Zombie Mommy

Super Mario Bros. Wedding Shower

2011-04-04T12:31:00.000-05:00

With my sister in law now married off, and my responsibilities not so great at this point, I thought I would share with you the ultimate wedding shower, Super Mario Bros. style. Being not quite 30, I'm part of the Nintendo generation where Mario, Luigi, and the others have been a regular part of my life. Since my sister in law grew up watching her brother (my hubby) play Nintendo as well, it was only fitting for me to give her a one of a kind party.

First, the decorations make a theme party every time. Add in some awesome gift boxes and some food to go along, and you've got yourself a party to remember.

Here is a shot of one of the ceramic mushrooms I happened to find, along with a gift box, and the tiara the bride got to wear. The "Koopas" in the foreground are chocolate turtles.

Chain chompers guarding prize boxes? I think so! I used a white paint marker on black balloons to make them, then tied them off with silver string. The best part about it? When you walk past them, they "chase" you.

Boos guarded the food table quite well. With the windows open just slightly, they drifted around, and occassionally attacked people.

Fire flowers are always fun, especially when you find them in warp pipes. Here, plenty of fireballs are included.

Sometimes, they're even guarded by Bowser himself!

What's a party without food? 1-up and extra life mushroom cupcakes to the rescue! Of course, Daisy and Luigi have to take center stage.

And all their other friends join in. I used all the pieces from a Super Mario Bros. chess set.

Chips, dip, some princess worthy fruit-filled cookies, and Mario fruit snacks should make anyone happy. Throw in some chocolate coins, and you're good to go!

Who doesn't like princess punch? Raspberry sorbet + gingerale = happy people.

The princess of the day: my sister in law decked out in her Princess Toadstool tiara and boa, plus Daisy's royal sceptre. It was a bonus that she decided to wear her Yoshi shirt that day.

Now you know how I throw an awesome bridal shower. :)

I'm Baaack

2011-03-28T09:17:00.000-05:00

What have I been doing for the last month or so? Helping with weddings. My cousin got married at the beginning of March and I assisted my mom with the flowers, which my allergies are still trying to get over, and my sister in law will be married this Saturday. I've hosted a bridal shower, helped out the photographer (who is awesome btw) and will be cohosting the bachelorette party this Friday. Throw in some gardening, a garage sale, repairing sprinkler lines, and kids, and you don't get much time off, even if it is for good behavior. I've got several new posts in the works with pictures, so my time away wasn't completely wasted. :) I posted a link to the photographer's website, Mulberry Lane Studios, above to give you yet another way to waste your time today. The redheaded bride laying down with the lilies is my sister in law. She's gorgeous! BTW, you can follow me on Facebook via the link to the right or find me under Tinkerschnitzel.

The Big Thaw

2011-02-17T08:09:00.000-06:00

I apologize for my absenteeism over the last couple of weeks. Work and home life have picked up tremendously, and it seems that every time I try to get on my computer from home, my youngest walks up and turns it off. I'm also trying to fight off a nasty bout of depression, which I'm sure is due to being cooped up with lots of people for long periods of time, and not getting to see my friend the sun. I have been reading everyone's blogs, I just haven't had much of a chance to comment or any smart ass comments to leave. So, yes I still love you all.

Fortunately, we've thawed out! We're finally back up to our semi-normal temps in the 70's and the sun has been shining. This means it's time to prepare for the ever so wonderful Spring Cleaning. (Insert sarcastic font here.) I'm trying to work in a garage sale to get rid of lots of unwanted things (I can't sell my brother, as much as I want to some days.) amongst camping plans, two weddings and all the things that go with it, a trip to go see my dad, and Easter. Busy much? I'm also hoping that we can get my mom and brother moved out next month, which will help fascilitate said cleaning by removing all their stuff from the mix. In the meantime, I will be getting garden beds prepared and searching out plants. I am still working on plans to remodel the master bathroom, the major hinderance being the 4'x5' mirror seemingly permanantly attached to the wall. I've gotten some good advice from a contractor, so we'll see if I can get it down without destroying either the mirror or the wall.

Finally, a great big, huge thanks to Kathryn at From the Inside Out for the Google coffee mug. You know me too well, and I'll get it washed today so I can use it tomorrow. :D

Snowmagedon

2011-02-03T09:16:00.000-06:00

Have I told you all how much I hate winter? We're on day 3 of Snowmagedon in DFW. Between the subfreezing temps and windchills that are below 0, it's difficult to get out of the house. Oh, yeah, and there's ice on EVERYTHING including the roads. Did I mention the rolling blackouts? My hubby has managed to make it to work for the last 2 days, but I don't dare venture out into the tundra. I can't drive on this stuff, and I'm not going to attempt to get my boys out in it when I can work from home. Besides, someone has to be home to clean up the mess from burst water pipes.

This is quite possibly the worst time a storm like this could come through. As many of you know, we're hosting the Super Bowl this Sunday and this weather is putting a real damper on the parties and shopping that normally take place. I just hope that all the folks from up north are used to driving on ice, because it looks like we may be stuck here through tomorrow.

So, my question is: How do you folks up north deal with this kind of stuff? Do you normally get ice storms, and if so how do you drive on it?!

I think I need a camping trip when this is all done.

Master Bathroom: Phase I

2011-01-17T21:26:00.000-06:00

That's right! I'm getting my butt in gear and getting something done around the house that doesn't involve cleaning in glorious expectancy of a garage sale. Phase I of the master bath started today, helped by the fact that everything (almost) that I wanted went on clearance. Let me break everything down so that we can all have an idea of what is going on. (I'm a list person, what can I say?)

Phase I: accessories. These will allow me to pick the right paint colors I need.

Phase II: remove the mirror! This thing is a behemoth. I need to have it cut down in to two smaller mirrors so I can proceed.

Phase III: Paint. I'm tired of looking at white walls throughout my house and unfinished oak that looks startlingly pink.

Phase IV: Shelving and storage. Towels.

Phase V: Replace bathtub. It has inexplicably developed a good sized chip and crack in the bottom of it. I'm sure it's from the over excitedness of my youngest and his toys.

Let me say that we are in the middle of a color scheme change. When we originally started, the bathroom was blue and gold celestial stuff, hence the blue and beige towels. I am moving to a more modern look, with apple green and chocolate brown as my colors of choice.

On to the pictures! These first ones are the before pictures. (Ignore the mess, please.)

The double sink and monstrosity of a mirror.

Shower and towels.

(Don't ask why the hubby put those plaques up. They don't match anything.)

Bathtub. I know the fake flowers went out years ago. I've had them for about 13 years, so I would know.

My after pictures (the bottom one is a little fuzzy, but I think you get the idea.):

Shower curtain! I purchased bronze shower hooks, but a white shower rod. (I know.) They didn't have any bronze curtain rods, so I got what they had.

My new accessories. :) (and me in the background.)

The (somewhat) finished portion of phase I. Look! I cleaned it off just for you!

More Glorious Time Wasting With Books

2011-01-11T08:37:00.000-06:00

I decided to take the day off from cleaning yesterday to read. And read I did! I finished an entire book in half a day, though it did send me to bed late, which I am now regretting somewhat, as the coffee hasn't kicked in yet.

My addiction this time was "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls" by Steve Hockensmith. It's the prequel to "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" and is absolutely so much fun, which is why I couldn't put it down! The only problem I found: it's not long enough. Another fantabulous thing about this book is its publisher, Quirk Classics. They've been posting book trailers for these mesh-ups that make you want to not only read the books, but keep you begging that movies will be made from them. P&P&Z will be coming out as a movie this year, though it's still not got a date nailed down for release. In the meantime, enjoy some time wasting on me. :) Here are links to the YouTube book trailers.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (I haven't read this one yet, but it's on the list.)

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Purge

2011-01-05T13:24:00.000-06:00

It was much darker than I remembered, and much larger. I barely got through the entrance before the first one spied me. It was small and got my foot before I could get away. It wasn't long before I was being attacked from all sides. One even came from above, as if it had been lying in wait, forcing me to the ground and on top of the others that had stood below me. It was so painful, having all those things bite me as I came down. I swung at each and every one of them until I could find no more. I toiled for two days before it was done, but that portion of my quest was finally over and I could move on to other things. I had cleaned out the boys' room.

XP earned: 2000

Gold: $0

Kills: 5 boxes of toys, 1 box of stuffed animals, 3 boxes of clothes, 1 bag of trash

Time For a New Start

2010-12-27T21:26:00.000-06:00

I decided while I was sitting here waiting for towels to dry so I can take a shower, I would go ahead and post for you lovely people. :)

It's been one hell of a year, and I'm ready to start new. First, let's recap so we know where we've been.

I graduated from college. (Yippee!)
I spoke to my dad for the first time since I was 3.
I lost a grandfather.
I painted my fireplace wall!

And where we're going?

Remodel master bathroom. (fingers crossed!)
Finish scrapbooks. (yeah, right)
Visit some new state parks.
Reconnect with my dad.
Have one hell of a 30th birthday party!
If the mom and brother move out, set up my art studio in the garage.

No resolutions here, folks. We're not setting ourselves up for failure, just setting some goals. So, what are your new goals for 2011? I'm being nosy. :D

Oh, and the gratuitous picture of my cats from last year I promised. (Only a little late. lol)

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T20:59:00.000-06:00

A very merry Christmas to all my blog buddies out there! Thanks to all of you for sticking by me the last year. :D

Is It Christmas Yet...I Might Be Losing It

2010-12-22T08:31:00.000-06:00

Last night I decided I would be a good daughter and help my mom make cranberry orange nut muffins for the girls in her office. Of course, this means I get to eat at least one, which makes the laborious cutting of cranberries and so forth worth it.

I thought I had bought everything we needed, until she asked about the orange juice. (Hangs head.) Luckily, I had been smart enough to buy a large bag of oranges for the stockings. I took to juicing those babies as best I could without a single juicing implement. That's right, folks. Not a mechanical juicer one lives in my house. I thought I'd be smart and use the ultimate chopper. Almost useless. I used the whole microwave the orange and then roll it around until it's mushy. Combining those two is a bad idea. You end up squirting orange stuff all over the kitchen.

Do you know how many oranges it takes to get 1 1/2 cups of juice? Four, evidently. I juiced four oranges literally by hand, all the while little pieces of orange are squirting this way and that out of my hands. When I was done, there was almost nothing left but a few mauled orange rinds and the orange ~~guts~~ pulp sitting in a sad little pile. I had killed the oranges. And it felt good.

Crazy Family Part 2

2010-12-13T09:27:00.000-06:00

I must apologize to all my blog buddies out there. I have neglected my blog and all of you, and I'm sorry! But, I promise I have a good excuse.

I have spent all of my spare time the last few weeks talking to my dad on Facebook, getting to know him, and trying to convince the rest of my family not to kill him. There's always been a lot of contention in my family because of him and the situation he left us in as small children. That anger is still there, but it's become more hurt than anything on my side. My brother and I sat down Saturday and had lunch with him, and are both of the agreement that we should move forward and not dwell on the past. Who hasn't screwed up majorly in their life? He wants to rectify the situation now, and that is what is important.

So, why are we willing to move on and our family isn't? I don't know. But, it looks like this meeting will be the talk of Christmas, and probably not in a good way. Remember the last post about how crazy my family can get? It gets 10 times worse when it's emotional. There's no such thing as an elephant in the room with my family, and since I have had the equivelent of a emotional bandaid ripped off of me, it's bound to get ugly. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to take up for him or justify anything that he did, because that's not something I find I can do. But, my emotions are running too high to talk with my family about it just yet. I may just spend a good amount of time out and about visiting friends I haven't seen in a couple of years. :) Don't you just love family?

Holiday Memories

2010-12-03T12:27:00.000-06:00

I have always found that the memories we remember best are the ones where things didn't go quite as planned. My family has been the poster child (or poster family?) for things not going quite right. My fondest memories have always been of holidays and my childhood. With my mom being the middle of six kids and me the oldest of so many cousins I've lost count, things are bound to not always go smoothly.

Take the year of the roll. Everyone had finally sat down to the table at my grandparents' house to eat dinner. My grandfather, who was sitting at the head of the table asked for someone to pass him a roll, which were at the other end. He got more than he bargained for. Everyone, being the somewhat kind people I know they are, picked up their roll and threw it at him. No, this was not planned! My grandfather had about a dozen rolls launched at him from every direction. We laughed so hard, I think someone might have had gravy come out their nose.

I remember the first year my youngest aunt was newly married. Her husband kept taking candy canes off the Christmas tree, after my grandmother had warned him that they were for the kids and he was not to touch them. He learned his lesson the hard way. The last time he grabbed one it was in sight of my grandmother from the kitchen. He was hit square with a glass candleholder that was thrown with the precision of a ninja star. He never touched another candy cane on the tree.

Two years ago I hosted my first Thansksgiving. I invited all of mine and hubby's families, and a great portion of them showed up. It was cold, so we were all stuffed inside my house, but it was cozy. That is, until my mom decided to check on the turkey. Earlier that day she had been complaining that I wouldn't let anyone use my tea towels for stuff other than drying their hands. (Do you know how expensive these things are? And once you get grease on them, they don't come clean.) Well, she opened the oven door, checked the turkey, and closed it back up. We were sitting in the kitchen chatting when my aunt noticed the oven was on fire. We opened the door to find one of my tea towels that had been hanging on the oven door had flipped itself into the oven when my mom closed the door. To this day she is not allowed anywhere near my tea towels.

What crazy things has your family done?

A Long Holiday

2010-11-29T09:05:00.000-06:00

I pray each and every one of you had a great Thanksgiving holiday. I got to spend some time with my grandparents and some of my other family. I made some awesome pecan pies, though next time I'll make sure my grandfather takes all the shells out of the pecans first. My oldest ate pumpkin pie for breakfast both Friday and Saturday, but at least there was no pie to bring home. I'm just glad I got to miss watching my husband fling a dead mouse across the back yard or my grandfather getting attacked by his belt sander. Yes, these things really happen with my family!

When we got home Saturday, I plopped myself down in front of my Facebook page to catch up with everyone. I sat in shock for a good while as I stared at a message from my dad, who I haven't seen or heard from since I was 3. The truly amazing thing is that I have been looking for him for years, not knowing where to find him or to even begin looking. I was able to talk to him on the phone for about 15 minutes, but I think we were both still in so much shock, that we couldn't get much out. I did find out that I've gone from being the oldest of 3 to the oldest of 8! I'm hoping to set up some time for my brother and I to meet with him over lunch sometime soon. I'm really excited about this, and I'm sure I'll keep all of you updated as things progress.

Tomorrow: Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T08:25:00.000-06:00

I pray that all my American friends have a happy, safe, and enjoyable Thanksgiving tomorrow. It will be a busy rest of the week, so I won't have a chance to post again until Monday, but I wanted to say how thankful I am to each and every one of you who take the time to read my blog. I feel that I have made some wonderful friends over the past year I have been going at this and I hope I can continue for several more.

As a side note, my living room will be taking on a new transformation for this Christmas, so I hope I can have everything ready for you to see next week. (No promises!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Physics Lesson in Use

2010-11-19T08:07:00.000-06:00

I love my friends. I really do. They're the kind of people who you can sit down and have a long conversation with and never ever get bored. In high school the topics ranged from theoretical physics to music; from video games to sex. Today, I give you a great example (combining all of the above) that we really haven't come that far, and it truly makes me wonder if our species is evolving at all. Some NSFW content here.

J: Les Ball: An act related to the famed "Donkey Punch" Instead of one's fist, a '57 Gibson Gold-Top is used as the instrument of delivery.

L: WTF

J: Y'know... Like a donkey punch, only you smack her in the face with a Les Paul instead.

L: Omfg! I can read... Lol

R: why would you be taking a woman from behind with a guitar in your hand?

J: Clearly sir, you are not Rockstar enough... Why not?

J: Haven't you ever wanted to get your rocks off while getting your rock on?

K: Better question...why would you damage a perfectly good Les Paul? Wal-Mart sells acoustics for $20 or so, you'll get a much more satisfying splintering effect upon impact, and you can stockpile them easily for those long cold winter nights.

