Too Much Thinking Hurts!

Wendy has nominated me for the Thinking Blogger Award. Maybe she's stayed up too late while her husband has been out of town? For there's gotta be a reason why she thinks I deserve this most prestigious award. There's just gotta be!

Here is a short little list of things I am thinking about today:

1. I have six listings to add to Ebay today. Ebay is running a special today....twenty cent listings!!! I'm on it!
2. I deposited my latest check from Treasure Trooper. Granted it's only $28.26, but hey that's $28.26 that I didn't have before I spent a few minutes filling out meaningless surveys! Last month I my check was for $30. I so love this simple way of making a few bucks! (if you want to sign up you can use my referral link to get started, or just go to treasuretrooper.com!)
3. Gotta finish my bible study for tonight, I've so slacked off these past two weeks. Yikes!
4. It would be nice if I would finish unpacking my suitcase. Yep, it'd be nice.
5. My back hurts. I don't know why. It starts to feel better then I have to pick up Isabel, then it hurts again. I need to stop babying my baby. *sigh*
6. That's enough, I don't want to think anymore.....maybe I'll go take a nap!

Here is yet another list, but this one is of the people that make me think;

1. Chris at The Mayne Events. It makes me think of her starting a new life in a new place (just like me!). Her blog also reminds me of how much I miss her......but praise the Lord for email, telephones and blogs!
2. Julie over at Everyday Mommy makes me think on a more serious and spiritual note, but at the same time she includes everyday antics of her life. It a great balance!
3. Then there is Kim at Temporary? Insanity. She's a hoot! (and I don't regularly use that word either!) I enjoy reading (and seeing pics) of how she is organizing her life and home. An inspiration indeed!
4. And I love, love, love to read what Wendy is up to in paradise. Wendy's Tiki Hut is loaded with tons of cool things that she and her family do now that they are basking in the sun and waves. I wish I could be as cool as Wendy!
5. Last, but not least, is Becca at Zerbik. Zerbik is where Becca goes to hash out her spiritual thoughts and musings. I have enjoyed her many thoughts and questions and have also had the opportunity to dialog a bit with her.

The participation rules are simple:


1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote.

A Great Two Weeks!

The kids and I have had a very full two weeks. We just returned on Saturday from good ol' Modesto, where we spent the week. It's good to be home and back into our routine (and beds), but we miss our family and great friends.

My good friend, Rachel, and her three boys spent the week after Easter with us. It was great!!! I can not say how wonderful it was to have a whole week with such a good friend, it was a blessing indeed. We did lots of things but my favorite was being able to have full and completed conversations! I can't remember the last time Rachel and I had the opportunity to talk with each other. I blame it on having children. *big grin* While she and her boys were here we went to several parks for lunch, visited the zoo, and even did tie-dyed shirts! One day I got a couple of baby sitters and Rachel and I went to a ceramics painting store and spent a couple hours painting and talking. It was fabulous!

When it was time for Rachel and her crew to leave, the kids and I caravaned back up North. Cell phones are sooo handy! Being able to travel together for half the trip was handy too. If one person had to stop to use the 'necessary' we just called the other person, pulled over at the next gas station and the other person would watch all the kids instead of unloading them. I gotta say my return trip home was without this convenience. *sigh*

The second part of our two week extravaganza hit once we got to Modesto. The kids and I enjoyed the Grandma's and the Grandpa's as well as the cousins. My mom took a couple days off work and one day we went to Micke Grove with my sister-in-law and her 3 kids. The kids had a great time together. I think the best part of that day was the time we spent at the park for lunch. We spent more time there than we did inside the little zoo. The park was a great place for lots of picture taking too! The other major thing we accomplished while in town was getting a picture of all the grandkids for my mother. That's not an easy feet with six kids ranging from 10 to 2o months, but we were pleasantly surprised with how many good shots we had to choose from. And now we have yet another picture that captures our time together (toe sock included!).

Alas, here I am, back at home sitting in front of the computer reminiscing about my past two weeks. I gotta get it down and post the pictures before I forget! Now that I am home I also have to get back into the routine of fixing dinner again. *sigh* I have not a clue what will be the fare for tonight. Any ideas??

I posted some pictures from our last two weeks. I'm sure I put too many on there but I'm also sure that my family and friends will enjoy them. So, to the other 3 people that look at my blog, please forgive the numerous pics of kids and fun.....to the rest.....enjoy!

My Schpeal

Alright. Many of you have asked what exactly I said when it was my turn to say something of interest at the audition for Deal or No Deal. Here is the gist of what I said:

Hi, my name is Deanne and I was young and stupid when I got married when I was 20. But by the grace of God my husband and I will be celebrating our 11th anniversary this summer. The Lord, my husband and my children are the joy of my life.

Sheesh, when I write it out it doesn't seem like I said much! But when your standing in front of the person that will choose whether you get on the show or not and you only have 20 seconds, time seems to fly!

Do you think that what I said was worth remembering? You tell me. I'm thinking no, but hopefully I'll be wrong. We were told that once we said our schpeal that we were to leave, no questions or badgering. If we were chosen then we will be notified or reached with a phone call. It could be tomorrow or six months from now, or never. We were also told that about eight thousand people showed up that day for the auditions. So, again, is what I said something that is memorable in the midst of seven thousand nine hundred and ninety nine other people? I didn't think so either.

**If anyone is interested in playing a little on-line game of Deal or No Deal, you can play it here.

What Were We Thinking???

So, Deal or No Deal was in town recently and was holding open auditions. Ryan and I decided we'd go, so we did.

Yes, we are crazy.

No, we are not as crazy as most of the other freaky people that showed up.

It was an experience that's for sure! We had no idea of what it would be like and we are not likely to do anything like it again.

Let me first say why we decided to try out. We live in a very expensive place and it will take us at least a year to get together enough money for a down payment on a house. That is all we would want, just enough for that down payment. If it were not for that we would not have entertained the notion of going.

The auditions were from 10 to 2 on a Saturday but Ryan had read online that it was best to show up at six. So, he headed out early that morning and I caught up with him a couple hours later. Ryan got in line around 7 am and I got there at about 9. We had no idea that we would be in line for most of the day! Although I did not know the duration I did bring bottled water for the both of us along with snacks. It was a good thing too for I was in line for over 6 hours (Ryan for 9).

See, told you we were crazy!

I don't think I have ever stood on my feet as long I did that day. At least when you go to an amusement park you get to ride some rides or sit down every once in a while. My legs just ached and hurt. I must be getting old because I was not aware of some of the muscles I have (isn't that something that 'older' people say?).

I was surprised at the number of people that showed up (although I shouldn't have been) as well as the variety of people. There were certainly a number of people that fell into the category that I call 'freaks and weirdos', and many of them carried signs and had writing on their shirts or even wore costumes. I. Don't. Know. Why. The part that surprised me was that their were older people there (older as in retired). It's just not one of those things that I would think would attract people of that age. Of course there were younger people there with their groups of friends, but there were also people there by themselves. That struck me as odd too.

While standing in line for hours and hours, we listened to a band play then taped music when the band was on break. Some people danced when the music was really upbeat or played a classic popular song. That was entertaining in itself. At one point an African American woman of large proportions got her groove on and a retired man started freak dancing behind her! It was hilarious to watch as this mis-matched pair as they did their thang! Someone also brought a beach ball and the crowd passed that thing around in the air for hours.

