A day in the life of a housewife

Layed off

2011-10-23T21:05:00.002-05:00

Update!!! He's been out of work since September 12, and yep no job yet! Frustration is taking over on my part. The kids are annoying me more than usual. I wonder if it's just PMS?... (doubt it) I am so unhappy.... someone just please come save me...

what is it about men, boys... kids and potty training?

2011-10-19T23:41:00.004-05:00

Ok... are they all idiots? Really....? My Mom thinks I say Really? far to much... lol! Its just that the the idiocy of so many people just baffles me so much that sometimes I am stumped into saying... "Really?"

Is it heredity? Surely to goodness not... My sweet wonderful husband has been unemployed for how long?... Time and time again... This Union stuff is for the birds! But does he really care? It's been over a month... again and yet he is still unemployed. Is he actively seeking employment? Of course not. He likes sitting at home... Now to what I was getting at... My 3 year old who is almost 4 (in January) is STILL not potty trained! I tell you it, IS NOT FOR LACK OF TRYING! When I asked him today if he needed to potty, he just said "It will slow me down"! I kid you not! He wants to use that stupid pull up, he is too freakin' lazy to go to the stinkin' potty! The child is actually sitting right beside me now on his potty chair telling me how he is using the potty! But will he?... hmmm, and now he's hungry. Oh lord, a little man. God help us all!

And on that note, and cause I don't have time to write any more, 'cause apparently he had pooped in his pull up BEFORE he sat on the potty... I now have a mess and need to go... so much for blogging...

*note... I am not calling my son an idiot like it may appear in my opening sentence... that was merely meant for effect... Sorry if it offended or upset anyone! :)

Not much of a post...

2011-03-08T16:04:00.003-06:00

Yeah, it's been a while huh? Guess you could say I've just not been inspired, or I did actually have had plenty to say, but most of it wouldn't have been positive. We moved and I had planned on even starting a whole series on all of the repairs we've been doing or will do on this house... oh well... maybe soon. Bobby's been layed off multiple times, and stayed unemployed for quite a stretch of time. I had another miscarriage in early November. Guess it's not really been the greatest year. (Actually, I believe it's almost been a year since my last blog post!)

I was sitting here the other night showing a friend this blog. I was reading through all of my old posts and just laughed and laughed. I'm so glad that I did this blog, because it was so nice to go back and relive those memories! I'm hoping I'll feel inspired now to keep it up again. Who knows....

Thought I'd leave you with a few silly pictures that were taken this summer...

Not much of a blog post, but it's a start, right?...

A quiche is a quiche no matter what he wants to call it!

2010-04-02T14:52:00.003-05:00

Ok, well... I have a few minutes to myself, so I thought I'd post something on here. I've been Facebooking again quite a bit, I've tried to stay away, but it's sooo hard! Bobby and I are both so addicted it's quite sad actually!

I wanted to share a recipe with you guys that I thought was really really good. Bobby liked it too, and that's really saying something! On the first bite he said, "Wow! I could have this again!" Amazing! What's so amazing about it is that it's a quiche! He has told me over and over since we've been married that he DOES NOT like quiches! "Quiches are girly!" he says... Whatever... so needless to say, I have not made one up until now. When I saw the recipe, I figured he might like it because it's chocked full of veggies... which he loves. He kept calling it "Dead baby chicken pie" what a terrible name! But it made him feel better I suppose. I tried to explain to him that these eggs were not baby chickens, but I guess that that terrible name was much better to him than thinking he was eating a quiche! Men!... It was really funny, every time during dinner that I would explain "this is a quiche" he kept saying... "Don't ruin it for me!" LOL! Ok, so here's the recipe. I got it out of Taste of Home Magazine.

Rainbow quiche

1 1/2 c. chopped fresh broccoli florets (I used more)

1 small onion, chopped

1 c. sliced fresh mushrooms (I used a small can instead and it was still good)

1 each small green, sweet red and orange peppers chopped (I found these at Publix in a little container over in the produce. These are not bell peppers!)

2 Tbsp butter (of course I used more!)

1 cup chopped fresh spinach (I just threw in 2 handfuls of unchopped spinach right out of the bag... it will cook down so I didn't see the need to chop it)

1 c. shredded Mexican cheese blend

6 eggs

1- 3/4 c milk (I used 2%)

1/2 tsp. salt

frozen pie crust 9 in. (I found that you should either buy the deep dish crust or just plan on having 2 quiches if you get the regular frozen pie shells.

In large skillet , saute broccoli, onion, mushrooms and peppers in butter until tender. Stir in spinach. Spoon into pie crust; sprinkle with cheese. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and salt; pour over cheese. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes, or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Let stand 10 min. before cutting. (It took less time for my oven... so keep an eye on it!)

Yes, now I see the editors note at the bottom! Ha! Wish I had seen that before. It does say that it will fill 2 frozen deep-dish pie shells! Oh well... Mine were just regular and not deep dish... one did kind of have an accident in my oven and exploded over, but I think that's cause the pie shell was broken and obviously my oven is leaning to one side!

This is also really good cold the next day!

Cleaning out my closet

2010-03-21T19:12:00.002-05:00

Cleaning out my closet... oh my how I loved that song! Bobby burst out singing it earlier and I haven't been able to get it out of my head! Haha... If you're not an Eminem fan... just disregard that. You either love him or you hate him... Anyway... So yeah, that's what we did today. Well... we're still in the process of it actually! I have the hugest mess you can possibly imagine! I don't even know where we are going to sleep because the bed is so full! I told him I would love some extra shelves in there, because I have sooo many purses and no where to put them. Among other things like belts, hats and keepsakes, that you know... where do you put them?... you just stick them in the closet! So even though we don't have the money to go buy the wood to build shelves, he did it anyway. He told me it would only be about $12 or so, so I told him, "why not... go ahead." I think he might have spent a little more because there is a lot of wood sitting in my living room right now! Luckily I found $33 dollars in a purse that I cleaned out. So, whew! that will cover it! I am such a pack rat! A very sentimental pack rat! I save receipts from certain memorable times in my life. I save all sorts of memorabilia. It made me kind of sad though. I thought that when he was busy building the shelves, I would clean out purses. I found the purse that I had when Bobby and I got married. It had two champagne corks and the piece of candy that they left on our pillow at the bed and breakfast we stayed in on our honeymoon. Yeah, I know, gross... old chocolate candy! But I couldn't just throw it away!!! I found this one pink Louis Vuitton purse (that I borrowed from my friend Cristi... and never gave back :) that I had been carrying in '04. It had a note my mother had written me, right after my grandmother passed away, the lawyers business card that my ex husband and I used for our divorce, an obgyn appointment paper that I had when I was having such trouble and found out I had endometriosis, a silly little instruction booklet that I had to a toy I bought, and had taken to the bar where I worked... It was this little pet like thing that was in a water bubble... you would press the buttons to pet him or feed him, and he would jump around, dance and make such cute noises! I remember taking him to work with me 'cause I would get so lonely! Lol! I also found a key chain that had my ex husbands initials engraved on it. He gave that to me when we were dating and I had carried it for many years! I had totally forgotten about it. Man! that one purse was full of SO many memories! I just sat in the floor and cried! That purse had been carried at a really bad time in my life. I just put all of the stuff back in it and decided maybe I won't clean out any more purses tonight! Dinner's almost ready anyway. Irish Beef Stew, a late celebration of St. Patricks Day.

I just went in the bedroom to check on Bobby, and he has taken everything out of the closet! EVERYTHING! Even down to the rods that the clothes were hanging on. It is all sitting on my bed! He's sawing sheetrock....Oh lord... so he can find a stud! Have mercy on us all! I have a feeling I'm going to be up all night!

Pine cone bird feeders

2010-03-20T13:32:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks ago when we went fishing at Oak Mountain... Bobby found some really big pine cones and loaded them up in the van, thinking we would find some use for them. Well, he came up with the idea to make peanut butter pine cone birdfeeders. I remember doing this when I was in elementary school and we hung it outside of our classroom window. Well, yesterday was the perfect day to do it! It was so beautiful outside! I'm sure no one needs a tutorial on how to make these, but I'll give you the step by step run down anyway...

First make sure you have: Pine cones, peanut butter, birdseed (we used sunflower seed), spatulas or good child safe spreaders and a big ole smile on your face!Spread the peanut butter all over your pine cone... glopping on the peanut butter will work just fine!
We used our little red wagon to put all of the bird seed in, and just rolled the pine cones around in it!
After a lot of laughing, giggling, throwing of birdseed in the yard, and licking of the peanut butter... there you have it... Viola! a pine cone bird feeder!

Watch out it can be VERY VERY MESSY!

I was pretty disappointed when the birds didn't come and gobble it all up, maybe they will today. I haven't been out there to check on them today, but I have a feeling the squirrels will be enjoying them too!

A little "I love you" can go a long way...

2010-03-16T18:27:00.003-05:00

The other day, Tad was very grumpy... he's grumpy quite often, but I am so glad when Lexie is here and she will go in there to play with him. Sometimes I think it just gets to be a bit much for her, but usually she doesn't mind at all since he has a tv in his room and she can watch some of her shows while she's in there with him. Well... I've been considering STRONGLY having our cable turned off. I told her this, and let her know that while she is in there playing with him to just leave his baby movie on, because she needs to get used to not watching tv. I don't have a problem with PBS, but the rest of the crap that comes on television we can most certainly live without! Anyway, I could go on a total rant about my views on television and how it is just straight from Satan himself but, that was not the point of this blog post. (I'll save that for another day :) Ok, well... I had asked her several times to go in there with Tad so that I wouldn't have to hear him scream, told her to take her book in there and just keep him company. Bless her heart she didn't complain at all. She had been in there with him for the majority of the day and she finally comes out asking me if she can go play in her room for a while. My first initial response was "Oh Please go back in there" "Ok" she said again without complaining.... "What did you want to do in your room?" ...considering she NEVER EVER plays in her room. She doesn't really play that much anymore... She said, "To play with my Littlest Pet Shop for a while" Then I felt sooo bad and of course said ok... go play. She shoots out of the living room so fast you wouldn't believe it! Then I had one of those Mom moments where you realize that your kids are totally awesome... you know all of those times you think on all of the negative things about them and wish they would be like you "really" want them to be... Well I realized this about Lexie in this brief fleeting moment from the time she went from the living room to the hallway. I take for granted sometimes how truly good of a kid she really is. I screamed out "Lexie!" ... "Ma'am?" she calls from the hallway "Lexie!!!" ... "Ma'am" she says as she is coming back into the living room, undoubtedly thinking she is in trouble for something... "I love you" I say... Boy oh boy did she light up! You have no IDEA the difference in this child at this moment! (Please don't think that I don't tell my child I love her on a regular basis.... believe me I do) But at this moment when I said those 3 little words she instantly smiled and said "Oh, Mom... is there anything I can get you?... do you need some more green tea? Would you like anything at all? Just let me know if there is anything... anything! I love you!" Wow! that was nice. I let her know that I was good but I would call her if I needed her... she went on and on telling me that I would know where she was and, to be SURE and call her when I needed something.... About 2 minutes later she comes back into the living room and pulls off my socks. She had lotion in her hands and proceeded to give me a wonderful footrub!!! Nice huh? She was a total angel for the rest of the night! Bless her sweet heart...

So yeah, sometimes just saying those three little words to someone... at that right moment, can really mean the world to someone and make their day...

Wabi Sabi baby!

2010-03-15T13:59:00.004-05:00

Wabi-sabi (侘寂^?) represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience. The phrase comes from the two words wabi and sabi. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete"

Wabi Sabi... not to be confused with wasabi (that really hot green stuff at sushi restaurants)

Ok, so it is basically finding beauty in the imperfect. (That's my simple definition) I was reading an article this morning in Womans Day Magazine on wabi sabi and I had a small little light bulb moment on the toilet. Sometimes, that's just where you have your best ones... you know?...Anyway, moving on... I recently turned 30 and have not been too happy about it. I cried for weeks I tell ya! Weeks! I didn't want to leave my 20's. I kept thinking once I hit 30 I would officially be an adult! A real grown up... you know? Why that really bothered me I'm not sure. I pretty much became an adult at 17 when I got married. (In the responsibility sense of it... CERTAINLY not mentally) So you'd have thought it wouldn't have bothered me so badly. Yes, I know... "30 is the new 20" "Women are more sure of themselves in their 30's" "A woman's sex drive is on fire in her 30's" "The people on Friends were in their 30's" Oh phoey! whatever! Yeah, it still bugged me... still is bugging me. I hate when I look in the mirror and see those lines forming on my face that just won't go away anymore. Things changing and moving on my body. My butt is starting to sag. I have a flat butt! How in the world can it sag? But yes, oh yes... somehow it happened! We won't even go into the boobs! (That has a lot to do with breastfeeding 2 kids though) So yeah, I've decided that I'm going to try.... TRY is the key word here mind you. Try to start looking at myself with a Wabi Sabi perspective. Finding beauty in my imperfections! Not just on the outside either! Boy it's going to be hard, but I can do it...

I'm also going to look around my house, and my life and think of things in this Wabi Sabi way.

Sure my house is small, but it's cozy.

I don't live in a great neighborhood, but I'm close to every grocery store, drug store and fastfood chain imaginable! (within 5 minutes!) and I have several really nice neighbors!

My yard looks like crap right now, but the daffodils are blooming!

Every wall and piece of trim in my house needs repainting, but that just gives it character! (yeah right)

My van wants to die out on me every time I stop at a red light or stop sign and the left rear tire keeps losing air, but I can appreciate the fact that it still gets me where I need to go!

My dog keeps using the bathroom in the floor, but I can appreciate the fact that he is sweet, lovable and great with both of the kids!

The carpet is stained, but... I love that dang dog...

My husband has been unemployed for over two months now, but I can appreciate the fact that we have gotten to spend LOTS of quality time together and he will hopefully get some things done around here that need to be done :) Appreciate that we still have our house, our utilities are still on (for now anyway) and that we were approved for food stamps and we won't have to worry about groceries! Praise God!

I may have worry lines on my face, some laugh lines too... :) I might not be able to fit into the jeans that I wore when I was 23, my body is lumpy and bumpy in places that I would rather them be smooth, but I'm still beautiful! At least I know my kids think I am, and that's pretty special...

So remember! Just tell yourself, as I will tell myself "I can do it! 'cause I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me..." (little quote from Daily Affirmations by Stuart Smalley for ya, in case you thought I was going a little overboard there) haha

Wabi Sabi baby!

here I am again with nothing to say...

2010-03-12T20:51:00.005-06:00

Well... As you have probably noticed, I haven't really been blogging that much lately. I have pondered and pondered on what to blog about! You guys have no idea how this has been stumping me! I think about posting a blog and then I know all I'm gonna do is talk about how Bobby doesn't have a job and how broke we are. TWO MONTHS AND NO FRIGGIN JOB!!! So yeah, it would be a lot of complaining and I figured that would just turn you guys off anyway. I've thought about changing this blog to a different style of blog.... I was looking online the other day and found several fabulous blogs about middle aged females and their sex lives! (yes, yes I know! ...gasp, gasp!!! but seriously guys they were pretty interesting... ) So yeah I thought about doing something like that, then I laughed hysterically! Probably not the best idea... I really doubt the hubby would approve of me giving out the intimate details of our personal life! Plus I wouldn't want to scare off the followers that I currently have (I love u guys! ) I've thought of all sorts of ideas... that one was my best idea, but yeah not gonna happen unless I go under an anonymous name and totally different blog! LOL! Oh goodness... anyways... So yeah, sorry guys for not posting more. I'm just at a total loss here. I know that all I have to say is pretty sad, so until things get better, or I just get inspired...

