I Attract Weirdos

I was going to do a post with my resolutions but will forgo that one until tomorrow because I'm still coming up with my resolutions and goals for the 2009 year.

So today I had to go register my car in Arizona, yes we've lived here for almost 11 months and no I haven't registered my car yet. The truck yes, the car no. The TN tags on the car didn't expire until December so I thought I would ride it out as long as possible here. And yes I broke the law. Shame on me.

Anyways, I get there when they open because I'm figuring a crapshoot here either it's going to be so freaking busy because everyone waited until the last day of December to renew their tags OR everyone would be preparing for big New Year's Eve activities and not be at the DMV. There was a line when I got there and a fairly good amount of people in the building when I get in after having the vehicle inspection. I sit down alone on a row, getting ready to bust out my book. I brought a book to counter act Murphy's Law. My thinking is, if I have a book I wouldn't be able to read it because my number would get called too quickly. Without the book I would be sitting there for over an hour bored out of my gord. Instead I attracted a weirdo guy who wanted to tell me about the fact he always waits until the last minute to do everything. Including paying his bill at Sam's which made him bang on their door to let him in and pay it. As I am internally rolling my eyes wondering out of all the empty seats in the joint he picks the one next to me? I have a weirdo magnet; I am convinced of it. Why it can't be a hot guy with a sexy European accent magnet I am not sure. Or maybe a Christian Bale or Hugh Grant magnet? Yes those would be nicer. I would be much happier with that (although I am sure Leo is happier with the weirdo magnet). So he tells me more about stuff and then launches into the fact he didn't pay his taxes for three years and how the IRS charged some two thousand dollars in interest and penalties but didn't pay HIM interest when he overpaid one year. I have entered bizarro world now.

Finally J581 is announced over the intercom, Woohoo my number!! I wish him a happy new year and kind of run up to lane. I now have new shiny Arizona plates. I exit quickly since the magnet seems to be strong today and flee to my car safely.

On a side note, hopefully everyone has a safe and fun filled New Year's Eve. Ring in the new year with a toast and a kiss and please be safe.

Till next year....

The Year In Review

OK, sorry but I'm going to drop an F bomb in the first couple sentences...As I sit and reflect on 2008, my first thought is: What a fucking year. Yes it could have been worse but I have to say I'm glad it's over and I was not sure there for a while I would make it through it. My current outlook is MUCH better then the early months of 2008 that's for sure.

So here to torture myself (and possibly you too, if you've been reading a while) I will relive the "best" parts of it.

We moved across the country. And really I could end the blog here but what the hell fun would that be?

So let's go ALL the way back to January...

January- the move was decided and I started the blog. Life was forever changed.

February - The big move occurred and my children got EVERY sickness under the sun. We had our first ER visit with Sweet Girl and Little Man got pneumonia. They hated school. We made new evil friends. This was a GREAT month. I was ready to give Arizona the boot and drive my ass back to Tennessee.

March - My parents left. That alone makes for a shitty month. I was not a happy camper at this point. I was homesick, I missed my friends, the kids school, the kids doctors and my family. This was not a good time for me at all.

April - It was already hitting the high 90's and we opened the pool (boy that was fun...that was when I realized that there was NO WAY Danielle will be swimming in water that is not above 90), Sweet Girl wanted a lot of grapes, and Little Man started saying more words.

May - A trip back to TN! And some rain! We sold our house in Tennessee (sadly my escape plan was ended), Sweet Girl stayed close to her roots and became a fan of Sweet Home Alabama.

June - Holy crap it was hot. And we went on Vacation! It was a really great time. And yes there was indeed puke AND an injury. Come on now you should expect that by now!

July - Little Man turned two! It was still pretty damn hot, hotter than June. My parents arrived! My sister and her family came for a visit. And finally, finally, I had no more shades of brown in my house. YAY!!

August - It was hot AND humid, I was happier with the dry heat. My parents left.I fell in love with Twilight. This was a pretty unexciting month. I was in better spirits about living in Arizona, however I was ready for the summer to end.

September - We celebrated Leo's birthday. I started waking up at the ass crack of dawn for my futile attempt to lose weight. My friend Kelly and her daughter visited (good times!!), and Little Man slicked up the walls in his bedroom with vaseline. It was STILL hot though!

October - We took some hikes in the Flagstaff area two weekends in a row, it was great. The weather FINALLY got cooler (thank you God!), we had Halloween with Batman and Super Girl and had a great night of fun and candy, I am still hoping that the S5 shows up in the driveway sooner than later. And poor Little Man took the fooze ball table pole to the mouth.

November - Sweet Girl turns 4! Danielle turns 33! Leo and Danielle were married 12 years this month too. Jeez November is busy! We went back to TN for Thanksgiving. It was finally descent weather in Arizona.

December -Well we haven't had to use our heat OR air since we left for TN in November, that will be nice on the electric bill. And the brisk mornings in the house are nice and have created some good snuggle moments. We had Christmas, a different one then we've had in the past but it was still very nice. I got to keep my job! My outlook on things is definitely improved compared to almost a year ago. We bought Little Man his own bed!

So the year has definitely had it's ups and downs. Overall it's not been my favorite year. And as I said it could certainly have been worse so yes I am thankful it wasn't. I am confident 2009 is going to be MUCH better! I of course have some resolutions, but that's tomorrow's post! :)

My Sweet Children

After spending 5 straight days with the kids without interruption of work or day care, I miss them today. Sometimes, to be honest, they do get on my nerves with their incessant questions and bickering. But they are only 2.5 and 4 so incessant questions are what's in right now and the bickering will never stop I imagine. And like I said today I miss them because I am at work and they are in day care. I miss the incessant questions, not so much on the bickering, but just having them around and hearing them laugh and play.
They are playing really good together these days, aside from when Little Man shakes down the Diamond Castle that does cause a little trouble. But they are using their imaginations and playing together and it makes me happy.

Little Man is talking more and he's so giving. It is so sweet. He got his first pair of Chuck Taylor's yesterday and he looks too damn cute in them.

Sweet Girl is growing up so now she can buckle herself in the car seat. When she asks questions and she gets the answer she will ask another question. She is becoming girly with requests to have her hair blow dried after we wash it and she even asked to get it cut because it was getting in her face. I told her the other day she was getting so big and she proclaimed "Well I am almost 5".

It is amazing to watch them grow. Although it is too fast. Too fast indeed.

And It's Over...

At least until next year. We had a good Christmas. It was strange to open presents and then not have anywhere to go. Strange in a good way because sometimes driving all over is exhausting. But it would have been nice to have some family around. We talked to all the family and that was good. I was really OK with it.
We took the kids to a movie which they did fantastic in. Sweet Girl didn't get up at all and Little Man only got antsy in the last few minutes. I was shocked and amazed. I was happy.
And it was raining when we got out of the movie so we ran to the car in the rain and that was fun. I was pleased for rain because it gave the sky a nice wintry look and made it feel more Christmasy.

The Diamond Castle was a hit. Sweet Girl jumped up and down and was totally excited (the baby sister request completely forgotten). Little Man liked his GeoTrax stuff and his Batman Batcave. Little Man also enjoys the Diamond Castle but in a slightly different way than Sweet Girl, he likes to shake it so all the furniture falls out and the top comes off and Sweet Girl SCREAMS on the top of her lungs. Oh the joys of brotherly love.

Leo made me look like a schmuck since we decided to not exchange gifts yet he bought some and I didn't. I KNEW I should have bought the BlueRay player. Damnit...always go with your gut. But I did set him up to HAVE to buy it because Sweet Girl wanted to get him a Batman and Spiderman movie so I got them as BlueRays instead of DVD.

