Am I ready? Almost.
Am I motivated to finish getting ready? Not quite.
What do I need most at this moment? Wrapping paper.
What do wish I had right now? Someone who likes to wrap.
Favorite gift purchased? Benjamin's Jumpy.
Least favorite gift purchased? Madden NFL Football '08 for Playstation.
People left to buy for? Gift card for Grandpa and pick up pictures for Grandma and the Geezer's gifts.
Money dropped to date? DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW.
what Madeline asked Santa to bring her, you can check it out for yourself.
Kitty Wigs
And really you shouldn't be surprised, she is a diva. And in case you're now trying to decide what kind of nut job makes this kind of stuff, I have no idea.
Please give enough patience to take benjamin to the mall. Child services frowns on leaving toddlers home alone so although I know this is going to end in a meltdown I must take him.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld
O plus D - don't be offended if you get one of these cards from me. I seriously mean it in the nicest way possible.
I'm supposed to show up at Ed's school tonight for the big game with my kids at 6:30. That's less than 5 hours from now. The kicker is that we're all supposed to be wearing black. Its a Black Out - get it? He brought home Spirit shirts for Sam and I, but they didn't sell them in Ben's size. So I have to find Ben a shirt in black. Have I looked? No because I'm sure they don't sell black toddler shirts, but I don't want to disappoint the Man so I'm stressing about it. Have I gotten dressed to even go to a store and look? No. I'm hoping any minute a black toddler shirt is going to fall out of the sky and land in my lap. I'm sitting here stressing about it, but beyond writing about my stress, I'm doing NOTHING to solve the problem. Isn't there a pill for this kind of condition?
I know it is a bit early to be thinking about this, but I really want to do an Advent Calendar of family activities this year. I've been researching a bit and have found some cool daily ideas. I've still got to make my list and then match it to a calendar to plan realistically by day. I'm excited and I think it will be fun.
There is a neat list here. She also does a Summer Advent, which is cool as well. I'll have to try and remember this one for next year.
And another one here.
And there are some good ones here. And read the comments because there are some great ones there, too.
I'm seriously thinking of doing something similar for the week of Halloween. I love Halloween and I always find so many fun foods and activities so I think I could make it a week long event.
It may be too late in the season to wear them, but I couldn't resist. I'll put them away for next Spring. I love them and the best part is that they were on Clearance for $7.49!!
Sam and I used to go to the same dentist. They were really good and he went there because I had been going there for a couple of years before he was born. I, or rather, we were happy there. And then we had to change. We switched to Ed's insurance when I changed from fulltime to parttime and with this change, we had to go to a new dentist. Being in the market for a new dentist anyway, I thought we'd give the pediatric dentist a try. I found a highly recommended one that was on our dental plan and made him an appointment. Today was our first visit.
There were kids everywhere. This place was busy, but everyone was happy. No tears anywhere. Sitting in the waiting room, that was over done with jungle scenes, everything started to feel oddly familiar. And then it hit me, I was at the Disney World of children's dentists. I kid you not. This place was organized, well run, and catered to their customers. I have never been to a more efficient or organized medical office. Not to mention the fact that it was decorated like a Disney attraction and had video games and big screen TVs playing Spongebob. Sam hardly noticed that he had a cleaning. He even got two tokens for prizes at the check out. Cheezy prices, but definitely a payoff.
Because I shop in real life, virtually, and vicariously, I've bookmarked a new site that I've been visiting daily.
Frugal-Fashionista - takes an outfit of a star and finds similar fashions at great prices. From this site, I've found a few new online retailers. I haven't bought anything, but I'm always on the lookout for a great deal that I absolutely cannot live without.
I hate homework more now than I did when I was in school. The afternoon fights, ultimatums, and threats are getting on my last nerve. This kid is driving me insane. He acts as though his homework is my responsibility. No way Dude. I've done my fair share of homework. It is your turn Friend. I'll gladly listen to you read. I'll help you when you try and can't do it. I'll call out spelling words and check your math. BUT I'll only do these things when you are focused and trying your best. When you are dancing around the living room stuffing candy in your face and basically wasting my time and yours, you're on your own.
He has HOW MANY more years of homework!?!?!
and I'm a shopaholic. 
