Patience

A virtue of which I am evidently lacking. Otherwise, I don’t think mine would be tested quite this often.

Life in the basement is getting to me. Actually, it’s not the basement at all. It’s the under 18 people that occupy said basement with me. This basement isn’t big enough for that. I don’t know how previous generations survived to adulthood living in much smaller houses with much larger families. Seriously!

Anyway, KC told me to find a hobby, so I’ve dragged out and re-subscribed to the ol Photoshop, and today I was blissfully engaged in redesigning a friend’s blog for practice. Oh my goodness. SO FUN! Made me want to redesign mine even though I like how it is now. HAHA. At the very least though, I’ve got to get back to blogging. I put it back on my habit tracker in my bullet journal in hopes that it will inspire me to do it more often. LOL.

I like how my long abandonment has led to zero site traffic here. I am way more comfortable spilling my guts. Okay, not entirely. My personality doesn’t allow me to be entirely comfortable with that. Hahah.

I’ll wrap up this post with a Thursday Thirteen, I haven’t done one of THOSE in forever!

Thirteen Current Things:
1. Praying for: a house
2. Listening to: the dog breathing, my in-laws conversing upstairs (can’t hear the conversation, just the murmur of voices), K-man’s music from the back corner of the basement (again, can’t hear clearly, just enough to be annoying – like everything he does these days)
3. Reading: Misleading Miss Verity by Carolyn Miller
4. Eating: too much junk food (I’m definitely eating my feelings…I should probably add that to the things I need to pray about)
5. Working on: A Little Bit of Insulin
6. Missing: the hubby (he’s traveling for work *sigh*)
7. Wishing for: a bigger kitchen
8. Needing: A bigger house (see a theme?)
9. Singing: Blessings by Laura Story
10. Digging: my amazing hair products that knock shampoo days down to 2-3 times a week (usually 2…I LOVE IT)
11. Watching: realtor.com like it’s the hottest reality show…seriously…I check it like every 20 minutes. *eye roll* reality is, it’s more like watching paint dry than an exciting tv show, but I can’t stop myself. lol
12. Playing: Toy Blast and Scrabble
13. Need to Stop: worrying =)

So what’s on your list?

Thirteen Favorite Instagrams

I love the Instagram app (except for my goofy phone has flipped the camera so it takes all the pictures in this app upside down…durrr…oh yes, and it doesn’t give me the option to share anywhere except Facebook anymore, so I have to upload there and then come here and link if I want to blog it…other than THAT, I love Instagram.)  Haha

Anyway, so here are 13 of my recent favorites that I don’t think have been shared here:

1. July 28, 2012 – Being naughty at Chick-Fil-A

2. July 31, 2012 – Sitting on the airplane waiting for our flight to leave for Haiti

3. August 12, 2012 – Ahsoka piled in my lap in the front seat of KC’s truck

4. August 17, 2012 – My nemesis, the devil cat…2 hours after this picture, after I was asleep, she picked the bed as the best spot in the entire house to have a giant hairball, resulting in a middle of the night change of the sheets. 

5.  August 18, 2012 – This is what happens when I crave chocolate!

6.  August 19, 2012 – My sweet dog, Obi

7.  August 24, 2012 – Hot towel mask treatment: the tootsies feel SO fine!

8.  August 25, 2012 – K-man at a neighbor’s birthday party…awesome plane!

9.  August 26, 2012 – Our “beach” (the sand where the patio stones will go)

10.  August 26, 2012 – This was like the PERFECT swim day…then it rained.

11.  August 31, 2012 – He’s camera shy, don’t ya know?  (Bwahahahaha)

12.  August 31, 2012 – I am, too…it’s so obvious, right? 

13.  September 3, 2012 – The dogs hanging out in my craft room…quiet company.

And that’s it…hope you enjoyed…and maybe got a smile out of one or two of them…lol. 

The Return of Thursday Thirteen

I was thinking this morning of this Meme I used to participate in fairly frequently (back in the day when I was a decent blogger and not such a slacker that is always playing catch-up like I do now).  I think I’ll attempt to try it again, and I’m going to start with

Thirteen Ancient Thursday 13 Posts
(that made me LOL when I re-read them just now)

1. Thirteen Things That Should Be Done Before Having Kids – ahahahahahaha….I still agree with most of these…although some of them don’t quite cause such issues now that our kids are a little older (ex: carseats and diapers…lol)

2. Random Picture Edition = OMW…I can’t believe some of the things I used to post about…where can I go to get my crazy creative streak back? LOL

3. 13 Reasons I Haven’t Blogged Lately – Obviously, I was still a little of a slacker blogger even back in the day…lol

4. My Daddy – which reminds me…I forgot his birthday because I was out of the country at the time…note to self, do something for dad…wonder if putting up sheetrock in his kitchen would count…lol…jk.  =) =)

5. 13 Quotes – Oh yeah…I LOVE quotes…and I had forgotten how totally into the Pirate movies I was at the time…hahaha

6. 13 Emotions – As an aside, this post was written about 2.5 weeks before we got our first kiddo.  Probably would make an interesting update post one of these days…dare-say my emotions are pretty close to the same for different reasons now…hahaha. 

7. 13 Random Things I’m Thinking About – Hum….so much I could say…and well…I did.  LOL

8. 13 Things from our Fifth Anniversary – Woah…I got a little crazy with the thirteen lists here.  LOL.  Hard to believe it’s been almost 6 years since I wrote that…*great big googly eyes*

9. 13 Reasons I Should Be Blonde – I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the gist of it…YIKES.  I wish I could say I’ve improved in this area…LOL!

10. Thankful Thirteen

11. Thursday Thirteen – Friday Edition

12. First Ever Thursday Thirteen 

13…oops…ran out of thirteens.  Obviously, I’m not getting better at counting as I get older.  LOL.

What To Title This?

Hum. How bout a verse from the book of Faith....

"A quick blog post to cover a multitude of topics should have a catchy title, else thou shalt be in danger of....." oh never mind.

This post beginning is not working out well. I should go back and erase this whole thing and start over.

No, really. I should. But since I occasionally don't do what I should, perhaps I'll just leave that there so you can have a lovely glimpse into the typical start of an average post in which I really don't know what I want to talk about, but feel the urge to say something.

So in the spirit of keeping it real, hang on a second while I regroup and start over (without erasing the beginning...heh).

Anykachoo, I think the best idea would be to do one of them thar (unofficial) Thursday Thirteen things and just make a list. Cuz, that is really what I like to do. Make lists. I particularly like lists in which the things are already done, and not ones in which I have many things to do....cuz those lists are....well....a lot of WORK. And we all know -- no wait, I don't want to go there either. Back to the list of things that happened today.

1. Early start this morning -- Munchkin was crying about 3am. Not really sure what the deal was, but I stumbled in there and talked to her for a minute. I'm not sure what all the conversation consisted of, but I seem to recall me singing a Veggie Tales song about God being bigger than the boogey man, and then praying with her. I think that was after she said she had a bad dream or was scared or something. I'm not really coherent at 3am, so I'm not positive about any of those events.

2. Got up at 7 (that's AM) and started supper. LOL. That sounds so weird. Anyhow, I have gotten into the crockpot dinners recently and I totally did a double whammy this morning. I am so proud of me. LOL. I made crockpot lasagna using a combination of this recipe and this recipe and not only that, but I used the leftover meatballs from Monday night's meatball sub dinner for the meat. Get that. I USED LEFTOVERS! (Did you see that, Mom? Leftover hater me!!! Bet you thought you'd never see the day, huh?) So I got up this morning and chopped the meatballs up and added more sauce to them and used that for the meat sauce in the recipe instead of using ground beef. I also used the ricotta/egg/milk version from the first recipe and the extra liquid on top/6-7 hours on low cook time from the second recipe. It turned out great except that it was done a little too early so I had to keep it on warm a little longer than I would have liked, and the very bottom got a little too done. Next time, I'll definitely shorten the cook time. The kids are loving the crockpot meals. They have asked for seconds or ate every bite of the dishes I've tried so far (and that's huge for mister picky K-man). Oh the other thing that makes me so happy with myself? I'm actually cooking with ingredients and it's turning out yummy (as opposed to cooking with pre-cooked freezer foods and it turning out yummy....LOL).