So there you go, now begins the cleanup. I have so many boxes I feel like I just moved again. Since everyone had to send us gifts we have shipping boxes AND toy boxes. Thank goodness for recycle.

I hope you enjoyed your day too!!!

The Present She Won't Be Getting Tomorrow

Sweet Girl wants everything. You can generally count to 3 after a commercial comes on for a child related item and she'll say 'I want that'. We asked her numerous times what does she REALLY want and so that was narrowed down to Barbie and the Diamond Castle stuff. Good enough.

But THEN, we were at a restaurant and Sweet Girl and I had to go to the bathroom. She comes out of the stall (because she has to go in by herself now...), and proclaims:
"I want a baby sister for Christmas"
Me: "WHAT?"
SW: "I want a baby sister for Christmas"
Me: "Well you go tell that to Daddy"

She was totally serious. I chuckled all the way back to the table. So since there is really NO way possible for her to get this for Christmas maybe we can consider it for next year.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Because I Meet All My Friends Online...

For the past 4 years or so, I have met most of my recent friends online. When we were still in Nashville I met alot of moms on the Tennessee board of Babycenter.com. When I moved to Arizona I met most of my friends on the mom's board PhoenixMommies.com
Finding my friends online isn't too bad actually, most of them are great and I have enjoyed knowing them for sure. Sure there have been some loonies but for the most part everyone has been normal and nice. And I am smart enough to meet all my online friends at a public place and let Leo know where I'm going, so if for some reason I don't come home he at least has a starting point...
Now I've added another meeting of an online friend, she is both a PhoenixMommie and fellow blogger over at My So Called Life. Crystal and I met at a local restaurant. She is very nice and I enjoyed meeting her. If you haven't you should check out her blog, I enjoy it. I even look forward to going to lunch again!

I hope to one day meet some other online friends in person too!

The Cold Threshold

This week there are TWO, yes TWO winter storms coming through. Now winter storms will not be bringing snow to our area but our surrounding will get some. We will just get clouds and rain (woohoo...no complaining from me!). I do think my cold threshold is somewhat higher now, used to cold wasn't until it was in the 30's. Now it's more like low 50's. I am not really complaining about this because I just enjoy being cold. I just wanted to wear some sweaters and be comfortable so I really don't care if I wear sweaters because it's 30-something or 50-something! That doesn't bug me.

We went to the Zoo last night to see the ZooLights. It was pretty cool. It was about mid-50's. Perfect actually, I was able to wear a sweater and was comfortable. But there were so many people with big jackets, hats and scarves on. I chuckled.


Well I am happy that it's going to be cloudy for Christmas, it will make it seem more seasonal then wearing short sleeves and its' sunny and warm out.

The Friday Before Christmas

And it's Friday Fill-ins!

1. Said the night wind to the little lamb, do you hear what I hear? Do you hear it? What the heck is that noise?

2. The first Noel, the angel did say, you better get your act together because someone is watching.

3. I wish there was snow all Over the hills and everywhere.

4. It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old.

5. Have a few drinks and , Let your heart be light.

6. And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing when you sing with someone else, because you really can't carry a tune.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to making cut out cookies with the kids, tomorrow my plans include having some friends over and having some fun and Sunday, I want to relax a bit, work on a Heritage Maker project and going to Zoo Lights!

I Am Grateful

I have a lot to be grateful for right at this moment. I still have a job. The company is going through layer by layer and laying people off. I made the cut. While we were waiting to hear the outcome I was sort of unsure of what I really wanted to happen to me. In one way I would LOVE to have a breather, a break, some actual time off but on the flip side of that after my breather I would have to find a job and that just blows. So yesterday before my phone call where I would find out which was I was going I decided that whatever happened to me was going to be the right thing. There really was no other choice in how to think about it anymore. So I have a job and that is what should have happened. This morning I woke up with a renewed feeling of being grateful. Grateful that I have a job, Leo has a kick ass job, and we have everything we need right now. I feel lucky and I do feel extremely happy.

I have realized a lot of things lately. I am a little slow on the uptake sometime just because of my pessimistic ways and I am trying to be better although I don't think it will ever go away 100%! I realized that things don't just happen. I can't just sit around and EXPECT things to happen for me. And just sit there and focus on the fact that they are not happening or things are not going the way I expect them to is not really doing me any good at all. I need to take a vested interest in what I want to happen in my life (this may seem excessively obvious to some of you and you're probably thinking jeez she is dense but I do KNOW this, it's putting it into practice that takes effort), whether it is something I can literally control by going to talk to someone or just use positive projection to make it happen. So this is my early new year's resolution, I'm going to keep this up. I'm going to keep up my happiness and positive thoughts.

Lots O' Lights

Here are some pictures from the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. We enjoy going and are always amazed at the amount of lights.
Enjoy!

No Longer Lost

We are big Lost fans in this house. Leo and I have been watching it since it started back in 2004. We, however, totally missed season 4 in the midst of our move to Arizona and then all the sickness that fell upon our house every week.

Then we tried to watch them online. And while it's a great concept and is good to catch up on one episode if needed, trying to watch an entire season online is just a pain in the behind. So I bought the season on DVD. But it wasn't season 4 on DVD it was season 3 which we did see all of and we really didn't need on DVD. So I just resorted to being behind when I thought the 5th season of Lost was going to start again in September of this year. I was delighted to be wrong (an amazing and extremely infrequent happening I might add...) that season 5 did not start until Jan 09 and the real season 4 was being released on DVD in December. Yay!

So we have watched most of season 4 and are up to the finale now. I will say watching them on DVD is the best way to do it, you don't even have to fast forward through the commercials!
Some questions have been answered and more raised. I hope season 5 gives up some more goods.

If you're not a Lost fan, I would suggest it. You can now get seasons 1-4 on DVD and if you start now and have a kick ass Lost marathon you'll be caught up by January!

It's Finally Mine...I Mean His

Little Man is growing up. He is not little anymore, like baby little. I miss him like that. And now we make another step farther away from babyhood. He is getting his own bed. I have been lusting after this bed for what feels like before he was born. I just love it and I have some obsession with him having it. And now after January 13th, he will.

Here it is in all its beautiful Pottery Barn Kids glory:

Soon this beautiful beast will be taking up 3/4 of Little Man's tiny bedroom. Now hopefully he'll stay in it!

OK?

So Little Man has started ending all his sentences with OK? It is really kind of funny. I'm not sure where he picked it up.

Sweet Girl has been adding a 'y' to all her words. It is not really funny and is annoying. I'm not sure where she picked that up either.

I imagine they picked it up at school. I can see the draw of homeschooling, if I didn't have to do the teaching it would be perfect...
We did, however, find a cool charter school that will probably be our pick for 1st grade and up. It's called Eagles Aerie. It's right up our alley and really focuses on academics and the basis of how our country was founded. I bet they don't leave out 'Under God' when they say the Pledge of Allegiance! They have the Six 'A's that make their school unique. And I just love this one:
America - Eagle's Aerie School is strongly dedicated to the purpose of instilling in the minds and hearts of our students a knowledge of and respect for the ideals and values that America was founded upon.
To bad all schools don't focus on that...but I guess they might offend someone (if you're offended then you might want to remember where you are)

I'm off to make the kids lunchy (as Sweet Girl has said), OK? (as Little Man would say). Enjoy your weekend!

Back To The Fill-Ins!

After a hiatus since I am a slacker poster while on vacation I am finally back in to the Friday Fill-In routine!

