Vacation is spelled F-O-O-D…

Large families eat a lot of food. Our family is by no means as large as say, The Duggers, but we can go through some groceries. While we’ve been at Dad’s house we’ve made several trips to the local Aldi food market. It’s not really big enough to be called a grocery store as it doesn’t sell everything but the kitchen sink.  Although some days you can buy quite a few odds and ends (like corner sanders and hiking boots). What you can’t buy at Aldi, you can find at your choice of three other big chain grocery stores like, Dierberg’s, Shop and Save, and Shnucks (which I affectionately like to call Schmucks). There is a Walmart Super Center in Lake St. Louis which is about 15 minutes away, but you can find most everything you need at the other local stores. O’Fallon has a Walmart that is being renovated as we speak into a Super Center, but that won’t be ready until July, but I digress.

Why all this information on our shopping habits? Well…I’ve been trying to keep track of all the boxes and bags of stuff we’ve consumed in the last 21 days. Seems sort of silly but it astounds me how much our family can choke down!

Oh and as a side note-
My Dad told me to use what he had in the pantry and freezer. One problem with that. He cooks for 1 maybe 2 people regularly and so trying to plan meals for 6 people, means having to add to what he already has. It is actually easier to buy what I need and not add to what he already has. Having said that, we still require a lot of stuff to feed our family. I’m sure we could get by with less. Maybe that’s the secret to smaller butts? Oh wait. Jon and I have big butts, but the kids don’t and they are the one who eat most of the food!!!!

Anyway…

Here is a list of stuff that I can remember buying (I may have left some things out because well, I’m starting to get old and my memory isn’t as sharp as it once was)

• 6 gallons of milk
• 5 loaves of bread
• 6 dozen eggs
• 16 hamburger buns
• 16 hot dog buns
• 14 boxes of cereal
• 3 lbs. of assorted lunch meats
• 3 lbs. of assorted sliced cheeses
• 4 bags of peanut M & M’s
• 2 boxes of banana bread mix
• 8 cups of rice
• 10 lbs of sugar
• 10 lbs. of chicken (chicken tenders, chicken breasts)
• 8 lbs. hamburger ( 16 1/4 lb. hamburger patties, 4 one lb. pkgs hamburger)
• 2 lbs. thin spaghetti
• 16 pieces Texas Toast
• 1 huge watermelon
• countless lbs. of fresh vegetables used in various dishes
• 10 pkgs. Mix-aid (Aldi’s brand of Kool-aid)
• 6 cases of water (24 in each case)
• 48 cans of various carbonated beverages (generic Aldi brand)
• 3 lbs. pepper bacon
• 2 boxes of Whale cheddar crackers
• 1 case of Maruchan Top Ramen
• 12 rolls of toilet paper ( we didn’t eat them, but it was only appropriate to add them to the list! LOL )
• 300 napkins (out of a 500 count package of napkins- no I didn’t count, but estimated based on how many are left)
• 12 mini concretes from Fritz’s Frozen Custard
• 22 – 32 oz. frozen slushie drinks from Quick Trip
• 12 twix ice cream bars
• 6 klondike ice cream bars
• 1 pkg. fudge brownies
• 1 pkg. peanut butter cookie dough
• 1 long summer sausage
• 2 nights of Chinese Take out, 2 night of Mexican sit down
• 1 dinner at a buffet
• 5 tanks of gas (can’t eat that, but we bought it!)
• 5 pairs of new shoes/flip flops
• summer clothes for the girls
• 10 homemade lunches for Jon while he was working upstairs

That’s all I can think of for now. It amazes me how much food and “stuff” we needed while we are here. If I sat down and counted all the food we buy at home, the list would be much longer! Now I know why my wallet cries every time drive past Wal-mart!

This is just a small glimpse into our fridge and pantry. What does yours look like??

