Chaos Among Us

Days 2 and 3

2011-10-24T18:04:00.004-04:00

Yep - so I am already slacking -I said I would write everyday and I didn't yesterday.

Anyway this is a combined for days 2 and 3.

Yesterday was good - I did have a small headache throughout most of the morning. Not sure if that is because of my head cold or the detoxing. According to what I have read days 2 and 3 are the hardest for some - especially if they are used to having a fair amount of caffeine in their diets.

Yesterday I had my shakes (more about that later) and munched on some steamed edemame - now while edemame isn't on the "approved" list - I love them and had to have them - at least it was a veggie right???

I also went to a Pampered Chef Party and I know you are thinking - Pampered Chef - oh no food...well the consultant made chicken fajitas with a fresh salsa and guacamole. I simply picked through the chicken to get to the peppers and onions and had a scoop of salsa and guacamole - yummy stuff and nothing on the "not approved" list.

I spent most of the afternoon making a lentil veggie soup - complete with homemade veggie broth - go me...it actually turned out pretty good...even Third Child liked it - score one for me. Plenty of leftovers though - so I will be eating it for lunch for the next few days.

So part if the program is possible weight loss - I will say I have some meat on my bones and one of the reasons for doing this purification program was to shake my body up - for the past 8 months I have been eating a fairly clean diet - working out - doing cardio kickboxing 2x's per week and while I have toned up and shown the appearance of loosing weight the scale doesn't budge. This morning I got on the scale and I am down 2.2 lbs from Saturday morning.

On to the shakes that I said I would talk about.

One of the core components of the program is doing 2-3 shakes a day - in the shakes you put 2 scoops of the SP Complete powder - which is made up of all sorts of extracts of whole foods, which is one of the main reasons it tastes "earthy" - also in the shake you put 1 tablespoon of high quality oil such as olive or coconut - I prefer coconut. The rest is water and any fruit or veggies you want to add. I have tried a few so far...I tried one that involved 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree - not so recommended. But, since I now have an open can of pumpkin this afternoon I did a shake with 1/2 a banana and a generous spoonful of pumpkin puree - that was a lot better.

Granted I have only done a few so far but you are pretty limitless with what to add to the shake if you keep it within the approved list - I bought a bunch of frozen fruit - strawberry, raspberries, and peaches to make the smoothies.

As far as mixing the shakes - on Saturday morning I did the first one in our big blender and found it was a bitch to clean - so I went out and bought a Hamilton Beach Single Serve Blender - I got mine from Wal-Mart for about $16 - I read a bunch of reviews and overall it seems like a good little mixer if you don't abuse it. I don't plan on putting ice in it and for my larger frozen pieces of fruit I plan on defrosting them some so they aren't' rock hard (I did peaches last night - defrost for a bit and cut into chunks). I also have been giving it short pulse bursts rather than longer ones and so far for the 5 smoothies I have made using it they have turned out great. The cup comes right off - I don't bother with the lid - just drink straight from the cup.

Tonight I am going to attempt to roast some brussel sprouts - I have never had them before as they have always looked nasty to me - but I figured I should at least try them...try most everything once....right?

DAY 1 - so far so good

2011-10-22T20:19:00.004-04:00

So I am at the end of Day one for my Standard Process Purification Program - so far so good

but I do have to preface this with the fact that I have had a major head cold for the past few days- which has diminished my hunger for things that are good...add in the fact that I eat a relatively clean diet - with little fast food and little caffeine - so doing this program is a bit easier for me.

Anyway - you may be asking what does the process entail?

The first 7 days you have 2-3 shakes a day made with the program powder, along with cleansing and fiber capsules. You also get all the veggies and fruit you want - within reason. You want to eat more veggies then fruit and eat as much raw or just slightly cooked as possible...you can also have 1/2 cup of brown rice or lentils a day as well.

So what did I eat today

Started with a shake - two scoops of powder, some water, a tablespoon of coconut oil, 1/2 a small banana and a handful of frozen raspberries. It is was Ok - the powder has a specific taste to it - hard to describe - the best I can do is say its "earthy". Some of the recipes I have read about talk about adding veggie juice - ummmm I think I will stick with fruit based smoothies.

We spent the day out and about -I made myself a cup of green tea - even though I have been told a small cup of coffee a day would be ok - I have decided at least for the first 7 days I will switch to green tea. I packed myself some carrots and bell pepper slices to munch on. I still have the head cold so nothing sounded good but I knew I needed something to have with me.

Got home and made another smoothie - same as above

I also spent some time making some homemade veggie broth for some upcoming soups I plan to make.

Dinner was IMO great - I simply cut up some yellow and green squash, red onion, baby portebello mushrooms and some bell pepper and sauteed them up with some garlic and olive oil and then threw in a handful of spinach. I added some Pampered Chef Chili Lime spice to give it some kick served it up over 1/2 cup of brown rice.

So I feel ok - still have the head cold so that is weighing me down some - on to Day 2...

Purify Me

2011-10-21T12:27:00.002-04:00

I am back…I know it has been awhile – a long while and for that I am sorry – the only excuse I have is I’ve been busy.

I am still crafting in my spare time, what little I have. Toothless Wonder and Pantiewad girl are doing great – as they have gotten older more and more of my “me” time has been chipped away – and that is OK.

The main reason for jumping back into blogging is to hold myself accountable…

Accountable for what you ask?

I am going to do a Cleanse…I know, I know – you read cleanse and all sorts of bad images come to your mind…believe me I have researched this to death to see if I really wanted to do this…

Why a cleanse? Well if you read back through some of my posts you know I have been trying to eat and live a healthier lifestyle over the past few years. I have had some success – cut out soda and vast majority of processed food from my diet – I have increased my exercise – I found a great cardio kickboxing class I take twice a week. But after all that I still feel like my body is holding on stuff it shouldn’t have. I have had people comment about the weight I have lost…ummmm haven’t lost any – toned up yes – loss no.

Don’t get me wrong I am not doing the cleanse just to loose weight – hopefully that is just a good side effect – I didn’t start eating better or exercising more to loose weight – I did it to make my body better with the hopeful side effect of dropping a few lbs.

So here is the thing – there are A LOT of different cleanses out there…the thing about them is you have to do your research – read labels – check out reviews – etc…what good is a cleanse if all you are putting in your body is a bunch more chemicals. There are also different cleanses for different things…I have to admit the first time I heard of a cleanse I had a vision of not being able to be more than 3 steps away from a bathroom…and if you are doing a colon cleanse that would be true.

So what am I doing? I am doing the 21 day Standard Process Cleanse - It is one that my chiropractor recommended. I already take Standard Process vitamins with great success so I figured what the hell. The main component of this cleanse is whole foods. All the supplements and pills are made of whole foods – no chemicals, no weird fillers, none of that…all natural whole foods.

The first 7 days you are limited to eating fruits, veggies, lentils and brown rice with the addition of 2-3 smoothies a day plus some cleansing and fiber pills. One may ask why not just eat fruits and veggies for a week and call it good. I’ve done that before – doesn’t do much…and you can’t get all the vitamins, minerals and protein you need – hence the use of smoothies and pills. After 7 days you can add in lean protein in the form of chicken and fish – easily done. After 21 days you can slowly add back in other things – but the goal is to do it one food type at a time…the cleanse basically strips your body for it to begin anew.

I am hoping I do ok on this program – I am already used to eating a modified Paleo type diet and drinking lots of water each day so hopefully this shouldn’t be as hard for me as it might for others who eat a lot of fast or processed food. I have also decided to take this time to try foods I have been turning my nose up at …Lentils – haven’t ever touched them – brussel sprouts, kale, beets – OH MY…

I think the hardest thing will be to give up my protein sources for the first week – I love my chicken and fish…oh and my coffee - I have been told I can have a small cup of coffee a day while on the program – but I think for the first 7 days I am going to go all in…The program suggests drinking green tea – so at least for the first 7 days I will be switching my morning coffee with morning green tea…

So the question is why am I blogging about it – well I did some research and found a few blogs about the program and they enjoyed it – I figured if I blog about it then I have the whole internet to keep me accountable – right? I paid a nice chunk of change for the program so I will be brutally honest about how I feel and what I eat…if I don’t like it you will know – if I find it to be fantastic you will know.

Let the Countdown Begin...

2010-11-22T11:36:00.005-05:00

So the other night I couldn’t sleep so I parked myself in front of the computer and started perusing my favorite crafting blogs…from which I clicked through to a bunch of other blogs…

BIG MISTAKE

Now I MUST have chalkboard paint – I saw so many cute things that were done using chalkboard paint…from masking a plastic charger so you can have a cute colorful chalkboard for your kitchen…to painting small wooden boards to be used as door hangers. I got this GREAT idea from seeing all the chalkboard items…but I must wait to actually do it :(

Anyway – I have been crafting up a storm…I am finally finished with the holiday craft fairs – I participated in 3 of them this year – I did OK – I hit the goal I set for myself – I was hoping to surpass it but I will take my goal…

I have a few orders of some items to finish up – hoping to complete that this holiday weekend – as for the first time in 5 years we are not traveling – I could stay in my PJ’s the ENTIRE weekend if I wanted to…

I did want to show you a special project I have been working on. I found the best little site on-line for vinyl designs – My Vinyl Designer that I mentioned the other week. They are currently having a great sale on all there designs – 25% off (use the code: holidays) and best yet – immediate download. They also provide a weekly freebie as well.

The site has been running a contest each week – with getting ready for the craft fairs I wasn’t able to set aside the time to participate – but when this past weeks came up I had an idea that went "Ba-Blam" in my brain…

So this past week was to take one of their Advent calendar designs and create something with it…
I took CA007, a metal baking sheet, red, green, yellow and white vinyl, a few fonts, fancy holiday ribbon, a wooden star and a magnet and came up with this….

I managed to snag the baking sheet at a local craft store for under $2 and had TC drill a hole in the top.

When I imported the Advent calendar into my Silhouette Studio software it was a breeze to use…I simply did the layout to get to the size and shape I wanted it to be based on my baking tray – I decided to use the back of the tray so it would sort of sit out a bit from my wall when hung. I was able to split the images so I could cut the numbered balls and wording in red and the top and bottom of the tree in green.

I went a quick step further and cut out the top of the tree in a scrap of light yellow and trimmed it so I had the star shape that I layered over the green.

I used a snowflake dingbat font to cut some snowflakes in white to scatter and made a fancy bow to cover the top lip of the baking tray and used the excess ribbon to form a loop for hanging.

Now the number holder – I found a small already painted yellow star at one of the big box craft stores – slapped a round magnet on the back (didn’t even need to pull out my glue gun – Craft glue dots are the best things ever) and VIOLA…it becomes my day tracker. Before and after X-mas it nicely resides at the top of the tree.

I think it turned out quite nifty if I do say so myself – and my girls LOVE it…I was thinking of bringing it to my workplace but I don’t think my girls will let me do that – they want to hang it in their room.

Now to complete my orders so I can craft for myself some more…

The Holidays are Coming...the Holidays are Coming...

2010-11-15T15:18:00.002-05:00

Scary isn't it...

It seems just like yesterday I was claening up pine needles and putting away all my snowmen...and now it is time to get all those snowmen back out...

Time sure flies doesn't it...

This isn't going to be a long post - just wanted to pop in and let you all know about a very cool site - I am sure many of you have stumbled upon it before - but Cool Mom Picks

Well they have there 2010 Holiday Gift Guide up - lots of great ideas for everyone in your life - from family to friends to co-workers to teachers, you name them they have an idea for a gift...so check be sure to cruise on over and check them out

A Fat-Ass update…

2010-11-12T10:05:00.002-05:00

I know it has been quite awhile since I blogged a lot…and I am sure one of you may be wondering what is happening to my ass…has it shrunk any?

Back in the beginning of the year I wrote a post about Baby Steps. - where in a nutshell I discussed about changing the way I eat rather than focusing on WHAT I am putting in my mouth…

So all these months have gone by and I really haven’t lost any weight…but rather than being upset or sad I am fine…I mean sure I would love to be 20 lbs less – I mean who wouldn’t…but I have made a big impact on what goes into my body and what I use my body for.

Do you know I haven’t had a soda since the middle of January…TEN MONTHS…not to say I have cut out caffeine – because I as addicted as ever to my morning coffee…but I was more concerned about all the other stuff that was in soda…all the things you can’t pronounce…

Now does that mean my family has given up soda…no – but they have drank significantly less this year – for one I rarely buy it so if it isn’t in the house it isn’t an option…on the occasions we do drive through and the girls have a choice of course they are going to choose soda – and I am fine with that as having a small soda a handful of times a month I am not going to sweat it…

As for other things – I have been eating far more natural, non processed items - things like pasta and bread – yes I will eat them but I try and make better choices – higher fiber, whole wheat pasta vs blanched white pasta – whole grain breads vs “enriched” white bread…even with all that I would say I might have had pasta once or twice a month (and mainly in soups) and breads 2-3 times a week (mainly in the form of a high fiber English muffin topped with two egg whites for breakfast - NOM NOM NOM)

Does that mean I don’t eat anything bad for me – ummm Hella No…life is life people and if I want that mini Almond Joy from the kids Halloween Candy stash – I am eating that sucker (I was very sad that they didn’t collect any York Peppermint Patties for me to steal) – but I am not also eating that 3 Musketeers, that 5th Ave. bar and the Butterfingers…

Another part of the equation is exercise…this past spring I learned I really enjoy kickboxing…so I bought 2 kick boxing DVD’s and had myself a grand old time…worked up a sweat, stretched some muscles…

THEN….a great gold glow showed up one day…a GOLDS GYM moved into town…about a 5 minute drive from my house – and best of all since it is an express gym the cost was only $9.99 a month…SIGN ME UP….

So since August I have been hitting up the gym 2-3 times per week…you would think I would see something on the scale move in a downward way – ummm nope…BUT there is a difference in my shape…and I have lots of energy to boot (don’t get me wrong – I still enjoy a lazy Sunday just sitting on the couch watching reruns of Teen Mom and What Not to Wear)…

The main thing is I want to be a role model for my daughters…I want them to see me making good choices for the bulk of my food choices…but not to sweat it if they have a piece of chocolate or a sweet treat every now and then… I tell them mommy isn’t on a diet – I personally think diet is a bad word…I tell them mommy is exercising and making good food choices so I am around for a long long time…

Sure when I am at the gym I look around and see someone who looks 20-30 lbs lighter than me and think “One day I would love to look like her” – is she all supermodel skinny…nope she is a mom – she has a pooch (albeit a smaller pooch than mine) – her calves are just as big as mine – she has the same dark circles under her eyes – the same small little wrinkles popping up…but overall is just a bit smaller…But then I think to myself as I look around and see women who are larger than me and I have to think to myself – out there there is someone who is looking at me saying “One day I would love to look like her”

So I embrace who I am, what my body dictates it wants to be…and I will just continue to try and make better eating choices and make sure my muscles get used for something other then sitting down and getting up from the couch….

I think I birthed a Corleone…

2010-11-10T08:11:00.003-05:00

So faithful readers of my little blog (all, what 3 of you??) may remember around this time last year PWG attempted to do a little Elf extortion

Well, every year we attend our church’s Holiday Bazaar. At the Bazaar they have a room where kids get to shop for {insert sarcasm here} simply lovely {end sarcasm} holiday gifts for family. Most items are $2 or less and the kids emerge with the gifts fully wrapped (i.e. brown paper bag and a few staples). The girls love doing this as they pick out the gifts on their own and TC and I are dually surprised come Christmas Morning (no matter how many times I drop the sucker the Tweety Bird Bell refuses to break).

In the past we have provided the girls with $5-6 to buy gifts – however for the past 2 years they have been receiving an allowance – so we decided this year they have to use their own money to purchase gifts…

Ummmm yeahhh – while the tightwad TW has quite a bundle in her wallet – the more carefree PWG is only sporting a few bills in hers…

So she told us she would do extra chores in order to earn extra money and as such presented us with this price list last night…

Personally I think .50 cents to clean up cat crap is a downright bargain…considering we have two cats and a litter box that needs scooping every day…

But my favorite is “Cleaning up Dead Things” – TC said he would take her when he goes hunting because he needs some help when he shoots his deer…PWG response was “that will cost extra…you have to read the fine print”

Now just to put your mind at ease it isn’t like we have a plethora of dead things around our house…I can only assuming she is thinking ahead to the Elf and what might occur if there is no candy…

To brighten your Monday Blahs

2010-11-08T10:12:00.005-05:00

So I have mentioned my fabulous, awesome Silhouette cutting machine before.

And after almost a year with it – I am still absolutely in love with it. They recently released a new software package to use with it – makes it 100x’s easier to use when creating my own quotes and manipulating images. I have made A LOT of shelf blocks with quotes on them for some upcoming craft fairs – those pictures will be coming at a later date.

Last week I was introduced to a new website – My Vinyl Designer - While I have access to the Silhouette store and a ton of images and phrases one can always have more…right???

What I love about My Vinyl Designer is you can buy images in a variety of formats – so if you have a Circuit or a Silhouette you can buy the file that is right for your machine. My favorite part is the fact that this site sells individual images as well as packages of designs. Also once you buy the image it is yours for immediate download + you can use it to create wonderful things to sell…that is right you have access to use the images and sell those items…something that is not available when I use Silhouette store images.

So I decided to try out a design and used TX and PWG as guinea Pigs…

I saw Alphabet 6 and loved it. So I bought it…(at 25% off too…use the code holidays) and what did I do with it…

Well first we went to the Big Box craft store and bought some 8x8 canvas and some Acrylic Craft paint…We used Apple Barrel Paints in the colors of Kiwi Green, Lagoon Blue and Hot Pink.

We painted them up – it took about 4 coats for a nice solid look – although I did like the wash through look of only 1 or 2 coats on the canvas as well…

Then I let the girls (sort of) pick their vinyl colors –

TW picked Dark Grey for her letter and white for her name – she also picked the font she wanted for her name (Fontdinersparkly)

PWG started to pick some weird colors of vinyl that really didn’t go and I was able to sway her to a Rose Red for the letter and a Chocolate Brown for her name and was able to sway her for the font (Merced) – because I loved the way the “N’ swooped.

I adhered the vinyl to the canvas – this can be a bit tricky since the canvas isn’t fully smooth – I have found if I apply pressure the underside of the canvas as I rub it works better – I still have some issue but if you go slow it should be fine.

We finished it off with 2 thin layers of Matte Modge Podge to seal the vinyl to the canvas…

Hope you like… I haven't yet decided what I am going to do with my Hot Pink painted canvas...but I envision using this alphabet A LOT...This would make a great new baby gift...or a wedding gift - put the Brides and Grooms name in middle...or use multiple canvas frames to spell out a name and use an adjective to describe the person in the middle.

A very Happy Holiday indeed

2010-11-03T09:02:00.001-04:00

Merry Glee Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year…Thanks to Shutterfly

2010-10-29T09:26:00.008-04:00

Don’t get me wrong I LOVE the holiday season…bright colored lights, holiday songs on the radio 24/7…buying or making the perfect gift for a special friend or family member.

BUT

There is soooooo much to do…and as a woman, wife, mother – a lot of it falls on my shoulders.

Decorating – sure TC will get out the ladder and hang the lights, he will go get the tree with TW and PWG and set it up, he will get out the inflatable of Santa and the reindeer playing poker (yes we actually have this) and get it set up…but the rest is up to me…which means other than the lights and blow up things we only have a few other decorations scattered around the house.

Gift Shopping – ummm all me…I am sure if I asked TC to go buy something he would…but in my mind it is far simpler for me to go and pick it up and be done with it and know it got done…So not only does this encompass shopping for my family – but also assorted nieces and nephews and yes even TC office…I love it when he comes to me and asks “so what are WE giving this year”

Holiday Cards – all me….for the past 5 years or so I have lovingly hand stamped and crafted our holiday cards…all 75+ of them. Let me tell you that is a lot of cards…as I looked about this year – between the girls school work, sports and other activies, my craft shows and working – I was just dreading making all those cards…

THEN….

I came upon SHUTTERFLY

Oh happy day…

In the past I have received cute photo cards in the mail during the holiday season and many years ago I actually made one up and sent it out for the holidays one year. The problem I had all those years ago is the fact I only had about 10 templates to choose from and none of them really floated my boat…

So I wasn’t expecting much when I went in search of a cute template for a photo card.

Well color me surprised…

I am so not a “traditional” Holiday person- dark reds and greens, holly sprigs, cardinals, realistic Christmas Trees – sorry they don’t do much for me…I am so much more a “mod” holiday person – give me the pinks and greens and aqua’s and I am a happy girls. You can save that fancy loopy script – give me some funky fonts.

Well I found the MOTHERLODE of cute and fun holiday Photo cards at Shutterfly – they have plenty of designs for you more “traditional” folks but if you are like me you are going to be in heaven. There are over 300 different templates – 300 people…if you can’t find one you like then you have some serious design issues…

Here are a few of my favorites:

They have a variety of sizes and styles – they have a nicer cardstock based photo card and your less expensive photo paper photo card. I know that sending Holiday cards can get expensive…so my plan this year – to put together TWO holiday photo cards…one using the nicer cardstock base to send to close family and friends and one using the less expensive photo paper to send to those acquaintances where the Holiday time is just about the only time letters and information is exchanged (come on we all have that list) – this way everyone gets to see the wonderful pictures of my family but it is a little easier on my wallet.

But – what I love is in addition to the HUNDREDS of templates for Holiday cards they have a ton of other types of photo cards.

Need a Birthday Party Invite – they have all sorts of cute templates – for ages 1 to 100

And the best thing – take a bunch of pictures at the party – upload to Shutterfly – create not only some wonderful Thank You Cards - but go ahead and make a cute and stylish photobook of all the fun.

Shutterfly is going to make the girls next birthday super easy for me…

But going back to the Holidays...because you know it is creeping up on us like a pair of too small underwear...

In addition to the photo cards and photobooks Shutterfly has some wonderful gifts to create for the holiday season – think about it - you could get a bunch of gifts bought in one simple afternoon – and what is so great about the gifts – you design them and it is something that is special to you and your family and friends…

One of my favorite gifts is the Photo Mug - you can create a whole collage of pictures – this makes a great gift for a grandma or a grandpa…just grab about a dozen pictures of the grandkids you have taken throughout the year – and click to add them to mug…something that is practical and personal all in one fell swoop. Grandma can look at her darlings every day. I will say I put together one of these to give to the girls godmother…and then wound up keeping it for myself – now I get to look at my cuties every morning when I drink the elixir of the gods (aka coffee…the vodka doesn’t factor in until later in the evening)

Another great gift is a Desktop Plaque. Like the mug you are able to use more than one photograph. But what a great gift this would make if you have that PERFECT photo…you know the one in a million shot where everyone looks simply fantastic…TC and I went to a wedding this spring and someone managed to snap an awesome shot of both of us…I am so getting myself a Desktop Plaque of that picture to remind me that every once in a while I clean up quite well…and since it is basically its own picture frame you don’t have to buy anything else – what a great gift at a great price.

