Cake pops

For teh boys school Christmas celebrations, I made each of them a set of thirty cake pops. Ten snowman, ten reindeer and ten Christmas trees and they were quite a hit, let me tell you! I spent the day in Logans class with him for their class party, and the kids were positively feral for anything remotely sugarish!

And sugar there was! Wow! There were teh requisite meat and cheese and veggies trays, but most of the parents sent cookies squares, cupcakes and otehr such goodies! I had my fill, Im gonna need some decatrim after the way I ate, but it was all so good!

The best of all of the treats, I am happy to say, were the purple grapes. I've never had a grape so flavorful or juicy as those grapes! We normally get green grapes at the grocery store, becuase I remember purple grapes as being rather dry and flavorless, but according to my taste buds on Friday, that is about to change!

Six

This morning I woke up and got dressed - I generally stay in my pajamas until noon or so, and quite often go back to bed after the boys go to school, but those morning was different because i had an appointment at 9:15 to take my pup to the groomers.

My groomer lives four blocs from me. I saw six cars in the ditch, one had hit a parked car and was quite banged up, on my way to her house. I sure hope those cars had gotten nice car insurance quotes, because with the two hours of freezing rain we had last night, I am sure those six cars are not the only vehicles in that ended up in the ditch last night/this morning.

I slid and slipped around the corners myself, and got stuck on one corner too!

And all of that for nothing, becuase today is Wednesday, not Thursday and Sam's appointment was for Thursday. if Only I had figured out how to tell the days of the week before I walked into my groomers place to find her in her pajamas and on her first cuppa java!

Gah! Embarrassing!

Secret Santa

Our eldest is in grade six this year and he came home from school on Wedneesday all excited that his class is doing a secret santa. I know I was always excited about secret santa exchanges at my school.

At the schools there is a limit on the cost of the exchange to parents by enforcing a price cap on the gifts. That means that the super cool gifts like gym passes for wrestlers or a scooter are out, but its surprising how many gifts under ten bucks a kid can find.

We ended up spending a wee tiny bit more than the 10 limit, 12.99, but SHHHHH! That will be our secret!

Cyber Monday

Tomorrow is Cyber Monday, and I am looking forward to seeing if there are any super "I can;t live without that" deals online for me. There is a way to make money online, but you have to be diligent and make sure you research all of your options first.

If I make a considerably good deal online shopping, I consider that to be money made. Fore example. if I want to buy X product and in a store it is 20 bucks, but online it is 5, I feel I have "made" 15 bucks!

And because I lean towards that type of thinking, it is exciting to think that there may be some super sales online !!

bedtime

Micah and Parker are three doors down catching the Grey Cup game, and me, Blake and Logan are at home. Blake and Logan have 8PM bedtimes and they need to keep to their proper bedtimes on school nights becuase they are grouchy little brats if they do not get enough sleep.

Parker is eleven though, on the verge of attitude, hormones and acne, and as such, has a later bedtime. 9PM.

Parker wakes up very easily and cheerfully in the morning too, so it is obvious to me that eh can handle this later bedtime. My younger two don't cause a fuss at going to bed earlier than Parker except on days like this, where they have to go to bed and they know that Parker is still off somewhere having fun!

if the younger two were capable of getting up in the morning on less sleep, then I would allow them to stay up on special days like this, but they aren't and as a parent I have to do what is right for them, and make them do what they do not want, because I know it is what they need.

And I am perfectly fine being the big Meany and doing it!

Leather and claws

We brought out dogs to my dads house tonight and besides the noisiness there is one other issue that we are dealing with.

The dogs are accustomed to sitting on the couches with us at home and cannot quite understand why they aren't allowed to sit here.

See, here the couches are leather, and there are no slipcovers in sight, meaning the couch is at serious risk from the doggy claws!

Quite the night so far, though, the dogs have new things to smell and new places to run and are barking up a storm! It's quite annoying!

The worst is Done!

I often find Micah super super hard to buy for, and consider him the "hardest" to get done fro Christmas. Sure, he gives us lots of ideas, but I don;t want just some dumb dorky assed thing, I want something he will super enjoy and really really love.

And still, I am done. D.O.N.E shopping for him!

Yeah, you heard me. Done.

And yet, even though i got him all his Christmas gifts, I *still* found him another gift - except, I just gave it to him, I didn't keep it back for Christmas (or his birthday in January)

Tonight when we were out shopping we found the cutest sweaters and I couldn't resist, and bought one for Micah.

I can't wait til tomorrow, he tried it on tonight when we got home, but he did it over a tee shirt. Tomorrow he will wear it for real and I think he will look Hawt!!

All I want For Christmas...

I was out, with the boys, for coffee tonight with my BFF Kissy. We went shopping after coffee and it was awesome! We like to be all sneaky sneaky about what we are getting for each other, we try to make sure the other doesn't know at all what we want :D

But tonight, there was a sale on ugg boots and she got a *bit* too excited about it, if you know what I mean!

Tomorrow I'm gonna be picking up a pair of size six uggs and wrapping them in festive paper for my BFF!!

And best of all, she still has no idea what I want! hahaha! I mean, she can go the easy route and get me socks, but that's not our style!

Idea!!

Micah and i are really stuck on what to get the boys for Christmas from the jolly red guy, if you know who I mean.

I just. They have a lot of crap, so what can we get them?

And unless someone has access to cheap flyer printing and starts dropping flyers full of ideas by the million from planes overhead, i think we are in trouble.

Actually, we are *kinda* thinking about getting the boys a pool table. We are checking online and I have found a few that look to be in OK condition, and they are for under 200 bucks, which is beyond awesome, but it would be darn hard to transport it, you know?

What do you think, would a six, eight and eleven year old enjoy a pool table? I know me and Micah would.... but they need to as well!

Close call!

Micah is off trying his best to murder Bambi's mama (Or better yet, Bambi's daddy), and while he is gone, the boys and i took advantage of his absence and headed into the city to do some last minute Christmas shopping.

Micah is harder to shop for so he is often left to the very end - and yes, I know that some of you don't feel that the first half of November is last minute shopping, but darnit, I do!

I'm please to say that except for one video game, which is not out until the 16th, we successfully bought his Christmas gifts!

One really super bad thing was at the till, as the cashier was running my stuff over her barcode scanner I was busy in my purse looking for my debit card and I could NOT find it.


It's been YEARS since I've had that particular thing happen to me and it was horrifying. Scenarios of having to actually say out loud that I did not have money with me were running through my head, and also? The lie was FULL there were tonnes of people behind me, waiting their turn!

Luckily, I found it *JUST* as she gave the total, but man, it was close!

Slow as Molasses!

My laptop is on its last legs. I have an online backup that runs at 4 am every morning so I am confidant I wont lose my pictures and music, but geesh it will suck when my computer dies. I really don't want to have to buy another PC right now, money is tight.

However, this time I am thinking about desktops as opposed to Laptops.

I have my iPad now, so when I travel I can do almost everything on my iPad that I can on a laptop, so I may as well get a desktop instead of a laptop. it would have better everything, including storage, that's for sure.

What are your opinions on laptops vs. Desktops? And don't suggest a mac. I'm not buying mac, they are too expensive!

