Thanksgiving Memories

What a fantastic holiday!!! We laid around, relaxed, ate some really yummy food, and got to take some really neat pictures. Here's one we took with my camera on time delay so everyone could get in the shot. My Aunt Kelly thought of the idea and we couldn't be more pleased!!!


On the subject of Black Friday, nope didn't go. Ever since last year when I was on the other side of the looking glass (I worked at Macy's and had to be there at 3:00 in the morning) I have tried my hardest NOT to step foot out into the wild sale mess that is the day after Thanksgiving here in the U.S (truth be told its been years before that that I really got into the whole thing). I think another reason why I don't brave the crowds in search of the perfect sale price on this season's hottest Christmas gifts is because Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday!! I don't like being inundated with Christmas environments until at LEAST December 1st. It has been a RARE thing to see me decorating my house or tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, its just too soon for me. I like to bask in the glow of a non-commercialized holiday for as long as I can get away with it. Its the only one where we visit family and don't have to bring a gift for everyone in the room.

We didn't play dominoes this year or all go out dancing, Mother and Dad just don't have the energy with their health the way it is currently. But we did have a lot of fun and laughed until our cheeks hurt. So overall I'd call it a success!

What's your favorite holiday memory?

Family Pictures

For some time now I have been the one BEHIND the camera in almost all the pictures taken from my camera. My son is in a digital photography class right now (which I personally think is really cool considering he's merely an 8th grader). So he's been snapping pictures all over the place!! Sometimes its for assignments, other times just for fun. But the short of it is, he's captured ME on camera more than once in the past weeks. And now that Momma has a snazzy new camera he's ALL about snatching it up and snapping picture after picture.

So today I got everyone dressed (I'd shopped for the outfits this past week) and we headed out in Victoria, TX to find a picture perfect place to capture a good family photo. Its been years since we posed for one professionally (I think the last one might have even been for a church directory way back in 1999). We headed down to Riverside Park and started at the duck pond. The place where over 14 yrs ago my darling husband proposed to me (or as he put it today.."kids, this is the place where a great tragedy befell my life"...smart ass! he got hit on the arm for that one)

I guess we got an alright family photo, though I think we might need to take another one with better lighting (and this time I'm wearing black, NOT cream!! Ugh!! You can see EVERY roll!!). I'm still deciding if I want to share that "treasure".

Then we started walking...and walking...and then more walking. The hubby and my daughter got quite a bit ahead of the boy and I. He and I kept stopping to take pictures. He has a landscape project he's finding pictures for and so I'd intermittently hand off the camera for him to capture what he wanted for the project. I stopped him at one point and sort of posed him (found a neat stump by the river and told him to squat and take a knee). This is how the shot turned out:
Granted his eyes are mostly closed and he's pretty much staring directly into the sun...but even given all that, I think it turned out pretty darn great! He looks SO handsome! hehe

I got one of my daughter there too, but it wasn't one of her best...I thought this was one of her top shots:
She wanted to pose on the vines the first time we walked past and saw another family snapping pics there. So I took the obligatory photographs.

We took several pictures of the two of them together (where they even seem like they like each other...HA! Isn't it amazing how pictures can lie so convincingly!!)


For me this is an exercise in being cheap, a tightwad with my wallet, a possessive owner of my checkbook. Yes, I've spent more than my fair share of the hubby's money on adornments for myself recently, but I draw the line at school pictures. More than half the time these little "treats" come home for me to buy BEFORE I see them. The one time I bought into this scam they send me HORRIBLE pictures!! My daughter had her glasses off ("But Mom, the camera guy said that my glasses would cause a glare, so he asked me to take them off"). Did said camera guy not notice that, at the time, when your glasses were off your eyes crossed horribly? And you wear those things ALL THE TIME, not just to read. How many school pictures has this guy taken that he's not learned in the ways of how to tilt glasses a bit to remove glare? Jeezers!! My son's were equally bad...his hair had been "fixed" by a helper to the camera guy and it looked like they'd just given him a chili bowl hair cut. Umm, this isn't how I sent him to school this morning! And why did we wait until AFTER lunch to take these pictures? I appreciate the effort of having hamburgers and fried for lunch instead of sloppy joes, but there's a BIG ketchup stain on his shirt and you can see where he repeatedly wiped his mouth on his SHOULDER!!!! Oh, and HIS glasses were ON!!! What tha....?!?!?!?!

