***phew***

via pinterest

1. this is what i try to tell mike on many occasions. [i just print it out and hang it where he can see it]

2. been a very busy week. so busy that my laundry + blog has been neglected.

3. tuesday after dance class, kaylee + i picked up chinese food for dinner and watched tangled.

4. wednesday i took my 8 year old niece and kaylee to get their nails done and to a local restaurant to celebrate my nieces birthday and because kaylee got a super report card. [my niece asks to do this every year]

5. tonight i had a quiet house for a bit till my sister and other niece showed up.

6. kaylee cried big tears last night. her dad has been out of town. all of last week and spur of the moment this week.

7. i finally started walking. got 2.6 miles in before kaylee came home from school.

8. another year and my parents and both brothers with their families are going down to florida for spring break. [my sister and i have not yet been invited]

9. one more day before spring break. 9 days of sleeping in and i plan on taking full advantage of it.

10. did i tell you i named our pizza for the pizza challenge? its called "can you beat our meat?" since it is double the meat toppings...

ready for some changes

hawaii 2008

1. this will be my view in a few months. i can not wait!

2. after clearing it with mike's boss, we booked flight and hotel yesterday.

3. and after spending time with mom tonight, i could use a vacation and a drink!

4. i'm super jealous of those who has a great relationship with their moms.

5. leaving monday night dinner, i felt frustrated, stupid, worthless and hurt- everything i felt growing up.

6. i know this is why i have social awkwardness.

7. my friend jen and two of her kids came over for lunch, couponing and meal planning though not a lot got done. too much talking!

8. her daughter gave alex, kaylee's american girl doll, a haircut.

9. i told kaylee once she got home from school. she cried a few tears then was over it. [its really not that bad but still]

10. took ham's driving at night privileges away for being irresponsible on curfew over the weekend. that's when he told me he's counting down the days till he goes to college. boy am i feeling the L.O.V.E today.

this week

better photo of her dress

1. no other damage has been done to the house.

2. while "massaging" ham's feet to wake him up, i told him i don't wash my hands before i make his breakfast. i got a funny grin from that.

3. i haven't been sleeping well. so i'm grumpy and have headaches.

4. the kids have been really annoying too.

5. went to the doctor for a recurring rash on my neck. left with blood work done. weird.

6. blood work is fine. [she was looking for copper?] but i have iron deficiency/anemia. she's putting me on prescription iron pills. hope it gives me the energy i've been seriously slacking lately. [lately? try whole life!]

7. made me sad when i said i have no family health history [adopted]. so i've decided to become the health history for my kids.

8. mike comes home from canada today. he told kaylee they would make a tent in the basement and sleep in it. she's so excited!

9. last night she told me she's starting to forget what daddy looks like [drama queen]. i told her do you know what an egg looks like. she said yes. i said that's daddy's head.

10. finally got my dad to help me with checking into the timeshare for hawaii. of course its super cheap for us to stay there- $250 for a week. of course there isn't any good places left.

what's in store for the house wednesday?

1. this was my house on monday courtesy jack attack! he did not put that black shelf like that, i did.

2. and this was this morning courtesy ME. i'm moving furniture around and was sweeping floors when my scentsy warmer spilled all over the floor.

3. after a few choice words, i decided to leave it to attend a stepping down party from our playgroup leader.

4. when i came home i scrapped what i could then used the old towel, hot iron method and it came up pretty easily. just a slight stain is left. i don't think mike will even notice. him being colored blind is a major help.

5. did you see this strawberry party idea via one charming party?

6. yep! same idea as mine here, here, here and here. [i'm not saying they stole my idea, just saying that i must be a rad party planner!]

7. my nerd herd likes their name. i've been dubbed nerd terd.

8. the nikon AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX lens is what i'm debating on getting. its made for the d40x and its cheap. [as far as lenses go]

9. an old friend stopped by today, it was great seeing her again. we talked about how our 2003 family trip to florida was the best trip ever.