First it was none of my clothes fit because I was putting on weight. So I shopped. A lot. Then I got fed up with my increasing behind and started dieting and exercising. Now my clothes don't fit so I shop. I can't stop shopping. Ed is going to kill me. I'm not putting us into debt. I've been working so many hours lately that I've been paying for everything myself, but at some point the madness has to stop. I really think I can't help myself. I may need to enter some type of program for this.
Today I have proven myself worthy of that title. I still have a few more runs before I am an exclusive Runner. I'm still in the Walk/Run phase of the program and will be until next Saturday. Yikes that is only 8 days away.
I had every reason not to run today. I hurt my back last night and it is still sore. Because I hurt my back, I didn't sleep well last night. I woke up with a headache and a sour attitude. Oh and cramps. Lovely.
I put Ben down for a nap, and I ran. I ran during my 45 minutes of alone time before Sam got off the bus.
I ran even though I physically felt drained and I used my ONLY alone time for the day to do it. It felt great and I did it. I am a RUNNER!
If you know me, you know that I ♥ Disney. I've given Disney the majority of my vacation dollars over the last 15 years. I'd go tomorrow if I could. And I'd wear my Ears and my Mickey shirt if I could get an insider's tour of the castle. Oh WDW, how I love thee.
BUT, the online Disney store. Today, they aren't my on list of friends. On Monday the Buzz Lightyear costume, that Ben hasn't asked for, but desperately wants I'm sure, was $10 off. WooHoo. But I didn't have time to order. Yesterday, it was $15 off. Even better. Today, I sit down with my Visa in hand to order the costume of Benjamin's dreams. Imagine my total devastation when I discovered that it is no longer on sale. It never said that there was a sale or that it ended on a certain day. I was assuming* it was a permanent markdown. I'm not yet prepared to pay $40. $30 was OK and $25 was fabulous, but I'm not at the $40 point yet.
The Disney store giveth and the Disney store taketh away. Grrrr Disney. Grrrr.
* As in the Disney store made an A$$ outta me.
First call from the school nurse. His nose is running. I laughed. I couldn't help it. The first thing that went through my mind is "He's a kid. His nose is supposed to be running."
Granted, he does have allergies. Ed ran over some Claritin and that was the end of it for today.
I'm taking odds on how many days/weeks/months until the next nurse call. I'm guessing 4.5 weeks, but that's probably generous. They usually come in pairs so she could call later this week. We'll just have to wait and see.
I stepped on my scale this morning and saw my pre-pregnancy weight. I couldn't believe it. I actually moved the scale around and re-weighed myself to be sure. Each and every time, that magic number appeared. I've finally made it back to where I started 2+ years ago.
I have another goal weight. The one that I'd like to be so I'm not stopping yet. Even before I got pregnant, I wanted to drop a few pounds. I feel great and the running is getting easier. And the dieting is going OK. Moderation seems to be the key for me. And well, moderation is very hard. Have I mentioned how much I adore a baked good? And have I mentioned that dieting has added about $40-50 to my grocery bill. Ouch. There are Lean Cusines and every 100 calorie pack known to man in my cart, but at least it is starting to pay off.
And one last thing. I haven't worn shorts in public in a while. I did wear them to Disney World, but no one there knew me and quite frankly, I'm far from the worst one there. Or at least that is what I tell myself as I'm putting the shorts on. This was even before I got pregnant. I just never felt like my legs were toned. I can now wear some of those pre-pregnancy shorts that I would only wear to Disney World. I'm not ready to wear them out in public yet, but I am getting more comfortable of the idea of wearing shorts again. The running is really helping tone my legs. Maybe next Summer, I'll show up somewhere wearing shorts.
I'd never heard of this type of breast cancer before I came across a fairly popular blog of a really neat Mom that was recently diagnosed with IBC. She's asking that everyone who reads her blog help spread the word about the most aggressive form of breast cancer.
Please stop by and read her post about what every woman should know about Inflammatory Breast Cancer.
How dare you honk and shake your hands at me when I am stopped at a crosswalk in front of a school. Those were little kids and no matter how late you are they are more important. And it is the law to stop.