P: This is what I have to live with

L: lol poor p-.. i know j- has his moments too.. silly boys

P: BOY being the operative word

J: Because a vintage Les Paul weighs close to 15lbs and she'd just laugh as a walmart acoustic splintered over her head.

J: ‎... And also because... Why the he'll would you even have a walmart acoustic??

K: Why, to smack my bitch up, of course! It's about leverage, momentum, and velocity...and a good stockpile.

C: And this is exactly where all those physics lessons went to. lmao

J: Well, clearly the more massive Les Paul would retain more inertia and transfer more kinetic energy to the dear lady's head, but the acoustic being lighter would travel at greater velocity.

C: So, the question is, would you rather kill her or just knock her out?

Attached at the Apron Strings

2010-11-12T08:33:00.001-06:00

I have a confession. I love aprons. When my great great grandmother passed away, we moved into her bungalow house, complete with a lemon yellow kitchen and giant orange and brown flowered wallpaper, plus curtains to match. It was tiny in every conceiveable way, but I loved it. I aquired her aprons that had hung in the kitchen since the 1940s, along with all of her hats. I played house and dress up with those few things she left for me, and even though I don't have any of them today, I still love them and her. That nostalgia always gets me, and every time I put on an apron to cook, especially at the holidays, I think of her.

I went several years of my adult life without an apron, so when I happened upon an updated 50s pattern, I had to get it. I now have more than my fair share of aprons, and continue to make more. (Don't ask me where I find the time, because I don't know.) I made several for the recent craft show, and had quite a few left over, which I will leave here for you to ooh and aah over. If you would like one for yourself or someone else for Christmas, please let me know. They're $20 which includes shipping, and I can have them out in time for you to prance around in at Thanksgiving dinner. (Because we all know that's what you're going to do!)

Dear Taco Bell, We Need to Talk

2010-11-08T11:55:00.001-06:00

While I thoroughly admire you for FINALLY supplying me with salsa verde in those little packets, we have a problem. You have discontinued my favorite cantina taco from your menu. WHY?! It was quite possibly the healthiest thing you had, something that I noshed on regularly. I loved that they came in corn tortillas, not those flour frisbees or deep fried crunchy shells. And they came with limes! I love limes. Not to mention the lovely pico de gallo and fajita chicken. The only thing it was missing was fresh avocado and some cheese. It was almost the perfect taco. You even wrapped it up in a foil packet so I could eat at the park if I wanted to. Why have you treated me so? Have I not been a regular customer, forsaking Taco Bueno and even the notorious Taco Casa to fulfill my gastric yearnings? I just don't understand. What did I do?

I guess I must move on from you. I shall stretch what was typically a 15 minute lunch run either standing in line at Fuzzy's requesting one of their chicken tacos with no lettuce or sitting in my car at Taco Cabana for 30 minutes waiting on the people who are evidently ordering for their entire office so I can get one of their "street" tacos. You dissapoint me, Taco Bell. For shame.

New Blog to Follow

2010-10-27T08:44:00.000-05:00

I just added a new blog to my list, courtesy of my hubby. It's called Bowen's Heart. Just make sure you have some tissues handy when you go there.

Lake Arrowhead State Park

2010-10-25T09:40:00.000-05:00

I took my oldest out of school and we headed out Thursday evening to Lake Arrowhead. I hoped and prayed and begged that we would receive beautiful weather, as we were forcasted to get scattered showers. Considering what we got hit with, I think we got lucky.

We went to bed Thursday with beautiful weather and woke up sometime in the wee hours to a serious show of thunder and lightning. Normally, this doesn't bother me, but when all there is between me and the elements is a tent, I start having panic attacks. I've learned that sticking my head under the covers lets me ignore it and go back to sleep. Most of the time. At least I stayed dry and warm.

We awoke to mostly dry ground and a forest of mesquite trees. The northern portion of Texas is full of these things. And this:

I believe most people refer to this as ragweed. I grew up calling it broom weed, simply because once it dries you can bundle it up and use it as a broom. It's no surprise that so many people are having horrific allergies. This stuff was supposed to stop blooming over a month ago, but the rain we've received across the state has it still going.

No, it's not a giant grasshopper. That's an oil pump in the middle of the state park. They're everywhere in this part of the state. I distinctly remember one of you being deathly afraid of these. You're welcome. :)

Who needs a cup when you can drink straight from the table? My youngest has a strange thought process. This was after he tried to gnaw the lid off the picante sauce and drink that.

Tall prairie grasses will grow just about anywhere, as will the mesquites. I'm not sure if this is a runoff area for excess rain or a portion of one of the many fault lines that run through the area.

You all know how deathly afraid I am of spiders. These were the main occupants of the area, and I felt I needed to get pictures to prove that I am facing my fears. I'm not sure of the exact species, but they are known as writing spiders. They're the same as the spider from Charlotte's Web, though it doesn't make me feel much better. At least I could see them before I walked into their webs. This lady had built her web on a sign. Several more made homes around the bathroom.

A walking stick invaded my grandmother's territory Friday night. These things were just as prevalent as the spiders, but less creepy.

This is what we woke up to Saturday morning. Not only did another storm system come through over night, it decided to stay. My tent leaked. I was not happy.

My grandparents, like everyone else, had a swamp in front of their door. At least they could step out on dry ground.

We toughed it out as best we knew how. The black hoodie seemed to be the fashion item of the weekend, as at least half of us wore them.

The sun finally came out and blessed us with a dry evening. The rain definately didn't dampen spirits, as the boys played around before we lost what little sun we got to see.

Sunday we packed it up and headed home. It got unseasonably warm, which wore everyone out. The two hour drive home afforded hubby and I some quiet time, as this is what we saw in the back seat:

Sometimes, I like civilization. :)

Some light reading

2010-10-20T14:31:00.000-05:00

My hubby created a blog. If you would like to enjoy his ranting and raving as much as I do, go check it out. He's just as random as I am, and I think the men in the group might get a kick out of it. :)
http://zombie-accountant.blogspot.com/

BTW, for some reason my dashboard is screwed up and not listing my blog followings, so if I haven't made comments on your blog lately, it's because Blogger's hamster controlling this portion of the site is broken.

High Tea or That Death Like Feeling

2010-10-19T08:30:00.000-05:00

I semi enjoyed a tea party this weekend with my two bff's, my mom, and my brother. (I think my brother was just there for the food, honestly, but he's got long hair, so he was allowed.) I think next year I'll require tea hats. (Insert evil laugh here.) I say semi enjoyed because I came down with a nasty stomach bug (courtesy of my boys) just as the party was starting. What's a girl to do? Take a couple of shots of Jack Daniels and pour some more in your iced tea of course! I didn't get to enjoy any of the tasty cookies or appetizers I made, but the alcohol seemed to quell the hellishness that had arisen in my stomach. For the record, it was a successful attempt. I was the only one who got the bug who didn't throw up. Next time I think I'll go for some vodka.

I was also planning on posting pics of the new aprons I made, but rolling tummies don't do well for good photos. I'll try my best to get them up this week, but no promises. I also got all my other handiworks together. Paintings that my hubby decided to put in the garage had to be de-spidered. (You all know I thouroughly cringed at this one.) I got all my drawings mounted on foam board so you can't see any of the creases now. Only 2 1/2 weeks, people! This craft fair is going to be awesome. My wonderful neighbor was nice enough to give me a stash of material she didn't want, so I've got enough to kick out a few more aprons before then.

We're heading out to Lake Arrowhead this weekend for a relaxing camping experience. We will eventually hit up all the state parks, but there's a lot of them, so it's going to take some time. If I keep this up, I'll have to create a seperate blog just for that! (You know you want more of me anyway. :D ) I'll come back with pictures. Just pray it doesn't rain on us. We've had gorgeous weather for weeks, and of course this is the one weekend where rain is forecasted.

BTW, the Rangers are now up 2-1 against the Yankees. If our team goes to the World Series, don't think we won't all be smiles in zombie land. :D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

2010-10-04T13:31:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know my birthday past, but that's not what I'm talking about. Heather pointed out that, yes indeed, I've been part of the blog world for a year now. I know I've been slow lately at getting posts (mostly because that little hamster running the wheel in my brain is nearly dead) and commenting on others', but all of you have become an extension of my family in a way. My family and friends tend not to read my thoughts (or they don't say anything if they do) so it's up to you to continue listening to my ramblings. :D

Here's to another year of fun and me breaking my addiction to Plants vs. Zombies long enough to finish up some more crafts.

A Brief Respite From Work

2010-09-24T08:56:00.000-05:00

I'm back! At least, for the moment. I took today off to get some things done (namely laundry) and get ready for tomorrow. A quick update:

Things at work have really picked up, and I hope they stay that way. We've been working really hard to get everything cleaned up and cleared out so that we can welcome more people into the church. Attitudes have changed and I'm really excited to see what God has in store for us.

I'm the chair for the PTA Arts in Education program this year, and I've been working my butt off! This is as much work as school was, but honestly, it's a bit more fulfilling. We're also gearing up for our arts and crafts show in November, and I'm ready to get rid of some of my art work. I just don't have room for it all, and hey, who doesn't need a little money?

I celebrated my birthday a little early with my in-laws last night. (It's Monday by the way - hint, hint.) They really do love me! lol I got the limited edition of Plants vs. Zombies, which if you haven't played, is awesome. My new profile pic shows just how awesome it really is. Yes, that's a zombie. It's my zombie! It's a me zombie!! lol This version of the game lets you create your own zombitar, and it actually shows up in the game as you're playing. I know, I'm a little obsessed, but what do you expect from the Zombie Mommy?

Tomorrow we're having a memorial luncheon for my grandfather. No, it isn't my grandfather we always go camping with. I promise when he goes I won't be able to function for a couple of weeks, at least. This was my mom's dad, who we hadn't had much contact with. I can honestly say that I only remember seeing him twice, and the last time was 15 years ago. He was an amazing man despite that. He was in the Air Force and worked for NASA and Defense Logistics. His work was only declassified a few years ago and included working on nuclear missile silos. He was a smart man who was a self educated engineer. I'm pretty sure he was a member of Mensa. If not, he certainly would have had no problem getting in. I wish I had the chance to know him better, but we were, for the most part, cut out of his life thanks to his wife. I'm honestly not sure what she had against this family, and my mom in particular, but there's nothing we can do to change that. We move on with our lives each day, and strive that much harder to be kind to the others we come in contact with.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. It is, after all, Friday!

Out of Pocket

2010-09-16T12:39:00.000-05:00

This week has been rough on all fronts. My mom's dad passed away 2 weeks ago, and we didn't find out until Tuesday night. Everyone is still processing. I'm doing what I can for the memorial service next week.

I'm also typing this on one hand, as I've got tendonitis in my wrist. You see what happens when you play too many computer games? So, I'll be out of the writing game for a little bit, but I'll still be checking in.

Hermine is Gone!

2010-09-09T08:47:00.000-05:00

For those of you not paying attention to the news this week, we just got slammed by Tropical Storm Hermine. It's rare for DFW to get hit head on by a storm like this, and we were not prepared in the least. Yesterday was absolute chaos as one of the outer bands made its way through, ripping directly north and inundating us with massive amounts of rain within only a few hours. That's not to say we didn't need the 10 inches we got, we just didn't need it all at once, especially during morning rush hour. It didn't help that we had already had 2 good days of rain before this particularly nasty band blew through.

I typically try to stay away from the highway, since backups are common and I can get to work within 15 minutes taking back roads. EVERYTHING was flooded yesterday morning. I had to take the backroads of the backroads to get to work, and was amazed when I made it in 30 minutes without destroying my car or me having a heart attack. I got home to thankfully a dry house, but this is the first time my back yard has ever flooded, and it's a horrible mess.

I didn't get the chance to take any pictures myself, but here are some good ones from a local news station. The excitement came to a head when several tornadoes were spotted near downtown Dallas and people actually got them on video, one even crossing Love Field (the local airport). Here's a video from one of the tower cams of the same tornado. It's amazing that noone was killed by these, as they hit during the tail end of evening rush hour.

I know there's a few of you down south in the Austin area. How did you fare?

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

2010-08-25T19:44:00.000-05:00

It has been too long! I decided to take a little vacation, which of course always seems to coincide with my computer crashing, which happened Sunday night. After a much needed and long over due reformat and fighting with Firefox to allow me on to Blogger, I am back. So, I thought I would share what I did on my summer vacation. :D

We took a trip to see my grandparents and the rest of the family, which included one of the largest classic car cruises in the country. Boy was it fun, but it was hot!

There were so many classics, dragsters, and antique cars I didn't know what to do with myself. Neither did the boys.

This is the one I want! A lovely bright yellow Chevelle station wagon. Sweet.

Can't forget the bug!

My mom and I also decided to take the boys to the zoo. Of course, this was Matthew's first time, and it was hotter than Hades out (105 in the shade!), but it was totally worth it. We got up close with silverback gorillas on two occassions.

Evidently, Matthew is deathly afraid of kangaroos.

And alligators.

And I just thought this bug was really cool looking.

It was a fun couple of weekends, but alas school is back in session and I had to go back to work. Couple this with the fact that I am not only the room parent for Benjamin's class this year, but also on the board. It will definitely make for a busy year, but it will be fun!

Not Quite the Darwin Awards

2010-08-05T08:25:00.000-05:00

No, I didn't almost kill myself, but I did do something stupid. I'm currently nursing a sprained wrist which, thankfully, is not my writing hand so is just more annoying than anything. No, I didn't fall or hit it on something. The injury is the result of something much more sinister: trying to open a bottle. I know. You can quit laughing now. Many of us are embarrassed by our stupidity from time to time, especially when it results in bodily harm. Unfortunately, I've had a great many of these incidents.

Take, for example, the way I damaged my other wrist. The summer before highschool I decided to learn how to ride a 4-wheeler. I got good at it over the course of a day, but was explicitly told not to ride when my mom and her friend went to the store. Of course, I didn't listen. The tract of land we were on had a nice sized wood, which our path ran through. I had navigated the path probably a hundred times that day. The problem was not the woods; it was the fact that the sun was quickly setting, making my vision that much worse. Riding through the woods on that path, in 5th gear, I missed a turn and ran head on into a tree. This wouldn't have been so bad, but I had another kid on the back who weighed probably twice what I did, and both our weights landed directly on top of my wrist. I was lucky I didn't break it, but it did result in me having to wear a brace for the next 8 weeks and finally requiring surgery 6 years later. I now have a nice little scar to show my boys anytime they think about doing something stupid, because, let's be honest, scars are the only thing boys respond to sometimes.

I have many such scars. There's the one on my right index finger where I dropped a glass cake plate and sliced my finger open.

Or the time that my oldest broke a mason jar on the back porch, and when I didn't realize I had a large piece of glass jutting out of the bottom of my shoe, I sliced my ankle open. I probably should have gone for stitches, but I was on my way to the lake. (That particular trip I nearly killed my family, but fortunately didn't end in bodily harm. I learned not to drive 50 during a pouring rain storm trying to follow someone, especially when you have a lot of red lights. We teetered between hitting the cars on the right or landing in the drainage ditch to the left, but I slid through the red light without hitting anyone, stopping at the next light just under the bridge. Trust me, that's a whole post in itself.)

I think the best one, though, was my freshman year in high school. While hanging out at my house, my friends and I realized it had started snowing, which was really a novelty to us. We went outside and played for a few minutes, and I then ran back inside to the kitchen. Keep in mind I was wearing combat boots when I ran through our tiled foyer and across the carpeted living room, which you would think would dry my boots off pretty well. When I got to the kitchen I slipped, went up in the air, and hit my middle finger on the cabinet. It then proceeded to turn purple. My mom insisted on taking me to the emergency room, only to have jambed it pretty well. I spent the next 6 weeks with my finger in a splint, walking around showing everyone my injury. (hey, what do expect from a teenager?!)

So, what are some of the dumbest ways you've injured yourself? I know I'm not alone on this.

Jane Austen Fight Club

2010-07-26T10:25:00.002-05:00

If you haven't seen this video, go watch it now. Freakin hilarious!

