Neat!

So I went to the city for coffee tonight. BFF Kissy had her first day off in two weeks. Thats two weeks of 12 and 1 hour days, so it was a well deserved day off indeed.

Honestly? I would NOT be able to work those kind of hours. I have doubts I could work a normal 8 hour shift anywhere!

Kissy spent her one and only day off buying a brand new car! How sweet is that? It was just rolled off the truck tonight so they were not able to take it home, but she promised that I will get to see it next coffee.

It's a 2007 Kia Rio or something, 50 miles to the gallon, to thats awesome for her!

Table Scraps

My Mother in law keeps accidentally cooking too much and sending over table scraps for Smokey. I feel bad, but I throw most of it out and the bit I allow her, I mix into her food so she has to eat both the scraps and the kibble in her bowl.

I don;t know how to tell my MIL she is not doing Smokey any favor by sending this stuff over. She is a puppy and her puppy food has the proper nutrients she needs in it. A side of Elk does not!

Le Sigh

Un Cluttering 2

As per my last post, un-cluttering. I heard a radio advertisement for the XXXXXXXXX Crisis Nursery and called them. I explained that I am horrible at finding places but that I had a bunch of baby/ toddler boys clothes for them.

The lady was so nice, she agreed to meet me at a place in the city I knew how to drive to, so I damn well made it worth her while! I dug out all of the summer coats and took out the too small jackets and sweaters, then I went through the kids summer clothing and took out all of the shorts, tee shirts and bathing suits that were too small for Stuperman.

Then I went through the shoes, sandals, winter boots and rubber boots and made a bag of those for her.

Poor woman, thought she was picking up two bags of toddler clothes and ended up with seven bags of various and sundry.

Kinda made it worth driving in the cold for.

Plus? in the spring? I don't have to worry about going through all of the clothes now :o)

Un Cluttering

A few weeks back I cleaned out all of our closets. Rainbow Man's too small clothes went to Blue Boy, Blue Boys went to Stuperman, but..I'm done having Babies, so who do I give Stuperman's too small pile too?

I have been burned each time I try and give a pile of baby clothes to friends or family. they either get thrown straight in the trash - good, no stained, clothes! Into the garbage, Or in one other case, the friend who was so hard up and desperately needed clothes for her son, she sold them in a garage sale.

Sigh.

I think I am taking them all down to the non profit. They will go to kids who need them, and not into the trash nor benefit people who don't deserve!

FAIL!

Last March I started a Cross Stitch of Rainbow Man. I used a program to turn the picture to a pattern and started working on it. Then I got obsessed (even more so) with my blog(s) and put it down.

In the summer it is really hard to Cross Stitch becuase I won't take it outside, there are too many threads and papers and things to keep track of and clean, and the kids are too young, or at least the baby is too young to be out alone.

So tonight I picked it up with the intention of getting a bunch of work done on it. I would like it done by the new year.

We have this roof light thingy, and the light bulb burnt out about forever ago and we have not gone to get a replacement bulb for it yet. It is some sort of specialty bulb thingy. So I took my bedroom lamp out and set it up for lighting. It was still too dark. I had to bend so far forward to take advantage of the light that my back was killing me before five hundred stitches- which sounds like a lot, but is NOT.

So I failed again at doing something I had set my mind to doing. I will take it out Monday and try doing it with the daytime light. We have a great big window in the living room and I am hopeful that the kids will occupy themselves so I can get some work on it done.

Hey! You! Yes you!

I have a post up at Paint! asking how a popup blocker decides what ad we get to see. Go read it and then tell me what kind of pop ups YOU get to see.

I was wondering if it might depend on the site we go to? I miss the old X-rated ones I used to get.

Go now Interwebs! Share your wisdom with me!

Hot Tubs

Yes I said Hot tubs.

We had the boys come up with a Christmas List, not that we ever follow them, becuase the things they want are usually outrageous. and also? I normally have all their stuff bought before they even realize it is close to Christmas.

So this year, like last year, hot tubs made an appearance on a list.

Ever since Blue boy was three and learned of the existence of hot tubs, he has wanted one with a passion tat excludes all else.

You see, He wants it in his room. And he would put his pillow and blanket in it and sleep int he water AND get clean!

AT THE SAME TIME!

Such a multi-tasker, that one.

Uhm. No he won't be getting it.

What weird and strange things have your kids asked for?

Odd Phrases

So I have a nifty little stat counter on my blog, but it doesn't just tell me how many peopl come here, it also tells me how they got here.

I have had a few searches that I am positive came just becuase of keywords in my paid blogging.

And thats pretty cool! It means that somewhere someone was looking for something I and I had a link ready for them to use!

Some of the searches are easy to understand. Like the seven searches for cheese strings. Obviously someone is feeling snacky!

Or the one searching out Tropical Vacations. Obviously they need a break and need to take me with them!

But the one search on Washington DC medical malpractice lawyers Really made me wonder. Malpractice usually has to do with doctors, right? Specifically when a doctor does something wrong?

I've had some experience with that! Like when a doctor misdiagnosed my sisters stroke as a headache and lefter her laying in a hospital bed screaming for hours until my father went to see her during visiting hours and made them do something?

Or the time they started operating on me (tubal ligation) and I said, uhm, is it supposed to burn like that?

Or, hey what about the time the doctor kept saying my son was fine, he was OK, no need to worry and he ended up having three surgeries for the thing she said was no freaking problem?

I sure hope whoever was searching for a lawyer gets a good one. Doctors are pretty damn good at healing people, but they can also make some very serious mistakes.

Heh. hehehehehe.

So if you are planning on renovating your kitchens or bathrooms, or say, having your five year old son renovate them for you, I highly recommend you use kohler faucets. Not only are they really nice looking, but they are simple enough for a five year old to install!

No actually, I do not recommend you let your five year old renovate any time soon. Sometimes, they take it apart and don't put it back together!

What not to get me for Christmas

• A years subscription to maxim magazine
• More Snow
• projection televisions (who has room for those besides movie stars anyway?)
• More Snow
• A Broken Leg
• More snow.

You might have noticed that I hate snow. What you would not know unless you looked out my window is that in the past four days, all it has done is SNOW! In the past I was able to hole up inside all winter, venturing out only for coffee and shopping. But this winter. We have a puppy. A puppy who likes to pee. AND romp int he snow.

Traffic Snarlz

So we drove into the city and ended up stopped - with a car sick dog - for forty minutes on the bridge. We could not see at all what was holding up traffic, but we later learned that there had been a semi truck accident ahead of us.

I cannot imaging the damage a semi truck would do to a little car and quite frankly, I never want to find out first hand.

Ick Alert!

Soooooo... the puppy is three months old and huge. Strength goes hand in hand with a huge dog, and she is damn strong. I am worried about how strong she will be full grown, so we are taking some drastic (at least to me) measures now, while she is still (somewhat) controllable.

She used to wear a simple around the neck collar with her tags, but she tugs and pulls on it when we go for a walk until she is not just choking herself, but doing it so hard that she barfs.

Worried that she will get strong enough that I cannot hold her when she strains as well that she will hurt herself, we loaded her into the car for a trip to the city to get her properly fitted for a harness.