So thanks to Shutterfly I am going to be able to spend a few hours crafting and creating on my computer and in the end I will come away with my holiday cards and a number of really cute, very personal gifts for family and friends…

Back...Maybe?

2010-10-27T15:52:00.004-04:00

I know it has been a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time since you have ~~seen my face~~, er...read my most intimate thoughts I want to share...

Life has been busy...Life has been hectic...Life has been, well life...

I have spent the past few months dealing with kids and home and work, which has left me very little ME time...and I have been feeling not so hot about myself - so I need to do something about that...I need to make ME time - I need to start doing things again that make ME happy...

In looking back, I enjoyed writing the blog...sure I may not have to many followers (if any) - but it has been an outlet for me to talk without bothering anyone in person to the point they will avoid me at all costs...{here comes that crazy lady to talk about some craft or what her kids did yesterday}...but thanks to the power of the 'net - I can spill all sorts of things and those that don't want to hear or see it - well they don't have too...

So starting fresh again...once again - I hope I don't disappoint the 3 of you that may actually read my blog...it will, like always, be a mish-mash of things - one day I might talk about crafting and show you a simply awesome craft thing (and with the holidays coming up - I have some doozys up my sleeve)...the next I may be telling some utter cute {well at least to me} story about my kids...then I may be lamenting on my Fat-Ass (oh I have so much to say about that...)

So with a renewed optimism - I give you this...I PROMISE I will post at least 2x's per week until the end of the year...sometimes you may get more...but you won't get less

My Fat Ass Review: EA Sports Active – More Workouts

2010-01-22T10:08:00.005-05:00

As the 5 people who actually read my blog know I did a previous review of the original Sports Active. For those that don’t want to go back and read it – my bottom line on that game was that it is a FUN workout that really pushes you and makes you sweat – thumbs up all around.

For Christmas this year I received the Sports Active – More Workouts. Note you do not need the Original Sports Active in order to “play” More Workouts – BUT the More Workouts does not come with the leg strap or the resistance bands – so if you don’t have the original you will have to purchase the Accessory pack for the Sports Workout – they can be found most places for $19.99 – one note they do make a knockoff accessory pack that you can get for $12-15 – I would highly suggest spending the extra money and going ahead and buying the REAL version – I took a long look at the knockoff version and found that the pouch on the leg strap isn’t as tight as the original and could lead to the nun chuck jumping around and therefore not providing an accurate reading…also the resistance band is not as long as the Original – which when I tried it I couldn’t get it over my head for over the shoulder presses.

It is set up much the way the Original Sports Active was - preset workouts, the ability to create your own workouts from individual activities, journal and a workout Challenge. If you already have the Original one – when you put the new one in it will import all your fitness data.

How is it different than the Original Sports Active?

Instead of a 30 day Challenge it is now a 6 week challenge…in order to stay on track with the 6 weeks you need to do 4 workouts per week..not that hard to do considering each workout doesn’t take much longer than 30 minutes to complete.

All NEW exercises and sports – they keep the same format of upper body, lower body and sports but also add in an Abs section to work your core muscles…something absent in the original one.

Upper Body Exercises – for the most part you are using the resistance band to work your upper arm. For the most part the exercises are the same as the Original with some slight twists in the way you move your arms or the way you use the resistance band. I have noticed in a few of them you have to stand in a modified lunge position – which also helps with stretching out your leg muscles as well as holding your core muscle.

Lower Body Exercises – all new moves – still throw in lots of lunges and squats, just in a different manner of doing them

Ab workouts – These are new and really work those Ab muscles - they have both regular crunch type exercises as well as reverse type crunches.

Sports – as with the Original the Sports are what I really like and More Workouts doesn’t disappoint. There is Boxing, Squash, Paddle boating, Waterskiing, Cardio Running, Step Aerobics and an Obstacle Course. They all can be done without the use of the Wii Fit board but if you have one many of them have incorporated the board into the workout.

Boxing – like the Original you have a few different versions to choose from – with the More Workouts they incorporate a few more exercises using the legs – either through kneeing targets or kicking targets. They also incorporate the use of ducking and dodging. I wish they had a longer version of this available – almost like a 5 or 10 minute version as it is a lot of fun to do and when it ends I get a little sad…I guess I might need to pony up and buy the Wii Gold’s Gym as I understand that is mostly Cardio boxing.

Squash – much like tennis in the original you are basically hitting a ball…HOWEVER with Squash you are also incorporating lots of side and crossover lunges in order to get the shots – the first time I did it I hated it – now it has become one of my favorites to do

Paddle boating – one of my least favorites, mainly because it makes you work – you have to hold the wiimote much like a paddle and well paddle…and paddle and paddle…you also have to squat at various times

Waterskiing – this is basically the Rollerblading from the Original set on water – you squat and then jump up on the ramps to catch flags…there is an addition of having to shift right and left to grab flags in-between the ramps.

Obstacle Course – a fun thing to do – they have different lengths where you run for a bit of time then stop to do something – be it lunges, strides, jumps, etc…since the whole game is set on an island you are running along the beach to do the various activities.

Cardio Running – in the original all the running activities took place on a track and quite frankly I had to push myself to finish sometimes…because going around a track is boring…they have fixed the boring part of this - there are 2 main cardio running programs – Island outrun and Training…in the Island Outrun you start out doing a light jog and then the system prompts you to sprint to pass another runner – this pushes you because it is like you are actually competing against someone else…slow down and they will pass you. With the Training one – it is you and the trainer side by side doing running, high knee, kickups, walking…but I will say the island view is a lot better than just running around the track…yes I am out of breath when I am done, but I have yet to feel like I have to push myself to finish – I am so focused on passing another person or keeping up with the trainer on the screen I don’t even realize how far or how long I have been doing it.

Step Aerobics – my FAVORITE – I have enjoyed the bit of Step Aerobics that are in the Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus – so much so I even sent an e-mail to Nintendo asking for a Wii Step Aerobics (still holding out hope)…I bought My Fitness Coach solely for inclusion of using a step for certain workouts. More Workouts doesn’t disappoint…you get a good solid workout – the only complaint is I wish they had expanded the exercises for the step – as they are mainly made up of the March, Leg Kick, Leg Curl, High Knee in either singles or repeaters of 3…don’t get me wrong it keeps me moving but after a few months I have a feeling I may become bored…In the preset programs they have 30 minute Step Aerobics already set up in Easy, Medium and Hard Intensities– 3 intervals of 10 minutes each and once the set goes – there is no stopping – it is 10 minutes of moving…I did a 30 minute set on the medium intensity the other day and according to the calorie counter I burned over 250 calories…

One caveat about the Step Aerobics…it can be done without the Wii Fit board but it may not accurately get your steps…and even with the Wii Fit board it is only but so high so the burn rate may not be that high. They do make step enhancers/platforms for the Wii and I did look into them…one of the biggest complaints is that they all have deeper wells where the feet go so when you step sometimes it doesn’t accurately record your movement – some people have put poker chips in the wells to allow for better contact with the feet…

My solution – well I already owned a nice big plastic step (I am guessing mine was made some point in the 80’s as it is just a big plastic rectangle rather than some of the contoured ones I have seen available now-a-days) – put it down and lo and behold the Wii Fit board fits perfectly on top…In reading some of the reviews for the Wii step platforms a few people mentioned they should have just made their own wooden box platform…so something to think about if you are handy and have some extra wood laying around…I will say that by placing the Fit Board on my step I definitely feel it more in my muscles…

Over all a great game and workout just like it’s predecessor. I wish however they had done it more like how Wii Fit did with Wii Fit Plus…that you had the ability to comingle both the old and the new together to give a wider array of choices and workouts.

But if you liked Wii Sports Active- you definitely aren’t going to be disappointed to spend your money on More Workouts.

I recently ran across a great website that talks about using the Wii for Fitness and has a number of reviews for Wii Fitness Games - including screen shots and videos…here it is for you – NutWiiSystem

Because of his review of Just Dance…it is currently on it’s way from Amazon to me as I type…be sure to check back for my Fat Ass Review of that in the coming weeks…

Pretty Little Things...

2010-01-13T21:13:00.012-05:00

I love earrings...all types - but my favorite of all are french hook ones.

I am lucky enough to have a great friend who does wonderful earring work...I have even made a a pair or two myself...

Add into the fact that just about any local craft fair you go to there are usually a handful of crafters who do handmade jewelry at very reasonable prices...the last purchase I made from a craft fair was 3 pairs for $18...

But french hooks don't lend themselves to storing well...hard to just throw in with other earrings because the hooks grab on to everything...add in the fact that many of mine are long so they have a tendancy to get tangled.

In looking on the 'net I came across a variety of frames used to hang earrings...some had a mesh insert - others used a jersey like fabric - and others plastic canvas. I thought easy enough to make...so I decided to do just that on my Home Alone weekend...come along with me...

Grab a Frame or two - scour your house for an unused frame...or do as I did and hit up your local thrift store - my score below of two frames cost me a whopping $2.15 - 1.25 & .85 cents - one was empty and the other had a god awful picture of some flowers...one thing you do want to make sure of is that it has a ledge that the backing can sit on.

Then paint them up - I HIGHLY recommend to use some sort of spray primer - makes painting on paint a lot easier and far less coats needed

You will need some plastic needlepoint canvas - this can be found at just about any big craft or fabric store - they do come in various stiffness - I choose an Ultra Stiff plastic canvas - I bought a rather large piece (maybe 16x20) for under $2

I then cut a piece of canvas to fit the back of the frame...the frame above had no clips in the back to hold the canvas (many cheaper frames will have little "pins" that can be folded back and forth to remove the backing so you are able to replace the picture) so I had to use some Household epoxy glue to hold the canvas in.

Add some whimsy and hang it up...one of the things I made sure the frame I bought had was handging hardware already on - makes it so much easier...

I painted this one the same color as my bedroom wall - I didn't want it to be a big focal point and overshadow my earrings

I also did some fun stuff with what you see below...but that is a post for another day....

It’s all in the baby steps…

2010-01-13T09:31:00.004-05:00

A new year…a new you, right?

Aaaaahhhh not so much. The first thing most everyone pledges at the beginning of a new year is to get organized, start exercising, eat better…think about it – I know at least one of those things has popped in your head over the past two weeks or so.

Let’s take exercising and eating better – because every year I say the same thing…and every year I do manage to make some sort of small change…but my ass is still fat….

Today in my “talk” I am going to focus on eating better…(sit back and relax this may take a while)

I have always been an overweight person…I never grew out of my baby fat – it just stayed with me…didn’t matter that I was an active child, playing sports and playing outside – growing up we had 5 channels…no cable for us…although I do cop to having an Atari…so I am sure there were some long Frogger or Pitfall sessions.

When I hit high school I was overweight…I have discussed this before…if you are going by weight alone I weighed more in high school at my peak than I weigh now…lovely isn’t it.

DIETS…there is a reason you can’t have Diets without DIE…the thing about diets are – if you follow them chances are good you are going to loose weight…why? Because you are more cognizant of what you are doing on a day to day basis…what you are eating…how you are moving.

The basic tenant of weight loss is burning more calories than you take in – simple as that, right? WELL, not really – genetics does play a part in body composition and weight loss. Here is the thing – I could loose 50 lbs – but I will always be a curvy girl…it is the way I am built – no amount of restricting calories or working my ass off will change my bone structure. Considering my sister who is 4 inches taller and has a flat stomach wears a size 10 because of her hips (about the only thing we have in common) I know I will probably never see a size on my body that is less than double digits – I AM OK WITH THIS…..

Add into body composition there is a genetic factor in your metabolism…some people are born with extremely fast metabolisms – others not so much. My BIL stands about 6 ft and can shovel things in his mouth left and right and not work out and he is still skinny as a rail…whereas my husband is far shorter and should he shovel things in his mouth right and left he would quickly become a square – as wide as he is tall…

So what is one suppose to do…I have been on quite a few DIETS in my life…I started back in High School with Physicians Weight Loss – a program where you go and meet with your “counselor” once a week – get weighed in – talk about appropriate food choices – get sold some supplements and be on your way. Very akin to Weight Watchers in a smaller individual setting…

Did I loose weight….YES – I actually lost about 50 lbs…why – because I was watching what I was eating and making smart decisions about what I put in my body AND what I did with my body, as I had also joined a gym. Calories in – Calories burned = Weight Loss…

That simple..right…

You know that 50 lbs I lost…Over the years it found me again – then I would loose it and sure enough it would find me…one thing after another…although I did manage to keep the bulk off it off for a number of years – even thorough my college years…I am guessing the 1/2 mile walk up a hill everyday to get to class negated the beers I drank freshman year…then later all the very bad white girl dancing at the bars negated all the 7&7’s I drank…

I have done Weight Watchers a few times…did it work – YES it did – once again I was watching what I ate…

All these “diets” – WW, South Beach, Atkins. Mediterrian, etc…they all WORK because they all force to you control what goes in…so that in a typical day you burn more than you consume – even if you aren’t going beyond your normal day…it takes 3500 burned calories to loose a lb…so if in an average day on a “diet” you are taking in 1500 calories and burning 2000 calories – then in an average week you should loose 1 lb.

But like I said not everyone is built the same…one person with a high metabolism can burn through those calories like no ones business – I am told there are people out there that actually try to GAIN weight – crazy talk I say…

Something else that can affect how calories we intake are burned is the food itself – the more “pure” and natural a food is – the faster your body will break it down into the nutrients it needs, thereby consuming it in a faster manner and could allow for a higher metabolism ultimately “burning” the calories in any given day…

One of the main thinking with most diets, like WW, South Beach, Atkins, etc…is fairly simple – low calorie, cut out sugar, cut out processed food – then each one has it’s own little quirk – for some they advocate no carbs…for others no fats…and others still no sugar…

But the thing is our bodies NEED carbs…they NEED fats….they NEED sugar…it is the TYPE that you have to watch out for…

Over the years I have adjusted things – I got rid of a lot of “white” carbs…switched to wheat pasta, wheat bread, wheat flour – I rarely drink sugary drinks – soda, fruit juice (take a look at some of those fruit juice labels) – I stay away from Alcohol (except in party situations…which in my life I can count on one hand the number of parties I go to in a given year).

I drink a ton of water and eat a lot of fresh veggies and fruits and partake in a lot of lean protein – chicken, fish, etc…

I have learned there are GOOD fats…GOOD carbs…GOOD sugars…it is just a matter of reading and researching and making good balanced choices to fuel your body to the best of it’s ability.

So after this long winded typing…it comes down to this learning what things are GOOD for you and how to eat them in combinations that help your body to the best of it’s ability.

The other day I ordered Jillian Michaels new book – Taking Charge of Your Metabolism – is it a “new” way of thinking…NOT AT ALL…it purports the same thing most every other plan does…cut out the bad stuff…eat less…burn more…WHAT I am hoping I gleen from this book is the proper way to eat – what foods work well together for optimal intake.

Since we are doing the $40/week grocery plan for January (only spent $38.40 this week…) – trying to use up stuff in our deep freeze and pantry my plan for February is a food overhaul for our house…(cause we will need some after eating it all up in January)

I only got a chance to skim through the book last night (cause DUH…Biggest Loser was on…at least for the 1st half of the season it makes me feel better…the last half just makes be feel like a big fat sea slug…) and I came across a section where Jillian talks about not eating anything after 9pm…so that your body has the time to process food and sugars before you lay down and go to sleep…that your body trying to digest food while you are sleeping could effect your sleep patterns or habits…

So my baby step for this week is to not eat or drink anything, but water, after 9pm…My thinking is if I start small and slowly incorporate this and that into my life then it isn’t a burden…it isn’t a “PLAN”…it isn’t a “DIET” …it’s a change, a LIFE CHANGE….

What's your baby step for 2010?

My Husband is Leaving Me...

2010-01-08T12:24:00.002-05:00

and taking the kids with him....

I should have about 48 hours to myself - alone in my house...

Now I have had this happen before - the last time was a few years ago...during which about hour 2 of my aloneness my stomach started to twitch...and not in an excited good way...but rather a "got hit by a bus" way...and I spent most of my weekend alone alternating between my bed and the bathroom.

But not this weekend by golly...I resolve not to eat sushi this weekend...

What I do resolve to do is some crafting....some Wii'ing....some Chick Flickin'

So very glorious...no one to tell to brush thier teeth....no one to argue over what time bedtime is...no one to force "just one more bite of dinner"....

I sort of miss them already...sort of...

Is it insanity or a new way of looking at things?

2010-01-06T08:04:00.002-05:00

After the hustle and bustle of Christmas passed (BTW I got a Keurig machine – that thing rocks my socks…) and New Year’s slipped away – I was trying to adjust my pantry to fit things in (namely boxes of K –cups) and I was moving stuff around between our freezers and realized we could live off of what we currently had for a month…

Now I am pretty frugal and use coupons and shop with specials – but even so I end up spending between $75-90 every week on groceries…mainly due to coupons and sales…hey Chex cereal for $1.50 – load me up…Del Monte canned veggies for .30 cents each…throw them in my cart…

So all of this has ganged up on me…I have about 8 boxes of cereal…enough veggies to eat a can every day for then next three weeks, boxes of pasta and sleeves of Saffron rice starting at me when I open the doors…and don’t even get me started on the army of Chef-Boy-R Dee I have lining my shelves…

In addition I have chicken, shrimp, sausage, fish and a whole turkey in my freezer – a WHOLE turkey – do you know many meals a family of four can get out of a whole turkey…I won’t go all Forrest Gump (turkey noodle soup, turkey tetrazzini, hot turkey sandwiches, etc., etc., etc.) but it is A LOT…

So I have decided that January will be the month of $40 or less grocery weeks…I am going to attempt to spend no more than $40 a week for all of our household needs – I was going to set it lower – but we really love fresh fruit and veggies to snack on and well – heck enough to feed us for a week can cost $10 or more…add in bread and 2 gallons of milk a week and you are up to about $18 – thereby leaving just a bit over $20 for anything else we may need during the week

I do realize this will take a little bit of willpower from me not to stock up when I see a good deal…it may mean we run out of something and have to put off buying more for a bit of time…it may mean that by the end of January we are eating Pancakes every night (for some odd reason I have three unopened boxes of Hungry Jack pancake mix…must have been a sale + coupons…) and TC taking PB&J’s for lunch…(4 jars of peanut butter+ 3 jars of fancy homemade jelly) .

So far this week we have spent $12.12...but we are out of fruit and bread so I have to make a quick trip to the grocery tonight...

So we will see if I can actually pull this off or if I am a crumpled heap come Jan 31st whimpering “Please sir, let me use my coupons…”

Fabulous Friday...

2009-12-18T15:07:00.009-05:00

So the kids are in school and I took the day off - after running around this mornign with dropping off Bagels for the Afterschool educators and hitting the Dr. office...a quick trip to Target and since they are predicting snow - a trip to the grocery store as well...

after all that it was time for me...

Well time for me to craft...

Yesterday the girls and I stopped into Old Navy looking for some PJ bottoms...didn't find ones that fit them right but we did find stockings...FOR $1 (instead of the $9.50 price tag) - I had been planning on making the girls new stockings this year but that was something that got pushed back...and back again...and back some more...

But for $1...heck can't beat that...

But of course how will we know whose is whose...enter my Silhouette and Rhinestone templates...and BAM

Then I since I had my machine out I decided my blank wall needed something

and came up with this - once again using my trusty white contact paper with a little of the faux stainless thrown in...I think I will be on the look out for large jingle bells when I do my After Holiday shopping - so for next year I hope to have actual jingle bells...

Crafting - Chaos Style

2009-12-17T08:33:00.029-05:00

So yesterday I showed off the Chocolately Goodness that were my Cocoa Cones...

A cone is great to give as a quick gift - to a neighbor, a co-worker, etc..., but what if you want something more...

Then I give you the Hot Chocolate for Two...

Quite a long time ago I came into possession of a few blank kraft cardboard drink holders - half were for holding two drinks and half were for four. They have been sitting in a box...staring at me...tauting me...saying USE ME USE ME

and use them I did...

I took the one that had room for 2 cups and decorated the outside with fun festive Designer Scrapbook paper (from Stampin' Up) and some stitched felt ribbon I found in the dollar bin at the big M's...and added a nice Holiday greeting and some jingle bells.

Then I added in two cute red and white mugs with a snowflake design I picked up at the Dollar Store.

Add in a Cocoa Cone in one side and a small bag of Holiday Chocolate topped with a sparkly chipboard snowflake in the other and VIOLA....

I made up four of these before I did my craft fairs - I brought them to the fairs thinking if they sell they sell - if not my teacher gifts are done...they all sold...YEAH...so I had to scramble a bit for what to give to teachers this year - luckly for me one of the class mom was taking donations to buy the teacher a new Kuerig machine...here you go here is my $10 - done easy peasy...

Here are a few more things that have been swirling around in the house of Chaos...

Fleece Tie Blankets...

There are 101 different types of directions to do these blankets - I read a few different versions and just winged it - in retrospect I should have cut the ties longer - but the girls love thier blankets

Fabric Wreath

I used the directions found at Moda Bake Shop - for my wreath I used Figgy Pudding by Basic Grey for Moda fabric

Decorated Bags

I found about a dozen small zippered cosmetic bags at my parents house over Thanksgiving...they orginally held Neutrogena samples - but now they were empty and once again I heard the tauting - USE ME USE ME... One side was mesh and the other side a clear plastic. I had a bought a bunch of smaller fun items for ny neices for thier Christmas present - Bubble bath, lipgloss, nailpolish, little bottle of perfume, a bracelet and a big bath puff...

What better than a personalized little bag to hold everything

I used my wonderful new Silhouette machine and some Bubblegum Oracle Vinyl

In the works

MELLY and ME Reindeer

I have the pieces of 6 Melly and Me Reindeer sewn- they still have to be stuffed, sewn shut, legs attached and have nose and eyes added...they are calling for snow all day on Saturday...what better time to stuff half dozen reindeer right?

