Who's Going to Tell You?

'09 is NOT so fine...

2009-01-14T20:48:00.000-08:00

Well gang - this year is what - 14 days old and I'm already tired of it!

I need to whine a bit here so if you'd rather not hear it - click somewhere else. :)

I just can't catch a break these days.

To summarize the last few weeks....

My dog injured her rear leg pretty bad. Her collar got stuck on a bookshelf handle and the entire thing fell on her. We are watching it and hoping she'll be ok. She is 12 years old.

My family DRAMA is on high alert for the most ridiculous things. I won't even go into it, but rest assured it is silly and people need to just GROW up!

Turns out I have yet ANOTHER sinus infection complete with an oozing eye.

The pipes in the cabin are frozen and need repair.

My washing machine broke.

One of our two vehicles is near death and it is only a matter of time before we are down to one car. Can't afford to fix it.

My LOVE of my life (dear daughter) tripped and hit her eye tonight on a table and has a SHINER like you wouldn't believe.

The wind chills here in Wisconsin are so ridiculous that school is closed tomorrow. Minus 30 to minus 40 wind chill!

Sigh. I just want someone to tell me that it will be OK. That this isn't really anything and that it too shall pass. I want to call my mom. I want to get a hug from my dad. But that won't be for some many, many years.

I know in hindsight that this post will be one I want to delete, because I am not a negative person. But right now I am fighting hard to stay smiling!

I know I have much to be happy for and all and all I am blessed. I just want the dark cloud to move on out!

So send me a smile, send me a prayer.

I'm off to take some antibiotics now. Can you mix those with the other type of WINE?

;0

Me

It's 2009? Really?

2009-01-11T20:32:00.000-08:00

Gee, I haven't blogged in the NEW YEAR yet? Shame on me!

I guess the hustle and bustle of Christmas and New Year's got to me and then, of course, I got sick. Why wouldn't I get sick? Sigh..

Got this horrible sinus thing and I just feel lousy.

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's and that 09 is turning out to be a good one for you.

I'll be back soon, I hope.

Miss reading your blogs and blogging in general...

Me

Staying within the lines

2008-12-17T09:45:00.001-08:00

Sometimes the simple answer is the best. And then again, sometimes I just SAY TOO MUCH! Here is my morning conversation with darling daughter as we enjoyed breakfast.

Daughter: Mom, what are those LINES on your forehead?
Me: Where?

Daughter: On your forehead. They look like hairs, but they go side to side. Horizontally.
Me: Oh. Those are wrinkles.

Daughter: Will they go away?
Me: No.

Daughter: Will I get those?
Me: Yes. Some day.

Daughter: Why do you have them?
Me: Well it is just age. You get them from the sun, from just getting older.

Daughter: Some moms don't have them. Why do you?
Me: Well I'm older than some of the other moms.

Daughter: Why?
Me: Because I was older when you were born.

Daughter: Why were you older?
Me: Well I guess I wasn't ready when I was younger.

Daughter: How do you know when you are ready to be a mom?
Me: Well you just KNOW. You need to be with the right person and then, well, God just knows and helps you.

(Keep in mind she is 7 and I'm not ready for THAT TALK, just yet!)

Daughter: He helps you? How?
Me: It's complicated. I will tell you more when you are older. You wouldn't understand it all right now

Daughter: When will you tell me?
Me: When you are ready?

Daughter: When will I be ready?
Me: When you are older.

Daughter: How much older?
Me: Oh gosh, I don't know. In a few years.

Daughter. Oh. You know you have other lines on your face too. And some marks that look like holes.
Me: Yes I know. Thanks for pointing that out. (my tone IS changing at this point)

Daughter: What's wrong?
Me: Well you are pointing out things you seem to not like about me.

Daughter: Mom, I love how your face looks! I like to stare at you so I don't forget what you look like when I'm gone all day at school.
Me: (silent)

Me: (tears welling up) I love you.
Daughter: I love you too. Why are your eyes all watery?

Me: Sometimes grownups cry when they are happy?
Daughter: That's weird!

Me: I know!
Daughter: Will I cry when I'm happy some day?

Me: Sigh. Yes. Finish your breakfast Silly Billy!
Daughter: Ok, Pallie Pal.

Daughter: And hey mom, don't feel bad. Dad's lines on his forehead are much worse than yours. So are my teachers. She has really DEEP ones.
Me: Thanks. I don't feel bad.

Note: I am getting my hair cut tonight. GUESS WHO is getting bangs! Ha, ha - that will cover my lines!

Have a good one everybody!

Tell it to me TUESDAY, #2!

2008-12-16T10:17:00.000-08:00

Here you go - things you never knew that you wanted to KNOW about me!

MARGIE asks:

Did you ever find the mates to the shoes you showed us in your 6/2008 post?

No, sadly I did not. I also did not take them back to the store. Come to think of it, what DID I do with them? Put them back in my closet? I'd say yep, they are probably somewhere in the black abyss!

Did you ever get all your spring cleaning done?
ACTUALLY I am making great progress since it is too cold to do ANYTHING OUTSIDE! I cleaned my office, the garage, my daughter's closet and the entire house in the last 3 days. I ache everywhere and I'm living on Motrin, but it is nice and tidy in most places! It has REALLY helped my frame of mind to get rid of the clutter. Most of it is in the give away pile that is in my trunk which I must clear out so I can re-fill it with more new stuff for Christmas! Ah, the cycle never ends!

Do you drive in all the snow you get?
It is more like we SLIDE and pray we eventually stop! Ha, ha. I ONLY DRIVE if I have to when I'm in my car. If I am in hubby's 4-wheel drive truck, then I am OK. You cannot live here and NOT have one vehicle that is 4-wheel drive!

Do you like winter/summer?
Asked and answered your honor! Ha, ha - SUMMER without a doubt!

What is your favorite color?
PURPLE. Purple pens, purple paper, purple love seat, purple plates, purple wallet, purple hat, purple purse, purple gloves, PURPLE PURPLE PURPLE!

Your blog layout changed. Did you do it?
Thanks! Yes, but it is a template. I have a new header for it, but I'm working on some minor tweaks. Maybe for 2009 I'll surprise you all!

Well OK that is it! Easy week for me! Unless I missed something someone asked, I do believe we are all caught up!

More later. I've got tons on my mind!

Me

Ten More Winters...

2008-12-15T20:38:00.000-08:00

That is how many more winters I plan to stay in the MIDWEST! Wisconsin to be exact! Ugh!

This morning it was minus 16 with the wind chill. OK, that just isn't right!

The kids could not play outside (thankfully) and I feel cooped up already. The scraping of the snow, the crunching of the snow - it is just icky! And because it was 50 degrees (YES YOU read that right) on Sunday - the piles of old snow have melted and become this dark black icy mix of who knows what.

The good news is that the SUN has been shining so it isn't the typical gray, but still! I'm getting OLD because none of this interests me!

I think the title of this blog would make a good book title. Hmmmm..

Other items of interest - I have done zero Christmas shopping and I'll admit it...I'm a little nervous. I haven't done Christmas cards either and don't know if I will. A lot of people are skipping it I think.

We are supposed to be getting another 3-5 inches of snow tomorrow starting at 3:00 and I'm just not that adventurous to head out into it. I'd rather stay at home and blog, read or write. OLD OLD OLD huh?

I know I owe you all a Tuesday update - my Tell it to me Tuesday and I will keep that. I don't have tons to answer so if you have lurking around and wanting to write something - now is your chance!

Have a good night. If you are somewhere warm, please go outside and smile for me.

:)

I DID IT...

2008-12-09T21:17:00.000-08:00

You know the soap dispenser that magically gets filled?
I DID IT.

Those clean clothes that appear in your drawers and in the closet?
I DID IT.

That warm meal that got cooked?
I DID IT.

The forms for school that were filled out and turned in on time?
I DID IT.

The furnace that got cleaned and serviced?
I DID IT.

The food that appears in the fridge? I DID IT.

The birthday present that was bought for your family member that I really don't like?
I DID IT.

The bills that get paid (sometimes on time)?
I DID IT.

The house that is relatively clean?
I DID IT.

The nice fresh sheets on all the beds?
I DID IT.

The Christmas cards that get sent out?
I DID IT.

The thank you notes I made our daughter write?
I DID IT.

The RSVP's to parties?
I DID IT.

The calls to the vet, the doctor, dentist and all other appointments?
I DID IT.

The piles of paper that get put away?
I DID IT.

The mail that gets opened?
I DID IT.

And that bottle of wine that opened itself and evaporated?
I DID IT.

:)

Tell it to me TUESDAY, 1st edition!

2008-12-08T20:58:00.000-08:00

Awwww...a few of you actually gave me questions.

I'm so happy! As part of the NEW ME, I am going to keep my promise and give you some enlightening material to read. (ha, ha, ha)

Here we go:

Michelle from The Zoromski Chronicles asked "What's the name of your GPS?"
Answer: Priscilla. Although my daughter and her friends call her Drazilla. Who knows why. Priscilla wasn't funny and odd enough?

Michelle is such an over-achiever that she asked more than one question! :) She also asked these tough questions,

"Coke or Pepsi?"
Answer: COKE. But I rarely drink soda anymore. Is it soda or is it pop? I'm from Illinois and I think I used to say pop, but here in Wisconsin it is soda. Oh my - they have converted me! I'm ONE of them!

"Christmas lights - white or color??"
Answer: On the tree white, outside color. I used to think all white was so classy and simple and pretty. But then everyone started to do it and it got, well...boring. SO now I like colored lights and of course, I gave all mine away during some crazy binge cleaning!

"Do you miss me yet??
Answer: YES! It has been far too long and I'm sure it is 100% MY FAULT!

Brandi from O.W.IN.G.S asked,
"Hows the new job?"
Answer: It is a lot of fun! I'm teaching part-time. But kids can sometimes be too honest. One kid said to me today, "I can't wait for the REAL TEACHER to come back." (I'm filling in for a gal who is out because of surgery) Can you just FEEL THE LOVE?

Whew. That was hard! Just kidding. If you missed this exciting new opportunity to ask me anything - feel free to post a question and I'll answer it next week. Oh I feel like Ann Landers!

Actually - you can ASK ME ANYTHING. That's a neat idea. Advice needed anyone? You can post anonymously if you want. I'm REALLY GOOD at giving advice! :)

Have a nice Tuesday. We are expecting 6-10 inches of snow. Pretty to look at, not practical to get around and actually live/work!

Night!

ps_I hope the links work! I was patting myself on the back for that. I'm that easy....!

Tell it to me TUESDAY's

2008-12-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

OK NEW IDEA here.

Let's see how this goes.

I am borrowing (because I hate to copy) from Dawn's idea over at Because I Said So. You know Dawn, right? She is like RUDOLPH - she is the most famous blogger of all!

Anyway she does Sunday Sound Outs where she answers questions from during the week. Since I only have a handful of followers, I figure I can handle this. I have this horrible guilt when I don't respond to all of my stalkers, I mean readers - so here is the deal.

On TUESDAYS I will answer all the questions either sent to me via email OR left as part of your comments. You know how sometimes you comment on something and then at the end you ask a question? Well I'm one of those that can't ignore them so come on - ASK AWAY!

I will do my best to answer them and be as open and honest as possible. Obviously if you ask me some crazy super personal question you might get a quick bite from me...but I promise to be nice.

:)

Come on now - don't make me feel bad - somebody start this off and ask me something!

Doctor Doctor give me the news....

2008-12-05T21:30:00.001-08:00

Yes those are lyrics to a great song, I know. But this post isn't about singing. It's about a simple test I went to take at the doctor's office this week. A simple TB test. Come on. This is me. You know it wasn't simple. Be prepared. This is a long post, but worth it, I think!

As part of my new teaching gig at my daughter's school, I needed to take a TB test and a physical exam. When I started the job I vaguely remember them giving me papers with names of places I could call for this to be done. They pay for it, so I might as well go to their people. Right? Umm....wrong.

I didn't call and was in a PANIC as I thought that I might not be able to work if they found out I didn't take this test. I'm curious - - is TB really that common? I haven't had this test in years. The last time I had it I think I was in high school or college so it has been a long time!

I call and think I'm going to have to bribe someone to get me in on time, but the gal on the phone is super sweet and says "can you come today?" I thought - WOW these people are great. I couldn't go on that day so I scheduled it for the following day. 12:30 was my appointment.

I show up, sign in and right away get this "feeling" that I might not be the only one that was PROMISED an appointment at that time. The place was packed! I sign in and wait. And wait. And by the way, I wait. NOT being a patient person, I proceed up to the desk to ask how much longer. Oh you should be next, once we clear a room. Ah. The old "clear the room" game.

An HOUR later I'm escorted back to the vision test. Part of my physical. Well my contacts are old and dirty (not to self - order new contacts!) and I basically FAIL this test. It is like the on at the DMV where you lean up on a screen thing. She doesn't seem to care. I guess I can teach the kids blind!

Next it was onto the steps of death or the more common term - the scale. Oh great. I basically weigh what I did when I was pregnant. OK that was 8 years ago. Oh joy! Yep she has to shout it for the whole world to hear. Sigh. Oh and I apparently am shrinking because she said I was 5' 2" and I know for a fact I am 5' 3"! LOL!

Now on to the urine test. Huh? No one told me about this. I can't just go at will. Or can I? Oh yes, I've had one child so I basically go anytime I laugh! No problem. I take the cup and head into the room. Here is where the day gets interesting.

There is a HUGE sign that says "DO NOT FLUSH TOLIET". I am so naive that I think it is broken or something. There are no sanitary wipe things to do beforehand, so I just go for it. I'm sure you can relate - there is no GOING IN THE CUP. You basically GO ON YOUR HAND and hope a few drops make it into the cup. Satisfied that I have "enough" to proudly walk out and hand her my cup I look for a place to set the cup. You know - that little door that you place it in and it magically is taken away and you never have to SEE your urine again? No such door. Huh?

So I place the cup on the floor and desperately look for a towel to wipe my hand. Nope. No towels. Just some good cheap toliet paper. Great. It isn't even ONE-PLY toliet paper. It is like HALF-PLY that won't come off the roll in more than one square at a time!

I peel off as many layers as I can in a row and wrap it around the cup. It sticks to the WET cup. I'm dabbing my hands and throwing all this paper in the toliet. GASP! Oh no! I can't flush this all down and get rid of the evidence! Remember the sign - NO FLUSHING. Oh great.

I bravely open the door, holding my soggy tissue-covered cup and look around. No one is there. Figures! I said "hello?" She pops up from around the corner and takes the cup. I say "um....can I wash my hands somewhere?" She shows me to a sink where I now suffer second degree burns attempting to sanitize my hands. I then shyly say "I had to use paper to dry my hands and there is a bunch of paper in the toliet." She just stares as me and gives me an odd look as if to say "thanks for sharing crazy lady." I go on to say "I couldn't flush because of the sign." She starts to laugh and tells me "oh that is just for drug testing! You could have flushed!" Ah yes, of course. I would know this - - how, exactly?

The rest of the "physical" wasn't much better. After waiting another 45 mintutes in a room I am given these paper shorts. Why you ask? Because the doctor will need to test my reflexes. This actually makes sense to me. I must have reflexes to run away from any naughty children! Ha, ha, ha!

My "physical" was an absolute joke. Sorry. No other way to say it. The doctor comes in and I have to do a series of tests like touch my toes, put one hand out and while my eyes are closed I touch my nose What? I'm not drunk!

The ONE test that just floored me was the hearing test. The doctor had me turn around (I think he wanted to see my big bottom in those paper shorts) and cover one ear. Then he whispered something and asked me what he said. At this point I looked up in the corners of the room in search of the hidden cameras. I was waiting for the cameras to come out and someone to tell me I was junk PUNKED by Ashton Kutcher! Can you even believe this? Oh and what did he whisper to me you ask? Sponge Bob Squarepants!!!!!!

I had to go back there yesterday to have my results read. Luckily I was in and out in 2 minutes. A receptionist looked at my arm and said "it's negative."

When I got home hubby asked me about it and I filled him in. He asked WHY they took the urine and I said they put a stick in it to check my glucose levels to make sure I wasn't diabetic. He brought up a good point. He said "so they didn't check you for drugs? You can teach kids and be on drugs but they want to be sure you don't need insulin? That's weird." (for the record I am NOT on drugs and would have passed - just had to mention that.)

It is weird. But it seems that lately everything around me is weird!

I'm telling you that I do need a new T-shirt that reads "it could only happen to me!"

Have a good one,

Me

:)

Women are NOT sinks...

2008-12-04T18:29:00.000-08:00

don't try to fix them.

Alright I can't claim to have said that. It was on TV tonight on Samantha Who? If you don't watch that show - check it out, it is pretty funny!

Basically we have all been there. Something is bugging us and we VENT. I know every woman reading this knows what I mean and the few guys that read this know what it is too. You've heard us go on and on about one topic and then all of a sudden we are talking about your mother and last Thanksgiving when she wouldn't serve us the last helping of turkey! LOL!

It IS WHAT we do. We don't want you to FIX anything. We want you to LISTEN and nod your head. Pretend that you can emphathize and feel our pain. If we complain about our best friend we do not want you to harm her. If we gripe about our boss, we do not want you to grab an ax and kill him. If we grumble that you should do more or take out the trash ON TRASH day, it does not mean we want a divorce.

We do our thing and you do yours. See, that is the problem. Your thing is - - fixing it? I don't want to be fixed. I want you to LISTEN and for a brief moment in your life TRY to be me and understand that sometimes I just need to spew.

Sometimes when you ask me "what's new?" I should say "nothing" and call a girlfriend!

Me

Back to Reality

2008-12-01T20:44:00.000-08:00

Hi gang!

Well I'm back in town and back in business! I had a WONDERFUL TIME relaxing and getting myself re-charged for the upcoming 24 days.

I came home in a MAJOR snowstorm, but all in all, it is good to come home and see things in a new light. Every room looked bigger, things seemed better. I don't know why - maybe it is just being away makes you appreciate what you have. I am always so thankful to pull in the driveway and see the house is still standing! :)

My "to do" list is long this week. How is yours? I am trying to not get overwhelmed and just saying "yes" to things I actually want to do vs. doing it all.