I spent most of my time thinking of what to say when it came time to go before the casting directors. Every few hours the casting producer would come out and tell everyone what was expected. Which was that we each had 20 seconds to tell them something interesting about ourselves, something that would make them remember us individually. If I was memorable then they just may think of me when a profile they want on the show comes up. So I tried to think of something to say. It was a good thing I had hours to think of it 'cause I'm a perfectionist and I know I would have froze or blew it completely if I didn't have time to prepare something to say. In hindsight I'm not entirely sure that what I did say fell into the category of 'memorable', but I did my best.

So, that was pretty much our experience in this American phenomenon that is reality or game show television. I could go into more detail but I really don't wish to bore you more than I already have. We stood in line, moved forward, and watched weirdos. What more can be said?

Blogging Break

To my loyal readership:

This week I may not post much, if at all. I have a dear friend visiting with her three boys so we will be off making memories (and future blog posts). If I get a chance to sneak in a post or two then I will. I look forward to the week ahead and telling you all about it when I get the opportunity. I also want to blog about this past Saturday and the event that Ryan and I involved ourselves in. Hint....the post will be titled 'What Were We Thinking?!'.....so be on the lookout!

Oh! One other note since I'm warning you of blog nothingness...my kids and I will also be traveling the end of this week and will spend a week in good ol' Mo-town with my family. I hope to have some time to blog while I'm there. If not, then I'll be off making blog memories!

So no worries, I didn't fall off the face of blog planet. I will return!

Daily Trivia

Ok, so not much has been happening this week. At least nothing worth blogging about. So, out of my need to post something I again will consult our daily Fact of Crap trivia for inspiration. Here it is:

David Letterman and Mary Tyler Moore once had a TV show together.

Once again, leave your guess in the comments and.......no cheating!! I'll post the answer either tonight or later tomorrow.

Not Funny!

We have a nifty alarm clock. It automatically adjusts itself when there is a time change (ie. Daylight Savings). Once, before we had 'nifty clock', we forgot to set our clock back and the next morning we walked into church during the last part of the first service, we were going for the second service. Darn, we missed out on the best part of time change....fall back!

This year we had a rude awaking, of sorts. Actually it was more like an April Fool's prank on behalf of 'nifty clock'. Well, this year was tricky since the date of Daylight Savings time was moved up. No one informed 'nifty clock' of this change so it did not adjust itself when the time came. It didn't really matter because the pastor of our church is not a morning person so he does not observe the change until after the end of the second service, which gets out at noon. The problem was that 'nifty clock' knew when the change was supposed to be. The change was suppose to be this past weekend. April first. No wonder they changed the date!

This is how yesterday morning went:

Ryan: "It's 7:45." (church starts at 8:30)
Me: "That's not good."

(get up, scramble to get everyone up and ready (of course the kids would sleep in today!) and out the door 40 minutes later! We pile the kids in the truck and head to church)

Me: (inside the truck, on our way) "Why does the clock say 7:30?"
Ryan: "Maybe you didn't change it."
Me: "I know I changed it."
Ryan: "Hmmm. What does your watch say?"
Me: "7:30."

(silence, as reality sets in and we realize that we just missed out on an hours time of precious sleep)

Me: "Stupid clock."

March Movie Log

Another month means more movies! Here is what we viewed last month:

1. My Fair Lady (ok, so I watched this one by myself, but I'm not complaining at all!!! I so enjoyed this movie. I had seen it before, many years ago, and I am still in love with it. I still have some delightful songs in my head.......'Just you wait 'Enry 'Iggins, just you wait!', and 'Why can't a woman be more like a man?' Classic movie goodness, I love it, love it!)
2. Who Killed the Electric Car? (documentary on the reason why electric cars are no longer around. Intriguing.)
3. Why We Fight (Ryan watched this documentary on why America is involved militarily around the world. I wasn't interested in it. Sounded as intriguing as watching paint dry. So I declined to partake and let him do his guy thing.)
4. The Green Mile (I had seen this a few years ago but Ryan had not. The language is strong but the story is good.)
5. Lost (So far I have seen all of season one, and one dvd of season two. I've never watched a tv show on dvd before, and I like it!!! I like that one episode is 45 minutes and has no commercial interruptions. I also like that I don't have to wait a week to see another episode. I am liking this show a lot and can't wait to see more!)
6. The Illusionist (movie was alright. I had figured out what had happened but not sure how he 'done it' until it was explained.)
7. Happy Feet (This was our latest family movie night feature. At first I thought it was fun, especially when the kids would get up and dance along in their own silly way. But then the movie turned and became more, um, let's say, environmentalist. So, my overall impression was that it was ok, but it could have done with out the 'message'.)
8. The Prestige (This was one of those movies that made you really think and want to figure out what was going on, it did for me anyway. I like to try to solve the mystery but I didn't get to this time. I was surprised at the ending, it was good.)
   

My favorite viewing pleasure was, well, I gotta say was Lost! I can't help myself now. I went to the video store and got the next two disks of season 2. I'm sure I'll have them finished by tomorrow at the latest. My only issue is that I won't be caught up with the story after I complete season 2! What season is being aired right now anyway? Don't anyone spoil anything for me, please!

No Joke, It's Her Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to my favoritest mommy in the whole wide world, I love you!
Happy Birthday to you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yep! Today is my mother's birthday. So, in honor of her this day I'd like to do a little list of why she is the bestest in the whole wide world and why I love her so.

My mother:

• calls me every week and has done so since I got married and moved away. It is the highlight of my week!
• tells me I am her 'sunshine'. *big grin*
  
• always listens
• never asks too many questions or questions that cross the line into being nosy.
• prays for me and my family and tells us so
• makes me laugh
• encourages me in my own motherhood (although I think she set the bar pretty high!) *big grin*
• has always found creative ways to fix things (she is my inspiration)
• let's me call her with my silly cooking questions
  
• loves to read and many times has passed along a great author or book. I love that we read the same books, it's so much fun!
  
• believes in the best in me even when I don't
• gives good, wise, sound and Godly advice
• is someone I want to be like when I grow up!

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you toooo much and I hope you have a fabulous day. See you in a couple weeks!

My Things Costco

My friend Chris wrote a post the other day about her love of Costco. It reminded me that I have been walking around for a couple months writing a post in my mind about the fine establishment that is the mecca of all things warehouse stores. Alas, I feel it is time to unload my burden and just write the darn thing!

When we first moved to Michigan, back in 2003, Costco was no longer close to us. The closest one was a good 45 minute drive. That's not so convenient when all you want is a case of milk and frozen chicken. Now that we have moved, yet again, the beloved store is now literally down the street from us. Say it with me now, Whoo-hoo!!!

Here are a few things I love about my Costco (yes. mine!):

• It's just down the street and around the corner
• I can run in and just grab a case of milk and that's it!
• it has four self-check stands. Awesome! (and I use it all the time)
• they have fabulous customer service
• great deals, hello?!
  

Although I do dearly love my Costco, there are draw backs. My in-laws have a term for stores that attract slow moving people with shopping carts. Wal-Mart is one of them. Costco is the other. The term? Alien Dampening Field. And Costco, being the super large warehouse store that it is, has one equal to its size. The Costco dampening field seems to reach inside people and turn them into zombies that seek out the food samples at each isle. It also causes them to stop mid isle for no reason and make them oblivious to others and the flow of traffic around them. Weekends and Costco are prime for this particular phenomenon. Thankfully I tend to go during the week, in the morning, and therefore avoid such occurrences.