BONUS KID CONVERSATIONS

Tuesday at school was crazy Hair Day - PWG choose to have 2 pigtails sticking straight up - upon getting home she took them out - but as us women know sometimes your hair just keeps sticking up...so she shouted "OMG daddy - look at my hair"

ME: What does OMG stand for (I know I just wondered what they thought
PWG & TW (in unison) : Oh My Gosh
ME: - oh Ok
TW: But sometimes it means Oh My That word you say alot (while pointing her little finger up towards the sky)

ummm yeah...maybe I need to make sure one of my New Years Resolution is saying Gosh more then That Other Word....

Wed. was "Twin Day" at my girls school - so on Tuesday while driving home from afterschool care I asked PWG what she needed to wear and was told "Jeans" so she could be twins with J - ummm PWG only wears dresses, leggings, skirts and skorts...the last time she wore a pair of jeans was when she was 2, because she had absolutely no say...whereas TW wears Jeans 99.89% of the time time - so while we were driving this occured

ME: You really are going to wear Jeans??
PWG: J doesn't have any leggings - all she has is Jeans
ME: I am soo getting a picture of you in Jeans
PWG: NOOOOOO - I will run away
ME: Then I will get a picture of you running away - in Jeans
PWG: FINE - but it better not show up on Facebook

Oye - raising kids in the 21st century....

Chocolately Goodness

2009-12-16T08:37:00.007-05:00

So last year I saw the cute Cocoa in a bag gifts...at about $4 a pop...ummm cute but no thank you.

It was one of the things I kept in the back of my mind to make for this Holiday season...

and make I did

Don't they look yummy and they are oh so easy to make...

What do you need:

Cocoa Mix - you can either buy a big tub of Swiss Miss or Herseys or you can attempt to make your own using Sugar, Cocoa Powder and Dry Milk - there are tons of different recipies out there to make your own - in order to stufle the craziness I just used a big tub of Swiss Miss from the local warehouse store

Milk Chocolate Morsels - make sure you get milk chocolate, not semi sweet - you can also use other chocolatly goodness items - such as white chocolate, chopped up Andes Mints, etc...

Mini Marshmallows - I managed to score a HUGE bag at the local warehouse store for under $3 - I made 50 of these bags and still have a ton of mini marshmallows

Cone Bags - I bought my bags through Clearbags - they are a food grade bag - BUT you can also use the cone bags that you can buy at any craft store that are used for frosting - the main difference is the frosting bags are made of a thicker plastic material

Small Clear Elastic bands - you can buy these in the beauty section at your local CVS, Walgreens, etc...

Assorted Ribbon and Tags

So now that you have all your items it is time to assemble

Take one Cone bag and fill with enough Cocoa mix for TWO cups of Cocoa - I found the best way to do this was to pull out about 5-6 of my tall glass drinking glasses - insert the cone bag and fold the top over the rim of the glass and fill with cocoa powder.

Tie off the bag using a Clear Elastic Band and cut down the top so it is about 1/2 inch above the elastic band.

Insert the Cocoa filled cone into another cone bag - Once again I used the tall glasses to have the cones stand sort of upright.

Put a hearty scoop of chocolate morsals and then a hearty scoop of marshmallows on top and close with another Clear Elastic Band.

Decorate with an embellished tag and some festive ribbon.

My cost for this project of 50 of them came to about .75 cent a piece...much better than $4 a pop.

Super Sassy

2009-12-15T12:12:00.012-05:00

So have I told ya'll how much I adore my new Silhouette machine?

I know, I know...

But seriously I love this thing - I have had the orginal Cricut for over 2 years and I have used the Silhouette more in the past 2 weeks then I have used the Cricut in the past 2 years.

One of the main reasons is I am able to have the machine set up right beside my computer - I get an urge to do something I just bring up the software - load the machine and cut...LOVE it...much better than hauling out my cricut - trying to find a cartridge with a font I like or an image I need - I have everything practically at my fingertips...

Add in the fact that I have a ton of shapes, words, sayings available to me to download at the push of a button with more added every single week- I signed up for a years worth of unlimited downloads at the Silhouette Online Store.

THEN, to make it even better they have come out with a new Rhinestone kit and of course I HAD to have it...it arrived last week...

In the store there are a ton of different templates - I perused them with TW and we found one that really "spoke" to TW...and then I was off...super easy to feed the template material into the machine...and then adhere on the backing board...getting the Rhinestones in the proper place took a little bit of time - BUT it was my first one and I figure the more I do the faster and easier it will become...

We used a plain black Old Navy shirt that was in her drawer and the final result...

Looks pretty good - IRL it is quite blingy...I have even already run it through a wash cycle and all those rhinestones are still stuck quite well - one of my fears was doing all this and then having them fall off once washed...but that was unfounded.

As I said the store adds new images every week - last week they added some wonderful designs by Loni Stevens. She designed words to fit on an adorable ornament box she also designed...well I loved all of them and immediately downloaded a bunch...

But...I didn't make ornaments (yet...) I took one of the designs and decided to add some Peace to my house this holiday season...It involved taking the orginal design and making it larger - I used my good old standby this holiday season - white contact paper - this is over the entry way into my family room...

of course now that I look at it I see my fancy swirls on each end aren't exactly perfect - one is higher than the other...oh well...such is life

A Sunday Quickie...

2009-12-13T15:06:00.008-05:00

One of the problems with perusing so many blogs is you forget where you saw a terrific idea...

I happened upon a blog one day where the person recreated Pottery Barn initial etched vases using vinyl stencils and Glass Frost spray. (if this was featured on your blog - let me know so I can link it)

So I set out to do just that for our neighbors this holiday season - only using real glass etch cream - so simple to so do - took me about 30 minutes from beginning to end...

Get one glass vase

I managed to pick this one up at a local craft store - I stopped by one day and they had a table full of glassware all for 99 cents each - I grabbed a couple larger vases - not knowing what I was going to do with them...but for 99 cents how do you pass them up.

Cut a stencil in some form of adhesive vinyl - I used Contact Brand contact paper and my wonderful Silhouette machine to cut out my stencil - but this can be easily done by free hand cutting out a letter.

Make sure your glass is nice a clean without any fingerprints , as the oils in fingerprint residue can affect the etching process.

Apply your stencil over the glass and make sure all the edges are stuck to the glass without any bubbles - once the stencil is really down clean the exposed glass again to remove any fingerprints.

Apply glass etch cream to the exposed glass - be very careful as if it gets on your skin it can burn - you are encouraged to wear gloves (but shhh I don't) - I apply the cream with a small sponge brush

Let sit for 15-20 minutes and then wash the cream off under warm running water.

Remove stencil and admire your work...

Fill with goodies (3 different kinds of cookies) and give to good neighbors...(ok the last part is all me...)

It's the little things

2009-12-10T08:53:00.014-05:00

I am by nature a naturally frugal person (well except when it comes to $85 face cream from Philosophy)

So in decorating my home for the holidays I tend to go pretty low key – no over the top decorations – just little things here and there and my style tends to be a more “comfy casual” then traditional…and our family is soooo a colored lights family…no offense to those who only bask in the glow of white lights…sure they are pretty…but colored lights are like sprinkles on a cake…sure the cake tastes good and is beautiful…but sprinkles make it fun and festive.

A few years ago I picked up a canister of brightly colored Christmas balls from Target in one of the after holiday sales. They were full of some pretty “non-tradtional” colors – purple, pink, lime green, turquoise – I loved them and had to have them…

But what to do with them…

The next year when I got out my garland to wrap around my banister I figured it needed a little punching up and out came the balls…

Some hot glue and some string to tie it to my banister and it looks pretty darn good – don’t you think…

I still had over half the bucket left and it sat with all the holiday stuff for the past few Holidays – I didn’t need anymore Garland…I toyed with the idea of making a very large wreath…but didn’t follow through…

This year I decided I need to display them – to give a pop of color somewhere - to coordinate with my banister…

So I loaded them up in a glass vase – a glass vase I managed to score for a whopping .99 cents. So I put them in and while they looked pretty it needed something else…

So away I went to my fabulous Silhouette machine and used some of that wonderful faux stainless steel contact paper and made the vase a bit more festive…

I love this – but I especially love the fact that after the holidays are over I can just peel the words away and have a nice blank slate….I am thinking it may need to be decorated for each holiday…lets see – a nice Valentines saying with it filled with cut out paper hearts…maybe a picture of the Easter bunny while filled with decorated eggs….

Now what would the holidays be without the trimming of the tree…

The first year TC and I were together – living in a small cheap apartment we bought this HUGE tree from Wallyworld – I cost us all of $16 – which to us was a HUGE sum of money as we struggled each month to pay the bills – but it was Christmas and we HAD to have a tree – we bought a box of colored lights and a box of glass plain colored bulbs…we decided right then and there we would start a tradition – every year we would buy each other an ornament and only those would go on the tree…now over the years we have had to modify what goes on the tree – as we have received ornaments as gifts – they go on the tree and of course having small children we have numerous ornament designed by them now hanging. But, the thing is each and every one of them has a special meaning to us – there is a story behind each one…when we hang the ones we have given each other over the years there is a story to go with each of them…when we hang the ones given lovingly give to us by others we think of them…when we hang the ones our children have made us I get teary over how fast they are growing from little girls into big girls.

This year TC got me this

Yes it is a piece of pumpkin pie…I have an obsession with Pumpkin Pie…I only really eat it one time a year at Thanksgiving…but it is my Moms Pumpkin Pie – piled high with homemade vanilla whipped cream – ohhh so yummy – in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving I talk somewhat obsessively about having pumpkin pie…good choice TC

This is what I got TC

It is a lady T-Rex…there is a running joke in my family – I being the shortest one – also have the shortest arms – so it isn’t as easy for me to reach certain things in high cabinets…or say reach across the table to collect all the Apples to Apples cards…One day it was blurted out I was built like a T-Rex with tiny arms…and that has been a running joke in my family – a few days before I bought the ornament I was trying to get something down and TC said to me “Here let me help you T-rex” – so when I saw the ornament I knew I had to give it to him…as a holiday reminder of me…

And at the top of our tree goes our star

Looks a little sad doesn’t it…but it contains the best story – one we told our girls this year…see back at that first Christmas we bought lights and bulbs and there were two ornaments but no topper…we just couldn’t afford to spend any more…so I took a piece of cardboard and some tin foil and fashioned us a star…That was 14 years ago and every year it sits proudly on top of our tree – it reminds my husband and I how far we have come together and how lucky we are to have a nice roof over our head, how blessed we are to have two happy healthy kids and the resources to surround the tree with gifts to each other.

So does your family have any holiday traditions??? I would love to hear some, cause you know it is NEVER to late to start a new tradition :)

a break in the Holiday overload

2009-12-09T10:11:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all these crafty chicks who have blogs my mind is in Holiday Overload…

I have been storing ideas away – some I am running out of time to throw the project together in a exacting fashion…others I so totally want to do them NOW!!!!

But time…time is the enemy – I have to work (to pay for all the craftiness) – then when I get home I deal with 8 year old little girls with homework and Religious Ed class and Gymnastics and Brownies – oh yeah and one of them, PWG, received an early Christmas present from her aunt…her very own simple sewing machine…

So now I have to hover over to make sure she doesn’t sew her fingers together…

I set it up last night and after some curse muttering I finally got it threaded right and dug out some scraps for her to practice on…

The big smile – the look of pure unadulterated joy was worth every moment…

What could be better than that…

Well I left the room for about 10 minutes and came back to find both my girls sitting in the chair together with PWG “schooling” TW in the finer points of sewing a straight line – no fighting, no screams of “This is MINE”…and TW had that same big smile – the same look of joy…

You did good Aunt K…you did good

Blessings...so many ways to count

2009-12-07T08:43:00.006-05:00

Last week I talked about how every week this December we were choosing a different charity that means something to our family to make a donation to. I will say I picked each charity back at Thanksgiving time...

The one I picked for this week is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. My good friend C has CF. We spent many of our formative childhood years together, as our mothers are best friends. Throughout my childhood I watched as C spent time being "thumped" to loosen the mucous in his lungs...I visited him during his many hospitilizations...I partcipated in Swim-a-thons, Bowl-a-thons, You name it- a-thons to raise much needed funds for the CF Foundation for research and development...

Six years ago I attended a 30th birthday party for C. It was poignant because at one point there were questions if C would ever see his 20th birthday...

When I picked the CF Foundation a few weeks ago I choose this week to give to honor C - as his 36th birthday is tommorrow...the past few months there have been some speedbumps - he has been in and out of the hospital and at one point it was very touch and go - but he is a fighter and pulled through..

Last week...he received a wonderful gift...a new set of lungs.

He has a long stuggle in front of him - but he is a fighter...

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

~Winston Churchill

On a Contact High...

2009-12-03T08:17:00.014-05:00

So the other day I showed you how I used Contact paper and my new Silhouette to decorate a window at my workplace...

oh so much more...

So here is the orginal window with more snowflakes

then I had to decorate up the door to my section - BE is I think Brittanic Bold?? and Merry is Two Peas Arizona font - I was able to weld the words so the "erry" cut as one piece

and our display case...I used an Ornament shape downloaded from Silhouette and flipped one before cutting. The "Joy to the World" is also a download.

and finally what I absolutely adore - our Ornament window - complete with all my co-workers names...I found faux stainless steal contact paper (made by Duck I found it at Lowes) - {swoon} - I used a Silhouette plain ornament shape to cut the ornaments out of the faux stainless steel and then used some Deliha Red and Olive Oracle vinyl to cut out the names in different fonts...

I simply ran ribbon (Micheals $1 bin) down the window at various lengths and put the ornament on - I then created corresponding bows and used my beloved Craft glue Dots (if you do not own Craft glue dots in the red box...you must get some - these can make anything stick) to adhere them to the top of the ornaments - here is a closeup of my ornament...

I used the "Mele Kalikimaka" download from the Silhouette digital store - mainly to try to be PC...around here gosh forbid you say "Merry Christmas"... and our orginal idea of "Happy/Merry Whatever" might have gotten us in a bit of trouble...so we used a roundabout way to say "Merry Christmas"

The snowmen on the bottom is also a digital download - I placed four on one page and flipped every other one so the ends would match up (one is slightly higher then the other) as I was putting it along the bottom of the window...I also had a few trees cut out from an earlier project - so those got added as well...

I adore, adore, adore, adore my new Silhouette....

Oh, before I forget you are probably wondering what became of the all the things in the sneak peek I gave you yesterday...

Well that turned into this..

Isn't it lovely...I used a simple Styrofoam Cone shape - some T-pins and a few bags of candy...along the way I did a very bad thing and introduced my daughters to Lindor truffles...now they are clamoring for Lindor...

This was very quick and easy to put together - the girls put the pins through the top of each piece of candy and I pinned them on. The star on top - I simply cut some nesting star shapes from my Silhouette (did I happen to mention I adore my new toy??) - used a toothpick and a Craft Glue Dot (did I mention I adore these as well??) to put them back to back and then sunk the toothpick on top.

This makes a wonderful gift - in fact this one is going to a neighbor this weekend - she holds an open house before the annual parade for our town (lucky us the parade goes right through our neighborhood - prime seats only a block away) - I figure this would make a nice little hostess gift that everyone at the Open House can enjoy...This would be great to place on a neighbors doorstep - just ring the bell and run...a much better treat than flaming dog poo, dontcha' think?

Channeling her inner Soprano

2009-12-02T11:33:00.006-05:00

So with the start of December in our house the Santa Elf appears…

See isn’t he cute…

He was sent by Santa to keep an eye on PWG and TW and report back to Santa if they are being Naughty or Nice…

He is also in charge of our Advent Calendar – which hangs and has small mittens for each day leading up to Christmas – just big enough to slip 2 small pieces of candy in…

So if the girls behave they are awoken to the joy of being able to have a piece of candy first thing in the morning…

The other day PWG told me it doesn’t matter if she is good or not because there will be candy everyday…I called her bluff and said it was all up to the Elf – to which she informed me she had a contract with the Elf and showed me this…

Ummm yeah…more like an extortion letter than a contract…and see those numbers – when I asked what they were I was told “The Elf gave me his digits” . I told her that the Elf's handwritting looked alot like hers...her response "Prove it" - I asked why she signed it "ME" instead of her name...her response "The Elf knows who he is signing a contract with - no names needed"

Question is - if one day there aren’t any pieces of candy will the Elf find himself in the woods digging his own shallow grave?

And I leave you with a little taste

What to take a guess as to what I used these for????

You will just have to wait until tomorrow…

Oh So Easy...

2009-12-01T09:28:00.007-05:00

So what did this become....

It became this

Simply Fabulous don'tcha think??

And so super simple and easy to do...

One day I was perusing the web and came across a great blog - We Are That Family - one of the things I love is the Do It Yourself Projects - simply divine and most of the items used come from the Dollar Store...so easy on the wallet as well...I came across THIS post (go down to about the 5th picture) - well...I HAD to do that so...

My wreath uses

1 white wreath shape - $1 @ Dollar Tree

1/2 roll of wire edged ribbon - $1 @ Dollar Tree

1 20 yard Snow Garland - $2.99 @ Target

I would have used Garland from the Dollar Tree but sadly this year it was a little lacking and quite frankly a bit too gaudy for me - and for me to say something is too gaudy - the woman who bought a holiday flying pig for her front yard - it must have been bad...

The 20 yards was just perfect for this wreath - I used a dab of hot glue to attach the garland to the wreath and then simply wrapped it all around and used another dab of hot glue to glue the end down. - tied 1/2 of the roll of ribbon in a loop and strung it through the wreath.

Simply beautiful and for $4.50 - a steal - would have been even cheaper had my Dollar Tree had some better Garland...but oh well...the Snow Garland is beautiful - hard to see in the picture but the Garland is mainly white with some sprinkles of silver and shimmer throughout...

And the season begins...

2009-11-30T12:45:00.009-05:00

Well Turkey Day is over….

I got a chance to spend my holiday with my children, my parents, my sister and my brother-in-law. Third Child decided to head to his parents this holiday since his brother and sister-in-law were coming in for a visit (and only informed us of this plan about 10 days prior – hence why we separated for the holiday)

I have a lot to be thankful for – I have a roof over my head, a good job surrounded by some great people, my daughters are happy and healthy and flourishing in school, the puppy has stopped chewing everything she can get close to her mouth and at the end of the month the bills are paid and lo and behold there is even a bit left over…so for that in this day and age I am thankful.

Every holiday season we get a ton of mail from all sorts of charities – now I will say we are decent givers – I do like to sponsor friends and family when they do various fundraisers, walks, etc… and during the holiday season we pick a few names from our churches Angel Tree and {hopefully} bring a little joy for a little while to those children who make do with so much less.

This year I have decided to pick a different Charity each week of December that means something to me and hope that my gift this holiday season might make a small bit of difference.

This week I am donating to the VCU Massey Cancer Center . I have dealt with family and friends who have fought battles with cancer – Pancreatic, Breast, Colon, among others…some have won their battles…my parents among them – other family and friends were not as lucky as my parents. There are a variety of cancer charities out there – some deal directly with research, others deal with clinical trials, while others assist people living with cancer. I choose Massey because they do all the above and then some…the center is also right in my town – so the money I choose to donate may just help people I know and love.

OK on to CRAFTING…

A while ago I cam across a website that had a fantastic tutorial for making a half apron from one simple dish/tea towel…I thought I saved the link, but alas I did not…when I went back to try and GOOGLE it – well there are A LOT of different variations of a dish/tea towel apron…and I have yet to find it again (but on the upside I did find some more FABULOUS crafty sites…more to come on that later….)

So here I started with my raw materials…I failed to take step by step picture thinking I would be able to find that darn tutorial…when I do find it I will be sure to post it….

1 tea towel bought at Homegoods for about $4 (2 per pack)
20 inches of red gingham fabric (Four 5" strips)

Because I failed to find the Apron tutorial again after I first found it I had to wing it…

UPDATE - I found the blog again - here is the Tutorial from V and Co.

First thing I did was cut the red gingham fabric into 4 strips 5” wide (ok I didn’t cut this when I was at the fabric store I asked them to cut them into 5” strips for me…this worked out well since they have the nice big tables used for cutting – all the better to get straight lines) – I sewed 2 strips together to make one long strip….and then sewed the other 2 together to make another long strip – then placed then together (one good thing about the gigham fabric I used – no wrong side) and sewed at a 1/4 inch all the way around – leaving one end open…turn inside out – iron it and sew up the end…now you have your tie.

Next I took the tea towel – laid it out and folded it in half with the good sides facing each other – I then brought down one side so it was touching the fold and pinned and ironed it flat so the folds were nice and crisp.

Since my tea towel had red accents I choose to use red thread – starting at the top I sewed down each side and across the bottom – this left me with one big pocket on the front – I then used the fold lines in the towel and starting at the bottom sewed up to the fold to create 3 pockets out of the one big pocket.

Then I laid my tie out and placed the top edge of my towel in the middle of the tie and folded it over the top, pinned and then sewed the tie to the towel – I did sew both the bottom and the top of the tie…

And then I was done…

Here is PWG modeling the finished product – I will say the ties are long enough for a more slender woman than my pleasantly plump self to cross around back and tie in the front. You can also see TW holding up the basic tea towel before all the craftyness ensued.

Next project is inspired by the posts at Somewhat Simple on Sunday – I found a tutorial for a very simple wreath on another site (to be named when I show my completed project) – but for now I give you just a small taste…

and the angels sang...

2009-11-24T09:17:00.009-05:00

When I got home yesterday there was a big package on my porch....

MY SILHOUETTE HAS ARRIVED....

I could not wait to open it up and begin playing...it was super simple to load up the software - plug it into my computer and begin playing...

I only had a bit of time to play with it last night - but play I did

Up first a good friend of mine repurposes items...takes an old chair and paints it all up bright and colorful...turns an old wooden table and chair set into a wonderful activity table for little kids...she does great wall murals, etc... Well a new store has opened in our town that specializes in selling repurposed items and my friend will be selling some of her items in the store. She had a small book made of murals she has done along with items she has sold in the past and asked me if I could help her put something on the front...of course I can...

Fonts: Susie's Hand & Ravie

Forgive my horrible camera work - and the glare of the flash - the book measures about 6x4 - I used pink Oracle vinyl. Looking at it now I think I would have tried to space the "Creations" a little bit futher apart - but not bad for the first thing I did...

Next up was something for my work...I thought of this idea a few weeks ago and I am VERY HAPPY this worked...

Starting off - while Vinyl is an awesome material to work with - there are some drawbacks - first it can be expensive, depending on where and what you buy - It isn't as if Vinyl is available everywhere - the Cricut Vinyl you can buy in the store is about $10 for a roll...you can find it much cheaper on-line - but by the time you pay for S&H - well...

Furthermore - while you can use vinyl it is not renewable - meaning once you take it off you can't reuse it...fine if you are creating a piece of artwork or putting something on your walls where it will be for a period of time - but for short term...not a moneywise way to go...