Oh wait we just turned on the four laned road and you just zoomed around me. You have a christian fish symbol on the back of your car. What would Jesus think about the fact that you think your time is more important than the safety of children. I tell you what. I'll just pray that my children never meet your inpatient ass in a crosswalk.
Have a nice day hon. And try not to run anyone over.
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Well, he got off the bus in tears. A bit of a misunderstanding on whether he should ride the bus home or would be picked up in the carpool line. The teacher sent him to carpool but at the last minute after he insisted, they put him on the bus. She immediately called me to make sure. He is such a worrier. Like I would never come and get him if there was a mistake.
And then I was standing in front of the neighbor's driveway and not at the very end of the street when the bus came. I did this because he was so insistent last year that he didn't need me to come all the way down. So I tried to give him a little space by only coming 2/3 of the way, but he freaked because he didn't see me. I saw him so it wasn't like I was hiding behind a bush or anything. He started crying because he started to second guess the bus/carpool thing all over again. Tomorrow, he wants me to meet him at the end of the street. Obviously, he still needs Mom more than he thought.
And then there were tears over the book he forgot to take. But he did take the book, he just didn't listen yesterday when I told him it was in his backpack. He can't stand to be any thing less than perfect at school. If only he tried this hard at home ;-)
I asked if the day was so bad, and he said no. I think he is just a bit tired from the long day. Here's hoping to a better day tomorrow.
So I got Benjamin a toddler bed. Its the really cool race car bed from Little Tykes and he loves it. And he's sleeping through the night in his room in his new bed. A huge thing for us because he's always slept in our room and hardly ever slept through the night.
This is totally fabulous except for the fact that he is now waking up between 4:30 and 5:30 FOR THE DAY. Ed, who couldn't wait to get him out of our room, said to me this morning, "Maybe we should move that race car into our room." Not going to happen. I'll just start going to bed at 8 or so. This morning, I got two loads of laundry washed, dried, folded and put away before I left the house at 7. I refuse to go backwards on this sleep thing. But in a few days, I'll probably be eating these words.
I'm counting down the minutes until the bus comes to deliver my 2nd grader from school. He was so nervous and shy this morning. No tears. He was really brave, but it was so hard to leave him there.
I didn't cry either, but I wasn't expecting to walk out holding back tears. When does it get easier?
I've got pictures to share from the first day. Hopefully tonight, but only Benjamin knows if I'll get 5 minutes to do it!
Why yes I am. Am I hating it, you ask? Not as much as I was last week. It is getting easier run by run. Almost enjoyable, but not quite. And today, I'm wearing pants that I haven't worn since I was about 3 months pregnant. I don't care if they are no longer in style. They fit. End.Of.Discussion. And Mom – it's a 5K (which is 3.1 miles) not a MARATHON. Marathons are like 26 miles. I'm flattered that you think I'm capable, but probably not in this lifetime. I have trouble driving 26 miles much less running that far ;-)
Searching yesterday to figure out the heck to do for this adult onset acne that NOTHING will clear, I found this – "Vitamin B 12 appears to be extremely safe. However, in some cases very high doses of vitamin B 12 can cause or worsen acne symptoms." And this – "Vitamins are good for your body, but an excess of vitamins B1, B6 and B12 can cause acne flare-ups. These vitamins are good for the skin, but avoid overuse." And this – "A highly inflammatory form of acne is not uncommon amongst anemic women who require frequent doses of Vitamin B12." So I'm doomed to have acne because of my pernicious anemia treatment. Crap.
Tomorrow, I'm starting Couch to 5K. Its a plan from Cool Running, and I've done something similar to it before. I really need to do it now to get back in shape. My weight loss has stalled and I really don't want to be in this shape forever so I've got to do something. I found a site that some really cool guy had done Pod casts for this program so I'm really excited to have a plan on my iPod!
I'm supposed to do week 1 on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday this week. Send me some positive thoughts because I need them. My company participates in a charity 5K in exactly 9 weeks. If I stay on the program, I'll be right on track to participate. I'll participate either way, but last year I was the ONLY one who walked. Granted only about 10 of us participated so it isn't like I'm the worst person in the office, but I don't want to walk alone again this year.