1. Friends and family are what makes life so much more entertaining.

2. Here's to good health; it's well worth the effort.

3. I'm ready for my parents to get to Arizona.

4. Vera Wang (or fresh scotch tape) is one of my favorite perfumes or aftershaves or smells.

5. The oldest ornament I have is one of my husband's childhood creations.

6. Take some beer, limeade, and vodka, mix it all together and you have some yummo summer beer a nice refreshing drink on a warm day.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging out with some friends at their new house, tomorrow my plans include going to see Twilight again (go ahead and laugh at me) and Sunday, I want to have fun at Leo's company surprise Christmas party!

Mr. Independent

We are in full on independence mode for Little Man. If I could get paid for every time he said 'I do it', I would be rich.
He has to do EVERYTHING. I am not sure I remember Sweet Girl being this bad. He has to get in and out of the car and truck by himself. And Lord forbid you try to assist him.
And if you don't let him do it he throws a wicked fit. Example being I didn't let him get on the moving sidewalk by himself at the airport. He cried the entire thing as he kept repeating over and over 'I do it'. He literally would have walked all the way back to the beginning of it just so he could get on without me holding his hand. Oh he was pissed.

Determined he is.
And stubborn too...

I know it's normal 2 year old behavior...so I am not looking forward to him being 3!

My Struggle With Religion...

I was raised Catholic. I challenged it when I was in high school. More so to be defiant then to really challenge whether or not God existed or not. I used to torture my teachers (at the Catholic school no less) that I didn't believe in God, etc. I know...it was mean.
Going to Catholic school really made me dislike the whole "organized" religion aspect of religion so I stepped away and stopped going to church pretty much. Heck, Leo and I didn't even have a religious ceremony for our wedding and we were kind of upset that the lady officiating our wedding didn't respect our wishes and not say the "prayer" she wanted to.

However, after having Sweet Girl and looking back on all the things in our life that happened up until that point I did realize that there has to be something greater looking out for me. Everything always worked out for the best in most of our difficult situations and I'm sorry I believe in luck but it just has to be more than that because I am just not THAT lucky. Anyway, we tried going to a Methodist church while still in TN and it was a nice church and I liked it. BUT every time I went, I would sit there and be overcome with guilt and the feeling that I was betraying something. Obviously the Catholics had an impact with their messages. So now we had a dilemma. Leo did not want to attend Catholic church and really I didn't either, but I also didn't want to feel guilty about GOING to church. It just seemed wrong.
So I stopped looking and put it on hold and thought to myself: Well I believe and I'll have my own conversations with God and thank Him daily for all he has given me. And I have. But I think I really want to go to church.
I read the book The Purpose of Christmas on our flight back to AZ and it was a really great book. If you haven't read it, I would suggest it. It's a short quick read. I have a really hard time being able to understand how you can just turn over your life to God and all that your troubles, worries, etc will be better if you accept Jesus as your Savior. This started another dilemma in my head; if I can't do that or I'm not sure HOW to do that, does that mean I won't benefit? Is this an all or nothing thing? I can't believe it's all or nothing otherwise everyone that goes to church would all be nice and never mean and that surely doesn't happen. So I am now on my hunt again for a church that can help me achieve this or ate least get me as close as I can.
I have this issue with live music at a church. I found a couple around us that I thought looked like it would be a good place but they all have a full band and I don't know, that just doesn't' work for me.
So the search continues.
So sorry for my totally random post about this...

We're Paying Someone Next Year

Leo and I have a horrible time with OUTDOOR decorating at Christmas. We basically suck at this part. I think the inside of my house looks pretty damn good. Our tree kicks ass, we have garlands and wreaths and snowmen and white tree things. It looks GOOD. The outside looks OK this year as well but next year I want lights on the house and Leo doesn't like the roof so we figured in order to get awesomeness on the outside of the house we'll pay someone who is good and ENJOYS doing it.

Here is a recap of our troubles outside:
We were going to do those snazzy icicle lights one year. But they wouldn't hang down and I got two different cord colors. And then we couldn't get the hooks to stay on the gutters. What a serious pain. We gave up.

We tried to do garland on the columns outside our house. Didn't work.

We resorted to just getting those cool deers that are lit. MISTAKE. Have you ever tried to put those damn things together? OMG. We got some on sale at Lowe's last year. They were cool looking. By the time we were done putting them together the doe had a huge gaping hole in her side that looks like we used her for target practice or sucker punched her. And her neck made some horrible creaking noise when it moved. No doubt due to the troubles we had putting her together. The buck he kept falling over, probably due to the troubles putting his stupid legs on. I hate those deer now. There was grapevine parts and the sparkle things all over the garage too. They were left in TN with Leo's aunt and uncle. They got lucky they didn't have to put them together.

This year we got a snowman that changes colors. Again cool in theory until you have to put them together. After I don't know 2 hours of trying, we finally get this thing together. Leo told it multiple times 'I hate you' since it was giving us such grief. It's now staked in the ground. If it falls over it will probably come apart and will just go into the recycle bin.

I can decorate all day long inside, but forget it on the outside.

Back To Normal?

Well I'm back to work, Leo's back at work and the kids are back at school. Hopefully this means that things are back to normal and I will resume my regular blog posting.
I have missed writing posts! And I have really missed getting comments. Hopefully I still have some readers left...

I'll be back again shortly to post something about our decorations for Christmas.

White Stuff

I feel horribly behind and somewhat lost without my daily post. I enjoy the time it takes to do my blog every day but weekends usually. I am also behind on reading some of my favorites listed over there on the right side down a little ways. I wish I could tell you that the reason for my lack of posts is due to our jet setting ways but really that's not it. Maybe a tad as we drive all over visiting family and friends but the biggest challenge on daily posting is the dial-up Internet at my parents. I know they are also not a fan of it either, but alas as I told my dad it's better than no Internet at all. I tried to find an unsecured wireless network around the neighborhood but everyone got smart and locked them down (damn!!) so dial-up it is.

And today was C-O-L-D and there was even some spitting of snow!! Sometimes big flakes and sometimes little sleet balls. But it was the white stuff and I was excited to see it. No accumulation though. And it was one of those days were when you come in from being outside your face and hands have that wonderful burning feeling. Yes I know you're probably thinking what a nut I am but I just love that. Leo is ready to get back to his above normal temperatures and sun (it was 85 and sunny when we left and 19 and cloudy when we arrived last week). I am content and happy with the pretty cloudy grey/blue sky.

We had our pictures taken yesterday as well. It was a great session and I think we got some great family shots. I'm so excited to send out my Christmas cards this year. With the great pictures and the cool cards from Heritage Makers I am ready to get them out into the mail. It was rainy and cold yesterday too, but we still got some great shots. If you're in the Middle TN area I would highly suggest the photographer we used. She's AWESOME. Her name is Lauren Gill. Her website is www.LaurenGillPhotography.com , she is great with the kids and is just wonderful to work with. I keep trying to get her to come out to AZ!!

Well I will try to update more later. We are going to the Opryland Hotel tomorrow night to see the lights, it's pretty cool. I'll take some photos to share. Also we've gotten to eat at all the places we've missed. All dietary restrictions were left in Phoenix and I have eaten whatever I've wanted here. I took pictures so I'll do a post of our trip all in food references! HA. Cheese dip from Las Palmas, biscuits from Loveless, pancakes from the Pancake Pantry! Yummy... and a definite reason to hit the gym hardcore when I get back home.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my dear readers! We are enjoying our time in Tennessee and spending time with family. I am happy we are here. The weather is good and cold. The kids are having a great time.
I've seen some friends and it does make me realize just how much I miss all of them again. Being around them just seems natural and comfortable. I guess that is the sign of a good friend when you can pick up right where you left off the last time you were together and it's not like any time has past.
I am thankful for all of you!