Tags: fat butts, food, groceries, shopping, vacation

Thinking Dry Thoughts

One bad thing about an extended vacation is that you miss those summer staples you have come to enjoy,  like bbq cookouts with friends, Friday night card games with noshing, and Vacation Bible School at your church. For years I have been apart of an amazing group of friends who love the Lord and love to share it with the community through a summer program called VBS. I was sad to find out we wouldn’t be a part of it this year, as it’s a whole family affair that we fully embrace every summer. Jon usually takes off a whole week and we all hang out together exhausted, but happy.

This summer we are at Dad’s house and that means we can’t be at our church, but never fear! Our local Baptist Church is here!! **cue superhero muzak** First Baptist Church of O’Fallon is hosting the same theme VBS  our own PCBC is and I was thrilled to have the resource so MJ could experience it as well.

I pre-registered him online and he was SO excited  to go and make new friends. We hustled over there and grabbed our card, a t-shirt, and a CD. We made our way into the sanctuary where the singing and music was just getting started.  Afterward when it was over, I picked him up and he was giddy with joy at doing the art, having snack, and playing with his new friends. We stopped at the local RED BOX to pick up a movie, which has become a nightly ritual for us since it’s cheap and quick to pick up and drop off.

While we were waiting for our movies to come out, MJ had to go to the bathroom *really bad*. So bad he was squeezing himself the way only little boys can get away with when they really have to go potty and there isn’t one around. Since the house wasn’t more than 2 min. away, we decided he could wait until we got home.

This is the conversation that followed:

Me: Ok Buddy, I’m not going to speed, but I’ll get home as fast as I can. Can you wait?

MJ: Yeah Mom, I’ll just keep thinking dry thoughts.

Me: What kind of dry thoughts are you thinking?

MJ: crackers

Me: *stifling laughter* Really?  What else is dry?

MJ: …pretzels…animal crackers.

Me: Um, yeah…those are all pretty “dry”. You know what I think of when I think of dry? I think of SAND. Like a desert.

MJ: Oh Mommy, yeah! Like when you eat a whole entire tree. Well…not the leaves, cuz they aren’t so dry.

Me: *snort* Yeah, I guess a tree is pretty dry. The leaves, probably don’t tatse very good tho.

MJ: Oh Mommy! A brick is pretty dry! You could eat one of those, huh? Well..maybe not cuz that would break your teeth. Hahaha!

We laughed a little more and I sent him running inside the house to go before he had an accident. While he was opening the door, I could hear his yell, “NO TALKING TO ME…I HAVETA PEE”.

That kid…he’s pretty funny. And dry too.

Tags: dry thoughts, VBS

Love grows best in little houses.

It’s a country song.  I’m sure you have heard it.

The chorus goes like this:

But you know, love grows best in little houses,
With fewer walls to separate,
Where you eat and sleep so close together.
You can’t help but communicate,
Oh, and if we had more room between us, think of all we’d miss.
Love grows best, in houses just like this.

Little Houses by Doug Stone
(see it here)

I’m not quite sure that Doug Stone was talking about 4 children, two plump adults, and a dog in that little white house.

When I got the brilliant idea to have us all come up to my Dad’s to watch the house and dog while he went out of the country, I didn’t really think it would be this stressful for me. I admit it. I’m a rule follower. I like order and I’ve come to the realization that I am not a slob. I just don’t like cleaning up after everyone. It’s painfully obvious who in our household has managed to pee on most of the toilets, leave the lights on, and the drawers open.

I bet you are assuming I will blame Jon. Well yes, he does do that, but I wasn’t going to lay that burden all on him. I have discovered it to be all THREE of the boys living in our house posing as the open-drawer-potty bandits.

I really try hard not to get mad, but to remind and use it as a teaching moment for my young boys. How is it working for me?

Not so good.

I think I need to lighten up a little. It is a new environment, a new house, a new town, a new place to hang out and have some fun. But at the same time, it’s a house that isn’t ours and I feel like they will mess everything up!!
I like that it’s clean. I like that it’s ordered and everything has a place, which is the total opposite of how our house is now! They just drop it where ever and whenever and walk away! Gasp! I know!
I hope this will be a good start to new habits, ones I will keep on them about and won’t have to use the excuse, “this is not our house, so let’s keep it the way we found it”.  When we get home, I want to be able to say, “This is our house, let’s keep it nice so we can enjoy living here!”