I finished the new Potter book this morning. I was happy with the way it ended, but sad that it is over. I hope Rowling does something epic again. It was an awesome ride. One that I'd love to take again.
I truly believe that things happen for a reason and even if you can't see the reason it is there. It may be disappointing that you didn't get what you want, but if will come when you are really ready. Maybe you were ready, but those around you weren't and it would hurt your relationship if you got what you wanted. Maybe the reason you didn't get it had nothing to do with you. Maybe, just maybe it was for the greater good of those around you.
Ever notice that you get more peeved when someone messes with your family or friends, than you do if they mess with you? Right now, I'm totally PO'd and there isn't anything I can do about it. Today, I found out that two people I care about were hurt badly.
One was physical hurt. A life or death situation that caused my friend a black-eye and a dislocated shoulder. Right now, my friend is fearful that he might hurt her again and she's confused. Confused because someone she loved and trusted beat her up. She thought as he was hitting her that he might kill and that her daughter would not have a mother. This is just not right. Not right at all.
The other is pride. Someone put them in a position to get turned down. To get the wind knocked completely out of their sails. Not cool at all. I'm not 100% certain that it was intentional, but it was careless and thoughtless for sure. It was a public ego blow and one that it will take a while to recover from. It was an undeserved act and I don't know if the person will ever really feel confident again.
I'm mad as hell. I'm mentally drained.
You probably didn't realize I was gone, but I went to Baltimore yesterday for the day. Left early, got home late. It was a very successful work related trip. And the best part was that I had steamed crabs. YUM.
The only downside. I am beyond tired. But today is my FRIDAY! WooHoo.
Having one of those days. Earlier, I opened up IM to complain that my boss wants to meet at the office tomorrow at 6:15am to leave for our flight rather than driving myself directly to the airport. Instead of selecting my friend Troy from my IM list, I picked my boss. I complained to my boss on IM that I had to meet him here so early tomorrow. Opps. Luckily, he stopped me before I said anything too bad and thought the whole thing was funny.
A friend and coworker that I dearly love moved to NJ back in April. She's decided to return to Atlanta and I'm going to be able to rehire her. I'm so excited I can't stand it. I know no one that reads this knows her, but during my pregnancy and after my maternity, she kept me sane. She's the best and I'm so excited that she'll be back. I've missed her dearly. She'll be back in the office on 10/1 and I can't wait!
I am half-way through the book that finally arrived around 2:30pm on Saturday. I've forgiven you Amazon, but next time I won't preorder from you. So far, I am loving this book. It has been a while since I read The Half-Blood Prince so it I'd forgotten where the epic left off but I'm picking it up as I go. I wish I'd re-read six over the last few weeks to reorient myself. I'm trying to not ignore my children too terribly bad and also to make the book last because it is the last. I'll probably finish it up by week's end, but that's better than 2 days. And if you finish the book before me, don't spoil it for me. I still haven't watched the last Soprano's episodes that I Tivo'd and I've managed to avoid any talk, writings, interviews, etc that would spoil it for me. I just haven't had a few childless hours to watch it. Imagine that.
I'm getting a bit irritated. I could have dragged my butt over to B&N hours ago and picked up my HP book, but you promised me that I could have it delivered to my home on the release date. Its 2:17PM and UPS hasn't brought my book. When I track my book, the last scan was the Acworth distribution center at 11:30am yesterday. Is my book still sitting in some center waiting to be delivered on Monday or is it on a truck on its way to my house right now? Where in the heck is my book?!?! I knew this whole delivery on Saturday was too good to be true. Why did I pre-order my book? I've never done this before. I could be reading right now if I'd done as I've always done and gone to the store to buy it. Crap.
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Can't remember. Oh wait, it was the week after Memorial Day. Terrible week.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I'm learning to embrace it as I realize that almost everyone has bad handwritiing.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT? Can I say Chicken Salad? If not, a honey baked ham.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes - Sam and Ben.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I would hope so.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Queen of sarcasm.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? maybe after a couple of shots of tequilla
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Franken Berry or Captain Crunch Berry. I love cereal too much so I try not to indulge. I think it puts weight on me. Mostly because I like to eat it late night.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? not if I can help it, but I hardly wear tie shoes anymore.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I want to be and I am for a lot of things, but I'm not as strong as I would like to be.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM? Chocolate
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? This is so bad, but how they are dressed. I'm so vain.
