We piled in the car last night on the way to the city to pick up tickets for Monsters Vrs. Aliens. Logan was at a sleepover so we only had the two oldest boys int he car, Parker who is nine, and Blake who is six.
Parker : Blake did you know that race car spelled backwards is still race car?
Blake : No it isn't
Parker : Yes! See r-a-c-e-c-a-r is race car and backwards it's still r-a-c-e-c-a-r!
Blake: Cool!
Parker : what's tat called? When a word is the same backwards and forwards?
Me: It's called a Pal-
Blake (interrupting) : It's called HOTWHEELS
ahh consumerism, it always strikes when you least expect it!
Blake is either going to be one of those late night infomercial hosts or he will be the guy sitting at home, wide a wake at 2 am, phone in hand watching the Shop At Home network!
Blake LOVES the ShamWow commercial - he can do it by heart. My mother in law and I even joked a few days ago that we should get him a set of ShamWow cloths for his birthday at the end of April!
I can still remember his excitement - this must have been two years ago or so, when he saw a "Tide ball" (I can't find a link, but it was a ball you fill up with detergent for your washing machine) Blake was so excited when he saw it in the store, he started reciting the commercial to me exclaiming that I HAD to have it! that it would make my Laundry so much easier.
And whenever Sea World starts playing their commercials on the television, Blake begs us to check out San Diego hotel, and sings the Sea World Theme song.
Yep. Blake is going to have issues when grows up!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Home Helper Tip 101
My eldest son recently went to the dentist for a regular check up, each time we go to the dentist, we get a new toothbrush at the end of the visit. I love that!
But what do I do with my old toothbrushes? LOTS!
I keep one in my kitchen to use on the rim of my sink. now, I wash, with a cloth, the inside of my sink and around the edge of it every time I finish washing a load of dishes - and with five people in our family, dishes are washed a lot!
But, no matter how often I run my cloth along that edge, crap gets stuck under the rim of the sink. I hate it. If I had the chance, I would buy and install an undermount sink, that's the kind where the edge of the counter goes right up to the opening of the sink, there is no rim for crap to get stuck in.
SO. Do not ever through out an old toothbrush - they work on sinks, the runner that the windows are in, I even keep one separate for helping me scrub dishes! (A toothbrush will clean a cheese grater in seconds!!)
But what do I do with my old toothbrushes? LOTS!
I keep one in my kitchen to use on the rim of my sink. now, I wash, with a cloth, the inside of my sink and around the edge of it every time I finish washing a load of dishes - and with five people in our family, dishes are washed a lot!
But, no matter how often I run my cloth along that edge, crap gets stuck under the rim of the sink. I hate it. If I had the chance, I would buy and install an undermount sink, that's the kind where the edge of the counter goes right up to the opening of the sink, there is no rim for crap to get stuck in.
SO. Do not ever through out an old toothbrush - they work on sinks, the runner that the windows are in, I even keep one separate for helping me scrub dishes! (A toothbrush will clean a cheese grater in seconds!!)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The Post In Which I Gross You Out Just a Little Bit
My husband has a watch.
It's a cloth band, digital black watch. It has the time, the date, and a few little features like a stop watch, waterproofing, and other crap like that.
My husband wears his watch every day. All day long.
He wears it to work, he wears it to bed, he even wears it in the shower.
My problem is him wearing it in the shower.
Let me back up a sec. Have you ever been busy and left a load of lau - brb gonna go change the clothes from the washer to the dryer - back - sorry about that!
OK, have you ever left a load of Laundry in the washer, forgotten allll about it, and then when you Do remember, you open the door to the washing machine and that unmistakable odor of sour clothes blasts you in the face? At that point, your only option is to re wash the closet - sometimes it takes more than one wash to get the smell out!
ANyway. That's what his watch smells like. Sour clothes. Not all the time, but for a good two hours after his shower, I can smell it if I am less than ten feet away.
I can smell it right now.
AND IT"S GROSS.
It's caused, of course, becuase he wears it in the shower, the band gets wet and then it drys very slowly because it is stuck on his arm instead of laid out to dry.
He likes his watch and, even though I have offered, he does not want me to get him a NICE watch, like a Patek Philippe. Something that he could TAKE OFF when he showers, something nice looking.
