Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Fourteen Years

The Evil Twin and I celebrated our 14th Anniversary yesterday. Of course, we were out trick or treating, so we put off our anniversary dinner until this evening. We had a really nice time doing the trick or treat thing. We have friends who live a couple miles away and they have two boys. One is Buddy's age and they are best friends. Their other son is 5.

These friends like to "entertain" (that's code for drink) and I am all for that kind of entertaining. Another friend of ours had dropped off a bottle of champagne in honor of our anniversary when she dropped off goodie bags for the kids, so I took my champange and looked forward to the fun evening.

Usually, the mom of the wife comes to hand out candy, so we can all roam the neighborhood, drinks in hand and watch the kids. She's out of town, so the wife and I decided to babysit the legal beverages while handing out candy. The Evil Twin and the husband of the couple took their two and our two and hit the road for treats.

Buddy was a ninja and Sissy was the cutest little devil you've ever seen. She didn't officially trick or treat, but she rode along in her stroller so she could ber part of the whole activity.

Tonight, we went to Red Lobster for our special meal. It was good. We are all completely stuffed with shrimp (it's the endless shrimp feast).

Finally, a blast from the past. I wasn't able to scan this since the Evil Twin got his new computer, he needs to download a new driver to be able to use our scanner with it, so I just took a digital pic of a framed photo. Forgive the quality, but hey, I'm doing the best I can here. LOL:


Tuesday, October 30, 2007

A Loss

Dr. Syn, a much loved blogger friend, passed away on Sunday evening. It's a terrible loss for our little community here, his greater community at large and for his family and friends.

I can't say much more than what's already been said by the greatly talented writers over there on my blogroll (someday I'll figure out how to link them).

I hoped and I prayed for the best, but I was also really worried about him as each post from his wife brought scarier news than before. Thank God she kept us updated, though. I'm sure it was tough for her to find the words in her own time of worry.

I know Dr. Syn wasn't a religious guy, but I'll continue to pray for him and his family. Vaya con Dios, amigo.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Plog II

The painting my Nana did - that my aunt sent last week:















Here is a detail of the two owls on the branch. This painting is titled, "Wise Old Owls", which Nana did to represent her and Pops:













As Tiff from No Accent Yet would say, click on the pics to embiggen them. Yay!!

Plog

Today I bring pictures. Thusly, my PLOG. First is my new front door and screen door. The photo came out kinda dark, so I tried to lighten it up a bit.






















I did a close up on the window detail (and no, I can't see out of it unless I'm on my tippy toes)



















Friday, October 26, 2007

Did My Song Drive You Crazy?

I love that little clip from YouTube. I hear it on Noggin about, oooohhh, 4 bazillion times per day. Every time it comes on, Sissy and I have to freeze whatever we're doing to give our full attention to the song and video.

Anyway, seeing the candy corn in the award from Rosemary made me think of that song, because, well, I hear it 4 bazillion times a day (I think I mentioned that). I have that little ditty just SEARED into my brain. There are several other "catchy" songs on Noggin that I find myself singing at odd times. Like, trying to get to sleep, I'll be humming the tune to "Max and Ruby" or "Wow Wow Wubbzy". No wonder I feel like I've gone round the twist lately.

I wrapped up another stressful afternoon at Buddy's school. Today was the Halloween Parade and party. It's the same thing every year- just a different grade - but, school lets out at 11:30. So you pick up your child(ren) then and then presumably get lunch and get the child(ren) changed into their Halloween costumes, then have to be back at the school by 1pm for the Parade. We only live about 2 miles from the school, so we don't normally have issues - except Buddy likes to dillydally. And, as the homeroom mom helper, I had told her I'd be there before 1 to get the punch started (we did the Sprite and Orange Shebert, so the stuff has to melt a bit).

The kids went out to do the parade - they walk around the block - and when they're back in their classrooms, snacks are ready. Our moms went all out on treats this time. The homeroom mom made "Boogers on a Stick", which were large rod pretzels dipped in green tinted velveeta, and "Your Sisters Fingers", which were mozzarella string cheese drizzled with red food coloring. She also did a dessert called, "Kitty Litter", which was partially melted Tootsie Rolls with white cookie crumbs rolled onto them. Hilarious! I had some kitty litter which was quite good, but couldn't bring myself to Boogers on a Stick. There were some other gruesome looking and named treats. It was fun, but it's always a lot of work. The kids are antsy because they can smell a holiday from a mile away.

