Happy Holidays

Weeeee made it through Christmas!

I AM SOOO BORED.

I miss having home work to obsess over! I can not wait to get back to school! I go back on the second of January, the kids go back on the third. This term i have two online classes and one in house class. Criminology, Juvenal Delinquency, and Composition II. I think the composition might kick my butt, but I will try my hardest!

Today we are leaving for Wisconsin, and we will stay in a hotel once we get there. Then in the morning, we will go to my aunt and uncles, and await the rest of my family. I hope the trip is pleasant, since you never know how its going to go with a 6 and 4 year old!

Ok must finish packing and gathering stuff for our trip! Bye!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

So I completed my last week of my first term last week. I am done! Whoohoo! I go back January 2nd, for my second term.

Guess what..... I am getting A's! Who knew?? I'm sooo proud of myself!


Ok Christmas is coming faster then I would like! I am on break, Zoe is on break since Thursday and Caitlin's last day was today.

I finished my christmas shopping on Tuesday, thanks to my wonderful hubby who sold a ton of cars! I am so proud of him!


I got a hair cut yesterday. They cut off nine inches, and i still have enough hair to put into a pony tail! I knew it was long, but my gosh...

Hmmm

Well its that time of year and some people need things like wishlists. So here is one of mine at Amazon.com


More to come later

Day Lights Savings

Not only do our electronics get messed up, our children's inner clock does not realize the time difference. I have never liked day lights savings because of this reason. Don't matter what time it is, the kids still get up at the ass crack of dawn. But when you change your clocks, they get up an hour before the ass crack of dawn. Thanks.


My kids are strange. Its Sunday morning and instead of watching cartoons, they are watching some kind of dog Olympics on Animal Planet. Three hours later, they are still watching Animal Planet. I tell them to go clean their room and they say but I am watching cartoons. NO YOUR NOT.

We are under a severe weather alert today. It is supposed to be windy. Um hello? I live in Iowa. Its either windy, or windy. Duh. But since its below 60, we might end up with a wind chill. Silly weather...

I took down the spider webs out side yesterday. I heard it is supposed to snow, so I wanted to do it before that happened. BTW, it was much more fun putting them up then it was taking them down. It makes our porch look a bit dull.

Now that all my flowers are dead, I miss them. A lot. I miss looking at them and realizing how much they have grown since the last time I looked at them! Time to pull them out of the ground. I am going to wait till its warmer outside. If that happens.

School Update

Weeee another busy week thats almost over! I have been studying for my Intro to Criminal Justice test since Tuesday. The test is not until next Tuesday, but I don't want to procrastinate when it comes to school. I want to know my stuff. I want to get A's. I want to prove to myself that I can do it. I know I am capable of getting good grades, my last year in high school proved that.

I am having a hard time finding a study technique that works for me. I know writing things down several times helps me, but it doesn't seem to be helping in this situation. In my Human Dynamics class we are learning about study techniques. I am trying to apply them to my other classes.

I have psychology home work, and I need to do some of my Document Processing & Presentation stuff. But mainly, I need to study for this test.


Blahblah blah...

Update:

Nothing new here... Well actually there is a lot new...


Tony and I celebrated our 7th anniversary yesterday! Woot! Its been a great seven years with a lot of ups and downs, but I don't think a marriage should be with out them! How boring would that be, right?

We finally got around to getting more family pictures done! (Thanks Kim!) Our last family picture was when Caitlin was 9 months old! Oops. I am not saying we haven't had ANY done of Zoe, just not the four of us!

I am still working on decorating my bedroom! I ran out of stuff to texture the walls! But even if I had some more stuff, I would have NO time to actually get to it since its a very messy project.

Today is week three of school. That means there are 7 more weeks of this term. So far so good. Now if only I could get my house work done too. I spent time doing homework Thursday and Friday, and I worked on it for 10 hours on Saturday, and about 3 on Sunday. Thats a lot of homework. Oh well, I guess I only have one project due every two weeks for Psychology, so this wont be a weekly trend.

I don't know if I blogged about it, but we put Tico in the craft room. He was peeing on EVERYTHING in the basement, and we just couldn't take anymore of it. We did this about a month ago. The bad part about him being out there, when I have my mandatory craft room Sundays is that he is sooo lonely that I cant get anything done!

Uh... Hmm... OK... thats all for now I guess!

Fly like a butterfly sting like a bee?

Wow.. week two of getting everyone to where they need to be and when is going okay so far, yet its only Monday so we will see how Tuesday and Wednesday go. Thursday and Friday I do not have class, and its just Tony work, Caitlin school, and Zoe preschool on Thursday.

Of course I have two appointments to throw into the mix, along with having to pick up and delivering of the fund raiser stuff from last month.

Ill be going to the Mall of America today to meet my aunt and uncle before they fly out to Australia and New Zealand for vacation. It always takes ME an hour longer then anyone else to get places.. lol I drive the speed limit and make many stops. I hope the girls sleep on the way home so I can just cruise back on into Iowa.


Although everyones schedules are now blending together a bit better since we have two cars, I have been slacking on the home front. Laundry is not getting done, the house is in constant disarray, the dogs are probably under walked... :( I have not made the bed in almost a week *sigh*

That will be next to put into the mix of things I guess...

Strengths Quest

www.strengthsquest.com

We found out our top five strengths on Wednesday. Some people find they don't identify at all with their top five, or maybe one or two, but not all. I pretty much agree with all five of mine. Here are my top five and some "definitions" of them..

Strategic
Sort through the clutter and find the best route
See patterns when others simply see complexity
What if?
Know there is more then one way to get from point A to point B
Quickly pick out relevant issues and patterns
Lightning quick evaluation of what wont work
People don't realize you have considered all of the options
Sometimes you think backwards

Intellection
Like to think, like mental activity
Like exercising the "muscles" of your brain
Thought goes in multiple directions, may be focused, may lack focus
Simply like to think
You are your own best companion
Mental hum, constants of your life

Communication
Like to explain, describe, speak, write, and tell stories
Bring a dry idea to life
Want information
May be criticized because you like to talk a lot
Reach out and connect with people

Input
Inquisitive
Collect things that interest you
Find several things interesting - Keeps your mind fresh
Always adding information to your archives
Don't feel comfortable with throwing anything away
Want to know more, crave information
Active and resourceful curiosity

Restorative
Love to solve problems
Analyzing the symptoms, identifying what is wrong
Enjoy bringing things back to life
Fix it, resuscitate it, rekindle its vitality
Readily take on projects others believe cant be "saved"
Quickly recognize problems that others may not detect
Other people might not like the fact you can quickly detect problems, weaknesses, situations and organizations


Now add those things to my bipolar, depression and anxiety, and you pretty much have me figured out.

Busy!