Childhood

2010-07-19T08:54:00.000-05:00

Summer always reminds me of my childhood. I grew up in a small Texas town where you knew your neighbors, and downtown was a large courthouse surrounded by shops on a square. You could walk across town to a friend's house, and your mom didn't worry. We spent a good portion of my childhood living in a 2 bedroom bungalow that had belonged to my great great grandmother. If it wasn't raining or snowing, we were playing outside under the apricot tree. Many GI Joes got blown up and buried there with the occassional black cats that were left over from the 4th of July. We spent days climbing the tree and eating every apricot we came across, whether they were ripe or not. (No wonder I can't stand to eat them to this day!) We picked blackberries off the thorny bush that was nestled against the old garage that held treasures from when my great great grandmother owned a hotel in Arkansas. My mom rarely had enough berries left when we were done to make jam. We crushed the berries from the mulberry tree to make paint. We always dried clothes on the line, and when it wasn't laundry day you could find us swinging from the rusty metal poles that held the lines up. We didn't have central heat and air, so the back door and the windows were always open. My mom knew when one of us came in, because you could hear the screen door slam shut behind us. We didn't have to bother her, because she kept a pitcher of kool-aid in the fridge. We didn't get sodas unless we were at Grandma's house. Saturdays were cleaning day, and unless you wanted to help, you were out the door right after breakfast and back home by dark. It amazes me that my mom didn't know where we were half the time, but she knew we always stuck together. Even with as poor as we were, I couldn't have asked for a better childhood. Yes, it sucked at times, especially during the winter when you still had to get your clothes off the line and they were frozen stiff or when you had to wear hand me downs, but it was worth it because it made me who I am. My husband still doesn't understand it some times, but I hope my boys' childhood will be remembered by them just as fondly, even if they have a lot more stuff.

Hell Hath No Fury Like That of a 1 Year-old

2010-07-06T08:56:00.001-05:00

We've discovered that Matthew has this wonderful ability to ignore absolutely everyone, especially if they're telling him no. By the time I get to bed each night, I am completely and utterly exhausted. Take Saturday for example. Hubby and I got up early and got the house cleaned. Floors got vacuumed, swept, and mopped, dishes done, and both the kitchen and livingroom were virtually spotless. We thought we would get to relax some the rest of the day, because the grass was still too wet from all the rain we've had the last week to mow. Enter my children. Within 5 minutes my oldest had toys, blankets, and stuffed animals strown throughout the livingroom and cartoons blaring, turning my clean little slice of the planet into something the likes of a 6 year old's club house. Why? His room was dirty, and there's no room for him to play in there! I finally convinced him that either he played in his room, or his stuff was going far far away. So, my living room was clean for a second time that day. Enter Hubby. There are 2 things you need to know about him. He loves playing flight simulator games and he loves candles. I have to hide candles from him if I want to keep them. On this lovely Saturday, he was playing his flight sim game on the Wii, after he lit every candle in the living room available. This is where we get back to Matthew. As the little one is cruising around the coffee table, he reaches up and grabs the decorative metal top of a lit jar candle, burning two of his fingers to the point of blistering. I should have seen this coming, but I didn't. My family is pretty accident prone. Thankfully I have half the mind to keep a stash of first aid supplies to limit the number of trips we take to the emergency room, and this includes silvadine. After getting Matthew's fingers cooled down, I applied the salve and spent 5 minutes trying to get his fingers wrapped up. Ten minutes later, I had to reapply new bandages, because the ones that were on his fingers mysteriously disappeared. This happened 2 or 3 times throughout the day. Add in the constant running after him, keeping him away from the cat litter box and the dog food, which he seems to think are open buffets, and pulling him out of cabinets he does not belong in, and I was exhausted. He went down about 9:30. Anyone want to babysit?

Shopping is a Full Contact Sport

2010-06-24T09:11:00.000-05:00

So, I'm still bandaging my wounds from grocery shopping this weekend. Who knew it could be so bloody? Saturday was a trip to Central Market (kinda like Whole Foods) to get my ever so yummy Taste of Austin coffee that I now cannot live without. Hey, it's still cheaper than Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks. Besides making the mistake of being there on a Saturday when you feel like you've been smushed into a sardine can, I got run over by an old lady twice. I don't think she needs to be driving a grocery cart much less a real vehicle. She hit me once in the store and a second time while we were standing in the checkout lane. I turned around and gave her a dirty look. I know, it's not nice, but she's old enough to know not to follow people so closely. It's not like I stopped sudddenly. I'm sure I've still got bruises on my ankles. Another lady ran me over with her cart as we were trying to leave the store, and I said something to my mom loud enough for her to hear. Really, people? I have a 3 foot bubble of personal space you need to abide by for your own safety. The lady's lucky I didn't take a swing at her. (I was also hungry and had low blood sugar, which makes the situation that much worse.)

I also made a trip to the Container Store. That place is downright dangerous. Thankfully, I had gift cards I got at Christmas to spend. I finally got the pantry organizer that hangs on the back of the door that hubby and I have been debating on since Christmas, so I can see what food I actually have. Of course, I had to get me a book light and a couple other things, but the organizer was the main thing. We finally emerged 2 hours later to the Texas sun beating down on us. I'd been on my feet for so long, that once I sat down in the car my back spasmed. I knew it was time to end the trip.

Sunday was my regular grocery shopping, in which I spent all of my budget. The price of food is insane, and of course I spent the entire time at the checkout line bagging my own groceries. I think the bag boys are scared of me. Well, at least the smart ones are. I really think grocery prices have gone up, because if it weren't for my mom, I would have been putting food back, or at least on my debit card. In all fairness, it was a week and a half worth of groceries. As we were loading up the car, I happened to hit something on the underside of my mom's trunk....ready for it..... (I think it was a bolt) that ripped the skin right off my finger. I know, you're hurting right now just thinking about it, aren't you? It wasn't a "I'm bleeding all over the place and I'm gonna die" flesh wound, but a flesh wound none the less.

Thus concludes my weekend bender, though I stayed in budget for the most part. Well, that is if you don't count the $500 I paid to the ear doctor and the $200 I paid to the hospital, with promise of a bill for the remainder. Oh yeah, and my AC went out Monday night, so I'm expecting a bill from the guy who fixed it pretty soon too. Can you say broke? On the bright side: I don't have to yell at Matthew anymore to get his attention, and I don't have to venture to the grocery store for another week! :)

Happy Birthday Matthew!

2010-06-17T08:41:00.000-05:00

It's so hard to believe my baby is 1! He's trying to walk, and has managed to take a couple of steps on his own. Before I know it, he'll be graduating high school. Sigh. At least I can enjoy his cuteness while it lasts. :)

Hot, Hot, Hot!

2010-06-14T08:33:00.000-05:00

Another Monday, and I'm retaining so much water I feel like a water balloon. Granted, it's not as bad as when I was prego, but it never ceases to amaze me how much I swell up. I don't think it's the heat so much as the humidity that's causing it. I promise you wouldn't feel this way in Lubbock. I can deal with 98 degree temps, but when the humidity is sitting at 85%, there's not much you can do, besides pull your hair back so you don't look like a French poodle who got its tail stuck in the electrical socket.

I spent most of the weekend outside under the shade of my gazeebo, while the kids played in the pool. This is how birthday parties are supposed to be! You let the kids run around outside for hours, hang out with the adults, and by the time the kids are ready to go, they're so warn out they don't fight you about going to bed. (Insert evil laugh here.)

The new door frame for the back door is in! I still have yet to put the interior trim on, but a friend who works for an architecture firm thought we did a great job. I've also got to buy a new door sweep, as we've got a good 1/2 inch gap at the bottom of the door. I've got cardstock taped on there right now to stop some of the airflow, but it looks really ghetto. I did take pictures, so when I get a tiny bit more time, I'll post them. I've still got Matthew's birthday and a dr's appointment for both boys this week, a birthday party and a wedding this weekend, and Matthew will be getting tubes put in his ears next Tuesday, so it may take me a few days to get to them. Oh, and I have to find time in there somewhere to reformat my computer so I don't feel like I'm still on dial up. Have a great Monday!

Happy Birthday to My Little Man!

2010-06-10T09:11:00.001-05:00

My oldest, Benjamin, is 6 today!

He's one of the funniest people I know, as evidenced by his unusual way of taking pictures. Why does he always have to make funny faces?!

Happy Birthday, sweety!

It's Going to be a Looong Weekend...Make That Month

2010-06-03T08:50:00.000-05:00

Well, summer is here. We're facing 100+ degree temps this weekend, when our average high is 88. Only in Texas. We got a gorgeous storm yesterday evening. Lots of rain, lightning, and thunder. The rain was desperately needed, and will be sorely missed, as I don't expect to see rain again any time soon, unless it's coming out of my sprinklers.

Today is Benjamin's last day of kindergarten. :( My inlaws want him to spend half the summer with them, which I normally wouldn't have a problem with, but we're talking full weeks at a time. I don't know if I can handle that, much less Matthew, my youngest. I'll have to discuss it with them tonight at dinner. I guess it beats paying a babysitter, because I'm broke after paying off my car.

Speaking of Matthew, I get to take him in tomorrow to find out the possibility of tubes being put in his ears. You all know the constant struggle we've had with ear infections for the past 9 months, so I hope and pray this will be the right solution.

I've got both boys' birthdays coming up within the next 2 weeks. Benjamin will be 6 and Matthew will be 1. Ugh, they grow too quick. I'm being lazy and only have 1 party for both of them, and I'm not making goodie bags (since when did those become of neccessity?). I'm sticking with cupcakes with army men on them. Maybe I'll be creative. Children will not be allowed inside, as they will be playing in the sprinklers outside. Seriously, I'm worn out.

My grandparents will be down Monday with 2 of my cousins I rarely get to see. My grandfather has already offered to help replace the frame on the back door with a lovely new PVC frame. I'll definately have to document this one via photos. I may go splurge on a screen door this weekend as well, though I don't think I want to spend my own play money on that.

So, if you don't hear from me for a while, just know that my schedule is insane.

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T10:55:00.000-05:00

I'm enjoying a nice three day weekend, as I hope the rest of you are. I just wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe Memorial Day as we remember those who have died while serving our country. :)

Images of Summer and Life in General

2010-05-24T13:47:00.000-05:00

No, I don't have pictures, but it is absolutely gorgeous outside today. The sun is out, the birds are chirping. It makes me want to revisit this weekend, instead of being stuck in the flouresently lit cave also known as my office.

We threw a nice little shindig Saturday at the house. It was the perfect image of summer. Kids were playing in the sprinklers and eating popscicles on the back porch, while the grownups grilled burgers and hotdogs. We sat under the gazebo around my white antique table drinking lemonade, sweet tea, and beer, and talking about kids and life in general. Seriously people, life doesn't get much more perfect than that.

I'm glad I planned to start the party in the evening, because I spent the entire afternoon cleaning the carpet in my living room. It was totally worth it, though. The carpet is not finished, as I didn't move any furniture, but I'll get to it sometime this week before I have to take the cleaner back to my inlaws. I always forget what color my carpet originally was when we bought the house until I clean it. Fortunately, I won't have to deal with that much longer. We finally got my car paid off (YAY!!) so now I can start working towards saving to put wood floors in the livingroom and hall. Speaking of housework, we also went and ordered the new frame for our back door. It's PVC, so it won't rot! I'll probably install it next week or weekend sometime once it comes in. The week after that will probably be scraping and repainting the trim around the whole house.

I'm so glad we can finally afford to do these neccessary things, because we really can't put it aside any longer without detrimental effects. Seriously people, we couldn't have gotten this far had it not been for Dave Ramsey. If you don't know who he is, go check him out. A day never goes by that I'm not glad he has a program to help those of us who have had to pay some stupid tax. Hubby and I have managed to pay off 3 credit cards and both our cars in the last couple of years. We should have our house paid off within the next 10 years, if not sooner. We will NEVER go into debt again. And with the prospect of my mom and brother hopefully moving out at the end of the summer, it couldn't have happened at a better time. Now, if you have debt or want a better idea on how to manage your money, go visit Dave's website. I promise, you won't be sorry!! I will be a millionaire one day, if only because I finally learned how to manage my own money. :)

New Pages!

2010-05-17T09:35:00.000-05:00

I finally have pictures of my ceramics and some of my newest paintings up on their own pages. Yay! :) Not all of my creations are up there. Under the ceramics page, I have a serving set that includes a punch bowl that has yet to be photographed, along with a birdbath. Unfortunately, my husband broke the original bowl to the birdbath Saturday. Lucky for him, I made a second bowl just in case. I still have 2 paintings that have not been photographed, as they are in progress and not even close to complete. You may not see all my work up yet, but I will be working on it over the next few weeks. Feel free to stroll through and enjoy the fun I have created. As always, if there is a particular piece you would like to have for yourself, I'm always interested in selling a few. This will actually go towards paying tuition for at least one more art class next semester, so you know it goes to a good cause. :D

Also, it may be difficult for me to be available this week, as my graduation is tomorrow. FINALLY! I graduated from highschool exactly 10 years ago, and now I'm finally getting my associates degree. I've had enough time to get a bachelors and masters degree. In all fairness, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, and I'd much rather be able to run after my kids while I'm young! (I know, excuses, excuses.) Back on track. I will spend the majority of this week getting my house clean in anticipation of the party I'm throwing Saturday for the occassion. Hey, I will take any excuse for throwing a party and having friends over. :) Hopefully, I can get some of those pictures up next week. Have a great week!

F*^%ing Bag Boys

2010-05-10T10:48:00.000-05:00

I have to tell you all, I had a pretty whirlwind weekend. I'll post on Mother's Day and my art tomorrow. Today I want to discuss something that irritates me to no end. Grocery baggers.

Now, in all fairness, my mom was a cashier for some major grocery chains when I was a kid, so bagging groceries is something that comes second nature to me. I have always been very careful to ensure that cold foods stay with other cold foods, mix the pantry goods so the bags don't way more than you do, et al. I even went through a 2 week training course when I worked at Central Market on how to bag groceries. Yes, it's that important! Evidently, the kids at my local Albertsons don't understand this concept. After last week's fiasco, noone else will EVER be allowed to bag my groceries again. And I will be speaking to the manager.

Last Wednesday I bought a little over $150 worth of groceries that was supposed to last us until the 15th. Well, every time I've allowed one of the bag boys to sack up my groceries, I remind them to put all the cold items together. (Why I should have to remind them of this is beyond me, but whatever). This makes it much easier on me when I get home, so all the cold food goes straight to the fridge and everything else to the pantry. I got home, and put everything up in the fridge. I let the pantry goods sit in the floor and threw the bag with the bread and cookies on the counter to get to later. I had class in a hour and still had to help my oldest with his homework. The pantry goodies got put up by hubby when he got home.

We spent most of the week trying to get the house cleaned up, and tackle the mountain of laundry we had left over from the camping trip. (Seriously, I did 12 loads of laundry.) By Friday, there was a horrendous smell lurking throughout the house. It smelled like something had died. We took out the trash. Not it. Cleaned out the cat box. Not it. Saturday, Hubby pulled out the stove and fridge thinking maybe we had a mouse die. Not it. Nope. See, bag boy on Wednesday decided to put my 2 pounds of hamburger meat in the bread bag. It sat there for 3 days in the Texas heat.

Now, you might ask why I didn't put the bread up to begin with. That bag was only supposed to contain bread, tortillas, and my treasured Oreos. Our bread box still had over half a loaf in it, along with some English muffins and other goodies. If my cats see bread out, they will destroy the entire loaf. Therefore, if bread does not fit in said box, it stays in the grocery bag out of site from the cats.

Someone please tell me what moron thinks it's a good idea to put hamburger meat in with bread items. I guarantee these are the same people who put milk with the eggs and bread. Or raw meat with my fresh veggies. I have had enough. I'm tired of yelling at bag boys to bag my groceries right. I have had to fight them off when I am bagging my groceries myself. I don't want your help! Keep your hands off my food! Cashiers who know me well have told bagboys to back off before they get hurt. Yes, some of them know me pretty well.

So, what is my course of action, here? Walmart is the only other store that's close to me, and I despise going there, so switching stores is my last resort. I guess I have to speak with the manager, who I have gotten to know a little. Maybe demand training for bagboys? Suggestions?