15. RED OR PINK? pink
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I'm a procrastinator and it bites me all the time.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? my family in Cincinnati
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? no
19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? still in my husband's shirt and underwear that I slept in. And yes I know that is 1:26PM, but its been a really long rough week and I'm taking it easy.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? hamburger from Dairy Queen that the man went out and got me about an hour ago.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? the British Open
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? Green? Who the hell knows!
23. FAVOURITE SMELLS? honeysuckle
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? my husband last night as I was driving home.
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I like to read her blog from which I stole this list.
26. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? baseball - little league.
27. HAIR COLOUR? aak. Need to get my highlights done. Bad
28. EYE COLOUR? brown
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? yes, but day to day prefer glasses
30. FAVOURITE FOOD? lately its anytime that I didn't have to cook. But I really like deep dish pizza.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy endings
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Harry Potter at the drive-in
33. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? brown
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
35. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs.
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? n/a
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? n/a
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? desperately awaiting the arrival of my Harry Potter book. Where are you UPS?
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? hate Mouse Pads.
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? What else? It was Friday night. WHAT NOT TO WEAR. Love you Stacy and Clinton.
42. FAVOURITE SOUND? right now, its all the cute words Ben is saying. Last night, he told Sam "I sawwwry."
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Stones.
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? India
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Not really. I'm OK good at a lot of stuff, but not wonderful at anything.
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Charleston, South Carolina
47. WHAT SUPERPOWER WOULD YOU LIKE? I'd be happy to be functional with less sleep.
I just checked Amazon and tracked by package. My book is the area and scheduled to be delivered tomorrow morning. I can't wait. I'll be useless this weekend because every moment will be about reading or doing whatever I have to so that I can get back to reading.
Sam, Ben, and I saw The Order of the Phoenix last Friday at the drive-in. I had planned out how Ben would fall asleep on the way and how Sam and I would enjoy the movie. Ben did fall asleep but Sam and I were being too loud while waiting for the movie to start and we woke him up. He was a handful throughout the entire movie.
I did enjoy the movie. Quite a few parts were above Sam's head and it doesn't seem that I've scarred him for life by taking him to a PG-13 flick. He's not mentioned the movie once. In fact, he asked several times during the movie when it would be over. Not so much a Harry Potter fan.
We're thinking about going back to the Drive-in tonight to see Ratatouille.
One last thing before I actually start to work -
We went to the Georgia Aquarium a few weeks ago. I have tons of pictures and a few that I wanted to share, but I have this one handy and can't resist putting it up now. My totally cool son ;-)
I made this a while back, but didn't post it. This is my Work M&M. I don't have a non-Work M&M, but I don't usually wear heels around the house.
Last time I was in Vegas, I passed this really cool M&M store but it was late and the store was closed. So Ed went to Vegas this past weekend and I asked him to go to this store and get me something. I adore M&Ms and I wanted something from this store. He asked what, but I had no idea what was in this store so I didn't know what I wanted. I asked him to go and call when he got there. So Saturday night, he went and he called. He said he found a really cool shirt and asked what size I wanted. I said Medium and he said they only had Small and Large. Fearful of the Small, I said Large. Fast forward to his return. Said Large is a CHILD's Large. I can get it on but I look like a hoochie momma with Peanut M&Ms right across her best feature. Don't know if I'll ever wear in public, but I did get something from that store ;-)
On the way to work today, I passed a really hot guy running with his dog. The dog was a standard white poodle with a really stylish (not) poodle cut. You know the fluffy head, tail and paws. The dog wasn't galloping like most dogs do while running. It was kind of prancing. I had to look twice to be sure I had in fact seen a hot guy with a girly dog. Hot Dude – lose the dog. It does nothing for your hotness.
Don't make a chocolate cake and put the utensils and bowls directly in the dishwasher without rinsing them first. It turned the water brown and everything looks dirty. I'm rewashing for the third time to get the dirty film off all the dishes. I read in the Earth Day stuff not to rinse dishes if your dishwasher could handle the it. My dishwasher if fairly new and about mid-range in terms of quality so I figured it could take it. Guess what? It can't handle chocolate cake batter.