We ended up not getting a harness, but I will talk about that later.

It turns our Smokey is severely car sick. We had brought her towel to lie on, so she felt comfortable in the car, but it was no good. You have NO idea how bad it smells in there. I'm almost to the point where I need to knock over a store that sells wholesale flowers and fill the car from top to bottom with something a bit..nicer..smelling!

Unless you have a better idea!

Seven MORE years

I am a big fan of mirrors and yet, they all seem to hate me. No sooner had I hit publish on that last post when I heard the unmistakable sound of something breaking and the baby saying Uhoh!

He was standing on his little tool in the bathroom, shards of glass from one of my many makeup mirrors surrounding him.

I lifted him from the stool and got him to sit on the counter while I went for a broom. And the vacuum.

This is probably the 50th mirror that has been broken in my house in the past ten years. Yes you read that right. an average of five mirrors a year. One of them was a set of eight mirrors that are supposed to hang on a wall, big panel ones.... all eight of them fell and smashed one day as we slammed the door shut on our way out.

The sound was amazing!

And you think "More gingerbread Men??"

I just wanted to say really quick that the recipe I gave a few posts down is awesome. The cookies are firm enough that they do not break easy BUT they are soft enough to eat. They are awesome dipped in milk (boys) and coffee (me)!

I'm pretty excited to have found a recipe that works becuase now I can get to work printing out the templates for the Karma Sutra ginger bread figures.

Thats gonna be hilarious!

Ta -Da! ***NSFW*** (post contains naked men)

Batch One. Act suitably impressed.

ZOMGS! A rack full of nekked men! Now that Christmas carol Joy To the World makes sense!

Reverse UpSkirt. Take that you pants-less men!

MIDPOST BREAK FOR ADORABLE PUPPYNESS

There is something absolutly delicious about a man in nothing but his birthday suit!

Mmmmmm

To see more photos head over to the Photo Blog. You can find a link in the side bar!

Cookie Decorating

So. Have I mentioned that I dislike decorating cookies?

I am OK with the first dozen or so and then I get sick and tired of it!

So I made forty six gingerbread men, hand the kids eat two and now we all have 11 cookies to decorate.

This. This is doable.

Although.. my cookies will not be any more special than the kids becuase I will rush through it just to get it done.

Who wants pictures?

Snow ; I hate it

While it has been very very cold for about a month, we have not had any significant snow. Until now. Waking up to four inches of the white stuff is very disheartening.

A normal womans Christmas list might read : perfume, diamond pendants, new clothes, or a night out on the town.

My Christmas list has but one item. A Heated Mattress Cover.

Thats it.

All I want for Christmas is to be warm in my own bed.

Unless. Do you think Santa will turn the winter off if I ask him very nicely?

Sweet - litterally

I made a batch of dough for gingerbread men last night. It was only after I wasted all of the ingredients making the dough that I realized the recipe I was following had been written by a gerbil with internet access.

So I called my grandma for a real recipe. She told me to call my aunt for her recipe as it is really good. So fine, this afternoon I called her, but she was busy on her treadmill and sounded a bit put out at the thought of repeating a recipe over the phone in any case.

Wonderful.

I told her if I had not found one before tonight I would call her back.

The second I hung up the phone with my aunt, the phone rang again, it was my sister.

She has the same cookbook my aunt gets her gingerbread recipe from AND was not put out at all when I asked her to give it to me.

tonight I will make the dough and bake the cookies, tomorrow night the boys will decorate them :o)

here is the recipe if anyone is interested :

Ginger Bread cookies - Rolled

1/4 cup butter - softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup water
3 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add molasses and water. mix in remaining ingredients. Roll out on floured surface, bake at 350 (f) for 8-10 minutes. Cool. Decorate. Enjoy

Weekend off

For the most part, I refrained from blogging this weekend. I *think* that in the US it was Thanksgiving and so there would not have been many visitors anyway, but the real reason was I needed a bit of a break. Not from blogging, but just a break to spend some time with the Hubs.

Today (Monday) he started his nine hour days and he is ticked right off about it. You see, it is mandatory not voluntary and becuase we live in a small town and his work place is in the city, he has to get up at 5:15 now to get to work on time.

So I made a few paid posts here and there, but for the most part, hubs and I vegged with the kids, enjoying our last normal weekend together. Now that he has to get up so early, Sunday will no longer feel like a weekend to him - he has to go to bed so much earlier.

His plan last night was to be in bed by 11:30. Still late considering the time his clock will ring, but better than the normal 12:30 - 1 AM we usually do. Unfortunately I found this very addicting game. I hate it, it hates me, and yet I cannot stop playing it. I had just lost and was going to turn off the game when hubs asked if he could have a try. I told him ten minutes thats it!

Well. Why don't you try the game and tell me what time you think we ended up going to bed :o)

Bubble shooter AKA evil evil game - if you clear the screen be sure to tell me!!

Work Place Hazards

I know that it is often frowned upon to talk about a persons work place online.

Dooced.

Fabbed.

Fired.

But I am still ticked off about something that happened to my husband at work a week ago. I will not mention where he works, but he is a welder for a very very large company. He was working with a plasma cutter, head bent down paying attention to what he is doing, ear plugs in becuase that is a work place rule, when behind him there was a huge bang. He turned around and literally feet from where he was standing was a tipped over rack. On the rack were two and five hundred pound pieces.

Had they been dropped just a few feet closer he would not be here today.

But thats not what makes me mad. Not. The part that bugs me is that the forklift driver was not paying attention and knocked them over. the fork lift driver did not even stop to make sure everyone was OK.

This is the same guy they have caught parked in a quiet corner catching a nap. The same one who has run into people - breaking a guys leg - the same one who - I could go on and on.

The fact of the matter is that no one is safe around this guy. This has been proven in mutiple ways and yet he is still working there.

Listen Up Readers

I feel the need to apologize about the sheer amount of paid posts I have slapped up on where was I in the last few days.

One of the companies I work for(Pu2B) allows me to write a personal post so long as I include a link in said post. Easy enough. The problem is that they assigned me twenty eight posts that have to be done by the 24th, AND if I can get them done by the 21st, I will have $$$ in time for Christmas.

This year paid blogging IS our Christmas. With the strike entering week three we have none of the regular income to rely on.

I have drastically slowed down the un-personal paid posts because there are none (lol) besides, that money would not get to me by Christmas.

The Pu2B posts I have to do Is write a post about whatever, much like I am doing now, then simply enter a link like this Raleigh personal injury attorneys and boom, in a week I am paid!

So, yes, I am sorry, There will be a lot of posts, but all of them, even though I am being paid are also just me, talking.

This will slow down soon!

Dammit

Every time I watch Armageddon I get pissed off all over again that Harry has to die.

Addictions

I don't have the normal addictions - normal being like drugs, alcohol etc. But I do have some addictions that certain people think I need addiction treatment for.

I'm going to list some of them. How many of then do YOU share with me?