Ok, now that I have gotten that off my chest. Let’s talk about what we plan on doing while we are here. That is if I don’t lose my sanity while trying to keep them from killing each other with love and communication! Some places that have been recommended to us are tops on our list. Not sure we’ll get to all of them, but here are a few things I would like to do while we are here in O’Fallon, Missouri;  named in 2006 as the “Best 100 Places to Live.”

**edited to cross out what we did already**

• The Magic House
• The City Museum
• The St. Louis Zoo
• The St. Louis Science Center
• Grant’s Farm
• The River City Rascals Baseball Game
  
• New Town at St. Charles
• Visit to the library
• Up the movie
• Swimming

I think that just about covers any and all fun to be had while we are here. Do I think we’ll get them all in? No. We already have tickets to the Baseball game, so that’s a for sure and we went swimming today. (random brain thought: where did I put my camera? must find.) I would really like to go to the City Museum. It looks like a LOT of fun. The childrens museum, not sure that would entertain my kids long enough, might be too young for them as even my youngest wants to do the “big kid” stuff. It didn’t dawn on me until just now that I was bragging and bragging about this awesome place to live (New Town) and I even posted about it here. I took a gazillion pictures (which can be seen here) the last two times I visited and I didn’t even think to take the fam over there to check it out. We totally should because it’s free and we can walk through the models and dream about living there. You know, to torture myself. Cuz that’s just how I roll.

What does it say about me as a Mom that I am sitting on the couch with Spongebob Squarepants muted on the TV while the kids are “supposed” to be going to sleep? Don’t tell me.

I think I need some M&M’s.

In other news:

• MJ got a mohawk
• MJ asked to have mohawk shaved off
• Penny feigned a paw injury for sympathy
• Jon clogged the toilet. And here I thought it was OUR toilet. Nope.  It’s his butt. It’s full of shit no matter where we go.
• Our “new” van just quit on us and then started again once we stopped. Weird.
• I love shopping at Aldi’s grocery store. I can’t wait for Texas to get one! It’s almost like the dollar tree for me…”but it’s so cheap! Buy 9!”
• After watching me put on mosturizer, MJ asked if he could have some. When I put a little on his cheeks he walked away in amazment because his cheeks, “feel as soft as a weasle!!”  Wha??  **crickets**
• I have been able to get up every morning and walk the dog.  I’m not showerd and definately NOT cute, but who cares. I’m UP!  So if you see someone stumbling along the sidewalk with a poop bag in her hands, feel proud of her for getting up at the butt crack of dawn to walk the dog. She’s a trooper!

That’s all I can think of. Muh brain, she is empty.

Where are those M&M’s??!!

Tags: crumbs, little houses, pain in the butt, too close for comfort

Stay Tuned for this important announcment!!

I have some projects in the works.

I can’t wait to share them with you but for now you’ll have to wait.

Don’t worry…I won’t be gone for long. I promise this time!

I’ll give you a hint just to keep you in suspense…

it has to do with spray paint….chew on that for a bit!

See you soon!

Tags: crafting, Fun, projects, thrifting

This is right up my alley!!

I was running around the internet this morning when I happened upon a Goodwill party over at Thrifty Decor Chick. I have never done a carnival before, so I am not sure I am doing this right, but I’ll give it the ‘ol college try!

Those of you who know me well, know I love to shop. I am an equal opportunity shopper. I love big box store, little shops, flea markets, second hand shops, and antique stores! Today I want to share with you what I think is the best bargain I have ever found at a second hand store and the story behind it.

I was feeling inspired by all the dollar store decor ideas I was reading on the web. Sometimes when you get inspired, you just have to get up and go do something about it that very minute. Such was the case about a month ago when after reading about Dollar Store birds, I made a “wish” list of things I wanted to find either at the Dollar Store or thrift stores and headed out in search of cheap treasure! I didn’t have any luck at our local Dollar Tree where I like to do a “little” shopping here and there ( you know I am totally lying right?) so I headed over to a local Thrift Shop that happened to be the very same place I found two crystal lamps for $2.48 each that have graced my nightstands for about 7 years.

