Is the Sun Up Yet?

Keira has decided that she doesn't like sleeping anymore. It works out perfectly since I've been meaning to stop being so lazy. I mean, really, who needs to spend 6 hours at night in bed? I can be doing so many other productive things during this time--watching infomercials for example. Or cartoons. Thank you for saving me, Keira.

Happy Mattress Sale Day

This morning, Night was in the living room watching TV, and I was (of course) playing on-line poker in the den. Excitedly, Night came running into the den this morning. "Mom! It is 4th of July!"

"I know! Happy Fourth of July!"

"But, it is like a double Fourth of July!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Serta is having a mattress sale FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY! Isn't that exciting?"

"Um, yep. Honey, you don't even need a mattress." (He sleeps on the couch because we only have 2 bedrooms, and he wakes up his sister if he sleeps in his room, so we took away the bed.)

"I KNOW! But, I could get one if I wanted-it is on SALE. TODAY!"

"You are right. Super exciting."




I didn't see the commercial, but whoever wrote it must've done a great job-marketing to kids. That's an angle I would've never came up with on my own. Maybe that's why I'm not in advertising...

Too Much Mortal Kombat?*

This morning, Night told me that when he pees, he puts his knuckle-fists up behind his back just in case someone comes in to attack him. Always be prepared.






*No, my five year old does NOT play Mortal Kombat. I was just trying to be humorous. I actually think he got his neurosis from his father, who always checks the doors about five times to make sure they are locked.

5 Ingredients or Less

Shannon is sponsoring a themed Works for Me Wednesday this week-5 ingredients or less.

I have a yummy, healthy pancake recipe-full of protein and low in fat. They are made of ingredients that you wouldn't expect to be good together, but they are DELICIOUS. We eat them every week. Actually, we eat them pretty much everyday. I mix up the batter and store it in the fridge.

I LOVE this recipe!

12 egg whites
2 cups cottage cheese
2 cups oatmeal (dry cooking oats-regular kind, not instant)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp (or a little more!) of cinnamon

(I also recommend some splenda-but I don't want to go over the 5 limit. Consider it part of the recipe, though, really.)
This makes a double batch, so you might want to half everything when you make it the first time. You'll probably double it every time after that-if you eat them as much as we do!)

Just pop all the ingredients in the blender until they are batter consistency. I spray the pan (or griddle) and cook on medium. You can eat them plain with butter and syrup (we use "spray butter" and sugar free syrup) or add some blueberries or strawberries when they are on the griddle. You can also put sugar-free jelly on them. Yummy!

Check out other simple recipes at ROCKS IN MY DRYER!

Making Pancakes!

Time to Move On??

It is with reservation that I post this RANT because the last time I went off in a huff, it caused some ruckus; however, this is my blog and I'll cry if I want to...

I know that times are getting tighter here in the USA, so I understand why I am not making as much money at work as I have previously. People are not going out to eat as often because there are more important things on which to spend their money. I get that. What I DON'T get it why, when people do go out to eat, they think that it is acceptable to leave shitty tips.

I used to love waiting tables. It is easy work, I get paid cash daily, the environment is fun and laid back, there isn't baggage to bring home, I get to talk to a lot of people if I want to-I don't have to talk to a lot of people if I don't want to. Even though some people may look down on serving as a lowly career, it can be a lot of work to coordinate all the tables in a timely manner; a job that I am very good at doing. I would also say that I'm quite personable, so waitressing has been a nice job for me thus far.

Now, on for the rant...
I have been getting really crappy tips lately. I would say on average, my tips used to be an average of about 20% of my sales, sometimes 18%, sometimes 22%. From that income, I have to tip out to my helpers-hostess, busser, bartender (even if I don't have any liquor sales) etc. about 2% of my sales (no matter what the actual income is from tips, I pay out 2% of the sales). Tips in the last couple of months have gone down SIGNIFICANTLY, and I really don't think that my service has been lacking.

I just think that people are holding a tighter reign on their money. The problem with this is that since fewer people are coming into the restaurants AND the ones that do come in are leaving less money, I get hit with a double whammy that is really hurting my family.

For instance, yesterday, I had a table with three women. Those three women sat at my table for over 3 hours during the lunch rush. The bill was about $9.00 for one of them; $10.00 for another; and exactly $15.54 for the other one. How do I remember exactly? Because the third woman left me a total of $17.00 (the other two's tip equaled about $4 combined). The third woman left me $1.46 for THREE HOURS of service, less than ten percent. Of that tip, $0.16 went to the hostess. How in the world could that be acceptable? If they would have sat for a reasonable hour, I would've been less upset, but THREE HOURS DURING THE RUSH? They were sitting at an 8-top table, so it could've been $20 or more that I miss out on--in order to get her $1.30.

I had someone today completely stiff me, so that it actually COST me money to wait on him because I had to tip out even though I had no tip. This gentlemen was angry at me, though, so I guess it is justified.... Oh wait, he was angry at me because he didn't read the menu, so maybe it isn't justified. Let me tell you my side of the story...

The couple was sitting at the table, with their menus pushed to the side when I got to the table (maybe a minute after they sat down-I saw them sit, and I went straight to the kitchen and got them water). Thinking they must be "regulars" and already know what they want, I asked them what I could get them. They both wanted eggs benedict with no english muffin. Alright! I put in there order, and someone else took them their food. I passed by them a couple of times while they were eating, and they seemed content. When I stopped to see if they needed anything, the man asked me, "Isn't there something else I can get instead of the breakfast potatoes?" I told him that there was, but that there was an upcharge. I listed some things; he asked the price; I told him I didn't know exactly (the prices are already in the computer, so I don't know exact, but I gave an estimate), but then I pointed out that he already has the potatoes. Now, I don't think I said this in a rude manner, but he did already have the potatoes, so it wouldn't really be instead of the potatoes anyway, would it? The man then proceeded to YELL at me because I should've read his mind when he ordered. This is what he said, "Well, since I ordered no bread, you should've obviously have assumed that I am on a diet, so you shouldn't have brought me the potatoes!" (Oh, really, I wrongly assumed that since you didn't want the english muffin with your eggs benedict, you just didn't want an english muffin with your eggs benedict...) I apologized and offered to bring him something, and he said no. The wife (who is obviously also on the diet) then asked me to bring her more HALF and HALF for her coffee. (what diet lets you have HOLLANDAISE SAUCE?)

This would've been easily solved if the man would've read the menu, where it states that the breakfast comes with the potatoes and that if he wants something else, he could get it if he pays more. OR if when the server brought him his food, he said, "Oh, I don't want those potatoes, is there something else that I can get for them?" The server would have changed them out, and I could've just charged him the difference. OR one of the times I walked by before he had devoured all of his food, he could have asked me and I would have probably still swapped his potatoes for something else. OR if I would have just read his mind to begin with. Of course, if I were the mind-reader type, I probably would have noticed that he wasn't going to tip me, and I wouldn't have brought him any food to begin with...

Anyway, this has turned into a longer post than expected. I guess he made me a little angry. So, as I was saying, the tips are getting slim for me and for all of my little server friends. I don't blame people for watching their money more closely, but if they can't afford the tip, then they shouldn't go out to eat. I can't afford to keep paying my hostess and bartender when I'm not getting paid.