BUT...BUT...contact paper...YES - CONTACT PAPER - but the good stuff - the "REAL" Contact paper and not the cheesy $1 store knockoff...I managed to score a nice big roll of white contact paper from Walmart for under $6...

I know you are asking but what can you use Contact paper for...well let me show you...

This is the window leading into my section at work -

I need to cut more snowflakes out tonight - but you see the basics of it

Fonts: Happy Days & WWFlakes

...isn't it Fabulous and in Jan (or Feb) when we take it down - it all gets thrown away...and my cost (other than my valuable time) is less than $1 worth of white contact paper...

This is a great use fo contact paper for holidays - the drawback to contact paper is the fact that you are severly limited in colors and it is for indoor use - on a flat, smooth surface only...

My plan for my house is to spell out Happy Holidays for the windows in my bedroom that look out to the street...easy enough to do on the Silhouette...just have to remember to flip the letters before cutting them so that when I adhere them to the inside of my windows people can actually read the letters...

Oh Yeah - I'm Struttin' - Reindeer Style

2009-11-19T08:18:00.004-05:00

So I have been putting together all these crafty projects – gearing up for craft sales and holiday gifts for family and friends…and all along I have been taking pictures…

Guess where those pictures are - still on my camera…

But I DO want to participate in the STRUT YOUR STUFF Thursdays (see the cute little button to the right I managed to post) hosted by Somewhat Simple - click on over and take a look at some of the wonderful things other ~~stalkers~~ crafty bloggers have done...

So I went to my photo archives and found this that I did last month for a Holiday Card Swap…

Isn’t it adorable…

All the supplies are from Stampin’ Up! (Contact me if you need a dealer )

Dasher Stamp in Chocolate...Old Olive Paper with shimmery white snowflakes stamped on it...BEAUTIFUL flocked paper...and of course it isn't a card without some form of extras - a little ribbon...a cute little punched flower and a small little brad....

I usually send out about 100 cards to friends and family and yes all of them are handmade. This is one of about 4 different designs I will be sending out this year.

Knitting - 1 Me - 0

2009-11-17T07:47:00.006-05:00

So last night PWG pulls something from her backpack and asks all excited

"Can we do this?"

my first reaction was to say 'NO' without even seeing what it is...because saying 'NO' is a Mommies first reaction to anything...afterall if you eventually say yes - you can turn it around to your favor by explaining that you as a mommy are granting your children something special...I have learned never to say 'YES' to anything right away...and 'MAYBE' sometimes gets your ass in a sling...

Then I took a look - she was proudly holding up a book about beginning Knitting that she had taken out from the school library...what she really wanted to do was knit the Sassy Slippers that were featured in the book...

God I love that little girl...all cute and crafty like

But there was a problem - I have NEVER knitted before...I have bought and attempted those 'Knifty Knitter" plastic things...all that did was cause me to add a few new curse words to my vocabulary...

So she and I glanced through the book - the first half of the book showed step by step directions with illustrations on how to begin to knit...all dumb down well, since after all it was designed for 8 year olds...

I figured Ok I can do this - I have a book...I have illustrations - how hard could it be...

So off to Walmart I went to pick up some knitting needles...came home got the girls in bed and told PWG I would try to figure it out and then we could do it together....

Then spent the next hour contorting my hands into positions they have never been in...and dredging up those long forgotten curse words...

knitting kicked my arse...I threw up my hands in defeat...I couldn't even get a chain on the needle to even begin to knit...

This is not the first time a craft genre has won...and it probably won't be the last...

One down...One to go...

2009-11-16T10:24:00.002-05:00

Craft Fairs that is...

In an attempt to actually support my crafting habit I am participating in 2 craft fairs this holiday season.

The first one was this past Saturday and I did OK...I ended up pricing some of my items on the lower end of what I would normally sell at...my thinking is I would rather sell it and make at least a few bucks...then bring it home and be out a few bucks - KWIM...

The thing about craft fairs is you have to know how to price your product - to high and people are going to bypass you - to low - while you sell all your stuff - by the time you minus out your costs (raw material, table rental/admission fee, standing around for most of a Saturday) in the end it just isn't worth it...

You may be asking...but what did you sell...oh my dears you will have to wait - I did take pictures of all the items I made...but if I show you it all now...what will I have to blog about in the coming weeks...

My plan - at least once per week I will be showing an item I made along with simple instructions on how you can do it at home. All my items are perfect for gift giving...some are fairly easy to buy the supplies and do it at home...others, well...

In the meantime - I am going to be doing a little housekeeping around the blog...going through the links there on right - making sure all of them work...I will also be adding more crafty sites to my blog roll - I have found some amazing craft bloggers (and my staker list gets a little bit longer every day...) over the past few weeks...If you would like to be added to my ~~stalker~~ blog list just leave me a message in the comments and I will add you on in...

Bonus Kid Comment

this weekend PWG went to the bathroom but for some reason she left the door open - personally I believe she has a bit of an exhibitionist in her - well TW decided to keep walking in front of the bathroom, which in turned made PWG girl mad...after telling TW to "STOP" a few times she finally belted out

"Close the door before I get my attitude on..."

but the way she said it...her attitude was already on and ready to go

As if my Craft ADD wasn’t bad enough…

2009-11-09T13:08:00.002-05:00

Most thing I take my time with – I research – I hem I haw, especially if it is going to cost me money.

For me crafting is like a sucking black hole..it sucks money from my pocket…I have reams and reams of printouts of ideas and projects I would like to do “One Day”. I will say over the past year or two I have been better about actually completing one project before moving onto the next.

But I find myself delving further and further into all things crafty…it has morphed from scrapbooking to cardmaking to sewing to home décor…there doesn’t seem to be an end in site.

So what did I do today…I bought yet ANOTHER crafting machine…TC is going to kill me…I think I might have to buy something Camo to dangle in front of him when I tell him about my newest purchase…Camo should calm him down…hopefully…

So what did I buy?? Because I already have the Big Shot and the Cricut…what more could I need…

The SILHOUETTE

sweet, sweet silhouette…this will enable me to cut any True Type Font in a variety of materials…paper, cardstock and my newest favorite VINYL….

I could have bought a program for my Cricut that will do the same thing – Sure Cuts A Lot…but from what I have read there are pros and cons for both…While the footprint of the Silhouette is a bit different (8.5x11) than the Cricut (6X12 or 12x12 or 12x 24 – depending on the machine) I was enamored by the ability to save projects on an SD card and use the machine independent of a computer if need be. I also like the idea that you can download images and templates as single units directly from the company.

I do enjoy my Cricut – but I find I am using it a lot more to create home décor and gifts using vinyl and felt for some projects I would like to do the 6” is limiting…I know 8.5” doesn’t give me a whole lot of extra room…but it is a least a little more.

I can’t wait to get my newest toy and start playing…now to go buy something in Camo…

2009-10-30T16:05:00.001-04:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Humans = Ferrets

2009-10-29T11:51:00.002-04:00

On my mommy sanity board a question was asked about what could be done for a toddler who had a horrible cough. Being as said toddler is not quite a year and a half it limits the use of medicines. I wrote that I vaguely remembered reading something about rubbing Vicks Vapo Rub on the soles of your feet to help stop coughing.

Wait you say – Vicks to stop coughing…sure it helps you breath better but stop coughing…hey I am pretty skeptical myself – but there are weird things out there – for example did you know if you get a mild burn – throw some soy sauce on it…

So I turned to Google and found that the whole Vicks on the soles of the feet started as a chain e-mail (surprise) and there is no scientific proof it works…Some people have stated they have tried it and it has worked for them…Skeptics point out that the odor is strong so you may get a desired effect of reduced coughing no matter where on your body you slather it.

Then I came across this…

Myth: Slathering Vicks VapoRub on the soles of your feet will silence a cough
February 9, 2009 · No Comments

Reality: This “prescription” maintains a healthy life on the Internet. According to true believers, applying the cold remedy to the feet works 100 percent of the time. Not a chance, says Dr. Bruce Rubin of Wake Forest University, part of a research team that recently tested VapoRub on ferrets, which have airways similar to those of humans.

“I don’t know how Vicks on the feet would help a cold,” Rubin said. “I do know that if your nose runs and your feet smell, you are probably built upside down.” Chicken soup and TLC work better, Rubin notes.

My one question is this...they debunk the idea by the use of ferrets...FERRETS...question is what did they give them to make the little ferrets cough in the first place and then how do they know that maybe, just maybe the ferrets got some relief from having their paws slathered with Vicks.

Furthermore, how do you keep the Ferrets from licking the Vicks off…for some reason I have this image of poor little Ferrets strapped down spread eagle on little gurneys – each of their little paws in some sort of leather restraint…or do they just put a little “Silence of the Lambs” face mask on the Ferrets and let them thump around with Vick covered paws? {Note to self: Check U-Tube for video of Vick slathered Ferrets}

So does it work – who knows…next time I or someone in my family gets a bad cough I will probably try it - if nothing else, think of how soft your feet will be in the morning.

BONUS KID CONVERSATION

TW: Did you have a lot of boyfriends before Daddy
ME: Some not a lot
TW: Did you kiss all of them
ME: Yes
TW: Wow – so that means I can kiss a lot of boys before I get married too.

That in turn led into how old should one be before you kiss a boy…I asked PWG since TW, much to my chagrin, has already experienced her first kiss with a boy (and has been told if she does so again she might have her lips sewn together and she will have to drink her food through a straw) – and the response was…

PWG: 9th grade – unless he is really really cute
ME: {silence}

I am so not ready for the next phase of girlhood…

12 years and counting...

2009-10-21T08:26:00.002-04:00

This past weekend TC and I celebrated 12 years of wedded bliss...the month before we celebrated 16 years of togetherness - we toasted to the fact we haven't maimed or killed each other yet.

Now a days 12 years seems like a lifetime. We have unfortunately seen a number of our friends go through divorces.

Some of them we knew it was just a matter of time...as in sitting at thier wedding enjoying the open bar and taking bets with others just how long it will last.

With others - separation and divorce rocked us to our core. These couples were ones we thought would last forever - the "so in love" couples...

However, the dimise of our friends marriages has had an unexpected perk...strengthing our relationship...

When the conversation starts with "Did you hear about Bob and Sue..." so far it has usually led to a picking apart of their relationship and what went wrong...for some it was infidelity...others some form of mid-life crisis...others simply grew up together and realized that while they were in the same place 10 years ago - with the same hopes and dreams...those have changed and a compromise just can't be reached...

But in picking apart their relationships...it builds up ours - a weird form of marriage counseling I guess - we have a chance to talk about infidelity...to take in an non-threatening conversation about how each of us has changed over the years...some for better...and some for worse. It has opened our eyes and made us take a hard look at our life and realize we truely do love our life and each other...

So here is to another 12 years...and another and hopefully...maybe even another...

Stalker Friday: For the Love of Purses...

2009-10-09T11:33:00.006-04:00

So in order to force myself to actually come to my blog and actually post stuff so I don't fall off the face of the earth I have decided to institute Stalker Fridays...

What are Stalker Fridays...well there are many things i am passionate about in my life and because of the WWW i can stalk people who might share those same passions from afar...Creepy, no?

So for my First Stalker Friday I am going to talk about my love of purses.

Because of a Brownie Vest 2 years ago for Mothers Day TC presented me with a Sewing Machine as my present.

Unless you count Home Ec projects gone horribly wrong I had never really sewed in my life....

So one trip to the local quilting store and one purse class later I was hooked.

The purses I make are not over the top - they are simple and colorful and surprisingly some people are actually willing to pay me for one...

Over the past few months I have decided to try and branch out with my sewing...it is slow going but I have found some wonderful sites to follow

Artsy-Craftsy Babe - simply wonderful - I have no idea who this woman is...but I am sort of grateful I don't know her because I really don't want to be slapped with a restraining order. Her patterns have been featured in a number of sewing books and she has some wonderful patterns available for purchase. She has also been greatful enough to share a few tutorials for FREE - I recently used her PHOEBE bag tutorial to make myself a simply awesome purse. See isn't it cute....

Make It and Love it - oh how I adore this site...I will admit I have never made anything featured on this site - YET (I have the Grocery Bag Holder printed out and stored in my MUST DO ONE DAY SOON pile...) it is a FABULOUS site that not only has all things sewing...but it gives you links to other crafty-licious things...I could spend hours on this site clicking through links...saving projects that I intend to do. One of my most favorite things are the posts about repurposing items...Like for example today she shows how to repupose an adult shirt into an adorable dress for a little girl - GENIUS...go take a look - I'll wait...

Homemade By Jill - Jill is a crafting goddess...she is the UBER queen in my little stalking world...why you may ask...umm Sewing - CHECK, Papercrafts - CHECK, Yarn/Textile Art - CHECK, any other crafty idea - CHECK - from bulletin boards to punched butterflies to sock monkeys to blouse pillows - this chick has got it going on...I stumbled upon her site when I was thinking about making my own curtains and fell in love with the ones she HANDPAINTED - however I chickened out and ended up just buying some (the blame goes to Pier One and thier great sale)

Now I will say there are many other blogs I peruse that deal with sewing...but the above are my go-to places to find something new and wonderful...maybe you too will find something that inspires you to bring out the crafty goodness inside of you...

You Little Girl, are no friend of mine…

2009-10-07T08:58:00.002-04:00

So last night while going over homework TW informs me that her little friend from afterschool care J told her that sometimes babies come out of your private parts.

Hearing this did not make me happy…Especially since when the girls asked how babies get out of a mommies belly I have used the explanation of "They cut your belly open and pull the baby out", complete with a veiwing of a C-section on an episode of A Baby Story. I thought I was in the clear for a little longer...

I am not an uptight mother…I do think my children should know about the birds and the bees, but when I am ready …not on the timetable of another 9 year old little girl.

Later on TW informed me that she hoped when she had a baby that it does come out of her private parts because it would hurt less...ahhh the dreams of the youth

This past summer I had a few discussions with mommy friends that have girls the same age as mine and how pretty soon we were going to have to pony up and divulge what being a woman is really like to our young charges…none of us is quite ready.

What lead to those discussions was TW asking me how babies are made. She didn’t understand how the babies get into the mommies tummy. I so wasn’t ready to go there. Even though I was able to successfully divert her attention with some chocolate, I know the day of truth is drawing nearer…

During a neighborhood party I asked our one neighbor who is a practicing general practitioner Doctor what would be the appropriate thing to say…after glancing at her 1 and 3 year old little girls I was told “When you figure it out let me know”.

I mean we have had the Animals Frolick conversation - but I am just not ready for this now…A good friend of mine suggested buying the American Girl Doll book “The Care and Keeping of You”…looks like Amazon will get more of my money…and I have another gift for under the tree this year*

*yes I am well aware that by giving a book about Puberty as a Christmas present will probably come back to haunt me…I figure I am helping some therapist down the line as “The Christmas my mom gave me a book about my changing body” will probably be good for at least 2 sessions…

My Fat Ass Review: Wii Sports Active & Wii Fit Plus

2009-10-06T09:11:00.020-04:00

So a few years ago when I bought my Wii system I had to sell it to TC…I know what you are thinking – I had to sell a gaming system to a man…yes I did as TC isn’t into gaming at all; preferring to do all his playing on the hunting field with real guns instead of remotes.

Anyway in my mind was the fact that with the Wii you had to get up and move…so therefore, when you played a game you didn’t feel so guilty downing that Reeses Peanut Butter Cup later.

So of course when Wii Fit came out – I had to have it…if for nothing else to make myself feel even less guilty about that Peanut Butter Cup…and it held my interest…for awhile…

The thing is I have never been good about being focused on exercising…my fat ass is a testament to that. Don’t get me wrong there have been periods of my life I could have been classified as a gym rat…well at least for a few months…but inevitably I get bored.

But it is a good thing MORE games came out for the Wii – like My Fitness Coach and EA Sports Active.

Now since I dropped off the face of the earth for a bit I didn’t get around to doing a Fat Ass Review about the Sports Active – so I will do it now…

EA SPORTS ACTIVE

Wii Wii EA Sports Active is about $50 and can be found at leading retailers; such as Best Buy, Target and on-line at Amazon. It comes with the disk, a leg strap and a stretch band.

The Sports Active have a variety of different strength training and cardio exercises, along with sports activities, such as basketball, baseball, inline skating, boxing just to name a few, that combine stretching, cardio and movement.

You can choose to do a few different things with the AE Sports Active

Choose to do a single activity

Create your own workout by choosing from among all activities

Do a pre-set workout - ranging from ~10 minutes up to ~60 minutes

Do a 30 day challenge - easy, medium or hard levels

What makes the AE Sports Active different from the basic Wii Fit is the fact that you can combine activities to create a fairly seamless workout that moves from one activity to the next. I say fairly seamless because there is some downtime between each activity as it shows reminders on how each activity is done.

After playing around with the EA Sports Active for a bit and learning how to do most of the activities I was ready for the 30 day challenge. The object of the 30 day challenge is for you to complete a cycle of workouts within 30 days – the system sets days for you to workout, along with rest days. It does not hold you to those days – if you choose to workout on a rest day or have to miss a scheduled workout day the calendar readjusts itself. Something I found nice, since the My Fitness Coach god forbid you miss a scheduled workout you start back from the beginning as far as “unlocking” new localities and music.

There are 3 levels of the Challenge – easy, medium and hard – the workouts vary in length from day to day. I started my first Challenge on Easy and after a few days switched to the Medium level.

When doing the Challenge you have to option to check if you are using the Wii Balance Board or not. The Balance board is not a necessity for the program…but I think it makes it more fun and a little more challenging. I will say there were certain days when I felt the workout wasn’t long enough – on those days I usually broke out the Wii Fit and did some of the activities on that since I had some workout momentum going. A few of the “rest” days I popped in My Fitness Coach and choose to do a Core workout, as the Sports Active is a bit deficient in that area.

Speaking of unlocking – there is nothing to unlock on the EA Sports Active game – everything is available for you to play – which is nice – no busting your butt only to be disappointed by what you have unlocked…KWIM.

The thing I really liked was being able to create your own custom workouts…not so much for myself but more for TW and PWG. While I can do a workout for 30 minutes – the little ones…not so much – remember they are 8 and have the attention span of a gnat. So it was very easy to make their own workout – they really enjoyed picking out what they wanted to do and I could keep it in a reasonable time frame.

No matter what type of workout you do Sports Active keeps track of both the time and calories burned throughout your workout. The calorie count is an estimated number, from some reviews from people who have worked out while wearing a monitor the calorie burn seems to be fairly accurate.

You do get a good workout from the EA Sports Active – I did break a sweat and my muscles felt it, especially on days mainly devoted to the lower half of my body. My sister, a very sports active fit individual, gave it a whirl and promptly declared it kicked her butt and mumbled something about squat kicks being the devils work.

I will say you will need to invest in a pair of bike shorts or pants that hug close to your body – the leg strap can chafe your skin (or course it could just me and the friction of my flabby thighs). The stretch band is fairly thin– for a beginner like me it is perfect – but for a more advanced person you may want to invest in a heavier band. Furthermore the band is thin – so if it gets a hole in it (like say for example from a cat taking a swipe at it while you are working out…) it can easily tear – so if you find an extra band (look for long physical therapy bands) go ahead and grab it…you should be able to attach the handles to a new band with no problem.

I adore my EA Sports Active and highly recommend it, especially if you are just starting out in attempting to get a bit healthier and get yourself moving more - There will be an addition available come November that promises more workouts, including core workouts and a 6 week challenge – I know what I will be asking Santa for Christmas.

Wii Fit Plus

Ok moving on to Wii Fit Plus. From what I can figure out there is no more basic Wii Fit…it is now Wii Fit Plus. If you don’t have a Balance Board yet and plan to buy one – make sure you buy the Wii Fit Plus package and not the Basic Wii Fit.

The Wii Fit plus is available as a package with the balance board for about $100 or stand alone for $20. The stand alone version is for those of us who already own the Balance Board.

If you have Wii Fit already when you put the Wii Fit Plus disk in it will go through an update and update your Wii Fit Channel to Wii Fit Plus. The Plus version has everything the Basic version has and more…

The big changes are in addition to keeping track of the time you spend it now also calculates calories burned. As with the Sports Active this is only a general estimate and your calorie burn could be higher or lower – but at least you can see an approximate amount – which is nice. At the end it will show you how many calories you burned and show you examples of what that calorie count corresponds to food wise…for example last night I burned about 143 calories…which corresponded to a glass of milk or 1 ounce of fudge…hummm which one to partake in…

The Plus version adds a few more yoga poses and a few more strength poses, but the big draw is the addition of 15 new “games” and they are FUN – they range from having to shake your hips to add numbers up to 10 (while doing this I was reminded of a naughty joke that ended with - nickel, nickel, quarter, dollar...but I digress) to using the balance board to drive a segway through the sand while trying to pop balloons to rhythm Kung Fu to making your Mii dressed as a chicken fly through the air by flapping your arms, and many more. So far my favorite new activity is the snowball toss…you aim to throw snowballs at other Mii’s while trying to avoid getting hit yourself – the really enjoyable part of this is the fact that while there are random Mii’s milling about it draws on the Mii’s set up in your system. I managed to cream TC, my sister and my dad with snowballs last night…must keep playing until my Mom’s Mii shows up.

Another upgrade to the Plus is the ability to challenge other people – up to 9 people can play at one time – play is done by taking turns as all the activities involve the use of the balance board. I really like this aspect as now the girls and I can play Wii Fit together rather than having to switch the Mii’s back and forth.

The last big upgrade is the ability to do preset workouts based on different goals and the ability to create your own workout. However, there are a few drawbacks to this area, when compared to a program like Sports Active. The preset workouts do combine yoga, strength training exercises along with a game activity here and there – in flipping through them last night I noticed most of them were fairly short in duration lasting less than 10 minutes each. In the custom workout area you are only limited to yoga and strength training – so if you want to put together a whole yoga workout or a whole strength training workout then this is a great feature. I only wish you could throw in an activity or two to break up the possible monotony of the workout.

When compared to the Sports Active the Wii Fit Plus falls short in the custom workout mode. This is my personal opinion – one of the big draws for me for the Active is having the (at some times boring) stretching and strength training activities broken up with a round of hitting baseballs or throwing basketballs…thereby making working out seem more like fun and not a chore that it can sometimes be.

There are a few little extras built in; such as being able to weigh a baby or your pet, the ability to choose right and left handed for some of the games, along with some educational information about exercise and calories.

But you all probably want to know what the bottom line is – is Wii Fit Plus worth the money????

