Nothing special

Well, I made it through Christmas.  And it was what it was.  That's it.  Nothing special.  My kids made out like bandits, as always.  Dylan's favorite gift is his Colts slippers that look like shoes.  He hasn't taken them off unless he's in the shower or we're leaving to go somewhere.  He says his favorite thing about them is how squishy the soles are and how they bounce back with every step he takes.  Hannah didn't really like anything I got her and I can't tell if it's because she really doesn't like it or if it's because I got it for her.  We returned half of her gifts this week and I didn't say anything about the things she exchanged them for, just in case it might make her change her mind about her new choices.  She traded that black and gray bed set I got her for a different black and gray bed set.  Then, when we were in Aeropostal exchanging a sweater for some t-shirts she decided to throw a fit like a 5 year old because she didn't want to stand in line.  Someone tell me when will this puberty thing will end, I can't remember how long it took for me to stop being hormonal.  Wait...I'm still hormonal.  This is very discouraging.  I fear that she and I will never get along and it will always be like this, us arguing over stupid things that don't really matter.  I'm sure we will always be this way and I will just have to deal with it and continue to love her.

Now I have the week off and it's been fantastic.  I watched a friends daughter and since she is friends with my kids I let her stay all night.  My kids had fun all night and I was able to sit in my Colts room and watch a movie.  The only thing missing was a glass of wine, which I decided I shouldn't drink since I was watching my friends child.  Don't worry, I'm having two glasses of wine tonight to make up for the glass I so missed last night.  But not having a glass of wine was worth the 2 hours of relaxation I got while my friends daughter played the Wii with my kids.  I have also cleaned my house, including putting away all the Christmas gifts.  I haven't taken down the tree yet though, I like to leave it up for one extra week.  This year, when I take down the Christmas decor, I am also taking everything off the walls in the living room and totally redecorating.  It's been the same for 7 years now and I'm finally a little tired of the look of the room.  I am very excited about doing this change.  I need a change.  I so feel that my life is the same thing over and over and over again.  It will be nice to come home to something different, even if it is only different for a while before it becomes the same.  If that makes any since.

I wish my holiday was more exciting.  We are hosting New Year's Eve at our house, so maybe I'll have some funny story to tell next time.  Until then, I hope your 2010 was amazing.  Mine had it's ups and downs and I have no idea what to expect in 2011, but I'll keep you posted.

Snow

Ugh, it's snowing again.  As if the 4 inches that is already on the ground isn't enough.  I don't like snow, at all.  Unless it's going to close everything down and leave me sitting next to my fireplace watching an uncut, unedited version of A Christmas Vacation, then I don't want anything to do with snow.  I have a friend who ended up in a ditch yesterday morning.  Thank goodness she is alright and no damage to her car either, but that is just another reason I hate snow.  Snow on the road turns into ice which causes accidents because people don't know how to drive on ice.  I am lucky, my dad took me out on icy country roads one winter and taught me how to drive on ice.  Best dad ever!  I also hate wearing a coat, no matter how cute that coat may be.  Wearing a coat sucks because it's bulky, makes you look fat, and makes it difficult to carry your purse on your shoulder.  And don't even get me started on snow boots.  If only some designer, somewhere, could find a way to design a stylish snow boot, then maybe I would buy a pair.  I guess it could be worse though, instead of just a few inches of snow, we could be having a blizzard that's causing roofs to cave in.  Thank goodness I don't live in Minnasota!  OK, I think I'm done with my rant on snow....for now.

Something else to discuss, Christmas.  It's a week away and I'm doing all my shopping tomorrow.  I do have to travel down to the mall at lunch to pick up my daughter's birthday present since her party is tonight.  Hey, don't judge me because I waited until the very last minute to get her gift, I've had a busy week.  Heck, I've had a busy month.  And nothing funny has really happened.  But I'm greatful nothing bad or sad has happened either.  So, I guess that's good. 

Oh, I should let everyone know that my husband is awesome.  He has a horrible cold, but still got up while I was in the shower and shoveled the drive and warmed up my car for me.  Love him...  Even if he didn't do anything inside the house this week...