• Socks. I love socks. the fuzzier, the more colorful, the more.. different, the better. I love them with a strange drooling, heart fluttering passion.
• Chocolate. I think every woman loves chocolate, I really do. And if you don't then there is something quite wrong with you.
• Baths. Either with or without bubbles, but I do love me some good smelling bath salts and powders and fizzies and .. well all of it. I take a bath almost every single night, usually right after the boys go to bed. it unwinds me from whatever I have dealt with that day.
• Coffee. Hot, cold, with cream and sugar or black. I love coffee. Often at night I will deliberately leave a half cup of coffee on the counter so that I have something to drink while waiting for my first pot of the morning is brewing.

Fess up y'all. Tell me YOUR addictions!

• 
  

LMAO

Some times I laugh at my mother in law. I will always love her, but man does she amuse me with the things she does.

You might remember her from such posts as - I stock golf clubs beside my extra coffee pots and Stop calling it epidural, its an epidurkey!

She has a bit of a weight problem. She should lose fifteen, amybe a bit more, maybe a bit less pounds. So it is not a bad weight problem, and yet she keeps buying exercise equiptment. She bought a tredmill last year - know who uses it?

My boys.

She buys DVD exercise videos. They sit on a shelf, unwatched - Know why?

They do not have a DVD player!!

She buys exercise balls that my children play with, not her.

She just called me all excited about the elliptical machine she found at - get this - a garage sale.

It doesn't work, so it is in the garage, my FIL will try and fix it - in between his arm healing form an end of October surgery and a scheduled eye surgery mid December.

(in case you are wondering, the elliptical machine will wait int he garage gathering dust and taking up space until next summer when they have a garage sale and decide to sell it!)

I have a question

When Me and Hubs got married we did not spend a fortune to do it. In fact WE did not spend more that what our wedding rings cost. Our parents paid for our wedding in desperation to see a ring on my finger before their grandson was born.

I bought my wedding flowers at Safeway. They were beautiful, purple daisies, dyed to match my wedding colors. Since they were real it was not hard for me to toss them out after they were dead. But my cake. Oh my cake was beautiful. Again, we did not spend a bunch on this wedding and the cake was a gift from my fathers boss. She made it in her kitchen.

It was three teired, (sp??) each one a heart, smaller than the one below it. The icing was an exact match (purple) as my wedding colors... I could go on and on. The top level of the cake was made out of foam so we do not have to worry over much about it rotting.. uhm.. does icing rot?

Anyway. I have - HAVE - to clean out the basement storage. I no longer have a choice in the matter becuase -- (shhhh.. don't tell anyone, but when I open the door, it starts falling out. This is no closet - this is a ROOM)

One of the things in that room is a box with the top level of my wedding cake. I have not so much as peeked at it in EIGHT years. SO by rights, I should toss it out. But... I can't, and until I can figure out what to do with the cake, I cannot force myself to begin tackling that room.

IF the cake is still fine, after eight years in a cardboard box, thats a big if, does anyone know of any sort of box .. or case or something that I can store it in and see it? I have looked in crafting stores for a clear, sealable box, with no luck, so its up to you Interwebs.

please - give me a solution!

Household chores

I think it would be a draw were I to choose my most despised household chore. I hate doing the dishes - although I have to admit that when the sinks are clean I feel really accomplished. No. It's true. When I see clean sinks, doing all of the other things in my kitchen seem so tiny. I feel like cleaning, just as long as the dishes are done. I feel like Baking, every time I see an empty sink!

The other household chore I really, really hate is folding clothes. I saw a you tube video of a clothes folder. They stuck the shirt in and in like four seconds she had it folded perfectly, like the ones you see on store shelves. If it folded at the touch of a button, or if it did more than clothes, I would pick one up, but... as it is, you still have to fold so I do not want!

You know. Reading this over, i think that folding clothes takes the top spot for most hated chore, becuase at least when I get the kitchen cleaned I feel awesome about what I have done. When the clothes are done, I just feel sad knowing that in a day tops, I will have even more to fold.

Interesting

So I was talking to my mother in law on the phone today. I called to tell her she has not been seeing enough of the boys and what a shame that is, that she needed to take them for the night for some quality bonding time ( She agreed by the way)

Anyway, while talking to her, she told me that in the summer they are either putting in a new golf course or expanding the one that we currently have.

I do not play golf.

I feel bad for people who live near the golf course, sure the scenery would be great, but what about golf balls flying through the windows or hitting your car parked in the driveway. I'm not so sure that homeowners insurance covers things like that!

And golfers, for some reason, are all morning people. They like to be out on the course swinging their Mizuno golf clubs by six, or seven AM! How horrible would it be to be waken up on a Saturday morning with the call of a golfer ...FOURRRRRR.

uggg. I'm so glad that we do not live close to the golf course AND that there is no room for them to build one anywhere near us. The neighbors kids are loud enough on Saturday Mornings without adding Golfers to the mix!

Riddle me this

I think our dog is a hypochondriac.

The second day we had her, her first full day with us, the three year old accidentally stepped on her little paw. Hard. She whimpered and whined. She limped and whined some more. She yelped and danced, holding her paw in the air.

We were, naturally, quite concerned. We gathered her up, inspected her paw, we gave her pats and treats and love. We coddled her, watching her paw for swelling, trying to determine minute from minute if the limping had gotten better.

A few days later she yelped and started limping, although on a different paw. We had no idea how she got hurt, the kids were in bed and she had previously just been laying on the floor. Still, she seemed to be in pain, so out came the treats and coddling again.

Now it seems that whenever she is board or wants us to quit doing what we are doing in favor of playing with her, she will lift a paw at random and yelp and whine. Until the moment you go see what is wrong, then she happily puts weight on all four paws and prances, waiting for us to play.

I'm pretty sure she is playing us for fools...

Plan of attack

Rainbow man has this little purple paper called a log book. In it I am supposed to write down the title of the book he has read that day. In exchange, for reading five books a week ( or more) he gets extra recess and computer time.

I lose that purple paper like Mr. Fab loses his hair!

Becuase of me losing the paper he was docked a crap load of marks last term. THIS term me and him are determined to succeed. I picked him up from school this afternoon a requested a new purple log book sheet. As soon As I got home, I stapled the damn thing to his planner. He has to bring his planner back and forth from school to home and back again every day.

This way, I will always know where his log book is to write in and he will have it on school on whatever day she checks them.

I want to LIVE

I think those life insurance salesmen are doing it ALL wrong. By agreeing to pay X number of dollars to my surviving family, its like I am signing my own death warrant!

"Hey hon, I signed a paper today that will give you six million when I die...Why do you have that gun? You need to put down that - STOP! no! please..."

I think that instead of a life insurance quote for money, the sales man should be quoting me years to live.

For example. I would be willing to pay a company a monthly sum to ensure I live for the next eighty three years, nine days and six minutes.

But the one trying to sell me just twenty years? No way!

Who's with me?

My Sister

Over the last ten years me and my sister have had many rough spots. There was an 18 or 24 month period where we never talked at all in there.

But you know what? When things get rough, she is ALWAYS there. It doesn't matter if we are in the middle of a fight, she calls cease fire the moment anything of real life importance happens.