One of the big things I feel I want to do is CLEAN UP MY BLOG! Holy cow do I have too many labels and I still hate the colors and layout of this thing. Suggestions? Anyone want to take it on and do it for me?

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. I should list all the things I am thankful for but right now my tired old body wants to get some rest. Just didn't want to disappear like I did last year so this is my boring post for tonight.

Sleep tight,

Me

happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T21:36:00.000-08:00

Just a quick hello as I am out of town and attemting a post via a cellphone keyboard is not recommended!!

I am thankful for so many things and I will be home Monday to post more, however I didn't want You all to get worried that I was missing again.

I hope today was as good for you as it was for me.

Be safe... Be happy...be you!!

Peep Show

2008-11-19T19:33:00.000-08:00

Part of my new mini part-time job is working at my daughter's school. I say mini because it is only 2 hours a day/10 hours a week. I do it because I love teaching and miss it and hope to return to teaching full time in the fall. Well most of it is in the classroom, but from time to time they need help in the lunchroom and outside for recess duty. I do it because it is part of the gig and I avoid it whenever possible.

I'll admit it - I don't like the lunchroom or recess duty. I don't mind the little ones (Kindergarten and first graders) as they are still "nice" and "polite" and really seem to appreciate it when you help them with opening a juice box. The kids over 5th grade, well they seem a bit uninterested in any adult, let alone me. I'm not a tall woman by any means and even WITH boots or heels, some of those 6th graders have four-inches of height on me! You can't really make small talk with them, its kinda like zoo animals. I look at them and then move on! I REALLY don't like the outside duty as I feel there are WAY too many kids to watch and I fear something horrible will happen on my time. (broken bones, fist fights come to mind)

Another glorious part of helping out in the lunchroom is that you get to wipe down the tables. I should back up a bit and tell you that I dress professionally for my mini-job at school. I am always in heels or boots and I normally wear a sleeveless shirt with a sweater or a short sleeve shirt with a jacket of some type. I am ALWAYS HOT so this gives me some flexibility in taking off the sweater and cooling my HOT BODY down. (you can laugh that I said HOT BODY and didn't mean it like I was some 20 year old 'thang!) Oh and most of my tops that I wear underneath are V-necks. This will become and important details in a few more paragraphs. Some of you know where this is going, don't you?

As the other "regular helpers" are talking and apparently working, I am scrubbing down the tables and the seats on all of these tables. There is one group of 6th grade boys that just seems to be hanging around and not eating their food anymore, but just sitting at their table talking and laughing. We are told to push them outside as close to the bell as possible, but we let most kids hang back while we are cleaning up and sweeping - maybe an extra 5 minutes to finish up. It's now colder outside so I am guessing they don't want to go out for recess or they are too cool to be outside or something.

I mean WHY would they stay inside and watch some middle aged lady wash tables...unless there was something interesting...wait a second...what are they looking at...me? But why - what could be so interesting...OH MY GOSH!! They are looking DOWN MY SHIRT! Those little PIGS! When I glance down at my extra-large shirt with it's V-neck I can see a nice beige bra (dirty, I'm sure) that has seen its better days - but yep - there they are - MY BREASTS on display!

They are giggling. I'm mortified. I quickly re-adjust my shirt, pulling it down in the back and securing it with my belt and I now it appears as though I am wearing a turtle-neck! I quickly leave the room to "find some more rags" and pray they are gone.

I return a few minutes later and they are gone. Unbelievable. I feel like a fool! Had I know I was going to give these young boys a glimpse into their future I would have put on a red lacy bra to liven up the show!

Can you believe it? It really COULD only happen to me.

What about you? Anything you care to admit here as your most embarrassing moment? I'd love to hear it.

Night,

Me

I DID IT...

2008-11-19T17:19:00.000-08:00

You know the soap dispenser that magically gets filled?
I DID IT.

Those clean clothes that appear in your drawers and in the closet
I DID IT.

That warm meal that was cooked?
I DID IT.

The forms for school that were filled out and turned in on time?
I DID IT.

The furnace that got cleaned and serviced?
I DID IT.

The food that appears in the fridge?
I DID IT.

The birthday present that was bought for your family member that I really don't like?
I DID IT.

The bills that get paid (sometimes on time)?
I DID IT.

The Christmas cards that get sent out?
I DID IT.

The thank you notes I made our daughter write?
I DID IT.

The RSVP's to parties?
I DID IT.

The calls to the vet, the doctor, dentist and all other appointments?
I DID IT.

The bottle of wine that opened itself and evaporated?
I DID IT.

:)

WWYD? What would YOU do?

2008-11-18T19:30:00.000-08:00

Ok folks - I need an opinion here. I'll give you some background first.

Pre-election, a friends husband and my husband started a "banter" back and forth verbally about the candidates. Obviously they were on opposing sides and in the past their discussions have gotten heated, but they were always about the candidates.

Well hubby sent an email with a video about the other guys opponent. Not important who liked who here, as that is ancient history - we all know who won.

So from there it went back and forth a few times but the other guy started blasting my HUBBY personally. We are talking obscene words here and he was down right rude and insulting! We held off having plans with them because things got beyond awkward. I thought time would let things die down.

Well once hubby stopped emailing him (my advice) he started emailing ME! And it hasn't been nice at all. My husband can kiss his *ss and so on. Again, I thought "ignore it" he is an idiot and he'll go away. Also made me think - wow, how can my friend be married to such a jerk! I never mentioned it to her as we are friends through church and do things occasionally with the families. She isn't someone I would call to gab on the phone with or to do something with alone.

OK so the latest is that he is still emailing me! I had thought in the past that this guy was a bit of a drinker and it seems that he can only write me at 1:30 in the morning and he is all over the place. Things that are attacking and threatening me, my family and then the next sentence says "call us for plans!" Bottom line, this guy is not stable.

Oh one more bit of info - he NEVER emails from his home account that he shares with his wife. You know one of those joeandcindy@yahoo.com type of emails. That seems SO SILLY to me to have a joint email - I mean it isn't a checking account! He emails me throughFacebook. Geesh - maybe I should have never gone on there! :)

SO do I call his wife and tell her or just continue to ignore him? When I say tell her, I am 100% sure she does NOT know what he has been doing or saying. He is totally creeping me out and I just want him to go away. I mean it is like cyber harassment!

Your thoughts...?

I HOPE you don't...

2008-11-17T19:07:00.000-08:00

LOOK GOOD. That sounds horrible, doesn't it? It is. But I can explain....

I think I mentioned that I am on Facebook now. Don't look for me, because remember I do use my ghost name here. I suppose one of these days I'll drop it and tell you who I REALLY am, but that kinda defeats the purpose of Lucille. (wink!)

So, a friend of mine is on Facebook and was going on and on about all these people she has re-connected with from high school, junior high and ever grade school. Anyway, I decided to go there and check it out. Like I have time for yet another on-line hobby!

I found a few old buddies that I got in touch with and it has been fun. If you aren't familiar with it, it is basically MYSPACE for grown-ups! It is similar to what I called a BRAG book, back in junior high. People write things on your WALL, you can post pictures, you can see who their friends are and so on. I do think it is a little bit like a popularity contest. I know one girl who has over 700 "friends" and I'm thinking - really? You KNOW all of these people? So again, it is kinda neat and I was clicking on one person and then another and another and you go through who their friends are and remember people you had forgotten about. Well all was fine until....
I SAW HER.

You know...HER. That one girl that you knew years ago and she was SUPER pretty, oh so friendly, a cheerleader, great friend, never mean and basically you either wanted to BE HER or you wanted to date her. So we will call her HOPE -- well, because that is her name! Now think back because I know ever school had one of these girls. Maybe you were THAT GIRL. I wasn't.

I clicked on her photo and I couldn't believe it! She is EVEN prettier than she was in High School! Picture Lisa Rinna's body with a face like Heather Locklear!

The EVIL dark side of me wanted her to have a moustache and be about 200 pounds! Oh I'm bad! Ugh. As I sit her with my ROLLS of baby fat from 7-plus years ago I wonder...how did I get here and she got there?

We are what we are. I suppose I can change some things, but I'll never be Hope. I'm me.

Most days I am OK with just being me. But lately, I think I might want to be someone else. Mid-life crisis perhaps? So perhaps as the holiday's are approaching and I'm starting to get a little down again I should dust off that treadmill and start walking or running? Maybe get back into Yoga or try Pilates again?

Or maybe I can just HOPE that somewhere out there in Facebook land that someone clicked on MY PHOTO and said "wow, she is like a fine wine and just got better with time."

Nah!

Night!

How's your Dad?

2008-11-16T20:22:00.000-08:00

Dad died 4 years ago. 5 in January. And some people still don't know this. So I got in touch with a old friend of a friend on FACEBOOK and they asked me, "Hey - how is your Dad?" I just stared at this question and thought wow - people MY age actually STILL HAVE their parents? Amazing.

What's even more amazing is that some people don't talk to their parents. I know they have their reasons and I wouldn't try to judge them for not doing so. But I would URGE you to bury the hatchet and try to make amends before it is too late. Time is precious and short and you don't get a second chance to say I'm sorry or to forgive someone.

I emailed the guy back explaining that he was dead. I didn't use the politically correct term of "no longer with us" or "he has passed." I mean it is what it is, right?

I do miss him. I miss him some days more than others, but man oh man what I wouldn't do for that one last talk.

Funny thing is that I always felt that he was lecturing me when he talked. I didn't think he was listening to me. I know he felt the same, that I wasn't listening. I was always so busy to get to the next task, the next call, the next thing to do on my to-do list.

Well Dad, guess what? I did hear you. All the things you taught me about people are what I remember most. You taught me that there are two types of people in this world - those that can forgive and those that cannot. You told me to surround myself with the former. You told me to always be able to forgive. You don't have to forget or allow someone who has hurt you back into your life, but you should forgive them.

You taught me to never doubt myself. You taught me to say what is on my mind. Even if it does come out with red-cheeks and I sound like I'm yelling.

You taught me to never put myself in a situation that could endanger me. You taught me to always follow my gut and to not question or silence that little voice inside me.

You taught me to admit when I was wrong. Stand up, admit your mistakes and take your lumps.

You taught me to listen and to care for mankind.

You taught me to be a friend and give of myself and not expect anything back. If you get something back, consider it a special treat.

I could go on and on but you get the idea. This man was so special and I only hope that I am making him proud. I do believe he is with me. I do believe he can see me. I just wish I could see him.

Me

How to WASH your plants

2008-11-13T20:46:00.001-08:00

I started this morning with a timer. I set it for 30 minutes and when the time went off I was supposed to have CLEARED my in-box. You know - read all those jokes I'm sent, reply to parties, invites and the like, catch up on correspondence and oh yeah - sort out which ones are actually my WORK. :)

Well upon doing this, I stumbled on this article entitled How to Wash Your Plants. Um...ok, that peaked my interest. I assumed it meant fake plants, which I have several of. So I clicked on the article and this is what I read:

Inspect your plant. If it has been neglected and is dried up and covered in dust and dirt, it isn't worth cleaning. Throw it out.

Step2

Use a damp cloth or a feather duster to wipe away dirt or dust on a healthy plant.

Step3

Mix a solution of 1 qt. warm water with 1/2 c. nonfat milk. Wash each leaf individually with a sponge. Don't forget to wash the undersides of the leaves, too; insects love to hide under there.

Step4

Use a commercial plant-cleaning product as directed to clean leaves and make them shine.

So this is for NORMAL plants? LIVE plants? Regardless, my thoughts immediately went to "WHO the HECK has time for this?" I can't get to the grocery store for milk most weeks and NOW I am supposed to be cleaning my plants? I thought that plants helped to clean the air by themselves? So why would I now need to clean a plant?

This is a conspiracy I tell you! Please don't tell me that any of you have TIME for this. I already feel like I am constantly behind the 8-ball and behind in everything! I imagine some Martha Stewart-type that may actually do this. And I am not against you if you are that type. I just don't get you. I will not be you, nor do I think I want to try to be you.

I am me. I've got a date-book that IS color coded and yet I still miss birthday's.

I have emails from friends from a month ago sitting in my in-bin with EVERY intention to sit down and write them back.

I have laundry in piles - some is to wash, some is for the dry cleaners, some is to fold and some has been IN A PILE for so long it needs to be moved BACK to the pile to be washed.

My mail is sitting in a pretty basket "to be opened" and it will get opened hopefully BEFORE the phone rings with someone asking where my payment is or if I am coming to their party.

I have voice mails that are archived and I should probably listen to them again before they delete themselves.

I have a trunk that is full of summer items that can probably be removed.

HOWEVER I also have:

8 years of photos in scrapbooks

a well-behaved and happy child

a comfortable home that people love to hang-out at

a clear conscience

a good marriage

great friends (who love me in spite of previous items mentioned).

SO all in all, I'm really OK with my dirty plants.

Smiles,

Me

A Dog's Life

2008-11-13T20:00:00.001-08:00

Just how good does MY dog have it?

Take a look. A CLOSE look.

She is STICKING OUT HER TONGUE at me! I kid you not. I think I bought a CAT by mistake.

She is now 11 months old and I suppose she is still a puppy for another few months or years. All in all, she has been a blessing to me, to us. We love her way too much and she is a well-behaved dog. Do I regret getting her? Nope. Worth ever trip outside, every walk and every bark. That unconditional love thing is so wonderful.

Have a nice night,

Me

Umm...it got kinda dark

2008-11-12T20:46:00.000-08:00

Note to self: DO NOT attempt to change and/or update your blogger page when you were officially "tired" about 2 hours ago.

It isn't going to stay this way - ugh. What did I DO?

More soon. At least I'm back! LOL!

Argh!

Should I stay or should I go?

2008-11-10T21:11:00.001-08:00

Geepers creepers - I haven't blogged in almost 3 months! What is wrong with me? I've been busy, but COME on! I've got tons to say, I suppose. But DO you want to read this anymore?

Maybe I'm blogged out. Burned out? Stressed out?

So here is the deal. Drop me a comment if you want me to start up again. Pass it on to your friends and readers and if I get 50 comments I'm in. I'll re-commit myself to the blog world.

Heh, heh, heh. I'm challenging you b/c I know I'll never get 50 comments. :)

Ciao!

Me

Let the good times ROLL...

2008-08-13T21:10:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday my daughter was invited to a b-day party at a roller rink. She loves this friend a ton, but wasn't too thrilled about roller skating. She had never done it and sometimes she needs a nudge or re-assurance that it will be fun. She was ice skating once and she was pretty good - but all in all she isn't a rolling type of kid. Come to think of it, she doesn't like scooters or bikes either. Hmmmm...

ANYWAY I decided to be the cool, hip mom that would go with her and skate too! I talked to the mom of the party and she said "sure, lots of other parents (mostly moms) will be there and skating so feel free to stay and have some fun!"

Great. Child is happy. I'm excited about it too! All is well. I even had the present bought and wrapped DAYS before the party. It's going to be a good time.

We get there, rent our skates and head out. Little angel of mine is doing pretty good but I'm getting impatient with her since I think you just step and roll and off you go. I was a pretty good ice skater some 35 years ago and roller skating was right up my alley as was skate boarding.

I was pretty impressed with how quickly she picked it up, but she was still a slow poke and didn't want to fall. I wanted her to speed it up and ROLL a little vs. her little baby steps. I knew she'd like it if she could just see how it felt to go faster. Well maybe if she saw ME doing it she would copy it. She copies everything else I do so it was worth a shot. That is when I foolishly decided to take a few laps around the rink alone.

It WAS SO MUCH FUN! I felt so alive with the wind hitting my face, the music BLARING. I became child-like again and just whizzed around and around.

I was really enjoying this and thinking how PROUD I was that at almost 43 I had such grace, such balance, such finesse. I started to think - hey this is like exercising! I can do this once a week and be skinny by Christmas! I could call a bunch of friends and we could do this with our kids and it will be great! It was motivating me to get more in shape, start a real exercise program in September and finally the OUTER me will match the INNER me.

That is...until that last lap.

If you have ever ice skated you know what a cross over is - right? You basically cross over you outer leg as you are turning a corner. Well it works a little differently when you are roller skating which unfortunately, I forgot.

The first two laps went fine. She watched as MAGIC MOM went round and round and slapped her hand as I whizzed on by. Then on that third lap, on the first curve something went wrong. I think in hindsight it was the crossover, but in COULD have been this little girl in front of me. I think she tripped me. (OK, she didn't, but maybe....?)

All I remember was my feet went flying up in front of my face and I landed HARD on my tailbone and HEAD. Yep. My big, fat, old, over-confident HEAD. I hit my head twice as well as my right elbow. Um...then it went dark for a few seconds. YEP I blacked out! I came too - realized what happened and felt pain shooting through me. The room was SPINNING and the lights and music that I was so fascinated with only moments before pierced through me like a knife.

Somehow I managed to get over to the table and excused myself to the bathroom. Here is the ironic part:

1. No one from the party saw it. Or else they were kind enough to not say anything.

2. NOT one person stopped and asked me if I was OK. Granted it was a KID party and there weren't too many adults whipping by me, but not ONE person? Maybe it didn't look that bad to them?

Now the semi-funny part. Dear Hubby was with me that day but was smart enough to be the PICTURE TAKER since I'm always complaining there are no photos of me. Therefore he did not have on skates and was sitting there eating pizza, drinking coke and joking it up with the other wise parents who opted to be spectators on this day. However he did manage to take a picture of ME.

Oh how wonderful - a picture of me! Really??? Let me see it. It is one of me with my hair flying in the wind or one of me with my arms in perfect unison showing my perfect coordination? Of course not. No - it is the one of me attempting to get up after regaining consciousness! Are you kidding me? I asked him - "why did you take this?" He said "I didn't see you and then I used the telephoto lens to find you and you were on the ground. What happened?" Ugh. And Grrrrr!

The after effects? Oh - I have a concussion. (Duh...really?) And a bruised tailbone, a severely bruised right elbow as well as a bruised hip and knee. Did I mention my PRIDE and EGO are also bruised?