A trip into the past

Now here's something ridiculous...I got home from class late Monday night and there is this box sitting in my entry way.  My sister tells me that mom told her to bring it to me and it's full of stuff from my high school years.  Now, I have to tell you that my mom has been giving me stuff from "my high school years" for years now.  So my natural response was "there's more stuff?"  As I started pulling things out of the box, I realize it's not from high school, it's from jr. high.  And not only is it stuff from my jr. high school years, it's stuff I had thrown away and my mom thought she should keep it "just in case".  There were full size wall posters of Paula Abdul, Bo Jackson (yeah, remember him?), Nelson (the hot twins with long hair), Michael Jordan, Vanilla Ice, and...get ready for it...New Kids on the Block.  There were sweatshirts from the sports I took part in as well as a pair of stone washed jean shorts that I had decorated with puffy paint.  I can't believe she's had these things all this time.  Apparently keeping them in the attic, surprisingly they were in good condition.  But here's the best part, there were three posters of black panthers.  I had these because my favorite song at the time was Black Cat by Janet Jackson (oh Janet, I don't think I would have made it through some days without you in 1990).  This is the best part because these posters are now hanging on my daughter's bedroom wall.  I know it sounds crazy, but when she saw them she said, "Mom, I have to have these, please let me hang them in my room."  So, since they are in good condition, I said yes.  Now, here's the sad part.  My daughter has changed the posters on her wall a couple times over the past few years, but there is a picture of a crown that says princess on it hanging above her dresser.  She's asked to take it down and give it to Goodwill.  I will take it down (even though it will kill me to let go of this last part of her being a child), but I will not give it to Goodwill.  I will put it in a box that will collect various items over the next 7 years -as she graduates in 2017- hold this box in my attic for 20 some odd years and then give it to her one night when I'm watching her kids (my grandkids).  I hope she will enjoy the trip down memory lane as much as I did the other night...thanks for thinking ahead 20 years mom!

Around the corner

Christmas is right around the corner and I'm so not pre-pared.  I do this every year.  Wait until the last minute to do any shopping.  I've only got a few things for the kids and that's it.  Haven't even thought about what to get my parents yet.  Or my in-laws.  Or my nieces and nephews.  Humm...what's one to do.  I think I might shop online some this year.  I've only ordered a few things in the past, but I might go all out this year.  My husband and I aren't buying for each other because we decided to get a new mattress.  We're going all out and getting something fantastic.  I'm very excited about this but also sad that I can't shop for him.  I love to shop for my husband.  I was going to get him a think pad and all the Dave Matthews Band CDs we don't have.  Then I was going to download all those CDs to his IPOD.  He would love that.  I also thought about getting him the Colts sofa he's only been asking for for years now.  But the shopping for him won't happen since we are sharing the cost of the gifts we would normally buy for each other and getting something we both need.  My concern about buying a new mattress is that we won't want to get out of the bed and therefore will be late for work much more often than we are now.  But I'm getting it anyway!

Back to online shopping.  My concern with this (I'm very concerned today, can't you tell?) is how do you return it and what if someone steels it off my front porch when it's delivered.  Also, do I really want to pay extra for the shipping?  Really?  Shipping can be expensive and since I live so close to the mall the cost of gas to go shopping isn't nearly as much as shipping can be.  Plus, as I've already discussed in the past, I love to shop.  And I really love to shop during the holidays.  I love watching people get mad because they can't find what they are looking for. I think it's funny. And I love it when someone spreads good cheer too.  For example, I was at the grocery store the other day and I had 4 items.  The man in line in front of me had about 15 items or so.  He looked at me and said, "really, that's all you have". I said yes and he let me go in front of him.  That was nice and made me feel all warm and cozy inside.  I then returned the favor by letting him use my discount card because he didn't have his.  He saved some money and I got out of the store faster.  Ahh...nice things lead to more nice things and good feelings. 
Anyway, I said I might do more online shopping this year, but I think I've changed my mind.  Yep, why would I want to shop online when I love shopping off line so much more?  Why would I pay for shipping when I live so close to every store I need/want to go to?  And why, for goodness sake, why would I deprive my shopping addiction during the holidays?  Once again I will pay a sitter to watch my kids while I head out in the cold weather to hit every store that has good deals on the things my kids want for Christmas.  I'm so excited!

It's a long one, but it was a long weekend too!

What is it that makes you laugh?  What is it that makes you cry?  I ask because I had a weekend full of both.  First let me say, that the past 4 days went by like a flash of light a camera gives when you’re least expecting it.  It also left me feeling the same way that camera flash does, blinking a lot and wondering if you’re missing something good while trying to get your sight back. 

