Under the Quilt

So, yeah...

2009-10-13T22:53:00.002-04:00

Thought I would write a few blurbs about the goings on around these parts. I started a new job on the weekends. I call it my 6th and 7th day of the work week. Ha! If I don't remain humorous I may just go completely insane. So, yeah. I'm now working seven days a week for an unspecified amount of time. Plus, I took on a side project a couple months ago that I've been mostly procrastinating on and now regretting that I didn't use all of my free time on it. Once I can get that out of the way, my stress level will decrease tremendously. I'm currently sworn to secrecy, but will let y'all know what it is when I'm done. That is unless I'm completely embarrassed by my shotty attempt at writing. In that case, I'll probably just pretend that I never mentioned anything and you all can do the same!

So, my new job on the weekends (and an occasional weeknight extending my M-F work days to about 15 hours...yay). I am a "Suite Attendant" at one of the more upscale hotels in town. Suite Attendant is obviously just a glorified term for maid. I will say that all of my new co-workers seem very nice. I've worked in this setting before, back before I had any kids, and it's not easy to find pleasant, ungrouchy people in housekeeping. It ain't the most pleasant job, but it pays the bills. I'm actually excited because for years I have not had co-workers and believe it or not, that is going to be one of the perks for me. Yes, I said it. Real live adults (not 3 year olds...who I love dearly... who throw fits all day). I told myself, "Self, if you have to work seven days a week you need to have variety. Caring for children seven days a week will get monotonous and you will start to get burned out."

Last weekend was my first on the job. The older lady that I was paired with is a hoot!!! I hope they stick me with her again until I finish my training. We got on the subject of anti-depressants and she said, "Yeah, I've been on them for the past 7 years, right after my husband passed away. I call them my "I Don't Give a Shit! pills....HAHAHAH!!!"

I love her laugh. It's contagious and she has this wonderful old lady name that fits her perfectly. When we were done for the day and restocking her cart, she even told me that on her days off I could use her cart if necessary. If you haven't ever had the pleasure (or displeasure) of being in the company of a group of housekeepers/maids/suite attendants, then you may not know how much of a BIG DEAL that offer is. I have definitely found a new friend. I thanked her for the offer, but I don't think I'll need to take her up on it because I have my own brand spanking new (or recently cleaned and refilled by mwah) cleaning cart. Orick vacuum and all! You know the ones I'm talking about. Whenever you stay in a motel and it's sitting in the hall, maid nowhere in sight. You think...hmmm, I need some extra soap/shampoo/sewing kit. No one will EVER notice! So you snap a few extras. And maybe an extra bath towel while you're at it. Well, if anyone decides to do that from my cart, I will definitely understand. And even look the other way. Because you know what kind of soap we have on our fancy little carts??? Bath and Body Works. The bath bar is Brown Sugar Vanilla and the face/hand bar is Coconut Lime (I think?).

I am going to have THE HARDEST TIME not sticking one in my pocket to take home. It's worse than the temptation to steal office supplies. Post-its have nothing over Bath and Body Works.

p.s. Oh, I almost forgot the bestest part! My first bed made by myself after the Head Housekeeper left me on my own. 12 minutes!! Apparently the veterans do theirs in around 11 minutes. These are not your ordinary beds, mind you. Smooth the mattress cover and pull taut. Fitted sheet with the elastic stretchies on the sides of bed. Pull taut. Flat sheet on next, leaving one to two inches at the top. White thermal blanket, about 4 inches down from the flat sheet. Decorative sheet, next. Line it up with the blanket. Fold the bottom flat sheet over the top of the blanket and decorative sheet, tucking in the sides VERY TIGHTLY. Oh yeah, I forgot the bottom flat sheet has the "ugly" edge facing up since it it going to get folded over. The decorative sheet has the "pretty" edge facing up. (getting bored yet?) Next, put the pillow cases on the six, yes SIX, pillows (four for the queens). 3 feather pillows centered in the back, 3 synthetic centered and placed in front of the feathered. Don't forget to place the zipper from the pillow cover on the inside of the case and then do your envelope fold so that no part of the pillow is exposed. Make sure to place the folded end of the pillow to the center of the bed. Now....(taking a breather)....go down to the bottom of the bed and kneel down at the corner. You must kneel down and press your knee against the bed skirt or else it will get folded up with the sheets as you do your fancy hospital corner tucks. Put your hand down under all 3 elements (flat sheet, blanket, decorative sheet) and pull up slightly on the mattress. Stuff all three under the mattress making a nice clean (and tight!) fit. "Wrap the present" on each corner. Tuck in sides all the way to the top of the bed (tightly!). Grab your very neatly folded comforter which you have placed on the nearby cushioned foot stool. Place the zipper nearest to the window. Fold it in a fan style so that when the occupant gets into bed they can easily pull it up and over the sheet. Lastly, place the velour bolster pillow centered in front of the 6 bed pillows. Smooth out any wrinkles as needed. Viola! Now does 12 minutes sound a little more impressive??

My grandbaby

2009-09-24T00:04:00.002-04:00

Haha! Did I get you with that one? No? Oh well.

My daughter, who is 12 years old, has already decided a few things for her future. For years now, she has said that she does not WHATSOEVER want to give birth to a baby. Not only is it painful (thank you unrealistic TV and movie versions of childbirth) , but she doesn't want to ruin her body. Hmmm. You think she remembers seeing me without clothes when she was younger.

No need to fear though. She is planning on adopting. And if it's a girl, her name will be Naomi. Isn't that the sweetest name for a little grandbaby? That would be really funny if she actually sticks with those plans. Will keep y'all updated!

To Do List

2009-09-15T23:59:00.003-04:00

Get stuff sorted through and priced for our neighborhood yard sale on Saturday
Put away ALL toilet paper, paper towels, hair ties, rubber bands, pens, pencils, cotton balls, etc. because this weekend we are adding a member to the family. A young, male manx cat named Tumi is going to come live with us for the next few months and terrorize our two adult cats. The gentleman (or guy...because gentleman just makes me think of a "Gentlemen's Club" and that's just creepy) that I've been working for on the weekends is taking the next few months to visit family in India. He didn't have any plans for his little kitty and was, therefore, going to bring him to the shelter. I couldn't let that happen and since I don't have enough on my plate already (ha) I decided to volunteer. The past couple of weeks that I've gone over to clean, the entire apartment is covered in toilet paper. Should be fun!
Bone up on infant care. For the longest time, all of my daycare children have been in the toddler to preschool age range. At the end of October, I will gain a newborn and a 1 1/2 year old. The baby is breastfed so I know I better be prepared with stain remover. Does anyone know what I'm talking about when I mention the color fluorescent orange??
Stop procrastinating and call my mom back. My uncle is quickly losing his battle against leukemia. This past week Mom called, barely able to hold down her end of the conversation (understandably), to tell me that he was given 2 weeks to 2 months to live. Or as God sees fit. A couple of days later, my dad calls to tell me that uncle R is not doing very well and they are going to let him come home. I don't know if I've ever seen or heard my dad cry before. There's a first time for everything I guess. All I can do is sit here feeling helpless because how do you console a loved one, over the phone, who is losing a sibling? The answer is you can't. I feel like a jerk because money is preventing me from taking a week off to drive the 14 or so hours to be there for my mom. You know how people always say CANCER SUCKS! They're right every single time.
Give my kids and hubby extra hugs because they deserve it (and so do I!)
Tell everyone about this wonderful blog that I discovered a few days ago and now have read hours and hours of archives because I just love it. If I had to pick a favorite part, it would definitely be the love letter entries. It warms my heart so.

Sag Harbor

2009-09-05T00:46:00.004-04:00

When I was a teenager and my mom had those comics that made fun of the little old ladies with boobs sagging down all the way down to

t
h
e
r
e
.
.
.
.

I used to think they were funny.

Not so much anymore.

I've completely given up the notion that there is a bra out there that will support these puppies. And also? I have no recollection of what perky is.

And who ever thought that the brand name Sag Harbor was a good idea for a clothing line? I suppose it would be an excellent name for a retirement nudist colony.

Scary

2009-09-02T00:46:00.003-04:00

I just sent an email requesting an application for an ad on Craigslist. Yep, I'm still browsing around there. Come October 2 - November 1 I could be the next scariest monster you ever did see. Raaaawwwwrrrr!!!!!

You KNOW I'll be posting a picture here if I get the job.

Irony

2009-08-30T00:14:00.004-04:00

Every weekend now, I make the 30 minute drive to my cleaning/personal assistant/chauffer (that was added to the list today) job. Now mind you, even though it sucks to be working this many hours each week, I am grateful to be picking up some extra cash on the weekends ($9 per hour if you were interested). But it is also ultra annoying to have to sit at the signal light just blocks from my job and have to be stared down by the dude with the cardboard sign begging for money. It seems like it's a different person each week, which makes me wonder if they have alternating shifts or something. And the sign always says something different, but they all have the same basic message.

GIVE ME MONEY FOR STANDING HERE AND LOOKING PITIFUL!

I know that times are hard right now. You don't have to tell me that. I also know that I am probably not in the same position, or even close to it, as these beggars.

But I also know that I am not the kind of person that is going to sit back and expect people to feel sorry for me without taking some initiative.

Does that make me heartless? I prefer to call myself a realist.

Perspective

2009-08-24T00:18:00.003-04:00

I saw this on a church sign today as I was driving home after working 9 1/2 hours cleaning and schlepping boxes, and holding a photographic reflector thingie in "just the right position":

Laughter is the shock absorber that eases the blows of life.

True dat.

And just when you think your life is sucky and you have every reason to complain about anything and everything, something pops up that smacks you right back into reality.

Just over a month ago, my uncle (my mom's bro) was diagnosed with Acute Leukemia. Yeah. He has had one round of chemo and will find out in a day or two the results from his tests. If there are any cancer cells detected, they will immediately start the next round of chemo. After that, it is bone marrow transplant time...if a match is found. No guarantees and all. He will also be having numerous blood transfusions throughout this process.

My mom and her oldest brother will be going in to get tested to see if they are a match. Statistically, siblings are the most likely to match. From there it's a crap shoot. I have been on the bone marrow registry for about 10 years now, having a vial of blood drawn at a Relay for Life event. This is my friendly reminder to everyone to seek out your local blood bank and/or bone marrow donation center. It really is not that painful of a process, lasting about an hour per donation, and you get free cookies and juice!

Please send positive thoughts (and prayers if that's up your alley) in the direction of Milwaukee, WI. Thanks so much!

Moving on

2009-08-22T00:42:00.003-04:00

I needed to write a post to get rid of the nastiness of the previous one. Or at least move it on down the page. I would love to write an actual, meaningful post, but I'm Much. Too. Busy. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! At least I have tomorrow off so I can catch up on a few things...like my next business (sort of) adventure. Woo hoo! Now if I could just get my brain to function for this one. Hmmmm.

Things you can't say on Facebook

2009-08-14T17:52:00.002-04:00

AKA: If You Were Looking for Something Positive and Chipper to Read.....Look Elsewhere.

I'm about at the end of my rope. To be exact, I've been there for a while, but I've just been holding it all in because I know if I disintegrate then everything around me will also.

That job I was hoping to get? Foot model. It was most likely some freak with a foot fetish and, yes, I was willing to sell myself out for $50/hour session. I never thought I would be this desperate to put food on the table. Alas....

Working seven days a week sucks. That's right. I'm whining and this is my blog so if anyone doesn't like it they can bite me. Well, that's about it. Ta ta!!

The Latest

2009-08-08T01:03:00.002-04:00

So yeah. I survived the cleaning job on the weekend. Now every weekend I go for 4-8 hours to clean and help organize this guy's apartment. He has a ton of "stuff" crammed into a relatively small space. Last Saturday I spent 3 hours cleaning and the next 4 helping him sort through junk and various sentimental items. It seems that what he really has needed was someone to be there as motivation to keep going through the process. You know how it is when sorting through any room in your house with accumulated junk. It's so easy to get caught up in the memories and the "What in the heck am I keeping this for, but I still can't bear to get rid of it".

In the midst of the sorting, we came across some beautifully hand-painted pieces from India (that's where he's from). Some of the details were so small that we had to look at them with a magnifying glass. Speaking of magnifying glasses, we also came across a grain of rice in a little glass container with his given Indian name painted on it. My favorite part though was sorting through his toys. He had two full dresser drawers filled with collectible hot wheels cars still in their packaging. He said that as a child growing up in India, he had a total of 3 toy cars during his whole childhood. Apparently they are super expensive there due to the fact that they are imported. So one night while shopping in Walmart he told himself, "I'm gonna buy every toy car that I want." And he did.

I bet you'll never guess what my next odd job is that I found on Craigslist? Anyone? I will tell you that never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd have a chance at making money doing this. Hint: it doesn't involve sex or taking off my clothing...lol

You know you're desperate when...

2009-07-25T22:43:00.003-04:00

**You keep searching on Craigslist under the jobs category searching for anything to make an extra few bucks. Yes, I still have a full time (50-70 hours/week) job Monday thru Friday. We are STILL having a hard time making ends meet. Our budget has been looked over a million times and I can't find anything else to cut back on unless we start to go to bed at 8pm as to not use any electricity in the evenings. I'm not kidding. So, I've been searching Craigslist and applied for a job as a Suite Attendant (glorified hotel maid). This place is pretty sweet though. The rooms are $300 and up/night. I've done this type of work before. Way back before I had any kids, but I can still clean like nobody's business. Haven't heard a word back from the place in 2 weeks. Their loss. Then there was the ad for someone looking for a nude model. I know what you're thinking. But wait! It sounded legit and I almost (well, maybe more than almost) answered the ad. This was an ex-art student looking for someone to pose (in the nude, of course) so they could get back into their craft. The pay? A professional massage from the "artist". That's when you know you're getting desperate. So, I answered an ad I spotted yesterday for a different cleaning job. Someone needs their studio apartment cleaned every few weeks. I will meet with him tomorrow morning and if I'm lucky, will not end up on the news as the newest victim of a Craigslist killer. I've seriously considered having Ron go with me, but it seems like paranoia. I guess if this is my last post we'll know for sure!!!

**I will soon become a Trucker's Wife. Ron has spent the past 6 months (never EVER did either of us think this would last this long) applying for engineering jobs and basically anything else that he might remotely qualify for. He's had a whopping ONE interview the whole time. It looked rather promising. Enough so that we were both in the mindset that he HAD this one. He had nailed the interview and the testing. He was the only applicant in the past year that aced the test and he got The Good Vibe from them during the interview. Unfortunately, he received the "Thanks for your interest but we've chosen someone else" phone call. That was back in June. A few days later my parents visited from CA. We spent the week playing tour guide, sent Jesse off on an airplane with them, and now she has a few days left before coming home. During the 5 weeks that she's been gone, Ron has been pursuing a career in the trucking business. He's been studying to take his test for his temp license, various doctors appointments to make sure he's ready to pass the physical, and lots of waiting to see if he can receive gov't assistance for his truck school. For at least the first year of a trucking career you can most likely expect to receive the long haul jobs. This is when I will have to gear up into Single Parent mode. He could easily be gone for 2 weeks at a time. Boo! I know this is not going to be easy, but not stressing about making the mortgage payment will be wonderful again. At least we'll have our cell phones, but it's just not the same. The kids will be affected I'm sure, but they also like to eat. It really is amazing how much you begin to appreciate the little things (or big, depending on how you choose to look at it) in life when something like this happens to your family. Time spent playing games with the kids. A meal on the table. A house to live in. Leftover gift cards from Christmas. We went to see The Hangover today due to the generosity of one of my daycare families this past Christmas. If you haven't seen this movie, then GO SEE THIS MOVIE!! My stomach muscles still hurt, but boy did I need that laugh. Now back to reality...

Still alive and kicking

2009-07-05T11:54:00.002-04:00

I know, I know. I have no explanations for my long absence.

Moving on.

**To all the women out there, have you seen this hilariousness???? The Happy Period Yes, it's safe to view at work. Unless your work place is Proctor and Gamble. Hee hee.

**I am currently working on this hat for my niece's birthday. She's turning 8 years old and I'm hoping she thinks it's cool to look like Hermoine from Harry Potter.

**Also? I may soon become a Trucker's Wife (aka Trucker's Widow since I won't freaking see my hubby at all). As a last resort, he is looking into doing trucking school and then seeking employment transporting "stuff" around half the country. The pros? We can still pay the mortgage and buy food and prescriptions and fun stuff like that. The cons? Well, I think you can probably guess those.

**I'm missing my baby girl today. She turned 12 years old at 1:05 am today. And I don't get to give her a big birthday hug because she's thousands of miles away visiting family in Cali. Boo for me, but I know she's having a blast. She'll be gone a total of 5 weeks (I know!) and she didn't think THAT was long enough.

Too many friends, too little time

2009-04-12T00:27:00.001-04:00

Oh poor little neglected blog. I totally blame Facebook. :P

Just a Quickie

2009-03-28T00:03:00.002-04:00

Thought I would drop in here for a minute. Tonight I was wrangled into taking my daughter and three of her friends to the school carnival. If you've never been to one of these as a parent, let me warn you in advance that it is quite the experience. I made a discovery tonight. I'm attempting to say this without a holier-than-thou attitude, but MY GOD what has happened to the some of the youth in this world??!!! I know that my youngest child needs an attitude adjustment on most days as of late, but these girls made her look like an angel. With mouths like sailors and the "Oh no she di-int" head shake (at 11 years old mind you) it was quite grotesque to watch. Oh and tube tops. Allright I'll stop being judgmental.

You know how it's easy to just go on with your daily life...work, eat, sleep, a weekend to play. You feel like things are just starting to become somewhat normal. Well, as normal as they can get. And then the plummeting economy decides to hit your household like a wrecking ball. A month ago, Ron was laid off from his job. I know, I know. Change is good. Things happen for a reason. Blah, blah, blah. None of that helps to pay the bills. We are definitely lucky that I have an awesome career that provides for our family. Even so, things are tighter around here than I am comfortable with. Needless to say, I have had to actually look at our monthly budget to see if there's any spots to cut back on (not so much...we don't even have things like cable, tivo, spa weekends). Things we have cut out: eating out (lots of meals in the crock pot lately), vacations, and basically any unnecessary spending. One thing I am not willing to give up is my third life crisis fun! My solution? Knitting! I'm going to stockpile all of my earnings from my hand-crafted goodies that I sell into my "Fun for Roxanne Fund". Oh yeah, did I mention that Ryan Cabrera will be back in Cleveland on May 1st? Heehee! Anyone interested in joining me??

Also? I'm now selling stuff and you can follow the link in the sidebar over there to your right. --------------------------------------------------------------------->
Look under the Hand-Crafted Goodies and then click on Buy My Stuff Here. Viola! I'm even all technically advanced and have a paypal button, y'all! I'm not quite ready to open an Etsy store, maybe when I get a stock-pile of a few items to display. Anyhoo, if anyone has any requests, I'm open for just about anything. I even recently found a pattern for hand-knitted pasties, if that's up your alley.

Thanks again to my first customers, Caro and Liz. Thank you ladies! It makes me feel all warm inside (in a non-sexual way) that you like my goods so much. I figure if I can earn a few extra bucks to do things for myself while enjoying one of my hobbies AND keep people's heads warm and stylish...what more could I ask for? I'm thinking I may even get that long awaited professional massage...

Here's the quick recap:

Husband lost job.

Roxanne working diligently with children during the day and possibly the night shift if I can get any clients (to pay the bills).

Roxanne working diligently with knitting needles in the evening to pay for concerts and other frivolous things.

I usually delete them, but this one cracked me up

2009-03-02T23:14:00.001-05:00

I just had to share this funny email from my mom before I move onto the bad news post.

New breakfast meal at Denny's!

In honor of the mother of the octuplets,

Denny's is offering a new breakfast meal:
You get fourteen eggs, no sausage, and the guy next to you
has to pay the bill.

I can't handle the pressure

2009-02-20T14:20:00.008-05:00

You know how when you put something off for so long, the bigness of it just seems to grow and grow and grow into a seemingly unmanageable size? That's my lame excuse for not posting for so long. Moving on.