Thanks for listening. I feel better.

Oh, and if, the next time you go out to eat, you can afford to leave your server an extra dollar, do it. You would be surprised how much difference that dollar makes.

Wish Me Luck

The library books are due today. Here we go again!

I am taking my purse this time-with a diaper in it. Night has already locked himself in the bathroom once today (at Charlie's vet), so hopefully we won't have anymore bathroom incidences...

Mario Kart

I just want to let ya'll know that even though I am horrible at my new Mario Kart for the Wii, it does not mean I am a bad driver.

It just takes practice with the little wheel thing.

And, I can still *usually* beat Night when we are playing, so I can't be that bad at it, right?!

To the Woman at the Gas Station

Dear Woman in the van at the gas station,

What is the purpose of your "Jesus First" license plate?

Is it to let me know that you are putting Jesus first? Is it to show me that you are following his principles and making this world a better place because of it? If so, I really don't think that Jesus appreciated your cutting off this heathen. That definitely is following the golden rule. Cutting me off from the pump when I was obviously there first DID NOT make my world a better place. It pissed me off.

OR

Is it to remind yourself that you need to put Jesus first? If so, you really need to put it somewhere INSIDE your van so you can see it.



Irritated,

Mari

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

Look what I got!!


Last year, my family got me the Nintendo Wii. This year, I got the Mario Kart to go with it.

I think my husband has turned me into a nerd.

Our Trip to the Library

Otherwise known as "WHY OUR FAMILY SHOULD NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE PART TWO"

We live about a block from the library. Since it has been so beautiful out lately, I decided to take the kids to the library. The plan was for me to find my ONE book then go downstairs to the children's area where we could play with puzzles.

Here is how the plan played out. While I was looking for my book, the kids were at the end of my aisle looking out the window. They were standing about 2o feet from me. Loudly (or at least it seemed loud-we were in the LIBRARY), Night said, "I think Keira is pooping."

(I should have prefaced this by saying that Keira, who is potty training, was wearing underwear.)

I absently said, "Okay," without thinking about it. I then looked over to them, and sure enough, Keira was holding her butt...

I ran over and scooped her up. She yelled, "I'm not pooping! I'm not pooping!"
"It's okay, honey, we'll just check, okay?"
"NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not pooping. I'm not pooping!"
(I whisper, "Sorry" to the lady studying at the table and the man looking for his books.)
Night piped in, "She is pooping. She is pooping," in his loud 5 year old voice.
"NO! NO POOPING"
"You aren't? Okay. Well, let's go to the bathroom anyway."
Of course, being the veteran mother than I am, I DID NOT bring a backup pair of pants or panties or diaper or anything. She usually does so well when we aren't at home. It is when we are at home that she's been having the problems.

Once we FINALLY got into the bathroom, I checked her butt,and sure enough, she had pooped. Great. I plopped her onto the toiled while I tried to clean her up to the best of my ability. The whole time she is sitting, I told her to try to poop more while sitting on the toilet. "I can't. I'm done." So, I cleaned her up, and we returned to the same aisle (much to my chagrin) so I could find my book.

TWO minutes later, Night yelled, "Keira is pooping!"

Whatever. I just let her poop. Her underwear was already dirty... Where is my damn book?

THREE minutes later, Night yelled, "I have to poop."

Great. Oh! There is my book!! At least I had something to read this time. Off we all went to the bathroom, for the second time within four minutes, talking about poop the whole way.

And, of course, we couldn't skip the puzzle play time all because Keira had poop in her pants. That would be crazy. We played for ten minutes then rushed home to clean her up.


Do you ever feel like a redneck or white trash? If you are white trashy, you know it, don't you? I'm beginning to suspect that I am...

I feel like my family shouldn't be allowed to leave the house...

Last weekend, we went out to a local Vietnamese restaurant. It is a small restaurant, with maybe 12 tables. There were maybe 4 other families eating when we walked in.

As we walked in, my son, VERY LOUDLY, said(as everyone turns to look at him), "Are these CHINESE people??" A very nice young server came up and told him he was Vietnamese and didn't seem too worried about it, but my face was RED. The server then tried to serve my children nothing but beer all night. He was joking, of course, but Night was worried he wasn't going to get any noodles.

After having a yelling match with Keira (in the bathroom hallway-not in the dining room though I'm sure everyone heard us and was ready for my disruptive family to get the hell out of there), we all walked across the parking lot to TARGET. We found a very good deal on THE SIMPSONS GAME for the PS2 on clearance, but I wish we wouldn't have bought it. It is the only thing on tv now!

When it was time to leave, Keira threw another fit. (terrible twos? Can we say horrendous, abominable twos??) Josh and Night took Keira out to the car while I finished. She screamed the entire way. I think I heard people talking about that horrible noise, but maybe I was just being paranoid.

Keira continued to scream for the next ten minutes. She screamed until we pulled into the Steak n Shake parking lot, and I asked Night what kind of shake he wanted. "Strawberry." THEN Keira stops screaming and politely says, "I want a strawberry too please."

"NO way, Keira Bryce. You do not get an ice cream because you were screaming this whole way. You need to be polite if you want to get treats like ice cream." I knew it was going to be difficult, but she didn't deserve ice cream, right?

Then I looked over at Josh. He is sheepishly looking at me with sad eyes. I said, "She doesn't deserve ice cream." He said, "No. She doesn't. But when I told her we were going out to eat, I told her we could have ice cream afterwards."

Great. Now, do I be a liar (even though it wasn't ME lying, we are a united front, so to speak) and not give her the ice cream? Or do I be a hypocrite and give her the ice cream even though she definitely didn't deserve it? Well, Josh and I both had a long talk with her about behaving and not SCREAMING whenever she doesn't get her way. We then got her the strawberry shake.

Why doesn't parenting come with some sort of guidelines or something? I probably wouldn't follow them, but I would at least feel like I knew what was going on! Next time, Josh has agreed to let me know that he has bribed the child...

I kind of feel like a bad parent, but she won't be the worst kid in her class...

It was so much easier raising a child before the child came into the picture!

Spanish

When I first log-in to blogger, it is in Spanish. If I click on random people's profile pages, it is in Spanish.

Have I somehow done this? Or is Blogger going through a Spanish phase?

How do I fix this? I speak UN-POKITO Spanish...

Tricky

Know what is tricky? Trying to potty train a puppy and a kid at the same time. I never know who to yell at when I find pee on the floor...or on the couch. (You might not want to come visit us for a little while...)
Dash was supposedly potty-trained when he came to us, but I beg to differ!
Keira wasn't potty-trained when she came to us, but that is to be expected!

Kool-Aid Fun

For the first time in....a year(?), I've finally thought of a Works For Me Wednesday tip!! (and I'm home in time to post it!)

In an effort to be healthier and spend less money, we haven't been going out to eat as often as we used to, but when we do go out to eat, I take along Kool-Aid single packets. Sometimes kids' meals don't include a drink, so I just order them water and then pop out the singles. I don't let the kids have them any other time, so it is a special treat for them, and I don't have to pay an extra $2-5 bucks for the drinks (hey that can go toward the tip--take care of your servers-we have families too!). Sure, just plain water would be even more affordable, but lets be realistic-the kids have more fun with kool-aid! (Who doesn't, really?)