Spare Tire

Heheheheh.

guess what!

My husband, the stick thin, turn sideways and become invisible man, the one who laughs and jokes about eating a horse and losing weight - is gaining weight!!!

He has the teeny tiniest tummy pooch right now !!

I'm not sure if he has even noticed he has gained weight and It's not something I can point out either, becuase HELLO!!! I've gained weight since we got married so how hypocritical would it be of me to say DUDE! Take some vitamins for men or do some sit ups or something!

besides....it's kinda cute LOL

My chocolate plan

In order to not have to stock up on a decades worth of Lipofuze this halloween, I have decided to limit my intake of chocolate - note I said limit not avoidance of.

I already know that I will eat halloween candy (mostly becuase Ive had two mini chocolate bars in the last hour LOL) so saying that I will NOT have any is just setting myself up for failure.

I have decided to limit myself to four pieces of whatever candy. Except gum, becuase gum is not candy LOL

Caution! Thin Ice!!

We got snow on the 26th and it has not gone away, those some of it has melted - just enough to cause a horrible layer of ice on everything. Then, to make things worse, we are getting a wet fog every night which means EVERYTHING is coated in a thin thin layer of ice when you go out. Cars, roads, houses, grass, trees, everything has a thin layer. it sucks, becuase I AM A KLUTZ!!!

I take the best calcium supplements I can find, and try to be alert, but it never fails, ice outside? I WILL fall. So far I have not broken a bone (YAY!) but as I age, I worry that THIS will be the winter I slip and break my wrist or ankle. And how horrid would that be? To be a klutzy person already, and try to navigate snow and ice with crutches?

Oye!

EEK!

My husband opted to take an extra shift at work today so I told him that I would do our grocery shopping so he could take a nap - he got up at 4 am to work, so he was tired.

Because there was no impatient man to rush rush rush for, I took my time shopping, it was just me and the boys, and we had a blast. I picked up some hair dye (red). Normally I don't even look at the dye becuase my husband likes to get in and get out of a store as fast as possible, and I like to walk around, take my time, relax and enjoy myself!

Normally, my BFF, Nikki dyes my hair for me, but she is working a lot lately, and I've decided that I will dye my own hair. people dye their own hair all the time, so it should be OK, right?

I'm worried that I should have bought some muscle builders when I bought my hair dye though. My arms get insanely sore when I try to use my straightener, something about holding them up over my head makes me get stiff super easy, and There is no pause and rest during hair dye application, not like when I straighten my hair, I can do a section, take a break and do another section. With hair dye, the timing is important so once I start, that's it, I have to finish!

I'm also super worried that I will miss parts of my hair, and since I am going from a light-ish brown to red, it will be noticeable if I miss! I bought two boxes of the color so that I don't have to worry about running out, and i will have more than enough, I hope to fully saturate my hair!

Any tips and tricks to dyeing hair? I wont be doing it until Tuesday or Wednesday night so hit me with everything you've got!

Happy halloween!

Once again it is Halloween time :D

I love halloween, the excitement of making costumes, the deliciousness of the candy and of course, the pumpkin carving!


My husband did Doctor who, isn't it awesome!



I did Edward and Bella from Twilight, its OK, but not super. Oh well, I am pleased with it anyway!


Here are all five - the boys each did their own as well :D

Tomorrow it will be time for dressing up and going door to door for candy, which is awesome! it's not gonna be very cold, they say anyway. About plus five during the day, dropping to minus ten in the evening/night, so not appropriate for womens sandals, but not the end of the world either. the kids will be able to wear just normal pants under their costumes instead of ski pants :D

Best Costume Ever

Did you hear that Ellen is going as Snooki's POOF for Halloween? She is, really! it's true! I have Proof !!

If you do not know who Snooki is, then count your lucy stars! she is a douce from teh "reality show" jersy shore - here is a picture of her


Notice they did not let her hold onto the horse tack? Yeah, well thats becuase the most elaborate thing Snooki can handle is a pickle.

Seriously. she is quite the specimen!

So A lot of people are painting themselves orange and going as snooki, but Ellen, as snooki's poof/ PURE GENIUS!

YES!!

So I have been working really hard - SUPER hard, to save money to buy my husband something he has wanted for about 18 months now. Its a special drum set, but it costs 300 bucks. So even though we kept saying we were gonna save X amount and buy them, we never did. Real life gets in the way, you know?

So finally I saved the money - he has NO idea I saved it, and I even found a coupon online,like tiger direct coupons, kinda. The coupon saved me 10% of my order - and on 300 bucks, ten percent is a LOT

Anyway. The drums will be here in about a week, and I will have to hide them until Christmas, but holy crap, I cannot wait to see his face Christmas morning!

Sugar Crisp

The local grocery store is somewhere we try very very hard not to shop at, It has super ridiculous pricing. However, when you run out of toilet paper, that's not exactly a thing you can say "Oh well, I guess we will do without until we can get to the city"

So I went to the grocery store, and BAM! right up front and center, grabbing your eye the minute you walk in was a display of sugar Crisp. OMG.

SUGAR CRISP!

I forgot they even make that cereal!

And BONUS! it was on for 2$ a box! I of course, snapped up five (or six) boxes and brought them home.

I might as well start pressing the click here buttons on weightloss websites, becuase as well as forgetting about the cereal, when I saw, and b ought it, I had forgotten just how bloody sweet it was!

The kids of course, love it.

LOL

Meow!

We have a birthday in our home every three months - with the exception of mine, which occurs 5 days after Logans', in July. Micah January, Parker October, Blake April, Logan June. And me, as i said, July.

I enjoy making sure that cakes are made for Birthdays, Even Micah's, and in return, my husband makes sure I have a cake too. This of course means any weight loss plans I have must run for only 2 months and 29 days, becuase on that third month, Im getting my Cake On, Baby!

For the children, we make both a birthday cake for home (often two home birthday cakes, as we tend to celebrate once with my husbands folks and once with mine.) and we also make either a cake or cupcakes for them to take to school.

here are Parker's School Cuppycakes :D Being born October 29th makes it super fun to do his cakes and et el, LOL


First we (Meaning I) (Let me say, Micah usually helps 50% or more on these cakes/cupcakes, but this one was so damn easy, he sat this one out.) First I made the cats. Using candy wafers (bought at a craft store, you melt them) I used wax paper over a printed template, and "drew" the cats on with the melted candy. Then, while the candy was still wet, I covered them liberally with black sugar sprinkles. When they set, I knock off the excess sprinkles.


Here is a finished cat. They are VERY delicate. The break quite easily, so always always always make more of whatever you are making with the wafer, that you will need. I made 45 cats for 30 cupcakes and ended up having to use broken cats anyway. They. Break.EASY


I cut the tops of the cupcakes off to make them flat(er) (I cut crooked on a lot, which broke a few cats) After cutting the cupcakes I crumb coated them, heated the icing in a glass bowl and dipped the cupcakes in to coat them.



I put them in the fridge to let the icing set so the hot icing would not melt the candy cats in any way. once they were cooled, I piped a dot of icing on the backs of the cats and stuck them on the yellow cupcakes.

Voila!