I also had to bring Sissy along. She was doing okay until we started to clean up. I saw her reach in the trash can and eat a piece of candy someone had discarded. I hope it was on a plate! LOL. I think she enjoyed being with all the big kids. They always like to play with her, so she gets plenty of attention.

Now, it's time for me to reeeee-laaaaxxx. Have a great evening!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

i don't like candy corn

I've Been Awarded!

Sweet Rosemary from Rosemary's Attic gifted me with this really cool award:






Isn't that fun? I just love it. It reminds me of a little snippet that airs on the Noggin Channel. For those of you without the pre-school / toddler set at home, you probably don't watch a lot of kiddie programming.


We keep Noggin on all day here for background noise. Sissy doesn't really watch much of it, but she does like certain segments and I'm just hoping that she's learning stuff while checking it out (like counting to 3 and all).


They have this song running now and it's one of Sissy's favorites. She loves Moose and Zee (the little bird).
I can't figure out how to get it in this blog, so it's next up.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Finally!

We had our storm/screen door installed this morning. I love it! It looks great. I didn't get a picture of it yet, because I had to run out shortly after it was installed and it's been raining all afternoon since! At least it's cooled off a bit.

The door is the full view Larson with the retracting screen at the top. I have two windows in the den open, the screen down on the storm door, front door wide open and the ceiling fan on! Rain be damned. I'm going to enjoy this door before it gets too cold to really take advantage of its' benefits.

The Evil Twin tried to shut the door just a minute ago and I said NOOOO! He tried to explain to me that it's night time now, but I don't care! It's kinda muggy in the house. He said turn on the AC, but I think that makes it too cold. Why get the fake AC and higher bill when you can enjoy fresh air, for free?

The Evil Twin will be painting the exterior door this weekend and once the whole package is in place, we'll get pics along with the picture of my painting from my aunt and post those sometime early next week.

This is a short one, as I've still got things lined up this evening, but I had to shout out about my door (I've only been waiting since July! LOL).

Also, I have a friend on my April Moms yahoo group. She lives in Lake Arrowhead in So Cal. She and her family have already been evacuated from their home. Please keep her and all the So. Cal folks in your good thoughts. News reports from that area really look scary.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

I Made It!

Well, I survived the last two days with my wits still in tact. (barely). The Family Pizza lunch went by quickly. The design of the basket was a little slower, but it turned out beautifully! We received tons more donations than I had anticipated, and we wanted to showcase everything, so it was difficult to decide on placement of each produt. Our basket was the Bath & Body theme - the contents didn't have to be from one of the Bath & Body shops, but anything that connotates "spa" or "relaxation" fit the bill.

Thanks to the craftiness of our homeroom mom and her trusty glue gun, we had the prettiest (in my opinion) basket that was on display today. I got to the school by about 9:45 and there wasn't anyone there to tell me what to do or even where our game was. I called HR mom in a panic and she gave me the info. Our game was already set up, but I had never heard of it before so I was confused.

And this, my friends, I shit you not, our game was the Corn Hole Game. Apparently, this is big in Ohio and Kentucky and there is even an international Corn Hole game society. Ahem, when you know a lot of unusual people, like I do, you understand that the term "cornhole" has a pretty raunchy alternate meaning.

Anyway, thank goodness, a kindergarten mom came over to help me and we got the game rolling. I just made up rules as I really had no clue what to do. It worked though and the kids seemed to really like it. We had a line most of the time. Another fourth grade mom relieved me around noon-ish and I scurried over the concessions and got a slice of pizza. Then, I mingled a bit with the other families there.

I played the raffle - trying to win one of the baskets and also did the 50/50 - where you buy tickets and how much ever money is raised is split in half. If your name gets drawn, you get half the amount of tickets sold. I didn't win that, either. In fact, I have never won anything in any year. Once, Buddy did the cake walk and he won a cake. That was pretty cool.

I finally was able to leave the school at 2:30 pm and got home. It was such a pretty day, I decided we should get out and have some fun. We went to dinner and then to an antique shop. We wanted to visit the city park, but it's closed for the season. We went to a smaller park and Buddy declared it "More boring than watching a fly for 20 hours."

I don't know about that kid. He uses flies a lot in his metaphors. He once told me "My pencils are like flies. They hang around awhile and then disappear." I'm still pondering that simile. I hope I got that right - metaphors, similes, onomatopoeias.... My high school education is slipping away.

I hope you'll understand. I've got children. :-)

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Upcoming Weekend from Hell-O!

Thankfully, I am not the homeroom mom for Buddy's class this year, but the same gal who did it last year got roped into it this year again and I told her I'd help her where ever she needed me.