I hate hate hate to wait. I need to know now so just call and tell me already!
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I'm totally grossed out by my kid constantly messing with his barely loose tooth so Ed stepped in. Did he just tell Sam to stop? Oh No He Didn't. He told Sam that he'd give him $5 to stop. WTH? Are we trying to start a bidding war with the Tooth Fairy? Oh wait, we are the Tooth Fairy. WTH Ed!?!?!?
Last Thursday, Sam lost a tooth. In the absense of cash, I ran to the ATM late night. Smallest amount you can get is $10 and I had no shoes so I couldn't get change. Oh yes, I gave the brat $10 from the Tooth Fairy.
Fast forward to today, he comes to me with a spool of thread and asks if we can pull out some of his other teeth that are starting to get loose. Oh yes, he wants to ho his teeth to the Fairy for video game money. Ed says that he'll be giving blood for cash before he's 10.
Damn that I forgot to bring shoes on my cash run. Now my kid is selling his body parts.
Smashbox Cosmetics.
I've converted from Clinique to Mac and now from Mac to Smashbox. Love them. I can't believe I spent almost $50 on foundation, but it was worth it. I got a few other things but not a complete makeover. Ed would die if I dropped $300 in one day for makeup.
and up a lot last night with him. Sam has a fever and a headache. No other symptoms and happy as a clam on Tylenol. Hoping this break soon because a headache and fever are miserable for him.
This is one of the bad things about being parttime. I'm only there a few hours a week so missing a day is really hard. I'm trying to work but Benjamin has other plans for me, like "go ot-side."
While trying to watch what I eat in hopes of losing/not gaining more weight, I've been researching snack and dessert recipes because these are the hardest things for me to give up.
I found an idea today that I'm trying right now - Diet Coke cake. It says to use a chocolate cake mix and a can of Diet Coke, but you can use any type of diet drink/cake mix combo. I'm doing a strawberry mix with Sprite Zero right now. The batter is yummy. I'm just waiting for the cupcakes to bake. Each cupcake has 90 calories and only 1.5 grams of fat. I could put some fat free whipped topping on them with a fresh strawberry, but this time I just put some sprinkles on them to make them a bit more festive. Stand by for the final taste results.
Taste Results - They are a hit!
1. Could only eat one. Still sweet even if diet, but that's a good thing. Don't know if I could eat it frosted. Maybe Diet Sprite would be better than Sprite Zero. Will have to try the diet next time.
2. Didn't have cupcake papers and really needed them. They stuck to the greased pan so I only have 3 whole in tact cupcakes.
3. Directions say to cook 18-22 minutes. Could probably go 24-25 to get a nicer texture. They were really moist at 20 minutes. Not raw, but still really moist and a tad sticky. Might not get any better, but next time I'll cook a little longer.
4. Would be really nice with a tart fresh strawberry on top. Will try that next time for sure.
In honor of the new movie, I just ordered this for myself.
I'm really more of a cross between Miranda and Charlotte, but I'm a Carrie wannabe.
I just saw a teen at the gas station with a ring of hickies around his neck. All the way around his neck. Like a necklace. Gag.
A couple of weeks ago I ordered tickets for Sam to go to the Fox Theater to see the movie The Robinsons. He's never been to the Fox and I love the Fox.
Yesterday ed mentioned that he'd take him and he was so excited to go with Ed. So no me.
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A cheese burger happy meal is 30 cents more than a hamburger happy meal, but a cheese burger is 10 cents more than a hamburger.
What's up with that Ronald?
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He is giving me a hard time in the steak and shake drive thru so I'm getting revenge by telling the whole internet that he is a putz.
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Aquarius
July 7, 2007
It may seem like neither side of the bed is the right side to wake up on, dear Aquarius. The only solution you may be able to come up with today is to just go back to bed. Focus on your heart, because it is trying to tell you that it needs some attention. Emotions may be running quite high, so be extra careful of how you treat yourself and others.
I have it in writing that I should just go back to bed!
out of the grocery store plastic bags. Check it out.
Cool huh?
Working on my contributions for tomorrow. I'm going to Home Depot later to pick up 5 engery saving lightbulbs, I'm calling to get recycling service (the service our neighborhood uses doesn't offer it), and I turned down our hot water heater.
