Drama, drama, drama

Those of you who know me, or are used to my writing, probably have me pegged for a drama queen. I don't deny it. I am. Through and through. About a year and a half ago, Kris upgraded his cell phone and left me longing for an upgrade myself. See here for details. Bottom line, I whined and begged and pleaded with him until I wore him down and he finally gave in and bought me the Samsung Instinct.

Knowing that he wouldn't let me get another new phone so soon, I entered to win the HTC Evo that Sprint was giving away. I entered the writing contest AND the Facebook contest. I did not win either one. So sad. Seriously...I was distraught! Ever since then, I've been making little comments to Kris about buying me the Evo for our anniversary (which is June 5). It just seems like the most natural, reasonable gift, seeing as how it will be released on June 4th. It's fate, right? At least that is what I am trying to convince him of. I mean, who cares that it will cost us at least $100 that we don't really have. It's our anniversary. I take our anniversary very seriously around here! Isn't it enough that he is whisking me away to Gatlinburg for two days? For a drama queen like myself, no, it's not enough. Poor, poor Kris.

So, I keep asking him if he is going to buy me the HTC Evo. It wouldn't even be a question. Except that I just found out that I am a Sprint Premier customer and so instead of having to wait 2 years to get $150 off an upgrade, I could have upgraded back in January!! Poor Kris. I made sure I let him know this. So I can get the discount they are offering for a two year contract, plus my $150 upgrade. Which means the Evo shouldn't really cost us much at all. And considering they are releasing the phone in honor of my 11th wedding anniversary, I kind of HAVE to get it, don't I?

In order to shut me up, Kris may break down and give in. The things this man has to go through to live with me. I really do feel sorry for him sometimes. Though not enough to figure out a way to just be patient and wait until next January when an even better phone is bound to be out. At least, I'm hoping he gives in. I'm sure I can find some way to make it up to him.

Oh, HTC EVO how I long for you!

***KRIS JUST SAID THAT IF EVERYONE WHO READS MY BLOG WOULD DONATE A DOLLAR I COULD GET THE PHONE. HA HA! I LOVE THAT MAN! He's funny. And only about 75% serious. HOWEVER, NO DONATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED!***

I'm so fickle...

I have a hard time finding something that works and then sticking with it. I'm talking about weight loss. The three things I have done in the past that I have followed through with for more than 2 weeks have been The Weigh Down Diet (I read the book), Weight Watchers, and 6 solid weeks of living yeast-free. I've tried other things and find that I just fail. I've been going through The Lord's Table online and the lessons are good, but I can't seem to make myself stick to the meal plan. So I'm back to Weight Watchers, for the gazillionth time and hoping this time around I can get over this plateau I've been on for months. Would it be best for everyone in my home if I continued eating yeast-free? Of course! Do I really believe I can do it? No. I've proven to myself that going completely yeast-free again, after allowing the sugar and gluten back into my body, is problematic. I just don't want to. I'm fickle. I need constant change. I'm weak and I love food. I'm not giving up completely on yeast-free though. I'm still going to try new recipes and try to adapt some things so that I have healthier options. But I'm just really struggling here to completely abstain from all the yeast-filled goodness that exists. Do I cringe when I eat fast food or something from a box? Yeah. And then I get over it. It's dangerous, since I am highly susceptible to yeast-overgrowth. My hope though is that I can maintain a reasonable amount of self-control and not get myself back to the extremely unhealthy place I was last fall. I now know what to watch for (with my body and how it responds to the 'bad' foods) and so hopefully I can use that as a gauge for what is OK and what isn't. I was writing a separate blog to keep track of all my weight/food 'stuff' but I am going to switch back over and just include it here, since I wasn't updating it much anyway. So any yeast-free recipes I make I'll post here. Likewise, any non-yeast-free recipes I make I will post here. I was doing Willpower Wednesday where I forced myself to get up and cook or work on other crafty projects one night a week. I want to continue that, but I think with the summer I will have to pick a different day for this. I am not sure yet what day this will become...I may have to come up with another clever name (and cute button to match)!

I'm also hoping to get back to EA Sports Active and Pilates for the Wii. Kris said until we "play" those enough we can't buy the Wii Sports Plus, so I'd better get busy! I think we are going to get rid of our Y membership to help offset the cost of tuition for the kids. So it will be important to get back to doing some sort of physical activity and I'm too much of a wimp to walk in this heat!

You know, I never did write about the scavenger hunt we had over spring break. Some of you may remember me complaining about how mad I was that some of my team's photos were losing to Kris' team. My team lost the scavenger hunt. As a refresher, here is the post where I first talked about the best day I've ever had with my kids: Grr....

The link to the scavenger isn't valid anymore for voting...but you can see the results (if you have a Facebook account). Some of my team's pictures won, but overall, Kris' team got more votes. Next year though...I'm determined...and I've learned how people vote. So hopefully we'll have more of a chance. Although, considering the amount of awesome people who voted, it was actually a pretty close competition. The final score was Pink Lightning (me, Kaleb and Livvy): 841 and Fast Thunder (Kris, Kat, and Abbey): 1019. Those are individual votes. We each had 25 pictures that were judged-so to have that many votes was pretty incredible.

Thinking about this scavenger hunt leaves me longing for vacation next year. We are all so excited to do this all over again. Next to our Christmas ornaments (see this post from 2008 for more details), it's my favorite family tradition! I still need to make the certificate showcasing the winning team so that we can proudly display it in our home. I'm hoping to work on that this evening.

Memorial Day, Abbey style...