RUDE

I had to run to the store for butter and TP - more the TP than the butter, but whatever LOL. while I was there I saw the rudest thing in the freaking world. Some dude pushing a cart , nothing wrong there, but as I watched him he was deliberately swerving to hit kids with his cart.

not hard enough to knock them down, just enough to jostle them. If the parent spoke to him about it he told them to "Keep you Fu*king brat from running wild" but in 99% of the cases, the kid was either holding the parents hand or onto the cart! It takes a lot of hate to deliberately - and I followed him for a bit to watch, he would walk down and choose which aisle to go down by if it had a kid in it or not!! if there were no kids in the aisle he stayed out!

He must have a stick so far up his ass that no amount of colon cleanse is gonna cure him of his hate-a-tude!

Snow!

Oh Snap! Winter is back!

I hate winter. it's cold. It's wet. It's dangerous - I worry every day when my husband hits the highway heading to work that the roads will be icy and he will be in an accident! It's cold , did I mention that winter is cold?

I think the only good things about winter is that it brings with it Christmas and a reduction in the amount of acne creams that we use becuase winter is COLD, and people do not sweat in the cold.

Personally, I don't find clear skin to be a good trade off for frostbitten skin!

:P

Popular name!

We have another Parker in the family. My second cousin had a wee tiny boy, Parker Lewis just the other day! He is adorable, a large shock of white hair on his wee wrinkled head, just a cutie!

i cant wait to get the baby shower invitations in the mail! I love shopping for babies, the tinier the better!

MY Parker thinks its "Way Cool" that our cousin named her son Parker as well.

but WHY?

See, I don;t get it. Why do celebrity males allow naked pictures of themselves to be taken? They WILL end up on the internet. It is a fact of life people. Nakedness and the internet go hand in freaking hand.

So the latest "celeb" - do we call athletes celebrity's now? Anyway, the latest to drop his drawers and pose for pictures is none other than Brett Favre. Allegedly, anyway.

I'd deny it was me too if I was a dude with that tiny thing too! OMG! I mean, if you have a super nice, should be made into a statue type body, with matching dangles, then fine, take the shot, but if you should be the before in a natural male enhancement pills commercial, then DO NOT POSE!

And for Socks sake- people - STOP EMAILING PICTURES OF YOURSELF NAKED!!

Loving the October Movies!

Hubs and I just finished watching a movie called House and are watching Jeepers Creepers 2 right now. All of October there are wonderful movies on the television, but this is the first year we have been able to really take advantage of them!

We recently signed up for a different cable service - we've had our phone through them for 12, 13 years, and our net for just about as long. The only reason it took us so long to finally get their cable was that Sasktel Max wasn't available out here in our podunk town until now.

This is our very first time experiencing the wonders of a dvr, and OMG is it awesome. Take for example about half an hour ago, the kids came upstairs wanting chips, so my husband just paused the movie and I took the kids to the store and when I got back, BAM! he started it right back up. About the only thing that would make this October better would be if we had home theater seating because my back has been seriously jacked up the past year or so and my lower back is spasming right now :(

We have a teensy tiny living room, so all we have for furniture in it are two love seats, so i can;t even stretch out. I used to be able to watch at least 4 movies in a row, but no more, two is my limit (one and a half, really). As soon as this is over, I'm gonna go soak my back in a HOT bath, and then lay on my ice pack.

Spacing out

This morning after the boys left for school I let the water run and had a nice hot steamy bubble bath. When i was sufficiently wrinkled I put my bookmark in my book and go out. I would have stayed in longer but I had crap to do LOL.

see, this weekend is my oldest sons birthday. Little brat is gonna be eleven. how on earth did THAT happen?

I pulled up my recipe for marshmallow fondant and started on that first. I've only ever made fondant once before and did not have a fun time with it, but for the cake we are doing we figured fondant was going to be the best option. It keeps well in the fridge, or so the internet tells me, so it is OK to make it in advance like this.

After that I made some pies (apple) but not for the party, just for desert tonight lol.

My problem today is that when I came to my laptop and tried to open the file marked "Parker's Party" it was gone!! I had deleted it. This means that I don't have any idea what time we told the other kids to get here by. Dammit!

I know it is this weekend, and I am almost one hundred percent positive it is Saturday , but what time? Oh man! I'm so spacey lately that maybe the best thing for me to do, would be to locate some Outer Banks vacation rentals and book myself in for a week or two (or three!)

What am I going to forget next? Their names? Where I live?

Shesh!

Pee ess: check out Logan's new turtle jammies! Do you remember the Ninja Turtles??

Late Night Driving

Over Thursday/Friday, Micah and I spent 16 hours in the car driving. Fun times. not. The worst of it was Friday night, driving home in the dark. I have very bad night vision, and it is worsened by headlights and other lights, like a close to the highway, barn or farm yard with those big security lighting set-ups.

Micah would be driving and I could kinda sorta see then BAM! He would round a corner and I was blinded by the lights!

We saw a Moose last night on the Hanson Lake Road, it was RIGHT at the shoulder! It was both scary and exciting! We also picked up our very first hitch hiker, but that was because on the Hanson Lake road its not OK to leave people who are stranded, it is just too long and lonely of a road!

He was a Nurse from Flin Flon (Manitoba) and had blown a tire. He was rolling his new tire back to his car. He had another 25 KM to go when we picked him up!

Anyway. Night driving sucks. Driving for 16 hours sucks and I'm pretty sure my ass is still numb!

*SHHHHH!* Secret post!

My husband doesn't read Paint!, which is great, cus i can blab to the world about his Christmas and birthday gifts and he has no clue!

I got him a bacon wallet. Yes. I did. And now you know it, and I know it and the cat knows it, but he does not.

Other people who do not read this blog? heheheh Their tough luck, maybe next time they will read when I say "Hey! Go read my blog!"

I want your opinion on something. We like to give little gifts - stocking stuffers- to everyone at Christmas, This year i was thinking about getting personalized rubber stamps with the recipients mailing address on it.

I talked to Micah about it and he said that it was a silly idea because everyone uses email, no one mails letters, but I know myself that I mail cards and gifts and other things that require my return address, so I assume others do as well!

If you had a rubber stamp with your address on it would you use it?

Turkey Or Bust

So. Thanksgiving...CANADIAN Thanksgiving... last weekend. It was interesting, to say the least.

Should I start by telling you my Grandfather passed away? Or that the turkey was so not OK that we ordered Pizza and said it was good enough?

It was, erm. A bad weekend, to say the least. I am thankful for my family, my home, my wonderful friends, but it would have been nice to have spent the THANKSGIVING weekend being thankful and not wishing that my real life was a dream and I was instead tucked away with Micah on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship...

Sigh.

Next year will be better, I know it!

Chrome Browser and rpc Blogrolling

I had a blogroll on the side of this blog as well as Where Was I, But for the first time I visited these two sites while using the Google Chrome Browser. On both sites I got a huge malware pop up telling me the blogrolling site, rpc.blogrolling, that I was using was unsafe so of course I went in and removed those scripts!

however, this blogs template has boxes for the different sections and I don't know how to get rid of the box.

I know as much about coding a website in HTML as I do about www.creatinepowder.net, which, to say, is nothing.