While I was walking around looking for any kind of single bird to spray paint and add to my home decor, I spied a lovely blue wing back chair. I walked back and forth trying to get a good look at it. My only obstacle was not the price or condition, but a woman sitting in it talking on her cell phone! I didn’t want to be rude and ask her to “move it lady, I want to look at that chair!”, so I tried to act casual. You know, glancing back and forth, lingering around it to get a feel for the best time to approach said bargain. Instead I probably looked like I was stalking her. Creepy image I know.

During one pass by, I noticed the price tag on the chair. It said, “1818″.  I wasn’t sure what that meant, but after using logic and questioning one of the workers there, she confirmed my suspicion that indeed the chair was $18.18!  I felt a flood of adrenalin.  I’m sure I’m not the only shopper who gets that heart thumping feeling when she comes upon a truly awesome deal? I got brave and asked the lady if she was buying the chair. She said she wasn’t and got up so I could look at it. I didn’t need to pour over it to know that it was in excellent condition with no stains or rips. It was a solid chair with no issues. So what did I do?

I bought it of course!! I immediately said, “I’LL TAKE IT”  and started pushing it down the aisle toward the register. I knew it was time to high tail it out of there before someone figures out what a find I had!

I paid for it and carried it out to the parking lot. I opened the car door and wham! I couldn’t get it in my car. I suspected I might have a teensy problem with getting it to fit. I was determined though to shove that sucker in there if it was the last thing I did!

No success except for a little bead of sweat on my brow.

A mini-van pulled up behind my car. A lady rolled her window down and offered to help me. She offered to take my chair home for me! A stranger. Someone who I had never seen before in my life. An angel!  I was taken aback.  I didn’t know what to think. She explained that she was on her way home and saw me struggling to get the chair in my car. She said, “I just wanted to do something nice for you and I hope someday when I am trying to shove a chair in my car, a stranger will offer to help me out too!”
She  hoped I would accept her offer. I hesitated at first and offered to call my husband with our mini-van to come and rescue me. She promised she wasn’t a weirdo who steals chairs from women in thrift store parking lots and gave me her name and cell phone number. I kind of had no choice but to call Jon and wait for him after he picked the boys up from school, so I accepted her help.  I did tell her that if she tried to make off with my chair, she wouldn’t get very far with it because I have the cushion. Teehee.

She made it to my house minutes after I did and carried to to the curb for me. I was super appreciative for the kindness of strangers and their willingness to enable my thifting habit. It was a great shopping day! Yay for the kindness of strangers!

So…after all that, do you still want to see the chair??!! If I were you, I would be thinking by this point in the long winded story, it should be gold encrusted and studded with jewels. Nope, just a blue 18 dollar wing back.

But it’s mine!

And that’s my Goodwill Party contribution! I have more…you know I do! But I will have to take pictures. Until then, Happy “Goodwill” hunting! *snort*

Tags: bargains, blog carnival, shopping, thrifting

Dear Flabby,

See I have this friend.

She is a great person. She listens patiently, has a special way of asking how you are and really meaning it (which sometimes that makes me burst into tears), and always ALWAYS comments on my blog posts.

But I’ve let her down.

How do I say I’m sorry to the one person who has never let my blog down? Who is always there to cheer me on when I am down, who calls me to see how I am doing when I don’t keep in touch, and who sets such a real life Godly example of how to be a woman and Mom?

Do I send a card? Flowers? Shoes or jewelry?? Please help!

Signed,
Blog Blunder Betty

Dear Blunder,

You really can’t aplogize enough for the hurt and pain you have caused your friend. If you were really her friend, you would have sent a fruit basket with two plane tickets to Aruba or a backpacking trip thru the Ozark Mountains or something! You should be ashamed of yourself. You call yourself a blogger. You call yourself a friend!