3. After I finished fixing supper, it was time to get the kids up and ready for school...Munchkin got up and was crying first thing....said her stomach hurt. (Maybe from my cooking? LOL....hope not...haha) But she seemed better after that and she wasn't running a temp or anything so I went ahead and took her to school.

4. Speaking of sick, it's going around at their school, so it's highly possible and perhaps even probable that the kids are going to (or already have) it, so I'm bracing myself.

5. After I dropped the kids off at school, I took the cats to the vet to be shaved....oh my. We've never had Jango shaved, but he was getting to be shedding more than Snowball and the hair problem was getting out of control, so we decided to see if it would help. Boy, they were NOT happy about it either. Both of them had to be sedated (ouch on the pocketbook) in order for the groomers to shave them.

6. Next stop was Burger King for a 3 piece french toast sticks (and they gave me like six...on purpose...cuz they were all, "there's more than three, have a nice day" about it) so my stomach wouldn't be growling in court.

7. Court started at 9. I was exceedingly happy that K-man's case was heard early, since generally I've found that the termination hearings tend to be put off to the end of the day so they can get the quicker cases out of the way and clear the courtroom early. Thankfully, it appeared to be a light day as far as cases go.

8. Was a little confused as to why they made his next date three months away instead of the (what I thought was) typical 30 days after termination hearing. I'm kinda guessing it's because they think she will appeal, in which case a 30 day hearing would be a waste of time since adoption can't go forward until any appeals (if they're filed) are completed. I personally think that any mom who can't even show up to the court date in which she would have a chance to testify for herself as to what was being done (or not done) toward her case plan should not have the right to appeal. I have other thoughts on the whole thing, but I won't share them here.

9. Got out of court and called Kel so we could meet up and work on Morgie's math, decided to meet at the library during G's storytime, so I hit a thrift store to kill about 15 minutes before meeting them...that was interesting. I went to the one in town that is part of a ministry or something that runs a soup kitchen, and apparently I got there about the time that all the "down on their luck" folks were showing up for lunch. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking being in hard times. But for the grace of God, I could be in their shoes. So with that said, I do have a problem with walking through a small group of folks that can't afford to feed themselves, yet magically have the money to loiter on the sidewalk puffing on their cigarettes, and the whole time, feeling a need to button up my jacket (which wasn't revealing anything anyways) and hold my purse a little tighter. That's the last time I go there by myself when the soup kitchen next door to the thrift shop is open.

10. Met Kel & Morgan at the library and got the tutoring out of the way (until Monday or Tuesday anyways)...we keep getting farther behind. It seemed like we were making much better progress over the summer, but then during the summer she was only doing math, not the other subjects. Oh well...we'll get there. Today's session seemed to go much better. Only a moment or two where I felt like we were on totally different wavelengths. LOL. (LOVE YA MORGAN)

11. Went to Subway for lunch (they have a new $5 footlong -- the Chicken Pizziola or something like that...it's yummy)

12. Came home and took a nap (I had one of those sinus headaches, you know the ones that make your eyes hurt...it felt much better to close them. LOL) I slept away the afternoon (bummer) and had this really weird dream in the process. I think I've dreamed it before, b/c it seemed really familiar...nutzoid. At least it wasn't the nightmare that K-man's mom got him back though. I don't like those dreams. This one was a happy sort of dream, but don't ask me about it, b/c what I remember is very vague.

13. Got woke up, then hauled off the trash, paid a bill, picked up the kitties and paid that whoppin bill (oh the price of less hair), picked up the kids, came home, and set the lasagna on the table and had supper. Now THAT was sweet! I could totally get used to that. LOL!

So there it is. My day in thirteen tiny (or not so tiny) pieces. *goofy grin*

And for Kelly's benefit, the potato crockpot dish that I fixed Tuesday night. This was in the Fix it and Forget it cookbook (I think).

They called it Scalloped Taters but I don't really think of them as scalloped since it uses frozen hashbrown potatoes. Anywho, for what it's worth, they were good, no matter the name. And i have two other variations to try, along with the fact that I need to attempt to spice it up a little more since KC thought they were a little on the bland side. (I didn't think so, but he likes his food to kick him on the way down, so I guess I'll play a little with spices on the next go around).

Nuff said, I have to post this before the length of this post goes into overdrive (if it's not already there).

(Makes 6-8 servings)

1/2 cup melted margarine (I used butter cuz I didn't have any margarine)
1/4 cup dried onions
16 oz pkg frozen hashbrown potatoes (I used the southern style chunks versus the shredded style, not sure if it makes a difference or not)
10.75 oz cream of chicken soup
1.5 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (next time I'm using more...I didn't think this was enough)
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 cup crushed cornflakes - divided (I used a little more than this...I like more crunchy stuff)

Stir together all ingredients except 1/2 cup of the cornflakes and pour into greased slow cooker (I forgot to grease it...cleanup was a little tough) and then top with the rest of the cornflakes.

Cover. Cook on high for 3-4 hours.

I heated the leftovers in a glass dish in the oven the next night and it tasted as good as the first night. (OOH, MOM....didja see that? the LEFTOVER stuff AGAIN!!! Heh! *grin*)

Okay. For those of you who stuck it out this far....Wow. I'm impressed and I love you, too! *grin*

till next time...

Thursday Thirteen: Digital Scrappy Links

After having been asked at least 3 times in the last 2 weeks where I get all my digital goodness, I have been contemplating just collecting my favorite links and posting them. Well, yesterday I hit the mother-lode, plus today is Thursday and I've got thirteen of these links and that will be a perfect Thursday Thirteen....SO....I'm sharing. *grin*

Shabby Princess (these are some of my very favorites)
Two Peas In A Bucket - Freebies (you have to sign up for the community to access the downloads, but they are so worth it!)
Digi Divas Designs (I don't think these are updated, but what is already there is pretty good)
Digital Freebies (I think these come out every Friday)
Oscraps (I think this is another one that you have to sign up to get the freebies)
Peppermint Creative (This is another personal favorite. One freebie released monthly, and each new release makes the previous one disappear, so you have to grab them when they come out each month....these downloads work like you are buying them, you put them in your cart and checkout but your total is $0.00....and if you're up for spending some dough, they have some great kits that are a little MORE than $0.00, too)
Gotta Pixel (just found this one this morning and you have to join this one as well, to access the freebies, but it looks like one I'm gonna be joining really soon. LOL!)
Scrap Orchard (oooh, another new one for me....not sure if this one requires signing up or not, but it looks like some more good stuff)
Digital Scrapbooking Freebies (mmmmmmm....yummy)
Squidoo Digital Scrapbook Lens (Quite a few of these new links I found were from her list, and she also has quite a bit of information down below those freebie links as well)
Scrapmatters Blog (Tuesday challenges with template freebies, and it looks like they may have lots of other similar kinds of things going on....)
Digital Scrapbooking Tutorials (a great place to learn how to use the freebies you download, or to create some of your own....*grin*)

And finally.....the mother lode

DigiFree ---- it's a blog that searches all over the web and finds all the freebies from that day....EVERY DAY. OH MY! It's incredible....check it out!