They have plenty of flavors (I usually have two kinds to chose from in my purse), in both sugar- free and full-hyper flavors. Try it! You'll like it!

I'm a Sucker

for a cute dog.

You may remember that we got Charlie from freecyle.org about a year ago when someone listed that the owner had died. Anyway, there are a lot of offers for dogs on freecycle. I usually read them, and Josh says, "YES! YES!" and I say, "Yeah right. As if we don't have enough going on in our little house."

Well, yesterday there was an offer for an AUSSIE MIX PUPPY. I don't know what that means, but I do know that I like dogs, and I like Aussie... So, the story started out the same but ended differently!!

Meet Dash. (probably Dash, what do you think of MAX?)

Apparently Aussie Mix means um... mutt. He looks nothing like an Australian Shepherd, does he? You can't really see his body type, but I really think he looks like a long haired daschund. I was kind of expecting a herder type dog, but this little guy won't be herding anything! Anyway, he is adorable, and we all love him. Well, Scully (lead dog in our house) is getting used to him. She is mildly amused by him...as long as he stays away from her food.

Speaking of Scully, she helped us clean out the fridge today.


What a great little helper!!

Night Turns Five!

Night turned 5 this past Wednesday. Of all the possible things he could do to celebrate, he decided he wanted to go to IHOP. Alrighty!!

As is tradition in my lil family, we woke Night up* by singing Happy Birthday to him with a candle-lit muffin. Since the muffins usually end up half-eaten (I guess the presents are a bit of a distraction), I decided to be conservative and buy MINI-muffins-one for each of us. That'd be perfect, right-we were going out for breakfast after all...


But Josh then informed me that mini muffins don't have enough surface area to allow for safety. The candle melted all over Josh's hand when Night blew it out!!
Oops.



This was the one thing he wished for... (thanks to his nerdy Dad, Night is a huge Star Wars geek)

Keira gets one present (Night got about 5) because presents are fun for everyone!

After opening up presents, it was off to IHOP, where they were celebrating HORTON HEARS A WHO.



Beezlenut juice (sprite with jello chunks-surprisingly gross...) and Who cakes with green eggs and ham!

Then we went to the park for cake. Cakes, actually. You can never have too much sugar on your birthday.


We had a great day, it is hard to believe he is five already!!







*Yes, Night sleeps on the couch. We only have two bedrooms, and the kids kept waking each other up when they shared a room, so now he has his own room...

Rain

I love the rain. I am in love with rain. I am certain that sleeping with the window open while it rains is what heaven would be like. When I'm awake, I love to read by an open window during the rain.

I want to move to Seattle-for the rain. Of course, I would love to move anywhere-for the adventure, so I guess that doesn't have much impact.

I have considered buying one of those sound machines that play rain, but then would that ruin my love affair with rain? If I have rain EVERY night when I go to sleep, I wouldn't get that little excited feeling every time I hear that it is raining. But maybe it would be worth it because I would get to sleep with the rain ALL of the time.

To compare, I am in love with Josh. I never get tired of him. I still get that excited feeling with him. Maybe I should get the rain machine... But I do love Josh lots more than I love the rain, so maybe I shouldn't compare the two. I shouldn't get the machine...

Imagine!

This would've been so cool to experience!

I think I might have been scared, though. What if it were some kind of prequel to the rapture or something?? Then I'd be scared I had messed up!!

Good Intentions

Why is it that setting my alarm for ten minutes earlier sounds like a good idea when I am getting ready to go to sleep, but in the morning, it seems like the worst idea in the whole entire world?

Alcohol and Video Games

Last night, I was playing golf on the wii with my son Night. He was talking with me about another video game we own-Mario Golf on the N64. He was asking me if I have ever played Mario Golf. I told him that I had, but I wasn't very good at it. He then said that Mario Golf is a lot like golf on the wii, but there is no booze on the wii.

"WHAT?!" Surely, I misheard him, right?

"What did you say, honey?"

"There is no booze in this game of golf."

Thinking that I was going to have to have a serious talk with Josh about how he plays video games with the kids, I asked, "What is booze?"

"It is the character in Mario-the ghost."

"Oh!" Phew. Boo s.

Written in the Tattoo

Ever wonder what it would be like to be so passionate about something that it is always on your mind? I mean always. This is how my gorgeous husband feels about movies.


We currently own well over 1,000 dvds. This is just an estimate. I could be wrong. I'm sure he could tell you. I do know that we have three built in shelving units in our den that are packed with the things. They are built for books and the shelves run from the floor to the ceiling. That is a lot of movies.


For the past four years, Josh has been working on a movie of his own. He has written it, tweaked it, erased some of it, re-written and re-written it. He has been obsessed with it. He dreams of it--when both awake and asleep. He has taken hour long baths contemplating it. He has chosen various actors and shot various scenes. He has basically lived this movie since the idea came to him.


Josh has read tons of director books, watched millions of movies-focusing on the scenes and the way they are laid out and shot--camera angle, lighting, movement. He has pretty much stalked all of his favorite directors on-line-he knows everything about them and their directing strategies.


He has put in his time, and now it is finally paying off. He is making his movie! We have always known that the movie would be made-how could it not? Josh wouldn't shut up about it, but we thought it was going to be a personally financed movie--meaning we would put up the money to make it ourselves. So, basically the budget for the movie was $500, right?


Well, a local producer has signed on to make the movie. The new budget is $180,000. The shooting schedule is set for the middle of May. In a few weeks, Josh will be going to L.A. to meet with some actors...


I'm so proud of him for sticking to it and making it happen. 4 years is a long time!


Josh just got a tattoo that sums up his passion. It is on his right forearm. I asked him why he decided to put it there. He said that if he didn't get to do his movies, you might as well cut off his right arm...

Jericho

Originally, I had been super-excited for tonight to come. Big Brother 9 starts tonight. I know-I should be embarrassed that I am looking forward to such a trashy show, but I am.

However, the less advertised and even more exciting event for the evening comes on after Big Brother! JERICHO IS BACK!!

The story behind Jericho's return gives me goosebumps! After what the producers (or whoever it is that decides these things) were less than impressed by Jericho's first season, they canceled it. Canceled it after a cliff-hanger. They were just going to leave us hanging--and let us fall.

The fans of Jericho heard of its demise and brought it back to life! In order to protest, fans of the show sent almost 10,000 pounds of nuts to CBS. It was a reference to one of the lines in the show. You'll have to catch up in order to understand! I believe that every episode from season 1 is available to watch at CBS.COM, and I highly recommend it. I just finished watching the season finale in order to get pumped for tonight, and it worked!!

In Honor of Valentines Day...

couples meme

Couples

How long have you been together? We met 8 years ago, almost to the day (Super Bowl Sunday).

How long did you date? I feel like we've been married since we met... We dated about 4 months?

How old is he? 1 1/2 years younger than me.

Who eats more? Probably me. I have a really big sweet tooth. and savory tooth too.

Who said "I love you" first? He did! I told him "thank you."

Who is taller? He is.