Like tonight. While we haven't been fighting lately, and have worked steadily to one of the best relationships we have had with each other, tonight she went above and beyond.

Way above. Way beyond.

Tonight I dropped a pillow and a DVD at her place and when I walked out I had two LARGE boxes of groceries. Enough staples that my grocery bill on Saturday will be right where it normally is. Enough food to get us back on our feet, giving us a fighting chance.

Tomorrow morning when I say "yes" to the boys when they ask for milk with their breakfast, They have their Aunty to thank.

And so do I.

SCORE

I might have mentioned a a few hundred times that I hate cooking. HATE IT. So when my MIL calls and invites us for supper I jump at the chance like a rabid dog after a child.

Oh.. bad simile,

wait. Metaphor?

Whatever you get the point.

In any case tonight I am having roast, potatoes, gravy, corn, and all the rest that goes with it - WITHOUT having to cook or clean. and That makes me a very happy woman!

Some people in my family find it odd that I live so close to my MIL - three houses away from each other, but I love it.

Thake this morning for example, there I was fighting the headache from hell when she calls and says she made too much lunch for her and the FIL, would the baby like some. She brought it over, and played with the puppy for a minute and then was on her way.

What is NOT to like about this situation? The free baby sitting? The meals? The card games?

Yea thats what I thought!

iGoogle

I found a new site, but I am not going to name it. However if you are overcome with curiosity, Google the title of this post. In any case, this page will actas a home page for your computer. You can add widgets and whatnots galore. Seriously there are thousands of add ons you can use.

And its free.

But it is run by google whom i am in sever hate with right now. But it has tetris. But its google! And I hate google, And then there is the tetris aspect again.

back and forth I cannot bring myself to use it as my homepage, but i have it bookmarked.

Oh the Shame!

How many posts have I titled SIGH?

Once again I was a retard and slept on the couch. Not all night, just for an hour or so this morning, with the cat on my feet and the baby beside me watching a movie.

For some reason whenever I lay on the couch my neck ( in teh back) gets really stiff and I end up with a headache all day.

In a few minutes I am going to try a shower. Maybe the hot water will work out the kins, maybe not, but in any case I need a shower!

Pee ess: COFFEE TONIGHT!

An Open Letter

Dear Google;

Your page ranking system was a wonderful tool that the internet ate up with a spoon; nourishment to help it grow.

Bloggers and websites alike used page rank as a gauge to see how wonderful their sites were.

Halloween your page rank ghoolies came out of hiding and make no mistake, this was a trick not a treat - as you snitched our page rank from our pumpkin covered goodie bags.

As an early Christmas gift, GoogelScrooge himself emerged from his snow covered cave and made all our PageRanks disappear like they they had never even been.

I'm not sure if there are any drug rehabs out there that I can enroll myself in to rid you from my life, but I am tired of the ups and downs, the constant worry and strife you feel the need to put me through.

In the beginning, I needed you to feel complete. I needed you to feel like my blogs were good. Today? You might have stolen my rank, but you haven't even begun to touch my blog.

My blogs and I? We don't need you anymore.

Sincerely; Bluepaintred

When will It End

Recently I bought my husband a Play Station Three Game System. It's wireless which is pretty cool, but becuase it is such a new system, completely different from the Play Station Two, there are a bout a bazillion little extras he now needs

Does anyone know where I can get a cheap Bluetooth headset? Or for that matter, what a bluetooth headset IS?

From what I can tell it is a wireless...microphone? And he can use it to ..uhm talk to his game. Or something like that.

Uhm. NO Thanks!

Today my eldest brought home a form for life insurance for kids home from school.

Serious.

I am pretty shocked about this!

On one hand, yes funerals are expensive, and life insurance would be an easy way to cover that cost, but on the other, say you insure them for 150,000, there is no funeral that costs that much. How are you going to spend the rest of the money without feeling sick and disgusted.

Look! I got a new car! Cus my kid died! Yay!

And why are schools sending this stuff home? How wrong is that? I did not spend more than few seconds looking at the front page, but I do not send my kids to school wondering if I am getting a new car by the end of the day!

Maybe this is not a local thing. Do the schools in your area do this too?

C- PMS

Today my husband walked in the door after work, kissed the dog hello and poured himself the last bit of coffee in the pot.

Did he make a fresh coffee after draining the pots lifeblood?

No. No he did not.

I think it is time to invest in sending him to corporate performance management school.

At C - PMS Some of the things the man in your life will learn are:

• how to replace toilet paper rolls AND put the lid in the down position
• how to either leave the last cup of coffee to me - the person who made it - or make a new pot.
• that contrary to what most guys believe, dirty laundry does not make a nice floor decoration.
• How to ask directions AND unfold a map

C - PMS can help men of all types, enroll yours today!

YESSSSSSSSSS

In a moment of what can only be called sheer genius, People Magazine has named MATT DAMON as the Sexiest Man Alive. I have long been an advocate of Matt hotness. And trust me, people have laughed at me when I try and tell them that he is hot.

let us review :

Due to the unexpected drooling that commences when I look at this photo, I have lost the ability to type.

Look at his sweet little smirk! I think it is a combination if his sexy as sin mouth and his "good ole boy" looks that makes him irrisistable!

Matt in EuroTrip. This is the movie where I finally realized that Matt is SMOKING hawt. I'm a big fan of piercings and tattoos, so ..yea...YUMMY (pee ess: Look! Its Lana Lang (smallville))
And this is the photo that People Magazine has up on it's website. He is thirty seven years old, and looks DAMN good! Also, WTG People Magazine! I love that they lightened up his eyes, (photoshop) making them stand out but left his "age" lines. I really, honestly thing that a few lines here and there make a person look a lot better!

Hold Me while I cry

I have mentioned in the past a little bit, how my brother, his girlfriend and their toddler are staying with us. We always have staples like potatoes, rice, and pasta, as well as two or three kinds of meat on hand, so when our shopping trip every payday comes up, it is relativity inexpensive. We might need to buy pork chops, but not pork chops and chicken, or maybe we need potatoes, but the rice and pasta are fine.

Becuase of the extra people, my supplies are almost gone. They will be gone completely by Saturdays shopping trip. looks like I am going to have to start taking out loans to pay for my groceries!

I am definitely not a fan of loans, either personal loans or secured loans, but sometimes, they are a necessary evil.

Like when washer and dryer went? With three kids, a working washer and dryer are a necessity and we went out that night, took out a loan and bought a set. It has long since been paid off.

Shenanigans

Back Me Up On This One

Last night, like the night before, the four of us sat down to play a card game.
Last night, like the night before, the girls played against the guys.
Last night, like the night before, the guys won.
and lastly,
Last night like the night before, The husband kept score.

Coincidence? I think not!

(I think they are cheating)

179 days left!

Mother's Day is in May. I love Mothers Day. This last year I woke up to a clean house and hand made cards from my boys. But the year before? That Mother's Day sicked the big one. Everyone forgot about it. Including me - which, because I am female, does not mean I am not allowed to be disappointed that the day went without fan fare.

If you do not want to be a husband in the dog park, here is a great site that will save your butt: Mother's Day Central. At Mother's Day Central you can find checklists to ensure the perfect day goes off without a hitch!