I've searched online for an answer to the box thingy and I cant find anything, SO, tomorrow night (coffee with BFF Kissy tonight) I am going searching for a brand new template!

YAY!

Hip Hop Dance FAIL

Yesterday I dusted off my copy of the 30 day Shred and popped it in the DVD player. Today I can't move without wincing.

I could not bear to do another day of the Shred so I put in a DVD called Hip Hop Dance. What I neglected to notice when I bought it a looooong time ago was that the disc I bought was level two, not level one, and did you know! Level two is harder than level one!

Yeah.

So I don't have any sort of stamina, it seems. I was tuckered out after the freaking warm up, though my legs do feel less OMG ON FIRE than they did when i rolled out of bed this morning, but this crap is hard, Yo.

I need some good fat burners to help me out. I hate apples, but celery i heard takes more calories to chew and digest that they contain,so thats a start.

Also...maybe I should start this whole exercise thing off slower. For example, I could walk around the block? Or the mall....

Meet Scratch and Flip

Let me point out real fast that yeah, we missed a super opportunity in naming Flip. We know now we should have named the wee beastie Sniff, not Flip, but we suck, we admit it, lets move on!



I can tell you that when my son first showed up at the door with his plastic bucket and hopeful face, telling us "his name is scratch momma, cus he keeps scratching the bucket!" I knew as much about Salamanders as I did about L-Dopa.org! Now, I still know nothing about L-Dopa.org, but I know a heck of a lot more about Salamanders!

For example. Did you know that it costs 12 bucks for 100 crickets? And that two healthy happy, hungry salamanders will eat 100 of them in a few weeks time - IF you can keep the damn crickets alive that long!

But still. They are cute, aren't they!

These little guys can grow up to a foot ore more long, and will live for (hopefully) about 5 years!

Bruised

Last night I was sitting on the couch with Micah watching a MythBusters special (It was 2 hours long!!) I was rubbing my calf absently when Micah asked whats wrong. I pulled up my pant leg and we both saw a huge ass bruise on the back of my calf.

Opps!

I hardly recall when I got hit on the calf, it must have been Saturday afternoon when we were in the forest chopping down trees, but whatever hit me didn't hurt, at the time, anyway!

My legs, right from ankle to hip, are bruised, and either some bug fell in my shirt and bit me a bunch of times, or I reacted badly to the sawdust that flew down my top as we chopped trees becuase my chest and upper stomach look like I should spend all my time on acnebodywash.net LOL

The bites/sawdust scratches are fading, the bruises are still dark, but they will fade too!

Oh SNAP!

I just clicked over to the Weather Network and found out that we are under a frost warning. The first frost on the ground is a definitive sign that summer is OVER. Over, done, finished, THE END, over!

No more tank tops and flip flops. No more bare lags and men's running shorts. No more sunning myself in the back yard, and no more leisurely walks to the pond.

BUT! On one of those walks to the fountain pond, we did find a sweet hill that we will be using for sledding purposes, I will get to wear my heavier socks, leg warmers and arm warmers without dying of heat!

I`m trying to be positive LOL. is it working?

*sob*

Chop Chop Chop!

After shopping today, we put away the groceries, tossed Logan down for a nape (he was up, all the boys were up, until late late late, last night) then me and Micah went to the forest and chopped chopped chopped down trees :D

Now I feel comfortable that we have a very nice supply of wood. We can't have a fire this year yet, it's way too cold now, but come summer we will be good to go!

In the mean time, while I wait for spring and summer and warmth and endless nights in front of a fire, I should spend some time furthering my education. Spend some time doing gmat prep and then I can get a job other than pouring coffee at the little restaurant on the corner :P

I'm gonna be helping Logans teacher in her classroom. She has no teaching assistant this year and yet she has over 30 kids in her classroom, and is wasting a lot of time stapling pages taking attendance and other menial tasks that need to get done!

It should be interesting, and It will good for me to get out of the house!

Yet another thing!

Late last night my inlaws called asking if we had any left over powdered grout and floor cement for tiling that they could use.

I told them I would check in the morning and attempted to do so, but was stalled by a dead bulb. I *could* have gotten a stool and changed the bulb, but I am too scared that there are spiders just waiting in the roof to attack me in the dark, so I just left the room.

My father in law came over in the afternoon to have a look see and went to change the light bulb for me but instead discovered that the electronics or wiring or something in there is screwed.

Does it ever stop? The little fixes, I mean? Because it seems like it sure doesn't!

It will have to wait for the weekend when Micah has time to take it down and see what is what, but it had better not cost a mint to fix so help me sock!

I smell like campfire

I just had a nice hot gooey, chocolattttty S'more. And you did not!

:P

Logan (6) kept calling it camping, us sitting int he backyard with the fire, it was too cute. In the summer - becuase by 11 tonight it was just too cold to stay out fire or not - In the summer, we plan on setting up the tents back there and pretending we really are camping - only, the kind of camping where we get to have showers, wireless internet and television LOL

Heh. No more motorhome insurance, no more disgusting campsite bathrooms and showers. Now, we can camp, literally, in teh comfort of our own home :D

Oh and also? I had S'Mores tongiht.

And you did not.

A great Find!

One thing that both Micah and I love is camping, and in our opinion, the best part about camping is sitting around a campfire late at night shooting the shit. We started talking about a backyard firepit about eight years ago, but didn't actively start looking until this year.

Well, we found one! And it was a very good deal too! it costs 110-120 in stores and we paid 60! It's barely been used, and is in super condition!





Obviously, because today is day 46 of Micah and I quitting smoking, we will not be enjoying any arturo fuente cigars, and man will it be weird sitting around a campfire and NOT smoking! I haven't done that since I was a kid, living at home with my parents!!

We don't have any firewood, per say, what we do have is a lot of branches, a few disassembled pallets (cut to size with an most awesome saw ) and the slats of a pine bed that was waiting for backyard garbage pick up day!

We have a forest, four acres or so, right by our hosue and we are in talks with teh man who owns it to go in and chop down a few trees to set up a nice supply of fire wood. The trees are mostly green, so they will have to sit and dry over winter before they will burn, but next summer will be a blast!

(We are hoping to have a fire tonight with my dad and my very favorite stepmother, as well as having a few fires in the evening before it gets toooo cold to do so!!)

11:45

Every so often I consider getting a job. there are benefits, like, say, money, but then there are so many icky things to consider. Like waking up in the morning. (I will come back to that) I would have to either find a job that lets me be home when the kids are, or quit and find new jobs every summer, cus I am NOT gonna get a babysitter.

butttt. Mainly the morning thing bugs me. take for example, the otehr day i had an 11;45 chiro appointment, I woke up at 8:30 am, which one would think is plenty of time, but I was hard pressed to get myself out the door on time.

How do people get up and going in the morning anyway? My husband is up and pout the door by 630 every morning - except fridays, when he is out the door by 4 am.

Dunno. Might be worth my time to actually go see how many places will let me work 9-3... I DO like money....

Back to School

The boys don't head back to school until the end of August, but Saturday we will have to start the dreaded back to school shopping.

The worst of it is not the shopping, its the labeling every stupid little thing. Every crayon, every marker, every pencil and eraser MUST be labeled. Times three. I hate it!