Who is smarter? He is. Well, I'm not stupid or anything. He is just really, really, really smart.

Who does the laundry? Mostly me.

Who does the dishes? Mostly him.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? me. Which is the right side? when you are looking at it or when you are in it? I'm on the left when we are in it...

Who pays the bills? Me.

Who mows the lawn? Jason-our lawn boy... (actually, I think he is older than we are, but lawn man sounds funny)

Who cooks dinner? um. Nobody really cooks dinner. Mostly, he makes snacks for the kids ALL DAY LONG. So, I guess he does.

Who is more stubborn? He is.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me. :) We were both asleep on the couch and he woke me up by kissing me. We had fallen asleep while watching GREASE.

Who asked who out? Neither, really. I did ask him over to my house to watch Grease, which is the night morning we kissed, so me?

Who proposed? Neither. One night when we were at my school, one of the janitors saw Josh and asked me if he was my fiance; I told her no and then told Josh what she said. He asked me if I told her yes? That was my proposal I guess...

Who is more sensitive? Him. Me. I don't want ya'll thinking I married a pansy boy!

Who has more friends? me.

Who has more siblings? me. He is an only child, and I'm the youngest of 5.





I'm tagging Daddy Forever because I think he will write something interesting and Anna because she hasn't written on her blog for awhile.

On Having a Two Year Old in the House

Here are some sure signs that Keira has learned how to open the refrigerator door on her own:

In the door-one princess weeble.
On the bottom shelf- 2 cans of tuna, a huge bucket of Nestle chocolate powder, 2 juice cups, and a heart sticker.

What more could you need in there? Oh wait. I forgot one very important thing-- the one and only pink pacifier...

Lost?

Yes. Yes, I am. Excellent title for the show, by the way. I thought the survivors were the lost ones, but it turns out it is the viewers, at least this one.

I'm Watching Sex and the City

Josh got me the whole series DVD set about a year ago because it was on sale and I had mentioned that it would be nice to have. And he is just a really nice boy.

I don't know if I had mentioned this to him or not, but I had never actually seen an episode of the show. Now, I've started watching the series a few times, and I'm trying so hard to get into it more. Here is what I see wrong with the DVD-each episode is a chapter, meaning I can't fast forward any of it with the remote-it just goes to the end of the episode. I don't like that because I have kids and get distracted, or since I'm usually watching it in bed, I fall asleep. Also, the opening credits play for EVERY FREAKIN EPISODE, meaning I have to hear that song every 22.2 minutes, seeing Carrie get splashed by the bus every time. I can't fast forward it with one click, of course, because that would take me to the END of the episode.

Speaking of falling asleep (my final rant), I hate that the menu scene has Carrie talking about the episode...over and over and over again. It becomes really annoying when I'm trying to sleep to it.

I am determined to enjoy the show, though, because so many of my friends love it. It has to get better, right? I'm part way through season 2 and I am already enjoying it more. I guess I just needed to give Carrie a chance to find her groove. I have a feeling after a few more episodes, I'm finally going to be hooked.

I'll let you know!

My Kids

I got some lomography cameras for my birthday, and I finally got a scanner that works so I could import some of my holga pictures. They are both double exposed. Look closely!!


Night.


Keira

Any Suggestions?

What do I do if my two year old will never let me change her diaper?! She can have pee dripping down her leg, and she will adamantly deny that she needs her diaper changed. How uncomfortable! We eventually get it changed, and once we get her to lie down, she is fine, but it can take forever to convince her--or 3 minutes of hell trying to change through the screams and kicks.

Any ideas?

LOST

No spoilers or theories here. I just want to say that Charlie looked good, damn good for... oh wait no spoilers. He looked good.

Popcorn?

Keira ran up to me after Josh said, "Go tell your Mom what you want!"

"I want some popcorn!" (k)

"You want some popcorn?" (me)

"Um...No..." (k)

She looks very confused.

"You don't want popcorn?" (me)

"Um...No...Cereal." (k)

"Do you want cereal or popcorn?" (me)

from across the room, "Didn't you want corn pops?" (josh)

"Oh! Corn Pops! I want Corn Pops!!" (k)

Here we are recapping:



Like the hat? She got it for Christmas. She wears it more often inside the house than outside...

Conversations from the Couch

Josh-"So, what are we going to do tonight?"
Mari-"Well, I was thinking about attacking that pile of laundry (the one that has been growing for about 2 weeks now)."
Josh-"You really should because I'm not very good at it."
Mari-"Oh. I am. I rock at putting away clothes. In fact, I'm thinking of writing a book."



dryer pile
Originally uploaded by mari_ickes.


folded pile
Originally uploaded by mari_ickes.

There is another pile in the bedroom, but I couldn't bear to take the photo. A girl has to have standards, you know.

I Killed the Crab

I bought the kids one of those toys that grow bigger in water-a crab for Night and a cat for Keira.

They were cheap, and they'd be fun bath toys, right? Wrong. I didn't read the directions, of course, until after I had them home and had told the kids that they could play with them that night while they took a bath. As the kids are jumping around in the tub, I find out that they aren't like the little pellet like things I Santa bought at Christmas time that grow within minutes of hitting the water. They take UP TO 24 HOURS to grow.

Oops. 24 hours is a long time for a 4 year old, and an eternity for a 2 year old, right?

No problem! I'll just let them take a bath, and then leave the cat and crab in the tub with a little bit of water so that they can grow. Then the next day, the kids will be able to see how big their toys grew, and we'll just keep the "pets" in the tub.

Great idea until Mom decides to take a HOT bubble bath. I'm not sure which did it--the extreme temperature (I like me a nice steam bath with my wine) or the aromatic bubbles, but the crab disintegrated! Gone.

Oops.

On the upside, I found a cure for crabs...

Coffee

I absolutely love my husband more than words can express.

Yesterday, I walked in the door after work, and he was cleaning out the coffee filter to make coffee. I sat down to check e-mail, and before I knew it, he was placing a nice, BIG, hot mug of coffee in my hand.

I didn't ask for it; he didn't offer it.

He's the best for me.

Discount City

All of Nashville is on Clearance Sale this week, ya'll!! Listen to Read the deals that I have found this week! You can say it-I'm an amazing shopper...

Thursday, we went to Old Navy in Cool Springs. I found a beautiful sweater, a fabulous scarf, some slippers (2) and socks (a quarter each!!) for the kids. I paid with a $20 bill AND GOT BACK SOME CHANGE.

Yesterday was the day I hit the big jackpot, though.

Target in Brentwood had a million women's clothes on clearance- 75% off. I found an ADORABLE hoodie for $4.98. I also got Josh a mini guitar thingy for his ipod. How cute is that?! Three bucks.

Goody's here in Franklin was amazing. The whole freakin' store was on clearance!! I think the sales there are still going until Monday. I might go back-it was that good. I bought a very COMFORTABLE velour sweatsuit for 8 dollars. (I had to get something to wear for my spa treatment. The invite said something comfortable. I couldn't let Malia down!) I also got a cute pink sweater with a scarf attached. My husband will kill me when I tell you this: He said that the sweater was neat and wondered why guys didn't have cool clothes like that. I offered to let him borrow it, but apparently pink isn't his color. Maybe when I go back tomorrow, I can find a more boyly blue or green for him.