Thursday was Thanksgiving and we hosted my mom’s side of the family (the Williams).  I baked my first Turkey and it was fantastic.  The secret is to wrap it bacon.  (See previous post to read about my feelings on bacon.)  Everyone showed up except for one cousin and her husband, but she’s expecting child number 2 and wasn’t feeling well so I’ll excuse her for that reason alone.  Everyone brought something good to eat and we decided not to draw names for Christmas but to bring a $10 gift and play a game.  Although nothing really funny happened on Thursday, it was a lovely day with great food and good company.  After everyone left my husband ran out and rented a couple of movies.  He got Toy Story 3 for the kids, but we all sat together and watched it.  And this started my crying fest 2010.  If you haven’t seen this movie and you have kids, make sure you have tissues nearby cause I haven’t spoken to anyone who has seen it and didn’t cry.  I actually wasn’t doing to badly until my son said, “mom, are you crying?”  Then I lost it.  And he was laughing at me.  Sometimes I think Disney films are just mean to parents. 

Friday was only my favorite day of the year.  My neighbor and I go shopping on this day every year.  Now, it is important to lay out some kind of a plan or you can easily get lost in the crowd and not get anything on your list.  It’s also important to stay calm, you never know when you might get shot over a 42” flat screen, so be sure to have 911 pre-programmed into your phone, just in case.  I have a secret that I will only share with my closest friends and a few family members about my plan and therefore will not be posting it on any blog.  But let me just say, we started at 3:00am and were done by 9:30am.  We even stopped for a few minutes to eat some breakfast.  I got the kids some things on their lists and got myself a pair of boots and a sweater.  It was a very productive morning.  My husband had to work Friday night so I took the kids to my aunts for a second Thanksgiving dinner (the Lee family).  Once again it’s about 30 people and just another good evening of good food and conversation.  Nothing exciting happened there either.  Although I did have a very interesting conversation with my cousin who is having her first baby and is using a mid-wife.  She’s thinking of doing a water birth because "that’s what feels most natural to her".  This also means she will be using no pain meds at all.  And therefore, I believe she’s crazy.  I must say that I am quite surprised that I don’t have some fascinating story about either of my Thanksgiving dinners.  Usually someone is arguing over something stupid or one of the kids does something that has us laughing for days, but no such luck this year.  I suppose this means that I won’t remember much about Thanksgiving 2010, as I tend to only remember things that are funny or tragic.  And although I’m sad nothing funny happened, I am glad nothing tragic happened as that would be, well, tragic. 

Saturday was nice because I slept in and then played cards all day.  I played Texas Hold’em at the bar at 2:00pm where I met my friends and discussed events that had happened the night before that had a lot to do with me and yet nothing really to do with me at all.  I know, that doesn’t make much sense, but nothing with this particular situation makes much since and so I won’t be going into any detail about it.  It’s not anything of importance anyway and would probably just bore you.  Also, I would have to start at the very beginning and I’m not sure one blog carries enough characters to tell the whole story.   Anyway, those same friends, along with a few other friends, then came back to my house for some Tripley and dealer’s choice.  Ahhh….the fun begins.  We had a fantastic time, except for when my husband got a little upset about the max bet I put on every hand.  He’d had a few shots and a few beers by then and wasn’t really thinking about the feelings of others.  But he quickly got over it and the fun resumed.  One of my friends was telling us how at her Thanksgiving dinner, her family plays this game where they end every sentence with “That’s what she said”.  It sounds dumb, but we started doing it while playing cards and it was quite funny indeed.  I’m sure it’s even funnier to hear your father using such a term at a family gathering.  Anyway, it was a great time and I can’t wait to do it again (that's what she said).  The best part is, we still have some Jager left and no one left pissed off! 

I got up early Sunday to work on cleaning up the loft.  It was a mess, I’m not gonna lie.  It is my art studio/spare bedroom and I had a lot of crap just thrown on my drafting table, under my drafting table, on the futon and the floor.  It took me about 2 hours to go through everything and get it somewhat cleaned up.  I still need some kind of cabinet or something to organize it all, but it’s much better than before.  Then I took my daughter to see Tangled.  Once again, another Disney movie that makes parents get choked up and has our kids laughing at us.  Those big old meanies at Disney!  How dare they put some twist into every cartoon that makes a mom feel the need to wipe her eyes with her sleeve.  Also, it’s very difficult to watch a 3D movie and cry while wearing those stupid glasses. 