Every month, the school does a Family Pizza Day - usually towards the end of the month. Each month is a different class' responsibility to organize the pizza lunch. This month is 4th grade and that means my homeroom mom friend, me and whoever else we could wrangle in to helping. We have to actually bake the pizzas and then sell them - for two lunches K-2 from 11:30 to noon and 3-5 from noon to 12:30. I'll have to be at the school by 11 am for set up.


As our luck would have it (or not), Saturday is Oktoberfest, the school's fall carnival. Each class runs a game for tokens, which the kids can turn in for prizes. Each class also raffles off a basket - this year our theme is Bath & Body. So Friday, after pizza lunch, homeroom mom and myself are putting the raffle basket together for Saturday. Then, we'll both need to be at the school early on Saturday to set up our game, get our tokens and get ready to work the game. Most likely, we'll switch off all day because fourth grade is proving to be a difficult year to get volunteers.


This time last year, I was co homeroom mom and the day after Oktoberfest, I got some sort of respiratory creeping crud that lasted for nearly a month. The Evil Twin was in California for almost 2 weeks on business and I didn't get to the doctor until he got home. I was so sick. I literally didn't think I would ever feel decent again.


So, I'm a little anxious that I'll be so stressed out after it's all over that I'll get sick like last year. It probably doesn't help that I decided I felt really great and thought going off my anti-depressant was a good idea. By day 2, I was a mess. Thankfully, I got my prescription refilled today and look forward to feeling more decent in the days to come.


On a happy note, I was part of a big award presentation. From Speedcat Hollydale, I received the:

Pretty cool, huh? My first ever award. :-)

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Tuesdays Suck

Mainly because it feels like it should be later in the week and it's just not. It's just Tuesday. Plus, I feel crabby. TMI - everyone's favorite monthly visitor is here again and it's making me feel like I just want someone's head on a stick. You know, like I'm on my last nerve and everyone is riding it with SPURS.

I actually had a decent earlier part of my day. I went to Target with a friend and Sissy. Miss Sissy was in need of some fuzzy slippers for her Flintstone feet, since it is chilly in the mornings around here. I found the slippers and a whole bunch of other stuff I really didn't need, but retail therapy was the order of the day.

One thing I found in the dollar section was a magnetic photo frame of the happy bunny - the cute little guy who says rude comments and this one said "I'm Cute" at the top. I thought it would be neat on the fridge with a pic of Sissy in it, so I just tossed it in my cart. When I got home, I realized it said (sic) "I'm cute. Your not. Seems so unfair." which is fine and funny and all, but come ON. It should say "You're not." I hate when people can't differentiate between your and you're or two, too or to or... my biggest pet peeve: they're, there and their and half the time they don't even spell their correctly. And to have this glaring mistake on a piece of merchandising is damn near unforgiveable. I've decided to return it and get my damn dollar back. I'm serious. I once bought a greeting card at Walmart and noticed a misspelling when I got home. I took it back. I wasn't going to send my friend a card of encouragement during a difficult time in her life with a TYPO on it. File that under: "Not only no, but HELL no."

After Tar-zhey, my friend and I went to iHop for lunch. It was so good. I was going to buy lunch, but she said she would in celebration of recently quitting her stressful job and returning to her rightful place as a stay at home mom. Or as I told her later, "I'm glad you're a jobless bum again!" Now I have someone to hang out with during the day. Whilst at the hop of i, it was discovered that I had forgotten to pick up rolls for my beef stew that was bubbling away in my crock pot at home and she had no dinner lined up at all.

So, on our way to get the kids from school, we stopped in the Kroger's quickly and purchased missing meal items and hit the road towards the school. It was fun hanging out with her. I think she loves Sissy as much as I do and it's just fun having another adult to talk to.

My friend across the street had to work late, so I watched her son until she got home - he and Buddy attend the same school and I pick him up every afternoon anyway - and he's a good kid. Buddy was glad to have the company.

The Evil Twin got home, I threw the rolls in the oven and a few minutes later, we were enjoying the beef stew. Well, everyone but Sissy, who decided potatoes and carrots are better smeared across your highchair, face and hair. What a mess!

Monday, October 15, 2007

Blog Action Day

That's what I hear on the "dashboard" of blogger. Hum. Very interesting. I am exacly one year older than Earth Day and now, we have Blog Action Day.