So, we rearranged our house a bit yesterday. With us working at home this summer, we needed to move a computer desk upstairs and make room for it in the living room. This meant moving the China cabinet into the already tiny dining room, where it belongs anyway. We got it all situated and it looks great, even if our dining room is cramped and we had to take the leaf out of the table, so it now only seats four.

Before

After

In the process of rearranging, we came across a blank thank you card and Kris told Abbey she could have it. She was being all secretive and writing in it, hiding it anytime we would walk near her. She kept saying we couldn't look at it.

Later that afternoon, she kept asking me if the mail would come and I told her that the mail didn't come on Memorial Day. She hid *something* behind her back; I pretended not to know what it was. She told me she was going to recycle something outside and I left it at that. Today she said "I wonder if that mail came." I told her that it didn't come and she said "Maybe you should check anyway." I obliged, knowing full well she had put something in the mailbox yesterday when she was supposedly recycling! Inside was the card we gave her yesterday. She had written thank you in it, to Kris and I, for being her mommy and daddy. Then she wrote "Thank you for not killing me when I was in your stomach." She thinks of the oddest things (and then speaks them aloud!)...I am not sure if she was referring to abortion (which we've barely glossed over with her) or what. Later she started asking me about the baby that died in my stomach. I had a miscarriage a few years ago, and this is what she was talking about. Then we had a lengthy conversation about whether or not it was a boy or a girl and we should ask God when we got to heaven to show us the baby that died.

Anyway...that was a cute and funny little story, but has little to do with Memorial Day. The reason that I titled this as I did is because Abbey asked me yesterday who was going to stay home with them today. I explained to her that we were all going to be home because Monday was Memorial Day. At the time, she was writing in the thank you card I mentioned above. She asked me what Memorial Day was and I told her it was a day that we remember all the soldiers who have fought and died in wars and the people who still fight so that we can have freedom. Then she said the sweetest thing. She said "Oh I wish I could have given this thank you card to a soldier!" I assured her we could buy another thank you card for her to give to a soldier. She makes me smile.

On a completely different note, I indulged in two fuzzy navels at a birthday party Saturday night. I think that was what led to the horrific night that ensued. I don't drink much, at all. In fact I think the last time I had a drink was maybe last September? And when I do drink, it has never been more than 2 drinks total...and I only drink the girly drinks, the ones with more juice than alcohol in them. But I enjoyed my two drinks Saturday night and thought nothing of it, until I woke up Sunday morning. You see, I had a nightmare that night. A horrible, vivid nightmare, that I hope to never experience the likes of again. Here is how it went:

It began with Abbey almost getting kidnapped by some strange man. Right after that, I saw Olivia standing near an open window. I knew we were in a two story building. It was just one of those things you know in dreams. I still am not sure if she fell or jumped, but out the window she went, crashing down to the ground. I ran downstairs and outside to see her tiny little body all contorted on the ground. I bent down next to her and talked to her for a few minutes and then she died right in front of my eyes. As if that wasn't bad enough, I didn't wake up. The dream continued all night. I went through days of grieving her, and planning her funeral. It was absolutely awful! I have never had a dream like that before and hope to never repeat it.

When I woke up, I was exhausted. That was one of the first nights I slept straight through the night, and yet I felt like I hadn't gotten any sleep. I still can't get the image of her little broken limbs out of my head. Kaleb was sick yesterday morning and so I stayed home from church with him. He and I went back to bed around 9:30am and slept until 1pm.

Needless to say, I will not be indulging in any sweet, alcoholic beverages again anytime soon!

Yeast-free No Bake Cookies

This recipe was fairly easy to adapt to yeast-free. I wrote about it on my 'other' blog but wanted to post the recipe here. I'm thinking about switching back here and chronicling my weight loss (or these days "weight find") journey here since I don't update that one much. So, because I don't want to make you go to the trouble of clicking the link to go that "that" blog, I'm copying and pasting it here. I'm a cheater. Or lazy. Or both. However, if you don't care about whether or not this recipe is yeast-free and just want THE BEST recipe for no-bake cookies, it's listed below.

***taken from Living *mostly* Yeast Free***

It's been almost a week since I checked in here. I'm contemplating switching backing to writing about my yeast-free journey on my main blog, since I can't seem to keep up with this one as much as the other. It was such a great idea when I was constantly trying new recipes and trying to adapt my lifestyle to eating healthier. I'm just really having a hard time resisting. I've put so many rules on myself, and broken even more rules than I imposed, if that is possible. I've gained about 5 pounds back in the last 2 months and I am NOT happy about it. And yet what do I want to do to make myself feel better (temporarily)? EAT. Good foods. Bad foods. FOOD. I've done a lot of baking lately, because I love it. It is not something that I can give up easily. But when I bake, I have a hard time not eating a whole batch of cookies plus half the cookie doughsampling. I am still doing The Lord's Table, but haven't been diligent about sticking to the meal plan, which I know is making this journey much more difficult than it has to be.

Now I will say that I haven't just made ALL sugary yeast-filled recipes, though there have been 2 batches of chocolate chip cookies, and a pan of butterscotch brownies. I made another batch of yeast-free chocolate cupcakes with a cream cheese icing this time earlier in the week. And today I finally attempted yeast-free No-bake Cookies. Those were good. With one exception. I used Swerve as my sugar alternative. And for whatever reason, while it has zero calories and zero fat, it has a strange effect. This is the third recipe I've tried it in, and each time it's the same thing. Freezing cold. What? Yeah...let me explain. You take a bite and as you chew, your mouth just gets colder and colder. My 7 year old told me today we should call them "Magic No-Bake Cookies". Because, she said, that's what they are...magic! The kids loved the cookies and a few people who sampled them at church tonight liked them as well. But I just can't get used to that coldness in my mouth. It's just weird; unnatural. BUT, if you use a different sugar alternative, or you want just a gluten-free version, here is the recipe. The flavor of these is really great...it was just the cold that was hard to handle. I may try to make them with agave nectar the next time and see if it impacts the texture/consistency much. If I add more oats to them it may help...we'll see.