So for years I've chosen to instead take out my own handy dandy digital camera and snap a few photos of my children. Then I use various programs on my computer, or at my local Walgreens, to print out wallet and other sizes to distribute to the relatives. I think the pictures are more personal this way too. And the more I practice using my new camera the better I hope to get at capturing their sweet faces in just the right light and instances to make unforgetable pictures that look damn near close to professional.

Hmmm...now how do I get "Mom" embossed in tiny gold letters in the lower right hand corner? I'll have to work on that one. hehehe

For everyone who stuck with me through this whole post, sorry it was a long one...here's the "best" family shot:
I think I'll learn to Photoshop this holiday season and subtract a few bumps from the right side of this picture...hehe Instant lipo!!!

Have a fabulous Thanksgiving friends!

Bag Tag

Ok, I saw this on another blog quite some time ago and just LOVED it!!! So although I cannot link to the person who tagged me, I can tell you I got it from The Daily Blonde, originally.

Here's the dealio:

Find a safe quiet place free of significant others, nosey meme makers, priests, nuns, all things religious and men in general. (If you're a guy just reverse this process to male and tell us about your wallet, tool box, briefcase or metro sexual accessory.)

1. Dump the contents of your handbag in a pile

2. Take a photo of your handbag and the contents

3. Be brave and explain to your fellow bloggers what lurks inside the handbag.

4. Tag others who might want to embarrass themselves

5. Answer these questions:

Describe the contents of your handbag.

What's the most important thing in your handbag?

What's the most embarrassing thing in your handbag?

What's the smallest thing in your handbag?Is there anything illegal in your handbag?

Here's mine, I've labeled everything for ease of explanations (I'm anal that way...HA!)...

So dump the contents and take a photo....
Done!

Now to explain the contents:

1. This is simple enough, my wallet...it HAS to be pink!!
2. My handy dandy portable makeup mirror.
3. Pyrat Rum mints - these taste a lot like altoids, I got them free when I bought a shit load of liquor, they were having a promo where they gave you al kinds of shiznat.
4. Perfume - its Paris Hilton's Heiress, becuase although I'm NOT an heiress, I see nothing wrong with smelling like one..HA!
5. Bobbie Pins - I think those have been inthere a while, I took my hair down one afternoon when I was feeling a little less like looking all professionally...
6. Miscellaneous business cards I've picked up this week
7. My checkbook - sorry folks, I don't trust the internet THAT much to turn it around! hehe
8. A ticket stub from when I took the kiddos to see Madagascar 2 - CUTE movie btw!
9. Advil - don't leave home without it!
10. Miscellaneous lipsticks/lip gloss - I usually just throw them in there when I'm heading out in the morning
11. My Palm Pilot - OMG this is damn near my life line!! I keep all my appointments and EVERYTHING on it, and it has WiFi so I can check in on my bloggy peeps when I'm within a wireless connection's range...tee hee hee
12. Bicardi Mojito Oral Fixation Mints - I'm SOO not ever going to stop giggling over the fact that the words "oral fixation" are printed on the cover of this tin. hehehehe...hahaha...These were another freebie I got the same time as the other mints, only these REALLY do taste like a yummy Mojito!
13. Sunglasses - not the prescriptive kind, my "cheap" ones
14. Sunglass Hut glasses cleanser with a tiny little scewdriver thingy - I LOVE this and the gal up there will refill it for me for free when I run out!!
    
15. Pens - pretty self explanatory
16. My uber-low-tech cell phone - yes I know, I'm a technology junkie, yet I have an old ass cell phone. Heck I don't even have fancy ring tones! I wanted a Crackberry or Palm Centro, but we have a bare bones cell phone contract, so no point in all that. We don't even have unlimited texting people!!
17. Looks like another lipstick, huh? I'll explain this one later..tee hee hee
18. Hand sanitizer spray - I volunteer at my kids' schools and several of my friends have younger children, so I use this A LOT!!!

Onto the questions:

• What's the most important thing in your handbag? That could be a tricky one...probably need to say my cell phone and wallt tie on this one.
  
• What's the most embarrassing thing in your handbag? It doesn't embarrass me, but it often does other people. Remember that "other lipstick" - yeah its SOOO not lipstick, its a vibrator!!! Hey, I live in Dallas, and sometimes traffic can be REALLY boring!! What better way to pass the time? hehe Plus its really nice to whip out with the hubby for those naughty lil' "on the road jobs" when its just the two of us. Here's a better look:
• What's the smallest thing in your handbag? I think the smallest thing is probably the Pyrat mints or the bobbie pins
  
• Is there anything illegal in your handbag? Nope

So let's see who I can tag....I think:

• The Stiletto Mom
• Dawn's Diversions
• Davis Family Doodles
• Life is Too Short Not to Share...
• Only Makes You Stronger
• Stray Raisins

I think that'll do for now....so ladies, what cha got?