I'm not exactly the recycling type - in fact, I do not recycle at all. Well, unless you count using used (but clean) foil more than once or twice. We did have new windows installed in August. They're the Low E/Argon Gas something or the other, cost a flipping fortune and supposed to save the planet type windows. The key points I heard were #1. Will save ME money in heating/cooling costs. #2. Easy to clean (the Evil Twin's fave feature, as I mentioned before) and #3. Tax credit on our this year's taxes for doing such a kindly save the earth gesture.

I have also bought a new, state of the art, really super impressive and energy star rated screen door. I think we all know the story on this little gem. I finally called Lowe's today to see if my new, properly measured door was in and was told YES, it had arrived only minutes before my call (maybe that's BS, but I was just happy to know it was in). Now, onto installation and those guys better be calling me tomorrow to set a date - sooner the better. I don't care if it's 3 am or 10 pm. I want my dang door.

Imagine my horror at having lived nearly a month without a screen door. My brand new custom made front door is still bright white, instead of the lovely Sherwin Williams red it should be. The Evil Twin is holding off on the paint job until after the screen door is installed. I certainly don't want any nicks or scratches on my door. Oh! And that door is supposedly energy efficient too. Yay, Casa Evil Twin!

I have decided to plant a garden this year (Spring), so I am reading up on that and I think I might start with carrots. My dad always had a great garden and always had surplus harvests. He did a variety of things, but mostly tomatoes, onions, cukes, green pepppers (not the bell variety), sometimes strawberries, or cabbage. He had lovely grape vines that flourished on the side of the yard. Neighborhood children were drawn to them like stink on poo. Daddy would always go out and tell them they were most welcome to any grapes they wanted. He would often also put a box of vegetables by the side of the yard with a FREE sign on them. The neighbors took advantage and there was never anything left in the box at the end of the day.

He and mom enjoyed their fresh vegetables and gave the Evil Twin and I loads all the time, too. More than even we could eat. I figured if I studied the books he had studied and really put some effort into it, I too could grow a carrot or tomato plant. Thank goodness that I did grab all his stuff from the garage related to gardening after my mom passed away (he went first, so after she died, the house and it's contents were mine and my brother's).

I still won't recycle, but if changing light bulbs will save me money, then I'll look into that!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Thumb Sucking and Toe Flossing

Sounds kinda kinky, doesn't it? Well, it's not. It's what Sissy does when she's trying to get to sleep. I was only able to nurse her for about 4 and a half months before my neurologist wanted me back on my medication. It's not known if the med is excreted in breast milk, so as much as I hated it, and she hated it too, I had to take her off the titty.

She then began sucking her thumb. Buddy never did that or take a pacifier, but then again, neither did I, so maybe he is just more like me. So, anyway, when Sissy gets tired, she grabs her cloth (the fancy style burp rags) and rubs it on her head and ear, then pops her thumb in her mouth.

At nap times and bedtime, she lets us take her shoes off. This is my little Imelda Marcos, cause that girl love shoes. She lays there with her fat little Flintstone feet, thumb already working away, then she starts "flossing" between her big toe and second toe with that burp cloth. She'll do it over and over and over. It's the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. Buddy liked to suck on the burp cloths.

He'd suck the corners and after a while, they began to fray and look really ratty. We called them the "Tatty rags." He'd call them that too and if we forgot to give him one before bed, he would cry softly, "Tatty rag, tatty raaaaag."

So, one sucked on a tatty rag, the other one toe flosses with the rag. I definitley know they're mine. They're weird as hell.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

More on the SEO meme and Random Thoughts

I would have also named Biffspiffy, mayor of Spiffytown to join in, but I'm not sure how he is doing for time these days. Seems he checks in when he's able, so Mayor Biff, if you'd like to participate, I'd love to have you join us.

There's another blogger who I would have tagged also, but I'm not sure how much notoriety or attention called to him/herself this person would welcome. I know YOU know who I'm talking about, Mystery Blogger, so again, it's up to you on that one.

We woke up to a chilly morning here in W by God V. Brrrrr. I was sorta thinking a little Fall would be nice prior to Winter, kwim? Everyone knows the Evil Twin and I will celebrate an anniversary at the end of this month and with the exception of the year we got married, all other years have been lovely. It was cold and wanting to snow on our wedding day, but was only spitting tiny hail - which made the toilet paper the wedding party had decorated the car with just fall off in big sloppy wet clumps as we travelled down the interstate for our overnight stay at the honeymoon suite in the nicest hotel in town (at the time). I'll elaborate on that later....

