One Step Sideways

Oh Look, it's my blog

2009-07-24T14:17:00.001-07:00

Long ignored. One day I will actually thing of something worth writing....

Here's to you, Sweetheart!

2008-11-24T18:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Anniversary!

By the way...

2008-06-26T20:16:00.001-07:00

We are closing on the house tomorrow! Whoohoo!

Not sure if I'd always want to know....

2008-06-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

Your Superpower Should Be Mind Reading

You are brilliant, insightful, and intuitive.

You understand people better than they would like to be understood.

Highly sensitive, you are good at putting together seemingly irrelevant details.

You figure out what's going on before anyone knows that anything is going on!

Why you would be a good superhero: You don't care what people think, and you'd do whatever needed to be done

Your biggest problem as a superhero: Feeling even more isolated than you do now

What Should Your Superpower Be?

Meme

2008-06-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

I have never been tagged before, and now thanks to Out of the Binjo Ditch I have a bit of work to do on the blog where I never blog.

Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog. (done)

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. (okie dokie)

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. (as if I know 7 people who blog...hahaha)

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. (finish laughter from #3)

5. Present an image of martial discord from whatever period or situation you'd like. (as you wish.)

And now, 7 Facts about me:

1. I'm married to the "award-winning" author of Out of the Binjo Ditch.

2. I used to have a kleenex collection (clean ones!) when I was 4-5. I would fold them up and keep then in the top middle drawer of my dresser. Of course, now I never have them when I need them.

3. I just found out today that I had the highest grade in my poetry 101 writing class from college--only took me 12 years to notice the note.

4. I have had a variety of piercings, but no tattoos.

5. When I was little I wanted to be a priest, live on a boat and have a million children.

6. My favorite series of books was The Chronicles of Narnia.

7. My poor plants out on the patio are suffering a terrible death, as I keep forgetting to water them. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess.

In the spirit of the meme, please read the fine print: If you are reading this, then consider yourself tagged.

Image of "Martial" Discord: (from Kung Fu Panda)
I couldn't help myself on this one...

Well, that explains it...

2008-03-09T22:23:00.000-07:00

Your True Love Is a Cancer

Why you'll love a Cancer:

Cancer's loyal and sincere heart makes your own sensitive heart melt.

Caring and devoted, a Cancer will take the lead in pursuing you - and not give up!

Why a Cancer will love you:

You're laid back enough to deal with Cancer's little mood swings and freak-outs.

A fellow homebody, you know how make Cancer comfortable and at home with you.

What Sign Is Your True Love?

TV Party

2008-02-19T19:36:00.001-08:00

Thought I would share this with you, since it's stuck in my head.

I did run across a very disturbing remix of Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round 2003. If you find yourself over on the site, tell me if those are not the scariest lips you have ever seen....

Date Night

2008-02-17T08:28:00.000-08:00

Last night, DH and I had our first date night in goodness knows how long. I think the last time the two of us went out without the kids in tow was in 2006's Christmas dinner for my last job. (We didn't get to go together this year due to babysitter issues.) Anyway, it was quite nice. We did the easy movie and a dinner thing since (1) the play DH was going to take me to only had individual seats-the last pair sold while DH was on the phone with the theatre, and (2) we wanted to stay close to home due to expected inclement weather (we were in a tornado watch area).

We dropped Stinky, Apple-S and Pumpkin Pie at the YMCA for their "Parents' Night Out" and went to see Juno. DH was surprised that he actually kinda liked it. I loved it, of course. Not much action, just a lot of witty dialog.

Since it was pouring rain when we left the theater, we rain across the plaza to Cafe Adobe for a late dinner. One swirled margarita and I was happy.

Anyway, a long time ago I blogged about a necklace that I had started that had started but was taking forever to finish. Well, I finally sat down and finished. I'm not happy with it and will likely take it apart and re-do. I see the error in it, and it drives me batty. Plus, I'm not happy about the transition between the front and the back.

DH just returned from taking Pumpkin to get new tennis shoes, since she ripped a hole in her this week. Looks like the went to "the heeb" as well, and got a bit of food to last a few days...and some peppercorns. And it's about time to switch out loads of laundry before I load up the tax software and get to work. Whoo-hooo. Another Pleasant Valley Sunday.

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T18:32:00.001-08:00

Here are three of my favorite valentines. The other doesn't usually like his picture taken.

I noticed that it's been quite a while since posting. I've thought about it, but haven't gotten around to it. Imagine.

December flew by in a hurry. And work was harried as I helped track down outstanding commissions, and helped bring in a $40+check. Not that it went to me, but oh well. I got the pleasure of calling Canada, eh, and harrassing the land up North during the holidays.

January slowed down just a bit at work, only to catch up to me. I had a bout of strep and landed in bed for a couple of days with tonsils the size of golf balls and just about as white and dimply. Unpleasant, to say the least. This month was Stinky's turn. Poor DH had to miss another of my company's parties since we couldn't send Stinky to the sitter's and infect her kids, too. I think I may have reinfected myself, too, as I had a fever for about three days and my tonsils blew up like puffer fish again. You could almost see them coming out under my chin. (Yum.) But the fever has broken and they are starting to shrink, and I couldn't take time off from work again since I missed two days in Jan and one last week with Stinky (DH and I split the two days that Stinkly was out from school). I made sure to wash my hands a lot and avoid touching anything that wasn't mine as much as possible....

The pictures above were taken at Hermann park, while the kids and DH along with Photog and his wife fed the ducks.

Oh well. Hopefully I'll catch up on the laundry this weekend while I do the taxes. DH is not allowed to do them anymore. [Taxes, that is. He's welcome to the laundry now that I have trained him to sort clothes and hang dry the shrinkables (only took 5 years).] I don't think I've ever heard as much cursing in my life other than this one really long string that worked its way up the air vents from the basement where my dad was building his train landscape. I think he hammered his hand instead of the nail.

Anyway, I have been doing the taxes for the last 4 or 5 years. I seem to have a bit more patience dealing with the software and e-filing. It's finding all the documents that's the pain. Someday (as I am constantly muttering) I will organize my house. HA!

I hope you had happy heart day!

Honey, this is for you.

2007-12-09T09:08:00.001-08:00

William shatner in Lucy in the sky with diamonds

2007-12-01T07:08:00.001-08:00

Couldn't resist this one...

Over my allotment of posts for the month, but here it goes....

2007-11-25T19:27:00.000-08:00

What a full weekend. Work let out earlier for some than others (like me, but what's new...).

Started putting everything together Wed afternoon, chopping the veggies, baking the sweet potato casserole (non-marshmallow version), cooking the cranberries in sugar water (homemade cranberry sauce is that easy), and tossing together the stuffing from scratch (although I did use bakery bread to make fresh bread crumbs over the weekend, if that still counts). Thursday morning, around 8:30-ish I stuffed the bird's backside and let hubby fill in the neck area since I was having some trouble keeping the flap open and jamming the breading into the cavity. Then we placed it in the V-rack, greased up it's skin and loaded the bottom of the pan with veggies and broth and the roasting began. After 8 trips to the oven to baste and refill the pan with broth (and later water) to keep the veggies moist, the bird was ready. I just had to heat up the rolls, green bean casserole (which I nuked ahead of time to melt everything), bake the remaining stuffing, nuke the peas, and make the gravy (hence the roasted veggies in the bottom of the pan-you press them through a strainer and use the extracted juices in the gravy along with the drippings). Hubby was in charge of the garlic smashed potatoes, which I only had to coach slightly.

We had dinner on the table by 2:30. Stinky Magee requested that we each go around the table and say what we were all thankful for after we said grace. He is grateful for his teachers, Apple Pie was thankful your welcome, and Pumpkin was thankful for the food, DH and I were thankful for our families.

We stuffed our bellies then I threw together the apple pie (an actual pie, not the child listed above) for later in the evening. We lazed around for most of the afternoon and evening, after the dishes were washed.

Friday was uneventful as well, as the weather turned this weekend: cold and wet. So we were all stuck inside and refused to fight the crowds in the malls or the traffic with all of the nearby road construction. We ate leftovers for a couple of meals, and watched movie (OK, I watched Days of Our Lives, too, but who's counting that, since I have not seen it in a couple of years and had to catch up on all the mad-cap goings-on). Stinky-M and Pumpkin broke the wishbone together and the entire top broke off. I have never seen that before. They both ended up with the short sticks. So, either they will both get their wishes or neither. I prefer the former notion.

Saturday was DH's and my anniversary. The day started off nicely, with Stinky-M bringing me a card that he and his brother and sister signed, then I came downstairs to coffee brewing. After sipping a cup I went upstairs to check on Pumpkin who decided to watch Madagascar, and through the amazing wonders of movie previews, watched an ad for Over the Hedge and learned that she could burp the ABC's. Yes, my beautiful, angelic 5 y.o. DD is now running around burping the alphabet (thank you, Steve Carell). What more could a doting mother ask for.

Since it was our anniversary, we thought we would live it up by going out to eat. We mulled long and hard. OK, we drove up 290 and decided that IHOP was appropriate to take a 3 y.o. who had not had a nap. And it wasn't crowded, since it was only 5:30. After a surprisingly pleasant meal (well behaved non-rested children for once!), we stopped by Target to grab a couple of long-sleeved shirts for the DD and a new jacket for oldest-DH (since he lost the one I bought last month). By the time we got home, it was close to bedtime, so I bathed the two youngest while Stinky-M worked on one of his puzzle books and DH played around on the computer. Then we tucked them all in bed, nuked some popcorn and watched an episode of Band of Brothers (how romantic).

Today was rather mellow (or at least to the standards of parents who are used to the temperaments of 3 children. The kiddoes watched Sleeping Beauty and Madagascar. I drank some coffee, showered and made myself presentable to get a burger, since DH did not want turkey for lunch again. So we loaded up the car and went to Becks Prime. Then we returned home and lazed around some more, between loads of laundry. The kids are finally in bed and DH is ironing shirts for next week. Thank goodness for his military training because I am terrible at ironing. That is where I have no patience. And yes, the government did teach him how to properly iron, because making your uniform stand up by itself is step one in defending our country.

Tomorrow, we head back to work and school. Rats. It's been a nice break for the last few days.

Happy Anniversary

2007-11-24T14:19:00.001-08:00

We've made it six years, DH. Here's to all the years to come.

I love you!

Happy Turkey Day!

2007-11-22T08:57:00.001-08:00

You Are The Stuffing

You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together.
People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

I get the impression...

2007-11-18T21:16:00.001-08:00

You Are Impressionism

You think the world is quite beautiful, especially if you look at it in new and interesting ways.
You tend to focus on color and movement in art.
For you, seeing the big picture is much more important than recording every little detail.
You can find inspiration anywhere... especially from nature.

What Art Movement Are You?

November's long post

2007-11-07T20:07:00.000-08:00

Well, the first week and three days at the new job have past. I'm still alive, still trying to figure out what in the world I'm doing. A bit disappointed at the lack of training on simple things, like how to use the phone, no updated phone list, etc. Nothing like picking up a call and (1) not knowing if the person works there, (2) what extension he/she is at, and (3) how to get the caller off my line and either to the other party or in their voicemail. I felt bad that I only had 4 days to train my replacement at my last job, and here I was kinda dropped in a desk and told to fend for myself.

Oh well, I'm getting the hang of it, even if I feel a bit harried and hurried. Not quite up to speed on their systems and not quite used to answering to seven people at the same time, but I can only do what I can do.

Other than that everything is OK.

Halloween came and went trick-or-treating as a Mad Scientist (Stinky), the Little Mermaid (Pumpkin) and "Buzz-Like-Year" (Apple-S). We still have not carved the pumpkin. Stinky, Pumpkin and Apple did draw all over it with a Sharpie, so there are two faces, a cat, and some random letters and numbers and dots. Quite a bit more creative than anything DH or I could have done with a knife. And we haven't had to deal with the guts yet. Perhaps this weekend we'll dig in and I'll roast up some seeds.