The other peeve I have with this fine establishment is when I go to leave. I really really really really do not like to wait in line to have someone check my receipt. I think it is ridiculous. We had a friend back in San Jose that happened to be a police officer and he knew a few things. One of the things he knew was that Costco could not legally make you wait to check your receipt before leaving. When Dave went to Costco he would walk right past the receipt checkers! I always think of that when I go, but never have the courage to actually do it. *sigh* Another thing about that receipt checking thing....I don't know about your Costco, but at mine, if I have one of the kids in the cart with me the Receipt Nazi always takes their time to flip over the receipt to draw a smiley face. Come on man, don't you see the line of full-carted people behind me who are desperately trying to free them selves from the dampening field??? I always keep walking forward slowly in hopes that they'll not do the smiley face thing. It never works. Then the kids fight over who gets to hold it. Great. Thanks big guy.

Even with it's draw backs it's still worth it! My peeves never keep me from going. And I can't help but be thankful that I now live close to one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other Costco news....did you know that they do not carry Martinelli's Sparkling Cider after the New Year? Nope. It's a seasonal thing. Bummer! Also, they do not carry Tummy Yummies*. Ryan asked. They just don't. Just thought you should know.

**Ryan went to Costco for me one day and I wanted a box of their super yummy cookies from the bakery. So on the list I wrote 'tummy yummies' thinking he'd understand because we had just polished off a box and had talked about it. For those of you who don't watch Clifford The Big Red Dog, tummy yummies are treats that the characters (dogs) eat. I thought it was appropriate to call the super-yummy cookies Tummy Yummies. Don't you?

I'm in the Money!

Whoo-hoo!!! I made some money! Last week I bought a small desk for Mae but later bought a second one that I liked better. I listed the first desk on Craigslist this week and tonight it sold. I had bought the desk for $15 and sold it for $30. On top of the extra $15 I also made five bucks delivering it. Not bad eh? Thanks to a cheapo desk and a brilliant sales idea (the delivery charge) I made some moolah! I'm so stoked!!!

The Prose of Rain

It's been raining a little bit for about a week. We even had a thunderstorm on Friday, which is unusual for this area. A couple days ago the kids and I were in the truck when it started raining pretty hard. Mae noted this and sang the little rhyme about the rain.

'it's raining, it's pouring, the old man is sneezing!'

Not exactly the way I remember the rhyme, maybe it was prose?

My Bon Garfo Experience

Ryan made it home safely from Singapore on Friday afternoon. He did not suffer from any jet lag but did take a nice long nap when he got home. I am so grateful to have him home! To celebrate the occasion of his return we went on a date Saturday night. Ryan loves Brazilian food and found a restaurant downtown that serves Brazilian bbq. Ryan read a review of the place online and one person said to bring your fat pants when going to this place. No doubt he was right! The food was so very very good. I now know why Ryan got the name Bon Garfo during his many visits to Brazil. Bon Garfo in Portuguese means good fork (I think I spelled it right). He has a penchant for good food and always seeks it out when traveling. It is nice to live in a larger city that offers many different places to eat. Ryan is in food heaven!

It's the Little Things

Ryan has been gone this week. He left Sunday morning for Singapore and will return today. When we lived in Michigan there was a period when he was traveling a lot and it did not go well for me during those times. I'm not sure why, but this week has gone relatively smooth and I am so grateful to the Lord for what he has done in my life to cause me to handle this week better than I have in the past. I always try to make things easier for myself and the kids when Ryan is gone. So this week I have done the following:

• bought tv dinners for the kids (frozen pizza for dinner tonight! I just don't cook when Ryan is gone)
• bought chocolate chip cookie dough and made cookies for myself the kids
• rented two kid dvds
• made up a silly song for Mae and we have sung it all week
  
• rented the first season of Lost on dvd (I love it!!!...don't spoil anything for me, say nothing about anything past this season!)
• stayed up late each night watching Lost!
  
• had Isabel sleep in my room so I can blame night noises on her and not get freaked out
• bought two desks for Mae off Craigslist (yes, two. Hopefully I'll resell desk #1 for a profit. *big grin*)
• take kids to Chuck E Cheese for lunch (yes, I'm crazy. but I must say that going on a weekday for lunch was not too bad)
• wear hat every morning when taking Mae and Caleb to school
• get ready for the day after I get home and have had breakfast
• get up earlier on Wednesday to help Mae get ready so she can look extra nice for school pics
• stay with Mae at school today for the first part of the morning to watch her get an award for displaying good character in class (no pics, Ryan has the camera for his trip)
• don't tell kids that Ryan will be home earlier than we thought....they'll be so surprised when he walks in before naptime!!!

Well, like I said, this week has been relatively smooth considering Ryan's absence. I always dread these times, but God has been good to us this week. Praise Him! I am thankful for all the little things that have helped this time pass easily. Praise Him indeed!

No Bloitering!

Have you heard the term 'bloitering'? I first heard it from my cousin Rose who often reads blogs but rarely leaves a comment. She is a self-proclaimed bloiterer. Recently, while doing a bit of my own bloitering, I came across a new blog called Bringing Good Home, but never introduced myself until the blog party came along. While leaving a comment on her site I mentioned that I had been bloitering her blog. In response to the new term, she created some buttons for her site that discourages bloitering (because who doesn't like getting comments?). I asked if she would share them with me, and she obliged. Here they are:




Now I have some choices. These three are my favorites. Would you like to help me decide which one to put on my blog??? I like the sign, it was kind of what I had in mind when she first approached me with her idea. The kitty is cute, but at the same time I'm not as partial to cats as I used to be. Then there is the silhouette. I'm not sure what to say about that one other than 'I like it'. So, tell me what you think!

If you'd like to add one of these to your own blog you can go to my blog-friend's site and nab one out of her 'free graphics' folder at the top of her blog. Make sure to say 'hello' if you stop by, she doesn't like bloiterers.

Craigslistin' Mama!

Ryan has a few nick names for me, Ebayin' Mama is one of them because of all the buying and selling I do (mostly selling, mostly). As of today I think he may have a new one. Craigslistin' Mama! I just got home from buying a small desk for Mae, but last month I bought a bed for Caleb and the month before that I got Ryan a small file cabinet. See....Craigslistin' Mama! Now I only have to find a chair for Mae's new(ish) desk. I'm on a mission, watch out!

I just love Craigslist! It's like an on-line garage sale (and garage sales rock!). I am definitely going to list some of the larger baby items on Craigslist. Like the highchair when Issy is done with it (which is very soon) and the two baby baths and two diaper pails (the 'odorless diaper pail' did not live up to its name!). So between Ebay, Craiglist and Amazon I think I'm set. Whoo-hoo, I just love great deals!

Daily Trivia

Here is today's Fact or Crap question of the day:

Ralph Lauren's real last name is Lifshitz.

I'm not making this up, this really is the question! Ok, again, no cheating! Tell me whether you think this is true or not. I will post the answer in the comments later tonight. So.....fact? or crap?