Gluten-free No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar (or sugar alternative)

8 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup gluten-free unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup cashew butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 pinch salt

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

3 cups gluten-free quick oats

In large saucepan, combine sugar, butter, milk and cocoa. Heat, stirring frequently until boiling. Boil 1-2 minutes; remove from heat and cool 1 minute. Stir in cashew butter, vanilla & salt and mix well. Add oatmeal (and nuts/coconut if desired). Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment paper and let cool until it hardens.

Kaleb's Baptism

Here is the video of Kris baptizing Kaleb, our 8 year old son. The sound quality is horrible as always, but you get the gist of it without the best quality sound!

Oh those kids...

In the past two weeks, I've had the awesome privilege of being mentioned on two different blogs. That's a pretty great honor! Kelly at Between the Lines features different recipes each Friday and I was honored that she allowed me to share my Grandma's Milky Way Cake recipe with her readers. I know a few of you too have asked about this delicious cake lately, so here is the recipe! It completely goes against the yeast-free lifestyle I've basically stopped living (*sigh*)...but it makes up for it in so many ways!! If you're doing Weight Watchers, one piece is 12 points, and let me tell you this cake is worth EVERY.SINGLE.POINT.! Check out Kelly's blog! Here is the post about Mammaw's Milky Way Cake.

I gave the Trendy Blog Award to Deana at Mom's The Glue earlier this week. She's the one who allowed me to design some buttons for her. She then rewarded me by writing a really sweet post about it, displaying the buttons. Check that out here.

I tested out a new recipe today. I was looking for a quick brownie recipe, one that I had all the ingredients for! I got out my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook and found a recipe for Butterscotch Brownies. I took that recipe and added a couple of my own ingredients and the result? Amazing! Want the recipe?

Butterscotch Brownies

1/4 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of square pan (8x8x2). Melt butter in 1 1/2 quart saucepan over low heat; remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar, vanilla and egg. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spread in pan (batter will be thick). Bake 25 minutes. Cool slightly then cut into squares while warm. Makes 16-25 brownies.

Friday Funnies

Livvy came up to us at bedtime one evening after putting her jammies on and said "How do I look?" I replied "Gorgeous!" She then said "These are pajamas that make me love Jesus more...if I keep them on."

A couple of weeks ago I order some things from Vista Print. Someone posted about their free items on their blog, I checked it out, and ended up buying SIX items, all for under $10. I ordered one item for each kid; Abbey chose a t-shirt. I asked her what she wanted to write on it. Please understand, this is TOTALLY Abbey's idea. I've shared before that my awesome 7 year old loves God AND herself the most. Then Uncle Brandon. So this shirt should come as no surprise to anyone!

In case you can't read that, it says "Abbey is cute! Her real name is Abigail. I love Abigail!"

Olivia was in the bathroom at bedtime and saw a box of baking soda sitting on the bathroom sink. I left it there this morning after I showered. Yes, even though there hasn't been an update recently, I'm still continuing My Dirty Hair Days experiment! I'll try to update that soon. So anyway, Livvy said:

"Why's that in here?"

Me: "Because I wash my hair with that."

Livvy: "No. That's for cooking or volcanoes."

Well, that's all the material the kids gave me this week. Keep your ears open and link up next Friday. I'd love to hear what your kiddos have to say!

Are you ready?

Tomorrow is Friday Funnies! Who's with me?? Let's try to get more than TWO participants this week! ;-)

Rules:

1.

Write down something funny or unusual your kid says or does.

2.

Link up.

3.

Check out some of the other funny stories.

4.

There's no pressure or obligation to follow, though you are more than welcome.

I'll get the link up and ready; it'll be up at midnight, CST.

Let's talk for a minute about my indulgence in The Bachelorette. I just started watching it, as I settle in to log in to work. Tomorrow is my first summer day home with the kiddos, trying to work. So I am hoping to get a few productive hours in tonight so that tomorrow will be easier.

Oh my gosh, I already hate Justin the professional wrestler!! Rated-R? Really?? Totally NOT impressed with him. He loves his grandma to death--I'm a little creeped out right now!

I'm a sap for people who have lost loved ones. So, I like this guy, Phil, whose brother died. He seems like a nice, sweet guy. He looks familiar...but I can't pinpoint who he looks like.

Mr. Weatherman...no thanks. Jonathan...he says he's 30 but he looks like he is about 12. He's just a baby.

I can't tolerate Ty and his dog. Newly divorced and ready to jump into a long-term relationship. I just didn't like that he told his dog he might bring a new mom home...

I like the guy whose mom died...I think I will always root for anyone who has come through the loss of a loved one.

These guys are all sitting around like they watched The Bachelor as it was going on. Do you really think they sat around watching it when it aired, or do you think they watched it around the time they were trying to BE on the Bachelorette? I don't think they watched it. It's a guilty pleasure show for me, but for guys? My husband watches a lot of shows with me that some guys would consider horrible...but he wouldn't be caught dead watching this! He has standards!

OK...I need to keep this short...I'll be back tomorrow with just a couple of funny stories. The kids didn't give me a ton of material this past week.

Kids Bowl Free!!

BOWLING!