I still haven't finished my last pearl necklace. Poor thing is sitting in the glass bowl and staring at me from under the pile of other items that have landed on it in the interim. Maybe later this week I'll pull it out and work another inch or two. Part of the problem is that I saw a mistake that I made about 1.5 inches ago. Part of me wants to take the whole thing apart and start over (yikes!) since I know the error is there (which with this type of stitch isn't exactly a piece of cake). Part of me thinks I'm the only one who sees the extra loop, so what's the big deal. They're arguing, so the project just sits. You'd think I'd pick up something else while my brain duels it out, but I haven't yet, although I have several ideas bouncing around in my head.

Seems this is turning into a list of things i haven't done, so...

I did do about about eight loads of laundry over the weekend and went grocery shopping. I'm sure that is thrilling news. I did put gas in the car and attempted to find a quicker way to and from work (hahaha). I watched TV and looked for one of the four books that I am reading (and will eventually finish).

We drove northbound and visited Debbie and Nuje and their family and went to park and chased the kids and played Frisbee. Then fed the ruggers and sent them upstairs to watch The Incredibles while we bowled on the Wii. I won 2 out of 4 rounds, which is pretty good considering I have never played before. (Honey, maybe we should start saving up for Christmas...after all YOU got the X-Box that the kids broke and the DS to keep Stinky occupied while you all were fishing...what do I have to play with?)

The big news, though most of you already know, is that hubby passed the bar with flying colors! Yeah! Three years of sacrificing. Here's to a nice pay-off, or at least enough money to put the kids through college and have a comfortable retirement with lots of travel, and maybe cable-TV and a DSL or wireless Internet connection.... And a vacation (kids attendance is optional). OK, and a house with a guest room for our always-welcome families to stay and an office for DS and a hobby room for me (rooms for the kids are also optional--we can always make them "outdoor" children, which is a joke only my mom will get, but to me it's hilarious).

First Day Jitters

2007-10-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow is the first day of the new job. I'm a bit nervous, as I have to get to know a new set of co-workers and bosses and filing systems and a different coffee maker. Wish me luck!

(Just waiting for my nails to dry so I can lay in bed and stare at the ceiling and not sleep.)

Conundrum

2007-10-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

OK, here's the situation:

I was unable to sleep one evening and randomly submitted my resume to another company that was looking for an admin assistant position, and requested a salary requirement in the cover letter. I threw a number down, considerably higher than my current base salary and still higher than what I make with my quarterly and annual bonuses, thinking that I would never hear back.

Well, a week later I received a call from their Director of Operations who was very impressed with my resume and wanted to speak with me about the position. I managed to return his after a few misses, as it was difficult to find a quiet space to call and I had worked through my lunches and late. Well, he talked about the company and about the job and said that they were prepared to offer me what I was asking because I had experience in the area and I knew what "redlining" was and how to do it.

Anyway, I mentioned a couple of my concerns and the hours that I wanted to work, which are slightly different from their hours, because of daycare schedules. He said he would talk to the partners that I would be supporting and he didn't think it would be a problem. This job would basically entail supporting four Partners and the Director I spoke with with the basic, plus reviewing leases and proposals, etc.

My concerns are do I want to take a step backwards in title for more money. The office I would be working in is larger, so down the line there may be something better. But that's not guaranteed. The company I work with is growing, as well, but only has 8 (soon to be 9-10) people. I have my choice to support my current boss and continue to run the office or go more towards the marketing side and support our leasing rep and soon-to-be project manager. This would mean that I would get to do all the fun stuff that I like about my job (doing the creative bit). I think, if I had my druthers, I would work with the leasing rep on the marketing and run the office and let the new admin work support Joe and the project manager.

I don't know. I have my list of questions for the lunch meeting tomorrow, but need someone to start soon, and this is a bad time to leave my office. Our leasing rep's wife will be having the triplets within the next few weeks, and my boss will be out traveling for several upcoming meetings. Our associate property manager is on maternity leave, so we have a temp filling in with some of the support work and phones, while our customer service coordinator does the assoc. pm's job. The temp is leaving at the end of next week because she landed a permanent job elsewhere (child-welfare protection as a case worker).

I would hate to seem like I am taking advantage of the situation should my boss decide to give me a raise to keep me, but I also don't want to leave the team in a lurch, since I like them for the most part. Plus, my job is fairly interesting. Yikes. Then again, I have not officially been offered the job, even though the Director did seem quite interested in hiring me.

And we do need the extra money to pay off all of our debt (the horrors of having to use the cc to make it through the month) and start saving for a house and college funds for the kids.

So, what are your thoughts?

UPDATE:
I was offered the job officially today at a little lower than I was expecting, but not too much. DH has been hashing over the pros and cons and I still have not come to a conclusion. Now to talk to the boss tomorrow. Ack.

A Moment of Silence, Please

2007-09-23T05:58:00.001-07:00

Marcel Marceau has died at the age of 86. He was an inspiration to many, including Micheal Jackson, who reportedly borrowed Marceau's "walking against the wind" routine and created the Moonwalk.

What to do

2007-09-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

Well I have already posted for the day, or month. On our way back from dinner (reminder of why we have not gone out to eat in public in some time, outside of the lack of dinero), we were thinking of what to watch together after the kids go to bed. This reminded me of another fascinating part of the summer's felicities: Fame.

A long time back, I had found a deal on DVD's (buy 2 on sale, get 1 free). Well, two ended up as gifts (the first season of Scrubs and the first season of Radio City). The free one was the first season of Fame, and I subjected my long-suffering husband to a weekend of Leroy, Julie, Coco, Doris, Bruno, Ms. Grant, Ms. Sherwood, Mr. Shirofsky and the rest of the crew. It was a warm, fuzzy reminder of childhood, kinda like Little House on the Prairie.

I wonder if more seasons are available... Or maybe I should look into Little House? Honey, how would you like a weekend of Half-pint, Ma, Pa and Mary?

Incommunicado

2007-09-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

For some reason I have not made the time to post here. I find myself closing doors that should be at least left cracked, not returning phone calls, not chit-chatting around the water cooler. Maybe it's a regrouping, regathering of the spiritual troops. Taking a breather from life. Vacation helped a little, but not much. I find myself very impatient and frustrated by the same old crap from the same old people. Not being supportive when I know I should be, wanting to give a kind word or a pat on the back, but feeling feeling "out of sorts" instead. I know this, too, will pass. Another period of the blah's.

As always, there are blessings to count. DH has a contract job for the next 10-12 weeks. Stinky Magee is enjoying school (except for Language Arts...not the teacher, just the work). Pumpkin Pie has had a harder time adjusting, as she is the socialite, the drama queen, and cannot hold her tongue, but some days she does manage to stay on "green." Apple-S has enjoyed his time home with Dad, going to the park or to the Y. He's still not keen on using the potty, especially #2, but hopefully, before he starts dating, he will be consistent. (Right now, he his hands and half of his face are teal from the marker he was using to write the alphabet.)

And now that Fall has begun, it's time for the "What I Did While on Summer Vacation" essay....

This summer our family went to the Swiss Alps and French Riviera and blew glass with the Venetians.

Or not.

Like most people, it revolved around work and the kids. One bright spot was the week we spent up at my folks, mostly just hanging out on the back porch and watching for deer in the evening. We went to Rural King and looked at farm equipment and bought cracked corn out of barrel to feed the ducks at the park. We shared ice cream cones outside the old-fashioned Dairy Queen and left behind little puddles of vanilla. One afternoon was spent in IL in Amish country, seeking some little shop the DH wanted to investigate, watching the horses and buggies, and trying to guess which of the homesteads were Amish (based on paint color and propane tanks). We did stop to pan for diamonds in Arkansas, but only found a bit of quartz and various colored stones.

The year is flying by, hard to believe that it is nearly the end of September. Less than three months until Stinky's b-day, then Christmas. MIL will be stopping by (hopefully) for a visit during the holidays.

Now to finish up the books that I have started this week and finish work on a couple of necklaces that are still in progress, one with freshwater pearls and Japanese seed beads, the other with SS chain, garnets and onyx. The latter will be a two-strand necklace, of which the first is done and I have worn, but I think I need to shorten. I plan to make it so that you can wear them together or apart. The former is a double-spiral that takes forever to stitch, as I have only finished about 2 1/2 inches, and plan to get about 8 or 9 inches done before I use up the pearls. I'll finish with about 3 1/2 inches of double spiraled seed beads on each side and SS cones to cover the ends, if I can find some decent ones that I like. Can't decide if I want to do a pretty clasp or a lobster claw with an extended chain. I, obviously, have time to decide.

Band Wagon Post

2007-09-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

A little something to keep you busy...

2007-07-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

santa game from bunnyhero labs

I'll take this result.

2007-06-12T19:27:00.000-07:00

She's always been one of my favorite actresses.

Your Score: Katharine Hepburn

You scored 11% grit, 28% wit, 47% flair, and 19% class!

You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You
go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand
head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing
and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or
conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common
sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet.
You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the
screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who
like strong women.

Find out what kind of classic leading man you'd make by taking the
Classic Leading Man Test.

Link: The Classic Dames Test written by gidgetgoes on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

This is why I was late getting home...

2007-06-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man		75%
Superman		70%
Wonder Woman		53%
Robin		50%
Hulk		50%
Catwoman		45%
Iron Man		45%
Supergirl		43%
Green Lantern		35%
Batman		30%
The Flash		20%

You are intelligent, witty,
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...

Hello Again

2007-05-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about blogging for a while, but never seem to get around to it. So here's the update...

Working, working and more working. Imagining having a clean home. Beading a bit. Looking around home and wishing it would clean itself. Picking up socks from the floor. Doing laundry. Playing with the rugrats. Debating what to do about the cats. Wondering why my home won't clean itself, so scrubbing the kitchen counters. Weeding the herb garden. Debating about getting a haircut. Resolving to clean at least the bathrooms today. Counting the days until DH's graduation and knowing that I have to finish cleaning. Wishing I had trained the family better in putting their things away and not leaving papers and coke bottles and socks and toys all over the place.

DH and I took Stinky Magee, Pumpkin Pie and Apple-S on a picnic Saturday, per Pumpkin Pie's request. It was a lovely afternoon, just the right temperature in the shade. Threw some sandwiches, cherry tomatoes, pickles, chips and water bottles in a bag and set out for Nob Hill Park. The kids had a great time with the jungle gyms and the water fight. (Thank goodness for fountains to get refills on ammunition.) DH started it (imagine that!). The kids ran around, screaming "Get me! Get me!" By the time we headed home so DH could get some more work done on his take-home final, the kids were soaked. Of course, DH and I were tired from being out in the (gasp!) sun and ended up taking naps. I fell asleep in Pumpkin Pie's room, since DH, Apple-S and Pumpkin Pie were sacked out together.

Stinky Magee has been practicing for his play. He plays "Grubworm" in the upcoming Second Grade production of "Bugz." He does have a speaking role (8 lines) and has had to stay late for after school rehearsals. The show is on the 8th at 7 p.m. for all those fans of his. Poor DH will miss it, since he has a final that evening. I'm excited for Stinky, and he seems to be excited as well.

Counting down the days until DH's graduation: May 19th. This will be an extraordinarily busy week. Sun is Mom's Day, on which I will be traveling for work (yea.). Monday through Wednesday will be an office administrators meeting at our corporate office. That Tuesday will be my b-day (I'll be 29...again). I'll get home late on the 16th and head to work. My folks will arrive on the 17th and my MIL and MIF will come in the 18th, along with the kid's early dismissal from school. Then the main event (Graduation) on Saturday. Followed by DH's fishing trip with the Dads on the 20th and carting MIL and FIL to the airports on the 21st. (Thank goodness I'm taking the day off from work). My folks leave on the 22nd (which is my mom's b-day).

Speaking of the 22nd, it's a milestone b-day and I'm trying to come up with ideas for the 21st. Was thinking, perhaps, an morning at a spa or something, but not sure. Actually, I don't know any good ones around this area, so I'm open for recommendations or other ideas.

School ends for Stinky and Pumpkin on the 24th or 25th. Another year is almost done. Yikes!

One a side note, I'm thinking of packing in my Mary Kay business. No time to fit my schedule right now. I still love the products though, and will use up what's left of the formulas that work for me. So.... now's the time to stock up. I'm selling off the remainder of my inventory at my cost + shipping to you. I'll put in one last order in the next week or so if there is something on the website that you need and I don't have. Shoot me an email if you want anything.

I'm not a universal genius

2007-03-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

Of course DH wanted me to post this since I didn't do as well as he did...