Enjoy this day with your family!

Santa's Lack of Parts

We regularly use proper terms for body parts so we freely use the words penis and vagina without embarrassment. Sweet Girl will also be one of those kids who will proudly proclaim that girls have a vagina and boys have a penis. So it should come as no surprise that she noted the following observation.

My parents have one of those Polar Express Santa Claus’ from Hallmark. Sweet Girl was playing with it and tells my Dad “Look the batteries go in his butt and he doesn’t have a penis”. They were kind of stunned by her observation and laughed.

So I expect that one day we’ll be looking at a store and she’ll proclaim something similar. I tell ya nothing gets past this kid.

The Puke Post

**Just a warning, as you can tell this post include tales of puke and other bodily liquids. So if you are easily grossed out stop reading now and come back tomorrow.

Well as you know no trip of ours is complete without an injury of some kind or someone puking. So yes by the title I am sure you guessed we had puke. We had a nice flight. The kids did good. They were excited. We have landed and are getting ready to get off the plane when Little Man tosses his cookies al over the seat. I was stunned. And everyone around us was like ‘oohhhhh’. And they were all very nice, saying we’ve all been there (only a couple folks added ‘but only after too much scotch’ ) and you could tell they felt sorry for him. As I stared in disbelief at my kid standing on the seat with puke pooling around his feet wondering what the hell I was going to clean it up with when he does it again. OMG are you serious kid? AGAIN? At this point I have people handing me the puke bags. Good thing because he did it again in the bag this time. Leo got out and got me a bag and some towels, some lady handed me her pack of handi-wipes. And a thing of Kleenex (have you ever tried cleaning up puke with Kleenex? Ha ha ha). To all these people I don’t know if I even said ‘Thank You’. And that is just rude of me, but if you are reading this by chance. Thank you for coming to my aid with wipes, aid, and sympathy.

I am finally able to exit the airplane after cleaning the seat and getting counted as a through passenger going on to Tampa and having to yell NO I’m getting off, I’m cleaning up puke. Little Man says over and over I threw up I threw up. Yes Little Man you did. And thanks for waiting until the end of the flight to do it. It was probably a good thing that I was so congested I couldn’t smell anything due to the amount of congestion in my head and now my ears. So I can’t hear very well and I can’t breathe. I used Afrin. I am a proponent of Afrin when I can’t breathe. It really helps, although I fear of becoming addicted to it. I will not use it past the 3 days it warns on the label. I guess of all things I could be addicted to I am afraid of Afrin. I mean come on every Walgreen's or CVS or any store really is your pusher, it’s not like I have to go to a dark alley to get my fix. I just walk into the store, buy it and snort and then viola I can breathe. But I digress…I couldn’t get my ears to pop. I tried yawning and then tried to hold my nose and blow. This was a mistake. Because it didn’t’ make my ears pop but it did make mucous shoot out of my eye…yes my eye. Can you say GROSS? I mean seriously I’ve seen people shoot stuff out of their nose, like milk and water and that has never been me. But your EYE? So now I have kid covered in puke and snot coming out of my eye. What a great pair we are. Welcome to my life when we travel.

We were welcomed by my parents and Sweet Girl was so excited. Little Man not so much but hey he did just leave his stomach contents on the airplane. He is leery. In hindsight I should have known that he was probably going to puke again and should have been ready. But I wasn’t. I was unprepared because the next puking incident happened while I was holding him. And where does that puke go? DOWN my shirt. Oh yes I love the feeling of hot puke running down my chest and pooling on the neck of my new Matisyahu shirt. And due to my extremely efficient packing, ALL of my clothes are packed in space bags. Vacuum sealed in the suitcase. Now I am on a mission to find a bag in case he pukes again. I go up to a desk and ask them if they have an extra one. The guy standing there, some airport worker, tries to be funny and asks me if I don’t like my clothes (I was holding an extra shirt for Little Man). I replied ‘Well not when they are covered in PUKE…’ He didn’t see the puke and kind was like ohhh gross. (thanks buddy like I didn’t know it was gross, considering it’s on MY shirt and MY SKIN). But he redeems himself when he gets me a bag. My mom offers me her shirt, to which I am grateful and she makes a risque shirt change since the “shirt” she had under her sweater was a dickie and had no back or sides. So she takes her arms out of her sweater and quickly puts them in her jacket. Nice move, Mom.

We are finally ready to go, Leo and my Dad had gone to get the car and put the car seats in and were waiting in the pick up area. Our car which was supposed to be mid size is instead a giant Mercury Marquis.

The facts my parents were there was a total LIFESAVER. I think without them I would have lost it and went to the bathroom and cried in my puke covered shirt.
I’ll update more later.

The Twilight Post

Well I made it until midnight. I even stayed awake the entire movie. But really did I think I was going to fall asleep? Ah no. I had my Team Edward shirt on and in a way felt like a total dork but hey I was going all out for this my first midnight movie experience. We got there at 7:00 PM. Note the PM because we were at the end of the line that was wrapped around 3 sides of the building. The people at the beginning of the line were there at 10:30 AM. Yes AM. That is a little nuts if you ask me. They had chairs, sleeping bags, games and enough entertainment to keep them busy for the next 12 hours.
I thought arriving at 7:00 PM would be early enough, well I was wrong an obvious rookie midnight movie goer mistake. But it turned out ok because our seats were pretty kick ass. We were center theater and at just the right spot up. Perfect seating. And I didn’t have to wait 12 hours. Wonder how those people felt knowing others also got good seats? We got in our seats at about 9:30 so we still had about 2 ½ hours to wait. I was kind of unsure that I was going to be able to stay awake at this point. I was tired. And I wanted to be in bed. But there was an underlying excitement that kept me awake.
The movie was good. I think everyone will be sad that their favorite parts were not in the movie but how do you fit a 400 page book into 2 hours without leaving something out. I did think they rushed the movie a bit and could have tacked on 30 mins or so and spent more time on a couple areas. But overall I was satisfied and I would see it again. And will probably get the DVD and watch it again. The book will always be better in my opinion but I haven’t met a movie yet that topped the book.

A Christmas Tag!

I was tagged by Kami over at Chuck and Kami. I am supposed to answer all of the below questions and then tag another blogger to do the same.

Let's Go!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I like wrapping paper. When I get tired of wrapping then I move to a gift bag. Or if it's an odd shape it needs a bag.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. I love a real tree the smell, the look, everything. But Leo is allergic and I love him more.

3. When do you put up the tree? Typically, we put the tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? Weekend after New Years.

5. Do you like eggnog? Nope

6. Favorite gift received as a child? The barbie townhouse. Loved it with that coolio elevator with the string...

7. Hardest person to buy for? Leo's dad.

8. Easiest person to buy for? The kids!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Not yet.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hmmm...I don't know.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's A Wonderful Life (in B&W)

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Oh yeah

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies...

15. Lights on the tree? All white.

16. Favorite Christmas song? Joy to the World, O Holy Night, Winter Wonderland.

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We usually have to hit 3 houses on/around Christmas but not this year. This year we'll be at home in AZ.

18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Sure Can.

19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning!

21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? (I'm going to steal Kami's answer) Nothing! I adore everything about it! People in good moods, the decorations, the music, the parties, the food, the smell, and most of all-the meaning.