I'll try to go back and add all these links to the sidebar later, but for now.....=)

Enjoy!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen: BK (Before Kids)

Thirteen Things That Should Be Done Before Having Kids(Not that I would know or anything.....)

1. Wake up in the middle of the night and pause for a moment to savor the thought of not having a little feet pounding down the hall to join you in your bed, or to wake up a few minutes later with those same little feet jabbing your rear end.

2. Enjoy a really long shower without listening to see if little people are up and into everything yet.

3. Have a cookie. Or five. Without having to share and/or being a bad example of what NOT to eat for breakfast.

4. Carpool in five different vehicles to five different places and transfer an empty car seat to the new vehicle with each changeover. Oh yeah and you have to properly install carseat each time..... Imagine that times....oh say FIVE (since that happens to be my favorite number in this post) and consider yourself semi-prepared.

5. Eat ice cream. See #3.

6. Same goes for chocolate, candy, everything UN-healthy that you can think of, and appreciate not having to sneak around to do it so THEY won't want it or see how naughty mommy is being.

7. Private....romance time.....NUFF SAID.

8. Go to the bathroom without an audience announcing that "mommy is....."

9. Take a really long vacation. Enjoy the fact that you only pack for yourself (well...and hubby).

10. Also on that vacation, appreciate the fact that you can fly on two tickets instead of four and it's half the price. And quieter. No. REALLY appreciate that.

11. Go to more theme parks. Enjoy riding the big rides without having to take turns with the other parent watching the kids and having to ride the rides alone.

12. Take a long car trip....stop every half hour and find a restroom. Sanitize it completely, then use it. This is only a small taste of what it will be like and you will love it only because it means you are buying WAY fewer diapers.

13. Spend more time appreciating the moment you're in instead of wishing to be somewhere else. Actually, this works for after you have little kids, too....cuz mothers of big kids could probably make a list of things to appreciate before your little kids grow up into big kids. LOL.

Anywho.....I don't generally do this often enough to really go the whole mile with it, but here's the rest of the code anyways even though I probably won't go over there and link up. LOL.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Later!

Thursday Thirteen (random picture edition)

Thirteen Random Pictures from the Crazy Lady in November/December:

1. November. Driving home. Ahhhhhh.....fall. Pretty colors.

2. Old barn. Thought it looked kinda cool....and a little lonely...sitting out there in the middle of the field by itself.

3 & 4. My delightful finds at the thrift store at the end of November. Wooohoo. Best part? Half price sale....if I remember correctly I wound up paying a buck fifty each. Both are fisher price and one is the little people house that makes sounds. Munchkin is getting these for Christmas. I'll probably buy her a couple of little people to go with it. They looked like new after I took the clorox wipes to them.

5. Me with the two big babies on my lap. Nappy time....

6. Fun with mirrors....

7. "Take my picture and die."

8. Things I didn't actually intentionally capture....
1. Hey, it's what was in the sideview mirror again....out the front winshield this time....
2. Buckle up reminder.
3. Driver obviously missed the reminder.
4. The doorhandle that sliced the finger, requiring first aid
5. Lovely first aid.

9. They upgraded....and apparently found someone a little less smarty pants to do the lettering.

10a. Is that a cat climbing the wall there?

10b. why, no.....that's a coon!

10c. Dude, what are ya'll gawkin at. I'm just checking the caulkin on yar winda's here. Yep, looks like you're up for some repairs pretty soon if you want to save sum money on yar heat bill.

10d. No, wait....don't call animal control. Noooooooo......11. Replaced the dead flowers (again). Don't these look beautiful? I had to get the kind you don't have to water. LOL. These will last forever. Ain't that great?
12. awwwww.

13.....well, maybe I'll get to it later. I'm really tired and its 11:30. *sigh* Again.

Later.

Thursday Thirteen - Reasons I Haven't Blogged Lately

Pathetic I know....I've really been missing the blog stuff....posting, reading friends, etc....I've tried to keep up a little, but I've only had time to read a few of my favorites and even then, I haven't had time to leave any comments. I hate that. I'm terrible at commenting anyways! *sigh*

Anywho....

Thirteen.

1. I've been too busy trying to keep the rest of my fingers intact and the one from getting infected.....
2. I've been too busy worrying about whether or not a person can get rabies from a human bite.
3. Started working on Christmas projects.
4. Actually got a couple of cute ones done and the shopping for some other ones done.
5. Researching consumer reviews on buying a sewing machine (which is what my hubby is getting me for christmas, only I'm asking for it early so that I can use it to make some of the kids christmas...hahaha)
6. Dreaming up ways to diaper our cat who is still peeing on everything. We think he maybe jealous in addition to health issues.
7. Changing diapers that unfortunately have nothing to do with dreaming. I wish I were at times. Haha.
8. Trying to figure out what is up with the munchkin's behaviour issues and why she is acting out so badly these days.
9. working on pictures
10. working on the church newsletter which is so behind it isn't funny
11. reading a really good book (snitch by rene gutteridge....it is SOO funny and good....it's about undercover cops that everything goes wrong and somehow turns out right...haaha....anywho, i don't get to read much lately, but i finally took some time here and there and finished it. I really miss reading thoughtless books. HAHA. By thoughtless, i mean fiction....the kind of books you can open and forget about real life for awhile. Those other books that I read....you know....how to deal with problem behaviors....well, I am CONSTANTLY thinking of real life when reading those....not a relaxing hobby. LOL)
12. kid's appointments (joy)
13. getting winning's in the mail from moving mama (yay, that is the first BIG contest I've ever like....won ! WHOOHOO. And she shipped it REALLY fast. I am so psyched to get to use it. And I'm also like coming up with things that I can use so that I can DO a giveaway for the next one. *grin* It was SO much fun!!!)


Notice there wasn't SLEEP listed anywhere in that list?

Yeah.

Tuesday night, I was up til 1am and last night it was about 12:30am. And the K-man has been waking up in the night around 2-3-4 and they've both been up around 6am every morning. It's been a trip, I'm tellin ya! It feels so nice to be able to be getting things done though, that I almost don't mind the lack of sleep. *sigh* However, right this minute I'm SO feeling it. I could just lay back here and close my eyes and probably crash for the rest of the night. No. Must. Finish. Blog. Post. First. *blinking rapidly* And I really need to do a little more looking around on the internet for sewing machines that are in the less than $200 range that I can hand it the material and a pattern and it will spit out a finished product. In less than 5 minutes. Anyone know of a sewing machine that fits that description? HA. Me either. ROFL. Anywho, suggestions or comments welcome. I'm not a pro, so I have no clue really except the basic idea of the function of a sewing machine. HAHA.

Okay. I'm really getting sleepy now and much left to do. So....
Later!

Thursday Thirteen (My Daddy)

This is really one day off, but since it's still Thursday but thirty minutes from Friday, it's close enough to count (in my opinion....and it's my blog, so that's all that really counts anyways....hahahah. j/k)......

Anyways, I decided to do today's thirteen on my daddy......whose birthday is tomorrow.

Thirteen Favorite Memories/Things I Love About My Daddy:

1. His laugh. It's very distinctive but it makes him a distinctly cheerful person.

2. The time we were riding across one of the northern state lines....we were either going or coming from my grandma's in NY and she was in the back seat of the van with me and my brother, and for miles my mother had been telling dad he needed to stop and get gas, but he kept saying it would be cheaper over the border. And then I looked up from the book I was reading to find out why the car was coasting over to the edge of the road. And then dad had to walk over the hill (and I think it was actually across the border) with a jug to get enough gas to make it to the gas station. Ahhh...fond memories. (See honey, I get my love of hanging out on "E" honestly!!!)