Oh my I was so busy Monday Tuesday and Wednesday that my head was just spinning! Monday I had to get Caitlin off to school, and went to my first class. Tuesday Tony went out of town and I had to get Caitlin off to school, Zoe off to school, bring Kim to the hospital, and I ran several errands. Then I had to pick Zoe back up. Tuesday night, I had a class. I found a babysitter (at the last possible second) for that night since Kim had another procedure done and I wanted her to get some sleep. Wednesday, I got Caitlin off to school, took Zoe to her new daycare (her second day EVER in daycare) and went to class. Then I had to pick up Zoe... (she had fun) Then I had to go to the online orientation that I had accidentally gone to on Tuesday... Then I attended my night class. When I got home, my husband was home! :D Then Thursday, I had to get Caitlin off to school, and take Zoe to preschool...........

Is your head spinning yet?????? Hehehe

And since today is Friday, and I apparently have ignored the house, I must clean clean clean!

DO NOT WANT!

I went downstairs to the laundry room this morning to look for clothes for Miss Zoe. This is what I saw crawling across the floor....... These pictures had a bottle cap in them, but it got cropped out of the picture. This spider fits perfectly inside the bottle cap.







I thought that it might be a brown recluse spider... So I googled them, and came across this picture. Yup ... Close enough for me... *shudder*






Now I feel kind of silly since yesterday I posted this in my children's blog...

First Day of one class

Today was my first day of Human Dynamics. It started out with roll call, then sign in, then initialing the "contact" sheet with our information on it.

We then went through our class syllabus. Talked a bit about the books for the class, and then we each said something about each ourselves. This is a huge part of the class since it is about learning about ourselves. Our strengths, not our weaknesses...

We then had a sheet of paper with a few squares labeled things like "has pets", "traveled to another continent" and so on, then we had to collect "signatures" of the people fitting those "titles". Once we got as much from our classmates, we were off to find the rest from students and faculty in the building. Once that was completed, we were free to go.

I had fun. I told my husband that I had "fun", and he kind of looked at me like HUH? FUN? Wednesday we are going to be taking our"strengths quest assessment" to learn our top five. Ive started reading the book about the assessment, and it seems very interesting. I almost can not wait to do it!

Got some spare change??

Apparently, banks are getting rid of their change counters. Well they are in my city anyways. WHY?! .... My bank bags the change then sends it to Des Moines for them to count and then they credit your account. WHAT?! They told me First Citizens might still have one. So I load Zoe back into the car and drive a block. We get out, go inside, and the teller says "Its a five dollar fee if you do not bank with us." "WHAT? I don't even know how much change I have, but I know I am not giving five of it to you to count my change and give me paper money..." (Didn't actually say this but OOhhh So wanted to) She told me she could waive todays fee. Great. Thanks. I walked out of there with $7.59.

So what is the point of saving that change then?? I usually use mine for when I completely run out of money. But if you have to have it "sent out" by your own bank, or pay a $5 fee for a local bank to count it, whats the point?? Why is there "change" then??

WOOT! FOR SUNDAY!

Woot! Football is on tv! Yes... I know.. I am actually CHEERING for football. About three weeks ago, I asked hubby if he was going to continue to watch football, he said ya probably. So I handed him my glasses and tried to take a nap. A few minutes of laying there not sleeping, I said "HEY why dont you call your brother and see if he wants to come watch football, and I will go play in my craft room! But theres one catch, the kids stay in the house." He said okay! And off I went to my craft room. It is so nice to be in my craft room alone. Completely alone, expect for the cat that we kicked out of our house and into the craft room. He can be a pest, but I dont mind...


WOOHOOO FOR FOOTBALL!

(and craft room day!)

oh yea

a blog! hehe


Hmm whats new... my glasses start soon, in less then two weeks actually... I am getting nervous about baby sitters, class schedules, homework, PEOPLE...

In the mean time, I am trying to decorate our bedroom, and decluttering our home. There is clutter everywhere... I am sure its not as bad as some peoples houses, but I don't want to deal with the clutter anymore. Like flylady and several others often say, a cluttered house can make you tired, depressed, and lead to a cluttered brain & life. I would love to get rid of everything but the basics, but that will never happen because we all have a slight hoarding issue. LOL

Zeus got fixed on Wednesday. He is really bruised. The sack that is left is black, and around his incision is very red. It is not warmer then the rest of him, so I am hoping there is no infection and it is just bruising.

Kim drove me to the vet to drop of Zeus, then we went to IF to visit the grandma greats. They were very happy to see us and the pictures that Kim had done from her friend the photographer.

I was going to finally have my garage sale today since the neighbor is having one and she put an ad in the paper. I was going to use her publicity to get people to come to my sale. After much procrastination, lack of planning, and plain laziness, I decided to donate all of it to the local womans shelter. I hope they pick stuff up since they don't have an address published anywhere.

Ok maybe more later...

Mom.

Lois. Lois. Lois. Lois. Lois. MOM...Mommy Mommy Mommy Momma! Momma! Momma! MA! MA! MA! MOM MOM MOM Mommy Mommy Momma Momma!

*WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaT?!!*


Hi.................... hehh



LINK!

Look what my garden sprouted!

Yet Another review: Sergeants' Silver

After washing the cat, yes. WASHING THE CAT. I put Sergeant's Silver on our cat Deja. About two days later, he started loosing fur where I applied the product. I immediately called the emergency number on the back of the box. They told me to wash the cat. YES AGAIN I HAD TO WASH THE CAT. They told me to use a mild soap such as dish soap, rinse well, then lather up again and rinse well.

Heres a picture of the fur loss on our poor cat. (WHO STILL HAS FLEAS.) *sigh*

Another Product Review: Hartz brand pet supplies

After using the Hartz ADVANCED CARE 4 in 1 flea and tick drops for our dogs all summer, we got fleas. I really liked the price of this product and the availability at the stores. They had two different ones to choose from, the 4 in 1 and the 3 in 1. I of course got the one that "Kills fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, PLUS flea eggs.

So after washing the dogs with HARTZ brand "Rid Flea" dog shampoo, and following the instructions to the T, we still have fleas.

So today I called HARTZ to see what they could do for me, I dunno, send me some coupons or a refund, or whatever. I figured since the back of the box it says "Guaranteed to work or your money back" followed with "if not completely satisfied, return unused portion for a full refund." But apparently those rules are different if you call them first. They told me that there was nothing they could do, and it sounded like the fleas became resistant to the drops, and told me another laundry list of products I could buy. Then I asked about the guarantee on the box, and he told me that if I send the product back, along with the sales receipt, I could get my money back. I do NOT have this receipt! Can you imagine the clutter one would have if they saved every receipt for EVERY product they bought?? Its bad enough that I saved the cardboard and receipt for the hose that I bought and it happened to burst! LOL

UGH. So, my suggestion, with the horrible customer service that HARTZ has, do not use their product. NONE of it. If you call they will contradict what their packaging clearly states.

8 dollars and 10 minutes

What can you do with 8 dollars in 10 minutes??

I created this head board... out of bamboo place mats from dollar tree...

Obsessive

I really can not wait until I go back to school. Other then the fact that Zoe might switch days and I will have to find a sitter on Mondays. I think that would be the only conflict day. But until I start school.... I have been printing lists, calendars, weekly & daily planner pages...