Jobless... broke and some Vampire Wars

2010-01-21T18:57:00.003-06:00

Stupid people and stupidity always really get to me you know... ok well, lets move on from that topic and let me tell you alittle about what's been going on! Bobby lost his job last Tuesday! My dryer broke, but thankfully $38 and some change later it's fixed! Of course $38 that we REALLY did not need to spend! We have been eating Ramen noodles for the last week and one night consisted of saltines and mayonaise... but I'll be danged if I have to go with out a dryer. I have a small clothes line in my laundry room that I had to hang my clothes on. Let me just tell you that socks dried on a clothes line are just scratchy and stiff... and it sucks! (sorry) Anyway... Bobby was going to take a truck load of stuff to the dump yesterday... and guess what... he comes home 5 minutes later... I'm like what in the world, "what's wrong?" Yeah well... his brakes decided to go out! How freakin' great is that... The mortgage company keeps sending us letters about foreclosure and I am just totally freaking out!!!

Sorry guys, just thought I would share all of the crap that has been going on in my life... Thank the Lord for Facebook and their games... it has kept me sane for the past week or so! I am horribly addicted to Farmville and Vampire Wars... isn't that sad? I know it is... but you know... when I sit here and play them... I don't think about all of the other things that are going on in my life... I guess it just helps me deal and not have the nervous breakdown that I am so close to having!

Being a parent... advice welcome!

2010-01-11T13:01:00.005-06:00

You know I was thinking last night... and maybe some of you other moms can help me out with this one. Do you ever feel like you spend more time fussing at your children or correcting them all the time that they are going to start resenting you... or they won't love you as much? Maybe I just feel more that way because my daughter is here only half of the time? I always have these good intentions of spending some good 'ole quality time together, but it seems like I am constantly having to correct her, ground her, yell at her... So I feel like I spend more time being upset than I do being that "loving mom" that I want to be. Also, I have a tendency to let her get away with a lot because of the fact that she's here only half of the week and I want her to want to come back! Does that make sense? I don't know why she always has such an attitude with me... She's only 9 for goodness sake! Isn't that supposed to come later... like early teens!!! I don't know, maybe I've just screwed up somewhere along the line, or maybe I should blame it on Hannah Montana... hmmm... yeah, that's it... I would absolutely love to pull all of the tv's out of my house, but I doubt it would do any good. She's going to watch it when she's not here, so yeah, that's just another thing that would make me the bad guy... I don't know. Anyway, if anyone has any great parenting advice for me I'd love to hear it.
Here's a picture of her new hair cut... I think it's so cute... Of course though she thinks she knows exactly how she is supposed to fix it, how to blow dry it... style it. All without any of my advice, because of course Mom has NO idea how to fix it! Grrrr..... Yes, yes she just knows it all, my sweet little smarty pants!!!

I'll be back... I promise...

2010-01-04T23:33:00.002-06:00

I'm sorry I've kind of disappeared out of the blog world here lately.... I will be back soon I promise! Thanks Jennifer and Cindy for wondering about me! Did my heart good to see your comments tonight! I've been thinking about all you guys, and feel bad for not keeping up with everyone's blogs like I used to :(

I'll be back soon! Hopefully I'll get some sort of update blog put up this week. It's a new year and I hope to do better on my blog postings... I have seriously been slacking the past few months!

Happy New Year to everyone and I hope all you guys had a wonderful Christmas!

My first Black Friday

2009-11-27T19:02:00.004-06:00

Ok... so I started out the day without hardly any sleep... This was my first real Black Friday and I guess I was just too excited to sleep! Mom says I went to Walmart with her YEARS ago, but I have no recollection of it whatsoever! Anyway... got up at 4 and headed out to Target, and oh, my goodness was there a line outside! I thought for sure we would be one of the first 250 to get the free tote bag, but nope! We just missed it. It was freezing outside!!! Mom and I stood there in line at 4:45 huddled up together waiting in line to get my Bissell Steam Mop for $49! Yes I was very excited, it being half off and all! Apparently everyone was in line for the tv's so my mad dash to the vacuum cleaner section was pretty much a big waste of energy! I'm telling you, I have been wanting one of those steam mops for so long, and doubting that I would ever be able to justify spending the $100 that they cost, so when I saw they were on sale... yeah, well.... I had to be there at opening, cause I just figured that everyone else in the local area was heading there to get my mop! Got it... headed to KMart, because I "thought" they were supposed to have kids pj's for 3.99. Yeah, I was wrong, so that was a waste of time... It was actually Wal-Mart that had them for $3. Went to the mall because Sears was supposed to have contact lenses for 1/2 price... Got there and found out you HAVE TO BUY 4 BOXES, then you get 4 free. Yeah, the total was going to be over $170!!! So, yeah... forget that! Headed to Belk because they had some really cute boots for $19, and OF COURSE they were out and it wasn't even 7 am yet!!! At this point we were starting to get pretty tired and decided to head back towards home. We thought we would stop off at Ross in McCalla and yeah, they didn't open until 9:30! Who does that on Black Friday!!! Ok, whatever... so then we went to Walmart and OF COURSE they were out of the right size pj's! Well, I got some Iron Bowl game food... wings, cheese sticks... you know.(Roll Tide baby!!!) Then we headed on home. Oh, and my Bissell Steam mop, I guess the heat from it was just too much for my floor because the floor tile started peeling up! Great... just great! Guess I'm going to keep some super glue handy for whenever I use it!

I guess all in all we had fun, but if it weren't for Mom, I would never, ever want to do it again. There were WAY too many people (rude people) and it was just way too early! At least we made us a good memory and who knows... maybe we'll do it again next year.

Our Story

2009-11-18T10:46:00.007-06:00

Well, this time 4 years ago I was getting ready to marry my wonderful husband. Our anniversary is tomorrow. We planned the wedding in about two weeks and dated for only about two weeks. Crazy huh? Who'd have thought... I knew him already from being a customer where I used to bartend. Yeah, we met in a bar... Crazy too, I know... We started dating about a week before Halloween 2005, had a few dates that first week. Then he took me to Gatlinburg the next weekend and that's where we fell in love. One of his

friends had been joking about us getting married

in one of those chapels up there, and it kind of became a joke when we would pass by one. Well, once we got home, he heard me on the phone laughing about it to one of my friends. He asked me later, "Well... what's so funny about marrying me." I said "Well, ...nothing" and we pretty much said "Lets do it!" Yeah, real romantic proposal! I'm still waiting for a proper one... :) Maybe one day... (sigh)... Anyway, we started planning the wedding. We decided to get married in a little chapel in Mentone, Alabama... called... yep, The Mentone Wedding Chapel.

Isn't it just the cutest little place! I bought a dress... he bought a suit, and we had the most perfect wedding you could ever imagine. Just the two of us. He actually walked me down the aisle because I thought I might faint or something. It was one of the most wonderful moments of my life when I walked inside the chapel and saw him standing there waiting on me. He looked me in the eyes the whole time during his vows, an

d I could see the sincerity and the love in his eyes. We played "God Blessed the Broken Road" by Rascall Flatts while we lit the unity candle. I'm just getting all teary eyed thinking about it. When we left, it was just beginning to snow outside. It was so beautiful, and such a wonderful day. I wish I could go back and do it again, and I wouldn't change a thing!

Here we are walking down the aisle... you can see that nervous smile on my face...

Happy Anniversary Bobby! I love you more than you'll ever know!

Hubby got layed off... again

2009-11-06T12:15:00.002-06:00

Well, it's been a whole week since Bobby lost his job... I'm starting to get nervous again. Union jobs really offer better benefits and the pay is better, but the laying off part really stinks! Keep us in your prayers please...

Here are a few pictures from Halloween... I'll write more about it later maybe, I just don't even really feel like blogging right now. :(

Pumpkin seeds

2009-10-26T14:14:00.003-05:00

I'm so exhausted... going on maybe 2 1/2 hours of sleep. For some reason I can't seem to sleep well here lately. Anyway, the house is a total disaster and I have no idea why in the world I am sitting here blogging about basically nothing. I do have pumpkin seeds in the oven though. Hopefully they will turn out good. I've always just thrown out my pumpkin seeds after carving a pumpkin (which Lexie and Bobby did last night... I sat here and watched.) So this time, I decided since pumpkin seeds are supposed to be healthy... I'd try my hand at roasting some... or toasting... whatever you want to call it.

Ok, just taste tested a few, and they're pretty good. I boiled them in salty water first before putting them in the oven. They aren't quite as crunchy as I would like, so I'll keep them in there alittle longer... Hopefully I won't burn them! If they turn out really great I'll be sure to post the really simple recipe for you.

Note to self... make sure new leggings are NOT see through!

2009-10-21T16:11:00.004-05:00

Ok, so if you remember from my previous post. I was loving my new leggings. I felt good, had on some jewelry, my hair looked good, make-up just right... getting ready for my trip to Walmart. (Yeah, sad... I know) Anyway, the trip got delayed several hours, because of a baby puke accident in the van where I had to remove the car seat, wash the cover, wait for it to dry... Ok, back to the story... I finally make it to the store, and in the bright lights of Walmart I realize my leggings are sort of see through! Oh goodness! My shirt was long, but not quite long enough to cover my bum when I bent over. So, I just kept telling myself "Don't bend over." Well, sometimes that's not so easy when you're grocery shopping. Confidence I kept telling myself... just be confident. Pretend you meant to wear see through pants to Walmart... Yeah and well, the bending over thing was sooo not as easy as I thought it would be! Especially when you have to stick things in the bottom of the buggy... like bottled water, or when you have to load things in the car... So yeah, needless to say I was pretty embarrassed! I'm not quite ready to give up on the leggings yet, but I know I will make sure I have a MUCH longer shirt on or I will be more careful next time and buy ones that aren't see through!!!

I swore I'd never wear leggings again...

2009-10-15T13:33:00.004-05:00

So, how do you feel about leggings? Apparently they have made a comeback... I remember wearing these in the early '90's. Oh, my goodness! I saw these were back and about had a fit. I swore I would never ever wear leggings again... much less the kind with lace at the bottom! And would definitely not wear a big huge wide belt... they also seem to be back as well. I remember my mom always wore those big wide elastic belts with the pretty buckles... like a butterfly or something like that. I even used to pull them out of her belt drawer and wear them sometimes... I thought they were so cool. But now! "Nope not me" I've been saying... So guess what i'm wearing right now?... Yep, leggings... (gasp) I know, I know... I just couldn't help myself the other day. I found this super cute top, it was long and had a big wide belt... LOL! and I fell in love with it! I didnt buy it, but after thinking about it for about a week, went back to get it. Of course they didn't have it anymore... Well, they did, but the belt was missing. So what did I do? I bought 2 pair of leggings. One pair with lace at the bottom!!! I bought two long tops and WOW are they comfortable! It's like you're not even wearing pants! I think I'm addicted now! And I even think I look pretty darn cute!

Our weekend with the crud

2009-10-12T08:18:00.003-05:00

The kids and I had the crud this weekend. I honestly thought we were getting the swine flu because the symptoms were the same, but thankfully it wasn't. No high fevers and we all seem better. Bobby of course started getting it last night. I half way expect him to come home early from work today... I don't know how he'll be able to stand it staying, because this stuff is just yucky! We missed church, which is terrible because I'm really trying to get back into the habit of going again! We also managed to get all of the Halloween/Fall decorations out of the attic. (mainly because of Lexie's begging and pleading ALL DAY long) I dreaded it so bad, but once we got it all out I pepped up, because I had new stuff I bought on clearance at Target last year. It was like opening up new presents! I just love Halloween decorations! You'd think after all these years of Halloween Target clearance shopping I'd have enough decorations by now, but I don't think I'll ever have enough! Also what's really bad is that I can't put any of them in the living room (now Tad's playroom!) I usually would put my pretty pumpkins and candles on the coffee table, but we had to take the coffee table out. He kept climbing on it and jumping off! I have now almost removed all furniture from the living room... Next will probably have to be the couches! He climbs up and stands on the back of them and sometimes he jumps off them as well... I'm so scared he's going to get hurt. So yeah, no decorations in there... :( it makes me sad... so sad...

monkeys, dogs... and pics of my new hair cut!

2009-10-06T12:14:00.004-05:00

Lets start out with a picture from our night at the Alabama State Fair. Here is Lexie holding Bobo the monkey... How cute! This was the smartest little monkey! They were selling photo's of the monkey for a dollar and he would take the money from the people... go put it in the money bucket and then take the picture back to them! I was so impressed! I could so use one of those little guys around here... Just think of all the housework he could help me with! (as long as he wasn't flinging poo... which I've heard they have been known to do!) They also had him and another monkey riding dogs! Yes, riding dogs! It was called the Banana Derby! That was the best part of the fair in my opinion. Who wouldn't love to see a monkey riding a dog?!

Ok, so... Tad and I are not being the most photogenic in these photos. I take terrible pictures most of the time, but these are the best ones I've got of me with the new hair cut. I think I'm going to go shorter next time.... I like it this way, but since I rarely get out to get my hair done, I'm figuring that if I get it shorter, it will take longer to grow out... thus solving that problem, and the problem of the dreaded flip that I keep getting when I wake up in the morning! Maybe, if it's shorter... it won't flip?

And finally... I will leave you with a video of the monkeys riding dogs! (sorry I couldn't seem to get it centered on the page) You can hear me and Lexie cheering on Bobo!

I'm going shopping!!!

2009-10-01T08:39:00.004-05:00

I'm so excited... I'm going shopping today! It's been forever, and I mean seriously forever since I've been out actually shopping! (other than Walmart, Publix or the Thrift Store) We're going to the mall! My friend Jasmin and I have planned a day out at Starbucks this morning, some shopping and then lunch! I've been so excited since we planned this yesterday and of course I wanted Tad to get a good night's rest so he'd be in a "happy" mood today. He's never really happy when we go out somewhere... So of course he wouldn't go to sleep until after midnight last night for some reason, and then decided to wake up at 4am crying and wouldn't go back to sleep. He is now resting peacfully on the living room floor! I have a feeling he's not going to be in a "happy" mood today! Wish me luck...

Update:

All went well... he was fussy at times, especially while in the dressing rooms. But all in all he did ok considering not having much sleep! I had a great time and bought a new bra... The bra I have been wearing, I bought about 7 or 8 years ago... so yeah it was time! Actually, after I picked Lexie up from school.. I was really brave, and went back out shopping! Bought new jeans and a shirt at Ross. I love that store!!! I also got a new hairdryer to hopefully help me style my new hair do a little better... It's not going to be as easy to manage as I thought. I guess shorter is not always easier! The back keeps flipping up no matter how many times I flat iron it! I'm thinking about getting it all chopped off now!

Bloggers block...