They have a blog, activities and even a page on Mother-isims. NO matter what you are looking for, from the History of Mother's Day to what she really wants.

You tell us we are loved every day of the year, but Mother's day is your chance to show us that love!

Tinfoil and cardboard?

Right now we have a parabola made out of tinfoil and card board siting on our router. I has increased our wireless signal by a bit, but it really looks stupid.

My husband found it here : Ez-12 Parabolic Reflector Template.

I really do think it is stupid, but he thinks it rocks.

I hope that he won;t notice when I accidentally toss it int he trash sometime next week!~

Healthy Living

Lately I have spent a lot of time thinking about my health. It could be that I have had some pretty bad results at the doctors office in the past month or two, or it might just be that I am getting old. Or at least , am feeling old lately.

My doctor has put me on a regiment of vitamin, a B6 one, and a womans specialty multi-vitamin. I have seen some improvement since I started taking them both daily, two weeks ago.

Since I am seeing an improvement I have spent a lot of time online checking out different vitamins and supplements. Choice Nutritionals is an online retailer of vitamins, minerals, and nutritional health supplements. They even have a line of eco friendly lunch boxes that are super cute!

Learning about our bodies, and how to keep them healthy benifits us, and everyone around us. It's time for you to take care of yourself!

*snarl*

I'm not even sure what to do anymore. I have had company, unexpected company - since Wednesday. Until yesterday night there was three adults a baby and a dog, now it is just the two adults the baby and the dog.

Becuase Christmas is coming I made our shopping list as small as possible. You know, to save money. But now that I have had people here, by next Saturday my entire freezer will be wiped clean. And meat is DAMN expensive. And then their is my almost empty pantry. It will be completely wiped out by the weekend.

So Saturday when we go shopping I will end up spending at least a hundred dollars just on meat, plus the potatoes, the pasta, the rice, the canned veggies.... and thats with just buying enough to get us through until next shopping trip.

I cannot ask them for money, becuase they have very little money to themselves, and that money needs to be saved for them to use to actually rent a place of their own. If I start telling them to chip in for groceries they will not be able to afford a place to rent.

I hope like hell he gets a job soon, - even though I used up his whole afternoon today making him take me and the kid to the optometrists office.

In any case, it is only Tuesday night and I have no idea if the meat I have in the freezer is going to last till Saturday.

And im kind of pissed that becuase he quit his job - a move I do not agree with- MY kids will have a crappier Christmas and I will spend the next few months trying to build back to where I was before they stopped in.

Oh, and the girl I baby sit? Her mom is still on strike, so I am making NOTHING or this month. The money I make from babysitting is to pay bills, so the bills, on top of a huge grocery list will all have to come out of hubs paycheck.


Honestly? For the first time since we moved into this house, this is the first month I am seriously worried about mortgage payments and bills being paid.

And yet?
I bet you ANYTHING, that tonight when they "run out to get milk for the baby" they will buy chips, chocolate bars and pop. Thats what they have done every night since they came.

Affordable Privacy

It is always nice to see a home based business make it bug. We all have dreams of success and finding a dream that has already come true makes all of our dreams seem so much closer!

Since 1999, JustBlinds.com has grown from a small home-based business into one of the largest independent window covering retailers in the US. With well over 200,000 satisfied customers our products cover the windows of thousands of homes and businesses across the country with styles ranging from the basic to the latest in window decorating trends.

Home furnishings are very expensive - more so when you need multiples like window coverings. JustBlinds offers discount blinds, making privacy affordable.

There is nothing worse than moving into a new home and having to use sheets to cover the windows because you have spent your budget moving and have nothing left over for blinds. When we moved into this house, it came with the window coverings, but the home before we had sheets in the windows for almost six months waiting for them to come on sale.

Had we known about JustBlinds, we would have been able to afford privacy so much sooner!

baby bully?

My niece is not even two yet, but she is the meanest kid around.

My three and a half year old is flat out terrified of her. She hits and bites and throws toys at him constantly! If he has a toy, she takes it. If she has a toy, she breaks it. And yet, she is not my child, so I feel I cannot discipline her more than a loud NO!

Her parents try, but she ignores them the same way she ignores me!

I need some suggestions. It is not fair to Stuperman that he is afraid in his own home. I am tried of seeing him hide behind the hamper or run to his room and hide under his bed - just so she cannot find him and hit him again.

Sigh.

Swimwear

I know, I know, its halfway through November, but it IS time to think about next years bikini season. Now that it is cold out, we have all winter to slim down for the perfect look!

Now is the time to find the perfect ASHA Couture swimwear. You find the suit you want to fit, and this becomes your goal all winter. Thinking about how great you will look, imagining yourself in the suit gives you will power to be able to resist having that extra slice of Christmas pie! I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of work cut out for me this winter season if I want to fit - and look great in a new bathing suit!

LOLZ

So my sister in law is here. They have been here since Last Wednesday. She put her not two until Christmas Eve Daughter in her playpen for a nap an hour ago. At some point she climbed out of the play pen - for the first time- and wandered upstairs.

The look on my sister in laws face was PRICELESS when she found out. My brother just laughed!

I think it is really cute, seeing her learn new things, I missed so much when they took her of to a different province for that year and a bit.

Now that they are back home, I am really going to enjoy watching her grow froma toddler to a little girl..

I can't wait!

My Bathroom

In my master bedroom We have a half bath, it is just a sink, toilet and shower. I hate the shower head in the master bath, and since that is the only shower we use, it really sucks.

I have decided that we need to get a new shower head for the bathroom. Since I am addicted to shopping online I checked out ShowerBuddy.com and they have some awesome fixtures! Everything from faucets to shower heads, They even have Franke sinks!

I am really looking forward the first time I get into the shower after our new shower head is installed!

Birthday Surprises

Today Is my grandmothers birthday. I called her on speaker phone and we all sang her happy birthday. Then I asked her what she was doing today and if she was having cake.

She told me in no uncertain terms that there is no way in hell she is baking her own cake for her birthday!

My dad has been out of town all weekend, but he is stopping by my place today, before heading home. Grandma lives with him. I just popped a cake in the oven for him to take home for her.

Everyone deserves a cake for their birthday!

Last Minute Holiday

If you are like me and try to plan every second of each day in advance, you will never catch yourself looking for last minute holiday deals.

If you are like my brother, you are definitely in need of the services that Holiday Hypermarket can provide.

My Brother cannot plan a full day, much less a month in advance. Holiday Hypermarket offers millions of package holiday bargains, last minute deals, cheap flights and all inclusive holidays to destinations all over the world.

This means that if you decide you want to be skiing the slopes of Denver on Saturday, You can be! Or what if you get sudden time off from work? You can plan a last minute trip to Jamaica to sit and relax in the sun

Memory Challenged

I like music, but I definitely do not love it. I have a set of songs on my iPod but I rarely listen to them, I prefer to play Solitaire on it instead.

My husband can name 9 out of ten songs that come out on the radio within thirty seconds ( usually less) of it starting.