Actually, except when I can't find a particular item, becuase the school is anal about brands and types of supplies we send with the kids, so except for when I cannot find a particular type of crayon or whatever, I rather enjoy shopping for their supplies. I live the shoe shopping LMAO - I'm sure that doesn't shock anyone! I love helping them pick out the outfit they will wear to school that first day, i love piling the papers and pens into the cart and teasing the kids about going back. I even like waiting for the store to print out my seven mile long receipt with their epson receipt printer, and pretending to be upset about how much everything cost!

But the labeling - and the fact I actually have to send them off to school - those two things bug me.

Sigh.

We still have two and a half weeks or so, and a vacation planned during that time, so I should keep my chin up, and enjoy the time we have left, even if I DO have to start the shopping on Saturday!

(the following photos are of Logan and Blake - we went to a rodeo on the weekend, and let them ride sheep!)

Eight is a very old age you know

My ten year old is starting to get zits (little ones) MUST have a shower every night (M.U.S.T) because of The Stank. He is concerned about his hair and has started noticing brand names on clothes.

But he is ten, nearly 11 (October) so that's normal.

What is not normal is my eight year old insisting I sniff his pits 'cus he *thinks* they might smell, checking his chest for hairs and asking me how to get rid of blackheads when his skin is clear as can be.

I HATE that he is in such a hurry to grow up! One day he is dressing in a ninja suit and crying when our spoiled puppy chews one of his toys, then next he is talking about getting a job and what kind of house he will live in when he moves out!

I know he is doing it becuase he sees his brother growing up and wants to be more like him, but, please, someone tell him that it's better to be little...for my sake?

Spoiled

This is Samantha's new bed. If you think it looks like a doll bed, you would be correct, it is. I figured that if Sammi did not like it, I could give it to one of my nieces, but Sam hopped on it the moment it was unpacked - she knew it was for her!

Sam is a tad spoiled :D Can you tell?

She has a whole wardrobe, her car bed, her kennel - she sleeps in her kennel at night - and her kennel has its own bed, this new bed for lounging in the living room when I am online, she has a custom bag that I can carry her in (yes, like a purse dog) and even has several bows for her ears!

Thank Socks for cheap car insurance and ebay!

Sam is sooooo spoiled that I spent 86 million (fake coins) in an online game, an auction, so that she could be a rare prize to be won (Her photo, not herself LOL)

It will, I am guessing, be at LEAST a few weeks, if not months before the pictures will be ready, but when they come out, I will be sure to post them! They are taking pictures we submit and having them redrawn into a cartoon like graphic for the board.

two weeks

It has been two weeks since we have last talked :D It has also been two weeks since I have last smoked :D :D :D

The chantix works so good! And it is a tiny pill, not like those prenatal vitamins! the only problem was that when I started week three of the pills I started getting a sore stomach for an hour or two immediately after taking my pill.

Dont tell anyone, but I haven't been taking my evening pill for a few days now, and I completely ignored this mornings pill.

I haven't had any cravings, even though I didnt take my pill, and seeing as my husband also quit, I'm pretty darn positive that this is going to be the last time I quit smoking :D

Sunday Is Quit Day

When i wake up on Sunday morning (or afternoon LOL) I will not head to the garage to smoek. Nope. Sunday is Quit day. I remember having a tad bit of nausea when i was on champix last time, and other then a day of somewhat stomach upset on day four when I went from .5mg to 1.0mg, I have been fine. I guess the test is tonight becuase I took1.0mg this morning and take another 1.0mg tonight, this is day eight and the first day of the 2.0mg dosage.

I've stocked up on herbal weight loss products - LOL, just kidding, I stocked up on carrots and celery, the weight loss products will come in three months when I realize the carrots did nothing for me HAH!

Oh, and I bought a lot of gum, a box of it at costco, 14 or 18 packages i think it was.

I totally expect this to be hard, Im not expecting to not have to work at quitting, but I feel different about it, I've mentioned that before. i feel more..excited? Joyful? I don;t know the word, but AH! I'm so hopeful!

Ive read online how keeping a journal of your journey can help becuase if you, for example, want to smoke on day 10 of not smoking, you can look back to say, day three and see what you went through and how far you have come. I have thought about starting a free blogger or wordpress blog, just for myself, not indexed by google or anything, to see if i would keep up with it. I know from childbirth, the mind has a way of letting you forget the really hard things!

OH!

PICTURES!!!!


This (cant find a picture of the skylight before we started for some reason) turned into this:




This turned into this:

Which matches (sorta) this (These are throughout the house):

Fingers crossed

We are heading to the city tonight (Me and Micah) (See the post below to find out why LOL) I want to stop at a few places. First off, I want a kiddie pool. My kids are indeed way too big for that pool, but I find that having that pool in the driveway is an excellent way of keeping them occupied, they cool off by splashing in it, they fill their water gins and sometimes they just sit in it, either way, its cheaper to fill that up than have them run the sprinkler all day long!

In our house, those kiddie pools only last one season, I have boys and they are a wee rough in their play and things do get broken. This week is the opportune time to get the kiddie pool becuase we will have an empty car, the kids are gone for the week so we can fold down their chairs and hopefully fit the pool in. I dunno yet what I will do if we cant fit it in LOL

The otehr thing I want to do is stop and look at and maybe purchase a new faucet. We are nearly done the kitchen, the interior is done, and we cannot take off the skylight int he roof until we get a day, a full day, without rain, bunt seeing as we are done except the roofing material and are WAY under budget, I can get my faucet now instead of later.

I want the kind with a pull out sprayer so I can 1. Spray the kids (I remember my parents doing that to us) 2. Strap out the sinks easier, and 3. (most important) fill the coffee machine without having to use the stupid drippy pot.

The facet doesn't have to be fancy, not the whole house water filter kind or anything, just so long as it has a good guarantee and a pull out sprayer.

Three months ago when we looked at them and priced them out I found a great one that i really liked, so I hope it is there when we go back!

Fingers crossed!

Distracted?

Last Friday, Micah and I went to a movie (Jonah Hex) and we arrived very early for it. We ended up having to wait a full three quarters of an hour for the movie to start. I was very annoyed at our timing.

While waiting, we had a bit of wifi coming in, not a strong signal for sure, but enough to go online and bitch about waiting on facebook LOL. When the signal would cut out, and it did often, all we could do was wait, not very patiently. One time when the signal had cut, I noticed that the theater we were in had the exit signs for that particular theater situated right beside the screen. Now, as you are aware, an exit sign is a bright red glowing sign. I pointed it out to Micah while we were there and told him that I bet the sign is going to be a big distraction during the movie, after all, its Right.There, right beside the screen we are watching, but you know what? I wasn't distracted from it at all, in fact, one point during the movie I remembered that I was annoyed at the sign and turned to look a t it, but I looked to the wrong side of the screen!

Johna Hex was a cute movie, but it wasn't THAT good, I wonder why i wasn't distracted by the sign?

Anyway. I thought of this now becuase Micah and I are heading to a movie tonight - not sure what though, and I was wondering if they would have their exit signs in an annoying (or not) place as well!