22. Favorite ornament theme or color? I like a red and silver tree. Although I might change it up shortly back to the kid tree.

23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham and my mom's hashbrown casserole. And, that popcorn that comes in the tin. :)

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? I've been asking for laser hair removal for years...

25. Who is most likely to respond to this? Well whoever I tag better do it damnit.

26. Does Santa wrap your gift or leave them unwrapped? He wraps them of course!

I tag Crystal.

I Think It's Wednesday, Right?

Wednesday right? Two days until we fly out. One day until Twilight. Woohoo.
The suitcases are down and certain categories from the spreadsheet are checked off.
And I feel like crap. Why the hell did I get the flu vaccine anyway? Ugh. I was really hoping I would feel better by today. But not the case. {sigh} Since we got the nasal spray it's a weakend live vaccine, and lucky me I got most of the potential side effects. Yay me. I guess better me than one of the kids.
I want to go back to bed but I have 9 hours of workday ahead of me. Then the kids get home.
I need to go find the sudafed and advil. Have a great day. :)

Crazy Week Ahead

Well I am already feeling the anxiety of the crazy week ahead that includes packing all our crap and making sure we don't forget anything. To ensure we do not forget anything, (and yes you can get ready to laugh) I have created a spreadsheet with all our names and categories of clothes so I do not forget to pack like socks for Little Man or something. As I pack each thing I will check off that row. Dorky yes I know. And it's not like if I did forget his socks there are not 100 stores around that I could buy some new ones.

I'm also working 10 hour days this week so I can have Friday off without having to take any PTO. Yet another stressor because who really wants to be at work for 10 hours, not me. Hell I don't really even want to be here for 8. But alas it's for a good reason otherwise I would be crazy bitch from hell on an airplane with the kids since I'm doing the crazy midnight showing of Twilight. I plan on taking a nap on Friday morning. If I can't sleep, which is possible due to my increased anxiety, I will have to check out the calming meds bottle in the closet.

I just feel like I have a million things to do, but I really don't, only a half million...

Mist, Matisyahu and More

We had a really fun filled weekend. It was probably MORE then we've done in a long long time. Holy crap we were busy! The kids were worn out by Sunday night! It was kind of tiring but fun.
We all got our flu vaccine. We promised the kids no shots and we wanted to get vaccinated before we traversed through the airports with all the sick holiday travellers. So we head to Walgreen's for the FluMist instead of the shot. We get there and their sign in is all electronic. We have to sign in everyone. Now I specifically told the chick, we are here for FluMist. We take almost 30 mins to sign in for them to tell us they don't have any of the mist. It would have been nice if they had told us that BEFORE we wasted 30 mins. So we head to a different Walgreens, just to fill out all the info again and sign more paperwork. Little Man is having a complete 2 year old breakdown because he wants to go see "Ho Ho Claus" (I have no idea why he calls Santa Claus Ho Ho Claus but he does). Finally we are all vaccinated and we head home. Jeez that was tiring in itself...

Leo and I headed to the Marquee Theater to see Matisyahu. It was a great concert and really fun. We were center stage and pretty close. I know I am old because after about 3 hours of standing I was really thinking to myself 'I really want to sit down' and 'Lord my back is killing me'. We finally left the center stage area to head towards the back where it was less crowded and much cooler. It was really a great time. I am so glad we went. I would definitely see him again. The opening bands were OK, Leo thought the electronica band was cool. I personally thought they sucked totally. And thank gosh they only played for about 30 minutes.

Sunday we headed to the zoo in the morning and the park and Peter Piper Pizza that afternoon. A LOT going on.

Tonight I'm excited to have my business launch party for Heritage Makers. I'm really looking forward to it. So you should order something...Help me, get some Christmas gifts, fuel the economy!

And woohoo that we only have 3 more days til the Twilight opening!!

It Didn't Come Fast Enough...

But finally it's here...Friday...big sigh...Thank goodness. But at least it's enjoyable with the Friday Fill-ins!

1. Please feel free to give me as much money as you would like.

2. When I open a new package of scotch tape or a sticky note I can't help sniffing it occasionally.

3. My favorite thing to cook is I prefer to bake and I love to make pies.

4. Sweet kisses from Little Man is something I can't get enough of.

5. That's the thing I love most about being married.

6. Kids who wear their pants in the middle of their butt always makes me think to myself, what the heck?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing after a crappy week, tomorrow my plans include being a rebel with Leo and going to a Matisyahu concert and Sunday, I want to do nothing but relax and start reading Twilight to prepare myself for Thursday! Woohoo!

44 Odd Things

I'm sure you wanted to learn even more about me, right? Well now you can...

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yes, melted over a steak it's fabulous

2. Have you ever smoked? Yes

3. Do you own a gun? Yes

4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite? Grape

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Not generally

6. What do you think of hot dogs? If they are all beef kosher, then they are fine. If not they are gross.

7. Favorite Christmas movie? It's A Wonderful Life in black and white, not the nasty colorized version.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? I prefer to drink Coke, but I really drink a snazzy Starbucks hot tea - the Tazo Awake. I suggest it if you haven't had it.

9. Can you do push ups? Why yes I can.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My 10th Anniversary ring.

11. Favorite hobby? Working on my Heritage Makers books

12. Do you have A.D.D.? I don't know, maybe.

13. What's one trait you dislike about yourself? The inability to complete one task before moving to another

14. Middle name? It's my maiden name, originally I didn't have one until I got married and gave myself one.

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. I wonder if we won the lottery last night, Leo have you checked the tickets?, I am hungry for lunch and it's only 10:34, I really should be working.

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? water, coke, hot tea

17. Current worry? Well actually nothing, right at this moment.

18. Current dislike right now? The size of my thighs.

19. Favorite place to be? With all my family preferably.

20. How did you ring in the New Year? In TN with friends playing the Wii.

21. Where would you like to go? I'll go anywhere! But I would LOVE to go to Greece or back to England.

22. Name three people who will complete this? Well I don't know, so if you have your own blog go do this too.

23. Do you own slippers? I do own them, but I don't wear them. I like fresh socks instead.

24. What color shirt are you wearing right now? White

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Ah, no.

26. Can you whistle? Yes

27. Favorite color? RED!

28. Would you be a pirate? You betcha, how fun would that be even though I do get kind of seasick.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? I don't sing in the shower.

30. Favorite Girl's Name? Danielle

31. Favorite boy's name? Leo

32. What's in your pocket right now? Nothing because my pants have no pockets.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? My friend Heather.

34. Best bed sheets as a child? Mickey Mouse

35. Worst injury you've ever had? An episiotomy, can that count???

36. Do you love where you live? Ha I kind of love this question, I don't really LOVE it but I do like it more now then I have in the past few months.

37. How many TV's do you have in your house? 4 ( but only two get watched)

38. Who is your loudest friend? Can I count myself? If not then it would probably be Heather.

39. How many dogs do you have? 0

40. Does someone have a crush on you? I hope Leo does, I don't know if anyone else does.

41. What is your favorite book? OK, well I don't have time to write all these and you don't' have time to read them all. So I'm going with Twilight (you're shocked right?)

42. What is your favorite candy? Paydays

43. Favorite Sports Team? It used to be the Detroit Red Wings, but I haven't watched a lot of hockey lately. So I'll go with the TN Titans.

44. What song do you want played at your funeral? Ice Ice Baby

Did you actually finish? I'm shocked...