10. and i think i might have made a new friend. she works for my parents and she's coming over monday so we can menu plan and grocery list.

mondays + ungreatful teenagers do not mix

her eyes are super big because they gave her her own dish of chocolate ice cream with a candle on it.

1. today has been a weird day. i woke up super tired and couldn't keep my eyes open. so i took a nap till 10.

2. got a phone call from mom about my sister. YIKES! mess is all i can say

3. so then i went baby gift shopping and decided to ask fed-ex in office max if they will ship 4 tires to canada- NOPE!

4. so i drove to the other side of town to UPS since i couldn't find a fed-ex. of course, UPS didn't have any shrink wrap tape thing so i went back to the other side of town and went to staples to buy shrink wrap tape thing.

5. i did use my brain for once and asked UPS in staples if they could ship 4 tires to canada. they said YES! so after shrinking wrapping 4 tires, they got shipped and for much less than what fed-ex had quoted me! [everyone got to see my bright orange undies while at it]

6. ham came home and asked if the tires got shipped out. i told him yes thinking he would be happy and greatful. he was till i told him i shrinked wrapped taped them.

7. he said i should of used boxes. thats when i told him he should of done this himself then. he then asked me where he was going to get boxes. i asked him where am i going to get boxes?

8. he then storms off and slams his door.

9. i told him he needs to apologize to me and till that happens, the money he got for selling the tires is mine and so are the keys to his car.

10. it took him a bit but he apologized. he didn't even ask for his keys so i know it was legit. before leaving for monday night dinner, i gave them back. i do want to set an example on how to forgive.

short weekend recap

boy do i know that face and arms folded over all too well!

1. i'm not sure what's being said here but obviously its not what she wanted to hear.

2. kaylee is wearing her new kayce hughes dress and i curled her hair with hot rollers before going out to dinner. [they are sold out of her dress]

3. i will get a better photo of her in that dress some other time. [the color looks awesome on her!]

4. ruth chris did not disappoint us- dinner was so fabulous that i told mike, i would stop eating out to those other places if we would go there a few times a year.

5. today we went clothes shopping for mike. he needed some new pants for when he heads off to canada.

6. i love it when my whole family is home and safe and its thunder storming.

7. the pizza challenge went really well on friday. none of the 3 guys could finish it so it was a win for us!

8. though the local dj's were very full from a whole weeks worth of food challenges.

9. i came up with a name for the pizza challenge and for the pie but can't reveal it till it gets approved.

10. i am tired but waiting for laundry to dry. this is the sucky part about being a homemaker!

more random ramblings- that should of been my new blog title!

on our way home from mike's birthday dinner

1. i tried my hardest to get a few photos of ham but he wouldn't let me.

2. sweet kaylee snuck this one for me. we had to silence the phone or he would of deleted it.

3. i really need to get my nikon out more but really want a new lens for it.

4. mike said to go ahead and get a new lens + the panasonic lumix since my day of birth is coming up.

5. i don't know which lens though i'm getting closer. and right now i feel like being a tightwad.

6. i weighed myself this morning without my 2lb towel and i gained a pound in two weeks! i just want to tuck in my shirts! is that too much to ask?

7. i made steak tips with peppered mushroom gravy for dinner. i didn't have any but kaylee loved it and mike said it tasted like it came from a restaurant.

8. for my vegetarian friend- hi wendy! i thought it could be made without the beef + beef broth. use veggie broth, add more mushrooms and maybe some steamed broccoli. the gravy is that good!

9. i also got my restored photo of my grandparents back from phojoe. they did an awesome job! now i just need to get it canvased!

10. and the same friend from #8 sent me this delicious link. my molars started to ache when i was reading it. i would still add a big ass cookie on top though.

i leave you with 9

that's her and nana holding hands.

1. not sure if i had mentioned that over the weekend ham came home early both friday and saturday night. like before midnight.