When I got home my husband had put together the Christmas tree.  Only the lights on the middle of the tree would light up though, so I put new lights on the bottom and top and started hanging the beads.  My son helped me from start to end.  This got me choked up again.  Mostly because he said “mom, do we really need to put these Blue’s Clues and Winnie the Pooh ornaments on the tree, aren’t we a little old for these.”  But I also was holding back tears because neither of my kids has ever helped me with all of the Christmas décor before.  They usually start and then run off to play something else, somewhere else in the house.  But not this year, this year my son helped the whole time without me asking.  As a matter of fact, he was asking what he could do next and where to put items that don’t hang from the tree.  I loved it and it makes me sad to think that it might not happen again.  I really hope he does this with me every year.  It really does make great memories. I also really hope he helps me take it all down!

So, in closing for this extremely long blog, I only hope your 4 day Thanksgiving weekend was as joyful as mine.  I find myself feeling very thankful and very lucky for everything in my life.  I have great friends, a large extended family I enjoy spending time with (even if they aren’t very funny), a great husband who makes me happy and two of the best children anyone can ask for.  And those things make the camera flash to the eye well worth the blinking. 

Greatful, greatful and thankful!

Well, I did it!  I'm very proud of myself because I did something I've never done before and I feel great about it.  I'd like to say that I did it without any real gratification, but I can't say that because I just feel so good about the choice I made.  I know, you want to know what I did, don't you?  Well, I donated $150 to the Make a Wish Foundation the other day.  I listen to this request-a-thon that my local morning radio show host every year and I've never donated.  Mostly because I didn't have the money before.  They always do it on an off pay week, which means my account was always to low to really spare anything.  I do always throw extra $$ into the can at Panera Bread when I have dinner there before class.  But that's not really a huge committment, now is it?  But this year has been very good to my husband and me.  I was in the car listening on my way to work, thinking about the fact that I was leaving for VA to see yet another Dave Matthews Band concert (2 actually), and I started crying because I've spent quite a bit of money on DMB this year.  Not to meantion the money spent on going to the Brickyard for both Indy races, taking my kids to Florida (including theme parks and all) and the countless weekends and $$ spent out with my friends over the past year.  I just thought, wow, I really have had it good this year.  And here I am being selfish with all my money, spending it as it comes in and thinking about what to get my family for Christmas and such.  So, I called and did the Wishmakers club.  This is where you give a certain amount of money each month, it comes out automatically to make it easy on you.  Best part is, the full amount goes to the board and a kids wish can be granted.  I do believe that the kid my money went to (in a round about way) wanted a John Deer riding lawn mower because mowing the lawn is his favorite thing to do.  I thought that was great!  I know we really shouldn't gloat about these things, but I want others to feel as good as I do right now and I thought I would spread the word that helping others, no matter how you choose to do so, really makes you feel good.  And it makes the person you're helping feel good too.  Two rights can't be wrong...
By the way, my husband and I had a fabulous time in VA with our favorite band.  We made new friends and had some nice time just the two of us.  All in all, this has been a fantastic couple of weeks for me... I hope it last for a while before it comes crashing down.

Not in my 20's anymore...

     Last weekend my husband and I partied like rock stars.  OK, maybe not rock stars as there were no drugs involved (unless you consider alcohol a drug), but we did party like we were 21 again.  Let me just tell you, we are not 21 anymore.  Or 22, 23, 24, 25…  And our bodies do NOT recover from a weekend of Jager Bombs, beer and wine like they did when we were in our 20s.  They also do not respond well to lack of sleep.  I do believe that I got a total of 8 hours of sleep from Friday night/Saturday morning to Monday morning.  It’s Thursday and I’m just now fully recovered.  I thought I was completely up to par yesterday, but then I found myself falling asleep at my desk around 10am.  This is when I came to the realization that, although the weekend was super fun, maybe I should keep the partying to one week night instead of three consecutive nights.  Usually, I keep the drinking to a minimum unless it’s a special occasion, like New Year’s Eve, Birthday’s and Tuesday’s.  Just kidding about the Tuesday’s, I do keep the drinking at a minimum on most Tuesday’s.  But this past weekend there were many special occasions (a battle of the bands and a couple of birthdays), and we had someone to watch the kids both Friday and Saturday nights so we took full advantage of the situation.  What I need to ask myself, is “is going out with great friends and partying for 3 days worth 3 days of feeling tired and groggy”.  After thinking about this for quite some time, 3 days to be exact, I say “YES, yes it is totally worth it!”  And, although we won’t be with friends this weekend, we will be partying Friday and Saturday night as we are going to the last two Dave Matthews Band shows of the year.  We always make new friends at the shows and since the band is not touring next year (and could quite possibly not tour anymore at all) we will definitely be having a good time.   So, raise your drink, here’s to NOT being in your 20’s anymore and still having a great time!  Here’s to great friends that buy you drinks and allow you to return the favor!  Here’s to Thursday’s, the day of the week when you finally feel better from the weekend, and are ready to do it all again on Friday!  Here's to hoping everyone has a great weekend!

