Kateri.

My girl would have been 11 years old in a few days. I really hate this time of year. I miss her all year long, but her birthday is especially hard. It is comforting to know she's watching over her sister and I. I just wish she were doing it from beside us, and not from Heaven. I'm really hoping her birthday is uneventful, and I can just have quiet family time and reflection. We all deal with loss our own way. I find myself dealing with her birthday differently every year. This year, I sincerely just want calm and quiet. I still haven't decided what, when, or how I'm going to tell Weewee about her sister. I definitely want her to know about her. I'm just not sure of the details yet. I'm hoping I'll know when the time is right, and that God grants me the strength and eloquence to do it in a way, that will be good for Weewee.

Partyyyyy.

I just recently received my subject for our next challenge swap. I had to console myself. Did I mention the bloggers I participate with are fabulous?! Did you know fabulous bloggers come up with amazing subject swap topics?! Did you know an amazing subject could intimidate the heck outta me?! Well, now you know. Consider me completely and utterly intimidated. My goal is to work on it later today, and as often as possible over the next weeks. If I don't,  it will never get done. I honestly have no idea what to write. I'll be consulting my better half again, and praying he's a miracle worker. Again.

My Weewee had a sleep over last night with her honorary Nana Cici. I missed her so much. Nana's house is about 30 feet from our house, but it felt like a bazillion miles away. I survived. Kind of. I didn't sleep much. When I knew Weewee would be gone, my first thought was... SLEEP. I should've known that wouldn't happen to the extent I wanted. I was convinced Nana would cave and bring her home. I figured by the second time Wee woke up for a bottle, Nana would tag me back in. Nope. Nana did great. Weewee had a fabulous time. We did this sleep over as a trial run for a July camping (in an RV) trip that Nana wants to take Weewee on. On one hand I'm fine with the idea. Weewee loves Nana. Nana loves Weewee. I want Weewee to experience a full life, and let's face it... I will NEVER bring her camping. As in never. On the other hand I'm like... an hour and a half away?? Nooooooooooo. I promised myself, that I wouldn't be over protective. I promised myself I'd let her live her life fully. I promised myself I'd let her get dirty. I can do this. Right?! I mean... it's not me camping.

My better half is working today. He generally doesn't work weekend, so when he does (2 or 3 times a year), I miss him. Once he gets home, I plan on getting some stuff done around here. We are still unpacking from the move. We are downsizing from a four bedroom house into a two bedroom. Deciding what to keep has been a challenge. We have stuff in a storage unit. My goal is to have the storage unit empty by July 1st. I want our house completely together by July 11th. This brings me to my next thing...

I'm having a party!!!! Technically two, if you count Weewee's FIRST birthday party on June 28th. Her Aunt and Uncle are graciously hosting that at their house though. My other party, I'm having here. At my house. My not fully unpacked, stuff still in storage bins house. Yep. I will be busy the next month. Planning Weewee's party and making this house a home.  Plus, our washer and dryer hookups are being installed in June!!! I'm beyond excited. Going two months without our own washer and dryer... as I type this, I can see the mountain of dirty laundry overflowing from our hamper.