I got a "binder" organizer idea from flylady a while back, but have not been utilizing it to its full potential. My friend KCBlueGal brought up that she has been using a binder and gave me her idea of what sections / tabs she has. So I took some of her ideas and flyladys ideas and came up with one that works for me!

I had one binder sort of done, but I did not like how it was done, so today, I redid it.

I am also almost out of calendar pages for my ginormous desk calendar, and went on a hunt to find new pages. I have had no luck locally. I think I might try Iowa Office Supply sometime next week. I also tried to find a planner thing that I can tote to school or where ever with me so I always have my schedule and everyone else's schedules with me. Again, I failed to find something that I liked. So I bought a new binder and some tabs to create myself one that will work for me and my busy family.

Obsess obsess obsess...

I did it!

So after working on the front pillars on the porch all summer long, I finally had my husband finish scraping the paint off the tops so I wouldn't have to do some funny acrobatic moves on top of a ladder that is way too far off the ground for me. Then comes the paint. I am completely finished with painting the pillars! I am so excited! Now I just have to clean off the porch and all its contents that seem to multiply when I go inside.

Whats on my to do list next? Finish the door of the girls room that I was going to scrape the paint of and stain and polyurethane. But the rain for six days helped the paint pealing process go a bit faster. It also ruined the door to the point where I no longer can stain it. One painted door among two stained doors is going to look kind of funny. Not sure what to do now.

I also would like to finish relocated my rock pile to the 8th flower garden that I am making. 8 you say? Why yes. Because this 8th flower bed will make it so I do not have to haul the mower all the way around the house and between mine and the neighbors garage just to mow a six foot by ten foot space of green. I plan to take the preannuals that are all over my yard and divide them up and start new ones in this area.

There are about fifty other things on the "To Fix" and "To do list" but for now, I am happy with completing one of the things on there.

Saturday

WOW! I was busy today! I raked the front yard and mowed it and the back yard (theres no acorns in the backyard). I scraped some more paint off of the pillars (I borrowed the neighbors' contractors ladder) and did the other things I do during the day LOL.


ok.. thats all..

Quote of the day

"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."
– Robin Williams

Going back to school

No, I am not talking about my 6 year old or even my 3 year old. I am talking about me. I decided that I am going to go back to college. I want to be a counselor or a talk therapist. I just feel there are not enough of these in the world, since every time *I* try to make an appointment, I can not get one for three months. In order to do this, I would either need a PhD in Psychology, or a Masters in Social Work.

Of course the college that I want to go to does not have this exact field at this point. They are switching to a different college, so at that time, they will have more of what exactly I want. So for now, I am in the "Criminal Justice" program, which will help me be more aware of the system which would help me have a bigger client base.

I chose this college for several reasons. 1) Its smaller, and has less students and smaller class sizes. 2) The other college in town, NIAC, is so busy with students, sports, and other things. 3) I wont have to take a zillion English or Math classes to get where I want to go 4) Its close. I don't have to drive out of town or to a bigger city

I am very excited, yet disappointed that I can not get into the fall term until October 8th!

Dogs vs. Cats

So I have been a cat person all my life. In fact I say that after my children leave home, and if my husband were to pass before me, I would be come "CAT LADY" ...

I have not had a dog since I was a child. Ive always had cats though.

Today I just realized that a dog is so much more loyal then a cat. Dogs want your attention all the time, and don't really care. But I do know we have two very needy dogs. But cats? They will only pay attention to you if you are busy. You know, reading a newspaper or magazine that they can lay on . They also only want attention from you when THEY want, if you want to socialize with them, they usually have other things to do. You know, very important stuff... like nap... take a bath... lay in the sun...

New product on ETSY

I just put a new digital kit up in my Etsy store! This one is called "Back to School" Go check it out!

Back to routine.

I get stuck in a rut. A lot. My house is a mess, my family and myself mostly is disorganized, everything is just messy.

Last week I attempted to "get back into my routines" and failed. I am unsure why I failed, but I did. FAIL.

So this week I am going to keep on track of my daily tasks, attempt to keep up my routine, and hope that I can slide into the new school year smoothly. So you may find several posts on what I have done, or need to do from time to time. At least if I type it in here, I can reread it over and over, and feel better about getting things done. Checklists do not always give me the satisfaction of putting a line through a task.

Also. I figured out another little way to remind myself to take my morning medication! At night, as I take my medications, which I never forget to do, I flip over the bottle of morning meds. That way in the morning when I remember to take my meds, I will know for the rest of the day because the bottle will be right side up! I still write it down, or try to remember to write it down, but I have been doing this for three nights now, and have remembered both mornings! WOOT!

when I am bored...

I do stuff like this...

Before

After

Dont click on them to make them big. because it probably looks totally edited when HUGE. hehe

Seeds...

Last night while grilling I discovered that my saliva's were seeding! So promptly after dinner, I went outside to pick some and collect the seeds. This was fun, and I got a lot of seeds! I did mix the red and the white, but Ill get over that. (someday) I have enough seeds to plant the same amount, if not more, then I bought from my local greenhouse. I am excited. These were fun to watch flower and they grew nice and tall. I would like to plant them thicker next year...

WARNING: If you plan to do this, think about it first. If you are scared of spiders or other type of small insects, do NOT attempt this. I repeat, DO NOT attempt this!

I found several spiders and small insects that live in the petals of these flowers. They are kind of bell shaped, but longer, and make perfect hiding places and nesting spots.

The crab spider was one of of several that I found. I swear he stopped moving and put up his arms like he was going to pinch me. It was kinda scary other then the fact he was smaller then a pencil eraser!

Big People Stuff!

We had some friends that invited us over for dinner. We have not done this (with FRIENDS) since we lived in St. Louis Park. We were very good friends with our neighbors, Jana & Jeb. We often made dinner for each other and were almost always at one an others apartment. I miss that so much. I miss having friends live so close that you can go over in your pajamas or even barefoot!

We had a good time chatting with other adults on other things then work! It was awesome! I guess its our turn to invite them over! I cant wait! :D

Oops.

So I figured out why the frogs died. When I got the organic dirt stuff, you cut it into chunks and place it into water so it expands. The stuff expands like 10times from its original size.

Our frogs are (were) small. They absorb the water from every thing they sit on or in. Since I did not treat the water that the "dirt" soaked in, they absorbed plain old tap water with all the wonderful chemicals that the city and who ever put in there. :( Thats what did it. Sorry little buddies!

Bad mother bad wife bad pet owner

I killed the frogs. Not on purpose, but accidentally. I think they dried out when I put in the organic dirt. *sigh*

My husband could not find pants or a shirt today because I thought I only had to do his laundry for work once a week, because I thought he had enough clothes. Oh, and I forgot to buy an ironing board when I went shopping. And no I don't have a surface that I can iron on. *sigh*

Something got into our trash last night. Again. It seems to be happening once every couple of weeks. Its getting old. I would put my trash can into the garage, but that would be too easy.