Ridiculous Christmas Decor

I said it before, it's way too early to put up Christmas decorations.  But does anyone listen to me?  No, no they don't.  I was driving home from my son's guitar lessons last night, and thanks to the time change it was pitch black outside at 6:45pm.  The blackness of the night allowed the massive candy cane and Santa Clause set up at the house on the corner of Troy and Arlington to shine like a wild fire in summer.  The yard is not small and every inch of it was covered in old school light up figures.  There were large light up candy canes lining the entire yard with large light up Santa Clauses in between.  My daughter even said, "mom, now that's ridiculous".  In the center of the yard there were light up reign deer and a sleigh.  I think there were lights on the house, there was so much going on that I honestly can't remember. (Note to self, take camera everywhere from now on so I can take pictures of these things). I really wanted to knock on these people door and tell them two things: 1.  It's way to early to put out any decorations, let alone decorations that look like they're from 1985.  And 2.  This is not National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, you are not going to get on TV just because you can see your house from space.  If you're decorations are blinding the people at the stop light, maybe it's too much.  I'm sure that these people are very nice, and probably think their yard looks great.  I wish I was their friend so I can tell them it doesn't look as fabulous as they think.  That's what friends do right, tell you when you need to take it down a notch? 

I will be putting lights on my house, but not until the weekend after Thanksgiving.  And they will be all blue lights lining the front of my house.  There will be no light up candy canes, no light up Santa Clauses, and they will come down the weekend after New Year's.  Unless my roof is covered with ice, then I will wait for the ice to melt before I venture out onto my roof.  Safety first. 

I don't mean to be mean and bash people, but sometimes, some people just need some help.  These poor people, who think it's alright to collect Christmas decoration for 20 years and then put them all in their front yard at the same time, well, they need some help.  I wonder what their electric bill will look like for the next 2 months.  Electricity isn't cheap, and they are using enough to run a small airport.  I hope no plane mistakes it for a runway and tries to land on top of these people's house. 

If you find that you're in a position where the only time you can put your Christmas/Holiday decorations up is before Thanksgiving, then please, for the sake of your neighbors, don't turn them on until Thanksgiving.  This has been a national blogged announcement to the holiday decorating impaired.  Thank you for your time.

Days off and the weather

Tomorrow is Veterans Day and I have it off.  The joy of government jobs!  I had last Tuesday off for election day as well.  And then of course I get Thanksgiving and Black Friday off too.  So, what am I doing with all these days off?  Well, mostly the dentist.  Haha, get your mind out of the gutter you silly readers... I meant going to the dentist.  Last week after I voted (republican ticket by the way), I got my teeth cleaned.  I hate having my teeth cleaned, but I love the way they feel after they've been cleaned.  This week I'm taking Hannah to the orthodontist and Dylan to the dentist.  It's easiest for me to schedule these appointments on days off so I don't have to use my PTO to take care of our teeth.  That will be most of my day tomorrow, but I do need to stop by the mall and get new tips put on my black and white heels.  And while I'm at the mall I might as well feed my shopping addiction and look for some new boots.  Yes, I do need new boots.  I'm torn between brown knee highs or black ankle boots, I need them both but unless I find a stellar deal, I'll just get one pair and wait on the other.  I may have a shopping addiction, but at least I have it under control.  And now that you know of my shopping addiction, it'll be no surprise that I will be shopping on Black Friday.  Yes, this day does deserve to be capitalized.  It is a holiday in my book.  The whole day is blacked out on my calendar and I start at 5am or so.  The nice thing about starting that early isn't just the deals, it's also that I'm done by noon and get to come home and take a nap.  Shopping is so exhausting it should be a sport.  And if it were a sport, I'd not only play, I'd win.  There are few things I'm good at in this world...I'm a great wife, good mom, hard worker, an OK artist, and I'm not too shabby of a poker player.  But the thing I probably do best is shop.  So, if you ever need a shopping partner just give me a call!
On another note, what's up with the weather?  Since when did November become "early Autumn"?  The high today is 74 degrees.  This is tank and sandal weather.  It's very depressing to want to wear a sweater and boots but know that if you do you'll probably feel like your going through menopause by 2:00 in the afternoon.  Humm...layers of clothing is my suggestion.  The hotter the day gets, the more you take off. 
And to those of you who have already put up your Christmas decorations...it's too early!  And if you think I'm wrong about this, just check your thermometer.  This is Indiana and Christmas decor should not go up until the temp stays below 50, or it's after Thanksgiving.  But if you really need to do something to get you in the Holiday spirit, it's never to early to Christmas shop!

