Welome to the stories of my life...

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T12:39:00.004-05:00

Wow! It's been awhile! I'm sure there are a million things that I could update this with, (school for my kids, I talked to my brother for the first time in about 2+ years, we are trying to have a baby, you know, stuff like that) but for now I will just wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!!

Teenagers!

2008-10-13T13:54:00.002-04:00

I received this in an email this morning. It is too true not to post!

Poem to MOM

My son came home from school one day,
with a smirk upon his face.
He decided he was smart enough,
to put me in my place.

'Guess what I learned in Civics Two,
that's taught by Mr. Wright?
It's all about the laws today,
The 'Children's Bill of Rights.'

It says I need not clean my room,
don't have to cut my hair
No one can tell me what to think,
or speak, or what to wear.

I have freedom from religion,
and regardless what you say,
I don't have to bow my head,
and I sure don't have to pray.

I can wear earrings if I want,
and pierce my tongue & nose.
I can read & watch just what I like,
get tattoos from head to toe.

And if you ever spank me,
I'll charge you with a crime.
I'll back up all my charges,
with the marks on my behind.

Don't you ever touch me,
my body's only for my use,
not for your hugs and kisses,
that's just more child abuse.

Don't preach about your morals,
like your Mama did to you.
That's nothing more than mind control,
And it's illegal too!

Mom, I have these children's rights,
so you can't influence me,
or I'll call Children's Services Division,
better known as C.S.D.'

MOM'S REPLY AND THOUGHTS

Of course my first instinct was
to toss him out the door.
But the chance to teach him a lesson
made me think a little more.

I mulled it over carefully,
I couldn't let this go.
A smile crept upon my face,
he's messing with a pro.

Next day I took him shopping
at the local Goodwill Store.
I told him, 'Pick out all you want,
there's shirts & pants galore.

I've called and checked with C.S.D .
who said they didn't care
if I bought you K-Mart shoes
instead of those Nike Airs.

I've canceled that appointment
to take your driver's test.
The C.S.D. is unconcerned
so I'll decide what's best.'

I said 'No time to stop and eat,
or pick up stuff to munch.
And tomorrow you can start to learn
to make your own sack lunch.

Just save the raging appetite,
and wait till dinner time.
We're having liver and onions,
a favorite dish of mine.'

He asked 'Can I please rent a movie,
to watch on my VCR?'
'Sorry, but I sold your TV,
for new tires on my car.

I also rented out your room,
you'll take the couch instead.
The C.S.D. requires
just a roof over your head.

Your clothing won't be trendy now,
I'll choose what we eat.
That allowance that you used to get,
will buy me something neat.

I'm selling off your jet ski,
dirt-bike & roller blades.
Check out the 'Parents Bill of Rights',
It's in effect today!

Hey hot shot, are you crying,
Why are you on your knees?
Are you asking God to help you out,
instead of C.S.D.?'

It's been awhile...

2008-10-09T17:45:00.006-04:00

I'm not even sure what I have been doing lately, I guess there just isn't much to say. I figured since I changed my background, I might as well post while I was here! I've been in a bit of a funk lately. Maybe it is the fact that the wedding is over and now I have nothing left to plan for or stress about...lol.

The kids have been doing the cyber school for over a month now, and I think it's going pretty well. Of course my oldest will complain a lot and say he wants to go back to his other school anytime he has to do any actual work, but he'll get over it! I am trying to find things to do with them that involves other kids so they don't feel completely out of the loop.

I have completely gone blank, and have nothing else left to say so I will leave you with a couple pictures, during the vows and The Chicken Dance!! (Hopefully it works!)

Wedding Photos

2008-09-23T13:04:00.008-04:00

Edited: I didn't realize my MySpace was set to private, so it is fixed now, and anyone that would like can go and look at the pics!

We had such an awesome day! The weather was gorgeous. The reception rocked! One day I will do a better post describing it, but for now I will just post some pics. The wedding was on Saturday, and Sunday we got dressed up again and went into the city (Philly) to take some pictures at some of the "you went to Philly so you have to take your picture there" type of places.

Well, I have tried and tried to get blogger to post my pics, but it just isn't happening, so instead I will give you a link and hope that works! This is the link to my MySpace (Yes, I know I'm a grown woman!) page. My MySpace If you click on the link near the top for pics, the first 2 albums will be wedding photos. ("Wedding 9~20~2008" and "Tagged Photos")

I Am Now Officially Married!!!

2008-09-21T09:01:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Jon and I got married!!! It was a gorgeous day, we had an AWESOME time, all the guests truly enjoyed themselves, and I am exhausted! I will be back soon to put up some pictures once we have gone through all of them.

I Need a Drink

2008-09-15T18:29:00.002-04:00

Warning: This post lacks rhythm, flow, and proper structure. It also goes here, there, and everywhere!

So, the wedding is on Saturday. Yeah. This Saturday. I have a crap load of stuff to do. My head is spinning. My brother is coming to town Thursday night with his gf. I need to clean.

We found bowls for our centerpieces a few months ago at Michael's. We didn't buy them at the time because we weren't 100% sure how many tables we were going to have, so we didn't know how many bowls we would need. They were 7.99 at Michael's. Well, I was at Wal-Mart shortly after that and the exact same bowls were 3.98. Well, duh, I will buy them at Wal-Mart. I bought one bowl to make sure the ducks fit in it. (Bride and groom rubber ducks will be in the bowls) Yesterday I went to buy the other 5 that we need, and they only had one! Of course they did. So now I have to find 4 more bowls by Friday. And now that I know I can get them for $4, I will NOT pay $8. That probably means that I will drive all over the place to different Wal-Mart's, wasting gas. I know. I'm just crazy like that.

I decided to make little tags to tie to the bottles of wedding bubbles. Well, I have 48 bottles and apparently 5 yards of ribbon is not enough! I managed to do 17 last night before I ran out of ribbon. Yep. I am a genius!

I have about 18,000 loads of laundry to do. Tomorrow I will be without power from, according the management office, at least 8-6. Did I mention that the kids do school online now?? I plan on going back and forth between Panera Bread and the library, with a quick stop to the doctor's office to find out what the rash is that is covering both of my kids, and making their faces swell.

That's enough for now.

This is Fun-nee! (Edited to put a working video!)

2008-09-14T08:58:00.002-04:00

Politics aside, this is funny!!!

I'm "It"

2008-09-13T20:15:00.002-04:00

I have been tagged to do a meme! Dev at If you want to plan your life, plan it in pencil!! Since I am too busy with other stuff around here (wedding, school, nervous breakdowns) to compose an intelligent post, I am all to happy to do this one!

1. How long have you been blogging?
I went back to look at my posts, and apparently I have been doing this for 2 years now. Of course I only have 70 posts, so I'm not that committed!!

2. What are the good things blogging has brought to your life?
I have no clue.

3. What would you consider the pitfalls?
Not sure about that. I do know that it can be discouraging when I read blogs that have SOOOO much traffic, and then I look at mine that has next to none.

4. Tell us about your blog name. Ever think of changing it? If so, to what? Why?
It started out as "Yeah, whatever" because that is probably what I say the most. That is still my url, but I did change just the title part to "Welcome to the stories of my life..."

5. Knowing what you know now, was starting a blog a good thing for you? Why or why not?
I don't think it has changed things much either way.

6. How do you think blogging, bloggers, or the blogosphere has changed since you started?
As Dev said, I think these questions are geared toward more experienced bloggers.

8. Ultimately, what would you like your blog to accomplish for you or others?
I would like to get better about recording things in my daily life so that we can go back years from now and read it.

Who are you? Really?

1. Name something or a few things that bug you and expound. We want your unfettered opinion(s). Shouldn’t be blog related.

~Lint
~Wrinkled clothes
~Cat hair
~Food on my hands
~Liars
~Mornings
~Walking
~Paying full price for anything at the grocery store

2. Tell us about one of your best childhood memories.
I had a pretty crappy childhood.

3. Describe your perfect day.
Not waking up to the alarm clock.

4. Do you have a hobby that you love?
I love to read. Lately I just don't seem to do it as much.

5. Tell us the best and the worst thing about being you.
The best thing ~ I am awesome!!
The worst thing ~ I am awesomely bitchy!!

6. What’s the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you? We want all the details.
There is not enough time for this question!