I have not done something this ridiculous in a LONG LONG time. (Well unless you count going out a few weeks ago and singing Karaoke - more on that another time.)

SO care to share your SUPER MOM story with me? What have you done while out with your children that has either injured you physically, socially or mentally?

I'm off to take 4 Motrin and get some ice packs!

Ouch...

PS_I may blow that photo up to study it to see if I was TRIPPED! :)

My Living Will

2008-07-31T09:29:00.000-07:00

Got this from a dear friend (thanks Wendi!) and had to share it!

Last night my friend and I were sitting in the den and I said to her, I‘d never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle to keep me alive. That would be no quality of life at all, If that ever happens, just pull the plug.

So she got up, unplugged the computer, and threw out my wine.

She's such a bitch!

Hugs from HEAVEN

2008-07-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

I wrote this post back a few months ago. I have no idea why I didn't share it. I guess it was during my FUNK or something. Anyway - here it is...

The neatest thing happened to me yesterday.

We were getting TONS of rain with all kinds of threats of flooding. Truth be told - we are so high up on a hill that if WE flooded we have bigger things to worry about because if our place is flooding then someone must be building an ARK!

Well I started obsessing over it and decided to check our tank thing to make sure the lines were clear. We don't have a sump pump - it is some dry well or English tank or some crazy thing. All I know is that under our stairs we have this tank in the ground and some tubes flow into it - it fills up about half way with water and then the water gets sent out to the ground. I think. Anyway - it isn't important except for the fact that the reason I went under the stairs was to make sure the tubing wasn't blocked by some boxes, junk, or some other type of clutter.

See, a few days ago I went in there for wrapping paper. It is a great little nook or storage closet actually. It has great shelves in it and SO much more room then anyone would guess. Well it is like most of the closets in my house - they are STUFFED with STUFF. Well as I reached for the wrapping paper I remember knocking over a few boxes and just couldn't deal with it at the time. All I had to do was pick them up but knowing me that meant I would then start re-organizing and sorting the whole closet!

Which is exactly what happened TODAY.

I was going to just re-stack or "square off" a few boxes and check the tubing. TWO HOURS later I have everything out and I'm vacuuming cobwebs, the floor, dusting the shelves off and basically being a clean freak about it.

Well I find some things in there that I had forgot I had - little gifts I bought for people, some picture frames, things I think I might want to sell on e-bay and so on. Of course dear daughter doesn't think this is a FUN thing to do on a Sunday. I'm happy to reorganize any day, any time. It is my therapy. So I decided if I was going to get this done without major complaints and interruptions from her and dear hubby I would try to make it more fun for them. I told my daughter I'd holler if I found a "TREASURE" for her. I found a few things like a coloring book and the like and she got a kick out of running to see what treasure I found. I even included hubby in on the game and gave him some pocket knife thing and a new Green Bay Packers hat. For the record he was less then thrilled. I'm not sure if it was because it was a HAT or if it was because it was A PACKERS hat - remember they didn't do so well in the playoffs.

OK anyway - back to the story.

Hubby and daughter are now getting hungry and of course that would be MY PROBLEM! Ugh. They are both standing there, trying to be helpful but they look at the mess I've made and think I'm nuts. Which, admittedly I would think this too, but my cleaning has a method and in a matter of minutes I knew it would all go back into order and look amazing!

So here is the COOL PART:

Hubby: So did you find any treasures?

Me: No. Well yeah - a few candles that I guess I bought as gifts but forgot about. They'll look neat on the dining room table. (I'm a bit bummed - they were semi-excited about their trinkets, I would have liked a little reward for all my work!)

Hubby: Is that a tape recorder?

Me: Yeah - I think this is the one I bought for my dad. (I bought him this 8 years ago and he was going to use it to record things about his life and I would type them up for us to have as memories. You know - favorite stories, how he met my mom and so on. Sadly, he NEVER did get around to it before he died.)

Hubby: How did it get in here?

Me: I have no idea. I took it when we cleaned out his house but I don't know why it isn't with the other things I have of his. (These are all in my garage in tubs. Yes 4 years later - they sit there.)

Hubby: Is there anything on it?

Me: No. The tape is still in the plastic! He never used it.

Hubby: Oh.

Me: (I take the recorder out of the box and realize there IS A TAPE in it.) Hey - wouldn't it be neat if I pushed play and he started talking? (I never in a million years could have guessed what would happen next......

I pushed the button and HEARD MY DAD talking! He did record something!

It was short and it was sweet but man oh man was it the best thing I've heard since my daughter's first cry after she was born.

It was a tape he made at a Christmas party and you can hear him, me, my hubby, my brother, sister in-law and nephews and just the crazy, silly times we used to have. I instantly started to bawl. It was only about 25 seconds but it was enough to make me feel a chill through my body and then a warm hug surround me.

He said "Hi this is your Dad. It is Christmas 2000 and we are all here. Your brother is acting like a wild man and we are opening presents. My daughter got me this recorder and I'm testing it out." He went on a bit more and it really isn't important WHAT he said, but the fact that I got to hear his voice surround me.

I shook as I hit rewind and listened to it over and over and over again. I am somehow going to transfer it to a DVD and send it to my brother.

I keep thinking how did THIS get in here? I swear it doesn't make sense that it isn't with the other things I took from his house. They are still all in blue tubs in the garage. And the batteries still work? And it was re-wound to the beginning of the tape. If it hadn't of been would I have even bothered to rewind it? I was so sure he never even touched it.

I've been thinking about my mom and dad like crazy lately and missing them something awful. So to get THIS was truly magical. I know a lot of people that will tell me that it is a coincidence and so on but I don't care what they think.

I feel like I got a voice from heaven today. I really do. Thank you Dad. I needed this today and you knew that. I needed to hear you, to feel you.

I'm so incredibly happy and sad all at once that it is confusing yet beautiful.

Thanks for letting me share this.

xo,

Me

Working on the New Look

2008-07-20T22:32:00.000-07:00

Quick update as I should have been in bed hours ago.

THANK YOU for the tips and links to various sites that give free templates! I've looked at TONS of them and played around with it. (Scary to change it and worry that I'll lose something!) So far...so good. Everything appears to be here and working.

I played around with the coding (I know - oooh la la - YOU can do coding?) Yes I knew HTML back in "the day" and figured I'd give some of this new stuff a shot. Kinda fun actually! Maybe this will spin ME into doing custom blogger sites. Um...yeah - like I need another hobby or part-time job. I think I have 3 part-time jobs, one REAL job and way too many hobbies already. But it is a thought...

I think I'm going to attempt to do something on my own. If not, I did find one template that I like and I can use that as a short term change and then reveal the other one later. OK now I'm hyping this up too much aren't I? Ha, ha!

Stay tuned....

PS_Ugh - I just reallized how ugly this color is. It won't be here long - Promise!

A new LOOK, a BOOST and a Thank YOU!

2008-07-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

Hi gals and girls! (Do I have any MALE readers?)

I changed the blog layout - what do you think? I had PAID someone to do this super cool layout for me from a place called the Blog Cafe. Note to self: DO NOT pay someone IN FULL before services are complete! Grrrrrrrr!

She said she would refund my $$ since she never completed the layout and I have not seen a penny. Now their website is gone from the web and her emails bounce back to me. Nice huh?

SO I chose a different layout in Blogger and this is what you get for FREE - the look you see here. I'd love to be able to update it so if there are any TAKERS to redesign it let me know. (HINT, HINT...)

Oh and remember when I said I was going to have the cool contest? Well that was part of it - the blog re-design. When I paid for it I got a FREE extra one that I was going to share. In hindsight maybe this whole think spun me into NOT writing anymore. Which is sad, because I really DID enjoy it. AND I think some of you did too! Reading my posts, that is. Which brings me to my BOOST portion of the title.

GUESS WHAT some nice gal said on my last post? Sydney said,
"I found your blog and have spent the better part of 3 hours reading. You are so funny!

I am writing because I am in the process of putting together a series of books. You can check out my site www.quarterinthejar.com to see that you would be perfect for submitting stories.

So far there are 12 books in the series (only 4 are listed on the site). Take a look. I hope you consider becoming published.

WOW!

#1 - I guess I don't realize that people really READ my blog,

#2 - I am that funny!
#3 - I should BE published!

Being published has always been a DREAM of mine. I have several short stories started, a few children's books and an autobiography. Maybe this is the PUSH I need to actually do something. I'm going to check out that website (you should too) and see what happens.

So a big THANK YOU to you Miss Sydney! Someone sent you to me and I'm glad they did!

I can't PROMISE I'll post more every day, but I am going to remind myself to post at least every week and then we'll work back up to where I was before. That pneumonia in January really did take me about 6 months to get back to normal. I'm finally feeling more and more like ME and that is a good thing.

Hugs,

Me

Spring Cleaning!

2008-06-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

I know, I know - Spring Cleaning should be done by now - right? Well I am in WISCONSIN so technically the end of MAY is Spring! Should I tell you that on Monday it was 85-degrees and then yesterday was a high of 42? And that last night we had a frost advisory? No, I should get to the story of the cleaning. Here we go...

I had to dig through my closet the other day as it was just pathetic. I wish I could blame it on hubby or dear daughter but let's be real. It is MY OWN closet and a walk-in to boot. Something I always wanted. Ahhh...a dream to have a walk-in closet. How simple my life once was. Needless to say the shirts that fall off the hangers and the jeans that are rumpled up on a shelf are ALL my doing. As for who put the belts on the floor, the unused exercise equipment, yoga mat and purses..well I have NO idea how those got there!

You know the drill - we have good intentions of "keeping it neat" and then who knows what happens. It gets all messed up. My guess is Lucille comes in and makes it a mess so I have to clean it up! She is LIKE THAT you know - always sneaking around my house putting clutter here and there and basically makes ME do more work then necessary. I'll have to have a chat with her. (snicker!)

Anyway, I'm cleaning out the closet since I claim to have NOTHING to wear, yet not a free hanger exists in the house. I need an outfit for a baptism and don't want to waste the $$ on something I'll wear once and then throw in the closet.

I find these NEW shoes still in the box from a place called Carson Pierre Scott. I think they are now called Boston Store. Oh cool! New shoes. Now I need an outfit. I'll get to that, but for now just look at the pretty box?

The closet is finally done and it is PRETTY PRETTY I tell ya! I'm all excited to actually be able to FIND THINGS in this mini magical kingdom that I now proudly call MY CLOSET. It is so nice that I could have a wine and cheese party in there. I'd have to put a bag over your head so you didn't see the rest of the house, but once in the closet you are free to look around!

Alright. I've got the pants and the top and now, lucky me, a NEW PAIR of black pumps. Nothing fancy - - just your basic black pumps.

Upon opening the box I sense that something is wrong. WHY haven't I worn these? Do they fit? What size are they? I must have meant to return them and just never got around to it. Right? WHY on earth would I have let these shoes sit for so long? Carson's is LONG gone and gosh I haven't shopped in a "nice" store for years. (K-Mart and Target don't count) I have no idea if Boston Store is still a store. Enlighten me if you know. Or gee, I guess I could Google it. Nah. It is not that important. I'll wait to see if someone tells me the history of Carson's. Somehow I think Michelle Z. will come thru with that information for me! (not so subtle hint, huh Michelle?)

OK. Back to the shoes. I dig a bit deeper. I take the shoes out. Hmmmm. Notice anything strange about them?

THEY ARE NOT THE SAME SHOE! LOOK AT THE TOES! Not to mention the inside labels are completely different!

Let's take it one step (yes, pun intended) further - they are BOTH LEFT SHOES and one is an 8.5 and the other is an 7.5!

Here is another view.....

And yet another......

So I ask you - am I BLIND or just STUPID? Unless there is another pair just like these in my closet, I'm going with the latter.

Unbelievable, but true.

Think I could sell them individually on e-bay? Ha, ha.

Well I hope this made you chuckle and realize that if you shopped at Carson's some years ago and wear a size 8-ish --- you just MAY have the matching pair!!

The Puppy

2008-05-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

OK. No excuses. I've been MIA for 2 months?!

Woah - you SHOULD be mad at me!

As promised (and I do keep my promises!) here are some pictures of the PUPPY!

She is a GREAT dog. I got lucky. She was easy to train and for the most part gives me no trouble.

As for the rest of my woes and why I've been MIA - well that is another long post which I WILL get to soon.

To sum it up it just hasn't been a great 2008 for me health-wise. But I'm staying positive and attempting to re-charge my OLD batteries in this body I'm renting. Ha, ha.

Thanks for the love, the support and the emails. I really am going to make an effort again to write, to share. It is good for me and on some level I think it is good for you.

Happy Wednesday friends - I'll try to stop by your blogs soon.

Hugs,

Me

It's not you...it's me.

2008-03-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

Hi guys and gals.

Well I certainly have been MIA again - haven't I? I apologize. A lot going on here and some of it is good and some of it not so good.

Good news is - I GOT a puppy! She is so so cute! She is a Lhasa Poo, which is a mix of a Lhasa Poo and a mini poodle so she is small - a little lap dog. She is doing well with potty training and I have the patience and love to train her properly. :)

Not so good news is that my eyes are still messed up and I have some funky thing called conjunctival cysts in my eye. Not to mention some condition called Blephartis which makes my eyes watery, itchy and red. So.......that has not been fun!

I also have been back in a funk and just so tired. I'm going for some blood work in April and a complete physical to see if it is my thyroid or something else.

We are heading out of town today to our cabin in northern Wisconsin. No internet so I will be back in touch next weekend. I plan to do a lot of reading, scrapbooking and relaxing with my family. Hopefully I can recharge my batteries a bit - ya know?

I just HAD to post to say thank you for your kind comments and to wish everyone a very Happy Easter!

Hugs,

Me

I'm a Heartbreaker...Fun Taker

2008-03-06T10:10:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking of Pat Benatar as I type this. So that is where the headline came from. Maybe it is because I watched American Idol last night and it was 80's night or because some of the girls on the show sang songs that I barely recognized since they "made them their own." You know what? LEAVE MY SONGS from the 80s alone.! Don't change them. I liked them the way they were!

OK OK sorry -mini rant there. Back to the post - I'm a fun taker and I bet YOU ARE too. :)

Have you had the honor yet of hearing "YOU ALWAYS RUIN MY FUN!"

I managed to make it 6-plus years but last night I heard it. "Moooom! Why do you ALWAYS ruin MY fun?"

Is it genetic that as females we MUST use the word ALWAYS and NEVER when we get mad? Think about your last discussion/argument with someone - especially your husband. Did it go something like this: "You NEVER take out the garbage?" or "why do I ALWAYS have to take out the garbage?" It's true. As females we throw those words out during a fight. So in that sense I should be proud of her since she did follow the code of females and used the word ALWAYS. However she must be briefed as to the rules of that word and you don't EVER use ALWAYS and NEVER when fighting with another female. (duh!)

OK so all I wanted was for dear daughter to get ready for bed and stop wrestling with her Daddy. He wasn't much help. He needs a refresher course on what QUIET TIME before bed means. Approved activities include coloring, a board game, reading or perhaps a light snack and some TV. Non-approved activities include tonight's episode of HOT LAVA in which she was jumping, sweating and being dangling by her feet off of our bed! Argh!

SO now I am the bad rat and he is Mr. Fun!

Tears followed (hers...mine came later) because was just plain over-tired but she couldn't stop crying which made me more anxious and then it turned into one of those moments. Ugh.

I hate that the night ended like this and unfortunately I WILL BEAT MYSELF up over it. Over-analyzing it, re-thinking it, trying to learn from it. I'm already doing that. See, I normally give her the 5-minute warning before something is going to end. Like "5 more minutes and then we need to start cleaning up" or "5 more minutes and then we need to head home."

So last night my mind was on the 2 big projects I need to finish, the bills that are probably late, the packages of Girl Scout cookies to deliver, the errands I should have done on Monday and so on. Oh and let's not forget about the other things I would like to do for ME but never get to because there isn't ever any time left or I'm just too plain exhausted.

Upon reflection of the night's activities, I realize that I DID BARGE into the bedroom and was more upset at hubby for not realizing what time it was and wondering when and IF he could ever be the responsible one.

I also realize that being the MOM makes me the FUN TAKER.

Sigh.

I'm hoping my cape and matching t-shirt with a big FT on it will come in by the weekend so I can be prepared for Sunday night!

I'd like to thank the academy (and Kellan!)

2008-03-04T14:07:00.000-08:00

OK it isn't an OSCAR, but can you believe I actually WON SOMETHING?

I entered Kellan's contest over at On the Upside. So I thank Kellan and whoever sent me to her page in the first place! If you haven't read her stuff, please do. She makes me strive to be a better person and a better writer.

I chose the $25 gift certificate to TARGET. You know the place where I swear you can't get out of without spending $100! So now it will only be $75 - ha, ha.

I do plan to go into TARGET with gift card in hand and no child, no hubby and no phone. I plan to wander meaninglessly down the aisles and buy something for ME. Not for child. Not for house but for ME.

I know I haven't been good about updating lately. My job plus my over-commitment to volunteering has taken over. I must learn to say "no, I'd like to help, but I can't." Is there a support group out there for me? "Volunteer anonymous or suckers who refuse to say no?"

Well anyway, this little treat from Kellan came at the PERFECT TIME. I was just feeling like oh gee, forget this silly blog thing. You don't have time. No one cares. No one reads it. And then...you know what?

THE CRAZIEST THING. You sweet, sweet gals (a few guys too) - my dear BLOGGY friends come out and reach me and touch me with your comments. Does this happen to you too? A simple comment and my mood changes. OK truth be told, I'm sure some of my mood swings are pre-menopausal but...! LOL!

So since comments make ME feel good, I thought this would help to make YOU feel good...

I WILL BE HAVING A CONTEST TOO! In the next week (I'm still sorting out a few details) I will be running a contest that is for something I know I'd want and therefore I think you'll want it too! I'm almost want to burst out and type it. But I won't. Hee, hee, hee.

Got your interest? I hope so cuz it is going to be a GOOD ONE! I'll give some teasers throughout the next week to keep you motivated to come on back.