Hair Woes

I'm not a person who cries easily, but right now that's all I want to do. Seriously. I just got off the phone with the salon and have been informed that the lady who cut my hair last time is (here comes the sad part) no longer there! Noooooooo!!!!!!! I finally found a place that doesn't charge an absorbent amount, is just around the corner from me, and the lady was so nice and did a fabulous job of listening to me as well as explaining how I can style my hair. Another sad thing is that there is no one in her price range available for new customers. Crap man! This is just is not right. See? I just wanna cry!!!

I was able to make an appointment for the following Saturday (not this week like I wanted, but I knew it was a long shot anyway) with a master stylist (whatever that means, besides a reason to more money). *sigh* Now what am I to do??? I can't pay what they would charge me after this next appointment (won't is more like it!). Oh well, maybe they will get another junior stylist before I need my next appointment? I can only hope.

On a completely different note.....I just want to say that I don't like phone numbers that are listed with words instead of numbers. I mean, come on, I don't want to have to look at each number on the number pad and locate each stinkin' letter so I can dial 123-hair!

Ok, I'm done. Sorry. I wrote the numbers above the word so I won't have to locate the numbers next time. Maybe the next time I will have a better outcome than I just had this afternoon and won't have to blog about it to alleviate my emotions (unless I hit the hair style jackpot and land a stable, totally awesome stylist!)

Spring Is In the Air

Today the kids and I took a little trip to Target to stock up on some Spring and Summer necessities...........sandles and sunglasses! Mae and Caleb, of course, were excited about their new stuff and couldn't wait to use them. Caleb loves his new sandles, he told me 'I call them my fast sandles 'cause they make me run fast, but I don't run in the house.' I wish!

the cool guy sporting his new stuff, along with the bike he got for his birthday!

It's funny, Caleb knew exactly what he wanted when it came to picking out his glasses. We got him a pair in the fall (now broken, hence the need for another pair) and back then he picked out Thomas the Train. His desires haven't changed. Again, it's Thomas the Train. He's an easy kid. Mae on the other hand has to look at each pair, try several on then waver in indecision. Such a girl! With a decision finally made we were able to leave, all happy.

doesn't she look bling'd out with those cool glasses???

What does Isabel get, you may wonder? Nothing, really. The other night I pulled out the box of Mae's old clothes for Issy. You know, hand-me-downs. At this point I know Issy doesn't care but I'm sure that in the years to come she will. I don't have experience with this first hand (pun intended) but I know it's coming! Anyway, I am loving using Mae's cute little outfits again. It was my hope that I'd get this chance when I first packed them away. So, as Isabel didn't get any new things she does have a new-to-her wardrobe! Whoo-hoo for hand-me-downs!

Daily Trivia

I lack any creative juices today and my life is too dull at the moment to bore you with details. So, I am consulting our daily trivia calender for today's post. The calender is called 'Fact or Crap', and this is what you do....read the statement and decide whether it is true or not. The answer is given on the back side of the days page. Without further ado, here is today's statement:

Johann Sebastian Bach composed a cantata about coffee.

Fact? Or crap?

Ok, now no cheating! No doing an online search . No Wickipedia. Just give me your best shot, your best guess.

Sorry, no prizes, this is just for fun. I will post the answer in the comments later tonight.

My Girls

My two girls have some, let's say, interesting things about them. Let's take Mae for starters. She did not name any of her stuffed animals or dolls until after she was 3. I don't know why, but we thought that it was strange that she waited so long to name anything. But that is not the weird part. When she did name things she got, well, creative. Mae had three baby dolls and decided to name them Pump, Kilp, and Lintz. Now you have to admit that these are not the typical names that little girls name their babies. This is just another example of her strong will. When she gets something in her mind then that is what she wants and nothing will dissuade her. And she's at it again, just this week she was given another doll and it has now been named. Please join me in welcoming Animal Rescue to our home!

Here is Mae with her babies

Linz, Animal Rescue, Flower Girl, Blueberry, Kilp, Pump, and Baby Boo

Isabel has her oddities too. She has quite an attachment to 3 particular pairs of toe socks. The strange thing is that is it part of her night time routine for going to sleep as well as for comfort during the day. Some kids have stuffed animals or blankies they can't leave home or go to sleep without. Isabel has toe socks! This was party my fault but I had no idea that it would become what it is today when it first started.

During Isabel's first Christmas (2005) my parents came to visit for the holidays. I got my mother, Mae, and myself a pair of fun toe socks for Christmas so we could have a silly sock day when Grandma was there. I had a pair of multi colored striped pair and I noticed that they had attracted Isabel's attention. So I laid them across the top of her bed rail so she could look at them when I laid her down. Isabel did look at them at would reach up and pull them down. She would then suck her thumb as the sock covered her face, and she would go to sleep.



Isabel ended up receiving all three of our toe socks that Christmas (for some reason my mom didn't want the ones with duckies on them....hmmmm, I wonder why?). So, what had started out as an innocent act of giving something neat for my baby to look at has now become a necessity every nap and bedtime. As odd as it is, it could be worse. At least her comfort item is not a huge one-of-a-kind stuffed animal or bulky blanket! At least the socks are easy to grab on the way out the door or be slipped into the washer while she is distracted with another pair!

I peeked in on her this evening and this is what I saw, and I couldn't pass up this kodak moment!



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow! This is my 100th post! I just love this blogging thing, it's the greatest. Thank you for joining me in this great adventure that is blogging!

And the Winner Is.....

Thank you everyone who came by my party this past week and said 'hello'! I've met many new people thanks to the Ultimate Blog Party, and hopefully I've made some new friends here in blog world as a result.

I had my own little bit of fun because of the party. I put all the names of everyone who left a comment in my party post and had Mae pick one out of Issy's hat. So, without further ado, I must say 'congratulations' to Chris, the winner of my drawing for five fabulous cards!


**I have tell you that when Mae saw the cards she said 'I like your cards Mom, I know you did your best.' Thank you, Mae! I hope Chris likes them too! *wink wink*

Join the Party!

(this post will remain at the top of my blog until Friday, so don't forget to check beneath for newer posts this week! You don't want to miss out on all the fun stuff!)

I've joined the party! Come on in, I think it will be fun!!! Ok, so who am I?? My name is Deanne and I have been married to my fabulous husband for over ten years. I am also a mother to 3 small kids. Mae, who is 5 (entered kindergarten this year!), Caleb is 4 and Isabel is 19 months. Yep, I'm a busy one. I have the privilege to stay home with them in hope to raise them to be loving children of God. What a challenge this is! My mother made it look so easy, maybe because she's so good at it, or maybe because I was such a wonderful and perfect child? I'm thinking she was just good at what she does! *big grin*

I grew up in California and since being married I have relocated 4 times! My journey started with a move to San Jose, CA after I got married. From there we moved to Portland, OR where he got his first job out of college. Then we jumped over to Michigan for a few years, and now we are back in California! Whew, what a ride we've been on! Going through all our moves and the situations that come with and within them, I have grown more dependent on the Lord for all things. I'm a work in progress, so don't go thinking I've learned it all. I'm just a little California girl working through my relationship with my Lord. My one goal in life right now is that my children will see Christ in me and will one day have their own love and relationship with Him.

My purpose for this blog was initially to give a way for my family and friends to stay connected with my life. However, I have been blessed by the many friendships I have made since starting. I think having this blog gives me the opportunity to 'talk' about daily things in my life that I might not otherwise have the chance to say since I hardly know anyone in this new place that we live. Amazingly, I feel connected with other moms in a way I never expected. I love it!! I am a blogging addict. My name is Deanne, and I love to blog.