Hollywood scares me....

A while back, sometime this summer I was reading an article in one of the celebrity gossip mags (US, People, Entertainment Weekly....one of these, can't remember) about Kristen Johnston. She's the tall gal from3rd Rock from the Sun for those who might not recognize the name. Here's a picture for reference.
So the 2008 picture looks similar to what the photo did in the magazine. To me, WAIF-LIKE!!! I mean REALLY people? THIS is more attractive than what she looked like in 2005? She says she was FAT in 2005 and overall disgusted with her appearance. O.M.G.!!!!! Personally I think she looked SO much better before than after the dramatic weight loss (apparently a loss of 60 lbs) . She looks more like a praying mantis now, and not like a cool Kung Fu Panda mantis either. And that's just not an attractive look for ANYONE in my opinion. I liked the way she looked soooo much better when she had some curves, now it looks as though a good swift wind might just blow her down Rodeo Drive. I showed the article to my husband and he didn't even recognize who it WAS until I told him the "chick from 3rd Rock from the Sun" and he just turned up his nose and asked if she was sick or something. Nope honey, she's "healthy now" and no longer FAT. "When was she fat?" Yeah, he obviously agreed with me on this one! Yeah!!

So although I am "searching for my inner skinny" I am not searching for my inner mantis. I'd be thrilled, scratch that...I WILL be thrilled when I reach my goal weight. For more of a visual, here you go.
The photo on the left was taken when my daughter was just shy of one year old. So although I wasn't at pre-baby weight I think I looked pretty damn good! Sure I could have done some more crunches and toned up the belly bump, but overall, not too shabby. Wouldn't you agree? The picture on the right was taken at a Girls Night In when I was very close to my top high weight.

Its an every day struggle to get back into shape, especially when before kids it came so easy to me. I have downward slides more often than not but I do, in my heart and soul, want to get back there. It seems so far away some days. I have moments when I know I'm not eating what I should or exercising as often and hard as I know I'm able, but there IS hope! I just have to find the strength within myself and do what I know needs to be done.

Well, the hubby will be coming in from across the world tomorrow morning, so I'm gonna jet and try and clean up some more so he's not in a foul mood because the house isn't in "tip top" shape. Be well friends! And for those others out there on the weight loss path...don't lose hope! WE can do this!!

Helluvah Meme

One of my favorite bloggers, Annie, has tagged me with one helluvah meme!!

Watch out, you could be next!

Rule 1. List the first ten people who have commented on one of your blog posts.
Ok, here is who I'm picking....

1. CeeCee at CeeCee's Crazy Corner - she's livin' the country life and in a way I REALLY envy her!!
   
2. Real Live Lesbian - no its not some secret world I need to tell you all about (or IS it? hehehe). She's a great blogger and is so real and honest with her postings. She must be a writer in real life, because her posts are near poetic to read (at least to me).
3. Katie at Stray Raisins and Other Mommy Perks - She's a Texan Momma and makes me laugh until I cry with some of the simplest of posts!!
4. Danifer from Thoughts from a Down-To-Earth Girl - She does the BEST movie reviews and I tend to agree with her, think I'll check out what she thinks about flicks before my local news movie guy..he's just weird!
5. Tracey at Cheese and Whine - she unfortunately doesn't live close enough to party with and she has a chihuahua!! Gotta love THAT!
6. The Stilett0 Mom - I've said it again, I DIG her!! She's got my kind of sense of humor and I'll bet she looks as good in her swanky shoes as I do! HA!
7. Danielle at A Fantastic Family of Four - I have to admit I'm jealous of her children, they seem SOOO very well behaved! How did she do it, and would she be willing to take my kids for a little bit and teach THEM?!?!
8. Susan at Life is Too Short Not To Share - She's a hoot!! ANOTHER one I wish lived closer!!
9. Liz at A Mom on Spin - Sometimes she gives me hope for my future, sometimes she scares the shit out of me...hahaha
10. Tenakim at My Therapy - Not only did she make the sexiest, just the right amount of skank, nurse for Halloween, but she makes me laugh until I cry every time I read her words!! Perhaps we're secretly related...because I TOTALLY get her!!!

