Florida 2010

We're back! Florida was so fun this year. Florida is fun EVERY year but this was the best so far. And, while I was away, CSN stores contacted me about another giveaway! How exciting is that? If you'd like to win a $40 gift certificate from any of their 200+ online stores just leave a comment about this post. At CSN Stores you can find everything from dinnerware to dog beds to sofas and suitcases! Good luck! I'll pick a winner on Friday.

I think one of the reasons we had so much fun in FL this year was because the kids are all getting older. Don't get me wrong, I loved my babies. I remember thinking everyone was envious of me when I had tiny newborns. A few might have been, but most were probably thanking their lucky stars that their kids were older. Sleeping through the night and everyone wearing real underwear has it's advantages. And I am enjoying this stage of life and appreciating the fact that they can get their own water from the fridge and tie their own shoes. In fact, newborns have taken on a whole new fear in me. I am eternally grateful for my three, and very glad the last one was born over 5 years ago. :)

Oh, having an 8 year old, a six year old and a five year old still has it's frustrating moments, but I think this is a much easier time than 5 years ago. For instance, this year I actually read books AT THE POOL. I glanced up often, but got a real thrill at my newly acquired freedom. Reading at the pool.....JOY! All three kids are great swimmers now and are much more independent. They don't need me to always get in with them now. One of their new skills is diving. All three can dive off the side now, which was fun to watch. There were lots of belly flops but by the end of our stay they were pros.

We also enjoyed the ocean so much this year. For most of our stay it was as flat as a lake and as clear as the pool. As far as you could swim out you could see the bottom. I had an amazing time diving down about 15 feet and collecting whole sand dollars. Andy even dubbed me the 'Sand Dollar King'. Eh, I'll take it. We also found lots of fighting conchs this year. As far as I know, we've never even seen one before. They were very interesting creatures. Along with those guys we found lots of hermit crabs as well. Again, can't remember ever finding them before. Everyone was curious as to why so many new creatures were popping up this year. Some of us are wondering if the oil spill has relocated lots of things further south. I don't know if that could even be true but it makes you wonder. Just picturing that beautiful beach covered in oil is so incredibly sad. I sure hope we find it like we left it next June.

Speaking of next June, Key will be nine years old and can take sailing lessons. He is so excited about being able to take the 2 week beginning sailing class. It will focus on water saftey , knot tying and sailing a sunfish. It was fun to watch all of the little sunfish sail around in the bay this year and realize next year one of the sailors would be Key. He plans to take his skateboard next year and skate down the sidewalk to the Marina alone. Mr. Independent, he is.

Well, this only scratches the surface of our wonderful vacation but I have to get moving this morning. That sounds like I haven't done anything yet but I have already scrubbed the screened in porch and sprayed it with bleach. That counts for something, right? And the kids just left with Aunt Nikki. (Another advantage to having older kids, people actually volunteer to take them somewhere!) They are going to see The Last Airbender today. I'm going to hit the paint store. Alone! :)

This is a short clip of Andy battling a fighting conch.

And the Winner Is.............

............Natalie! :) Congrats Natalie!!! Your name was pulled from the hat. I'll be sending your email address to my contact at CSNStores and you'll get a code to use your $40 gift card soon. We all want to know what you pick!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Do you like shopping?

For things like a bathroom vanity? Or Purses? Or adorable aprons?

I do. Especially when it's not my money I'm spending.

Well, good news: CSN Stores would like to help me say thanks for being a reader by offering one of you a $40 gift certificate to use in any of their 200+ stores!

All you have to do is leave a comment with your name. How cool is that!? By random drawing I'll chose a lucky reader on Friday.

Now, on to our changes!

School is almost over, which amazes me. In some ways it seems we just got started. In other ways it seems as if it were a lifetime ago that Andy cried because the cafeteria was too loud. One thing we could all agree on at the Goodson house is that we all changed a great deal this year.



Let's start with Robbie. His changes are easiest to pinpoint. He decided to get serious about his health and started going to the Y before coming home from work everyday. As a result we have 36 lbs. less of him. He looks better, feels better and has lots more energy. He also needs to buy new clothes, his are all too big now.



Next up.....Lisa! That's me. :) I've been working for the past year, which is an amazing turn of events. I wasn't looking for a job but one found me. I've loved every minute of it and learned so much from my co-workers. I've been involved in very interesting projects. For instance, did you know that certain trees are more routinely struck by lightning that others? Me either! Now we both know. I've also increased my ability to identify trees in SC again. When you live in South Florida for 13 years you tend to forget.