YES…absolutely it is. If you don’t have Wii Fit already now is definitely the time to invest in the balance board (especially since more and more games are coming out that are Balance Board compatible) and Wii Fit Plus…and if you already have the Wii Fit – the $20 you spend for the upgraded Plus version is not a waste of money at all – I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent playing it last night and look forward to sharing it with PWG and TW tonight (after all the homework is done) in the multiplayer mode.

Note to myself: work out enough tonight so there is not so much guilt when you sit on the couch eating your Edy’s Tart Honey Frozen yogurt while you watch The Biggest Loser.

For working out and pushing myself – it is EA Sports Active all the way…on my Sports Active rest days or just to have some fun, while burning calories and putting some movement in my day I’ll be popping in the Wii Fit Plus…

The "S" word among other things

2009-09-25T08:30:00.001-04:00

You just have to love how the mind of the innocent works…

The other day TW and PWG were having an argument…before I could break it up I heard TW say “I’m going to tell mom”

Oh goody – I get a whole rehash of the argument is fast speaking 8yearoldese…

BUT this is what happened

TW: MOM…PWG said the “S” word
ME: really now, why did she say it?
TW: she was talking to Max (the cat)

At this point I am thinking of the “S” word and how could that be applied to the cat…the only thing I could come up with is maybe she called the cat “a little shit”???

The conversation continued

ME: what is the “S” word
TW: I can’t say it – it is bad
ME: It is Ok just tell me
TW: Ok – Sassy

Yes…my daughter thinks the “S” word is Sassy

Even though I attempt to shield them they have been exposed to sex situations and violence and inappropriate language, but yet at their core they have yet to be corrupted – I am giving myself a pat on the back.

Bonus Conversation

Aglet - An aglet or aiglet is a small plastic or metal sheath typically found on each end of a shoelace, cord or drawstring. An aglet keeps the fibers of the lace or cord from unraveling, plus its firmness and narrow profile makes it both easier to hold and easier to feed through the eyelets, lugs or other lacing guides.

While waiting in line at Moe’s last night

TW: Darn I broke my aglet
ME: What?
TW: My aglet (as she shows me she has infact broke her aglet from her skort drawstring)
ME: How do you know that is an aglet?
TW: Phineas and Ferb

Then about 30 seconds later

TW: See I learn important things by watching TV, maybe I should watch it more often…

Jekyll and Hyde

2009-09-18T09:13:00.003-04:00

Most of the time I adore TC…We have known each other for over 16 years, been together for 15 years now and will celebrate our 12th anniversary next month.

Life has had ups and downs…but one of the vows I did take was for better or for worse…albeit I do have limitations for the “worse” part – luckily though he has been a good boy…

But when you deal with the same person day after day, year after year some days are wonderful…other days not so much…

The other day TC decided to ~~play hooky~~ “take a mental health day” so I loaded up the girls dropped them off at school and headed to work…at one point during the day I called to ask him to throw the girls laundry in…he was taking a walk with the puppy and told me no problem…

When I called at 4:45 to tell him I was on my way home and did I need to pick up the kids his response:

“Nope I picked them up at 4, homework is done and they have been fed”

{knees go weak}

Cause those of us that have been cohabitating for awhile know the above is one of the best kind of Marriage porn…

But it gets better – I get home and find
- Kids were in fact fed and homework done
- Dishes done
- Numerous loads of laundry done
- Bathrooms cleaned
- Puppy tired out
- Kids in gymnastics clothes

Then……when I asked TC what he wanted for dinner I got:

“I am taking you out to dinner”

WTH – what the heck inhabited my husbands body…I don’t have to do anything and I am getting fed – whoooo hooooo

Later that evening I told him he had a lot of “credits” in my book…

But…..

He is a man and in one morning he managed to cash in all his credits in the space of 20 minutes…

This morning I woke up and when in the shower I noticed about 3 red raised areas that were slightly itchy…one on my belly and 2 on my legs…since the weather is nice we have been sleeping with the windows open…so I figured F’n mosquitoes…

I go downstairs to eat my breakfast of 2 delicious hardboiled eggwhites (fancy I know) – I tell TC I think I have some bug bites and lift my shirt as I take a bite of my egg…

He informs me we probably need to vacuum the room because he doesn’t think they are mosquito bites…but rather SPIDER bites…

At this point I was in the middle of swallowing a chunk of egg, which I promptly choked on…

Let me tell you people something…if someone (ME) has an extreme fear of spiders…a huge phobia about Satan’s lice…you NEVER, EVER tell them the bites they have on their body could be spider bites…NEVER

Luckily egg white is smushy and easily coughed up so TC didn’t have to say...

“I don’t know officer she was just eating an egg and then started choking”

That alone would have only used up about ¾ of the credits he had in my book…

BUT….

Normally we commute together for work – but I have a Dr. appointment this afternoon which forces us to drive separately…so he ups and leaves and says “bye”

2 minutes later from TW mouth….”Mommy I don’t feel good, I told Daddy and he gave me a pill”

Threw me under the bus….so I do the temp (FINE), check the breath for Strep throat (FINE), - she had a runny nose and a sore throat…so I gave her a Benadryl and told her to rest…20 minutes later (and after one angry voice message left on TC phone) she was feeling better and off to school we went…

Last ¼ credits – GONE…..

a sneek peek of Christmas....

2009-09-15T08:40:00.006-04:00

So I saw THIS beautiful binded book over at Danielle's site Fat Cat Stamper - (go check out her work - FAB-U-LOUS)

Anyway I loved the look of her book and said hummm....I would love to do something similar - so here is my version....

Paper - Dashing (SU-retired), Vanilla (SU) Real Red (SU) Old Olive (SU)
Main Stamps- Season of Joy (SU), Merry and Bright (SU) Joy stamp (unknown)
Accessories - Binding Machine Scallop Punch (SU), Round Tab Punch (SU), flower stickers, Rhinestones

I spent the weekend getting my crafting area back into shape - so I can actually find stuff and not having to spend half my time looking for things to complete projects...

Coach Jenni - NOT

In another note...I am NOT the coach - upon arriving at the field on Saturday morning and being called "Coach Jenni" I was overtaken by about 6-7 dads...who fluttered around the field like a moth to a flame helping thier daughters to catch and hit and throw...I attempted to help TW with the catching and throwing, to th ebest of my ability with a bum shoulder, and was told I was throwing "too girly" - yes my 8 year old thinks I throw too girly...

and lastly I leave you with this conversation

TW: Can I have some dark Chocolate M&M's
ME: Yes you can have 5 or 6 of them
TW: can I have 10?
ME: NO
TW:Come on, I know you are a better mommy than that...

Really pitting my esteem as a mommy for a few extra M&M's...just for that I told her she could have none...suddenly 5-6 M&M's seemed like the perfect amount...

Coach Jenni? - Oh Hella NO

2009-09-11T10:29:00.001-04:00

Back-story – in our household we are trying something new – TW is playing Fall softball this fall…PWG has chosen not to…since this is the first time I haven’t had the girls doing the same thing this is all sort of new for me…

So last night while listening to my voice messages I came across an interesting one…

“Hey Mrs. M this is Jay Diggs* - I am the manager for your daughters softball team. I have it down here that you are the coach so I wanted to get in touch and form a game plan.”

Ummm excuse me – what the heck did you say…me coach??

I was a little confusing seeing as I had received a call 2 days earlier from “Coach Ed” informing me that TW would be on his team and practice starts this Sat at 8am…ok all well and good for us…

So of course I immediately called Mr. Diggs to straighten everything out…turns out they added another team to the roster and moved TW to that team – Team Cardinal – and somehow my name was attached as the coach…

WTH – so I did my best to keep my cool and explained to Mr. Diggs that I was asked at the time we signed TW up if I would consider being a coach…I said NO…and growing up in the 80’s, watching all those afterschool specials - we all know NO means NO…I did say I would be happy to be a parent liason or "help out"…you know hand out snacks, use my Mean Mommy voice to keep a dozen little girls with bats in line, throw a ball or two during practice…but coach…no

You see I am NOT a leader – I don’t like making decisions – sure I am more than happy to put my 2 cents in – but actually LEADING…making the final decisions…having people count on me…ummm nope – BUT I am happy to be your “Everything else but lead” – ask me to do something – consider it done…need 27 cloud shapes cut out before morning – done…need snacks and drinks for the brownie meeting - done….need 320 names and addresses inputted into an excel spreadsheet and labels printed out – done and done….

Now add in the fact that right now it looks like I won’t even be able to make 2 of the games, including the all important 1st game (bad mommy I know…this is why some wonderful person invented the video recorder…lessens the guilt of parents everywhere – just like being there – albeit in the comfort of your own home, sitting in the smushy recliner, instead of sitting on a hard bench freezing your ass off) me as coach would not be a good idea…

So after talking with Mr. Diggs for a while – I AM NOT THE COACH…Whew…I do believe though in our discussion I may have offered up my next born to get out of that position…but whatever I’m not the coach…and in the end that is all that really matters

*names have been changed to protect the innocence (actually I forgot his name…)

1st Crafty Post...

2009-09-09T09:05:00.003-04:00

Ok, ok so I took it from my "other" blog...but you have 2 posts in one day...

Last year was the first time I actually made something for Halloween and it is addicting...

So for today I give you...

A fun BOO book....

Covers are 4x4 medium weight coasters covered by some Halloween paper that caught my eye ...rest of the paper is Stampin' Up! Whisper White and Lovely Lilac.

BOO is done with Stampin' Up! BIG DEAL alphabet (retired) using Pumpkin Pie ink and the EYES...those delicious large Googly EYES...from a big bag of googly eyes...that I got at a $1 store...a huge bag of eyes for $1...really you can't beat that

Inside pages are 3.75x3.75 with rounded corners...in colors of Pumpkin Pie, Green Galore and Lovely Lilac

I used my binding machine with a 3/8 O wire to bind it all up and tied various ribbons from my stash...

Keep checking back...more to come...

Still alive...

2009-09-09T08:45:00.002-04:00

Yes I am still alive - thought I dropped off the face of the earth didn't ya...

Summer has been a busy time for me...lots of soul searching and decisions about if I could even keep up this blog and if I did take the time to do it does anyone really care?

My decision......I am going to keep at it - will I blog every day - nope - but I do promise to try and do something at least once a week...

I have also made the decision to combine this my "personal" blog - with my more crafty blog - so for those of you coming to read about the exploits of myself and my family - there will still be posts about that...but those will be intermingled with posts about my other side...my "try to be" crafty side.

Over the next few days I will be reposting some of the posts from my crafty blog here...I will also try to intermingle a story or two from my daily walks of life...not that it is all that exciting...

Over the next few weeks I will be making some tweaks and changes to the blog - chances are a new banner will appear one day...links on the side will be added...some maybe taken away.

I am hoping these changes will be positive in nature - allow myself to show a bit of my crafty side to others...why still sharing the trial and tribulations of a working mom with twins and a third child :)

My Fat Ass Review - My Fitness Coach for Wii

2009-02-11T09:01:00.007-05:00

Thought I might do a review of the My Fitness Coach by Ubisoft for the Wii...You can find it at leading retailers - like Best Buy and Target and on-line at places like Amazon for about $20.

I have been using it about 3-4x's per week and I really like it alot - for $20 I will say I have gotten my money's worth...

To begin you set up your profile - which includes you measuring various parts of your body (not so pretty) and entering your weight, doing exercises to determine your resting and active heart rate and checking your flexibility.

From there it asks what your goal is...be it strength, toning, flexibility or mine (obviously) Weight Loss...and allows you to set up a workout scheduale for the week

You have the opportunity to imput what extra equipment you may have that the program can incorporate into the workouts - Yoga Ball, Hand Weights, Step and Heart Monitor.

I did get a yoga ball, a set of 3 lb hand weights and a step (got that for a trade for some cards from a friend of mine) - so I will say I have spent an additional $20 or so $$.

Personally, I think you definately need a step - I love the exercises they do that encorporates the step...before I got my real one I was using the Wii balance board - but the real one is higher and I don't have to worry about stepping to hard on the real one vs the Wii Balance Board. Most every workout I have done has encorporated exercises using the step - obviously if you don't have a step you won't be doing those exercises...

Yoga ball don't really NEED.... BTW I bought the cheapest one they had at Target - about $10 works great - so far my fat ass hasn't popped it - but it is nice to have - I have enjoyed the exercises that have encorporated the ball but there have only been a few so IMO it is not as vital as the Step...

Handweights are nice to have but like the yoga ball you don't really NEED them...but you can pick up a set of 3lb or 5 lb ones for under $10... I will actually use them even when the program doesn't have you using them...sometimes they will have a "plie with row" - I grab those weights and row away.

For the workouts you get to choose your music and location - if you stick to your workout schedule the more workouts you do the more locations and music you unlock...but be forwarned...the first unlock comes at 3 days...so you do the 3 days you have scheduled and you unlock a place and music - the second comes at 7 days...BUT if you miss a schedualed workout you go back to square one...I did 6 schedualed workouts and missed the 7th one and now I have to start all over working to unlock the next location/music...but I have gotten wise to the program and have been "adjusting" my workout scheduale - for example I had it set to 15 minutes for Mon, Tues, Wed and Thursday...but I have something on Thursday evening so last night I went in and "adjusted" my schedule and took out Thursday...I want to unlock that next location/music - dammit

The workouts are great and have a nice variety to them - you are led by Mia - who is a little too perky for my taste...although she does through some sarcasm in there from time to time and I like that in a person (real or not...) - It is not like a DVD or a tape where you are doing the same workout over and over again. I have tried DVD's before and after 3-4 times I am just plain bored...

It does work out your whole body for the most part...I have aching leg muscles to prove it...

There are a few things I can't do - I have bad ankles so i can't have a lot of sudden impact so things like jogging are out for me - I just march in place instead of jogging (something that has one foot on the floor)...and other things....well I am just not coordinated enough to do - like I can skip up...but skipping back would probably land me in the ER...so I just hustle up and back...

I do different arm movements sometimes - pushups...no can do - so I do something different while Mia does her thing - but I keep moving...I do feel muscles where I haven't before and it does get my heart rate up -

There are a few different things you can do
Yoga (different yoga poses)
Cardio (mainly moving around with some spot toning towards the end of the session)
Upper Body (focuses on your arms and back)
Lower Body (legs)
Core (mid section...lots of different crunches usually)
Flexibility (like Cardio with more stretching/yoga involved)

My goal is 4 x's per week - with one day of Cardio, one upper, one lower and one core...although last time I did core they had me doing crunches while on the ball...OWWW my abs the next day I could feel them everytime I moved...

But even when you choose say Upper - like I did last night - I was still doing lots of squats and lunges in the exercises so my legs got a workout too - along with like a bajjion bicep curls.

The program will give you rest periods and give you an opportunity to let the program know if you find the sections easy, hard or just right and will adjust the program for you...so be prepared that for a 30 minute session - it will actually take 35-36 minutes to get all the way through it.

You can set your time - in 15 minute increments - 15, 30, 45 etc... i usually do 30 minutes because that is all I have time for during the week - I usually do it after dinner and it carries me through the night...but you can do things back to back - say 15 minutes on Upper and then do a 15 minute Lower.

If you are advanced in your workouts and are one of those people who belong to an actual gym and can wear spandex without embarrassment this probably isn't the program for you - but if you have limited time on your hands and want to do some basic workouts that will get you moving without being in a room full of people and mirrors then the My Fitness Coach might be just what you are looking for...

Need a young lad with good hands...

2008-12-09T07:58:00.005-05:00

get yer mind out of the gutter...

I have a problem - the problem is that I am stuck...

Stuck in what you say - a funk...no - the mud...no - a rut....no

I am freakin stuck on Raving Rabbid -

I mean it was bad enough when I couldn't drown the little suckers with carrot juice fast enough.

Heck that took me a good 75 minutes to finally drown the suckers to move on...

and don't even get me started about trying to slam the doors - that one was well over the 2 hour mark...stupid bunnies

But riding the stupid warthogs are doing me in - I spent an HOUR last night trying to ride them - Oh I can ride but just not fast enough - you have to do it in 1:45 - the lowest I got was just under the 2 minute mark... and this was not the first time I have tried...no more like the 4th or 5th time...

and the thing is I can't move on until I ride the stupid warthogs...so I am destined to repeated the same games in a Groundhog Day motion again and again (although the level I am stuck on I get to beat the stuffing out of a Rabbid with a hammer...gets the frustrations out) until one day I either ride the stupid warthog within the time or I get so frustrated the Raving Rabbid gets run over multiple times...

At this point I am not above cheating...be it finding some cheat codes on-line or paying some young lad with nimble fingers to ride my warthog :)

let my mistake help you...

2008-12-06T19:40:00.005-05:00

if perhaps you have a new cell phone - and let's just say you experiment with some different rings tones...and let's just go a little further and say you have choosen "Baby got Back" as your new ring tone...

If you are sitting in church doing a reconciliation (you Catholics will know what I'm talking about) project it is best and actually wise to either change your ring tone - or best yet - mute the sucker...

Nothing like a moment of silent prayer interrupted by "I like big butts and I can not lie..."

I sooooooo wanted to say - "well maybe God likes a little junk in the trunk..." but I wisely bit my lip

Caught up in the FACEBOOK web...

2008-12-05T09:55:00.004-05:00

So a number of weeks ago I jumped on the Facebook bandwagon...it has been great to find out what people have been up to since high school and college. Some things have been very surprising to learn.

The thing is someone (Scott or Shar I can't think who started it) started putting up old pictures from college...and it spured many of us on to post our own old pictures and with it came back lots and lots of memories - especially fun when you don't even remember the situation.

So I have put up some of my own old pictures and went looking the other night for more and learned two things

The digital revolution is a wonderful thing...I have a ton of pictures where it is too dark or too blurry or someone turned at the wrong moment - or best yet pictures of the same thing taken multiple times in order to get the picture "right". Although looking back at some of the times I had in college I am thinking while gladd for the digital revolution...very glad it wasn't around during my college days...by the time things got too freaky or wacked I was usually out of film...

Really what the hell was up with my style...some pictures from 15 years ago I look great (and those are definately the ones I am posting to FB) - but some pictures...some pictures it looks like a band of New Jersians held me down and styled my hair while the Before pictures from "What Not to Wear" threw up on my body...big hair and bad clothes...that was my 1990's

i'mmmmmmmmm BACK!!!!!

2008-11-18T11:33:00.003-05:00

yes it is me....arisen from the pile of sawdust and scraps that the renovation has provided and slowly things are coming together.

The last little bit of the kitchen renovation is almost done...just 3 more things need to be done

Panel addition on the end of one of the cabinets
cutlary drawer installed (cabinet didn't arrive with it as ordered)
fix the kitchen faucet

That last one - fix the kitchen faucet - well this is our 2nd faucet we have - the first one didn't work - well it worked but for some reason you could only get either hot or cold water out of it - depending on which way you switched the hoses - after my contractor placed calls to a plumbing place, a plumber and to Koehler directly the outcome was we got a bum faucet and to take it back to where we bought it - so we did and I ordered a Mac-Daddy Delta faucet from on-line...

Got it - installed it - hot water, cold water, warm water....that's all good...what is bad is that it has no pressure...the water dribbles out - so my contractor is suppose to bring over a master plumber to take a look at it...this doens't surprise me - as we have also already had 2 visits from the from the GE repairman for our brand new fridge...stupid icemaker....and the fancy instahot I wanted - damn tank didn't fit under my sink - so we had to go to the basic shiny chrome and black plastic model...

one day....one day everything will be in proper working order - but I must admit the renovation is spectacular and I look forward to using my new kitchen and my new 3 seasons room for YEARS to come...

Want to take a peek - then just click HERE

still alive...

2008-09-24T07:44:00.002-04:00

some of you have my e-mail address and for the second time in a week I received an e-mail asking if I am alive...

I am - just buried under the house renovations - yeah...that promise to never paint again...I spent 3 hours last night painting my laundry room a color called Junebug...wrong name for the paint it should really be "1986 Neon Green Hue # 3" - oh well at least I will be able to see what I am doing by the glow of the walls

Renovations are going along great - I should have some pictures posted by the end of the week.

Work training....let's just say if you ever have any desire to learn about the Radial tire and how it came to be - ask me and prepare to be bored....

oh and one of my friends sent me a link to join Facebook - so I did...bad bad bad decision...another thing to waste time on....

gotta go and read more about tires...joy

Bad Blogger...bad bad blogger....

2008-09-02T11:10:00.002-04:00

Yeah I know - life is hectic and busy and full of crap...even more so when you are renovating...

When you say to yourself while in the middle of a renovation...

"Self you could save a few bucks if you do this project yourself"

DON'T LISTEN...seriously just don't....

So this past holiday weekend - DH and I decided to tackle the downstairs guest bathroom...really shouldn't have been so hard - new paint, a new sink and a new faucet...yeah well....

The room did get painted - along with lots of swear words tumbling from my mouth...and the sentence to TC "whatever we are paying the painters to paint upstairs is worth every single penny...I am NEVER painting again"

My thought was to put molding around the top...so we went to Lowes and picked it out...and well now I need to find a cool, funky border because cutting angles just ain't TC's thing....

And moving onto the sink...we got it sort of put together...well we got the faucet on the new pedastal sink...the sink however is still in two pieces in the garage...I have a distinct feeling that we will be having our contractor install the sink as orginally planned...

Painters are coming next week to paint our upstairs - the master bedroom, Rec Room and upstairs hallway...got all my craft crap out of my bedroom and actually sold my desk...now to start moving all the crap in the Rec Room...we have to have everything away from the walls - which wouldn't be such a bad thing if half the walls weren't covered by heavy bookcases filled with books, knick, knacks and other assorted junk...

Slowly but surely the renovation is moving along...

We have been taking some pictures - hope to post some soon...

On a sad note - my girls started SECOND grade this morning...seriously SECOND grade - they are growing up way way way to fast for me.....{sniff, sniff}

I am alive...barely...

2008-08-27T08:57:00.003-04:00

thought I would pop in for a second and let my faithful readers (ha ha ha) know I am not dead...

when I have more time I will write more but just to give you an idea of what the last 10 days have been like...