My hobbies include; blogging (of course!), reading (mostly Christian Fiction), stamping (love to make cards!), selling misc stuff on Ebay (ebay is my friend, when the selling ends well), and just plain ol' being crafty and creative.

**Here's an incentive to post a comment in today's post. At the end of the Blog Party, I will randomly choose a 'winner' from those who post a comment to this post and the winner will recieve 5 handmade cards! So go on, introduce yourself and say hola!

Progress???

I wonder if going to the gym is starting to showing some pay off?. Today my pants fit a little better. I think. It could just be because I wore them yesterday and were stretched out from the days wear. But I'll take it as encouragement. It's time I look at the glass as half full! Can't neglect my friendly neighborhood gym though! Yes, that's what I have to tell myself.....the gym is my friend, the gym is my friend, the gym is.......

Know Your Bible?

I found this quiz while bloitering and decided to take it. I must say, however, that this was an easy test. There are about 42 questions, all multiple choice. The easy part was that two out the four choices were an absolute 'no'! That was the easy part. With that said, go ahead and give it a try and see how much you know!

You know the Bible 100%!

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

Poop on Croup!

Yep, poop on croup at 4 in the afternoon.

Poop on croup at 1 in the morning.

That's all I have to say about that!

Cornbread Update

Oops! I left out an ingredient in the cornbread recipe I posted last month. Sorry! I hope no one has made it and resulted in a failure. If so, please try it again, I know you won't be disappointed! Anyway, I left out the part where you add a 1/2 cup of melted butter. I've updated the recipe in the original post but you may want to add it to your recipe if you have it saved anywhere.

**thank you Carrie for letting me know! Sure hope Steve likes it!!!

Quiz Time!

I took a few fun little quizzes this morning. Here are the results!

You Are Ernie

Playful and childlike, you are everyone's favorite friend - even if your goofy antics get annoying at times. You are usually feeling: Amused - you are very easily entertained You are famous for: Always making people smile. From your silly songs to your wild pranks, you keep things fun. How you life your life: With ease. Life is only difficult when your friends won't play with you!

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Your Power Color Is Lime Green

At Your Highest: You are adventurous, witty, and a visionary. At Your Lowest: You feel misunderstood, like you don't fit in. In Love: You have a tough exterior, but can be very dedicated. How You're Attractive: Your self-awareness and confidence lights up a room. Your Eternal Question: "What else do I need in my life?"

What's Your Power Color?

Muffiny Goodness

Here's the fabulous recipe for all you recipe fiends out there!

Six Week Bran Muffins

**preheat oven to 350 and make buttermilk before starting**

Pour 1 cup boiling water over 1 cup 100% All-Bran cereal and set aside

In a large bowl beat together:
1/2 c butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 c dark brown sugar (can substitute 1/4 c honey for 1/2 c sugar)
add soggy All-Bran

In a small bowl mix dry ingredients:
3 c flour (can use whole wheat)
3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tbl cinnamon

Alternate mixing dry ingredients into large bowl with 2 cups buttermilk (can make your won buttermillk - mix 1/4 c vinegar with 3/4 c milk)

After all is mixed together, fold in 2 c dry All-Bran and let sit until dry ceral absorbs moisture.

Can add raisins, dried cranberries, or mini-chocolate chips before baking. Bake what you want at 350 for 15-25 minutes (depending on size of muffins) and store remainder covered in the fridge for up to 6 weeks using it as you need.

"This is an old, old recipe that is tried and true." - Gramma Harris*

There you have it! Enjoy, you new recipe lovers, you!

*when passing along this recipe it is important to keep the quote at the bottom. 'It's tradition', says Becca, who was so gracious enough to give me a copy of this fabulous recipe. (I, too, am a new-recipe fiend!)

Major Award!

I won, I won, I won!!! Becca had a contest to guess which tooth her son would pop out first. And I won! Sweet! Even sweeter is the prize, two dozen mini-chocolate chip bran muffins (her best recipe!). I was so excited, and they arrived today! It's the highlight of my week!!! Mmmmm....such yummy goodness is found in these delightful little delicious goodies! I can't eat too many at once, 'cause, you know, they are bran muffins after all. Anyway, a great big thank you to Becca for making and sending me these super-yummy bundles of goodness (and to her son who was the inspiration behind it all!).

**she included a recipe too, should I pass it along???

February Movie Log

We didn't watch that many movies last month, which to me is surprising considering we saw a record amount in January. Ryan had a busy month at work so many nights he was playing catch up and did not have time to watch a movie. Oh well, it was a short month anyway, right? So, here is what we did watch:

1. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (It was so sad to watch the final movie of this trilogy. I enjoyed watching them so much and it was hard to bring it to close. These movies had such great story lines and were very well done. Maybe in a couple years we'll be ready to see them again. Go Frodo!!)
2. Invinceable (We watched this with my parents while they were here for their weekend visit. It was good! Based on a true story and done well. I totally recommend this one.)
   
3. An Inconvienent Truth (Documentary-type film by Al Gore about our current and growing crisis of global warming. Very interesting and thought provoking.)
4. Ice Age (Our most recent family movie night movie. I just love hearing the kids laugh at funny parts, it's the best!)
5. Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (Chinese film about a Japanese man who decides to finish his son's last work by traveling to China to video a certain man performing a mask opera. It was interesting. Actually, the subtitles/translation was the most entertaining. It was funny to see typos and wrong words used! Ryan also says that the film is most likely propaganda to show China as being kind toward Japan, and I think he's right. Anyway, it was a good story. I would recommend it.)
   

See, I told you our movie watching was down this month! Let's see, this month is a toss up for my favorite. I did enjoy the final Lord of the Rings, but since I had seen it before I'll go with Invinceable as my favorite (sorry Al!).

Not Much to Report

I wish had something great to write about today. I've been on the computer just about all afternoon, you'd think there would be something to say about it. Nope. Not really. I was, however, notified by Amazon that yet another book of mine has sold! That's good news, yes? Yes, it is. Let's see, after I am paid for this book I think my total of all books sold (4) should be about $23. Not bad eh?

You may wonder what in the world have I been doing all afternoon on the computer. Yeah, I'd like to know too. The computer is such a time sucker for me. I'm helpless, what can I say. Sadly, I do know what I've been doing. I was listing one more thing on Ebay. Ryan calls me Ebayin' Mama. I looked, the name has already been taken. Darn! Oh well, I'll stick with the name I already have. Can you guess what it is??? Anyway, I listed a bunch of stamping magazines that I accumulated when I was a demonstrator for Stampin' Up!. The other thing I did today was list my last Stampin' Up! catalog on Amazon. See, I've done my homework and I can get way more through selling on Amazon than with Ebay. Yep, Ebayin' mama, that's me!

Hope your day was more eventful (in a good way) than mine. Now I'm gonna get off this computer and read my book.

Zoo-rific Time

My cousin Rose and her husband Will invited us and another couple (friends of theirs) to join them at the zoo for the afternoon on Saturday. We gladly joined them and met them there mid afternoon when most people, who had been there all day, were leaving. Great strategy don't you think?! We took in an elephant show (yes, elephants can dance!). Then we got up close with the lions and even heard some primal growls! Next we took a nice stroll and saw various obscure animals (the only one whose name comes to mind was the warthog, oh!, and the black-eared fox....who consequently was being chased by the vicious warthogs, which, by the way, warthogs are not pretty). At the end of the stroll came the flamingos, then back up the trail and past warthogs again. On our way out of the zoo we saw the gorillas who were being quite rambunctious as they headed into their cages for the night.