2009-09-25T12:37:00.003-05:00

Yeah, I think I have it... Bloggers block, as well as crafter's block. I have been thinking for days now of a good blog post, and can not come up with anything. As far as the crafter's block... I just don't feel inspired anymore. I don't know why I don't want to go in there and make anything. You'd think especially since things actually started selling in the Etsy shop here lately, that would spur me on... But no... I've got to get my butt in gear! I've been so busy cleaning house. (I started Flylady.com) and I have been so absorbed in that, that I don't even want to think about making something. Hopefully inspiration will come to me soon!!! My little Esty shop is starting to get bare! As far as the Bloggers block. I've had several good recipes that I would have shared, but do people really want to read recipes?... My mom says no. She told me yesterday that I needed to get back to blogging because I was going to lose all my followers. That they were going to forget about me... Don't leave me guys! I'll get back with it soon!

The Hawaiian dolls on the cake!

2009-09-19T11:53:00.005-05:00

Here's my little Hawaiian dolls... well not mine, but you know what I mean. The super sweet lady I made these for was so thoughtful to send me a picture of them on the cake. Aren't they cute? It just made my day when she sent this to me!

Just thought I'd share my excitement with you!

she will eat it... dangit!!!

2009-09-17T22:36:00.004-05:00

Breakfast casserole

4-1/2 baking potatoes
3/4 pound ground pork sausage
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons butter
3/4 onion, sliced
1-1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
9 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
1 seeded jalapeno pepper
1 chopped tomato

Tears... thats what I'm getting right now... as I sit here and type this! Tears! This meal is NOT HOT! She says the red things (tomatoes) are hot! I'm telling you guys... It IS NOT HOT! I was so careful to remove all of the seeds from the pepper. This is not a spicy meal! It is 10:40 and I am about at my wits end with this child. I even smothered it in sour cream for her!!! I am about to lose it. She is crying and dangit... she will eat this food. I worked for I don't know how long on this meal while she sat there and sneaked herself goldfish and vanilla wafers! I will sit here at this table until her plate is empty!!! Mark my words! ..... grrrrrrrr

~EDIT
* After several hours of thinking about this post and how bad it made me look... I though about coming in here and deleting it... but you guys, seriously... It was bad... I was ticked off and the computer was sitting right here at the kitchen table. What was I to do? I of course had to blog about it! I suppose it was one of my bad Mommy moments. I hope you don't think badly of me for it. I guess I just had to vent. (It really was bad... I promise it was!)

My little lady... HA!

2009-09-17T16:34:00.003-05:00

You've got to love my precious daughter, who after I had to roll down the window and angrily look in the back seat asking, "Ok! Who did that?" ...thought she was so funny... first there was a very proud "I did!" ... a giggle, then "Beans, Beans... good for your heart, the more you eat them, the more you fart." (repeated over and over) How lovely is that! What a little lady I have...

Spider???

2009-09-14T10:10:00.002-05:00

Just look at this creepy thing that was waiting for me underneath the handle on my trash can this morning! I'm sooo glad I checked before I grabbed it to pull it to the road! I looked and noticed something moving and then I saw this guy. What is it? I think it's some sort of spider? Isn't he scary looking? Oh my goodness... I was terrified! It took me probably 15 minutes to get the can to the road! I didn't want to knock him off. I guess I was scared he would jump at me or something. I didn't really want to kill him. He seemed so intently busy working on this weird looking blob of green fuzz he's sitting on here. So yeah, I grabbed one of Bobby's work gloves. I could only find one, so I one handed the trash can, that is overly full, and walked backwards to the road keeping my eye on this little guy stopping every few seconds to make sure he wasn't crawling up my arm. I believe I would have had a heart attack right then and there if he did that! Ewwwww!!! If you recognize this little creature I would love to know what he is...

(Pay no attention to my dirty trash can please)

Fisherman's Pie

2009-09-13T23:41:00.003-05:00

Ok, so here's the recipe for the fisherman's pie I made the other night that ended up in the trash because "someone" left it in the microwave over night... This recipe was good but it needs some tweaking!

Fisherman's Pie

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 cup heavy cream or single cream

3 pounds potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 (8 ounce) package Cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 (6 ounce) fillets cod or other white fish fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon hot chili powder

3 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Place potatoes into a pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and mash with milk and butter until smooth.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry onion and carrots in the oil until starting to soften. Season with salt, pepper and chili powder. Stir in the cream and parsley, and remove from the heat.
Place fish in an even layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Pour the cream and vegetable mixture over the fish, then cover with a layer of mashed potatoes. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the top.
Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until piping hot throughout.

Ok, first of all... I suggest you use more carrot. One is definitely not enough! The one carrot just kind of dissappeared! Also when I make this again I will probably throw in some other vegetable as well... maybe broccoli? or peas? not sure yet. I used half and half. That worked just fine. I did not use hot chili powder because I just had regular and I might suggest that you use a little more than the 1/4 tsp. that is calls for. Also it could use more fish. I used 3 peices of whiting fish and next time I will use 4 or 5. The mashed potatoes... I threw in a little sour cream and more butter... also a little more milk than what it called for. I found that they were quite dry when made as directed.

I thought this turned out pretty well other than the fact that it needed more stuff... You might think it's horribly gross, please don't blame me if you make it and think it's nasty! I got it from Allrecipes.com I absolutely love that web site! I use it all the time!

No leftovers for me today

2009-09-09T09:58:00.004-05:00

I worked so hard last night on dinner... I made a fisherman's pie. Not that it's the hardest recipe to make or anything but it just seemed to wear me out for some reason. Chopping onion, carrot... peeling potatoes. You make homemade mashed potatoes to go on top, which is something I rarely do. I usually just make instant. Cut up raw peices of fish into inch size bites... stripped off the skin... yuck...yuck...yuck. Made mexican cornbread to go with it. There was plenty left over, more than half of the meal... It was pretty big, enough to feed six. I was so looking forward to having it for lunch today. While cleaning the kitchen, Bobby actually helped me last night! But he said it was too hot to put in the fridge so he just put it in the microwave. Well, guess what!? I woke up this morning... popped open the microwave and there it was, my beautiful fisherman's pie... I immediately ran to the internet to do a search hoping that cooked fish was safe to eat after leaving out for over 12 hours (knowing better, but really hoping!) Well, yeah... it's not safe apparently. Grrrrr.... So sad... I'm so sad...

On a more cheerful note. I sold two items from my Etsy shop over the weekend. Yay!!!

My two heroes

2009-09-01T11:28:00.004-05:00

I should have posted an update on my parents the other day, but just haven't gotten around to it. The night of the electrical fire, Bobby went over there and worked on it all night. He got home around 4:30 am! He got their power back up and running!!! I'm so proud of him and proud of my daddy for saving the house in the first place! If he hadn't have been so calm and handled the situation the way he did, there's no telling what would have happened. If it had been me in his shoes, I probably would have just grabbed the kids and whatever I could on the way out the door, while screaming like a banshee! So yeah, I'm pretty proud of him! I know what he did wasn't easy. There was so much smoke in that little laundry room when he went in, and he actually managed to get that hot metal cover off and save the house. Good job Daddy! And Bobby of course is a hero in my parents eyes now too. That's always good when your parents like your hubby even more than they did in the first place. Thank the Lord it didn't end up being as expensive as we thought it would be as well. So yeah, it all turned out pretty good thanks to my two heroes that saved the day!

My exciting morning

2009-08-29T13:19:00.003-05:00

I am sitting here eating some Easy Cheese on tortilla chips resting from my busy morning... Yeah, I know, so healthy... Anyway I borrowed Bobby's truck today, he took the van to work, so I could help my parents move some furniture. Ok, Bobby's truck is just plain scary. I've never driven it before because I haven't wanted to. I've heard the horror stories he has told me about it, like sometimes it won't go into reverse or it will get stuck in reverse and you can't get it to go forward. You have to crawl under there and mess with the shift linkage... or something like that, which he has never informed me how to do. The muffler fell off yesterday, so yeah... I was really dreading driving it today! The carseat went with the van so mom had to come pick up Tad. We drive up to her house, thankfully the truck worked just fine, and as I step out and onto the carport, my dad comes running out of the house yelling "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" He throws something on the ground in front of me, then runs back into the house. What in the world I think... I look down and realize it's a blackened cover to the electrical box. I look in the house, smoke is everywhere and you can smell that horrible electrical fire smell! Mom comes up the driveway, Tad in her arms asking, what's wrong? I calmly tell her that I believe the electrical box has caught on fire and her house might be on fire as well. She handled it really well... I was proud of her. Fortunately the fire didn't really spread, Daddy caught it in time but her laundry room shelf got burned and the electrical box is just totally destroyed. Who knows how long they will have to be without power. The fire department came, so Tad got to enjoy seeing the big truck, and I got to enjoy looking at some firemen... :) We had to stay outside forever! I wasn't about to take Tad in the house with all the fumes. I kept trying to leave but Daddy wouldn't let me... He still wanted to move the furniture!!! We made two trips in the scary truck... it did fine except for not wanting to start once. As soon as we got there it started raining. Luckily we were under the carport and didn't get wet. Now, I'm just chilling out here waiting to go pick up Lexie from her Dad... wondering what Mom and Dad are going to do. I offered for them to come stay here, but Mom said they would be fine. They have a generator to keep the refrigerator running, so that's good, but it's going to be rough for them the next few days. The fire department said it looked like some very extensive damage. It even blew the transformer up on the pole outside! They are pretty stressed out and upset so please keep them in your prayers!

Bobby got a job!!!

2009-08-28T12:08:00.003-05:00

I should have posted this earlier, but Bobby got a job on Wednesday! He went in to the union hall and was able to get the job he wanted! When he left out that morning he was very excited hoping to get this job that was close to home... Well when he arrived home Wendsday night at around 6:20... he wasn't so excited anymore. He got it, but he hates it! He was in a terrible mood! I was so dissapointed for him. It is not as close to the house as he originally thought. It's close to 45 minutes away! And it's working 6 days a week, 10 hours a day! Don't get me wrong, of course he's excited about the extra money, but I know he hates having to give up his Saturdays! I hate it too! The kids and I are going to really miss him. They have such crazy rules at this place... he's not even allowed to bring his own tools home with him. He has to leave them there at work. They even make him remove his hard hat before he leaves, to make sure he hasn't stuck something under it, and they inspect his lunch box too! They obviously have a bad problem with stealing! How crazy is that! Anyway, as long as he can stick it out... which I know he can, we'll be making a lot more money each paycheck. That's wonderful! The only problem is that this job will be over probably in October or late September... So, we'll be back to the whole out of work thing again!

Thank you everyone for your prayers! It meant so much to me!!!

Good weekend

2009-08-23T22:02:00.005-05:00

Well, we have had a pretty productive weekend... I've been trying to keep my mind off of the possible impending doom, all of the horrible things that could happen if he doesn't find work soon. And I mean soon! Ok... so he got a window for the van finally. Yes, we shouldn't have spent the money right now, but he found one for $19, so we couldn't really pass that up! It's been busted out for as long as I can remember now, and I've been riding around with plastic and duct tape for way too long! Getting a window was going to be $500, so we had been putting it off. Thank God we found one for so cheap. I can't tell you how good I will feel driving up to her school tomorrow with a real window instead of the duct tape flapping all around, sitting there in the carpool line. I've been pretty embarrassed about it lately. It was fine over the summer... I didn't mind so much, but actually having to go to the school like that, was just too much, especially when the tape wasn't sticking and it was flapping all around and I was terrified it was going to fly off on the interstate and cause someone to wreck. Yeah, it was kind of nervewracking! Plus I was embarrassed for Lexie to have to drive up to school like that. I know when I was a kid, that would have just killed me. I remember my Mom's car used to backfire all of the time, and it was so embarrassing when it would happen right there in line and everyone would hear it! I would stand there and cringe when she would pull up, hoping that it wouldn't go off! Gosh, I always hated that, and I don't want Lexie to feel the same way about my car... So, yeah, got that done... and we've been working on getting the patio finally finished that we started months ago! That took us all day, but thank goodness the weather was nice. I actually enjoyed being outside for a change! We grilled turkey burgers, I made Asian slaw, and it's just been a really good night! Of course I'm dreading the upcoming week, but thankfully I was able to keep my mind off of all the yucky stuff today. So, as Scarlett O'hara would say... "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow. "

Oh Lord... Bobby lost his job...

2009-08-21T15:53:00.002-05:00

The scene starts as I am changing a poopy diaper... I hear a loud rumbling outside and say to myself... No, no that can't be Bobby's truck! It's only 1:30! ...Finish up the dirty job, and head to the bathroom window. CRAP! (no pun intended) I see his truck! ... go unlock the door and proceed to put clothes back on my antsy, wanting to run around toddler who does not want clothes on. Be cool, I tell myself. Don't freak out... just be calm. He walks in and all I could say was "No... you're not really here. I don't see you! You Are Not Here! ... "Yep" he says, "They layed me off" Ok guys, I have tried so hard to remain calm. I am trying so hard to not freak out. He's in a bad mood, one of his REALLY quiet moods, and that just makes it worse! I did really good driving to the bus stop. I cried, but not so much, that tears actually ran down my face. I'm trying to hold it together. I'm holding on to hope that Monday when he goes to the Union Hall they will have a job for him, but apparently he is #87 on the list to be hired, so who knows how long that could be. I hate to say it... but I'm gonna do it anyway... I hate this Union Crap! They're just a bunch of...... Ok, nevermind! I'll just say, even though he didn't want to go Union in the first place, the pay was better and benefits are payed for, so we really had no choice financially. I won't even get into all of that... it doesn't matter anyway! I am so scared because I know that jobs are so hard to get nowadays, his brother has been out of work for months! They are in the same field... they are electricians. Even though his brother is not in the Union, it still just goes to show that there is not that much work out there. Freakin' economy!

Ok, guys... please pray that he will find work soon. That Monday at the Union hall, all of the guys number 1-86 won't show up and he will get a job!

Our Fanciful Creations on Etsy Minimakers Blog

2009-08-20T14:07:00.002-05:00

I did a blog post on Etsy Minimakers Team Blog about my newest fairy house... come check it out!

http://etsyminimakers.blogspot.com/

Tad said Mama!... finally

2009-08-19T10:53:00.005-05:00

Well, Tad is finally saying Mama! He's been calling me "Baba" for quite some time now. He'd pat me on the chest... or where ever and say Baba. The other night we were all over at my mom and dads. I was outside on the almost-to-be-soon finished deck they are building and he was blowing me kisses through the window. Mom starts smiling and yelling... "He said it! He said Mama"! I was so excited, but I missed it! I didn't get to hear it 'cause I was outside, dangit! I of course went running in and he said it again! Yay! He's doing pretty good about saying it now, only every once in a while does he revert back to "Baba." You have no idea how good it did my heart to hear my little baby say Mama!

He's playing peek a boo... He loves that game.

Just a blog post...

2009-08-16T20:14:00.008-05:00

Ok, so I'm still working on the pea pod necklaces... Taking pictures is gruelsome! I feel like I have been doing it all day, and I still can't seem to get it right. I went ahead and listed the little pink and blue one. I know none of you voted on that one, but it was my favorite... so... I did it anyway. Everyone seemed to like the silver one, but that is one of the ones I'm having the hardest time getting the color right in the pictures! I want the pics to be as accurate as possible to match the product. Very frusterating. I need to hire a professional, just don't have the money. Oh Cindy, why don't you live here in Alabama!!! Anyway, hopefully I'll get them up soon.