I can name maybe .5 out of ten songs that come out. A lot of time I know the song, but I have no idea who sings it or what it is called!

Can you do it? I think it;s a memory thing to be honest. I get all the names and beats confused. It gets to the point where I don;t even want to guess because I know I will be wrong with my answer. Not that Hobs teases me, because he does not, It's just it makes me feel dumb.

I know I do have a bad memory, and I hate having it pointed out to me over and over again - by myself!!

Same goes for names of people. I wonder. DO men or woman have better memories? Has there been any kind of study on this?

I think I'd feel better if it has been scientifically proven that girls suck at the memory games.

Heh

Mad TV is on right now. I had no idea it was still on the air! It has been ages since I have seen it. They just did a skit on the Lesbionic Woman, and even more hilarious, a skit on The Hannah Montana fans who are rabid! they rove in packs like raptors, but move with the speed of the vampires on 30 days of night!

Too freaking hilarious!

I wish I had satellite someday. I called my granny this evening, her birthday is Monday, and she was watching the Game Show Network. I love goign there becuase that station is always on the TV. As you know, I am addicted to the TV show Deal Or No Deal, but I am just as addicted to every other game show out there.

I would KICK ASS on Wheel Of Fortune!

New Hair Color

Today I am going to dye my hair. I meaning my Sister in law is going to do it.

becuase I am lazy as sin, thats why!

I am co hosting a radio show tonight with the Fabulous Shelli from Shelli's sentiments. I have no idea how you can listen to it, I'm not technical like that, but afterwards I will get steal shell's link and put it up so you can listen to the archives.

I have practiced saying about in stead of aboot, but it isn't going so well.

I have to go clean the kitchen becuase I need a clean sink to rinse my hair in after it is dyed. Later Vader!

Random Smokey Update

Smokey - and my shirt

When We first got Smokey she was smaller than our cat. Now, five weeks later she is twice the size. Smokey is the most amusing pup. Right now we have a little dog, Rockey, staying at our house. The first two days they were pretty wary of each other, growling and barking, but now they seem to be getting along.

Oh yeah, Rocky Is Male, Smokey is Female.

I have been taking shirts my youngest son doesn’t fit anymore and hemming them for Smokey to wear because she has no fur on her belly, but pretty soon I will have to go and buy her a real sweater. I was also looking at some dog treat jars because I have six bags of Beggin’ strips, Pig Ears and the like. I want to get a jar for them all in the same place, but I was wondering, if they are all sharing the same container will they all take on the same flavor?

Smokey has been having a few accidents the past three days, I think it is a combination of Rocky being here and that we are quite busy and don’t respond to her cues as fast when she wants to go out. I think next shopping trip we need to pick up some sort of deodorizer or neutralizer for the smell - she piddled on my bedroom carpet last night and I used the cat pee deodorizer, I'm not sure if it will work.

I cannot wait until she is potty trained, BUT yesterday she had a nap with us that did not involve her trying to lick off our face and prance on the bed like it is a trampoline! She actually laid down and slept :o)

She's thinking... Should I...

Call Home

I have a pretty crappy phone plan. It costs me a fortune to call anywhere long distance - this is bad because most of my family lives out of local range for me. My sister in Florida, My Dad fifty miles north. It's scary each month to get my phone bill!

I am going to have to get a phone card. Then I could call Florida for just pennies a minute. Rich.com has too many different countries to choose from that you can get a calling card from, 33 pages just for the US alone!

It will be a very Merry Christmas this year for me, not having to worry about Januarys phone bill, but still getting to connect with my loved ones!!

Ok now Im kinda ticked

This is a rant about someone who may or may not be my husband and it might also be about his job. Maybe. It might also just be a fictional story becuase sometimes bloggers or their might be husbands can get fired due to job posts, so read it as you like.

So in the summer the workers get two weeks paid leave. It is the company shut down. its a benifit. My husband got his shut down, but half of the employees were not so lucky.

Last year in the summer work hours for fridays were changed to five AfuckimgM. its kind of nice in the SUMMER becuase they get off and are at home by two. In the winter? Notsomuch.

Hubs may or may not have come home absolutly pissed off becuase right after they declared Monday - a statutory holiday was a work or you are fired day, they changed, starting the 19th, work hours to six Am to three thirty.

Four hours of overtime a week. Sounds good, money wise to me, but we go to bed at midnight - correction we try to go to bed at midnight we are always later than that - now hubs has to wake up at 515 Monday to Thursday and work NINE fucking hours. Friday he will continue to get up at 415.

This sucks because we are not able to go to bed earlier, we would lay there awake, so he will get four hours of sleep a night at best.

Company moral is at an all time low and yet they keep doing things to piss off the employees - fuckers.

Nine AM

This is the first Friday in about six months that I have not had the girl I babysit nor have the kids had school, so guess what I did!

Yup. I slept in. This is shocking not just I rarely get to, but becuase all three boys also slept in.

:o )


So did the puppy.

I won;t tell you what time I finally did get up, you can try guessing if you want, but I would recommend that you try really hard tomorrow morning to do what I got to do today

Parent Teacher Interveiw Part Le Two

So we went to see the grade three teacher at 5. Each interview is slated for fifteen minutes. We were in there for thirty eight.

Yes I kept track.

Rainbow man is having a lot of trouble in school. Curriculum wise, Language arts - reading, printing etc. is his main trouble spot.

We decided on a game plan for that.

The other big problem he is having is his ability to focus and stay on task in school. Its pretty sad that he is side by side two boys who are also known chatter boxes and each of them has asked the teacher privately if they could be moved because RM is always talking and distracting them.

I am not quite sure how to deal with this part.

He is very disorganized - losing his books, not bringing home homework and the like and we have a few plans in the works to deal with this. If they seem to work I will bog about them, but for now, they are under wraps!

Kindergarten Interview

Over all, Blue Boy is settling into Kindergarten really well.

I had my first interview with his teacher this afternoon. He knows 12 out of 26 Uppercase letters by name, but only nine lower case letters. Oddly enough he knows the sounds that 16 of the lower case letters make.

He knew his numbers one through ten by sight, and all of the required colors. He can draw the shapes asked for except the diamond and the triangle.

Socially he is starting to volunteer information - ie: putting up his hand and answering questions, he is also starting to talk to his classmates - although not at inappropriate times.

I grabbed some recipie cards from my mother in law after the interview and will make alphabet flash cards. Not sure other than having him trace squares and diamonds how to practice those.

Overall, he is dooing great.

Blogging is an addiction

I should be washing some dishes and folding some clothes, but instead I am blogging.

Here is why :

• December 29th of last year Blue Boy (5) saw the optometrist
• In my province, kids can go once a year and the government pays for it.
• until they are 18
• last year BB was an 8/10.
• Ten meaning he definitely needs glasses
• His doctor was willing to prescribe them at that time.
• It was my choice.
• knowing kids eyes change a bunch in their childhood, I wanted to wait and see if they would correct themselves.
• I don't think they have.
• Since school started (2 months ago) he has headaches on the days he has school.
• He says his head hurts and the area he points too is where my head hurts when I am straining my eyes.
• In the last month he began having headaches after (and sometimes during) watching of a full length movie. (two hours)
  
• This morning he watched a half hour show on TV and got such a bad headache he was left laying on the couch whimpering.
• Enough is enough!
• I am shelling out the fifty five bucks to have him examined.
• I would rather pay than make him suffer for two more months just to have it done for free.
• When I said as much to the receptionist she said they would bill his appointment as a partial exam.
• Partial exams are specifically for kids having trouble.
  