7. What blog related thing bugs you?
I'd rather not say. It will definitely offend people.

Personal stuff:

How old are you? 33 4 day ago!

Married? In exactly 1 week I will be!!

Children? 2

If so, homeschool, private, or public? This is the first year of semi-homeschooling.

Favorite season? Fall

Favorite pass time?
Reading, tv, doing nothing at all.

Favorite color?
Whatever.

Favorite movie?
Grease!!!!

Favorite song?
Blood on Blood by Bon Jovi

Mac or PC? We have both.

Dog or Cat? 2 cats. (and 4 lizards and a frog)

Salt or Pepper? Both!!

Vanilla or Chocolate? Chocolate

Diet Coke, Sweet Tea or Evian? Diet Pepsi!

Steak, Chicken or Shrimp? Steak or chicken. I don't do seafood.

*******************

I am now supposed to tag some of my readers to do this...Well, the only other one that I know reads this is Kristi, so go for it!!

I Don't Really Have a Title For This

2008-08-29T14:25:00.002-04:00

1. I only slept for about 3 1/2 hours last night.
2. I'm tired and cranky.
3. My living room/dining room is so full of crap for the yard sale tomorrow that I want to scream!
4. School starts on Tuesday and there is still so much of the lessons for me to go over and figure out.
5. I don't know where I got the impression that keeping them home would be easier.
6. Is it really wrong if I go all day without even considering a bra?
7. Can ground beef and boxed mashed potatoes be called a meal?
8. Please tell me that I'm not the only one with 3 clean loads of laundry shoved in a laundry basket because I just don't feel like folding them??
9. Kids are supposed to be used as cheap slave labor, right?
10. Only 3 weeks til the wedding. (Man, I hope a load of cash falls out of the sky!)

Response Cards Suck!

2008-08-21T11:04:00.003-04:00

After having to send text messages and emails we finally heard back from all but 1 (would have been 2 guests) of the stragglers. Is it normal to have to hunt down about a 1/3 of the invited guests, or do we just have some slackers as friends? ; ) As far as the 1 that didn't bother to respond (after face to face contact, emails, text messages) screw 'em. I don't even want them there anymore.

Now we have to not spend one penny between now and the wedding so that we can actually afford the bar and DJ! Good thing I have 60 boxes of cereal sitting in my dining room!

I Lack Organization Skills

2008-08-18T10:52:00.002-04:00

I have mentioned before that my kids are being home schooled this year. Well, technically it is an online charter school, so all their lessons and teachers will be on the computer. It is my job as their "learning coach" to assist with every lesson, make sure they are doing what needs to be done, organize all the supplies, keep in contact with the teachers, mail in work, etc., etc. I think it may be more work for me than it is for them! We had already received all the computer equipment in the mail, and we just recently received all the text books and supplies for the year. (Not including the supplies for any electives they decide to take once the school year has started.) Right now I have 2 boxes, both weighing 39 lbs each, full of books. I now have to figure out how to organize all this stuff so that nothing gets lost or ruined, and so that everything is easily accessible everyday. I have great ideas in my head. Wonderful shelves and trays and whatnot, however the actual setup gets me every time. It isn't going to look like I imagine it in my head, so then I get cranky. Just a little bit!

This entire thing has become a bit overwhelming. Not only am I trying to figure out how to get all this put away, I'm also worried about how the kids are going to do their work. The website is very organized, but there is so much stuff to figure out. I have been told that once we are doing for a little bit we will get the hang of it, but still. I know without a doubt that it is the best thing for the boys, and regardless of how much work it is going to be for me, that's really all that matters.

Today is the day...

2008-08-15T13:15:00.002-04:00

Today is the day that was on our RSVP cards. "Kindly mail by August 15, 2008". People have had these cards for about a month now and we still haven't received half of them. Yes, HALF!! Come on people! You are giving me a coronary, more gray hair than I know what to do with, and you are not helping my high blood pressure. I know that I still should give these people a few days for the mail to get them delivered, but we have to meet with the caterer on Wednesday and give him the head count, and a check. So, do I give him a higher number, do I say "oh well, you didn't respond, you don't eat"? Also, should I have Jon start calling people (they are his friends) and find out what's up?

Grrrrrrr, this is NOT fun!

Less than 2 months...

2008-07-25T15:56:00.002-04:00

We have less than 2 months until the wedding. Holy crap! There is still so much to do, so much to pay for, and a dress to still hopefully fit in! We paid off the cake this week. Next week I will take the kids to be measured for the tuxedo's. (Which is something completely unnecessary, yet I want them.) After that we need to get all the little details together. I am so beyond stressed over the whole thing, I'm sure I'm making Jon nuts!

In my last post I said that I had mailed out the invitations, now I just have to wait and see if anyone responds...well, today we got 2 rsvp's in the mail! Woohoo, at least 4 other people will be showing up!

A Break From the Deals To Talk About Wedding Stuff

2008-07-22T17:05:00.002-04:00

The wedding is on September 20, less than 2 months away. Today I mailed out the invitations, so that's it. No turning back. They are out of my hands and on their way to various people. I think I was more nervous about mailing those then the actual wedding!

Now let's hope someone responds and says they're coming!

Tuesday at Genuardi's

2008-07-22T17:00:00.004-04:00

Is the class sick of this yet??? LOL! Today I got....

25 boxes of Kleenex (most will be donated to Jon's sister's school)
2 bags of salad
2 cucumbers
1 14lb Tidy Cats litter
3 cans of wet cat food

Total before coupons and sales = $81.21
Total I spent = $1.13
And I have another $20 coupon to do it again tomorrow!

Monday at Genuardi's

2008-07-22T09:48:00.002-04:00

This time Jon went to do the $20 deal. He got...

26 packages of Oscar Mayer hot dogs (we plan on taking a lot of those to his mom with a freezer)
1 pack of buns
1 4lb bag of frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts.

Total before sales and coupons = $135.42

Total Jon paid = .45 cents! Plus another $20 coupon to do it all again!

More Freebies! (Complete with photos!)

2008-07-21T09:50:00.009-04:00

Genaurdi's (Safeway or Vons in other places) is having a deal for the month that every time you bu 25 items that are part of the promo you get a coupon for $20 off your next order. Well, when you combine these with coupons and their sales, you end up with a whole lot of free stuff! I have done this 3 or 4 times now, and while some of the stuff I may not actually need right now, eventually we will, or I will give it away to someone that does. Here is what we got yesterday...

24 boxes of Kleenex ~ They were part of the promo, priced at 1.50, plus my .50 cent coupons that were doubled.

2 packages of Oscar Mayer hotdogs ~ also part of the promo, 2 different tags, 1 said buy one get one free @ 4.69, the other said $1. Turns out they were $1 each, but I had a coupon for those, so those were free, plus I got 2.69!

30 packages of Kool-Aid ~ I NEVER use it but it was 25 cents and I needed it in order to use my free hot dog and crystal light coupons that require a certain other purchase. I'll give away all the Kool-Aid. (Anyone want some? I have a total of 75 packages now. I'll be happy to mail it to you...lol!)

9 containers of Crystal Light ~ (Each container makes 12 quarts) These were on sale for 3.99 reg. 6.29, my coupons made them free.

2 cases of Crystal Geyser water 35 bottles ea. ~ These were on sale for 4.99. I had to throw these in at the end because after all the coupons I had used I didn't have a high enough total to use my $20 coupon!

Apparently because the hot dogs and the Crystal Light were both on sale, the coupon still takes off the full price because that is what they are getting back from the manufacturer. My free hot dog coupons took off 4.69, all but 3 of the Crystal Light coupons took off 6.29, the others took off 3.99. For all that stuff I paid $1.29!! I saved $150.60, which equaled 101% savings!! I also got another $20 and a $4 coupon at the register for next time!

Home at Last!

2008-07-16T23:40:00.004-04:00

I spent the last 3 days at the hospital and am finally home! I went in early Monday morning with chest pain that had started Sunday night. I have had the pain before, and have gone to the ER numerous times in the past. Once about 2 years ago they kept me, but usually I just get sent home after several hours. I almost didn't go this time, but I had tingling in my arm as well as a bit of numbness in the face, so I figured I better go. After enduring tons of tests, including CT scans of my brain and chest, nuclear stress test, echo cardiogram, and more blood than I care to think about, I was released this afternoon. Diagnosis?? My heart looks fine, it wasn't a heart attack or stroke (Big shout out to God on this one!) so they said it was probably some sort of inflamed muscle tissue. Of course they used some big fancy word for it! I have a feeling it may just be what they tell people when they can't figure out anything else. I'm just glad to finally be out of there and able to shower and pee in my own bathroom!