Our weekend has been pretty normal I suppose... Eddie is getting fleas again and so is Moo! My goodness, I spend $40 dollars a month on flea medicine for these animals and it just doesn't work! It usually works well on Eddie, lasts a month like it's supposed to, but the cat Moo... It usually only lasts a week or so! I don't understand it! I've never had a cat so prone to getting fleas! He never goes outside, we bathe him and have put Advantage and Frontline on him and they never last more than 2 weeks. This last time it only worked for a week and the vet says we can't retreat him until the month is up!!! What am I supposed to do? I've been spraying the house, but I don't feel comfortable putting off a bomb because of Tad. He's still going around putting everything in his mouth, so I just can't do that. It's not like we are getting over run with fleas, it's poor Moo that's getting all of them!! Poor kitty... what should I do?

Tad broke my glasses this week... yeah that really stunk. He broke them a few weeks ago, but I managed to super glue them back together. This time, no such luck... They are really, really broke. So, I am wearing them with one of the arms (or whatever you call them) off... They sit really crooked on my face and make me terribly dizzy. I have been forced to wear my contacts, and that drives me nuts after about 6 hrs, but it's better than being dizzy I suppose. Luckily my insurance covers a new pair of glasses every year, so I went yesterday and picked out a new pair. Boy, that was hard to do! I just hate picking out new glasses... It would be better if I could afford several, so I could pick and choose which pair to wear, but no... I can only pick out one pair and have to stand there looking in the mirror trying to imagine me wearing these frames with every color and every hairstyle... make up or no make up. It was not an easy task! The girl that worked there helped me out a lot and I basically went on what she said looked the best. Hopefully I made the right decision! I'm so nervous about it... I know that's silly, but I really do wear my glasses a lot and if they look bad... I'm stuck with them!

If you didn't vote on one of the pea pods... please do! I really want your opinions!!!

Also I did start a Facebook fan page for Our Fanciful Creations! Yea me!!! I somehow doubt it will bring in any buisness because I don't have that many facebook friends. If you are already a member... I have 19 already! and you feel like helping me out :) send out a few invites for me... You don't have to... but I sure would appreciate it!

Pea Pod Necklaces

2009-08-14T08:37:00.006-05:00

Ok, I decided to try my hand at some jewelry... I really thought these pea pods were so cute... and I kind of went a little crazy making them. I have tons of them now... spent most of the day yesterday making peas! Ok, so here's what I'm thinking. I want to put them in my Etsy shop. I'm thinking $10 each. They will be custom made per order... that way people can look at the examples and they can choose what color and how many peas they want. I've already sold one to a friend who's buying it for a someone who did her baby shower theme in sweet peas! So my question to you is... which ones do you think look the best and do you think the price is reasonable? I've made so many different ones, I don't want to list them all in the shop. It costs .20 each item to list them, and even though that may not sound like a lot... it does add up. So let me know what you think. Even if you think they are crap. I want to know!

Yes, I am having problems with the white balance on my camera, I'm sure you can tell. I just don't have the best setup and lighting for taking upclose photo's like this...

Silver pea pod with pearl peas

Pink pea for girl and blue for a boy. People could custom order what color and how many peas...

These are silver vines, but they look kind of purpleish on my screen...

Believe me I will take better pictures for the Etsy listing.

My how things change...

2009-08-14T05:48:00.003-05:00

I just got to have a girls night out Wednesday night with my friend Jasmin. We used to be good friends about 5 years ago and have recently reunited. We were little club rats. We lived for the weekends so we could go out and dance! On my way there, driving in my mini van, blaring some Backstreet Boys (yeah, don't laugh... I was reminiscing) ... I got to thinking, Wow! things sure have changed. I'm driving a mini van! My girls night outs definitely different. For one... I don't have them near as often as I used to. They have gone from Friday and Saturday nights, to a Wednesday night! I used to get started going out around no earlier than 10 pm. I left the house on Wednesday night at 6pm! And we went and played Bingo! Ha! What a difference. Of course this wasn't your typical bingo... There was a band, a lot of people and it was really fun! A far cry from our dance club nights though! I remember back in those days saying to her... we're 23... we're getting so old! We can't keep going out like this much longer, so we might as well enjoy it while we can! Pretty funny... I said that the next year and then the next... Got married, and settled back down again. I hit my wild phase at about 23, unlike most people who go through theirs in their teens. Mine hit me a little later, and it's a shame it did... I did a lot of stupid things! (but we won't go into all of that) ...So yeah, as I was saying. It just cracked me up thinking about it that night. Conversations have changed... last time I went out with her on a girls night... I sat there and talked for I don't know how long about breast feeding! We talked about kids and her school (she's in nursing school), recipes, the woes of cooking for our men... I don't think we even once asked each other "how do I look?" something we never could have gotten by without asking at least once every 30 minutes or so! Our clothing has changed... dramatically. We are definitely more conservative in our dress than we used to be. My goodness, the things we used to wear! I wouldn't be caught dead wearing some of that stuff now! And now in the bathroom, instead of fussing with my hair and make up like I used to... I stood there on the phone and talked to Bobby and Tad. (I missed them...) Having a girls night out did me a lot of good though. Even though I got sad when I left them, it was nice to have some social activity outside of the house. Don't get me wrong. I love being a housewife! It's just good for me every now and again to get dressed up, get in the car by myself... crank up the radio and not worry about it being too loud for the kids, get out with some girls, laugh and not worry about money and bills, the laundry, the dishes that never stop piling up in my sink... I did however have the constant thought throughout the night "I have to get up at 4:45, wake Bobby up and make a tuna fish sandwich!" Oh, how I hate tuna...

The Hawaiian dolls

2009-08-11T11:13:00.003-05:00

Here they are! These are the two little dolls I made as a custom order for a lady on Etsy. She is having a party for her mom and dad, and these dolls are going to be taken to a cake designer to have the cake designed around them. (I know I've posted that before, but it's too exciting for me to not say it again!) She said her mom has already recieved them and loved them!

It sure was nerve wracking making these little dolls... knowing they were being made for someone. I kept having problems, the skirt kept breaking, his lai kept breaking... I had a multitude of problems! I was so glad when they were finished! It makes me even more happier to know that she really loved them! Hopefully now, I'll get some more orders in my shop!!! I need to figure out a way to promote it better... How do I get buisness to my shop without spending money on advertising? If anyone has any ideas... I'm open to any suggestions!

The Yard Sale

2009-08-10T11:24:00.004-05:00

Well... Our yard sale didn't go as well as we had hoped. Friday morning, the little guy that works for the city brought 3 of my signs back, telling me there is a city ordinance against putting signs on poles. Boy, I was ticked! They apparently have to be staked in the ground... I didn't know. I've always done it before and never had a problem. So, I'm guessing we didn't get much traffic because there was only one sign left (the one I had staked in the ground) We didn't even break a hundred dollars that first day! Mom and I have always done really well on our yard sales and always make way more than a hundred on our first day, so we were pretty bummed... Saturday, went better, I suppose... but the traffic started dieing off and then out of nowhere came a storm. Not just sprinkles, these were huge gigantic rain drops! Just right out of the blue! We had no idea it was supposed to rain! All of our stuff was getting drenched. We were running around, totally soaked trying to save the books and things that would get ruined. Luckily two of my neighbors brought over tarps and helped us cover the stuff. My house is still muddy (I should be mopping right now, actually the broom is laying across my lap, as I sit here and blog...) and we had to throw away quite a bit of stuff. So yeah, that was our last yard sale. We are now retiring from yard sales... never, ever again! It's just not worth it! (we say this EVERY year, and we have been having yard sales probably every year since the late '90's) We ended up taking two truck loads to the thrift store... and part of me says Man, I could have held on to that stuff and had another one next year! What is wrong with me?!!!

I must go clean the floors now... I've got a lot to get done. Lexie's open house at school is tonight, so i've got to get the house clean, wash my hair, figure out what to wear, make sure she washes her hair, pick out her clothes, etc... you get the idea... I've got to get off the computer!

Yard Sale

2009-08-07T05:43:00.002-05:00

I am up way too early getting ready for our yard sale! Oh, my, am I dreading it!!! This is going to be a long day.... Wish me luck! It's not so much that I hate having yard sales, it's just the getting stuff out in the morning and putting it back up part that I can't stand! Hopefully I'll make lots and lots of money! :)

Le Creuset

2009-08-05T06:43:00.005-05:00

My mother and I are in the process of cleaning out a storage building full of stuff that belonged to my grandmother. Oh, my goodness the heat! I see now why people pay extra to have one of the climate controlled ones! It is so stifiling hot in there. We literally thought several times we were going to pass out! One of the bad things is that I had to take the kids with me! We set up the playpen in the hallway for Tad, and Lexie was sitting there absolutely miserable. After a little while of this we realized there was a plug right outside of our little cubicle... So I went home to get a fan... it didn't help very much by the way. Lexie was the brilliant one who thought of bringing along a squirt bottle, and thank goodness she did! She was in charge of the squirting and yes... there was a lot of squirting... that did help some... Tad was turning pink, he was so hot, so I made sure she squirted him plenty and he loved it! We have to go back today... I am dreading it sooooo much...

The exciting news is.... I found a set of Le Creuset pots!!!!!!! Oh the excitement! You have no idea!!!These things are so dang expensive! And from what I've read online, I think they have a lifetime warranty. I was looking them up online this morning and the pot in the far right of the picture (if it's the one I think it is on the web site) goes for $184.00. That is if it's the 3.5 quart. I'm not sure... I'm having a hard time getting details on the sizes of any of these. They just have a number on the bottom and when you Google it... it's still not very helpful. So if anyone knows anything about these... I would love to know. I don't even think she used them... they still had the paperwork inside. Maybe today I will find some more!!!

New change holder? (it's just terrible)

2009-08-01T18:03:00.006-05:00

Oh, my goodness... Ok, we are having a yard sale this coming weekend and I asked Bobby if we could get rid of his plastic 2 1/2 foot tall Miller Genuine Draft bottle. (Can you say tacky!) Oh yeah, what do you think?... of course he wants to keep it! I had it tucked away in the closet, but now he has brought it out and taken all of the change from my "pretty" change jars and holders and filled up his ugly bottle with it! Now where am I gonna put this lovely thing (now heavy with change)? I shouldn't complain too much, he really didn't bring much with him from his single life into the marriage. But oh my gosh! It's just terrible! Any suggestions where I can put it? Should I secretly construct an accident?... Oops, the baby was playing with your plastic bottle and broke it? Oops... I didn't mean to, but I accidentally put it close too the oven and it melted? Oh... I don't know, maybe it's not that bad... right?

Guess what!!!

2009-07-29T12:09:00.003-05:00

I'm so excited! I got a custom order request on my Etsy shop!!! I just couldn't believe it. Someone wants me to make a Hawaiian couple, boy and girl dolls, like the Hawaiian doll I have listed on my shop! They are going to take them to a cake designer and have a cake designed around them. How exciting is that! There will be a cake somewhere out there in this world that is going to be designed around my dolls. I was just so excited, I had to share this with you guys!!

Blog award!

2009-07-24T19:55:00.006-05:00

I'm so excited! Linda from oh so pretty... gave me this blog award. Thank you so much Linda! She also gave me a free little commercial for my Etsy shop on her blog that I appreciated sooo much!
I am supposed to give out this award to 15 of my favorite recently discovered blogs... Problem is I haven't discovered that many new blogs!

I would have to say that my most recently discovered favorite blog would be Jill's blog at It doesn't get more real than this... Be sure to check out her blog... she is so funny!

Tannehill Trade Days

2009-07-22T20:49:00.009-05:00

On Sunday we met up with Jennifer and Jason from Happy little things. I discovered her blog by doing a local area blog search, and I am so glad I did! I enjoyed getting to meet them, (they only live about 15 minutes away!) How awesome is that! Tannehill state park was having their monthly trade days, and we decided that would be a great place for us to meet up. We walked through most of the vendors, but really didn't look at much... Bless Jennifer's heart, I think I probably talked her ears off, she didn't really get to look at anything because of me just chatting away! I was just so excited! I think it's really great to be able to read about someone and their family, look at their family photos, talk through emails and then finally get to meet them. I felt like I already knew her.

After we walked around for a while, we rode the train to the other side of the park where the playground is. Tad's never been on a playground, so he was sooo excited!

Look how happy he is going down this big slide!!!

Isn't Ella such a beautiful little girl!

We found out later that Ella was sick that day with croup! Bless her heart, we just thought she was warm because it was so hot outside. We didn't realize she had a fever! I hope she is doing better now!

I was planning on putting up more of the pictures, but some of them needed to be edited and I just don't have the time right now... I still have one little girl over at my house and I haven't been able to spend as much time on the computer...

Jennifer and Jason... we had so much fun! I hope we will be able to get together again soon!

Sleep over

2009-07-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

I am having a slumber party... well sort of, I guess you could say Lexie is. We have over 3 girls. One is 16 and the other two are 12. They are older than Lexie but it's working out pretty well so far. They came over last night and are spending the night again tonight. One of the girls is staying until Saturday! This is something I am definitely not used to! Having a house full of this many people is certainly interesting. I was actually brave enough to pile everyone in the van today and go to Walmart! That was six of us! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, actually it was kind of nice to have everyone help bring the groceries in! I could get used to this! I do regret spending the whole day cleaning the house in preparation for them, because it was totally in vain! It is a wreck now... I doubt they even noticed that it was cleaned up in the first place... They have been playing with my clay... Ohhhh how hard it has been for me... you have no idea! They are using way way too much and blending all of my colors together... I'm trying so hard to not freak out! I've been telling them to make small things, but they aren't really listening... Bri, one of the girls has been very careful to use only small amounts but, Lexie and the other little girl, not so much! I'm trying so hard to be cool about it. And oh my goodness they do not want to get quiet! It's 12:15 and Tad won't go to sleep... hmmm I wonder why... Anyway, I just want to be the nice mom and for everyone to like me. I hate to have to yell at them. Last night they didn't go to sleep until after 3 am. I had to move them to the living room because I was scared they were going to wake Tad up... Lexie's room is right beside his. I am enjoying having them here though... it's really nice to have a house full of kids! I just wish they would go to sleep!!!

Swarm

2009-07-14T12:54:00.003-05:00

Lexie and I were in my bedroom folding clothes and she says "Mom, look at all these bees!" I didn't think there would really be that many, but sure enough... there were hundreds. They looked like bumble bees, but wouldn't get still enough for me to get a good look at them. I did notice they had a sort of shiny green hue to them. My first thought was, Oh my goodness it's killer bees!!! I remember when I was a kid being terrified that killer bees were gonna come get me in my yard. So yeah, I kinda started to panic. What if they get in... I'm telling you there were hundreds. I talked to Bobby on the phone and asked... should I call someone? what should I do? I even told him he needed to come home. He said, "Baby, it's probably just June bugs." No, No I argued it's big bees! Well, sure enough... they were June bugs. One of the little buggers got still enough finally for me to get a good look. Definitely not a bee. Lexie now wants to go play with them! I'm not gonna let her because I'm still not sure, better to be safe than sorry! I tried to video tape them but they're not showing up good on video and I am certainly not going out there with them to take a picture.