• The Government pays for partial exams.
  
• So his appointment will be a full eye exam at partial price
• (that means free)
• He goes next Tuesday at 1:40
• This pleases me

Pee ess: I am addicted to blogging.

Le Sigh

Please dont get me wrong, I love my brother, I love my niece, I love the whole lot of them, but having them in my house is VERY distracting!

My dog and their dog are constantly fighting and their stuff is all over the place. I feel very disorganized and somewhat anxious.

I am not a fan of changes, especially when they happen as sudden as this one did!

Right now they are all (including the dog) out of the house looking at a page full of apartments. I hope they find one soon!

Conffession ala teh plan gone wrong

when I made my bog old plans all about housecleaning becuase it would just be me and the baby, I did not plan on having my brother, his girlfriend, their friend and their two year old daughter move in. Oh yes. And their dog.

But that is exactly what happened yesterday and quite simply, my plans have been put on hold due to necessity. I do hold some comfort from the fact I got the laundry and closets done, now if only I can keep up with it!

In February or March, I will lose the girl I baby sit, not to a strike, but to her mothers year long maternity leave. During that year I will systematically clean each room of the house. And I don;t mean dusting, but uncluttering. Throwing or giving away all of the stuff we have not used in teh two plus years we have lived in this house.

SO amusing

My husband got his long awaited PS3 last Monday. It has internet capabilities. I'm not one hundred percent sure what that means, but I do know it means he can read my blog on the television now.

There is just something incredibly funny about looking up from my blog on the computer to see it on the television!

Now he can use his PS3 to read his game FAQ's and watch you tube videos that I would rather shave my eyebrows then watch - without taking my laptop away from me!

In all? I would say that the PS3 was a good choice for him, now If only I could get him off it and into bed on time!

Part teh Tuesday

You will just have to take my word for it. I did finish this all Tuesday, I am just late updating due to a dental and computer snafu!

Not only did I get the closets all organized, but I took all the summer clothing out and folded it into storage AND hemmed six pairs of pants for the oldest kid.

I am WAY behind on today's task, in fact, I have no idea what it is and will have to go back and check my plans post to figure that out and wait until the kids are in bed tonight to do it. Although, I am getting company over tonight so fingers crossed I can get this all done!

There are a LOT of pictures in this set. You have been warned!

Stuperman - 3 - Before and after

BlueBoy- 5 - Before and after

Rainbow Man - 8 - Before and after

Bottom of my closet - before

Top of my closet before

Bottom after

Top after



Bottom - Husbands - before

Top - Husbands- Before

Top - Husbands - after

Bottom - husbands - after

~whew~

Last night my eight year old showed me in his agenda that he had to study for a test on the history of our town. Unfortunately he did not have even close to enough study material s in his duo tang - and thats another rant all for a different day!

Using Google and the study guide questions the teacher provided, we were able to look up about 95% of the answers and make our own study sheet.

He spent quite a bit of time studying it last night and again this morning, but he said after school that he feels very confidant he got most of them right. He thinks he missed one question.

Right now? I will just settle for a passing grade!

The Best Laid Plans

There is just one thing I did not take into account when I made all my grandiose plans for Fall Cleaning:

Smokey

Sure she is still a puppy and sleeps a lot, but she seems to be awake when I am "awake" - My awake meaning when I feel energetic enough to get things done.

The problem is that I do not feel I can leave her awake and zipping around while I am in the basement doing the boys closets. She still gets into a lot of trouble even when we are all in the same room!

I got Stuperman's and mine done, but I stalled on the husbands becuase Stuperman is following me around and there are In order to get down to the basement and do the older boys closets I must first get Smokey to sleep.

And right now that does not look likely.

Wish me luck.

Secrets~Don't tell

When BB started Kindergarten I expected to be somewhat sad at the loss. But I'm not. In fact today, with just me and the baby.. toddler home I am loving it!

Stuperman is a bit more clingy, he just isn't used to playing on his own, but there has not been a single argument to referee, nor have I had to take any toys away. In fact, stress wise, this morning has been a zero on a scale of one to ten!

I was really dreading when I lose H. He mom will take a year off for maternity leave and I will not have her for a full year!! I was worried that Stuperman would be annoying and I would get stressed out, but Monday and now today I have not had H and the days are just zooming by.

I like the person my baby is turning into, And I would never have noticed without this time alone!

Monday : Success

I want to state first off that I did get the laundry folded. But it was touch and go for a while. I did not even get started until 2 pm, although I seriously considered it at 11. I walked into the room where I toss all the laundry and the shear volume of it scared me off.

See for yourself:



It is very true that the only reason I did get the laundry folded is that I had already publicized that i would. I felt accountable to you, the interwebs, Like I had hoped I would.

Thanks

Those baskets? One is all socks that (still) need matching and the other is all underwear that (still) needs sorting.
But look! neat piles of clothing! Sorted to whom they belong and what they are!
And my phone! Becuase I called anyone and everyone I knew would be home and made them listen to me bitch about that fact I told the internet I had to do laundry so now i am actually doing laundry!

The piles are NOT put away because tomorrow's undertaking is the closets!

Memories

I assume that a lot has changed in regards to school field trips. I know that my son needs forms signed (waivers) for each trip he goes on, and that any parent who wishes to volunteer either at the school or on a field trip must first go through a police background check.

I don't know what kind of hoops my parents had to go through when our grade 11/12 class took a trip to the states. Maybe the parent volunteers went through the same things, maybe not.

In any case, all through grade ten and most of grade eleven, becuase we went in April - we actually missed Easter with our families for this trip! We fund raised about a billion different ways to go on this big trip. We drove from a province in the middle of Canada through Montana and into the states.

One of the coolest parts of the trip was seeing all of the Las Vegas Hotels because we drove into Vegas late at night. Well, late at night to me. The way we came we were driving and could see the lights of the Las Vegas Hotels for a long time in the distance, but right up to the point that we got to the top of the hill we were driving up, we could not see anything but the seemingly far off glow.

It seemed just like magic, how the lights just suddenly appeared. It was about eleven PM and our teachers and supervisors took us through a tour of sorts to see the big name Las Vegas Hotels.

We were on our way to Disney Land in California so we only got to stay the night, but I will never forget how awesome those lights looked the first time I saw them!

Wordpress

I was fooling around on wordpress and I just don't like it. I set up a blog just to check it out, but really? Truly? I started to blog on blogger, and I think I will stick with it.

On wordpress I could not figure out how to put in pictures or to edit my template or anything like that!

Blogger is just so user friendly, or at least it is for me, seeing as I have been tinkering with it for almost two years now!

I get the feeling some well meaning people are going ot again urge me to change over, but I just don't want too!