Dancin' King

I was going to go over all my additions to my blog roll but don't have time for that today. I will do it soon.
Today I will just leave you with a story about Little Man. It happened yesterday while we were going into Kinko's.
I got Little Man out of the car first, set him on the sidewalk and went over to get Sweet Girl out.
At this point Little Man starts doing some dancing. And then, he notices his reflection in the window of the Kinko's. He kicks it into high gear and starts busting some moves all while screaming 'That's ME! That's ME!! Over and over again.
Passerbys commented and chuckled.
I laughed.
It was actually kind of difficult to get him to go in the store.
And then as we're leaving he takes his place again for his next performance.
It was really funny.

To Those Who Have Served

Thank You to those who have served our great country. Your sacrifice and duty are much appreciated in our house.

Thank You for protecting our country and all it stands for. I hope everyone takes a moment today to remember those who have been lost, those who have sacrificed their lives and those who continue to sacrifice time with their family, friends and home country to allow us to continue enjoying the freedoms we take for granted. Remember them always.

Yet Another Monday

I'll open with a big sigh because I just don't want to be at work today. Well really that's every day but Monday's are worse. We had a nice weekend. I had a fun girls night out on Friday, I consumed too much and paid for it Saturday. I'm old and out of practice. By Saturday late afternoon I was feeling more human. Needless to say, I will be really limiting my consumption at future outings because the next day is just not worth it anymore.

Sunday was our anniversary and we went to dinner and desert and ate WAY too much food. So much that you were uncomfortable and asking yourself what the hell was I thinking eating all that. I think I ate so much yesterday it was insane. I haven't eaten that much food in I have no idea how long.

Only 10 more days until I pull my crazy Twilight late night viewing!! I am getting really excited and will be reading the book again in the next few days.

Sweet Girl is loving her barbie birthday presents. We have the Diamond Castle Barbies and they sing now when you press their hand. Ask Leo he knows the song, he sings it a lot. It's kind of weird. Jeez my barbies were kind of boring compared to the new ones. So now she wants all the stuff that goes along with it. The prince, the dogs, the castle, etc. So maybe this will make Christmas gift buying easy! We'll see if she still wants them in a couple weeks.

Little Man has snot. And I wiped his nose the other day he looked at me and says 'Is that my snot?' I replied yes and chuckled. He is very funny. And then I gave him some benadryl and Leo asked me why I was giving it to him, I replied to Leo 'Because of his runny nose'. Little Man then looks as Leo and says 'Yeah it's for my nose.'

And lastly, I don't often write about football, but how about those Titans!!! Yay 9-0!!!!! That is so awesome, I'm glad we could have that effect on them. We move and they play awesome. Figures. Hopefully they go all the way and win the Superbowl. Go Titans!!

Oh Happy Day!

Woohoo, it's the best day of the week! Friday!
And that means it's Friday Fill-Ins!

1. My blueprint for success includes well, the actual blueprint. You can't really do much if you don't know what to do (trust me I've tried).

2. A mini Butterfinger was the last candy I ate.

3. The best facial moisturizer I've ever used is Purpose Daily Moisturizer.

4. A walk by the ocean and watching the waves can be good therapy.

5. I'd like to tell you about the time I went to NYC and got wicked bad blisters because I was stupid and wore a BRAND NEW NEVER worn before pair of shoes. Don't do that. EVER.

6. It's a tie really, between being loyal and being sarcastic, depends on the day as my strongest characteristic.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to woohoo night out with the girls for some birthday drinks and dinner, tomorrow my plans include hopefully not being hungover (because I'm old and a light weight now...) and a birthday party at the park (not for me, for a 3 year old friend) and Sunday, I want to enjoy the feat of 12 years of wedded bliss! Happy Anniversary Leo, I love you more today than I did 12 years ago.

My Debut

Well my friends I have added a new endeavor to my life (like I don't have enough going on with two small kids!!). I have become a Heritage Makers consultant. I found them when I was shopping at a consignment sale. They allow you to create heirloom quality books and cards and other neat stuff. I was so impressed by the books that I mulled over becoming a consultant for a while and then I finally decided I would do it because I was really excited about the books. I have always wanted to be a scrapbooker and I even have all the stuff but I just never had the time or energy to pull it out and get going. With Heritage Makers I just upload my pictures and away I go dragging and dropping my photos, adding my memories so it's all custom to me. There are amazing templates that people have designed already so your options are endless because you can still modify the template! They are then printed in a hardback, linen stitched book that will keep your memories alive for ages!

I really felt like this was something I wanted to do because I have so many pictures of the kids and have so many other ideas for books. And their Christmas Card designs are cool! So I'll be using them for my Christmas cards this year. I'm really excited.

I know alot of you who read the blog are probably computer savvy and prefer to do things online...I know that's me! And you:

• Have kids
• Have pictures
• Taken an amazing trip
• Have some family stories that are legendary

Or More? I bet you do!
Well I urge you to check out the site and create your books! As they say, every story deserves it's own book!

I also started a blog so I can post some examples and some tips and tricks. Check out the blog, there is an awesome Christmas template out there right now: A Storybook For You!

Have more questions, visit the site or shoot me an email. I will be happy and excited to hear about your stories and ideas for projects and help you get setup!

The Present Update

OK, so I guess my worst gift wasn't that obvious...sorry about that. I am sure once you read this you'll be like THAT is what you meant. No I'm not pregnant or anything like that (come on that wouldn't be a bad present!!). It was the election results. Sorry to disappoint some of you.

I did however get some awesome gifts! A new bag, shoes, two cookbooks and shirts. Good stuff!

The Best and Worst Presents Ever

Today 33 years ago I was born. Today 4 years ago Sweet Girl was born. Yep we share the day! She was the best birthday present ever and no one will ever be able to top it that's for sure. Although honestly I was not thrilled with her being born on my birthday, now I don't mind so much.

She was born at 5:20 PM and weighed in at 8 lbs 5.5 oz and she was fat and chunky and just perfect. She was a highly efficient eater and breastfed like a champ finishing in under 10 minutes usually.

Now she is 4 and a growing girl who can carry on a good conversation. She makes awesome faces (yes something she gets from me) and says funny things. She's also highly dramatic and while it drives me batty most of the time it is really something I don't think I can change. I can't sit here and type everything I would like that has happened over the last four years because it would take forever and because I would cry which makes typing kind of difficult.

We got lucky and got pregnant with her the first month we tried. And I loved being pregnant even though my feet looked like hobbit feet (minus the hair...) because they were so swollen. I was also on bed rest the last 2 months. But obviously it was worth it.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!! Thank you for bringing fun and excitement into our life. I love being with you when you experience new things. I love you, Sweet Girl.

I did intend to include my worst present ever but I don't think I can tarnish this post with that since it really should be all about Sweet Girl. I'll give you just a hint...I actually found out about it last night...

I Voted

I voted today. I did my duty and it only took an hour! Even though they were paper ballots that I had to fill in with a felt tip pen. Hopefully they are not manually counted...
So now it begins....the wait.
Hopefully we have some solid news before I need to go to bed.

If you voted. Good for you.

Everyone should vote!!! Even if you're not the "political" type, do you realize what kind of right this is??

Aside from voting Tuesday, it's the eve of Sweet Girls (and my) birthday. We'll be heading to the store to arm her with cup cakes to bring to her class tomorrow. I would like to make them but we can't, they HAVE to be store bought {insert my rolling eyes here}. I'm also debating taking the day off. It would be nice to have a leisurely day.

I Hate A Monday

I just hate Mondays. Blech is what I have to say about them. I really do not like having to get up and get ready for work when it's still dark outside. The sun isn't really coming up until after 6:30 which is when I should already be at work but lately it's been when I LEAVE for work...so yes I'm a little late.
This morning was especially difficult because the sheets were just changed last night and they were just the right temperature (cool!!) and I was so comfy that I wanted to just throw the alarm clock when it went off.