We took the kids bowling tonight. We're participating in Kids Bowl Free this summer and let me just say that this is a pretty great deal, especially if you have your own shoes. I signed the kids up a couple of months ago. When I talked to Kris about it yesterday, combined with the fact that you can get a family pass for $24.95 which allows up to 4 adults 2 free games per day (Monday-Friday) ALL SUMMER LONG, he said "Let's do it!" So we signed ourselves up too and added my mother-in-law to our pass.

So tonight, accompanied by my mother-in-law, we all went bowling. Want to see how fancy I am? I even have my own bowling ball! Check it out...because this information will be useful later.

My super cool pink swirly ball...note the left-handed finger holes...yeah, I'm *that* cool!

This next picture is me with my bowling ball...taken for a very specific purpose:

You see, this picture is here to show you that just because you own your own bowling ball and shoes does NOT mean you are any GOOD at bowling. Don't believe me? Check it out. The top row that says 'M' - well, that stands for MOM. Those are MY scores! The game did NOT start out well...

Look at those first two frames!!! Not that the others are all that much better...

How embarrassing!

It didn't get much better by the end of the first game...

56? Really???

You think THAT is bad? Look at my kids' scores!

Kaleb: 93

Olivia (SHE'S FOUR!!!): 75

Katherine: 74

Abbey: 66

It was so NOT a good first game. At all! The second game was better, but I still just could NOT find my stride. Here is the outcome of that (and I should note that on this game, I only beat Kaleb by ONE point!):

Woohoo! I got an 86! I actually managed to pull off 2-3 spares!

All in all though, we had a lot of fun. We are definitely going to try to go at least one day per week. If the kids are driving me insane or I feel cooped up this summer while I am supposed to be working, we may sneak out to bowl a couple of games, just for a change of pace! It may be necessary for ALL of us!

Want to see how adorable my kids are with their bowling balls? I know you do! Wait...I should specify...my kids don't have their own balls...not yet anyway...

Welcome Wednesday - My poor, poor Google Reader

Remember how I said yesterday my Google Reader was feeling overwhelmed? Now that I sorted it all out and gave it some room to breathe, I am doing what I always do and going to clutter it back up again. I really do love blogs. They make my day. They show me I am not alone in this world of wifery (new word I just made up-hey if husbandry can be a word, so can wifery!) and motherhood (real word I did not make up). It's amazing to me how many people you can connect with. I was telling my husband last night how much I love my own blog (I'm conceited) and how I've really enjoyed connecting with new people. I discovered why. I don't have any friends. Slow down...before you throw stones...I have a hard time making friends...girl friends. It is not easy for me and I do not have a lot of CLOSE friends that are girls. The ones I had through high school and college have, for the most part, moved away or we have just drifted.

I do have a couple of people in my life presently that I would consider GOOD friends (@Jennifer Young I'm including you in that) but beyond that, I don't have any other friends that I could just sit down and pour my heart out to. As a married woman, though I find I can connect easier with men, I can't just befriend all the cool guys I know and pour my heart out to them-that is a dangerous place to be. So I find that I am lacking when it comes to female friends because, for whatever reason, I just can't connect as easily with women.

ALL THAT TO SAY this blog and these new connections I am making has (have? I hate improper grammar--but I love parentheses!) been really good for me. While I'm not necessarily going to call all my new blog friends up on the phone (because by now you should know that I DETEST the phone) and have hour long conversations with them, I feel like that is what we do by reading one another's blogs and random incessant tweeting! And I don't know about the rest of you, but I NEED this. Everyone needs friends. So what if I make all my friends online? ;-)

**Don't worry-this isn't going to turn into some creepy stalking thing...at least not on my end! What you do is your own business!!

This isn't nearly as coherent as I want it to be. I just feel very passionately about this and the friendships I am making from being in a blog community. People outside of it just don't understand. My husband doesn't understand, but being the amazing man he is, he supports me 100% and loves that I have some excitement over making friends. I love that man!

So getting back to suffocating my Google reader, a friend whose blog I read is participating in this:

So today I will add my 'name' to the list and once more find other blogs to choke add to my Google reader! Here are the 'rules'/steps:

1. Follow the Welcome Wednesday Host (Take It From Me) as well as the 2 Spotlighted Blogs of the Week. (These will make up the top three slots on the Linky)

2. Link up your blog name and URL with our Linky. (You only need to add your info once for it to be seen on all the blog hops)

3. Grab our Welcome Wednesday button and include it in a post about the event on your blog.

4. Go to as many blogs on the MckLinky as you want and Follow them. Be sure to tell them you are from Welcome Wednesday!

5. Be sure to Follow back any followers you have gained from our Welcome Wednesday event!

Feel free to join in and make some new friends with me!

Am I really ready for summer?

If you are here because I told you I left something for you on my site, it's at the bottom. Feel free to read the whole post anyway...but your award is near the bottom.

The answer to that question above is NO. Absolutely not.

I hate this week. Every year. Every year I hate this same week. It is a week that signifies chaos and disobedience and sheer craziness in our home. It's the last week of school. And it is NOT my friend. Most of my kids handle change well. One of them, specifically Kaleb, does not accept change. He resists and fights it EVERY.STEP.OF.THE.WAY. School ending (just like school beginning) is a really rough transition in our household. Most families relish it and get excited about the potential summer brings. Not us.