I've also had to learn how to manage my time better. That is necessary when you work and have children. My hat is off to those moms who work full-time. I don't know how you do it, really! I've also had to let some of the daily housework go and pick it up on the weekends. That is hard for me but I'm making my peace with it. I still make all the beds, even if it means doing the boy's beds while they are brushing their teeth and about to hop in for the night, but in other areas I've learned to let go.



Key was a second grader this year. He has never been a big fan of school, this year was no exception. He thinks school gets in the way of more important things that he needs to be doing. We can't get specifics as to what would be more important, but he thinks there must be something. Nevertheless, he has gotten much better at reading and writing stories. We don't have to interpret words or paragraphs nearly as much as we used to. He has also taken up T-ball and found that he loves to play. He loves to learn about the rules of baseball and I enjoy sharing my love of the game with him. He hit five homeruns this season! He also stands in the pitchers spot, which means something different in T-ball but is an important position anyway. Oh, and he is also sporting glasses now, which have changed his look a bit.

Andy-man, our sweet Andy-man. I hope that part never changes. He is truly the most caring, compassionate child you can even imagine. He tells me he loves me on an hourly basis. He had a rough start to kindergarten but after the first week he was ready to conquer K5. He learned to read overnight it seemed. He loves books and figuring out words all on his own. He can sound out anything! He was hoping to lose a tooth but still has a perfect little mouth for now. He also got glasses. His violin teacher noticed he was standing too close to his book. We took all three in for a check up and both boys ended up with glasses. Back to the violin. Andy has made amazing progress this year! He is playing so well and we are just in awe of his musical abilities. He even summoned the courage to play in the talent show at school. This was way out of his comfort zone but he did it. :)

Natalie, our princess and daily drama queen. Natalie became a formal student this year. She was in the 4K program at Furman Child Development Center. Her teacher, bless her heart, had her hands full with this one. There were days of sitting in the hall, fits to be ignored, friends to be seperated from, but it looks like she will survive! (Both Mrs. B and Natalie) My goal for her was to have her write her name. She is easily distracted and keenly aware of what we want her to accomplish. She likes to do the opposite. BUT, she IS writing her name. When she feels like she isn't being taken seriously though her name goes back to AANTIEL or some such combination just to see us get flustered. She has made friends, which to her are far more important than anything else she's learned this year. She even has a boyfriend who has proposed. :) He has no idea what he is in for!

Now you are all caught up with the Goodsons. We look forward to an upcoming weekend in Charleston, our annual time in Florida, and then back to the grindstone. We'll have a 3rd grader, 1st grader and a new 5Ker. Wow.

Do You Read?

I love to read. From as far back as I can remember, I've always love to read. My mom can probably still recite The Little Red Hen from memory because that was my first very favorite book. I've loved reading since before I could read!




I've had many favorites through the years. I loved Judy Blume books in elementary school. I read all of Stephen King's books in Junior High and High School. I even read the required summer reading books and loved most of them as well. Jane Eyre was a favorite, as was To Kill A Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men. Other favorites that come to mind are Don't Stop The Carnival by Herman Wouk and Wind From The Carolinas by Robert Wilder. Recently I've devoured Rick Bragg's books, I think I've read every single one. I also enjoy John Grisham, Pat Conroy and Michael Crichton.





With three small children I haven't read as much as I've wanted to in the last few years. But, I have made a renewed effort to begin again. Except for the Olympics I haven't watched an hour of TV in the past 6 months. I have also cut down my computer time quite a bit too. I'm using this time to read and it is SO much better than vegging on the couch! Last night I finished one of the latest books written by Randy Wayne White. He is a fishing guide in SW Florida and I love reading about the adventures of his characters in a setting familiar to me.





I've also tried to add educational books to my list. I am going to start Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell soon. I think Sowell is one of the most brilliant men on the planet. I loved reading his book Black Rednecks & White Liberals and expect his book on ecomomics will be amazing as well.





I am also committed to reading the Scriptures more this year as well. They are a feast to the soul.





So, do you read? What kinds of books? Who is your favorite author? I'd love to add to my list if you would share!