Mid- to late- February

2007-02-23T21:06:00.000-08:00

You Belong in Amsterdam

A little old fashioned, a little modern - you're the best of both worlds. And so is Amsterdam.
Whether you want to be a squatter graffiti artist or a great novelist, Amsterdam has all that you want in Europe (in one small city).

What European City Do You Belong In?

I think I am looking for excuses to take these silly online quizzes. Oh well, a little self-indulgence from time to time is entertaining--for me, at least.

Anyway, as usual, our family has been quite busy. Working over 45 hrs. or more per week, since I have been staying late and working through lunch. Eventually, the piles on my desk will go down (I hope!). But my boss thanked me the other day, and told me that I have doing a great job helping him out. It was nice to hear...never got compliments from my old boss.

Kids are doing well. Younger-DS has changed his name to Apple-S___ (no! not that word, but his name). It stems from DD mentioning that she was too old to be called Pumpkin, so she needs to be called Pumpkin Pie now. Anyway, Apple-S now says that his name begins with A instead of S.

Older-DS (who won't let me give him a nickname...so I think I will start calling him Stinky McGee) had Rodeo Day at school. They were to dress in "Rodeo" attire. Yes, cowboy hats, boots and the like. Um, we don't have those. One of the groups of trail-riders passed in front of their school, so they got to watch the horse riders.

I managed to catch a gander at a group on the way to work, right along Fairbanks. I felt bad for the cars trying to get to work, as this is a heavily traveled road in the mornings.

Pumpkin Pie had Rodeo Day on Wednesday, and had farm animals at school today. She was excited to see the donkey and pig and lambs and goats. But you cannot shriek and talk loudly and hit the animals, or else it will scare them and they will run away. You have to be quiet and pet them very softly. It was pretty humorous to hear her explaining this, oh so very seriously.

It is driving me nuts! The rugrats keep doing things that I intend to write down, but when I finally have a free moment to type everything up, I cannot remember a darn thing. I really need to start taking notes. Once, my memory was iron clad, but ever since I had kids, it seems nothing sticks around. Gads.

Oh well, this weekend will be busy. I've been purging the house, working my way through. I think we have tossed out about 15 boxes of crap in the last 3 weeks. Tomorrow I'm going to start tackling the kitchen and the rest of the living room. I've mostly finished the master bedroom and closet, Pumpkin Pie's room, part of Stinky McGee's/Apple-S's room, and the front half of the living room.

I don't know what has happened, but I am so tired of the clutter. DH even asked if I was pregnant. Thank goodness not! I can barely keep up with the three I have now.

2007-02-23T13:24:00.000-08:00

Your Scholastic Strength Is Deep Thinking

You aren't afraid to delve head first into a difficult subject, with mastery as your goal.

You are talented at adapting, motivating others, managing resources, and analyzing risk.

You should major in:

Philosophy

Music

Theology

Art

History

Foreign language

What Should You Major In?

I thought I would see what I should have studied when I was in school. Funny thing is, I didn't really care for most of the above subjects. My Italian was atrocious. History was OK. I thought about taking Art classes(but chickened out). Theology, um, well, four years of Catholic school killed that. Hated applying the rules of Logic to Philosophy. As for Music, my husband knows just how well I can carry a tune.

Oh well, some day I will figure out what to be when I grow up.

This week

2007-01-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

So, we are all "alive and kicking" still (as one of my dear friends loves to hear). This has been one of our tougher weeks. I'm getting used to Steve's school schedule after, after having a few weeks off from single-parent evenings. But this semester, there are only two days per week, plus one partial, where he leaves for school about an hour before the kids' bedtime. So, it's not so bad, and not quite as hectic in the evenings as in past years.

My kids were little troupers, though, on Tuesday when I managed to miss the first step while carrying laundry down the stairs. I flew down head first, managed to grab on to the railing, of which the metal support promptly snapped in half, and barely managing to pull myself upright before hitting the ground, found myself wedged between the opposite wall and the railing doing the hurdler stretch. Suffice to say, I was doing everything in my power to not cry and scare the kids. Older-DS hearing the ruckus, tore up the stairs with DD on his heels. "You broke the railing!"

"Yes, honey, I fell down the stairs. Please give me a moment."

"Can I see? Ohmygosh, you'll be OK, Mommy. Just take a deep breath. You'll be OK; it'll only hurt for a little while."

DD, peering around Older-DS, cried out, "Mommy, are you OK? You broke the railing!"

Patting me on the back, Older-DS reiterated, "You'll be OK, Mommy. Now Ava, help me pick up the laundry so the cat doesn't pee on it. We'll put it by the washer." And he and DD, kindly gathered up the laundry and brought it the rest of the way downstairs and put it by the floor of the washing machine." (Of course, when DH called to let me know he was on his way home from class, they told him that I had broken the rail, without telling him how.)

I was proud of my little ones, who were quick to re-assure me and prompt to take action-even if the main excitement was the fact that the railing was broken and the scraped off portion of my shin, while I managed to only cry a little before limping the rest of the way down the stairs.
Suffice to say, I'm still not walking normally, and most of my foot up to about 2/3 of the way up my shin is a lovely mix of greens and yellows and blacks with a fist sized bruise on my other leg. But, now that I've stayed off of my foot for most of the weekend, my foot and ankle have stopped swelling up. It was lovely during the week, since I was still wearing "work" shoes and hobbling around. I didn't break anything, I don't think, but there are two spots on my shin that still really hurt, and DD kicked them last night while she was sleeping in our bed.

Wednesday my grandmother on my dad's side passed away. She's been ill for some time, and has been doing very poorly for the last couple of months. My parents have been traveling to VA to visit her frequently. Unfortunately, life got in the way of my little family seeing her. In fact, I have not seen her since junior high, I think. Military families don't seem to be that close to outside relatives. I don't really remember her coming to visit us very often growing up. And she lived in AZ after my grandfather retired. (He passed on in the early 80's). I do remember her, though, as quite the cosmopolitan lady. She seemed to always be traveling after my grandfather died, visiting her scattered family--brothers and sisters and their families. I think she visited my aunt and my uncle and his family more often, though, than us. I feel for my father, though, as he has had to watch his mother's failing health.

Thursday, Youngest-DS when do the doctor with suspected Pink-eye, which he has (but is nearly gone now).

Friday, DD woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and ran one around 102.7 for Saturday, with Older-DS quickly following with one just under 102. They're feeling better today, though, and are hovering just over 99 with a bit of a cough and runny noses.

The good news of the week: Older-DS received 2 awards during an assembly this week-Perfect Attendance and All A's Honor Roll.

It's Sunday and the beginning of a new week. Hopefully this one will run a bit smoother.

Another random personality test...

2007-01-21T18:30:00.001-08:00

You Are Midnight

You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits.
Whether you're a nightowl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle.
Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it.
You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends.

What Time Of Day Are You?

Hmmm...nothing like those skinny "Dad" legs

2007-01-21T13:40:00.000-08:00

This about knocked me out of my chair.

According to Yahoo News, we can look forward to this starting in the Fall. Send our thanks to Milan and all the wonderful fashionistas of the world.

Counting Down to the New Year

2006-12-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

Ah, the quiet after Christmas. Younger-DS is napping, exhausted from two days of mad playing and shrieking and running. DD and Older-DS are chewing Chicklets and pal-ing around in low volume.

We had a good Christmas this year. For the first time since we've been married, we actually made it to mass, er, church, er, service...whatever they call it in non-Catholic terms--still trying to get used to the terminology of Protestantism (and gearing up for my trip to heck-in-a-handbasket, as the nuns in school would say...don't tell my parents ;-) )--on Christmas Eve for a candlelight vigil. DD and younger-DS hung out in the nursery, and you could see a little blonde head running hither and yon through the window. As we found out later, she was using her star wand to turn everyone to stone. Older-DS did a very good job sitting still, even though he was ready to fall asleep (as it lasted past bedtime).

We hightailed it home after services and put the rugrats to bed, and they finally all passed out mid-protest. Nooooooooooooo....snore.

Sometime around midnight, Santa came and put the presents under the tree. Older-DS woke up around 3. DH heard some rustling downstairs and when to check it out. Older-DS was arranging all the presents by whom they belonged to, in order to keep himself from opening them. DH did what he could to get ODS back into bed, but he was way too excited, so he was allowed to play on the computer for a while. Then he was ready to go back upstairs to sleep for an hour or so. He popped in our room around 4:30, when he was told to go into his sister's room and read for a bit, as his sister was curled up on our bed at the foot (right where my legs should have been if I had been allowed to sleep in non-fetal position). He came in again around, then 5:30. Around 5:45 we gave up and crawled out of bed. DD did not want to get up until she heard the word "Santa." Then we woke up Younger-DS and went downstairs to open them up.

They all had a wonderful time tearing off paper and finding the surprises inside. Younger-DS managed to open up a few items before getting completely pre-occupied by his stocking (which, btw, Gramma, you did a wonderful job!!! She has made stockings for all three of the kiddoes and they are gorgeous!). He did a better job at age 2 then his brother did...the first thing older-DS did at 2 was to pull out a set of alphabet flash cards from his stocking and would not open another present for several hours.

Our living room has not been the same since, with all the cardboard boxes and twist ties and various pieces of theft resistance packaging.

Yesterday they played and played and played and blew bubbles and shrieked and hooted and hollered and ran up and down the stairs and through the hallways, kitchen and living room and over furniture and under tables and up the walls and danced on the ceiling and crashed cars and turned us all into statues. Then cried, "Noooooooooosnore!" when we put them to bed.

The oldest two were a bit more mild mannered today, but that may have been their trip to the dentist and their favorite hygenist (who someone has a BIG crush on).

Tomorrow I head back to work. I could still use a few more days of vacation. Had a half day on Friday, we were given the day off on Monday, and I used up my last personal (use-it-or-lose-it) day on Tuesday and a vacation day for today. Luckily, tomorrow will be my only full day, as we will probably close around 3 on the Friday for New Years. Yea!

I think the kids are itchin' to get back to school, at least the older two. We'll see how Younger-DS does when he starts back to daycare next Tuesday, after staying home for three weeks. Should be interesting.

Well, here's the new year and all sorts of new adventures. Wish you all happiness and prosperity and a good night's sleep.

Christmas is coming...

2006-12-10T12:36:00.000-08:00

Well, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here. The tree went up yesterday afternoon, with much "help" from the young 'uns. It even has the "beautiful" angel that older-DS made with Gramma a couple of years ago.

The youngest found his favorite part of the festivities, as well.

It took a while, but we finally managed to get all of the ornaments up without too many problems, and gathered around for a mug of hot mulled cider. DD was enthralled with my old smiley face mug, and showed it off to all of us, over and over and over.

The tree is surviving the best that it can. I have never seen an artificial tree have to try so hard...it's been knocked down twice so far, with glass balls flying. Oh well, younger-DS will grow and lose his fascination with pushing it over (hopefully). Last year, we put our tree away on the 26th, after older-DS and DD were running around like banshees and caused the poor tree to topple. This poor tree has had more bad luck than the one in the Charlie Brown special.

At least we haven't had to pull either of the cats out of it...(knock on wood). Although, they may have knocked it down in years past, too.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I am posting a couple of pics of my recent creations.

This sterling bracelet is made with a Bali silver ball, noodles (aka tube beads, but that doesn't sound as fun), various SS beads and crystal rondells.

The necklace on the right was stitched in odd-count tubular peyote with silver-lined, matte cyrstal , size 11 Japanese seed beeds, with SS beadcaps and AB crystals.

Here on the left is an illusion necklace, this time with 10mm amazonite rounds with SS diamond dust (aka snowball) beads, spiral spacers and crystals.

I've made a couple of pairs of earrings, too, but have not tried to photograph them. They are based on a pair that I saw in one of my beading books. I would give credit if I could remember off hand who designed them, but I can't, and I don't feel like getting up to find the book, and have been fighting with the pictures in this post, which wouldn't move where I wanted them, and then wouldn't let me type where I needed to. Grrrr.

That's it for now. Need to get back to the laundry and give the stew a stir. Maybe I will post a second time in December...it's worth a shot.