It was a short time at the zoo, but that's the beauty of having a membership, we don't feel as though we have to stay all day and see every exhibit! The kids had a great time too. Isabel does really well in the backpack, she is up higher and can see more things. I'm not sure how much longer we can use it though, she was trying to climb out, and almost succeeded! I took my camera this time and the batteries had enough juice to enable me to take a few shots. I need more space on the flashcard though, bummer! The few pics I got ended up being pretty good. Keepers for sure.

We ended the day at our place with pizza and yummy angel food cake (laborious compliments from Rose and Will!). Then the evening closed with a tired, but somewhat strategic, game of Settlers of Catan (which Ryan and I won, go home team!).

Nice day. Great company. A must repeat!

**Thanks Rose for the great idea! We all had a very nice time, thank you!

Book Meme

I was tagged by Heather for meme.

The Rules of the game:
1. Find the nearest book to you.
2. Name the book and author.
3. Turn to page 123.
4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page.
5. Copy out the next 3 sentences and post to your blog.
6. Tag three other people.

Ok, the current book I'm reading, and is in somewhat close distance to me, is Ever After by Karen Kingsbury (no, this is not the same story that was a movie with Drew Berrymore). I have not finished reading the first chapter so I hope by reading ahead a bit doesn't give anything away!

"Don't go acting like you're not in love. The whole office knows about it."
"But this is work."

Oooooo.....a relational development! Again, I hope this doesn't ruin anything for me! It's bound to be a good book, the one before it (Even Now) was good and this is the continued story! But anything by Kingsbury is good in my book (pun intended)! *big grin*

Ok, my turn! I tag Chris, Deanna, and Kim.

Ok, Ok, Ok!!!

A few of you have asked me to share some recipes I've mentioned recently. Ok, I'll share! Here is the recipe for the white chili:

Southwestern White Chili

1 tbl olive oil
1 lb chicken cut into cubes
1/4 c chopped onion
1 c chicken broth
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1 can (19oz) white kidney beans (cannelloni)

spice blend

1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp oregano leaves
1/2 tsp cilantro leaves
1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Heat oil in 2-3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook 4-5 minutes (or until cooked all the way through). Remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Add onion to pan and cook 2 minutes. Stir in broth, green chilies and spice blend. Simmer 30 minutes. Stir in cooked chicken and beans. Simmer 10 minutes.

Here's a few tips for this recipe....I always double it when I make it, but this is a spicy/hot dish so if you choose to double it do not double the spice blend!!! Another tip is to to skip the part about simmering for a half hour before adding the chicken and beans. I dump it all in and heat it thoroughly, it really doesn't need to simmer for that long. One more thing....this recipe goes great with the corn bread recipe I posted last week!!!

And before people out there in blog-land post comments that I forgot the lasagna recipe, here it is! *big grin*

Chicken Lasagna Florentine

Lasagne noodles (I use 6 noodles in my 9x13 casserole pan)
9 oz. chooped spinach
2-3 c diced chicken
2 c shredded cheddar
1 can cream coup (I use cream of mushroom)
1 c sour cream
1/2 c sliced mushrooms
1/3 c fresh minced onions
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 c grated parmesean

Cook lasagna according to package. Cook spinach, drain well. (I use one frozen package, just thaw and drain well). Combine: chicken, onions, 1 1/2 c cheddar, soup, cour cream, mushrooms, salt, pepper, spinach. Blend well. Butter/grease bottom and sides of cassarole dish.

Layer: 1/3 noodles on bottom of dish, 1/2 meat mixture, sprinkle 2 tbl parmesean, repeat.

Top with noodles, sprinkle remaining cheddar and parmesean on top. Cover with foil. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil for 10 minutes until brown and bubbly.

There they are, dear friends, two fabulous recipes to add to your repertoire! I hope you enjoy them, how could you not, they're awesome! Now, the only thing you have to do is share some delicious recipes with when you come across something new and fabulous!

Fabulous Weekend

The weekend is officially over. *sigh* I love three-day weekends but come Tuesday morning it is always somewhat of a letdown. We had a really good weekend and it is a little hard to move forward this morning. I'll survive.

My parents arrived on Friday at about 1:30. I had all the things on my list done before they got here. That's always a good feeling! We didn't do anything that day due to their long drive and the kids having to take naps. I spent a good portion of the afternoon making dinner anyway. Mmmm, Chicken Lasagne Florentine, Wendy's breadsticks and a tossed green salad. Then for desert I made a berry cobbler (box mix) and serve it with Bryer's vanilla ice cream (it was on sale!). Everyone was tired that night so it was a quiet evening as most of the house went to bed. I stayed up and finished my book!

We could not have had more perfect weather this weekend! If it had been any warmer it would have bordered on hot. But it was absolutely perfect! I even wore my sandles and painted my toenails! We took advantage of the fabulous weather the Lord blessed us with and took off downtown to explore! Ryan, Caleb and my dad toured a decommissioned Naval ship (Caleb got a Blue Angel toy plane....score!), while my mom and I and the girls walked around looking at shops and having a yummy slushie by the water. After that we drove over to a old famous hotel on the beach. After having lunch and walking around the hotel we headed home. I had put a roast in the crock pot that morning so I didn't have to cook that night! Sweet! Even sweeter was the delicious berry pie my dad got at Marie Callender's! Mmmmm, pie month!

Sunday, after church we had lunch then took off to drive around the neighborhoods near us. Ryan's purpose in the drive was to find some houses that could be potentials for us. We did visit a few open houses, that was fun! I love looking at houses, but why is it that the ones I love are always beyond our budget? Anyway, we had a nice drive and remaining time with my parents before they had to leave to go back home.

Monday marked the end of the fabulous weather as it rained buckets pretty much all day! Ryan had the day off due to Presidents Day, and it was great having a day to relax as a family. The only thing we did was go to the gym and look a couple model homes. After looking at the open houses on Sunday, Ryan reevaluated our house budget and up'ed the cap. I spent some time Sunday night researching the housing market and saw that some new homes in the area had dropped their prices since we last looked at them early last month. So, we looked at them again yesterday. I love looking at model homes! There is a slim possibility but we will continue to look. No hurry since our lease is not up until July.

I do not have any pictures to post of our weekend. I'm terrible at taking pictures at times like this! Even if I had taken the camera, I most likely would not have used it. I was hoping my mother would take some pictures that I could copy, but she didn't take any either. What a sorry picture taking lot we are.

Today is back to normal, sort of. Mae does not have school this week and Caleb only has class on Thursday. So I will have to find things to do to get us all out of the house so as not to drive each other crazy! Oh well. The fun is over, back to life.

Stuff to do!

I don't have much time but I wanted to shoot off a quick post while I had the chance! My parents are coming today for the weekend and I have a few more things to do before they arrive in a few hours. Right now I don't have enough time to start a cleaning project or run to the store before I have to pick up Mae from school, but I do have time for this quick post!