Like some of you, my husband and I both work outside the home full-time. Summer is equally stressful for us, as we have the added problem of "What on earth will we do with our kids?" I haven't had a chance to try to enroll the older three in summer school yet. Even if I can get them in still (I'm hoping to go over there on Friday), there's the issue of Olivia. So our summer will look like this, with at least one kid home at all times. Monday/Thursday I will go into the office and TRY to put in 10 hour days. TRY being the key word there...Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday I will TRY to put in another 20 hours from home. We simply cannot afford to pay someone to watch all of our kids, no matter how good they typically are for other people! We priced it and compared that to the amount of money we will lose from my income if I only manage to get in 30 (instead of 40) hours each week. We'll lose less money with Kris and I alternating days working from home than if we pay someone. It wouldn't be nearly as big of a deal if their school tuition had not gone up by about $300 a month. That's a car payment! A car payment that we don't have. I so want to put them in public school just for the financial ease, but that is the ONLY reason. And it is not reason enough. We love having our kids in private school, both for the education they receive and the Biblical guidance and support. It's worth the money...it's just really hard when every penny is budgeted already and we just don't have $300 lying around. We don't even have enough 'needless' expenses to get rid of to come up with that amount.

All of that aside...my kids have just been CRAZY this week. Not crazy as in super silly either. Crazy as in emotional, mean, snotty, disrespectful. Especially the one that hates change of any kind. We've had a really rough time getting any kind of calm and respectful ANYTHING from Kaleb. Here's to hoping we can quickly find a summer routine. It will be hard to be consistent when Kris will be home 2 days and I will be home 3. We're going to try to have a set schedule during the day but seeing as how that is one of our biggest failures (a schedule) it will be interesting. It wouldn't be nearly as dreadful if I wasn't having to put in 40 hours of work each week in addition.

I didn't start this with the intent to express all of that, but sometimes that is just how it happens, you know?

In other news, I was given the Trendy Treehouse Trendy Blog Award! I guess that means I'm trendy. But because I don't really know what that means, I'm going to have to "Google" it!

I think that I will pick the most unlikely definition and assume that is why I got the award. :-) From the Urban dictionary, here is what I found:

Trendy (a noun)

"A sheep. A person without any self-identification or thoughts of her own. A person who does what the crowd is doing, out of insecurity and immaturity. A person who looks like everyone else because of an immature fear of being himself."

Robyn at The Journey bestowed this insulting AWESOME award on me...Robyn, what are you trying to say???? ;-) Another definition and probably an extremely arrogant, though more fitting one is this:

"Items that come on the market and everyone 'must' have one."

So I think what Robyn is truly saying is that my blog is just SOOO cool that EVERYONE MUST READ IT!!! Thanks Robyn!!! I'll take the award as a compliment, as I am sure it was intended.

With any blog award, there are rules. If your name appears below, assume that I am giving this to you based on the SECOND definition, and not the first! You've got to then give the award to 10 other bloggers you think are 'trendy', post about the award and let those ten know you gave them the award. You get the idea right?

Is it OK that I am going to include some of my favorite new giveaway blogs? Because I am. I think they are trendy too. And it's my blog and I can think, say and do what I want. Plus I think some of the product reviewers out there are by definition trendy (the SECOND definition), in that they are reviewing new products on the market, or products that are trending at the moment.

1. I have to start with My life with rats and more - This one is at the top of the list because this is where I won my first (and only, so far) giveaway!

2. The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom - I really connected with this wonderful new friend on Twitter while LOST was finale-ing (like my new made up word?) Sunday night. And the best part? We live in the same town! So not only have I made a new blogging friend, we can actually get together. How cool is that?!?

3. Slice o' Heaven - another great giveaway site

4. Mom's The Glue - Really cute blog and I got to help her out with some button designs recently. It was super fun for me! She's got some great ideas and themes during the week that you may really enjoy.

Side note: I'm really getting into this whole graphic design thing. My husband said I should have charged her when he found out I volunteered to help her...for free! I told him if I wanted to build up a portfolio I needed to do some free work. Then he asked me to design a logo for him for his side business. I told him it would cost him $50/hour. I'm pretty sure he was quite proud of me for that!

5. Little Yaya's - more giveaways!

6. Life with the Lebedas - recipes, giveaways, great non-giveaway posts (by the way, Jennifer, I hate ants too-they're really bad this year for us too)

7. Hearts Make Families - I just love this blog. It's sincere and heart-felt...check it out.

8. Four Chickens - awesome site for gluten-free recipes and other helpful info. I'm hoping to try one or two recipes from this blog tomorrow night!

9. Aubut Life - who doesn't love giveaways?

10. KludgyMom - a fun blog to read

So there you have it! It's time to do my devo and catch up on some shows!

Paring down

So, my Google reader is feeling overwhelmed right now. Yes, that's right. My Google reader FEELS things. :-)

I'm trying to pare it down and make it more manageable. If you follow my blog and I am NOT currently following you, or you lose a follower and find out that it is me, please let me know so that I can add it back. Seriously. Let me know. I'll be sifting through blogs I follow today so don't panic if I disappear...just comment here or send me an email and let me know I disappeared.

Also, does anyone know how Google Friend works in conjunction with Google Reader? It seems that lately I have added blogs to follow via Google Friend but they aren't showing up in my Google Reader. And sometimes it seems I add them and then they DO show up in my Google reader. If I unsubscribed to a blog in blogger, will it disappear from my Google reader? Will it remove me from Google Friend Connect? Does anyone know?

I'm OBVIOUSLY not motivated to work today. Well, that's not true. I have been working...but feel this need for more mental breaks than I normally need. I've received a few comments about different things lately and wanted to share a little bit about my obsession with T.V. My husband and I love to watch 'our shows'. We have a long, LONG list on www.hulu.com. It's quite embarrassing actually, the amount of time we spend watching T.V. together, but at the same time, we really enjoy it. It's a way to connect for us. Are we alone in that?