Oh yeah, if you ever find yourself in the hospital, don't order the chicken pot pie. Seriously, just don't!

(One more thing...Jon was wonderful about sitting there with me while I was there. It was boring and horrible, and he didn't even leave when I was mean and grumpy and told him to just go home! I LOVE him!)

Free Sauna With the Purchase of a Wedding Dress

2008-07-05T11:03:00.005-04:00

I had my appointment for alterations for my wedding dress 2 days ago. I am fairly short so I knew that it would have to be hemmed, and also the halter on it was too low so that would have to be raised as well. I was not looking forward to how much this was going to cost. The dress already cost more than twice what I had planned on spending, and the dress was fairly inexpensive compared to some! Anyway...Jon and I went to the appt. (he had to come, someone had to help me with this dress!) Once I had it on all I could think of was "Holy mother of crap, this thing is hot!!" Seriously, sweat was rolling down my legs. It doesn't get any sexier than that! I am still trying to decide if the slip is really necessary! Of course the ladies at David's Bridal said it was. Damn Sadists! Hopefully there will be a nice breeze for the ceremony since it will be outside, and if it comes down to it, the slip will be removed for the reception!!

(Oh yeah, $190 for alterations! Someone knew what they were doing when they started that business.)

Chuck Taylor Is Coming To My Wedding

2008-06-30T21:24:00.005-04:00

Anyone reading this may have come to realize that I am a bit unconventional...

My wedding shoes came in the mail today. I ordered them from Converse. You can go to their site and pretty much design your own pair of shoes. Colors, patterns, whatever you want. I will be wearing a pair of purple and pink Chuck Taylors with the date 9 20 2008 embroidered on the back. Yep, these will be the shoes that I am wearing with my fancy wedding dress!!

Neighbors

2008-06-26T08:56:00.002-04:00

We live in a fairly large apartment complex, but the way our building is laid out there is one main door from the outside that leads to four apartments, 2 upstairs, 2 downstairs. It's nice that it is only the 4 families that come and go from our particular area. We have an elderly couple that live right below us. This couple has a lot of medical issues, with visits from the paramedics being a regular thing. One night last week there was a knock on the door from another neighbor telling me that the lady downstairs wanted me. I went down there and the husband was being taken to the hospital and she needed a ride because she couldn't drive. Jon ended up taking her and waiting at the hospital until she was ready to come home. He wasn't exactly thrilled with sitting in the E.R. waiting room with all the crazies on a Saturday night, but he did it all the same. Well, this morning he came into the bedroom a little after 8am (yes, I was sleeping!) with a gift basket that had fruit, cookies, crackers, cheese, and popcorn in it. My first thought was to yell at him because I assumed he and went out and bought something, and hello, we are poor!! : ) It turns out it was from the couple downstairs to thank us for helping them. It was completely unnecessary, yet incredibly sweet.

I Had a Dream...

2008-06-20T08:55:00.004-04:00

...about wedding stuff last night. It was the morning of the wedding, yet we hadn't paid anyone for all the wedding stuff. You know, the food, the cake, the room, all the stuff that is supposed to be paid for weeks in advance. So that morning we were frantically trying to call people and pay them and hope that they would still let us use their stuff! I woke up upset thinking "oh crap, the wedding". Then I looked at the clock and it was 5:12am so I went back to sleep! But still, I wonder if this is just the beginning of freak out dreams that involve the wedding.

Fun For Me!

2008-06-19T16:13:00.004-04:00

I had a couple errands I had to run today and Jordan had to come with me. Let me just start by saying he's 11. As we were driving I was listening to a Bon Jovi cd and the song 'Have a Nice Day' was on. Well, me being me, I was signing along, rather loudly. Oh who am I kidding, I was VERY loud! Jordan was not amused! He kept trying to roll up his window, but since the window lock was on, he could not. He was giggling while trying to roll up the window while turning quite red. I kept singing. Getting louder anytime we would pass anyone on the street. Hahahaha! On the way home Jordan opted for the back seat.

Cereal Up the Wazoo

2008-06-17T12:32:00.004-04:00

It's no secret that coupons make me all warm and fuzzy inside! I have a 3 in 3-ring binder full of coupons. I buy multiple copies of the Sunday paper just for the coupons!

Anyway...this week at Acme (Albertsons to some) had certain General Mills cereal on sale for 5 for $10 and if you bought 5 boxes you would receive a coupon for a free gallon of milk on your next visit. (You could only do the deal once a day) I did this deal once on Friday with a $2 off 5 boxes of cereal coupon. So it ended up being $8 for 5 boxes of cereal and a coupon for a gallon of milk (up to 4.50), not that great, but still not bad. Sunday I had bought 4 papers and in looking through them for another coupon that I needed for a CVS deal, came across the 75cents off Chex, which just happens to be part of the cereal deal. Acme doubles coupons up to 99cents, making my 75 cent coupon $1.50. So, I only had 4 of those so I went in with my free milk coupon from the visit before, bought 4 boxes of Chex and 1 box of something else. Total out of pocket, $2.88! Turns out the milk coupon takes off 4.50 even though my milk was only 3.65. Seeing as how great that deal was, we went and bought 10 more papers. Yes, the cost of each paper was $1.25, but the ONE coupon makes up for that, plus all the other coupons that I WILL use. Jon went the next day and bought 5 more boxes of Chex for $2.50 plus another free milk coupon. Today I went to use the last of the cereal coupons and get a gallon of milk. My total was $1.38!! $1.38 for 5 boxes of cereal and a gallon of milk! Not only did I get $1.50 off each box of cereal, plus 4.50 off the milk, I was also credited .27 cents for tax because of the coupon! And after all that I still have 2 coupons for free milk!!

"But it's a dry heat."

2008-06-11T12:51:00.003-04:00

Today is the first day in 4 or 5 that the temp. won't reach the 90's to 100's. Now being someone that used to live in the desert of Las Vegas and Southern California, I know about hot summers. Often we would have days where the temp was close to 120. People would always say "At least it's a dry heat!", and I would always think, "Yeah buddy I don't care how "dry" it may be, it's still frickin' hot out here!" Boy am I eating those words now! Living in PA comes with it the disgusting humidity. You take one step outside and the air is so thick that you want to die! The last 4 days have been so unbearable that several schools, including my kids', closed early. A lot of the schools here don't have air conditioning. I will take 120 in the desert rather than 95 with nasty amounts of humidity any day!!

Last night was to be our much needed reprieve. Thunder storms were coming, and with those would mean wonderful rain and lower temperatures! The storms came raging, and so did the winds and lightning. A little before 8pm the power went out. After a few calls to the power company it turns out that close to 150,000 customers lost power and many would be without power for several days. It was a miserable night spent trying to find the slightest bit of a breeze anywhere. Jon and I left the house after the kids got on the bus so that we could eat and find somewhere with air. Thank God above that when we got home around noon to get the kids the power was back on! We were one of the few lucky ones.

I Can Print!

2008-06-05T12:06:00.004-04:00

We bought a new printer last night. I won't go into the money part of it, because I may actually cry! (What really makes me cry is that when we got home with the printer, and Jon was setting it all up and trying to print stuff, he found a coupon that would have saved us $15 off the printer we just bought!!) The printer we had was a piece of crapola! We can now scan and print and copy and dance a jig! But, the best part is we can print fancy shmancy photos! Oh yes sirree Bob! We can indeed! The extra ink we bought came with 50 sheets of 4x6 glossy photo paper (which has it's only cute little separate area just for it). The printer also has a little LCD screen to see the pictures on when you put in your memory card (not that I actually know how to do that!) I'm a dork, I know. Half of the stuff on this thing I will probably never figure out, but it looks nice! I do, however, know how to print pics that I have saved to my desktop, so now I just have to figure out what to do with all of these!

Breath Stink? Need Gum? I Have Plenty!