3. His Italian-ness. I love my dark-skinned daddy. I also love the permanent tan I inherited from him. (unfortunately, I didn't get enough to cover my legs....they are blindingly white....ROFL!!! But hey...I'm only half eye-tal-e-un after all...what do you expect? At least the tan part is the part of my body that everyone sees.....I can hide my legs, but I'd look pretty funny wearing a skirt over my face!! BWHAAHAHA.....how did I get on this?)

4. The sweet way that he made gnocchi's for me and my momma for our birthdays in March. And the way we never told him, but I had been hoping that he would! And then he did. Awww.

5. How concerned he is over my health. So much so, that he buys me vitamins and protein and calls me to make sure I'm taking them. Do you know that every time I see the bottle on my desk, I reach over and grab one so that when he calls, I won't have to feel guilty b/c I haven't taken them. Hahaah.

6. The bike rides he used to take my brother and me on when we were kids. We were never allowed to leave our property on our bikes, but when dad would take us, he'd take us to far off places....like down to the lake or over to our friends house (which was several miles away). One time one of us kids even made him wreck by accident cuz we stopped right in front of him and his tire caught ours and he rolled into the road on the rough pavement. He got scraped up pretty good. But he didn't get mad.

7. The way he built us a tree house.....and waited until we were big enough to help him build it....

8. Oh yeah, and the way he always made us come outside and help him when he was doing some kind of hard labor. I didn't appreciate it then, of course, but now that we've got kids??? Hehehehehehe.....different story!!! And of course the fact that I'm not one of those spoiled kids who never had to work and grew up lazy.....oh wait. I am kinda lazy. Oh well. Don't worry, dad, it's not your fault. Hehe

9. His willingness to help everybody. And his willingness to help in the house. He did more around the house than almost anybody. He was definitely a hubby that gave the mom a break from chores when he was home. When they say a girl looks for someone like her daddy when she gets ready to get married, I'd have to say that it's got some truth to it. My baby is just like my daddy on this one!!!! Love me some boys like that!

10. Camping trips....particularly vivid are the ones with the old youth group. Dad worked so hard to make sure everybody had fun.

11. Shortcuts. Nuff said.

12. The driving skills he passed down to his daughter....again....nuff said.

13. And finally....his love. Always there, always freely given, no strings attached.

I love you, daddy! Happy Birthday!

Thursday Thirteen (Quotes)

Thirteen amusing or otherwise entertaining quotes:

1. If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague. -source unknown Hehehe....
2. If ignorance is bliss......why aren't more people happy?? -source unknown ain't THAT the truth!
3. Speaking of happy, a truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour. -source unknown Hmmm.....interesting thought!
4. Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense. -source unknown and this would be the motto of this here blog! hahaha
5. Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so that when you yell the name will carry. -- Bill Cosby "y" works, too hehehehe
6. The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity. But not in that order. -- Brian Pickrell
7. The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit. -- Somerset Maugham ehehe.....and therein lies the reason for this post.....hehehehe
8. I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours. -- Jerome K Jerome (Three Men in a Boat, 1889) ROFL!!!!
9. There are no such things as stupid questions....only inquisitive idiots. --source unknown ahhhh the story of my life!!!! hahaha
10. If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is ‘God is crying’. And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is ‘Probably because of something you did’.- Jack Handey, Deep Thoughts hehehehe
11. Bad planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. - Proverb
12. You seem somewhat familiar. Have I threatened you before? -- Jack Sparrow
13. Will Turner: Where's Elizabeth? Jack Sparrow: She's safe, just like I promised. She's all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised. And you get to die for her, just like you promised. So we're all men of our word really... except for, of course, Elizabeth, who is in fact, a woman. ROFL....his logic just simply cracks me up

Another Day, Another....uh....Spent Some Dollars??

I know I didn't MAKE another dollar today....but hey. I had a good day. That's what counts. Life isn't about the money anyways. Course, if you don't have any, it can make life a little more difficult....

Thursday Thirteen
Thirteen Miscellaneous Things (did I spell miscellaneous right?) from today.....

1. I mailed three books out for my new addiction (Paperbackswap.com).
2. They moved the ATM that I always used when we lived in town. I wasted at least a gallon of gas trying to find one to get some cash so I could go back to the thrift store to get the few things I had them hold. That one didn't take credit or check....cash only. Who carries cash anymore? Anyways, I probably would have been better off if I had just driven to the one that wasn't close by, but that I knew where it was at....in the long run it would have been faster. Oh well. I did manage to get back before the little girls bike got gone. 3 bucks! Slightly used, but in perfect working condition (only I had to pump up the tires and wipe off the dirt when I got home). It even had training wheels on it already. Now....how do you teach a kid to pedal???? *sigh*
3. It's true....apparently you can acquire a taste for that nasty ol nail biting stuff. Good gravy....KC double coated it tonight and even put in on the skin on the other side of the nail.....and he didn't even comment about it as he sucked his thumb. All I gotta say is....there is no way he should have complained about the green peas tasting so nasty at supper the other night....they didn't taste nearly as nasty as that stuff he sucks on at night now. Next week we're putting cayenne extract in the bottle of nail biter stuff. He hate, hate, HATEs spicy hot stuff....he will go berserk!!!! LOL! We'll break him one way or another. Hehehehe.....come on ya'll...be positive for me....haha! just kidding....you can be realistic. I understand.
4. Next year for Vacation Bible School at church? I'm going on VACATION with my vacation days, and letting them have the bible school without me. It hasn't been terrible, but there have been some things that have really kinda....um....irked me. Oh well. Such is life.
5. The thrift store had books 12/$1.00. That is like....really good. They had some nice young adult fiction books....so I picked up some of the nice looking books and came home and listed them on paperbackswap. So far no one has taken those yet, but for that price, I'm not losing anything!
6. Does anyone happen to know why Yu-Gi-Oh Cards are supposed to be so bad? A kid at school wants to give some to the Bouncer and the kid's mom asked me if I allowed him to have those. For some reason, I'm thinking they were bad, but I don't know why...and researching the internet today didn't pull anything up. Does anyone have any input on this from a Christian perspective? That would be appreciated. I told the kid's mom that I appreciated the offer, but I would get back with her. She also said that she would appreciate it if I let her know what I find out about them.....so ya'll help me out here.....
7. I got one closet cleaned out today. Tomorrow I'm going to tackle the coat closet and quite possibly start working in the garage to pull the yardsale stuff together and get a pile started.
8. KC nixed the yardsale for this Saturday morning idea. Said he doesn't want to have a yardsale here b/c of our yucky drive way and parking would be inconvenient. But he did approve 100% of working to get the yardsale items pulled out of the house to get things in better shape.
9. I really want to stay home. I liked getting to take the bouncer to his counseling appointment at one of the local schools this morning. And then running an errand and coming back to get him when his session was over. And taking him back to summer camp at the daycare and going to get his prescriptions filled.....and running my other errands. It was lovely.
10. Tomorrow I would like to scrapbook. I'll let ya know how that goes. I've got a lot....LOT....to get done.....and my week of vacation is too close to being over! I need to find some time to take my friend's little boy's 2 year pictures since it will soon be a month past his 2nd birthday. Maybe I'll call her tomorrow and set that up for Monday morning.
11. Bouncer is excited about getting to spend a week with our friends that are working on getting their license. We're not telling him yet that they are thinking about adoption, we just told him that they're getting ready to be foster parents and would like some practice, and did he think he could give them some practice? He said, SURE! Do I have to stay with them until they don't need anymore practice? LOL!!!!! We said, no, just for a week this time.
12. I've only drank half a 2 liter of doctor pepper today. It's kinda sad that I feel proud of myself for that. LOL!
13. I WANNNNNNNAAAAAA stayyyyy hooooooooooooommmmmeeeee!!!! To the point of, I'm actually ready to sit down with KC and go over the budget and discuss what we need to do to make it happen sometime in the not so distant future. And I absolutely DESPISE doing that budget thing! LOL. And the irritating thing is, now that I'm ready to sit down and do this, KC (who has been after me for awhile to do it) doesn't seem to be ready anymore. ARGH. I just wanna sit down and look at what is going out and what I'm bringing home to see if it's really worth it b/c frankly if I'm working 40 hours a week and only bringing home a couple of hundred extra a month, I'd rather stay home and find a baby to keep for a few hours a day and make the same amount b/c I'm not having to drive 2 hours a day or eat out all the time.......well...you know what I mean.