(pee ess: movie? In the middle of the week??? How? Simple,my dear! My inlaws have the boys over a their house for the next week! It rocks. Except Micah is at work. I miss him, and the house is way too quiet in the day. guess that is what I have to look forward to in the fall when Logan goes to school full time :( )

Have you seen...?

I was directed to a facebook group late last night.

Lyle & Marie McCann left St. Albert, AB on Saturday, July 3, 2010. They were planning to be in Abbotsford, BC on July 10, but did not arrive. Though the week of July 3 to July 10, they had planned a camping trip through the Yellowhead on their way to Abbotsford.

If you have any information that may be helpful in our search, please contact the St. Albert RCMP Detachment immediately at or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

Maybe they stopped a the campsite becuase they needed motor home repairs, or just a good nights sleep, but where are they now? The family is clearly frantic and so far, not very many leads have been found! Please be on the look out for the light green SUV they were driving, and if you have any tips at all, please let the RCMP know!

If this was my parents,I would be devastated. My dad and his wife like to go on long motorbike trips and they do not check in along the way. we know when they are leaving and when they are coming home, and that is it!

Speaking of coffee

I just poured myself a cuppa, and am waiting for it to cool a smidgen so I can drink it.

I forget how many calories a teaspoon of sugar (white, granulated) has in it, but I looked at my creamer when I poured it, and it is 40 calories per table spoon.

Too freaking bad coffee is not one of those weight loss drinks, cus I bet I waste prolly half my daily calories on cream and sugar every day with how much coffee i drink!

OMG

And do not ask me to give up coffee, but if only I could give up my cream and sugar - coffee itself has no calories, if i am remembering correctly.

*Oh! still too hot!!!!*

I hate burning my lips on my mug :(

Heading to facebook to see if anything fun is happening there!

Ugg

last night My niece K woke up coughing and wheezing, and at 4 am her baby sister woke up the same way. Now I think I am getting sick, and that terrifies me, becuase one of the ways I combat a sore throat and coughing is to smoke menthol cigarettes - it seems counterproductive, but it "helps" me.

I know there are electric cigarettes that come with flavored packages, but I wouldn't get one here in time, and it rather defeats the purpose too, so I am gonna be suffering a whole hell of a lot if I am indeed getting sick :(

Keep me in your thoughts becuase if I get sick, it might be a mountain too tough for me to climb in this stop smoking thing.

Im gonna get another cup of hot coffee, my throat is sore and my chest is tight.

:(

Shhhhh! I'm Hiding!

Micah is on the very last day of his two week vacation (BOOO!!!) he goes back to work on Monday (BIGGER BOOO!!!!) But right now, instead of relaxing and playing video games or whatever, he is stomping around the house, garage, and backyard, looking for clamps that his dad either lost or the boys absconded with.


How flippin' annoying! And, i don';t blame him for being noisy and upset, he has spent 99% of his shutdown doing work all day long, on the house, so not really a vacation at all, eh?

Only good spot is that his parents are taking the boys for a weeks tarting monday or Tuesday night, so we will be kid free, BUT, its gonna be damn boring round the house with just me at home while he goes to work!

Sigh.

I guess i should help him find his clamps so that we can get back to relaxing!

Almost done

We are nearly done the remove the skylight that leaks and annoys me project. the interior is all sealed up, insulated and painted, the lights are even up - and if I may say so, it looks fucking awesome!


(there are two of these track lights in the "hole", they cost 69$ each. They are cute, but the halogen light bulbs are both pricey and put pout a tonne of heat.


Here is the whole thing, with both lights


Bad bad photo, when the lights are on int he evening, it looks awesome, I can only assume that the bright bright light from the window is interfering, becuase IRL they do not cast a yellow glow!

It still needs another coat of paint on the crown molding and the short wall, but other then that, it's done.

We tied the electrical (and went by code, never fear) to the light in the kitchen, so that it operates all on one switch, but when they guys took down the kitchen light a wire got pinched and it blew a thingy int he light (It was one of them ugly florescent box lights) so instead of letting Micah and his dad fix it, I insisted we just get a new fixture :D

We went to a hardware/lighting superstore looking at lights, but ended up ordering online LOL.

The last thing to do in the kitchen/dining room* - other than painting, which is a huge job for reasons I wont get into in this post, is to change the kitchen faucet. Right now we have a Moen kitchen faucet, and it is a very good one, no signs of wear (its nine years old) no leaks, we haven't had a single problem with it, ever, BUT. I want a faucet with the spray attachment so that i can use the attachment to fill up my coffee pot instead of messing with filling the pot and pouring.

When I was a kid, nine or ten, I fell down a flight of stairs and broke both wrists, badly. I have since, broken the (various) bones in my worsts no less than 13 times. my wrists are extremely weak and it is physically hard for me to make coffee.

We are looking for a faucet that has the pull out spray thingy on the side, not one that it comes out the tap, and I am more than willing to pay good money for a good faucet - we will probably get a Moen again, it's a line that has proven itself to me, but if they don't have the faucet I want, then I will go elsewhere :P

(pee ess: I would show you a picture of my faucet, but I made cookies late LATE last night and all those dishes are in the sink LOL)

*eventually I want a tile back splash, but its a pricey job so it will have to wait!

Bad Habit!

it is 1:13 Am, Friday, July 9, and the fact that i am sitting here, at my laptop typing means that i have been a bad bad girl.

You see, Friday, today, is the very last day of my husbands two week shut down. He goes back to work on Monday.

On a normal weekday, we head to bed at midnight to be ready to wake for the next day, but becuase neither of us had to be up to go anywhere, we have been staying up later and later and later. For example, I did not put down my book (Steven king's the Dome) until around 4:30am.

Yeah.

Now I have tonight, Friday Night, and Saturday night to get myself back on schedule so that I am tired and ready for bed by midnight on Sunday!

So what are my options here? Go online and make myself sleepy reading about nuphedragen? Stay up as late as i want tonight, but wake up by ...say 9AM tomorrow so that i am tired ALL DAY, and bitchy, and am able to go to bed at a decent time?

And to compound things, my inlaws are taking the boys over night on Friday night so me and Micah will be up late for our date night!

Sigh.

And we do this EVERY time! Seriously. Over shut down, over Christmas, every time he is off, we do this - when the boys are in school, I get up with them, feed them, make sure they have clean clothes on and lunch, send them to school and go right back to bed!

Micah-isms LOL

So, apparently, for those of you who did not know this already, the attic of a house, you know, that space above the house with no vents and no moving air, is HOT in the middle of summer.

I KNOW! Shocking, right? Who knew!

Oh wait. ALL OF US. Except my husband apparently, becuase he went up, and was up for about 30 minutes, he had to spread insulation over the new ceiling we put in where the sky light was, and *SHOCK* it was hot up there. He came down soaked in sweat (gross) and swearing.

I just laughed at him and gave him a glass of very cold water. Hey, the job is done now, AND he doesn't have to worry about fat burner pills to boot LMAO!!

It was just..he was so outraged about it all. Like HOW DARE IT BE HOT *add in foot stomp and pout here*. LOL. It was cute. Like the attic was hot JUST to bug him or something LOL.

I have said this before, and I am SURE I will say it a million times again, but :

Men are weird! OMG

Shopping List

So. I'm quitting smoking. Again.