Let's see, before my parents get here I still need to:

1. go to the store and get a few items for dinner and desert (Chicken Lansagne Florentine, mmmmm, anyone want the recipe?)
2. clean kids bathroom (not in too bad of shape but does need some attention)
3. tidy up the kitchen counters (that always need to be done!)
4. have kids pick up toys and tidy their own rooms (again, that always need to be done)
   
5. clean up table and chairs (who wants to sit on kid-sticky chairs?)
6. find folding table for dinner (there will be adults and 3 kids at the table, yikes...gotta find that table!!!)
7. if I have time I'd also like to clean the counters in my bathroom, you never know if a guest will have to pass by to use the second bathroom!

Ok, gotta run! Maybe I get a few pics this weekend and post them next week! Hope so! And I'm off........

So Loved

"For God so loved the world

that he gave his one
and only Son,
that whoever believes
in him shall not
perish but have
eternal life."

John 3:16

Valentine Menu

Tonight I am making a menu of yumminess for my family. Ryan loves the White Chili recipe I have, so that will be for him (and me), and because it is spicy I will make mac-n-cheese for the kids. So there should be no complaints from anyone at the dinner table tonight! To add to the yum-fest I will also be making some super-delicious home made cornbread. My good friend Chris gave me the cornbread recipe a few years ago and, just like her, it is fabulous! I can no longer make my chili without also whipping up a batch of this yummy-deliciousness too.

So, in the spirit of the day, I will share the love and pass along this must-have recipe of cornbread wonderfulness.

Incredible Cornbread

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter (melted)
2 cups bisquick
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
4 heaping Tbl cornmeal

Beat eggss. Add milk and butter. Add all dry ingredients. Bake @ 350 in greased 8x8 dish for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown on top and fork comes out clean. Enjoy cornbread wonderfullness!

The Cool Mom

Last night we all pitched in and made the yummy, super-delicious, rice crispy treat Valentines. I've never made them before but I knew it was easy. I added some red dye and colored them pink! Very cute! Ryan and the kids measured out the marshmellows and cereal while I melted the butter and added in the ingredients. I made two batches and thought I'd have to make at least one more in order to have enough for both Mae's and Caleb's classes. I needed a total of 34 treats. I was amazed that two batches was more than enough. We even had scraps leftover to munch on. I only have one thing to say about yummy, super-delicious, rice crispy treats......mmmmm, so very, very tasty.

Must. Have. More. More. More. More!!!

Ok, I bought way too much stuff to make the treats. I bought like 5 bags of mini marshmellows and 6 boxes of Rice Crispys. The cereal is easy to deal with. Eat it for breakfast. No problem. The problem is having 3 bags of mini marshmellows leftover. We can only drink so much hot chocolate. I know, those things are loaded with preservatives and all kinds of junk, so they could last a very long time in the factory-sealed bag. But let's be honest....that's not gonna happen! So I did the only thing that makes sense. I made more treats!

Must. Have. More.

So, now I have another batch of treats on the counter. Here's another problem. I have more treats on my counter! I just looked over at them. They're still there, beckoning for me to get up, and eat them! Oh man. This is terrible. Good thing I went to the gym today. *wink wink*

Caleb had his Valentine celebration in his class today (he only goes to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays). When he got home we went through his bag of Valentines and candy and I discovered that I am the coolest mom! Yep. That's me, cool mom! Most of the other kids in the class just gave out the cheapy store bought cards and there was one or two kids that had a sucker attached (and one cute pencil), but come on, how totally cool is the pink heart-shaped rice crispy treat (and little plastic dinosaur)?! Yeah, that's right. I'm 'The cool mom'! I'm stoked!

I wonder if my coolness will carry over to Mae's class tomorrow?

Big Boy Bed

My boy is getting big. *sniff sniff* He is growing out of his cute little toddler bed, so last weekend we picked up a big boy bed for him and today we got a new mattress to go with it. Tonight it is all assembled and my boy is sleeping (I hope!) in it right now! *sigh* I knew this day would come, and I assume I am ready for it. The new bed makes him look as though he is still small, so maybe that's a good thing (right?).

Caleb was so excited! Ryan took out the toddler bed then started bringing in the pieces of the new bed into Caleb's room. Caleb, being the big boy and all, wanted to help his daddy carry things in. He also stood by and watched as it was put together. He could hardly contain himself! Then he had to wait as I vacuumed his room and put new sheets on the bed. Finally it was time to do the big reveal! Oh boy was he happy and excited!!!

Later, after Caleb had his bath, he went in and got his jammies on and went straight to bed! It wasn't even bedtime yet, he still had 30-45 minutes! He didn't care. He was in bed, door closed and lights off! Crazy boy! Still, it made for an easy bedtime. Though it makes me think 'I wonder how long this will last'? I also wonder how much sleep he is actually getting 'cause I know he is just laying there giggling and being too excited and happy to get any sleep. When he finally does get to sleep it will only be because he past out from shear exhaustion! Oh the joys of growing up.

Sleep tight my dear son, I love you!

Back to Normal

My routine is back! On Tuesday Mae's school called me, I had to pick her up early, she was sick. Mae had a temp of 103 and complaining of a headache. No faking that kind of sick! So it continued off and on for the next two days. *sigh* This completely blows my routine! It wouldn't have been so bad, for me, if I hadn't just resolved to go to the gym a few times a week. Now that I have it in my mind to do go, I want to get moving on it!

Mae is all better now and was able to go back to school today. Well, she could have gone back yesterday but we played it safe and kept her home one more day (that fever was a tricky one, it would be gone most of the day then BAM! it'd be back). So I was able to go to the gym this morning. Yeah!!! Now all I need to do is have Ryan show me how to use his ipod and maybe download some of my own music. Then I'll be all set to rock out while workin' out! Oh yeah!

Valentine Plans

There are six days left until the big day. Valentines Day! As of last night I have all the little things together that I am going to give to my kids. My own mother has been instrumental in making more of this day than it used to be. So now it's my turn to tell my children that I love them!

I just love Target! They had some cute Valentine socks in the dollar section right after Christmas. At that point I wasn't sure what I was going to do (come on, I wasn't even out of the Christmas fog yet!), but when I saw the little socks I had to get two pair (one for Mae and one for Isabel....they didn't have any boyish socks for Caleb). Then a couple weeks ago I saw that Target's dollar section had little Valentine beenie baby-type animals. So I snatched up three of those. Finally, last night, I got Caleb some touchable bubbles. I will put their little gifts together and have them sitting out on the table for them in the morning (I'll most likely throw in some choclately candies for good measure....can't have Valentines Day without Kisses!). I haven't thought too much more about the rest of the day but maybe for lunch I'll make pancakes, since they are Mae's favorite (sorry, they won't be heart-shaped, but they'll be from the heart....does that count?) Then maybe after dinner I will do some heart-shaped brownies or something. I'm not too sure about that part either.

Of course I can't forget the Valentine cards for Mae's and Caleb's schools. Mae has 20 kids in her class, and Caleb 12. After much thought, I have decided to make these yummy rice crispy treats for the kids Valentines. I have some heart-shaped cookie cutters that will be perfect (one less item to purchase to put this Valentine together!). Then we will put them in Valentine gift bags along with an extra little goodie (Caleb has little plastic dinosaurs and Mae has lip-shaped erasers...again, Target!!!). Then at the top where the bag is tied off we will add a little card that says who the yummy treat is from. I have a little Valentine stamp set for the kids and they can stamp away to their hearts content on the front of the card. I think they will be cute and definitely not your run of the mill Valentine!