Babies

I love other people's babies!  I loved my kids when they were babies too.  Ok, I still love them bunches even though they aren't babies anymore.  But I have a nephew that just had his first birthday party and he was so funny.  We sat him on the table and put the cake in front of him.  Once he figured out that he could actually eat what was put in front of him without someone telling him "no", he went to town.  And when he started to get fussy, it didn't take him long to realize his hands were covered in icing and he didn't need to be crying, he just needed to stick his hand in his mouth again.  My son wanted to get him some Hot Wheels, but since my nephew puts everything in his mouth and Hot Wheels are a choking hazzard, we got him some small monster trucks instead.  He got lots of presents, but he just wanted to play with the trucks we got him.  He would have one in each hand, rolling them around on the ground saying "vroom vroom".  Super cute. And super smart for a 1 year old.
My sister is pregnant with twins and my other sister is also having baby.  So, by this time next year there will be a 2 year old, 2 five month old babies, and 1 nine month old.  Christmas 2011 is going to be so much fun.  Or...it could just be a bunch of babies crying.  I hope it's not the later.  I, for one, think it's incredibly funny that my parents are going to have 10 grand kids ranging from ages 12 - 0 in less than one year.  They are in they're early 50's and I think that is young to have 10 grand kids.  One thing's for sure, they aren't getting anymore from me.  I love my kids more than anything, but some women were made to do nothing but have kids and raise them, and some are not.  I was not.  I got lucky, I had my kids young and got a girl and a boy.  They will both be of adult age when I'm 40.  I say this like I can't wait until that happens, but truth is, although I don't want anymore kids, I don't really want the ones I have to grow up either.  I will be that mom that goes through the empty nest syndrome.  I will have to travel the world or something to get over the fact that they aren't upstairs in their beds.  It makes me sad to think about it so I'm going to stop right now.
On another note, we have a lot going on over the next few weeks so my post should be quite good.  I just jinxed it by saying that though, so I'm sure they will be rather crappy and dull.  You'll have to check back to see how they turn out...

Not funny...

Well, it's Friday and nothing funny has happened to me all week long that I could blog about.  It's been a very boring week.  Except for Monday.  Lot's happened on Monday but none of it funny.  Colts won!  That's always good because my husband is in a bad mood when they loose, and since they won he's been in a good mood all week.  My nephews 1st birthday is tonight so I'm sure something funny will happen there.  I hope so anyway because although this hasn't been a bad week it hasn't been a great week either.  One of those indifferent weeks where you get up and do everything you should do and then go to bed.  Nothing exciting, nothing spectacular, just a get through each day week. 

On another note, my mom is doing much better!  The treatment to kill the vicious tumors is working.  She cracks me up sometimes.  We went out to eat a few weeks ago and she says "I'm smoking in your car, I know you don't allow that but I need a cigarette and I'll roll down the window."  Then she asked me if my tan was airbrushed.  I said "no, tanning bed, it's cheaper and last longer."  Then she proceeds to lecture me about how I shouldn't go to the tanning bed because they cause cancer and I don't want cancer cause it really sucks and she knows.  I started laughing because she has cancer and is smoking in my non-smoking car but she getting after me like I'm 10 years old for going to the tanning bed.  I'm so glad she's doing better right now.  I say right now because this is a very aggressive cancer and it spreads quickly, so she has to be tested often to make sure there are no new tumors.  But she's feeling so much better and that's great.

Sugar Heaven!

