Merry Christmas!

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!

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...

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

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!!!

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

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!)

Politics aside, this is funny!!!

I'm "It"

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

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!

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

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...

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...

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

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

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

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!)

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!

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

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

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!!