2008-05-30T23:08:00.004-04:00

Jon and I went to some shopping at Genuardi's today. They had some decent sales, and of course, I had coupons! First stop was the bagged salad on sale for $1. Yep. $1. I had coupons for $1 off 1 bag. Guess what that means??? Yep, free salad! We have 10 bags. As soon as we eat those, I'll be back for more. I don't have room left in the fridge. As we were cruising the aisles looking for stuff we ran across a basket full of big packs of gum. Extra, Winterfresh, Freedent, Juicy Fruit, Big Red, etc. I usually buy a pack every week or so for anywhere between $1 and $1.29 depending on where I get it. The gum in the basket was .30 cents each! We bought 90! We took all the sugar free ones, 2 Juicy Fruit and 1 Big Red. I think we're good on the gum for awhile!

Memorial Day

2008-05-29T08:45:00.004-04:00

We spent the day at Jon's parents house having a bbq. We had a good time. I found that I SUCK at volleyball. Seriously. Suck. When balls come at me, I tend to move! The kids spent most of the day in the pool. We ate, hung out, ate some more. Good times! Because I really don't have much to say, I leave you with some crappy photos taken with my cell phone because we forgot the "real" camera at home!

Self-Inflicted Torture

2008-05-20T16:23:00.002-04:00

So, I signed up for sitemeter tracking on my blog. I thought it would be "fun" to see how many people DON'T read my blog!! For some reason I enjoy it. :D

I also signed up for Twitter. Not sure why. Just one more thing for me to update and for no one else to read! I'm sorta kidding. Of course, I can't really figure out Twitter. No big surprise. Jon will have to do it for me. It is a miracle that I managed to do my blog layout on my own. It was a pre-made layout, but I DID change the colors all by myself!

Cyber School

2008-05-16T07:10:00.002-04:00

I have already made the decision to have the boys attend a cyber school next year. Everything I read was awesome, and the good outweighs the bad. Last night we attended an informational meeting put on by the school. Even though I had already made up my mind I thought it would be good to check stuff out in person and get a little more info about how things work. This meeting was wonderful! It was put on by 2 actual teachers from the school. I was a little worried about how the whole teacher thing worked, but the teachers are all in a building somewhere doing their lessons, putting on live classes, and are available for help if you need it. At anytime we can go to the main building and look around and meet the teachers. (Jon may already be there...the two teachers LOVED him!!!) Most of the teachers are local, maybe not all. The amount of get togethers and field trips are impressive. We can attend field trips we want, even if they aren't in our area. We can also not attend them if location or time or whatever is an issue. The kids will get a computer and printer to do their work on, plus actual text books! The school they are in now doesn't have books. I can't even begin to tell you what a huge nerd I am and how much I enjoy text books! I was looking through some last night and wanted to take them home!! After this meeting I know that the right decision was made. It will mean a lot more work for me and for the kids, but it will be worth it.

Pretty Cool!

2008-05-13T07:39:00.008-04:00

Jon took the boys to climb a hill on the side of the freeway, on top of that hill was a rock "sculpture" of sorts. The blue in this picture is so awesome that if I didn't know better I would think it was fake!

A Fancy Giveaway!!

2008-05-08T18:44:00.005-04:00

Is there anyone that couldn't use FREE MONEY???? I didn't think so! You can enter for your chance to win $100 gift card from Target. It's quick and easy. Just click on the button below and go visit BloggedIn-Network. Nicely.! And forgive me if I don't wish you luck, I need this!!! ; )

Dysfunction Junction

2008-05-08T06:30:00.004-04:00

My mom called last night. Probably not a big deal to most, but I haven't heard from her in 2 years. In that 2 years I haven't been able to get in touch with her because she is a flake that never truly takes care of herself and usually stays with other people. I spent most of my life being the mother in the relationship. Until I moved to the other side of the country. It's a long story, maybe one day I will lay out all the details of it, but suffice it to say she isn't "mother material". If she needs something, you hear from her, otherwise, not so much. I have a 16yr old brother that she hasn't seen in over 2 yrs. His father took him and left, (he is another piece of work) she never got him back, the father died, my brother went to live with relatives that he never knew. My mom has no idea where my brother is, nor as she attempted to find out. (She has a history of bailing out on kids about that age. My other brother and I were both left to fend for ourselves when I was 13, he was 11.) Anyway, I know where my brother is, have seen him and talk to him regularly. I have no intention of passing the info along. I'm rambling, I know. I haven't quite figured out how to put this all into a coherent post.

Back to the phone call...It was 10:30pm, Jon and I were already in bed watching a crappy movie (First Sunday, Don't bother!) when the phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, so I let it go to voice mail. When I listened to the message it was my mom, drunk as usual, saying something about needing my address because she has a videotape of my son in Kindergarten. I don't really want to call her back, yet I feel like I should. My head is spinning, I have knots in my stomach, and I am a bit pissed off! I don't know what to do.

Gas Prices

2008-05-06T15:55:00.003-04:00

Yes, we all know they suck and they are only going to get higher. That's now what this is about.

I'm sure everyone knows that the 3 main Presidential hopefuls have views on the gas tax. 2 want to suspend it over the summer, 1 wants to leave it as it is. Has anyone stopped to think that NONE of them can actually do anything about it anyway?? They won't be in office by then, all they can do is talk. What makes me angry is that some Joe Shmoe has heard this and this is what he will base his decision on when voting for the few primaries that are left. Grrrrrrr!!

Our Weekend

2008-05-05T12:09:00.002-04:00

We spent Saturday trying to sell our unwanted crap at a flea market put on by a church down the street. The weather was cloudy, mixed with a teeny bit of rain here and there. Not the best, but it wasn't all that bad. Once we factored in the fees, we made a little more than $80. Not too bad for a bunch of stuff that we were going to drop off at the thrift store. Jordan had his own table set up with toys, and he made about $17, spent about half of it on other stuff at the flea market, but still not bad.

Sunday was spent at various grocery stores getting the most bang for our buck. I've mentioned here before that I started using coupons A LOT! I tend to not buy that many things that I don't have coupons for. So, after clipping the coupons, searching the ads, we were off. Overall, I think we actually saved more than we spent, so woohoo for us!!! We have enough food in this place to last quite a while, and that's always a good thing. We also added to the ever growing stockpile. (We have enough cans of Lysol to last a year! Sales + Coupons = Awesome Deals!!)) The best bargain of the day was probably 20 boxes of cereal for $14!! It might sound a bit crazy to have so much of one thing at a time, but trust me, I would rather have more than what I need right this minute than have to spend 4 times as much because I ran out.

It was a long weekend, exhausting for some reason, but a good one.

Oh yeah, the 4 of us played Trivial Pursuit on the Xbox Saturday night. Jacob won! With no help from us! He did an awesome job!!!

Does 'The Mom' Ever Get To Runaway?

2008-04-28T17:21:00.003-04:00

If the answer is "yes", I'm outta here!!! More problems at school...more attitudes from the children....more "They all hate me"....more, more, more!! They seem to be getting in trouble over the stupidest things lately. (throwing pine cones) Yes, I know they could hurt someone, that part isn't stupid. The stupid part is that they are doing it! Jacob is going to be 13 in December. Shouldn't he be over this sort of stuff by now?

I don't like the feeling of dread every time the phone rings and the caller ID says it's the school. Maybe I am too soft with them. Often times when they are being punished I let it slide and give in. It's time I sucked it up and listen to the crying that is sure to happen! (Even if some of it is from me!)

Second Guessing

2008-04-24T12:35:00.004-04:00

So, I took the first step in enrolling the kids in a cyber school. Basically they will do all their classes online and have scheduled activities throughout the year to meet the other kids and teachers. Part of me thinks that this is absolutely the right decision. Then there is the another part of me that worries about the boys missing out on "school stuff". Jacob will be in high school in a little more than 2 years. With high school comes dances and football games and all those things. Is it wrong of me to keep him from all that? From meeting kids that may end up being some of his best friends? I don't know. Personally, I hated high school. If online classes had been an option for me, I would have loved it. But they aren't me. We are hopefully moving in a year or so, and who knows, we may end up being in an awesome school district with a wonderful high school. I can always put them back in a traditional school at the point. I always second (and third!) guess myself. Why should this be any different??