Back to my party.... I've been on a weight loss mission since 2006. So far, so good. I need a boost though. I've seen so many people having success with Body by Vi. So, I've decided to try it. I'm starting June 1st. I'm thinking it will be amazing. I can make a Frappuccino-like shake, that is GOOD FOR ME... plus, I can add peanut butter to it. A healthy peanut butter Frappuccino-like drink?!? Why didn't I do this years ago?? I'm so lucky to have met a wonderful woman, that is going to help me try Vi. Gina has really been a great support recently. She has helped me overcome my fear of trying Vi. Mostly I'm scared because my body doesn't like shakes, but there is also the fear of failure. She is firmly in my corner, and that's an amazing feeling. So, I feel that being healthy is important. No necessarily skinny... healthy. The fact is that healthy and a low weight tend to go together. (Now the Married with Children theme is stuck in my head). So, I really want everyone, especially the people I know, to be healthy!!! Since I've seen so many fabulous Body by Vi results, first hand,  I've decided to throw a challenge party. I'm hoping to get as many of my friends to accept my Challenge to get healthier. Plus, we get to sample yummy Vi shake options and have fun together. I'm so excited. I genuinely feel Vi is going to be the boost I need to achieve my goals, and I'm hoping to bring some friends along for the ride. Wins all around. Plus, let's be honest... when taking on a task (such as getting healthy), the bigger your support system, the better you do. My support system pretty much lives thousands of miles away. Hopefully, I can build and strengthen one here. Not to mention... after we've all sampled the delicious Vi shakes and learned all about it (Did you know that when you take the Vi Challenge, you enable Vi to help children fight against obesity?!), we get to have an hour of pampering!!! My amazing friend Bridgette is going to pamper us BeautiControl style. I'm soooooooooo beyond excited. I love love love BeautiControl. They have an instant manicure hand scrub that is life changing.  Seriously life changing. So, yes, I'm having a party. I figure, I've lived in California for six years, it's about time I have a party. Getting healthy, helping kids fight obesity, hanging with friends, and being pampered.... what better reasons to throw a party?!?

On a side note... you should all look up and join the Facebook group "Running with Wine". It is an amazing, supportive, inspirational group. There is no bashing, only uplifting. The owner, Danielle is great, and her blog has the same name. Don't run? Don't drink wine? No problem. Neither do I. The group is so much more than running and wine.

Well, Weewee is up from her nap. Time to have lunch and play!!!

Secret Subject Swap Blogging Challenge May 2014

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week, 15 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. 

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.  Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

http://www.BakingInATornado.com                          Baking In A Tornado

http://themomisodes.com                                       The Momisodes

http://www.someoneelsesgenius.com                     Someone Else’s Genius

http://fbxadventures.blogspot.com                          FBX Adventures (In Parenting)

http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/                     Spatulas on Parade

http://stacysewsandschools.blogspot.com/                Stacy Sews and Schools

http://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/                         Confessions of a part time working mom

http://www.outmannedmommy.com                        Outmanned

http://www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.com                  Evil Joy Speaks

http://www.impoverishedvegan.com                         Impoverished Vegan

http://climaxedtheblog.blogspot.com                         Climaxed

http://berghamchronicles.blogspot.com               The Bergham’s Life Chronicles

http://sparklyjenn.blogspot.com/                                 Sparkly Poetic Weirdo

http://dinoheromommy.com/                    Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

https://www.silenceofthemom.blogspot.com      Silence of the Mom

My subject is "Write yourself into the story as a character of your favorite book, movie, or show. How would you alter how the storyline plays out?"  It was submitted by http://www.impoverishedvegan.com .  Here goes:  

You ever have what you think is an excellent idea, then you follow through and you think... What have I done?!? Well, that is exactly what I thought, when I opened my e-mail from the fabulous Karen revealing my Secret Subject. I was really thinking I was insane for jumping back into the world of blog challenges. Not because the subject was bad, but because it was just that fabulous. As I read it over and over and over, a million thoughts and ideas flooded my mind. I have so many favorite books/movies/shows. How could I possibly pick one? Which one would I pick? Which would be most fitting of the entire question? If heads could explode, I am fairly sure mine would have. 

(On an unrelated side note, just to show how unqualified to blog I am... I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get the centered text turned off. :( I keep highlighting the text and putting it on regular, and it is not working!)

So, I have spent the days since being assigned my subject thinking it over. Nothing really came together and clicked. So today as I sat down to start writing, I called my better half into the room. Told him I needed his help and opinion on my blog post. He told me to hit him with it. I told him how I was in over my head with this one. How it was hard and difficult and I was clueless. I told him, just give me whatever input you can, and I will hopefully be able to come up with something. I read him the subject, he looked at me and said... Well, that is easy. You're Alicia from "The Good Wife". 

Ta da.

Just that quick and easy he aligned all the pieces for me. Every single one. Sometimes that man of mine is a genius! Do you understand why I keep him around?