Rule 2. The meme questions: 10 Blogs, 15 Questions.

• What is your favorite post from #3's blog? Recently it was a post on, strangely enough, poop. Or maybe it isn't so strange, but you need to go check it out...I laughed so hard the dog cocked her head to one side thinking something was SERIOUSLY wrong with me! heheh
• Has #10 taken any pictures that have moved you? I think the pictures of her on Halloween moved me in that funny way you felt when climbing the rope in gym class...does anyone really do that any more? The rope climbing thing, not the dressing up thing....I do THAT when I'm bored around the house. hehehe
• Does #6 reply to comments on their blog? She does!!! And we've had email convos more than once...hehe
• Which part of Blogland is #2 from? The U.S., this is all I know, other than that she lives in my computer..hehe
• If you could give one piece of advice to #7 what would it be? I think I want advice from HER!! On raising responsible kids...how is it I THOUGHT I was doing it all right and my kids can be SUCH SHITS sometimes, her seem to be lil' angels ALL THE TIME!!!
• Have you ever tried something from #9's blog? Not as of yet, but I'm thinking that the garbage bag clothing thing might be a strategy for later on. You'll have to visit and read to get what I'm talking about.
• Has #1 blogged something that inspired you? She writes about her life in the country, and it makes me ACTUALLY want to live there...sometimes...then I remember Wendy's and Blockbuster being open until REALLY late at night! hehe
• How often do you comment on #4's blog? I try to comment often, but am sometimes a bag bloggy friend and read when I'm barely awake and most things I'd type would look like strange encrypted foreign languages.
• Do you wait excitedly for #8 to post? Oh yes!! Eventually I'm going to meet her and bring her a fantastic bottle of wine, to share with me!!
• How did #5's blog change your life? She was one of my first blogs I stalked, er..uhmm...I mean followed, and helped me be a more honest blogger.
• Do you know any of your 10 bloggers in person? Not YET! But eventually I want to meet them ALL Mwaahahaha...Don't worry though ppl, I mix AWESOME cocktails!!!
• Do any of your 10 know each other? I think Dawn's met someone...but don't think it was anyone on the list, I think most of them might know the others the same way I do, through blog stalking.
• Out of the 10, which updates more frequently? They all update frequently.
• Which of the 10 keep you laughing? I've laughed so hard I've had to rush to the bathroom to keep from peeing myself on more than one of their posts!
• Which of the 10 made you cry (good or bad) tears? I think each of them have written something that I found poignant and very moving. Sometimes its a sweet tear, other times I just feel so much for them and want to rush over with a great hug (and a cocktail shaker). I know I shed a few tears for Danielle once when she was worried about the kind of mother she was in the eyes of her daughter. OMG, that cut to the core for me and I could relate SOOO much!

And that, folks, was the world's LONGEST Meme.
Play on, play out.

Mauritania here I come!!!

I was perusing the channels on TV a bit ago and came across Oprah. I'm not usually a big fan, but this makes the second time this week I've tuned in. Yesterday Brad Pitt was on there promoting his new flick...and can I just take a moment to say I LOVE LOVE LOVE this Brad!!! He's such a DAD!!! And to this woman, that is INCREDIBLY sexy!!!

But onto the real reason for this post....Mauritania. Oprah was talking about beauty secrets from around the world today, Thursday, Nov. 20th. Check out the site and see if you can find some highlights of the show.

Here's a little of what I found on the site:
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Houda, a woman who grew up in Mauritania, says her father is a doctor who sees the negative effects of the country's big idea of beauty. "My father deals every day with women with serious, serious health issues such as high blood pressure," she says. Even though the problems associated with obesity, like high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes are prevalent, Houda says that doesn't deter women from wanting a big body. "When you're skinny, you're even considered as sick or there's something wrong with you," she says. "Women that are fat, they're really happy."

Thick ankles, plump arms and a big butt are considered the most beautiful parts of a woman, Houda says. And don't worry if you have a few stretch marks—the men in Mauritania love 'em!

Not only are extra pounds considered sexy—Houda says being divorced will win you extra points with the men too! "In Mauritania, you just get divorced and there's a feast, a party—and the more you get divorced, the more you're seductive," Houda says. "That means that a lot of men want to be with you."