Have a great night and again thank you to my dear old friends and the many new friends I've met in the past few days. I appreciate every keystroke you spend on me with your nice comments!

:)

Three-letter Word For....

2008-02-28T06:33:00.000-08:00

Here is a tough one for you.

What is a three-letter word for:

the person in house who knows where everything is?

a person who can magically hug away tears?

the social director in your life that tells you who is coming over or where you are going on your busy, busy weekends?

the official gift buyer and gift wrapper in your life?

the person who runs around putting CLUTTER away non-stop throughout the day?

the maid that cleans the place you call home?

the chauffeur who drives kids to and from school, events and the like?

the dictator who insists children do their homework before they play?

the party planner who ensures that the clothes for BEACH DAY are clean and appropriately sized for special school days?

the person who returns gifts, books, rentals, etc.?

the person who makes the majority of the food you eat which you in turn call MEALS?

the person who needs to STOP BLOGGING and get to work?

ANY IDEAS?

YEP. You guessed it. It is me. It is you. It is a MOM.

Toot, Toot!

2008-02-20T09:37:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I'm tooting my OWN horn!

Come on...if I don't do it - who will? Lucille? I haven't used that in a long time - so I had to do it today! Hee, hee!

I completely forgot about this awesome award that Damama passed on to me. It was an oversight- sorry!

It came at a time when I truly needed it and appreciated it so thank you, thank you. We all need hugs - right?

So here is a big one for all of you reading this now!

((((((YOU)))))) xo, Me

Dinner, a Movie and...

2008-02-16T22:26:00.000-08:00

Kohl's. Yes, I said Kohl's as in KOHL'S Department store.

I/we are pathetic.

We had our Valentine's Dinner date night tonight. We left at 5:15 and went to our favorite Mexican restaurant. I got the usual - steak fajitas and hubby tried something new. He is so daring - I always go with what I know because I hate being disappointed with a new dish and then re-thinking it all night. Woulda, coulda, shoulda's will kill us -- right?

So we get done and head to the theater. It never fails. We NEVER get to a movie on time. We use that "oh so what - we'll miss the previews" line of thought and it tricks us every time.

We also neglected to account for the popcorn line. Truth be told - I wasn't even hungry at dinner and now I'm ordering the #1 combo meal? Two drinks (large of course) and the incredible jumbo VAT of popcorn (with free refills!) It is the best VALUE after all so we cough up $14.50 for it.

OK the drink cups are ridiculous. They don't even fit in my hand! I seriously cannot even carry one, let alone two but I head over to fill the drinks. I had no idea HOW BIG they were until I went to put the lids on. 44 ounces. What???? That is what the lid said on it. Otherwise I would have guessed maybe 24, but come on - who needs 44 ounces of anything in an hour and a half? How thirsty can one be? I get root beer, hubby gets fruit punch.

We saw a chick flick since last time was hubby's choice. We saw Definitely, maybe. That was the name - I'm not kidding! I saw the trailer and thought it looked cute. It was OK. Predictable and a happy ending. Suited me OK but it wasn't one I'd recommend seeing.

Here is the funny part. It is now 8:45 on a Saturday night and where do we go? Kohl's department store to scour the sales racks! And NOT for us - for dear daughter. Losers! Oh my gosh - how sad are we? We have also been known to frequent Target, Menard's or Home Depot after a WILD NIGHT out.

We get home at 9:30 and dear daughter is up. We make her try on the coats we got (at a great price I might add - an $80 coat for $18!), pay our babysitter and little cutie is in bed by 10:00. We are both ready for bed and in our "comfies" as we call them. NO, I didn't have the red hot heart flaming underwear on! Hubby goes online to check email, surf and play games - I do the same.

And you know what - for US - it was THE PERFECT belated Valentine's Day! I think we are just at that point where we are enjoying our "comfortable phase" and it works for us.

Hope you and yours had some fun this weekend!

Night - night!

What cha Watching??

2008-02-15T09:16:00.000-08:00

It has come to my attention that I may be addicted to Reality TV. Since the writers strike I should have had more time at night to do things other then veg in front of the TV and fold laundry. You would think. I have spent more time catching up with people on the phone, but I'm always on the phone. If there was a surgery to have a phone implanted in your heard and it was SAFE, I'd be on of the first people in line! That reminds me of a joke - - -

Three guys are out golfing and they begin to brag about their newest and greatest gadgets. The first guy says "check out my new phone. It is the size of my little finger. Isn't it great?" " Big deal says the second guy - my phone is so small it was implanted in my ear." He taps his ear and says "Hello?" and walks on talking on his implant phone. The third guy goes over to the third hole, pulls down his pants, squats and the two other guys just stare. They hear a loud squeeking sound. The guy squatting says "I"ll be right there, I'm getting a fax!"

OK so back to my newest addiction. I'm now watching the following shows regularly and was curious if you all watch any of these.

1. Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. Oh my gosh - Jeff Conway!! Kenickie from Grease is addicted to cocaine and what else?

2. My Fair Brady. Peter Brady all grown up with his crazy, insane wife!

3. Scott Baio is 46 and Pregnant. What girl didn't have a poster of him on her wall from Tiger Beat Magazine? He still looks GOOD in my opinion.

4. Survivor - Fans vs. Favorites. I love this show!

5. American Idol. I'm not sure if this is reality or not, but I'm hooked!

6. Dance Wars. It isn't as good as I thought, but I'm still watching.

7. Apprentice - Celebrity. How much do I despise Amorosa? I love Piers!

And the last one is perhaps the saddest one. I'm embarrassed to admit it. Ready?

8. Paradise Hotel 2. It is so sick how the people on this show need to "hook up" or leave Paradise FOREVER! Hook up? When did this term become synonomous for being loose or a tramp?

OK. I've come clean. YOUR TURN. What are you watching?

Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum in a Dish...

2008-02-11T20:57:00.000-08:00

Ok - tell me - was the next line in your head.....

HOW MANY PIECES DO YOU WISH?

Hee, hee. That is where I was going with it so if you did - yeah!

Here is the deal. Dear 6-year old daughter got teased at school. I won't go into what was said by the brat other kid, it isn't important.

What is IMPORTANT is that I am the one that has the problem. Someone DARE to hurt my one and only? My princess? The NERVE! :)

It took every ounce of restraint to not call the other mom, not let the air out of her tires in the parking lot, not to "KEY" her car when I walked by or to pass out flyers telling all the other parents what an awful kid she had. Wow. That sounded so hateful. I will claim that is not me, but there is a part of me (maybe in all of us) that is like any animal in nature- we want to protect our babies! I just get into this over-protective Rambo mode. Think I can sue Sly Stallone for making me so aggressive? All the previews of his newest movie have made me more assertive? All of my estrogen is gone and my testostorone is over taking me? Think I could get a lawyer to go for it? Geesh- I'm kidding, but some nut would probably take my case and I'd get something just to shut up! Remember - someone sued McDonald's b/c the coffee was....ummm...hot.

I guess on some level I knew this had to happen. Eventually all kids go through all stages. I know that someday she will have her heart broken. I know someday she will break someone's heart. I just want to GO BACK to the days of rocking her in a chair and feeding her a BA-BA. It was so much easier. Change a diaper, get her to try some new food, dress her up in a cute little onesie.

Gee, maybe this is just ME wishing I had another baby. Probably.

Did I tease kids in school? I really want to say I didn't, but I do remember doing something really really mean in junior high that haunts me to this day. :(

Was I teased? Oh heck yes! BUT I also had 2 brothers that stood up for me and could do the RAMBO moves for me!

Well after worrying about this for 24-plus hours and reading all types of articles and visiting various chat rooms to discuss this - - guess what happened? She came home from school today and I asked how things went and she answers "oh, fine."

ME: What about the teasing?"

HER: Oh it stopped. Can she (aka the brat) come over to play this weekend?"

ME: I thought she wasn't a come over to the house friend?

HER: She is now.

ME: Sigh. (Looking in mirror and completely understanding the bags under my eyes, the gray hair and the overuse of antacids.)

I'm just Saying...

2008-02-11T08:15:00.001-08:00

Random things occupying/bugging me on this cold cold cold Monday:

I need to clear my cache to make more room on my hard drive - my brain!

Here goes:

** Word verification on blogs. WHY? WHY? WHY? What purpose does it serve? More work for us? To prove we can enter the secret code?

** Snow plow drivers earning more then our teachers. Huh? How did THIS happen?

**Toliet paper loaded with the paper coming out the bottom vs. the top.

**People who refuse to wear coats when it is zero or below and mumble "gee, I'm cold." REALLY?

**Asking me where I bought something and then copying me. I've always hated this. I know, I know - it is the most sincere form of flattery or something. I find it completely irritating.

**Ice cubes left on the floor that melt and get my socks wet. I despise this!

**TIVO not recording something when you depend on it! I missed Brothers & Sisters last night - waah!

**TIVO cutting off the end of your show!

**Itchy tags on shirts! I turn my shirt inside out to sleep! Doesn't EVERYONE?

**Answering MY question with a question! (Me: Did you want to go out somewhere today? Answer: I don't know..do you want to go to the mall? Argh!

**Glasses, cups or anything in the SINK! When you have a dishwasher this makes NO SENSE to me - at all! Just empty the dishwasher and put the dirty things in!

OK - your turn. What's bugging you today? What is your PET PEEVE?

:)

Weather Forecast

2008-02-09T20:30:00.000-08:00

In case it is a bit too hot for any of you in the warmer climates - I just thought I'd share the weather forecast for my area. (Wisconsin)

TOMORROW:
6 AM
-7 °F
Windy
Blowing Snow Wind Chill -35 Sunrise 6:57am

3 PM
4 °F
Sunny
Wind Chill -20

9 PM
-3 °F
Clear
Wind Chill -25 Sunset 5:16pm

WEEKLY OUTLOOK:

SUNDAY
Sunny
Windy! Morning Wind Chill -35
High: 13
Low: -9

MONDAY
Snow
Light P.M.
High: 20
Low: 11

TUESDAY
Flurries
High: 27
Low: 12

WEDNESDAY
Partly Cloudy
High: 28
Low: 17

THURSDAY
Snow
High: 26
Low: 16

FRIDAY
Flurries

With 4 out of the next 6 days indicating snow I think the weather people should just make it easy for us and tell us what days it WILL NOT SNOW! :)

Geesh. Enough!

I don't wanna grow up!

2008-02-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

Sing it with me.....

I don't want to grow up, I'm a Toys' R Us kid, there's a million toys at Toys 'R Us that I can play with! More bikes, more trains, more video games, it's the biggest toy store there is! I don't want to grow, because then if I did, I wouldn't be a Toys 'R Us kid!

Remember that song? I do and I still sing it today. Well after today I might not. :(

Oh I really really hate to do this, but I must.

Toys R Us is now in my hit list with Walgreen's. Yep. My Walgreens saga can be found here.

I've been in this absolute FUNK that I cannot shake. Hence the reason I have been MIA. I just have zero energy and feel depleted and unmotivated. I don't know if it is in response to the pneumonia from a month ago or what. I go back to the doc in a week for a follow up and new x-ray so we'll see.

I'm pretty sure it has a LOT to do with the time of year and the snow that has covered Wisconsin! Those of you from farther away - we got over 12 inches of snow on Wednesday! The week prior everything was shut down as well since the wind chills were -35 degrees! So yes, a bit of cabin fever mixed in with the bluey blues and I'm Mrs. Funky Funk!

I think posting might lift my spirits so here it is my latest CUSTOMER SERVICE gripe! WARNING WARNING _ go get some coffee or some snacks..this is a long one!

I ventured out today throught the snow-covered streets to TOYS R US to return some things dear daughter got for Christmas. With most places have such strict return policies, I realized - HOLY COW - some people probably bought these things a few weeks before Christmas and my time is running out!

Odd thing is that the people who DO NOT have children gave my daughter gift receipts. (reminder to self - thank these people and buy them nicer gifts next year!) The people WITH children did not give gift receipts. Huh? Don't we all know that once we have kids it is an unwritten rule that you always GIVE the gift receipts? OK unless you re-gift. Which, by the way, I am 100% OK with.

First a little history:

The item I wanted to return was a thing called Pixel Chix. It's a small hand held device that has a pixelated person do various things in this virtual world. It's cute and for what they cost ($20) they are a nice alternative to the game boy things, I suppose. Well she loved it when she got one back in August for her birthday. She called it her GAME GIRL which I thought was very sweet - since everyone else she knows has GAME BOYS. I personally thought it was dumb, but hey, she liked it. Key word being she LIKED it, as in past tense and no longer does. She liked it in August and when I asked her in December for gift ideas this came up. Great! I typically save ideas for various people in the family so that I don't give the same ideas to everyone and she ends up with duplicates. I should have remembered that I hadn't seen this toy since August, but alas - I didn't.

SO when asked the week prior to Christmas what she wanted, I thought hmmm what haven't I told anyone...? Ah- ha - PIXEL CHIX! So I happily told someone yep, that would be an "it gift" as we call them.

Are you families like mine? THEY love our child dearly but they all secretly compete to get her the IT GIFT and get the glory. Kinda takes the total meaning out of the day - but hey - again - who am I to judge?

OK back to the big venture out. There are actually 2 trips I made to TRU with the first one being last week. The package this gift came in was a blister pack - you know that super industrial plastic that you have to cut with superman scissors and then carefully remove the toy so the sharp plastic doesn't slit your wrists? My point it - this thing was SEALED. It has a TRU security device thing on it with Toys R Us CLEARLY stamped on it. It was obvious it came from their store. Oh - and it was the combo gift kit so it wasn't $20 but more like $50 as it had 3 separate games to it.

I go into this place A LOT. A LOT! I know most of the people there and they know me and are usually VERY nice and helpful. Not on this day. When trying to return it they tell me I need a receipt. I explain my plight that I do not have one and they can't give me a store credit. I ask if they can look it up by name since I know who bought it and that I know they would come to this store. The next nearest one is 30 minutes away and on the "other side or not so nice side" of town.

Nope. Nothing in the computer. After being asked several times if I am SURE that I don't have a gift receipt and if the person who bought it has the receipt, I am told that I can ask the person for their credit card and they could look it up that way but if they paid cash, I'm out of luck. Like I would never think to ASK for a receipt. I'm burning with anger as I walk back to my car with this @#*& toy!

It takes me DAYS to call this person and kindly ask them if they would come with me to the store OR give me their personal credit card info. How embarrassing! But it was a $50 gift and I thought it was foolish to keep it and force my child to play with it. I apologized profusely to this person - remember I was the ONE who gave up the suggestion to buy it! By the way, they were FINE with me asking and would prefer that my lovely spoiled child get what she wants.

So I have this person who bought the gift look up their info and yeah it was on their debit card and they give me the date and the cc info as long as I promise to destroy the information when I am done.

OK back to TRU. I proudly walk in feeling that this will be a no-brainer and I'll be in and out of there in less then 5 minutes. I am after all alone without child and this is great! She can go with me over the weekend and pick out something else.

Me walking to the door - LOCKED. Huh? Argh! I'm normally not that organized and out and about so early! I dropped daughter off at 8:45 at school and it is now 9:05. Store opens at 10:00. Grrrr. I go and get some gas, some coffee and sit in the parking lot. TRYING to enjoy the quiet time but I am obsessed with thinking about what else I COULD be doing.

After a while I get a chuckle out of watching other people pull up and get out of their cars only to walk up and realize the store is closed. Ok, I'm a bit guilty here because I could have told a few people and been polite and said "they open at 10:00" - but I didn't. What did they think everyone was doing in their cars?

FINALLY the doors open and I'm not in this race like other people are. Silly people I say! But once inside I realize why they rushed. I am not at the END of the customer service line and looking at about 7 other people in front of me.

Ok, breathe. Be patient. This is going to move quickly. Or maybe not. I hear the same story I heard last week - sorry you need a receipt. No exceptions.

It is getting warm. I have to go to the bathroom from the coffee. I'll hold it. I don't dare give up MY spot in line. I feel comforted knowing that there are more people BEHIND me now then in front. Progress!

Here are the highlights from the customer service counter:

Boy: Yes? (I say BOY b/c he couldn't have been 3 days over 20. Nice welcome, don't you think? He has been working for a whole 10 minutes and he is already snippy?)

Me: (I'll take the HIGH road here and be super nice and set an example for him and everyone behind me) Good morning. I need to return this.

Boy: Do you have a receipt?

Me: No I do not but..(I get cut off immediately)

Boy: Sorry you need a receipt. He points to the return policy.

Me: I know. I was in here last week and here is what I was told. I go through the whole long story, much to the dismay of people behind me since this takes a few minutes to convey. Boy does NOT seem happy that he will have to do this extra work and look up the receipt for me.

Boy: Ok. Well le't see if this is it. OK. Scans some things. Asks for the number again. Finally is convinced that this is the right item, right price. OK. OK. I can issue you a store credit. I can't give you cash.

Me: That is fine. I am sure I'll spend it and then some. (Attempt to be humorous)

Boy: (leans over counter and whispers) You know...I really shouldn't be doing this for you.

Me: Huh?

Boy: Yeah I could get in a lot of trouble. I shouldn't be doing this? (He is now WAY too close to me and I feel my personal space is being invaded!)

Me: Doing what? Your JOB? (YES I said this)

Boy: I'm just saying....

Me: You know I was already here the other day and I was TOLD by YOUR manager that I should do this in order to get a credit. Why are you making this more difficult?

Boy: Ma'am.....please I'm doing this as fast as I can. (His attitude changes VERY quickly as he sees his manager coming up)

The manager recognizes me and says "hi, oh great you got the receipt." We make small talk for a few minutes as I GLARE at the boy and say "see, I told you she told me I could do this." I realize I am acting like a 6-year old by saying that but BOY oh BOY did it feel good! Referring back to the title of this post, I guess I basically don't wanna grow up and I lived up to it! I'm sure the people behind me will tell a story of the rude lady in front of them !

He can barely look at me, let alone talk to me at this point. I don't care. I want out of this place. I just want the credit slip thing and to get to the bathroom. I get the gift card with $53.87 on it and to me I feel like I had the winning lottery ticket!