LOL.

Try try again and all that rot.

Wish me luck!

I feel a bit different about this time, than I ever did with any other time before. i don;t want to jinx myself, but I'm excited about this attempt and in the past I have always been apprehensive about it! Take that as you will!

As well as giving me a prescription for a stop smoking aid, my doctor gave me an informal prescription. She wants me to take daily walks. And i will. Unless it is raining!

LOL

We are going shopping, our normal, every two week shopping trip, on Saturday and there will be a few extra items on the list.

Gum for one.

Carrots and celery to be cut into strips.

Grapes and nectarines (Who else here loves nectarines?)

I'm considering searching online for thebest diet pills, but I will try the gum/fruit/veggie/walk thing first.

I'm already a bit over weight, and I do NOT want to go any more over what I am at now, BUT if I do, a few extra pounds will be a small price to pay for my health!!

Chocolate covered birds?

I'm so tired of the oil spill coverage. I know it is important that we all know just what happened and is happening and what will happen in the future, but it is so freaking depressing. Tar balls washed up in Texas this week. Did you know that?

it;s terrifying to think on it too much!

So many, so so so so SO MANY dead animals. Sharks are being pushed closer to shores to escape the oil, people are being bit where never a shark attack had occurred before. widows are filing for claims under the Louisiana Jones Act, millions of men and woman are out of jobs, out of money, out of food and out of or soon will be, out of homes.

Convenience stores are suffering because people are boycotting BP oil, it's just all so much to take in!

I feel bad for the birds, the fish the grasslands and the beaches, but I feel so much worse for the men, women and children who are being directly affected by this horrible event.

And even if they stop the spill tomorrow, nothing is gonna help those families :(


*The title is from a comedian who said something along the lines of "Ive been offline for a while, whats with all the chocolate covered birds?"

Stitch

Meet Stitch.

Stitch is my nieces rabbit and is staying with us for a little bit. Their house flooded and they needed someone to take care of the rabbit so of course I offered to take him.

I've never really been around a rabbit so its been kind of neat. It sure is soft!
I love its ears, and the rabbit sure seems to enjoy me petting him on his freakishly long ears!

I was kind of annoyed trying to take pictures of stitch though! It wasn't a problem with his totally not modern furniture getting in the way, it was the fact that the rabbit is all OMFG! A CAMERA! TAKE MY PICTURE and shoving its fuzzy nose into my screen!



I did get this one good picture though, this was the first one I snapped, before Stitch knew I was there taking pictures!


Anyway, I thought I would take a few pictures before Stitch has to go back to his own home!

Rain Rain Go Away

BEHOLD:



HEAT.

I am so fucking tired of rain.

I'm tired of pictures of cars up to their roofs in water, beads and tv stands mixed in with garbage and kids toys floating down the road. I'm tired of phone calls saying the basement flooded again - just one day after it had been cleaned and dried from the last flood.

BUY YAY!

Look at the 14 day forecast! NO RAIN

I'm very doubtful that we will actually get sun for 14 days, but I'm determined to be positive!

Blah

• My butt is sore from sitting in this chair so long.
• The dog is horfing up bits of the printed boxes she ate this afternoon
• Futurama is on TV.
• it's a re run
• It's summer vacation, so even though it is 10:30 at night, the boys are still up
• I'm trying to type and eat a super juicy nectarine. it's not working so well
• there is a fuzzy bunny in my garage
• it amuses me
• my foot has fallen asleep.

I love bullet points. I can say whatever comes to my mind without caring if any of it makes sense or goes together in a logical way!

Timing

This morning I woke up to the phone ringing, which I ignored becuase I knew my husband would answer it.

It was his dad, wanting to come over to start removing the skylight.

I got up after I heard my father in law come over, and took my time getting dressed and doing my hair. When I finally left my room, I was just in time to save my son's netbook, my laptop and mine and my husbands iTouch's from being covered in dust.

Sure, the laptop has a 3 year laptop warranty, but I would much rather not lose it to some stupid drywall dust.

Why on earth did they not remove the electronics before they started banging out walls, I have no idea!

MEN!!

Redneck AC

Although summer is a time of heat and bugs, a time to ask your self if you need engagement gift ideas? for the many couples who get married in July and August, it is shockingly, a time for me to be cold.

Yeah, you read that right. We have been having days of plus 20-30 and I am cold.

We did not buy an air conditioner, nope, what we did was lift the attic door up and out of the way. The hot air is going up and the cool air is coming down. The floor under the attic door is positively freezing!

All day today it has rained, and due to the extra chill of the rain, I had to put on my extraordinary thigh highs from sock dreams to fight off the chill. I would have wrapped up in a blankie, but the blankies I usually keep on my couch in the winter and fall have been put away for summer.

We took the attic door off in the beginning becuase my hubs and his dad have been working in the attic to remove our skylight, but now that we can see the drastic change in temperature just by having it open, we plan on doing this every summer. Sure, there will be days like today where I end up shivering in my socks, but that is a small, chilly price to pay to have the house not feel like a sauna on those very very hot summer days!

Family Ties

My little brother is staying with me for a few days, it will be interesting, for sure, as we are very very different from each other and used to never get along. As we grew older, and especially when we lost our sister, we grew closer, and now I would pretty much do anything that I have the power to do, for him.

So when he called and asked if he could stay over for a few days, I said yes.

Our house is different from where he lives, for one, we don't drink,and he didn't bring beer, so he is out his nightly cold one, and at his house he has a Samsung HDTV, a big one that takes up most of his living room, where we have a "small" 32 inch TV, so that is different too.

It will be a very interesting few days, but he needed a safe haven for a few, and I could not say no to him.

Wish us both the best of luck!

Sad Day

We ran into the city tonight to pick up some orange M&M's for a cupcake we have planned next week. On the way home, we stopped in our small towns only movie store, a Movie Gallery, becuase it is going out of business.

Turns out,m all the movie gallery stores both in Canada and the US are going out of business. They filed for bankruptcy, not being able to keep up with the competition redbox and netflix offers.

We were able to pick up three games for quite cheap - one that Parker picked up was 3.99 after the discounts, and my husband picked up a new, never played, sealed game (uncharted 2) that retails for 60-65$ for 47 after discounts.

While I do enjoy saving money on these three games, I am beyond worried about what we are going to do for our Saturday night movies. See, every Saturday night we rent a movie and watch it as a family, and we have done so for the past four years. Now what do i do? I am going to have to look into netflix or redbox or something, I guess, but I don't know how expensive those services are at all!

Even sadder for me, my ten year old had said more than once, that when he is sixteen he would want to work at the movie gallery, and it would have been a perfect fit for him! I can see him in my head, working minimum wage, doped up on acne treatments, giving the guys tips on whatever gaem they rented, and hitting on the girls, but now what do we do? I mean, I don't even know if netflix and the like work in Canada!!!

Summer Vacation

This winter, our sky light once again leaked. Well, not so much a leak as the window gathers a thick THICK layer of ice on it, on the inside, and then melts down the walls. I end up standing on a stool, with towels, catching all the drips as they run down the wall so that they don't hit the roof and ruin it. Then, when my husband comes home from work, he has to go and borrow the big ladder and using a blow dryer, spend an hour melting off all the ice so that I don't have to stand there with my towel.