"So if you are divorced with stretch marks and a big butt, Mauritania is calling your name!" Oprah jokes.
*********************************************************

Apparently this is my NIRVANA!!! Skinny women are NOT the apple of every man's eye, nor their dreams. Thick ankles, BIG butts, even stretch marks are seen as incredibly sexy!! So is a divorced woman seen as desirable! WOW!!! Be right back, I need to finish packing my bags and book that flight!

Who would have thought a place this wonderful even existed in this day and age? Are they also as forgiving if you go more than 2 days without shaving your legs? hehe Oh, and the icing on the cake....(and you thought THAT was good enough) is that men who have a few extra pounds are NOT seen as desirable. That's right, men need to be thinner and women can have junk in the trunk. "There is no such thing as a butt too big" Oh these words sounded from the lips of the guest like a glorious symphony!!

So like I said, I think I need to go finish packing my bags and convince the hubby to transfer to Mauritania. Sounds like a wonderful place to me!! hehe

Not there...YET!

Luckily I haven't had this happen to me......yet!

Wordless Wednesday

The Ducks @ the park
(Bob Woodruff Park, Plano, TX)

A few first pictures

So they're not the first shots I was hoping to get, but we've mostly been relaxing around the house watching movies...so here ya go:

A boy and his dog

Sleeping beauties
(my parents)

Quality time
(Meme, aka my Mother, and Hannah)

More to come......

Mother, Dad, and dentists...

So my parents came up on Sunday and stayed the night to go with me to a consultation with a local dentist to help my mother with her TMJ issues. We had the appointment this morning, followed by a lengthy stay at a CT scan office trying to get a number of doctors on the line and argue with how we could keep from having to pay the WHOLE FREAKING bill out of pocket.

After much frustration, we made our way home. We had a nice relaxing afternoon at the house. We watched a movie, Mother and Dad napped on the couch. Just your basic every day hanging out. Unfortunately they need to head back tomorrow...although I'd LOVE it if they could stay through the week.

Tonight we had pizza, and I tried my BEST to have just a few pieces. Yeah, me!

One thing I HAVE been suffering through for most of the day with a headache, teetering on a migraine. I took some meds for it earlier today when we first got home..but still it lingers. So sorry I'm not in the best of moods...blame it on the headache.

I hope to be back to my peppy self tomorrow.

Oh but GREAT news!! While they were here Mother got me an early birthday/Christmas present....check it out!!!!
Its a Canon PowerShot SX10-IS...Sweet right?!? I am so enamored with my new camera! I might just head out this week and see what kind of pictures I can shoot around town.

Check out the winter butterfly!!!

OK, so its not exactly a real butterfly, but it's still purdy! hehe I've been awarded this by Christine over at The Power of Housewife Word of Mouth. She's truly an inspiration, and she knows where to fall all the skinny on Black Friday sales!! And I'm all about knowing the skinny, after all I'm searching for mine, right!

1. Put the award up on your blog
2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs
4. Add links to these blogs on your blog
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog

So, as with so many other awards, I need to share the love...so here goes:

1. The Stiletto Mom - I recently found her through another bloggy community and I might be in LOVE!!! Not only does she have GREAT fashion sense (who doesn't love stiletto heels??) but she's HILARIOUS!! I'm waiting until after Thanksgiving to see about hookin' up for drinks and some sure-fire laughter!
2. Fat.Mum.Slim - this is a newly found mom blogger from Down Unda' and I think that is TOO cool! tee hee hee I think I'll have some local cocktails with her one of these years that I convince the hubby we HAVE to go to Australia for vacay!! And her little girl is TOO cute!!
3. Pink Ink - She is a Filipino that peaked my interest due partially to her blog name..I mean those who know me know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the color pink!! But she kept me around with her cute musings and great quotes.
4. The Adventures of an American Mum - I am inspired by her photographs and she's had me giggling uncontrollably on more than one occasion.
5. Snips Snails and Pigtails - She's another newbie on the bloggy block, but she reads like she has a heart of gold! I feel blessed to count her among my bloggy friends.
6. A Mom on Spin - She has three daughters, teenage daughters, enough said.
7. Diva Ma - I've never met her, but I think we might be related. hehe We see eye to eye on SO many things, especially the whole house cleaning thing. Although I can't seem to talk my husband into getting me a maid. He just tells me I have two kids here to help me, why do I need a maid? Um, have you MET our children...they hate cleaning on close to the same level as ME!

So if you're looking for some great reads and awesome insights, take a minute or two to peruse these blogs...You'll be stalking them like me in NO time at all! hehe

I think I should...I DEFINITELY should NOT...