Its a TRAP!

So.. We have had a fruit fly infestation since the last time I had bought bananas. That would be sometime in early June. They are EVERYWHERE. Does not matter how clean the kitchen is, they still multiply. Its getting very old. I have put out little "traps" of vinegar and dish soap, but this has only killed a few.

I accidentally found another "trap". One day a piece of lettuce ended up in a glass of water. Apparently, they are attracted to the lettuce, then get wet and die. The glass has become a graveyard for the fruit flies!

If you have any other FREE ways to attract these little buggers, please please please let me know!

Title (not sure what to call this post)

Monday I sold my car to the junk yard. I got a check for $350! They weren't able to pick it up until yesterday, so there it sat taking up a parking spot in our driveway. So yesterday, I was looking out the window, and I see this car that looks like its floating down the road. Then I realized it was on a flatbed and it was the tow truck coming for my car.

The money came just in time. Our water bill was DUE Tuesday, and my husband got confused on his payday. So I was able to take care of that, buy all of the animals some food, buy a few fast food meals, hubby a couple new work shirts, and a baby shower and wedding gift, and some clothes to wear to the wedding!

Tony is doing good at his new job as a car salesman! Hes sold two cars so far, and has several leads on other sales. He is very relived to no longer be working at the factory, and I think he likes dressing in nice clothes again.

I think my sleeping pill might need to be raised. Seems like every other night I am unable to fall asleep after they have kicked in. I do not have an appointment with the doctor until October, so I am going to try to call him.

I have my "shop" up on ETSY! So where are all of you digital scrapbookers?! My website is still under construction, and I am unable to put all of my kits up on ETSY, so let me know if you are looking for a particular style of kit! I might have it laying around on my hard drive! If not, I will make it!

Before I moved here, I had started to put together a plan to do Party / Wedding Planning once I got down here. I have a business plan, and lots of information already figured out. I was pleasantly surprised on Monday. A girl called to book Tony for a wedding. I talked to her for about 20 minutes, and let her go. She called back ten minutes later asking if I would be able to help plan her wedding and to let her know what I would charge!! SWEET! Her wedding is in August 2008, so I have plenty of time to help her get organized.

Now if only I could get my digital scrapbooking business going, I might be able to add some extra cash to our family's income!

My shop!

Visit my Etsy shop! http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5223388

Walmart.

I'm not sure the last time I posted about Walmart but here goes....

Cons

-Cashiers do NOT know how to bag groceries. Considering this is an average size store with a grocery store, you would think they would be trained on how to put food in a bag. Anything that could be squished or smashed, was. Cold stuff was with canned, dry with frozen. WTF Kind of packing is this?? I put my stuff on the thing the way it should be bagged. Like items together. I first put my heavy stuff such as sodas, juice boxes, propel, power aid, on first. Then I put the canned goods along with other non squishable items, then dry goods, and last of all, my bread, buns, chips. I don't know what this guy did, but NONE of it was together, I had cold stuff in every bag, propel in with my kids individual packs of gram crackers, frozen stuff not together at all. I also ended up with three bags with no more then one item.

-They move stuff around the store about once a month. Just when you figure out where they moved it, its gone, it went to a new home.

-They constantly discontinue things that I like. Doesn't matter what it is, if I like it, eventually it gets discontinued.

-Takes no less then an hour to grocery shop. Seems like no matter what I go there for, it always takes an hour or more. Wow what a waste of my valuable time! (Not that I have anything else to do...)

-Never have enough lanes open. Target has a 1 plus 1 policy. If theres more then two people in line, they open a new line. Walmart has not heard of this. They never open more lanes, no matter how many people are in line.

-They put the "special" people at the regular lines, and the fast people at the express checkouts. Um hello??

-Parking. Its as if all of the employees park right by the doors. Even when the store is not busy, you still can not park NEAR the store. I always try to park near a cart corral when I have my children with me.

-No one to be found. If you need something, and want to ask someone a question, there is NO ONE around. Employees should be cross trained in all departments. When you ask someone in the Hardware, they should know something about the department next to them, and that happens to be be housewares, or garden. And if you do find someone for that department, it usually takes no less then three employees to answer your question.

Pros

-Cheaper to shop here for groceries then anywhere else. The selection of MOST items is good, and so is the price. There are two other grocery stores in town, one is very expensive, and the other is cheap, but has zero selection.

-Self check out. This is nice if you only have a few items, and you are shopping between the hours of 9am - 7pm.


hmm... I can not think of any other "pros" oh well...

/end rant

bleh.

Its gonna be one very long week. I ran out of my medication that I take in the morning. Monday was the last day I took this medication. You say go get more? I can not. I have a stupid 35$ dollar copay for it, and I have zero dollars to my name. I have no way to get these until Friday! Ugh.. Later today, I will get crabby, dizzy & sick to my stomach. I have no idea what will be in store for Thursday and Friday, because I have only gone two days with out this med, mostly because of forgetting to take it.

Factory

I always knew my husband was not a factory worker. He has been so grumpy the past few months because he absolutely HATES his job. Its not that it is hard, its that it is repetitive. All day, eight hours a day doing the same exact thing the same exact way. He wakes up in such a horrible mood, sometimes I want to kick him to the couch!

He has nice hands. He does not like dirt under his nails, and keeps them neatly trimmed. Its not about his hands, its about the hate towards the job. He is a hard worker, just not a factory worker.

Sometimes people say that is work. But come on, if you do not like your job, there are other ones out there. If your job creates so much stress in your lives, and those around you, there is a problem. It does affect me and the kids, as would anyone who is unhappy so frequently. So he has decided to switch. I am excited! I can not wait until he starts training and finishes so he can do his job. Not a factory job.

Recycle: Things you probably overlook

As I have been recycling like a mad woman, Ive found a few things that I have not been recycling! But don't fret! Now I know!

-Empty paper towel & toilet paper rolls! (you can recycle, or reuse them to hold plastic grocery bags, or use for kids projects!)

-Junk mail! Open it up, tear it up and put it in your paper bin to send off to the recycle center! Even if you shred these things, you still can send your shreds!

-Batteries. How many batteries do you go through? We go through a lot between remotes, toys and cameras. I have a small box set aside to collect these! Staples takes them!

-Empty ink cartridges. Staples will take them plus give you $3 off your ink purchase! See, it PAYS to recycle!

-Finished to do lists. I make lists. Lots and lots of lists. I can fill my desk trash can in a week with all my lists! Start throwing them in with your light weight cardboard and other paper!

-Empty shampoo, conditioner & cleaning bottles! We all use these... and plastic takes up a ton of space in the landfill! Start here with PLASTIC if you don't know where to begin!


I have managed to go from FILLING and THEN SOME in our 32 gallon trash can that gets picked up weekly, to having two bags of trash! (I would like to see it cut down to ONE bag weekly) Just think of the space you free up in the landfill by cutting down your trash! Besides, its free to fill your recycle bin!! Ive been so good at filling mine, I have actually had to drive to the recycling center to empty it!