I really would like to take a few months off of work and get my life and thoughts organized. I live in a continuous state of feeling behind, overwhelmed and just getting by. I am sure every other mom feels this way too. I just feel a couple months off to get my thoughts and life in order would do me and my family so much good. But unless we win the lottery I'm not sure when this will happen and so I'll have to figure out how to get this done with everything else I need to do on a daily basis.

Only 3 more weeks and we'll be back in Tennessee for a while and that will be a good break!

We did have a good weekend, it was very busy and lots of fun! We enjoyed Chuck E Cheese (who really could have turned their air conditioning down because Lord it was hot in there) and Sweet Girl had a good birthday and got lots of girly loot. We'll have the official family celebration on Wednesday, where she will get MORE gifts!

And even though Monday's suck...the weather this week is turning Danielle friendly! Woohooo...Finally!!

The Great Flood of '08

It's a good thing I love my kids more than anything in the world or this would be an ad for 2 preschoolers for sale instead of the flood story.
I was suffering from being a crabby patty yesterday so I really just wanted to lie down on the couch for a bit and relax. Leo is also relaxing on the couch. We can hear the kids playing in our bathroom which is directly behind the living room wall. I ask Leo if thinks they are playing with the tub faucet. Probably so as I can also hear the water running.
Leo gets up to get check out their mischief. The bedroom door is locked. He's knocking on the door, telling Sweet Girl to open it up. Finally she comes to the door, opens it and tells Leo 'Somethings wrong'.
Oh boy THAT was an understatement.
I hear Leo start yelling, somewhat making out the obscenities flying from the bathroom. It's a good thing Leo doesn't have one of those veins in his neck or head that pop out when he gets angry because it would have surely exploded with this episode.
The bathroom was flooded. There was over an inch of water in there.
The kids had turned the faucet around so when they turned on the water for the tub it was running on to the floor instead of INTO the bathtub.
Luckily Leo got a shop vac that also sucks up water for Christmas a few years ago. Within 10 minutes it was all up and I was trying to explain why this was not good to the kids.
Sweet Girl kept saying 'Little Man did it'. Little Man kept saying 'I do it! I do it!'.

The joys joys joys of parenthood...

Adventures of Super Girl & Batman

So Halloween was AWESOME! We had a blast and got a lot of goodies (more than we actually NEED...but then again who really NEEDS candy in the first place...). We went over to another neighborhood where they had basically a block party atmosphere, lots of kids, food, beer and FUN for all of us!

Sweet Girl was Super Girl and looked really great in her costume. She let me put her hair in pig tails and I topped off the costume with some blush and lipstick. It did feel somewhat wrong mashing the blush brush on her cheeks to apply an over abundance of blush and trying to put lipstick on her was a challenge since she wouldn't relax her mouth. Finally it was applied and she looked so cute.
Sweet Girl did have one slight mishap in that she was running back and forth across the street and busted a move in the middle, getting a couple black skinned knees. Battle scars that were forgotten in less than 5 minutes. Here and her two friends did great at trick or treating and had a blast playing together.

Batman looked stunning in his costume as well but refused to wear his mask and almost refused the most important part as well...his cape! But I got it on when he was a little distracted.
Batman also had a slight run in with something, although it wasn't the street in his case. He was run over by a girl on a bicycle. She was dressed as Dorthy and could have possibly been possessed by the Wicked Witch at the time the incident occurred. Really she was a little distraught herself as Little Man cried saying 'bicycle hit me' over and over. He was unharmed except for possible mental trauma which may cause him to never ride a bike.

We headed home around 9:00 and all hit the sack early! It was a really great evening. We met some new people and hopefully made some new friends!

Halloween Friday!

Happy Halloween! And Friday Fill-Ins!!

1. My favorite food seasoning is pepper or garlic (sadly I haven't cooked in a while so I don't use a lot of seasonings lately...).

2. Hearing my children playing nicely together is music to my ears.

3. Lucky is a brand of jeans that I won't buy because they are too damn expensive and they really don't fit me either.

4. Being honest and trustworthy is something I take very seriously.

5. Many people need a good American history lesson.

6. The ingredients for 7 layer dip was the last thing I bought at the store.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Trick or Treating of course, tomorrow my plans include a trip to the range, possibly shopping, and hanging out with the kids and Leo and Sunday, I want to have an excellent time at Chuck E Cheese for Sweet Girl's 4th (OMG 4!!) Birthday party and I expect to hear that the Titans are 8-0,baby!! !

I Love Flair

Ok, so I was reluctant to join Facebook. But I joined a few months ago to keep up with some of my favorite Middle Tennessee Mommies. They are nice enough to let me stay in their group even though officially I'm not a Middle Tennessee Mommy anymore. I guess once a MTM always a MTM and for that I am grateful because they are a good group of ladies and I do miss a lot of them terribly. I've also caught up with a few high school friends as well. It really is a good way to keep in touch without a lot of effort. I like it.

Anyways, it was mostly MTM Kim who really pushed the Facebook group. I joined and now I am hooked. I try to log in as much as possible and leave comments on walls, keep up with the MTM's (although I have been a slacker here the past couple weeks), and look at the Flair. I LOVE the flair. I can sit and read them and they all just make me laugh. My favorite piece of Flair is currently: 'Basically I love to curse'. It is so me! And it makes me laugh. And you know I've got some Twilight Flair out there! Facebook sucks you in and you could literally spend HOURS on there (I don't spend hours on there, but if I didn't have kids I probably could). I like to think of it MySpace for the older crowd...and by older I do mean anyone over 21...And I'm older than 21.

I know some of the MTMs read the blog and sometimes leave comments so I'm sure one of them (probably Kim) will leave one now that calls out my lack of posting/commenting on the MTM Group in the last month or so. I promise in advance I'll be better. I do miss you guys!

Want to be my friend on Facebook? Send me an email. I like new friends. And I will send you some Flair!

Views of Arizona

Flagstaff

The lone aspen (with leaves left)

The Grand Canyon (and the Colorado River)

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon

Random Subject Changes

I am typing like I talk sometimes which includes random abrupt subject changes. Don't ask why.



We went to Flagstaff again this past weekend. It was very nice and we did some more hiking. We couldn't find one of the trails we were looking for and ended up way out in the middle of no where after driving on a completely unmaintained dirt road. It was really sort of fun and we put the Yukon to the true test. Sweet Girl didn't like it very much, getting thrown around in her car seat. Leo and I had fun at least. We also did a really cool hike in Sedona. It was fun, but every noise Little Man heard was a snake. Then on the way home, we were making awesome time and we would have been home by about 3:00, but the freeway was closed and they were not diverting traffic. So we sat for 1.5 hours. There were people out walking around, the guy behind us was playing soccer. There is some weird feeling of walking around on the freeway. The couple in front of us, shared a coke with me.

I'm hoping one of these shows up in my driveway soon. Why? 1. It's a damn sexy car 2. I would look fabulous driving around in this and 3. It means we won the lottery. If you don't know, it's an '09 Audi S5. I would, however, prefer black.

So after more research, apparently 2 hours of cardio is what I need to commit to in order to get rid of some of my lovely thigh fat. Who has time for that? I'm trying to encourage myself to add more cardio but it's so tough after all the reading I've done. I'm always a fan of having knowledge and reading up on stuff. You know knowledge is power and remember those commercials 'the more you know' with the flying star and rainbow... Well...this reading is making me discouraged. I guess I wish I would have known this in JULY when I embarked on my endeavor and I probably would have been at my goal because at that point I was totally motivated to do whatever. Now not so much.