A while back a bloggy friend of mine, Danifer, reviewed the movie The Strangers.
Now I'm a BIG TIME fan of a psychological thriller, and this looks RIGHT UP MY ALLEY!!! But I have to tell you, I can't even get through the entire trailer this evening without getting creeped out! HA!! Here I am, home alone (rather without big strong hubby) with the boy upstairs and the girl away at a sleepover party, movie in the DVD player and I'm watching SNL. NOT the movie. I keep thinking, c'mon ya big pus' and just watch it. Its a MOVIE, not YOU!! But when the words "based on true events" flashed on the screen during the preview it just seemed to HAUNT me!! Oh hells no!! I am NOT going to watch this late at night and then TRY to sleep!!! It'll just have to wait until tomorrow, when its light out, and I can get to a gun quickly. hehe

Oh, and on a side note...I got a call from my sister tonight and my brother-in-law is having his appendix taken out. My parents are there with her and I asked her to have my mother call when she got the chance. My mother has suffered with TMJ for a LONG time and is planning to have a pretty major surgery to correct her lack of cartilage in her jaw. She's been having a difficult time finding a doctor to perform the surgery. So I found a Dr. in our area that might be able to help her out. I scheduled an appointment with him on Monday morning to talk with him, find out some more information and just see if he could help her out or recommend someone closer to her area that could be of aid to her. So back to the phone call. Seconds after hanging up with my sister, my mother calls. And informs me that she and my dad are going to spend the night there tonight and then head up here tomorrow so that she can just go with me to the appointment on Monday.

Ummm..o.k....sounds......great. HOLY SHIT!!! My husband has been OUT OF THE COUNTRY for two weeks and I don't clean for SHIT when he's gone. Its amazing you can SEE part of the floor in my bedroom, and the living room and kitchen seriously looks like someone dropped a crapola bomb. FUCKNER!! (my word, love it, use it often) Kyle's due back on Saturday and I seriously planned on cleaning Wed-Fri, looks like THAT plan just got flushed down the crapper!!

I'd take a picture of what my rooms look like now to show you all, but I'm WAY too embarrassed to even reveal THAT!! So I have to run and clean some more before I fall into a deep sleep and wake tomorrow to do more. Yeah, 'cause that's what I wanted to do with my Sunday morning. hehehe


Oh, side note...watching Beyonce since "Put a Ring on It" on SNL and how the HELL does that would shake around like that and NOT be completely winded?!?! I mean, for pete's sake, I'm winded just WATCHING her!!! But I did LOVE LOVE LOVE the sketch with Justin Timberlake and some of the other guys on the show as her backup dancers for the video. GREATNESS!!

How'd it go?

For anyone curious about how the shaving went, it went GREAT!!! She took to it REALLY easily and didn't even nick herself once (not even on the front or back of the knees)!! YEAH HANNAH!!!

She confirmed to me that she felt better about having smooth legs for the party tomorrow, she was worried about people whispering about her.

So I'm swearing by the Intuition razor. Way to go Schick!!

Now if only I could get her to make sure she wears a bra EVERY day..hehehe

Here's a picture I snapped with a camera my son checked out from school (I took it just moments ago)....this is my "little girl" today:

I'm just gonna bite the bullet

Now don't be silly and think I'm going to stop shopping because that's simply NOT going to happen! HA! And with all the window shopping I did today I'm sure I worked off at least ONE slice of key lime pie I had last night.

No, I'm talking about my daughter. My lovely dear daughter. Here's a picture of her at SIX YEARS OLD!!

Yes, I know I'm in trouble...and she's only gotten MORE beautiful since. Ugh!! Well my sweet angel (most days) is now 11 yrs old. A couple of weeks ago when the temperature was still nice in the morning I suggested she wear a skirt to school since she had obviously misplaced any pants that were NOT high-waters (she didn't by the way, just stole a pair of her brother's). When I asked my she didn't want to wear a skirt, she said because of her legs. No, she has no problem with the LOOK of her legs in general, just the hairs on them. Ugh!! So fast forward to this weekend. She's been invited to a birthday party. Its being held at the Embassy Suites Hotel and is an overnight thing (let's just table that hotel-birthday-thing for a bit, it'd be a LOT longer blog post if I went into it now). There is an indoor pool, so she's been instructed to bring a bathing suit. So tonight she and I are going to bond by breaking the bonds of the hair to her legs.