I just finished checking the kids Halloween candy for impurities and such and they made out better than any other year before.  We went to a friends house for a party before trick or treating and it was amazing.  The kids had a scream off contest...funniest thing I've heard/seen in a long time.  I wish I could express in words their facial expressions when they were screaming.  After the pizza, pinata and party games (including the race to make a friend a mummy out of one roll of toilet paper), we went trick or treating around my friend's neighborhood.  And just let me say, my neighborhood gives out crappy candy!  Sorry if you're a neighbor of mine, but pretzels and totsie rolls are nothing compared to the candy my kids got in my friends neighborhood.  There is such a variety I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat first.  Should I have the Fun Dip or the big soft Sweet Tarts?  Or maybe the Butterfinger?  Of course the full size Reese's Cup might hit the spot too. I think we got about 20 full size Reese's Cups. Oh, the choices!  I'll go with the large Hemon head, it's small, sweet and doesn't have many calories.  How am I going to keep my hands off of this candy Lord?  I am in Sugar Heaven.  Really! I imagine my Heaven being a large shoe closet filled with 4 inch heels and the shoes are filled with candy.  And in order for me to be able to wear the shoes, I have to eat all the candy in them first.  And of course because it's heaven I don't gain a pound or have to work out or get a stomach ache from sugar overload.  In my Heaven sugar is the main food group.  And because of this wonderful holiday of Halloween and my friends gracious neighbors, I am half way to my Heaven! 

Lucky me..

On Sunday my friend is having a Halloween party for the kids.  She decided to do this because she and another friend held a large, very decorative, all adult Halloween party at her house last weekend and she thought it would only be fair to allow the kids to enjoy the decor as well.  I told my friend I would help her out with the party.  I said, "This is a great idea!  I'll bring caramel apples and a pinata!"  No problem, right?  Wrong.  First off, I went to my favorite store to get a pinata and caramel apples and it didn't have either.  Then I went to my least favorite store only to find they also didn't have a Halloween pinata or pre-made caramel apples.  Now, anyone who knows me knows that if I can't find something, I'll just make one.  I couldn't find a good Zues costume for my husband, so I made one out of a sheet, curtain tie back and curtain rod.  He was a great Zues to match my Aphrodite costume.  Naturally, since I couldn't find the pinata or carmel apples I thought, "I'll just make them".  Making a pinata is actually easier than making the caramel apples.  The problem is, I couldn't find balloons to make the pinata.  Really, I went to 3 different places and couldn't find regular large birthday balloons.  This made me wonder what in the world had gone so bad that common stores wouldn't sell balloons?  And why are these stores depriving our children of the joy of balloons?  Is there nothing better than filling balloons with water and throwing them at our friends?  Or sitting on balloons to pop them and annoy the people with whom we want to annoy?  What kind of birthday is it going to be if there are no balloons?  These were the things going through my head when I left work early to hit one more store.  I thought I'd go the the local grociery store down the street from my house to get apples and caramel and check for balloons, although since it's a grociery store I didn't think they'd have the balloons.  But they did!!  Not only did they have balloons, but they had a Halloween pinata!  YES!  And to top off the trip, they had pre-made caramel apples!  YES AGAIN!  Who'd a thought that my grociery store, where I go 4 to 5 times a week to pick up toilet paper and cheese would have the 2 things that no one else carries?  Lucky Me!  And to top off the evening of not having to make a pinata and caramel apples, my husband called and said he's going to get a movie and a bottle of wine on the way home.  I love wine almost as much as I love my husband, so when he brings home a bottle of wine... well, let's just say...Lucky me!

Crazy night

Well, I spent Monday night skipping class to take care of my 9 year old who caught the flu and was vomiting every 30 minutes for 6 hours or so.  I really thought that my 11 year old would start getting sick right around the same time the 9 year old stopped, but lucky me, she hasn't caught it yet.  He's not so bad when he's sick, he just gets sick and says "the flu really sucks mom".  Now her, on the other hand, when she gets sick it's drama, drama, drama.  She's crying and throwing things and taking a shower after every time she gets sick.  So, let's keep praying she doesn't catch this flu, for her sake and mine.

And that was my Monday.  Tuesday night, my neighbor's house caught fire around midnight and this caused our street to be lit up like a Christmas tree from 4 fire trucks, 1 ambulance and IPL truck.  Luckily, her house is in tact, no structural damage.  Her bathroom exhaust fan was left on for hours and started to smolder and smoke.  It caught fire just before the fire trucks got there.  I guess it's good to live less than a mile from a fire station.  She has to replace the ceiling in both her upstairs bathrooms and all the insulation in the attic, but it could have been much worse.  She said the smoke alarms woke her up and the smoldering and fire spread so slowly that if it weren't for the smoke alarms they may not have made it out.  Note to self, make sure all smoke alarms in house have working batteries and don't leave the bathroom fans on for a long period of time.