The good news: I think my temper flare up burned off some of the blues and writing again has woken me up. The sun is shining. It IS NOT snowing (yet) and we have a terrific weekend planned beginning with going back to TRU after school to let dear daughter pick out some new stuff. I am not planning on telling her she can spend $50.00.

I hope this made you smile and took you away from anything that might be dragging you down.

Hugs,

Me

I got an AWARD!

2008-02-08T10:07:00.000-08:00

Wow. I got an award from Christina over at My 5 Little Monkeys. If you haven't checked out here site - please do - she is amazing!

I'm floored. I'm honored. I'm speechless.

Thank you! Thank you! What incredible timing. I really needed this right now.

I'm passing it along to a few ladies that I consider treasures. I think they have both gotten some other awards, but certainly deserves more!

To my dear Michelle who can handle things I cannot even imagine. Please give Michelle a quick peek if you aren't familiar with her blog. She can be found The Zoromski Chronicles.

To my blogging sissy - or my blissy - Tish. You can check her out at Damama's at it Again!

I'm back. Thanks for the love and support and kind emails and messages. You guys ROCK!

Ketchup!

2008-02-02T21:34:00.000-08:00

Momma tomato, Papa tomato and baby tomato all went out for a walk one day.

Baby tomato kept falling behind and Momma tomato kept nagging at him to hurry up. After several reminders, she pleaded with Papa tomato to go back and talk to him. She was tired of nagging him.

So papa tomato goes back and proceeds to stomp all over him.

Mama is shocked. What is going on?

I told him to stop lagging behind and to KETCHUP.

(GROAN)

I know, I know.

It was a CLASSIC joke my Dad told - over and over and over and oddly enough I never tired of it. Dad has been gone for 4 years now and I smiled a great big smile as I typed this. :)

I know I owe you all a good long post to KETCHUP (get it?) and I will do that. I promise. I just got busy with things and had to un-plug for a bit. Thank you for all the well wishes, concern and kind comments.

More tomorrow - Monday at the latest.

Me

I'm Somebody

2008-01-21T20:05:00.000-08:00

Somebody better do the laundry...

Somebody better put away the laundry...

Somebody better make the beds...

Somebody better pay the bills...

Somebody better turn in the school forms...

Somebody better clean the house...

Somebody better return those gifts...

Somebody better empty the dishwasher...

Somebody better make the coffee...

Somebody better go grocery shopping...

Somebody better plan the dinners...

Somebody better cook the meals...

Somebody better RSVP to all these kid parties...

Somebody better buy gifts for said parties...

Somebody better make the dentist and doctor appointments...

Somebody better plan the family gatherings...

Somebody better know where everything is...

Somebody better get some rest!

Blog Etiquette?

2008-01-18T21:40:00.000-08:00

I have a question. Hopefully you can help me.

What is the proper Blog Etiquette for responding to comments? I see that some people reply back in the comment field directly after the person's comment. (could I say comment a few more times in those sentences? Sorry - it's way too late for me) OK well as far as commenting or following up on a comment - I've done that.

Other bloggers go to the people's sites who have left the comments and post a "thank you" or "howdy, thanks for stopping by" comment.

And then some people don't acknowledge the comments at all. I get that - people who have mass followings and comments in the 100's can't respond to each one.

I'm just wondering what you all think and what you do.

OH _ also - how do you track new posts from your favorite bloggers? Some people have that service where you can sign up to be notified of new posts but a lot do not. What service do you use or do you just bookmark and come back every now and then?

I'd appreciate your point of view and/or opinions/suggestions as I'm trying to figure out what I should be doing or shouldn't be doing.

Your thoughts?

Me

Help Wanted: Garbage Man

2008-01-14T20:18:00.000-08:00

Calling all men...please respond to this desperate plea from women all across the country....

WHY CAN'T YOU TAKE OUT THE GARBAGE WHEN IT IS FULL?

Even if I manage to pull out the over-stuffed bag (since "someone" always packs it down to the point of it becoming a 50 pound ripped bag of smelly stuff) it still never makes it outside to its proper resting place. WHY?

Sure I could take it, but I don't. It's like the episode on Everybody Loves Raymond where neither Debra or Ray will move the suitcase. If you aren't a fan of the show - at least try to watch this ONE episode. It is a classic. I love it!

Anyway, I do enough around here and it just falls in that gray area of when we said our vows. I swear I heard them say "love, honor, cherish and take out the garbage!"

Ladies - are you with me or am I alone on this one? Does your hubby take OUT the garbage? I mean does he really take it out?

I'm sure there is some equivalent thing that we women do although as of right now - I can't think of anything.

Gotta go - I must empty the garbage. Everywhere. Every room. I know I was sick for 3 weeks, but come on - did he seriously just step on them and smash them all down? He didn't empty them at all? Really?

:)

Best Part of YOUR Day?

2008-01-12T20:58:00.000-08:00

I started a new blog. Don't panic - I'm not giving up on this one. NEVER!

I just thought about sharing my high and lows from the day and imagined that section would get pretty big fairly fast.

So I decided to give it its own home. Can I just say that a lot of the more common blog names are taken? And that's fine. Like web address' - whoever is smart enough to get the good ones or the ones with a jingle to it - good for you! However - if you aren't going to use the blog name can't you just delete it and give the name back to the community? Sorry for the mini rant - I was just really surprised at how many people start blogs and then leave them there unattended to for years!

Well, anyway the new blog is called ......(drum roll....)

Best Part - Worst Part of Your Day?

Check it out. It is just a place you can go to read about the highs and lows of my day and anyone else that cares to share.

So go ahead - - post your best part and your worst part.

Whether it is a good day or a bad day - think of this as your CHEERS (tv show) where, over time -----

....everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came...

(OK...cut me some slack - I've been watching WAY too much TV as I get better!

Have a good one,

Me

For the Packer Fans....

2008-01-11T12:52:00.000-08:00

In case you don't know - I am from Chicago. Always was and always will be a BEARS fan. YES I was part of the Superbowl Shuffle craze! Well by some strange alignment of the stars I married a PACKERS fan and the fun began! LOL! Living in Wisconsin wearing blue and orange is a DANGEROUS hobby - let me tell you. :)

Anyway - I'm not "up" to an official post so I thought I'd share a joke with you all.

More from me this weekend - I promise! I'm really really fighting this *#*@ thing!

Enjoy!

---------------------------------------------------
A man goes to the Chicago Bear ticket office and inquires about
purchasing play-off tickets. The ticket teller replies that there
weren't any tickets for sale because the Bears did not make it to
the play-offs.

The following day the same man goes to the Chicago Bear ticket
office and inquires about purchasing Bear play-off tickets. The
ticket teller politely replies that there weren't any tickets for
sale because the Bears did not make it to the play-offs.

This goes on for an entire week. The man goes to the Bear ticket
office inquiring about play-off tickets and the teller says none
are for sale because the Bears did not make it to the play-offs.

Another week of this goes by and the man still is asking the
ticket teller about Bear play-off tickets. Finally the ticket
teller in a loud voice says, I'VE TOLD YOU FOR THE LAST 2 WEEKS
THERE WERE NOT ANY TICKETS AVAILABLE BECAUSE THE THE BEARS DID
NOT MAKE THE PLAY-OFFS.

The man replied, "I know." I drive all the way from Green Bay
just to hear you say that!

Not myself aka Pity Party

2008-01-07T11:54:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone.

Special thanks to Damama for checking up on me and urging me to post an update.

Also thank you to Brandi for reminding me how many days it had been since my last post.

(Insert applause here - I have learned how to do a link!) It is much easier in Firefox vs. Safari. Just an FYI for any of you Mac users out there.

OK back to my post.....

To the rest of you - thank you so much for your kind words during my absence. I feel like I have been gone forever. The first 10 days of it are still a blur. Last thing I clearly remember was that I was getting ready for Christmas. Then the fevers hit. Five days of it. Once we found out it was a serious case of Pneumonia and the word HOSPITAL came up - I understood how serious it was. Fevers of 104 and 105 make for a very confused woman - let me tell you! But I did realize that lying on ceramic tile floors in your bathroom is very effective for cooling the body. ;)

Some shots, breathing treatments, antibiotics and lots of fluids let me come home on Christmas Eve instead of spending it at the hospital.

Christmas morning I remember being drenched in sweat as I begged dear daughter to quickly open her gifts so I could go back to bed.

Sleep, sleep, sleep. And more sleep. What day is it? I am so off of a schedule right now that I am like a newborn. I sleep during the day and am tossing and turning all night.

It has been 2 weeks since I started the antibiotics and I thought I'd be back to my old self. Well I am not.

Have you ever had mono? That is what this feels like. The energy level is zero and I am completely unmotivated to do anything.

I am really trying to not get down but it is hard when there is always so much to do. It is overwhelming.

Now I realize how fortunate I am for it not being worse and that I have a dear hubby who has stepped in beyond what I ever thought he could do. Picking up the slack is an understatement. I also know that no one died. My child is healthy. My husband is healthy. My brother is well and so are my nieces and nephews. I have not lost all perspective and I know it could be worse.

I just miss the old me. I'm sure she is here somewhere in the piles of unpaid bills, the laundry, dirty floors and gifts that need to be exchanged.

I hope to be on more regularly and post some more uplifting topics later this week.

I miss reading my favorite blogs. I miss emailing. I just don't feel like doing anything. Believe me I have a TON of topics that I could post about. I've tried some new products I wanted to share with you all, I got a cool gift I wanted to tell you about, a few things that bugged me over the shopping at various stores. And on and on my crazy brain is going. SO much to say! It's all in my brain - hopefully it will come out in type soon.

Please know that I do plan for this to be my first and ONLY pity post. I almost called it Pity Party - table for one! I get down but then I spring back up. That is what I hope to do in the next 24-48 hours!

I heard someone say "Hey I built a bridge for you...now GET OVER it!" I kinda like that. So that is my plan. To get over it.

I hope 08 is going well for all of you.

With appreciation,

Me

Pneumonia

2007-12-27T19:58:00.000-08:00

Yep. I think that is how you spell it.

Got it Thursday before Christmas and am JUST NOW coming back to reality.

Fever for 6 days - highest was up to 105.2.

Severe case. Almost spent Christmas Eve in the hospital.

I'll write when I can. I'm on bed rest till Monday.

Sigh.

Perfect Christmas....ummmmm, not so much.

Postive side: I'm going to be fine. No one died. There will be more parties next year.

Just goes to show that you can plan and plan and plan - but you know what - we are not really in control of things - are we?

I'm really trying to find the positive here, the meaning, the message. I'm struggling but I think I will be stronger b/c of this.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and that you have a Happy NEW YEAR!

No Vacancy!

2007-12-19T18:35:00.000-08:00

Don't Let them Rent Space in your Brain.

That's what I used to hear from my dear father. You know what? He was brilliant! It's so true if you stop and think about it. How simple. Just don't let them. I control how I feel and who gets to me and who doesn't. And you know what - the things that got to me last night? OVER. DONE. Haven't dwelled on it a bit. :)

It helps that I had this sounding board and I KNOW I was fully supported.

SO I hope whatever is bugging you right now - that you let it go.

Say it with me....Don't let them rent space in your brain! Shouldn't that be a T-shirt?

Dad is smiling down on me right now. I feel him all around me.

Thanks Dad. I miss you so very much. Say hi to Mom!

Me

Unsolicited Advice

2007-12-18T20:53:00.000-08:00

Quick one from me as I have a MAJOR pulled muscle or pinched nerve in my neck. Ouch! I told hubby I was going to bed at 9 - ummmm it is now 11:00. What is WRONG with me? Why don't I just listen to what anyone else would tell me and GO TO BED!

OK my peeve is people who come over and KNOW that I've been doing all of this work on my house and then CRITIQUE it! Mind you, I did NOT say how do you like this? It isn't even done and I've had a few family members pop by. Not my family....hubby's. My family is nice enough or smart enough to know how this would CUT me on many levels.

Didn't mom teach us to not say anything if it wasn't nice?

It was things like "oh, I would have done this or that needs to be re-done or I would have gone darker in this room. Well then FINE - go ahead and do that in YOUR house!

I'm wanting to show it off with furniture moved back into the rooms and not covered with tarps. But NOOOO they have to see it before it is done and then say some really insensitive things.

Then, I'm somehow labeled hyper-sensitive or worse *itchy for responding to them.

Grrrrrr. And yes - they were comments made by MEN!

Bah. Humbug. I'm grumpy and can't turn my head to the left. I am officially going to bed and hoping some nice friend comes over this weekend and GLEAMS at my work. My camera is down so pictures will be delayed. Maybe you all will like it when I show it to you.

I'm sure tomorrow I won't care but right now I am STEAMED!

Thanks for listening. Humpf!

SUNNY DAY...sweepin' the clouds away

2007-12-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

On my way to where the air is sweet.......

Are you singing Sesame Street yet?

Well if so, please picture BIG BIRD and his bright yellow feathers. OK, now picture that color on my wall in my kitchen soaring up 19 feet!

ARGH!

No, no, no is what I mumbled (or screamed) when I walked in to see how painting was going yesterday. I almost made Jerry, the nice painter guy fall off his ladder!

I picked what I will call a goldenrod or rusty yellow. NO way was this close. I didn't have the swatch because I gave that to the guy who goes to get the paint. BUT I knew this was not it.

Accept it - I would not have my kitchen back today.

After a long conversation with the guy who I hired - oddly he is never here - we decided to wait and I'd go get another color. I felt bad for Jerry - that means he doesn't get paid for the rest of the day. I found out he is hourly. Hmmm is that why clean-up takes so long? :)

OK no biggie. I'll run to home depot and get a new color. Hubby wants to come with. Awww, how sweet. Fine, but first he has to go to a meeting at my daughters school. He thinks he'll be back by 2:00 at the latest. It is now 12:45 and all I can think of is what I want, and why is it so hard to get that color?

Jerry tells me to take the cushion from the dining room chair/bench and have the paint guy match it. DUH! Who knew it was that simple? I feel like an idiot but thank him over and over for all of his help. He is really a good guy. The head guy - the one I am paying - not so sure about him. Where IS HE anyway?

It is now 2:05 and hubby isn't here. I call him and he walks out of the meeting grumbling that it is taking too long. I tell him I will go and get the paint and he can pick up our daughter. We'll meet back here at 3:45 and get her a quick snack and then off to her gymnastics class. We'll rush home afterwards have dinner and a quick bath for her so we can discuss the plans with Mr. Head painter who is coming at 6:30. Whew. A plan - it will work.

Ummmmm my car is outside buried in about 14 inches of SNOW! Damn! We drive hubby's truck most of the time and I am just staring at the car with the snow and the piles of snow all around it. I'll have to dig it out. OK. Fine. I'm an adult. How hard can this be?

20 minutes later, I am cursing and freezing. My pants are wet up to the knee. 17 degrees is cold I realize and perhaps I should have dressed for Winter vs. Fall. I've lost feeling in my toes. My hands are red. Why would I think to wear gloves? I go back to the garage door to go inside the house and find some glove and as I'm turning the know I remember --- AH YES, they are on the passengers seat of hubby's truck. Of course they are. Great place for them. And I lecture darling daughter about putting things BACK in their place. Hmmmm - I'm a big old hypocrite!

OK back to finding gloves. Any gloves. Princess gloves, Elmo gloves - I don't care at this point. I just want warmth. The door is locked. HUH? I'm locked out of my house! Who locked the door? I didn't. I don't think I did. Don't panic. The key is on the key ring. Back to the car to turn it off and bring keys to door. Nope. I don't have a key to my house. HOW OLD AM I?

Wait! There is an extra key in one of those combination code things in the garage. My frozen fingers attempt to punch in a 4 digit code. It is the alarm code. Right? Nope. My birthday? Nope. Daughter's birthday? Nope. Anniversary? Nope. Tears begin to flow. Yep. Blame it on the hormones or the fact that I only had 4 hours of sleep. WAH! WAH! WAH!

SUCK IT UP I tell myself. Get a hold of yourself. You are not homeless. You can get into your house in one hour. I finish cleaning off the car - set the thermostat to 85 and head out. I forgot to clean the passenger side windows. Forget it. I just unroll the windows at all intersections. STOP STARING AT ME! That's what I start to say/think b/c I swear everyone was looking at me like "HEY CRAZY LADY _ it snowed like 3 days ago - why is there a mountain of snow on your car?" It was like I walked out of the bathroom with toliet paper on my shoe! How embarrassing!

NICE NICE NICE man helps me at Home Depot. We scan the cushion (DID YOU GUYS KNOW THEY COULD DO THAT?) and he tells me all this stuff about red oxide in paint and how much we should take out and so on. I'm like uh-huh. Just give me the can of magic paint that isn't bright yellow! So I get it and just to be SAFE I grab about 50 color chips of other colors. I'm all over the place grabbing browns, reds, pinks, yellows, oranges. I can hear it now - Attention customers: We have an insane lady in aisle 7 - attention - lady with very red hands and wet pants in aisle 7. Please come and look at the freak show! Today only - crazy lady in aisle 7! LOL!

I get home and hubby is here. My hero - I can get INTO my house. He tells me the code. Why it is different then the garage door code and the alarm code - I'll never know. Hopefully I will remember it for next time. We put the paint on the wall as we shove a snack at dear daughter. Five minutes I shout as I feel my heart pounding. We should skip the gymnastics. It is just too much. What lesson does that send to my daughter? Blow things off if you want to?

The new color is DARK. Much too dark. It is orange brown. HUH? What is the deal here? I did learn that yellows are the hardest color to match from my buddy at Home Depot. I lay out all the swatches and see hubby's face go pale. "What's this?" he asks with a cringe. I said "These are backups, we need to switch the color." Now secretly in this pile was ONE COLOR that I thought would work. I made him go through them all as I help them up and we put them in piles...yes, no or maybe. Why I did this game, I don't really know. I should have just shown him what I liked.

He picked the same one I did! Yeah! NOW back to Home Depot for a test can of this. Yep, you guessed it - we didn't make it to gymnastics. Daughter was fine with it actually. I'll obsess over that tomorrow.