2. extra sleep + allergy meds + time change = no sleep monday night!

3. ham came home late last night. MIDNIGHT on a school night but he texted me asking to stay a little later since him + a buddy where fixing his sun roof.

4. then he texted me saying he was sorry he didn't know he was going to be so late.

5. i finished 3 of the 4 twilight books and getting ready to start the last one. i cheated though and skipped over a lot in the 3rd.

6. i couldn't find our book club selection at barnes and noble but i think i will try to make it to the meeting since its seems to be the only way i can see my nerd herd.

7. i made chicken fried chicken, mash potatoes and salad for dinner tonight. it was good but needed more seasoning or some garlic.

8. i've been beating mike's butt in princess word searches. i've won 5 times in a row!

9. ok i need to go and wash my face, just touched it and a bunch of oil is on my hands now- grody!

we are losers

saying this girl loves donuts is a major understatement!

1. we celebrated mike's birthday today. it was very low key. went to red lobster per his request though i did nudge him in that direction. [me not having to cook is a win!]

2. then came home for donut "cake".

3. also got him a new wallet. [his birthday present was to go gambling which is what he did on saturday with his dad]

4. tomorrow is his mom's birthday. we got her a kindle cover for the kindle we got her last year. or was it two years ago? and my mom's is saturday.

5. saturday we [mike's parents + us] are all going out to ruth chris's where i get to cheat on my "no red meat for 40 days". hey its a steak house though i will try to find an alternative.

6. ham said he might not go with us on saturday since he went out to dinner with us tonight. he can handle only so much of us...LOSERS. [not his words but i know what he's thinking]

7. he totally owes me though. i put all 4 tires + rims into the car, drove to fed-ex, took them out, started to fill out paper work till they told me canada has duty + special fees which they do not know till the items are shipped.

8. i had to load them back into the car and that is where they still sit. oh believe me, he was going to pay me some of that cash he was getting for selling those 4 tires + rims.

9. why do blogs make you do or like a kabillion different things in order to win? of course i had to do them- i really want to win!

10. my dad was really proud of me when i told him about the pizza challenge or more on that the fact that its not going to cost us a lot and we got some radio exposure out of it. now if only it would bring in the customers!

eye candy

1. whenever i see 30 seconds to mars on vh1, i have to stop and watch. he's just so pretty.

2. and it was nice having such great eye candy while watching my so called life.

3. today went by fast. i drove to our next "big" city to get mike some krispy kreme donuts so i can make him his birthday "cake" tomorrow. and to return my jeans. need thinner thighs.*

4. yup, he's turning 34. he's old.

5. and i worked on the craft room and got all my photos out getting them into photo albums.

6. pizza challenge with our local radio show will be this friday. hopefully i can get everything set up and ready to go and its a hit!

7. no more news on moving yet. mike needs to get an interview with the person hiring down there etc... the only downfall is that they might need him now but he can't leave his current position till the final sale since he is the boss. [june/july]

8. everyone is going on spring break except for us! so not fair. unhappy face and arms are crossed!

9. oh! and i'm doing much better on my giving up red meat for 40 days. i even got the vegetarian beans on my chipotle burrito today!

10. as you all know i'm a "little" obsessed with pinterest. i like to check out the fitness photos to see if there are any fitness blogs to read. it really scares me when i find 17/18 year old girls blogging that they are dying to be model thin!

*i know i complain about my weight. i'm trying to eat less and move more. there's a difference here people. i'm in my 30's and i do not wish to be bone thin, just less flabby.

your toy portrait

i know i've posted about them before but i can't help but love your toy portrait. this little guy is the cutest thing ever. i still need to get hamilton's much loved bunny done before he graduates this year!

weekend update

face painting at kaylee's school 'zaar

1. of course i forgot to take an after photo.

2. i failed on giving up red meat. at kaylee's school 'zaar they had this pretty famous hot dog stand there and i couldn't resist. it had bacon on it + other veggies.