Glorious Vacation

2010-05-04T11:23:00.000-05:00

I'm back! We lucked out with the weather this weekend, as it decided to cooperate for the most part. We dealt with 40 mph winds Thursday night that split two of my tent poles. Luckily, my grandfather keeps gorilla glue and zip ties with him at all times. I just got off the phone with Coleman, and they're sending me a replacement kit for free. :D It rained about 5 minutes Saturday morning, just enough to get all the fire wood soaked and almost impossible for me to start a fire. Almost.

The hard part was getting my oldest to be happy and feel better. Not only was he on antibiotics, but he had a pulled muscle in his neck that forced me to go through an entire box of Icy Hot Patches. He was better by Saturday and back to his normal goofy self. My youngest seemed to enjoy the entire trip, and started to stand on his own without holding on to things. It will soon be even more difficult to keep up with him.

All in all the trip went really well. See for yourself!

My husband, Michael, and my grandfather putting up the tent for me.

My youngest and I eating lunch.

Hubby and youngest. You gotta love their hair. Notice the mutton chops on hubby? The falling mohawk on my youngest?

My oldest fell asleep after several hours of complaining about his neck

Peekaboo!

This is what we were calling Turtle Pond. I'm not sure what the name of it is, but it's crystal clear. You can actually see the fish refusing to bite the lures when you're fishing.

The path along the creek. It winds up and down.

The natural spring I hiked up to. You could actually hear the water bubbling out. The water was so crisp and clean.

Just a few feet below, the water cascades down a small waterfall. I could seriously live there.

As we were packing up and getting ready to go, my youngest fell asleep on my brother.

This is why I love my oldest so much. He loves to make goofy faces anytime there's a camera around.

Hope you all had as much fun as I did!

A Case of the Crazies

2010-04-26T12:58:00.000-05:00

No, my family is not in town to visit, though I will be seeing them at the end of the week.

No, folks, both my boys have strepp throat. I took the youngest to the doctor Thursday for antibiotics, and got a call from the school nurse this morning saying my oldest was running fever. My wonderful hubby, who thankfully decided to take the whole week off, picked him up and checked the sickness situation. Fever? Check. Swollen lymph nodes? Check. Nasty red throat? Check. The only thing the child doesn't have are the white things in the back of his throat, though in all fairness he's never had that symptom. I've already called into the doctor to see if I really have to bring him in, or if they'll just write out a prescription for antibiotics. Let's hope it's the latter, because I've already surpassed my deductible in medical visits this year, and that $25 copay is gonna go a long way in helping with groceries if I can hold on to it.

Of course, this all happens the very week we are to go camping. It never fails, people. I'm the one who for almost 18 years woke up every Christmas morning sick. Now my boys have the curse. Unfortunately with them, it's every time we're supposed to go camping. I will not allow this to ruin my camping trip. Mommy needs a vacation. Bad. Between work, my impending graduation in a matter of weeks, and the fact that I cannot find a cave to live in, I need to hide. Oh, lets also add in the fact that we're facing SEVERE weather this weekend. Mother nature will not stop me, dammit!

We are going camping. Everyone will smile and have fun. I will enjoy myself, even if I have to kill someone to make that happen. Got it?

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I did not place at the art show Saturday. I didn't expect to. Fortunately, I can be happy for two of my friends who did place with their works. :)

Acunamatata...and some cool links

2010-04-20T08:36:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful weekend of rain and dreeriness. About 6 inches of it to be exact. There's nothing better than spending the weekend with a good cup of coffee and doing nothing. Well, I cleaned house and did laundry, but it wasn't that bad.

I took off from work Friday to help chaparone my oldest's field trip to the zoo. Thankfully, it didn't rain on us. Several hours and a zoo full of kindergarteners later, I was exhausted, but we had a blast. If you've never been to the Fort Worth Zoo, you must go. It's rated as one of the best in the nation, and for good reason. We got to visit the new Museum of Living Art that opened in February, that is a combination of herpitarium (reptiles and amphibians with some insects thrown in) and aquarium. I could have spent hours there, but the kids insisted on traversing across the entire length of the zoo to see the bats. I'm definately taking another trip out there this summer, when it's got fewer wild animals outside the barriers. :) If you are ever in the area, make a special trip to Fort Worth to see the zoo, Botanic Gardens, and the museums in the cultural district, plus me!

This Saturday is the art show at the college. There's some interesting stuff there, and my painting is at the end of a not well traversed area, so we'll see if anyone notices it. If not, my feelings won't be hurt. It still needs some touching up, and I've already decided to take another painting class in the fall. Ceramics is wrapping up quickly, and I have to have all my pieces built and glazed by next Saturday, so I'll be putting in some overtime this week and next to get it all done. I took pictures of my most recent stuff, but my husband finally decided to upload all the pics off the camera (dating back to October!) and onto his computer, so I can't upload them onto mine now. I'll take more this week and get them posted ASAP, because my cups came out really cool.

I'll be out of touch will you guys most of next week, as my camping trip is finally here! Yay!!!! Mommy needs a vacation badly, so I'm taking a couple of extra days off work to go. It's also my hubby's birthday and my grandparents' 25th wedding anniversary, so there will definately be some partying going on. I'll try to put up a special post for you all while I'm out, but no promises!

PICTURES!!!!

2010-04-07T08:57:00.001-05:00

So, I was finally able to get the digital camera and download pics here at the office. Some of these go back to just before Christmas, but since I've promised some of these, I'll post them anyway.

The first two are from Christmas. My pretty tree, and my kitties. They slept under the tree for about the first 2 weeks after I put it up. Sylvester is in back, Emma at the front, and Bitty is the one with her eyes closed.

The next few are - wait for it - paintings! Yes! I'm finally getting them up here. :) The first is a still life I did a couple of weeks ago. The second is my masterpiece mashup I've been telling you all about. It should be going in the student art show this week, so keep your fingers crossed I actually place.

Finally, we have Easter pictures. Please ignore the fact that I was still in my pajamas. I wasn't finished with my coffee yet. :P This was my youngest's first Easter, so it's special for me. You can't tell through all the drool, but that little shirt he was wearing has a fuzzy little chick on it. My oldest wore the same outfit his first year.

A Thoroughly Adventurous Weekend

2010-04-05T08:44:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a great Easter! We had an extremely busy weekend at our house, which included yard work and house cleaning. Oh, and kindergarteners.

I spent my "holiday" off on Friday with my oldest's class helping with the Easter egg hunt and doing their spring party. Those kids wore me out, but we had a blast making dirt from cake and gummy worms, butterfly handprints, doorknob hangers, and eating pizza. I was ready for a nap by the time it was all done. I get to chaparone on their field trip to the zoo next week. Looks like I'm gonna have to stock up on gum, because you can't smoke in the zoo, and Lord knows I'm going to need it. I know, very masochistic of me, huh?

Saturday was, of course, my ceramics class, and I was one unhappy camper, let me tell ya. One of the greenfire kilns stopped working properly, possibly turning everything that was in it to ash. None of my pieces were in there. As a matter of fact, none of my pieces made it to a kiln at all last week. So, I only had my cups to glaze, which wasn't a pretty sight once I was done with them. I also had no clay, since I never took the time to buy any, due to my ever hectic week. Hence, no pictures yet. This is really driving me crazy. Don't these people understand I have a commitment to my fellow bloggers to post pictures?!

I took my frustrations out on my holly bushes. A borrowed hedge trimmer and 2 hours later, I have 4 40 gallon bags of trimmings and the scars to prove that they put up a good fight, but I won. I butchered them, but in all fairness, they needed it. They are covered in scale. (See the buggers here.) And in order to get to the nasty little things, I had to cut a lot out. The limbs are definately NOT going into my compost.

I feel bad about sleeping in and not going to church Sunday, but hey, I was thoroughly exhausted. The boys did their Easter egg hunt in the backyard. It's funny because, even at 9 months old, my youngest seemed to understand the concept of picking up the eggs and putting them in a basket, after he chewed on them, of course. Now, if only he could understand the concept of a nap, which he refused to do all weekend. I would have pictures, but alas the batteries in the camera died yesterday mid shooting. I'm breaking down today and buying more, so I don't have to retrieve more from the remotes.

This brings us all back around to this very warm Monday morning, where I'm trying to get enough coffee down so I can see straight, and ward off the swelling that has been going on in my hands and feet thanks to the high humidity. Spring is here! So, how was your weekend?

Holy Week

2010-03-29T08:47:00.000-05:00

Today begins Holy Week on the Christian calendar, and I'm happy it's finally here. I have been thoroughly stressed throughout Lent that culminated in a near mental breakdown for me last week. I won't be in the blog world most of this week, as I will try to spend at least some of my time in prayer and quietness. (good luck there!) I have 3 services to prepare stuff for, and possibly a fourth. I've got my fingers crossed that this marks the year we don't have a funeral pop up mid week. This week is also going to be difficult because it's the end of the month, which has its own issues as we all know. (The month is supposed to start on Monday not Thursday! No questions!)

I do have some wonderful news to share. My cousin's wife gave birth to a healthy little girl yesterday afternoon. They named her Georgia Paige. I haven't had the chance to speak to or see them, mostly because they're 3 hours away, but I hope to see them all soon. It's exciting to know there's another little one in the family, and as this is my aunt's and uncle's first granchild, it makes it that much more wonderful.

I have completed a great number of my assignments in ceramics, FINALLY! (How long have you people been waiting to see these, anyway?) All but one of my cylinders have been glazed and fired, and I have 5 mugs and 6 bowls ready to be glazed and fired. (She won't let me take the cylinders home until all of them are done.) I'm hoping to get to the studio sometime this week before my painting class to get those done in time for Saturday, so I don't have to mess with them anymore.

Speaking of painting class, I should have 2 paintings finished today, and hopefully pictures up sometime this week. I'll be starting on my next assignment, an abstract, on Wednesday. I already have an idea for that one, so I think it will probably only take one class to get it done. I will get a picture of my masterpiece mashup on here sometime this week as well. I'm not finished with it, but it will at least give you all an idea of what I've been working on.

Finally, my father in law has been gracious enough to get into the harddrive on my laptop and get to my documents, saving them from being lost forever. It now looks as if Windows corrupted itself (I know, big surprise there). I may now be able to reformat my harddrive, resurrecting it to be of use once again, hopefully before Easter. :D

I hope everyone has a quiet, stressfree week leading up to Easter, and that you all can enjoy some wonderful springtime temps and weather.

Year of Giving

2010-03-23T08:41:00.000-05:00

I came across a blog link this morning on Mental_Floss called the Year of Giving. Basically, this guy is unemployed and giving $10 a day away. His story is amazing, and evidently he's been featured on NPR. Please go check out his blog. It might just give you a renewed outlook on life. :) I wonder what the world would look like if we all started doing this?

Where the F@*# Did Spring Go?!!

2010-03-20T19:52:00.000-05:00

Can someone please explain to me why, on the first day of SPRING in Texas, it's in the 30's and snowing? This makes absolutely no sense to me, but definately grateful I didn't plant anything outside last weekend.

So, instead of doing all the gardening and cleaning out the garage we had planned today, I spent the day cleaning the inside of the house. I have cleaned both bathrooms and the living room, plus 3 loads of laundry. Oh, and I ordered dinner.

I started out cleaning my bathroom. Now, I shed. A lot. Thankfully, a vacuum cleaner picks that up off a linoleum floor pretty easily. I spent a good hour scrubbing down my shower and bathtub, but they sparkle almost like new. All in all, it took me about 2 hours to get my bathroom clean, including scrubbing down the baseboards, which are magnets for roaming herds of dust bunnies.

I then decided to clean our front bathroom, which is used by pretty much everyone. OMG. I wish I owned a hazmat suit, because it looked like the lone bathroom in a frat house. I didn't take my cleaning gloves off once. I won't go into details, but needless to say, it was absolutely the most disgusting thing I've seen in quite a while. This is what happens when you have 3 guys living in one house, and one of them is 5. I think I might be scarred for life, but the bathroom is now nice and sparkly. Next time, the boy is scrubbing the toilet.

I now need to make a trip to Auto Zone. No, not now. When it warms up. I'm buying some of that Rain-X stuff and spraying my shower door down with it. Maybe the mirrors too.

I guess the nice thing about today is I haven't gotten out of my pajamas at all, and I've gone through almost 2 pots of coffee. I'm off to ~~force~~ convince someone to do the small load of dishes left in the sink. >:)

Busy as Bees

2010-03-19T14:25:00.000-05:00

This week has been absolutely insane, but sooo worth it. We've been gearing up for Holy Week and all the worship services that come along with it. The pastor was nice enough to get everything to me early, meaning this week, and I got the newsletter ready to be sent out. This is a HUGE accomplishment here. We're talking 3 worship services.

On top of this, I've had my 5 year old with me at work. Driving. Me. Crazy. If I've ever wanted to smack the child upside the back of his head, this would have been the week. I'm working on his spring party at school, which is on Good Friday, and it looks like I'm the only one doing any of the planning this time around. That's fine, cause the other moms get to pay for pizza.

Finally, I leave you with a picture I sent to my mom and husband at 9am Monday morning. My husband emailed me back and asked "What the f*ck is that?!" Hehe. I love freaking people out. You don't get much weirder than this, folks. It's called an aye-aye and is related to the lemur. I can't decide if it's more cute than ugly or vice versa. Have a happy Friday!

A Little Bit of Spring and a Lot of Hard Work

2010-03-12T08:43:00.000-06:00

Spring is finally creeping in around here and the world is beginning to look a bit more normal.

Plants are popping up their pretty little heads. Trees are blooming and budding. One of mine in the backyard has seemingly grown twice its size in just a few weeks and completely budded out, forcing me to move the clothes line, though I have no idea where to put it.

Gardening fever has hit me with force. I have tomato, onion, and jalapeno seedlings started in anticipation of the ground getting just right to go in. Salsa anyone? My sage plant is leafing after I chopped it completely down a couple of months ago and will produce some of the best sage you have ever tasted, and my monstrosity of a rosemary bush is nearing its time to be trimmed back. I bought some iris bulbs which should probably wait until the fall to go in, but will give me plenty of time to get beds ready. My brother was nice enough to turn my compost heap and we found quite a few earthworms. Yay!!! I'm doing something right that I figured I would completely screw up. I think I deserve a gold star. :)

To keep my spirits high I bought myself a pretty little silk peony to keep on my desk at work.

Isn't it pretty?

Now, with all this loveliness comes some hard work. That hard work is known as spring cleaning. I've been trying to get a bit done here and there so it's not so in my face, but honestly I've given up on even keeping my kitchen floor clean. Seriously, it looks like someone stepped in grape jelly and decided to walk all over the floor. It's disgusting. I will be going next week to either rent or purchase a carpet cleaner. Now that Matthew is crawling and getting into everything, I want to make sure there's nothing he can catch from being that low to the ground. There's all sorts of nasties in carpet, and I won't have to money to rip it out and put in new laminate because of this:

This is my back door. It started growing mushrooms about half way through the fall. No, I didn't eat them. The frame has rotted through to the inside and it all has to be torn out and replaced to the tune of $300. Has anyone done this before? I need some help and I'm not willing to pay someone to do it for me. Not yet, anyway.

It's Monday Again!

2010-03-08T08:52:00.000-06:00

Thank you all for bearing with me this past week with no posts. I have felt like my head is going to explode, which doesn't bode well when you're trying to think.

I have been working feverishly trying to get several art projects done, and really feel as if I have gotten nowhere. I spent the full 6 hours in ceramics Saturday, and all I did was get several pieces glazed - nothing actually built. I will spend a good portion of my free time over spring break trying to get some of my assignments done. However, all my cylinders I threw on the wheel are now glazed, and at least half of them have been fired. I will glaze the mugs I made this next week. I have taken pictures of all of them, but I want to post them together once they are finished.

I finished up a still life in painting Wednesday, which I will take pictures of and post. I still have not finished my other painting, though I did get quite a bit of work done on it last week. Hopefully, I can finish it up in the next couple of weeks. I'm tired of working on it, honestly. I just realized I never posted my first assignment up here, so I will do that below. It's a copy of another painting (don't ask me who did it originally) but I think it came out pretty good.

I'm also posting 2 new pictures that I did in the past and completely forgot to put up. :D (You know you love me too much to hate me!)

The first is soft pastel done on pastel paper. I did this one in highschool. It brought 2nd place in the art show, and I was offered $20 for it, but thought it was worth more than that. It now hangs in my kitchen.