Have any other items around the house that you think people over look? Leave a comment!

Busy busy busy

We went camping with Tony's parents over the weekend. Heres some photos, more on the kids blog

Food

So the other night we were being lazy and did not want to cook. I wanted Chinese and Tony wanted Godfathers. Well I got my Chinese! It cost me 16 dollars plus delivery tip. I ended up with so much food! I ordered shrimp & snow peas, and some sweet and sour chicken. I got those two things in big boxes, then I got two smaller boxes of rice. WOW was it yummy! I can not wait to order again!

My fortune from my cookie: "Patience is one of the hardest virtues to master."

Gee thanks. I already knew that, and I have no patience! heh

Got Roots?

Once again...

"they" said it was going to rain today. I didn't really care to wait for the rain, so I watered my very thirsty flowers and plants. The last time they said it was going to rain, it did not, and there was not even rain in the 15 day forecast. Today it rained for MAYBE two minutes, if that. I am happy I watered my flowers.

Wow

Wow am I getting exercise from walking with the dogs and kids! Poor Hershey does circles in front of Zoe & I. heh We don't walk fast enough for him I guess!

I'm super busy these days! I wake up and take a minute for myself then I make breakfast for the kiddos, then take the dogs for a short walk. After we are all dressed, we take the dogs on a longer walk. WHEW! All this walking! I'm trying to break Hershey of his habit of pulling me down the hill to the trail, or just pulling at all. Its going ok.

Poor hubby is working his tail off! :( I hope he gets a chance to take some well needed and deserved Zzz's soon!

We got him!

We got our new family member yesterday! His name was Hershel, but we changed it to Hershey!








JEEEZ It was hot this weekend! I can not wait for it to rain tomorrow to cool things off a bit!

A new family member...

No I am not pregnant, and do not ever intend to be again! We are however, obtaining another family member soon! When exactly I am unsure of, but the neighbors down the street are looking to give away a dog. The dog belongs to the lady's ex boyfriend, and he does not appear to be coming back for it. She put a few ads in the paper and told everyone she knows with out anyone wanting the poor dog. I told her that if she gets him fixed, I will take him. So when ever that happens, we will gain a dog.

His name is Hershel and he is a three year old chocolate lab. He is very friendly and just needs a good home. She is hardly ever home, just has no time for another dog, as she already has a pit bull.

The way life works is kind of funny sometimes. We were at a friends house Tuesday night, and they asked us if we wanted some chain link fence. There is at least one gate, hardware, poles, and a post hole digger. Because of the way our back yard is, we only have to shut off a small spot between our garage and the neighbors fence, then another small spot out back then the side of our house. I hope to be able to put fence around enough to have the back door open into the fenced in area. This will be so nice with two dogs and two kids! I can not wait to let Zeus run free with out the leash!

We also acquired a swing set frame with one swing. I noticed the neighbors a few houses down building a new one last weekend. I didn't want to bother them while they were building it, and then I never seemed to catch them outside! Well today, as the guy was dismantling it, I yelled over "Hey what are you going to do with that?" he says "Why, do you need a swing set?" I yelled back "yeah!". Turns out, just as I called over, he was picking up his saw to cut it up and haul it away!! Good timing huh! However, he did already bust off part of the middle legs, and cut off some of the bolts holding the end braces on, so we will have to buy some bolts, and figure out how to reattach the middle support. He said he didn't know where the swings where for it, but a few minutes later, he came over with one swing!

OH yeah... Our lawn mower died last weekend. I got two swipes around the back yard, and the throttle would not stay open. So I shut the mower off to get some wire to HOLD it open. Of course, when I got back to the mower, it would not start. So I stole all of hubby's DJ money and off I went, garage saleing. I drove by two sales, and didn't see any mowers, so I kept driving. I went down Peirce Ave. and found a sale that had four lawn mowers, four weed eaters and two chain saws. I got to pick! So $55 dollars later, I came home with a "new" mower. I get out back and start to mow, and hubby managed to START THE OLD MOWER. Grrr... oh well... It did not sound very healthy to begin with.

See the kids blog for Tadpole updates!!

Its hot

Well its not even 10am yet, and its already 77 degrees F outside! Probably inside too, because its hot and sticky in here. Gonna see temps of 93 or greater today.

Our new grass seed is starting to sprout! I guess that means I have been watering it enough! Although the front yard seems to be not sprouting yet.

Last night I broke our sprayer for our hose. Gonna have to water the grass with the watering can! heheh

I am going to have a garage sale next weekend! I have a list of stuff from room to room to start collecting. I figured I will need about 8 - 9 signs to put up so all directions since I can not afford to put a 16$ ad in the news paper!!

OMG!!WTF??BBQ!1!!

all the hair

HAIR NO MORE!

Its gone! Finally, its gone! :D

Kids

Heres the Kids' new blog!

What am I?

What are these? You can not tell by the picture, but they have silver leaves, and smell minty! WHAT ARE THEY?!

Compost

Heres my compost "pile"

All about green

What are you doing to live more green? Do you know what I am talking about? Have you switched to compact florescent light bulbs yet? Do you recycle anything that you can? Do you have a compost pile?

We currently have four more light bulbs to replace with the compact florescent ones. Yes, they are expensive you say, but they last up to 8 years, compared to the one year if that of the other bulbs and our electric / gas company gives a 2 dollar rebate for each bulb you replace! You also save money on your electric bill by having them. I am sure if you write to GE and let them know that you would like some money saving coupons on their bulbs, they might send you coupons. Also, the GE bulbs have a 8 year warranty so if any expire before they should, call the company or write, and they will replace them. (don't forget to save your receipts along with the upc) I did this, I had TWO bulbs burn out, and they sent me TWO coupons for free bulbs up to 20$ a piece. So like my frugal self, (sometimes) I searched for the biggest box of bulbs! I ended up getting 8 bulbs at the cost of 31$ for FREE!

I try to recycle anything that I can. Wether its putting it in the blue bin for Mondays pick up, or reusing it with in our house hold, I just do it. Also, recycling saves on trash! We have to pay an extra dollar to set out a bag next to our trash can, so if I can recycle, we don't have to put out that extra bag!

Today, I am starting a compost pile! Eww you say? If done right, your compost pile should not stink! Besides, think about how much trash you are NOT putting into the land fills between food scraps & yard waste! I started gardening for the first time this year, and I can NOT wait to be able to use the compost in our flower beds and yard!

So thats what I am doing with my family to be more green! What are YOU doing? One person can not make a difference. Think again. Teach your children to live more green and then there will be more people!

Wow

Something interesting happened this morning. I heard very faint sirens from fire trucks and police cars. Next thing I know, Caitlin says "I hope they are not coming here!" I said to her "You can hear that?!" Caitlin replys "yes"

My little girl can HEAR! She got tubes on Monday, so hopefully this new "hearing" thing lasts! It was such a good feeling knowing that all the pain she went through and still has from getting tubes and having her adenoids and tonsils out has done something wonderful.

whats new

Well lets see... I finished all of the flower beds, then I had to go buy flowers to put in them!!! I said I probably wasn't going to put anything in them this year, but after they were built, I just could not help myself! I got all kinds of different flowers, and don't ask me to name them because I can not pronounce half of them let alone spell them!! Pictures to come later.. I have no batteries for my camera!