3. but i did good today eating salads for lunch and dinner. [we had mike's parents over for lunch. made lasagna, olive cheese bread and salad]

4. mike + kaylee went up to laporte on saturday. i dropped them off and went outlet shopping.

5. came back home and had the whole house to myself so i watched valentine's day. [missed the first 30 mins]

6. ham came home early friday[midnight!] and 11pm last night. i don't know why and i don't care. i got to go bed at a decent time!

7. he's been playing x-box live today and its SO funny hearing him get so mad at it! i chuckle every time.

8. kaylee's been under the weather. no fever thank goodness but just yucky feeling. she woke up a few hours ago not sure where she was.

9. i did the same thing last night. i woke up all freaked out because kaylee wasn't in bed with me. i kept thinking why didn't her school call me when i didn't get her off the bus?? [and i mean total freak out!]

10. with everything going on in the world, i'm really worried. is this the beginning of the end i hear so much about?

friday at last

not only do i love but i want this ikea rug

1. i've seen it used in various blogs and i just love the colors and design.

2. i want to buy it before we move and decorate a room around it.

3. i know i shouldn't be getting all excited about our potential move because there is a slight chance it won't happen.

4. but i'm excited as hell! its a fresh start, its getting away from my parents who favorites my brothers, its a new adventure in a new place.

5. mike offended kaylee this morning when he said she's worse than a boy because she farts a lot.

6. i told her that if we weren't suppose to fart then we wouldn't have fart holes.

7. mike said something else and she said "you're a fart hole". and being immature, i laughed hysterically.

8. tomorrow mike and kaylee are headed up to laporte for the whole day.

9. only 4 and half hours till i get to go to bed.

10. i've decided to do a lent thing and not eat red meat for 40 days. [of course mike gets a meatball pepperoni sandwich at lunch and it smelled delicious!]

will it be houston?

best pantry ever!

1. while i dream for a pantry like emersonmade's, i love and can do the glass jar organizational thing.

2. the lady helping mike find a job within the company found us one in houston which is what we wanted!

3. now it just depends on if mike is the right fit for the job. fingers crossed he is!

4. my only worry is selling this house. mike's work can buy it from us but will they give us enough for it?

5. i've been looking for houses on-line in houston just to see what they're like. [we want to move to an area called the woodlands]

6. lesson i've learned from buying our current house: buy one with a pool.

7. for no added value when selling, pools are expensive to put in.

8. little nugget is feeling better today but i kept her home just in case there were some lingering bugs.

9. and of course once i got my mind set on walking/running outside, the weather turns cold and gray.

10. did you know bath towels weigh 2 lbs? weighed myself with just a towel on and then without. 2lbs- that was my goal for the week! hee hee!

dilemma's, nerd herds and nerves

this outfit is SO me!

1. i bought two pairs of jeans yesterday.

2. i'm debating on taking them back. only because i want to tone up and wonder if they will still fit me. [the other factor is that they were a bit pricey]

3. mike came home to grab his laptop and brought me a peppermint hot chocolate.

4. little nugget is home with a fever.

5. my car is in the shop. [continued work from last week]

6. i stayed up late to watch teen mom's 2 and my life as liz.

7. i can't help it. i feel a connection with the mom's even though i was 20 when i got pregnant and i love liz's nerd herd.

8. mike said that the person helping him find a job within his company has an opportunity for us.

9. waiting till 10AM since they are 2 hours behind us.

10. excited and nervous at the same time!

famous in my own mind

kaylee and her nana taken by kaylee

1. exciting stuff happened this morning. mike texted me that a local radio show was talking about the tv show man vs. food and how they wanted to do a challenge too.

2. so i called them up [i might have even been on the radio]and offered them a pizza pie challenge.

3. this will be happening sometime next week. SO EXCITING!

4. not only did they say MY name on the air a few times but hotbox too!