Being the Mom Isn't Easy

2008-04-20T11:04:00.006-04:00

I have a huge decision to make regarding where my kids are going to go to school next year. We plan on moving, but it would not be until next summer ('09), which would mean that the boys will still be in this school district for one more year. I HATE the school they are going to. I have no confidence in the Principal or Vice Principal. There seems to be no consistency with any of the administration with punishments or loss of privileges, etc. There are a few teachers that I think are awesome, but the good does not outweigh the bad. This middle school has 5-8 graders. Personally, I think 5th grade is a bit young to be put in there, but that's the way they do it. Jordan is in 5th right now. He has had a lot of problems with kids picking on him for several years now. For the most part, the schools don't do much. Jordan is now to the point where if anyone at all even appears to be on the verge of "messing with him" he hits them. He has been in a lot of trouble this year. I'm not saying it is the school's fault that he is hitting other kids, it's just enough already. Jacob has a hard time getting anything done in class. Both kids are very smart, score in the top of the classes on all their tests, it's just that their attitude at this school sucks. I don't know if I want to deal with the bs at this school for another year.

On the other hand I found an online school in our area that seems to be looking pretty good. The kids have "virtual classes" online, have a real teacher that is teaching them, and kids that are in their specific class. The school offers loaner computers and printers for home use as well as technical support. I have thought about home schooling for awhile but never thought that I could really do it and stay on top of it, but this is something that I'm sure I can handle. I was a bit worried about them never socializing with other kids, but the school has planned outings, whether it be field trips or just getting together at a park. So, while the classes are online, the kids would know their teachers and the other kids in their classes.

I don't know. I have a lot of thinking to do.

Randomness

2008-04-18T11:55:00.008-04:00

Spring has sprung. At least I think it has, judging my son's allergies that are kicking his butt right now. I have pretty nasty allergies as well, but he seems to have been affected a bit early this year. PA is not the best place to be for allergies!! Spring is beautiful. The trees and flowers are blooming, but it comes at a price!!!

Baseball has also started. We are now spending at least 3 days a week at various ball fields. Weekday games usually end around 8:30 or so, putting us home waaaaaay past dinner time. I'm sure some people would say to eat before we went. Not that easy! Most afternoons Jacob has play practice after school. (He is part of the stage crew.) So he will normally get picked up between 4:30 and 5, rushed home to change and dropped off at the field by 5:15. I'll come home for about 30 min. and then head out to the 6:00 game. Unless we ate between 5:25 and 5:45, I don't see it happening. And while the snack stand does have hot dogs, hamburgers, etc., repeated trips are expensive, and we have a wedding to pay for!

Speaking of the wedding, I picked up my dress last week. Now it is hanging in my room taunting me! We still have quite a few things to pay for, but at least we have one big one out of the way. Oh yeah, I also found my wedding shoes, they may be a bit unconventional, but they are awesome!!

(I apologize for the link below, I have no idea how to make it smaller or put my own text in there! But the link works!)

http://www.converse.com/index.aspx?mode=c1&mid=120368461&prodid=converse_hi_0904&csid=85#c1

Just One Thing....

2008-03-20T00:04:00.002-04:00

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

That's all. Thank you, and have a nice day!!

I Have a Dress!!!

2008-03-13T09:24:00.004-04:00

This is my dress!! There will no flower on the ribbon, and the ribbon is going to be purple that will match Jon's vest and tie. This isn't even close to the type of dress I thought I would be wearing. I am not a dress kind of girl. I am happy in jeans and a t-shirt! If you looked in my closet you would not find a dress. There is only 1 skirt in there that I save "just in case". When I went and tried dresses on I was very hesitant. I didn't want anything fancy or poofy or long. I didn't want to like this, as a matter of fact, I fought liking this dress. But it was so preeeeety! And when I walked around in it and saw myself, I loved it. So did Jon. (Yes, he was there, oooooo!) He looked at me like I was the most beautiful thing in the world. What more could a girl want?

Fightin' Is A Comin'

2008-03-10T13:22:00.002-04:00

I am a believer in God. I believe he created everything. We were not formed from an explosion that caused molecules to multiply. We did not evolve from fish. Or apes. Or whatever else you care to think. I know not everyone shares my belief, and that is your right to do so. It is not my place to judge or try to get you to change your mind. That being said, this is my blog, if you don't like it, don't read it.

"In God We Trust" is on our money. "God" is in the Pledge of Allegiance, although I don't know how much longer that will be true. Kids have to say the Pledge at school, and mention God while doing so. The school teaches evolution, yet they won't teach "Divine Intervention" (as they now call it). If you are going to teach my kid one 'possible' way that we came to be, you better teach them the other. It angers me to no end, and you better believe that when it becomes an issue at my kids' school, I will be there fighting every step of the way.

Ben Stein has a new movie coming out in April called "Expelled, No Intelligence Allowed". This if from the website - "Ben realizes that he has been "Expelled," and that educators and scientists are being ridiculed, denied tenure and even fired – for the "crime" of merely believing that there might be evidence of "design" in nature, and that perhaps life is not just the result of accidental, random chance."

You can watch trailers and read about it here....
http://expelledthemovie.com/video.php

A Bit More Wedding News

2008-03-10T12:01:00.002-04:00

We have officially booked the boat club for our wedding and reception!! Yay! I'm sure Jon is relieved that I will now stop hounding him about it. We have picked out the tuxedos, and now just have to wait til July/August to take the boys in for fittings. We didn't see much point in measuring them now when I'm sure that they will grow between now and then. We are going to attempt to print our own invitations, however if they end up looking like we printed our own invitations I will be quickly ordering them! I still haven't even looked at dresses. I may be the only one there in shorts and a t-shirt!

Some Rules Kids Won't Learn in School

2008-03-03T15:00:00.000-05:00

There are many emails going around with this, saying that Bill Gates used this in a speech at a high school. That's not true. It also didn't come from Kurt Vonnegut. According to what I read it seems that it is from the author Charles J. Sykes. Feel free to check these things out on Snopes before you email them to people. It takes a second.

That being said, regardless of who actually wrote it, it is still relevant enough to repeat it.

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

Rule No. 1: Life is not fair. Get used to it. The average teen-ager uses the phrase "It's not fair" 8.6 times a day. You got it from your parents, who said it so often you decided they must be the most idealistic generation ever. When they started hearing it from their own kids, they realized Rule No. 1.

Rule No. 2: The real world won't care as much about your self-esteem as much as your school does. It'll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself. This may come as a shock. Usually, when inflated self-esteem meets reality, kids complain that it's not fair. (See Rule No. 1)

Rule No. 3: Sorry, you won't make $40,000 a year right out of high school. And you won't be a vice president or have a car phone either. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn't have a Gap label.

Rule No. 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait 'til you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he's not going to ask you how you feel about it.

Rule No. 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity. They weren't embarrassed making minimum wage either. They would have been embarrassed to sit around talking about Kurt Cobain all weekend.

Rule No. 6: It's not your parents' fault. If you screw up, you are responsible. This is the flip side of "It's my life," and "You're not the boss of me," and other eloquent proclamations of your generation. When you turn 18, it's on your dime. Don't whine about it, or you'll sound like a baby boomer.

Rule No. 7: Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your bedroom.

Rule No. 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't. In some schools, they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. Failing grades have been abolished and class valedictorians scrapped, lest anyone's feelings be hurt. Effort is as important as results. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to anything in real life. (See Rule No. 1, Rule No. 2 and Rule No. 4.)

Rule No. 9: Life is not divided into semesters, and you don't get summers off. Not even Easter break. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours. And you don't get a new life every 10 weeks. It just goes on and on. While we're at it, very few jobs are interested in fostering your self-expression or helping you find yourself. Fewer still lead to self-realization. (See Rule No. 1 and Rule No. 2.)

Rule No. 10: Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop to go to jobs. Your friends will not be as perky or pliable as Jennifer Aniston.

Rule No. 11: Be nice to nerds. You may end up working for them. We all could.

Rule No. 12: Smoking does not make you look cool. It makes you look moronic. Next time you're out cruising, watch an 11-year-old with a butt in his mouth. That's what you look like to anyone over 20. Ditto for "expressing yourself" with purple hair and/or pierced body parts.

Rule No. 13: You are not immortal. (See Rule No. 12.) If you are under the impression that living fast, dying young and leaving a beautiful corpse is romantic, you obviously haven't seen one of your peers at room temperature lately.

Rule No. 14: Enjoy this while you can. Sure parents are a pain, school's a bother, and life is depressing. But someday you'll realize how wonderful it was to be a kid. Maybe you should start now. You're welcome.