This second one I did a few years ago in acrylic. It is hanging in my front bathroom with all the dragons and fairies. I know, I know, I'll have to put pictures of the bathroom up. The problem is, it's not finished completely. I'm still working on some hardware and a new shower curtain. Perhaps that will all be short coming.

Have a great Monday, and hopefully I'll have something interesting to post tomorrow. :)

Blah

2010-03-02T08:10:00.001-06:00

I have got one serious head cold going right now, so my postings this week will be few and far between. I'm seriously considering going the NyQuil coma route for a few days until this clears up. In the meantime, I recommend you visit one of my absolute favorite sites, Mental_Floss. If you've ever wondered how nerdy I truly am, this will give it all away. :)

Improving Figure Skating or Watch Out for That Zombie!

2010-02-26T21:50:00.000-06:00

Nearly everyone in my house has spent the last 2 weeks watching the Olympic games. I have gotten to enjoy the commentary from my husband and brother, which is quite entertaining. While watching the women's free skate last night, it was brought up how boring it can sometimes get watching these women go through the same movements over and over again. The solution? Well, solutions actually.

#1 Give the audience spears to chunk on the ice during the performance. Whoever makes it off the ice goes into the finals. I personally don't see this as much of a challenge.

#2 Everytime they make a mistake, you release an animal onto the ice. First, we start with something small, like a bobcat. With each proceeding mistake you release a larger animal. If you can complete your program, you get a medal.

#3 (My favorite) Release zombies onto the ice. The skaters have to use their finesse to not only skate the best damn routine they can, but take out as many zombies as possible in the process. Those skates are sharp!

#4 Ninjas.

Any other ideas? What about other sports? We're open for suggestions.

What a Week!

2010-02-22T08:25:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't posted lately, but this past week was really f-ed up. I have been rushing at work trying to get things done for Lent, and end of year reports and such done. Oh, and I've been sucked in by the Olympics, so staying up past 11 watching the games hasn't been put past me at all. So, I'm putting a lot in the post today.

We've been doing really well about not going out to eat (only once this weekend) which means I've been cooking a LOT. I may end up burning out my crock pot before it's said and done with. At least we're eating healthier and saving a bit of money while doing it.

Saturday was an absolute nightmare. A good friend of ours in Houston called at 4:45 in the morning (waking me up out of a dead sleep) drunk. This is a person who has been through rehab just as much as he's been through relationships with Russian women, which is at a pretty high count at this point. Without going in to details, we ended up calling the cops both here and in Houston thanks to his crypticness. (Note: I really don't know if that's a word, but I'm using it anyway.) We haven't spoken with him since, so I don't know if he's okay. My hubby is pretty pissed at him right now, and I think our vacation to Houston this summer has been put on an indefinate hold.

I'm still working on my second painting, and I hope I'll have it finished this week. I took a trip Saturday afternoon with my best friend and my mom to the Kimbell Art Museum. We lucked out and went on Family Day, so we didn't have to pay to get in. Woo hoo! I got to see a lot of Impressionist art, including a massive (20 ft. x 10 ft.) painting of Monet's Waterlilies. They had another waterlily painting on display, and I stood there and watched my mom as she was very tempted to grab it and run. Needless to say, she stood a good ways back. I got to see a few Picassos (who I still don't get), Renoirs, and a Van Gogh. The highlight of the trip, though was Michaelangelo's The Torment of St. Anthony. Wow! You have to see this to believe it. It's pretty twisted, and I'm excited that the museum purchased it and put it on permanant display. You can see the Michaelangelo here and the exhibit we saw here. If you're ever in Fort Worth, this is definately a place to go.

Have a happy Monday!

More Snow Pictures

2010-02-15T12:53:00.000-06:00

Yep, I finally got some more pictures to put up. The snow is finally melting here, and the sun has come out in full force. So, until flowers start popping up, I figured I give you some more images of the white stuff. These were all taken with my cell phone, so once again, the quality sucks, but I don't think it helps when you're trying to take pictures after the sun has gone down. I do really like them, though for their old fashioned sepia quality. I may have to use one of these for my painting class. I think the effect might have been due to the fact that there was so much light reflecting off the snow, you felt like the sun hadn't quite gone all the way down.

These next two are my favorites.

One Hell of a Weekend, and It's Only Friday

2010-02-12T22:44:00.000-06:00

Sooo, I stayed home again today. We ended up with a foot of snow, though I'm pretty sure that's a low estimate since a good portion of it melted off yesterday afternoon, while it continued to snow. It really hasn't been that bad, other than the fact that I've been stuck in the house and had to shovel the driveway for the first time in my life. I did get some of the house cleaned, and tortured the cats with running the vacuum, which by the way was desperately needed. (Yes, both were needed...I have to laugh sometimes.) Classes have been canceled for the rest of the weekend, and since I didn't go into work today, I have to try to get in tomorrow to get Sunday worship stuff done.

Guess what? Matthew, my youngest, decided he was going to start crawling last night, and crawl he did! Evidently my oldest, Benjamin, had a book he wanted and he went for it. He chased his big brother all over the living room. I think Benjamin was more excited than anyone else. I'm so glad he loves his baby brother. He plays with him, and thinks it's the greatest thing in the world when he can get Matthew to laugh. Now, if I can just keep Matthew from chewing on the area rug, we'll be good.

I hope you all have a beautiful rest of the weekend. I'm going to try to sleep in again tomorrow (if I'm lucky) since it's a rare occurance these days.

Snow Day!

2010-02-11T13:22:00.000-06:00

Yep, I got to stay home today. We're pushing 6 inches now and it's still coming down. I haven't seen snow like this since, well, Christmas. I managed to get my oldest off to school this morning, but not much else. I slid everytime I hit my brakes, and by the time I got the 2 mile round trip done, I called it quits.

Here's my backyard at 6 this morning.

And here is my mom cleaning off her car.

The bushes out front:

And finally, the backyard about noon. You see those white lines across the fence? That's my clothesline. You can barely see the little tree under it, but it's actually frozen to said clothesline. Don't cha just love winter?

Now, I've got to figure out how to get out and go get the oldest from school!

I Did Something That Worked!

2010-02-09T08:48:00.003-06:00

I managed to upload Picasa and get a slideshow widget going over to the side of my art. It took me a couple of days, but I finally figured it out. Yay me! And I've only had 1 cup of coffee this morning!

More Art!

2010-02-09T08:26:00.001-06:00

I'm working on getting more art on my page, so bare with me. I'm adding some of the water colors I did and 2 more acrylics. All of these are fairly old, circa 2002.

These first three are watercolors I did on comicbook layout pages. They're thick enough that the water doesn't warp the paper, and I was too broke to buy pretty much any supplies at the time.

These last two are acrylic on canvas. The first one is a fairy done in purple, though it's a bit hard to see, because of the crappy quality of my camera phone.

This final one is Lillith standing at the edge of Hell. This was one of my first acrylics, so I don't think I did too terribly bad. Once again, the image isn't very good thanks to the camera, but the colors came out really well.

I've got a stippling and a chalk pastel I hope to get put up soon, along with one or two other acrylics.

I will start on my third oil painting this week. I need to get it drawn out tonight on the canvas, but we'll see how far the boys let me get. :)

Another Long Rainy Day and a Review of a Portion of the Super Bowl... or My Rantings of the Weekend

2010-02-08T14:20:00.000-06:00

Is it naptime yet? It's been raining since last night, and the streets are flooded. It's been VERY quiet at work today, which is pretty much begging me to take a nap, especially since the skies are so dark and grey it might as well be dusk.

Anyway - it was an interesting weekend. I finally finished Angel Time. I'll do a review on it pretty soon, but at the moment my brain isn't up to par.

We had the first grown-up night in my house in a very long time on Saturday. Once we got the boys down we watched Zombie Land. This is seriously a B movie, but a great B movie none the less. Just don't expect Sean of the Dead. It's stupid, dirty, gorey, and outright childish, but it is so much fun. I love Bill Murray's performance, which is just absolutely classic.

I watched the Super Bowl with my brother yesterday, once again sequestered for most of the time out in the garage where a sleeping baby can't hear us yell at the television. I'm glad the Saints won. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Cowboys fan for life, but doesn't the Saints winning mean we win by proxy? I mean, I think we were the only team to beat them in the regular season. Anyway, I'm happy for them, and I know the win meant a lot to the folks of New Orleans. It was a great game, and I don't think I've seen a play like the interception leading to a touchdown in a long time. It was fun, and I think maybe the game was actually better than most of the commercials.

Speaking of which... I know we are in a recession, but that doesn't mean you skimp on the Super Bowl commericals! If anything, you work harder on those to draw attention to your product. I really liked the NFL Network's commercial with Plamalu (the Groundhog Day commercial). It was original and funny.

I have to stop and ask a question, though. What the hell was Chase doing paying for a commerical spot?! Do you realize they got $25 million in the bank bailout? The average price for a 30 second spot was $2.5 million. As far as I'm concerned, they don't have the money to spend on a spot like that until they pay back the money they borrowed from us - with interest!

Okay, I'm off my soapbox for the moment.

Art!

2010-02-04T21:58:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'm actually blogging at home, at night! It's nearly past my bedtime, but seeing as how I've been busy at work, I have to find some time at the house to be with my little desktop computer that sounds like it has a lawnmower engine in it. Funny, the computer is really loud, but I have no sound, so no fun videos for me. :(

Something I have been meaning to do for a while is put up some of my art. Most of this is really old, like going 10 years back old, but it will at least give you a chance to see some of my progress once I post my paintings from class. All of these paintings are done in acrylic or watercolor, neither of which I'm very good at, but I have been learning. This is not all of my work, as I've been slightly lazy with getting the camera hooked up to this pc. Also, most of the drawing tend to be templates for paintings, so you may see doubles. The large majority are fairies, something I've enjoyed drawing since I was little. The last painting is one my mom asked me to do. It's actually a copy of another painting that neither one of us wanted to spend $60 on. Enjoy!

Some Questions...Maybe

2010-02-04T08:38:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I saw some of you talking about the Google Analytics thingy for your blog and added it to mine. I placed the code on my front page yesterday, right before the body heading. I checked it this morning, after several of you left comments, and it shows nothing. Am I doing something wrong here? Did I put it in the wrong place? Please help. I suck at code.

Ack!

2010-02-03T07:57:00.002-06:00

This week has been really busy, so if I haven't gotten to your blog thus far, I will within the next few days. I've been trying to get records updated for work, dating back to the late 80's, and they're all hand written, if that tells you anything of the momentous task I'm facing. I'm actually enjoying it. Maybe I should go be a librarian. :) I've still got an entire closet filled with boxes to go through and organize, and I may be doing a little archiving before stuff starts crumbling. We have records and pictures that date back to the early 1950's, so you can see why it would be interesting to go through some of it. This particular project will probably take me through a good portion of the summer before it's completed.

I have my second appointment with the endodontist today to finish this root canal. I'm not looking forward to it, especially because it will be raining cats and dogs by the time I get out, and I have to drive through downtown to get home afterwards. Yuck. Whether I get to my painting class tonight will definately depend on how I'm feeling.

I'm about half way through my current book Angel Time. My husband is amazed that I haven't finished it yet. He asked me last night if I was able to actually taste it, as I usually devour books in a day, two at the most. I love my husband. He makes me feel like Cookie Monster with books. As soon as I'm done I'll post my review, though I'm not promising when that will be.

Finally, I'm trying to get the spacing on these posts right. Evidently, it doesn't matter if I put a blank line in between paragraphs, they still run together. Have a great day, and hopefully I can check in this evening with an update.

Menu Monday and Me Being Lazy

2010-02-01T12:20:00.003-06:00

I slacked last week. Badly. Now I'm paying for it, even though I have plenty of excuses. I have been on the phone nearly since I got in today with one issue or another. Do you know how mad people get when they find out they were never recorded as a church member when they joined a church? Pretty pissed. I'm trying to get all that fundom taken care of on top of a never ending, who knows where the hell all the water is coming from, leak in the women's bathroom. The ONLY women's bathroom in the building. I'd say I'd be tempted to use the men's bathroom, but it's got this smell that never goes away. Sick. I'd rather go outside in the below freezing temps.

On the plus side, I'm trying this new V8 tomato soup in a carton, and it is fabulous. A little sweeter than what I prefer, but better than the canned or microwave bowl variety. AND it comes with 2 servings...for $3. You can't beat that. I just wish I had a grilled cheese sandwich to go with it. Instead, I'm wolfing down a whole package of Ritz crackers with it. Oh well!

I didn't get paid until today, so grocery shopping will be this afternoon between picking up my oldest from school and painting class. We barely scraped by this weekend thanks to the calendar, but my best friend rescued me with a pound of my favorite coffee. On to menu Monday. I'm trying to utilize my crockpot as much as possible, especially on the nights when one of us has to leave the house due to classes. We'll see how many I actually get around to cooking.

Monday: roast in the crockpot with mashed potatoes and gravy - one of my favorite comfort foods

Tuesday: baked chicken and biscuits (chopped chicken with white gravy and potatoes, covered in biscuits, then baked)

Wednesday: Crockpot tacos - super easy meal. meat + fajita seasoning in crockpot over night. 2-3 hours before, add a jar of chunky salsa.

Thursday: potato soup

Friday: enchilada casserole

I'm off to buy something to kill the frizz in my hair before i look like a well dressed homeless person.

Sleep Talking Man

2010-01-29T08:38:00.003-06:00

I don't know if any of you have seen or heard about this blog, Sleep Talkin' Man, but be prepared to laugh until it hurts! This was on one of the viral uplinks on a local news station. I don't care if you're ready to jump off a building, this blog will make you feel much happier. :D Go!

Totally Random Things Overheard

2010-01-26T10:53:00.002-06:00

I nearly fell out of my chair last night in my painting class. Good thing I didn't, cause I would have had oil paint and turpentine all over myself if I had. No, I wasn't being clumsy, though the cephalexin I'm on does that occassionally. I overheard one of the girls in the class discuss what she was wanting to paint. Her subject for a series of paintings is going to be the random people she sees in her neighborhood. For example: she came home at 4 in the morning (I feel really old by this just FYI) to see a guy standing under a light post, wearing a tuxedo, walking a cat on a leash. Really?! Where the hell does she live? I'm curious now to find out what other random people she comes across.

Structured Art

2010-01-25T08:08:00.004-06:00

I've been popping ibuprofen like candy all weekend. I'm hoping the pain will lessen as the day goes on, but I'm not expecting it. I'll call the endodontist today and see if I can get some pain meds that won't knock me out. As it is, I'm taking about 1000 mg every 3-4 hours. I may just have to start rinsing with orajel to make the pain stop for a little while. I'm sure it would be entertaining to everyone else around me.

So, I went to both classes this past week. I have to say, I hate structured art classes. I know, I know, you tend to learn more that way, but I've never seen art as needing to be structured.

Painting was very short, and I get to go back tonight. I spent a good portion of the weekend working on the sketches for my first assignment. I'm not sure how long it will take, probably a week or so, but I'll post it as soon as I'm done with it. I did shopping for the class on Saturday. Oil paints are expensive! I only had to buy black and white this time around, but they still cost me about $10 each. Yikes!

Ceramics wasn't very fruitful. This class is more structured than painting. My first assignment is to have 15 cylinders that have been thrown on the wheel and ready to fire by Valentine's day. Seeing as how it's been 3 years since I've taken a ceramics class, I didn't get very far. I gave up after destroying 3 lumps of clay, and will try again on Saturday, if I can't get in there before my painting class tonight.

It's definately going to be an interesting semester, and I'll have a lot of work to show for it. At least it will cut down on the cost of Christmas presents this year, hee hee. :)

I received an award from Heather over at Welch Happenings, and 2 from Mindy at The Suburban Life. If you haven't been by either place yet, go! I received the Best Blog Award from both Heather and Mindy, so thank you both very much!

I also received the Lemonade Stand Award. I feel so loved! I'll blog about both of these later, but at the moment, I need to get back to the salt mines and drink my coffee!

Oh, the Pain!