A special note from DD, to wish you a happy holiday season (OK, I admit that I like the term "happy holidays" because to me, (1) it's inclusive of all the celebrations around and this time and (2) it's alliterative):
VVBHGGFGFdtffRUJYHGYTUGSYFTEYGTYTRTF HUU
UTYTTYRTREU
FGHfgffdfDDSGHJHGHFGSHF
MOM FF DADDY TTFTEREDRT
FDSFAGSDAFGDTGHDSRDRSDTDRRRDSXSZTADFDSG

R5RT55 R6TRREDRSWUJGTTWADFRDRWHYER
,TFGFTDRSQESW.GFTERF FTFDADGSA
HYGTFHFRTHDRSDRWSDHTWTEDER
frgdcfGXSDFSZDFSDFXGVGFCFGHDFGDCGDFGHffgdfrghfsgtfxgxfdfdx
sedsdesd
tdrderdertererewsreaa
gfyggugytfrytgfrugumgggggggmggyrftfrnfrnhtertffffcedxfAFGFGHFGH
SHFGHFDSGFCGEYFTEYSGYWRTRFD
FFGTDTGDTHRDRESW
Love, DD

Now a special note from Older-DS:
Happy Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

November's Post

2006-11-26T17:55:00.000-08:00

You Are The Chariot

You represent a difficult battle, and a well-deserved victory.
You tend to struggle to get what you want, both internally and externally.
You excel at controlling opposing forces, getting down the same path.
In the end, you bring glory and success - using pure will to move forward.

Your fortune:

There is great conflict in your life right now, either with yourself or others.
You must find a solution to this conflict, which is likely to be a "middle road" between the two forces.
You posses the skills to triumph over these struggles, as long as your will is strong.
You are transforming your inner self, building a better foundation for future successes.

What Tarot Card Are You?

I have been rather behind in posting. Work is keeping me very busy, staying late almost every evening, then rushing to pick up the kids and make dinner. Sometimes not eating until nearly 7, which is tough on the little on the little ones. Then I get to spend the next hour nagging my 7 year old to finish his homework and do his mandatory 20 minutes of reading that must be logged and initialed by me. The tuck them all in bed by 8, so they can get enough sleep for school, since they need to get up at 6 a.m. I feel bad sometimes, that I don't really get to enjoy the only time I get to spend with my kids during the work week.

But they are all healthy, and don't seem too much worse for the wear right now. Today, while DH was at school studying for finals (which he has been doing for most of this weekend) and younger DS was napping, DD and older DS and I weeded out on the patio and found some snails and a small anole (lizard), which periodically would peek its head out and watch us. We had a good time.

We watched The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe numerous times this weekend, as well. That seems to be the favorite movie for November. At least it wasn't Sleeping Beauty, which was the previous flavor of the month.

I also managed to purge several bags worth of old paperwork and broken toys and torn books. That was only the beginning. Still need to finish the rest of the family room and move the table and couch to find out what has migrated under there, as well. Even did about 10 loads of laundry. Someday, I would love to have a housekeeper.

Oh yeah, and I also make the traditional turkey dinner. With sausage stuffing made from fresh bread crumbs, smashed garlic potatoes, green bean casserole, peas (for those who don't like green bean casserole, DH), rolls (OK, these were heat and serve), sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, and gravy from the drippings and roasted veggies that baked under the turkey. It was pretty good, although next year, I think I will stuff my bird, instead of cooking the turkey unstuffed. Although it cooks faster, it seems that the bird itself was a little drier, even though I started cooking it breast side down and make DH flip it over for the last hour of roasting. (It's easier to flip unstuffed). Still, older DS gave it a thumbs up, which is pretty good, since he's at the stage where he moans and groans over just about everything that I make.

Now, I get to find a cheap, yet experienced, babysitter for Saturday. We are having our office party that evening. Any volunteers? Try as I might, no one else in our office would go for a lunch hour. Seems most everyone wanted an "upscale" dinner with adults, which I had to coordinate. Of course, next year, I will be starting that in early October. It was quite a mistake to wait until November, since the only private dining rooms left had $2K+ minimums. We'll be close to that with gratuity, with 12 people (including spouses), but those minimums don't include tips, which are usually calculated around 20% (which I have found out since coordinating our Broker event for December).

Now it time to start getting ready for the holidays. Older DS's birthday and Christmas, all within a week of each other. Somewhere in there I need to take some vacation days, although part of me it tempted to wait until January so I can have some time alone in the house to get it cleaned from top to bottom, including the carpets. For some reason, I don't think that is what most people plan during time off, but it will never get done any other way. How do other women manage to keep everything coordinated? Gads.

On the lighter side, I have managed to make another necklace and a couple of pairs of earrings. The earrings will be Christmas gifts, I think. I'll have to post some pictures as soon as I find the batteries that I bought for our digital camera. (I even made a special trip, and for the life of me, can't remember where I put them.) I have had a couple of offers from people to buy some the items that I have made, a couple of the necklaces and a bracelet. One of these days I will have to take them up. I ought to start pricing everything while I'm making them, so I know what to say.

The kids are themselves as much as ever. DH posted about what DD was thankful for (for being a princess, for those who may have glossed over that), and older DS's list of 50 or so items was read over the intercom at school. He's even thankful for our cats, one of whom has his head resting on the back of my left hand, which is making typing a bit of a challenge. (I guess the drumming of my fingers on the keyboard is like a massage for him.) Younger DS is his chipper self, when he gets his way. He acts more and more like his older boy sibling at age 2, including the scowl when he is crossed, and his love of climbing out of his crib and dislike of going to bed. Although, he does look peaceful when he succumbs to slumber, unlike his sister who always looks P.O.'ed when she finally passes out. Younger DS is talking up storm now, although I'm still unsure of everything that he is talking about. I've probably sold my soul to the devil several times over during all of the yeses and mmm hmmms that I have done during his monologues.

Well, I guess it's time to take a break from the typing and join DH while he watches America's Next Top Model.

2006-09-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

Your Element Is Water

A bit of a contradiction, you can seem both lighthearted and serious.
That's because you're good at going with the flow - but you also are deep.

Highly intuitive, you tune in to people's emotions and moods easily.
You are able to tap into deep emotional connections and connect with others.

You prefer a smooth, harmonious life - but you can navigate your way around waves.
You have a knack for getting people to get along and making life a little more peaceful.

What's Your Element?

Busy

2006-09-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

I noticed that it has been a full month since posting. Life is busy. With DH at school 4 nights per week (with the computer) I have had little time to spare (and even less internet access) to jot a quick note on this here blog.

Since my last posting, work has been non-stop. My boss has been a joy to work with so far. He has even thanked me for my work on our last office move, even though he had no part of it. He was surprised that I was not given any sort of over-time pay or comp-time for my efforts, as I had little help in our office, and I managed to take care of the move and do all of my regular duties, and told me that that situation would never happen again. It was nice to hear that efforts were appreciated, even from someone outside of the situation.

Older-DS and I had an interesting converstion the other week. We were sitting around the kitchen table while he finished his dinner. We were discussing how someone in his class had gone to summer school and that he wanted to go. I explained that summer school is generally for those who failed a class and needed to make it up. In other words, he really did not want to go. Then I explained that when he was older that the only summer school that I would not be upset about him having to take was Driver's Ed. That was when Daddy had taken the class, while I took it during the school year.

Older-DS was upset about Driver's Ed. He has decided that he will not take this when he is 16 since it requires parent's permission and he will only get his license when he is 18 and can secure one (after passing the mandatory tests) without mom or dad. Somehow I think he will change his mind before he's 18. Of course, he may not just out of spite. He does have a bit of a stubborn streak.

Younger-DS has taken to using the X-box controller to play "football" (oh, come on!) while DH has the college or pro games on TV. This morning he was dragging it around calling for DH to play...even though it was 8 a.m. and there is no game on TV. He was quite upset when I told him that yes he could play, but it would be later. He plugging in the controller himself and demanded that I change the channels until a game was on. Not having cable, there wasn't much available other than 6 Spanish channels, a few religious programs, political shows and an info-mercial or two. Not quite controller fare, and it's difficult to make those politicians move around the table...unless you have a few green-backs in your pockets.

But the games have begun for the afternoon, so he is a happy camper.

DD is enjoying pre-K, even though she isn't as fond of being dropped off at daycare afterwards. But we drive by the "Blue Water" on the way and she seems to feel a bit better. "Blue Water" is a fountain at one of the local apartment complexes where they have colored the water, instead of painting the bottom of the fountain. Her first "school" pictures are on Friday.

DH has been studying hard. We're (I'm) counting down to the end of the semester...then the end of the year...then the bar...then life as a lawyer. The light is at the end of the tunnel, although DH still says he never really thought that he would make it through. Of course he would!

I have made a few pieces of jewelry, and thought I would share them. This is not all, but it's a good sampling...even if the pictures did not turn out well. Someday I would like to become proficient, but I'm still learning. My attempt at the Ndebele stick last night did not go quite as well, so I will be re-doing it with different beads. Or using the same beads with a different stick, since I like the colors.

Catchin' Up

2006-08-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

You Are A Chestnut Tree

You are a born diplomat with a well developed sense of justice.
And even though you're impressive and intimidating, you're also fun to be around.
You can be irritated easily, and you sometimes act superior.
Nevertheless, you are sensitive of others feelings and very loyal.
Sometimes you feel misunderstood and are fiercely close to those who know you best.

What's Your Celtic Horoscope?

It's been a busy, busy month already. I'm in talks with my boss to get a receptionist, but we need to increase our NOI first. The kiddos are getting ready to go back to school next week. DD seems to be excited about pre-K. And my boss seems to be understanding about the fact that I will have to give up three "lunch hours" (which really aren't since that's when I try to run errands so that I don't have to drag the kids around from store to store during the weekend) to get DD from school and bring her to daycare. DH will be getting her the other two days. At least it's only for the semester (about 4 and 1/2 months). Plus, I will not be able to stay late for work after this week from M-Th (as I have for pretty much every evening since my new boss started), as DH has evening classes as well. Hopefully DH will have a more flexible schedule next semester.

Younger DS has been talking up a storm. Tonight he told DD that she had "'nuff" Parmesan cheese on her spaghetti, which she didn't eat. Last night he told her to "go room" when she raised her voice at the table.

Oldest DS, DH and I had a friendly game of "sock" this evening. Mostly, this means that we take turns pelting each other with DH's rolled up socks--unless you're me and you completely miss and the socks end up behind the couch. Ava had a rough evening and was in bed, asleep. (Although she did have a nice afternoon as DH picked her up from daycare and took her to see Cars as an early "what a big girl you are for starting school" present.)

Someday I'll really be able to catch everything up...or does that really ever happen?

Another couple of months in paradise

2006-07-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

Things have been hopping around here. Our new boss has had me working like nobody's business. At his old post, he had three people available to help him out...I'm now those three people: office administrator/marketing assistant, executive assistant, and receptionist. I've been rather busy. In fact, last Friday, I was at work until 7. At four o'clock, I made the mistake of asking him if he needed anything else before I left for training. And he asked, "Where?" I said, "Training on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Remember, in Orlando?" He said, "Oh. I forgot. Um, yeah, I need the brochures for the (Tenant's name) space. Oh, and I'm sure that since this is small office and you know when everyone is out, but I can't keep track. Would you put together a calendar for me?"

Suffice to say, I want a receptionist. If nothing else, just to reduce the number of interruption when I'm trying to do legal documents or work on graphics.

I survived the Orlando trip. The airplane ride was uneventful (always a good thing), and I was even able to catch an earlier flight home (6:30 instead of 8). The only bad part was when DD burst into tears because I couldn't take her with me, and then she told me she hated me. I started tearing up then, too. DH, in his attempt to lighten things up, told me there's no crying in baseball. OK, coach. Several times, I called home, but the only rugrat who would talk to me was younger-DS. Apparently, Arthur (on PBS) ranks higher on the social scale than me.

Of course, everyone who saw my pics of them on my phone said how utterly adorable they are. Not that I am biased, but I think they are the cutest and smartest and most huggable children in all the world.

DH did a wonderful time keeping the kids (yes, there were still three when I got home), even though it rained the whole time, and he had to stay indoors with them. Poor guy, I know it wasn't easy to remain sane.