I've got good news to report: My new windows ROCK!!! It is currently 56 degrees outside. This morning it was 40, so we did turn on the heat for a short while to knock the chill off. We have not had the heat on since and this place is like a sauna (literally - I'm sitting here in a tank top and Daisy Duke shorts - and sweating.) Sure, I'm probably going thru menopause, but still. I'd like to think it was money well spent on really awesome windows! Yee-haw.

I have been exceedingly bored today. The Evil Twin really didn't want to do anything. Buddy was glued to his new/old computer all day, and it was just kinda dull. When I was able, I did pull out my knitting project that I had let go right after Sissy was born and am halfway thru my first project since February 2006! I make these dishcloths from the Sugar n Cream cotton yarn. My Mother In Law loves them and has been after me for months to make her some new ones, so guess what MIL? You'll get a bevy of dishcloths for Christmas! Hell, I may send one or two to everyone I know! They're cute and easy to make.

However, I've misplaced a hat pattern that I really liked and wanted to make a winter hat for a friend's new baby and can't find the pattern. I keep my patterns in a binder in those clear page holders, so I'm not sure where that pattern disappeared to. I remember I was working on a hat for Sissy right after she was born, but kept dropping stitches and messing up so I just gave up in a fit of fury. The pattern was in my bedroom and I know I wouldn't have thrown it away. I'll keep looking and if nothing else, I used to knit with a group of ladies - which is where I got the pattern in the first place - so I can call them and see if any of them still have that one. Come hell or high water, I will find that adorable roll brim baby hat pattern that I love so much.

That's it from me this evening. Windy enough for ya? LOL.

Friday, October 12, 2007

A Meme I Don't Understand

I was tagged by my darling Renn for a SEO meme. Okay, so as I understand it, I pick three of my favorite blogs (that I've written) and post links to those at the end of the other links by other bloggers who have done this same meme before me. That's a lot of me's right there!

And, I think I need to tag 5 other bloggers to join in on the fun! This way, my blog gets "promoted", their blogs get promoted, everyone wins - we get to read new things and maybe make a friend or two along the way!

Awesome. I'm not really sure what I'm doing here. I've never done anything like this on blogger, so I am as green as they come.

Without further ado: The greats who have posted their greatest:
Revellian dot com - SEO Keywords For Beginners, Content: The Kings Illegitimate Stepchild, Tales of Blogger-X IllusionMariuca - Wishing On A Falling Star - Love In Disarray, In Love With A Dream, The Good Client
Mariuca’s Perfume Gallery - Perfume Shopping Spree, Defining Beauty, In Full Splendour
Speedcat Hollydale Page - Rocket Boy in Hawaii - DC9, Speedcat’s Death Ride into Terror!, The Boy Inside All Men
Terri Terri Quite Contrary - Just How Immature Are We?, Finding a Voice, So Much More to See than the Game
Mahala- Uncle Huberts Custom Cows, Pray for the Child at Big Lots, The Legend of Saushie's Crotch
Tiff - How am I like Ron Weasley, A Social Experiment, Absolutely Boring Entry 101
Renn - Mum, Horror Story, Die, Frau, Die
EvilTwin'sWife - The Humanity, Ants Like Grilled Cheese, I HAte Fruit Flies

Okay, that seemed to have worked. Tagging others? I think many of my blog rollees have already been hit, but I'll hit Tammie from Huh and Rosemary from Rosemary's Attic!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

A Lifelong Bond

Our mail dude always runs later in the days following a holiday for some reason. I checked the mail twice yesterday before 2 pm and we still had nothing. A little after 2, the doorbell rang and it was the mailman. He had a package that was a delivery confirmation and needed a signature. As I signed, I noticed the package was from my Aunt and Uncle who live in Lewisburg, WV.

I couldn’t imagine what they’d sent. We’ll be seeing them before too long as we make our yearly trek to Tamarack to visit before Christmas, have lunch and exchange gifts. Sometimes, they send random gifts for the kids, so that ran through my mind, but then again, why a delivery confirmation?

I opened the box and pulled out a something wrapped in extensive amounts of bubble wrap. I unwrapped and unwrapped and unwrapped. When I pulled the final piece off, I held in my hands a painting. Not just any painting, mind you. This painting had been done by my aunt’s mother and I had long admired it hanging in their house.

Now, my aunt is married to my dad’s brother. For many years, my aunt and uncle (and cousins) lived in a house next door to my aunt’s mother and father. My aunt’s mom is Grace Brown, but I called her Nana - even though she technically was not my grandparent. Her husband, I called Pops, just like their other grandkids.