This is where I tell you that if you are not up to date with "The Good Wife" and you love the show, QUIT READING THIS POST! I am going to drop a massive spoiler. 

I think I would definitely write myself into "The Good Wife" as Alicia. I have wanted to be a lawyer since I was six years old. I wanted to help people and make the world a better place. I am very passionate about law. Why am I not a lawyer? Once upon a time, many, many moons ago (dang I'm old) I was pursuing a law degree. Life and emotions got in the way. I was overwhelmed, confused, and young. I was not as elegant and determined as Alicia. I found myself having issues with our legal system, and felt helpless. I felt like I was a tiny person, and in the grand scheme of things I would never be able to make a difference. 

I walked away. Looking back, I wish I had stuck it out, but then my entire life would be different. As imperfect as my life is, I love it. I love where I am at and who I am with. I really would not want to change that for anything.

Though, I would love to be Alicia. I love her. I love her perfections and her flaws. She is intelligent and determined and classy and clever. She has many admirable qualities. She is also stunningly beautiful. She faces challenges with such elegant class. She has this air of success about her. She is a winner. Even when things do not go quite her way, she still has this winning quality about her. 

He husband cheated on her in the most public of ways. Her life literally fell apart. So much went wrong. Yet, I never once felt the need to pity her. If anything I envied her. She really took the lemons life handed her and made the sweetest lemonade. I really feel like at the end of the day she can truly look herself in the mirror, and be comfortable with what she sees. I feel like she is a truly blessing in the lives of those she cares about, and a true force to be reckoned with in the lives of those that oppose her.

How would I change the storyline? Anyone want to take one guess?!?! If you are thinking that I would have Will live forever and the two of them to live happily ever after ... ding ding ding... Yes. Oh my gosh! I cried REAL tears when he died. REAL tears. You would think I had known him my entire life and we had Sunday dinner together weekly. I would most definitely change how their romance played out. I would have had them come back together. Have them truly realize they did not want to be apart. I would have them on a romantic vacation in some exotic island country, falling endlessly in love and planning their future wedding. I definitely would not have him resting in eternal peace. 

Are there any other fans of "The Good Wife" out there? How do you feel about Alicia's character? How do you feel about Will's death? I would LOVE to hear you opinions. Feel free to leave me a comment, and let me know where you stand. To anyone not a fan... What on Earth is wrong with you!?! LOL Get on Netflix and catch up! I am sorry to have spoiled it for you, but believe me, even with knowing Will dies, it is worth watching! It is truly a wonderful show. 

Thank you to Jonathan Charles and Matthew Iden at http://www.impoverishedvegan.com for the fabulous subject! I hope I did it a decent amount of justice. I must tell you I had a lot of fun putting myself into some of my most favorite books and movies (Such as; Wuthering Heights and "Good Will Hunting") and trying to decide which character I would want to be, and what changes I would make. It was a fun break from the insanity that has been life here at the Bergham household lately. I PROMISE I will do some updates on that soon. For one... Weewee turns one next month. NEXT month. Can you believe this??? Holy moly. I'm not ready.

Thank you to Karen for including me in this fabulous Secret Subject Swap. Thank you to all of my fellow bloggers for embracing me and including me so warmly! I truly appreciate it, though I still do not feel like a true blogger yet. Maybe one day. I will let you all know when and if that happens. 

Thank you for taking the time to ready my post!!! Now, mosey on over to all the other pages and read what the real bloggers wrote about!!! I'm sure you'll thank me later, and I will be right there reading them too! So excited! 

#RedBalloonsForRyan

I just red how a beautiful, little boy was chasing his frisbee, and was hit and killed by a truck. Tragic. Breaks my heart. My heart goes out to his parents. I pray that God's love and comfort surrounds them. If you can, include red balloons in his honor, in your Mother's Day festivities. His parents ask that the balloons aren't released, as they could harm the environment/marine life. The hash tag #RedBalloonsForRyan can be used to show support. Please, love your children. Life is short. Enjoy your children. Let them be little. Enjoy every moment.