Back home - on the wall - and YES! YES! YES! I was like Meg Ryan from that scene in When Harry Met Sally! FINALLY - this is it. It is perfect. It is called chamois. It looks golden yellow. Hubby goes back to HD for a gallon of it and we are done. It's 6:00 and we can eat and do bath and all sleep well. Ahhhhh....

The kitchen is being finished as I finish this entry. I will post some before and afters if you'd like. My camera hookup isn't working right with the new computer so it might take me a few days to figure out what is wrong.

Well I hope you all got a grin out of this. I'm actually smiling about it.......NOW. Things always look better after a good nights rest.

Have a good one!
Me

Moving Forward

2007-12-12T12:31:00.000-08:00

Well things are moving ahead - full speed ahead actually. Both with the house things and with the feelings of sadness.

I got through Monday - the anniversary of my dear niece's death. The death day I call it. Whew. Your comments really helped and I hope you know how much I appreciate having this forum and the many good friends I have made via this wonderful cyber world we live in.

House project is going well and I will post pictures when it is done! Woo-hoo! Fresh paint smell has me a bit loopy though - ha, ha.

Here are some things I did to kick myself into the Christmas mood.

1. I/we are sponsoring a family. Basically we get a name and number of someone who needs help this year and buy gifts for their kids. I'm excited to make this a tradition and it will really help to live the true meaning of Christmas as well as teach my daughter a valuable lesson!

2. I bought a Christmas CD. I haven't bought more than 2 CD's since they were invented. Pathetic that I DO HAVE all of my albums. Found all of them while cleaning up for the painting. What I'm going to do with them? No idea, but I couldn't toss them. Too many great memories. Anyway the CD was of kids singing and my daughter loves it! Baby steps...baby steps.

3. I am going Christmas Caroling tonight. Remember what I said about NOT being able to listen to Christmas songs? Well I am forcing myself to SING them tonight. We are going to a nursing home to do this with people from my daughter's school. Again, good for the people at the home, good for my daughter and good for me to get out there and LIVE Christmas vs. dreading it and focusing on the negative things in my memory. Making new memories - making NEW memories!

4. I have NOT gotten my tree up because of the mess of the stuff everywhere to have painting done. Bummer. HOWEVER the anticipated done day is Tuesday so I will GET IT DONE and it will be amazing. Good news is that I've seen a TON of Christmas decorations NOW ON SALE so I'll save some money buying some great decorations!

OK off for now!

Me

In Loving Memory

2007-12-10T07:11:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Today is the anniversary of my niece's death. She was 4.5 years old. She drown in her parents bath tub. Sigh. It was 8 years ago and it still "cuts".

I'm trying to stay busy but my mind isn't clear. I'm sad and just wandering around. I should do something to remember her - work on a scrapbook page of her - do a shadow box of photos or something. But I can't. I'm wasting time surfing the net, shuffling papers on my desk, answering emails, zoning out.

It probably doesn't help that every room is a WAR zone here with the painters coming. By the way they said they would be here between 7:30 and 8:30 and it is now 9:15. Hmmmm. I'm so glad I was up at 6:00 to get everything done for school prep and clear the pathways. Grrrrr.

Back to my issue with today. I feel guilty if I am not sad. Does that make sense? I mean I AM SAD but I'm not bawling. Time heals all wounds like they say and I am a bit numb to it. I want to call my brother but it is always a very difficult conversation. What do you say? I typically say "hey just wanted you to know that I was thinking of you and remembering that today is hard for you." Depending on his mood I either get a "thanks" or "well every day is hard when your child is dead."

Yep he can be that BLUNT. He is who he is and it is not for me to judge how he deals with his grief. I can't even imagine how he gets up every day and I know if it was me I don't think I would have had the strength to go on. Oh and I will call him. I always do.

So..........

Sigh......

I guess I'll go straighten up one room that isn't being painted. Somehow cleaning a room is like cleaning the mind. It will take my mind off of things for a bit.

More later. Hopefully on a more UP beat topic. I'm starting to be a real downer, aren't I?

Me

The Survey SAYS.....

2007-12-09T20:17:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone - I'm curious.....

How many kids do you buy Christmas gifts for and how much do you spend?

If you don't mind - would you take a quick second to cast your vote on the polls to the right?

Can you tell I went SHOPPING TODAY? I feel like I did what was right, but now I'm BROKE!

SO again, I'm just curious....

:)

Happy Sunday night!

PS_I bought for 8 kids and spent $50 for niece and nephew that are older than 5 - the younger ones about $25. A bit more on my own child and my grandchild. Sound about right?

ROLL CALL!

2007-12-07T10:28:00.001-08:00

OH MY GOSH _ what a crazy, insane week it has been. I can't believe I haven't posted in a week! Thanks for the concern from my new buddy Damama2all
for checking on me and helping me to realize I've been MIA for too long!

First my computer died. As good as I am with backups - it wasn't good enough. I've lost my address book, my favorite websites and a few photos. MOST of my photos were backed up already, but I lost a handful. Luckily there was an extra computer laying around but that one was troublesome and I had no email. Frustrating, but not earth shattering.

Next, we started major home improvements (I know...crazy before Christmas!) and I thought I had the whole week to prepare for the workers. We are just painting but it is MAJOR to me. Lived here for 10-plus years with this HORRIBLE wallpaper in the kitchen and the family room. Meant to do it after we moved in, but one year turned into another and then a baby was born and BAM - here we are 10 years later and the whole thing was just dragging me down.

SO to boost the mood I get in every year, I thought why not paint? I called around and found a guy who came highly recommended and he was 1/3 the cost of all the other quotes! PLUS he could start and finish in one week and my house would be GLEAMING for the holidays! GOOD plan but when he called to say "can I start early?" I didn't think it through and said sure, we'll be ready. Hubby almost killed me on that one!

A couple of nights we were up until 2:00 stripping wallpaper, moving furniture, and hiding things in closets, moving clutter from one room to another. GOOD THING is that bags and bags of "stuff" went to good will!

In between trying to make Christmas magical this year and the computer death and the de-cluttering for the painters, I haven't had time to sleep, let alone blog. :)

Now to the ROLL CALL part. Help me rebuild my bookmarks of favorite blogs!

List your blog address here for me (and everyone else too!)

I will get more blogging done later. I need to open my mail which is now about knee high!

Me

Breaking the Cycle

2007-11-30T19:59:00.000-08:00

This is a bit different then most of my other posts. It's the real deal. Me - uncensorced, raw and real. I've grouped it as Serious Stuff because to me, it is.
----------
What does this time of year mean to you? Is it full of decorations, shopping, baking and singing? Or is it a season you dread? I’m not a full blown SCROOGE, but I need your help. This is a hard time of year for me.

Growing up – Christmas was great. What’ not to love about the magic of it all? I can’t remember a year where Santa didn’t spoil me rotten. I made a long list like most greedy kids from the 60’s did, and sure enough the “big guy” came through for me, year after year. However, as I got a bit older and some of the fairy dust cleared, I noticed that my mom seemed to “act” her way through the month of December.

Through the years, I learned that her father died a week before Christmas so Mom always was sad during this time of the year. Add to it the PRESSURE that can get to all of us with the shopping, the parties, the entertaining and so on and she just got into a FUNK for most of the month.

WELL as fate would have it I began to repeat the cycle. Eight years ago my four-year old niece died on December 10th shattering me in a way that changed me forever. I thought I would never laugh, smile or celebrate Christmas again. At least not with the same glee as before. Then just two years later, my Mom died the day after Christmas. Sigh. The next year was my father-in-law and then the next my Dad. Same time of the year too. I got to the point where December would roll around and I'd wonder who would be next.

SO every year I cringe when I hear Christmas music because it reminds me of how at about this time eight years ago – all I heard was Christmas songs and there we were burying a beautiful child. I vividly remember hearing these songs and shouting at the radio. I remember hating everyone who had a child that was alive and well. I remember the crack I felt in my heart. I remember watching my brother and his wife feel pain that I didn’t know was possible. I remember questioning God.

So I put a band-aid on my heart and “faked it” for my daughter’s sake. She was an infant when my mother died, so it was easy to do. She was just 3 months old when I buried her Nana and all she has to remember my mom are my stories and photos.

For the last six years I have put the artificial tree out as quickly as possible feeling like it was a chore as awful as cleaning the garage. Bah – humbug! I’d throw some Christmas towels in the bathroom and considered it done. There. Now if someone came by – it would LOOK like I had some Christmas spirit. Right? Ho, ho, ho.

Well rather than dwelling on the past –which I cannot change – I have decided that this is THE YEAR to start some real traditions. My daughter just turned six so I think I have time to really make some impact.

All of us have choices in everything we do. For instance you wake up and realize it looks like snow. You can grumble and think “gosh the drive to work is going to be horrible” or instead you can see the brighter side of it and think “I hope it snows so we can build a snowman after school.”

I’ve decided that it is time to make some memories and set down some traditions for our family that is special to us. We three – me, hubby and darling daughter.

I’ve started by finding a place where you can cut down your own tree. I’ve realized I gave away all of my Christmas decorations for a tree when we purchased the pre-lit artificial tree. (During one of my super crazy cleaning purges!) Yep, I’ll need to go to Walgreens (yikes) to buy some ornaments, garland and so forth.

However…I NEED YOUR HELP. What are your favorite traditions? What things do you remember as a kid that you still do today?

Leave me a comment as to your favorite Christmas things to do and we’ll see what we all come up with!

Oh and in case you are curious – my brother and his wife went on to have 3 more children – two more boys (they had one already) and a girl. She just turned one and she is amazing. I still cry during certain Christmas songs that bring back waves of pain but my heart has healed with time and the gift I was given by God – my daughter.

I still miss my mother terribly. I remember asking my mom during my 20’s about death and how she got over the death of her parents. Her answer to me rings so true today. She said, “I don’t know that you ever do.”

I’ll write more about Mom another time but she was absolutely, without a doubt, my best friend. She was a gem of a mother. A class act all the way. I pray I am half the mother she was. I no longer have any anger as I did before about her and my father and my niece being taken from me. I have my faith and my family and my friends. I really don’t need anything else.

I hope this isn't too much of a downer. I almost didn't post it. I KNOW that I am blessed and that I have it really good right now. My life is complete. I can't complain and I know plenty of people have real problems and are much much worse off then me or anyone I know. I didn't intend for this to be a pity party - so please just send me some fun and festive ways that you celebrate with your family that I can "borrow!"

Thanks for listening.

Me

The Stairs Dance

2007-11-28T11:59:00.000-08:00

Are you familiar with this dance?

It is not on Dancing with the Stars and I don’t think they give lessons on how to do it, although they really should. It would help the divorce rate greatly if every man could learn this dance PRIOR to getting married.

Please, I beg you – those of you reading this with sons – teach them this dance! And for those of you with daughters like me, train your little girl well so she can carry on the tradition of the Stair Dance. It is about as easy as the Hokey Pokey and I really don’t know why it isn’t done in pre-schools across America!

It goes something like this:

You put something at the bottom of the stairs as you are tidying up. It OBVIOUSLY goes upstairs the next time YOU go upstairs. Right?

The things that are at the top of the stairs (at my house there is a ledge on the banister) GO DOWNSTAIRS the next time you go down. Right?

TO ME this is just obvious. Kinda like taking the FULL garbage OUT when it is full. Or asking for directions or admitting you are wrong and apologizing. Think of Fonzie from Happy Days saying I’m sorr. I’m sorr….I’m sorry!

And if there is a pile of mail, a laundry basket, jackets and anything else – you grab it ALL. No wimpy arms here – you take whatever you can carry. Like a solider in a war you leave NO ONE behind!

Well after unpacking from the long Thanksgiving break we took there were many piles of things that had to go downstairs to be put away. Laundry, gloves, hats, boots, laundry and so on. Oh and WHY on earth I put the dirty laundry in the suitcase and dragged the suitcase upstairs to begin with is puzzling me as I type this. (wait – don’t panic - it was in a plastic bag!).

Then some things that were supposed to be downstairs got upstairs. Who did this? Dear Hubby thinking he was helping? Why would he bring the mail upstairs when we had NO intention of opening it? It belongs downstairs in the office!

I challenge you to ask your husband how many steps there are on your staircase. He won’t know unless he carpeted them himself recently. I can bet that almost any woman reading this can tell me the number of steps on her staircase. Want to know why? Because we go up and down the stairs with THINGS in our hands and we have to know how many stairs there are or we’d end up in the hospital! I have 13 by the way. Two -- then a landing and then 11. J

Remember those old videotapes called BUNS of steel? Well you would think with as many times as I go up and down those stairs I would have a nice “rear view” shall we say. Ha! I wish! Isn’t housework supposed to magically burn calories?

I’m beat. My quads are burning. I’m going to bed!

Me

Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me!

2007-11-26T15:42:00.000-08:00

Remember that rhyme from childhood? Well I was gone for Thanksgiving and I missed you guys! I missed the internet too - gosh that was weird to go all those days without a hookup. I feel like a junkie! Well anyway, I just wanted you to know I am here. Back in action. (Thanks for all the emails while I was away!) More later....gotta unpack!

[Glitterfy.com - *Glitter Photos*]

I stabbed my husband

2007-11-19T08:43:00.000-08:00

He's fine. Big BABY! Here is what happened.

I loaded the dishwasher as I ALWAYS do. I was about to empty the dishwasher as I typically do. However, dear hubby offered to do it and I gladly found some other chore to do.

We are the type of folk who always load the dishwasher with the KNIVES pointing down. I know this is a 50-50 thing, some of you put them up so they get clean, some of you down so you don't stab yourself or a young one.

Well I swear I did not put the knife with the point up. Hubby swears he didn't put it with the point up. It falls under that gray area of GREMLINS where no one will fess up to it but somehow it happened.

So he is unloading the dishwasher – at maximum this is a five minute task for me and it turns into a 45-minute ordeal. He doesn't put the things away - he just puts them in piles on the counter. For the life of me I don't get how he doesn't know where things go! He someone knows how to get a glass, a plate, a child's plate and help set the table. So how come it is such a mystery that these same items GO BACK in the place where you got them from?

As he is unloading I hear this blood curdling scream "OWWWWW!" Oww,oww, oww. Jumping up and down and shaking his hand. Oww. Oww. Oww!

Are you ready? He is how it went:

Hubby: I stabbed my finger on the knife.

Me: Mumbling - oh, are you OK?

Hubby: No. I am bleeding.

Me: Bad?

Hubby: Yes.

Me: Do you need stitches? Let me see?

Hubby: Holding finger as if it was falling off. (he won't show it to me)

Me: Let me see!

Hubby: I need a band aid. (starts sucking finger.) WHY do men do this? Is he getting the poison out? Aren't there like a MILLION germs in our mouths and he has an open wound and now he runs the risk or gangrene or something?

Hubby: (rummages around in at least 5 cabinets and drawers in the bathroom.) WHERE are the band aids?

Me: (Now I'm being a little brat here) In the bathroom (hee, hee)

Hubby: WHERE?

Me: In the lower right side of the vanity. Bottom right.

Hubby: Why do we only have kid band aids?

Me: Ummmm. I don't know. (Isn't a band aid a band aid?)

Hubby: I can't believe you would put a knife with the point up.

Me: I didn't.

Hubby: Well I didn't. Someone could get hurt. Like I did.

Me: Sigh. Are you OK?

Hubby: NO. I am bleeding.

Me: (thinking - yeah and I had a baby that was facing the wrong way - let's call it even.)

Hubby: We need to buy some REAL band aids.

Me: (I'll get right on that after I attend to the mess you have left in the kitchen) Uh-huh. You OK?

Hubby: Yeah, I'll be fine. It stopped bleeding.

Me: Can I see it?

Hubby: Sticks out hand.

This is where I see THE WOUND. It is the size of a pin. I kid you not! Is it just me or are MEN THE BIGGEST babies in the WORLD?

Hubby: I could have sliced my wrist open.

Me: (sarcastically) Good thing you are so quick with your responses.

Hubby: It isn't funny.

Me: I didn't say it was.

Hubby: I'm going down to work.

Me: Uh-huh.

I think this is is trick which is similar to the laundry trick. He conveniently throws a colored sock in with the whites so he is banned from doing laundry. Now he is banned from doing dishes.

HEY! Wait a second! I thought we were the smarter sex!

:)

All Work and No Play....

2007-11-17T14:18:00.000-08:00

MAKES ME SAD!

Sorry I have been MIA for the better half of the week. WORK. Can you believe it? I have to WORK! LOL. I am self-employed but believe me - it does not always mean you get to do what you want.

The pressure to meet deadlines is fierce, because if I don't get it done - who will? LUCILLE? (you knew I was going there didn't you?)

My notebook of blog topics is growing - I just need the time to get them out of the book and onto the screen.

But that will have to wait. DATE NIGHT is tonight and I am not going to be late.

Have a great night everyone - whatever you decide to do!

:)

ME

TAG~ I'm it!

2007-11-14T09:45:00.000-08:00

WOW. I've been tagged! Kathy got me! http://kathy-iamwhoiam.blogspot.com

CHECK HER BLOG out - she is pretty funny!

I feel a little like a school kid - does this mean someone likes me? I guess so. Here is how it works. I have to write 8 random things about me and then pass it on to 8 people. (Think chain letter)

There are a few rules one must follow to play the game. When tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list eight random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to eight other people.

Here are 8 random things about me:

1. I do not know how to use a lawnmower.

2. My hair has never been cut above shoulder length.

3. I collect pens. Mostly fountain pens, but any pen that is bold and colorful will do!

4. I have Robert Redford's (the actor) autograph and a single piece of his hair.

5. I was in a beauty pagent in high school! (oh the comments I am going to get on THIS one!)

6. I was offered a speaking part in a Burt Reynolds film in college and my father declined it for me. (He wanted me to get an education and not run off to Hollywood! I'd probably do the same for my child...I think)

7. I can drive a stick shift car. Pretty well actually!

8. I love NAPS. Anytime - anywhere. My favorite nap place is on a long drive in the car with the window slightly cracked. Reminds me of my long trips with the family!