More Wedding Stuff

2008-02-29T12:55:00.003-05:00

The 3 of you that read this are going to get sick of this wedding stuff very soon!!

We decided on centerpieces and actually purchased them! We bought very cute votive holders in purple and pink at Ikea. 89 cents a piece (18 0f them). Hopefully someone will steal them at the reception because I don't need 18 candle holders! We also bought 6 largish clear vases that we still need to figure out what to do with. Those were marked at 2.99, but rang up for 1.49! I plan on putting rose petals in the bottom, and then who knows from there.

We have an appt. tomorrow to get info about the cake. We have decided on cupcakes with a small cake on the top of the tiers. We will just need to figure out prices, designs, and all that jazz.

We have managed to get all but about 6 addresses for the invitations, so Jon needs to work on that. We still need to put the money down for the room, find clothes, decide on food, and other details.

That's all for now.

Sunday Shopping

2008-02-24T15:18:00.004-05:00

Well, it may have been an extra long trip at the store, but between sales and coupons I saved $106!! How much did I spend? $120. I only bought 3 or 4 things that were not on sale and that I didn't have a coupon for. (Mainly fresh fruit.)

I tend to plan meals around what's on sale that week, and then will usually combine what's on sale with coupons. Not sure if I mentioned it here before or not, but I have been getting several copies of the Sunday paper, clipping the coupons, and sorting them all in a 3 ring binder. I have 35 or so different categories, which may seem like a lot, but trust me, it's not. If you need cheese, you go to the tab that says 'cheese'. Need laundry soap, toothpaste, or paper towels? They can all easily be found with the tabs. I have found it is much easier to find a particular coupon with this method rather than a traditional coupon organizer that has about 12 different sections. If you also check the clearance items for household products (toothpaste, air freshener, cleaner) and combine those with coupons, you will pay practically nothing! I just bought 3 things of deodorant that were on clearance for $1.89. I had 3/75 cents off coupons, so after they were doubled I paid 39 cents a piece! I recently bough toothpaste for 69 cents a piece. Also keep in mind that if your store is selling something buy one get one free, you can use a coupon on both items. (I verified with the stores to make sure.) Because you are using a manufacturer coupon and the store is the one giving you a free one, you are technically buying 2 items.

Sorry, this post is kind of jumbled, but I am seriously excited that I just saved $106! The cashier even said to us "Nice job." in reference to the coupon use!

Snow Day!

2008-02-22T12:26:00.006-05:00

It is the end of February and this is the first 'Snow Day' the kids have had since school started. The last couple years we have had a couple in December and January, but not this year. We have had some days where we got a bit of snow flurries and tiny bits of accumulation, but nothing substantial. So, today the kids can go out and play in the nice fluffy white snow (before the freezing rain starts and everything ices over!), but they are both in their rooms. Why? Because it is COLD outside...lol! And they can't find their waterproof gloves, which means that when they did go out their hands were bright red and ready to fall off because little knit gloves don't cut it in the snow!

(Why can't I get the pictures after the post??)

September 20, 2008

2008-02-21T18:05:00.002-05:00

We set a date! And we have a venue! Well, that's sort of how we set the date, because we needed the venue, but anyway. That's all for now!

Here Comes the Bride!!!

2008-02-20T18:11:00.002-05:00

So, Jon and I are getting married in September. Of this year. 2008. Yep. 6 1/2 months or so.

I have a wedding to plan for, and no plans in my head! Well at least no set plans. I am awful at this. I have never had to actually plan a ceremony and reception where real people were going to be present. Ooooo, presents! Wait, that's not what I was talking about...Ok, back to my lack of planning skills. I have none! I can't make a decision and stick with it. EVER. There won't be many people, that's either good or bad. Good in the sense that it shouldn't cost thousands of dollars to feed them, but bad because do we really want 30 people in a room that holds 120?? Flowers? Hahahaha!! Don't even go there. Cake? Yeah, right. Someone said pick out your dress and the rest will fall into place. Oh you are sooooo funny!!

See how jumbled this post is? Imagine what my brain looks like!!!

The Teachers Hate Him

2008-02-04T17:01:00.000-05:00

That's what my son claims. He gets in trouble for not staying on task and being disruptive. He likes to be the funny guy and gets into trouble for it. He doesn't seem to be turning in homework. It's all because the teachers hate him.

What really irritates me (and them) is that he is a really smart kid. He scores in the top percentile in all of his tests. He just doesn't want to put effort in. He just finished telling me that, and I quote, "I do the bare minimum and it's good enough." I wanted to choke him! I didn't, but I wanted to!

He is currently in his bedroom making loud waling sounds and crying out "Why do you do this to me?", "Why are you so mean?" Curious as to what I did that was so mean?? I told him to clean out his binder and that I would be back in there to check it out and see what he wasn't doing.

I am horrible!!!

How old is old enough?

2008-01-26T19:13:00.001-05:00

My son just turned 12 last month and wanted to go hang out at the mall this afternoon with a girl from school and supposedly some other people. I told him no how, no way, not gonna happen. First off, I was 12 once. Granted it was a bit different then and I was allowed out to roam around and come and go as I pleased. (Of course my mom wasn't exactly mother material.) I just don't think anything good can come of a group of 12 yr olds hanging out alone at the mall. I told him that his group of friends would immediately attract security, and I'm sure they would be showing off to draw attention. Not only that, but I am extremely paranoid about the perverts roaming around looking for kids.

Maybe I'm overreacting. But I would rather be hated right now and still have him around later.

The Gratitude Campaign

2008-01-24T00:12:00.000-05:00

Ever seen a soldier and thought "I should thank them" but didn't do it? I have. Many more times than I am comfortable admitting. I came upon this site and thought it was a great, simple idea, yet could make a big difference.

http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/

The politics of the war aren't what this is about. It's about the people that made the decision to fight for all of us, regardless of what we may feel or believe.

I Will Here By Be Known As "That Crazy Lady With The Coupons"!

2008-01-22T14:19:00.000-05:00

We just finished a 3 week series at church about money. It made me realize just how much gets wasted on silly things that we don't really need. I usually think, "well, it's 5 bucks" or something around those lines, but when you stop to think about all those 2, 3, or 5 dollar purchases, it all adds up. I don't want to live in a rented apt. my whole life. I don't want to struggle month to month and worry about what big pitfall is coming next. I would like to take the kids to the movies every now and then without having to make the decision about what bill would have to wait in order to do that. It is time to make a change. Jon has been saying this for awhile, but we all know that I rarely listen to anyone. ; )

I have decided that starting today I will be paying much more attention to what we buy, how we buy it, and where we buy it from. I have always used coupons. I usually save a few bucks doing it, but I have come across a few blogs and message boards that have amazing amounts of info on different stores, weekly ads, rebates, etc, etc. I think with these tools and a new determination to do what is best for my family, it will pay off.

Anybody Know Where I Can Find A Nap?

2008-01-19T08:59:00.000-05:00

I'm tired. It is 9am on a Saturday morning. Big deal, right? Well, I have been up for an hour, and didn't go to bed until 4am. Why? Oh, thank you for asking. It is because I CAN'T SLEEP!!!! It is awful. I sit on the couch and watch mind numbing repeats of 'Who's the Boss?' and 'The Facts of Life'. (Thank goodness for OnDemand.) Maybe I am overstimulated. That's what "experts" say about kids all the time. I hear people out there saying, "Turn off the tv, get into bed, and wait for sleep." Seriously? You are crazy! If I do that I lay there for hours until I finally get out of bed and catch up with Tony Micelli and Mrs. Garrett. Sometimes Samantha and Darrin find their way into my living room. *sigh*

Sleep has eluded me. I miss it. Maybe one day it will find it's way back. We really were good together....

I Need Some Work

2008-01-19T00:28:00.000-05:00

I realize just how little I update this thing. I'm not sure if that is just because I am afraid of I what I put here being known to the masses (or the 2 people that read this...lol), or if I am worried that what I have to say isn't that interesting. I read several other blogs and am always amazed at how funny and inspirational I find them. I in no way see myself like that. I wanted this to be a place where I could vent and relive the day, or even record memories of my life that I probably won't remember otherwise.

I spend too much time comparing myself to others and not enough time being content with me. I guess I need to work on that.