Dear Editor

I have a guest writer on my blog today. My husband sent this to the editor of our local newspaper and it will be printed either over the weekend or first of next week. I am super proud of him, as always. :) (If you saw the first draft with an extra paragraph, it had to be removed to get it under 250 words.)

Dear Editor,

In the early 1840’s, when asked how he governed the pioneer residents of Nauvoo, Illinois in establishing a successful and vibrant city in almost perfect order, Joseph Smith, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was quoted as saying, “I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves.”

True and correct principles have a great benefit – when practiced, over time, they always work! Historically, failures or lack of success, at every level can be linked to a departure from true principles by individuals, families and nations. Regardless of religious beliefs, political disposition, or personal philosophies, true ideas and understandings will prevail while false and contrived notions will always impede real progress, at the least, and more likely than not erode even the greatest talent, ability, and character.

In the past people seemed to subscribe to the idea that, “Life is not perfect, but I’ll make the best of it”. Today it is more like, “Life is not perfect, and somebody’s going to pay!”

A primary definition of welfare is a person’s state of well-being. It is a true principle that people are primarily responsible for their own well being. How much of today’s troubles are due to a reversal of this principle? Unlike some corporations, this country is not “too big to fail”. Individuals and families will collectively either learn and abide by correct principles and see our situation improve or continue to watch well intentioned, but misguided efforts deteriorate all that is right and good.


Robert Goodson

What is IT?

I got an email today that said a homeowner in Maryland came home to find these two on her couch. It seems that the fawn followed the beagle in through the doggie door. How cool to find such a cutie on your couch!

It reminded me of what happened at our house, years ago when we lived in Englewood. We didn't have a dog door, we had a cat door. Actually two cat doors, one from the house into the garage and one from the garage to the outside. We had two cats, Punky and Ma. Ma was a stray calico we found in Orlando when we lived there. Punky was an 18 lb orange tabby. One night one of them caught something and brought it in our cat door. The first time it happened was one of the scariest expericences of my life.

There must have been a noise. A squeak, a thump....something unusual. Otherwise, how would I have opened my eyes, from a deep sleep, when I did? All I know is that when I opened them a small black creature was moving quickly towards my bed. A creature that did not move like a cat. I instantly knew that, whatever it was, it did not belong in my house. The only sound from this thing was the sinister click of claws on the terrazzo floor. Now, I'm typically not one to panic. I like animals. I'll hold just about any of them. So it still puzzles me to this day why my reaction was so extreme. Maybe because I was only half awake? Anyway, I lost it! Completely lost it! I went from horizontal to vertical in one move. I found myself standing up in bed shrieking. As you can imagine, this quickly got Robbie's attention. He assumed, as anyone would, that someONE must be in the house. Why else would I be acting this way, right? I'm screaming, "It's...........it's............it's............" but I don't know how to finish my sentence because I didn't know what IT is. But it was evil, of that I was sure. I suspected the devil himself had slipped in, in the form of a round dark blob with long toenails. I had just thwarted it's plans to attack us while we slept! I was not acquainted with reality at this point in time. So Robbie has sprung out of bed and is screaming, "GET OUT! GET. OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" This was even worse because now his feet were on the floor. That terrified me because IT was on the floor too! I can remember thinking that he was going to get shorter and shorter as this thing attacked him at foot level.

Have you ever seen a cartoon character get scared? Have you noticed how his eyes bulge and his lips curl back? I cannot attest to the eyes bulging but I can tell you that the lip thing is a real, physical response to extreme fright. My lips literally curled backwards towards my face! I can still remember how strange that sensation was.

I know I need to let Robbie know that there isn't a person in our house - that whatever it was was worse! But all I can think to say is, "No! It's.......it's.....it's...." I was being really helpful and informative. He runs for the light switch on the other side of the room. I was relieved because now he was further from IT and wasn't in as much danger of having his feet gnawed off. At this point I even had to wonder, did I see anything at all? IT wasn't really doing much. But I didn't have to wait long. As soon as the light came on, IT sprang into action. IT was a rather large rabbit. The poor creature had been dragged by the neck through two cat doors. He had a cut on his neck because, in his panic, he would run into the wall and blood would spray onto the wall.

At least we now knew what we were dealing with. And, thankfully, it wasn't the devil. Robbie screamed for me to grab a towel. And because I no longer feared having my feet gnawed off I got down and grabbed one. Robbie threw it over the rabbit and ran him outside. Problem solved, just like that! Not that I slept a wink for the rest of the night, but at least IT was gone.