Have any of ya'll noticed that K-mart leaves their stuff on clearance FOREVER? They still have some Christmas stuff on 75% off clearance. I got some Martha Stewart Christmas ornaments that I had my eye on back when they were $9.99. Fabulous.

I love getting stuff for cheap. I feel so self-righteous-like I screwed over BIG BROTHER or something.

I am also chomping at the bit to let you know that today I found lemon juice at Kroger, normally $1.85, on sale for $0.50. FIFTY CENTS! But to blog about that would be absurd. Nobody cares about lemon-juice.

Hypothetically Speaking

Let's say you went to the gym in the morning before work, and as you are getting dressed, you realize you left your clean panties at home...

What do you do? You don't have time to go home before work, so that is out. You can either put on your nasty, sweaty panties that you have been wearing since the day before (through the 45 minutes of cardio sweat as well), or you can go without.

Both choices have their disadvantages, but neither is a great alternative to those nice clean panties sitting at home in your panty drawer; yet, you have no access to those beauties. Dirty panties are gross and stinky, but they'd dry...eventually. Panty-less isn't too comfortable or hygienic.

So, what do you do??



I chose commando, hypothetically speaking...

Speaking of Found...

This morning, around 2, Keira yells from her crib:
"I NEED MY PACIFIER!!"
Only it sounds like:
"BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!"
It was two o'clock in the morning, and she is only two...

So, only partly awaken from slumber, I stumble into her room, and say, "What do you need, honey?"

"It fell down there!" she said, pointing behind her crib by the back wall.

"Okay. I'll get it." I still didn't know what I was looking for-Her "pink" was lying on the bed beside her (Hello Kitty wearing pink dress); her "purple" was beside that (Hello Kitty wearing...); her pacifier was in her hand; her blanket was on top of her. Those are the sleeping essentials. I couldn't figure out what she wanted, but I knew it was under the bed.

So, I started to pull out the buckets of toys that are stored under her bed, saying soothing things like, "I'm almost there," or "I'll get it for you in just a second, Sweetie." while silently mumbling swear words completely not appropriate to say aloud...

Then Keira starts laughing. "You can't found it, Mom." "Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"What, honey? I'm getting it!"

"You can't found it, Mom! Ha ha! It was down there but I found it; I found it, Mom! You can't found it!"

It WAS her pacifier she was looking for. She had found it, and thought it was a funny joke that I was still looking for it.


Real funny. Real funny at two o'clock in the morning.

I Found It!

Have you ever lost something that was super-important to you? It drives you crazy that you can't find it? You even resort to pleading to the gods that you would do anything just to have it back?

I lost my ipod.

I hated everything. I hated that we had no money; our rent was due; our gas bill was due; we needed to buy gas for the car; we needed to buy a tire for the car; work was slow (hey, people-go out to eat--I need some money); I didn't want to work-out; I was tired; I was just plain sad.

Then, I found my ipod.

What was I thinking? Suddenly life is wonderful. All of my previous problems seemed to melt away. I can now see that my problems were temporary, (assuming some of ya'll will come in and eat sometime soon!!) and as long as I have Jack back in my life; nothing can go wrong.

Watch him here. He will make you happy too.

The Cat Saga Continues...

As previously mentioned, we have two beautiful cats that we can no longer have in our house. About 2 weeks ago, after trying (unsuccessfully) to give them away, we decided that they could be outside cats. They are spayed/neutered and still have their claws. We have a nice garage set up for them, and a wonderful yard in which to play. Our neighbor Mary has cats too-what fun for them! They are young and healthy-they'd love being outside, getting to play and whatnot, right?

A few nights ago, Nashville had an unusual cold spell and got down to--I don't know--really cold. Wanda and Orson sat outside our door and cried, so we let the inside for the evening, 2 nights in a row. They had to go out during the day, but they were with us at night.

Wanda was SOOOOOOOOO cuddly when she was inside. Before, she would only cuddle a little bit, but as if trying to win us over, she bombarded us with lovin' during her brief stay in the house.

Well, it has been two nights, and the weather has warmed quite a bit (it is supposed to be in the 70's tomorrow). We are no longer worried about our little babies being too cold, but our little babies want to come in the house anyway. So much in fact, that Wanda has become a stalker. She climbs up the screened door, just to where we can see her, and she cries! If we leave the room, she finds another window that is near us, and she climbs into it and cries. Loudly.

Last night, Wanda sat outside my bedroom window. When I left the room to get some water, she followed me to the nearest window. Then back into the bedroom. Around 3:00 this morning, I had had enough of the meow-ing. I got a water bottle and squirted water at her through the window, thinking it would teach her not to sit in the window, or at the very least get her to shut the hell up. She didn't move. She just looked at me with those sad eyes as if asking me why I was being so cruel.

I guess I'm either going to have to let the cats in and deal with their hair (and Josh's allergy, which is getting worse), or give up sleep. Good-bye sleep. I already gave most of it up for the kids; I might as well quit cold turkey!

Juno

I love love LOVE Juno. I cannot remember the last time I left a movie feeling so... fulfilled. It is humorous and witty, sad, cute, heartfelt, and whatever fun adjectives you can think of.

I seriously am in love with the characters and actors in this film. I usually leave movies "liking" them, but I would have paid for another ticket and turned right around and watched this movie again. That is a compliment. I usually wait for DVD release--on clearance at Blockbuster before I watch a movie; or at the very least-I go to a matinee; but I came right home and purchased the FABULOUS soundtrack on itunes (paying full price is practically unheard of in my house), and would definitely go to see the movie again at the theater.

Go see it. It is wonderful. (think Gilmore Girls)

Dreams

I have not been getting much rest lately. I've been getting plenty of sleep (well, you know, plenty is relative), but I haven't been able to rest because of my dreams.

Two nights ago, I kept dreaming about work. I would dream that I was at work...working, and something bad would happen (too many tables, bad food, mean customer, run out of WATER--see how stressful being a server can be!). I would wake up from my dream, feeling a bit worn out from working so much, only to fall back asleep and have it happen again!

Last night, Josh went out with one of his friends, so when I went to sleep, I was alone in the house with the kids-who were also sleeping. (Well, Night wasn't asleep, but he was in his bed being a good kid). I kept dreaming that I WASN'T sleeping! How bizarre! I would dream that Josh came home, but then I would wake up and he wouldn't be here. I would dream that the dog started barking, but I would wake up with her still under my feet, same spot. I even dreamt that I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep, writing. Then, of course, I would wake up with no paper around me. I never write in bed.

I even spent one dream writing a text message to Josh to stop and buy me an Oreo McFlurry. I woke up in a bit of a panic after this one. I was tired-I didn't want to get out of bed to eat ice cream, but then again, I would NEVER want ice cream to go to waste... Some people drunk-text. Could I have sleep-texted?? Don't worry. I didn't. No ice cream for me...

Needless to say, I'm still tired. Tired from sleeping.

Secret Santa

I think that playing Secret Santa is so much fun! I haven't worked at a place where we have played for years (I guess it would have been a dead give-away if I played Secret Santa when I worked at the doctor's office-there were only two of us in the office-me and the doctor!!)