Grandma and Grandpa arrived yesterday evening. They will be watching the rugrats while DH and I go to my co-worker's wedding. It will be a nice break to have an evening with adults (and no kids to keep entertained). We haven't had one of those since the Christmas dinner for work. I was hoping to be able to take some vacation time off while they were here, but it looks like the only day will be Friday. Rats!

Our property manager will be out for budget training from Tuesday through Thursday, and our customer service coordinator (who takes the tenant's calls when things break) will be out on her honeymoon all week. I have been designated to handle all of that as well. Not that I don't already have a full plate on my hands. For some reason, although our CSC had decided that our tech should call the vendors when needed since he knows who to call, our property manager has decided that she does not want our tech calling, so now I get to do that as well. And our property manager decided to set up painting at some of the buildings and air quality testing that week, too, and I'm now the point of contact for any questions or concerns per her emails to the tenants. I need a significant raise.

Enough venting.

The kids are playing/fighting over the Coca Cola chess set and I need to finish making my necklace for the wedding tonight. I wasn't happy with the way it turned out, so I'm going to make a couple of small additions to it. Should only take an hour or so to fix it up. I'm done with the earrings. I'll have to post pics of them later, along with the two bracelets that I beaded, as soon as I put the clasps on them. Oh yeah, and I made another necklace that I received a bunch of ooohs and aaahs over, even though it was a really simple design with some left over findings, chain, and light green Swarovski crystals.

Ups and Downs

2006-05-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

It's been another wild week at the old H Ranchero. Ups and downs all over the place.

Ups:
*My favorite co-worker was finally given the boot.
*We finally have a new boss who everyone in the company says is fabulous...including the team that is losing him, as he is transferring from another office (more about this in the down side).
*With our new boss is corporate's offer to pump muchos dineros into acquisition and development of millions of square feet of industrial and office space into our office's portfolio, so we will be growing by leaps and bounds.
*My co-workers gave me a huge bouquet of flowers for a belated birthday gift.
*I read about a website called Bookins in a newsletter that I receive from the USPS about a site where you can trade books. You only pay shipping. Thought this is would be a good way to get rid of those books that I know I will not read again, and pass them on to someone who will.

Downs:
*We are getting a new boss because we will be closing another office.
*We were the recipients of a hit-and-run. Luckily, everyone is OK. But we aren't sure, yet, what this will mean to my beloved mini-van. She looks pretty bad. Idiot driver decided to go over a concrete curb for a protected left turn lane and hit us practically head on. Then backed up, did a 180 and high-tailed it through a parking lot and down a side street. (But they did hit us hard enough to leave their license plate at the scene, so we will be able to track them down.)
*3 weeks until we have to have a community outreach project and everything gets shot down by a co-worker who doesn't want to work outside, but refuses come up with alternate ideas or places to book. I may need to make the executive decision and let the chips fall where they may.
*Our next-door tenant told me that he would like to expand into our new office by the end of this year. Gads!!! Maybe this time I will be the one to go on vacation the week before we move again.
*I'm cleaning out my coffee-maker so our house smells like hot vinegar.

Nothing too unbearable to complain about. Things could be better, but things could be a zillion times worse. We're all still "alive and kickin'." (<--that's for your Lady Fan)

Socialism?

2006-05-18T14:43:00.000-07:00

You are a
Social Liberal
(60% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(20% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Democrat

Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating
Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

My hubby posted his results, so I thought I would share mine.

My, it's been a while....

2006-05-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a busy few weeks in this neck of the woods. We finished our office move. I only had to stay late a zillion extra (unpaid) hours, while others took vacation or couldn't come in or else they would have to be paid over-time.

My favorite co-worker threw a hissy-fit that we were storing items in our "spec" building that has not been leased (we finished the building about 5 months ago, so it's not really a speculative building anymore), and showed up at the spec building as the movers were finishing unloading and then told us that everything had to be moved to the other end because this LR was going to lease that end first (insert major chuckle here, as if he could lease anything on his own...). Not only was this something that LR could have told me while the movers where at our office, but LR had an appointment in that part of town and could have gone with the movers to show exactly where to put everything instead of me wasting half the day and then having to work until 9:45 p.m. packing up the rest of the office. LR did manage to pack his desk, but used 3 more barely-filled boxes--as in 2" of 14" deep boxes--than his allotted amount and pitched another fit because (1) I condensed his boxes because I needed them to pack the rest of the office and (2) I had to put some other items into his boxes like his PHONE and same other marketing materials that he did not pack. He also asked if he should pack up one of our old internal items in the drawers of the desk he had spread out his marketing materials on, because it was not his stuff. Good Lord, take some initiative!!!! I almost told him where to pack it. One of the other co-worker's about fell over trying not to laugh after the look I gave.

Other than a few minor bumps, the move went smoothly, and I received some kudos for a job well done.

Home life has been relatively quite for me, but poor DH is stressed out about finals. Hopefully, he'll be able to relax a little when the tests are done and the term paper is turned in.

Older-DS got to eat his first home-grown tomato on Monday. Our container gardening is going fairly well, but it looks like we won't be getting that many tomatoes this year. The herbs are growing like mad, and I used the first of the basil and oregano this weekend. The sage is huge, too. Too bad the parsley are not doing quite as well, but they may take a bit longer, as they started directly from seed. I'm trying to give away some of the extra catnip and mint seedlings, as I feel bad about throwing them away, but no takers so far. So, if anyone wants them, let me know, and they're yours.

Right now, well, not really at this particular minute because I'm still at work (shhhhhh, don't tell anyone) I'm struggling with Jack's Mama's birthday gift. I've had to redo it at least a dozen times so far, and I screwed it up again last night. Tonight, I will try to fix it one more time. If it doesn't work, I'll scrap it and come up with something else. I can't figure out why I'm having such problems, as it's not a complicated layout. Grrrrr.

Oh yeah, Jack's Mama sent me a package, but I haven't had a chance to go to the post office yet to pick it up. Hopefully, tomorrow. They don't deliver anything larger than an envelope to our apartments. If it doesn't fit in the mini-slot or if it isn't some sort of mass junk mailing, then we have to pick it up. They are not friendly at that post office.

I'm sure there is more to tell, but it's time to leave and I still need to publish this bad-boy. So here ya go....

The end of the first full week of April

2006-04-08T10:55:00.001-07:00

I've been trying to read a book for the last few weeks, but it has taken forever to get through. The blurb on the front cover by The New York Times summarizes it perfectly: "A slim volume of terrifying power."

The book in reference is Night, by Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel. It's his account his experiences in the German concentration camps during WWII.

Younger-DS is in the middle of a temper tantrum because I would not get him another thing to eat. He just finished lunch and had a some goldfish. He's mad because I'm holding out on the oranges for later this afternoon. Apparently, he is a big eater at daycare, too.

DD went to the grocery store with me this morning. (I have to make several dozen cookies for a PTA function on Tuesday.) She did pretty well, other than complaining that she got a pink balloon instead of purple. Pink or purple, it bounced off the side of my head for the whole shopping experience, so I looked like a chia pet by the time we made it back to the car.

Older-DS is sitting at the table, writing out his list of students and adding up the check marks by their names. I just asked, and the check marks are good because that means that they are here today, and the X's are bad because that means that they are not here. And they are here to learn.

Our container gardening experiment is having mixed results. My mom bought older-DS a tomato plant, and so far, we have 3 tomatoes coming in. The parsley I bought is only doing so-so, but the sage had taken off. I broke the tops of the basil off accidentally, but they are coming back, and the rosemary and oregano are doing well, too. Unfortunately, the seeds doing quite as well as I hoped. A few of them started well, then quickly keeled over, so no dill and very few chives this year. The lemon balm, sage, borage, mint, and catnip are doing quite well. There are a couple of anise, and one each of marjoram, savory and parsley coming up. I'm not too surprised about the seeds, as they were left over from a few years ago. It's nice to have a patio that we can actually use, and where I don't have to worry about the kids falling through the bars.

We're getting through the office move. Hopefully, I'll be back in the loop at some point, and next time they do any major changes they will inform me before I have meetings with vendors. There's nothing like having a discussion with someone, only to find out that they have a different set of notes than me. I hate feeling like an idiot.

I have to run. Apparently, I'm now the principal in Older-DS's school. He told me to pick a name, but didn't like my choices: Mrs. Ruler-of-the-Universe, Mrs. Ruler-of-the-School, or Mrs. Omniscient. So, I must be content with Mrs. H-I love the name, but the first one sure had a nice ring to it.

2006-03-31T19:12:00.000-08:00

I'm getting old. It's just after 9 p.m. and I'm ready to crash for the night and the weekend. The kids are in bed...although not quite asleep. DD was in the room while I was washing my face and trying to bribe me into reading a story to her, the "if you won't read this, then you're not my friend" song-and-dance. I told her to go to bed. She told me I was not her friend.

On a happy note, oldest DS lost his 2nd top tooth tonight. He was excited because he can suck more noodles through the gap where his teeth used to be.

Youngest DS was not a pleasant child at daycare today. After losing 3 hours of sleep last night, he only napped for 20 minutes. Suffice to say, I think the poor teachers there were relieved to see me. But he heartily and cheerily wave good-bye and then immediately looked for his siblings.

Work is trucking along. Sitting in on phone conferences and waiting on bids for movers. One has been turned in...I haven't heard yet from the others. And it looks like we will be moving on a Saturday now, and that I have to have the phone/data cabler and an electrician on hand in order to pull the cords out of the cubicles and de-electrify before the movers cut everything. They also have to be there to pull everything through the cubicles when the movers set them up in the new space. Can't wait.

The big topic at work right now are the construction difficulties with the Comcast Center. Apparently, the plumber's union is fighting the use of waterless urinals, which may cost the building it's LEED "Green Building" rating. It would be the tallest Green building on the East coast. If they cannot get the permits for these urinals (which will save 1.6 mil gallons of water per year), then the Bank of America building in NYC will get the honors for the tallest Green building. Of course there are those that do not like them for other reasons. I have no opinion.

Sundays

2006-03-26T11:49:00.000-08:00

DH made me get up early this morning in order to go out for breakfast with the kiddoes. It's always a bit of an under-taking, involving much "Go get your shoes and socks on now!" (Not to me, but to the kids.) Oldest DS hates going anywhere in the morning...I have no idea where he gets that from. I'm always up for adventure before the sun gets up, even without copious amounts of coffee. (Eeeek! Lightning!)

I finally finished one of my projects last night and have posted it for all to gaze upon. I'm slowly teaching myself a new hobby.

That one took forever as it required much weaving of seed beads and bugles, and of course, I have similar one in progress with AB clear bugles and clear/pink seed beads. Here's one that I finished a while ago:

It's just memory wire with some light grey glass pearls and silver beads and a pair of earings to match. Since I had a bunch of the grey beads left, I also made a similar necklace and earings with different silver spacers. I'll post it another time.

When I had finally finished the project and right before I went to bed, DD trotted into the room to tell DH and me that she had "fallen out of the bed." DH looked at her and said, "Well, climb back into bed." She pondered for a moment and said, "OK." And jogged back to her room.

As it stands right now, Oldest DS's tooth is still hanging on, but barely. Youngest DS is napping after a fun post-breakfast at BN and the park, where the kids hair stood up completely on end after flying down the slides. Gotta love that static electricity. The rest of the day is full of laundry and dozing while DH finishes his reading for school.

Oh yeah, and for dinner yesterday, DH made me cook, so I put together a shrimp boil (kinda like a crawfish boil, but no crawfish, and no newspaper-covered picnic table in the backyard to dump out the crawfish and corn and pototoes on...well, there was no sausage either). OK, so maybe it wasn't really too much like a crawfish boil, other than I boiled some shrimp in seasoning with corn and potatoes. But it sure was tasty!

The week in review, an exciting snapshot...

2006-03-25T08:25:00.001-08:00

It's been a busy week here. Our leasing rep leased our office to one of our neighboring tenants and now we have to move in less than one month (including the build-out of our new office two suites down from our current office). Our VP of development is handling the space plan and contract with our general contractor, and I get to do everything else: coordinate with our corporate office, get all the other vendors lined up (phone system and IT cabling, mover's bids, etc.), and have our VP ask me my opinion and tell me I'm wrong every time I offer it. It's been a pleasure, to say the least.

The build-out should be done on the morning of the 21st and we will be moving that afternoon.