2010-01-21T08:27:00.003-06:00

So, I had a root canal done yesterday. Half my face was numb until about 10 last night, which made it real entertaining for everyone else trying to watch me eat or drink anything. My mom, evidently, found it absolutely hilarious. Thanks Mom! I'm still in quite a bit of pain today. I took some super extra strength Tylenol this morning on a mostly empty stomach (just coffee), so while the pain is just an annoyance at this point, I'm feeling a bit woozy. Please excuse any misspellings you may come across. I get to go back in 2 weeks from now to have the root canal finished. Joy! (I really am in desperate need of a sarcasm font.)

I also went to my first painting class last night, numb face and all. Thankfully it wasn't too involved, and I got my supply list. Guess who gets to go shopping today? I get to take my first foray into oil painting, which should be fun. I've only used acrylics up to this point.

I also picked up my supplies for my ceramics class, which starts Saturday. I can't wait! I get a whole 6 hours every Saturday to myself to focus on a project. Yay!

Thanks to my unendearing laziness, I've yet to actually cook dinner this week. My mom did fajitas Monday. Tuesday was a fend for yourself night since I had both boys to take care of while Hubby was at a men's group, and last night, well, I don't think anyone would have wanted me to cook. So, tonight I will try to get the taco salad made, so I can at least have leftovers tomorrow for lunch. We'll see how that goes!

Menu Monday

2010-01-18T08:38:00.003-06:00

Ha! Two posts in one day - I'm on a roll!

Here's my menu for this week. Most of it was held over from last week, because, frankly, I'm a bit lazy and ordered pizza.

Monday: Taco salad

Tuesday: Homemade chicken strips and french fries

Wednesday: fajitas

Thursday: Assumed to go to in-laws for dinner, but if not, beef stew

Friday: tamale pie

Just a note here. We eat a lot of Mexican food in our house. I think we'd die without it. We could probably eat it every day and not get tired of it, and honestly, I'm tempted to try it.

Click on the post title up at the top to go to Home-Ec 101, one of my favorite blogs. Seriously, Heather over there helps keep me on task and she's got some great recipes and cleaning tips.

Anne Rice: Called Out of Darkness

2010-01-18T08:07:00.003-06:00

So, I finally finished this book. For those of you who are fans of Anne Rice, this is a must read. The writing style she employs in her fiction is ever present in this autobiography. Unlike other autobiographies, however, this one is about Ms. Rice's spiritual journey. She only briefly discusses the death of her mother, daughter, and husband, and instead focusses on what took her away from God and what brought her back.

A good portion of the book is devoted to her childhood, growing up Catholic in New Orleans. It's a shame that so many of the churches and nunneries she grew up around have been destroyed, because the detail she describes them in is amazing, and makes you want to visit them yourself. The descriptions of Mass and other Catholic ceremonies and traditions is definately fascinating, from the parades of Mardi Gras to the rituals and rites of First Communion that Anne grew up with in post WWII.

She also discusses her break with the church and God, and how her books reflected the painful internal conflict she faced. If you have ever read any of the Vampire Chronicles, you can see that, especially in Lestat. I was dissapointed to find out that not many people took her female characters seriously, and that a lot of folks flat out did not like them. Her book Pandora was one of my favorites, yet one of the worst reviewed.

Go get this book! It's fairly short, beautifully written, and will open your eyes to some of the best writing Anne Rice has done yet.

Yikes!

2010-01-13T07:59:00.004-06:00

So, I'm driving home after picking up the youngest from daycare yesterday. I feel something on my hand, look down, and see this:

It covered nearly the entire back of my hand. Needless to say, I freaked. I don't like spiders. Did you ever see that movie "Arachnaphobia"? Yeah, I'd burn down my house if I ever saw spiders like that. Living in the south, I have had to contend with black widows, brown recluses, and wolf spiders on a pretty regular basis, even though we live in the city. I think this was a wolf spider, but I didn't look at it long enough to be able to tell you exactly what it was.

My reaction: I shrieked, started waving my hand wildly until I was sure it was off of me, and sped the rest of the way home with my heart pounding. I'm pretty sure I looked like a crazy person. I'm amazed I didn't kill anyone on the road or us. I shook out my coat, the baby's blanket, everything. I never did find that spider. I'm sure he's still somewhere in my car. Hopefully I scared him enough that he doesn't want to come back. I hope he had a heart attack. This incident left me very jumpy all night. Every itch or move of my pant leg made it worse. All I know is that the ride to work this morning was a very paranoid one.

Now I have to go home and clean the entire house, just to make sure there are no spiders living in it. I've got some sort of spider egg sack on the front door - probably from a black widow - that I need to knock down. I'm going to put steel wool in all my weep holes between the bricks so that nothing can get in, and redo the weather stripping around all the doors. Yes, people, I hate spiders. We cannot coexist. This means war!

New Books!

2010-01-09T10:20:00.002-06:00

So, I got new books for Christmas, which means pretty much all projects are on hold. I love books.

I've added one to my list at the right, "Supercontinent: Ten Billion Years in the Life of Our Planet". It's really pretty facinating, but easier to read if you've taken at least one chemistry class. Geology and plate tectonics have always interested me, and up until a semester ago, that was my major. That is until I realized that I really suck at math and science. Seriously, they interest me to no end, and I could watch episodes of NOVA from now until the end of the world (Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson rocks!), but I suck at them. Speaking of Dr. Tyson, I did get to see him give a lecture at UTA a couple of years ago. That might be the pinnacle of my nerdiness, plus the fact that I took Benjamin with us and made him listen to it.

Back on topic! I received Anne Rice's autobiography "Out of Darkness" which I can't wait to read. After her husband died, she returned to the Catholic church and quit writing the vampire chronicles, which I enjoyed for the most part. Her newest books after years were two in the "Christ the Lord" series, which are REALLY good. She does a lot of research for her books, and it shows. I'm waiting for the third to come out, which I believe will be either the last or next to last in the series. I also got her newest book, the first in the Angels series called "Angel Time".

I will be giving reviews of these books when finished, at least the Anne Rice books. I can't wait!

Winter Officially Sucks

2010-01-08T08:36:00.002-06:00

It is 19 degrees outside right now. The windchill is close to 0. I knew this was going to be a bad winter, just because of all the rain we got during the late summer and through the fall, but this is rediculous. (or should I say redonculous?) The schools closed yesterday due to ice on the roads, so I got to stay home and not worry about getting out of my comfy fleece pj's. However, I was stuck inside with 2 boys who evidently don't know when to quit. I know, I can't put a lot of blame on the baby, because well, he's just a baby, but when you're trying to work from home and the child won't take a nap for more than 15 minutes at a time and won't quit screaming, you just about lose it. My oldest was constantly hungry and ate me out of house and home. I can't count how many times I had to tell him that he couldn't go outside to play, even though the sun was out, because it was just way too cold. There's a reason I'm not a stay at home mom. Don't get me wrong, I love my boys, but I can only deal with a few things at a time, and Mommy needs a little down time during the day. I bow down to those who can stay at home with their kids and not lose all shred of sanity.

At least it's quiet in the office. I can hear myself think again. I can post on my blog. I can enjoy my coffee without fear of being spit up on or have the dog drink it while I go to the bathroom. It's the little things I'm grateful for. :)

Is It Over Yet?

2010-01-04T08:48:00.002-06:00

What a weekend! I took a nice trip to the mall Saturday to get some shopping done. Unfortunately, I have to go back. I didn't have time to try on the bra I got at Victoria's Secret (semi-annual sale!) because I didn't want to wait for half an hour. Seriously, there were 10 women standing in line to try bras on. I tried it on this morning and it is definately not going to work out. I also bought me a really cute pair of jeans, but grabbed the wrong size, so I get to take those back too. I raked it in pretty good as far as sales go. I spent $30 on the bra, $20 on the jeans, $20 on a pair of dress pants that look really nice, but feel like sweats (jackpot!), and $8 each on 2 cardigans.

We were supposed to do Christmas with hubby's grandparents yesterday, but lo and behold everyone in the house (except my mom of course) came down with the stomach flu. In case you haven't had it lately, it really sucks. Trust me, you don't want to know the details, other than the fact that my oldest can now make it to the bathroom probably faster than those Kenyan runners in the marathons. So...Christmas is postponed yet another week, which means buying my new tent is postponed until then. I'm hoping for gift cards to offset the cost. :) We'll get it figured out...eventually.

Now that the house has been thoroughly sprayed down with Lysol, I get to finish cleaning this week. I'll be honest, I've kinda taken the last few weeks off of making sure my house is tidy, because noone else seems to be helping. I don't want to go the way of one of those type A control freaks (which I am...I am holding myself back considerably) and create a chore chart, because noone follows them. Maybe I'll just go on strike and quit cooking, but then the hubby would cook instead. Or maybe I'll cook, but quit cleaning long enough for all the dishes to pile up, but then the hubby is usually the one who has to wash them. Crap. I'm screwed either way aren't I?

Another Year Gone

2009-12-31T08:02:00.003-06:00

What I did this year:

I gave birth to my second child, Matthew, in June, just a week after my oldest's 5th birthday. Aren't they cute?

I moved my sister out of my house and to Kansas City in the spring and my brother moved in this fall. My mom has been living with us for almost 2 years now, so I haven't had space in my house for a while. Fortunately, both my mom and brother make great babysitters.

My laptop died on me and has yet to be fixed, and I have no idea if it will ever be revived.

Both of my best friends seem to have found meaningful relationships with guys whose favorite band isn't Def Leppard.

I went on a camping trip with my grandparents for the first time since I was a kid.

I took an upholstery class and learned stuff I pretty much already knew, but needed the practice.

I drove for 14 hours through a blizzard - but I got to play in the snow!

What I'm doing next year:

Keep in mind that I don't make new year resolutions. It's a waste of time. I do, however, have goals to attain.

I'm taking my last two classes in order to graduate with my associates degree. I'm diving into painting and ceramics, both of which I have experience in, which should be fairly easy enough to bring my GPA up, and allow some "me" time in the process. I'll be out of the house 3 days a week. I should graduate with my degree in the spring. Yay!

We're also planning on taking our first real family vacation that doesn't occur strictly on a weekend. I'm taking more camping trips, even if I have to go by myself. (I wouldn't get that lucky.)

I want to redo my house, or at least parts of it. I have to replace my back door, since the frame is rotting. I'm afraid it's going to just fall over one day. I'm making and installing sliding drawers in my bottom kitchen cabinets so I can be more organized and have a little bit more storage space. I would like to paint the living room and kitchen, but I honestly don't see that going very far. I do want to repaint my kitchen cabinets, which is something I can do myself. They're pink. (gag) I'm going to install shelves in my laundry room for small appliances, cookbooks, and baking goodies, so I can use the bakers rack that is in there out in the garage to put all the extra flower pots and gardening goodies on. I'm putting shelves in the boys' closet and reorganizing it so you can actually find things. Matthew will be crawling soon (he's already getting up on all fours) so I need to make sure he can't get to all the tiny army men and legos.

I need you all to keep me focused on this crap. Seriously, I'll forget. I still haven't finished the other projects listed down at the bottom of the page, partly because I got 4 new books at Christmas I really want to read, and partly because I'm just lazy.

Do you have any goals for this year? Maybe we can keep each other accountable.

A Three Hour Tour...

2009-12-28T08:48:00.010-06:00

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas. I would like to tell you a tale of why people from Texas should just stay inside if they even mention snow in the forecast. Hubby, the boys, and myself followed my brother and mom in my brother's pickup. Now I know what Gilligan felt like.

We left out of DFW Christmas Eve morning to my grandparents' house. Being the intelligent people we are, we should have seen the writing in the snow, or ice as it were. We were under blizzard warnings and facing the worst snow storm Texas has seen in 80 years. The smart thing would have been to just go back to bed, but alas we did not. It was snowing when we left about 9:30 that morning. Now, this is typically a 3 hour drive up 287, through Wichita Falls, and to Vernon. Ha! We got to Bellevue before things got really bad, and my husband, the wonderful and intelligent person he is, suggested we turn around. I should have listened, because this is what it looked like.

Ice was beginning to accumulate on the road at this point, but at least you can tell where the lanes are. That didn't last very long. We made pretty good time believe it or not. I really began questioning my sanity, though, when we saw this.

Now, I don't know about the rest of you who live in Texas, but I have NEVER see this here. It was absolutely beautiful. Then, ice started to stick to the windshield, and the wiper blades froze up. I had to stick my hand out the window, while driving down the highway at 40 mph, and break ice off the windshielf wipers so they would work. Even with the heater on, ice was sticking.

We finally made it in to Wichita Falls. At this point, we had been on the road for 4 hours (2pm). Still not too bad, especially when you consider that this is what it looked like when we got in to town. This is the welcome sign along the side of the highway. Can you see the snow drift there along the side of the road?

The roads were so covered in ice and snow you didn't know whether you were on the road or not. We decided to stop at IHOP, the only place known to man to be open during a blizzard. I thank God they were there, because we all needed coffee, and the boys needed out of the car. We decided to wait out the rest of the storm for the next 2 hours so that we could see where we were going. This is what it looked like outside.

In the background you can barely see the highway. At this point, there was already about 8 inches of snow on the ground. I'm glad we were some of the few people in IHOP, because my 5 year old decided to run around like a crazy person, while wearing the GI Joe vest (complete with hand grenades and helmet) my in-laws got him. I honestly didn't care anymore, and noone else seemed to either. There were a few stuck people, and they were all headed in the same direction.

At 4pm we finally got back out on the road, if you want to call it a road. There were snowdrifts everywhere, and with the wind still blowing at 40+ mph, it looked like one of those films from Antarctica. We followed this cop. We figured he knew what he was doing, plus he had snow chains on his tires. (Cops are some of the few folks allowed to have snow chains on their vehicles in Texas. They would have been really handy for us.)

Can anyone see the highway? Seriously, this is a major thoroughfare through the state. We were trying our best to stay in tire tracks already made. Here's what I think is the side of the highway.

You can see a church in the background there. I have always loved this church for its simplicity, and the fact that you don't see many little white churches anymore. Here's a closer look.

The sun was starting to go down at this point, and we were driving on an inch of ice and packed snow. Everything that had started to melt refroze, and the real fun began. This was, by far, the worst leg of the trip. It's typically a 45 minute drive from Wichita Falls to Vernon. After an hour or so, we got to Iowa Park (about 5 minutes down the road). We then proceeded to sit for an hour due to a major accident before we could get off the highway and take backroads. (Big mistake!) We got around Iowa Park with a lot of sliding and freaking out and back on to 287, only to be forced to sit on the road again about a mile from Electra, with no backroads in sight. I wish I had pictures of this, but my phone had died by this point, and I was having major panic attacks and imagining us being found the next day dead and frozen in our car.

After sitting for what seemed like forever, my husband decided nature was calling. So, out the car he goes, through the median that's knee deep in snow, and to the other side of the highway where noone can see him. He makes it back to the car and jumps in. After taking his gloves off, he realized he had snow all over his jeans, so he jumped out to brush it off - without putting his gloves back on. His wedding ring flew off his finger, and we were unable to find it. This of course, pissed him off even more than he already was, which made sitting on a highway not moving all the worse. He finally decided that he was going to see what was going on, and see if he could help. Of course, having the baby crying and our 5 year old whine that he's bored and wants to get out of the car, and why aren't we there yet, and we're never leaving home again, would make anyone want to chance it out in the weather.

FINALLY, after sitting for hours, the RV that had spun out across the road and blocked traffic was moved, and we were moving again, thanks in large part to my hubby and his heroic/insane efforts. This was at about 10pm. We got to the other end of Electra, and the roads had cleared considerably, getting us to Vernon at 11:30 at night. We missed dinner and opening presents, but we got there in one piece. Hubby and I were still at each other's throats when we got into bed that night, but everything brightened up Christmas morning, as it should. I was able to take a few more pictures and, for the first time in 20 years, play in the snow. Here's my grandmother's backyard.

You can see my little chihuahua, Ren, standing at the gate. Here's the snow "angel" she made.

And here's the snow monster I made. I've always wanted to make something like out of the Calvin and Hobbes cartoons you get, so I took my chance. It's a little hard to see thanks to the shadow from the tree, but you get the idea. It's about 3 feet tall.