Go pack your blogging bag and get the heck outta here. Go on!  Shoooo…

Signed,
Flabby

Dear Flabby,

That was really mean. I am a good friend. I am a better friend than I am blogger, I’ll grant you that, but really? Pack my blog bag? What kind of advice columnist are you? I know what I’ll do. Thanks for nothing!

Signed,
Blogger Flogged Betty

Dear Debbi,

I’m sorry for not including you in my last blog post. It was wrong. You read my blog also. Also, you comment regularly and I always look forward to what you have to say. Let’s make each other a deal: You blog more and I will too? What do you say?

Love ya,

Angie (aka Blog Blunder Betty- I couldn’t think of anything that ryhmed with Angie)

Tags: Friends, so funny

NO I am not DEAD.

I am sorry I have been such a slacker for so long.

I had no idea that anyone was checking back every day waiting with baited breath, on the edge of their seats to hear the latest on how slow my big toenail is growing back or that my hair is thinning. Who knew?! I didn’t!

Let’s just say Sweetbippy has been on hiatus like the prime time shows and movies stars. Except, I’m not prime time or a movie star, so I have no excuse really, other than I think the world would find my daily goings on to be boring. At least that is how I was feeling when I would sit down and try to write something on this thing I call a blog.

I really have tried to sit down at least 10 times and squeeze out some sort of update or funny story. I guess it shouldn’t matter how boring I think it is to tell you about the 3 new pairs of cute flip flops I got or about the new car we just bought and why we needed one. Most of the people who read SB already know why these things happened (although they would all argue they will never know WHY I buy so many pairs of shoes/flip flops). I was wrong. You do care about my boring life. I’m sorry (Natalie, Leslie, Mom, Dad, and that lady over there in the corner who reads my blog, but never comments) for leaving you out of my life and thoughts. From now on, I will let it all hang out. Be open, be honest, and most of all be boring.

Love,
Angie the queen of shoes and procrastination

You say ‘tore-tea-yah’ I say, ‘Dern good!’

Have you seen that cooking show on Discovery Health called Just Cook This with Sam the cooking guy? I love the way he just cooks like I would in the kitchen except without the thick eyebrows and black rimmed glasses. When I was flipping through the channels one day, I stopped on him cooking a 5 min. tortilla soup. He timed himself without film editing to see if he could make a simple soup in 5 min. or less. He did it with a good 45 seconds to spare. I couldn’t believe how simple it was to put together. Now some of the ingredients you have to have prepared and on hand like shredded chicken and flour tortillas to crisp up as a garnish on top.  But the rest was a no brainer.

I got a little hungry around 9pm and decided I didn’t want another sandwich as a late supper. God forbid I would ever, EVER eat a bowl of cereal for dinner. I don’t even like cereal for breakfast let alone dinner. I happened to have some rotisserie chicken leftover in the fridge from earlier in the week because I knew that picking one up at the store on Wednesday would help stave off the last minute hungries. I was right! I got the bright idea to make myself some Tortilla Soup ala Sam the Cooking Guy. Here is what I came up with…

1/2 a jar of Pace Picante Organic Mild Salsa
about 1/4 of canned black beans
1 tsp. minced garlic – to taste
Mexican pinto bean seasoning ( I got this at WalMart a while ago to make my own re-fried beans) to taste; a couple of shakes
2 cups water with chicken bullion or 2 cups chicken broth. ( I used what I had on hand and used enough bullion to flavor the water, but not too salty)
2 small handfuls of cubed rotisserie chicken, about 1/2 cup or more if you like a lot of chicken.
shredded cheese
tortilla chips (didn’t feel like crisping one up in a pan, so I crushed some up and put it in my bowl)

In a small saucepan, put salsa, broth, beans, garlic, and seasoning in together. Heat to simmer. Add chicken and turn heat off.
In bowl or large mug add cheese and chips and ladle in soup. Enjoy!

It’s that simple! I didn’t have any sour cream or avacado, but those would be yummy in it too! I was surprised at how flavorful it was and dare I say, better than some restraunts I’ve been to recently! And I used what I already had on hand. I think it would be just was good with a pico de gallo or any other type of your favoritie jarred salsa.