Caitlin had her tonsils & adenoids out and tubes put into her ears on Monday. She is recovering very well. She was chattering as soon as she woke up. She is still on a "soft" foods diet for two weeks and still gets pain medicine every four hours, along with ear drops twice a day and amixicillin(sp) three times a day.

Thats all... I guess. lol

hmm

So I have not posted in a while! So lets see... Last weekend was "Band Fest" in town, they had a carnival and a parade along with bands playing all weekend. Of course, we did not go. I played in the yard, finished another couple of flower beds (putting rocks around it) mowed, weeded, trimmed stuff, stripped paint off a door, cleaned the patio area, took more paint off the front pillars and did other yard stuff.

Monday, no school, didnt do much, Tuesday back to school, and the class picnic, Wednesday, I dont remember much. Thursday happened along with Friday. lol

Friday, I did my usual grocery shopping in the morning, and was sure to buy plenty of stuff for Caitlin after she has her tubes put in, and tonsils and adenoids taken out. Then we went out to eat for my birthday. Afterwards, we drove by Caitlin's new school since we no longer live in the "Hoover" district.

Today I got up way early... I was going to lay back down, but didn't get around to it heh. I was going to mow, but it was only 7, so I weeded the gardens and dug up some dandelions around the yard and flower beds and tried to just waste time. I finally mowed... then had Tony help me move the rest of the landscape wood ties so I could finish the last, YES FINALLY THE LAST, flower bed! WOOT! Still have a big pile of rocks though so now I have to get creative!

long weekend...

too tired to post!

Change

Some times change is good sometimes it is bad. Next year Caitlin will be attending a different elementary school because when we moved into our house, we were outside of the school district for her current school. So we will see if she moves easily into the first grade. I hope it goes well, and I have told her a few times to tell her class that she is going to a different school next year so hopefully they pass it on to their parents and contact us. I am sure it probably wont happen the way I hope it will, so I might send something to school with Caitlin with her name and our phone number. You never know, maybe she made some really great friends.

I am unsure if she has any particular friends from her class this year. She never comes home and talks about the same kid twice. She talks about them all equally. In preschool, she would often come home talking about the same two girls.

Also with her getting tubes and having her tonsils and adenoids removed, she will be able to hear better, or so we all hope. I hope she will pass her hearing tests at her new school, since she failed all but one at her current school.

As far as home goes, I can not wait till she can hear me. I often get frustrated and end up yelling because she can not hear me, then I feel horrible. I don't like yelling at my kids, or being short with them, but sometimes it happens. I am hoping it will happen less after the tubes. I also can not wait to not have cartoons blaring early in the morning!!

ok fine.

I HATE DOING LAUNDRY!!!
I HATE DOING LAUNDRY!!!
I HATE DOING LAUNDRY!!!

Oh crap I got to do the dishes too.

I HATE DOING DISHES!!!
I HATE DOING DISHES!!!
I HATE DOING DISHES!!!

Laundry

There is a song by psycho stick called "I HATE DOING LAUNDRY".. hehe

Who let the dog out?!

Sooo I was outside on the porch smoking, when across the street, this big dog, is walking down the side walk like he owns it. He stopped to pee on the neighbors yard bag, then he crossed the street and came straight at me, stopping at our yard bag then on to my car tires. I stomped my feet and the dog didn't even flinch. He continued on to my back yard. When I went inside I heard him in our garage messing with the trash bags. So I called the cops!

The cops came, and I told the cop he could go back there first! He shined his light around as I told him what kind of dog it was or at least a description, and that it was wearing a blue harness.

Just after he headed back to his car, I heard the dogs down the street freaking out. I told the cop that I'd look over there. Then just after he got back in his car to drive down the road three driveways, I heard the worst noises I have ever heard coming from two dogs. Apparently, the loose dog attacked a Malamute that was chained up in the back yard. It sounded horrible and seemed to go on forever. The cop ended up spraying the dog with pepper spray.

After the owners had came home (oh yea they were not even home!), a bunch of neighbors that had witnessed the attack were talking, when one lady was on her cell phone, and told us all that the same dog has attacked before. And yes, they are putting the dog to sleep, and the Malamute has a few puncture wounds, and is a bit upset.

HELP!!!

What do you do with a three year old who gets out of bed while you are sleeping?! I come down stairs this morning to find all kinds of things out of place on my desk. I know my husband did not make the mess.

What do I do??

things i did TODAY!

-sprayed the outside of the house, patio and garage with bug killer stuff
-sprinkled a different kind of bug stuff in my flower garden
-mowed the grass
-picked up more rocks under the snowball bush tree thing
-spread weed & feed under the snowball bush tree thing
-planted my "flowers" (the ones I started from seeds)
-dug up three bushes, roots and all
-filled in the holes from bushes and covered with "peat"
-trimmed the flowers lining the back wall of the garage to give my Daisy's & Black Eyed Susan's some sun
-filled the pool
-called out for food (this was the hardest obviously)

I feel like I am forgetting something! Oh and I did most of the above before noon. The stuff that came after noon was filling the pool and covering the holes. I was outside for almost 11 hours today! Pretty good for someone who does not like being outside!

Busy busy again!

Today was kind of a long day. Got the kids up and dropped Caitlin off at school, then went my usual Friday morning grocery shopping. Also I picked up a few non grocery items such as bug killer for my flower bed, some sand box toys, shave gel, razors, and some bug defense stuff that you spray around the inside and outside of your house.

Then at 9:30, Tony, Zoe and I were off to the school for Caitlin's "music program". I think it lasted about an hour, which is a long time for Zoe & Caitlin! I am way impressed by their behavior!

After leaving the school, we had to go get some lunch. We went to Burger King, then drove to Big Blue to eat our food. After that, we decided we better swing by the rent a center to see about getting a new dryer. We found one for 199, 90 days same as cash. We can totally come up with 199 before our 90 days. It is used, but it also is a decade newer then the current one that no longer wants to work.

After rent a center, I talked hubby into actually buying the sand box this week. *I* have only been talking about getting one since we moved in, figured since they were on sale a couple of weeks ago for almost 15$ off, and we had a rain check, we would stop and get one if they were in. We now have a box.full.of.sand. hehe The girls have been in there a lot already.

I managed to get in a nap as Tony trimmed the bigger branches of the tree I started on the other day. I guess I am not strong enough to use the giant cutters.

Around 4ish Tony's brother came to get him so they could go to a Psychostick concert in Cedar Falls. After they left, I called and asked MIL & FIL if the girls and I could join them for supper! So we all met at pizza ranch, and after going our separate ways, the girls, again, played in the sand box.

Ok so I guess I didn't do much today, but it sure feels like I did a ton!

