestant going to be able to claim that they were "naive" and "vulnerable" during a photo shoot? How about just not take off your top. I thought that was one of the golden rules - Do unto others....and keep your clothes on. Guess I was off. So what wonderful role models our children now have to look up to. Granted I do feel bad for her that she was very obviously judged on her opinion of a sensitive subject and not on her interviewing skills, but I'm still so over this.

I am officially graduated! My pics finally came so now I can post about the big day which was last Saturday. It was a way long day since I had to be up so early to be there by 8 and since I'm perpetually on time I ended up standing in the line for about 45 minutes. I guess I need to learn to be fashionably late.