Whew. Hope you found some of those interesting. It's harder then you think folks!

Here is my list of 8 people I AM TAGGING! Check them out if you haven't already. I read their blogs regularly and they each have something unique to say! There were a lot more of you that I WANTED TO TAG but I have read that you were already tagged and I didn't want to over-tag anyone! :)

And remember, have fun and play nice with the other kids!

PEOPLE I AM TAGGING and you need to check out are:

http://damama2all.blogspot.com/

http://rollinwiththepunches.blogspot.com/

http://mommylombardoto2.blogspot.com/

http://americanmade1.blogspot.com/

http://zoromski.blogspot.com/

http://thecartfamily.blogspot.com/

http://americanaussie-matilda.blogspot.com/

http://momintheknow.blogspot.com/

Arrested at Walgreens!

2007-11-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

Before you PANIC - it wasn't ME that was arrested. Whew!

The Transformers movie star Shia LaBeouf was. Apparently he did NOT WANT TO LEAVE WALGREENS. I can relate. Completely. I love that place! I couldn't make this stuff up. I heard this and fell over laughing.

Check out this link. (YES YES I think I figured out how to do live links! Yea me!)

Arrested at Walgreens!

See it isn't just me - it's WALGREENS! I bet you all he wanted was some photos...lol!

Me

PS_If you are new to my site you have to read BANNED at WALGREENS to appreciate why I find this so funny!

BANNED from Walgreens...

2007-11-09T21:28:00.000-08:00

~This is A LONG post but worth the read. So grab your coffee, your water or tea and enjoy!~

It all started as a simple task. Stop at Walgreen's and have some photos developed. I am a HUGE scrapbooker so when I do finally develop photos it is usually 3 CD's or more and at least 500 photos. That is why some years ago I signed up for this discount club, which gets me cheaper prints then advertised. I got it through my home-based business and have used it many, many times.

So let me set the scene for you. I'm there with my daughter and all we needed to do was pick up some napkins, Motrin and get these prints developed. I had tried uploading them to the website, but with over 500 photos it was taking forever so I thought oh smart me, I’ll just burn them to a CD and take it in to that cool machine they have. That will be much quicker!

I walk up to the Kiosk and put in my CD. I follow all the prompts, check all the prints I want and they start uploading. What I thought would be a few minutes turned into about 10 minutes - PER CD. Ugh. OK - child is getting anxious and so am I as I HAVE TO BE the world's most impatient person when it comes to lines and little tedious tasks like this. With kids - I am a saint. I amaze my hubby and myself sometimes with how patient I am with kids. I adore kids. Even the naughty ones.

Dear daughter is tugging at me and asking me for candy, for a toy, how much longer, where are we going next, what are we doing, why can't you do this at home, don't we have a computer at home and so on. I'm thinking - WOW - she really thinks mommy is on the computer? Seriously? But then - from her perspective - it is a computer. And much like I am at home, I’m tapping at things and looking irritated so yes, this must be a computer!

OK so I'm done. It's half an hour later but I have conquered this machine and this task. Ahhhh. All of my treasured memories are stored in the magic of computers and will somehow make it to prints. I don't care how it is done - I just want them and I want them in a few hours. Isn't that great that we can do that? I'm still amazed that you can get your photos in 45 minutes to an hour.

Now I am UNDERSTANDING. I know that to expect 500-plus photos in an hour is a ridiculous request. I wouldn't dream of asking for that. But I figure by that evening or even the next morning isn't TOO much to ask.

So here is where it gets INTERESTING. I take my claim tickets to the photo counter where a "dude" is barely awake. I say "dude" because he is maybe 18-years-old at most and he was pierced in various areas of his face and ears and he looked like he just finished waxing his surfboard. He is ignoring me or just too clueless to realize a customer is waiting. (Note to self - customer service NEEDS to be a post.)

I clear my throat. Nope. He is too busy telling the gal behind the counter about his big weekend and how wasted he was. Then I put my keys and purse on the counter to make a noise to startle him into actually working. Nope. OK - my temper is starting to heat up. My patience is lost. I'm counting to 10 and remembering I have a child with WIDE eyes watching my every move and she will copy this behavior as she has done with all the other behaviors I have done in the past years. Isn't that a kick in the teeth when you see your own child doing something you'd rather they DIDN’T only to realize they learned it from WATCHING YOU? This parenting gig is a lot harder then anyone ever let on!

OK. Mrs. Nice Gal I am not. I can't be. It’s hot in the store. I’m tired. I’m hungry. I’m thirsty. Ditto for dear daughter. I just can't stand there and wait any longer. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: Excuse me. I'd like to know when I could get these photos done.
Dude: Oh - um, how many.
Me: About 500.
Dude: We can't get those done in an hour.
Me: (I'm thinking very sarcastically - gee....REALLY?) But I nicely say Oh that's OK, I just need them by tomorrow.
Dude: Let me check.

He disappears behind the counter. I don't think he checked anything except for his voice mail on his phone. Mind you, child is now begging for a toy, for a juice, for candy - anything she can see from her spot next to me.

Dude: Yeah, tomorrow will work.
Me: What time?
Dude: What time do you want them?
Me: How about 11?
Dude: OK
Me: I have my coupon card - do you need that?
Dude: A what?
Me: My card. I get a discount off of what is advertised. It is a corporate card.
Dude: Huh?
Me: A corporate card. Here. (I hand it to him.)
Dude: I don't know what this is.

COUNTING TO 10...counting to 10...counting to 10.....breathe, breathe, breathe.

Me: I got it a while ago. I got it here.
Dude: We can't accept this.
Me: WHAT?
Dude: This isn't valid. You haven't gotten prints in over 3 months and you have to use it every month.
Me: WHAT?
Dude: You can't use this.
Me: Because I haven't used it? It has expired?
Dude: No it isn't going to let you have the lower price. You have to order photos every month to stay current.
Me: I'm not following you. Can I talk to your manager?
Dude: He's going to say the same thing.
Me: Look. I know you are tying to do your job, but this makes no sense. It doesn't say anything on the card about that.
Dude: Well you should have been told when you signed up for it. That is how the program is set up.
Me: I’ve used this for over a year and I didn’t come in every month.
Dude: Well it won’t work. You have to pay 29 cents a print.
Me: Isn’t there a volume discount or something else you can do?
Dude: Ummm. No. It’s 29 cents.
Me: I want to speak to a manager. (Years ago – that meant something. Not anymore.)

Manager comes up and he is a whole ONE YEAR older then the Dude. Great. I'm screwed. It is me - Mrs. Middle aged mom against the Dudes.

Senior Dude gives me the same speech. I'm losing my mind - daughter is melting. I remove her coat and open water for her. Steal a candy bar and open that too. She'll be happy now for a few minutes.

I PLEAD, I BEG but they won't budge. I tell them that I come in here all the time - come on, isn't there something they can do. Nope.

And here is where it gets GOOD.

The conversation with dude gets more and more escalated and I can tell I'm bugging him as much as he is bugging me. I tell the manager about how his photo person was not very helpful, how I had to wait, etc. Now dude is really MAD at me cuz I ratted on him. Too bad. Do your job buddy.

Me: you know what - this is crazy. I've been doing photos with you guys for years. Look, I'm a lot older then you and...
Dude: Yeah, I know.

WHAT DID HE JUST SAY? Yes - dude interrupts me to confirm that I AM OLDER then him.

I've now crossed over into some type of Steven Sagal character and I'm ready to kill someone. This is a good argument for why you can't carry a concealed weapon.

I grab my child, throw money at them for the food we have consumed, take my disks and tell him forget it - cancel my order. I turn around in a HUGE HUFF and knock over a giant display. Yep. It couldn't get any better if it was on a sitcom.

I'm embarrassed. Everyone is staring at me. I can't get out of there fast enough and as I'm leaving my dear daughter says "why did you use your FIRM voice on that man?" I've sunk to a new low. How could something so simple end so badly?

Great. Now Dude has my phone number and pictures of my entire family. He also has my address. I can't tell you how glad I am that we have a dog and an alarm system.

But worst of all is that now, my home away from home - my dear runaway place - MY Walgreens is gone. I cannot possibly ever return. I'm the crazy lady who lost her mind over photos.

The only upside to this story is that one of the ads I remember seeing or hearing for Walgreens went something like "Walgreens, there is one on every corner" or something similar. There are Walgreens all over the place in case you didn’t know. The good news for me is that the OTHER Walgreens is just a few streets over and they have a photo center and they DON'T know me...yet.

:)

Me

Pottery Barn Ad from Craigs List

2007-11-08T19:20:00.000-08:00

Just in case they decide to RENT the house or pull the ad from Craigs List I copied the ad here. I just find it very funny based on what I wrote a week or so ago. Scroll down or read post under "Observations." Here it is:
--------------------------------------------------------
$525 Female Wanted for Pottery Barn House

Reply to: hous-470290005@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-11-05, 10:07PM PST

We are two ladies who are looking for a clean, fun-loving female to share our house, move-in can be as soon as possible. The house is newly remodeled, ceramic and new carpet throughout (think Pottery Barn). 3 bedroom, 2 bath, slate entryway and gas fireplace, W/D, dishwasher, garbage disposal, back porch perfect for BBQs and gatherings, yard backs up to a greenbelt, 2-car garage with storage, fully furnished dark leather couches in the living room, furnished kitchen, stainless steel appliances, one block from 405 and Park and Ride. We are very clean. Summer brings dahlias, strawberries and blackberries to our yard, fall brings apples from our apple tree!

About us: one is an elementary teacher, the other is going to school to be a teacher. We host a community group through a local church at our house every Wednesday night (think 10-15 people coming over once/week). We don’t smoke, drink only on occasion, live active lifestyles, and like the house quiet after 10 on the weeknights. Please no pets.

We split the utilities 3 ways, and this is not included in the monthly $525. We have wireless internet.

If interested, please email me and tell me about yourself. We can set up a time to meet and I will send pictures.

Pottery Barn House - Part Two

2007-11-08T05:02:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it. Check out this link from Craig's List.

You'll need to cut and paste the link below into your browser. I'm not sure on how to make it a live link. If anyone wants to email me on how to do that - I'd appreciate it.

If you didn't read my original post on the Pottery Barn House you can scroll down OR click on "Observations" in the list on the right.

I think you'll see the humor in this ad so it is worth the cut and paste.....

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/roo/470290005.html

:)

Meet Lucille

2007-11-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in this but I had a wrench in my perfectly planned Monday. A sick child. Poor thing. Got that dreaded call from the school to come and get her. She is fine - just a bad stomache that I believe was due to too much snack, followed by waffles for lunch (crazy I know but that was the hot lunch offered) and then cookie day. Ummm.... I'd have a stomache too!

OK so onto Lucille and who she was and why I am using her name. Yep if you have been reading this you have probably figured out that Lucille is my ghost name. (BOO!)

Lucille was our nice neighbor back in Illinois. She was a quiet old lady and always waved at us but we never talked to her. Ever have a neighbor like that? Where you think "wow, she seems nice" but then you never really talk to her? That is another post for another day - it's sad but most of us don't even have time to talk to our neighbors anymore. By the way – we weren’t anti-social – we did talk to other neighbors!

I lived in the same house all of my life. All through grade school, middle and high school and for a brief time after college. Which BY THE WAY was the best year of my life. I finally got to be the ONLY CHILD I had always wanted to be. Both brothers were gone - one married and one at college so I got my parents ALL to myself. Selfish little thing, aren't I?

Well all my life Lucille was there and she seemed to never age. Oddly enough the picture I have in my mind of her is a woman about 65 or so, about 100 pounds, gray hair and just your classic little old lady that you would picture a boy scout helping across the street. OK they don't do that anymore but it gives you an idea of what she looked like. She was that way from as far back as I remember. I saw her a few years before she died and I must say that she looked about 65 or so.

So the family joke - if you will - was that whenever something needed to be done my father would kindly remind us. The first time was in a firm voice. He couldn't help it - he just had that DAD VOICE that always sounded firm. Every reminder he gave us would be a bit firmer and louder. As the reminders increased, so did his volume. We'd give the cocky response that kids give that went something like, "yeah, yeah - I know, I know" and we would get this in response ..."WELL WHO'S GOING TO DO IT? LUCILLE? This was then modified for times when we didn't want to hear something (don't forget to fill up the car, don't forget to call us, etc.) to the famous line "WHO'S GOING TO TELL YOU? LUCILLE?

Without hearing this, I hope that you can relate to how hysterical this was to my brothers and me. No matter what the task or what the reminder was - we'd picture the little old lady Lucille who we never heard speak, telling us to do it or doing it herself and we'd just crack up. It broke the tension many times in our house. Humor was HUGE at my house. It has allowed me to endure many things in life. You just have to laugh or sometimes you'll go crazy. I still love an old-fashioned belly laugh and I try to be a complete goof at least once a day with my daughter. It keeps me young - - on the inside at least.

So maybe Lucille isn't as funny to you as it was and IS to me but now you know who she was and why I picked her to be my voice. To be my parent's voice. I know a lot of people blog and when I decided to do this last month I thought, "how can I make this different? What do I want to say? How can I honor my parents and talk about me and things that matter to me at the same time?" So hence, Lucille has been re-born. And oddly enough I am starting to look about 65 or so....

On a closing note - dear hubby did NOT get this joke for almost 5 years. We'd say it all the time when we got together for various family things - giggling to the point of tears. He'd look at me, my folks and my brothers and wonder what he got himself into. Then a few years ago - after both of my parents were gone - my daughter said it. YES I have passed this cute little tradition on. He looked at her and paused - then said to me... "I GET IT! I GET IT – Lucille your old neighbor! He had tears in his eyes for finally getting it and from laughing for so long. " Ah yes he joined the family that day when he saw the humor in it. I fell in love with him all over again.

Remember - if it needs to be done --- you need to do it because after all....WHO'S GOING TO DO IT? LUCILLE? See you can modify it to any phrase and it still works. :)

OH and stay tuned for my LATEST WALGREEN'S STORY.... I've been BANNED from Walgreen's! :(

Me aka Lucille

WHO is Lucille?

2007-11-01T09:51:00.000-07:00

This is for Annette in BC and a few others that have asked..."who is Lucille?"

I PROMISE a nice post on Monday revealing more on her so STAY TUNED!

;-)

Me

Loreal Wrinkle Decreaser!

2007-11-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

One more quick one for you.

LOREAL Wrinkle Decreaser/Collagen Filler/Eye Illuminator.

I wish the marketing people would realize this name is NOT so catchy! But it doesn't matter because I SWEAR this stuff works!

I have just about every under the eye product out there. Remember, I'm 42 and there is no magic wand to erase the years of sun and fun. HOWEVER I am very impressed with this product! I've been using it for about 5 days now and I can really SEE a difference! The puffiness is reduced, the wrinkles do appear to be "filled in" and the skin seems smoother. That must be the illuminator part of the title. :)

It doesn't "gunk up" your eyes either in the morning. You know how some products sorta work but you have cloudy vision all day cuz it worked its way into your eyes at night? Well this one doesn't do that.

It's too bad Loreal won't send me a truck load for posting this. If they do, I promise to share so we can all be ILLUMINATED and less wrinkly! But hey, that isn't why I decided to do this. :)

Check it out - I got it at Walgreen's but I'm sure you can find it elsewhere. I know, I know - do I GO anywhere else other then Michaels' craft store and Walgreens? Not really....

Me

Immune Boost!

2007-11-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

I thought I'd give you some comments on products I USE or have USED that work. If you have any that you've tried - send them to me with your write up and I'll post them here.

When I get really good at this (or someone can help me out) I'll put a link back to your site or your article. :)

So here it is:

IMMUNE BOOST by Ultra Mist.

I bought this at Walgreen's in the high market area - the checkout. Feeling sick last week I bought this spray claiming it would shorten my cold. It has zinc and a bunch of other stuff (all natural, I believe) to shorten if not elinimate your cold. I though - hey why not? I've spent $7 or $8 on dumber things. PLUS I hate those zinc cold things. Those work - by the way - if you can get over the fact that everything tastes like a PENNY!

THIS THING WORKS! 6 sprays in your mouth 4 times a day I believe. (Read the label please!)

Good tasting too! Tropical fruit is what I had.

SO if you are getting sick or know someone that is - let them know this is worth the $.

ahhhh-choo!

Just kidding....

Me

Pack Attack!

2007-10-31T20:51:00.000-07:00

Ah-ha - you thought this was about the Packers, didn't you? Nope! I'm not into SPORTS at all. I mean I like them and will watch them but I'm not a super fan by any means. I know very few moms that say "oh did you see the game on Sunday?" We are too busy doing a million other things, aren't we?

Quick sidenote - I grew up with a dad who was a football and baseball coach as well as a basketball referee (at my highschool!) and had two brothers who played every sport you can think of. I did my time on the bleachers watching them, watching dad. SO I truly appreciate sports but I just don't feel the pull to them.

OK so here it is. My pack attack is slightly different. I have TO PACK for a mini-vacation. My daughter has off tomorrow from school so we figured we'd all head NORTH to our cabin in Northern Wisconsin. It's a nice getaway and it serves us nicely. It's small, private and completely BROWN! It was my father in laws old hunting cabin and I don't think anything has changed since the 50's. Regardless it is now OURS and we cherish our time there.

Here is the crazy attack part. It takes me HOURS to pack for me, a husband and one child. I have friends that go places for a long weekend at the drop of a hat and they have 4 kids!

It is now almost noon and my daughter left for school at 8:30. Shouldn't I be done by now and watching The View or sleeping? So what is MY problem? I wish I knew. I make lists of what we need, what needs to be done and it has taken me all morning to do about 5 things. Admitedly I have been on the computer but not ALL morning. :)

Does anyone else have this issue? Is it a woman thing? Maybe I over-obsess about it but I feel that the garbage needs to go out, the timers have to be set, dishwasher emptied, fridge cleaned of rotting food we SWORE we'd re-heat, the thermostat set down (save $ right?), mail has to be picked up, neighbors on notice that we are gone and please "watch the house" and so on.