*SIGH*

So the "call before you dig" people ended up marking a few spots where I want to put in the new flower bed. I could do it, but it would be too close to the marks and that makes me nervous. I could make the new bed shorter, but then it wouldn't "match" the other one and that might bother me!

So this morning I took a shower, then got Caitlin a pair of jeans to go with her tie dye shirt she has to wear today. She then tells me that one of her teachers said they had to wear a skirt or shorts. UM that would have been nice to know YESTERDAY?! Since our dryer is broke, I have been doing minimal laundry because I have to hang it up outside.

I did another flower bed and the pile of rocks is not getting any smaller! Good thing I have five more to do! Yes, we have seven existing flower beds in our yard.

What I have been up to!

Well I want to put a new flower bed in out front so I called the "Call before you dig" people. The utilities company's have been very busy marking things for me. I have yellow, blue, green and red spray paint in our yard and on the drive way. So far none will interfere with the new bed I want to put in!

Here is our mountain of rocks!






Here is what I am doing with our mountain of rocks!





I can not wait till I get all of the flower beds done! I am so excited that our rocks finally got here. I was waiting on them last week, and they did not come, so I finally called them and told them not to bring them because I did not want a mountain of rocks in our yard for the BBQ!

Caitlin had an appointment with the Ear, Nose, Throat doctor yesterday. She has failed several hearing tests at school. They continue to test her in hopes she will eventually pass. Turns out, after a few months and some anti biotic, she still has gooey fluid behind her ear drums. She had another hearing test along with some wax cleaned out of her ears. She will be getting tubes and have her tonsils and adenoids removed June 4th. Wish my little girl luck!

My husband got a new tattoo for his birthday! He got the girls initials on his arms. CM for Caitlin Marie, and ZN for Zoe Nessa



Caitlin has a school program May 18th and her class picnic! Wish for good weather! Don't want a bunch of kindergarten's with colds.

Well our dinosaur dryer broke. I suppose we could get it fixed, but if we fix the problem who says we aren't going to have future problems with it. The pilot light will not stay lit, which means we can not even dry one load since the flame goes on and off several times. Guess it is time to go dryer shopping.

Well I guess I am done chattering, so my post is not much longer then it is already!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday My Love!!!

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day to all of those mothers out there!!

busy busy

Today I was sooo busy. I went shopping for the BBQ, did some picking up outside, potted the plant that Caitlin grew at school for me for Mothers day, set up a "wasp" catcher thing, set up a humming bird feeder, set up another bird feeder (we like birds) and mowed our lawn.

I have not mowed anything in over twelve years. I was just a kid when I mowed last, and it took me forever. Our yard in Cotton was so huge, I divided it into four sections, only because the riding lawn mower was broke, and once I finished with the fourth section, I had to start over again! All I did for two summers was mow the lawn.

We like birds. I was watching TV one day and they had something on Animal Planet about being able to create a bird sanctuary and being "certified" or something like that. Well Id love to do that, but I guess I like to do it more for fun and its very interesting to watch all of the different kind of birds that our yard sees! Then Tony found something on the "wiki how to" about birds, and what kind of feeders are best. Apparently birds also like bird baths, or other water features. I did not know that! I guess I knew they liked bird baths, but thats all I ever thought about. It was very informative, and I actually moved one of our feeders to best suit the birds.

Ok time for bed. I have to clean the inside of the house tomorrow morning.

BBQ!

(yes Kim & Randall you ARE invited :P )


How long does it take to plan a BBQ for several people?? Hmm guess we will see if I can pull it off in about two days!! Because its happening Saturday @ 2pm! We will be celebrating Tony's 29th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY! (its not till Monday, but BBQ's are better on weekends, I think anyways...)

*makes a grocery shopping list*

hot dogs & buns
burgers & buns
chips
baked beans
potato salad
snacky things
cake
ice cream




The party is BBYB, so I don't have to worry about beverages, but I am going to have some pink lemonade for the kiddos...

growing

Well lets see...

We are growing...

Two beautiful little girls
Two tadpoles
Daisy's
Black eyed Susans
Grass
Impatiens

Things we are not growing

DANDELIONS! They are so dieing! I like weed & feed!!!

Have you ever...

done something when you were a kid that sticks in your memory like glue?? Today, I decided that the four of us should go tadpole hunting, catch them and let them grow before our eyes!

When I was a kid, this was an almost every year event. We would catch them, and either keep them in a five gallon bucket, or put them in my cousins old bathtub (it lived outside) that also housed a few turtles from time to time., and watch them grow!

No one seemed to know WHERE I could find tadpoles! So I drove to the closet place I knew where there might be some water. My husband directed a little bit further and off to a dirt road.
Well after walking down a steep hill with the girls who were scared, I figured the water was moving to fast, so we drove further down the road.

Earlier in the day, someone in TFMR said to just go buy some. I thought HA! BUY TADPOLES?? Who buys tadpoles?

We found a swampy area further down the road and Tony & I searched for tadpoles. There were dozens of frogs, but no tadpoles, no eggs. So I gave up and asked Tony if we could buy some silly tadpoles.

So now, we have two tadpoles that are HUGE compared to my childhood memories of them, an aquarium and food. I asked the guy at PETCO what kind of frog they will grow into, he said a bullfrog. How awesome is that?!


I really think the four of us had fun "tadpole" hunting even though it ended with a trip to the pet store! hehe

OMG!

It finally rained!


Now I hope it stops for a bit so my dump truck load of rocks can be delivered!!! :D


I made a "household" & "outdoor" to do list. Tony and I already finished a couple things on the list! We ROCK!! :D (now to NOT loose the list... and to keep going! hehe) Some of them are projects that we can not do alone. Like, we really need new windows, at least in the basement. They are horrible down there! But fortunately most of the things we can do ourselves and for not a lot of money!

well...

*starts doing a rain dance*


I guess its still supposed to rain Sunday Monday Tuesday & Wednesday... meanwhile the weeds are mounting!


I just want to put down the weed & feed in our yard!

sure..

So I said I would be outside weed & feeding the yard Saturday morning, yet its supposed to rain. Hmm the package says not to "rinse" grass for two days. I guess I wont be weed & feeding the yard tomorrow morning!

the grass is always greener...

So why is it that *I* want nice green full grass... The guy a couple houses down the road has never (that I have seen) taken any time to do anything in his front yard and yet he has the most green grass on the block?! In fact, there was a huge piece of plastic just floating around in his front yard for three days. Ive never seen him pick up a rake, nothing.

I have raked leaves, and sticks, and nut shells (we have lots of nut trees here I guess...) We even cut down two big bushes out front that caused moss to grow in our front yard.

Saturday morning, if there is no chance of rain, I will be out back, spreading WEED&FEED on our lawn. We have just about every kind of weed known to man that lives in Iowa growing in our back yard. MUST KILL THE WEEDS.