Let's see....what would you like to know? I could start with the fun stuff. I think due to the fact that during my twenties I seemed to always have a kid attached at the boob and cleaning poopy diapers left and right, I never really got to have my "coming of age". I've been having what I call a 3rd life crisis (because I plan on living to at least 100yrs. old). And due to my lack of girlfriends here (trying to remedy that, but I'll talk about that one later), I've had to drag my hubby along with me. He has humored me so far, but I think his limitations are coming to an end. :)

I have been an avid Dancing with the Stars fan for the last few seasons. I think the main reason is the fact that I love dancing in general. Also, one of the things on my Bucket List is to learn how to ballroom dance. I've done everything but beg Ron to take classes with me, but I know it'll never happen. I just tease him that I'll have to find me some hot partner to learn with. SPEAKING OF THAT.....

For those of you that don't know, this is Derek Hough. I should have asked him how much his private dance lessons are. Hehe..... (My husband was on the other side of the camera. MUST.KEEP.HANDS.ABOVE.THE.WAIST.)

I got to briefly meet him and Mark Ballas

Do I look like an Amazon woman, or what??

Not only are they professional dancers on the show, but they also have their own band (Ballas Hough Band) that has been playing at pubs across the lovely country of England for the past 10 years. They were touring the country and I had the pleasure of seeing them in Cleveland. I'm still kicking myself for not buying tickets to the Dancing with the Stars tour. Bah!!!

Also, have I mentioned that I'm a fan of Ryan Cabrera before? I realize that most of his fans are 20ish and younger, but I don't care!! I love his music and he puts on a great performance. I promise it has nothing to do with his good looks or cute, but dorky, personality. Anyhow, he was doing an acoustic tour across some of the eastern states and I just lucked out that he added Pittsburgh at the last minute. I couldn't talk any of my knitting buddies along and there was a pretty nasty storm coming through that night. So my husband, being the gentleman that he is, played chauffer for the evening.

This is not Ryan. This is one of the warm-up guys, Zack Hexum. He was pretty good. Good enough that I bought his CD and I've listened to it several times since. When Jesse saw his picture, she said he looks like Marshal on How I Met Your Mother.

This would be Ryan. He has since cut off the long locks that made many of his fans (mostly young girls) disgusted and/or outraged. I don't really care, as long as he keeps making new music. :)

Because I'm a knitting geek, this is the hat that I made for him. I know that he likes to wear funky hats, so why not make one for him? I was slightly (maybe more) embarrassed because... who does that? I'm just a tad too old to be a groupie, right? My husband, trying to ease the uncomfortable-ness for me, says to Ryan, "Hey, that's not so weird. Her mom used to make stuff for John Denver!" Which is totally true, but still! He seemed genuinely thankful and said he really needed a winter hat. Hopefully it doesn't end up in the bottom of his closet.

This is immediately following the awkward hat exchange. Again with the Amazon woman look. I'm even taller than his spiky hair!

This is me modeling the same version hat, only mine is in mauve. I love this hat! It covers my ears in the bitter cold. It has a cute little brim. The fit is slightly loose so that when I take it off my hair is usually not plastered to my head. Jesse? Says I look like a cancer patient because you can't tell I have any hair. Ron? Just made a funny face like "I'm not going to comment because then I'll be in trouble." What a wise man.

I'll save the not so fun news for later. I promise I won't wait months to post again. Really!
Also? I'm on Facebook and spending a bit too much time playing around, catching up with old friends from high school and beyond. I've yet to poke anyone or send random, meaningless gifts to anyone. If you're a regular here and want to find me on Facebook, send me a holler...roxanneblogspot@yahoo.com. I might let you in the secret vault...heh..heh..heh...

Buy My Stuff

2009-01-01T21:25:00.006-05:00

Hand-knitted brim hat $25 +shipping

If you'd like to purchase an item, please email me at roxanneblogspot@yahoo.com with your name, address, and color choice. Thanks

More items to come...

Oh Joy

2008-12-17T00:31:00.011-05:00

This is what it took to get one somewhat decent picture to send out in our Christmas cards.

Just wait, it gets better.

The typical eyes closed pic.

And then we have the "Child Eating Chocolate" pic.

The even less common "Chocolate Teeth".

The "Funny Face".

The "OMG".

I kid you not. Every time I pressed the button down, both children were smiling. Then I'd look at the result on the itty bitty screen and these are what I found. I was laughing so hard I nearly peed my pants.

The end result?

I even managed to capture snow flying in the background. How festive!

And because I haven't had a very good track record around here lately of posting, I will tell you all to have a wonderful holiday!!

P.S. I knit the black hat that Nate is wearing. Go me!

Let's love, not hate

2008-12-05T01:06:00.001-05:00

I thought I would share this hilarious video with y'all.

Prop 8 Musical

Just when you think it's safe to answer the doorbell...

2008-11-20T13:45:00.002-05:00

You know it's going to be one of those days when County Children's Services shows up on your doorstep.....

I've debated about whether or not to post anything about this here. And although I'm not going to elaborate I will say this...never say never. Never think that because you have the best interest of your child in your thoughts at all times that it makes you immune to the overzealousness of authority figures (a.k.a. school principal).

And on a lighter note (because if I allow myself to focus on this much more I'll send myself into a tailspin)........

Does anyone have a tried and true delectable pie recipe they'd like to share? We are going to Cincinnati again this year for Thanksgiving and I will most likely be bringing pies. I'm planning on the typical pumpkin but I'd also like to make some sort of berry pie and one other just for good measure. Any ideas before I start my google search???

Um..........hello?

2008-11-08T22:19:00.005-05:00

Sheesh. It's been so long since I've been here that I almost forgot my login and password. I'm a bad, bad blogger. I've written many a posts inside my head but then I never seem to follow through and actually put them into writing. Here's the lowdown of some of the stuff I could've written individual posts about......

I bought this car off of Ebay. I know you're jealous. Well, maybe I should clarify I didn't ACTUALLY buy it. I saw it at the zoo and snapped a picture to send to my dad who is a car buff. I would love to have something this garrish to drive around in just to see people's reactions. Especially when I'm dropping the kids off at school and such.

Hurricane Ike decided to do a bit of damage to our pool as he whipped his way through Ohio. I guess this means no more late night skinny dipping sessions. Oh darn!

Here's another view of the tree with the whole root system. Pretty impressive, huh?

This is what happens when you try to get a teenage boy to do work outside. The hammock and the lazy cat won out over the nagging parents. Aren't they just too cute?

We did Halloween. Here's my ghost suckers. Scary.

And we decorated cookies.

This is the first year I dressed up along with the daycare kids. Think I'm scary enough? I had to lose the black hair partway through the day because A) it was irritating the heck out of my head, and B)I was scaring the little ones. I also dressed up for a party that Ron and I went to. I have photographic evidence, but Ron is also in the picture and I suppose I'll maintain his anonimity for him. I also have no idea how to photoshop him out or put a big dark blob over his face. Anyhoo, I dressed in doctor's scrubs, had a real stethoscope and everything. My nametag? Dr. Turnyur Hedenkoff. (hee!)

Someone else also dressed up for Halloween. Meet Wednesday Addams. Her complete outfit was purchased at Goodwill. I'm still amazed that we were able to find everything so efficiently and cost effectively. Even though my feet hurt after the trick-or-treat session it was well worth it. Jesse and her friend gave me all of their Snickers and Resse's cups . Score!

I will leave you with this image. No, it's not a dead bunny. Just one that's terrified stiff. Whenever it's toenail trimming time, Jesse lays them on their back on her lap. They don't move an inch the whole time. See the cute little bunny chompers?

It's me again...back from the witness protection program

2008-09-08T13:52:00.006-04:00

Here's some bits and pieces of my exciting life in the great midwest:

**Our trip to Delaware went as smoothly as one could ask for. No one ended up in the hospital, it only rained one half of one day, I swam in the ocean for my first time ever (wading in the water up to your knees does NOT count), we saw tons of dolphin pods swimming right off shore every day (very cool!), and we didn't get a ticket for our non-functioning tent trailer lights. I can't wait to get back to the beach. It is truly one of my favorite places to just "be". It was quite an adjustment though to have to share the beach with all of the other thousands of vacationers. The first day we headed to Rehoboth Beach, which ended up being the busiest of all the beaches we visited. Here's some pics of our third day and what ended up being the least populated beach. We were accompanied by a family to our right with a very, very sick child. Just as we were eating our picnic lunch I heard this gurgling sound. Not knowing what it was, my natural curiosity caused me to turn and look. At the exact same moment as the girl was tossing her lunch (and by the extent of it..breakfast and last night's dinner). Immediately Jesse tosses her sandwich down and a little too loudly announces, "Well, I'm not gonna be able to eat for about 4 hours now!" Nice. Real nice. It's good to know that our efforts to teach her some tack have paid off.

This is the only pic of me in a swimsuit I'm willing to share. Can you see our turtle sand sculpture? Me neither! All the beach pics turned out too light. :(

** I have decided to start my daycare children in swim lessons. Call me crazy, but once a week I am now taking 4 little ones (aged 4, 3, 2, and 2) for a 45 minute swim lesson. The first one was this past week. Every thing was going smoothly. I had every one dressed in their swim diaper (those not potty trained yet), their suits....and then I scramble through the backpack for my suit. After dumping everything onto the floor, cursing myself (in my head), I realized my big mistake. It wouldn't have been a big deal except this was the first lesson for all of my kiddos and we had no idea how they would do listening to the teacher. Luckily the woman who teaches my evening water aerobics requested to be our teacher...and I just love her! She was definitely MADE to work with children. She said it was no problem and just had me remain poolside to make sure everyone got the idea to sit on the edge and wait their turn. They did such a good job and the parents were excited to hear how the first lesson went. One of my guys was even practicing some of the skills he learned in the bathtub at home. Wish me luck on Wednesday....and, yes, I already have my suit stashed away in the backpack ready to go!

**My oldest nephew just graduated from Army bootcamp this past week in South Carolina. I wish the timing would have worked out better for us to go see him. Since we just took a trip to the coast and the kids are in school now it just wasn't feasible. My sister and her husband flew from Cali and so we would've gotten to see them, too. Bummer. As it turned out, they missed the actual ceremony due to some schedule changes. Because of Hurricane Hannah's looming approach, they moved the graduation forward a day. They anticipated having to use the barracks to house some of the evacuees. My sis and bro-in-law had planned on arriving the day before graduation. Unfortunately they still ended up missing it by a mere hour or less.

I'm still kind of in denial that we now have a close family member that will most likely be at the top of our Worry List. I know it is inevitable that he will end up in either Iraq or Afganistan. Even with as dangerous as that prospect sounds, the path that his life was headed pre-Army was not a good one. I just hope and pray that he gets to use the government paid schooling that he is looking forward to.

**The kids started school 2 weeks ago. Here's their first day pics. Better late than never, eh?

Are we excited or what?

Jesse showing off her newly learned skillz. String games!

Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo (how about you, you, you)

2008-07-30T13:13:00.002-04:00

If you're not a fan of Raffi then you might not get the title. I have been trying to plan a another daycare trip to the zoo. I bought a membership in May and we've taken two trips so far. The kids absolutely love it and I love any excuse to get out of the house and do something different. Even though it's a ton of work for me. Mostly because I have to pull 4 kiddos, averaging 35-40 lbs. each, in a wagon+lunches+diaper bag=back breaking work. But it's all worth it.

Well, to get to the point, our trip needed to be postponed. About a week ago I was getting gas in our minivan. And because we had enough free gas credit from our local grocery (due to Ron's expensive precriptions) to get up to 30 gallons of FREE GAS. Yep, you heard that right. So in order to take advantage of that offer, I brought along 2 (6) gallon gas cans. With the van's tank on empty and the 2 gas cans I was able to get 27.5 gallons. Of course it irked me that I was throwing away money by not having a third can on hand. If you do the math (which I always do), at $4 a gallon, that's like flushing $10 down the toilet. Moving on. When I carefully placed the cans into the back end of the van, the thought crossed my mind..."Since these cans are full and heavy, they should be just fine back here all alone". Do you see where this one is going?

About a mile and a half from home, I noticed that the smell of gas became really strong. Not hearing a thump in the back, I thought that some fumes had escaped the vent thingy on the top. I rolled the windows down and kept on a truckin'. Welp, guess what? Not one, but BOTH cans had tipped over and the entire trunk area was saturated with gasoline. The panic set in. I ran in the house and told Ron, "I. NEED. HELP." I think he sensed the urgency in my voice and hopped to his feet.

We soaked up as much as we could with some rags, making sure to hang them out on the clothesline instead of clumping them into a pile in the garage and creating a combustible situation. I googled to see if I could find any solutions besides lighting a match and collecting on the insurance (can you say fraud?). Here's a few tips that I found from people who have had the same thing happen. Clean with vinegar and hot water solution (done that twice so far and then shop vacced), baking soda and hot water (done), air it out (it hasn't been closed up for the past week), kitty litter, febreeze, and pour a 5lb. box of baking soda on it and leave for a month. Everything except for the last one sounds fine to me, but we have a time constraint problem. Our trip to the coast is planned to happen in 3 weeks. Hopefully by then the overwhelming smell will have gone away. I really don't want to be driving for 7 hours down the freeway with all the windows down.

Anyone else have this problem? If so, I would love the hear how you took care of it. I'm getting tired of scrubbing and vaccuming only to have the same results when I'm done. And I really don't want to pay the $300 to have someone replace the carpet. As they say, there's so such thing as a free tank of gas...

In case you were wondering....

2008-07-21T16:26:00.007-04:00

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Summer life has a way of taking over. Since I last checked in, I've ridden death defying roller coasters (and got a super hideous headache but it was SO worth it!), I braved thunderstorms at the waterpark with the kids, and we had 2 sleepover birthday parties for our darling children.

Even though I've had a running commentary in my head of all of our exciting summer activities thus far, I have felt little to no inspiration to type them out here. I guess that's better than having no life to speak of whatsoever and blogging about that boringness, right?

Here are a couple more tidbits of life around here...

***I came home from swim class one night and Jesse came to greet me with a mischievous look across her face. *oh no, what now?* She had a 'surprise' for me out on the screened porch. Turns out we now have a new member of the family. The neighbor was looking to downsize the amount of pets that he has. He had already downsized the people in his life (girlfriend and her daughter). Ron had just a few seconds to decide to be the reasonable, but mean, dad or the cool and, like, totally awesome dad. He chose the latter. And now we have a cute little fur ball that Jesse has named, Buddy.

Isn't he the most adorable, little ball of fluff you've ever seen?
Sidenote: his eyes are really dark brown, not the evil devilish red that you see here.

***For Nate's birthday we bought him the XBOX version of Rock Band. If you're not familiar with this game, it basically consists of a drum set, guitar, and microphone (for the people not coordinated enough to handle the instruments). Let's just say I may never master the drums, and probably not the guitar, but I can ROCK on the vocals. Well, if they would include more songs that I actually knew, that is. Now if only they would make the game with Pop Hits from the 80's. Or maybe Ryan Cabrera songs. :P

***We had a camping trip planned (at one of the local campgrounds) during the month of August. After some thought the other night, we've decided to travel over to the Delaware coast to visit the beaches. I sooo miss having a beach nearby to go to on the spur of the moment. Both of the kids were really excited when we told them the change of plans. Now, if we can just avoid sunburn and sharks during our little jaunt.

***I finally finished making this quilt for Bearette's baby just in the nick of time.

She has a much cuter pic of it with baby E on top, but for the life of me I cannot get a link to that post.

Then I raced to get the next one started. One of my daycare moms was about 8 months along when I first started cutting the squares. Amazingly enough, I finished it and gave it to her before the baby was born. Even though I "cheated" and pieced it together with the machine, I still did the quilting by hand. I think I even set a my own record with this one!

I personally loved the color scheme on this one. Ron, on the other hand, said, "Pink and green?" but what does he know. :)

I have another little something that I am in the process of making. I can't post any pictures just yet as I don't want to spoil the surprise. Sadly though, I don't think this one will get done before the little babe decides to make it's appearance. I've had other obligations to take care of. Like hanging out with the kids, getting up at O'Dark thirty in the morning for my first daycare child (that's 6 am, ouch), reading my new library book..More Than it Hurts You by Darin Strauss, and of course the endless amounts of laundry. If you've never had a teenage (or pre-teen in this case) daughter in your household you may not know what I'm talking about. It is really quite amazing. Whenever she exits the bathroom I could swear that a freaking tornado hit the place. There is not a clean towel in sight (the floor is riddled with the dirty ones, of course).

That's about it in a nutshell. Hopefully I'll be back around before our big trip to the east coast. If not, see you on the flip side!

Keep Your Enemies Close......

2008-06-23T15:42:00.004-04:00

and your lovers closer. That's a line from one of Ryan Cabrera's songs off of his new album. The concert was great....for those of us that attended. Not kidding here. There were, at the most, about 50 people in attendance. I was shocked that the place wasn't packed, but hey it made it more enjoyable for us! Without having to stand and save our spot the whole time, we were 3 or 4 people back from the stage.

There were 2 warm-ups before Ryan came out. The first group was "Cory Lamb". That's the name of the lead singer and the name of the group. They were pretty awesome. Jesse said, "We HAVE to buy their CD!" It was 5 buck for 5 songs. The same 5 songs they played for us (koinkydink!). Next up was Ferras. He didn't have his band along so he sat at the keyboard and belted out some tunes including, "Hollywood is not America". We bought his CD too because he was even better than the first guys. Apparently his CDs are on sale at Target and Walmart and according to Ferras, also from his trunk.

The Grog Shop in Cleveland feels like hanging out in someone's basement. When we first arrived Jessed commented that "it looks like crap!" I tried to explain to her that it was on purpose. That it is the look that they're going for. I was just thankful that, even though alcohol is served (re: "grog" in the Grog Shop), no one seemed to get out of control or anything. I guess that's just the protective mom part of me coming out. The closest that we came to having anyone "out of control" was the Paris Hilton Wannabe and her equally annoying bleach blonde friend. Not only did she have the same hair, body, face, and fake tan as Paris, but she and her friend acted in that I Am Entitled To Do as I Please No Matter How Many People I Hurt Or Annoy Along The Way. Seriously. I was waiting for one of the Ryan Groupies to sucker punch her while she and friend were pushing (literally) their way to the front of the stage. And almost spilling their drinks on everyone along the way. I don't even think they were there to listen to the music. Not like the rest of us who were singing every line of every song. :) If I ever figure out how to view the video off our camera AND THEN figure out how to post it online you can see these 2 a-holes for yourself. Because in their Full Entitled Fashion were able to walk right in front of Jesse as she was filming Ryan singing one of her favorite songs.

My only regret is that I didn't shell out the dough for the "Meet and Greet". It was $20 per person and that included a copy of his new CD (which we already own but I may have been able to sell or give them as gifts, oh well, too late now). We would have been able to go backstage to take pictures and meet Ryan and the band. Even though I would have loved to get those pictures and have a chance to meet him, I probably would have felt totally awkward. I mean where do you go beyond, "Hey, I love your music.....and,ummmm" Next time I plan on making him a funky knit hat (because he wears them) to break the ice. Is that too Grandmotherly? Or maybe I'll just throw the hat onto the stage instead of my granny underwear.

Before the concert

Check out the camera at the bottom of the frame. I bet their pic turned out better!

With all that long hair, he was constantly pushing it back behind his ears. But as least it helped me get a shot of one his newest Tats (as Jesse called them...how does she know that word anyhow?) 50 bonus points to the first person to figure out what it is.

Admit it, you missed me

2008-06-12T08:28:00.004-04:00

I feel like I've been in hiding lately, peeking my nose into other people's lives here and there. And it's pretty interesting, too!

So even though I've been quiet, life is still moving on. Here's some tidbits of life around here lately.

*****
The kids are out of school. I now am the proud owner of a 10th grader (scary!!) and a 6th grader (who is acting like a 10th grader).