Way Back In The 80's

2008-01-05T22:25:00.000-05:00

(This was too true not to post)

Way Back in the '80s

When I was a kid adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning uphill both ways through year 'round blizzards carrying their younger siblings on their backs to their one-room schoolhouse where they maintained a straight-A average despite their full-time after-school job at the local textile mill where they worked for 35 cents an hour just to help keep their family from starving to death!

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it! But....

Now that I've reached the ripe old age of thirty something, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so damn easy!

I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a darned Utopia! And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't even know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet, if we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves! And there was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter with a pen! --And then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

And there were no MP3s or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to go to the record store and shoplift it yourself! Try sticking an LP Album under your jacket, buddy! Or we had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ's usually talk over the beginning and screw it all up!

You want to hear about hardship?

We didn't have fancy stuff like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal! And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was it could be your boss, your mom, a collections agent, your drug dealer, you didn't know! You just had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

And we didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like Space Invaders" and "Asteroids" and the graphics sucked! Your guy was a little square! You had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens; it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

When you went to the movie theater, there was no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! A tall guy sat in front of you, you were screwed!

And sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 20 channels and there was no onscreen menu! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on!

And there was no Cartoon Network! You could only get cartoons on Saturday morning... ...D'ya hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK, you spoiled little brats!

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy! You're spoiled, I swear to God! You guys wouldn't last five minutes back in 1987!

A Letter From Jesus

2007-12-10T21:37:00.001-05:00

A Letter from Jesus about Christmas --

Dear Children,
It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival. Although I do appreciate being remembered anytime.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing George complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other ministry which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember :

I LOVE YOU,
JESUS

Momsense

2007-12-02T17:37:00.000-05:00

Missing Stuff

2007-09-20T18:29:00.000-04:00

I love my life right now. I wouldn't change it. I wouldn't go back to how it once was. But the truth is, I miss some stuff. I miss being able to see people that I have known forever. I miss being able to find my way around without asking for directions. I miss the familiarity.

It's hard living somewhere for a majority of your life, and then moving clear across the country, where you know no one, don't know East from West or North from South. I'm not complaining, not even trying to whine. I'm just saying. I miss some stuff.

I have no title for this

2007-06-14T16:33:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the last day of school for my kids. I now officially have no children in elementary school.

I don't like it. Not one bit. Doesn't matter what you say. You can't make me.

P.S.A

2007-06-12T19:09:00.000-04:00

Having a bad day? Drowning in bills? Kids won't stop making you crazy? I have a very simple solution. Get in your car. Scan the radio stations until you find the classic rock station that is playing AC/DC's 'You Shook Me All Nite Long'. (Trust me, you'll find one) Sing along. LOUD. Loud enough to make your throat hurt. I guarantee it will make you feel better.

5 Things I Wish I Didn't Know

2007-03-28T18:56:00.000-04:00

How long it takes for sugar to process in your body.
There are alot of different types of sugar.
Carbs are not our friend.
Exercise is good for you.
Chocolate comes in the sugar free variety.

For Them

2007-03-15T17:27:00.000-04:00

If you only had one day left, what would you do? We have all heard that question, thought about it, worried about it, but what have we actually done about it? Probably not much. Been a bit nicer maybe. Spend a little more time with your family for a few days. Then what? Right back to the same ol' same ol'. Working, bitching, complaining.

I have no idea where I am going with this. I just know I have so much stuff swimming around in the great big murky sea that is my head, and that I need to get it out. Something happened very recently that has made me look at things differently. I have 2 boys that I would walk to the ends of the Earth for. A man whom I love so much that it hurts and that takes better care of me than I do myself. I have HUGE changes that I HAVE to make. I don't want to. I don't like it. But I have to do it.

Not for me. For them.

Why even have a phone?

2007-02-14T11:24:00.000-05:00

So, I haven't heard from any member of my family since May of last year. My mom called me to tell me that her husband was dead, and she didn't know where my little brother was. (Huge long story, but he had taken my brother, she couldn't see him, and didn't bother to find where he was.) He isn't someone that you would mourn the death of. He was truly an asshole in every sense of the word. I heard from my older (but still younger than me) brother around the same time because he needed me to send him the title to my car, which was till in Vegas (I'm in Philly) and he wanted to sell it. The car broke down there months before, so it didn't really do me any good. He said he would send me half the money, so of course I didn't hear from him again. For awhile I was upset about not hearing from anyone, but I know how they are, and if they don't need help with something they are wrapped up in their own lives, which consists of alcohol, drugs, figuring out where to get your next dollar. Job? No, why do that! My birthday came and went, so did Thanksgiving, Mom's b-day, and then Christmas. No word from anyone. It was to the point where I was ok with all of it. I am the one that has always taken care of everyone else, and for once in my life it was nice to only have to worry about my family here. No drama, no calls from jail, noone telling me they need money. It was a relief.

This brings us to yesterday. Jon came to my work, waited outside for about 45 min til I went on break. I went out to the truck, told him he should have left instead of waiting, but he said he has something to tell me. Apparently there was a message on our voice mail from some guy asking if I still lived there and that it was in reference to my mom. My first thought of course is "she's dead". So I get upset, worry, think the worst, panic, and that was just in the first 30 seconds. So after calling the voice mail, hearing that it was my brothers voice, still worrying, I called him back. I am expecting the worst, he tells me, "Mom's here, I thought you might want to talk to her." Huh??? Why?? "She knows my number, she hasn't called me". "Well, she's been living in a box for the last 8 months." Ummm, great, here we go again. So I ask "Where's Andrew?(brother)" "Noone knows". So my mom, who could have and should have gone to court to find out where he was, didn't bother to do it. She did the same thing with me and my other brother when I was about 13. Long story, for another lifetime. So, back to the convo...I say "So she didn't bother to go to court and find out where he is?" "Nope." "OK, well I'm at work and need to get back inside." "Ok, well call here later so you can talk to her." "Ok, love you, bye."

So, now I am torn between calling her back, and saying screw it. It is really nice to not have to worry about anyone else. I have been doing it my whole life. And that part of me is the part that says I should call her. I don't want to hear the crying, the feeling sorry for herself, the poor woe is me crap. Everything that has happened has been brought on by her actions. I have enough stuff to deal with here.

So now I have to decide what the hell to do.

I hate the dentist

2007-01-29T11:53:00.000-05:00

I had a tooth pulled 5 days ago and it still hurts beyond belief. It feels as if there is something hard in where the hole is. Yes, I know, it's gross, but it's my blog. I'm going back to the dentist this afternoon, and hopefully this visit goes more smoothly than the last.....Let me paint the picture for you : A grown woman crying like a 2 year old, scaring the dentist so bad that he stopped to make sure I wasn't dying! A nurse had to be brought in to sit next to me to calm me down...yep, I am indeed a wuss! Hopefully this time around he gives me something a little stronger than Codeine.

Warning: Space children far apart!

2007-01-09T16:11:00.000-05:00

My kids are 1 year and 25 days apart. There are times (usually few and far between) when they can play together and be just fine, then there are times when they are like a cat and a dog fighting each other. It is absolutely ridiculous how much they fight. I would like to take their heads and smash them into each other sometimes. I wouldn't, but I would like to. I wonder how they would get along if they weren't so close in age. Would the older one be a little more willing to protect the younger one, or would he still be mean and nasty most of the time? Would either one of them care that they are making me nuts? Probably not.

Most people think that kids that close in age always have a built in playmate. And when they were younger that was true. But now that one is in middle school, while the other is still in elementary; one is very aware of what others think of him, while the other really doesn't care; one thinks he is 17, while the other thinks he's 7....I could go on and on but I'll stop, and just finish this up by saying, plan out how far apart your kids will be, it just might save you from the bottle of Xanax!!!

Update from the great beyond....or at least from my living room

2006-12-28T14:02:00.000-05:00

Seeing as how it has been more than 2 months since a post on here, I figured it was about time. Halloween, Thanksgiving, one birthday, and Christmas have come and gone. (pretty much peacefully) Still haven't heard from any member of my family. My boyfriend started a blog (which he failed to tell me about right away). My oldest is a huge pain in the ass with more attitude than I even knew was possible for an 11 yr old. My youngest is quickly catching up to his brother, and I may have to check myself into to the mental ward for the teenage years! It is the end of December and it is still about 50 degrees and not a hint of snow in the forecast. I guess we have global warming to thank for that. (Go Aqua-net!)