Yes its official, my little girl is not a little girl any more! Of course I should have known, I mean the GIRL wears a size 11 1/2 WOMENS shoe!!! 1 1/2 sizes bigger than MINE!!! I have purchased her her own razor and blades. I chose this one:
I started to go with the traditional razor and shaving gel/cream, but honestly I've had SOOO much more luck with this razor and NOT getting nicks and cuts that I figured it would be a better choice. And considering her lack of coordination it'd take her FOREVER to figure out how to keep her leg just above the water and not wash off all the shave gel while seeing around corners to shave her legs.

So think of me tonight friends, while I teach my girl how to shave like a woman (since she's far too young to drink tequila, which has always been a necesary evil to me when trying to wax).


****And on a side note: I'm coveting THIS camera now!! OMG, I want to run out and get it NOW, before Thanksgiving so I can take some fantastic shots over the holidays.****

Just for fun...

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
The Inland North
Boston
North Central
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

For anyone who might be wondering, I'm from Texas...Bryan-College Station (all our teachers were yankees...hehe)

I never said I was a pro

But I think I did alright for my first foray into fondant...hehe

Here's the pics, please be gently...remember its my first time. *blush*

Before Icing or anything...
White cake..soon to be cut up, iced with Buttercream Icing, and chilled

After...

A little better view of the side/front

Yes, I even drew a little house on the middle button,
the power thingy on the top button,
and wrote "HOME" REALLY REALLY tiny under the home button..HA!

A pic my daughter took of the side/front

Don't think I'll be trying a Wii again anytime soon, but I might look into making something more artistic next time. So that if it looks funky I can say its SUPPOSED to look like that! ha!

What do you think?

PMS? Me? No way!! Or way??

Yeah, I seem to be suffering from PMS, which makes NO sense!! I had a complete hysterectomy three yrs ago!! And although I haven't been taking my meds (for quite some time..we're talking months people), I don't think that's it. But I have all the classic symptoms:

• SUPER emotional (I cried at two commercials today people!!!)
• Craving sweets (which is REALLY weird considering I'm not a sweets person)
• MAJORLY moody (I think I almost tore the kids heads off twice today)
• TRYING to eat everything in sight (which I emphasize trying because I have been mostly good today)
• Even though the scale says I'm
  

Who knows, maybe I can just chock it up to missing hubby and wishing he were home. Is it bad of me that I was a little bit angry that he's been too busy to miss me?

Tonight I'm TRYING to make a really neat-o cake. TRYING, its going alright so far, but then again I'm not to the fondant part yet. Ugh!! If it goes alright I'll take lots of pictures and post them, if not I think I'll come back and edit this out...or quickly change the subject hoping no one remembers. hehe

Well, I'd better run and try to finish my cake. Laters friends!

Feeling dangerous...

Has anyone seen the Macy's commercial where the girl says "Stilettos make me feel dangerous"? So Tuesday the school where I volunteer is asking that everyone where red, white, and blue in honor of Veteran's Day. So I own a respectable cherry red suit, and a nice royal blue shirt. But I had NO shoes to go with this!! And I'm not wearing black ones. So I went out in search of a pair of either royal blue or red shoes. I looked ALL over for a nice pair, and ended up at Nine West. And I found them!! OMG They are unbelievable!!! And I got a cute cute red corset thingy at Lane Bryant. So this morning I headed out armed with these new shoes, a pair of dark wash jeans, the corset, and a black suit jacket. And MAN ALIVE did I feel good!! I felt a little dangerous too. Its amazing how quickly one little comment will go to your head like that. tee hee hee Here's pictures of the shoes and corset...you like? Do you have an outfit that you wear JUST to get that great kind of attention? Or is there one you're coveting and just haven't had the gumption to wear?

Not me in this picture, but this is the corset I got

With a HOT 4" heel!!!

***Thanks to everyone who has recently commented on the new profile picture. I took it Thursday afternoon (11/6/08) since I was especially proud of my hair and make-up that day. tee hee hee

Step away from the drive-thru menu!!!

So quite some time ago the hubby came home and told me about a co-worker of his (male) who had given up eating anything that was passed through a winder to him (i.e. ANY fast food). And apparently this co-worker had dropped a LOT of weight and was doing fabulous! Yeah, yeah him. I just don't have that kind of will power.