Anyways. that's thirteen.
I'm tired now. If you want the official thirteen, you can go to www.thursdaythirteen.com and see all the rest there. I haven't done it officially since I got that rude anonymous comment that came from there.....kinda gunshy now.....so anyways. There it is.

Later!

Aww sheesh

Ever have so much on your mind that you can't even remember it all or you don't feel like even trying to get it all out? Well, now is one of those moments for me.

Since I don't know where to start, I'm just going to do a Thursday Thirteen of the events of the last 48 hours.

1. Yesterday I took the afternoon off for my doctor's appointment. He said I was doing better, but he wants to keep me on this medicine for several months until the problem is completely cleared up. (Mental note to self: this is one of the things that I needed to blog about over on the private blog)
2. Got home yesterday evening and picked up munchkin and got her washed up and ready to go to my great-aunt's viewing at the funeral home several hours from here in the area where I grew up. My dad was out of town and mom wanted someone to go with her. So we went up there to that.
3. Interesting trip. Should take around an hour and a half. Took us about 2 and a half. One stop for food. One stop for munchkin to go pee. And one stop for munchkin to do the other thing....only there was no place to stop in time.....and she couldn't hold it. Dear heavens, it was everywhere. Thank God I had taken an extra pair of undies, and she had shorts under her dress which contained most of it. I also had wipes in the car, however I didn't remember that until after Mom and I had improvised in the paper towel-less Wendy's bathroom to get her cleaned up. Let me tell ya, it was MAJOR! Dear God, just in case I have forgotten to mention this before, let me just tell ya, Thank you for my mom. I love her, but yesterday, I REALLY loved her!!! -Amen
4. Didn't stay long at the funeral home. Munchkin was fascinated with the lady in the casket. She kept pointing and saying, "move, mommy, ME SEE! wook, mommy!!" I told her it was okay, she was just asleep (a very LONG sleep) which technically is true. *grin* After that, she was like....oh...okay! I think if she had known the person, it would have been bad, but since she didn't know her, it was okay.
5. Came back home....uneventful trip. She watched Dora the whole time. (Speaking of Dora, she's REALLY getting into Dora now. That's all she wants to see and instead of pointing now, it's "DO-WA!")
6. Mom and KC's mom stayed the night last night so we could get up early and get munchkin up to the hospital to get her tubes in her ears. Mom stayed in munchkin's room and KC's mom on the couch. (neither one of them slept too good....bummer)
7. Set alarm for 4:15 so we could get ready and leave by 5 (had to be at the hospital at 6 and wanted to give ourselves enough time to find it and get in).
8. I woke up at dark-thirty when I heard my mom's panicked, whispered "FAITH!" It was definitely a "something's wrong here" kind of tone. I rolled out of bed and flew into the hall to find mom running back into munchkin's room with a wet rag. And hear puking from munchkin's bed. And see mom holding wet rag under her chin to catch it. Dear God, did I mention that you really blessed me when you gave me my mom? Uh, consider it mentioned! -Amen So we've got kid with puke on pjs, puke all over pillow and sheet, and still upset. Mom's working on bed, so I grab munchkin and take her to the bathroom to start cleaning her up. All the commotion woke up KC's mom, so she comes in and takes over cleaning up munchkin so I can help mom with cleanup, which is major. Poor "nonna," had to deal with messy, nasty stuff from both ends within twelve hours. Anyways. So I grab clean sheets, put the yucky stuff in the washer, and we put the bed back together.....and realize that it's only 15 minutes from when we have to get up anyways. So we stay up. Yeah, so all this happened between 3:30 and 4 this morning. Not my choice of wake up ideas.
9. Get ready and go to the hospital. Get there in plenty of time (15 minutes early) and take care of all the paperwork. Sit in room for 1 1/2 hours and entertain munchkin while we wait for them to come get her. They come get her, assure us that it won't hurt her at all, and take her back.
10. We wait. She's back in like 20 minutes. Screaming and holding her ears. They pick her up and hand her to me and tell me to try to get her calmed down. Huh uh! No can do....she's mad! And screaming, "my ears hurt me, my ears hurt, mommy, mommy, mommy, my ears hurt me!!!!!!" I'd have been a lot less mad if they hadn't insisted over and over, while she's screaming this, that her ears really don't hurt, she's just upset b/c she's waking up from the anesthesia. What EVER! Then why is she holding her ears and saying they hurt??? Um. Yeah. She's old enough to tell you when something hurts! Then they give her children's tylenol after about 30 minutes of non stop crying. So why did they give her tylenol if she's not really in pain? Duh. It took about 45 minutes for her to start calming down. When we got her in the car, she was starting to get a little more cheerful and then fell asleep.
11. Got her home and she woke up when we took her in.....and didn't want to go back to sleep....still easily upset and didn't want me to leave to go get breakfast. So we all piled back in the car and went and picked up some croissants from Burger King. And stopped and got her some balloons, which goes a long way in cheering up a three year old.
12. Home again and eat breakfast....then she plays for a little bit and about lunchtime, Mawmaw rocks her to sleep and lays her in her bed. Then mawmaw and nonna left (after I ran out again to get some tylenol) and no sooner had I got back and they left, I hear munchkin waking up. It's only been an hour, so I go get her and then I hear my phone ringing. So I take her into the rocking chair and grab the phone. It's KC checking on us, so I talk to him for a minute while rocking her and then hang up and she says she's cold, so I pull the blanket up over her and she instantly (which is RARE) falls back asleep.
13. So I'm like....well, now's as good a time as any for me to sleep, so I rock a few more minutes and then push the recliner back, adjust her, and then fall asleep. That was about 1-ish. 2:45 I wake up. LOL. She's still out. I contemplate waking her for about 15 minutes. Then around three I woke her up and got her some juice and a snack. And we've taken it easy the rest of the day.

Shooo. What a day. I'm tired. She's bounced back really well, though.

There was more I had to say but I really don't remember it.

OH yeah, one cool thing from the other day....had a comment on one of my posts from the Phillippines! wow! Don't know how they found me, but anyways.

Okay. If I think of whatever I had on my mind earlier, I'll come back and post later.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Random Emotions that have been present at some point during this day.....

1. Heartbreaking sadness - Driving to work this morning, I saw a car pulled over and a girl walked into the road and pulled a border collie that must have just gotten hit off the road. It must have gotten away b/c she grabbed the leash attached to it's collar and dragged it over to the ditch. It was terribly sad.

2. Blah-ness - it has rained all day and it's a mopey feeling. Especially when you have to be at work and not in bed or curled up on the couch. Yuck.

3. Surprise - I didn't hate him. (If you happened to catch my hateful vent before I deleted it back in January, or perhaps if you read this post then you'd know we were getting a new GM at work. Anyways. He started today.) So I'm still not quite happy with the decision and I still don't know if I'm gonna like him or not, but I was quite surprised that I didn't dislike him as much as I thought I would. Funny thing about the whole thing is, there are a lot of extremely brown noses around the place lately....kinda getting a little stinky, tis. FYI, my nose is white as ever. That is, unless you're looking at the lovely blackheads. Teeehehe. TMI?