Weekend meltdown

2009-07-14T05:56:00.004-05:00

Our computer got all messed up this weekend... totally, horribly and completely messed up. Yes, I pretty much had a total meltdown. It first started out where we couldn't use our phone... we have a Magic Jack, and then it started not letting me online. I was totally freaking out! Bobby worked on it for two days straight, and it just kept getting worse. It is now at the point where we might have to completely crash it and I am probably going to lose all of my pictures. I can't even burn them to cd now because it's not even recognizing that we have any disk drives on there! I have now learned my lesson to always back up my pictures as soon as I put them on the computer! All , of the pictures I've taken this past year, Tad's first birthday, all of the ones I've been working on for my Etsy shop, hundreds of pictures... good pictures too, some of my favorite baby pictures.... yeah, I've been crying about it for days. He's still working on it so that I won't lose them, but now the computer won't even stay on. We went and bought a laptop Sunday, so at least I have a computer now, but I wish I could save those pictures. It's pretty neat having a computer I can take around the house with me... I'm actually sitting in the kitchen right now! How cool is that! I love it... I've always wanted a lap top. Anyway, i'll let you know if the pictures get saved or not... keep your fingers crossed for me.

Crazy neighbor!

2009-07-08T11:59:00.004-05:00

So my neighbor is driving me nuts! Let me start out by telling you that he is a very nice guy, but he drinks a lot. (I've seen him with a beer in his hand at 7am... actually he always has one in his hand) and that probably contributes to his craziness. There are many things I could tell you about him, but to keep this moderately short I will just give you just a few examples. First of all he is extremely paranoid and has security cameras on the outside of his house... actually they look like they are pointed at my house, which makes ME paranoid when my curtains are open. He used to have a gazillion work lights outside that he turned on at night... very bright, very very bright lights. They were so bright, they lit up my bedroom and made it difficult for me to sleep. Luckily he changed them over to motion lights that flip off after a while. The most frustrating thing though is that he goes outside at night, usually between midnight and 3am, and blares his music, screams at the neighborhood dogs and shouts Woo Hoo, Woo Hoo! Like he's having a party, but he's usually by himself. This has been going on for as long as I've lived here, but now his Woo Hoo's have started to change... They are now owl sounds (hoo hoo) he actually does a pretty good job, I thought it was a real owl at first! Last night though... for probably a good hour or longer he was doing fire engine noises... I kid you not! Fire engine sounds... what the heck is he doing, is he trying to drive all of the neighbors crazy? What's so funny is that he gets so mad when the neighborhood dogs bark, he screams and yells at them "Shut up you stupid dogs!" and he's the loudest freakin' one of them all! He's spraypainted in the street... Slow down a** holes, twice! The police came out and made him paint over it. I guess you could say watching what goes on over there is good entertainment for me, just not when he's not keeping me awake! There is always something going on. Believe me I could go on, but I said I was going to keep this short... I've got housework to do anyway...

A poopy morning

2009-07-04T12:03:00.005-05:00

Have you ever had one of those mornings... you wake up grumpy, for who know's what reason. Then things just keep getting worse... I slept in late this morning, Bobby got up with Tad... thank goodness, but I could hear them, which for some reason just ticked me off. It kept waking me up... I guess. Then the dog kept whining... constantly whining... I was laying there thinking surely Bobby would check on him... it went on and on driving me nuts. Bobby finally comes in there and tells me I need to get up and watch Tad... he needed to go to Lowes... the doorknob broke going into my craft/computer room... Grrrrrrrrrr. "Is it really broke?" "Yes, I had to take it off" ..."How are you keeping Tad out?" "I put a screw in the door frame" "How am I going to get in there?!!!" "Oh, just use the drill... it's sittin' on the counter" Great... just great.. Yeah, the dog pooped in the floor! Clean up... go to feed Tad... there's something brown smeared across his face... Surely it's chocolate, please be chocolate... (sniff test) Nope, not chocolate! (The dog and baby are in totally different rooms, don't worry... this wasn't the dogs poop) I look at his diaper and yes it's poopy, and of course it's on his legs and back.. To the shower we go... (Bobby had obviously neglected to change it, because it was stuck all over his butt! Ok, I'm really ticked now! Shower's over and I think, I better clorox some of the stuff he might have touched, but I keep smelling poo! I can't find the sourse... Now last night we had a poopy accident as well. He managed to take off his diaper, (I did see this but thought it would be ok for a little while...he has a small diaper rash and I thought the air would do him some good...) Yeah well, bad idea... he pooped on my throw pillows. Two of them. I searched around for more poop but never found it. So this morning... still smelling the poo, and having two incidents, I know there is more poo floating around the den somewhere... I did manage to find some in his toy corner... yep, and on some of the toys... lovely, just lovely! Bobby's gone, I'm cleaning up poop, and I am not very happy! I finally got finished and unscrewed the screw to come in here, but there is no doorknob and I am having to fight Tad through the round hole in the door to keep him from getting in here with me... This room is most certainly not baby proofed! I'm just not a happy person right now, thanks for listening to me rant... I wonder what else is going to happen today.... I am sure there is more poo lurking behind something...

My first dumpster diving experience

2009-07-03T11:45:00.005-05:00

Yeah, I went dumpster diving. Don't worry, we took rubber gloves, hand sanitizer and a pole to push things around with. Oh, and of course some pepper spray! You never know who you might meet behind a dumpster!!! Anyway, I went with my best friend Cristi and her sister Julia. It was certainly an adventure. We set out with the camera and a video camera so we could document our very first dumpster diving experience, but I of course forgot the memory card, and it was too dark to make a good video. We hit up all of the strip malls around Hueytown, Lowes and two apartment complexes.

Our findings:

About 1,000 egg shells
A busted up hula hoop
Someone's old boxer shorts... yuck!
A vacuum cleaner (we decided to leave it, it probably didn't work)
empty boxes
Very stinky garbage!!!

Ok, so you can see... we didn't do too well for our first dumpster dive. We were all very disappointed and tired and didn't get back to my house 'till close to midnight.

Maybe we'll do better next time... that is IF there is a next time. Maybe we''ll go check out some of the better neighborhoods. Maybe rich people have better trash :)

Hawaiian girl peg doll

2009-06-30T13:06:00.004-05:00

Well, I finally got something in my Etsy shop! I've been so nervous about putting something up, but I just went ahead and did it anyway. I thought the little doll turned out so cute, and I worked on her forever! She was not easy to make! I was absolutely terrified to paint her face on... she sat on a shelf for weeks before I actually got up the nerve to do it this morning. If I messed up, that paint will not wash off, so she would have been a goner. Anyway... I want to put up my little Chinese girl too, so I'll have to get around to that tonight. Too much housework today... Oh, and I got a coupon organizer! Yay! Now all I have to do is put the coupons in it... I wonder how long it will be before I can get that done...

Multitasking or scatterbrained...

2009-06-30T08:38:00.003-05:00

Why can't I seem to get organized? I've always told Bobby that I am just multitasking... a great quality, that is a must for any housewife. He says I'm just scatterbrained. (Don't get mad at him Mom) I'm beginning to think he's right. I started cleaning up the yard yesterday evening, and before I knew it I was in the living room vacuuming under and behind the couch cushions. It all of a sudden hit me... What am I doing here, I was trying to clean the yard... This happens all of the time. I start in one room and then find myself in another, doing something completely different... like brushing my teeth! (I found myself doing that yesterday as well) What's wrong with me. I try to make lists, but they just get scattered about the house. I try to start in one room and work my way to the next, but it never fails... I end up somewhere else, doing something else... Arghhh... I have got to get more organized. I think I need a daily planner. I know I need something to organize my coupons... that is a must because they are everywhere from my purse to the kitchen drawers. My purse is another problem. No matter how hard I try, I can not keep it cleaned out. I have had this problem as long as I've carried a purse! Usually I just change purses when mine gets so messy I can't stand it, so I have a closet full of purses with old make up, receipts and who knows what else. I have a filing cabinet (or basket I should say) but I hardly ever get around to putting the stuff in the files, and have I labeled those files?... nope... they still say the strange odd things they said when I bought it at the thrift store... like Colorado, Vermont, Savannah, Purto Rico, and a really strange one... Steinhatchee. Oh, and they threw one in there that fits in so well with the rest... Cat's rabies tags. I told Bobby yesterday that it's so sad... I am such an organized person at heart, why can't I just become that way. I've always wanted to be like Monica from Friends, she was so organized. I've tried... I really have, sometimes I feel more like Kramer from Seinfield though... Oh well...

My embarrassing moment last Thursday...

2009-06-29T14:30:00.003-05:00

So let me set the scene for you... My yard is a total mess... Construction zone as I've been calling it. Shoes on the porch, tee shirts laying around, empty water bottles, lumber, tools, mud all over the patio (that's not finished, by the way) It is bad... I'm telling you, very trashy looking. We have been doing a lot of work, putting up the pool, building the patio, starting a fence... so I haven't really been cleaning the yard up... oh and an empty baby pool just sitting out in the back of the yard. So... ok... It was last Thursday and apparently I forgot that it was Lexie's Thursday with her dad. We're splashing and playing in the pool and who walks up in my back yard... The one person who I would never want to see all of my mess... Lexie's stepmom. Miss Put Together... In her heels, standing in my muddy yard, hair slicked back, Chanel sunglasses, buisness suit... Yeah, you can imagine... I'm there in my tiny pool splashing around, no make up (or what was left of it smeared all over my face from being in the pool) I look up and there she is, who know's how long she'd been standing there. I am just thankful to God that I didn't have on my swimming goggles. That would have just been the icing on the cake! She said she called, but we didn't answer to let us know that it was their Thursday. Oops! I was so embarrassed! Then I had to climb my white flabby I've-had-2-kids body (in my red bikini) in front of her and her I've-had-no-kids-I-look-fabuluous-body, and walk quite a long distance to grab my towel and cover up very quickly. It was like one of those slow motion moments, where I just wanted to crawl under the pool and stay there. I could have just died! She was very nice and was very understanding about my forgetfulness, but none the less.. I was mortified! Yard, patio and deck in total dissaray, red bikini, me wearing Bobbys way too big for me shoes, hair tangled horribly from doing flips in the pool, streaked mascara all under my eyes, and well... you can imagine... It was so just embarrassing.

If you've been wondering (probably haven't) but I have been doing some crafting here lately. I know I haven't been posting about it lately... I have not given up on my clay... It's just been quite busy around here lately, with all of the yard work, 3 birthdays and Fathers day this month... I will be getting some pictures up soon of all the stuff I've been making. Plus I still want to set up my Etsy shop and have been working on taking pictures for that.

Until next time...

Happy Birthday Mom

2009-06-26T19:19:00.003-05:00

Happy birthday Mom! You are the best mother anyone could ever have. I appreciate you more than you will ever know. You are my best friend and the best grandmama that my kids could ever have. You are such a giving, loving, wonderful person. I was so blessed growing up to have you for a mother. I hope you know how much that I love you... Happy Birthday Mom!

Our day at Tannehill

2009-06-26T11:30:00.005-05:00

We loaded up the car and headed to Tannehill State Park yesterday. It has always been one of my favorite places to go, ever since I was a teenager. I've had dreams of when I get old, being the park ranger there and living in one of those old log cabins. Doubt it will ever happen, especially since I know absolutely nothing about park rangering... Just a nice dream though. Anyway... Tad had his first little train ride... I was surprised he didn't cry with all of the noise it made, but I think he really enjoyed it!

Here we are at Bubbling Springs. Tad is very quickly trying to escape from me. I didn't have shoes on. The rocks were SO sharp and it was very hard to catch him!

Lexie catching him for me... There was lots of screaming involved, feet stomping, kicking and then he BIT me. He was so mad he actually bit me! I couldn't believe it... My sweet little boy bit my shoulder so hard it still has a purple mark on it today!
Lexie standing on the picnic table singing "Play that funky music white boy" I had to tell her to stop, then she did the whole "Well... you told me not to sing but that doesn't mean I can't humm it..." Why do children love to aggrivate their parents so much?
We had a nice little picnic where we dined on pb&j's and cheese puffs... yummy! and so healthy too...

Other than the temper tantrums, and yes there were quite a few, we had a pretty good time. I did however learn that an umbrella stroller just doesn't work at all for the terrain at Tannehill. I had to pick it and him up together several, several times just to get us around the place. I really need one of those packs you can put babies in to wear on your back. I do suppose I got my exercise in though, which is good because I haven't been to the gym all week...

Party's finally over!

2009-06-23T13:32:00.003-05:00

Well, the party went over very well... I suppose. I was completely worn out, Bobby was too! I don't think I realized how hard it would be to cook a meal for other people (I don't do that often) especially while being that tired. I didn't realize how hard it would be to have everything done at the same time, especially in a tiny kitchen with 4 grown ups and a very excited 9 year old running around. Thank goodness Tad was in the den! The mac and cheese got kind of cold before everything else was ready, but all in all, everything turned ok. It was nice to actually cook a meal for my parents. They are the ones who always cook for us, so it made me feel good to do it for them. Lexie opened her presents, we had gingerbread cake and that was it... it was time to rest. Well of course we had to get in the pool. So I had to go to Walmart, for probably the 5th or 6th time this week. It seems here lately that that's where I spend most of my time... Anyway, ...had to get a baby float and some swimmy diapers. I talked to my mom while on the way there and she told me my uncle was being taken to the hospital by ambulance. He and my aunt have been sick for probably two weeks now. I won't go into all of the details, (I don't want to put all of their business on the internet without their permission) but he came home from being in the ER... he didn't want to stay over night. I'm sure all will be ok, but he's got to go back to the doc for more tests soon. Just please pray for them. They need it right now. Well, we did manage to finally get in the pool (mom wouldn't let me go up to the hospital). The kids had a blast! (Bobby being one of those kids :) Tad was pretty scared at first, but eventually started enjoying himself. I should have taken pictures... We got out at about 10:30... totally exhausted...

I've got clean up from the party to do, and Lexie wants to get in the pool... I suppose I need to get off the computer now. Please don't forget to say a prayer for my aunt and uncle.

Easy set pools....not so easy set

2009-06-22T15:35:00.003-05:00

Well, tonight we're having Lexie's birthday party. Yesterday was her birthday, but she spent it with her Dad, so we're celebrating tonight. I got this brilliant idea yesterday to buy her one of those easy set inflatable pools. It's 15' x 48". I wanted to have it set up so that she would see it this morning when she got home. You know... a big birthday surprise! So yeah... Easy set pools are not so easy to set. It said no ground prep and no sand. It does have to be on level ground however. Very level ground. So yeah, there was lots of ground prep, and I mean lots! Plus all of the hundreds or should I say thousands of tiny rocks that had to be picked out of this 15' round level spot. We worked on it all night. I finally got to bed at close to 5 a.m. Bobby fell asleep outside by the pool! But it is finally up. The filter's not going yet, but we'll get to that eventually. So today I've been trying to clean house and get ready for Mom and Dad coming tonight. The house is a mess... there's mud and sand (from the patio we built this week) all over my floors. And I still have to go to the store to buy the stuff for the Poop on a stick! (see previous post) Why am I sitting here blogging? I guess I just needed a break. Gotta go now... more work to do.