I switched to washing clothes in cold water a few weeks ago and so far so good. I also try to never wash without a full load. That's not a difficult thing to do around here with this crowd.
I went around the house and turned off the stuff we weren't using like DVD players, DirecTV receivers, printers, rechargers, stereos, etc. Things that aren't being used, but get left on. This will require some ongoing effort on my part because we're bad about leaving stuff on. Did you know that laptop, game, and cell phone chargers left plugged in use energy? I didn't know that, but now I do and I won't leave them plugged in when not in use.
Our biggest waste is the shower. We're bad, bad, bad. This is our family challenge. I'm going to check into a water saving shower head today and possibily a timer to keep us in check. This will cause great resistance from my family I'm sure, but I turned down the hot water heater to 120 so they may be forced to shorten their showers.
There is a video clip here about paper taming - reducing the unwanted mail that comes to your house. This website lets you opt out of credit card offers. This website helps you to opt out of marketing offers.
I also read what you can do to be Earth conscience at work. I'm bad about using disposable cups and spoons so I'm going to take a spoon and cup to work to use and wash. I set up a profile for my computer at work to conserve ink a few months ago, but honestly I haven't been using it enough. I'll try to be more diligent about it.
Gas prices have conditioned me to combine trips, stay home, and buy a gas saving car but we can all use work conserving gas right? I stole this from the MSN site -
Driving Best Practices -
Driving technique has a lot to do with your fuel economy. Avoid sudden starts and stops and go the speed limit.Not only does speeding and herky-jerky driving kill your MPG, it's dangerous. And even if no one gets hurt in a fender bender, how green is it to get a new bumper or have your car re-painted? As a general rule of thumb, keep your engine speeds between 1,200 — 3,000 RPMs, and up-shift between 2,000 — 2500 RPMs. Also, drive wise and minimize unnecessary miles by doing errands in one trip, getting good directions, and calling ahead.
Unexpectedly, a tooth fell out today. Some sort of accident with the stylus from the Nintendo DS around 5. Fast forward 4 hours and I just realized that I have no cash. I guess I'm off to the ATM in a few minutes, but I'm watching the final episode of the Biggest Loser season III on the Style network. I'm not a loyal fan or anything, but there is nothing on TV so I got sucked in about 4 hours ago because they are showing episodes back to back. Now I've got to see who won before I fulfill my Tooth Fairy obligations. Mother of the Year? No, but I'm not the Biggest Loser either ;-)
Wanna know what we did to celebrate?
Nothing. Zip. Nada. And it was Heaven.
But I'm still not into working today. Go figure.
Ben loves this song. I don't know if he's seen the show, but I showed him this clip and he says "HOUSE, HOUSE" to play it again. Enjoy!
So Ed and I have been over the price of gas forever. We talked and talked about getting a third car for my commute with the hope of cutting down on our gas expenses. Saturday, he headed over to the Toyota dealer and bought me an 07 Corolla. Its a five speed, very basic (think Air and CD and nothing else - not even power windows - gasp) and gets a whopping 41 mpg.
So I drove it to work today and I felt so Earth friendly in my compact gas saving machine. Not at all like the gas monger I was commuting with last week. The Pilot gets 17 MPG on a good day. Me, all alone, in my 8 passenger car that used $10-15 in gas a day. The guilt was overwhelming. My Corolla is so totally chic. I feel like I need a World Peace bumper sticker. Me and Brad Pitt in our gas saving Toyota's. We are so hip.
I'm thinking about getting a personalized license tag. Something like "SAVNGAS" or "41MPG". I want everyone to wish they were saving as much gas money as me.
I'm in love with my basic car with no options that is so gas conscience. But I've got my loaded out gasaholic SUV parked in the garage when I need a bit of luxury. Maybe I'm not as Mother Earth as I think I am ;-).
So I'm testing it. Will this bring more entries? Only time will tell.