We have been playing Secret Santa at work for almost two weeks now, with the big reveal coming up on Sunday night. I love it! My Santa didn't give me anything the first week at all, so I was a bit bumbed since I really get in to it. I not only wanted presents (because who doesn't want presents?!!) but I also wanted hints as to who was playing my Santa.

I was super-excited on Monday when I got some BEAUTIFUL earrings on an earring tree. I really love me some cute earrings. The earrings that my Santa got for me were perfect. I would have picked them out myself. At this point, I had no idea who was playing my Santa. Pretty much everyone at work knows that I like earrings because I try to wear different ones all of the time.

Then on Wednesday, I received some yummy smelling O.P.I. lotions. I love love love them, especially the coconut and the almond ones (I think I have an eating problem--I'm in love with food-flavored lotions--especially the ones at Victoria's Secret!!). There is a girl at work who went to school to be a beautistetian girl who puts on make-up. A few weeks ago, she was talking about O.P.I. brand stuff, so my first thought was, "OH!! I know my secret Santa!!!"

But then I got another present today (two actually), and the lady in question wasn't working, so now I think it is another girl. Her sister works with us, and her sister seems to know a lot about my presents, so I have a feeling... But then there is a guy who was near my presents when I first saw them--maybe he put them there... Hmmm.

The suspense is killing me, YET, I love it!!


As for me, I'm a really good Santa. The person that I've been getting stuff for sometimes reads my blog, so I'd better be careful!! I doubt if she'll check it before Sunday. I'm going to take my chances-I won't see her before then anyway! I gave her a much-appreciated STARBUCKS gift card, followed by a yummy flavored-creamer. You see, she is a single mom and can use all the coffee she can get her hands on!! I have also gotten her earrings, diaper coupons, and some candy. I had the PERFECT gift for her, but my husband RUINED it. I won't mention it because he is a bit sore about the subject, but I have spoiled her none-the-less (who wouldn't love a bottle of wine?!). I can't wait to give her the big present on Sunday.

I'll let you know if my guess is correct. The person I've been giving my presents to has asked a couple times if I'm her Santa, but I think she's asked a couple of people, so I think I've been incognito... (I might as well be a ninja!) I'll let you know that after Sunday too!


Have you been having fun for the holidays as well?!!

My New Old Camera

Since my original colorsplash lomography camera broke, Josh decided to replace it (along with FIVE other cameras (Plastic Fantastic Package Supreme)!!) for my birthday! Here are some shots of the Christmas lights around the house. I have some other cool photos, but I don't have any way to put them on-line yet.

Kitty Cat Problems

We love our little (okay BIG) Wanda cat and even bigger Orson cat; however, we are tired of their cat hair being all over the house. I mean ALL OVER THE FREAKIN' HOUSE. With all the animals and the kids, it is impossible to keep our house clean, and that just makes everyone depressed, so something has to be done. After making a very difficult decision to give the cats to someone else, I posted an email on www.freecycle.com. Nobody replied.

*side note* I would like to know why when I post something (which rarely happens) to give away, NOBODY wants my stuff. But when someone else posts something and I try to get it, EVERYBODY AND THEIR BROTHER has already gotten it. NO FAIR! NO FAIR! *end side note*

It was hard enough to decide that we were going to get rid of our babies (just the cats-we'll keep the human ones for a while-but they need to watch out if we decide to become clean freaks-they aren't very clean either...), but then when nobody took them, it was even harder to try to give them away again--it is kind of like the gods were telling us that we should keep them,but I don't really believe in gods, and the hair was sooo overwhelming...

So, I told Josh to try Craigslist instead. BIG MISTAKE. Have any of ya'll looked at the pet section on Craigslist?? There is a safety-type warning at the beginning that talks about selling the animals instead of giving them away because they might be used in fights or to be fed to snakes or all kinds of horrible things. (this gets even worse) THEN, when you look in the classified ads, you see lots of ads for PAWS. These ads have beautiful pictures of dogs who need homes RIGHT AWAY or they will be put to sleep. PUT TO SLEEP.

As Josh is showing me the warning note, I think to myself, "Oh, the cats will be fine. These things don't really happen... but am I really willing to take that chance?" Then he moves on the the posts with the pictures. My next thought is, "CALL PAWS! CALL PAWS! We need to save all of the animals. We need more dogs in our chock-full two bedroom house. What's a little hair?

So anyway, does anyone want some wonderful kitties? We have some here that need to go to someone else. They are beautiful cats, and if our house were bigger, we'd keep them. How about some dogs? You can't have ours, but PAWS has a lot of cute ones!

Oops. Sorry

Sorry to whoever it was that googled "pooping black girls." I'm sure that you were disappointed when you got here!!

A Real Go-Getter

What is it that makes some people go-getters while others are just plain lazy? I wouldn't call myself lazy per se, but I would like to be a little more...productive. It seems like I can get stuf done at work that needs to get done, but when it comes to home, I just don't get to everything I need to get to--even when I have the time.

How do I MAKE myself have a TYPE A personality? I always have such good intentions of getting stuff done around the house: cleaning, organizing, crafting, spending time with kids, exercising, reading, catching up on movies or shows... but hardly any of it seems to get done. What is up with that, and how to I change it...without having to do too much. I'm not good with commitment!

Roller Derby

It's ROLLER DERBY time again!! Tonight was the last bout of the season, and the girls did not disappoint. Since I'm not good with details, I'll just tell ya'll that we kicked ass. Big time ass kicking. I think the final score was 150 something to 50 something.

Since I've been to three bouts, I'm somewhat of an expert now, so I can truly say that this was the best one so far. There weren't any real fights like last time, but there was a whole lotta pushin and shovin goin on! When we waltzed up 5 minutes after the game started (late, again), we were very excited to see the huge crowd. The line to buy tickets was... um, really long. It went out to the parking lot, but since there is not really a frame of reference if you have never been there, I will just say it was really long. The best part of it was that we had bought our tickets directly through a rollergirl, so we didn't have to stand in line. (singing "I've got the golden ticket..." all the way to the door)

The girls played The Bleeding Heartland out of Bloomington, Indiana. As I've previously stated, we won--by far. It looked like the girls were having a blast. I had a blast watching them. The paramedics had to come to the scene quite a few times, though, so I guess the rough-housing got a bit out of hand. The paramedic never had to open his little first aid kit, though (that I saw, anyway), so I guess it wasn't too bad.

Picking two highlights of the night, I'd have to mention the Bloomington girl who bared her butt to the crowd-for more than one loop around the rink because she was pushed over and her little skirt never fell back down. I don't think she was wearing any panties... that had to hurt! I also enjoyed seeing Hildabeast as the girl with the star (told you I'm not good with details-I don't know the technical term!). It was a rare treat to see her zooming around the track rather than being a blocker.

It was a great night. Unfortunately, it was the last of the season, but I hope to be at the next season opener, right here at the Nashville State Fairgrounds on Februrary 16th.

Why Lessons Don't Work

Night poked Josh in the face. Josh told Night not to poke him in the face because it hurt. Night told Josh to poke HIM in the face, so Josh did, but Night said it didn't hurt.