Poop on a stick

2009-06-19T20:32:00.003-05:00

They called it poop on a stick... yes, that's right... poop on a stick. I told them several times that they were Armenian Beef Kebabs, but they liked the other name much better. Lexie especially thought it was funny coming up with all of the funny things she could say... like, Mom, I sure do love your poop on a stick, Mom, your poop sure is great!... things like that. Yes, I know... not very good table talk. It was just so funny. What could I say?... So now Lexie has changed the plan of having cheeseburgers for her birthday to... "Oooh, ooh, mom can I have poop on a stick for my birthday? Please Please Please." So, Grandmama and Grandpa... guess what you're having for dinner when you come to the house Monday night... sorry...

The recipe:
Poop on a stick

(Armenian beef kebabs)

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped mint
1 tsp minced garlic (mine was expired so I had to use 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 tsp each ground cumin and paprika
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
8 skewers, 6 to 8 in. long

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended. Divide mixture into 8 equal portions (about 1/4 c. each). With hands, (I wore gloves because I don't touch raw meat... ewww) form each into 1 in. thick, around each skewer. Place skewers on broiler pan; broil 8 to 10 minutes, turning once. Serve with Pickled Red Onions.

Pickled Red Onions

1 red onion thinly sliced: toss with 1 Tbsp lemon juice (I used more) and 1/4 tsp each ground cumin and salt. Let mixture stand 15 min until onions are limp. (I had to let mine sit longer because they were not going limp)

Now, I can't say that this is the best recipe ever, but they were actually kind of good despite what they looked like. And for Lexie and Bobby to like them, that says something, because they always find something to complain about when I cook something. So this one was a winner for us!

My first blog award

2009-06-19T09:43:00.006-05:00

I've just received my very first blog award! I was nominated by Jamie at Happy Harper Stories. Thanks Jamie. You have been such an inspiration to me through your blog. You are a wonderful woman and you have encouraged me in more ways than you can imagine. Please be sure to go and check out her blog.
As a recipient of this award, you are supposed to nominate 7 people to receive the award, and you are to tell 7 things that your blog readers may not already know about you. If you are nominated and don't feel like nominating 7 other bloggers... that's perfectly fine with me. Please just know how much I love your blogs, enjoy reading them so much, and accept this award from me knowing how much it has meant to me to be able to read about you and your families and to be able to share my little stories with you. There are other bloggers I would have liked to nominate, but I was only supposed to pick seven.

The people I am giving the awards to are:

Cindy at A Quiet Place
Crystal at Pink Lucy
Jennifer at Happy Little Things
Maggie Elizabeth
Melanie Elissa at a glimpse in my life
Jennifer at Happiness is Brilliant
Mama Hen at Long Days, Short Years

The seven things you may not know about me are:

I am obsessive about having lip balm on before I go to sleep. I can't go to sleep without putting it on!

I'm scared of butterflies and moths. Not from a distance though...

I consider paper towels a luxury item.

I am left handed.

I love tattoos and body piercings, especially on men (Bobby has a tattoo ;). I don't have any tattoos, but my nose and belly button are pierced.

Tulips are my favorite flower.

I would have loved to be a professional singer, but never could have anyway because I can't sing worth a flip! I just love to sing!

Just remember to save the picture to your computer so you can add it to your blog.

Little surprises

2009-06-17T06:42:00.005-05:00

The other night Bobby brought me in my craft room (also our computer room) and when I walked in, I saw this nice little surprise sitting on the computer desk. I was so excited. It has tons of different templates, projects and fonts on it. Something for me to play with...

While I was looking at it and reading the back, I saw he kept looking over at my craft table, I looked over and... there lay a brand new paper cutter! I had been wanting one sooo bad, because I can not cut a straight line, no matter how hard I try... I just can't seem to do it.

Now that I am so pleased and happy, I'm thanking him, telling him how sweet he is... he scoots over so I can see behind him, and what do you know. A thread organizer, holder thingy. Wow!

We get up to go back to the kitchen, and there sitting on the microwave is a 6-pack of my 5 hour energy!!! (you can see I've already broken into them) Oh, how I love these things!

Yeah, so it was a pretty exciting night. He's always so good about little surprises like that. He knows me so well, and I am totally freaking out now because his birthday is day after tomorrow. I have absolutely no idea what to get him! He said to "surprise" him. I don't know what to surprise him with! I know he needs new underwear, but that doesn't seem like a good gift. Man, I am such a terrible gift giver. He knows it too, which is why I told him to just tell me what he wants, so he won't end up with a bad gift. Nope... he wants to be surprised.

Anyway, I thought I would leave you with these lovely muddy photographs of Lexie. She and her little friend across the street decided to play in a HUGE mud puddle the other night. Right before dinner time. I told her to wash off with the hose pipe before coming in. Bad idea... unsupervised 8 year olds with a hose pipe! I'm sure you can imagine.
(The mud seemed much worse than it looks in these pictures)

Busy... busy

2009-06-16T21:30:00.004-05:00

So, I haven't posted in a while. Been kinda busy I guess. Lexie's out of school now. We played in the sprinkler today... that was kinda fun, but I would much rather have a pool! I don't know, it just seems like we haven't been home much or I've been cleaning house like crazy. It just gets messy way too fast. And laundry... oh, my goodness! It just never ends! I did manage to craft with mom yesterday, but don't have any pictures to put up. We're planning on opening an Etsy shop, but that's harder than I thought it would be. When you actually start thinking about selling your stuff, you start noticing (more than you normally would) all of the flaws in them. Plus taking the pictures of the items is really difficult! (Cindy, I wish you were in Alabama so you could take the pictures for me :) Anyway, hopefully I'll be posting more often. Sorry I've been so bad about it.

Just a boring blog post...

2009-06-11T19:42:00.003-05:00

So, last night the kids broke my camera. My new purple Sony Webbie that I love so much. Lexie was making videos of herself and afterward put in on a shelf in the living room that Tad could reach. And reach, he did! He obviously banged it around a few times and somehow managed to get it soaking wet... not sure with what. Bobby said, "Well, luckily we bought the extended warranty" Yeah, well... guess what... I lost the receipt! We payed with cash, so they can't look it up by credit card, and they didn't get any personal information from us when we bought it. So, yeah... I cried probably a good solid hour last night. The poor little camera was so messed up. It wouldn't respond to any of the buttons being pushed, or if it did, it was the complete wrong function that it was supposed to be doing, and you couldn't even see anything on the screen anymore. I tore apart the house, the van, and the last three purses I've been useing. The receipt is just gone. But guess what... TODAY IT STARTED WORKING!!! It just miracuously healed itsself! I was extatic. So happy I wouldn't have to go spend more money (that I don't have) on a new one. Because I would have had to have a new one! But today at the gym, I sweated all over my mp3 player and now it doesn't work! GRRRRR... Hopefully it'll dry out like my camera did, 'cause how can you work out without music! I've gotta have some Gwen Stefani to help me get through my cardio!

Dinner time conversation

2009-06-10T06:23:00.005-05:00

It was so funny last night at dinner. Lexie decided to again try avocado, she thought she didn't like it, but has only had guacamole and thought it was gross. Tad was loving it, so she said she'd take a bite to see.

Lexie: "There isn't much taste!"

Me: "Yeah, that's what Grandmama said when she first started eating it, but now loves it with some salt!"

Lexie: "It just doesn't taste like anything"

Bobby: "Well, you just need a more refined palate"

Lexie: "But, now lettuce, that has plenty of taste!"

Bobby and I: "No, not really"

Lexie: "Well, you just need to get a better pilot."

Me: "A pilot huh?"

Lexie: "Yep, get a better pilot and you'll see, 'cause lettuce has plenty of taste."

Me: (smiling at her cuteness) "I sure do love you, Lexie"

Lexie:(looks up, grins and simply states) "Yeah, everybody does!"

My little musicians

2009-06-09T07:46:00.004-05:00

Now I know most people do not really care to see a video of my children blowing a bugle, but I've been wanting to put a video up since I got my new little camera. This is just one of the best ones I've got. I've been having trouble getting good videos. They aren't very clear, and I can't figure out why... maybe it's just the camera and I don't know how to use it yet... who knows. And yes I know it's terrible the song Lexie is singing... I should have never taught it to her! It's the "Joy to the world the teacher's dead" that everyone learns in elementary school. Yeah, I know I shouldn't have done that... (be sure and press stop on the music playlist or you won't be able to hear the video)

Pictures

2009-06-09T06:19:00.005-05:00

I finally finished organizing my craft room. Well, for the most part anyway. I'm still not through with the cabinet and I have things like beads that need to be sorted. I want to find a better way to organize my thread... just stuff like that. Ok, so here's the new table...

See the ribbon holder Bobby made for me to go above the window. Who needs curtains, when you've got ribbon!!! (the room is still kinda messy in this picture, so don't look at that)

I'm not sure what this was originally supposed to be, but it is now my scissor holder. Cute huh?

This is how the cabinet looked a few days ago. I've done a bit more stenciling, but I didn't feel like taking another picture of it this morning. I still have a long way to go on it...

Here are the free pincushions from the estate sale this weekend. (they came with the pins too!)

I was originally going to model these aprons for you. I tried this one on this morning and it really didn't look good with my pajamas, so I just hung it on the door for the picture... I thought it was so pretty. Not bad for a dollar!

This one was $2.

This one I thought was so cute, I actually payed $3 for! I thought it was so funny because I didn't realize it was a powerball lottery apron until I got it home. I thought it was just green and black... then I saw all of the little dollar bills and lottery balls!

Tired

2009-06-07T17:06:00.004-05:00

Well, the cabinet's not really going so well... still... The stenciling just made a huge mess and I am now trying to cover over what I did with more white paint. Fun fun! I've been redoing my craft room today. We got a long table to go in here so I can organize better. So, I'm pretty tired. We went to a couple of estate sales and yard sales yesterday. I got 3 aprons and 2 little pincushions. I managed to actually get the pincushions for free. They were .25 a piece, then 1/2 off that, so the guy just said to forget about it! Not too bad! I'll have to put pictures up later. One of them is really cute. I know it's got to be old. It's a little shoe with a tape measure that pulls out of the side. Pretty neat... i've never seen one like that. Anyway, I've got to get back to work now. Hope everyone's had a great weekend!

Big Ugly Metal Cabinet part 3

2009-06-03T07:23:00.003-05:00

I'm about to give up on the cabinet. I've had a heck of a time with it. My plan was to get it all painted white, do the stenciling and the chalkboard paint on a portion of the door. I got the painting finished yesterday, after several complications and interruptions... Mom, I'm hungry.. Mom, look at Tad.. Mom, I want a kiwi... so on and so forth... I also learned several lessons while doing this :

Always pull your hair back while painting, because it will get in your hair. Also hair will get stuck in your fresh paint and you won't notice it until it's dry!

Don't ever paint anything up against a wall and right beside other furniture... always pull it out first! (paint will get on everything!)

Do not wear your best pajama pants to paint in.

Do not use a paint roller that the dog has chewed the ends up. It will mess up your painting. (after painting with the damaged roller for a good half hour, I finally went in search of another one, dodging obstacles and climbing mountains of electrical wire and tools that are all in the bottom of Bobby's shed!

Don't paint anything that's rusty without sanding it first

And most importantly... DO NOT use paint that is not meant for metal!!! It just scratches off! Sure, it will stick to my skin just fine and not want to wash off, but does it want to stick to the cabinet... nope!

After all my work yesterday, Bobby comes home and says... "Yeah, you shouldn't have used that kind of paint... it's not gonna stick" Why couldn't he have just told me this the other day after I painted the first two coats on, is beyond me! I'm not sure what I'm going to do now...

The perfectly boiled egg

2009-06-02T10:48:00.004-05:00

No, I can not boil an egg. Such an easy, simple task, and I can not seem to master it! I have been boiling eggs for years, but one or several always seem to crack while boiling. Sometimes they get real dark on the inside. Now I admit this morning, I had a feeling they would mess up. I put them on and started boiling, but I wanted to come sit in here at the computer for a while, so I turned them down to a simmer. ...Kinda forgot about them, but once I remembered, I turned them back to a boil... did that for about eight minutes, which obviously was not long enough, but I thought since they had been simmering for so long, they would be partially cooked. WRONG. One of them cracked wide open, so I decided to have that one first... peeled it... looked fine... second egg, started peeling... nope not done. It was all nice and runny, so I threw it away. I boiled the rest of the eggs for about 5 more minutes and have not checked them yet. I don't know why I have such trouble with this. My mom and dad always have perfectly boiled eggs. My aunt always has such beautiful deviled eggs, how does she peel them with out messing up the egg. I even have trouble peeling them! I always end up losing some of the white with the shell. What is wrong with me!!! I am seriously aggravated here, maybe I've had too much coffee and my nerves are just on edge.

My new little crafting companion

2009-06-01T06:01:00.005-05:00

No, I did not make this slug out of clay... he is REAL, and WAS IN MY HOUSE!!! I really hate to admit that, but really it was just too funny not to share... I found this little guy crawling all over a fuzzy scarf here in my craft room. I told Bobby, maybe he just liked the feel of the fuzzy material on his belly... who knows... Not sure exactly where he came from, but after his little exploration, we quickly escorted him back outside. I don't think I'll be walking around barefooted for a while!

Another funny story that I tried to take a picture of but my camera just wouldn't work well in the dark, was Bobby last night, after helping his brother move again, trying to unload the riding lawnmower we're going to store for him. ( I hope he know's I have no intention of giving it back :) He didn't have a ramp so he made one out of a filing cabinet, two boards and a mattress at the bottom in case the boards broke! It was just too funny! Boy did I feel like a redneck! If anyone saw us last night, they were probably laughing, because I'm sure it was quite a site to see... and me running around the mattress freaking out, trying to keep the boards on top of the filing cabinet and Bobby yelling "Get out of the way Baby!" Yes, I wish I could have taken a picture...

I've been tagged!

2009-05-29T22:27:00.007-05:00

After waiting and wishing to one day be tagged... it finally happened tonight! Yea! Melanie Elissa...A glimpse in my life (go check out her site!) tagged me to list six unimportant things that make me happy. Ok, so here we go... first off, here are the rules:

1) List Six Unimportant Things That Make You Happy.

2) Mention and link to the person who tagged you .

3) Tag six of your favorite bloggers to play along, and comment on their blog to let them know they've been tagged.

Here's my list
1. Polymer clay!

2. Going to yard sales and finding a great bargin

3. Reading paranormal romance novels... weird I know

4. Freshly painted toe nails

5. Singing along with the radio in the car

6. Picking herbs from my little herb garden, even if I don't use them, I love to smell them!

There's my list... I can't wait to read yours.

Cindy at A Quite Place

Crystal at Pink Lucy

Jennifer at Happy Little Things

Katie at a Listmaker's life

Amanda at More than words...

Angie at The Daily Home

Be sure to check out all of these great blogs!

Big ugly metal cabinet part 2 (I hate contact paper)

2009-05-29T07:20:00.003-05:00

I bought the contact paper to line my shelves with last night and covered them. I must say that I absolutely hate contact paper! I had the hardest time cutting it straight to fit the shelves and then covering them was worse. I kept getting it crooked and it was sticking to itself. It doesn't look very beautiful like I had imagined. And to make it worse I got up this morning and started painting. I think it's going to take about a gazillion coats! Mom called and wanted me to come over, her neighbor is having a yard sale, so that was a good excuse for me to quit. I think this project is going to be more than I thought!