Shows I HAVE to watch in order of importance (LOST and 24 got removed since they are ending):

GLEE

Psych

Chuck

Big Bang Theory

How I Met Your Mother

Community

The Office

The Biggest Loser

Shows I keep up with but could do without if forced:

Modern Family

30 Rock

Friday Night Lights

Flash Forward

V

House

Fringe

Parks and Recreation

Summer shows I enjoy:

Mental

Lie to Me

Royal Pains

So which of those shows do you watch? Chances are you watch one or more of those, seeing as how my husband and I watch A LOT of T.V.

Now that I've admitted to the obscene amount of T.V. I watch, let me just tell you about a guilty pleasure of mine. I like reality T.V. Kris doesn't. Not really. So, if I want to watch reality T.V. I have to do it when he is working. That being said, last year I picked up The Bachelor about halfway through, primarily because it came on Hulu, and so it was easy to put in the queue and watch when I got around to it. I'm always looking for shows that I can watch when Kris isn't around. If only The Food Network shows like Ace of Cakes came on Hulu!!

Like most of the reality T.V. world, I fell in love with Allie. Not in the weird, creepy way either. I was SO sad to see her go. I had no intention really of watching The Bachelor or The Bachelorette beyond that one season. But when I found out Allie was going to be the next Bachelorette, I secretly jumped for joy! So, while it shames me slightly to admit it, I am going to do it anyway. I'm moderately excited about the beginning to the new season of The Bachelorette tonight!

What is YOUR guilty pleasure T.V. show?

Another busy Monday

I didn't have any time yesterday to write, what with the finale of Lost and all. I won't go into details or provide any spoilers. I will just say that I was satisfied with the ending to the show and feel that had they ended it any other way, I would have been upset. It wasn't cheesy or over the top, and I really appreciate that they didn't try too hard, like Seinfeld did with their finale. Today looks to be a busy day without much time to write as well, so I'm taking just a moment to check in. If you are here from Monday Madness, welcome!

If you want to find out a little bit more about me and my writing style, please grab a cup of coffee (or soda or whatever strikes your fancy) and sit back and chill here for a while. I'm pretty laid back, except when I am annoyed or agitated about something...which is most of the time. :-) So, in other words, I'm fairly uptight!

Oops...

I'm not sure where to begin. I have so many things to say about my massage experience tonight, but I am not quite sure which part to start with. Do I start with the part where I confused tanning with getting a massage? Do I explain that I was up until after 1am and only got about 6 hours of sleep, thus I was absolutely exhausted most of the day? Do I explain that I was kind of 'out of it' all day long?

OK...everything I said above is true. Kris and I went out last night, thanks to a good friend who watched our kids overnight. We had a great time, but didn't get very much sleep. Kris less than me because he had to get up and go to work at 6:30am. Though you shouldn't feel too sorry for him because he took about a 3 hour nap this afternoon, and I did not. So I was already operating on little sleep.

I had a really hard time getting through the day, even with the help of some caffeine. My eyes were burning and my mind felt foggy all day. I put in about 2 1/2 hours of work this afternoon, barely. I was planning on working 4, but couldn't last any longer, as I was afraid I would fall asleep at my desk.

After work, I went to the Tan Co. When I signed up with MassageLuxe, they gave me a coupon for $100 in free tanning, so it seemed silly NOT to do it. What I love about tanning is how relaxed it makes me feel and how loose it makes my muscles. The bronzing of my skin is just an added bonus! Let me just say this about the Tan Co. They really REALLY want to sell their lotion! I listened to the worker try to sell me lotion for 10 minutes before she would let me go tan. This is not the first time they've bombarded me with my "need" to nourish my skin before, during and after tanning. Well, I don't have $500 to spend on lotion. I make my own thank you very much, and I told the lady that today. And yet she still kept going! Oh well...I'm sure she makes a commission or something off of selling lotion.

Anyway...that is just a side story. That's just to set this up...so we can talk about tanning and how much you take off. I won't go into detail...I'll just note that I don't want a tan line, and I'm pretty sure that is a fairly universal opinion on the matter.

That being said...after tanning, I went home and cleaned up the living room. By the time I was done it was time to leave for my massage appointment. Off I went, so ready to relax and let the stress and anxiety of the alarm fiasco melt away. I was supposed to have a woman giving me the massage. That's on my paperwork and has been from the beginning. But the first time I went, a man did the massage. It wasn't bad and he was very respectful. I didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

For whatever reason, the same thing happened tonight. I got a man. When I called to see if they had any appointments for the evening, the receptionist told me that the girl who would be doing my massage was really good. So, I breathed a small sigh of relief, just because a female massage therapist will allow me to relax even more than a male massage therapist.

Imagine my surprise when a man comes in and tells me that he will be my therapist. Um...OK... So he takes me back to the room and tells me to undress to my level of comfort. In situations like this, let me just tell you, my level of comfort INCLUDES my panties! Plus I think that if I were a therapist, I would think "Um...this person is REALLY creepy. Do they really think I'm going to work on their girly parts?"

My only explanation is that I was really tired and my brain chose that exact moment to stop working. It wasn't until I laid down on the table that I realized my mistake. And at that point, I was warring with my mind...should I get up and correct the mistake or just hope he doesn't notice? If I get up, is he going to walk in right as I am in the midst of donning the undergarments that were never supposed to come off???? OH THE HORROR!!!