4. Irritation - yes, this is a daily thing, I do believe. Today's was with the computer not doing what I wanted it to do when I was trying to work on the ad design....which isn't in my job description. LOL. Oh well. I ain't mad about it.

5. Happiness - that would have been about lunchtime....went to the veggie place and DIDN'T run into the dirty old man (who, in case any one cares -- and please, no hateful comments -- according to my excellent sources, actually IS a dirty old man and frequents the place pretty regularly...and is probably fairly harmless). Oh and did I mention that the veggies were delish? Yeah. Well.

6. Amusement - when a lady who works down the hall from me (and is constantly picking on me...and vice versa of course) came into the hall I was very noisily clomping down and said....how many pairs of dutch clogs do you have? Well. It was funny. Guess you just had to be there. LOL

7. Extreme joy - when I got to the library and the librarian said they had a new Dee Henderson book in that was already checked out but she'd put it on hold for me and call as soon as it came in. I love that the librarians know me and love me. They're always doing nice things like ordering books that I want to read....and waiving fines (although I certainly pay my share...hehe)

8. Panic - when i was driving home and hit the brakes to get ready to turn and realized the car was hydroplaning....thank God it was in the country and no one else on the road out there and I wasn't going that fast so I was able to regain control pretty quick. Not a pleasant feeling.

9, pleasure - when KC walked in with the pizzas and said I looked nice today. Nice was a bonus...the pleasure was from not having to cook. Heh!

10. frustration - that I can't think of three more emotions that occurred today. LOL.

Okay, so it's the thursday ten. Sue me. Actually, don't. So don't sue me. Okay?

Later!

Thursday Thirteen

The Official TT Retirement Edition.

Thirteen Options to try now that the official TT Meme is going away (not that I was ever "official" that often anyways.....)

1. Tuesday's Tales - A handful of questions each week on different topics....
2. Saturday Six - six questions on a specific topic
3. Sunday Seven - from the same blog as Saturday Six only it appears to be seven answers to one question
4. Wednesday Mind Hump - the blog host is Blogdrive Insanity....three guesses as to why this appeals to me and the first two don't count. LOL! Appears to be 3-4 questions on a specific topic.
5. Randomness - again, should be no doubt there about the appeal.
6. Booking Through Thursday - a weekly question on reading habits, tastes, etc. Looks interestinig to a bookworm like me.
7. Friday's Feast - a buffet for your brain....five topics of discussion: an appetizer, soup, salad, main course, and dessert.
8. Unconscious Mutterings - yeah...sounds like my kinda thing alright!

And a couple that are NOT an option for me....
9. TMI Tuesday - these questions are a little too personal for my taste
10. W& E& T Wednesday - YUCK. Nuff said.

Other options:
11. Make up one of my own....like Freaky Friday....a random "out of the blue" question each week. Rules: take question, find someone you don't know (and not one that is a dirty old --or young-- man) and ask them said random question and blog the results. HEHEHE.
12. Continue doing Thursday Thirteen (un-officially....since that's mostly what I've been doing anyways)
13. Skip it altogether... In researching "memes" I found a few statements on the "safety" issue of blogging personal information like is on some of these "personal question" memes. It's really pathetic that a few predators/idiots ruin everything for the innocent rest of us. *sigh* Yeah. I think its a good thing that I'm fixing the security breaks on my lovely little blog. *sigh* It's too bad it's gotta be that way.

Cavities, Winter Weather, and Snow Days....

So yeah, yesterday before my day turned around and my lovely CS2 arrived, I had a dentist appointment to get my teeth cleaned.....the good news is that most of the cavities I thought I had, weren't cavities, just a little tooth sensitivity. The bad news is that one of them WAS a cavity. But still. One. One time I went to the dentist, after the x-rays and all that stuff, I left with multiple appointments to get ONE ONE cavities filled. Thats 11 in case you didn't get that. I think ONE is MUCH better than ONE ONE. LOL.

Then on the way into work....I got behind the salt truck salting the roads. YUCK. So besides the fact that there were no clear passing zones and I had to stay way back and they were doing a top speed of 50 (if I was lucky), I had to go through the carwash once I got to town so that I could see out my windows again. YUCK.

Anyways, my day got better yesterday afternoon. I was actually in a good mood going home. Then of course I got to church and good mood went bye bye. Besides the fact that my abdomen was hurting in ways that only girls would understand....we got to listen to the lovely, encouraging, 45 minutes of prayer requests/gloom and doom/ exhortation. I appreciate the man very much outside of service, but I had to get up and walk out of prayer request time. I couldn't listen anymore about how everyone is getting cancer/heart trouble/fatal diseases and we're all gonna die. Yeah, so what. Everybody is going to die. We know that already. Could we please be a little more uplifting and appreciative of the life we currently still have????? Thank you. I'll get off my soapbox now.

My mood is improving again now though....its a snow day. They predicted 4 in of snow. Yeah, right. Then they predicted that several inches of ice would come on top of the snow. Yeah, right. So I'm sitting at home b/c school is cancelled and about 2 hours AFTER the snow was supposed to start, it spits a little dusting of snow. So much so, that you can barely see it in the picture. Which is all we got....no four inches. Now the sleet has started, but its just spittin on and off, too..... I might be surprised yet, but I don't think its gonna be all that. I coulda probably got in at least half a day today. And I really wanted to play with the CS2. *sigh*

The happy news is that I've had time to work on my happy list tin album. I'll take a picture when I'm finished. I'm making a little accordian tin that I'm going to stick in my office at work so when people are getting on my nerves and making me grumpy, I can go look at my happy album and get happy again. LOL. We'll see how well that works.

So we'll just do a thursday thirteen really quick.....

THIRTEEN THINGS THAT ARE ON MY HAPPY LIST (in no particular order)
1. Capturing an awesome photo like the one above
2. Road trips
3. Strawberries
4. Porch swings
5. Camping Trips.
6. Cookies & Cream Shakes from Chick-Fil-A
7. People commenting on my blog
8. Layin' out in the sunshine at the beach
9. Fresh sheets
10. Cute Puppies
11. Trying a new recipe and liking it...or better yet...KC liking it. Haha.
12. Having a quick witty comeback ready and waiting
13. Finishing a scrapbook page or album

Okay.

Wellll......

This is post #225. Not that that means anything except the fact that I've been blogging awhile now. It will soon be a year. Whoa.

Anyways.

The batteries on my keyboard died on the first sentence of this post. Not a good sign. LOL. I put new ones in. If they last as long as the old ones did, we might be in good shape. This is completely useless and irrevelent information, and yes, I'm fully aware of that. But who knows....maybe in 3 years when I have to change the batteries again, I'll look back and wonder exactly when I replaced them last. HA.

Thursday Thirteen:
Thirteen Places I'd like to go on vacation to.....

1. Hawaii....wanna go scuba diving. Scuba divers don't normally get eaten by sharks or anything do they? Maybe I'd rather just take pictures of the sunset. Haha.
2. Alaska....just sounds like fun
3. Australia...CRIKEY. G'day, mate!
4. Italy....where some of my ancestors are from
5. Montana....i think it would be cool to see the west
6. Back to Las Vegas
7. The coast of Washington State....don't know why....just would like to see it, I guess.
8. Skiing in Colorado (which will never happen....KC don't care too much for skiing. Not to make a whole vacation of it. LOL)
9. The tip of Maine.
10. The end of Florida....hmm....maybe this is a subconscious message from my inner self...something about boundaries and pushing the limits....LOL.
11. Wyoming (ditto of number 5)
12. A castle in France...or anywhere in Europe for that matter....I love big houses. LOL
13. Utah.....where all the scrapbooking stores are....hehehehe

So. Anyways....now to narrow it down to where we want to go this year. Which means it needs to be narrowed down to ONE. And not a super expensive ONE at that. LOL.