5. we do not know where we're moving too yet.

6. but some places we could move too is africa, korea, scotland, egpyt, colorado, new mexico and canada to name a few. [mike requested anyplace thats family friendly]

7. or we could just end up staying right where we are. [he would travel back and forth for months at a time or be working for the new company]

8. the sickies are going around kaylee's class. i think she might be coming down with it. [she fell asleep right away and was ready for bed by 7:30]

9. i deleted about 3 pages with 50+ blogs on them the other day. i have less than 100 that i read but not every day. my taste have changed and some just no longer interest me.

10. i went clothes shopping today. i am so weak!

weekend

having "tea" with dinner

1. the girls were super excited that they got to drink "tea" with their dinner last night.

2. staying up till 2AM on the weekends is kicking my butt! or is it the waking up at 6AM?

3. spent all day saturday with the in-laws. we took them out to lunch, played lcr. we stopped once kaylee won her 18 bucks! tried to play euchre too. ate dinner then came home.

4. reality of us moving just slapped me in the face yesterday.

5. we might have to sell/store all of our new to us furniture and cars.

6. and me shopping ikea or any other place has become senseless till we know where we're going. mike really likes this!

7. need to make lists of all the stuff i need to get done, places to visit, friends to see.

8. got a quote to restore the photo of my grandparents. $400! i went here instead. still waiting on the results.

9. tried doing yoga yesterday but it got cut short. it was not mixing well with my back arthritis and scoliosis. [think it will get better once i start moving more]

10. i'm starving and craving some chicken wings. going to lunch!

it's friday night

jack's favorite spot

1. that cat is always trying to sit on my lap or whenever i take a nap, he comes undercover with me. [we haven't done that in awhile though]

2. mike + kaylee are asleep. mike is getting up early to go run in the morning. ham is out with friends.

3. i just folded about 10 loads of laundry and still washing more. [laundry that i hide when the boss came over]

4. went to target this morning and the only thing i bought was my prescription for my allergies.

5. might be headed to ikea so i want to wait and see what i can find there. [maybe next weekend]

6. went to hotbox pizza tonight for dinner. on the ride over kaylee sounded like she was 26 years old instead of 6. she's just so smart.

7. i told the manager on duty that the girls needed to get their hair back in ponytails since its such a small space. hair in food = no more customers!

8. for kaylee's cooking class we made green eggs and ham in honor of dr. seuss's birthday.

9. one of the kids asked me how old i was. another asked if i was kaylee's sister- love him! and another said i was the best cook ever!

10. when kaylee got home she went on her swing set yelling "freedom!" and "i love this weather!"

YUM!

wendy, here's another 3 pounds!

cake batter pancakes

i LOVE deals!

my grandparents, mom side

1. both sets of grandparents have passed away. grandpa jack, in the photo, was the only grandparent ham got to know and he was the only great grandkid grandpa jack got to know.

2. i'm getting this photo restored and hopefully onto a big canvas as a birthday surprise for my mom.

3. trying to come up with a present for mike. i have a few ideas brewing in my head. hee hee, i made a joke. brewing- because i'm thinking on the lines of something for his beer.

4. 5:05pm yesterday i get a text from mike that his boss is coming over to the house then we will go out to eat.

5. so within that hour, i showered, cleaned the house to look spotless and got dressed. i lost my keys during this hour and you should see what all can fit into the dishwasher.

6. having his boss coming over made me realize that i really need to keep the house in better order. i have plenty of time.

7. his boss was super nice. he said our meal was dirt cheap compared to dining in calgary.

8. i just bought a two night stay for up in chicago via living social for 80 bucks. its right next door to woodfield mall and ikea! (if interested, i can send a link)

9. i also got two movie tickets for 9 bucks yesterday via living social.

10. and today at our local grocery store, they're selling charmin toilet paper and paper towels about 2 bucks cheaper than wal-mart. i stocked up!