But Noooooo! He likes the conviniance of a watch he does not have to take on and off. AND he said that if he started taking his watch on and off, he would lose it, like the six watches I've lost.
Well you know what buddy? MY WATCH STRAP MIGHT BE LOST, BUT AT LEAST IT DOESN'T STINK!
So. The point is. His watch smells. I don't like smelly things. Short of cutting off his arm to remove his watch, is there ANYTHING I can do (and by "I", I mean him) to get rid of the smell? (the smell, by the way, does not bother him at all!
It's a cloth band, digital black watch. It has the time, the date, and a few little features like a stop watch, waterproofing, and other crap like that.
My husband wears his watch every day. All day long.
He wears it to work, he wears it to bed, he even wears it in the shower.
My problem is him wearing it in the shower.
Let me back up a sec. Have you ever been busy and left a load of lau - brb gonna go change the clothes from the washer to the dryer - back - sorry about that!
OK, have you ever left a load of Laundry in the washer, forgotten allll about it, and then when you Do remember, you open the door to the washing machine and that unmistakable odor of sour clothes blasts you in the face? At that point, your only option is to re wash the closet - sometimes it takes more than one wash to get the smell out!
ANyway. That's what his watch smells like. Sour clothes. Not all the time, but for a good two hours after his shower, I can smell it if I am less than ten feet away.
I can smell it right now.
AND IT"S GROSS.
It's caused, of course, becuase he wears it in the shower, the band gets wet and then it drys very slowly because it is stuck on his arm instead of laid out to dry.
He likes his watch and, even though I have offered, he does not want me to get him a NICE watch, like a Patek Philippe. Something that he could TAKE OFF when he showers, something nice looking.
But Noooooo! He likes the conviniance of a watch he does not have to take on and off. AND he said that if he started taking his watch on and off, he would lose it, like the six watches I've lost.
Well you know what buddy? MY WATCH STRAP MIGHT BE LOST, BUT AT LEAST IT DOESN'T STINK!
So. The point is. His watch smells. I don't like smelly things. Short of cutting off his arm to remove his watch, is there ANYTHING I can do (and by "I", I mean him) to get rid of the smell? (the smell, by the way, does not bother him at all!
Need your advice
Tom and Sheila have a GPS device. They use it to go geocaching.
I'd like to go with them, but they've never invited me.
And I live 23 hours (by car) away from her.
Now, I have no idea what GPS device Tom and Sheila have, but I do know it's a little old. it was bought before Windows introduced Vista. Yesterday Tom tried to hook the GPS up to his new laptop to put in some coordinates, but nothing was working. Tom's Laptop runs Vista.
What are the options here? Do they need to go out and get a whole new GPS device? One that is up to date, or is there away to upgrade an older system so that it runs with Vista?
Anyone Know?
I'd like to go with them, but they've never invited me.
And I live 23 hours (by car) away from her.
Now, I have no idea what GPS device Tom and Sheila have, but I do know it's a little old. it was bought before Windows introduced Vista. Yesterday Tom tried to hook the GPS up to his new laptop to put in some coordinates, but nothing was working. Tom's Laptop runs Vista.
What are the options here? Do they need to go out and get a whole new GPS device? One that is up to date, or is there away to upgrade an older system so that it runs with Vista?
Anyone Know?
Sunday, March 15, 2009
The Early Bird gets the Worm!
We know what Santa is bringing the boys this year!
I know, I know, it's only March, but I just had to tell you!
This year, Santa will be bringing the boys their very first joint gift, a notebook computer.
I *THINK* that's what they are called, anyway. We are going to get them one of those teeny tiny laptops! I've been talking to different people on twitter who have bought them and like them, and I just think it's an awesome idea!
My husband was worried becuase he had heard the tiny laptops were only good for going online and nothing else, but the one I am looking at has Windows, and if it has Windows it will have a word program of some type which means Parker will be able to use it for school. Right now, Parker is sitting at the kitchen table with - no exaggeration - 40 pieces of paper I have printed off the school website working on his grade Four Saskatchewan Research project.
It was either print it out or lose the computer for hours and hours at a time while he works on his project, and we all know how addicted I am to the computer!