Here's more useless information for you. My cat is currently laying on my lap again. Actually this time, I'm sittin in the chair normally and his head is laying on my wrist as I type. Which is kinda awkward. Again. And my foot that I'm sitting on (yeah, kinda dumb idea, that) is going to sleep. Again. Oh, and the useless information? Jango is SIXteen pounds. Last time I said he was fifteen. Just guessing. I weighed him a couple of days after that. WHAhhhh. He broke the scale. LOL.

Went to a home interiors party tonight. Bought a pitcher and a candle. The candle is Strawberry Shake. It smells SOO yummy. I want to eat it. *sigh*

Okay...I'm tired now. Going to bed.
Later!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Random Things running through my head today...

1. That stupid dream I had last night. Why in the world I'm still thinking about it, I do not know. UGH. It was bad.

2. My blog redecorations. Wally thinks it looks homey/kitcheny (hehehe....see, i did find a way to mention that on here...LOL). Anyways, he said its not as "busy" as the old one and I should leave it. I'm still trying to figure out if I like it or not....kitcheny might be a good description. Maybe I'll tweeeek it up a little. but not right now. Oh, speaking of updates...I updated my sidebar over there a little....and still thinking about adding more.....hmmmm.

3. Work. Right now I'm currently waiting on some quotes to be sent to me so I can get some stuff ordered. I hate waiting.

4. Kids. When are we going to get called. What will I do when we do get called. What I know about formula and baby care could probably fit in a thimble. Well, maybe a BIG thimble. LOL. Well...I learn fast....and I have plenty of friends with babies.

5. Yeah, friends with babies....thats been bugging me again lately. Out of the 3 or 4 dozen couples that we are friends/acquainted with that are in our age/generation....I can count maybe 2 other couples other than ourselves in that group that are not pregnant or don't already have kids. No kidding. I'm happy for them all...really.....but sometimes it just gets to me. I do alright for awhile...then it seems like a whole new batch of prego people pop up (or I guess OUT would be the more appropriate term....LOL....see I still find humor in there....haha).

6. Scrapbooking.....trying to get caught up. My goal for this year is to get all of it caught up....all of it. Saturday is another crop (at my cousin's house this time). Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get the 2005 album finished. Maybe. That would be just LOVELY!

7. Portrait sessions....right now I don't have any scheduled, but have some potential work for this month with the Pregnancy Care Center where my cousin works. Pictures for their annual t-shirt/advertisement. I've ordered one backdrop (a real one....yay for me) and now I'm watching one more on ebay. These ones are "official" to go on my REAL backdrop holder thingy that I got for Christmas. *smiles* I'm excited to try it out.

8. How much I hate doing laundry....I'm always behind. Like now.

9. The housecleaning that is falling behind again now that I'm back at work. The house was so clean all during the holidays...I was home to keep it picked up. In the evenings after work (the few that something else isn't already scheduled) I just don't feel like doing anything except chillin out. *sigh*

10. The fact that I've forgotten the other things that were running through my head and I'm only on number 10.

11. My to-do list that I'm currently trying to keep up with in my head. Right now some of the main things on it are to finish the last few things to be ready in case we do get a call for a kid. Like hang the fire extinguisher that is still in the box (KC is kinda like I am with the housework when he gets home from work...LOL). Oh, and the crib needs the part that holds the mattress up fixed so that it won't fall down when a kid sits on it.

12. The interviewee yesterday for the GM position here at work. I think if he gets the job, I will have to quit. He seemed to have a lot of facial expressions (not to mention he was quite wordy) that would drive me NUTS if I had to be around him on an everyday basis. Please God, I know you're reading this, could you please not let him get it? Not to mention the fact that I got the impression that he was just answering with things the committee wanted to hear....oh well.

13. Susan. She just called me b/c of something I said in the last email I sent her a few minutes ago. LOL....okay....now I've got to go show her something....so I'm off here to figure out how to do that. LOL.

And there you have it. Scary thing, what goes through my mind. And this is a good day. LOL.

Later!

Five Years Ago Today

I was feeling exactly the same as I am right now. Well, maybe not exactly, but I'm seeing similarities here....

So how am I feeling today? Like I have a lot to do and time is running out to get it done....b/c I want tonight to be perfect and special....

like it was on this night five years ago.

Anyways, brace yourself, I plan on making up a few missed thursday thirteens....since I figure there is no way I am going to be able to do just one. =) Of course, with the speed of my internet here, I may get fed up and have to quit before I'm really finished. *sigh*

But while I'm waiting for the pictures (woohoo) to load, I guess I'll get started.

Thirteen Random (of course) Happy Memories from the last Five Years.
1. The best vacation ever to Las Vegas in 05....that was soo much fun. It actually earned its own scrapbook...LOL.
2. Buying our first house together....a little brick two bedroom in town.
3. The many trips we have taken together....Pigeon Forge (many times...I've lost count), Ohio, NY, Myrtle Beach, Atlanta, of course Las Vegas.....I love the fact that we travel well...I hope when kids come along, that we are lucky enough to have kids that travel well, too.
4. Living in the apartment when we first got married....with all the many ladybugs and the bees....definitely an experience.
5. Getting our feline babies.
6. Our movie tradition for the first three anniversaries....too bad Lord of the Rings didn't decide to come out with #4 and #5....
7. The New Year party we had in the house in town....when we were all so tired we could barely stay awake until midnight.
8. The New Year party that we had in the house in town....a different year....when it turned out being all our then-single friends and one other married couple....that was interesting. But still fun.
9. When KC bought the "batmobile" for me b/c I fell in love with it.
10. How all of our friends helped us with our heavy furniture when we moved....not to mention the painting party when we bought our new house.
11. KC graduating with his Bachelor's after all those long nights of hard work.
12. The trip to Cedar Point with Benji & Kat....riding the roller coasters together.
13. Our honeymoon in Pigeon Forge....nuff said. =)

(us in our honeymoon cabin)

Thirteen Things I Love Most About KC
1. His smile
2. His sense of humor
3. The way he loves me
4. The way he loves God
5. The little boy in him that comes out every now and then
6. Facial hair....mm hmmm!!! It makes him even more handsome...not an easy feat! =)
7. His confidence
8. The way he still flirts with me even though we're already married
9. How he loves and cares about kids
10. How he takes care of us
11. His work ethic
12. His huggability...he's so cuddly.
13. His generally positive attitude.....do i have to stop here...?
14. Okay just one more....lets pretend I can't count....I love our inside jokes. We have lots....and we're constantly picking up more. I love that....we always have something to laugh about. (Haombeurgeur....bwahaha)