Sick

The kids have been fighting a cold for a couple of weeks now. I just started feeling crappy Monday and Tuesday morning, but last night I started to really feel ill. Then today has been miserable. I did manage to clean the kitchen, but I think thats all your gonna get out of me today. I do not like colds! Course I would rather have a cold then the pukes, so I guess I'll deal with this.

blah blah blah... another! heh

brush by Jason Gaylor

OMG NO WAY! Its another wallpaper!

brush by Jason Gaylor

yet... another... wallpaper!

brush by Jason Gaylor

another

again... brush by Jason Gaylor

wallpaper by me?

of course, I used a brush by Jason Gaylor! Thanks !

Its Caturday again!

So much to say So few words

Why does Earth Day only last one day?

Ive got no pants!

My husband has two pairs of work pants. One has holes beyond repair. Today I got him a second pair of heavy duty work jeans. I hope they fit, and hes happy having two pair now! I also got him a sweatshirt jacket on clearance. He likes wearing things with hoods so he doesn't get paint and hydraulic fluid in his hair. I don't blame him, I would want a hood too!

So now hes got PANTS!

Flowers & a Cat

I got some flower seeds today along with a easy planter thing. All you have to do is add seeds & water, and they will grow, then you plant them. Well the seeds I got were perennials instead of annuals. I think I need annuals for the planter thing. So Zoe and I dug up the ground on the other side of the garage (theres already a flower bed back there with other perennials) and put them in the ground. Now it needs to rain, because I do not have enough money to buy a hose, and your supposed to keep the ground wet for the first couple of weeks. LOL


The other day when I was outside in back doing some yard work, I took a break. I was sitting on the swing and I heard this noise like something was trying to get out of something. I finally noticed that the noise was coming from my neighbors garage. It was a CAT! When he came outside with his black lab, Shadow, I showed him the cat. He was like OMG! The wind blew open the door a while ago, and he closed the door a month ago without opening it since. When he opened the door, a cat popped out, and was very happy to see someone, anyone, to free her. Or at least we think its a she. The kids named her Fluffy, but before the neighbors friend knew, she named the cat Cali. We fed and gave the cat some water, and now she is our friend. Shes sticking around I guess.

We had another outdoor cat a while back, I named him Tom. The neighbor (on the other side) threw him out because he was peeing on things. Well hes a male cat, and not fixed, so its kind of the owners own fault. He stuck around for a while, but being a male cat, he soon expanded his territory away from our porch. I have not seen Tom in a while now.

So theres my flower & cat story!

*SIGH*

So not only have I not done my "pic of the day" yet, I seemed to forgot to blog yesterday.

My husband took me and the girls out to eat the other night to Pizza Ranch. It was so nice doing something as a family outside of the house! We did it together, we got in the car and went. We got there and helped each other by getting plates of food or sodas or other drinks for one another. We functioned as a family, with well behaved children. Instead of driving straight home, Tony drove around a bit. It was nice to just be out with my family and not going home right away.

We bought Caitlin a picnic basket for her birthday. I think we may just have to have a picnic on Saturday! *looks at foxcast* Ooo! 79F !! *puts picnic food on grocery list*

Tomorrow is Friday, I go grocery shopping right away after I drop Caitlin off at school. I feel better when I accomplish things right away in the morning. I really do not like to go home, get out of the car, get Zoe out of the car, go inside, take off coats and shoes, just to later have to get ready to leave all over again. Its so easy to just GO after dropping Caitlin off at school!

Ive been making several new digi kits! I can not wait to put them up in my store! I am having a blast coming up with new things, and ideas! This is one of the kits I made several kits ago!!

Whooops

So yesterday I decided that I needed to start taking at least ONE picture everyday. Today is day two and I already forgot. I suppose I COULD take one now, but it would be... too forced?

Today was pretty boring. I did one load of laundry, and the dishwasher did one load of dishes. I wanted to do more laundry but I guess I was too damn lazy. I wanted to do some scrapbooking, REAL scrapbooking, but never made it. I was thinking of claiming Tuesdays as "my night" for doing stuff, such as scrapbooking, stamping, or whatever as long as its in my craft room, but again too tired & lazy to do that too.

I also wanted to scrape more of the pillar out front, but considering my "chemical resistant" spray bottle died, and the other ones I have I am scared to use with the paint stripper. Also, I have two "popped" blisters and some small cuts on my hands from doing yard work the other day, I worry that some of the chemicals may spill into the gloves. Thats not really something I would like to experience!

Lots of wants... and for a first, all of them, well except the spray bottle do not include $$$ . That should make my husband happy! LOL

Ok enough rambling...

Whine for breakfast

Dunno why she was so cranky... but I snapped a few pictures and then she was happy!

Quiz

I took a simple quiz on dogs, and I got a 100%! WOOT!

yard work

I was outside most of the afternoon doing yard work! Me doing yard work!! I want a pretty yard :D

The News

and now on the website too!

Happy Caturday!

Returning phone calls...

So I called again today, and the other nurse called me back within a half hour. She said she would ask the doctor what to do and would call me whether or not he was in the office. With in ten minutes of that, she called to tell me that they called Walgreen's and had my effexor doubled in dosage. :D I hope this works...

News

So my day was pretty uneventful until later in the afternoon. In the morning, I took Caitlin to school, came home, took a nap, woke up and decided Zoe, Zeus and I would go get lunch and eat it at the park. We went and got Mc Donald's (except Zeus), then drove to East Park. We sat in one of the covered picnic areas, which was a horrible idea, because it was not very warm in the shade.

After we ate our lunch, we went to watch the geese & ducks. While we were there, a KIMT news truck pulled up. A few minutes later, I was asked "Can I have a few moments of your time?" Um Sure? LOL

Apparently they have problems in the park at night and the cops are too busy or not enough to cover all of the ginormous park. So a year ago, they started a thing where volunteers patrol the park and call the cops if something "suspicious" is going on. Of course last night, a car did some damage to a bush and the grass.

He asked me questions like "why do you think someone would vandalize a park?" "how do you feel about people volunteering to watch the park?" ... stuff like that...

He also filmed a bit of Zoe playing and walking around with her stick.

Not returning phone calls

Ugh. I called my Dr, and had to leave a message for his nurse. I made this call in the morning on Wednesday. Last time I checked, it is now Thursday, after five, and no return phone call. Its a good thing that I am only mildly depressed to the state of not wanting to do anything but sleep. I have no energy and no appetite. I just want them to raise or change my medications. Thats all I want. A return phone call would be very nice.

(and I did leave a detailed message about this, stating my name and phone number FIRST in case my message was too long)

Snow?!

Ugh I am so done with winter weather, yet we are getting more snow. This sucks!

Well I can not keep these patch cushion things on my foot! They keep falling off! Waterproof, yet not sticky enough to stay put... Foot still hurts... Doesn't seem to matter if I am barefoot, or wearing socks, which I have come to hate.

I tried really hard not to nap today, and now looking back on it, I don't think I did. I got tired, so I got up and did some cleaning, and some "house stuff". Our house is a never ending project! Some day it will be done, then I will be bored! LOL

All in all, a boring day ...