Sometimes, over the summer break, I would go and spend time at my aunt and uncle’s house. My cousins, older than me, were already in college, so I was the only “kid” around. Nana and Pops were two of the most amazing people I’ve ever known. They were both artists and both worked in a variety of mediums, but also each had their specialty. For Nana, it was painting with oils and acrylics. For Pops, it was charcoal prints. They had an art studio in their house that contained a dizzying array of art supplies - including a kiln!

They would let me create different things at their house and no matter what I turned out, they convinced me it was a masterpiece. That’s just the way they were.

When I stayed in Lewisburg during those summers, Nana and Pops would get up and take me to a 5 and dime store in town and we’d get milkshakes. I remember sitting up on the high soda counter stool feeling like a queen. It was the kind of town where everyone knew everyone, so all who stopped to chat with Nana and Pops also chatted with me.

I often wish that they could have met the Evil Twin. With his artistic talent, I’m sure they would have had a time together! In fact, I often feel sorry for folks who have not had a Nana and Pops in their lives. I can’t imagine receiving a bigger or richer gift than their love and friendship.

Not surprisingly, their daughter, my aunt, is and always has been my very favorite. She makes everyone around her feel like the most special person on earth. She certainly made my day when she sent me the painting I had always admired. Totally unexpected, but it will be treasured like nothing else.

I plan on getting some shelves, you know, the ones that look like crown moulding, and putting my Willow Tree Angels on those. I’ve ordered them, just waiting for delivery. Once those are in, I will arrange those with the painting to create a special display of my beautiful things that remind me of so many wonderful people in my life.

As always, there will be pictures to follow.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

The Princess and the Pea

We got our new mattress and box springs today. They're nice, but I didn't realize how high it would be. It's got one of those "Euro-top" puffy thing, which makes the mattress a few inches higher than our old one was.

The good news is that now our sheets actually fit better! Yay! It seems like the only sheets available these days are the deep pocket ones or some such. Whatever they're called, they were kinda baggy on our old mattress, so I would just tuck them in as best I could and make do.

As we speak, the Evil Twin is down in our soon-to-be guest room putting the rails together for the old bed. I had the guys put the new stuff on the rails we already had in our room, since it was the same size. I've ordered some sheets for the guest room (on clearance from Linens n Things, but still nice sheets). Yeah, I could've used a set of sheets currently in rotation for our bed, but kinda wanted to offer our guests something new and not covered in our DNA - and yes, I do wash in hot water and I use the correct amount of detergent, but still...

It kind of reminds me of when I was pregnant with Buddy and a co-worker brought me a bag of maternity clothes. It was stuff she hadn't sold in their yard sale earlier. She told me to take what I wanted and give the rest to Goodwill. Inside the bag, I found 3 pairs of maternity undies with stickers on them, marked 10 cents. I'm sorry, but I was willing to pay full price for my own maternity panties. With Sissy, I wore regular britches the whole time - after realizing with Buddy that I carry the babies like a basketball anyway.

Ahem, back to the bedding.... Sure, my guests deserve something other than our dust mite catcher hand offs. I would even provide them with new panties and socks if needed. I'm generous like that.

I have two pillows and a comforter that I've Febrezed. The comforter is awaiting a new duvet, also ordered on Linens n Things clearance!

I mentioned to the Evil Twin that these next few nights will take some adjusting as we get used to our really tall bed - sort of like being in a hotel. Blech. But, the mattress IS super comfy and we'll be totally in love with it before long.

Oh, and after the delivery guys set it up and left, I laid on the middle of it and gave it the "squeak test" (bouncing around in various spots) and I'm happy to report that it passed with flying colors. No squeaks!

Monday, October 8, 2007

Feeling Kinda Puny

Since Friday, I've had an upset stomach. I don't know why... One of those things. A stomach bug, perhaps. Luckily enough, the Evil Twin was home from work today and was able to help me out with the baby and I got to rest a bit.

The more I think about it, perhaps there is something going around. When Sissy wakes up in the morning, we bring her into our room and put her in the middle of the bed, so we can snuggle with her and take our time getting motivated, too. She wasn't acting like she felt well on Sunday morning, so the Evil Twin put her back in her crib and she went back to sleep. When she got up about an hour or so later, I was in the kitchen getting ready to get her sippy cup of milk. She came up behind me and was kind of burping and coughing at the same time. I thought maybe she put something in her mouth (although we try to be very careful about small things laying around), so I patted her on the back and leaned down to try to look in her mouth.