****
Nate now has a girlfriend. Their relationship, so far, consists of talking on the phone, one trip to the $1 theater (we drove them, too bad huh?), and one guest appearance by Nate to her church youth group. I'm not too worried just yet. He hasn't grasped the whole idea of personal hygiene yet. It's getting a little irritating to have to remind a 15 year old to shower and brush his teeth every once in a while. I'm curious to see how long he would actually go if we didn't insist that he use soap and water and toothpaste. Of course when the stench gets to be too much to handle, I give in every time.

****

Tomorrow night, Jesse and I are going to a Ryan Cabrera concert. I'm not sure which of us is more excited (okay, I'll admit that it's me!). When his last album came out a few years ago he still had the cute boyish look going on. Well, he's all grown up now and Jesse is repulsed. He let his hair grow out and now has facial hair. She still likes his music so I told her at the concert she can just close her eyes and enjoy the tunes.

Here's the new look....Johnny Depp?
****

We bought the kids a big trampoline this past weekend. They (mostly Jesse) have been bugging to get one for years now. We finally gave in and I'm glad for that. I even got on and jumped til I peed my pants (yes, haven't done enough of those kegels I guess).

****
While going through Jesse's school papers I found and old "MASH". You remember those? They have a few different categories such as: guys, types of houses, cars, amount of kids, etc. Well, I guess times have changed since I was in grade school. Here's a rundown of what I found:

Guys
Bobby
Billy
Joey

Cars
Corvette
Prius
Crappy (hee!)

Jobs
Animals
Stripper
Maid

Pets
bird
cat
fish

Money per year
$500,000
$150,000
$90,000

States
Oregon
California
Ohio

Kids (adopted)
2
1
0

Divorce
no
considered
yes

These were the results.

Jesse is going to marry Bobby. They will have a cat, 2 adopted kids, drive a Prius, and make $150,oo0 a year. They will live in Ohio and she will be a stripper. Guess what? They will also consider getting divorced. I wonder if her occupation has anything to do with that or maybe they just fought too much about who got to drive the Prius.

Publish Post

Sometimes it just plain sucks to be a girl

2008-05-20T13:23:00.003-04:00

So, the whole Hair Removal thing has me in a bit of a quandary lately. You would think, at 35 years old, that I would have figured it out by now. Not so much.

First, I go swimming at least twice a week and am getting very tired of removing that pesky bit of hair that needs to be tamed EVERY SINGLE TIME I go to the pool. A while back I bought a cordless "trimmer" that seems to take care of this area pretty well. Except for those times that I knick my skin (ouch!) and then instead of having embarrassing hair down there, I now have a tiny but obvious scab. I know, real attractive.

So, against my better judgment, I decided to buy one of those Epilady style hair removers. It's a knockoff brand from Walmart which was probably my second mistake. I dutifully read all of the instructions before letting the thing touch my skin. Here's an excerpt from the instruction booklet .....

*The Emjol Sin Dolor is an amazing painless epilator that removes hair from the root leaving your skin smooth for up to 6 weeks. The epilation head features 21 (!) tweezers that quickly and comfortably removes hair on all your sensitive areas including individual facial hairs on the upper lip and chin, legs, bikini line and underarms.

I'm not sure who tested these out and filled in the space that said "painless", but the small quarter-sized area that I tested it on my leg feels like it's on fire. I can't even imagine trying to use this thing anywhere in the vicinity of my crotch. I'm not sure why I thought this thing would work. It's like a little torture device with a hot pink plastic casing.

My question is: Have any of you tried electrolysis as a permanent option to this rather annoying chore? If so, what was your experience?

Asking for a little help......

2008-05-15T13:50:00.002-04:00

So, I'm trying to figure out a Father's Day project for the daycare children. This is my plan so far.

**Paint each child's footprints onto construction paper (we did handprints for the moms)

**Add a cute poem or print the letters D-A-D vertically with a fun or endearing word for each letter

I've searched the interwebs for poems with not much luck. Keep in mind that these are 2-4 year olds. Any ideas??

Where ya been?

2008-05-10T13:52:00.002-04:00

I'm still here. Still alive. I've just been busy livin' life. Or pretending to have some sort of life outside of toting kids, cooking, cleaning. You know the drill.

Somewhat exciting news for our household. With the whole global warming/high gas prices current situation (and continuing until the end of the world as we know it), we have decided to get rid of our gas guzzling truck. We bought it new almost 3 years ago with the anticipation that we would actually use it as a truck. Yes, we have used it as a truck, but for the most part it is simply a commuting vehicle. At 15 mpg that is not a very smart option. Not for the environment and not for the ol' pocketbook.

So in the past couple weeks we have been searching the 'net for something within our price range and that will serve the purpose of a family of four. We've narrowed it down to the Toyota Camry Hibrid and the Toyota Prius Hibrid. Today we peeked inside of the Prius at a dealership (it was sold so we couldn't get inside) to see exactly how much leg room it has to offer and the cargo space. Before we even bother taking one for a test drive we want to make sure that it will fit our long-legged family inside. We were unexpectedly surprised at how much room it seems to have for a small, dinky car. I keep telling Ron that I want to bring a couple of empty suitcases to see if they will actually fit into the back cargo area. Does that seem to be unreasonable? He seems to think so. At any rate, we want to try one out. At 48 mpg how can you rule it out without taking one for a drive? I mean, 48??? Really? That would be, like, so totally rad!

(bringing myself back from the 80's now)

But seriously. I hope it works out for us to get one of these cars. And now....

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

To all of you Moms and soon to be Moms out there. Take a day to rest or do as you please. :)

Of Cats and Dogs

2008-04-21T14:02:00.003-04:00

Yesterday Jesse and I volunteered at the local Humane Society, otherwise known as "the pound" (will that name ever die?). I joined a volunteer group sometime this past fall and have attended a few of the outings so far. I always find that when I join in the act of volunteering it is a very satisfying feeling. There's just something about it that makes you feel very grounded. I can step out of my own little world and see that there is so much need. I also realize that I am no saint. My semi-monthly contributions to the community are nothing compared to that of which some people do. For example, the man that gave us our orientation in the adult cat room. His name is Dick and I'm guessing he is in his 60's. He said that he has been volunteering for the past 6 years, every Sunday for about 5 hours. And there are many more just like him.

Needless to say, Jesse and I caught the volunteer bug after seeing all of those adorable cats (including the 3-legged orange tabby and the one-eyed brown and white spotted guy). We just may find ourselves spending more than a few Sundays cleaning the litter boxes, changing the bedding and vacuuming the scratching post (you'd be amazed at how much hair can accumulate on those things!).

I am going to shamelessly use this opportunity to remind everyone that if you add a furry member to your family, please please please consider adopting. There are so many wonderful animals out there waiting for a loving family to bring them home.

And while I'm at it (and since I forgot to add it to this post) I would like to urge everyone to become an organ donor. I mean, really? Whatcha gonna do with them after you're dead? Don't forget that you can also donate blood to help save lives. Now go make me proud!!

A Must Read

2008-04-10T14:36:00.003-04:00

Want something awe inspiring to read? Then go here. I promise, you won't be disappointed.

I've been reading their story for several months now and I have to admit that I was drawn in from the very first post that I read. If you're going to get addicted to something, at least make it something positive!

Hello?

2008-04-09T13:04:00.003-04:00

Ring....ring....

Roxanne: "Hello?"

Ron: "Hi, it's me."

Roxanne: Oh, hi.

Ron: Guess what? I got an email from Joe Blow Engineering Firm and they want me to come back to talk to them.

Roxanne: That sounds really good! I'm so excited for you.

Ron: I know. I don't think they'd be calling me back in if they weren't going to offer me the job.

Roxanne: That is so cool. We'll have to party tonight.

Ron: Well, maybe not tonight. That might jinx it. Let's wait til I go talk to them first.

Roxanne: Yeah, you're right. But we still need to party.

He has been waiting for a loooonng time to escape his current employment situation. I really, really hope this new place works out well for him. How can you go wrong working for a place that included in their help wanted ad that they have a foosball table in the office? For reals!

A few minutes later.......

Ring.....ring.....

Roxanne: "Hello?"

Unidentified caller: "Hi. (awkward pause) How are you?"

Roxanne: "I'm fine."

UC: "What number is this?"

I've always loved this question. I always want to answer with this question..."What number did you call?" But instead......

Roxanne: "This is Roxanne. Who is this?"

UC: "This is Meryl. Is this 555-6981?"

Roxanne: "No."

Meryl: "I'm sorry. Well, have a nice day anyways!"

Roxanne: "You too!"

That was the friendliest wrong caller I've ever met before. Maybe she'll call back another time so we can chat it up. :)

As of Late

2008-04-05T22:42:00.005-04:00

**Jesse and I went to a potluck and board game night. It is a group that I found on meetup.com that is comprised of a wide variety of people looking for other people to socialize with and just have some good old fashioned fun. The group is open to singles, couples, single parents, married couples with kids. Basically anybody and their brother can join.

This party was by far the most fun of all the ones that we've attended. The game "Apples to Apples" was brought out and Jesse and I were hooked. It is a great game and I see us adding it to our game closet in the near future. But then someone brought out the Jenga Truth or Dare and things started to get a tad out of control. Why is it that a group of adults + alcohol always seems to = teenage behavior. The game soon became a little too racy and I had to call it a night. I guess that's okay, because when we got out to the car and saw the clock, it was 1:30 am! Bad mommy. At least we left before it turned into "Strip Jenga".

**I've been advertising (again) to get more daycare children. I currently have 2 full time and 2 part time, which does not contribute enough with the bill paying. Plus, I love to have a steady group of at least 4 a day to do my daily activities with the children. Every single time I've advertised in the newspaper, I get calls from people thinking I'm offering employment. WHY????? I've finally started to tell these people that, "No I'm not offering a job. I advertised in the "services" section NOT the "help wanted" section." Of course I'm polite when I tell them, but still! It gets rather annoying. The other thing that irks me? Is when I have a parent that sets up a specific day and time to come meet me and then they never show. And they don't have the courtesy to call and let me know they're not coming. Especially (ESPECIALLY!!) when it happens to be a Saturday morning and I woke up everyone else in the family to help clean. I guess it's a good thing to find out right from the start if a potential client is going to be that inconsiderate of my time/effort. I am definitely better off without them. You know? On a positive note, all of my current daycare parents that I have are great people. I'm hoping to find more just like them. :)

**I've added 2 new exercise classes to my repertoire. The first is a class that I figured I could actually pull off. It is called Zumba and basically consists of dancing to different types of music, mostly Latin but also some that I would classify as hip hop. It is F-U-N! If you hate the traditional aerobics classes and think they are boring/repetitive/or whatever, Zumba may just be for you! It is the most fun I've ever had working out. You even get to shake your hips and shimy your chest to your heart's content! I'm telling you, it is the most fun you'll have sweating (well, except for Richard Simmons of course!). Anywoo, the other class that I started is not quite as fun. In fact, I feel as if I am going to actually die every Saturday morning for the past few weeks. And yet I keep going back for more torture! The class? Cardio kickboxing (don't laugh). Yes, my old self thinks that she is going to kick some arse by learning how to kick some guy in the nuts if he so dares to attack me in a dark alley. The girl (she was complaining that she is old....at 20!) that teaches the class is like a mini Jillian, one of the trainers from The Biggest Loser. She is brutal. And also brutally honest...to a fault. I think she offended one of the guys in the class today. He was telling her that he's lost 130 pounds (and kept it off for the past 6 years) by going on the Atkins diet. She basically told him that that diet never works as everyone always gains the weight back. Well, he seemed to be pretty proud of himself (and rightfully so) for his accomplishments. I think she has some learning to do in the personal relations part of her job. Yes, it's okay to be "brutally honest and not sugar coat things" (her words) but it's also not a crime to give people credit where credit is due. Regardless, I'm still going to keep attending as I need someone to push me that hard. At the beginning of the session, she had everyone test to find out what their percentage of body fat is. Mine? 31%. Ouch! Her goal for all of us is to lower it down at least 1 percentage point. That, I think I can do. We'll see about the other 10% that it needs to go down. I guess as long as I have mini Jillian by my side, it should be no problem. ;)

The Daredevil in Me

2008-04-01T19:17:00.002-04:00

I decided this morning that within the next two weeks I'm going to try some new things. On the list are skydiving, scuba diving with sharks, and bungee jumping. If I am able to cheat death, I'll be back to report on my adventures.

APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!!

Did I getcha??

You can't make up this kinda stuff

2008-03-18T13:24:00.002-04:00

Found this ad on craigslist in the childcare section. Think I should change my ad to sound a little more like this one????

hello are you looking for a babysitter?we are your normal redneck family we have 2 teenage kids ,a puggle and 4 cats so if you dont mind your kids being around animals we would like to watch your kids in our home if you work or just need a night out to go to a hodown.im a stay at home ma 39 lost of experenice with my kids.i dont smoke but hubby does.animals great with kids.can babysit whenever you need.$20.00 a day.

This is for reals, y'all!!

My Newest Project

2008-03-01T13:14:00.006-05:00

I haven't done much around here lately. Here's a little preview of what I've been keeping my hands busy with...

I'm happy to be back quilting again. I always seem to forget how much I like it and how different it is than working with yarn.

This was a Christmas gift for my little (big) girl. She requested a hat with ear flaps but has yet to wear it in public. I think I may have to confiscate it and call it my own. Mwahahah!!

Lastly, this is Jakey in our yard. It was taken before we had almost a foot of accumulation. Yay snow!! (although I am ready for springtime now)

I promise I'll be back with some inspiring words. Or not. Depends on my mood. :P

The fun never stops around here

2008-02-17T00:28:00.004-05:00

Scene: We're playing Horse-Opoly. It's the horsey version of monopoly; a Christmas gift to Jesse since she's a total horse freak.

Jesse keeps leaning over to move her token around the board. Her shirt has crept down and she is slightly exposing her "goods". Ron ever-so-gently lets her know that she should pull her shirt up a bit. This sets her off into the giggles because pretty much anything related to anatomy or bodily functions will do so.

Roxanne: "How does that saying go? Something about paying for a cow and getting the milk free? No, that's not it."

Ron: "I think it goes....Why pay for the cow if you're getting the milk for free."

*about a minute pause time lapse*

Nate: "Because the meat tastes good."

I immediately break into hysterical laughter. I'm gasping for air after a few minutes. Ron is trying to contain himself but my antics are too much to handle.

Nate: "Whaaat? The meat tastes good, right? I don't get what's so funny."

Please, please!! Someone make him stop! I can't breathe anymore!

Ron: "I'll explain it to you later. Maybe."

Jesse: "You don't have to explain it to me. I already know what it means. I heard that saying before."

Give a little love

2008-02-14T14:49:00.003-05:00

While I was sitting in the chair at the hair salon, hair wet and tousled, just mindlessly staring out the window at the snow covered parking lot, an elderly woman was on her way out the door. I hadn't noticed, but she had been staring my direction.

"You have such beautiful eyes."

"Thank you."

"I have always loved blue eyes."

Such a simple compliment can go such a long way. I don't give or receive compliments very often, but when it happens it always leaves me with such a warm feeling inside. I always find myself admiring others for a wide variety of reasons. It could be something about their looks. But most often it has something to do with their personality. And even though I know how good it feels to receive a compliment, I often find myself not bothering to give them out freely.

Just think if everyone chose to give out compliments to their loved ones today (and every day) instead of chocolates, silly stuffed toys, balloons, and flowers. I'm not saying that you should stop giving out those others (I've never been known to reject chocolate!), it would be a nice addition, though, to hand out something that can never be bought in a store. And I'm guessing that it would be remembered and appreciated long after the chocolate has been digested, the balloons have deflated, and the flowers have died.

The Wrap Up (warning: it's long)

2008-01-26T23:59:00.000-05:00

I figured I better get around to finishing this thing up before:

a) you all get tired of waiting around to hear about my trip
b) I forget everything that happened on my trip
c) nobody freakin' cares about it anymore

So, here goes. The remainder of my two weeks away from home revolved around, but certainly is not limited to, the following activities:

Numerous trips to the public pool. Even though most of those trips involved me taking the six munchkins BY MYSELF, it was actually one of the most enjoyable activities. A couple of times, Franky went with us and sat in the hot tub. That is until he had to go back in the hospital (yep, more on that later). I was able to witness one of my nieces and my youngest nephew go in the deep end for their first time ever. It was awesome. I love seeing kid's "Firsts". The look on their face is something I wish I could bottle up and sell on Ebay. I'd be a freakin' millionaire.

Tons and tons of hugs and goodnight kisses. It makes me realize how much I miss being around family. Even though they can drive me crazy sometimes, it still hurts me to not be around those little guys seeing them grow up.

My mom went in the hospital to get her second bionic knee. Everything with the surgery went smoothly, thank goodness. I went to visit her the next day. While trying to help her fill out the menu card, she kept falling asleep. She kept telling the nurses that she felt the same as last time, as in she thought she needed a blood transfusion. Noone, including the doctor, would listen to her and finally, two days later, they gave her a transfusion. She perked right up and was out of the hospital the next day. She actually shouldn't have been released that soon, but she forced herself to walk the hallways with the physical therapist. She was so frustrated with the lack of basic care, that she was determined (and you do not want to cross my mom when she's determined...believe me) to get out as soon as possible. She received no sponge bath, even before coming home. She repeatedly asked the nurses to get her bag out of the closet that contained her toothbrush/paste, comb, and deodorant. No such luck. Needless to say, when she came home she received the best care ever!

I could probably write a whole post about all the medication follies, but I will try to limit it to a couple of funny anecdotes. You know how most families have a stockpile of "extras". You know what I'm talking about. Someone has a prescription for the good stuff...Vicodin, Tylenol with Codine....and they never use all the pills. So then they sit in the cupboard for that "just in case" ailment or twinge. So, Franky had some Vicodin and my mom had been taking them, sparingly because she is one of those people who is fearful of getting hooked. She had been in so much pain before her surgery, more than I can probably imagine. So, she comes home from the hospital with some pain killers (ones that actually have HER name on the bottle). My dad is reading the bottle and mentions the name Oxycontin. I said, "Oh man, you've got the good stuff. Those are the ones that people break into people's houses and pharmacies to steal." For the next week+ , I was in charge of getting up in the middle of the night to get mom's pain pills (and help her to the potty). A couple days into it I noticed the name on the bottle said, "Oxycodone". I have no idea why, but I found this to be amusing everytime my dad said, "Do you need your Oxycontin?" And then mom says, "Yes, I haven't had my Oxycontin yet." I couldn't bring myself to correct them so I just avoided saying the name of it. "Yep, I'll get your PAIN PILL for you."

Okay. It's been just over a week since Franky came home from the hospital. Upon discharge, the doctor said he had no physical limitations other than just listening to his body and not trying to overdo it. He seemed to be doing okay at first. He was eating okay. The only thing we noticed is some short term memory problems. He'd completely forget about whole conversations or portions of them. And he wanted to sleep almost all day and then go to bed early. Not having any previous experience with brain surgery and the recovery time, I wasn't sure if this was normal. My sister seemed to think that he was trying to avoid reality. She kept trying to get him up out of the recliner (because if he was sitting, he was sleeping). She was at her wit's end. One day, while he was taking a nap, Mom sis and I started contemplating whether his anti-depressants were still working. Maybe he needs to see the doctor to get his dosage increased? And then, AND THEN, we quickly figured out what the deal was. He came down with a fever, pain in the abdomen, and was basically incoherent. Welp, the next morning during his dialysis treatment, the nurse called his doctor and they sent him to get checked out. After his doc ruled out an infection involving the brain (whew!), they admitted him to the hospital and started with the various testing. Turns out....he has diverticulitis. Because his kidneys are so enlarged at this point, there is less room for his intestines. This is not good. He had a pretty nasty infected section of the intestines. It had to be removed. The following day he was back on the operating table. The surgery went well, but it was well over a week before he would be released from the hospital. So, not only did he get to spend his birthday in a hospital bed, but Christmas, too!!