As for other news, oldest DS lost one top front tooth and the other is loose and may be out by the end of the weekend. (All I want for Christmas....) DD is trying to make me drink her water after putting her hand in it ("Do you want a taste?") And youngest DS has taken to pretending to fall down and then laughing.

Hubby linked me to his blog during the week.

I have a couple of projects under way and have yet to complete them. They're sitting on my nightstand.

The best part of the week was when I did a little shopping and racked up about $8 of goodies that I really didn't need (but the bead caps and the multi-strand clasps were so pretty) at the craft store (I love 1/2 off sales), and then waited for about 10 minutes in line at the register. The cashier started to ringing up my purchases before I realized that I didn't have my wallet with me. I had left it on my desk after checking to see how much cash I had. Suffice to say, I didn't get to have lunch either.

Oh yeah, I'm supposed to put a title here.

2006-03-17T20:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I've noticed that I have been negligent in updating this here blog...not that that is a big surprise. I've been busy slacking off.

I was going to take a picture of one of my new project, but can't find the camera, so you will just have to wait and see... I'm borrowing heatherfeather's idea regarding some of her postings.

Went to a Southern Living party for a friend of mine who is a consultant, and she was kind enough to allow me to set up a little table of my MK stuff (shameless plug). Although only five people (including me) showed up for her party, I still ended up with $80+ in sales without lifting a finger, and everyone ordered from her, too.

The evening wrapped up pretty quickly, and I was home by 8:30, with the little ones already in bed for the night, although DD was not asleep yet. I went in to check on her and she was laying on the floor next to her big brother (camp out night). DS was sound asleep, but she was ready to chat and discuss her sheep "slipperies" which we was still wearing. She is convinced that she must be very careful while walking in them, lest she falls. Ben woke up in the middle of my awe-inspiring rendition of "A---- Had a Little Lamb," mostly because DD was not happy to be inserted in Mary's place. "NO! Not A-----, MARY had a little lamb, little lamb, it's sheep was white as snow!" DD then began a long monlogue about how eating a wrapper will make you have "tornado eyes." (That's what she calls the spiral-y eyes in illustrations, specifically from the book: Sometimes I'm Bombaloo. And that somehow ended up into a conversation with DS about how there are 6 Harry Potter books but only 4 Harry Potter movies (I'm too lazy to link these...although I'm sure there are many choices available).

I'm not sure how I disengaged from them, but somehow I did manage to make them lay back down and at least pretend to get some sleep. I know at some point one or two of them will end up in our bed during the night. Inevitable.

Googling

2006-03-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I'll be... I just googled my blog and it does not show up. Hmmmph. The links of me on others' sites are there, but not my actually site. Mostly, I am merely a snippet of lyrics to some Green Day song. What did I do to irritate the Lords of Google-ville?

I have no idea why I have such an obsession with Google. I remember way back in they day when I was anti-computer. I didn't have one in college, as I used my trusty Brother word processor that "printed" using one of those daisy wheels, just like an electric type-writer. (Hard to believe that was more than 10 years ago!) My parents were surfing the net long before I did. My other two online obsessions, lately (well, other than blogging about my husband's jokes and loading up virtual shopping carts with items I will never buy), is Wikipedia and Dictionary.com. How did I live without them before? Heaven forbid I ever wander into a library to open a real, live, hard-bound encyclopedia. Or dig out my old, trusty, red Webster's Dictionary. I rarely even use my Thesaurus that I won as one of the top scholars in high school (I wasn't quite scholarly enough to win one of the scholarships--I mean, I wasn't a geek, after all!) because I use the thesaurus feature on MS Word instead.

This isn't to mean that I don't love books. I have them all over the place, to which my DH will attest. Shelves and more shelves and counters and tables of them. My kids seem to have inherited this love, too. I certainly will never complain about that, except when they use them to build forts in the living room.

In like a lion, out like a lamb

2006-03-02T13:10:00.000-08:00

My DD's birthday arrived recently. She sang "Happy birthday to me" a multitude of times. To celebrate, we loaded up in the minivan and crawled (awful traffic!) to dinner. She had chosen the restaurant several days in advance, but DH decided to play a little prank and told her that we were going to a different destination, to which she interjected: "Red Lobster is di'gusting. I looooooove Chuck E. Cheese! Yum, yum!"

She had a marvelous time - Chuck E. Cheese came out to sing to her, and the DSes seemed to enjoy themselves, too. At least until the end when exhaustion and impatience took reign. We returned home and shipped them off to bed. DD, of course, decided she didn't want to sleep and spent the next 2 hours getting up and being put back into bed. I woke up with her in our bed, again.

Monday, my parents come to town for a week. The kiddoes are rather excited. I'm trying to come up with ideas to keep everyone entertained: rodeo (not that I enjoy it that much, but the kids seemed to enjoy the getting their booklets stamped and petting the animals last time), children's museum, and who knows what else. I'm actually taking a full week off from work! I haven't done that in years...other than when I got married and became a SAHM for a couple of years. They are staying in a motel so that they don't have to wake up at the crack of dawn with the grandkids, who are notorious for bounding into grandparents rooms by 5:30 a.m. to "snuggle" (which really means roll around and chitchat and bounce and say "shhhhhh" to each other.

Another day in the neighborhood

2006-02-28T15:04:00.000-08:00

Last night was a difficult night. My DH (evil, evil man) put a movie on at 9:00 p.m. Of course, I had to watch the whole thing, since it was chock full of 80s music, and I spent the entire time trying to figure out which band it was. DH had a much easier time since he previously owned the CD (cheater!!!). Anyway, it had been a while since I had seen Gross Pointe Blank, and it was better than I remembered it being. A bit odd, like all John Cusack movies, but it also had Joan Cusack in it, and I love her! [Side note, didn't she have a really short lived sit-com a long time ago? Personally, I'm too lazy to google that right now, but I'll check later.] Plus DD refused to go to bed, which she had done for the last 2 weeks. "Check on me." "Check on me." "I want to sleep in your room." "Check on me."

So, after the movie was over and DD finally passed out from sheer exhaustion, it was nearly mid-night. DH was asleep within 3 or 4 minutes of his head hitting the pillow. I, unfortunately, tossed and turned, and got up to dim the light in DD's room and turn off the desk lamp in DSs' room. Sleep did, eventually, catch up to me. And then I saw the light flash by the bedroom window. I woke up and heard a heliocoter flying by. At this point, DD woke up, too, and said that she had a bad dream. I picked her up and listened to the helicopter for while. It continued to circle above, so I looked out the window and noticed that it was flying quite near us with the search light on. Around and around and around it went. I thought briefly about turning on the TV to see if there was something going on, but I was tired, and I figured there had probably been a police chase of some sort and they had pulled the car over near by. I brought DD to our room and she settled down between DH and me. Luckily, the boys (all of them) slept through it.

This morning, I managed to wrangle myself out of bed. I turned on the news (Channel 11, like usual), and low and behold there was a map with a nice little star over our apartment complex. Turns out that the helicopter was a police chopper, and they were shining on our complex. There had been a carjacking at one of the gas stations near us. The carjackers where people who lived in our complex, and their victims turned out to be, not only another man who lived in our complex, but the father of one of their friends. They were caught when they tried to return the car.

Here are the thoughts that crossed my mind:
(1) We live with a bunch of criminals.
(2) How absolutely stupid were these carjackers to bring the car back to someone who would recognize them.
(3) Hey, how old were these carjackers and where are their parents?
(4) How sad that we live in an area where we don't know our neighbors and would never recognize them if we ran into them somewhere else.
(5) How mean is my husband to find ways of robbing me of my much needed sleep and then complains when I hit the snooze button for hour before getting up?

Literally

2006-02-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

DH and I have a communication problem. He's a punster and I'm a literalist.

We were cruising along in the mini-van one sunny afternoon with the rugrats napping in their car seats, when this all came to a head (figuratively, not literally--there weren't any heads in the street for us to drive towards.)

You see, he had mentioned something about carpet shampooers (You can check out the archives of his blog, as I refuse to inflict such harm onto any poor, unsuspecting readers). I in turn, gave him "that look."

DH: "Don't give me that look."
Me: "What look?"
DH: "That look. Just laugh. It eases the agony"

That was followed by an hour of pirate jokes.

DH: "What's a pirate's favorite subject in school?"
Me: "When would they have time to go school, between plunders at sea?"
DH: "No, the answer is aaaaaart."
Me: "What about aaaaarithmatic. Seems like that one would be more helpful for calculating their money captured, versus their costs in travel, not to mention life insurance policies, in order to find out if they are more profitable in different locations. Although, I suppose aaaart could come in handy for them to recognize whether the aaaartwork they were stealing was valuable. But I think that would fall under aaaaart appreciation, as opposed to the applied aaaaarts."

He refused to talk to me for nearly 15 minutes. Until...

DH: "What's a pirate's favorite vegetable?"
Me: "Gads."
DH: "Wrong! an arrrrrtichoke!"

Mid-January

2006-01-10T09:20:00.000-08:00

Another fun day at the saltmine. Learned some good news yesterday about a "favorite" co-worker. Those of you "in the know" will probably guess what it is. Those of you who aren't, well, you'll just have to wait to hear. Suffice to say, I'm a much happier camper this week. I know, I shouldn't be so happy, with Karma and everything, but then I guess Karma is working it's way to my "favorite" co-worker.

Our youngest SD (I mean, DS, as SD is a state) has learned a new word. Before last week, he could say mama, dada, book (*buh*), ball (*buh*) and up (it's more like *uuupa* and he opens and closes his fists to let us know that he wants us to pick him up). Well, considering our DD has been shouting it at the top of her lungs whenever our littlest grabs anything of hers, his new word is "mine!" Eighteen months old and he already knows "mine."

Of course he "knows" other words, but doesn't say them. For instance, if I say "more milk" or "cheese" or "yogurt" or "orange" he hightails it to the kitchen and tries to open the refrigerator door. At dinner time, I say "go to the table" and he runs to kitchen table--at times he will even climb up the chair and sit on top of the table. "Time to go bye-bye" means finding his shoes and socks and bringing them to me to put them on. He has even figured out how to do the velcro on his shoes himself, and then claps...and gives you "the look" until you to start clapping with him. Not that any of our kids are demanding.

"Resting"

2006-01-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

Gramma came to visit for Christmas. The kids were wildly excited, as expected, and wild they were. Poor Gramma just needed to sit on the couch for a little while to have breather and relax after playing jungle gym for all three.

Oldest DS desperately desired Gramma to play cars with him.

"I'm just going to rest here for a minute, Sweetheart."

"OK, Gramma, but when your done 'resting,' " DS raised his fingers and added the quotation marks, "come upstairs."

He didn't understand our peals of laughter, and looked confused as he headed to his room to play.

OK, another business promotion...

2006-01-06T19:10:00.000-08:00

As you all know by now, I am an "Independent Beauty Consultant" with MK and I'm on a quest to facial 30 people by the end of this month. So, if you are willing to help me out with this challenge that I need to complete no later than January 31, and you live near me and don't already have a consultant (we're to sell by the 'Golden Rule' which includes not stealing other consultants' clients), shoot me an email and we can set up an appointment. The products are wonderful; otherwise, I wouldn't use them or wouldn't sell them.

And don't forget, you can always log onto my website and register through here and the link to the right of here, and get on my mailing list for the quarterly catalog, which includes a free sample.

Now back to our regular randomly blogged program....

Back to School

2006-01-04T14:03:00.000-08:00

My oldest son, in his excitement from being back in school, told me about his day. He got to go to PGP where they were talking about the states.

"Forget-me-not is a state flower!" he chimed.
"Really? Which state?"
"I forgot."

Hmmm, that's some gifted program.

2005-12-17T10:23:00.000-08:00

My DH is mad at me. He was flipping through channel and All Dogs Go to Heaven appeared on the TV. I told DD, who was sitting on my lap at the kitchen table, "Look at the dogs!" Ava looked over and started watching the TV. Steve started flipping the channels again (after all, the pre-game shows have started), and DH cries out, "I want the dogs! I want the dogs!" So, DH turns back to the cartoon, and DD hightails it to the living room and tosses herself on the sofa. I started perusing the internet.