She then proceeded to throw up a small bit of bile-looking fluid. She was turning around in circles, confused and scared, then she didn't throw up anymore, but she was still kind of dry heaving around. I was trying (terrible to say) to direct her to a hard floor surface instead of the area rugs. The first episode happened on the porcelain tile in the kitchen so clean up was a cinch.

Anyway, that one episode was it and she didn't feel hot or act like she wasn't feeling well after that. She seemed fine. I gave her juice instead of milk though - just in case. She was fine the rest of the day. So maybe that was her way of being sick and my way of being sick just involves the other end (TMI, sorry!).

I've got a really busy and stressful day ahead tomorrow and I dread it, big time. Wish me luck and maybe I'll survive to blog another night! LOL.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

I Heart the Hallmark Shop

I am unabashedly addicted to Hallmark. The ornaments in particular, but I love everything about that store. I'm not sure how it all got started, but I've been collecting ornaments since 1993. I think the catalyst was my mother gave me the "Our First Christmas Together" ornament at my bridal shower prior to my wedding to the Evil Twin on October 30, 1993. It's a beautiful, heavy pewter ornament. I just love it.



Many years, I have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on ornaments. Now, I just buy what I truly love. And I try to stick with the more Christmas themed ornies as opposed to the special interests ones - like Charlie Brown or cars or Star Trek... that sort of thing. I stick with Santas, Snowmen, Angels and any others that just really appeal to me. I ALWAYS get the Feliz Navidad ornament every year. Since I speak Spanish fluently, it just seems fitting. I also like the Crayola ones and basically any tin litho ones.

Honestly, I have enough to decorate several trees, but the Evil Twin limits it to one tree. I try to rotate them around and generally use the current years' ornaments first, then pick from past years' by best loved (which is most of them, so you can imagine how difficult it is to choose!).

We went to the Hallmark Shop today, as it's the Ornament Debut, which is not a good name for it - the ornaments are out in July. Well, most of them anyway. There are others that come out in October (hence, the Debut) and still others that come out in November - which is the Open House.

I belong to both the national Ornament collecting club and a local one here. Us local members get special perks for being members, such as early peaks and we get to put our orders together months in advance, then the store employees fill our bags first, then put whatever's left on the shelf. That way, we don't miss out on any hot sellers or ornaments we really want.

So, today, I got my October ornaments, picked up a few cards and got 40% off one ornament and 15% off the rest of my order! Woot!

Then, the Evil Twin and I and the kids went mattress shopping. The sales guy was willing to wheel and deal, so I got a real bargain on a nice mattress, box springs and metal rail (we don't use a headboard because they are toooooo squeaky!!! LOL). Free delivery too and it'll be here on Tuesday! I can't wait.

Overall, a really fun and exciting day. We ran a lot of little errands so those are out of the way and we can enjoy the rest of our long weekend by just hanging out at home and catching up on home chores.

Time to make my blogging rounds - although many of you don't update over the weekend.... Hmmmph.

Friday, October 5, 2007

O My Word!

I got my hair cut today, as you can see. This was the first time I actually dried it and styled it and while I think it's cute, I think I need to experiment with styling a little more. You know how it is... new hair cut and length and everything. Just takes a while to get used to. I really LOVE the cut overall though. I just wish I was better at using a blowdryer! I'm lazy and don't like to spend too much time under it. LOL.

This is the first new style I have had in YEARS. It is so refreshing. She took about half my hair off. I have a lot to begin with and she really did a great job with thinning it a bit and shaping it. Most of my life, I've stuck with stick straight hair that really didn't need much in the way of styling - at least no more than a curling iron could cure.

This one will take a few days to get the hang of, but once I learn the process, it will be really easy maintenance and quick styling. MUCH faster to dry than that long, thick pile o' hair I've had for so long.

Plus, I got high marks from the Evil Twin. He said, and I quote, "It's sexy." Squee!!!! We'll celebrate 14 years of married life at the end of October, 15.5 years of togetherness, so to still be considered "sexy"? You're damn right - that feels wonderful! Or at least one part of me sexy? Hee hee.

Probably the best part of all this, besides being cutie-patootie and all, is that SHE came to my house and did the cut! Wow! This is a gal I've teamed up with to help out as homeroom mom for years and she used to do hair professionally until her oldest son was born. Now, she just does random cuts/colors, etc. for friends so she can keep on top of her game. I told her if she wanted to hang a shingle when her youngest gets into kindergarten (she's got 4), let me know.