And lest you think I'm still wearing rose colored glasses....
Thirteen Quirky Habits that drive me crazy............but I still love him anyways!
1. The way he doesn't automatically buckle up when he gets in the car...
2. When he says that he knew he wasn't buckled, he just wanted to hear my voice reminding him...LOL.
3. How he always eats all of his fries before he'll touch the sandwich.
4. The way he complains when I have the screen hiding the hamper but when the hamper is completely accessible, there are still piles of his clothes next to the bed like he was raptured instead of simply going to bed. (Love ya honey! LOL)
5. His bathroom....nuff said.....I could finish the thirteen on his bathroom alone....LOL.
6. How he reads his books....a chapter in this one and lay it down....pick that one up and read a chapter....now this one and read a chapter....and not typically the first chapter....just whichever one opens up....FINISH one already. *grin*
7. The way he likes the house clean and tidy but drops his stuff whereever....not that I have much room to talk on that one....hehe.
8. He's always losing his keys...but refuses to attach them to his belt. I don't lose mine....I just lock them in the car....oh well.....we make a fine pair I guess.
9. How his socks end up wrong side out when they're peeled off his feet. And then it takes me an extra 15 minutes folding laundry from returning his socks to the correct side out before I can match them up and fold them....well maybe its not that long....=)
10. the way he complains about my driving but if he looks off and goes off the road a little bit, its no big deal.
11. while we're on the driving thing....how bout when he tells me to keep the Pilot under 65 mph to keep the mileage reasonable and save on gas but if he's driving the Pilot, 65 isn't the limit.....although I can't really complain...I kinda like getting to return the favor and telling him to ease off the gas a bit. Haha...
12. ummm...I'm running out of quirks....LOL....lucky me....poor him....the list of my quirks is unending....
13. uh....oh here's one....lack of communication....although he's better than some males, he's definitely a guy....sometimes a wife needs to know some things or else don't get mad when she can't read your mind and plan for what you didn't tell her. *grin*

Anyways, okay then....now its getting sappy again, so if this bothers you, you should stop reading now. LOL

So KC, Happy Anniversary, baby! We've come a long way. How far we really have come will probably always be our secret, but you're the best, honey! I couldn't have asked for a better hubby and I'm a very lucky lady to have you. Thanks for always loving me, even when it got tough, and even when my list of quirky habits that drive you crazy was much longer than the ones that drive me crazy. You really are the best...everything...ever....and I love you MOST!

Okay sappy stuff over now....I really need to get busy...got some things to get done before KC gets home today.
I'll leave you with a couple of pictures for fun....they're scanned...so forgive the poor quality.


Ain't they cute? LOL. Who'd a thunk they coulda ever been that sweet. Ha!

Till next time....

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Guess what....I just realized that today is Thursday. I'm sure this is probably the most original thursday thirteen ever, but I think I'll just start this post with a Thirteen Things I'm Thankful For.....

1. I'm definitely thankful to be alive.
2. I'm thankful for God and His Son
3. I'm thankful that God allowed me to be part of His family.
4. I'm thankful for my handsome hubby....he's just awesome.
5. I'm thankful that my handsome, awesome hubby grew a mustache and goatee just b/c he knows how much I like it. Wasn't that sweet? I love that! Plus he's totally sexy with it....not that he wasn't before, of course. LOL.
6. I'm thankful that we are going to be foster parents...and hopefully someday permanent parents.
7. I'm thankful I'm only 23 and I still have a lot of life ahead of me (I hope).
8. We live in an awesome house that doesn't need a whole lot of repairs constantly....thats wonderful!
9. We are pretty healthy for the most part....I really don't think we truly appreciate that as much as we should. 10. We have been blessed with good jobs and good vehicles to get there.
11. We have loving parents and both sets are still together. I think both of our siblings got sidetracked somewhere, but I guess I can be thankful we at least HAVE siblings. LOL.
12. I'm thankful for this blog...my favorite place to vent, ramble, etc....and also meet new friends...especially the ones who post comments that make me laugh. You know who you are. =)
13. and last but certainly not least....I'm thankful for EVERYTHING. Even the bad, b/c there is always good that comes out of it...somewhere. =)

I could go a lot farther than thirteen, but I think #13 pretty much wraps it up. LOL.

Anyways. so thanksgiving went well....we went to my inlaws this afternoon and she fixed a very delicious meal for us (see, I'm saying that and she doesn't even read this blog, so you know I'm not just saying it....LOL.) She actually did very good...she fixed enough for the four of us and that was it. There was plenty to fill us up, but you know how thanksgiving dinners usually go....so many leftovers you can eat until Christmas and still throw some away...haha. But she did good, only leftovers for maybe one more meal.

And I made my famous pumpkin roll (straight out of the Betty Crocker Cookbook...but its famous b/c its a complicated feat that I actually get to turn out properly...HA!). And just this last time of making it, I figured out the TRICK to making it come out in one piece without using the icing to stick it back together after it fell apart (LOL...too bad I didn't take pictures of the first efforts...that would have been funny!). So I was looking at my pan before I got started, thinking...hmm...what in the world could I use to keep it from sticking...b/c that is ALWAYS where the ONLY problem happens...when its time to pop it out of the pan....it just doesn't "POP!" It usually requires scraping and "plopping." So the trick is something that I remember mom doing many moons ago when she was baking....wax paper. It worked wonders! See? It was so perfect. I hated to cut it. *sigh* Oh well.

And that lovely piece of artistic pumpkin roll wasn't the only thing that got accomplished this morning either. Check out the progress on our lovely kids room. I actually ironed the valances and *nagged KC (*according to KC...of course, I wasn't really nagging...LOL) into hanging the curtain rod for me this morning.
The crib is still lacking a few things...like the third rail and...the part that holds the mattress...not to mention the mattress itself (minor details) but the room is definitely coming along nicely.
KC's mom gave us this lamp that looks adorable with the bumble bee stuff and the silver drawer hardware matches the curtain rod. ....Ahh...so coordinated. I love it! Still a few things we need to pick up, but we're getting there.

Speaking of shopping, I really have lost my mind now...I can't believe I actually agreed to this, but I told KC I'd get up with him at 3:30 in the morning and go stand in line to get some "deals" in Hickory on the day after thanksgiving. I think we're both crazy b/c I hate crowds and Hickory is terrible for this small town chick anyways, much less during the crazy frenzy on the day after thanksgiving. Yep. Stupid. I'm sure the fact that he promised we could also go to at least 2 of the three craft stores while we're there didn't have a bit to do with me agreeing to go. Nope. Not in the least. LOL. Well, I'll let you know if I survive. In the meantime, I need to be hitting the sack. Its ten and three-thirty is going to come mighty early. *sigh*

Later!

Thursday Thirteen #7

But its really an updated version of TT#5....*GRIN* (another unofficial....I'm gonna have to get off my lazy rear end really soon and do a good thirteen...LOL)

THIRTEEN THINGS ON MY (CHRISTMAS) WISH LIST (LOL)
1. Backdrop holder for my photography thing
2. My Creative Companion 2 (to go with the volume 1 that I've already got...on my shelf to do something with once I have time to scrapbook again)
3. Digital Scrapbooking 5 (this is a really cool book on my latest scrap addiction)
4. Bumble Bee Crib Set for the kids bedroom of the kids we don't have yet....this set is SOO cute and it could be a boy OR a girl, so it would work no matter which one comes our way.....once we get licensed anyways! SCRATCH THIS ONE....KC ordered it for me already....ooh, i love that boy! *GRIN* And it is totally darling!
5. Um...don't remember what this link is for, but I think its for paper....i love scrapbook paper!
6. More paper (did i mention i LOVE scrapbook paper?...LOL)
7. Chipboard (this stuff is almost cooler than paper!)
8. a Graphire Tablet for the computer. I am totally not sure what this would be like, but it looks and sounds really cool and I have noticed several bloggers mentioning it, so it must be cool! LOL (oh yeah and expensive, too....don't worry honey, its just a wish list, I'm not that unrealistic. LOL)
9. The Me Book from Autumn Leaves. If I remember, I'll try to come back and link that.
10. Baby Toys
11. Money (this kid stuff is getting expensive)
12. Gift cards to kid stores or craft stores....(yeah i know, thats really original)
13. Any of the simple scrapbooks or k&Co scrapbook kits (love kits)

Okay...thats thirteen and its time to go.

Later, ya'll.