BUT!
After Christmas, when they have their own laptop, Parker can work right off the internet without me having to waste time (and money) printing out the pages. Plus, I've checked and the notebook memory and storage they have available will well suit their needs.
Right now, other than fooling around on a few of my Facebook apps, or playing at MiniClips, the boys don't really go online, the pictures the boys take are stored on my computer so they won't take up space, and with a flash drive (or large memory card) Parker can transfer his projects to my laptop after they are done, freeing up space on the tiny one!
Honestly, I thought it would be harder to convince Micah that this is the direction we should go this Christmas, but once he took the time to check out the notebooks I found online, he is now in agreement with me.
Of course, we won;t be actually purchasing it until closer to December for two reasons : 1. to take full advantage of the Factory Warranty, and 2. becuase I have a hard time keeping secrets from the kids and I just know that I would spill the beans if it was shit up in my closet for months and moths waiting for Christmas Morning.
I'm SO excited!
I know, I know, it's only March, but I just had to tell you!
This year, Santa will be bringing the boys their very first joint gift, a notebook computer.
I *THINK* that's what they are called, anyway. We are going to get them one of those teeny tiny laptops! I've been talking to different people on twitter who have bought them and like them, and I just think it's an awesome idea!
My husband was worried becuase he had heard the tiny laptops were only good for going online and nothing else, but the one I am looking at has Windows, and if it has Windows it will have a word program of some type which means Parker will be able to use it for school. Right now, Parker is sitting at the kitchen table with - no exaggeration - 40 pieces of paper I have printed off the school website working on his grade Four Saskatchewan Research project.
It was either print it out or lose the computer for hours and hours at a time while he works on his project, and we all know how addicted I am to the computer!
BUT!
After Christmas, when they have their own laptop, Parker can work right off the internet without me having to waste time (and money) printing out the pages. Plus, I've checked and the notebook memory and storage they have available will well suit their needs.
Right now, other than fooling around on a few of my Facebook apps, or playing at MiniClips, the boys don't really go online, the pictures the boys take are stored on my computer so they won't take up space, and with a flash drive (or large memory card) Parker can transfer his projects to my laptop after they are done, freeing up space on the tiny one!
Honestly, I thought it would be harder to convince Micah that this is the direction we should go this Christmas, but once he took the time to check out the notebooks I found online, he is now in agreement with me.
Of course, we won;t be actually purchasing it until closer to December for two reasons : 1. to take full advantage of the Factory Warranty, and 2. becuase I have a hard time keeping secrets from the kids and I just know that I would spill the beans if it was shit up in my closet for months and moths waiting for Christmas Morning.
I'm SO excited!
Friday, March 13, 2009
BED TIME!
I love bedtime. Wait. Strike that. I'm not a huge fan of ending my night and going to bed, but hot damn, once I am IN bed, I never want to leave it! Crawling into my heated bed (We live in Saskatchewan and get -50 or lower temperatures six months out of the year, so a heated bed is a MUST)sliding in under my Sferra sheets (Is it just me, or is the best smell in the world freshly laundered bed linens?) MMmmmmHM I love bedtime!
My ONLY problem with bedtime is my blanket. You see, I want it to smell fresh and clean, but it's HUGE and, sure, it fits in both my washer and dryer, but it is a pain in the ass to launder. PLUS, it's fuzzy, and the dog sleeps at the foot of the bed, and the cat sleeps where ever she pleases on the bed, so not only will the washer be attacked by the fuzz, it gets full of both dog and cat hair as well.
Last week I washed our blanket, and the next load I washed, the machine sounded...weird. I talked it over with my dad and he suggested running an empty load to clear out the dog hair, that maybe the hair was clogging it up. Well. I can't wash an empty load, my particular machine won't run if there is nothing in it, so I took some clean sheets from the linen closet and washed those.
Sure enough, after a hair free load, the washer went back to sounding normal.
I'm thinking about taking our blankets to the laundromat from now on. I know we have one in town... what would you do?