Because my parents were busy with physical therapy appointments every day and my sister busy with taking Franky to dialysis, or the doctor, or by now visiting him in the hospital, I was given the job of picking up one of my nieces from school at 12:30 pm and then walking out to the bus stop at 3:00 pm to get the rest of them. One day I was engrossed in folding one of the millions of loads of laundry (and maybe I was also watching babies being born on Discovery Health). I looked up and the clock read 3:02. Doh! I ran out as fast as I could because they won't let the kids off the bus unless someone is there to collect them. This is because my youngest nephew is a kindergartener. I lucked out this time. They had a sub-driver and she let them go. Otherwise I would have had to catch up with them back at the school. And I didn't have the big van that fits all the kids in it. Major crisis resolved (Whew!).

For the previous month, my dad had been stressing over his job situation. He was supposed to be starting a new job as a custodian for the county. With my mom's pending surgery, therapy appointments, and various check-ups, my dad wanted to make sure there was no issues with the insurance coverage. He is one of the most honest, hard working people out there. And I'm not just saying that because he's my dad. He has to be forced to use his sick days. He had four freaking weeks of sick days built up. Now get this. He goes in to give his two week notice. The boss takes it rather well, even telling him that if his new job doesn't work out that he'll have a job to come back to. Now, my dad does not want to work for these people any more. That's why he's found a new job, but it was a nice gesture. That night he was taking a shower to get ready for work (the graveyard shift) and noticed a tender and protuding spot on his groin area. He thinks to himself, "Hmmm....I wonder if that's a hernia." Not saying anything to any of us, he goes to work which involves lifting bales of newspapers in and out of a van all night long. When he got home that next morning he informed us all that he "might" have a hernia. My mom had me get on WebMD on the 'net to convince him that he couldn't and shouldn't put off getting it checked out. Between my mom, sis, and I (and some help from the web doctors) we managed to convince him to hitch a ride to the ER. Since my sister was headed to the hospital anyways (remember Franky just had intestinal surgery yesterday!) he rode along with her. They immediately took him in and was consulting with a surgeon within the hour. He had two protrusions, one on the left and one on the right. Yes, surgery was needed. Within a few hours he was on the operating table getting his guts put back in their respective places by, you guessed it, the same surgeon that rearranged Franky's guts just the day before. The funniest part is when my sister was sitting in Franky's room for his consult with the doc. He kept glancing over at her with a funny look on his face. Before he left she asked him, "Could I find out how my dad's surgery went?" He says, "THAT'S why you looked familiar!" Too bad they don't give two-for-one deals for families. By the way, my dad not only had two external hernias, but once they got inside him they discovered a third one that was protuding up towards the abdomen. Triple the pleasure!

Only four hours after having his insides exposed to the world, my dad was back home again. Can you believe it? That's crazy. And to make his experience that much more enjoyable....they sent him home with no pain medicine. "Take some tylenol if it gets too painful." He had a prescription for Vicodin, but of course all the pharmacies were closed by the time he was released to go home. Oh joy! He could barely even move. He wanted to clear his throat but didn't want to because he knew the pain would be too excruciating. Luckily we still had the stash of Franky's "good stuff". Imagine if people actually listened to the doctors and pharmacists and never kept a stock pile of all their leftover meds. There'd be a lot of people in a lot of hurt that's what!

The next day my dad was telling us about his "first pee" after the surgery. Along with having to eat something before getting released, he had to demonstrate his ability to urinate. Let me back up a few steps and say that his incisions were closed up with this new fangled glue that they use instead of stitches. It's weird to think that you can just super glue a big 'ol hole shut, but who am I to question surgeon's? So, he goes to take his pee, and his penis is stuck to his leg. The first thought that enters his head? "They went crazy with the glue!" Of course that wasn't the case, but what a funny thought! It was just the sweaty "sticking to the seat of the car in the summertime" syndrome. He had his pee, ate some pudding (which was a feat itself), and was sent on his way.

My dad has had food issues ever since I can remember. Sometime when my siblings and I were young, he developed an eating disorder. Now noone in my family wants to call it that, but that's what it is. If you have a fear of eating in front of other people and you only eat about 10 or fewer different types of food, it is indeed an eating disorder. For years he only ate ice cream, english muffins with peanut butter, cookies, and coffee. And he's stick thin. Over the years my mom has convinced him to add in a couple of vegetables. His time to eat is after everyone has gone to bed. This is one reason that it's worked out well for him to sleep out in the travel trailer while my sis+family are living with them. He can have his privacy for eating and stay halfway healthy. Now we had a new predicament with the new sleeping arrangements. The only comfortable place for he and my mom to sleep after their surgeries was in the two recliners. My bed? The couch which was located less than a foot away from my dad's chair. I became real good at pretending to sleep so that he could eat something and start mending. I don't know if I would be considered an enabler (like the rest of my family), but I don't know how else to act in that situation. It was extremely painful for my dad to have my sis and I prepare his food for him before we went to bed. Probably even more uncomfortable than I have been throughout all these years trying to cover up the fact that my dad has a serious problem and NO ONE ever wants to address it.

I was down to just one more day before it was time to get on the airplane. For the past four to five days my youngest nephew had had an on and off fever reaching as high as 104 degrees. The fever was gone but he was still complaining about his throat being sore. Even crying that it hurt to drink apple juice. My mom kept suggesting to my sis to take him to the doctor. She, of course, was in no shape to go back to the hospital (it was the weekend so it would have to be the ER). The night before I had my 6am flight, I offered to take him in. We lucked out and had about 10 minutes in the waiting room. They did a throat culture on him and discovered that it was NOT strep throat. Whew! One less thing to worry about. Take some tylenol, drink fluids, and lots of rest. We were back home by 8pm. No worries.

Are you getting bored yet? Stick with me a little while longer. It gets even better! I promise! That night, I tossed and turned and tossed and turned worrying that the alarm wouldn't go off (I was borrowing a Disney princess one that was on it's last leg). I slept a total of 2 hours. Got to the airport with plenty of time. While doing the "easy check" in, I was trying to hurry because there was a long line of people behind me. I click, click, clicked through the touch screen prompts barely noticing the "delayed" warning on one of my legs of the flight. When I got back over to my sister, I mentioned something to her about one of my flights being delayed, but when I looked at my boarding passes all the times matched up with my itinerary. Hmmm. I guess it's not delayed after all. Wrong! I get to San Fran airport and slowly saunter over to my gate. I have an hour and a half after all. That's when I discover that the flight, in fact, HAS been delayed about an hour and a half. I quickly start doing the math in my head and realize that this leaves me with 10 measly minutes in Chicago O'Hare. I marched right up to the gate counter to see how to rectify this situation. I was not about to spend Christmas Eve night in the freakin' airport! They sent me on my way to the United Airlines help desk...of course just where I had come from. They put me on a later flight from Chicago to Columbus "just in case" I didn't make my current flight. I asked, "Now am I still on the earlier flight?" "Oh sure." With my provisional ticket in hand, I high-tailed it back over to wait out my 3 hour layover. On the flight I met an Air Force dude on his way home. On my right was a young woman who was on her first airplane flight. She was also on the same "run for your life you've got ten minutes to make it there" flight to Columbus. Not having flown before, she didn't have a clue she needed to check into anything while we were still in San Fran. She started to panic because she (unlike me) was not on the later flight. I tried to help her think positively about it. I told her she could follow me through the airport and we would try our darnedest to get on that stinking plane. We looked at the map of the airport so we knew exactly which direction we needed to head. I had it all under control. UNTIL. Our plane got delayed on the runway because the gate still had an airplane sitting at it. And then someone sneezed at the control panel and we were delayed another 20 minutes! Just sitting there. My hopes were almost smashed. I told her the only way we'd catch that plane is if, by some miracle, it was ALSO delayed a tremendous amount of time. We ran off that plane in a hot minute, I tried not to lose her in the crowd. I'm 5'9" with a pretty long stride. She looked to be about 5'2" wearing high heels. Needless to say, at one point I looked back and she was no where to be seen. At this point it was every man (or woman) for him/herself. I made it to the gate, the doors were closed (of course...no surprise there). And then I looked up at the kiosk. The gate had closed at 6:02 pm. Current time? 6:03. This is when my new friend comes running up with her high heels in hand. I gave her the bad news. She managed to get on the standby list. Along with a million other people. The previous day's windstorm had people STILL trying to get flights out. I procured my boarding pass and would, thankfully, we on my way to Columbus in the next couple of hours. Is this why people always tell you not to travel this close to the holidays?? You think? So, we get on the plane. I say we because my new 'first time flying' buddy got on this flight. The mood on the plane seemed to be one of contentment. Everyone on their way to see loved ones for the holiday. It puts people in a good mood. Especially for the ones who have been stuck in an airport for more than a day wondering if they'd ever make it in time for Santy Claus to come visit. Drinks were given. Light conversation with the woman beside me. Her and her husband were traveling from Oregon to visit her family in Columbus. I told her a little bit about my past two weeks. We hear the pilot tell us that the flight attendants will begin to prepare for landing. Ho hum. Let's wrap this puppy up. About 15 minutes later the pilot comes on again.

"Uuhumm (clears throat). We're having some trouble with the brakes. The flight attendants will be reviewing emergency procedures with you. If I could have everyone take out the card from the seat pockets. We will be circling the airport for the time being."

Huh? Immediately everyone got "that look" on their faces. You know the one. Not quite panic (yet). It's amazing how a plane full of people can get real quiet real quick. The flight attendants immediately went into ultra-professional flight attendant mode. You know how you know that they're trained well and all that, but all you ever witness is the serving of food, beverages, pillows, and such? I was completely impressed. They had four men in the front of the plane and four men at the back of the plane huddled around explained what to do to assist people out onto the inflatable slide. We all were given clear and concise instructions on how to get in the "brace" position for the emergency landing. Everyone tall enough to reach the seat back in front of you, were to cross their hands, arms out straight and put your head between your hands. Everyone else does the head on the lap position. Take off any jewelery that could injure you in any way, loosen or remove neck ties, take off pantyhose. If you're wearing high heels and have flats available, put those on. Okay, they're really serious here. The flight attendants go back to their seats. We start to descend. The pilot says, "Prepare...brace!" This is our cue to get into the brace position. If I wasn't so nervous, this might be kinda fun! Is this it? Should I start having my life flash before me? None of that was happening. I just kept saying to myself over and over...it's going to be okay....nothing's going to happen....we're just fine. In the meantime, the flight attendants are repeatedly yelling, "HOLD BRACE! HOLD BRACE! HOLD BRACE!" I must say that I was dually impressed with the flight attendants and the pilots. That was about the smoothest non-brake landing that you could ever hope for. Seriously. As soon as everyone realized that we had touched down and nothing was on fire and the plane had not crashed into anything, cheers broke out from first-class all the way back to us peons in coach. Because, really, in the end if the plane crashes it does you no good to have extra leg room and extra pillows and champagne in your tummy. If we're going down, we're ALL going down. And, luckily, none of us were going anywhere except home....to our loved ones. I looked around the plane and there were a few tears here and there. One man shouted out, "Hey I looked at my watch right after we touched down. It was at exactly 12:00 am. This truly was a Christmas Miracle!" Even though that sounds cheesy, at the time it sounded like the best thing in the world. Someone else looked out their window and noticed all the fire trucks lined up ready for a disaster. I think it really hit home at that point just exactly how lucky we were. As everyone made their way off the plane, the flight crew ,including the pilots (do they always come out to bid the passengers goodbye?), were there to sending us on our way. I felt like giving each of them a hug or at the very least a simple "Thank You". Instead I just briefly smiled in their direction and darted off. Hopefully they understood how grateful I was that they actually listened through all of their hours of training. Hopefully they know how thankful I am that they know their stuff.

The families waiting to pick up their loved ones had obviously been informed of the situation. Because as soon as we got past the big red security "do not cross" line, everyone was there with tears running down their faces. I, on the other hand, had a two hour drive home to greet me. I was actually thankful that no one was there to greet me. Much less stressful for me and for them. I made the phone call to Ron and even though he was surprised, it was much easier for him to hear about it after the fact. I collected my luggage, rode the shuttle out to find my car, spent 20 freaking minutes scraping ice off the windows (but I was happy to be alive and freezing my butt off), and drove home listening to Christmas carols on the local radio station. The only exciting thing that happened the rest of the way home was when a raccoon almost met his demise. I was trying relentlessly not to catch him under my wheels. He was being stubborn and kept coming towards me even though I was slowing and swerving (slightly since I was going 65 mph!). He made it. On the radio was the Beach Boys chanting, "Run, run, reindeer!!" I had to laugh out loud while I sang, "RUN, RUN, RACCOON!!"

I was never so happy to be hugged and kissed on than that night (or morning...3am). Now do you see why I slept for a week after I got home?

And now for the most recent update: I called my sister tonight to wish her a happy 40th birthday (I got her a gift certificate for a full body massage...think she deserves it?), and she said that my mom had to go to the hospital today. She has pneumonia. That's all I know so far. She'll be calling me back tomorrow. Here we go again.....

MOST RECENT UPDATE: My mom is back home and supposedly doing better. It is still scary because she is not as mobile right now as she typically would be. And with pneumonia, that is not a good thing. I'm sure everything will be fine, but I can't help but worry about her.

Boobies

2008-01-20T01:13:00.000-05:00

While filling out a short survey thingie to receive free samples of feminine products for girls (because who doesn't like to receive a little box in the mail containing one pad and one tampon?!), I received this message at the end....

Be sure to visit www.beinggirl.com to answer to all your questions about boobs, boys, and everything in between!

Okay. I'll get right on that.

Okay, now where were we?

2008-01-17T08:38:00.000-05:00

Let's see if I can pick up where we left off. Day Three of my adventure ended with welcoming Franky home. And along with that, we got to hear all about the previous two weeks of hospital adventures. I wasn't quite prepared for the aftereffects of brain surgery. I really wish that I had taken a picture of the 49 (yes, 49!) staples in his head so I could share it with all of you here. I kept promising to get my camera out, but before I had a chance (yes, I had a whole week,but...) the staples were removed. The ironic part of the staples is this. He celebrated his 49th birthday while in the hospital. 49 staples. Weird, huh? The staples went from just above his ear all the way up to the top of his head. It was quite impressive.

While he was still in the hospital, my sister says the only way she can describe it is he looked like quasi moto. His head was so swollen on the one side that she said it literally looked like his head was going to explode. After his initial surgery, his blood pressure sky rocketed so high that it burst some blood vessels. This is not a good thing. They waited a few days to see if the swelling would go down. Petit mal seizures continued to become more frequent, about 2 per hour. Swelling continued to worsen. Finally when he had the grand mal seizure, they took him into surgery to put a drain in. This is the real fun part. My sister said that a few days later when they took the drain tube out, the nurse said, "Okay now, take a deep breath in." The tube was then pulled out. My sister, who was in the room at the time, says she's sitting there waiting for someone to close up the hole or something. But, no. Apparently it just kinda closes in on itself. Ew.

I've never had the pleasure of being in the intensive care unit of a really large hospital. Apparently it is not the most uplifting of experiences. My sister said that even though she was under lots of stress, it was by no means at all close to what some of the families were dealing with. And even though everyone's situation is different, there is lots of bonding that goes on in the waiting room. There was a rather large Hispanic family that befriended her during those two weeks. The patriarch of the family (his wife was the one in the ICU) invited her out for some drinks one evening. She gracefully decline, not wanting to leave the hospital in case something happened. The next day he came in and said in broken English, "Tequila bad. Vedy, vedy bad." Sounds like she made a good decision, eh?

There was another family that was basically in stall mode having to make "The Decision". The matriarch of the family had no brain activity. The youngest daughter, in her twenties, was having a really hard time with it. She apparently had had some sort of vision, possibly through a dream, that something would happen on the 12th. So they were holding off a few days for her sake. Because that would be a horrible "what if" cloud to have hanging over their heads. Like I said, not a very uplifting place to be.

So, with Franky home and slowly on the mend we were all feeling slightly optimistic. My mom's surgery was still planned to go forward in the next few days. All's well, right?........

And here's a couple pick-me-ups

Gotta end on a pleasant note....I can almost hear the collective, "Aaaaaahhh"

It's about freakin' time

2008-01-09T23:59:00.001-05:00

Ever since I returned home three weeks ago, I have not felt like myself. I'm not sure what it is. For the first week I literally could not stay awake. I slept most days for about 2/3 of the day. The rest of that time was spent lounging on the couch under a blanket. I think I actually had some type of virus. Either that or I was just decompressing from the previous two weeks.

I tell you what, I have never worked so hard on a "vacation" in my life. It was really nice to see my family, even under those circumstances. Even though they worked me to the bone (I know, I asked for it), I thoroughly enjoyed getting to spend time with everyone without the distraction of my own kids. There wasn't the bickering between Jesse and her four girl cousins. I didn't have to schedule any visits with their old friends, nor did I have to play chauffeur to them. So, with my kids a couple thousand miles away, I had all the free time in the world (oops, I almost forgot that i volunteered to be a servant).

Upon my arrival, the airport shuttle was waiting to pick me up. My parents drove the family bus, a 15 passenger Ford van. Inside were 6 little munchkins who were very surprised to see their Aunt Roxanne. My mom had tricked them by telling them they were picking up her best friend from school. Boy were they were in shock when I opened the door to step in! There was non-stop chatter the whole way back (and pretty much for the next two weeks).

The next 48 hours (and the previous 24, because I like to do things out of order) was a whirlwind of activity which included, but was not limited to, the following activities:

A visit to the local Burger King. Not for the food, of course, but for the indoor playground so the kids could run off some energy. Even so, the house was busting with noise and activity when we returned home.

Have you ever been on a flight with someone that was having major (with a capital M-A-J-O-R) bowel issues? Well, I can now say I have. It was not pleasant. And even though I felt sorry for the poor sole, I felt even sorrier for my nasal passages. They really, really should install an air freshener dispenser thingie in the airplane bathrooms. Because I didn't even get with twenty feet of the bathroom and I could STILL smell it EVERY SINGLE TIME this person went to use the facilities. Which was quite often.

This was the first I'd seen one of these. It was in one the many airports I visited my first day. I wish it had come out clearer because the wording was hilarious. They should have just stated, "Poop=Down Pee=Up". I wonder what the woman in the next stall thought when she saw the flash go off. :P

I had the most awesome (and totally rad!) view of Mt. Hood (Oregon) as we flew directly beside it. The sun was shining, the skies were clear. Couldn't have asked for a better picture taking opportunity than that. Except that my airplane pictures never seem to come out at all like I expect them to. Better luck next time, right?

This isn't Mt. Hood, we were MUCH closer than this. I can't remember which mountain this is because I was snapping pictures of all of 'em. But it sure is pretty.

My bro-in-law (we'll call him Frankenstein, tell you why later) returns from the San Francisco hospital the day after I arrive. He had been there for two weeks and was just a bit pekid after the six hour drive. Two good things from that drive...he didn't throw up once and he didn't have any more seizures. My sister was thrilled.

The night before I left, I knew I had to wake up at 3 am for my 2-hour drive to the airport. Yet, I still could not get to sleep. My total hours of sleep=2 1/2. The next 24 hours was a joy!

I love those little snack boxes (available for $5) that United offers. I always get the one with the can of lemon and seasoned tuna, hummus, pita chips, Toberlone, and couple other little things. I also almost always get cranberry juice for my complimentary drink. Don't ask me why. I just do.

"Flat Stanley" helped me eat my mini-meal. He was sent to me by one of my nieces. It is a school project that kids across the country get to participate in. They learn all about geography and chart all of the Stanleys' travels, from the kids in their class, throughout the school year. So far our's has gone to a Stevie Wonder concert in Pittsburgh, Thanksgiving in Cincinnati, a Halloween party in Cleveland, and then on the airplane stopping in Chicago, Portland, San Fran, Eureka/Arcata, and Columbus. He's a well-traveled man!

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but my sis, Frankenstein, their six children still living at home, and my parents have all been living in the same household (3bed, 2bath ranch) for almost a year now. Oh yes, let's not forget about the three dogs (Skippy, Ella, and Lance). Yep, the fun never stops! My sis and Franky have finally been finishing a beautiful home remodel (finally, 15 years after getting scammed from an idiot contractor). Their house is basically done now except for a few final touches. Of course moving back in will have to be put on hold until everyone is well again.