The 2nd best part is that she called me this evening to see how I liked it AND said if I wanted anything changed or whatever, she'd fix it for me. Now that's what I call service. And, she's just a really, really darling and sweet person anyway. I often wonder how she stays so upbeat all the time. I know she runs herself ragged with her kids - they're involved in sports, etc. And they're at three different schools right now (pre-school, elementary and middle).

After she left, I swept up a huge pile of hair off my kitchen tile. I decided to try a trick I read about quite a number of years ago.

We have this really nice brick planter area in our back yard. No matter what I try to plant there, it gets eaten by deer, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, etc. I had heard that if you put the footie part of a stocking, stuffed with human hair, in your flower or garden area, it would keep the roaming wildlife out of it, because they'd smell humans and not get close. So, I did that and also plan to plant marigolds (which I hear are not a deers' favorite), then see if I can get anything to grow in there. I'd love some colorful flowers. I'll let ya know how THAT works out, too.

Happy Friday and Happy Long Weekend to those who are off on Monday for Columbus Day! :-)

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Super Special Meatball Night

When it comes to making spaghetti, I can't make it for the Evil Twin if it doesn't have my special homemade meatballs along with it. The recipe is not hard, but it is time consuming, and I often double or triple it so I can have plenty on hand in the freezer for future spaghetti meals. So, this afternoon, I started on my meatballs.

It was difficult this time because I cut a huge gash in my right thumb this morning using the apple slicer to put apples into the ETs lunch. Good times. So, I have this lovely boo-boo, complete with Scooby-Doo bandage and my left thumb was previously burned on the side of a frying pan while I was trying to flip an omelet. Luckily, left thumb is pretty well healed up.

Right thumb is worse for the wear. First, I mixed the ingredients with a large (very large) forkish utensil, then I found a neat scooper spoon, so I was able to scoop mixture with my right hand, transfer to my left, then roll into a ball, all while keeping my right thumb out of the action.

After all, no one wants a meatball with a Scooby-Doo bandage in the middle of it, right?

I did 2 batches of meatballs and then started the spaghetti noodles and sauce. Garlic bread entered the oven after the noodles were mostly finished and voila! A yummy sketti dinner! Buddy even ate two meatballs, whereas previously, he only wanted butter and parmesan! So, score one for Buddy.

Sissy loves anything with tomato sauce on it, and she loves garlic bread, so she did a really good job on dinner. I did have to do a lot of cleaning to her, her hands and her high chair though after the meal! What a mess.

Without futher ado, super special meatball recipe follows:
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 egg
1/4 c. minced onions
1/4 c. parmesan cheese (I use the grated kind for this, since it mixes easier)
2 cloves minced garlic
4 tsp. parsley
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
Combine and form into balls. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Easy Peasy.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Going Insane at 100MPH

I feel like life is passing so fast these days. Tuesdays always feel like Fridays, or at least, in my opinion, they should be. I don't think I'm doing a very good job of keeping up with things anymore. I used to be ultra-organized. Is it 2nd child syndrome? Or having them so far apart in age? I don't know, but I'm trying like hell to get back on track in all aspects of my life.

I know if I just try hard enough, I can restore order. Right? I'm diligently pursuing a workable budget, so that I can see, at a glance, how we're spending money and where we can do better. Not that we're destitute or poor, but it's my way of slapping some control into one area of my life where I CAN have control. I'll start there and maybe the rest will fall in line.

I have this little notebook where I"m getting all the finances in writting and little list and checklist, so that I can tell myself, "Look, all the bills were paid on time and I saved money at the grocery store." Control.

I've been having dreams where my teeth are falling out and I'm trying, desperately, to keep them in or to hide the fact they're coming out. That's your typical "control" dream right there.

So what to do? Do something about it. Start with a budget. Easy enough. My house is relatively clean - at least it's vacuumed regularly and I do laundry quite often, so no one has to go naked. I even clean the restrooms more than I used to, so I hope that means I'm moving back towards my more organized self!

I do know I'm getting my hair cut on Friday! I'm really excited, since I've worn the same style I have now for eons, it seems like. I spoke to a friend of mine (her son and Buddy are classmates) and she used to be a hair dresser. She's agreed to do the cut for me and I'm very confident. I've been seeing the same hair dresser for more than 20 years, but when it comes to newer styles, she doesn't really keep up with that sort of thing. She's always been cool about stuff, though. But, I'll have my friend so the initial cut, then go back to my regular person for trims.

I hope I like it, but it's just hair, so if I decide I don't care for the style on me, I'll just let it grow out. My hair grows very fast. That's something fun and new to look forward to! :-)