Darling hubby is surfing the internet and bidding on e-bay. Huh? After I trip over the toys and books I've put out for darling daughter he turns around and says "what are you doing?" Serioulsy - I am going away for 3 days with this guy?

I love him, but man he is pretty clueless. I must make a note to NOT send him the link to this blog. :)

I asked him "to please help" in which he responded "what do you want me to do?"

I hate that we have to TELL them what to do! Don't you? Those of you who have that GUY that does things without being asked - please go and HUG them. Tell them how lucky you feel!

So my tip for today is that if you have a guy like mine - wonderful in most ways but clueless in others - MAKE HIM A LIST and tell him to cross things off. I think they like the power of making that checkmark. I put a little square next to each item so he can fill it in and get his reward - an earned checkmark!

He is off doing the things I asked and doesn't feel BOSSED around. Who knew? I would be INSANE if he gave me a list. But then again - I am a woman and I know what needs to be done. :)

I have no internet at the cabin so I will be MIA for a few days. I'm back on Monday and I'm sure I'll have some stories to share. I'm so excited to go....there is a Walgreen's just 25 minutes from the cabin.

Me

You Look Tired...

2007-10-29T08:25:00.001-07:00

Really? I do? Hmmmm I can't imagine why.

Here is a rundown of my Sunday. We were invited to a go trick or treating by a friend's house.

Get up. Drink coffee. Check blogs and email.

Feed child.

Feed self.

Empty dishwasher.

Clean up from breakfast.

Load dishwasher.

Get dressed, do hair and makeup.

Get child dressed.

Pack Halloween costume, spare clothes, extra jacket, camera, and snack for ride to friend's.

Thaw meat for dinner.

Marinade meat for dinner.

Scream upstairs to hubby "let's go - we are late!"

Get update on sports from Hubby. Oh joy!

Drive to friend's.

Stop at McDonald's - child is hungry NOW.

Arrive at friends and consume junk lunch. Supersize fries by the way. Figure I'll "walk it off" later.

Get child into costume.

Walk around trick or treating for 2-plus hours carrying bag, wig child doesn't want to wear anymore, wand and coat since she is now too warm.

Arrive back at friend's and sort candy. Make sure child doesn't eat more then 3 candies before dinner.

Take child out of costume - what she is still wearing.

Find and pack all things we brought. I'm sure we left something.

Drive home and realize tomorrow is "Packer's Day." (yes we live in Wisconsin!)

Stop at Kohl's for green and gold Packer's shirt. Has to be green and gold by the by - I liked the pink Packer's shirt but NO it must be green and gold for green and gold day.

Stop at Walgreen's for more cold medicine for me.

Arrive home and start dinner.

Give child bath.

Set table.

Eat.

Clean up dishes.

Play Littlest Pet Shop.

Study spelling words with child.

Read story to child.

Pre-make coffee for morning.

Pack lunch and snacks for child.

Take shower.

Head downstairs where I am told by husband of the year....

"You look tired."

:}

Wired!

2007-10-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

WIRES on toys is my latest complaint. I have to get this off my chest. WHY do we need so many wires and that awful plastic wraping?

By the way, I think I am doing pretty good with this section of the blog. I thought for sure the THINGS THAT BUG ME section would end up BEING the entire blog. :)

It was such a simple trip to Walgreen's. A few things to get and then I'm done. I took my 6-year-old in with me and as she asked "can I get something?" I mumbled "uh-huh." Wait a second. Rewind. WHAT? What did I just say? Oh if only life were like my lovely TIVO and I could just go back 30 seconds. I would go back and say "no, no, no - mommy has a cold and I just want to get in and get home, take this magic medicine and feel human again?"

No such luck. I'm in the toy isle and she is asking me where the rest of the toys are. I tell her this isn't Target, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us on anything of the sort. She meanders through the isles without a care in the world, no concept of time, no understanding of how badly my head is pounding.

30-minutes later I manage to talk her into some $10 toy and we head out to the car where hubby is taking a nice nap. I know - why didn't I SEND HIM in to get the medicine? Honestly I thought I would have some type of mini-shopping trip inside and it would make me feel better. Haven't you ever done that? Wander around the isles of Walgreen's and pretended it was "the mall?" Those times when you can't get OUT somewhere neat to see the latest and the greatest but you just need to look?

OK so we get home and of course little one wants to play with this new toy. It was Littlest Pet Shop by the way. Kinda neat - I'm not a huge fan but it is better then some of the junk out there. She asked me to open it which again in hindsight why didn't I give this responsibility to the other parent who was HOME?

I think I get some thrill out of wrestling with the packaging and winning the prize inside. Maybe I like to be the one to give it to her and show her how great I am that I GOT THIS THING out of the box and into her tender hands. Maybe it is because I am a control freak and dear hubby takes too long? Who knows. I just know that on birthday's, Christmas and other celebratory days I AM THE MAGIC BOX OPENER.

After nearly severing my wrists on the SHARP plastic I find wires binding this toy down everywhere. It's insane. I hope someone can fill me in on WHO does this? Is it a person or a machine? WHY do we need this many wires I ask? I am guessing because this stuff is shipped from China and it must endure the long trip here. That is all my stuffed up head can think of when asked by darling daughter. And hey weren't we supposed to be saving the environment and using less packaging and those thinner more friendly plastics? Remember that idea? Now not all toys have that SHARP plastic like this one but I do know they all have those *&#*@ wires!

I do have a tip for you on the wires. Two tips actually. First - get yourself some nippers or super sharp scissors. I learned this from my brother. Turn the box over and cut the wires from the back. Then pull the wires out from the other side. You still will need to get the box in a "FULL NELSON" in order to get the wires OFF but it cuts down on time if you don't have to untwist them all.

Second tip - do this before you wrap gifts for Christmas. Put the batteries IN and undo all wires. We have done this for years and it makes Christmas morning much more enjoyable. Santa is so considerate to do this for my child.

OK my vent is over. If you have survived a box with wires, I'd love to hear from you.

Oh and good news, the bandages from the cuts are are coming off today!

:)

Home Alone!

2007-10-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

The other night I was given two hours of time alone in my house. That is a rare commodity for me. To be home alone is something I crave but seldom receive. I'm not one of these people who has to be WITH someone all the time. You know the type I'm talkiing about, right? We all have a friend like that who is always WITH someone and always DOING something with someone.

Not me. I am not a loner by any means but I do like my personal time and space. You see I work out of my home so I am always HOME but never alone. (I work with my husband, which is an entire post or chapter in itself!)

So dear hubby took dear daughter to her gymnastics class. I was thrilled to have this small window of time and I decided to do what he does when I am gone - NOTHING! Easier said then done......

First I paced around the kitchen eating candy from the Halloween bowl. Great. Now I am sure I will have to run out and buy some more before Wednesday. By the way I am convinced that the 7 pounds they say we gain over the holidays BEGINS with Halloween. Those small mini snicker bars and the like are completely BITE-SIZED and it takes about 6 before you know you've even had one! OK so back to what I did. I decided to clear off the kitchen counter, clear a path to the bedrooms, put away various things lurking around in bags and so on.

From there I contemplated all the things I SHOULD be doing such as laundry, paying bills, sorting mail, answering emails and so on.No, NO, NO - I argured with myself saying this was MY TIME and I should not use it for chores. Do you ever feel like Cinderella without the magical fairy godmother? :)

I tried really hard to do NOTHING but it was harder then it looks. How does my hubby make it look so inviting to just SIT and watch sports, let alone the commercials? Yes he watches commercial with the same focus as the regular shows. It continues to amaze me. OK so, I tried to do this. I really did.

I putzed around doing mindless things, but they were things that needed to be done. Move this pile here, put that pile there. Now I am panicking. I've been alone for a whole HOUR and I've done nothing but NOT the nothing I was planning on.

I have this fantasy that I just watch a Lifetime movie or read a magazine cover to cover with no interruptions. So what did I do next? Picked up the phone and starting calling people. :) Hmmmmm.... maybe I don't like to be alone after all?

Finally I got myself a magazine, turned on some TV and was prepared to relax and do nothing. Just then I heard the garage door open. It was over. I wasted all this precious time I always say I want. What did I do? Well technically I did nothing but again not the nothing I had planned.

Maybe that is it - you really can't PLAN so much in life. Right? I mean you just need to go with it and do what feels right at the time. One of my favorite quotes is "Don't push the river, it flows by itself." I don't know who said it but one of my favorite teachers in High School wrote that in my yearbook. Neat, huh? Oh by the way that teacher ended up having an affair with one of the students and lost his job and ruinded his life. Regardless.... I always did like that quote! ;)

On a positive note I did have time after dear daughter and dear hubby went to bed and since I had done all the picking up and such before - I did find some of that ME TIME we all search for.

Remember that when you have your window of time to yourself - do what you want to even if it is sorting through clothes, re-organizing a closet, soaking in a tub, talking on the phone. Do what works for YOU and just go with it.

Another wonderful bit of advice I got from my parents....."You have to do what works for your family." It's so very true. TRY it. SAY IT. It really is so simple. Do what is best for you and your family.

:)

Pottery Barn House

2007-10-24T11:21:00.001-07:00

I didn't know it existed, but it does. I was AT the Pottery Barn House.

It all started as a normal afternoon playdate at a friend of my daughter's. I pulled up and I thought "oh, what a nice house. Nice neighborhood, etc."

We walked into the house and as my feet left the threshold of reality, I crossed over into another dimension. I'm not sure if you have been there before - but to me it is a wonderful place.

It is a place where everything is neat and orderly. There is no clutter. Things are put away and there are seasonal decorations perfectly placed. Not overdone. It's just enough so that you know she pulled down her labeled bin that said Halloween or Autum and put her things out.

So I'm walking through and I think - - oh what is this thick stuff under my feet? It's called newer carpeting. What is that smell? Candles burning. I'm instantly drawn to the clean kitchen island. Where is her mail? Where are her catalogs? Where are her piles?

I can only hope that this lovely lady had some secret closet like on the episode of Friends. Did you see that one? Neat freak Monica has a secret closet where she stashed all of her junk. I LOVED that one. If only it were that simple. I have a closet like Monica's. I have a closet like that in EVERY ROOM! I also have a garage like that, a car like that and a storage shed like that!

She proceeded to give me a tour of her lovely home and each room was equally impressive. The kid's rooms are clean, tidy and again NO CLUTTER. Room after room is like this and I realize that she cleaned up a bit before I came over. But I tell you if I CLEANED UP - you'd still see "stuff" here and there.

OK so why am I calling it the Pottery Barn House? Well if you have ever seen one of their catalogs - it was like this lady bought each room! I'm serious. It was just gorgous. Now I am an ultra-contemporary person but I can appreciate any style. And this lady had it!

When I came home I snapped at my dear hubby and the poor guy had no idea why. Deep down I know that it wasn't HIS fault that we aren't the pottery barn house. I was in a lousy mood the rest of the day until I realized that I will never be the pottery barn house. I'll know people like this, but I will never be like this.

I'm OK with that. I think back to my house as a child and we were the polar opposite of the pottery barn house. The house I grew up in was a simple 3-bedroom brick Ranch. It was messy, it was crazy and it was dated. It needed some TLC which we didn't give it.

BUT what we did have was a loving home, one that all the kids wanted to come to and one that always had room for "one more." I'd like to think it was because of my parents. They were mom and dad to many kids - my friends and my brother's friends. These kids would come over to play and they'd end up telling my parents things that bugged them, things they couldn't tell their own parents or whatever was on their mind.

So in some crazy way, I am replicating my parents and the way they lived. Don't we all do this on some level? My house is a 3-bedroom Ranch that is messy, crazy and dated. It is slowly becoming the house that everyone gravitates to. I don't rush to clean up before someone comes over because this is me, this is us. People who know us aren't coming over for decorator's tips. They come because of the way we make them feel and the good times we have here.

I'm not saying the Pottery Barn house doesn't have all these things too. I'm sure they have people over ALL the time. I'm sure I'll go back. But next time I'm going to look for that "Monica closet." She HAS TO HAVE ONE - right?

Me

There is no ME in Mommy!

2007-10-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

Yes it is true. There is no ME in Mommy. Ever wonder why it isn't spelled Momme? Maybe there is some English rule to explain that but for my argument I say that it is spelled Mommy because of the MY at the end.

From Saturday morning to Sunday night I felt like I ran around like a crazy person tending to all the things for my home and for my child. Yes I only have one. My hats go off to ANYONE with more then one child. I'm utterly in awe of you. I would have loved to have had more children but b/c I waited so long to start a family, only one was in the cards for me. God knows what you can handle and he knew ONE was it for me!

Anyway from laundry to playdates to grocery shopping, birthday parties, meal preparation and clean up it just seemed like a non-stop flood of "to-do's". I'm not really complaning - well maybe a little. I just wanted to squeeze in some "me time". Is that so bad?

Contrary to popular belief by many husbands, ME TIME does not include time in the shower, time wrapping presents, time putting away groceries, doing laundry or paying bills. It also does not include bathroom time!

Back to Mommy vs. Momme. Let me break it down for you.

The MY at the end of Mommy stands for:

MY life is different as a mom.

MY time is not my own.

MY child comes first.

MY wants and desires come second, third or never.

MY money is spent on her first.

MY day is full, busy and hectic.

MY list of "to do's" is never ending.

But it also stands for:

MY life is complete.

MY life is better because of my child.

MY life is blessed.

My life is content.

MY life is better than I could have imagined.

See...I'm not always so bitter!

Here is a quote I recently heard that seems appropriate today.

“It isn't what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful, but what you have in your heart.”

Have a terrific Monday my fun, busy Mom_ME's!

Me

Blog name history....

2007-10-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

I had amazing parents. Cream of the crop. I didn't always realize it - but now that they are gone it hits me in the gut several times a month. At the strangest times it hits me. Anyone else get that? You are going along just fine and some silly mundane thing happens like opening a pantry door and you hear a familar squeek and it flashes you back to a scene in your childhood?

Anyway we had this saying at out house and that is where I came up with the blog name. My dad would be like any other day reminding us to "fill the car with gas, call us when you get there, be sure to check the oil" and so on. We (my brothers and I) would mumble "I know, I know, I know" in which we would get a glare and a FIRM comment from him that went like this....

"Who's going to tell you......Lucille?"

So I am here to tell you things you want to know and things you don't want to know. :)

Dad would be happy. So would Lucille. She was a real person in our lives but we'll talk about her another day.

Me

Personal SPACE invaders

2007-10-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

So I run into Michael's craft store to buy a few stickers. No big deal, right? Should be a simple 15 mintues tops. BUT NO - it can't be. That would be too simple. I get my glittery stickers for my album (we'll talk more about scrapbooking another time) and I look at the line. Or should I say LINES. There are 5 people in one line and about 7 in the other.

Now it has been a long time since I worked retail, but isn't some manager supposed to be watching these things and get more people to help on the registers? So I hear someone on the page say "Lisa to your register" and I think ahhhh this will be good. The lines will divide up and I'll be outta here in 5! Let me say that Lisa was not her real name. I hardly need to get sued by Michaels! Anyway the gal Lisa slowly walks to the front and sees the massive lines and then what does she do? Starts to re-organize the carts and finds other things on shelves to neated up before she makes her way to her register. Whatever. I'm getting miffed now since I am NOT known for my patience. Funny that when it comes to kids I am super patient, but lines - forget it. You'll rarely see me at one of those big amusement parks for that reason alone - lines.

OK back to me waiting in line. You all know what personal space is right? It is about 18 inches of space around you that normally you don't let someone in or don't like someone to be closer unless you KNOW them. This lady behind me apparently thought we were lovers! I mean she was standing SO close to me I could feel her breath on my neck. No joke. I squirm and do the normal re-shifting to attempt to glare at her or give her "the look" that says "do I KNOW you?" She is clueless. She is holding a job application or some type of paper. If it was me, I'd throw it at the lady at the register and head out. I wouldn't wait in that long line.

I'm next in line. Cool. Except there is a lady in front of me that just HAS TO return these voltive candles. I'm not sure but I think they are like 3 for a $1.00. It can't be much more then that. I'm thinking WHY would you return these? Couldn't you just save them and give them as a gift or something? The cashier has no urgency in her movements at all. I could swear I was watching a tape in slow motion. She tried to scan them and of course they didn't register. Then she had to key them in one by one and I know when I used to run a register some years ago that they have this feature where you can scan 3 @ whatever amount. Nope. She has to do them one by one.

Again why oh why did this lady HAVE to be in front of me? I see the other lines moving quite fast. Of course they would be. Makes perfect sense. The return is holding up the line in a major way. She finally finishes and credits the lady's debit card. I was wrong. Votives and THEIR HOLDERS are worth more then $1.00. She got a credit for $6.43. Now I am not miss MONEY bags or anything but seriously she couldn't find a bathroom to put these in? Or give them away for a Christmas gift?

It wasn't her fault. I really blame the slow mo checker girl. I should have gone with Lisa behind door number three! That would have been a good deal. But I got stuck with the donkey. You are thinking about Let's Make a Deal now aren't you?

Well then I am done. I've made you smile and I feel better that I got to vent. Oh and the lady behind me did turn her application. Just as I was taking my things out of the cart she decided to get all bold and says "excuse me is this where I turn in an application?" Never mind my space lady - heck just take my spot in line. Yep that is just one of many things that bugs me. SLOW CHECKERS and PERSONAL SPACE invaders!

HAGO~

Me

PS_HAGO is my term for Have a Good one - I'll use it with my other lingo...

What is this all about?

2007-10-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

First post. Here we go. You are curious as to what this blog will be about. Me too.

It is about me. It's about life. It's about death. It's about things that totally BUG me. It's about being an orphan after your parent's die.

It's a tribute to things I learned from two incredible people - my parents.

It will be witty, crisp, fresh. It will be familiar. It will be like you are talking to your girlfriend.

You'll hopefully find it intriguing enough to come back.

Maybe you'll tell two friends and they'll tell two friends...wait! Wasn't that an ad for shampoo back in the 70's? Gee I'm dating myself aren't I?

Don't push the river...it flows by itself.

Me