My ONLY problem with bedtime is my blanket. You see, I want it to smell fresh and clean, but it's HUGE and, sure, it fits in both my washer and dryer, but it is a pain in the ass to launder. PLUS, it's fuzzy, and the dog sleeps at the foot of the bed, and the cat sleeps where ever she pleases on the bed, so not only will the washer be attacked by the fuzz, it gets full of both dog and cat hair as well.
Last week I washed our blanket, and the next load I washed, the machine sounded...weird. I talked it over with my dad and he suggested running an empty load to clear out the dog hair, that maybe the hair was clogging it up. Well. I can't wash an empty load, my particular machine won't run if there is nothing in it, so I took some clean sheets from the linen closet and washed those.
Sure enough, after a hair free load, the washer went back to sounding normal.
I'm thinking about taking our blankets to the laundromat from now on. I know we have one in town... what would you do?
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
ZOMG YESSSSS!
A few weeks back, a bunch of people were discussing a type of ear bud called the "Skull Candy" Apparently they are "ALL THAT" and everyone should have them and blah blah blah.
Nothing is EVER as good as other people make it out to be, ya know?
In any case I followed their links and ended up on an amazon site - which - suckage people, amazon.com refuses to ship to Canada, they just redirect you to the dot CA site, and the CA site has NOTHING. Well. Nothing good, anyway.
I decided that for the price, I might as well order a pair though. To order, I have to find a US resident (Hi Sheila!!) who was willing to let me paypal her the money and order them for me! She even had them shipped to her home so that shipping was less. Sheila rocks!
Today a package from sheila came in the mail. It was filled with Fizzy Socks, weird Japanese gum, a kickass shirt and the ear buds.
As soon as I had a chance I ripped open the packaging ( I only cut myself twice!) And popped those suckers in my ear.
My first reaction was to rip them back out of my ear just as fast - the things sucktion into your ear!! I put them back in and reveled in the sudden absolute quiet. The dogs were barking, the kids were playing and Hubs was on rockband but I was off in my own little world of QUIET.
I would buy these just to use as EAR PLUGS!
So I hooked everything up to my iTouch and pushed play. Bad decision. I had been using the iTouch earlier int eh afternoon and had my volume set to high, where I normally have it, and with my old ear buds, high was fine. With the Skull Candy high was eardrum blasting PAIN. I turned the volume right down, right down people, and pushed play again. HEAVEN!
And the big thing? Not only are they comfortable, once you get past the suction feeling, but they do not fall out when I move my head, or walk around with them in.
I got the metallic blue ones, but here is a link to some pink ones on Amazon. I've heard, on twitter, that you can also find these in your local Target store - wouldn't know about that, we don't have Target stores here :o(. According to twitter the ones at Target are a wee bit cheaper. So go forth people! Find the Skull Candy.
No need to thank me!
Nothing is EVER as good as other people make it out to be, ya know?
In any case I followed their links and ended up on an amazon site - which - suckage people, amazon.com refuses to ship to Canada, they just redirect you to the dot CA site, and the CA site has NOTHING. Well. Nothing good, anyway.
I decided that for the price, I might as well order a pair though. To order, I have to find a US resident (Hi Sheila!!) who was willing to let me paypal her the money and order them for me! She even had them shipped to her home so that shipping was less. Sheila rocks!
Today a package from sheila came in the mail. It was filled with Fizzy Socks, weird Japanese gum, a kickass shirt and the ear buds.
As soon as I had a chance I ripped open the packaging ( I only cut myself twice!) And popped those suckers in my ear.
My first reaction was to rip them back out of my ear just as fast - the things sucktion into your ear!! I put them back in and reveled in the sudden absolute quiet. The dogs were barking, the kids were playing and Hubs was on rockband but I was off in my own little world of QUIET.
I would buy these just to use as EAR PLUGS!
So I hooked everything up to my iTouch and pushed play. Bad decision. I had been using the iTouch earlier int eh afternoon and had my volume set to high, where I normally have it, and with my old ear buds, high was fine. With the Skull Candy high was eardrum blasting PAIN. I turned the volume right down, right down people, and pushed play again. HEAVEN!
And the big thing? Not only are they comfortable, once you get past the suction feeling, but they do not fall out when I move my head, or walk around with them in.