Head to Fl for vacation
Go to the beach on Monday and despite putting on 40 SPF sunblock turn into a giant boiled lobster
Have a huge Tropical Storm hit while you are there
Have said Tropical Storm basically stall out right where you are staying - dumping 24 inches of rain.
Try to escape Tropical Storm and flood your car causing you to get out and push it in knee deep water to some strange persons house and leave car
Wait in white couch and Tchocki hell till the rain stops to see if your car even will start up
Take lots of pictures as water creeps closer and closer to the house
Thank god I brought perfume and a big canister of wet ones since the sewer flooded and we can only use "minimal" water (nevermind we can't really flush the toilets...ewwww)
Have car not start up
Have car towed and be told that most likely the engine is ruined based on what they have seen so far
Tell TC I have PMS
Have first Tchocki "murder"...poor clown with monkey - TW states it is an accident...has to go up in front of a judge (aka great grandma)
Cry as insurance company tells you if engine is damaged most likely they would total your car because it is old and has lots of miles on it
Cry tears of joy when repair place tells us all they had to do was drain the engine and change the oil and that it was a miracle we didn't sustain full engine damage
ESCAPE Florida
On way home from FL find out BIL, SIL and three kids are coming to our house for a visit - ASAP...
cry, cry, cry as it is Wed and BIL, SIL and said three kids are still at our home

Yeah our vacation was an adventure all right...one I would like not to repeat - EVER...

Wham Bam Thank You Madam'

2008-08-11T14:51:00.003-04:00

yep a quickie...

Life has been very very hectic - between regular summer stuff...recouperating from my surgery (I am still learning to take it slow because when I don't I HURT)...house renovations...planning for our vacation...

so it might be a little while before you see another post...we have 101 million little things to do before we leave for vacation...and uberplanner me is even letting this vacation slide...right now this is the plan

Friday evening - pack the car and drive return the following Saturday...

we really have no concrete plans other than to drive to FL, stay at my grandmothers for a few days and drive back...when will we get to FL??? When will we leave FL??? - who knows...we are hoping to stop in Savannah for a night...will we stop on the way down or on the way back...your guess is as good as mine...I figure as long as we have a credit card, enough clean underwear and our toothbrushes we are up for an adventure...

such is life...it's too short not to have an adventure every once in a while

I survived....

2008-08-01T13:47:00.002-04:00

So I had my surgery last Friday and I am all fixed now…the Dr. stated that he does think it is that darn scar endometrioma – which would in fact put me in a rare group – since only 0.01 – 0.03% of women who have had a hysterectomy or a C-section wind up with this “situation”

Is it really bad of me to say “It’s because of you” when my girls ask “Why does your belly hurt mommy?” - I mean because if we are being honest here…it is because of them…well…really now I guess it goes back to TC fault really because

TC = sex = 2 fetuses (would that be feti??) = there is no way in hell 2 babies are passing through my va-jay-jay in the same day = C-section = scar endometrioma

Anyway I got a whole days rest, a new toilet and some kick-ass drugs out of the whole thing so I will call it a wash right now…

And no I am not currently under the spell of the kick-ass drugs…I did in fact write A NEW TOILET…

You see apparently when I go to a hospital my parents buy me a new plumbing fixture…

When I was in the hospital on bedrest while pregnant I came home to a brand new Insta-hot…

***Tanget – for those who don’t know what an Insta-hot is – it is a unit that goes with your sink so that when you push the lever you have instant hot water – it is one of those things that you can live without until you live with it…then it becomes a MUST HAVE item…I actually grew up with one in my house and when my mom came for a visit while I was in the hospital in pre-term labor she stood at the sink and asked TC where our Insta-hot was…ummm we don’t have one…well…later that day guess what my dad and TC tried to install….yes an insta-hot…and well 3 weeks, one electrician visit and a $150 fee it was properly hooked up :)

Anyway on Thursday night my parents, TC and I were talking – my dad got up and went to the bathroom and came back…the conversation went something like this…

Dad: When you are doing the remodel are you getting a new toilet?
Me: nooo why?
Dad: cause your toilet is sort of low and for us older folks it is sort of hard to crouch…
Me: STOP…images…bad bad images….stop talking please
Dad: I’m just saying a higher toilet would be nice
Me: Well stick a bow on one and leave it under my Christmas Tree

So off we go to the hospital on Friday morning at 6am for my surgery…yes 6 am…actually more like 5:50 because TC wanted to stop for coffee…yes he is so nice…let’s drink coffee in front of the woman who can’t eat or drink anything and has a hard-on for caffeine…I should have expected no less from the man who chowed down on fried chicken in front of his wife while she was in preterm labor for 10 hours and was not allowed to eat anything heavier than occasional ice chips.

Anyway – surgery went well and it turns out I was my surgeons last patient EVER…yep he retired as of last Friday afternoon – when was I told this – right before getting the sleepy juice…I just hope he saved his best work for last and wasn’t like…well shit I’m never going to be doing this again let’s just go the basic route…

Anyway got back home and got into bed and passed back out for a while…then I was awoken by loud banging…opened one eye and saw my mother…

Me: - what in gods name are they doing down there
Mom: Don’t take the lords name in vain
Me: it’s the drugs talking
Mom: They are installing the new toilet
Me: what??? (pass out again)

So now I don’t have a thing in my belly and I don’t have to crouch as much in my downstairs bathroom…

Next time they come I am going to set up the 13” TV for them to watch…maybe then I can have this conversation with my dad

Dad: Are you going to get a bigger TV
Me: nooo why?
Dad: cause your TV is sort of small and for us older folks it is sort of hard to watch the good parts of Real Sex on HBO…
Me: STOP…images…bad bad images….stop talking please
Dad: I’m just saying a bigger TV would be nice
Me: Well stick a bow on one and leave it under my Christmas Tree

Renovation News....

I am sure you all are waiting for updates with baited breath...

Guys came on Wed and put in my new storage cubbies and desk area in the rec room - I forgot to take a before picture...but I will be taking after pictures...and on Thursday they dug holes for the new piers that will support the three-season room...so next step is to get the holes inspected by the county and get the piers built and then they will be off building up the 3 season room...

In so much trouble.....

2008-07-24T10:01:00.004-04:00

ok first - PERMITS have been pulled!!!! My renovation is underway...

We are meeting with the contractor today so he can introduce us to his guys that work with him and give him our first payment...

I am hoping things go fairly quickly from this point on...I guess I need to get my booty in gear and take a bunch of before pictures...

Secondly...OMG crafting is going to kill me financially - I swear...first off the fabric store I like to frequent has been receiving some new fabric...and it is beautiful....

They have CUPCAKE fabric...how freakin' cute is that....

I am so going to make myself a cute little purse out of that fabric....must not let the little ones see or else I will probably loose it fast....

and then this fabric...OH...what a great fall purse it would make

with this as the inside lining

or another option

and then there are the GNOMES - GNOMES people - cute GNOME STAMPS at Odd-Bird Planet - but I have to wait to see the whole line :( but just take a look at the sneak peek

you can check out her great other whimsical stamps at Odd-Bird Planet

I must have GNOMES!!!!!

question....at what point does a passing fancy become an obsession??? I mean am I goner because I have started to stalk the clearance garden gnomes at Target and other places... (not all for myself...as I like to give gnomes as presents...cause ya'know - every home needs a gnome)

BTW - wish me luck - I undergo my "abdominal mass" surgery tomorrow...I am stocked up - I have a bunch of books from the library to read...I have my favorite Tea-bags and Lipton Extra Noodle soup ready to go for TC to make for me...and I have a box of Starbuck Chai Tea chocolates hidden away in my nightstand drawer -

normally I wouldn't spend so much for a small box of chocolates but then again it isn't every day you get sliced open - right???

Two words - DRAG BRUNCH

2008-07-21T13:17:00.003-04:00

yep drag brunch...

Where you can get a delicious plate of french toast with sauteed bananas while watching drag queens strut their stuff...

and that my friends was my Sunday morning

How was yours?

at least i have one more thing to cross off my Bucket List :)

Am I the only one who has a kid that is a freak?

2008-07-18T10:43:00.000-04:00

SO TW can not wait to go back to school….

She has me marking each day off as we get closer and closer to Sept 2nd.

She whines and cries about how far away it is and can’t the summer hurry up so she can go back to school.

I bought her a summer workbook – full of math and science and language arts designed for kids going into 2nd grade…she is almost done with it.

This morning she asked if I could print her off some math worksheets for the weekend.

MATH WORKSHEETS…

What does PWG think of all this…she thinks TW is nuts too.

Just another typical Friday night...

2008-07-14T08:28:00.003-04:00

Scene: Master Bedroom @ about 9pm

Me: Oh my God…that was amazing

TC: I know who knew that was possible

It is not what you think…let me play the conversation before those lines…

Me: You know we used to be cool people

TC: Yep

Me: We used to go out and party all night – hang out at the bar with our friends

TC: Yep

Me: Play some pool…you would play darts (I wish I could have played too but I was banned after and unfortunate incident involving a pitcher of Kamikazes, 2 darts and someone’s bare ass cheek)

TC: Yep

Me: We would dance like crazy fools all night…

{imagine me doing a little white girl shuffle while singing “Come On Eileen”}

TC: Yep

Me: and then we would leave the bar and stop at the deli on the way home and grab a Kevin Costner (turkey, tomatoes and alfalfa sprouts) and a big kosher pickle

TC: and then we had sex…

Me: Those were the days…now it is 9 pm on a Friday night and we are sitting in bed watching ‘When Animals Attack 2”

TC: we could still have that sex part

Me: Then we would miss the guy getting his head bit by the alligator

TC: you do have a point

Umm yeah I love going to the In-laws...

2008-07-07T07:51:00.002-04:00

so very NOT!!!!

That is not to say I dislike my in-laws...separately they are very nice people...

Together - well imagine the Constanzas from Seinfield and the Barones from Everybody Loves Raymond had children....those children would be in in-laws...

the best conversation of the weekend was

MIL: Sometimes you are such a Baby

FIL: Sometimes you are an Asshole

Yes my FIL called my MIL an asshole...my SIL and I gave each other the look of "Did he really just call MIL an asshole???"

yes...yes he did

and how did the argument start...over the proper way to dry the dishes...

joy

and on to the colors....

2008-07-01T13:54:00.003-04:00

OK so i have to pick out colors...this is what I have...

My 1st floor is very open without a lot of closed off "rooms" - right now we have a front sitting room (suppose to be a dining room) that is painted in the color dillweed (I must admit the name played a big part in chooseing the color - come on Dill Weed) - we are keeping this color

the rest of the house is a very very very light tan color and up stairs it is still builder off-white...

so our plan is to leave the sitting room the green dillweed color and paint the rest of the downstairs and upstairs hallway - Stone house

Except one accent wall (couch is up against it) will be in Rust

we also plan on painting the downstairs bathroom Rust too

Our bedroom we are thinking - Waterfall

we have a cathedrial ceiling in our bedroom with cherry color and satin nickel furniture - figured I would accent with chocolate brown (i.e. try and find a quilt with brown and similar colored blue)

and for our rec- room which also has a higher ceiling (not as high as our bedroom and it is a fairly large room - 2 car garage big)...something a little bright and cheery but fun and funky too - Summer Lime - soft yellow with just a hint of green???

What do you think...

P.S. - 25 more hours till I get to pick out my new cabinets...... {squeal}

2.5 more days....

2008-06-30T09:35:00.005-04:00

til I get to pick out my new kitchen cabinets...

Now I have told you before that basically my new kitchen is like PORN to me...

Give me a Kraftmaid cabinet book and I am one SAT-IS-FIED individual...

So we meet on Wed afternoon - cabinets here...drawers there...

High back pull-outs....keep talking
Dual Trashcan Storage...oh baby
Pull out tray divider....YES....oh YES
Divided cutlery drawer....that's the spot...keep going
Dual Lazy Susan...yes yes yes yes yes yes
Flip out spice rack .....{high pitched gurgle}

and I'm spent....

Hopefully I can control myself during the planning...cause if I can't I'll leave "happy" in more ways than one...

Oh and the other day TC pushed me OVER the edge...I have been jonesing for a nice big Kitchen Aid mixer for oh about 14 years now...the cost has been too prohibitive - and TC has complained about the cost so I have tucked it away to the point where I just have learned to deal with my handheld mixer...well appearently TC learned that some of the models of the Kitchen Aid mixer allows for a meat grinder attachment... so let's see...TC is a hunter...who has a freezer full of deer meat...and likes homemade sausage...

If I am remembering it correctly it went something like this

"when you buy the Kitchen aid mixer make sure it is the model that can have the meat grinder attachment"

what....WHEN YOU BUY....

hells bells babies...I'm getting a new mixer, I'm getting a new mixer....

how sad that is all it takes to get me excited...

It's just a stinkin' dishwasher

2008-06-26T13:22:00.002-04:00

Sorry I haven’t written lately – been up to my eyeballs in going-ons…

In addition to meeting with a general surgeon about the "unknown mass" that is currently in my lower abdoman and finally getting my sister married off last weekend with only a few minor problems (well ok some not so minor...like the caterer running out of food...to the tune of running out and still having 30 people not served yet...needless to say my parents aren't paying for ANY of the food...darn good thing they had a free-flowing open bar)

Last week we finally met with our contractor with his final budget numbers…looked at our wallet and said – no can do…so for the 132nd time our plans are being revised….

Goodbye breakfast nook addition…hello Three Season Room on current Deck area…

All well and good you say…

Yes and no.

See revising our plans means we now have breathing room in our budget…it means we are a good chunk of change below our budget…and here is the kicker – everything is a flat rate…so no surprises for us, meaning for our Three Season Room it will cost is X amount…no more no less…

Having breathing room in our budget is not a good thing…because I look around and think – well since we have extra room in our budget let’s do this and this and this…all little piddly things – like replacing the vanity in the girls bathroom, changing out the god –awful white and gold ceiling fan in our room, creating some shelves from dead space in our rec. room.

It means decisions…and now that we have extra $$$ floating around in our budget I am starting to rethink my appliance choices…

See the only thing I really cared about was my range…I am getting the mamma-jamma GE Profile double oven range…but the rest – the fridge and the dishwasher – as long as they were stainless I didn’t care…so I choose the lower end GE French door fridge…hey does it keep food cold – then that is fine with me…and for the dishwasher I choose a basic GE dishwasher…not the cheapest out there but not one that costs 1K either…

But now I wonder…maybe I’ll see how expensive the next model fridge is (which really only has a few differences – like they give you a wire can holder and the drawers on the side have clear fronts instead of all white plastic…) and then I started looking at dishwashers – thinking maybe I’ll go up to the next level…

Do you know how many stinken’ models of dishwashers GE has…really now...FORTY-SIX different stainless steel models of dishwashers...there really should be a law...each manufacturer should only have like 4 models available... $400, $700, $1000 and the I don't care what it costs because I light my candles using $100 bills...that way I can say give me the $700 and be done with it...in the price range I am looking at there are no less than 16 different models...oh the humanity...

In a few days I will be in a padded room and Dr’s will come by and ask “What happened to her” and all TC will be able to say is “I don’t know she keeps mumbling “dishwashers…dishwashers””

The real fun will begin next week when we kick off the plans with the all important “picking out the cabinets”…yes we are meeting with the cabinet guy and supposedly he can plot our measurements and we get to go to town…TC is coming with me – I’ll pretend to let him have a say but come on now…we all know I will be making all the choices…we did pick out the door style and color...well I picked it out and made it seem like TC had a choice - cause really after 14 years together you learn these sorts of things...how to make the man think it was his idea or decision...

So once we pick out the cabinets - what is going where, what pull out of other special features we want... we can set a timeline for the rest of the project so I am not without a kitchen for 3 months…

Oh yeah…during the middle of all of this I am scheduled to have surgery…on my abdomen. If everything goes alright I should only be down and out for about 4-5 days after the surgery but won’t be able to really pick anything up for 3-6 weeks – joy…So I will be busting my ass for the next 3 weeks to make a blitz through my house to get everything picked up and basically packed away before my house turns into a construction wasteland…and since we are redoing all the floors on the first level – this means EVERYTHING on the first floor has to be packed up…

Oh yeah and we plan to have pretty much every wall except for the girls room and the guest room painted…so we have to move everything away from the rec room walls (including a huge computer desk and a huge bookcase) and our Master bedroom (bed, dressers and oh yeah my ENTIRE craft area…)

So pray…pray that I make it through the surgery with flying colors and that I don’t have a mental break because I can’t decide which ceiling fan I like better.

As gas goes up....

2008-06-17T10:32:00.003-04:00

my spending has become more frugal...of course we are getting ready to revamp our whole downstairs as well...so I have to become even more frugal.

I haven't always been great with money - saving and all that...then I saw an Ultrasound that had 2 babies on it...something like that wakes you up fast.

Last year my goal was to really set a GOOD budget for my family - to insure we had some money to pay the bills...some money to save away...and some money to have fun with.

A friend of mine passed along a great budget worksheet a few years ago and I haphazardly used it - then about a year ago I got strict and really sat down to figure out just where our money was going...and why we never seemed to "get ahead" when it came time to pay our credit card bills...don't get me wrong we were doing well when it came time to pay our credit card and we could pay the amount due but there would still be a few hundred $$ on it from charging for the current month...

My goal was that at then end of the month ALL bills would be paid - including the credit card in full...so that means if I pay the credit card on the 20th of each month then I have 0 balance on the 21st...

I found out a few things...like I figured our grocery bills were about $350...but they were closer to $400...that I wasn't factoring in the one night a week pizza/Chinese food/Mcdonalds - which was adding up to about $60 a month....the girls had started school and while the daycare bill was lower I was handing out $10 for this and $5 for that during the month for things for school...another $50 or so I hadn't accounted for...never mind a qucik trip or two to Target at about $30 a pop...so what i found was that over the course of a month I wasn't accounting for about $400 ... a nice chunk of change.

So I sat down and did out a budget...factoring in when certain bills fell and what months we might have "extra" breathing room in our budget...

Within 5 months we were credit card debt free...meaning at the end of the month all bills were paid up in FULL...nothing hanging over our heads for the next month... and better yet watching what we spent has in turn made us more frugal and we have actually managed to boost our savings quite a bit in the past 6 months...

So I am passing along the budget worksheet for you to use - it is totally customizable - put in your own numbers (oh how I wish that was our monthly income) and your own catagories...I try to account for everything during the month...but I don't plan out every little $ to a catagory because we all know things come up during a month and the flexabiliy allows me to add categories and budget items when needed (see the Goodyear bill category...)

Hope you find it useful - click on the link and choose download file...BTW it is an excel file so you will need excel to open it...It is safe :)

SIMPLE BUDGET WORKSHEET

A night in my life...

2008-06-13T15:44:00.001-04:00

So last night TC went to bed early at about 9:30…I settled onto the couch after making yet another batch of chocolate starfish pops for my sisters upcoming wedding…only 2 more batches to go – yeah me…

So about 10:30 I see our dog Murphy “playing” with something out of the corner of my eye…I sort of see where it goes up in the air and then she catches it – I think nothing of it thinking she is playing with her ball…then she lays down and I hear noise…but not the squeak, squeak noise of her ball…

I get up off the couch to take a better look and see a big fat dead bird on my floor…

I scream which causes Murphy to snatch the bird up into her mouth and stand her ground…

I scream some more…and yell “TC…TC…TC” and TC isn’t coming – so I run up the stairs and scream some more…

TC finally wakes up and stomps downstairs…

TC: Geesh it is just a dead bird
ME: It is sooo disgusting and gross
TC: You could have picked up and thrown it away
ME: OH NO…I don’t touch anything dead except humans…and I get paid to do that

After the bird was disposed of I turned to TC and…

ME: nice to know if I was being attacked you would wake up and come to my rescue
TC: I would have woken up if Murphy was barking – why didn’t Murphy bark
ME: ummmm because her mouth was full of dead bird

And through all the screaming and carrying on the girls never woke up…crap something else they have inherited from TC…

Note to self: Try not to get attacked in own home when everyone else is asleep…

is the week over yet???

And yet the week isn’t over yet….

2008-06-12T10:39:00.002-04:00

So last time I wrote I was without air conditioning and we had already been through 2 days of RECORD heat with more to come…

So Friday TC and I dropped the girls off at Girl Scout camp for the weekend after coming home early to meet with an HVAC guy…and excitedly ran out of the camp when the girls barely acknowledged our existence when we were leaving.

We ended up going to see the Indiana Jones movie as the thought of going back to the fiery pits of hell a.k.a our home did not appeal to us. Luckily when we got home it was cooling off so we managed to get some sleep.

Saturday we got up early and headed out…we managed to get a lot of things done as far as the house renovation goes – picked out countertops, appliances, cabinets, faucets. We also heard back from the HVAC guy – ummm pass – he wanted 9K AND told us it would be up to 3 weeks before they could install it…we managed to spend the rest of the day milling around here and there (I managed to snag some fabric at a yardsale for $1…the pattern is OK – I think I might make some simple totebags with it – to take to the grocery store and whatnot) and wound up at the $2 theater where we went to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall…funniest movie I have seen in a long time…if you are a fan of the Knocked Up – Superbad genre of film you will LOVE this one.

Got home Saturday night and quite frankly it was cooler outside then inside our home. I spent the night feeling like something was crawling all over me and trying to eat me alive…must have been having some flashback to the Indiana Jones movie (those that have seen it will know what I am talking about).

Sunday go and pick up the girls from camp and off to a BBQ at a friends house…an “inside” BBQ because it was too freakin hot outside for anyone to stand. On the way home we stopped at Target and bought fans…yep fans…

By some miracles of miracles TC and I were outside on Sunday evening in our front yard and a neighbor drove by…he stopped to chat and we told him of our misery and then bid him farewell – or so we thought…15 minutes later he shows up at our door with a heat pump motor – he just happened to have one at his house (I didn’t ask)…oh did I also mention he is an electrician by trade…15 minutes later sweet, sweet cool air is blowing through my vents…I owe him ALOT...

So we are living on borrowed air. We got 2 more quotes on Monday and think we have found the right company…who has an excellent reputation and is almost 4K BELOW the first estimate….see it pays to get multiple quotes….

One crisis averted…another takes it place….

So I have been having some pains in my lower belly for a little while now along the left side of my C-section scar – I had bad intense pain about 3-4 years ago that I went oto my GYN about and she preliminary diagnosed it as endometriosis…over the years the pain faded away except for occasional twinges here and there so it got pushed to the “back burner” as I dealt with lifes other issues–

Well it flared back up and it got more intense and consistent after a night of playing Wii Fit for an hour (stupid free step) last week…I HATE Dr’s – I can literally count on one hand the number of times I have been to the Dr for myself in the past 6 years…so needless to say I don’t have a primary Dr…a friend of mine gave me the name of a Dr and I called Tuesday…lo and behold they had a 3:45 appointment for Tues…so I go and get poked and prodded and told I might have a possible incisional hernia – great…

So he gets me set up with an abdominal ultrasound for Wed morning at the hospital and an appointment with a general surgeon for next Thursday.