It hasta be Shasta!

Due to the cramped living conditions, the sleeping arrangements are quite interesting. My parents have been sleeping in the travel trailer (at least it has a nice bed) out in the driveway. Mostly because my dad works the graveyard shift and when he needs to sleep the kids are still very much awake and very much verbal. My sis and Franky are in my parent's bed. The other two rooms are split between the girls and the boys. Add me to the mix and everyone's various ailments over the next two weeks and it gets even more interesting. I started out the first night in my parent's bed (yep, it's just as creepy as it sounds), my mom in her recliner, and my dad in the trailer.

Skippy and Ella...need I say more?

To be continued.......

Home Again

2007-12-31T16:24:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm here, still alive, but not yet able to get the words out to tell the tale of my recent travels. Boy, what a way to end the year though. I promise I'll get stuff out of my head and onto the computer soon. Wishing you all a Happy (and especially healthy) New Year!

It's a Done Deal

2007-12-06T00:38:00.000-05:00

Just charged $515 to the credit card

After tons and tons of stress the past few days, lots of waiting to receive emails or phone calls, and searching Travelocity for WAY TOO LONG (seriously, they need to revamp the searching process), I basically told my mom that I am coming to be the rescuer/ slave/ whatever you want me to be for the next two weeks. She, nor my sister, did not really want to accept the offer as we all suffer from the same syndrome. Even if your husband has just had 2 brain surgeries in one week's time, seizures, arm surgery to repair a fistula from having too many rounds of dialysis, no money to pay for parking the car in the hospital lot or for more than one meal a day. That doesn't even qualify you to ask for help.

So I told them I was coming. And that's that. Now.....we need to give a few premature pats on the back to Ron for offering to take over our household. The kids will get a good lecture tomorrow about not giving Dad any problems and they WILL be helping out (not that they don't already but they'll be stepping it up a notch).

I will be leaving this Saturday and returning late on the night of Christmas Eve. Can you imagine a present any better than that? And for some strange reason this year, not only did I get all the Christmas shopping done early but, BUT, I have everything wrapped and ready to go. My subconscious must have known that that would be necessary.

Why?????

2007-12-02T23:13:00.000-05:00

I was all ready to write a happy post. Maybe something about the holidays. Or kitties and bunnies. But instead I have to write this to get it out of my head.

You see, this past week, my brother-in-law had surgery to remove a clot that could potentially cause an aneurysm. His team of doctors have been keeping a close eye on it for quite some time as it was supposedly not a big threat, but it did need to be taken care of before things changed. The surgery went well, but he was still in ICU the whole week due to not being able to eat or drink anything. Apparently the swelling was causing such a horrible headache that he couldn't even keep down water. The surgery was done in the temple area and one of his eyes was swollen completely shut. Also the whole area was swollen and protuding.

I've had minimal contact with my mom because she and my dad are caring for 6 of their kids (the other 2 are living on their own now). She emails me and tries to call when she gets a chance which, obviously, is not too often. I had been thinking about trying to call my sister today to see how things were going and to send birthday wishes (it's his birthday today), but now I'm glad I didn't. She said she's fine until she gets on the phone with our mom (probably not, but it's a family trait to ALWAYS show them that you're strong and don't need help).

Yesterday, he started having seizures. Tomorrow he has to go back in for another surgery to relieve some of the pressure on his brain. I think it's either blood or some other fluid that has collected and his causing pressure, hence the seizures. Either way, it's no good.

Guess what? I want to be there. Just to be a support in any way I can. Plus, to complicate matters, my mom is scheduled for her second knee replacement surgery in 10 days. It would feel really nice to be there to help care for my nieces and nephews. So, I start checking prices for flights. Can we afford to go any further into debt? Not really. Do I really care right now? Nope. Can the kids and Ron hold down the fort for a couple weeks? Probably. Can I take time off work and prolong getting more daycare kids (aka: much needed income)? Not sure.

Send any and all positive thoughts his way.

There's a first time for everything

2007-11-27T08:58:00.000-05:00

To kick off the holiday season, here are a list of some firsts for me so far.......

Drove four hours on Thanksgiving morning along with a whole bunch of other pumpkin pie craving people. We usually host dinner and when we haven't, the traveling is always done at least a day ahead.
Ate Thanksgiving dinner sitting across the table from a goth chick complete with multiple lip piercings and dog collar and a tattoo artist.
Decorated a fake tree. Once we got the branches fluffed up, it doesn't look too bad. Plus, we didn't kill another poor tree.
Decorated the Christmas tree minus one member of the family. Unbeknownst to his parents, Nate took off on his bike (after being told to stay home and join the family in decorating) to a friend's house. He is now grounded from going to anyone's house for the next two weeks.
Have 99.9% of my shopping done BEFORE Black Friday. Even if I don't wake up for the 4 am shopping frenzy (which I've done more than a handful of times), I almost always end up shopping at least sometime during the big sale weekend. No need to this year. Even though I'm a huge bargain hunter, it was actually nice not to stand in any of those lines.

How is your holiday season going so far?

Happy Thanksgiving to All (and to all a full stomach)

2007-11-22T00:50:00.000-05:00

Things I am grateful for at this present moment:

my good health

my dad's new job so he's not out on icy mountain roads in the middle of the night

an almost acne-free face

apple and pumpkin pie (yes, I will be eating some of both even though they contain cinnamon)

getting invited somewhere for Thanksgiving dinner

a job where I can be home and still work when one of my kiddos is sick (happened yesterday...the throwing up session has thankfully stopped)

Anyhoo, see you all on the flip side. We're headed to Cincinnati to spend the holiday with family. Also, apparently there's a really cool, really big aquarium (etc) that we'll be checking out before we come home. I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving (even Suzy who's stuck in Canada with no pumpkin pie :( ).

Point and Click

2007-11-15T14:23:00.000-05:00

Last night while talking on the phone with my mom, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I am not the most computer illiterate person alive. Also, to prove that point, I recently updated my Myspace page with pictures and an actual background (I only have one to stay in touch with a best friend).

Mom recently acquired a new laptop for her birthday. My dad had been putting some money aside here and there from his upholstery jobs. It was a big surprise to my mom because dad has always been anti-computer. He basically thinks that they are the devil. So when he got her a laptop, she was elated. Up until now, she's been hooked up with a verrrrry slow dial-up connection. She now has the slowest "fast" internet and is officially hooked. She said it's so fun to click back and forth between stuff and not have time to go get a snack in between.

Well, inevitably, she had to call the computer help line for something. I don't remember what it was she was having trouble with, that's not really the point. As soon as Mom got someone on the line, she admitted to the girl that she is very computer illiterate and to be patient. Here's how it went down.

Help line chick: "Do you see the icon in the right hand corner of the screen?"

Mom: "Yes."

"Right click on it."

Mom types out "click" on the keyboard and nothing happens.

"Did you right click?"

"Yes, but nothing happened."

"Okay, try it again."

Mom types out "click" again and notices no change on the screen.

"It doesn't seem to be doing anything."

"I'm not sure why it's not working. You did right click with your mouse, correct?"

"Oh...the mouse? I thought you meant "write click" as in type out the word click."

Heehee! I bet she makes the Top Ten list at this year's company Christmas party. You think?

So, What the Fuss?

2007-11-13T14:40:00.000-05:00

Let me just say first off, Stevie was Wonderful. He did not disappoint. On the other hand, the loud mouths sitting behind us just about got a mouthful of fist. Lucky for them, I'm more civilized than that. My question: Why pay upwards of $50 per ticket to sit and LOUDLY chat with your buddy sitting next to you and when that gets too boring, call another friend on the cell phone and have this engaging conversation (during a slow, quiet song no less), "Yeah, I don't know what Stevie is singing right now, just some song.......yeah, I had a roast beef sandwich for lunch." And then after every song they scream at the top of their lungs, "WE LOOOOVE YOOOU STEEEEVIE!!!!" At one point I turned to Ron and said, "If they love Stevie so much, then why don't they shut up and listen to him sing?"

He sang all of my favorites so I was satisfied with that. He definitely has not lost his voice over the years. It is still very much intact. For most of the performance he sat either at the keyboard or the piano, which were set up right next to each other. Later on, he stood up and belted out a few tunes (making me nervous because he was at the very front of the stage, right next to a small speaker on the floor....one wrong step). Then, with the help of one of his backup singers, he stepped up onto the piano bench to sing. Towards the end of the song, and without any help, he jumped down off the bench. Of course, their was a loud, collective gasp from the audience. I have a feeling he does this on purpose. :)

A great night. Memorable performance. One of the best birthday gifts ever.

When crying is a good thing

2007-11-08T23:57:00.000-05:00

I typically think that most everything on YouTube is a big, fat time waster. But...BUT....you just have to see this one. But don't blame me if you have to change your pants afterwards.

Human Tetris

And then this one is just for fun.

Evolution of Dance

P.S. It's worth it to watch the whole thing(in both cases). Hey, you were wasting time reading me blabbering about nothing. What's another few minutes. ;)

As Per Request

2007-11-05T21:23:00.000-05:00

Here you have the mild flippy look

Today, on the other hand, my hair was out of control. No picture as it felt like a bad hair day. I think if my hair had been any more 'flippy', it would have flown right off of my head. I'll have to experiment with it when I have time (ie: when I don't have to show my face in public).

And to switch gears completely, I went to donate blood this evening. Even though they extracted a pint of blood from my body, it will not be used to save anyone's life. :(
The nurse (are they nurses? not sure) inserted the needle incorrectly. She hit a vein, alright. But, according to her layman's terms, the needle was pressing up against the side of the vein. In all the times that I've had blood drawn, it has never EVER felt like this. She didn't realize what had happened until we were more than halfway through. She kept increasing/decreasing the amount of pressure on the cuff and readjusting the needle. At one point I looked down at my arm because it was going numb and my whole arm and hand were turning a dark purple. Not normal. And again, extremely painful. By the time she decided to bail, I had tears brimming. The nurse at the next station asked if I was okay and I couldn't even answer. All I could do was give a weak 'okay' nod because I didn't want to seem like a wimp. I've never been a wimp when it comes to needles, but this felt like something straight out of a terrosist torture scene (okay now I'm being dramatic). The most irritating part for me was knowing that I had taken a good 2+ hours and a bunch of discomfort basically for nothing. The nurse told me not to let this scare me from donating again. I won't. I realize that people make mistakes. But she could have been a little more sympathetic about it.

This is as good a pic as I could manage.

We'll see what it looks like tomorrow. There's a huge knot under the bruised area and it hurts every time I move my hand and/or arm. I'll stop now because I know there are some people that have to endure soooo much worse than this every day of their life due to health conditions. Now I feel like a doof for even complaining about it.

A cut above the rest

2007-11-04T12:12:00.000-05:00

Welp. I did it. I bit the bullet (and didn't break any teeth). I am now sporting a new, fashionably cute haircut. Before leaving for the salon, I was browsing through Oprah's site again to see if any of the 100 makeovers (minus the one of the caveman dude) looked intriguing. None really caught my fancy although Ron found a couple that he said he sorta liked.

Part of the reason I wanted to go short again is because I find myself pulling my hair back into a ponytail more often than not. It's been driving me crazy for months on end to have hair brushing against the sides of my face. All the styles that I or Ron liked the look of, the hair would still be long enough to be 'in my way'. Ron's final comment/suggestion of what he thought I should go with? "Get it cut to look like you're running from the law." ???? "You know how in the movies they always show women chopping their hair off in a motel room (motioning with hands to demonstrate about chin length)? Something like that. Except a little more stylish. And then you could color it a really, really dark brown....almost black with a reddish tint." So off I went. I wasn't planning on taking his opinion to heart because it sounded a little too wacky to me. And since I've never payed anyone else to color my hair, and never plan on doing so, I was just going for the cut.

I looked through a couple of the books at the salon for ideas. Found a couple that I might consider. One was a short, short look that I've had before. The other one.....I went with. No pictures as of yet. But it is cute. And I love it. It can be styled in a 'flippy' look. It can be combed back into a sleek look. Or just kind of tousled into a messy, laid back look. How versatile I am! If you're still reading I'm sure you're all bored to tears and ready for me to move on. ;)

On a side note: Jesse thinks I 'ruined my hair'. She wanted me to keep it long. But she also likes all girls to have long hair so I'm not surprised. Nate just gave me a 'What?' look when I walked in since he didn't know I was even going for a haircut. Ron said he liked it....a few times. He also warned me before I left that I was not to hold him personally responsible for his reaction upon my return. He's too funny.

Having a girl moment

2007-11-03T01:34:00.000-04:00

I've been contemplating for a while whether or not to keep growing my hair out or......get it chopped off again. I go back and forth every 2-3 years or so. Once my hair gets about shoulder length, sometimes a bit longer, I get the urge for a change. After looking at old pictures of myself with the short short cut, I vowed never to go that short again. I feel too masculine, hardly ever wear make-up, and my hair always seems so 'flat' whenever it's super short.

But I just looked at Oprah's (I know, don't say it) website and she apparently had a makeover show where 100 people (I almost said women but then remembered the one shaggy guy!) got a hair makeover. Some of the shorter styles look really cute, but would they look that cute on me. Maybe, maybe not. I also could go with a trim and some layers. I don't know if I would be happy with that either. I may be looking for something more dramatic.

It never does me any good to ask Ron for advice or his opinion on this matter. He's too afraid to tell me what he likes because he thinks I'll get mad if he says he likes it long and I want it short...vice versa. But I have an inkling that he likes long hair since all his celebrity crushes have long, dark tresses. And two of his high school crushes had the long, dark hair also.......

But, of course, I am not any of the above people. I am what I am. That would be confused and needing advice. Anyone? (don't tell me just do what you want because I don't know what that is!)

Changes

2007-11-02T14:02:00.000-04:00

I love the change of seasons. It always feels like a fresh start. Even in autumn when it seems that everything is dead. The death of the leaves is so brilliantly gorgeous. The death of the garden, not so much. I love having fresh veggies. :(

I love autumn because it means winter is just around the corner. Winter means sitting by the warm fire, fuzzy hats and scarves, thick sweaters, puffy jackets, hot chocolate, sledding, crunching through the snow in heavy, toasty boots, driving with snowflakes flying at the windshield (I love how that looks!), and snuggling up in bed to steal body heat from your honey.

Bring on the cold!

The Name Game

2007-10-29T00:49:00.000-04:00

The Name Game

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet’s name & current car)

Boots Odyssey

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie),
Peanut Butter Nutter Butter

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name),
Jfer

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal),
Pink Kitty

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born),
Anne Santa Monica

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first),
Ferju

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink),
The Purple Daquiri

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers),
Randy Donald

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy),
Vanderbilt Chocolate

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ),
Carrie Wayne

And a few more…
11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter),
Hicks Houston

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).
Winter Star Jasmine

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie”)
Strawberry Jammie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree),
Granola Oak

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”),
The Knitting Thunderstorm Tour

Tag! Your turn!

Happy Burfday To Me

2007-10-26T08:48:00.000-04:00

I had a birthday two days ago. I am now a few days closer to Forty than to Thirty. And, yet, I feel the same as I did at the beginning of the week. Why is it that so many people become obsessed with numbers? Of course, there are the major milestones...at 16 you can drive.....at 18 you can vote....at 21 you can drink (legally). After that all of the major milestones quickly become negative ones. I think I'll stick with the belief that you're only as old as you feel. At 25 I felt like I was about 40. But today, at 35, I feel about 35.

Anyhoo, my day was pretty normal. Work from 8am until 5:30pm. Take the kid to horse lessons (by the way she is doing AWESOME, had her first little jump and didn't fall off the horse!). Come home to a cooked dinner (yay!). And cheescake for dessert (double yay!). My present from Ron? Tickets to go see Stevie Wonder in concert! He is definitely on my 'must see in this lifetime' list. And now I'll be able to check him off that list. For those of you that have been around here for a while, you might recall I actually got to see Stevie sing one song last winter at the Gerald Levert memorial. But a whole concert of nothing but Stevie? Pure heaven.

I also got a phone call from the family. As soon as I answered everyone (including all the kiddos) yelled (mostly) in unison, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROXANNE!!!!!". Except, of course, it was my real name because that would just be freaky if they called me Roxanne, right? My mom and sister informed me that I'll be getting my presents from them 'as soon as they're finished making them'. I told 'em don't worry too much about rushing. I can wait patiently. 'Specially for something handmade. :)

Eat me

2007-10-21T00:04:00.000-04:00

Out of curiosity, I Googled "Cinnamon+acne". Not only did I NOT FIND ANYWHERE WHATSOEVER anything implying that ingesting cinnamon will cause an acne breakout, BUT many of the home remedies included a honey and cinnamon paste to be applied to the face every night. Also, suggestions of garlic being rubbed on the affected areas.

So if I eventually decide to give up with the nasty prescription cream, I can try the more natural route. And smell like garlic, honey, cinnamon, and there was also mention of the use of vinegar. YUM!

Red faced and not even embarrassed

2007-10-18T14:40:00.000-04:00

Let's see............

Went to the dermatologist last week. Felt reprimanded for how long I had waited to come get my acne issue resolved (didn't need that...like I hadn't already beaten myself up enough already).

"Wow, that's really bad", comments the doc as she shines the extremely bright spotlight right at my chin area. Again, thanks doc. At least my face didn't fail me and miraculously clear up right before my appointment. I wanted to show the doctor the reality of my situation. And she got it. Actually, I didn't mention to her that is has been far worse at times. She had already seen enough to be convinced.

Along with the three part cleansing system, I have been advised to steer completely clear of.......get this......cinnamon! She said no other food will cause acne. Cinnamon? Apparently she does not realize how much I love cinnamon. The worst part? It's pumpkin bread season. And pumpkin pie season. And apple pie season. I've yet to experiment with making my famous pumpkin bread sans cinnamon. This was Jesse's idea. I really hope, with all the other spices, that the cinnamon will not be too obviously missed.

The other thing I was told to avoid is any toothpaste with whitening or tartar control agents. I am to use the basic paste with no special additives. No gels. Just paste. That one is much easier to do than the cinnamon ban.

After the first two days of using the topical prescription treatment (Duac with 5% benzol peroxide), I literally felt like my face was burning, stinging, itching, bright red, and inflamed (and hot!) in all the areas where it had been applied. Which means the areas around my eyes and mouth are still white white. So, to sum up.....I look like a freak. But a freak with a face that's slowly clearing up. Now, after a week, my face is slowly getting less red and is so dried out that it feels like sandpaper. Of course, I am to not use ANY moisturizer whatsoever and no makeup.

I only have at least 5 1/2 more months of this to look forward to. If everything looks good at that point, I will be put onto maintenance. I asked the doc what maintenance consists of. She said that depends on what your situation looks like at the time. I just hope it doesn't involve putting the "evil cream" on my face anymore.

All I can hope for now is that the sunburned look goes away before the snow starts flying.

Found!!!!

2007-10-10T01:36:00.000-04:00

I continued to stress the whole day about my missing wallet until, this evening, I was frantically searching every nook and cranny of the house with flashlight in hand. Nate was sitting at the computer desk and asked what I was up to.

I NEED TO FIND MY WALLET!!!

Without me asking, he pitched in and started opening cupboards and shelves. I went into the next room and shortly thereafter heard him exclaim, "I found it!"

WHA????? Where was it?

In the bottom drawer of the desk, all the way to the back.

I gave him a great big hug and a few thank yous. He says, jokingly, "Now you owe me $20 bucks!"

I am so, so happy not to have to replace my driver's license and credit cards and everything else I have stashed in there. Plus I really needed the contents of the my wallet for the next three days. Doctor's appointments on Wed. and Thurs. in which they'll need to see my insurance card. Then Friday I'm taking the daycare kids on a field trip to the zoo. It probably would have been bad form to be driving other people's children around town without a license. So, yippee!