On Friday, we went to the Starlight Six drive-in on Moreland Avenue. Ed was leery because it isn't traditionally known as a safe area, but a couple of people assured me it was totally safe and tons of fun. We got there early to picnic and goof around before the movie started at 9:15. It was a nice crowd and it was a blast. I had never been to a drive-in but was dying to go. $7 for adults and $1 per kid and it was for a double feature of first run movies. A bargain!! Benjamin did OK with it all and Sam had a blast. We only stayed for The Fabulous Four, but the second movie was Spiderman 3. The second movie started at 11 and that was just too late for this crowd. We'll definitely go back and tailgate again. Hopefully the new Harry Potter movie will be playing there.
A happy meal is no longer enough to fill up my oldest child. He wants to order value meals. Ouch. My wallet just screamed.
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School ended, Sam, Ben, and I went to Cincinnati for Jordan's graduation, I went to Orlando for Microsoft TechEd, Sam went to baseball camp and vacation bible school, and Ed FINALLY finished up the school year this past Tuesday. Its been a whirlwind around here, but we'll slow down for 2 weeks then Ed starts working again! The kids are already really tan even with 30spf! Ben's hair is really blond from the sun. I bet it turns white by the end of the summer. Its wild with those big brown eyes.
Sam is as crazy as ever and this will be his first week home all day since summer vacation started. Ben is talking up a storm and he hates going to the pool. I'm working like crazy while Ed is home to bank some spending money. And Ed is enjoying a few days off before Summer School starts. Madeline is as snippy as ever and has incidents with Ben every few days. And Lucy is doing much better do to a simple change in cat litter and we're hoping this is the answer for her!
So that's it in a nutshell. I'll try to come back sooner for a real update.
You guys said that I never update so I'm doing it right now from your backyard.
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Say it isn't so, but it really could be. Highly (and yes I'm biased but truly he is) intelligent child who wants to do all kinds of stuff with a bank of about 100 or so words and what does this get you? Frustration. Plain and simple F.R.U.S.T.R.A.T.I.O.N. On my part? No. For me it is higly entertaining and fasinating to watch him grow. For him? TOTAL FRUSTRATION. Knows what he wants, communicates it to some degree, and doesn't always get what he wants. For now, he's too young to compromise, but still young enough to distract. I am so in for it over the next year or so.
My child got a perfect attendance AND an honor roll award today. The honor roll thing he totally gets from me, but the perfect attendance thing must come from Ed. The Brown's are smart, but we don't always show up ;-)
I just found it looking for something else. Blogger has this neat posting app for docs so I might post a few others too.
So I slack sometimes, but 100 posts is somewhat impressive I think!
Real Life Moment -
Sam gives us his best muscle man pose and proclaims himself "A Green Bean Fighting Machine"
Ed and I busted out laughing and Sam said, "What?!"
For all my fellow Momobile Drivers and for their husbands who can't understand why the family car is always such a pit!
This morning while in the shower, I had this flashback of Ed's Mother's funeral and my miscarriage. And it dawned on me that literally hours after his Mother was buried, in my own turmoil of the miscarriage, I said to him that I wanted to go home to my Mom. We left the very next morning. It never even dawned on me until this morning how hurtful that was for him to hear. His Mom was gone and all I wanted was my Mom. I know the whole thing was a difficult situation and I was scared of having a miscarriage away from my home, my doctor, and my comfort zone, but still did I have to cry about going home to my Mom?
We got Sam an athletic cup over the weekend. He wore it to practice yesterday and complained about it. I kept telling him to talk to dad about it and not me because before yesterday I'd never even seen one so I have no idea how its supposed to fit obviously.
Ed and I take turns going to the game or staying gone with Benjamin. Today is my game day. Sam complained on the way here and I tried to tell him that he'd get used to it.
Second inning he tells out to me on the way out of the dugout with his hand on his crotch in his loud voice, "Mom, I'm getting used to this cup." I managed to smile as I melted into my seat.
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You put on a pair of pre-pregnancy jeans and they fit really well.
AND you put your hand in the pocket and pull out $5.
Life is good today.
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Lord knows I don't have the answer but does anyone?
I know that we can't just walk away, but is more troops the answer? I want to believe this will work, but everyday Americans are dying.
I just want peace. Pray for peace.
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| You Probably Look Younger Than Your Age |
 You live a healthy lifestyle and know how to take care of yourself. You'll probably have a youthful glow for many years. |