So I stayed right where I was. All in all, the man was very respectful and didn't seem creeped out about it. But as I was laying there getting my massage (which was WONDERFUL by the way), I started thinking "I wonder what massage therapists talk about with other coworkers." At my job, my coworkers and I talk about our jobs and our vendors and we especially discuss the idiots that we sometimes deal with. So I furthered the thought, wondering if this guy was going to go into the break room after the massage and discuss how disgusted he was by my state of undress. Seriously though...what do they talk about? Do they get people who berate them or treat them unkindly? Are there weirdos that darken their door? Are there clients that just irritate them? What do you think?

Have you ever done anything like this? Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you accidentally did something you never intended to do?

***My husband just read this and wants me to add, for those who don't know...I was covered with a blanket the entire time. He didn't realize this and so he was imagining something completely different than how I described it above. If you don't know, you lay on a table completely covered by a sheet and blanket. They just uncover the part they are working on and they never work on the 'private parts' as we call them here in our house.***

Anxiety on a Saturday morning

It was a beautiful spring day. The sun was out, the rain and clouds were gone, and the fall-like temperatures had given way to warmer days. It was a good day to take some time to myself. Some time to get some much needed rest. And by rest, I mean put in another 4 hours of work since I was short this week. Enough of the warm fuzzy writing...I don't talk that way and I'm not going to write that way! That being said...I nearly gave myself a panic attack today.

As I stated above, I needed to put in four extra hours this week to get up to 40 hours. Saturdays I don't mind working, when I have nothing else planned and I am alone. It's great really. I am usually able to get a lot accomplished. Last week I came in (with all three girls who played quietly on computers for 2 hours like good girls!) and had no problems. I got into the building just fine, completely forgetting that Kris had casually mentioned something, at some point, about a code. Because I got into the building so smoothly, it slipped my mind that I might possibly need to know anything regarding an alarm.

Until this morning.

This morning that all changed. Once I let myself into the building, this almost loud, solid high-pitched note began. Usually the key card pad makes a similar sound when you swipe your key, but it stops. This did not stop. I was confused. But thought maybe the key pad had finally given up the fight. After all, Kris and I had just discussed how it sounded sick the day before.

I unlocked our office and let myself in, getting my computer started. That's when the alarm sound changed. To more of a car alarm type sound. It was loud and shrill and wouldn't stop. I was slightly panicked, and at this point thought it would probably be best to call Kris. That's when he told me I had to disarm it with a code. He gave me the info and walked me through it, but at this point the alarm had been sounding for a good two minutes or so.

I felt better once it was eerily quiet again, but that's when the anxiety really kicked it up a notch. Heart racing, hard to breathe, stomach roiling. Fortunately I do keep Xanax in my desk at work and though I haven't taken one in quite some time, this seems a good occasion. Kris and I were talking about whether or not someone was going to come and investigate the fact that the alarm was going off and he didn't know how long before they sent someone. I'm still waiting (30 minutes later) to see if the police are going to storm the building. Let's hope they don't or I might need to throw back another Xanax! But if they do, Kris gave me the verbal code to show them that I truly am allowed to be here.

Bless his heart, the man KNOWS me. He apologized and sympathized with me, knowing exactly how this type of situation would leave me feeling. I love that man. We were talking before I left about whether or not I would try to get a massage today. I'm thinking after that I could really use it!! I'm still scared I'll screw up when I go to leave and leave the alarm disabled or worse, going off...I may rethink this whole coming in to work on Saturday thing...

OK...now that I have that out of the way (feel free to laugh at my misfortune...it'll be amusing to me in about a week), I got a new award from my blogger friend Tylaine! Check out her cute blog, Just Me.

I am assuming the award has something to do with leaving comments since it says "Super Comments Award" right there on the picture. So with that being said, I suppose the idea is to give to to someone who leaves super awesome comments, like I obviously must! ;-) Anyway, there are some 'about me' questions to answer, which I will do momentarily and of course you pass it on. Tylaine gave it to three people, so I will follow suit. I'm going to give this awards to some of my newer commenters too, primarily because their comments made me smile!

1. Sue at The Homeschool Chick - she wrote "LOL - Your Friday Funnies are so great!"

2. Robyn at The Journey - she wrote "::sigh:: you become my soul sister with every post I read :) "

3. Steph at The Adventures of Goober Grape & Monkey Man - she wrote "Okay, I love the way you write :) You seem like my kind of chick! ;)"

That being said...if you are still reading and WANT to know the answers to my questions...you will have to read just a little bit more (and by a little I mean quite a bit!).

1. Why do you blog?

For me. It's all about me, and all for me. I love that I have some friends along for the ride, but it's my therapy. It's my way to express all the thoughts, ideas, and feelings swimming around inside of me. I'm not sure I could survive without writing down everything that goes on inside my head!

2. What are your three best memories?

-Spending a week in Florida with Kris last summer for our ten year anniversary. Best vacation ever!

-laughing with my kids

-giving birth (the actual experience)

3. If you had to change your real name, what would you change it to?

Hmm...I wouldn't change my name, but I suppose if I HAD to I'd likely change it to Captain Sarcasm or something else as long as it had the word Sarcasm in it.

4. What are 5 things you can't live without?

Is it cheating if I say Kris, Katherine, Kaleb, Abbey and Olivia? Doesn't matter. It's my blog so I'm saying it. Because it's true. I can't imagine even ONE of them not being in my life.

5. What are the four best books you have ever read?

-The Circle Trilogy (counts as one because I said so) - Black, Red & White by Ted Dekker (though I do NOT recommend Green which came out last year)

-Inkheart (and Inkspell & Inkdeath) by Cornelia Funk

-The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis (I liked the entire Chronilces of Narnia series but this was my favorite, followed by The Last Battle)

-Wicked by Gregory Maguire (a caution if you are sensitive and wanting to read this-LOTS of foul language, inappropriate scenes and such, but the story is incredible)

6. Tell me something unique and interesting about yourself.

I have two extra ribs (seriously-see here), and a rare blood clotting disorder called Factor V Leiden.