This would be a great recipe to throw together for an improptu dinner party or pot-luck. You could make the broth and have each person put in the toppings of their choice.

Obviously you can adjust the recipe to feed more people. It’s very versatile.

Sadly I did not take a picture of my soup. But believe me, it was delish! Maybe I’ll venture into food blogging like Pioneer Woman and do a step by step tutorial. Nah.. I’ll leave that to her, she’s waaay better at it than me anyway!

Try it some time…let me know what you think!

Tags: easy meals, lazy days, Yum

For all you do. This post’s for you.

So my Sister thinks I owe her a blog post. *sigh* OK…she’s right. I do owe a blog post.

It’s been 2 weeks since my last post. Forgive me internet for I have sinned. I’ve ignored you. I’ve had hateful thoughts about you. I read other blogs and not left comments. I’ve been cheating on you with my iPhone. Please forgive me. I beg you. I’ll do 3 memes and a IQ survey as penance. Amen.

In the fashion of Amalah, I would like to do some updating for y’all, although I’m thinking I’m a lot wordier than she it. Not by much.
I quit my job. I haven’t mentioned it here, because most of my readers know about my Dad’s cancer already. 2 weeks ago he was diagnosed with stage IV squamous cell carcinoma lung cancer. We are all praying for a miracle that he’ll make a full recovery. In the mean time, Jon and I both agreed that now was the right time to open my schedule and be fully available for him whenever he needs me I need him. The time we can spend together is more precious to me than all the money in the world and nothing can replace our relationship, so the decision was easy. My last day is the 20th.

—

Michael Jon and Dan had their open house last Thursday. That happened to be on the same night as Brenna’s Schoolhouse Live concert and Jon’s movie night.  Needless to say, we spent a lot of time planning and re-hashing who would take who where and who was staying home and who would save seats and who would charge the camera and who would tell us sumpin’ a million frillion times like, “Is it time to go yet?!”.

Michael Jon Cowboy Mike did a great job showing us all his artwork. They can be seen on Facebook for those on there and for those who aren’t, sorry. We’ll work on that soon. I promise! Brenna was the star of the show (well in our eyes at least! they all did a great job portraying the schoolhouse rock characters we all know and love- it makes me want to go out and get the DVD’s again and watch every last one, especially during homework challenges!) and although she was nervous, she remembered every line and every note! She did a fabulous job! Way to go Bree!
Dan showed us his desk and his workbooks. We unfortunately had to take a very VERY short tour of the school. So short it took us 25 min total to walk across the park, around the school, back around to the very back of the school where the Kindergarten section was (MJ’s class HAS to be the very last one, huh?) and look around, take pictures, talk to his teacher, gather all his art and papers, walk back to Dan’s class, look at his stuff, talk to his teacher, be reminded Dan needs his glasses because he really can’t see, one last check at the lost and found, and then walk back across the park to the car. I’m tired just typing that! Did I mention we did all that walking in the 38 degree rainy weather? Um..yeah. Brrr. Got my excersise in for the day, that’s for sure! We made it to Brenna’s school on time and found great seats before the concert. From then on, it went really smooth. Until….

We were walking out of the parking lot and I tripped over a parking curb. Did you know they were called parking curbs? I didn’t. Now I DO! It’s not the first time I fallen because I’ve not paid attention to them, by the way. I was holding MJ’s hand so he got pulled down with me. Poor baby.
I tried to catch myself, but I’m sort of top heavy and have big feet, which in this case is a deadly combination. I kept falling forward and the only way to stop it was to just give in and land. Hard. On the ground. With a skid and a thud. You would think with the round belly I have it would cushion the fall like a beach ball bouncing effect, but no. My hands went out to brace the fall but before they got there, my left knee decided to get involved and be the hero. The right knee in a vain attempt to save the day went down too.
So there I lay, on the ground, in the parking lot, in the rain, face down, and stunned.

(Good dramatic image huh?)