Well, as happens with TV shows, it was time for a commercial. Steve decided to flip channels to catch a glimpse of a football game. DD, not realizing that he wasn't planning to stay on the football channel, cries out in distress. So I bring her upstairs and tuck her in to our bed with her Maxie (my DH's dog from his childhood), Buddy (the puppy she has had since birth) and Jraf (the giraffe).

During this, B, our oldest, was supposed to be getting ready to take a shower. So, I get DD comfortable (hoping that she would fall asleep...it's near naptime), and start the shower.

My, but I do use the word "so" a lot.

I went back to check on DD, and B hollers out, "I threw up!!! Mom, I threw up!" I rush back to the bathroom, and see B bent over with his mouth open. He was letting the water from the shower head roll over the sides of his head and fall over his mouth, making it look like something was flowing out. "I'm just kidding!" he giggled, straightening up. Not quite 7 yet, and he's already playing pranks on his mom.

So, I did the mom thing and told him to wash his hair.

The joys of children....how many more years until I can pack them off for college?

Due to popular demand

2005-12-08T09:18:00.000-08:00

OK, my arm has been twisted (cha ching!).
This is the sweet potato casserole recipe that I "borrowed" from my friend Debbie. Who or where she got it from, I do not know. Note however, that this makes a lot, so I usually do a half recipe for just the family, and we still eat it for days afterwards as it's very rich.

Potato Mixture:
3 large eggs
5 lbs. sweet potatoes (peeled, boiled, drained & mashed)
2/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. melted margarine or butter
1/3 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Beat eggs; stir in potatoes until blended. Add remaining ingredients. Spread in greased 2 quart casserole.

Topping:
1 c. light brown sugar
1/3 c. flour
1 c. finely chopped pecans
1/3 c. margarine or butter, cut into small pieces
pecan halves

Mix sugar, flour and chopped pecans. Work in butter with your hands until it makes fine crumbs and sprinkle over potato mixture. Garnish with pecan halves.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Long weekends

2005-11-27T13:29:00.000-08:00

Ah, Thanksgiving weekend is almost over. It actually made me thankful that I have a job to go to. It's been a fun filled four days, with the kiddoes couped up for longer than they are used to. On the bright side, they did not fill the bathroom with water again. I'm not sure what they are up to now, but something tells me that ignorance is bliss....

We had the usually Turkey day fair, created by yours truely. I do cook a good bird, by the way. I started on putting everything together Tuesday,by doing all of the chopping of the veggies for the stuffing and for the broth and roasted veggie portion of the gravy. I chopped the nuts for the stuffing and the sweet potatoe (a la Quayle) casserole--one of the best but positively worth heath-wise. I'm not talking canned yams with marshmallows. I'm talking sweet potatoes, cream, eggs and spices with a pecan and brown sugar crumb topping. Mmmmmmmm. This was in addition to green bean casserole with a kick, rolls (OK, I cheat here and use premade, heat 'n serve ones), sage and onion stuffing made from homemade bread crumbs, cranberry sauce, and apple pie.j (<----the "j" is DD's contribution. "I need gotta push 'j'.") I had everything done by 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon. And the feasting commenced.

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb(<-----also added by DD. "I need gotta push 'b' one time.")

I finally had to check to see what the boy children were up to... They have unloaded all of the shoes from the shoe box by the front door and are sending them flying with the sit 'n spin. At least they aren't playing in traffic and the sit n' spin is getting some use. Thank goodness for that!

Countdown

2005-11-23T14:28:00.000-08:00

Another day at the salt mine. Only 30 minutes to go until we close. We're off early today for Thanksgiving. For that I give thanks.

I've been killing time cruising the net, reading about stamping techniques. It's one of my hobbies that I find I have less and less time to indulge in. Although, I'm still hell bent on making my Christmas cards this year. I did make a few last year, but didn't quite get them all done in time to mail. And I wasn't completely pleased with the results. At least this year I have the idea together and have started the project. I'm doing a better job of assembly-lining, and hope to have stage 2 done by the end of this weekend. (haha) After I finish watercoloring everything, I will be ready to do all of the cut and paste work and then put everything together into the actual cards.

Twenty-six minutes to go....

I've already recorded the holiday greeting on for our office. Yes, that's my lovely voice that you hear when you call and the "night answer" message kicks in. Thank you for calling, but we're not here because our bosses are letting us have the day off while you slave away. Either that, or it's the weekend so leave us alone. And have a nice day. (<---that's for you DH)

No, I really don't say "and have a nice day." Well, not at work. I have put it on our home answering machine because it drives my hubby batty.

Eighteen minutes to go....

Saturday, I made the mistake of untying the children while DH was at school. Suffice to say, when he walked in after class, I was in the middle of flailing my arms around wildly after walking in on Sean filling the toilet with toilet paper and Ben and Ava throwing water from a plastic bottle, which they filled from the sinkful of water, all over the bathroom from ceiling to floor. He told me to leave and not come back until after they were in bed.

I decided to catch a movie, since I didn't want to go to the mall (and I thought the violent urge to cut my hair off might be stress motivated). After dialing Movie Phone, which I never believed anyone really used it, I chose Pride and Prejudice with DH's dream girl Kiera Knightly (which, by the way, she spells incorrectly. My best friend in preschool and kindergarten spelled it Kira, which is the right way and will always be the right way.). I have to admit that it was well done. (Although I still want to see the BBC mini-series version that I always miss when it's run on PBS.) It's a gorgeous movie and the audience got the humor.

Time's up....

Yea! Answering the phone killed those last few minutes. If I don't blog between now and tomorrow, have yourself a safe an happy Thanksgiving!!!

Shameless Business Promotion...

2005-11-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

As the holidays approach, I must do a little business promotion…

Don’t slog through the streams of people at the mall, slowing circling the parking lot like a vulture and creeping behind your prey from the store exit to their parking space. Shop with me!!! (<----click) I can put together a gift for you. Don’t forget about teachers, co-workers, moms, sisters, wives, husbands, brothers, dads, girlfriends, babysitters, and holiday party hostesses. I can drop it off locally or ship it to your receipient (free shipping on orders over $50). Remember, order early, as some items will sell out!

Twelve Days of Christmas (12 box gift-tower, one for each of the 12 days before Christmas…I can leave one empty for your if you’d like to add something, too): $169-$239.

Satin Hands Set (includes hand cream, extra-emollient night cream, moisturizing wash and buffing cream): $28 ***best seller***

Coffee & Cream (coffee mug and gourmet coffee with your choice of “cream”):
Hand cream: $12
Shaving cream: $14
Mint Bliss foot and leg cream: $15

Give Her a Hand (hand cream, base coat, top coat and festive nail color): $25

Satin Lips Set (mask and lip balm): $18

Kissable Lips Set (Satin Lips set and Lip Outliner): $33

Pretty Pairs (nail color and lip gloss): $19

Deluxe Secretary Survival Kit (coffee mug, hand cream, Mint Bliss foot and leg cream, emery board, top coat, Satin Hands set): $61

Make-up Brush Set (5 brushes plus traveling case): $45

Eye Love It (oil-free eye makeup remover and Indulge soothing eye gel): $29

Private Spa Luxury Collection (sheer fragrance mist, body lotion, shower gel, sugar scrub): $58 ***note, the fragrance mist is more akin to eau de toilette, not an all-over body spray***

Tribute (my favorite fragrance): $40

For him:
Velocity gift set (cologne & body wash): $44
Tribute for him (cologne): $25
Domain: cologne-$34 , body wash-$18 , after-shave balm-$18

Check out my website for more gift ideas!

A moment

2005-11-18T14:53:00.000-08:00

We had sandwiches for lunch that day. Sandwiches and lemonade--sweet and sour, with melting ice cubes rotating in lazy spirals. The condensation slipped down the acrylic tumbler and wedged against the table. I stared out over the field with grasses swaying to something like music, something just out of my hearing, leaving my ears straining. I wanted to kneel among those leaves and press my hands and face against their coolness and breathe the earth, to cocoon in the mass of greens and golds and browns and see how I emerged.

It was all a mess. Flashes of light. A prickly sensation through my skin. Heat. It was all that I could imagine, like some far away memory. It should be there, you've hear the story enough times, but there is just a vague shadow, an emotional imprint, but not a real image. Rather like peering into a room through frosted glass. I didn't know what to say. I shrugged and walked away.

76 Degrees +

2005-11-12T12:13:00.000-08:00

My DH and I had an argument last night.

"Woman, it's burning up in here!"
"No, it's not."
"There's a reason why I'm running around in my boxers."
"There's a reason why I'm huddling under a blanket."
"Look at me. I'm sweating."
"I have been cold all day! I was shivering in my jacket at work. Someone set the thermostat for 73 degrees!"
"Um, that's called room temperature."
"Well, technically, any temperature that a room is would be room temperature."

We often wonder how we have stayed married. He's always hot. I think he's nuts. I am always cold when it's below 76 degrees. But, this Thanksgiving will be our four-year anniversary. We've survived San Angelo, three kids and the apartment from hell.

Here's to many more years of thermostat wars!

Typical day

2005-10-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I just read our Office Administrator Manual from cover to cover in lieu of filing. Gosh, I missed quite a bit of info when I was sent home from our training session because of the hurricane that never hit Houston. It was rather enlightening, though. Now the fun part--getting everyone in our office to be compliant to the policies and procedures. They aren't too keen on that.

Oh well.

On the bright side I have cute kids, always smiling, doing what they are told, being polite and going to bed when they are told. My DH, on the other had, has kids who cry and refuse to put on their Holloween costumes for the party at daycare and sulk about brushing their teeth and refuse to stay tucked in.

This morning, our daughter threw a fit because DH would not give her cereal before going to daycare this morning. (She does get breakfast at daycare, too, so it's not like we were starving her by any means.) So, to show her displeasure, shrieked to the high heavens about having permission to wear her costume for the party today. Go figure. This is the costume that we practically had to pry off of her last week and had to put up in her closet to keep her from wearing it to shreds before Holloween, and she refused to wear it. Ah, the joys of childhood.

2005-10-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems that it's been a while since I posted. I've been busy procrastinating again. Imagine that. Me. Procrastinating. I mean, really.

I'm a bit unmotivated at the moment. My "to be filed" piled has replicated exponentially. I have no idea how, but during the night the pile grows...and the more nights I leave it to its own devices, the greater the pile is. Worse than rabbits.

So, my new goal it is to be organized. I think I'll start next week.

Next month (oops, next week is next month).

Maybe it will be my New Year's resolution.

2005-10-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

I was losing myself within the world wide web for long while today, between casual glances at the Wall Street Journal (it was sitting on my desk) and answering phone calls and organizing the people in our office, and figuring out a presenation for a lunch that we are sponsoring but didn't know anything about because our boss left the company and forgot to tell us, and reading emails, and putting out fires, and drinking a Diet A&W Root Beer and it suddenly dawned on my why I never get around to blogging: I'm too busy thinking everyone else's thoughts for them. (Gack...I just ate a rotten nut. It tastes exactly how a dirty diaper smells, and it's stuck in my teeth. Excuse me for a moment.)

OK, so I decided to attempt to have a thought to myself and I was smited from above, well, sort of...through a plastic bag.

Of course, I'm sure it the Red Bull talking now. After my forehead hit my desk, I decided to chug one down. Since then, I've straigtened up our breakroom, finished the WSJ and learned that a rubberband ball really does bounce, although not quite as high as the rubber ball my daughter left in my purse. By the way, no, I did not make the rubberband ball. It came that way. Although I think I'm going to tell people that I did make it, since they keep asking me while looking at me slightly sideways and with an eyebrow cocked. Ah, I am the poster child for what a college education will do for you. Tens of thousands of dollars spent so that I can play with a rubberbands. I make my parents proud.

Hurricane Tracker

2005-08-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Tracker
Another way to waste a few minutes at work. You can watch old hurricanes spin around the ocean. I do have a legitimate reason to have this at work, though (we do have to prepare our tenants, after all).

1-2-3 Repeater

2005-08-07T08:29:00.000-07:00

My husband is picking on me because I said "Oh Phooey!" What in the world does he want me to yell out him when our kids are in the next room watching Shrek? Especially when we have "repeater" children. In fact, last week, we were cruising the town in our mini-van with The Wiggles blaring, when our daughter yells out "CRAP!" from the back seat.