In other news, we are getting a new roof on our house and two garages. It is only going to cost us $250! Due to a hailstorm back in June (in which we didn't think we even had damage from but all the neighbors were getting approved for roof repair), our insurance adjuster determined that, yes, we did have enough damage to replace the whole roof. Phew!! I was really not looking forward to shelling out $10,000 - 15,000 in the next couple years. We have moss growing on many of the tiles and a leak here and there so this was a great relief. All hail hail storms who do great amounts of property damage! I'd like to also note that this is the first homeowner's insurance claim we've ever made in 15 years of owning various homes. So, we were due. Maybe I'll take some pictures of the roof being installed so y'all can see our new, pretty rooftop (and maybe some shirtless dudes!).

AAAAWWWWW!!!

2007-10-08T20:27:00.000-04:00

I need everyone to send some "finding wallet" vibes this way. As of yesterday, my wallet is MIA. I am not one to typically lose things. I have retraced my steps and narrowed it down to a couple of things.

1. Jesse was sleepwalking (as she often does), took it out of my purse, and placed it God knows where. God? A little help here?

2. It flew out the window on the way home from Sam's Club.

We've ruled out the possibility of it falling out of my purse from the cash register in Sam's on the way to the van. Because if someone dishonest had found it, Mastercard would have called us already alerting us to many, many charges. If someone honest had found it, we would have gotten a phone call to set up a time to retrieve it. Either way, I am very, VERY frustrated!!!!!

This and That

2007-10-07T23:53:00.000-04:00

I'm finally (!!) going to the dermatologist to get my face fixed. I am not kidding you when I say that my face has literally exploded the past couple of weeks. I really should take before and after pictures, but I really don't want to have a reminder (once my face clears up) of the pain I've allowed myself to go through for so long. I can't wait for my face to stop throbbing.

We have been scraping the paint off the basement floor for 3 weeks now. At times my arms and wrists have been so overworked that I can barely grasp a glass to take a drink. It's loads of fun. You're asking why would you scrape all the paint off the floor? It kept bubbling up and peeling. I kept repainting the peeled off areas. Paint chips kept ending up on the little ones' feet (not good for business). So now we are going to install 667 vinyl tile squares that hopefully will look as close to a wood floor without being actual wood. I'll take pictures when we're done. Next weekend is the big install.
Jesse started horse riding lessons again. She was so psyched! September lessons consisted of learning the basics of barrel racing and pole bending. Pole bending is where they have between 4 and 8 vertical poles that they have to zig zag the horse through. She was awesome (if you don't mind me bragging)!! I was so proud of her. This is truly something that is in her blood. They were timed on two different maneuvers. She had the best time on the first one. And the second she "lost" only by a hundredths of a second. But really she would have won had her horse been cooperating. Penny kept trying to go off course and so her teacher kept stopping and restarting the stop watch. See? It's not just me being a totally biased overprotective mom. ;) In all actuality, I could careless how fast or slow she is. I'm just thrilled that she has found something that she is so passionate about.

All for a mere $25 per hour lesson!

We may have to start eating rice and beans to keep her in that saddle.

Abby (our throwing up cat) does not seem to be retching ill for now. Of course I probably just jinxed it and we'll find piles all over the floor in the morning.
I get to have my female parts manipulated at the doctor's office this week. Oh joy!
We're looking at meeting my family (and possibly my new mom-in-law + husband) this summer for a camping trip. Due to my bro-in-law's health condition, we have to limit ourselves to somewhere within an hour or so from an airport and also near a dialysis unit. He is getting pretty close up to the top of the list for a kidney transplant. As of now, we're considering somewhere in Washington or Oregon. Should be fun!

Death, Barf, and Stool

2007-10-04T00:03:00.000-04:00

Now, I know you all are still here after reading that post title. Can't wait to hear this one, right? After my extended absence, due to our laptop having gone caput (and Ron's miraculous recovery of our hard drive by putting it overnight in the freezer [yes!] ), I'm back.

Our male cat, Jake, has been on a killing spree.

He may look cute and innocent, but underneath the facade is a rampaging tiger ready to chomp down on his next victim. Last week, Jesse found him in the house with a little mouse. It was already dead, of course. She took it outside to the "Tree of Death". This is the spot that she takes all of his victims. Later on that day.............one of my daycare parents comes to pick up her daughter and lets me know that the cat has left a present on the front step. Oh joy. It is the same poor mouse. He apparently has discovered the final resting place of these poor critters.

A few days later I was outside with the daycare children at my feet (literally). We had been giving the baby dolls a bath the day before so I was putting everything back into the rubbermaid container. I went to lift up the overturned "bathtub" and was mightily surprised when I came face to face with a chipmunk. Yes, he was dead. But at least he looked peaceful. I have no idea how he made it underneath there or how he died. I don't think the cat was to blame for this one. I quickly covered him back up and left him in peace. It may or may not have also been because I hate to deal with dead things. Ron gracefully stepped up to the plate this time when he got home. Poor little guy.

Today, as I'm waiting for my first daycare child to arrive, I hear a blood curdling scream coming from outside. Apparently as mom and child were walking up to the front door they discovered not one, but two poor little dead chipmunks. Mom had let out the chilling scream to try to stop her daughter who was quickly approaching the deceased guys. You know with rabies and all. I proceeded to wash her hands really well as Mom didn't know if the little one had actually touched the chippy or not.

Onto the barf. Our other cat (the bipolar one), Abby, has been throwing up off and on lately. I had made an appointment with the vet to see if there was anything wrong. She has only be doing this maybe once every few days so we're not really concerned. But concerned nonetheless. The lady at the vet's office says that if we could collect and bring in a stool sample it would be extremely helpful in determining what's going on with her. Do you know how hard it is to collect stool from an indoor/outdoor cat? We don't keep a litter box for them as they have the freedom to go outside anytime they please. Even if we were to lock her inside and MAKE her go in a box, how do we determine that it's her poo and not Jake's? Do we have to lock him outside until she does the dirty deed? Of course, if we lock him outside you know he'll take out his anger on the chipmunks.

So for now at least, I've cancelled the appointment until we figure out a plan of action. Plus, she doesn't really seem to be acting sick. (yes, she's up-to-date on all of her vaccines so I guess we'll just wait it out and see)

The Good Deed (aka: what could have potentially put me on the front cover of the paper)

2007-09-20T00:24:00.000-04:00

I still remember the film strip (yes, I'm that old. It was not a VHS but a real live film). The setting: Driver's Ed class in high school. The movie was, I'm guessing by the style of clothes and the types of cars, set in the '70's. The message was still quite clear. DO. NOT. EVER. PICK. UP. HITCHHIKERS. No matter if it's an 80-year old granny with her white, poofy-haired poodle. She might look innocent, but she also might be toting a gun under her granny smock.

Today, I picked up my first one ever. Although it wasn't an innocent grandma. And I wouldn't exactly call them hitchhikers. As I'm sitting at a very busy intersection, innocently on my way to my very boring knitting group, out of the corner of my eye I spot a woman and two children crossing in the area that should be marked with a crosswalk. I say 'should' because, in fact, there is not designated crosswalk in this VERY busy intersection. How is that possible? Are people not supposed to walk on streets anymore?

Anyhow, as they crossed in front of my van the woman approached the passenger side. She had a crazed look of desperation (this will come up later) on her face and my defenses immediately went up. Crazed lady. Approaching van. Driver's Ed film. Need to get away. Instead I listened to her request of getting a ride home for herself and her children. Apparently, their car had been towed (sounds typical, right?) and they were stuck. The children were each carrying a 7 lb. bag of cat food. One of the bags had a rip in the bottom and so they were struggling to not spill it. Did I mention this is a VERY busy intersection and the light has now turned green and I'm first in line to go? I had to think quick. Ultimately my mom instincts took over. I know I've had that same look of desperation on my face as a parent. I also did not see any large bulges under her shirt so I was pretty sure (going on blind faith) that I was not going to get shot up and left to die.

I asked where they were headed and it was sorta kinda on my way. It actually ended up making me 30 minutes late but I didn't mind. I agreed and they hopped in. (Quick sidenote: in the whole line of cars behind me, not one person honked their horn in annoyance. Only in Ohio) Along the way, the mom started to calm down a bit and the kids made themselves at home. Mom said that they'd driven over to the nearby lake and then stopped at the grocery store. When she came out, there was a police officer writing her a ticket for expired tags and making the call to have her car towed. I'm not sure if I believe this story. I'm inclined to think she was telling the truth because our local police like to pick on people like this. I've heard first and second hand stories of officers pulling over girls late at night in an attempt to "hook up". And other such things. But that's beside the point. I was, at this point, trying to get a feel for this woman. She seemed ligit. She also hadn't made a move for my purse sitting on the console, wide open with a wallet full of credit cards. So I figured I was pretty safe. The Driver's Ed video was slowly fading from my memory.

Mom said that they had been wandering, literally in circles, on this road. She said she felt delirious at one point. I know the feeling. As a parent, you instinctively want to keep your kids safe and then the rug gets pulled out from under you. And then you find yourself hitching a ride home. I wonder if she specifically came to my car because she saw a woman in a minivan. Would she have asked some rough looking guy in a beat up truck for a ride? Who knows. She said at one point (during their wandering) that she dropped down to her knees and prayed for help. So, essentially, I was sent from God this afternoon. It's a good feeling.

I can't wait 'til Monday

2007-09-16T18:14:00.000-04:00

What do you get when you match up two people with very different upbringing and very differing communication skills? Lots of misunderstandings, yelling, and hurt feelings on both ends.

I grew up as the "baby" in my house. Typically, you always think of the last child as being loud and obnoxious just to be heard in a household of adults and older siblings. I was never like that. I repressed feelings of never being heard, because every time I did try to speak I never felt listened to. This angered me. A lot. To the extent that I got in the habit of only speaking when I felt I had something really important to say. And then when I did speak people better listen or else I would get extremely irritated and angry.....and supress it.

Now that I'm an adult I have tried to change this really bad habit. Not only because it's damaging to me, but to those around me, specifically the people I live with. How have I attempted change? For one, I don't let people interrupt me when I am talking to them. This can be sometimes awkward because there is a natural ebb and flow to conversations. But if someone tries to interrupt mid-stream, I will most often finish out my thought even though they are obviously trying to interject their point of view. It's not that I don't want to hear their point of view. But because I so often let people stomp on my views and allowed them to not let me finish my point, I am more than determined now.

That's why I love blogging.

That's also part of the reason why, in Home Depot this afternoon, the conversation quickly changed from what tools to use to scrape paint to me making someone feel like an idiot. Because I want to (and am obsessively determined to) get my point of view across, it does not mean that I think everyone else's views are idiotic. And even as I write this, it sounds like I'm again trying to sound like I'm the one with the correct logic or that I'm "right". I know I'm not. I know that I have so much of my own "stuff" that needs to be worked through and have no idea how to begin.

I can't wait 'til Monday when I can ignore feelings and confrontations and stupid paint for at least a few hours.

Log the Jog

2007-09-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

I'm two days into my new venture of training for a race. OK. Let's be honest here. It will probably be at least a year or more before I am ready to enter a race and have any hope of actually finishing it. But at least I'm trying!

My first day I really had no idea where I was headed, but I knew I wanted a different route than my typical one I go on for biking and walking. New scenery for a new mode of transporting my body from here to there. I mistakenly did not wear a watch so I had no idea how long I had been gone. I only have an hour in between Jesse leaving for the bus stop and when my first daycare parent arrives. On my way home I was positive that I had been gone for longer than an hour, so I attempted to jog the whole way back. Even though I knew for sure that I was keeping an anxious parent waiting at my doorstep, I could not pull out enough energy to do it. I alternated between jogging and walking until I arrived home not quite gasping but definitely dieing of thirst and exilerated (not to mention, sweating up a storm). Luckily, I did not spot anyone in the driveway. Whew! When I got inside and checked the clock, it told me that I had only been gone for 30 minutes. Really? Could have fooled me. Tonight I used my handy dandy Microsoft Streets program to map out my path. I was shocked to see that it was almost 3 miles. Woo hoo! Of course the second day I was too sore to jog more than a few songs worth and the rest of the time was spent speed walking.

I went shopping this evening for some actual running shoes as the ones I've been wearing have seen better days and don't have much support in them. Hopefully my feet and shins appreciate the new shoes. The new path I have chosen for tomorrow is 2 miles long with a few hills thrown in just for fun. Wish me luck!

Body Image and Awareness

2007-09-12T00:29:00.000-04:00

Like most females, I've always had a skewed sense of my body. When I was in junior high, I remember weighing 99 pounds for the longest time. I was at or close to my current height at that time, 5 feet 9 inches. Basically, I was a bean pole. Then puberty really kicked in, I got hips, boobs, the whole shabang. I don't remember obsessing about my weight in high school (thank God) or ever worrying about not eating something because it would make me gain weight. Although I ate my fair share of junk food, I also ate lots of fruit and veggies. And I was always active. I don't remember stepping on a scale at anytime during my high school years (although I must have more than once) except for my sophomore year in gym class. It was part of the Presidential Fitness Testing thingie. I weighed 141 pounds. In my eyes, I felt big. In reality, I was fit and in pretty good shape.

After graduating high school, I know I began to put on a few extra pounds although at the time I didn't really notice. I wasn't concerned. Got married. Got pregnant. Couldn't tell you how much I weighed at the beginning, middle, or end of the pregnancy. No clue at all. All I do remember is the one prenatal appointment when the nurse weighed me and then went back to make sure she had the correct file. I had gained 15 pounds in one month.

After that pregnancy I was extremely motivated to get back in shape. I bought a few Cher exercise videos and danced my butt off (literally). Even though Cher's outfits made me sick to my stomach, and I was constantly thinking 'how can someone sweat in all that glitter and sheer fabric'), it did the trick. Also, I took baby Nate for walks everywhere. We walked to the grocery store and park every day. We walked through the mall. And it worked. I didn't weigh myself at all through that process. I couldn't even tell you what size pants I fit back into. All I knew is that I felt really healthy and that was important to me.

I started taking a water aerobics class and loved it! No more sweating and boobs bouncing around during workouts! And I always felt exhilarated at the end of each session. And no sweat! I had finally found some type of exercise that I actually enjoyed. I continued taking the class through my pregnancy with Jesse. The last class I attended was 3 or 4 days before she was born. Since I knew I wouldn't be going in the water for at least the first 6 weeks after she was born, I asked the gym to waver my fees during that time. "It's not in our policies to do that." So I got pissed and cancelled my membership. Not a smart idea, but I was going to show them! Well, guess what? Yep, it was not the smartest decision I ever made as far as my health is concerned. Although I probably hadn't gained as much weight with that pregnancy, it took a lot, lot longer for it to come back off. Years. Not only that, but I gained and gained throughout the next few years until I finally realized I was huge and completely out of shape. Sedentary and eating too much junk and huge proportions. Not good on the waistline at all. I still didn't know how much I weighed, but I knew I felt horrible. I couldn't believe what I looked like in pictures even though I looked at myself in the mirror every day. How is that possible? I finally decided I was NOT going up another pant size and, by the way, the size I was wearing (18) dug into my waist and were extremely painful. Ugh. I finally decided I'd had enough.

I broke down and bought a scale. Time to face reality. The result? 231. Ouch! Time to put my plan into action. I started eating better. Every morning I'd wake up at O'Dark thirty and go for a very brisk 45 minute walk. During the daycare kids naptime, I did my 60 minute pilates DVD. I started to be able to breathe in my clothes again. It took me about a year and a half to drop down to a size 12 in pants and 175 lbs. Even though I don't want to obsess about actual numbers, stepping on the scale every week or so keeps me in check. I continue to take my water aerobics class, which I love. And I try to go for walks and bike rides in the neighborhood as often as I can. I really need to start doing my pilates during naptime again. It's a great time to do it since no one else is in the house to tease me about farting during this one pose (I did it ONCE and Jesse will never let me live it down). The pilates really helps strengthen my back and keeps the waistline from bulging which has always been a sore spot with me. (note: pooch still left from stretched out tummy skin)

I love watching The Biggest Loser as it is great motivation to keep myself in shape. It really is inspiring how drastically some of those people change their lives. Nowhere near what I accomplished. Hard work and perseverance. It'll take you far (someone slap me, I'm starting to sound like a motivational speaker).

I've found a handful of blogs written by people who've had weight loss surgery. It is really quite amazing as they log their progress, some with photos to document. Some people would say they took the easy way out. I say it's most likely out of desperation that they have chosen to alter their insides in order to get their life back. I mean really, who's going to go into something like that nonchalantly? Along with their actual weight in pounds/kilograms, they often talk about their BMI (body mass index). Out of curiosity I calculated mine. OK, I know I'm still no where near thin, but I was kind of shocked to see how much weight I'd need to lose to be in the middle of the target healthy range for my height. 25-30 pounds. Really? I'll tell you one thing. I'd rather add lots and lots more exercise to my daily routine than give up my chocolate. No one's taking my chocolate away! (really, I don't eat very much but I do love it)

Remember how running in a race was on my list of "wants"? Maybe that can be my motivation to get my butt into action. Also, I don't care about getting any trophies or medals. I just want to finish without dieing, passing out, or losing bladder control. That last one might be kind of hard. Also I think it would be an awesome feeling to be running amongst all those other racers. We shall see. Maybe I'll start logging my progress to keep me motivated. Hmmmm......

Bad hair day like no other

2007-09-11T00:34:00.000-04:00

This afternoon we had sort of a "hairbrush incident" at our house. Jesse was brushing her hair with one of those round hairbrushes and, oops, got it tangled up. Next thing you know (of course I'm not at home at the time) she has half a bottle of conditioner on her head trying to get the hair to slip off the brush. No such luck. She calls me on my cell phone somewhat panicked. I tried and tried and tried to loosen it off the brush, but no such luck. So she gave in and said go ahead and cut the brush off the hair. Before doing so, I explained to her the options which were very few. Go to the hairdresser to see if they could find a style to fix it.....or live with a hairbrush dangling from her head.

After leaving the salon, she was quite unhappy. I think it looks cute although her bangs (the portion that had to be cut drastically) are still long enough that they fall into her eyes and she thinks pulling them back with a barrette looks stupid. So I told her tomorrow we can go back to the salon and, very nicely, ask that they trim on her hair some more. She asked the girl to give her layers, which didn't happen. So we'll see what the end result is tomorrow.

Boy are so much easier. Just get the buzzers out and take it all off every coupla months. No prob. ARRRGGG!

On a happier note, one of the local meetup groups that I belong to is planning a two-step dancing night, free lesson included. Yeehaw! Think I can convince Ron to go with me? Not bloody likely but I shall try. :)

And on another happy note, I may be getting an infant in the next couple of days. Not just an infant, but a newborn. As in one or two days old newborn. Details to follow............

EDITED TO CORRECT: The meetup is swing dancing, not two-step. I'm sure that will make a huge difference whether I have a partner to go with or not. ;)

Stupid, stupid, stupid

2007-09-07T14:41:00.001-04:00

I should know by now to always, ALWAYS go with my first instinct. For instance, a couple of weeks ago when a prospective daycare parent meets me for the first time and decides to leave her children with me after a five (if that long) short minute conversation. Not only did she complain about having to pay me at the end of the day (sorry, I don't do two for one deals....two children=twice the work), but I just received a copy of her bounced check from my bank. Yeah.

Or like the night we were on our way to the Rush concert and one of my daycare parents, upon finding out who we were going to see, mentions that Rush is one of his favorite bands. Instead of just thinking of offering him my ticket, I should have actually acted on that thought. Don't get me wrong. I had a good time. But it would have been really nice to do that for someone. Even though I had a nice time seeing my husband enjoy himself and reminiscing over old times, I probably would have gotten more joy allowing someone else over 3 hours of musical bliss. I'm guessing he also would have gotten more pleasure out of witnessing the underage drunken, almost threesome right next to us.

Or like last Saturday when the thought passed through my head, "Hey, you're white as a ghost. Put on some sunscreen. You KNOW the outcome will be very, very bad if you don't. Don't give me any back talk either!" Guess what?

Actually, my back had the least amount of damage. Somehow I deleted the one of my shoulders.
At least I was partially brown on my shoulders and neck area for about a week. Until yestereday when I began the peeling process. Now I just look like a freaking lizard in the molting process.