It is a pain in the ASS.

The first year, we went up and added more insulation, thinking that was the problem. Nope. The second year, we took the skylight out, and replaced the seal, thinking that would help, and it did, for the next winter, then it leaked again.

This summer, when hubs is off work for his two week shut down, he and his dad are going to check the seal, the insulation (we don't have to worry about Mesothelioma treatment becuase we have the proper insulation, not the old kind that caused cancer) If the seal is still good, and the insulation is still where it is supposed to be, they are going to replace the skylight entirely, in hopes that the seal between the double paned glass is gone and that is why the ice is building up.

If it leaks this winter, after whatever they do this summer to fix it, that was its very last chance, and I get to tear out the skylight and build it in.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

We are supposed to get FOUR inches of rain tonight. And another few tomorrow! I am SO tired of the rain. I'm SO tired of the mud - side note, am I the only person who dislikes mud? I saw EIGHT different people on atv's in the field on the way to the school today. Who does their laundry? SERIOUSLY!

I think the worst part about all of the rain, the days and days and days and days of rain, is all the mosquitoes! When it finally stops raining for a few minutes and the boys go outside to play, they are chase right back in by the bugs! Logan's legs look like he has chicken pox, and trust me, I have been spraying them all down liberally with OFF!

Speaking of bugs, my dad is big into archery and owns a shop you can order supplies from, he just ordered himself this target LOL



Funniest target EVER.

Back to the rain issue, it is raining now, supposed to rain Friday, I've heard both that it will and will not rain Saturday, no rain Sunday (yeah right) then rain again Monday through Thursday of next week. It is also supposed to rain all of Canada day long weekend, which is the pits 'cus we are going camping that weekend!

I would very much like the rain to go away so I can enjoy summer. PLEASE!

Teeny Tiny Banana Breads

Quite a while ago, my dad bought me tiny loaf pans. I wanted them specifically to make tiny loaves of banana bread, they are the perfect size to cut in half and send to school with the boys.

This afternoon my mother in law dropped off a flat of bananas, still yellow, but we all know how fast bananas turn, so I decided to not wait for them to go brown, and make some banana bread today!



My husband loves banana bread. Maybe even more than he loves me! I betcha when he is an old man, we could forgo the enzyte and just bring a pan of banana bread into the bedroom to rev his engines. THATS how much he loves banana bread.

Normally I put chocolate chips in the bread, but I decided not to today, and instead, tried something new. I mixed milk vanilla icing sugar and peanut butter and made icing for the bread!



See how light the tops are? I ran out of baking soda and the internet told me to leave out the salt and replace the baking soda for baking powder 1:2 (double the soda) so I did. Normally, my banana bread is quite dark on top. I always assumed it was from me cooking it so long - but maybe the soda has something to do with the color?

Monday(s)

What the heck is Cyber Monday? I've seen that phrase at LEAST twenty times in the last week. Im so lazy. I seriously copied that link up there that I am certain would tell me what it is, and yet, I didn't bother to read it. heh.

Speaking of Monday, did you know that Monday may 31 is national Quit Face book Day? Cus it was. I didn't quit face book. I love face book. However, I do sympathies and understand why people are concerned with how face book is treating user privacy.

Other then photos, and my real name, and my email address there is nothing personal about me on face book. My "location" is not really my location, but the big city near where I live. I have pictures on face book, but all of them are, IMO, OK. There is not a single picture I would be afraid to show a boss or my grandmother or in twenty years, my grand kids, so those are good.

So yeah. I love face book. But i understand people who don'!

iPad

I (pre)ordered my iPad at 12:42 am on the 10th of May.

I started refreshing the apple home page at 10pm on the 9th, knowing that the Canadian apple headquarters are located in Ontario, and my ten pm is their midnight.

My dad, brother, sister in law and (step) mother stayed up later than normal with me, we all, I think, grabbed at this wee excitement and used it to forget, you know?

The iPad did not end up going on sale at 10pm, or even midnight on the 10th, (my time) and by the time i did go on sale, everyone (but me) had already gone to bed.

I stayed up every night, until Tuesday night when I got home to my own bed, till 3,4 and sometimes 5am. One night, I snuck off to bed only when I heard my step mother coming up the stairs (she wakes up disgustingly early)

In any case. I might not have a clue what phentremene means, but I do know that I will have my ipad in my hands on the 28th of may, and that is something I am looking very forward to. It brings a smile to my face when I think of it.

so.

I want to address the fact that There was recently a death in my family, and that I do not feel up to really speaking about it yet. More, I don;t feel up to conversing about it. My sister had a lot of friends online, and as they saw her facebook status, updated by me, telling of her passing, they have been flocking to my email to find out what happened. It's killing me to write it over and over, to read their condolences, and most of all, to read their memories of her.

But, even though I'd rather be doing anything, even reviews on best prenatal vitamins, than speak to them, they, as her friends deserve to know what happened. Becuase they are online friends, they need a sort of closure that only I can give.

My dad is on facebook, but he doesn't do anything with it, nor does he email. My brother doesn't do that sort of thing either, and that leaves just me to answer questions.

I'm going to be posting a lot in the next 48 hours. I need to get my fingers used to moving over the keys again, get my mind used to speaking in fonts. I think I am in danger of leaving the internet entirely, if I cant get over this hurdle. I should never have avoided the internet this past week, I should have stayed, written, accepted my virtual hugs and let my online friends lift me up and help me be strong.

WOW

I just looked, really looked at my blog header. I am in serious need of a blog make over! that baby on the far right? He is turning SIX this summer.

Pretty soon the one on the far left will be giving out Rocky Patel cigars on the occasion of the birth of his first child, OMG - no, not yet, I've got at least ten more years before that, I hope!

(I better!)

So now I need suggestions of someone willing to A change my layout for free, or B, do it for real cheap. Oh and I will need a new picture, won't I?

shit. I dunno what pic I would use at all!

PINK!

help me out people. the third color down is PINK, isn't it?

I mean, I'm sitting here, worried about asbestos cancer mesothelioma, dangerous trips up to the attic, possible falling off of roofs, and my friend Sheila is arguing with me that it is NOT pink, but brown.

What the hell people?

She is OFF her rocker, fo' Shizzle...right?

And ... Ima put PINK on my eyes! Hell, Ima put MAKEUP on my eyes, and that pretty much terrifies me just about as much as spiders do!

Rain Rain Go Away

The guys - meaning my father in law and husband, were all set to head up into the dark and icky and possibly crawling with spiders, to check out the sky light.

*I* want to tear it out completely, re -roof over it and be freaking DONE with it, But my husband and father in law want to just buy a better (read :expensive) skylight and replace the old one!

Our house is only 8 years old so there is no worries about the insulation causing Mesothelioma Cancer but the truth is, no matter what, attics are dangerous, having to wade through the insulation that IS up there, making sure to only step on beams, its dark, its hot, its closed in, its just not fun.

SO. I;m kinda glad that we got to put it off lol, if only for the weekend, plus it gives me more time to work on them about not replacing the damn thing, but removing it!