Vacations are not always fun

Summer rain pounded down on the four of us traveling in our little wooden boat. I was stuck bailing water because of an old wrist injury that kept me from manning the oars. Several Strange Sightings Reports had prompted our trip to the fabled Chaa Creek resort. I didn't mind the rain so much, it was warm and fresh, but the bugs and the wildlife were really beginning to get on my nerves.

I would be glad to reach the resort. For the first time in weeks I would be sleeping in a bed! This adventure vacation stuff is not for the weak willed I tell you! While Belize is a beautiful country, it is empty of the comforts of home. Showers. Grocery Stores. Coffee that doesn't taste like it was brewed in a boot!

I know that once we reach the resort, our adventure will just be beginning. We have come prepared to document the strange happenings. We will tape the recollections of the village people, and try and get actual physical evidence of what is out there.

We are not the first group of adventures that have set out to end the mystery, But we hope to be the first group to return home with answers.

Part Teh One

Speaking of my plans for a clean house I do believe I need to get off my butt and clean the kitchen. You see, I will fold monday's project in the kitchen, and having space to do so will greatly help me accomplish what needs to be done.

Some days its just that little bit that keeps me from doing what needs to be done. Oh I dont want to do the dishes, Id have to empty the dishwasher first, or I cant fold laundry there is no room, that kind of thing.

It's OK, I know I am lazy, but I plan on changing that!

My Plan:

I love having a clean house, but I hate actually doing house work.

Doesn't make sense, does it?

This Saturday we had our shopping trip - we buy groceries twice a month, on the Saturday after payday and with the exception of Gas, Milk and the occasional Slurpee, If I forgot it on my list, we do without.

Trying to get the groceries into the house was a challenge this week becuase I had crap all over he table and counters and with the dog int eh house, we can't just put all the stuff on the floor.

Since I will not have my little girl this week becuase her momma is on strike, I have devised a plan. Hopefully I can stick to it.

Each day this week, for five days in total, I will do something around the house and offer before and after photos to show I have done it.

Here is my list :

Monday : laundry. It isn't so much the washing and drying of clothes. I do a load almost every day. I do however have HUGE issues with folding and putting away the laundry. What I do is toss it all in my sewing room and dig through it every morning for the kids and our clothes, which is more of a hassle than it is worth.

So tomorrow I will take a photo of the clothes piled hip high in my sewing room and then a photo of them folded and gone.

Tuesday morning you can see the before and after of Mondays work.

Tuesday: Closets. When we built the children's rooms downstairs we built their closets with shelves down one whole side for their clothing. These shelves are a disgrace to all shelves. Summer clothes mixed with fall and winter, The babies clothes in the five year olds room, etc. A total clusterfuck.

With all of the clothing folded and int eh room it belongs, Tuesday I will undertake the daunting task of organizing the shelves. And not just the boys closets, but the baby's, Hubs and mine too.

Wednesday morning you will see a before and after of this undertaking. This will be a longer post as there will be five before photos and five after photos.


Wednesday: Kitchen shelves. Four in particular. The two corner cupboards, the one over the fridge and the one under the coffee pot. The corner shelves are getting hard to close, and et just two years ago when we moved in I worried I would never find things to go in them! The one above the fridge is for important papers, scrap books and now - tonnes of junk that needs to be organized and gotten rid of. (the one under the coffee pot has Christmas candy from last year. It needs to GO)

You will see before and after photos of this on Thursday morning.

Thursday: Laundry room. This isn't really a room, just an over-sized closet with two shelves and a washer and dryer. But the shelves are over flowing with things that do not belong and the washer and dryer could use a good wipe down too!

Expect pictures of them Friday Morning

Friday: Yuck. The coat closet. This one is the WORST. two out of three kids are not tall enough to hang their coats, and the oldest has to be told to pick it up and hang it six times a day. boots and shoes are tossed everywhere and the kids have to put their back packs on the floor in there so the dog wont eat them. It is filled to over flowing and yet I still do not have the bag of mittens toques and the winter boots up. Since we awoke to snow this morning, this needs to be done soon!

Saturday morning I will post an organized closet for you to see.


What I am hoping is that I can clean up the BIG mess areas and then they will just need a tidy up every day. If it is under control already, it is no big deal to take twenty minutes going to each place and making sure it is all done. Hopefully, by posting this on the internet, I will feel more accountable for my actions and will be forced to shake off teh lazy and get it done. Hence the photos. Without the photos I could say I had done it, but who would know?

If I will be losing My little girl for at least this week for the strike, at least I can get some things done around the house that I cannot do when the two babies are under foot!

I'm A Moron

So the past two days I have been fighting off a horrible sinus headache. I mean Horrible! I will be fine until about 11 then bam, headache city! About six PM the headache goes away (with the help of a liberal application of Advil)

And this morning I was all "woe is me! My poor teh head" and generally feeling sorry for myself. I left the computer - damn eyestrain due to dog chewing is getting a lot worse- and sat on the couch.

As soon as I sat down my body got this wavy light headed like I was floating on the couch feeling and Boom. there it was, my own personal Your a dumbass light bulb clicked on!

I do not have a sinus headache becuase I am having sinus issues. I have a sinus headache becuase I am having ALLERGY issues.

So I got off my butt and took an allergy pill. That was half an hour ago and I already am starting to feel better.

I just wish my light bulb was a clap on so I did not have to find the switch each time. Takes too damn long!

Camera trouble

I put a bunch of photos up on my photo blog last night. I think there is a link to it in the side bar - if not, I will be putting one there when I check after publishing this post!

In any case, some of those pictures, all of the bowling ones for example, were taken with RM's new camera. I thought it was a pretty good camera but all the photos seem really pixalated to me.

It could be a s simple as my son is not being steady enough when he takes the picture, but when I take them with his camera I get bad pictures as well.

Plus, on MY camera, RM takes awesome shots, so he should be able to take good pictures with his camera, right?

While he is gone to school today I am going to spend some time playing with his settings.

Learning something new

Last night I was over at Icanhascheeseburger - home of the lolcats and other lolanimals and I saw a tab that said "vote"

I clicked it

Did you know that there is a site out there with an additional billion lolpictures! Some of them, mpost of then never even make it to the lolsite.

I guess ou have to vote and the high ones get transfered.

In any case, I think all the lolpictures are funny, BUT when I tried to blogline the site so i could see all the updates, I failed.

Dunno why.

it makes me sad

Smile

Last year and the ear before and the year before, I was a candy natzi with the children. I doled their sweets out sparingly and to be truthful, in September of this ear I finally tossed out the dregs of their trick or treat bags.

I have Easter and Christmas candy from last year that needs to be tossed as well.

This ear I have decided that I will actually let them eat their candy.

All of their candy.

zonkered

potty training ? Check

Sleeping through the night? Check

Sit, shake, lay down etc? Check

So WHY CAN I NOT GET THIS DOG TO CALM DOWN IN THE MORNING?

No really, she races here and races there and chases the cat and barks at her tail. She wakes up the babies meaning I can never go back to sleep.

It's killing me.

No really, I might as well be a zombie.

Ohhhh Braiiiins.