Josh told Night that it didn't hurt because he didn't poke him very hard, even though he should have in order to teach him a lesson.

Night somberly replied that lessons don't work. When Josh asked why, Night said that he had tried to teach me (his mom) a lesson, and it didn't work. Night went on to tell this story:

When I was little and sleeping in Mom's tummy, she used to get mad and yell.
I would hit her to teach her a lesson, but it never worked. She just kept yelling.

It is true-I did yell a lot when I was pregnant with Night, I was teaching 8th grade English. I did yell a lot.

Little Black Babies

My husband and and I are both from RURAL midwestern (read: mostly white) towns. I did not have much exposure to African Americans until moving here to Nashville. One thing that I've always wanted, though, was to have little black babies. Seeing little black girls with braids made my heart melt every time.

When I started dating Josh, I told him that I would never marry him. When he asked why, I simply told him that I wanted black babies, and since he was whiter than a ghost, he just wouldn't be able to fulfill my need. He matter of factly to me that he was indeed black and that he couldn't believe that I doubted him.

Years later, when I was pregnant with Night, I told Josh how excited I was to FINALLY have a little black baby. For some reason, Josh became upset at me and told me that I'd better NOT have a black baby. It made no sense.

I hear that black babies are born white then the pigment darkens. Well, Night (and Keira, for that matter) still haven't grown into their black-ness. I wish it would hurry up, though, because Keira's hair needs braided!!

Too Tired To Title

The problem with NaBloPoMo is that sometimes I drink wine while taking a bath before going to bed. At times like these, I don't really want to write. I just want to sleep.

But, I still feel pressured to write even though I don't feel inspired to write anything in particular.

So, here's my post...

Warning: Poop Post

Night has been potty-trained for well over a year now. He had a hard time adjusting to the big toilet for pooping; he liked the little one better, but he has graduated to only using the big toilet. Just recently (this week, in fact), Night has figured out how to wipe his own butt. Before, he would just yell when he was done, one of us parents would run in, wipe, and it would be over and done with; now he is on his own.

Last night, Night had to poop, so he was in the bathroom...pooping. He then yelled to me that he was done.
I then said, "I thought you learned how to wipe your own butt."
"Oh yeah."
**a few minutes later...
"Um, Mom, I need help. I can't catch any poop."
**I start to go in the bathroom.
"Oh. Never mind. I caught some. I couldn't catch any, so I thought I had forgotten how to wipe my own butt, but now I got some, so I don't need your help."
**(what do you say to that?)
"Okay...Good job."

Cereal Facts

A few days ago, Night and I had a discussion about the Kroger brand cereal that I had bought for the kids (Marshmallow Treasures, to be exact).

There is a picture of an octopus on the front. Night told me that he wanted some of the SQUID cereal (sounds delicious!) that I bought for him. I told him we didn't have SQUID cereal, but that we have OCTOPUS cereal.

We then had a 2 minute argument about the fact that it is in fact an OCTOPUS, not a SQUID. Don't worry-it is not seafood-flavored cereal (I wonder how that would go over), it is in fact generic Lucky Charms, but the fact that my FOUR YEAR OLD son even knows that a squid and an octopus are similar is completely amazing. I'm so proud.

They don't really look that much alike, though! Of course, I had to rub it in that I was right and he was wrong by showing him the pictures. I won't be out-smarted by my 4 year old, not this time at least!

Deal of the Day

Heads-up for those of you in the Nashville area---

The Target in Cool Springs has ONE pink Dyson on clearance. I think it is only 15% off, but that is better than nothing!! I didn't buy it because I already have one. It isn't pink, which I am jealous about, but it doesn't bother me too much since I'm not really the one that uses it the most. (Yes, I AM lucky). I LOVE my Dyson, so I think ya'll should try and get the ONE that is on clearance. It is on one of the end-caps near the towels. Good luck!

Other deal of the day--the Swifty gas station in Franklin on Hillsboro road gives you FIVE CENTS off per gallon if you pay cash. It used to be three cents, but just today I stopped and got it for five cents off per gallon. Unlike the Dyson, this deal is open to everyone!!

Tomorrow

Since I am supposed to be writing every day this month and I've already failed (even though it is only the third day) at THAT, I have decided to write about another failure of mine!

I AM going to eat healthy again, starting tomorrow. I don't know what happened--I was pretty healthy for over a month-eating fairly well and exercising a lot. I lost some weight and felt pretty good.

Then I stopped.
Then, I started; for a day or two. Then I stopped. Then, I started; for a day or two. Then I stopped. Then, I started; for a day or two... you get the picture.

I keep saying that I will start tomorrow, but as the saying goes, tomorrow never comes. Or, it comes and goes, taking my good intentions with it.

Tonight, I 'm planning on making up a menu for this next week. MAYBE that'll make me stick to it better. Josh is really good at sticking to his plan, and he said he is going to start eating better today, so maybe...

I also thought that telling ya'll about my plan to eat better would help, but then I thought about how I told you about Nablpomo and that didn't matter either. I seriously don't know how to motivate myself. Josh has the hardest time trying to motivate me as well.

So anyway, I'm going to eat healthier, starting tomorrow. Or the next day...

I'm Not Done Yet

I'm not done talking about Halloween yet. I still have a few thoughts about it, and since it is the first day of NaBloPoMo, I figured I should probably write something.

I absolutely love the idea of going around the neighborhood and getting candy from people. It made me sad that there were so few lights on last night. Even though Josh was practically begging me to stop, I wanted to hit every glowing porch. I was telling him that I would be upset if we were home and nobody stopped, so I wanted to support trick-or-treating by going to every house, especially the ones that had long drive-ways or were a little out of the way. If we our kids have to suffer from sugar-highs in order to get the point across, so be it.

Then we got to the next to the last house. I remembered her from last year. I remembered that she was very friendly and was happy to see us last year, and I was not disappointed this year. She told us about her kids (teens or in college) and what she was watching on tv. She introduced us to her dog. She also pointed out the cute Halloween decorations that she found at the hardware store. We thanked them (her husband came to the door in the middle of our conversation. He seemed to be trying to hurry her up a bit.

As we were leaving, I pointed out how nice she was, and that I was glad we had stopped. Josh then pointed out that I would be that same lady some day. Apparently, she had been drinking and was a little more boisterous than made Josh comfortable... I hadn't even noticed. I just thought she was happy to see our little Happy Feet. So what-there is nothing wrong with getting drunk and waiting at my door for little kids to come by so I can give them candy. Maybe I WILL be that lady some day, only the decorations I find at the hardware store will be much cooler.

Happy Feet

HPIM1295
Originally uploaded by mari_ickes.

Happy Halloween! 2 solid hours of walking produced 4 1/2 pounds of candy (weighed after we all ate some of course), and who knows how many pounds each of us will gain! At least we got a good walk in, right? Check out this picture too! I love it. (as does Night!)

At the End of the Day

Have you ever noticed that this is one of--if not THE-most over used words in reality tv game shows? It was stated no less than 6 times tonight on THE BIGGEST LOSER, all by different people.

Restaurant Advice

I don't know WHY it is necessary for me to point this out, but apparently I must.

It is rude to talk to your server when your server is talking to another table.