Go to the US yesterday and good news is I don’t have a hernia…bad news is I have some sort of mass…not really sure what it is but whatever it is chances are it is coming out surgically…personally I am *thinking* it is Scar Endometrioma

Scar endometrioma is an uncommon condition following caesarean section. It presents as a lump on the caesarean scar and can often be painful.

In reading more about this I was surprised to find that in many cases patients who are ultimately diagnosed with Scar Endometrioma are preliminary referred to general surgeons for possible incisional hernias…things that make you go HUMMM - and yes the "uncommon" would be right up my alley...

So hopefully next Thursday I see where I stand…what is it? will it get removed? If it is removed will it come back?

Such an exciting upcoming summer…house renovations and surgery

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

2008-06-06T07:47:00.000-04:00

It finally happened – we knew it would happen – we were foretold it would happen…

Our Heat Pump is dead…

The motor finally burned up on the hottest day so far this year…

Tomorrow it is supposed to be 100 degrees…

The thing about it though is we were planning on replacing the heat pump unit with our remodel – so we have to move it up a month or two no biggie right…

Problem is three months ago when we had the HVAC dude out and he told us the heat pump was on it’s last leg I asked TC to start researching for a new Heat Pump - to figure out what brand, tonnage, seer rating we want, need, desire…so when the motor finally did burn up we would know exactly what we wanted…

TC is a man…guess what hasn’t been done

Want to attempt to win something cool...

2008-06-03T11:06:00.001-04:00

Check out Gretchen's Blog... Bananas and Toddlers

She is giving away a kick ass apron

A Tuesday quickie....

2008-06-03T08:25:00.002-04:00

I can now show the other thing I made...

It was my first time attempting to make something like this - I think i did "OK"

It's a stroller blanket - made out of very soft white fabric on one side and some funky bright fabric on the the other side...

Wish me luck - tonight I have to sit through the 1st grade play - TWICE...they split the 7 1st grade classrooms into 2 separate groups and wouldn't you know my girls are each in a different group...so tonight I get to watch "GLOW" at 6:30pm and again at 7:30pm...JOY

Jumble of Thoughts

2008-06-02T07:55:00.004-04:00

First off – I wonder if we can get Congress to pass some sort of bill standardizing Tooth Fairy money. The other day I was grilled by TW why she only got $1 for her first tooth and Matthew got $5 for his first tooth…umm I didn’t know really what to say so I told her maybe the Tooth Fairy had a good night at the slots before Matthews tooth fell out…

I propose $1 for the first tooth and .25 for each additional tooth…

While we are at it maybe add a rider so we are all on the same page when it comes to the Big Guy…you know Santa…1 or 2 gifts per kid – rest comes from family and friends…

Secondly – after volunteering at my daughters Field Day I am once again glad (for now) that I only have girls…I was in charge of “Dancing with the Stars” (Hollywood theme this year) and the boys…oh the boys…running, jumping over each other, attempting to break dance in the grass. I did learn 2 things – the Robot seems to be making a comeback…at least in the 8 and under set and apparently “Who Let the Dogs Out” is about fugly girls at a party? Listen to the lyrics…I had to about 15 times because that is all the kids wanted to hear…I tried to fast forward to “Cotton Eyed Joe” but that song made me nostalgic for a beer, a smoke filled bar and the year 1994.

Third – I made more purses…want to see them…well it is a rhetorical question because you are going to see them anyway. I also made something else but I can’t show that until the person actually gets the item :) The top three are ones I was commissioned to do...the bottom ones are the ones my daughters teachers are getting for their year end gifty.

I had to put my sewing machine away so I wouldn’t be tempted to make more stuff – I have a very busy week that involves sitting through the 1st grade play (TWICE – uggg), kiddie Dr. Appointments, hair appointments, baking a strawberry-rhubarb pie and packing the girls up for their 36 hour camping adventure this coming weekend

Forth – KITCHEN ON!!!!!! – we met with our contractor again on Friday and hammered out a few more things and the ball is starting to roll…TC and I are going to start looking at a bunch of little things and hopefully we can make some decisions without too much bloodshed on either of our parts– Granite, sink , faucets, tile, cabinet style, cabinet color, etc…..

Fifth – I got a ME ME ME day…I went to an all day stamp fest (another of my many hobbies) on Saturday and had a great time making a bunch of cards…I even won a great door prize – THESE stamp sets - Sushi by Stampendous

Aren't they stinkin' adorable...now to find time to ink them up and make a card...and if anyone can give me an idea for using the fish in the washing machine - that one has me scratching my head a bit - they were generously donated by Eclectic Paperie

That's all I got for now folks - over and out

umm yeah so it's FRIDAY!!!!!

2008-05-23T08:47:00.002-04:00

about friggin time....

add in that it is a holiday weekend - no work on Monday - yeahhhhh

I will begin my weekend by going through 2 levels of hell...I told the girls I would take them to the fabric store with me...both of them.

Now going someplace with PWG isn't that big of a deal - she is pretty sedate and I can engage her in a conversation. If I ask her to sit and wait - she will sit and wait.

TW on the other hand, usually acts like she just ate a giant bag of poprocks washed down by 4 Red Bulls....here there and everywhere....all the while her mouth going a mile a minute.

Apart they are OK...together is a whole other ball game...it could work out that they are polite and actually listen to me...or it could go a totally opposite way of them "playing" WWE Smack-down in the middle of the Fleece isle.

Lord grant me the strength...

In other news I made myself a new purse

and I was awarded my 10 year award at work...my "gift" - an umbrella - I had about 5 things to choose from...I choose the one that might actually be useful at some point in my life...at least I get an extra hour of vacation a pay period now...

In case you are looking for time wasters this Friday here are some Blogs I love to peruse

Death Wore a Feathered Mullet (R - Mature audiences)
Toddlers and Bananas (G - General Audiences) - Gretchen is my Darth Vader
Mom-o-Matic (G - General Audiences) - Lotta just tells it like it is
My Pumpkin Pie (G-General Audiences) - Just about the cutest newborn you will ever see
Trees in OK (G- General Audiences) - if you are into running check out Tree's blog...myself - I think being eaten by a lion would be far less painful than running anywhere

Really...I blame it all on Gretchen

2008-05-20T13:45:00.003-04:00

if Gretchen hadn't posted her oooo SEW crafty sewing projects on her blog I wouldn't be in this mess...

I am obsessed...with sewing now...in addition to the 101 million other crafty things I already have my hand in...

I can't wait for this weekend...why

because it is a holiday weekend? NOPE
because it is suppose to be in the 80's and BEAUTIFUL? NOPE

well then why then...

because the fabric stores are having BIG SALES....

and I must go...and buy more fabric...pretty fabric...precious fabric

Currently our sitting room has been turned into Jenni's sewing haven - with a 6ft fold out table and lots of scraps...

I told TC that I would clean everything up once I got the teachers year end gift of handbags finished...

I see now that I have probably infact lied to my husband....

The only consolation I have is my daughters are slowly loving my creations...they both want a bag to carry their Webkinz in...maybe I can turn it around...if they bat thier big eyes at TC and tell them mommy needs to make them a bag...then he can't possibly be mad my stuff is still all over long after I have finished the teachers bag.

right?

MULTI-TASKING MOMMA

2008-05-15T10:14:00.003-04:00

I am a “do to mucher” – I always have been and always will be…I have over the years stifled my little “mucher” and have slowly backed away from always raising my hand when someone asks for a volunteer.

Does that mean I have any less to do?

Nope….I NEED something to do – it keeps me on track…gives me a purpose…

Last night – I got home from work – got dinner for the girls – went over their homework - took them to their make-up swim lesson – got home – made two loaves of strawberry bread and another batch of chocolate starfish (you’ll understand as you read below) - picked up the house a bit and made TC "HAPPY" :)

To that avail I am always juggling a bunch of projects and being the procrastinator that I am – means I always have something that needs to be done RIGHT NOW (or at least I think I do)

Add into the fact that I suffer from CADD…that would be Craft Attention Deficit Disorder. Yes, I readily start one project only to be swayed by another project I MUST DO RIGHT AWAY….so that leaves me with half finished projects.

The only way to get me to finish things is to give me a deadline…but even then sometimes the power is to strong…I see a pretty object and start scheming about the stuff I need to make said project.

Currently in production I have

5 crocheted scarves…a craft store was having a sale on yummy yarn for $2 a skein (normally $7/skein) so I had to buy a ton and a half - all the scarves are pretty much done – they just need the fringe added…something that would take all of 15 minutes per scarf…have I done it yet - nope…I envision that I will be using the scarves as holiday gifts this year so it gets pushed back
1 crocheted blanket…status ½ done – see I went to the Dollar Store about 6 months ago and they had gotten a shipment in of really cool and bright multicolored yarn and at $1/skein I bought a bunch and crocheted a blanket…a blanket that both PWG and TW fell in love with and take turns sleeping with at night…2 months ago I walked into another Dollar store and found more yarn…bought it so each of my girls could have their own blanket and I don’t spend 8 minutes every night hearing screetching “BUT YOU had it last night”…”No I didn’t you did”
25 3-D papercrafting swaps – yes 25 – I finally figured out what I am going to do – paper is cut – now I just have to assemble…oh yeah this HAS a due date…I have 2 weeks to get this done
25 cards – Well I don’t have to put these together I just have to design said card and cut all the materials for the card…card is designed – now to cut and cut and cut…like the 3-d items…I have two weeks
9 Girl Scout journals – see my girls Brownie leader is an Uber-leader and I think she might be slightly off her rocker because she is taking NINE 7-10 year olds camping for 2 nights…2 nights people!!!! And I don’t have to go with them. I volunteered to make each girl going a small journal – so she can write in it during the camp out. Project status – haven’t even begun…no wait – I have the chipboard and the Girl Scout paper…I have a deadline of 3 weeks for this project.
160 chocolate starfish lollypops – 160 people….if my sister ever gets married again I am not volunteering to make the favors…I swear…I did get the molds and I was smart and bought 4 molds of 4 each…so far I have made 2 batches – with a third sitting in my fridge as we speak…only 7 more batches to go…oh and her wedding is in a month…and then I still have to package each one in a cello wrap – tied it with the perfect pewter ribbon and attach a delightful little tag…
A Few WHOO-HOO Chocolate Pops - Said Sister is having a Bachalorette party in two weeks and I am sending a care package with one of her bridesmaids since I can't attend (Girls weekend in the mountains of NC - it would take me 7 hours one way to drive) - I am making a WHOO-HOO pop for everyone...these are getting made along with the Starfish batches...so there are Orange and Dark Chocolate Whoo-Hoo's - I should be done with the Whoo-Hoo making tonight and be able to get the package in the mail Saturday morning...now lets hope they don't melt...nothing is sadder than a droopy Whoo-Hoo. Plus the fact they are sitting in my fridge and the girls keep asking if they could have one...ummm no...no 7 year old needs to be munching down on a Whoo-Hoo...so the sooner the Whoo-Hoos are out of my house the better :)

Now add in the fact that I just got a sewing machine and I am now addicted to all things sewing…I saw a picture of pretty little Key Fobs and now I feel the urge to make some myself…only I need to make them longer so I can use it as a Lanyard at work…cause right now I am using some god-awful yellow cast-off lanyard from a co-worker.

So I still need to add into the projects…

a lanyard
at least 3 cute tote bags with packs of cards for the end of the year teacher gifts
plus PWG asked if I could make her a totebag to carry her Webkinz in

I keep this up I might one day be as cool as Gretchen

Shameless self promotion...

2008-05-13T07:47:00.002-04:00

I just added some more cards to my ETSY shop...

CHECK IT OUT

Craftypleasures

Strawberry Fields Forever...

2008-05-12T21:01:00.006-04:00

TW and PWG picking over fields and fields of strawberries...

Now what to do with the TON of fresh strawberries we have picked...already made my semi-famous strawberry-rhubarb pie and have a recipe for Strawberry bread...

Starting slow....

2008-05-12T20:42:00.011-04:00

So I signed up for a Beginners sewing class...

biggest mistake of my life...I am such a pushover - I made this yummy, yummy bag

It's it A-FREAKIN-DORABLE - and so easy - basically you iron on the fabic to a piece of interfacing that has all the cut and sew lines...so easy a monkey can do it...

I dropped another $50 in the store after the class on more fusable patterns and luscious fabrics

I got home and worked on getting that brand new sewing machine out of the box and set up - easier than I thought - then I whipped up two more

the green and brown bag is simply delicious - I forgot to take a picture of the other one before I gave it as a gift...beautiful dusty teals and brown and cream stripes....ohhh ohhhh... and then there is more fabric I bought...aren't they just screaming out

SEW ME - oh baby SEW ME

Another chapter in the book of MOM

2008-05-09T13:11:00.001-04:00

So the other day TC and I took the girls to Kohls to exchange some dresses they received from my MIL…the dresses were nice buuuuuuuut they had polo collars and my girls welll…they just don’t dig polo collars.

So anyway we started looking in the 7-14 section – I was AMAZED at the prices of the dresses…$40+ - now granted we were at Kohls so you knock off 30-40% - but still and forget trying to look for a simple cotton sundress – those apparently don’t come in sizes 7 and above.

As I started looking at the dresses a thought came to me.

Maybe I could make the girls some dresses myself (nevermind I JUST got a new sewing machine that is still sitting in the box because after reading the manual I am scared of it)

DING DING DING DING…

What the hell are those bells – why every time a woman turns a little more into her mother her mother gets an “I told you so” notch on her mothering belt

The moment I had that thought I was instantly whisked back to 1980 something…

Anyone remember JAMS shorts…

You know the butt ugly print shorts that EVERYONE had to have?

I wanted a pair…my mom took one look and said “Nope, to expensive but I will make you a pair”

And so she did…and when I complained there was no “JAMS” tag on the back…you know what she did…oh yes she sewed up a little tag that said “MOMS”…

After that incident I knew better than to ask for a Jimmy Z skirt…

Drunken Lemurs

2008-05-09T07:54:00.001-04:00

Drunken Lemurs

Sort of sums up the place I go to almost every day for about 8.5 hours {wink, wink}

Did you know...

2008-05-07T13:00:00.001-04:00

That it takes half a bag of chocolate wafers to make 4 chocolate Penis pops?

well now you do...

Childrearing in 2008

2008-05-01T11:39:00.002-04:00

Scene: Driving TW to get her hair cut - stop at a red light - to our left is a cemetary

TW: Is that where Uncle John is?
ME: Now he is somewhere else.
TW: In our hearts right?
ME: Yes...

later on...

TW: How do people know how to get to Heaven when they die
ME: They just know somehow
TW: Do they use GPS?

Living with a Hunter - Take 2

2008-04-24T10:41:00.003-04:00

I swear....

So DH was going Turkey hunting today...so he had all his stuff out in the garage...which he leaves out in open site...

What does PWG go and do...she "releases" all the turkey decoys from the bag...Appearently she felt they couldn't breath so she removed them all from the bag and situated them all around the garage...

Nothing scares you like opening up your garage door to a gaggle of turkeys.

OH but it gets better...

SO I took TW to run an errand and when we get back PWG and TC are doing something in the garden and PWG has something in her hand...

she puts it to her lips and blows and a horrendous sounds comes out

I soon learn it is a deer rutting call

TW is all over it so PWG gives it to her and says

"Blow it and I'll pretend I am a deer and daddy can shoot me"

ummmmmmmmmmmmmm

So TW blows it - PWG is on our neighbors lawn crawling around yelling "Shoot me Daddy...shoot me"...

to which after being egged on for a minute or two TC points at her and says "Bang"

PWG looks at him as says "You missed me"

ahhh just like reality....

So many things swirling in my head….

2008-04-23T08:32:00.002-04:00

So this weekend I went to a convention for Mothers of Multiples…

Do you know what happens when 200 women are free from their kids and husbands for greater than a few hours…

MAYHEM…well old haggard mother mayhem

I do have to say Friday night was the most fun I have had in ages…it totally took me back to my college days…dancing on the floor with all my girlfriends…having drinks confiscated by hotel management (note if you bring a drink in from the “outside” dump it into a hotel glass – don’t keep drinking it out of a huge red plastic cup).

There was something in there that involved me, a stage, my friend R, light up electric flame candles in my bra and I do believe I did grab my crotch….oh yeah I was also singing along to “Like a Virgin”…. There was some talk of R and I recreating the Madonna/Brittney MTV kiss but we restrained ourselves…I think the crotch grabbing was enough…Like I said Total MOMMY Mayhem…it was {unfortunately} caught on tape for all of eternity…I so need a copy of the tape because in 8 or so years when my girls start yelling that I am uncool or don’t know how to have fun I think their punishment will be to watch their mother grab her crotch on stage while her breasts are glowing…

However, later that evening my friend Deb did the most hysterical interpretive dance to Ozzy’s Crazy Train I have ever seen…It was sort of like if Animal from the Muppets had gotten Tasered….or for those of you who have had the pleasure of seeing Barnyard…she was totally Wild Mike. I swear I might of have leaked a little I was laughing so hard….the pinnacle of the dance involved her throwing herself down on the stage and doing something she calls “Fish out of Water”…now let me tell you that Deb is probably all of 4’10” and has some HUGE mammeries on her…. So there she is flopping all around the stage….That too was recorded on tape for all of eternity.

But it gets so much better because at some point someone decided we Mommies must drink and dance some more…so what did we do – we went to a bar – there were about 10 of us and we had a great time – when we arrived at said bar the dance floor was empty – but not for long….I dare say we brought the party because about 15 minutes after we all arrived that dance floor was packed.

I somehow made it back to the hotel…and today Wed. is the first day I feel normal again…when I woke up on Saturday morning I felt like I had swallowed a sock and the first words out of my mouth was “I will never do that again”…

Ummm yeah only 365 more days till the next convention – YEEE HAAAAA

********************************************************************
In other news....PWG was voted Most Caring in her class...I am so proud

I am running away...

2008-04-17T10:40:00.003-04:00

and I may never come back...

This weekend is my annual Mothers of Multiples convention...it is a regional convention of which about 20 or so clubs gather for a weekend...

Imagine if you will about 200+ mothers of twins, triplets OR MORE all in one place....

There better be some damn nice mattresses and some free flowing alcohol....cause 48 hours aways from the kids...all anyone wants to do is sleep and drink...seminars be damned...

I have to say, lately, being a mom sort of sucks...

I mean you are sort of prepared for the non-sleep, spit-up, messy diaper period that is babyhood...everyone warns of the "terrible twos" but no one to date warned me about the

SUCKTASTIC SIXES (and SEVENS)

seriously my girls are driving me nuts....the 'tude is really off the scale...with all the "I don't have to do what you say"... the "I don't wanta's"...the whiney "but everyone else gets to..." and then the gimme's....I swear ask them to do a simple task and the response is "Whatcha' going to give me"

Add in asking them to do the same thing 101 different times - only to wind up doing it yourself...

Seems I am not alone either - in a discussion with my PIM's (Pyscho Internet Moms) who all have children about the same age as mine are dealing with some of the same issues...

so what does that do to a person - turns them into a very yelly mom...

and I don't like being a yelly mom

My co-worker and I were discussing our kid problems and she told me she was on strike...YEP on strike - seems this past Monday she had had enough and decided to go on strike - that she was tired of telling her kids time and time again to do something or remind them of something only to not have it done...HOWEVER...she did not get yelly...oh no - she said in her house growing up she and her sister didn't really pay attention when her mom yelled at them....but when her mom cried that is when they knew her mom meant business...so she in effect channeled her mom and cried...and cried and told her kids she was on strike...

I asked a friend with older twins why no one warns you about the Sucktastic Sixes...she said it is because they are to busy dealing with the Egotistical Eights to warn those behind them...

joy...something to look forward to

Well I did it....

2008-04-15T08:11:00.002-04:00

I FINALLY got a few things listed in my Etsy shop - Craftypleasures

and I got my first sale too :) - thanks a bunch Gretchen (of GretchenCrafts )

It will be slow growing over the next two weeks as I put some finishing touches on a few things in progress and currently a friend of mine has most of my cards and giftables with her as she is participating in a craft fair this week and asked if I wanted her to try and sell some of my stuff - ummm heck yeah!!!

I am happy to take custom orders - so if you see something you like but it is already sold...or you need something specific just let me know....

when your SO is a hunter....

2008-04-14T09:30:00.003-04:00

When I first meet TC I had no idea of the sheer magnitude of his love for hunting...part of it might have been the ban against firearms in dorm rooms...

As we started getting serious I got a peek into the madness that is hunting...

Now I must confess I did take a shooting class in college...which I took with 4 of my sorority sisters...(after which the teacher made a ruling stating no more than 2 sorority sisters per any one of his classes...I have to admit that was a wise decision on his part cause 5 giggly girls with firearms is a bit of a hazard...) - when TC and I were living in sin he joined a shooting club and on occassion I went with him...

oh yeah the rush of something long and hard in your hands...anyway I digress....

Anyway I soon learned my scheduale would be arranged around hunting seasons...deer, turkey, other small rodent like creatures...and for the most part I don't mind...

The thing is now that we have Uber-cable and now have access to 27 different outdoor and hunting type channels TC can fuel his hunting madness basically 24/7...and that is rubbing off on the girls...

The other day I came home to TC and the girls sitting watching TV...

Spongebob - Nope
Hannah Montanta - Nope
iCarly - Nope

but rather some hunting show where they were going after bears....

so the guy has this poor bear lined up in his sites and I hear a little voice saying "Shoot...shoot....shoot" and then the poor bear falls to the ground and I hear the same voice saying "Yeahhhhhhh"

I look over and see PWG pumping her little fists in the air

Seriously....I asked her if she understood the poor bear was dead...she looks at me with those blue eyes and says "no they didn't Daddy told me it's all pretend"

I just didn't say a word....

BTW - if you have ever had reason to come across a "Hunter Dan" doll (see picture above) TC bares a freaky resemblance to the doll - goatee and all...to wit we currently have 2 Hunter Dan dolls in our midst...they usually hang out with the Barbies (and never turn thier backs on Ken {wink, wink}) The one of the best scenes ever was PWG with about 6 NAKED barbies all fanned out in a semi circle...while she "walked" a Hunter Dan doll around them...I asked "What are you doing" - her response "He's looking for a girlfriend"

****************************************************************
Hunting conversation from the dinner table

PWG: Daddy, have you ever killed a rabbit?
TC: Yep
PWG: what about a squirral?
TC: Yep
PWG: Yeah Mommy's killed one too...she hit it with the car and then said "Oh Crap"

Karma's a Bitch

2008-04-11T07:46:00.003-04:00

Yesterday morning as I was getting ready for work I heard commotion downstairs…

TC was ~~yelling~~ raising his voice at PWG.