We came home Sunday afternoon with very little resistance in the way of the weather. There were still about 30 or 40 vehicles on the side of the highway abandoned. I think TXDoT completely skipped Wichita Falls in all the plowing, because the highways were still horrendous and covered in ice and snow. Other than a near miss with a 6 foot snowdrift in the middle of the right lane of the highway this side of Wichita Falls, the rest of trip home went well, and we made it in 4 hours. Not too bad for a 3 hour tour.

Santa's Little Helper (tissue alert)

2009-12-23T07:51:00.004-06:00

I love helping Santa out. Don't let anyone ever tell you he's not real, because he is. Now, seriously, grab some tissues, cause you're going to need them. I'll be lucky if I can make it throught this post without tearing up.

My mom's tiny little car looked like Santa's sleigh this morning as she left for work. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, (I haven't had all my coffee yet this morning, so bear with me) but we adopted a family this year for Christmas, as we have done in years past. This year it was a lady my mom works with and her 2 small kids. She's taking all the gifts to her this morning. I was amazed at the outpouring of support we got from friends and coworkers, and all three of them will have their own very large sacks full of gifts, including coats, clothes, and toys.

This is a really big deal to me, because my mom raised the three of us on her own, and there are people out there who helped us out, without us kids knowing until we got older. I remember one year, when we came home after our annual Christmas Eve get together with the whole family, we walked into a living room filled with gifts. My aunt's church had adopted us that year without even my mom knowing, and they snuck over while we were having dinner at my grandparents' house. We were still pretty young, so we assumed Santa had just come early.

I have gotten my 5 year old, Benjamin, into helping as well. He helped us pick out some of the gifts and wrap them. He even offered to give some of his toys to the kids at the homeless shelter, because he knows Santa can't always find them to give them gifts. When we were putting all the gifts into the sacks, he said to me, "Those look like Santa's bags." Know what I told him? "They are Santa's bags! He gave us the bags, wrapping paper, and gift tags that he already "signed" and asked us to take care of some gifts for the family. Santa is really busy this time of year, and sometimes he needs help from us to make sure all the kids in the world get presents." I'm proud to say that he accepted this as fact. It doesn't hurt that my mom went to the North Pole over the summer (she was in Dinali when I went into labor) and went to Santa's house. Both boys also got letters from Santa a few weeks ago, so it just drives in the point a little better.

So, yes, there is a Santa Claus. Sometimes, though, he's not who you would expect. :) Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

I Think I Had a Serious Brain Lapse...

2009-12-21T10:25:00.003-06:00

I'm seriously questioning my own judgement after this weekend. My mom pressed me pretty good to help her finish her Christmas shopping, which I did. Never again, people, never again! My oldest has been wanting this aircraft carrier for a while now, and it's the only thing he wants for Christmas, so my mom decided to go to Toys R Us on Saturday to get it. Really?! Toys R Us the Saturday before Christmas?! Now you see why I'm questioning my judgement! Soo...I decided to drive her there and help her find it, since I knew exactly where it was in the store. After being smart and parking as far away from the store as possible so as not to get stuck in the traffic jam, we walked in. It looked like they took everyone that was in Walmart that day and crammed them into this store. Several times I heard my mom yell at kids for being in the way. I think 2 or 3 times it was the same kid. Really, people? You're shopping for Christmas, probably for your own kids, and you've got them with you in a toy store? This is just asking for serious trouble, especially with my mom around. Believe me, if I weren't in such a horrible mood, she would have been worse. I think she was trying to keep me from having a panic attack and going American Psycho on her. We managed to get to the right side of the store, and guess what? They didn't have it. I think I lost a little bit more of my sanity when I started looking in people's buggies while their heads were turned, determined to grab it out of someone's basket while they weren't looking if I happened to see it. This morning, after looking online, I found that they got a new shipment in yesterday. I'm sending Hubby to get it after work today. :) This is the VERY last thing we are buying, since we've already blown our budget.

Dave Ramsey would be so dissapointed in me.

One Week Left!

2009-12-17T08:44:00.002-06:00

We only have one week left until Christmas! I'm excited, especially since I've got my shopping finished. Now, I'm just ready for it to be here and done!

Work has been insane, but it looks like I may be able to take tomorrow off for my oldest's school party and then, hopefully, a trip to the newly renovated science museum. I fell into a lunch induced coma yesterday after our staff lunch, so not much got done. Today I'll be wrapping up the final things here at the office.

My mom insists that I help her finish shopping this weekend, though I don't know how well that's going to turn out. Maybe I can find some good deals on clothes while I'm out. :) We also have to do our "Santa" drop for the family we adopted. I'm sure I've said this all before, but I'm in a great mood today, so far. We'll see how well that turns out when the choir gets here for practice in an hour! I'm definately going to have to shut my door and turn on my music. :P Hey, at least they're feeding me!!

OMG!!!!

2009-12-14T13:21:00.001-06:00

My mom just emailed this over to me. Natalie Portman will star as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!!!!! This just made my day. :)

Monday is Here...and Things Seem to Have Calmed Down

2009-12-14T12:28:00.003-06:00

Yes! It's a shocker. Even though I have been busy all day, it's been fairly quiet. I've managed to get quite a bit done thus far, so I can get everything for next week done early (hint to boss!).

We had a great party Saturday night, and just enough people to make it fun. I don't have pics because I spent so much time and energy cleaning and cooking that I didn't even think about the camera until most folks were gone. Noone started leaving until about 11 and the last person slunk out about 1am. And, yes, the kids were up the entire time. I tried to crash about midnight, but it failed. For some reason the stereo in the livingroom is louder in my bedroom than it is in the rest of the house, and the bass makes it that much worse. We still haven't figured this one out. Hubby was nice enough to take care of the dishes last night and I didn't have to cook since we had so much food left over from Saturday. Yay! Of course, you can't tell that I spent all day Saturday cleaning house and cooking. I got what amounts to my annual week long spring cleaning done in 1 day, and I'm still not done with laundry. Oh well - at least you can open the door to the laundry room now!

I get to spend this week finishing up the house work and making sure everything for my oldest's "Winter Party" at school is ready to go by Friday. I'm hoping to take that entire day off and go to the science museum afterwards. THAT would be awesome! :)

In other news...The laptop is still down. It seems it may either be an issue with Windows or my motherboard is fried. I'm hoping for the first one, cause I can't afford $500 for a new laptop. In the meantime I've got my desktop running - although it sounds like a lawnmower when it's on thanks to the CPU fan being slightly loose.

I have more work to do here, including wondering outside to change out a sign now that it's warmed up for the day. (Yay 60's!!!!)

More on Computers...and a Promised Cat Story

2009-12-07T08:35:00.006-06:00

Well, the laptop is still not up and running, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I spoke with my neighbor yesterday as he was replacing fence posts on our side of the fence (great neighbor, huh?) and told him what happened. Long story short, I need to pop the memory out of my laptop and put a new one in, because it probably got fried. My brother gave me a new stick of memory, so we'll have to see if it works, otherwise, guess what I'm getting for Christmas? Hubby set my desktop up, but it is sooo sloooow. He doesn't want me using his to update my blog, because in his words "I don't know what kind of diseases my computer might get from your blog." Ah. Paranoid much? I still love him though, especially since he took the day off to take the baby to the doctor.

On to the cats! All my pics are on my laptop, so we're kinda screwed for real visuals at the moment. But, imagine this:

First, let me introduce my cats to you. Emma (short for Emma O, the Japanese ruler of Hell) is my momma cat, and solid black. A friend found her wondering as a kitten on the side of a very busy highway and brought her to me. I've had her for 6 years. Sylvester is my black and white cat from one of the many litters Emma had. She's really sweet, but skittish. She's about 3. Bitty Kitty is my solid black baby kitty. I call her a baby, because she is so much smaller than other cats, but she's about 2 years old. I found her as a kitten in the parking lot at work, abandoned by her momma kitty, because she has a gimpy leg. I'm typically the only person she will come to, and she won't come out until the boys are in bed and noone else is around.

My cats before the surgery were really bitchy towards each other and anyone besides me. They would hiss and growl at everyone, or just hide.

When I took them in last Monday to get them fixed, it turned into a cross between a cat rodeo and a Looney Toons cartoon. Have you ever tried to put an unwilling cat in crate? How about 3? This is basically what it looks like.

So, after wrestling all of them in to crates, I make the drive in nearly freezing temps, with cats howling in the back seat, to the Humane Society, and stand outside with the cats filling out paperwork. See, the Humane Society decided not to open the doors, so everyone was pretty much stuck outside. My cats looked like this after an hour.

But, we finally got them off to the kitty surgeon. I picked them up later that evening. So far, they are healing very well. Friday, I started hearing noises very close to my Christmas tree, and immediately went to investigate. See, Emma destroyed the last tree I had by laying on the branches about half-way up. Sylvester, the strange cat she is, eats the plastic needles off, then usually pukes them up on the tree skirt. Bitty just plays with the ornaments. This is what I normally expect to see.

I was astounded when I didn't find any of that. No, I found all 3 cats curled up in a giant cat ball asleep. Together. Under the tree. And that's pretty much where they've been all weekend, only coming out for the neccessities. I think my cats have been abducted by aliens or something, because they never acted this way before. However, their cat like instincts kicked in when they all looked at me very dismayed last night as I was putting gifts under their tree. I have to say, I think they might be somewhat back to normal.

I'm Screwed

2009-12-05T16:45:00.002-06:00

Unfortunately, it looks as if my laptop has bit the dust. I haven't taken it in to have it looked at, but it's either the hard drive or the ram that fried. Sucks to be me, and I can't really afford to buy a new one at the moment. Fortunately, I have a spare computer lying around, which I only need to buy (or find) a keyboard for. I think the sound card in that one is fried, but it's better than the hard drive! Maybe the hubby will be nice enough to get it set up for me this weekend. The party starts in ~ 2 hours from now, so I guess I better get my butt in gear and get ready. Once the other pc is hooked up, I can (hopefully) get pictures up, and you can see my pretty face again.

Tomorrow: a post on my cats...it's amazing what a little surgery can do to their attitudes.

Stupid Computer!

2009-12-04T13:52:00.002-06:00

I got home yesterday and tried to turn on my laptop. Nothing. Hard boot it. Nothing. Last resort: use the boot disk. You know, the one that wipes everything off your harddrive? Nadda. It will boot up to about 80%, then do absolutely nothing. It won't even let me in to the boot-up screen. I think something ate it. I can just imagine this creepy looking worm eating through my little harddrive. Or something like Tron. You do remember Tron, right?

Sooo, posting this weekend will probably be a bit hard for me until I can dust off my desktop computer and get that baby running and set up with all my stuff. Let's hope I still have a monitor to go with it, or it's not gonna do me any good.

I finish 90% of my Christmas shopping tonight. Yay! Hubby is taking care of the rest of it. Yay! Then, we have this huge Christmas party for his work to go to. A night off without the boys: Double Yay! I promise, once I can get things straight with the PC, I'll put my pictures up. I promise!

Snow!

2009-12-02T10:14:00.002-06:00

I woke up to an inch of snow on the ground this morning. Now, some of you up north may be saying, "so what?" but snow here is rare. Usually we get ice, but there were giant snowflakes falling. This, of course, means that people freaked out. As my best friend put it, everyone's IQ fell by about 20 points when they got on the road this morning. All the meetings at work were canceled, and the boss won't be in until this afternoon, which means I am all by myself today. Woohoo!

All this snow and the falling temps means that my growing season is over. So sad. I still had tomatoes and peppers on the vines. Guess I need to pick all those when I get home and throw them in the freezer. I don't get it. Nothing started to fruit until the end of the summer, even though I planted at the end of March. The summer wasn't even that bad, since we only got up to 100+ about 20 days. Oh well. How's your day going?

And It Begins...

2009-11-30T10:27:00.002-06:00

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I enjoyed being able to be with my family...and escaping once I was ready to come home. I bought me a new Christmas tree that actually fits in my living room ($95 at Lowes!) and folds up so I don't have to deal with taking all the stupid lights off after Christmas. Most of the decorations are up and my living room is clean, which never happens in the same weekend. The tree is up, and I've already taken pictures, so I'll put them up when I get home this afternoon. Speaking of Christmas...

Today is Cyber Monday, the shopping day for those of us who refuse to step foot near a mall between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Quite frankly, if I can get all my shopping done online and not have to deal with people, I'm pretty happy. I just don't do well with crowds. I've got about half of my Christmas shopping done already (yay me!) but I do have to venture out to a few more places. I'm trying to be smart this year and know what I'm getting before I actually get in to a store. If I don't I'm bound to over spend on my budget, and that's not good when it comes to having to explain to my husband why I spent so much money. (He's an accountant, so tends to freak out over spending money any way. lol)

And more money spent: I took all 3 cats in this morning to have them fixed. Yes, I'm finally doing it so that my husband doesn't find them new homes. Believe it or not, it only cost me $20 each, and that includes their shots, thanks to a deal with Kittico through the Humane Society. I get to pick them up this evening.

Well, back to the salt mines! I've got newsletters to mail out today along with catching up on everything that didn't get done in a 3 day work week. :)

The Muppets Do Queen

2009-11-25T08:32:00.005-06:00

I LOVE Queen. I especially love Bohemian Rhapsody. I also love the muppets. (Come on, anyone growing up in the 80's HAS to love the muppets.) So, I give you the Muppets do Bohemian Rhapsody. Enjoy!

WTF?

2009-11-22T10:05:00.005-06:00

For some reason, I let Thanksgiving sneak up on me. I promise myself every year that I will be prepared for it, but it never happens. My schedule for the week has been completely thrown off this time. I was supposed to do all my shopping yesterday so that I could get the house clean today and my husband rearrange the living room to make space for the Christmas tree. No such luck.

I also had our annual Christmas pictures scheduled for yesterday, but in light of events of the past week and everything I had to do yesterday (funeral), I rescheduled those to today. My oldest isn't too happy with me about that. We had pictures done yesterday with my husband's family that went something like this:

2:30pm Get on the highway with Mapquest directions...get stuck on said highway because of an accident, making us 10 minutes late.
3:05pm Get to the general area we are supposed to be, and start looking for the right street to turn on. Mapquest says the street is .2 miles north of the highway. Okay. Why can't I find the stupid street?!
3:10pm I decide to turn at the next intersection, because the one after that is the freakin highway. No street signs, but now we're stuck in the middle of a monstrosity known as the mega shopping center. You know, the ones with all the high dollar botique shops that you have to walk miles to get to if you're on foot.
3:11pm My MIL calls trying to find out where we are, and to tell us that if we aren't there in 5 minutes they're going to force us to reschedule. She tries to give us directions because f@*# ing Mapquest has decided that, yes, we are already there. I spend a good portion of this time trying to dodge the idiots that aren't paying attention and trying to follow directions that are being relayed through my husband. I keep yelling "Where the f#@* is this place!?" and "Where the hell am I supposed to turn at? I can't turn there!"
3:16pm What seems like an eon later, we finally arrive.
4:20pm Yes, we had to wait an hour once we got there, because they weren't ready for us! We then spend half an hour doing pictures. With 13 people, one of whom is my 5 month old who is not very happy at having to sit still.
5:00pm Wait some more. Yes, we had to wait for them to upload all of our pictures.
5:20pm Go through the 40 something pictures the took, trying to convince my MIL that some of them just don't look good, and we don't need 20 copies of each picture.
5:30pm I walk out because I seriously need a cigarette, and I'm ready to kill someone.
6:00pm Everyone else comes out, and it's time to go.

Now, it's time to go shopping. Let's hope I don't end up in jail.

Is November Over Yet?

2009-11-19T10:12:00.003-06:00

This has certainly been a long month, hasn't it? I know many of you have been dealing with issues of your own recently, and it's been no different for me. This week, in particular, has been really bad, which is why I've been posting so far and few in between.

On Monday I found out that my great grandmother, who has Alzheimer's, not only has a major case of uterine cancer but also has an anurism in her abdomen. They will not do surgery on her until they can clear the anurism. I also found out that my grandfather, who has been battling bladder cancer for several years will have to have his bladder removed. He has gone through 3 stints of chemo with this, and every time it comes back more aggressive. I don't know what it is about my family and cancer. These are only the 2 most recent issues with it.