Needless to say, since the fire trucks kept me up last night, I'm exhausted.  And I have class tonight.  Maybe I can skip out early, but probably not.  We have partners for this project so I doubt I'll be able to leave early because then I will be accused of not pulling my weight in the project.  I always pull my weight, just not always in the classroom.  Our instructors say, "it's your money, don't you want to get the full 4 hours out of it?"  I say "It's my money, if I want to leave early then I'll leave early."  I wish I could take morning classes, I'm a morning person. I'm actually quite perky in the morning.  I can't think at night, I just want to curl up on the sofa and watch something funny.  Since I get up a 4:45am, I'm usually done for the day right after I eat dinner.  This is why I feel it's necessary to leave class early.  It's a 35 minute drive home and I might not make it home if I stay at the school until 10:00. Sometimes I fall asleep in the car, even when I'm driving.  Hence another reason to leave class early...

Cheese

     I love cheese.  I could put cheese on almost anything.  I say almost anything because there are some things that cheese just won’t go on.  Bacon, for example, is only good with cheese if there are eggs involved.  I also don’t believe that cheese and chocolate would be a good mix.  When I was young my dad would say “well, you like this, right?  And you like that, right?  So you’ll love them together.”  But this is not always true.  Case in point, we were at the state fair this summer and my husband decides he wants to try the chocolate covered bacon.  Yes, I love bacon and yes, I love chocolate…but together it was ridiculously nasty.  If it doesn’t sound like it would be good together, chances are it won’t be good together.  Like black and brown.  I love black and I love brown, but if your stylist is telling  you to wear black pants with brown shoes, fire him/her right away! 

     Back to the topic…I love cheese with almost anything.  Right now I am eating a garden salad with ham, turkey and cheese cubes.  It has ranch dressing, which is alright I suppose but I’d much rather have French dressing.  French dressing and cheese cubes on salad is heavenly.  Ranch dressing and cheese cubes on salad is boring.  But I got a great deal on this salad at the store this morning and the dressing was not optional.  I’ll take what I can get when there is cheese and a sale price involved.  When I go out for lunch or dinner I very rarely order something that doesn’t come with cheese or have cheese on it.  At burger joints I get cheese burgers.  At Mexican restaurants I get extra queso on my beanless burrito.  And at chicken places I get cheese to dip my chicken into.  Last night for dinner I had tortilla chips with melted shredded cheese on top.  It was delicious.  Now, what will I have for dinner tonight?

3 followers

I'm super excited to see that I have 3 followers!  I have no idea why they would want to follow me, but I'm sure they have their reasons.  2 of them left post on my blog yesterday.  This makes me feel...important?  It also makes me feel a little anxious because now every post has to be funnier than the post before...oh the pressure!  I guess everyone needs a goal though, therefore my goal is to be the "best and funniest blogger of all time" (read the quotation as if it being said by a boxing announcer just before the big fight).
Right now, I am sitting with 5 children (2 of which are my own) in my windowless Colts room with the lights off watching a PG movie.  We just got back from the park where we had a lovely picnic as we held down our plates and shivered from the cold wind.  Needless to say we didn't stay very long since noses were running, eyes were watering and someone had to use the bathroom.  You'd think that living within walking distance of a play ground would be great fun, but not so much when the weather is colder than it looks and there are no restrooms.  We were going to go to the zoo, but I can't fit them all into my car.  They are being very quite watching the movie and to be honest, I can't believe that I got 5 kids to be quite...dumb luck or genius mom?  You decide.
By the way, the one diet is out as I have had 1 brownie, 1 pancake, and 1 bag of popcorn today and I'm starving.  Really starving.  My pants are actually getting bigger as I sit here and type.  Oh, wait, I guess that's the point of the diet, now isn't it, to make my clothes fit more loosely.  Maybe I will stick with it after all.  Of course it is only noon and I have the rest of the day to eat 1 box of anything in my kitchen.  I'll keep you posted.  I have to, now that I have followers...

Today's Diet

Today I thought I would try the one diet.  This is when you can eat whatever you want as long as you only have one.  So, this morning for breakfast I had one brownie.  Then for a snack I had one rice crispie treat.  Then for lunch I had one "Smart One's" meal.  Then for a snack I had one regular sized container of Pringles.  We have a busy night planned with meetings and gymnastics and I like to make something quick on nights like that, so we are having pizza.  Knowing that there is no way one piece of pizza is going to fill me up, and to make sure I stay in the guidelines of the diet, I will eat one pizza.  And then I'll drink one bottle of wine.  I'll do a full hour of yoga and some extra stomach exercises and then go to bed around midnight.  I'll let you know if I plan to continue this diet tomorrow, as now that I've said it out loud, it just sounds ridiculous.