And I keep getting a message from blogger anytime I sign on about upgrading to the new version, but I am supposed to log into my google account after the changes have been made. Do I even have a google account?? I love the computer!

Oh yeah, one more thing for one certain person. I was thinking back to May 9, 2004. Thanks for getting drunk.

Grrrrr!!

2006-10-17T17:53:00.000-04:00

Why is it that when I put a pic in my post the text won't line up afterwards??

Four Seasons

2006-10-17T17:05:00.000-04:00

Living in the desert for almost 30 years of my life, I am used to 4 different temperatures, not seasons. Warm, hot, hotter, and 'Oh Dear God, please take me now". Winters would get fairly cold, 40's - 5o's (I can just hear the East Coasters snickering at that). We would have our occasional below 32 degree weather, but coats weren't needed. Light jackets and sweatshirts were all that were ever worn. We never even owned a winter coat until moving here last year. Spring and summer were thrown in together. We would have a month or two of 80-90 degrees, and were very happy for that, then we were smack dab in the middle of the heat. 120 degree days were common. You get used to it. It's not really that bad. (yeah right!)

Now that I am living in Philly I am experiencing, for the first time in my life, four seasons. One of the things that amazed me the first time I came here to visit Jon was the trees. Never have I seen so many trees in one place. The desert doesn't have trees like these. Trees, trees and more trees. No bill boards on the long stretches of freeway, just trees. I look out our sliding door and there is an huge amount of trees. I know, I keep repeating myself, but seriously there are trees everywhere! Let me show you where I grew up.....

Notice the large amounts of dirt? The lack of trees? Don't let the little bit of green full you! Those are what we on the West Coast believe are trees, until we see real ones. Then the fraud is revealed and we realize how wrong we were, anyway.....back to the weather...Winters here are ridiculously cold. People should not have to leave the house when the temperatures are in the teens!! It isn't right. It isn't normal, it is just plain cruel. My first taste of cold was in Jan. of '05 when Jon and I went out to dinner. We left to walk to the truck and it was easily 14 degrees outside. I was soooo cold that all I wanted to do was cry, and had Jon not told me that my tears would freeze to my cheeks if I did, I would have! At the time I didn't have a coat, only a zip up sweatshirt, which I swore that I would be fine in. Boy was I wrong!

I realize that I am rambling on and I am not really sure where I am going with this post anymore, I know that I started off with a point to make, but now I don't remember what it was. Oh well, that is pretty typical for me. I would just like to say that I love living here. Despite the cold, and the intense humidity, (I didn't even touch on that one!) I really do love it here. The change of seasons is wonderful, and when the leaves on the trees change colors, it is gorgeous. It absolutely amazes me how beautiful Mother Nature can be.

Just updating

2006-10-10T13:41:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since I have updated my blog, so here goes....

As of today Jordan is home sick and I am home early from work to take care of him. He is the most miserable looking thing when he is sick. I was pretty sick last week, so I figure it will make the rounds through our house. Oh Joy!!

Halloween is soon, Jon's fave holiday, so the decorations are out, not all up, but out of the shed anyway. Now comes the part when the kids have to decide what to be. That never goes smoothly. Anything I pick out is too lame and uncool for them to be caught wearing! Boys are wonderful!! I remember when I could just go to the store and buy the cutesy costumes and dress them up. I miss them being little, but that's another post for another day. I don't feel like getting all weepy right now.

Not too much to say right now, just want to make sure I stay on top of this blog thing. I spend so much time reading other people's and hardly anytime on my own. I'll be back when something interesting happens.

All alone

2006-09-18T12:42:00.000-04:00

It is Monday. The kids are at school. Jon is at work. Me? I HAVE THE DAY OFF!!!! And what am I going to do with it you ask? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!! Hahahahaha!!!

Letting Go...

2006-09-16T20:12:00.000-04:00

My family is bit on the messed up side. Ok, not really. They are downright f'ed up. My mom is and has always been worried about herself more than others. She can put a guilt trip on you like no other. You actually will believe that whatever it is is all your fault. My dad, who left when I was around 6, is really great (or so it seems) when he is right in front of you, but the second he is gone, so are you. When I was younger my brother and I would see him periodically, usually years between visits. (When I was 14 I ended up living with him and his new wife and daughter for a year, but that is a whole other story for another time.) I will talk to him every now and then and he will act concerned about whatever is going on, and plays the dad part sooo well, but the phone calls are always initiated by me. My childhood wasn't in any way perfect. My teenage years certainly weren't. My 20's?? Hahaha!! I am now 31, divorced w/2 kids and in the first 'adult' relationship in my life.

Drugs and alcohol were always a part of my parent's lives for as far back as I can remember. I knew about it and would always make sure that others didn't. I hid things and covered up. My mom grew pot plants in our yard and dried the leaves in the microwave. When I was a teenager my friends would come over to get high with her. (I didn't get high) She would hound them if she was out. It is truly amazing that I turned out as 'normal' as I did!

I moved to Philly to live with Jon in Aug 2005. At the time I was living in CA with my mom and stepdad, brother (he has been in and out of jail since he was 15, he's 28), and half brother (14). I was there for a year out of necessity, not choice. Since I have been here alot of crap has taken place with her. My youngest brother is no longer living with her and she has no idea where he is, she got evicted because drugs are more important than rent, and rent was only $350!! Anyway, suffice it to say, she is a huge flake. I know all of this. Yet I still feel responsible sometimes for making sure everyone is ok. I have my own family here, my own kids to worry about, my own bills, my own happiness, yet the guilt is still there.

My birthday was a week ago and I didn't hear from anyone. It hurt, and honestly still does. Jon told me today that maybe it is time for me to let them go. Obviously they don't worry about me nearly as much as I do about them. I only ever hear from them when they need something, and now that I am as far away from them as I am I think they know that the odds of them getting anything are slim to none.

So maybe it is time to wash my hands of all of it. To just worry about my family that is here, that does care about me, and that didn't forget my birthday.

5 Years Later

2006-09-11T08:49:00.000-04:00

It has been 5 years since the attacks. 5 years since family and friends had to wonder where their loved ones were, and if they were alive. 5 years since our nation changed forever.

Everyone knows where they were when the attacks took place, and I'm sure always will. It isn't something easily forgotten. And I certainly don't think it should be. What bothers me is that today the footage will be replayed over and over and over again, as if we don't already have the images embedded in our heads. The families and friends of the victims will once again be subjected to seeing it take place, to answering questions, to being bombarded with all of it as if it just happened.

When someone dies, you need a period to mourn the loss, and while it is never forgotten, you heal and move on from the hurt and anger. (I am not in anyway saying this is an easy thing to do or that it is a quick process.) I just wonder how the families of the victims can do this when every year it is shown to them again. If your loved one died in a car accident or had a heart attack would you want to watch footage of it every year on the anniversary of their death? Probably not. I know that our nation will continue to mark this day with much media coverage and the like, I just pray that the families don't have to grieve all over again, and that they can truly heal from the horror that took place in their lives.

My B-Day

2006-09-10T21:46:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my 31st bday. I spent the day at the shore watching the kids ride in a monster truck, playing silly games, eating way over priced food, being chased by a dead crab, running from water, cleaning sand out from between my toes, walking and walking, sharing the roads with extremely loud motorcycles, and I wouldn't of had it any other way.

Boys are dumb

2006-09-08T23:01:00.000-04:00

I am sitting here listening to the 3 boys that I live with watching the game 'Scene It' on Nick, I believe. If anyone isn't familiar with this game, it contains dvd's of different things on tv that you watch, and then answer questions. They are all competing against each other, and arguing with each question!! And considering that one of them is 35 and a much faster reader, one of them is 10 and a bit whiny, and the other is 9 and a bit spastic, it can be quite humorous.....Oh, my bad, apparently 'Scene it' is on OnDemand and it is time for round 2. Excuse me if you will, I must go kick their butts!

Getting started

2006-09-08T17:46:00.000-04:00

I feel like I keep starting new blogs and never really keep up with them. I read other people's everyday, and wonder why I should even do this when my life is sooo much more boring than what I read. Will anyone read this? Probably not. But even so, I have decided I will give it another shot and go from there.

testing

2006-09-08T17:27:00.000-04:00

figuring things out