Seriously. This has happened to me quite a few times in the past month or so-I will be taking an order or checking on something at one of my tables and a customer from another table with just walk right up and start talking to me!

No more! No More, I tell you. It is rude and I won't stand for it any more.

Terrible Twos

Please help me.

My


may be turning into


or even (god help me)

but there are so many times that she is





that I know she is just testing out her acting skills. I think we need to watch

and I need to learn more patience!!

NaBloPoMo

So, I've decided to sign up for NaBloPoMo. NAtional BLOg POsting MOnth. I'm going to try to write and post a photo (at Franklin Foto) everyday in November. I had once tried the 365 day challenge and failed at it, so I'm trying to get back into it by starting with just a month.

I've been practicing. Today is the 3rd day. Not bad, huh?!

Why don't you sign up too? It'll be fun.

Overheard from Keira's Bedroom...

around 3:30 this morning...

Josh: Keira, Lay down.

Keira: No.

Josh: Will you lay down if I stay in here?

Keira: Yeah.

Josh: Okay. Lay down.

Keira: No.

Josh: Okay. I'm leaving.

Keira: No. No. NO! NO!NO!NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!


So, how'd ya'll sleep??

Fun with Mega Blocks

You have NO idea how proud I am of these two little toys! There are 275 pieces, all put together by yours truly! AND we didn't lose any of the pieces. Well, we lost Spiderman's arm, but that isn't technically part of the set. It was kind of close when I couldn't find the actual propellers, but that problem was solved with a quick look under the coffee table. Until I found them, I was willing to write them off as, "Maybe that is why it was on clearance..."

This little project only took two days. Okay-three days, but it isn't like we spent the whole time putting it together. I spent most of the time "taking a break" from it because it made me so frustrated!

I do have this to say about the whole experience-there is NO FUCKING way a 6 year old could do this by himself! The most frustrating part is when a piece from the middle falls off and you have to back-track to figure out where that one little piece belongs. Oh, and the other most frustrating part is knowing that all the little pieces will be broken off and lost before the end of the week... (Night just nodded at that last part when I read it to him-he even knows it is true.)

Anywhere??

If you could live ANYWHERE in the WORLD? Where would you live?


I've been trying to figure this one out. I want to live near a big city, if not in a city. I want a lot of public transport; little crime; maybe some snow; definitely some nice warm weather; maybe a beach; good schools; lots of culture and lots of stuff to do. Any ideas???

A Cat Called Wanda

My cat Wanda is currently obsessed with giving me a back massage. No kidding.

I'm embarrassed to say that it usually happens when I sit down to pee, but it has happened at other times. She starts purring then she jumps on my back and does that little scratching thing with her paws. It is heaven.

I know you are all jealous, and no. You cannot have her!

Keira's First Boxing Match

Now that Keira has turned the big...2, she is able to play the Wii. She was amazing. Before I had the wii, I never really thought I'd be yelling, "Punch his lights out!" and "Kick her butt!" in order to encourage my children to "hurt" each other. A little aggression is good for the soul, right?

At least I didn't make the comment Josh did, "Hey, this will come in handy with parenting...knowing that she can take a punch."

She does have a little ways to go-she kept yelling "Knock Off" instead of "Knock Out!" Don't worry. She'll get it. Before long, she'll be knocking us all off... (uh oh. maybe what they say about violence in games is true...)

Color Wonder Warning

Here is a warning to all parents who have Color Wonder products at home. Don't get me wrong-they are wonderful, but they are NOT mess-free as the tag-line notes.

If you have a finished masterpiece lying on the counter and a cat who decides to wash her paws before walking across said counter, you will have a mess. At least we did-in the form of little blue paw prints-all over the bar, the counter, the floor, and of course don't forget the little blue marks all over the cat herself...

This Is Me!

not that I would EVER consider giving up caffeine, though. That would be like David Letterman giving up his top ten lists.

Getting Rest = Getting Sick

Josh's parents took the kids last week. A whole week of not having to be responsible!

We had one fun day together.

Then, I got sick.

Then, Josh got sick.

Then (well, actually before this), something chewed through the cable in the basement and our internet and ON-Demand were broken.

The kids came back on Saturday.

I feel better now. Last time the kids were gone, I was sick.

I'm destined to be tired forever because getting the chance to rest apparently makes me ill.

How I Get Up in the Morning

As you know, I've been trying to get up earlier in the mornings to work out before going to work. I am NOT a morning person AND work begins at 6:30 most mornings, so already odds are that I WILL NOT get up at all.

I have, however, been getting up about 3 times a week. I would like to move my average up to 5 rather than 3, so I am obviously still working on it. Here is what has motivated me so far:

Clothes. I pack my WORK clothes into my gym bag the night before, even the shoes and makeup. This way, I know that if I don't get up early, I still have to go to the trouble of unpacking before I can get ready. I also either wear my workout shorts or have them close by (read: can't get out of bed without stumbling on them) so that I put them on as soon as I wake up.

Co-Workers. Since my gym (Maryland Farms YMCA) is about 5 minutes from work (okay-exactly 3 minutes), I am usually still red-faced and sweaty when I get to work in the morning. Even though I've showered and gotten ready, I don't allow my body enough time to completely cool down before I arrive at work. My co-workers have begun noticing when I'm NOT red-faced, so that helps keep my accountable. It also helps keep me accountable because I talk about working out with them.

Joe's Goals. This isn't really too motivating, but a little. I put the widget up on my blog so everyone can see if I've worked out or not. Honestly, this isn't much of a help at 4:00 in the morning. I don't care if ya'll think I'm a failure for not getting up at fucking four o'clock in the fucking morning! Those are my thoughts in the morning. I'm a bit disappointed in the afternoon when I look at it, though...

Metabolism. Whenever the thought crosses my mind that I should keep sleeping and just wait until afternoon to workout, I think about how much better my metabolism will work if I workout in the morning. Honestly, I've done no research on the subject and don't know if it is true, but it helps motivate me, so please don't tell me otherwise.

Morning Self-Talk. When my alarm goes off in the morning, I consider that even if I don't get up right then to go work out, I still only have about an hour (actually closer to an hour and a half, but I've convinced myself otherwise) before I HAVE to get up to get ready for work. I consider this: an hour of sleep won't make much difference; however, an hour at the gym will.

Self-righteousness. There is a bit of pride knowing that I worked off 1,000 calories before most people even rolled out of bed that morning (OK-1,000 is the most, usually it is around 700, but 700 still rocks!) I feel self-righteous when people are all bleary-eyed and grumpy when they walk into work and I'm energetic from working out. I also love it when people ask how many calories I've burned and I don't have to say, "Well, I didn't get up early this morning."


So far, these are the answers to my question from before, "How do I make myself go to the gym in the morning?" I'll let you know if I come up with any more.

Straws

Twice this week when ordering drinks, two different people said that they wanted a straw with their cokes. Why would you find it necessary to ask for a straw before you even get the drink? Are straws in that high of a demand that you are afraid the restaurant will run out? Even if I happen to forget to give you one, there are 12 other servers with no less than 50 straws in their pockets who would be happy to give you one.

Ordering your straw when you order your drink is just weird.