Oh, I did do one more thing that night. I got MAD. Mad at those cats. I caught Punky by the front door. It was about 3:15am and I was in my gown. I was standing outside on the lawn at 3:15am beating my cat! It was not my finest moment.

Later on, after catching birds, midair, in my dining room, we realized that it wasn't Punky after all. It was Ma who brought all those creatures in. Sorry Punky!

Locked Out

Most everyone who knows me has heard this story but I wanted to get it down on paper. I thought I did this once before but I can't find it. Not that it isn't seared into my memory forever!

It was a completely forgetable Sunday evening - the week between Christmas and New Years. I was 8 months pregnant with our second child. We lived on ten acres, smack dab in the middle of nowhere. My 17 month old has been in bed for a few hours and I was waiting on Robbie to get home from work. He was a police officer working the second shift. I waddled to the kitchen for a snack. When I opened the fridge I noticed the pack of ground beef I'd thawed and never used. I knew I needed to do something with it soon so I decided to make some chili for Robbie so he'd have a snack when he got off work in an hour or so. I started to cook it according to a recipe I had and turned the burner up so it would begin to boil. About this time I realized it was 10pm and the new puppy we had gotten earlier in the week needed to be taken outside. I was trying to take her out at regular intervals. I was wearing a huge grey t-shirt/gown and slip-on Keds. When Daisy finished wandering around the yard we headed back inside. Except, we couldn't get in. My heart froze when I realized we were locked out. Locked out in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! I desperately tried every door, every window, even lying on my back and reaching for the door knob through the cat door. Nothing worked. Panic set in, big time! On the next lot over, which was also ten acres, was a horse barn. I'd seen a travel trailer parked there earlier but had no idea if it was still there, or if someone might be in it. It was my only hope at this point. My baby was trapped inside with a boiling pot of chili on the stove! What if the fire alarms started to sound, terrifying him, and I was not there? What if the house actually caught fire? I started to run. Run, at 8 months pregnant, through the field to get to the horse barn. It was pitch black as soon as I got a few feet from my house. Suddenly, I was up-ended. Cartwheeling through the air, and then through wood shavings from the barn. The ground there was very uneven and the owners often dumped the old shavings in the low areas. Now I was lying in shavings and old hay and I smelled like horse poop. This is where I started to cry. But press on I must, so I struggled to my feet. Running again, as I spit out small pieces of wood and hay and probably some other stuff I don't want to think about. My luck was about to change. As I got closer to the barn I could see a tiny light. It was from the travel trailer. It appeared as someone might be IN the trailer! I started screaming. I can only imagine what I must have sounded like at this point. The door flew open and someone started screaming back. "Who's there? What do you want?", he asked. "Do you have a phone? I need a phone!!! I'm locked out and my house might be on fire!", I pant. He thrusts a cell phone into my hand and I dial 911. As soon as the dispatcher starts to speak I beg her to send Officer Goodson home ASAP. "EMERGENCY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I hang up. I give the phone back and order the shadow in the trailer to get a hammer and follow me to my house. "A hammer!?" He clearly thinks I've lost it. Yes, as my breath is finally catching up, I need a hammer to break into my house, I am locked out. He is on his way to the barn now and turns on the light. He takes one look at me and screams, "LADY, you're PREGNANT!" "I KNOW! Now get a hammer!", I say. Then I start running again. He is chasing me, trying to get me to slow down. He is wearing boxer shorts and flip flops. When he gets to my porch I am laying flat on my back gasping for air. I point to the kitchen window and get out the words, "Break it!" He assures me that he can see the chili and it is not in danger of bursting into flames, but if it does, he will gladly smash the window.

About this time we hear an engine, getting quickly closer to us. Robbie is FLYING down our driveway. He gets out of his patrol car as white as a sheet. He finds his wife lying on the porch gasping for breath and a man in boxer shorts holding a hammer. I can only imagine the thoughts that must have gone through his mind at that moment. I can still barely speak but explain that we need his keys to the house. I think he was a bit upset to find that all the panic he has just been through is because I locked myself out. We go in and turn off the chili. Man with hammer disappears, I guess. Baby #2 is on an adrenaline high, bouncing from one side of my belly to the other. We assume he/she is okay. Then my husband, who has only said a few words since he arrived asks, "What is that all over you and what is that SMELL?"