Girly, the turtle

Abbey loved my turtle. So much, in fact, that she wanted a large one just like mine. She even named it before I made it, Girly. She names everything Girly.

In other new, Tad the tadpole has passed on... I think next I'll get a goldfish.

Shawn and I are going on a cruise in March! Yay! We're going to Belize, Honduras, and Cozumel, Mexico. I'm so excited! We're going to see the Mayan ruins! And by ourselves! Yay, couple time!

I've also started knitting again, and have sewn/embroidered a lot this week. I love my sewing machine!

My Sea Turtle

I finally finished my sea turtle, I bought the fabric months ago but just got around to making him. Abbey loves him and is begging for me to make her one as well.

I think I'll name him Seaweed. Now I've got to make him a baby (for Abbey).

Water, Ice, Snow....and other stuff!

So, I've been hibernating inside for the past few days, due to the "snow" (I quote them because it really shouldn't even qualify) and (main reason) extremely freezing temperatures. We got about an inch of snow, just enough for Abbey to play in but not enough to satisfy me. It started last Friday with the temperature only reaching 22 degrees, although colder with the windchill. It was below zero with the wind at night! This caused one of our pipes to freeze on Saturday morning. It also let to the ground shifting and therefore busting our water meter that is in the ground. That was loads of fun. Lucky for us, it was the city's property and they had to fix it. At 10:00 at night. In freezing temperatures. Fun.

I finally got my new sewing machine. I'm so excited because it embroiders on it's own! I'm also in the process of completing a few craft projects that I'll post soon.

That's pretty much all that's going on in my life....

I need a cardboard cookie....

In case you haven't noticed....look up. Not at the ceiling, the top of my blog page. Notice anything different?? That's right, my very own custom designed picture/header thingy. I'm very proud of that (for you web design gurus, don't laugh...). I was actually in the picture, holding Abbey's hand while walking her up the street. My awesome hubby introduced me to the clone tool on Photoshop (my next best bud next to Google) and I proceeded to perfect the picture. I actually spent 2 hours last night perfecting it. (Glows with glee!)

I've got a list of "want to do's" today, starting with watching the Netflix movies that I need to send back. We're also behind of laundry, and I REALLY want to change the bedroom around. I'm NOT leaving the house today. It is freakin' cold! I think the high today is like 32 or something (yesterdays high was 22, low 5--not including windchill!). So, that's pretty much my day. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Oh, and Shawn says I need a cardboard cookie....;)

STUPID PEOPLE & Birthday Parties

Not to be confused with stupid people AT birthday parties....I'm so glad that I'm in control of my own blog. I have complete authority to NOW approve any comment left from a certain STUPID PERSON who keeps "blog-o-marketing" (I really like that word) my comments. So, there, STUPID PERSON, I win....HAHA. (Now that I got that out of my system).

I let Abbey pick out her birthday plates and napkins/etc today. WOW, I forgot how expensive everything was (of course, I spent half of it on balloons). She always picks the ones that cannot be found at walmart, so I have to go to the expensive party store. Oh, well....You only turn 5 once. Which, by the way, she (on her own) chose Strawberry Shortcake, which is exactly the same as I had for my 5th birthday party.

Don't you hate it when....

....you decide you really want to have , you decide you're going to cook it for dinner.....only to find out you're missing a key ingredient that there is no substitution for? Well, that's what happened to me today. Fortunately for me, I realized this at 2pm, instead of 5. I wanted pancakes. With scrambled eggs. And turkey bacon. Yum!! Only, I didn't have my trusty Bisquick box from which to cook. Lucky for me, I'm best buds with Google. Did you know that most homemade pancake recipes need buttermilk? Don't have that either. I did, however stumble onto http://www.breakfast-and-brunch-recipes.com/easypancakerecipe.html and found a super easy (and healthy) homemade yogurt pancake recipe which had stuff I always have on hand (minus the baking soda, but Google stepped in again and gave me a substitute). So I tried it around 3, just in case I need a back-up plan. Luckily, it's pretty tasty. In fact, I've now added it to my cookbook.

......you see you've got a comment from a newbie to your blog, only to discover it's really like the blog-o-marketers leaving a link to their blog with a reference to something you've never even blogged about (aka snake wine). I find this really irritating. FYI if you're going to link to your own blog, at least take the time to read the post and reference something that I actually typed! He HAS been deleted. =P

....you suffer through all this freezing weather (I know, so do you) and don't even get the reward of a dusting of snow.... Just saying.....

If I had a million dollars....