My first thought was, “Oh no. Oh no.” My first words were, “Shit. Not again!” (whispered of course) Then my second words were, “Why do I always do this!?!” Jon and the kids were asking me if I was OK and I just sat there, trying to figure out if I could actually get up or not. If this was really time time I broke my knee or injured myself beyond what my body could take. Nope. I was OK. Whew!
I got up, hobbled back to the car, turned on the headlights and surveyed the damage in the rainy light. Bloody left knee; check. Bloody right knee; check. Scraped left and right palms; check. Ego damaged; check.
Pain and swelling; check. Kiss goodbye from Jon as he heads to the movies: check. The only thing left to do was get some dinner. We went to Burber King. I almost drove away without my credit card. Good times.

—

The kids have spring break next week. Lord help us all.

—

I spent all of Friday, literally all of Friday in bed watching movies and nursing my knee injuries. My whole body is sore and screaming at me with every move. I guess when you are falling, you tense every muscle in your body preparing for the impact. If it wasn’t so painful, I would fall all the time to work them out.

—

I’m putting off making my grocery list and menu because it’s cold outside and I want to stay in bed again today and watch movies and play on my computer. Is that so wrong? Ok…well it does seem a little depressive, but the lights are on and I’m not ignoring anyone’s needs. I made sure that Jon went and got lunch and delivered it to me in bed. See? Perfectly NOT depressive. Besides, I started on that new medicine and it is supposed to be helping. Except for the blank feeling, the sweating, and dizziness I’m good! Or at least I will be in another couple of weeks or so. Maybe.

—

I’m planning on going to see my Dad the week after next. If I can get my shit together long enough to make the reservations and buy a ticket, or decide if I am going to drive up there by myself. My Aunts and Sister will be there to visit as well, so it should be a good time visiting and catching up. I think I’ll drive. It would be cheaper and I’ll have more room for my stuff, like pillows and laptops and stuff. Yeah….driving. Just me and my tunes. Tunes….I need more muzak.

—

<racking brain for more updates I might have forgotten>

—

Um….that’s all I can think of for now. Until next week. or the week after. adieu.

Tags: Injuries..again., kids school stuff, life, parking curbs

Not sure my life is so interesting…

I mean really. Who wants to hear about my back hurting? This subject gets old after a while. Seriously. Old.

Work is well…work. It’s been quite busy and somewhat stressful, but bearable.

With all the busyness at work, I sure have missed the daily going-on’s at home. I scheduled a Scentsy wick-less candle party which gave me an opportunity to really get the house in order. Oh sure, it’s not perfect. Those who know me best know what a miracle it is that I actually dusted. If I wasn’t so darn busy the week before my parents and sister came to visit, I would have dusted for them!! The party was a success. I had 7 girlfriends come and visit for a while and smell some good and not so good candle smells. I mean really? Eucalyptus? I think that should be left for the great outdoors!

Moving on…

Let’s see…what’s next on my agenda?? I would really LOVE to paint the kitchen and move some more stuff around the house. Ya, know…tweak it a little. Make it even cuter than it already is! I need to pull out the sewing machine and make some pillows for the couch and add some cute fabric to the kitchen curtains. I see some furniture painting in my future too. I think my dresser needs a new coat of black paint to jazz it up. Jazz it up? Who still uses that word? Hah, I guess I do!

This week I’m looking forward to a couple of things. American Idol night with my gals, LOST, and grocery shopping. Grocery shopping?? Yeah, cuz then I can actually do something other than work and sleep!! Plus, I need new yoga pants, Dan needs new glasses, and Jon needs new jeans. Shopping and me don’t get along very well anymore because I apparently become laid up after a few hours of standing or walking, but if some things just have to be done, I guess I’ll do it. <insert sarcasalism here>

Sorry Mom it’s take me so long to post something. I know you still come here everyday looking for some nugget of fun from your daughter! I will try harder to post more often. Not sure if you saw the flowers I bought for the party on Facebook, so here’s another look.

So pretty! These flowers make me happy. I think everyone should buy themselves flowers or whatever it is that makes them happy. It’s the little things in life people.

Have a great week!