I go downstairs and ask what all the fuss was about

TC: I gave PWG a pair of socks like a minute ago and now she can’t find them.
ME: and
TC: How do you loose a pair of socks in a minute’s time?
ME: She’s six…what do you expect…she has the attention span of a goldfish.
TC: She really needs to pay attention.
ME: whatever.... remember one day you'll be old and decript and forget where you put things

Fast forward to last night…after dinner TC got changed so he could do some yardwork…he came downstairs with a pair of socks in his hand {you know where this is going right?} I was enjoying being read to by TW who was telling me all about the making of Mt Rushmore.

About 2 minutes later out of the corner of my eye I see TC roaming about the downstairs

ME: Whatcha doing?
TC: {grumble, grumble} Looking for my socks
ME: Didn’t you JUST have them a minute ago
TC: {grumble, grumble} yes
ME: like daughter, like old father

Don't forget to play along to LAST Fridays Fun - there are still a few quotes that haven't been guessed...and if you put movie quotes in your blog let me know and I will link ya up :)

and what did Heather win...

2008-04-07T15:34:00.002-04:00

THIS will soon be on its way to Heather....

From left to right...

A cute decorated wooden box...perfect to brighten up a desk - use it to hold pens, pencils, Hershey Chocolate sticks...
A 7 x 4 decorated journal...the front quote is one of my all time favorites "Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans" - a cute place to jot down things you want to remember
A chipboard coaster calendar (yes I am aware it is already April) - one side has space for a 3x3 picture - a nice way to brighten a desk
A set of 6 Birthday cards...you can NEVER have too many birthday cards...what i like baout this pack is they are universal...great for a man, woman or a child...you can see a little bit better picture of all the cards by clicking HERE

I am estimating a grand opening of my Etsy store hopefully by next Monday....

And the candy goes to.....

2008-04-04T11:47:00.002-04:00

the Random Number Generator choose number 6...

and that is....
HEATHER

who said...
Who wouldn't want some of your fabulous craftiness?!
I like
Sarah and the Goon Squad
Oh The Joys
Iowa Avenue

YEAHHHHHHHHH

Stay tuned I'll be posting a picture later this weekend so EVERYONE can see what Heather won :)

Some Friday Fun!!!

2008-04-04T08:43:00.006-04:00

Need to waste some time this Friday.... then Movie Quote Madness is for you....

I got this from Death Wore a Feathered Mullet - who got it from someone else...

But anyway here are the rules

Leave your guesses in the comments.
No Googling or using IMDB search functions. Don’t cheat!
Know-it-alls, limit your guesses to three movies. Save some for others!

And begin....

Well Myra's is named Pillow Pants. And so even though she totally wants to have sex with me, Myra says that if I put my... thing in her, Pillow Pants will bite it off. So, I gotta wait until Pillow Pants get peed out of her body on her 21st birthday before we can have sex.

I once had to judge a tighty-whitey contest for Lambda Kappa Pi. Trust me, I can handle anything.

Dude that chick's a MILF! {AMERICAN PIE by Lisa Lu }

I was jealous. I was so jealous of you I couldn't see straight! You did everything you said you were going to do, everything! And your talent, this incredible talent! I can't even yodel! {BEACHES by Amanda}

Yeah, I've been craving burgers, too. Furburgers. Come on, dudes, let's pick up some trim at a strip club. The Doogie line always works on strippers. (BTW I watched this movie AGAIN last night...god I love this movie....)

Oh, man! Where do I begin? First there was the time the farmer traded me for some magic beans. I ain't never gotten over that. Then this fool went off and had a party, and they all starting trying to pin a tail on me. Then they all got drunk, and started hitting me with sticks, yelling "Piñata! Piñata!" What the hell is a piñata, anyway? (SHREK - guessed by TREE )

The real point is not to get yourself into this position, that's what you have to realize. You gotta know all the tricks like, for example, if a woman's on top she can't get pregnant. It's just gravity. {KNOCKED UP by Amanda}

Remember my dear, I can smell a lie like a fart in a car.

God had cursed me I think. The last guy I had sex with killed himself the next day. I'm failing math. I was supposed to be cheerleading captain... {HEATHERS by Lisa Lu}

Y'know, this was supposed to be my weekend off, but noooo. You got me out here draggin' your heavy ass through the burnin' desert with your dreadlocks stickin' out the back of my parachute. You gotta come down here with an attitude, actin' all big and bad... {INDEPENDANCE DAY by Lisa Lu}

You can milk just about anything with nipples. {MEET THE PARENTS by Amanda}

She hasn't answered your calls, she didn't respond to any of your letters, she didn't respond to the candygram. God only knows what happened to the kitten you got for her. 'Cause she didn't keep it, and I know you're not raising the goddamn thing. I think it's very obvious at this juncture that she just flat out does not wanna see you anymore.

You are responsible for raising an icon which draws worship from the Lord. You have broken the first commandment. Not only that, I'm afraid not a one of you passes for a decent human being. Your continued existence is a mockery of morality. Like you, Mr. Burton. Last year cheated on your wife of 17 years 8 times. You even had sex with her best friend while you were supposed to be home watching the kids.

Oh Sam, let me take a look at you. Fred, she's gotten her boobies. (SIXTEEN CANDLES guess by TREE )

Sweets. You couldn't ignore me if you tried. So... so. Are you guys like boyfriend-girlfriend? Steady dates? Lovers? Come on, sporto, level with me. Do you slip her the hot beef injection? {BREAKFAST CLUB by Amanda}

and know you know what type of movies I like...

the DREAM is dying a slow death....

2008-04-03T08:50:00.003-04:00

Remember my post about my soon to be orgasmic new kitchen....My New Porn

wellllll....maybe not so orgasmic...

I have spent the past week crunching numbers and figuring out if we can really do what we want to do...basically adding on a big addtion to the back of the house with a brand new big pantry/laundry room and huge new kitchen...the answer is yes...but with a huge problem

We could do what we wanted but it would leave us very little wiggle room in our budget to do anything else for the next 15 years or so....like going on a nice vacation every once in a while...or being able to afford a newer car in a year or two...we would in effect be house poor...

So last night TC and I sat down and talked about revamping our plan...oh don't get me wrong I'll still get a new kitchen...only it won't be as big - with a big huge island and TC won't get his man room....

So the new plan is something like this -

We would have the money to have a nice kitchen - albeit with the same floor plan but with the appliances I really want and the nice Armstrong flooring we really love and the to die for granite countertops....

We would have the money to convert the idea of a screen porch into a 3 -seasons room that would give us extra living space and a room for TC Poker nights with the guys...

We would have the money to buy really nice vinyl replacement windows that will last for a lot longer than "budget" replacement windows and maybe even afford the hot-diggidy-bomb Pella - with the blinds inside- windows for our bay window...

We would have the money to really make our Bonus/Rec room a lot nicer - big screen TV with surround sound, big plush lounging sofa, nice storage cabinets.

and there might even be a little money in the budget for a tummy tuck for me....

I especially like the last part...

***Don't forget to post a comment on my BLOG CANDY post

BLOG CANDY!!!!

2008-04-02T09:28:00.003-04:00

Who wants some sweet treats….

Some of you may know and others may not…but I tend to be a little crafty…Scrapbooking and stamping is my hobby. I really enjoy making things – family scrapbooks, handcrafted cards, small giftables, etc…I like to think I do a pretty darn good job and at least a few people think so as well because they actually buy some of my items. I have a separate crafting blog set up – Stamptopia. However it gets neglected far more than this one.

I am actually in the process of setting up an Etsy store called CRAFTY PLEASURES …I am hoping that I will have a few items in my new shop by early next week…

What does this have to do with my BLOG CANDY?

Because one lucky person is going to get a sampling of items that will be featured in my shop!!!!

Yes yes shameless self promotion of me and my new shop…

So what do you have to do to get in on the action…

Leave a comment

But just don’t leave any comment…I am always on the lookout for a fun, new blog to read…so leave me a comment and let me know what your favorite blog to waste time …and don’t try to suck up and say mine :)

I will use the RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR on Friday at about noon EST to determine who the winner of my BLOG CANDY is - and post it here :)

*Note if you post as Anonymous please put your first name or initials in with your comment…if an anonymous wins we’ll find a way to get in contact :)

Good luck to all

BLOG CANDY!!!!!!

2008-04-01T09:11:00.002-04:00

OK all....I am getting close to 10K views...know I know I check my blog out a lot but it must mean that someone other than myself is viewing a glimpse into my life...

Here is the deal...tomorrow I will be telling you all about the BLOG CANDY I will be giving away...what will you have to do...well I will tell you tomorrow :)

Delving Deeper into Mommydom

2008-04-01T09:08:00.003-04:00

So last night while TW was digging through her notebook she told me she had something for me…

Uhh OK

And so she handed me a note…

What did said note say.

Deer Mom and Dad.

Please let me git my eers pirced. Everyone else has theer eers pirced.

Oh yes – it has begun…

EVERYBODY ELSE HAS….

Once again I figured we had some time before the gimmees and wants and the EVERYBODY ELSE GETS TO…came on strong…

But I was wrong and confronted full face last night…all written up in 1st grade grammar and writing.

My response was “well I am sure not EVERYONE has their ears pierced”

To which TW responded…”Oh yes – Riley, Laura, Katie, Jenna all have their ears pierced”

And I said “Well PWG doesn’t have her ears pierced” {to which PWG girl piped up and stated she didn’t want her ears pierced}

And in response I got “PWG doesn’t count – she isn’t included with EVERYONE” – out of the mouth of babes…

So of course I responded with the question that is encoded in every mommies DNA

“If all your friends jumped off a cliff would you”

And TW with her smark-alec self said “No – that would be stupid – what does that have to do with getting my ears pierced”

Ummmm nothing….

Anyway the answer was NO…I told her maybe in a few years…but for now I have enough to deal with and quite frankly I don’t think someone who can’t even remember to flush the toilet 60% of the time is ready for the responsibility of pierced ears…

When I need a laugh...

2008-03-27T08:04:00.002-04:00

One site I like to frequent is called BEST OF CRAIGSLIST

It is a cumulative spot where well the best postings of Craiglist can be found...in some cases it is items people are looking to sell...in other cases they are mindless rants that make soda shoot out of my nose as I giggle too hard...

some of my favorites from the past few months - (just click the link - sit back and enjoy)

PINK VAGINA COUCH - in all actuality it looks quite comfy - it would probably be the perfect addition to any lesbian home.

CARTON OF IRREGULAR CAT HATS - ummm anyone else going for the theory the cat committed suicide?

GRANNY PORN - just one word EWWWWWW....

ON THE PROWL - some people just don't have standards....

FARTING DOG - this one had tears of laughter coming from my eyes

CONCEITED PENIS - daymn

There are many many many others....so go goof off and read :)

Happy Thursday!!!

Freedom...sweet freedom

2008-03-25T15:40:00.003-04:00

It is Spring Break this week – and you know what that means…

NO HOMEWORK….

That is right – no hassling my kids about their spelling lists…no having to sit there for 20 minutes listening to some insane kids book…no projects…no math homework…

Yeah for ME!!!!!

Yeah sure it is Spring Break for the kids – but come on let’s face it 1st graders don’t do their homework alone…they want mommy or daddy right there to help them…

Although they have gotten better over the past year and manage to do 50% of their homework on their own now (VS 0% the first 2 months of school)– we still have to look over their homework and decipher what their sentences say…

ME: PWG…what are you trying to say in this sentence “I lik too eet big peenuss”
PWG: I like to eat big peanuts
ME: OH…well let’s get that eraser out and fix some spellings…

Don’t even get me started about the lovely drawings of “peanuts” she did with PEENUSS spelled above it…you have imaginations - use them…

Granted 1st grade homework isn’t that hard…but you try telling an OCD – perfectionism rules child, such as TW is, that she made a mistake…oh all hell breaks loose…I will admit more than once I have let something go that I know was wrong just so I don’t have to deal with the whining and the frustration coming from a 50lb shedevil-child – after all we are supposed to learn from our mistakes, right?…and college ain’t going to be looking at 1st grade transcripts.

Last night I got home and looked around and felt so relaxed…no rushing to see who has what homework…so trying to listen to 2 kids read their books out loud while trying to prepare dinner…no last minute wails of “I forgot to do XYZ and I need to do it for tomorrow” as we are tucking them into bed…

I giggle with anticipation for this evening….

VIVA LA SPRING BREAK!!!!

Because the roofer peed I got new shoes....

2008-03-14T08:14:00.003-04:00

Last weekend we had high winds here on Friday and Saturday...

I was at the twins yardsale Friday night and all day Saturday...get home about 5pm on Sat and notice a hella' bunch of shingles on the driveway...

Get inside and TC tells me he has contacted our roofing guy (who we had out last year to repair our leaky roof and last month during the last wind storm to replace a few shingles from the front of the house) and he would come out to take a look in the morning...I really start freaking because the last time we had him out to replace like 3 shingles on the front of the house it cost us $125 and there was a whole huge patch missing this time (F'n wind) - I calm down a little when I realize we actually have a little wiggle room in our budget this month...

So 9AM on Sunday morning (really 8 am to me...) I wake up to the dog barking ... go downstairs and find TC talking with the roofer...then the roofer leaves....hummm

So TC tells me that the roofer will be back but we have a problem...Turns out roofer guy jumped our fence .... TC didn't even know he was at our house until PWG piped up and told him someone was in our backyard!!!!

So TC gets up to look out the window and realizes roofer is taking a leak behind our shed...Now our backyard is WIDE open...many other homes can see directly INTO our backyard because thier houses sit higher and the lot behind ours is the drain field on the cul-de-sac - so NO cover...

TC is livid and goes out to have words and explain that peeing behind our shed is NOT appropriate and that we have young girls...the guy apologizes and says he had a lot of coffee - TC tells him that he could have knocked and used our bathroom with no problem...and the fact that he jumped the fence our dog could have attacked him (ha ha ha more like licked him to death) - but still (we do have Beware of dog signs)

So the guy is very apologitic and says he realizes we are good customers and that he will fix our roof for free. TC tells me he thinks we shouldn't ever hire him again...I point out that the guy came over on a freakin SUNDAY morning to fix our roof...

So anyway the guy had to leave to get the right shingles and comes back about 11am...to which we get 2 calls from neighbors wondering how the hell did we get someone to come and fix our roof on a Sunday morning...

Needless to say when I called home at 2pm (the girls and I had to go to a girl scout cookie booth sale) TC told me the roofer was still in the neighborhood fixing his 4th house for the day.....seems once he was done with ours - he went to our two neighbors and then someone saw him working on our neighbors house and well...who knows how many more he might have done as he worked his way further into the neighborhood...

So yes he did fix our house for Free...but somehow I think he more than made up for his "loss"

So on Monday in the mail we get the Kohls flyer - I will readily admit it I am a Kohls whore...especially around Clearence time...and it had one of those - 15-20 or 30% off things on the front cover...so I slowly peel the sticker away to reveal a 30% off - good for this Thursday through Sunday.....

Whooo Hoooo

Now that we don't have to pay for the roof to be fixed we can certainly spend some of that "wiggle room" money - Momma needs a new pair of shoes...

However...karma is a bitch...

I am currently living on 3 hours of not so good sleep...ended up taking PWG to the ER at 3am this morning - she had started complaining at 7pm while we were at Kohls that her tummy hurt - we asked all the pertinent questions and just thought it was a small tummy ache and it would go away as she slept...

Well she moaned most of the evening while sleeping...wound up in my bed at about midnight...at about 3 she really started whimpering and I felt her tummy again and it had a hardness to it so I told TC I would take her to the ER - while I was getting dressed she puked (luckly into a trash can)

so from 3 until 6 we were at the ER with a few more puking incidents (one of which occured while she was on the pot...she leaned over and puked right in her underwear between her legs...needless to say I just threw those away)

Got the diagnosis of the stomach flu with a slight UTI...joy...

the Dr. wished us luck and mentioned that anti-nasuea pills he prescribed SHOULD an adult need to take one to take the whole thing and not split it in half...double joy on that...

So now every little twing in my stomache is making me think "Am I next?"

where did I put my apron - I think I need my tequila now...

Gin in my Apron Pocket....

2008-03-12T14:43:00.003-04:00

well I am back on the wagon...well so to speak...

Thanks to Lotta last year I joined the MILF club - you know Mothers I'd like to (you know you know)

I will admit that I weigh the same this year as last year...{head hung in shame}

BUT I am about ready to start WW again (third times the charm right?) - It has worked for me in the past and I am no where near the weight I was when I FIRST started WW a number of years ago...

Anyway since alot of people involved in the MILF group have found thier lives have taken different paths - Lotta has decided to start a new group - Gin in my Apron Pocket

Although I do hold the right to replace the Gin with Tequila...after all a Margarita isn't a Margarita without Tequila (and triple sec and lime and salt)

so I am taking on the group to better myself this year...I have goals...little goals but goals nonetheless

Loose 20 lbs
Actually go on a family vacation this year
Work on getting an Etsy shop up and actually running...need something to pay for all my craft clutter
Say F' it and let my girls have ice cream for dinner every few months
Try not to stress out over our possible kitchen remodel
Hide the Tagalongs so PWG won't find them and eat them all...{I bought them for me!!!}
Blog more often...let's see small steps - say 2X's per week at least
Actually leave comments on the peoples blogs I read :)

So that's about all I have for now....

More and more like a child everyday...

2008-03-06T08:57:00.001-05:00

So PWG and TW and I have this routine we do - it started as a quick kiss on the lips…then it moved to Eskimo nose rubs then a kiss on the forehead…

So every time I say goodbye to my girls or tuck them in at night the routine has now evolved into this

Kiss, Kiss (lips)
Hug, Hug (self explanatory)
Nosey, Nosey (Eskimo rubs)
Kiss on the forehead

Of course my little OCD TW girl needs to have it done 3 times…

Anyway so last night TC picked the girls up from afterschool care, got them dinner and started on their homework because I had an errand to run…needless to say they were in full 6 going on 7 mode last night…whiney, bitchy and all around aggravating. I got home about 6:15pm

By about 7pm he just looked at me and said “can I escape for a little while they are driving me nuts”

Sure go ahead…I figured he would go to the Man Mecca of Home Depot or Gander Mountain…

So I actually get the girls into bed about 8pm (sweet hallelujah) and settle in with my 101 little things to do around the house…by about 9pm I had settled in front of the TV tagging clothes for my twins club yards ale this weekend and watching Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi channel (freaked me the hell out…every time I heard a little noise I was all jumpy)

So I look up at the clock and see it is about 10pm – hummm wonder where TC is so I call him on his Cell and ask if he is coming home anytime soon…

On his way he tells me…and where was he – not at Home Depot nor Gander Mountain – he was at the pinnacle of all Man Mecca’s – HOOTERS.

Turns out he called a friend and decided to go grab a drink with him – at HOOTERS…

You know if I ever win the lottery – I am opening my own restaurant…what am I going to call it - BUNS – everything on the menu will be served on some type of Bun…but that isn’t what will draw people in - Oh no – the slab of beefcake poured in to cute tight bike shorts and chest-hugging tank tops serving food will. Now granted a man planted firmly in heterosexual land won’t step foot in the place – but it sure would be a smash with sexually frustrated housewives and gay boys.

Anyway – TC makes it home and we talk for a little while before he retires to the guest room (no trouble in paradise – TC had shoulder surgery a few weeks ago and needs room to spread out while he sleeps because he can’t move his arm in certain directions)…

So I go in to give him a kiss goodnight…and what do I do without even realizing until the deed was done…

Kiss, Kiss (lips)
Hug, Hug (self explanatory)
Nosey, Nosey (Eskimo rubs)
Kiss on the forehead

My new Porn...

2008-03-04T08:37:00.004-05:00

Screw naked chicks and men with big ummm FEET?

I have a wonderful new version of Porn in my life...

Pictures of kitchens...

not just any old humpty-dumpty kitchen...all sagging and crusty around the edges.

But pictures of bright NEW kitchens with BIG bold countertops and all sorts of shiney knobs.

Where brand new french door refidgerators humm along and shiney new dishwashers just scream "look at me - aren't I fancy"

After taking a long look at our finances Third Child and I decided to see what a contractor might say about putting an addition on our house...and not just any addition...a new kitchen addition...

{swoon ... faint}

So we meet with the contractor and go through the basics of what we want...

See this wall here - push it out about 12 feet...rearrage the kitchen, make the Utility room bigger and if you can make it happen a nice Man cave underneath the addition...as in a few years TC is going to be dealing with not only pre-menopause PMS from me...but the teen agnst of two teenage daughters...

So he comes back and says - well I can't give you a closer figure because we need to get a structural engineer out here but I think the cost is going to be somewhere in this neighborhood...

And that Neighborhood is quite expensive...but within the amount we could spend...

SO let the fun begin...

Really is it so wrong to get all hot and bothered by a GE Appliance catalog...

I am sure someday soon TC will be calling me from our bedroom and when I get there he will be stark nakkers holding just a Kitchencraft cabinet catalog and saying "Here honey let me read to you all the different cabinet pull out options...."

Oh yeah baby you know just how to get me in the mood....tell me more about knob options too

Like a deer in headlights…

2008-02-29T11:07:00.002-05:00

So today at work I had some stuff to do on a special computer we have. Said computer is in a room at the front of our section that has a big picture window to the hallway.

So I gathered up my stuff, including my MP3 player and headed towards the dungeon.

Now, I must tell you my MP3 player is a little psycho. I have quite a wide variety of songs in it because I like to download other people’s playlists from Rhapsody, in addition to the songs I like and of course the sanity saving kids songs I have downloaded on my little thing.

So that being said I have quite a large variety of ALL different types of music on my player. It gets quite interesting when I sit back and hit “shuffle”. I go from rocking out to “Crazy Bitch” or “Moneymaker” to “I’ve Got a Song in my Tummy” or “Monster Boogie”…

So today I am sitting in a dark room, looking at a computer and rocking out to some songs…”Them Bones” – great song oh yes “Basketcase” – one of my all time faves…and then a song comes on…humm I haven’t heard that one in a while…oh yeah it is sort of catchy…and I start bopping around….

About a minute later I turn around and I am startled by one of the “big guys” (you know the ones with offices in the “Administration” section)…and he asks “What are you listening to?”

Ummmm wellll…there I was caught…like a deer in headlights

What was I doing?

I was MMMBopping….

Yes yes I was MMMBopping….

I guess it could have been worse – I could have been Wang Chunging???

Actually since they have cut their hair and grown up a little they don't look half-bad....a little MMMyummy