The man behind me in my cube is chewing his stupid gobstoppers again.

I love blog comments. I LOVE them. It really makes me happy that people I don't know comment. if I know you, trust me I love your comments too. So if you're lurking, stop lurking and leave a comment or two or ten. I have started venturing out and reading more blogs and leaving comments on theirs. No, I'm not doing it just so they read my blog and maybe leave a comment. I really do enjoy reading their blogs. I need to update my blog roll and maybe do a post on them.

OK, well I think that's enough randomness for one day.

Sometimes I Am Nuts

So as you know, I am a Twilight fan. And in 24 days the movie will be out. Thinking it would be cool and fun I got tickets for me and a friend to go see the midnight showing. MIDNIGHT, what the hell was I thinking? I sometimes can't even make it to 10:00 PM on a good night. Most nights I'm in bed by 9:00 and fast asleep by 9:30. Yeah I'm living on the edge now, it only took me a while to get here. I've never seen the midnight showing of a movie and thought about my aforementioned sleeping habits and then said well I'm doing it anyway. I am excited and hoping that adrenaline and lots of Starbucks will let me make it! Hmmm...Pumpkin Spice Latte and Twilight. YUMMY to both!
I should also add that I will have to work some the next day and we're also flying back to TN that afternoon. So yes, I'm nuts.

WooHoo It's Friday!

Yes it's Friday yet again. Thank goodness, although this week hasn't been too bad. And it's Friday Fill-Ins!

1. Right now, I'm feeling pretty content.

2. With all my family in a snazzy beach house is where I want to be.

3. How does one figure out who they are after they've been lost?

4. My kids elephant memory keeps me on track.

5. Please don't chew everlasting gobstoppers around me.

6. Children laughing fills me with joy.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to another weekend of cool weather, tomorrow my plans include a hike in Sedona and Sunday, I want to maybe take a nap??!!

I'm One Of The Lucky Ones...

Lucky in what way you ask? While yes I am lucky because I have a wonderful husband, two great kids, great family, a beautfiul house, drivable cars and a job (not that I like it but still I do have to be thankful not to be unemployed). But there's more, oh yes, more I say. I'm also lucky because I am one of those women who carry her fat on her thighs, hips and ass. Oh yes I'm luuuuccckkkyyyy! So I've blogged before about losing weight. And my quest and even that I wake up at 4 AM to go to the gym. And apparently the changing of my diet, reducing my calorie intake and, working my ass off (but not really) at the gym may not provide me with the results I am desiring. I can attest to this since due to making these changes in JULY I haven't lost any weight. And please spare me the muscle weighs more than fat and blah blah blah, and the you're losing inches bit because if I was losing inches my pants would fit differnt and you know what THEY DON'T, they fit the same. Ok...sorry about that. So...due to my "shape" if you will, and storing fat in my lucky areas is the healthier location then storing fat around the middle but worst area if you want to lose weight. WOOHOOO...YAY ME!!! And if you're wondering...my body is storing this fat in this particular location to help with pregnany and breastfeeding.

After reading this and doing more research I proclaimed to Leo that I had the surefire way to lose weight. Breastfeeding! He responded with a look of horror and a resounding I don't think so. Now I really wouldn't have another baby just to lose weight, although I do miss having a baby and I loved being pregnant and after having Sweet Girl I was losing weight like crazy while breastfeeding. Not so much with Little Man since I didn't stop eating the doughnuts I craved WHILE I was pregnant. But I digress since it was those damn doughnuts that probably added the fat to my thighs and ass. But you know I do have a breast pump, I wonder if I just start pumping if I can start producing milk again and start the weight loss that way...hmmm....I was a milk factory and did produce milk like crazy so I wonder if I can start it up again. I could even donate the milk! It's a win win, I lose weight and babies get breastmilk. I'm brillant.

I guess before I venture into becoming my own version of Bessie, I will modify my diet ONCE AGAIN and increase protein intake and all the other crap that the research has turned up. Although my motivation to do this is somewhat nill really, I have no motivation. After almost 5 months of not alot of results (although I did buy a size 10 pair of jeans at Target, that I am kind of convinced are sized incorrectly since some of my current pants that are size 12 are still fitting the same as before I started all this). I have to work myself up to getting motivated again. And I to some degree don't really feel like it. But I will. Eventually.

Lost My Mojo

I'm boring. I think of that commercial where the people are saying 'When people think of me they think of my love of nature, or blah blah blah'. I've been thinking about this for myself and I really can't answer this. I don't know anymore, since having kids I have become a Mom and am happy about this fact of course. As the kids are so great and add so much to my life. But I think I've lost all the other stuff and it was replaced with only ONE thing. I have been happier lately and staying in the Happy Valley.
I need to find myself again. Do you know where I went?

Working From Home

I usually work from home on Tuesday and Thursdays. Today it worked out well since Little Man came down with a fever yesterday and is not able to go to school today. He is hanging out with me today while I attempt to work. Working is not very easy with him around. We've had Spongebob Squarepants on A LOT which keeps him entertained for a conference call or two. And thank goodness the phone has a mute option.
He is feeling more like normal today and has been quite entertaining. Whenever I give him anything he looks up at me, smiles and says 'For meeeee?'. Like the yogurt I am giving him is the best present he's ever received. It's very sweet actually.
And for some reason he also thinks we have a dog, as he proceeded to tell me, after dropping food on the floor 'that's OK the dog will eat it'. We don't have a dog...
I think he is enjoying the alone time, as he never has time where Sweet Girl is not demanding this or that or dictating to him what he needs to do or where he needs to go. He's the the king of the castle today!

Woohoo! My First Blog Award!

Well I am honored to be a recipient of this 'I Love Your Blog' Award. My friend Judy over at A Day In The Life Of The Basha's gave this award to me. I am happy to have the award, but goodness there are a lot of questions! :)

As a recipient of this award, there are rules to follow. I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only! Then I must pass it on to seven others! The questions are as follows:

1. Where is your cell phone? Desk
2. Where is your significant other? Work

3. Your hair color? Brown

4. Your mother? Missed

5. Your father? Missed

6. Your favorite thing? Family

7. Your dream last night? Weird

8. Your dream/goal? Lottery

9. The room you're in? Windowless
10. Your hobby? Blogging

11. Your fear? Drowning

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Home

13. Where were you last night? Bed

14. What you're not? Tall
15. One of your wish-list items? Beachhouse
16. Where you grew up? declining (it's Detroit...)
17. The last thing you did? ate
18. What are you wearing? Clothes
19. Your TV? Big

20. Your pet? None

21. Your computer? Laptop

22. Your mood? Crabby

23. Missing someone? Yes

24. Your car? Volkswagen
25. Something you're not wearing? Hat
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? HOT

28. Love someone? Alot
29. Your favorite color? Red

30. When is the last time you laughed? earlier
31. Last time you cried? Unsure

The bloggers that I'm nominating (I don't know 7 other bloggers that I would send this to - is that sad? Well I do know of 7 other bloggers but not sure I know them well enough to nominate their blog, I mean would they think it's strange that someone who has been commenting on their blog for a while nominates them? I am unsure of this blogging etiquette. So since Judy and I share some of the same blogs, I only have two...):

Chrissy at A Lil' Dash of Diva - She's going through a lot so maybe you can keep her in your thoughts. And I though maybe this would be a good diversion.

Kami at Chuck and Kami - She's pregnant and needs a blog post!