Several years ago I sat down and tried to figure out WHEN I eat. Yes, I eat when I'm hungry, but that's not all. I eat the most (that unconscious eating when before you know it you've finished off an ENTIRE bowl of family size Betty Crocker Scalloped potatoes) when I'm bored. I can suddenly think of nothing better to do than eat. I should be upstairs exercising, or going for a walk, or so many other things. But alas, I don't. I eat. Then I eat some more.

I have done my best to ensure that I ONLY have healthy-ish foods around the house so I don't get into too much trouble. But obviously I don't do the best I can, as witnessed by the sometimes (OFTEN times) disturbing numbers on the scales. But I continue to try.

I've recently had a friend tell me they find me sexy. OH MY GAWD! I was SOOO flattered! I didn't honestly think anyone could find me sexy, in a physical way. Sad as it is, its true. I cram on the spackle, curl my eyelashes, and doll up my hair, but never did I really think that I could come across as sexy to someone other than the hubby (who's under a contractual obligation to find me sexy...aka marriage license/certificate). This has kind of put a little "giddy-up" in my step recently. Yes, I know its an antiquated phrase, deal with it. HA!

So I'll continue to doll up my face, wear my sexy dominatrix boots, color my hair, and amend the latest trends to look as little like a fancied-up cow as possible, in hopes that someone might whistle at me one of these days and when I coyly turn to see who it was get that SUPER ego-boosting wink from them.

So when's the last time someone told you that you looked sexy?

My life with a brick wall

Oh wait...that's not a brick wall, it is my 13 yr old son. AUGHHH!!!!!!!!! (Sorry had to take a minute to scream!!) Just when I thought he was turning it around, those hopes have been dashed from me. I get an email from my husband this morning telling me that once again he has night school this Friday. For those unfamiliar with how night school works, usually the kiddos have a certain number of missed assignments they can "slide on", after this point is passed you are assigned night school (which takes place either Tuesday or Friday from 3:30pm-6:15pm) to complete and turn in the assignment.

I've lost track of how many he's had this year already, somewhere in the neighborhood of five to six. So today I informed him he was grounded, again, at LEAST through the weekend. Then a few moments ago one of his friends' mom calls looking for her son. They're upstairs on the computers, after he's already been told that he is grounded and his friends should be leaving immediately. When called on this he looks me right in the eyes and says "I thought it started tomorrow." WTF?!?!?! Are you serious?!?! Since WHEN has grounded started ANY TIME but immediately!!!???

So I went and got his backpack and combed through it for papers without grades. I pulled ALL of them out and checked with his missing grades online. I am SO angry that I have to treat him this way to get his shit done!!! He's missing 11 grades (zeroes in the grade book, or * for missing assignment), this is in five different classes. So I am currently handing him one sheet at a time (10 sheets I was able to find) and having him complete it and then bring it back to me. He cannot be trusted to take off with all sheets and make sure they're all done and back to me in a timely manner.

His reaction to this? "This is SO aggravating that I have to go up and down the stairs dozens of times to get one sheet, finish it, then come back and get another one."

My reaction? "Guess what, boy? The fact that I HAVE to treat you this way is aggravating to ME! you tell me time and time again that 'it'll be different this time. I'll do what is expected of me.' But then you pull the same thing every time. So since you can't seem to get your priorities straight, I'm gonna do a little straightening for you. In short, deal with it. This is how its gonna be."

Oh yeah, things are FAR from pleasant in our house right now. I'm considering breaking out the cocktails tonight, its gonna be a long one. Usually when everyone gets emotional about it we have some results rather quickly. But I think I'm out of the weepy emotions, and now its just raw anger.

Which state was it where you can drop your teenagers at a hospital and leave them there legally?

Pray for me friends, pray that I don't smother him with his unfinished papers in his sleep. UGH!!!

Running a bit behind

So this morning I read through (alright, skimmed for the most part) just over 200 blog posts. For some silly reason I chose to not get online ALL weekend (of a "holiday" weekend, what was I thinking?!?!?!). So today I got caught up and am going to do my seemingly obligatory "halloween costume thingy" post. Sad to say, this year I didn't dress up, but I'm already thinking of ideas for next year so that hopefully if I decide to make the costumes I'll have (and TAKE) plenty of time to prepare them. So here's this year's costumes:

My son the nerd (or Einstein with blond hair..lol)

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My daughter as "a 5 yr old"
(this is HER definition of what she was...ha!)

I think they looked GREAT! And I was thrilled that they went with something simple (i.e. stuff we already had around the house and CHEAP!!!)