I had Ron take the picture so that next time I plan on being in the sun for an extended amount of time (longer than 30 minutes), I can look at this to remind myself that I do not tan. I was not born to tan. And no matter how much I try to convince myself, it will never happen. On the other hand, I am definitely going to be a candidate for skin cancer.

A week in the life of

2007-08-29T22:39:00.000-04:00

**The kids are back in school (woohoo!)

**We bought a new fridge and stove that will be delivered on Saturday. I don't think two people could be more excited at the prospect of having cold water and ice readily available without having to open the door. (yippee!)

**Call me crazy (because obviously I AM), but I have agreed to take my two children and three of their friends to a nearby amusement and water park this weekend, BY MYSELF. My two goals are that we don't lose anyone along the way and, more importantly, no one hurls. Shall be fun. I will have a full report next week.

**Did you know that a mosquito bite on the eyelid is not very fun? Did you know that it can cause the eye to swell completely shut and that you may look like Rocky Balboa? Don't worry, it's not me. If it was, I would be posting a picture. Instead the affected party is one of my daycare children. She looked so pitiful today. :(

**My monthly visitor decided to show up today. Remember I said that Saturday's activities would include a water park? (yippee....NOT!)

**Rush concert tomorrow night. Ron is psyched. He's been preparing himself for the past couple of weeks by listening to all of his fave songs. I've been preparing by lifting weights so I can push back this time around and not get trampled. I'm sure we'll be breathing in some second hand doobage.

Goodbye carefree days of summer!

Hello, first day of school blues!

The picture may be blurry, but you can still make out the scowl. :) Classic!

New York City: Day Four

2007-08-27T17:42:00.000-04:00

Ok, ok. I know it's been forever and a day since I attempted to finish out this NYC thing. And I'm sure you're all over it by now. But I want to end it so I can look back at all the fond memories when my own memory has failed me. So, here goes....

After a fun-filled previous day packed with lots and lots of activities from dawn until way past dusk, we decide to sleep in a bit. This was probably a good idea. I was just recently discussing some of the trip with Ron and, apparently, he has no recollection of most of our activities on Day Three. I have no witnesses to back me up, only one picture of the two of us at the Norah Jones concert. He continues to deny falling asleep (standing up) and almost knocking people over multiple times until I finally gave up trying to nudge him in the side. Also, sleeping through half of the broadway play. And then through part of our Frenchy dinner. I must be a real exciting date, eh?

9:00 am -- We wake up to shower, dress, and make ourselves look pretty. Not everything in that last statement is true. As I was attempting to dry my hair, the electricity went out. This was the second time. Oops! Forgot that we can't have the t.v. and air conditioner running at the same time as any other appliance. It takes the handyman way longer than we have time to wait for him, so off we go to catch the train--wet hair and all.

10:45ish am -- We arrive at "Good" with a few minutes to spare. Of course, just about every woman walking up to the restaurant is thin with long, dark hair. Is that her? Nooo...is that her? No worries, Bearette shows up right on time as the first guests are being let in the door. No line! We exchange a quick hug and head in for some grub.

11:00ish am -- Bearette's husband, D, joins us for some good food and good conversation. We soon find out that even though it might be awkward to meet up with someone that you feel like you already know, but you don't really know, it's still possible to hold down a relatively interesting conversation. As promised, the food was not just "good", but scrumptious. I had the lemon ricotta pancakes. I seriously need to find a recipe for those. They are soooo yummy. Ron had some sort of breakfast burrito. He said it was good. I'll have to take his word on that one. I've never been a fan of stuffing breakfast items into a tortilla. To each his own.

12:00ish am -- Bearette had offered to show me her favorite yarn store (and who am I to deny a great yarn buying/feeling experience), Purl. So we head over there, minus D who decided to go for a bike ride.

This is what I found at the store....

Sock yarn!!!

1:00ish pm -- Bearette offered some of her leftover yarns to me and there's no way I can pass that up. :) So we head to her apartment. We had plenty of time to chat along the way while avoiding getting run over by crazy taxis. Luckily, by this time, I had learned to be an agressive pedestrian. Or at least more aggressive than my usual timid self. I'm one of those people who does not step an inch off the sidewalk until I see that little, white walking statue. If you've ever been to NYC, you know that you'll never get ANYWHERE if you do that.

Her apartment was very cute. Of course, there were ducks aplenty. :) And I got a preview of some of her finished projects, even getting to model one of the Christmas presents. Unfortunately, I totally forgot to get my camera out during our entire visit. :( But I did get a juicy tidbit of info that I've had to bite my tongue not to release. :D

Free yarn!!! The hot pink ball on the top is what I used to make the flower lapel pin.

3:00 pm -- Finally realizing how late it had gotten, we decide to head on out. We bid our goodbyes, promising to bring the kids the next time we visit. The New York Metropolitan Art Museum was next on our list of to dos. It did not fail our expectations. In three hours time, we only made it through half of the building. I was surprised that they allow photography, as long as you don't use a flash. I absolutely loved how much history is interlaced within the pieces of artwork. Here are some of the highlights.

This is probably my favorite picture. I didn't snap it, but it was my eye that caught the perspective.

This guy must have thought highly of himself. Must. Protect. The. Royal. Jewels!

A bunch of headless, armless statues.

Check out the intricate beadwork. I can't even imagine how long it took to make this one.

More perspective? Just proof that I think I should be a professional photog.

Obviously the miniature men think highly of themselves, too.

I love these little guys. I was tempted to ask if we could take them out and play. :P

Whussup!!!!

Off with your head!

Whaaa?? The artist had a little too much to drink (hence, the empty glass) and lost their bright idea.

This is more like what REAL artwork should look like.

I Want to Live!

2007-08-23T01:42:00.000-04:00

I want to live. I want to grow. I want to see. I want to know. I want to share what I can give. I want to be. I want to live. --John Denver

I want to go to parties and socialize.

I want to take dance lessons.

I want to go camping with only a backpack.

I want to bake some kind of goody at least once a week.

I want to meet new people and make new friends often.

I want to go snorkeling in sparkling blue waters.

I want to finally learn how to play the guitar that we bought over a year ago.

I want to have at least one good friend that I can turn to with anything.

I want to always be surrounded by love.

I want to go to local musicals and plays on a frequent basis.

I want to start up a baton twirling group again.

I want to make sure I don't miss out on the ever decreasing amount of time that my kids are still kids.

I want to feel contentment at the end of every day.

I want to party like it's 1999.

I want to go on a river rafting/camping trip.

I want to start going to bed earlier and, therefore, wake up feeling refreshed every morning.

I want to make homemade Oreo cookies. :)

I (still) want to have another child.

I want to keep donating blood.

I want to finally go to the dermatologist and get rid of my acne.

I want to run in a race.

I want to let my hair grow down to my waist and then dye it a chocolate brown.

I want to eat chocolate everyday.

I want to live on the beach.

I want to learn how to surf.

I want to visit as many foreign countries as possible before I die.

I want to go on a safari.

I want to be able to fix my weird wandering eye so I don't look like a freak.

I want to go on a whale watching expedition.

I want to go on a shopping spree, with a stylist, on someone else's dime.

I want to write what ever's on my mind without feeling like I have to hold back.

I want to attend ALL of my kids' activities, awards ceremonies, sporting events so I never have to feel guilty again.

I want to lay on a beach for a week, having drinks and food delivered to me. And when I get too hot from baking in the sun, I'll frolic in the waves in my cute polka-dotted bikini.

I want to be the life of the party, just once.

You know you've been married too long when......

2007-08-21T00:36:00.000-04:00

....you both forget your anniversary until two days past. Oops! We were camping this past week, eating hot dogs, swimming in the lake, getting rained on, riding bikes, almost killing a raccoon with an full bag (minus about 9) of marshmallows (well, it was HIS fault since he took off with the whole bag). But the one thing we didn't do was celebrate (or even acknowledge to each other) our 16th wedding anniversary. Welp, there's always next year! (except we say that every year)

MIA

2007-08-14T01:30:00.000-04:00

I know I've been missing-in-action lately. I've been busy knitting up a storm, visiting the Columbus Zoo, and trying to keep the kids busy for the remainder of the summer.

The knitting group that I joined is making an afghan to donate to charity. These mitered squares......

....will be sewn together.

I love how the group consists of a wide variety of people of all ages, personalities and genders (yes, there is one guy). It's really nice to get together with a group of people who have this one common interest, but often the conversation revolves around daily life. We share patterns, tips, and ooh and ahh over everyone's most recent projects. But we also learn a little bit more about each other without the irritating structure of a formal, over-organized group. Some of our most recent outings included a visit to a baseball game of the local AAA team. We called it "Stitch 'n Pitch". It was ultra fun including goodie bags (given by our lovely coordinator) filled with Big League bubble gum, a sample of yarn, and a plastic clapping hand. Yippee!! I can't wait for next year's! What better way to pass the time during a baseball game, but to knit, knit, knit away! See Bearette? I told you we had fun here in Ohio. ;)

I'll leave you with these............

The first of a collection of dishcloths I got hooked on. This one is the same pattern as the one I made for Bearette. Unfortunately, the pattern did not show up so well on her's because I used variegated yarn.

This pattern is named "Elfin Lace".

I love the earthy colors in this yarn. These are all going to be Christmas gifts. I'm making a bunch more to add to the collection. I'm officially obsessed. :)

And this lapel pin is a gift for the new mom-in-law. Ron says she'll love it because it's hideous. I knew I had to make it for her as soon as I saw the pattern. She has an eccentric style which works great for gift making. The bright pink yarn was a gift from Bearette. She gave me a bunch of leftovers and look what I created! (told you I loved scraps!)

Mary Jane slippers for my mom's birthday. Cute, eh?

And finally, a handbag I made with a bunch of scrap acrylic yarn. I've gotten a ton of comments on it so far. All my knitting buddies just love it. (so do I!) It's the perfect size to carry my current project around with me. I'm going to make one in shades of blue for my mom's other birthday gift. And Jesse has requested one in hues of blue and green which I'll probably surprise her with as a Christmas gift.

A T-Shirt I Spotted Today

2007-08-14T00:52:00.000-04:00

Vegetarian

Ancient tribal slang for the
village idiot who can't
hunt, fish, or ride.

Nice, eh?

I love how people try to put down others to make themselves feel superior. Why must we continue to judge others because of their beliefs, what they eat or don't eat, how much or how little their weight is, what their abilities or disabilities are, and, of course, the color of their skin?

Aack! It puts a bad taste in my mouth spotting something that to some might seem so simple, but, to me, it says a whole lot.

Is this phallic enough for you?

2007-08-04T23:31:00.000-04:00

I think Liz may have sent this one into Postsecret. You think?

Go meat!

(hee!)

If I ever had a fantasy about being serenaded.....

2007-08-01T00:49:00.000-04:00

Every time I listen to the sweet sound of Michael Buble, it feels like absolutely nothing could be wrong in the world.

Seriously. Nothing. Plus, he has a cool last name.

New York City: Day Three

2007-07-30T01:28:00.000-04:00

5:30 am -- (yep, 5 freakin' 30 in the am) We receive our wake-up call. One that I PURPOSELY set up. Why, you say? Because we are headed to see Norah Jones this morning! For free! ABC's Good Morning, America holds a free concert in Bryant Park every Friday morning and it just so happens that one of my favorite singers will be there. Yippee! (except we have to wake up at O Dark Thirty in the morning to get there. On the busiest day of our trip. It turned out to be pretty much worth it. Even the standing in one spot for 2 hours straight(with sun in our eyes) to listen to 3 songs.

She's sooo cute!

10:00 am -- We have a reservation for the NBC tours at NBC studios at Rockefeller center. Got to see Conan O'Brien's studio and Saturday Night Live studios. No pictures were allowed so you'll have to take my word for it. It was cool to get an insider's view of how SNL is produced. On the tour with us were a large group of school-age kids. They always come up with such great questions. Here's Ron's question for the SNL portion of the tour. "What happens to all of the sets after the show?" It turns out that they have them transported in from Jersey, arriving on Wed. or Thur., and then they are painted rather quickly for the Saturday show. Afterwards they're shipped back out (hopefully recycled in some way but who knows). Another interesting tidbit: the audience during the dress rehearsal performance gets a part in deciding what skits stay and which ones get cut. If a skit gets very little positive feedback (ie: laughter), it gets cut before the live performance.

12:00 pm -- We grab lunch from a street vendor (not a hot dog or pretzel) and bring it back to the room to get prettied up for the second half of the day.

2:00 pm -- Time for one of the most anticipated activities of the trip (for me at least).

Yep, that's David Hyde Pierce in the Broadway musical, "Curtains". It was very entertaining. Of course, I'm partial to the dance numbers (I was a dancer in a local production of Oklahoma way back when). Fun plot, rousing song and dance, and excellent acting. Who could ask for more?

5:00 pm -- We make our way to the SoHo area. Quick trivia: What does SoHo stand for? ........South of Houston....Houston is pronounce How-stun named after some dude (can't remember his first name) Houston who was too pretentious to pronounce his name Hew-stun. You can thank me later for that bit of useless information. Our dinner reservation for L' Ecole (the French Culinary Institute resaurant) is not until 8 pm. We decide to just wander and see if there's anything interesting to entertain us for the next three hours. Hmmmm. After aimlessly wandering through the crowded streets, we decide to take the train over to the J&R music store to purchase a new battery for my cell phone. Even though I don't use public transportation on a daily basis, I would like to think that I'm not a complete idiot. No such luck. I've always been creeped out by revolving doors, especially the metal gate ones. So when I come up to the revolving gate door entrance to the subway, I'm hesitant. Long story, short. I get stuck on the wrong side of the gate after passing my card through the reader and it won't accept my card again for another 18 minutes. Yay! (sarcasm) Frustrated, we decide to hoof it.

Not really planning to, but because we were in the vicinity of, we visited Ground Zero. Not much to see as it is basically a huge construction area. For me, it was a moving experience just standing back and imagining what used to be. I hope the new building serves it's intended purpose.

7: 30 pm -- With a half an hour to go before our dinner reservation, my bladder is about to burst. I quickly realize that it is almost impossible to find a public restroom unless you are a patron of a restaurant. Most of the shopping establishments have no facilities. Finally, we pop into Bloomingdales and they have not just one, but three glorious restrooms - one for each floor. I'm tempted to use each of them just because I can, but I refrain myself.

8:00 pm -- Our Frenchy dinner was yummy. I'm sure the chef would not appreciate that type of review. Not ever having experienced an authentic French meal (yes, I live a sheltered life), it was nice to be in a facility where the servers spoke plain English and the menu items were listed in both English and French. Very user friendly! I won't bore everyone with the details of all five courses, but here are the highlights. Ron had this one dish with a dark, very black sauce that turned his teeth black. Of course as soon as I mentioned this fact to him, he had to display his black chompers to me with a big grin. Very flattering indeed! I had a super yummy (kudos to the chef) Asparagus cream soup. Dessert was, by far, the main event. I ordered the blueberry lemon tart that arrived with a sugar wafer thingy (again, the chef is cringing). I would have to say that although it was good and I loved the experience of having these dishes delivered to me that have such a lovely presentation it makes it extremely difficult to mess it up by taking a bite, I no longer feel the need to spend that much money on one meal. Been there, done that, moving on.

10:00 pm -- Riding the train back to our hotel there is an interesting mixture of people (more so than the usual). Directly across from us, we witnessed an obviously drunk man who had wet himself sitting next to a well dressed young woman who was oblivious to the too-close-for-comfort ickyness. I suppose it's not officially a trip to NYC until you see either A) someone urinate on themselves B) someone urinate on a friend or C) someone urinate in a parking garage due to their condition of Uromysatisys.

Thus ends a very busy day. Onto the next!

I Love Surprises!

2007-07-25T12:45:00.000-04:00

I found this super cute, striped, hand-knitted hat waiting for me in the mailbox a few days ago.......

You'll never guess who it was from (well maybe you will)!

Thanks a bunch, Bearette!

Guess who also loves it? Yes, the same person that stole my first cute hat. But I've already informed Jesse that this is MY hat. Hands off!

Normal

2007-07-23T10:54:00.000-04:00

The kids are home, therefore everything feels back to normal again. We had to clear a pathway to walk through the living room because Jesse's suitcase exploded about 5 minutes after entering the house.

It was neat to see how excited they both were to see us at the airport. Even Nate was visibly excited, bouncing up and down as we exchanged hugs. Having said that, they were also not ready to leave friends and family in California. Next time we'll have to consider letting them stay longer even though it's difficult for Ron and I.

******************

On a very sad, unrelated side note: Yesterday Jesse went to check our pool to see how dirty it was (we haven't cleaned it out this summer and it is literally a pond) and she found a dead (what we think is) a red-tailed hawk. Very sad. :( What once was a very beautiful bird is now a bloated, putrid carcass. Last night I finally began the cleaning the pool process that should have started months ago. As I unscrewed the drain, dead bird water sprayed all over my feet and legs. Eeewww!

Funny Thought

2007-07-20T10:53:00.000-04:00

You know how sometimes the family and friends of comedians get ripped up one side and down the other? And they're supposed to learn to live with it because it's just "part of the act". Don't take it personally, right?

I see the same potential with blogs. Anyone agree?

New York City: Day Two

2007-07-17T09:23:00.000-04:00

8:00 am -- We headed down to the shoreline on foot. Our plan was to get our tickets for the Circleline cruise later that evening. We weren't sure how popular the evening cruises are and wanted to make sure we didn't miss out. On the way, we saw a group of people outside the Chinese embassy doing some type of relaxation exercises. I was impressed at how focused they seemed to be. After all, they were not on a quiet mountainside or even in a park. Instead they were on a sidewalk with traffic rushing by, taxis beep beeping.

10:00 am -- We took the bus up to Central Park with plans of going to the Natural History Museum. On the way, we passed by Tavern on the Green (with me finally realizing why it's named as such). The museum is so large, we had to pick and choose which sections to view. That's fine because we plan on going back on our next trip with the kids. My only request was the dinos. It's not everyday that you get to see them you know.

Stego has always been my favorite. Isn't the baby cute?

The ginormous whale.

6:00 pm -- We take the bus back to the water and wait for the Harbor Lights cruise to start. I would highly recommend to anyone visiting the city (especially for the first time), to take one of these cruises. Even though it's totally touristy, you get some wonderful views....

and to top it all off, the star of the show....

the Statue of Liberty up close and personal!

9:00 pm -- We jump ship (well, walk calmly off the boat at the end of the cruise). We have exactly two hours to get ourselves to the Chelsea neighborhood for our evening entertainment and grab some dinner along the way. There was a lovely Szechuan restaurant where the moo shu chicken was yummy and the waitress almost gave us a free meal. By mistake, she forgot to give us our check, we practically had to beg for it, and she was extremely grateful to us for our honesty after realizing the mistake. With tummies full, we head over to wait in line with a bunch of 20-something college students at the Upright Citizen's Brigade. What is that, you say? It is a unique improv comedy show. It was well worth the $5 admission price. Both Ron and I passed on the cans of Pabst that were being purchased. Improv always seems so much more impressive and entertaining than the rehearsed "bit".

11:30 pm -- Crash on the bed in preparation for our fun-filled over scheduled Friday.

New York City: Day One

2007-07-12T11:55:00.000-04:00

5:00 am --- We wake and get ready for our 6:30 am flight. Luckily we chose to fly out of the smaller nearby airport which takes a mere 15 minutes to drive to.

7:55 am --- Arrive at La Guardia. After fruitlessly searching for the news stand that sells the Metrocard pass, we decide to fork out an extra four bucks to ride the bus to the subway station.