My new big ugly metal cabinet

2009-05-28T12:00:00.004-05:00

So Bobby brought this home the other day from his brothers house. He's moving, and he was just going to leave this with the house. Bobby decided he wanted it to store his tools in and put it inside the shed. Well... I thought... this would be great to store all of my fabric in, since I just have it laying around in baskets cluttering up my craft room. Problem is, it's horribly ugly and slightly rusty in a few spots. I want to paint it. Bobby suggested spray paint, but I can't do that in the house and I certainly don't want to carry the thing back outside. It's really heavy, and was not much fun lugging the thing inside! The good thing is that it's metal so I can put some really cute magnets on it. I'm thinking maybe some chalkboard paint for the outside and some stenciling, but I'm just not sure yet. I'll probably get contact paper to line the shelves, but I want to get this done quickly and cheaply. I've spent so much money on polymer clay stuff here lately I just can't justify spending much more money on another project! So... if you have any ideas... please, please, please let me know. I need help...

Housewife doll

2009-05-26T15:15:00.005-05:00

Our Memorial day weekend was nice other than the fact that Bobby was gone on Saturday and Monday. He helped his brother move, so I pretty much sat around and played on the computer. Mom and I crafted Saturday, and we went up to my aunt and uncle's house Sunday for BBQ. We had a real good time and the food was awesome. Thanks guys!

I went to the doc again today to have my hcg levels checked again. Then we made a stop by Hobby Lobby. I bought some magnetic strips. I think I'm gonna try to make a few little fridge magnets. I'll probably start on that tonight. My friend Cristi suggested since I made the "Cristi doctor doll" I needed to make a little "Courtney housewife doll" well, here it is...I think I did the worst job on this doll than any of the other ones. I made her mouth too close to her eyes, her eyes too close together, and the sash around the apron is crooked! I didn't notice that until I took the picture... made me so mad. I did however get to try out the new cat whisker paintbrush my dad made for me. It worked really well! Much easier than the paintbrush I bought the other day. Thanks dad!

Doctor doll

2009-05-22T13:32:00.004-05:00

I think I'm going to start doing several different profession peg dolls, and this is my first one. I made it for my best friend Cristi, who is a doctor. I made her hair brown with red streaks. I wanted it to look as much like her as possible, but kinda hard to do with a wooden peg. There was no way I was going to attempt to paint on glasses, so Cristi... this is on one of the days you wear your contacts :)

Little pink sheep and pink piggy...

I just got a new Sony Webbie. I am so excited! It's purple too!!! Hopefully I'll have some videos to share with you very soon. I haven't taken any good ones yet, I'm still learning how to use it. But soon....

Newest fairy houses

2009-05-20T08:47:00.005-05:00

Man, I've had a long day today and it's only 9:00 am! I've been up since 4 something because that's when Tad decided to get up. I've had 3 cups of coffee, did the dishes, a couple loads of laundry, cleaned out the litter box (outside, with the hose pipe) Yeah, I know that's supposed to be Lexie's job, but the cat still poops even though she's not here! Swept the floors, boiled some eggs, made chicken salad, watered the house plants and caught up on some blog reading. I still don't feel like I've woke up yet. That's just way too much for me to do that early. I am so not a morning person. I'm still sooo sleepy, and I have plenty more things to get done. All I want to do is crawl back in bed!
Anyway, I thought I'd post the new fairy houses I made over the weekend... If you can't see... those are cattails by the little creek and a little bunny rabbit sitting there by it. I made a stone pathway from the bridge to the tree trunk house.

This one is a two story fairy mushroom with a rope ladder going up to the top. Yeah, I know fairies can fly, but I thought a ladder would be cute. There's a tree swing and behind the tree is a fence with stone columns. Maybe you can click to enlarge these... I'm not sure.
Bobby and Tad played with bubbles yesterday evening... right after I had mopped. Yea! sticky floor again! I took some pictures of the two of them together that were cute, but Bobby didn't have his shirt on, and would wring my neck if I put them on here!

I think I'm gonna go make another cup of coffee!....

Breaking and entering... oh, and a polymer clay sale

2009-05-19T10:52:00.006-05:00

It's been a while since Mom and I have taken a trip to Hobby Lobby. Boy, and am I glad we went! They had their polymer clay on sale for .99 cents. I couldn't believe it. And it was all of the different name brands to. The Fimo clay is ususally $2.47 a pack. I wanted to buy it all! I did buy 23 packs of it however, and I still want to go back and get more before the sale goes off. They had a lot of 50% off sales. I also got a little tiny paintbrush that I have been needing so badly, and it was 40% off. So, yes... I was very excited. We had Taco Bell for lunch and headed back home to do some crafting. On our way back to Moms house, I managed to lock us out of the house. Me, Mom and Tad. No bottle, no baby snacks, just standing outside, looking in the window at my keys sitting right there by the door! I was freaking out. (Mom was very calm, by the way) We went around the house multiple times checking all of the windows. Unfortunately, I am very vigilant about locking all of my windows. I knew that Bobby would be home 45 minutes from then, but still... outside with Tad for that long and not being able to go inside really freaked me out. Then I realized Bobby might have to work overtime and that would be another two hours! I figured I would have to take off one of the storm windows, because one of the interior windows was open, but the shed was locked and I couldn't get to any of the tools. It was all very frusterating!!! So yeah, Tad got his first lesson in breaking and entering yesterday. I won't say how I did it, because you might know where I live :) but we managed to get in without destroying anything... thank goodness. All, in all it was a pretty good day!

More little creations

2009-05-16T10:16:00.008-05:00

Here's my new little fairy house. Bobby asked me if that little house was the outbuilding or shed... I told him that it's the servants quarters... Hehehe, little fairy servants. Can you imagine that! Why would fairies need servants. They have magical powers. Ok, anyway, I hope you can see the two little birds, they're so tiny. Lexie didn't even notice them until I pointed them out!

These are little hair snails... why snails? ...not really sure, but I thought they were cute.
This one has little rhinestones in his shell and on his antennae or eyes... whatever those things are. Mom thought they were eyes. Maybe so. I don't know very much about snails.

I plan on spending most of the day today working on some more stuff. It's rainy and yucky outside. So, yea! I have a great excuse to stay indoors and play!

Mmmm... soup

2009-05-15T06:05:00.008-05:00

I got this recipe from A Listmaker's Life and we made it last night. It was sooo good. She's entered it into the Iron Chef Challenge at Sacred and Profane. If you have time, stop over there and vote for her. You should really give this a try, I even had some this morning cold, and it was good!

Easy Baked Potato Soup

3 to 4 medium baking potatoes, baked
5 bacon strips, diced
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
3-1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Dash Liquid Smoke, optional
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
Shredded cheddar cheese

Peel and dice the baked potatoes; set aside. In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels. Drain, reserving 1-1/2 teaspoons drippings.

Add the soups, milk, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, pepper, Liquid Smoke if desired and reserved potatoes to the drippings. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Stir in sour cream, cook for 1-2 minutes or until heated through (do not boil).

Garnish with cheddar cheese and bacon.
Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

Awww... a little fairy house

2009-05-13T22:28:00.008-05:00

Awwww,(as Tad would say when he sees something he likes), it's a little fairy house! I've been so stinkin' proud of this one. See the little owl? I thought he was so cute, and so freakin' hard to make. When I was putting his little wings on, I just kept smooshing him...

I put it here next to a dime just so you could see exactly how small it is.
We made several other things today but I was the most proud of this. I did make a little penguin charm, but haven't finished completely with it. I'm not very good with the jewelry making yet. I just don't have the tools for it. It's pretty cute though... Mom made the most beautiful little flower today, and she gave it to me, so I'm saving it to add to something later, I'm just not sure what. She's so good at the flowers... It makes me sick. I'm horrible at it! I can never get all of the petals to match... grrrrrrr....

This is my latest pincushion. I made it several weeks ago and forgot to put it on here. I just love the little gingerbread man pin. I had so much fun making him. The man in the center is a bead... I unfortunately can't say that I made him.

More pictures from Monday

2009-05-12T21:03:00.009-05:00

Here are some of the pics that I didn't post the other night. The peg doll on the left is the one Mom made. She asked me to paint the face on for her, but I've been too scared to do it because I don't want to mess it up!

She made these cute little mushrooms...
I meant to post about Mothers Day, but haven't yet... Bobby was so sweet and got me the pinking shears that I have been wanting for months, but just couldn't justify spending $15 dollars on! He got me a new pair of flip-flops... muchly needed... and a 6-pack of my 5 hour energy shots!!! I was very excited!!! He even got me two Mothers day cards! He is such a thoughtful and good man, he really does treat me good... I am so lucky to have him. I know you may think that those are such small things, but we can't really afford big expensive gifts right now, and those were such sweet, thoughtful presents. He knows me so well and I love him so much... Lexie made me a bouquet of flowers out of construction paper and straws... very cute, and made me a little coupon booklet with things like.. "I will clean house for the next 12 years" "I will do the dishes for the next 4 years" "I will give you 100 kisses" I said, the next twelve years huh? and she says "yeah I'll be 20 then... I counted it up" I thought that was so funny. Hopefully she'll be off at college by then, but maybe I should hold on to that coupon. It might come in handy :)

My crafty Monday

2009-05-11T23:04:00.004-05:00

I had another crafting day today. I know you must think that I don't get anything done around here. Actually, I haven't really. Just been enjoying myself. Mom came over and we just made a day of it. Tomorrow I will get back to the housework.

Here's my little clown peg doll. I absolutely hate clowns, I think they're just creepy. I'm not really sure why I made it, but one thing's for certain... it won't be staying here at my house.

My little Chinese girl

Mushrooms...
Garden signs... I made a few more, but will have to get the pics up later.
Mom's cute little mushroom. It was absolutely perfect until I broke one of the flower petals off while taking the picture. Sorry mom...
It's late now, I'll have to post the rest of our little crafts tomorrow...

Clay dolls

2009-05-10T20:28:00.006-05:00

Today is Mothers Day and I have spent most of the day enjoying myself making some new little creations. I've had so much fun...

This is a very ugly fairy... I know... but still kind of interesting. I worked a long time on her. I had to stick her in a little pot because I didn't make her any legs. I wasn't quite sure how to do the rest of her body, so I just made her a half fairy! Oh, and by the way, super glue doesn't dry very clear. She looks like she has dandruff!
This is my second wooden peg doll. Of course all of her clothes, hair and accessories are made out of polymer clay.

Happy Mothers day to you Mom, and to you Jan... the best aunt in the world. I love you both very much.

It's been a good day

2009-05-09T16:26:00.008-05:00

Today has been a very good day. I've managed to do the dishes, some laundry, clean up the kitchen, plant some new plants and make a few things out of my polymer clay. Now, I am sitting here relaxing and having my second glass on chardonnay. Bobby's out picking up some diapers and hopefully a mothers day present! Lexie is in the den watching old home movies of when she was a baby. She wants me to watch them with her, but they kind of make me sad, for some reason. I cry every time I watch them.

Anyway... why did I decide to make a little doll?... I have absolutely no idea. Actually yesterday my friend Cristi and I went to a New and Used store and I found a few little wooden pieces that I thought I could maybe use with my polymer clay. They were very very cheap. The wooden pegs I got for this little doll were 4 for 25 cents! So I thought, hey... why not... So, ok, she's not the cutest little doll ever, but she's my first, so don't be too critical.
I know... her dress is kinda lumpy...
These are some signs I made to mark a few of my herbs. I was trying to show Cristi the herbs yesterday and had a hard time remembering what was what, so I thought I needed to make a few signs to help me remember.

This Basil one is hard to see on here... I'm not sure if you can click on it to make it bigger, but it has two tulips on the left side. I thought they were really cute...
This one is terrible. My writing looks like a 2nd graders. The paint was really thin and wasn't very easy to write with, plus pineapple is a very big word for such a little sign!
Cristi (my best friend since kindergarten) and I had a really good time. We've seen each other twice since she's been down here visiting this week. She lives far, far away in another state, doing her residency for emergency medicine. Yeah, she's a doctor... I'm so proud of her... Anyway, we went to a few yard sales, a salvage store and the Hueytown thrift store. I got two scrapbooks, one really cute one for a quarter, an album with a BUNCH of scrapbook stuff, and the first two Anne Rice Vampire books, and only spent $1.75!!! The man who was doing the pricing had no idea about that scrapbook stuff... Awesome deal!!! not that I do scrapbooking, but hey, I might one day! At the thrift store I found this really cute filing cabinet/basket... I plan on painting it white... for only $4.99. Here's Tad on his new train... He loves it! Thanks Jan and Jim.

Pictures

2009-05-05T15:39:00.006-05:00

Here are the mushrooms we made yesterday...

This is my sparkly mushroom with a little dragon fly tattoo on it and mom's fairy. I didn't realize how blurry this picture was until I got it on here, but they are really cute in person...Yeah, I know, this plant looks dead... but, it's not.
Soft serve choc/vanilla ice cream pin
Hot dog
Plate of fortune cookies
Head of lettuce. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. It's too big to fit on a pin. Oh, and excuse the flash. I took these pictures up against the kitchen cabinets and it reflected horribly!

Tuesday

2009-05-05T05:59:00.000-05:00

I went back to the doc's yesterday and had more blood drawn. My arm's all swollen and bruised, I think I've been getting stuck way too much and my arm's just not liking it. The side effects of that shot were terrible. I can't even imagine how horrible it would be for some one with cancer who would have to have a higher dose. That stuff is terrible. Nausea, dizziness, fatigue. Plus the pain in my abdomen. Never started bleeding though. Not sure if that's really good though. That pregnancy tissue is supposed to pass through my body, and I certainly don't want another shot. Ever again... Very bad stuff... I thought I would feel better yesterday, but I actually felt worse than I did on Sunday! Hopefully I'll know more on Friday what the next course of action will be. Maybe there won't have to be one because everything will be normal with my hcg levels...(fingers crossed)

Mom and I crafted yesterday, and Yea! we didn't burn anything! We made some cute little mushrooms that I'm going to put under some of my plants outside. I'll have to post the pics later. I'm going to try to make some more today, in between all of the getting caught up on laundry and housework that I've been neglecting the past few days. Oh, and Tad said "hat" yesterday! He was holding Bobby's hat and he said it! It was more like haaa...t, but he said it. Bobby was so excited. He had a big proud fatherly grin on his face as he said "I taught him that."

Update

2009-05-01T18:42:00.000-05:00

So, I had the ultrasound and blood work this morning. I held up pretty well and only cried a few times. Yea me! Anyway, they found two cysts that said could be contributing to the pain, or one of the cysts could be an ectopic pregnancy. They called me back in this afternoon after getting my hcg levels back... they had gone up again! Only from 145 to 159. They wanted me to come in immediately and get a shot of Methotrexate, which is a cancer drug actually, but is used also in people who have miscarried to remove any extra tissue that's left over from the pregnancy. I drove back up there and got my great big shot in the butt after making them stake their lives on the fact that I was not pregnant. The doctor scared me this morning because she asked me if there was anyway I was pregnant with a new pregnancy because my levels were going up and they shouldn't be doing that. So that pretty much freaked me out. There was no way that I was going to take a drug that kills all pregnancy tissue if there was just a tiny tiny chance I was pregnant. -More crying... They told me to expect pain, (she actually compared it to being hit in the abdomen with a baseball bat over and over) Great! Something to look forward to! Plus the bleeding and fatigue. She also did warn me that if the pain got really severe and I was passing out to go straight to the ER, because if it is ectopic it could rupture and could kill me if I don't get to the hospital ASAP. ....So needless to say, I've been quite upset today. I have to go back in on Monday and Thursday for them to check my hcg levels again, so the'll know if I need another shot. Argggh... I will be so glad when this is all over....