And let's not forget the time when our oldest son was two and he was trying to climb up on the sofa and couldn't quite get there. "Oh F***!" Not that that would have been my fault, any means, since I was a single mom at the time. (There, DH, I'm not saying it's your fault.)

Which brings us back to our daughter, again. Hubby was playing a wicked game of NCAA Football on the X-Box and have a bit of trouble with the computer "cheating," as he calls it. "That's bullsh**!" A few minutes later, DH gets upset again at the game (hey...no wet willies while you're reading over my shoulder!!!). DD, in her sweetest voice pipes, "More bullsh**, Daddy?"

So, yes, I watch my language now, and you'll hear an occasionally "phooey" and "drat" and "gaaaaaaaaargggggggg."

Light a penny candle

2005-07-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

My MIL sent this link today (OK, it really isn't "today" anymore as this has been sitting in my draft folder for about a month or so....): Candles. It was rather interesting to read other's posts on there and wonder what's going on in other people's lives.

Manners

2005-07-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

This topic was posted in a yahoo group that I receive a digest from: Trolling

OK, I'll admit that I belong to a couple of groups with regards to the fact that I sell Mary Kay as a side job, and I like to learn about sales techniques and different types of classes. (Quick plug--fabulous skin care products with a 100% money back guarantee!!! My mother-in-law has used MK for years and she has amazing skin... click here.) The story begins with a woman, I believe, who no longer sells MK, but has decided to post some Canadian statistics on several boards, and knock a few people down a peg in the process. The flame war that ensued on one of the boards utterly amazed me. The anonymity that the internet provides certainly allowed for this escalate to the point where people were calling each other names and insulting their ability to even know how to breath. It was an internet "catfight." It was easy to imagine a high school girl fight with slapping and hair pulling and a few "b" words thrown in for good measure.

It's hard to believe that these are "grown" women. It reminds me of the conversations I had and posts I've read with regard to TV and changing the channel. What happened to these women's "delete" button? I know it happens in other boards, and I'm guilty of playing the devil's advocate from time to time; however, I usually do it tongue in cheek (e.g. on Bingo Ditch or Dingo Ate My Baby blog where I compared getting your nails done to swimming in Galveston Bay...which really is kinda true, inasmuch as you can get that flesh eating bacteria from swimming there...but I really was agreeing with my husband that there are certainly far more urgent issues.).

And what ever happened to plain and simple good manners?

Dinner

2005-07-01T06:47:00.002-07:00

We were out and about, looking for somewhere to have dinner one evening.

Ben shouted, "Let's go there!"

"There? Why?"

"Because they have balloons, and they're open!"

Sometimes the best lessons come from our kids. Balloons—who can argue with a priority like that?

At Steve's request

2005-06-27T18:52:00.000-07:00

OK, so Steve has been pestering me to post a blog. I've been busy. (Some of us work for a living--wink, wink). Usually I have some opinion that disagrees with my husband, but I can't think of anything off hand, and it's hard to type with wet nails. Although, it is easier on his laptop than on a normal key-board (thanks, honey).

Other than finally getting all of the paint out of my hair--only took 9 or so days--and working and playing with the kids and trying to make myself get up at 4:45 a.m. so that I can go to the gym before work, not much is going on. I did pull out a few grey hairs, too. I still need to research a few online MBA programs, so if anyone knows of any good ones, let me now. The company I work for offered to pay half.

Grrrr

2005-06-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

OK, here's where my lowly admin's point of view comes into play. It has been yet another fun day at the office. I wait all day for documents that I was told we were sending to our Regional Director that have been sitting on the Vice President's desk. I have been in and out of his office pestering him for them. I have been back and forth with the Property Manager because she needs them signed so that we can have invoices totaling over $100K paid. (I composed this Amendment two weeks ago and it's been in limbo since).

So, five o'clock rolls around (quitting time) and it's still not on my desk. Fed-Ex has come and gone ,and I'm prepared to take it to Fed-Ex myself. I've been once again in the VP's office to pick up the paperwork. He's been on the phone.

Five-twenty rolls around...I'm back in the VP's office. "It's not going." Apparently, sometime between 4:30 and 5:00 (before the last phone call he received) this was decided. He told the PM, but not me. So, I have to cancel the shipment. Of course, I could have done this at 4:30, when it was decided that the documents were not going. For some reason, I'm the last to find out. It's always like that. I'm responsible to organizing everything, and get reprimanded when something falls through the cracks, yet I'm not never in the loop when decisions affecting my job are made.

So, those of you who have admins now...and those of you who will be using them often...take note. I really don't appreciate having my time wasted any more than you do. I don't appreciate being called out for a mistake or oversight when my own boss can't find the time or have the courtesy to pass on needed information. Yes, I know in this case it was only a Fed-Ex shipment, but when I don't get paid overtime because I'm salaried, and I have children waiting for me to pick them up, I feel a bit put-out.

Well, that's my gripe for the day.

And if that's all I have to complain about, I will consider myself lucky.

Texans need to get their heads out of clouds and think

2005-06-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

Well, Texas has passed a law that forbids doctors to perform abortions on minors without parental permission, except in cases where there may be abuse, in which case the minor must go before the judge and prove her case to get permission.

I am opposed to this law. I do understand that parents should know what their children are doing, especially considering the possibility of medical complications. However, I do have issues regarding the abuse aspect. (1) How is a child who is being abused going to be able to get legal representation and be able to take time off from school in order to get permission from a judge without her parents finding out? (2) What if the pregnancy is a product of the abuse and she does not want, at the time, to deal with the implications of going before a judge and discussing this in addition to dealing with a pregnancy? Beside the fact that, per capita, few abortions are taking place now then when abortion was illegal.

Another problem I have is the fact that Texas teaches abstinence without discussing birth control. I feel this is entirely irresponsible. Yes, I understand that parents may want to exercise their control over what their children are learning, so teach them at home or send them to private school. This is not just a matter of religious preferences, but it's also a matter of public health. If a minor chooses (and I'm not condoning the behavior) to have a physical relationship, at least give them the tools and knowledge to be responsible for their behavior. It's the parents responsibility to instill the moral values into their children so that they can make the decision. That's what the parents need to be concerned about. If parents are taking the time to teach their children morality, then it won't matter if their children know what a condom is or what birth control pills are for. What happens when they move away from home and are faced with such a decision? What decision can someone make without practical information?

I know my parents (college educated, nurse & doctor) never told me about the birds and the bees. Of course, I never bothered to ask them, either. I learned from Catholic school doctrine, public school doctrine, and my friends. Catholic school teaches you that you will go crazy if you get an abortion and that you will spend the rest of your time on earth in morbid depression, crying your eyes out every time you see a child. At least if you're female. They never say anything about the father. I'm not saying that there are no emotional side effects to abortion. Quite the contrary. The women I know who have had them do still think about the child that might have been, but they also recognize that they were not in positions to take care of the child properly. (I know I'm digressing, but until all the unwanted and neglected children in this world are cared for, I don't think there should be a law banning abortion. I have not seen all of the activists offering to adopt all the kids at the orphanages, or taking in a houseful of foster children, or getting involved when they see abuse and neglect.)

In retrospect, I think it would have been helpful to hear about not only the aspect of birth control, but also concepts of respect for your body and the consequences of behavior. If bringing up birth control, then bring up the possibility of pregnancy and the PARENTAL and FINANCIAL issues that both partners may have to face. I believe we should give our kids knowledge so that they can protect themselves now and in the future. Isn't education supposed to be about giving our children knowledge to prepare themselves for the FUTURE.

If we are responsible about teaching our kids then the law that was passed by Texas would not be necessary. I don't believe teens are running about willy nilly getting abortions. And if a teen is that frightened by what they have done to own up and take responsibility, how great of a parent are they going to be anyway? Who is going to take care of the baby finacially? The grandparents? The State and Medicaid? How effective of a parent will a 15 or 16 year old make? Should she drop out of school and get a job and pay for daycare like the rest of the working world? What is going to happen to the baby?

Granted, if my daughter became pregnant, I would want to know if she had an abortion. However, I hope that I teach her well enough to have enough respect for herself and her body to wait to have sex and to use protection in the future when she's an adult. The same goes for my sons. I hope to teach them to have respect for their bodies and for the girls they date. I'm not about to stick my head in the sand and assume that none of them will have a physical relationship before they get married, but I at least hope that they will be responsible enough to wait until they are adult enough to handle adult consequences.

Birthdays

2005-05-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

Well, my birthday came and went the weekend without too much fanfare. Spent the day with my family...took the kids to the park, had cake and ice cream, ran around the apartment, then went to dinner at IHOP. The kids were little monsters, acted like we never let them in public. Oh well. On the bright side, it's still my birthday month, so I will keep celebrating it until May is over. I love my birthday, even with my little monsters.

I love birthdays in general. I much prefer them to regular holidays. It's so much easier to focus on one person at a time and make them feel special than a whole crowd. As much as I love the family time and general spirit of Christmas and other holidays, I'd still rather celebrate someone's birthday. I don't understand people who don't like to admit to their birthdays. It's not about getting older, it's about beginning another year of life (even if this year's is my fourth try at 29).

So celebrate your birthday...it's all about you!

Define Normal

2005-05-09T14:03:00.000-07:00

How Normal Are You?
You Are 45% Normal(Somewhat Normal)
While some of your behavior is quite normal...Other things you do are downright strangeYou've got a little of your freak going onBut you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself

Jury Duty

2005-05-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

I had jury duty this week. I didn't realize how much it affected me until yesterday evening on my way home from a meeting. For some reason, I just burst into tears. It suddenly struck me that I and eleven other people just sentenced a man to die in jail. We basically said that he wasn't going to be reformed at 50 years old, and we gave him 60 years for robbery (downgraded from aggravated robbery because there was not enough proof to say that he had a gun in his towel wrapped hand).

Although we only knew of the specific incident during the trial, we found out during sentencing that he had held up the same Subway two weeks before that--with the same person at the cash register, and another Subway two weeks before that where he had threatened to kill a family if they didn't sit back down. (The father had seen the defendant come into the store with a bag over his hand and act suspiciously. When he gathered his wife and two kids to immediately leave, that's when the defendant ordered them to sit back down.)

I'm trying to figure out what made this man turn out this way. He had a clean record until his 40s, when he had 5 felony cocaine possession charges against him. What happened before that. No one stood up on his behalf during the sentencing phase. Not a neighbor or friend or relative. Now that I'm removed from the situation of deciding the sentence, I'm realize just how terribly tragic that is. No mother, no wife, no children to stand up for him. What if that were my son or brother in the defendent's seat (heaven forbid!). I'm sure jail will do nothing for his apparent drug addiction. How many bridges did he burn to end up this way?

I know I should be focusing on the victims to his crimes: the employee who was held up twice and so shooken up that he couldn't even dial 911 because his hands were shaking too hard, and the other employee who the defendent told he would kill if she looked at him (she was a hard working woman with 6 children and was near tears when she looked at the defendent to identify him). And the man and his wife and kids from his first robbery who couldn't even go out in public for several months without fear, with the wife still being nervous 8 months later. Not to mention the other employees from his first robbery whom we didn't hear from. I'm sure none of them are the same either. What if it were my mom whom he pointed his towel wrapped hand at and threatened? What if it were my children in the store while he was robbing it, threatening their lives and the life of my husband?

I wish I could shake the bit of sadness I feel from telling someone that their life is worthless and that they will never be able to make good for what he has done. Something is just not resting with me well. I don't want to have jury duty again.

And so it begins

2005-05-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

Well, here I go and add my two bits to the ever-changing digital world. Sometimes I cannot fathom how we even get around without computers. Even if you shut yourself off in your house in the dark can you be away from computers, then? What if the phone rings? What if your car alarm goes off? Everything is controlled by the computer.

Not that I'm against them. To the contrary, I enjoy working with them. They do tend to make my typing easier (thank goodness for spellcheck), which makes my job easier. I hated using the typewriter. I remember having to hand-type some checks a few years back for a job. What a miserable experience. Made me realize what a horrid typist I really am. And I love playing with digital photographs and creating newsletters and internet shopping.

I'm not sure what my purpose is in setting up this site. Who knows who will find it. But I would love to hear any who stumble my way.