10:00 am --- Since we arrive at our hotel so early we're not able to check into our room. We had already expected this, but luckily they have lockers at the back of the lobby so we could leave our bags (2 fully loaded backpacks). We head out to the Empire State building. Unfortunately we had forgotten the camera back in the locker. Even though we didn't capture it on film (or pixels), the view was spectacular. And it gave me a good frame of reference as to what was where. Even so, I was still turned around the whole time because for some reason I had it stuck in my head that Greenwich Village is north near Central Park. Oh well. It's a good thing I had a lover of maps to lead me around. :)

12:00 pm --- We head back to the hotel to check in and get our bags (but more importantly, our camera). The room is just big enough for the double sized bed and a little bit of walking space. It's pretty much what we expected. Because we had only slept about 3-4 hours the previous night, the bed sucked both of us in for the next few hours.

5:00 pm ---We woke just in time to grab some dinner at a deli along the way to the fireworks show. It was there, waiting along the East River, that I had the opportunity to stand in the LONGEST BATHROOM LINE EVER. Two stalls+thousands of people=Not fun. To give you a good frame of reference, the men's bathroom actually had a line. Which we all know NEVER happens.

9:00 pm --- After being entertained with the rise and fall of umbrellas every time it started sprinkling, Macy's put on a decent fireworks show. We were able to see the first half, while the second was hidden behind the cloud of smoke. It was still entertaining, but by no means anything close to the show we witnessed in Vancouver, WA. Of course, I don't know if we'll ever witness anything that spectacular.

Isn't it pretty? Too bad that guy's hat in the bottom right corner had to pop in there.

Don't I look thrilled?

10:30 pm --- We make the trek back to Times Square, collapse and prepare for the following day.......

I Promise

2007-07-11T01:00:00.000-04:00

.....I'll have my NYC update ready to go sometime soon. I know you're all waiting on pins and needles. ;)

NYC here we come!

2007-07-03T02:27:00.000-04:00

*My bag is almost packed

*Floors mopped and bathrooms cleaned

*Blister on heel of left foot

*Shopped for yet ANOTHER pair of shoes due to the fact that my lovely KangaROOS gave me a blister on Sunday

*Started knitting project at 12:00 tonight that I should have started weeks ago (and needs to be done by tomorrow....yikes!)

*Scheduled a few of our outings including buying tickets to the broadway show Curtains with David Hyde Pierce and a reservation at the French Culinary Institute restaurant, L' Ecole (this will be my first for both things)

*Hoping that I don't make an idiot out of myself at the french restaurant. I teased Ron that I would tell the waiter, "Don't bring me none o' them snails!"

*Why am I awake at this ungodly hour?

Side splitting entertainment

2007-06-30T11:43:00.000-04:00

Ron and I had an actual dinner/movie date last night. And, oh yeah, there was also some shoe shopping in between. Who could argue with that?

Side note: I was having a "shoe crisis" and thankfully it was solved last night. As I've said before, if my feet are not happy, then I'm not happy. And since we will be walking all over NYC for 5 days straight, I've been searching for a couple of weeks (ok, let's be honest, probably since we decided to go) for the perfect pair of comfy shoes to wear with capri pants. I usually just wear sandals since they are comfy, it's summertime so my feet can breathe, and they don't look goofy with short pants. I really didn't want to wear sandals to walk all over the city, even though I have THE MOST COMFORTABLE PAIR OF SANDALS I've ever found. So, I've been searching and searching through every shoe store in sight, even willing to pay FULL PRICE if I found the right ones. I thought I had found the perfect pair of Skechers, until I tried wearing them the other day around the house and they started to hurt my feet. Alert! Alert! Shoe Crisis! Well, last night I finally found a pair that works. And I've finally, kinda sorta, fulfilled a childhood dream of mine. Do you remember the KangaROOS brand shoes? You know the ones with the zippered pocket on the side? The really cool ones that EVERYONE who was someone had? Well, I never had them as a kid and I really, really, really wanted them at the time. No, I didn't buy any even though they had a few different colors to choose from with the zippered pocket and all! But I did get a pair of KangaROOS with a little pocket on the side big enough to fit a quarter in it. No zipper on the pocket, but I don't care. The other part of my shoe crisis was also diverted as I found a pair of cute and comfy sandals to go with my dress I'm bringing for evening wear. You'll never guess where I found them. Walmart! Even though I loathe that store, they have cheap bunny food and they carry the Earth Spirit shoe brand and although some of the styles are a bit frumpy I found a cute pair that my feet love. Yippee! And they go perfectly with my Sarah Jessica Parker dress (as it was dubbed by Ron). Anyhow, back to reality.....

So, the movie we watched was Blades of Glory. It was either that or Disturbia and neither of us were in the mood to be disturbed in that way. I have never laughed so hard in my life in a movie theater. I was crying so much that I wished I had brought in tissues (which I plan for when I'm watching something sappy).

I've promised him that I'll have to do a few spins while walking down the city streets. He requested that I walk over a subway grate as I'm spinning.

These are so freaking comfortable that I forget they have heels. They even have built in cushioning!

The infinitely small pocket is right underneath the little kangaroo on the side.

Just like there's so many talented singers who never make it to the radio

2007-06-30T11:37:00.001-04:00

This is why I love reading The Beast Mom blog. Whether you're a parent or not, she has some really awesome things to say. And I also love her quirkiness. :)

Slippers for Mommy

2007-06-29T01:34:00.001-04:00

As part of a contest on this blog, I'm posting the next project that will make itself onto my needles next. Not only does it look like an awesome knitting blog, but she's giving away FREE YARN (note to Bearette: visit quickly before July 4th!). I'm hoping to make these. The first pair I'm going to make for myself and then I'll adjust the pattern if necessary to make some for my mom for her birthday (I have size 10 feet and hers are more of an 11 1/2 to a 12). Instead of starting a month or less before the date, I'm starting now so I don't end up stressing to get it done like I usually do (her birthday's in Oct.). Now I just have to find some yarn to buy that I like.....

As soon as I get busy with the camera, I'll post some of my finished projects.

Now I can breathe

2007-06-27T10:17:00.000-04:00

They made it! Safe and sound with no problems whatsoever. Now I can start to enjoy my newfound freedom. Well, after I clean up the aftermath of messy kids so that we have a halfway decent house for the next month.

Onward and upward!

Edited to add: While cleaning up some leftover stuff outside from Jesse's party, I was emptying out the tent (that they never used because there was a SPIDER inside...eek!). Well, let's just say I will be having nightmares about spiders and bugs of all types and sizes for quite some time now. One of the zippered doors had been left open and there were literally dozens of spiders (at least a few were brown recluse), earwigs, crickets, and spider sacks. Yeah, I know. I put on my brave face, armed with a long handled broom and headed in. There was a boatload of pillows, blankets and enormous stuffed animals.....covered in these little buggers. My system was...drag them out one by one and shake everything off trying to not let anything crawl on me in the process. I've still got the heebie jeebies. Shudder.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

2007-06-25T19:46:00.000-04:00

Toothpaste and toothbrush...check

Camera....check

Swimsuit and goggles...check

My stomach in knots....check

(in case anyone doesn't remember, we're sending the kids on a plane, BY THEMSELVES, to Seattle tomorrow)

The cat is out of the bag (twice)

2007-06-18T01:12:00.000-04:00

This past Friday, Jesse's surprise party was definitely a surprise....only not the kind that one would hope for. Four of her friends had been invited. By Wednesday, I had only received one RSVP and that was from one of her best friend's saying she would not be coming as she was grounded for a month due to punching a boy at school, giving him a bloody nose, and being suspended the last two days of school. Nice. This friend then insisted on calling Jesse THE WHOLE WEEK and almost spoiling the surprise multiple times until I finally got on the phone with her and pleasantly asked her to shut her mouth about the party (that Jesse was not supposed to know about it, hence the surprise).

So, come Friday afternoon, I had one definite "no" and one "probably" and two no responses. We went ahead with the plan of Ron picking her up to take her shopping for an early birthday present so Nate and I would have time to decorate and wait for guests to arrive. There was only one problem....no guests. When Ron and the birthday girl arrived home she was surprisingly not too disappointed. Maybe a little confused though. "So, this is my party? But where are all my friends?" I just told her to get on the phone and see what mysteriously happened to them.

Luckily we were able to resolve the situation and two of her friends were able to come. Better late than never, right? They played games before it got dark, threw glow sticks in the air to the beat of Jesse McCartney and Kelly Clarkson (very cool effect), and stayed up half the night eating leftover cupcakes and watching movies.

Surprise, you're the only one at your party!!!

The prize blanket...surprisingly no one ever claimed the skunk or the squirrel

Hand-knitted kerchiefs as party favors

I've always loved scavenger hunts

The most cherished gift....a big a$$ jar of dill pickles

*****
*****

I've been keeping a secret under wraps for weeks now and am very proud of myself for not spoiling the surprise. For part of Ron's Father's Day gift, I bought him tickets to go see Rush in August. He'd been talking about it on and off but had no plans of actually buying any tickets. Surprise! We get to go and reminisce over one of our first dates ever....going way back to the summer of 1990.....the smell of Mary J wafting through the air.....Mr. Big opening the show......almost getting trampled at the beginning of the concert.....the big dude that saved us from almost getting trampled. Hopefully this time will be a little calmer. Not the music, but the whole trampling part I could do without.

Busy, busy

2007-06-12T13:35:00.000-04:00

What I've been up to lately:

**Building: over a year ago we bought one of those massive playground structures from Costco complete with three swings, tire swing, trapeze bar, rock wall, rope ladder, slide, monkey bars, steering wheel and telescope. Oh yeah, I almost forgot the removable chalkboard. The one that is not nailed or screwed down and could (and most likely will be) become a very large weapon if someone gets a bug up their butt. This past weekend we finally finished putting it together. Yippee!

**Shoveling and raking: In order to make the "fall zone" safe for the little ones, we ordered two full loads of pea gravel (16 tons). All 16 tons need to be raked and/or shoveled to cover the entire surface area. My arms basically feel like jelly at this point. But progress is being made. This morning I had the daycare kids filling buckets of gravel and dumping it into the empty spaces. Meanwhile, Jesse and I are filling the wheelbarrow, dragging it (because that was the only way my body would allow), and dumping it. I have a feeling I'm going to be ripped when all this is said and done. Woohoo!

**Partying: Last weekend Nate had his birthday party at a laser tag facility. Needless to say, it was one of the easiest parties we've ever planned. The ride home was the hardest part of all.
2 laser tag missions + 4 teenagers = 1 very stinky vehicle. Windows were down the whole way home. Jesse's party is planned for this Friday. She has been literally begging for a surprise party. I told her that if you keep expecting a surprise party, then there's no surprise. She stopped asking a few weeks ago. Her party will be based around the "campout" theme. I've got a bunch of games planned along with the girls sleeping in the tent all night and a campfire with marshmallows. I'll report later to let you know if anyone runs into our friendly skunk (spotted last night) on their way to go potty.

Man child

2007-06-07T11:40:00.000-04:00

My "baby" is one step closer to being a high schooler. The only thing that seperates him from hallways of trashcanning (do they still do that?) , proms (of which he just told me today he could careless about....I told him just wait til some girl talks you into it), and inevitably outings with friends taking risks that I would rather not think about just yet.

Time to dye the hair again. I think about 20 or 30 more just sprouted today.....

As of Late

2007-06-04T09:22:00.000-04:00

I only use that term in jest because it seems like it's one of those new catch phrases that people like to use to sound smart. I try to avoid sounding smart because then people will expect too much of me. Yeah, that's right. I'm a genius, I only play dumb.

Anyhoo, here's some tidbits "as of late".

***This weekend we realized that Nate had not mentioned when his graduation ceremony was going to be. Apparently (according to our very well informed 13 year old), they have made no announcements at school about the details of the ceremony or any dance/party celebration. He did know that today was "Inflatable Day" at school though. It's a good thing to stay informed.

***I took Jesse shopping for her first real bras. They have padding and an underwire and everything. Yikes! Her previous bras were the little cotton sports bra type that you might call a training bra, whatever that means. They were just not doing the job anymore . I'm thankful that she's one of those girls that is able to embrace her changing body. I'm also scared that she's embracing it a little too well. She said she can't wait til she's 15. "Cuz then I'll be fully developed." *blush*

***My mom is at home recovering from a hyserectomy. She has dealt with tremendous problems for the last 20 years going through menopause. I fear that I will have some of the same issues as they are supposed to be mostly genetic. She asked the nurses to take pictures of her uterus so she could see (after the surgery) what's been causing her so much trouble for such a long time. I have a feeling these pictures will show up at Thanksgiving dinner at some point.

***I had to give up on making/finishing the fingerless gloves for my dad's Father's Day gift. Now I'm back to the original idea of creating a coffee package for him.

***I just updated our dry erase calendar on the fridge. The NYC trip finally showed up at the bottom. Yippee! Note to self: Must. Start. Making. Lists.

You know what they say about the size of a man's hands

2007-05-29T20:58:00.001-04:00

You'll have to excuse my recent absence. I do have some viable excuses for it, at least. I've been working ferociously on some fingerless gloves for my dad. They were intended to be a Father's Day gift, but I just partially finished the first glove and tested it on Ron's hand. Let's just say the recommended size stating "Fits medium-large man's hand" did not exactly describe my creation. Ron suggested that I finish making the pair and sell it to one of the local Cavalier players. So so funny. Anyone have a friend or family member with freakishly large hands?

Bible Belt

2007-05-19T12:12:00.000-04:00

"Forbidden Fruits Create Many Jams"

Don't you just love those catchy little phrases on the church billboards. They are rampant here. If they want to guilt people into going to church then just be blunt about it. Don't try to be sneaky and creative. The funny part is, there is probably a little book that they have that somebody created and sells to churches everywhere. I imagine this person to be some type of recluse who has never stepped their foot into a church, ever. I hope it is at least. Don't you think this is a better way to guilt people into believing in the Lord?

"Get your ass to church or you will burn in hell for eternity"

This Mom is Very Thankful

2007-05-14T22:36:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day was wonderful. My day started off with breakfast in bed. Oh yeah. The kids and Ron managed to make me feel very special and loved and, get this, the kids didn't complain too awful much when I made them go for a bike ride. We went to one of the local parks where they have a partially paved/partially gravel trail. The weather was perfect and even though it was pretty crowded, it was really enjoyable. I may just have a new activity for my Friday mornings that I don't work. And if I manage it well I can get a bike ride in AND make it to a $1 movie. Score!

Not only did I get the 2 CD set of Hall and Oates Greatest, but (BUT!) I got some very beautiful flowers. And they're not the kind that die after a few days. I get to plant these in the ground and enjoy them for more than one season. To top it all off........drum roll.......I got a freaking apple tree! I'm so stoked. Yep, I just used the word stoked. It will be so fun to see how it grows each year. I wonder how long it will be til we get to eat some yummy Braeburns.

I almost forgot, I also received a very lovely personally made e-card. Not one of those cheesy premade ones either. The sender? My new mom-in-law. :)

'Tis a Good Day

2007-05-11T08:07:00.000-04:00

Got a few yard sales lined up

Returning stuff to the store to get money back and clear a few spaces in the closet

Gonna watch "Reign Over Me" at the $1 theater

Oh yeah, AND IT'S FRIDAY!!! (with Mother's Day coming soon where I have an excuse to sit on my butt all day and make everyone serve me.)

I won't send this but I wish I could

2007-05-10T13:24:00.000-04:00

Note to daycare parents:

I'm not a confrontational person. In fact, I avoid it at all costs. Therefore, please do not put me in the middle of divorces or any such dispute that exists in your relationships outside of my home. Please do not try to get out of paying me on time (or at all) and causing me to confront the other parent only to be told "She's the one not paying you."

I absolutely hate that part of my job. If I could afford to hire someone to take care of all the paperwork and billing junk, I would. It makes my day much less stressful when parents show up with their check or cash on time and I can concentrate on the important stuff. Paint, playdough, outside time, naps, snack, cuddles, helping friends to hug and make-up, and belly laughs.

Thank you for your understanding,

Your loving daycare provider

It's Official- Part 2

2007-05-05T00:29:00.000-04:00

Thanks to everyone for all the great "things to do" ideas. Some of them we'd already thought of and tucked away on the mental list.

After a somewhat emotional discussion about spending money on extras and who deserves to be happy and treated special, we have booked the trip to NYC. I guess we decided it's kind of a way to make up for last year's anniversary. Remember that one? At the time I was ok with not doing anything for our 15th anniversary. I was just happy to have Ron home and attempting to get back to some normalcy. We've never really done anything for our anniversary any other year, so why should the 15th be any different?

Anyhoo, I used Hotwire.com to book the hotel. Even though we didn't intend to, we may end up sharing a bathroom and sleeping on a double bed. The rooms look decent in the pictures though. We'll also be staying right in the heart of Times Square (I've always wanted to say that....no not really). All of that for a mere $109 per night + applicable taxes and various fees. Hot wire is actually a great way to get cheap(er) hotel rates as long as you don't like the element of surprise. You get to choose the general location and the rating of the hotel. You then commit to the purchase and then they immediately tell you which hotel you have just agreed to stay at. It's somewhat nerve-wracking clicking the button, but I like to live on the edge! (not really)

Amongst the things that we'd like to do while we're in town:

Natural History Museum
At least one art museum
Times Square
NBC studios (maybe)
Empire State Building
Broadway or Off Broadway show (we might check into the tickets you can buy the day-of at a 25-50% discount)
Brunch with Bearette :)
Fireworks-hopefully with a good view
Greenwich Village (to check out all the hip people)
Central Park

Things that we're going to pass on this time

Statue of Liberty

Shopping 5th Ave. (I could really care less about $5oo handbags....I just bought a brand new one at Goodwill for $2 :)

FAO Swartz (we'll probably save that for when the kids are with us)

David Letterman or any of the other shows (it would be kind of fun to be in the guest audience, but I don't know if we want to take the time to do it)

It's Official

2007-05-02T12:48:00.000-04:00

We finally bought plane tickets for the kids' trip this summer. Within the past few days, we (I) came up with the scheme of sending them first to stay with Grandma Donna. She is, to put it mildly, ecstatic. They will spend three full days with her and then take the 12 hour drive to my parents'. They are both very excited. Jesse can't wait to meet Donna's dogs (kids) who are a male and female jack russell terriers. She will keep them very busy as she lives near a large city (to remain unnamed) with lots of stuff to do.

Even though it's nerve wracking as a parent to send your kids off on a plane cross country, I'm really excited for them. They will not only build lots of self confidence from this trip, but this will be one of those trips that sticks in their memory forever.

We paid the extra $40 each way ($80 roundtrip for those of you counting) for the airlines to assist the kids during their trip. Even though Nate will be 14 and is considered a young adult, we figured that they will need the extra assurance that someone will be there to take them to their next gate. The extra 80 bucks also allows one person to get a gate pass, allowing us to pass through security and escort them directly to the gate. The same goes for the receiving end. It makes me think of the old days when you walked off the plane and got immediate gratification from whatever loved one was picking you up. Now you have to maneuver your way to the baggage claim before getting to have that long awaited hug. I guess one positive is that you get a chance to use the potty before becoming engrossed in conversation and what not.

Now that we have the kids' trip squared away, it's time to concentrate on making plans for Ron and I. We will have three full weekends (count 'em...3!) without the kidlings. We are more than seriously thinking of booking the trip to NYC (and looking forward to yummy donuts!). Bearette, if you're ok with it, I'd love to have any insider tips on visiting the city. We already know of a few things that we definitely want to do, but would love to get some first-hand advice.

Another possibility we were talking about is a "hike in and camp" trip. I've always wanted to try this as the only camping I've ever done is in State & National Parks, KOA (which is not really camping, and various private RV parks (ditto). What I would really love to do, is take one of those 3 day river rafting/camping trips. But since Ron is deathly afraid of bodies of water, I'll have to wait til I can talk one of the kids into going with me.

The third thing we've been wanting to do for quite some time, is visit a family friend in Cincinnati. She used to be really good friends with Ron's adopted mom and lived with them for a few years. It will be fun to visit and catch up with her. If anyone knows of any fun stuff to do in the Cincinnati area that is preferably not kid friendly, let me know. Since most of our trips involve finding stuff that's fun for both us and the kids, we'd like to fill our time with all those activities that would most likely receive a "this is sooooooo boring and sooooo stupid" rating from the kids.

FUN! FUN! FUN!