Going to the doctor ...again

2009-05-01T05:52:00.000-05:00

I went in for another testing of my hcg levels on Tuesday to see if the pregnancy hormone is out of my system. Last week when they tested me, my levels were 101. I've been still having a lot of cramping, light headedness and my feet have been swelling... who knows why. I called and told them about this Monday, but they just told me that my body's just been through a lot and that's probably just what it is, they also thought that maybe I'm anemic. Well, yesterday, I cramped all day and was just miserable. I called in to tell them and get the results from the tests and she told me that my hcg levels have gone up!!! What?!!! I screamed into the phone. That doesn't mean I'm still pregnant does it? She assured me "probably not" Real assuring. She should have said no, not probably not. They only went up to 145, but still... They went UP, not down like they're supposed to. Also the other test they did was the wrong test! Just great... But she said she was very concerned and needed to call me back after she talked to the doctor. When she called me back, she told me the the doc wanted me to go straight to the ER. "There's no way! I can't afford the deductible, it's like $500!!!" "OK, I'll talk to the doc again and call you back" she said. Well, anyway... I have to go in first thing this morning and have several blood tests and an ultrasound. I am dreading it so so so bad. I just want this to all be over and never set foot in that doctors office again. The least I can think about this miscarriage, the better, and it's just still going on. I'm guessing I'll probably have to have the D & C. I so badly didn't want to have that done. ... So please pray for me today, I'm going to need it. I know I'm going to burst into tears as soon as I lay down for that ultrasound. That's supposed to be a happy room. It's where you're supposed to hear your baby's heartbeat and see it for the first time. That's where I had my ultrasound with Tad. Now I'll be laying up there knowing that I won't be hearing that little heartbeat. I'm going to do my best to keep it together though. Doubt it will happen, but I'm gonna try. So, yeah... please keep me in your prayers today.

Crafting disaster

2009-04-29T19:54:00.000-05:00

Today Mom and I decided to have a craft day. We managed to make only a few things before disaster struck. We used her Convection oven/Toaster oven to bake the clay. We have never done this before... always used her regular oven. Well... It must have gotten too hot. I started smelling something burning. When Mom got up to check on it (it had only been in there 3 minutes, it's supposed to bake for about 15 min.) it was smoking. Lots and Lots of smoke!!! If it had gone any longer, we would have had a fire. Both of our little creations were ruined...

This was a fairy that she had worked on for a very long time.... it WAS very cute...

This was my blue bird. Yes, it was blue. A very pretty shade of blue. Now
it's just black and lumpy where it bubbled up. I'm not sure why this happened, but we will never use this oven again for polymer clay!!!
Very disappointing. I did however make a tiny mushroom, that didn't turn out all that cute and another cupcake pin. I'll post the pics later.

A cat named Moo

2009-04-28T20:33:00.001-05:00

I have been saying for the last few years that I will never have an inside cat again. Well... I just couldn't resist this little cutie. My parents cat had a litter a couple of months ago, actually on my birthday, and this one was just so cute and sweet. It needed to come home with me. The plan is for it to stay in Lexie's room when she's here, and she has promised to keep the litter box clean. So, we'll see how it goes. I absolutely hate cleaning out a litter box. His name is Moo. He looked like a little baby cow when he was born, not so much now, but the name just seemed fitting. Bobby introduced him to Eddie (our dog) last night. That didn't go over so well... Eddie was scared to death of the little kitty, who has always seemed so sweet and calm. Sweet and calm around Eddie... not so much. He turned into a hissing little monster. He never touched Eddie, but from the sounds he was making and the way he was fluffing up, you could tell, he and Eddie probably won't be friends for a while. Bobby and I both tried to pick Moo up and get him out of the laundry room where Eddie was, yeah, well... needless to say, we both got scratched up pretty good. I tried to pick him up by the skin on his neck. I thought that would be the safest way to do it. No, the little monster completely turned inside out and clawed the daylights out of my hand. Then Bobby pretty much had to hold me down and pour peroxide on my scratches. I wasn't happy about that. But he's getting much more playful and comfortable walking around the house now. He's not hiding really hiding behind furniture much anymore, except when Tad comes around. He's pretty scared of him. Tad keeps trying to give him his toys, and doesn't quite know how to be gentle with him yet, so every time Moo sees the baby, he just takes off running, and Tad's following behind him saying "Awwww" It's so funny.

This isn't the best picture, his eyes were kind of goopy. Yes, Dad, I am still washing his face every day.

Being thankful

2009-04-24T10:27:00.001-05:00

So today while outside planting some new plants, my mind kept wandering off to the things I like and the things I dislike. Who know's why... I just couldn't stop thinking about it. Such as...

I don't like...

Flying insects (including butterflys and moths) (Fireflies and Ladybugs excluded)
Fire ants
Spiders
Bad gardening gloves
Hornets in my house (yes I've had 2 in the last 24 hours... that's a story I'll have to tell later)
Not having money
Cellulite and my back fat that rolls over my bra
Dry itchy skin

Yes, the list could go on, but as I was thinking all of this, I kept telling myself to just keep coming up with more of the things that I really love. Who knows why this has been in my head this morning, maybe it's my subconscious telling me that I need to be more thankful. Hmmmm...

Things I love: (in no particular order)

Five hour energy shots
Red breasted robins
Springtime and Autumn
Cute socks
Crocs
Polymer clay
Marlboro menthol (yeah, I know I was supposed to be quitting)
Ribbon
Anything toile
Roosters, (not actual roosters although I'm sure they are nice and all but I'm talking about things with pictures of roosters on them)
Diet Grapico
My Sony Alpha 300
Drains that flow properly
Chardonnay
Baby kisses
Tulips
My trips to visit Jan and Jim (aunt and uncle)
Lip balm!
Cheese dip (really, most dips... I could dip anything, yeah, I'm a dipper...)
Purple
The smell of basil and cilantro (not together, of course)
My dads Moose food (he just calls it that, its really just the best nachos ever)
Camping
Target clearance
Surprises from Bobby... he's always bringing me home little goodies, even if it's just from a gumball machine
Fresh flowers in my kitchen
Fat free French vanilla coffee creamer
My garbage disposal
Watching Heroes on Monday nights
Cream cheese
My Shabby Chic duvets and quilt
The way my Mom and Dad light up every time they see my children

Of course my family, but that goes without saying. This list could go on. I'll probably think of plenty more as the day goes on, and I'm not even really sure why I'm even putting this on here. But, you know, thinking about all of the little things you're grateful for sometimes helps put you in a better frame of mind. Even kind of cheers you up...

If you have the time, post some of the tings you are thankful for in my comment section. I'd love to see them.

Bonnet pincushion

2009-04-21T12:15:00.000-05:00

Well, here is the bonnet pincushion... finally finished. Thanks Cindy for the instructions. It didn't turn out as cute as yours, it's a little crooked on top, but I will make some more.

I had to go get blood work done yesterday to see if the pregnancy hormone is dropping. It's gone down to 100. It was 300 last Monday when they told me I had miscarried. I'll have to go in next week to have them check it again. Hopefully I won't have to have a D & C. I don't really know anything about it and it just scares me... I'm sure women have them all the time, but can there be complications? I don't know. I just know that I don't want to have it done!

We really didn't do much this weekend. We were going to start working on our vegetable garden, but it started raining so I suppose we'll have to do it next weekend... weather permitting. My roses are blooming out and look so pretty. My little bush has about 20 blooms on it. Bobby cut me a couple and I have them in the kitchen window. I just love the smell of these roses. Bobby can't smell them, it's the strangest thing. He's never been able to smell a rose. The first one he has been able to smell was one that came off of my mom and dad's bush this weekend. You could see the look of suprise on his face when he said "I can smell it!" I just wish he could smell these...

Well, Tad's napping now, I've got lots of housework to catch up on. I've been sitting here at the computer all day. Time to get to work...

Healing

2009-04-17T21:49:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a good day. I was still sad, but it was the first day that things have started to feel normal again. Me, Mom and the kids took our bi-weekly trip to visit my aunt and uncle, and it did me a lot of good. We laughed, ate good food, and just had a really good time. They gave me this beautiful pink flowering vine (I can't think of the name of it... it's too hard to pronounce anyway.) I think we're going to build a trellis on the back of the house for it to grow up. At home, in the evening, Bobby gave Lexie and Tad wagon rides through the back yard. It was Tad's first time, and he loved it! I thought he would be terrified but he actually cried every time Bobby would stop! It was so funny...

Here he is getting kisses from Eddie. I love this picture...

I thought this picture was funny 'cause they both had their mouths open! Lexie's being dramatic, as usual...

So...yeah, I'm beginning to heal and find some peace. I have struggled so much trying to understand why and get answers. I've been so frustrated with God, wanting to know why he didn't answer my prayers, why He took my baby away, but I am starting to come to terms with the fact that my baby's in a much better place right now, than being here on this earth. I'm still hurting, but I am dealing with it better. I actually put on make up today and cleaned the house. My brain doesn't seem to be in that same fog that it's been in for the last several days. There's no sense in being mad at God anymore. He knows what's best... (two days ago, I couldn't have said that) But my little baby is in Heaven, and God had a reason for it. So, I don't suppose I have to understand why. I'm just going to trust Him now.

Gone

2009-04-14T00:19:00.000-05:00

My baby's gone... It's been a horrible, terrible, painful day. My heart hurts so bad right now.

Hurting

2009-04-13T09:15:00.000-05:00

I found out I was pregnant Friday before last. I didn't want to post anything about it till I was further along. I'm pretty sure I was about 4 weeks along. This weekend I started spotting a little and it got real heavy last night. I've been having a lot of cramping as well. I'm pretty sure I've lost the baby. I called the doc this morning and am still waiting to hear back from them. My heart hurts so bad that I've lost my new little baby. I know it hasn't been confirmed by a doctor, but I just don't feel like I'm still pregnant. I don't understand why this would happen. I've had two perfectly healthy babies, why would I lose this one. My heart hurts so bad right now. I know that I was only pregnant for a short while, but it was still my little baby to me. I was already picking out names and thinking about new baby clothes. I could see that new baby being born, me holding and nursing it, loving it... I could see it growing older and running around playing with Tad and Lexie. Maybe they'll tell me at the doctor that everything is ok. Maybe I could have a miracle. Maybe my little baby is still in there growing. I wanted this baby so bad. It just doesn't make sense why this happened... Please pray for me, my heart is breaking.

Sick baby

2009-04-07T19:03:00.000-05:00

Do they make a sippie cup that you can put Coke in without it going everywhere? If they do, I'd sure like to know what kind it is. Please don't think I'm a bad mother for giving my baby Coke, but he is sick, Mom says milk makes the mucus worse and someone told me that Coke will help it. Well, I now have Coke all over the floor. Yes, it did keep my crying, miserable little baby occupied for a while, drawing all over my wood floor with it, but now it is very, very sticky. I've tried two different cups, one regular, and it literally just poured everywhere and one with a straw. It just kept fizzing up the straw, at least he thought that was pretty fun. It's been such a bad day. I have baby snot all over my face, my clothes and yes... my hair. I can't even run my fingers through it! I know that's disgusting, but I can't get away from him long enough to take a shower. Not only is he sick with a gosh aweful cold, but he is cutting a molar and his little gum is so swolen, I don't see how he can stand it. He seems so miserable. He barely slept last night, I didn't get much either, of course. He just keeps biting me and banging his head into me. I'm doing Tylenol and Orajel, gave him a popsicle, baby vapor rub, and I don't know much else to do. Bobby's working late tonight, but hopefully he'll give me a break when he gets home so I can wash all this snot off of me... Gotta go, he's crying again...

Cigarettes and Pincushions

2009-04-05T18:14:00.000-05:00

I am trying to quit smoking, so I haven't blogged the past two days. It's hard to come in this room (where my computer and craft stuff is) because this is where we smoke. This room or outside. I have only had 5 today. I know that sounds like a lot, but compared to what I usually smoke, that's pretty good. Bobby has sneaked in several more today, and I'm trying REALLY hard to not get mad at him. It is just so hard. I hate quitting smoking. I enjoy my cigarettes so very much. I've done it before though and I can do it again! I know, I never should have started back, that was stupid. They're just so good...

Anyway, on a more cheerful note here is my newest pincushion made from a Coke bottle cap.
This is my newest cupcake. It's an Easter one, see the little marshmallow Peep on top. I just haven't glued it on a pin yet. The little Peep really looks better in person than in the picture. I need a better lens on my camera to get really up close shots like this. Christmas present, Mom... (hint, hint)

I actually went and got my hair done Saturday for the first time in 8 1/2 years. It was red, but I was getting so tired of dyeing it every two weeks ( I have naturally blonde hair.) So, now it is blonde with red. Really really blonde. It took me a little while to get used to it. Bobby says it's really wild looking, but I like it now, a lot actually. I feel so much better. I was really starting to feel frumpy. They put some layers in it to blend my bangs in better, and it looks really good. I'm going to have to go get my hair done more often, it was kind of fun! It did take 3 hours though, which was pretty bad. I'll have to get Bobby to take a picture so I can put it on here. Well, I'm going to get out of this room now, so I won't want to light up again...

Always listen to your mother

2009-04-02T13:28:00.000-05:00

If you remember from my post several days ago "Feather Fiasco" I never sewed up the left over part of the feather bed. I had it tied, obviously not too well, with a ribbon. Well, my sweet hubby, while looking for a pair of pliers, that he swore I had, went looking for them and got feathers everywhere. I know he will absolutely deny this, but he did it. Yes, mom, I should have listened to you. Lesson learned. Always listen to your mother, she usually always knows best. I should have sewed the darn thing up. So I have been trying to clean up feathers today. They don't sweep up very well. I don't know if you've ever tried sweeping up a bunch of feathers, but I will tell you, it is not an easy task. They just go everywhere. Fly up in the air and get in your nose. It has not been fun. I will probably never get them up and will find them in various corners of the house, I just know it! I have been trying to get the house clean today and not get distracted by my polymer clay, but it is calling to me... "Make something, make something, you can clean later." It would be so much more fun than doing the dishes and the laundry and cleaning up dog puke, ( I knew better than to give him a hot dog weenie.) I have been good, but the house is still a mess, and what am I doing now... sitting here blogging. I have to take a break every now and again, right?... Well... back to my cleaning.

Cupcake pincushion

2009-04-01T17:09:00.001-05:00

So I decided last night to go ahead and make my cupcake. It didn't turn out how I wanted. I think it's kind of short and squatty, but I'll make another one soon and it will be better.

This is my strawberry and blueberries cake

Key Lime pie

Chocolate doughnut with strawberry icing

Mom and I made some more pins today. I'll have to get the pictures up later, tonight is our grocery shopping night, so I had to post this really quick. Wal-mart, here we come... maybe I'll even get a chance to stop by their craft section :)