I got the metallic blue ones, but here is a link to some pink ones on Amazon. I've heard, on twitter, that you can also find these in your local Target store - wouldn't know about that, we don't have Target stores here :o(. According to twitter the ones at Target are a wee bit cheaper. So go forth people! Find the Skull Candy.
No need to thank me!
Sunday, March 01, 2009
WANT
Sooooooo.
So.
I'm teetering on the edge of a VERY slippery slope right now.
You see I have this camera. A Kodac EasyShare DX7590. It's a very nice camera, I can use it as either a point and shoot or turn it to manual and use it like an SLR. The slippery slope I talk about is this. I found lenses that fit my DX7590, and I want. WANT.
Now, the wide angle and telephoto lens are each only 150.00, which is not very expensive, when you think of it. BUT, and it is a BIG but. what if I fall in love with lenses and need them like a junkie needs crack? From my research, the wine angle (drool) and the telephoto lens are the only two that fit my camera. After that I would need to venture into the world of Cannon and Nikon. And that, my friend is where the real $$$ comes into play.
In any case. My Birthday is In July, and I think I will buy a lens in celebration. I'm not sure which one yet, both of them are all kinds of drool worth for me, but I have five months to decide....
In one way, I want to love the lens, I want to be able to take pictures in a new way, but in another way, I want to hate the lens. I want to hate that I have to thread it on to take the shot, That I can't just point and click. Because If I hate it, I won't be tempted to buy more. KWIM?
So.
I'm teetering on the edge of a VERY slippery slope right now.
You see I have this camera. A Kodac EasyShare DX7590. It's a very nice camera, I can use it as either a point and shoot or turn it to manual and use it like an SLR. The slippery slope I talk about is this. I found lenses that fit my DX7590, and I want. WANT.
Now, the wide angle and telephoto lens are each only 150.00, which is not very expensive, when you think of it. BUT, and it is a BIG but. what if I fall in love with lenses and need them like a junkie needs crack? From my research, the wine angle (drool) and the telephoto lens are the only two that fit my camera. After that I would need to venture into the world of Cannon and Nikon. And that, my friend is where the real $$$ comes into play.
In any case. My Birthday is In July, and I think I will buy a lens in celebration. I'm not sure which one yet, both of them are all kinds of drool worth for me, but I have five months to decide....
In one way, I want to love the lens, I want to be able to take pictures in a new way, but in another way, I want to hate the lens. I want to hate that I have to thread it on to take the shot, That I can't just point and click. Because If I hate it, I won't be tempted to buy more. KWIM?
I Has A Happy
My In Laws came home last night.
They left Boxing Day to go to Porta Vallarta, Mexico, and they just returned home last night.
The eldest two boys and Micah met them at the airport to bring them home, then we let them rest and unpack for two hours before the five of us ran over to mob them.
It was So good!
And you know, people think I am excited about this because my babysitters are back and i can finally go out ALONE with hubs, and yes, that is a part, but even knowing that they cannot possibly take the boys for another full week ( school, etc, gets in the way) I was just so happy to sit with them and shoot the shit for hours last night.
we finally bundled the kids up at midnight and left, my mother in law was pretty much falling asleep in her Berkline lounger as we talked, but OMG. I am So happy right now!
I had asked Micah to take the camera to the airport with him to try to caprture the boys faces when they saw their Nana and Papa for the first time after 2 months, but he forgot the camera at home. That made me sad, but OMG, its nice to have them home!!
They left Boxing Day to go to Porta Vallarta, Mexico, and they just returned home last night.
The eldest two boys and Micah met them at the airport to bring them home, then we let them rest and unpack for two hours before the five of us ran over to mob them.
It was So good!
And you know, people think I am excited about this because my babysitters are back and i can finally go out ALONE with hubs, and yes, that is a part, but even knowing that they cannot possibly take the boys for another full week ( school, etc, gets in the way) I was just so happy to sit with them and shoot the shit for hours last night.
we finally bundled the kids up at midnight and left, my mother in law was pretty much falling asleep in her Berkline lounger as we talked, but OMG. I am So happy right now!
I had asked Micah to take the camera to the airport with him to try to caprture the boys faces when they saw their Nana and Papa for the first time after 2 months, but he forgot the camera at home. That made me sad, but OMG, its nice to have them home!!
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