So I was checking my email while talking to Shawn (who was in another room) when I opened an email.....and screamed "oh, my god"!!! Shawn comes running into the tv room wondering what part of my body I had chopped off. Instead, he finds my drooling over an email update from NKOTB Fan club....apparently, they are going to have a NKOTB Cruise in May. I know, exciting, right!! Well, I guess I'm the only one in my house who thinks so. Shawn says I can go with my girlfriends when we win the millions from the lottery.

On another note, while visiting family over Christmas, I had the chance to read several books I'd been putting off. I finally got the chance to read, "Are you there vodka, it's me, Chelsea" . This book was so funny! It read like a girlfriend sharing her stories with you and I laughed so much! Chelsea Handler is a comedian, who also had Comedy Central's Girls Behaving Badly show, for those who don't know. So, if you haven't read it, add it to your list! It's great!

Karma, baby, Karma

You know, the news IS depressing....wars everywhere, murders, robberies....It really makes you wonder about the world we live in. However, every now and then, karma steps in....

Did you hear about the Somali Pirates? The ones who hijacked an oil tanker for ransom (something like $3 million)? Well, in case you weren't keeping track, they've been hijacking stuff for a while (even tried to hijack a cruise ship!) Anywho, Karma finally stepped in. As the pirates were leaving in a little boat with their millions, the boat overturned and they drowned. With their millions. Karma's a bitch.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479168,00.html

New Years Resolutions

So, I'm a little late with the resolutions (and with a blog post). But lots have happened, including the passing of our beloved teacher, Mr. Fullington. Last night, Jaime and I went to his memorial service at Erwin High (my, how I miss high school, no adult responsibilities, no bills...). It was a wonderful service as it truly encompassed the man. I truly felt like he could be sitting right there, smiling and laughing (and tearing up) with the rest of us. While sitting there, listening to the words of the song, "I'll follow the sun", I came up with another item for my list.


April's New Year Resolutions

1. Add a few of Mr. Fullington's favorites to my song list--I think the best way to remember him is to be able to pass down the love of music (which I already have) to my daughter and future children. Not just listening to the music, but to teach her to know what the lyrics are about. So often, as busy as we get, we sing the words without really LISTENING to the meaning...I'm going to change that.

2. Finish my mosaic turtle (that I've been working on for a year now sporadically)

3. Continue running 5K's and maybe another 8k

4. Get back into my routine of going to the gym 4 days a week (that I've seemed to not do over the holidays)

5. Try to be more patient with things I can't control.

6. De clutter (waayyy to much stuff in the house!)

7. Be more optimistic.


One thing I don't have to put on the list, because I'm already thankful for it, is to have such great friends. Two friends, in particular, that no matter how far apart we live or how busy our lives get.....Have always been there (since like middle school!) and always will be....I'm realizing that our friendship is a rare one, not everyone keeps in touch after high school.....and for that, I'm thankful!

Attention passengers...the Captain has turned on the seatbelt sign...

My daughter takes after me, personality wise, and is always working to perfect her perfectionism. She always wants to be aware of what's going on, much like myself. That being said, our time spent on the airplanes have pretty much become routine.


Stewardess: Please review your emergency manual in the pocket in front of you.


Abbey grabs the emergency manual and begins studying all the pictures (because she can't read). This usually happens for about 10 minutes, and then she goes on to other things, like coloring.

BUT NOT THIS TIME.....

This time, she had a few questions.......

"Why are they opening the door?"
"Are we going to watch someone jump out of the airplane?"

"Are they going to let us go swimming?"

If I'm ever on a plane that's crashing, I'm following my 4 year old!!

I'm being lazy...here's another funny email

AMAZINGLY SIMPLE HOME REMEDIES (That Really Work!)

1. AVOID CUTTING YOURSELF WHEN SLICING VEGETABLES BY GETTING SOMEONE ELSE TO HOLD THE VEGETABLES WHILE YOU SLICE.
2. AVOID ARGUMENTS WITH THE FEMALES ABOUT LIFTING THE TOILET SEAT BY USING THE SINK.
3. FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SUFFERERS ~ SIMPLY CUT YOURSELF AND BLEED FOR A FEW MINUTES, THUS REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON YOUR VEINS. REMEMBER TO USE A TIMER.
4. A MOUSE TRAP PLACED ON TOP OF YOUR ALARM CLOCK WILL PREVENT YOU FROM ROLLING OVER AND GOING BACK TO SLEEP AFTER YOU HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON.
5. IF YOU HAVE A BAD COUGH, TAKE A LARGE DOSE OF LAXATIVES. THEN YOU'LL BE AFRAID TO COUGH.
6. YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'T MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THE DUCT TAPE.
7. IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.

DAILY THOUGHT:SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.