Mae says Valentines Day is her favorite holiday. It's because it is red and pink and has hearts!

*go here to make your own candy conversation heart for your blog page!

Motivation

I have been wanting to get into the habit of going to the gym a couple times a week, but I haven't been successful in getting myself there. Many excuses. All lame. Well, I think I have finally found the motivation needed to propel me through the doors. It's called 'I bought a dress on Ebay and it doesn't quite fit'. How is that for motivation?

I bought the dress to wear to a friends' wedding in June and it is too tight, in too many places. This is an issue I haven't really had in my life. But, three kids and a couple decades later I now do. That is, if I want to maintain a certain dress size. I do want to be healthy and in shape, that is my true goal. So, if after working out and exercising still does not get me into the dress, but gets me healthy and in shape, then I will be satisfied with that. Truly.

Here is a picture of the motivation for me to continue using that gym membership that has gathered too much dust:

(click to enlarge)

Pretty nice, huh? (the picture isn't the best, but it's a nice dress....trust me on this!) I got a super-great deal on it too! Plus it still has the tags on it, so if I never do wear it then I can relist it on Ebay and maybe get my few bucks back. I suppose it is really a win-win situation. In the end I'll be healthy and in shape. Now, whether I'll be in the shape this dress requires remains to be seen.

Things to do When Laid Up on the Couch Because a Glass Fell Off the Counter and Cut Your Foot

1. Convince your husband that the cut is not that bad and you don't have to go to the ER on the weekend with three kids.
2. Bemoan the fact that you did not shave your legs that morning and you are dire need of a pedicure (just in case you do have to get those stitches).
3. Be thankful for your exceedingly gracious husband who has brought you lunch, something to drink, and his laptop so you have something to do.
4. Be even more thankful for said husband who has carried you around the house so you can go to the bathroom.
5. Make fifty bucks on TreasureTrooper.com by filling out surveys and signing up for trial offers. (sweet!)
6. Hobble over to answer the telephone within 20 seconds of husband leaving the house.
7. Clean up cut, again, after trip to the telephone.
   
8. Settle back onto couch with foot up, again, but this time leave telephone on coffee table right beside you (not that it rings again for the rest of the day)
   
9. Try calling husband's cell phone while he is out because his laptop requires a password after being idle while you were on the telephone. (you hear it ring, he left it on the counter *sigh*).
10. Take out your own cell phone and play with ring tones.
11. Call your cell phone to see if you have the right ring tone set up (you do!).
12. Consider the cut not such a bad thing, now you don't have to cook tonight!
    

Makin' Money

I've been busy this week. Busy putting stuff up for auction on Ebay, listing 10 books for sale on Amazon, as well as one item on Craigs List. I have already sold one book on Amazon (I'm stoked about that!!) and my Ebay auctions close Sunday and Monday. If my ebay listings go well, then I will have gotten rid of most all the baby girl clothes up to about 12 months. I still have a bunch of boy clothes to go through and list, most of those at 24 months/2t (I sold a lot of Caleb's clothes last year on Ebay). As I have mentioned before, my hope for selling this stuff is two-fold.

1. I want to get rid of boxes of baby clothes that are taking up valuable space in the garage and closets. I do not intend to need them at all, ever, again! *big grin*....I love my kids, but I think I have enough.
2. I am planning a trip to see friends in Michigan over the Memorial Day weekend and I need to raise some more moolah! (isn't Ryan a great guy to let me go away for the weekend??)

So, I have high hopes for my auctions this weekend. I did my best to plan ahead and have my auctions close on Sunday (Ryan says that is the best time to have an auction close. Because people are not at work and glued to their computers looking for great deals??? I hope so!) My first attempt at posting my auctions this week was not so well thought out. Again it was my intention to have them end on Sunday, so I did a 7-day listing. The problem was that I listed them on Monday, so the auctions will close this Monday and missing the Sunday crowd. The second group I listed I did better in my thought process and timed them to end on Sunday, a couple hours before the Super Bowl (I thought this was genius!) . I will see how well this plan worked come Sunday around 1:00. I'm so excited to see how it all goes, although the number of visitors to my listings is not as high as I would like. Maybe come this weekend the number will grow?

Ryan has also told me about two places online to make money by filling out surveys etc. I looked into both places today and they seem reputable. I'm not sure how Ryan knew about them, but when he gets home I will go over it again with him and just double check the legitimacy. If all is good then I will register and hopefully make some more cashola!

So.........come on Ebay!...........go Amazon go!!! Mama needs to get away!

January Movie Log

More movies viewed by us last month. Here's what we saw:

1. Lady in the Water (another film by the guy who did The Sixth Sense, I can't pronounce his name....I call him 'Sham-a-lam-a-ding-dong'. Ok, not very nice, but it makes my husband laugh. Anyway, the movie was good. Not the guys' best, but interesting.)
2. Sketches of Frank Gehry (Gehry is a well known architect of today and this was a documentary of his work. We enjoyed the film very much. He is certainly thinks outside the typical 'box' when designing buildings and structures. It was also refreshing to see that this man, who is extremely talented, is not caught up with himself. If you like documentaries and art/design then I highly recommend this film.)
3. I Am Sam (this was an interesting film about a man who is mentally retarded and needs to legally fight to keep his 8 year old daughter. I can't say that it is very realistic, but it made me think more about the 'system' in place that takes children away from their parents. So, I guess I'd have to say this was a thought provoking movie. Good, would recommend.)
   
4. Grease (we had never seen this movie and thought maybe we should since it is a classic. I'm a little confused as to why it is considered a classic....what's all the fuss about regarding this movie anyway? I thought it was ok.)
   
5. Run Lola Run (German movie about a lady who has 20 minutes to save her boyfriends life. The movie had three different outcomes. It was interesting, we enjoyed it!)
   
6. Behind the Sun (Brazilian movie about a two brothers that are caught up the family rivalry with a neighboring family. It's definitely not an 'upper' movie, but it was done well. Sad but interesting story.)
7. The Apple Dumpling Gang (Caleb and I watched this together. It was fun to see it after so many years. I don't think Caleb quite understood what it was about but he sat in my lap the whole time, and that is priceless!)
8. The Love Bug (this was our first family movie night. Great success! Kids loved it, and so did us grown ups.)
9. Schultze Gets the Blues (German film. Borrrrr-rrrrring!!!!)
10. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (yes, we've seen the trilogy before and decided it was time to watch it again. Still good! I am understanding a whole lot more this time around too.)
11. House of Sand (Brazilian movie. 3 generations of mother/daughter as they live in wasteland of Brazil. It was interesting, we liked it. **we did have to use the feature on our dvd that allows us to skip to the next scene, for adult situation purposes..that's all I'm gonna say about that!)
12. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (two down, one more to go!)
    

I think my favorite movie was Run Lola Run. The movie was definitely artistic in the way it was done, it was odd, but I liked it! I also liked how it had three different outcomes. It's funny how much I am enjoying all these foreign films. At first I watched them because Ryan picked them out. I was never one that liked the idea of reading a movie, the concept was strange to me, but I'm getting the hang of it now and am enjoying it very much! (for the most part that is.....Schultze Get the Blues was a dull film, to say the least. Germans certainly have a different perspective on film making....too many scenic views/still shots). Anyway, I am loving this Blockbuster thing we've got, it's fun! I feel like I'm becoming culturally diverse. *big grin*