Tuesday things hit the fan at work. Our nursery worker, who has been a member of the church since 1955 and working in the nursery for just as long, passed away. She fell last Sunday and broke her leg, then had surgery on it last Friday. Her passing was unexpected, as we were all told she was doing well, and getting ready to go into rehab. She was a very sweet woman, who will be greatly missed by a lot of people.

I also have a parent/teacher conference for my oldest today, so that will hopefully go well. As long as I don't lock my keys in my car again, like I did yesterday, I think I'll be good. I know things could always get worse.

Menu Monday and Other Things

2009-11-16T09:53:00.003-06:00

Yes, it's Monday, again.

I ran into a couple of problems over the weekend, mostly due to planning, or the lack thereof, and not just on my end.

Problem #1: Grocery Shopping

I did my grocery shopping on Thursday, since I had a dinner party to go to Friday night and a birthday party on Saturday. Had I waited to buy groceries on Sunday, we would have starved. (Not really, but noone else in the house seems to want to cook or use all the stuff we already have in the pantry.) I also had to bake a cake for said dinner party (#2). After painstakingly creating a grocery list, emailing everyone in the house as to items I needed to pick up, and calling whilst at the grocery store to double check on said needed items, I missed things. Important things, evidently. (I had no clue I needed onion soup mix and wine to make gravy for salisbury steak.) Now, keep in mind that I create a dinner menu before I ever leave for the store and make a list of everything we need for said dinners. I stick to my list, because I've got $150 to feed 4 adults and 2 children for a week. This is also why I shop alone. I found out on Saturday that my grandparents are coming in today and want to do dinner. I didn't plan on this many people at my house for dinner tonight, but fortunately they want to go out to eat. Yay! Here is my dinner menu for this week.

Sunday: Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes w/gravy, green beans

Monday: hopefully Macaroni Grill :)

Tuesday: Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup

Wednesday: Chicken and dumplings

Thursday: cheeseburger macaroni

Friday: Porkchops with brown rice

Saturday: Chicken parmesan

Problem #2: Make a truffle cake in 2 hours

This was a lot easier than I thought. I wanted to make one of those really light fluffy cakes that requires a springform pan, but I didn't feel like going to Walmart just for something like that, and I'm just really lazy sometimes. So, I doctored a boxed cake mix. (This is why I ALWAYS keep stocked on boxed cake mixes.) Super easy! I used a Devil's Food Cake box mix. Follow the directions, but substitute 1/2 cup of the water for 1/2 cup oil. Make sure you sift your cake mix too, which is what will make it come out moister (along with the oil) and lighter. Bake in 2 8-inch cake pans. After they cool, make a chocolate ganache. It's basically chocolate and heavy cream. There are multiple recipes out there, and I just kinda eyeball it I've made it so many times. Add 1 teaspoon of raspberry flavoring to the ganache and ice and decorate the cake as normal. I didn't get to take pictures because we were in such a hurry Friday night, but it came out wonderful.

I'm just glad it's been quiet at work today, at least so far. I need the rest! How was your weekend?

Zombie Mommy's Chemical Free Cleaning

2009-11-12T10:37:00.006-06:00

I promised you all that I would post my cleaning tips. Something I have to let you know is that I have to use chemical free cleaners because when I am subjected to all those nasty fumes I get sick for weeks on end. For years my bosses always knew when I was doing spring cleaning, because I had laryngitis. Some of these you may know, some you may not, but I promise it's going to make your life easier and your pocketbook happier.

Here are the basic items:

Murphy's Oil Soap - ($3) made of vegetable oil and 100% earth friendly. Use this to clean any wood, laminate, or tile floors and wood tables, chairs, etc. You don't have to rinse after use, which is very handy and it puts the natural oil back into the wood.

Vinegar - ($2 for gallon) this will clean any and all of your chrome fixtures and leave them shiny without streaks. You can also clean windows without streaks.

Mr. Clean Eraser - ($5 for 2) these things work miracles! Not only do they take the nasty fingerprints off of walls and doors, along with crayons, but if you have white laminate coutertops like I do, they take the stains off them as well. No more tea or kool-aid rings!

Method Multipurpose Cleaner - ($3) find this at Target, Lowes, and few other places. I love this company's products because they don't have the harsh chemicals, and they clean better than the chemical cleaners. You can get it in a variety of smells, such as lavender (my favorite), cucumber, pink grapefruit, or non scented. Check out their website because, seriously, this company may have saved my life with their products. They even have a Detox Your Home Kit that is really awesome, especially as a gift for someone who is just getting out on their own.

Cloth Diapers - ($10 for a package of 6-10) these things are awesome! I use these instead of paper towels to clean everything, including drying dishes. They are made not to leave fuzzies, and they're super absorbent, though you do have to wash them 6-8 times to make sure they'll hold everything. You can also buy flour sack towels, but they've gotten really pricey lately because they're now trendy.

You will still need a few of your basic items like dish soap, dishwasher detergent, laundry soap (Arm & Hammer seems to be the best cleaning one out there), and toilet bowl cleaner. These items are whatever you prefer. Don't forget a few heavy duty sponges or scrub brushes for those really nasty spots and some rubber dish gloves. These will save your manicure.

Now, my suggestion for cleaning is this: pick one room and start at the top and work your way down. The major rooms are the kitchen, livingroom, and bathroom, especially if you are expecting company. Trust me, your house will look spotless to people, even if your bedroom is a mess, as long as these rooms are clean.

First, compile all your cleaning items (it's not a lot, is it?) into an easy to carry caddy so you're not lugging an armfull of stuff around. Now, put on a little AC/DC to set the mood, and get started.

If you are cleaning the kitchen, tackle any dirty dishes first. This is imperative, as you need to be able to get to your cabinets. After you have picked up all the clutter from the floor and tables/countertops, dust. Dusting should always be done with a damp cloth so that you trap the dust and not just spread it around. Don't forget that ceiling fan and the vents, either. If you drop some icky wet dust bunnies on the floor because you haven't dusted since you moved in, don't worry about it. You'll be picking it up later. After that, tackle the windows/mirrors. This is an imperative step. Dirty windows let less light in, and during the cold dreary months when you need that extra sunlight, dirty windows can make you feel tired and rundown all the time. Also take this time to wash any mini blinds or curtains you may have. (This includes the shower curtain if you're cleaning the bathroom.) Next, clean the tables/counters/toilets and any items that are on them. Physically take everything off and wipe it down. If you come across stuff you don't want anymore stick it in a box labeled "garage sale". You would be amazed at how much stuff you can get rid of this way. Finally, get that floor clean! Remove any rugs and wash them or take them outside and beat the living crap out of them to get all the dirt and dust out. (This gets rid of a LOT of frustration.) Vaccuum or sweep and mop. Don't forget to vaccuum any upholstered furniture while you're at it. These trap a ton of dirt, dander, and pollen. Take out the trash. Now, go buy you some pretty flowers, put them in a vase in the middle of the table and relax with a glass of iced tea or a good cocktail! Your house is clean. :)

A Little Random Fun for the Day

2009-11-11T09:35:00.002-06:00

I'm a huge fan of Mental Floss Magazine and their blog. One of their writers, Miss Cellania has an awesome video of the Matrix done as a silent movie. Hilarious! Check it out.

My Ottoman Is Finished! Yay!

2009-11-08T20:14:00.004-06:00

Here is my pretty ottoman. Covering the box itself took only a couple of hours and a lot of staples. It's 24x18 with a 3 inch cushion and sits a lot higher than I thought it would. Still, it's plenty big to hold all of our Nintendo accessories. I may have to build a tray to go inside to hold the Wii games, just so they're accessible easier.

I stapled 1 inch elastic to the inside to hold Wii remotes and other stuff. Evidently 1 yard of elastic is NOT enough. I guess I'll be making a trip to Hobby Lobby next paycheck to pick up some more.

Here's one of the cats for scale. (I said scale, not sale. Though, my husband would be more than happy to give her away.)

I've got some special items coming up this week, just in time for the holidays, including at least one cheater recipe (yes, I cook) and some cleaning tips you may not know about that will save you enough time to get that cocktail in before your inlaws or snooty aunt arrive. Some of this stuff I had to do a lot of Google searches for, and it's super great info everyone should know. In case you haven't noticed, I've got my Christmas countdown clock over to the right going. I know, it's getting close, and I'm not allowed to do shopping until after Thanksgiving.

What a Week

2009-11-07T21:28:00.003-06:00

It's been a really rough week around my house and, for once, it's not the boys. On top of all the other issues we have had to deal with, my family was glued to the news after the shootings at Fort Hood, which is not that far from us.

My family is a military family to the core. I have an aunt and uncle who are on post in Alaska and another aunt and uncle stationed at Cheyenne Mountain. My mom works for a defense contractor, and of course they had some guys stationed down there. One of my grandfathers, a Marine, fought in South America during the Korean war. Another grandfather worked on the nuclear silos and also for NASA. My family has fought in every war this country has been a part of, including the American Revolution. So, to hear something like this happening really hits deep. A sense of duty and honor has always been instilled in us, and for a soldier to walk in and start shooting his own is absolutely horrific. I pray for this man, his family and friends, not to mention the soldiers and their families who have been deeply affected by this.

Peanut Zombies

2009-11-03T11:25:00.002-06:00

This is one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen. Gotta love zombie peanuts!!! Check out the other creations at the Bent Objects blog.

Menu Monday!

2009-11-02T11:05:00.003-06:00

You all know that I am an absolute mess without my lists. (Okay, so maybe you didn't but you do now.) I must have a grocery list and I must have a menu in place for said grocery list. No questions asked. So, taking a cue from Heather over at Home-Ec 101 I am posting my menu for the week. This also helps me in case I lose my list that is floating around in my purse somewhere.

Sunday: Spaghetti

Monday: porkchops with cornbread dressing

Tuesday: tandoori chicken with couscous

Wednesday: sausage & saurkraut

Thursday: pizza

Friday: fajitas

What's on your menu this week?

Zombie Mommy Strikes Again!

2009-10-31T20:41:00.005-05:00

I hope you all had a very productive Halloween! We ended up with a bucket full of candy, and I scared several people, hee hee. Keep in mind that we had a black light on and I was sitting on the ground behind a bucket of candy.

I had one lady, a grown woman, who refused to walk up to me to get candy. I love it! I did learn a couple of lessons with my costume this year.

1) Liquid latex hurts like hell when you take it off.

2) That fake blood stuff stains your skin. I'm gonna look like a clown when I go to church in the morning if my concealer doesn't do its job.

This was my youngest's first Halloween, and he seemed to enjoy every minute of it...when he wasn't sleeping.

Even my mom got dressed up and went trick or treating with us.

I do have one bone to pick with some certain people here in my neighborhood. Normally, this is a very kid friendly place, with a TON of trick or treaters. I can tell you that 90% of the people here didn't give out candy this year. I don't know why, especially when you consider Halloween was on a Saturday this year. What really irks me is that several people left their porch lights on and refused to give out candy. They will be lucky if they don't have some TP'd trees or shaving cream on their front doors in the morning. Let me reiterate this...TURN YOUR PORCH LIGHT OUT IF YOU AREN'T GIVING OUT CANDY, PEOPLE! Even my 5 year old was mad about this.

Well, I'm out for the night. I've got to go try to wash all this stuff out of my hair and off my face before church in the morning. :)

Hmmmm.....Not Quite Done Yet

2009-10-28T21:55:00.004-05:00

My grandfather will be proud of me. Although I didn't do it singlehandedly thanks to an instructor who likes to be very hands on, I have nearly completed my covered ottoman. My back is killing me from bending over it with the staple gun, but guess what? No raw edges!! I did it right. :) Monday I will finish the top and add the elastic to hold all the Wii remotes and accessories so they aren't scattered across the living room. I also have to do a blind stitch on the corners of the seat. I still have 2 weeks of class, and this is the final project. Guess I'll spend it hemming a pair of slacks I bought that are WAY too long and sewing buttons on some of my husband's shirts, if he can find the buttons. Here are a few pictures of it (and me) in the process from Monday. The one above is the cushion for the top. You can't really see the color very well, but it's an apple green with gold threads running through it.

Here's me cutting the foam for the cushion.

This is the underside of the top where I will attach the elastic. I tried to find some pictures of pressed fairies to put on it to go with the blood spatter, but alas no such luck.

Oooh! Friday night I have a Murder Mystery Dinner to attend with my Sunday school class at the pastor's house. It's gonna be a blast. Nothing like a game of live action Clue to start off the Halloween weekend. Too bad Tim Curry won't be there. I love that guy. He's so creepy, along with Christopher Walken. Man, I've got some movies I need to go watch now.

A Quick Tid Bit

2009-10-26T13:42:00.002-05:00

This is quite easily one of the funniest shorts I've ever seen. I came across it through Mental Floss, and it's posted on Flotsam Enjoy!

I Feel So Special!

2009-10-26T11:44:00.003-05:00

I was honored today by receiving the Kreativ Blogger Award from Heather of Welch Happenings.

Thank you, Heather! I'm so glad to know I'm really not just talking to myself. So, I guess I'll share 7 interesting things about me.

1) I'm short. I'm actually only 4'11", which I guess would make me some sort of dwarf? I heard that somewhere in highschool. And no, I don't have to sit on phone books to drive. I just have to scooch my seat up all the way.

2) I went through childbirth naturally, with no drugs, twice. Yes, twice, as if the first time wasn't bad enough. But, I guess if it happens 5 years apart, you kinda forget about the pain and wanting to rip someone's eyes out in the middle of it.

3) My wedding anniversary is today! Yep, 7 years with my wonderful hubby, and I have a dentisit appointment today for fillings. Guess who was the one not thinking when that appointment was made?

4) I work for a church. It's not really a cushy position, but I do have a small amount of free time, usually during lunch, and I love the people I work for and with. I'm not only blessed with one congregation who wants to make sure I'm okay, but I have 2! How cool is that? (I'm Presbyterian, so I'm pretty laid back as far as church's go.)

5) I smoke. I'm 28, and I've smoked since I was in 8th grade. I'm never quitting. Just to spite the nonsmokers who tell me I can't smoke in a restaurant, at a park, or out in public. >:) They can bite me.

6) I like making lists. Even if nothing else gets done, I make lists.

7) I insist on being prepared for anything, including invasion, nuclear warfare, and zombies, or the occassional tornado. I can survive in the wilderness without a gun, though one would be really handy. Between my mom and I, we have enough gear to keep our family safe and fed.

Yes, I am the coolest person in the world. (Now wipe the coffee off the computer monitor that you just blew out your nose!!!)

A Looong Week and a Lot of Money...or Let's See How Much Money I Can Spend!

2009-10-24T21:23:00.007-05:00

I know it's been a few days since I posted, but a lot has been going on. The baby is sick, to the point that I had to get him a nebulizer Thursday. Needless to say, he's really cranky, so I've been having to hold him. A lot.

Back on point. I went to 7, yes 7, stores today. Between Cutting Corners (cloth), Central Market (specialty grocery store), Target (baby stuff & a new cake plate), Hobby Lobby (foam and batting), Home Depot (plywood for project), and Albertsons (weekly groceries) I spent a grand total of $280. And I didn't even have my coffee this morning. Can you believe that?! I also went to Halloween USA, but they want $32 for an Indiana Jones costume for a 5 year old. I'm not spending that much on a costume for myself!

However, in the midst of it all, I have managed to get my cushion put together after finishing the cover on Wednesday. I had to cut the "wings" off and shove them in the cover first, then stuff the rest of the cushion into a trashbag in order to get it to go in. I had to sit on the edge to get the thing zipped up! But, it's finally done. :)

Isn't it pretty? Here's the cushion on the chair. It's hideous, I know, but I'll get to recover the whole thing next semester. The chair just looks so frumpy. I don't even want to know what it's going to cost me in materials. The cushion alone cost me $65. Thankfully, I only spent $60 on the cloth for the entire chair.

Monday we start making our ottomans. I found a gorgeous green faux silk for $7.99 a yard today, so that's what I'm going to use. I hope I can get back there before they sell out of it to get enough for my sofa. After buying the wood for the frame, the cushion, cloth, and batting I spent a grand total of $65. I guess I would spend more than that if I bought one, so I'm not complaining. Not too much anyway. It shouldn't take me more than one, two classes at the most, so expect to be seeing here this week. It will definately be handy to hold all the Wii remotes and accessories.