7. What do you love about yourself?

Not much at all...certainly NOT my low self-esteem! Although, I do love my feet and I love that my kids and husband think I'm funny.

8. What is the best movie ever made?

Christmas - hands down ELF.

Chick flick - it's a toss up between While You Were Sleeping, 13 Going on 30 and 50 First Dates.

Not chick flick - I'd have to go with Last of the Mohicans or Dan In Real Life

Fantasy type - I'd choose Lord of the Rings trilogy AND The Chronicles of Narnia movies

Musical type movie - definitely ONCE (excellent movie and even better music but a warning-there is a LOT of cursing).

I love movies so narrowing it down to just one is impossible!

9. If you have a Freaky Friday experience who would you want to trade places with and why?

I think I'd just have to trade places with my always interesting Abbey. I'd love to go through a day in her head!

10. What is the best part about being a woman?

Being emotional. Wait...that says best not worst, doesn't it? Hmm...well then...seeing as how for the most part I hate all the things that come with being a woman, I'd have to go with Tylaine and agree that it would have to be the ability to give birth to children and experience a mother's love like only a woman can.

Friday Funnies - Week 4

Friday Funnies is a time to share all the funny or unusual things that your kids say or do. I hope you'll join in! Link up below. I will visit all of your blogs and look forward to reading what your little ones have to say.

While watching the movie Phantom of the Opera, Olivia decided she wanted to 'be' the first pretty girl she saw. Do your kids ever do that? When watching a movie, they pick out which character they are? It's so cute. So the first pretty girl that Olivia saw was Carlotta (Minnie Driver).

Later she decided she wanted to be Christine, after Katherine and I were talking about what a "drama queen" Carlotta was. So Livvy (I use Livvy and Olivia interchangeably quite often in case you haven't noticed) decided she would be Christine instead.

Now during most of the movie, Livvy and Abbey were downstairs watching Phineas and Ferb and Hannah Montana. So Olivia saw part of the beginning, bits and pieces of the middle and about the last 15 minutes of the movie. As the movie is ending and there is that final scene between Raul, Christine and the Phantom Olivia said "Mommy I cannot believe I in love with him...[long pause]...but I not really right? Right mommy? [If you don't answer her after she says 'right' she will continue incessantly until you respond as she did here] But I not really in love with him right? Because I not in this movie right? [long pause as we continue watching] I don't want to be in love with a guy so bloody."

At the end of the movie Livvy said "Daddy's missing all the fun!"

The next night, we decided to watch The Incredible Hulk (not to be confused with the horrible Hulk made in 2003) with the older kids. Livvy likes to come in and out annoying us looking cute and was sitting with me after barely seeing any of the movie. I was trying to explain to her that Hulk was a man that turned into a monster.

Enter Betty Ross:

So I asked Livvy:

"Do you want to be her? The monster is in love with her."

Livvy:

"No I don't want to be in love with that monster. I'd run away!"

Abbey put the Roomba to work cleaning the carpet one evening this week and proclaimed:

"A Roomba is a good dog because it likes to clean!"

We try to have pizza and movie night once a week. The two youngest are at odds with the two oldest. Kat and Kaleb are ready for more movie and less cartoon, and Abbey and Livvy still love their cartoons. It's been hard to find a balance. And on top of that, Kat and Kaleb have taken to reading during the movies. Don't get me wrong. We will NOT discourage reading, EVER. But it's kind of annoying when we're trying to watch a movie as a family and Kris and I are the only ones watching it, especially if it is a particularly BAD movie. I wish I had a book to read during those! So this week, as we're watching Hulk, Kat and Kaleb both have their noses in books and Kris said:

"Are you going to read through this movie too?"

Katherine looked up, raised up her book to show us and said with a certain amount of incredulity (another good word!):

"It's my Bible!!!"

Next up is a topic that should probably leave me more concerned than amused! Kaleb and Abbey were talking about something...I'm not quite sure what. And I heard Kaleb say "Abbey you're talking like Bible times." Then I heard Abbey say "What? It's not like I'm going to marry my babies." OK...um...what???? What are they learning in school and church????

Not in the "funny" category but worth noting here...I had an interesting conversation with Kaleb. On Sunday, he told me that he didn't want to go to choir because he didn't like it. I told him that he could stay with me then during our Sunday night service. He was happy about this, especially after I told him Daddy was preaching. Abbey decided she too didn't want to go to choir. I asked her why and she just said she didn't like it. I told her she could stay with me too but that she had to just sit there-she couldn't bring something else to do. It was choir or sitting quietly during the adult service. Kaleb asked if I meant him too and I said "yes." He asked if he could bring paper and I said "No." Choir or service. He stomped out of the room saying "What did I do wrong? I didn't kill you or something. Why are you punishing me?" He's a little...what's a masculine word for dramatic? Is there one?

We went to Casa Gallardo Monday night because they had a sign announcing kids eat free on Monday nights. We went in and the sign said that only one kid eats free per paying adult. I hate that...it's much better when you get 2 kids free per adult. Obviously Kaleb didn't appreciate it either because he said "It's only on Mondays. Can't they just go all out?"

While at Casa, Olivia handed me her water and said: "You can have devil water."

My response: "Did you say devil water?"

Olivia: "Yeah, devil. It means two waters."

I think she meant double...

Jumbled up thoughts

I have so many things I want to write about, but like last night, I am extremely tired and don't have time. That really makes me sad. I'll try to be quick and try not to lose you...my brain feels fuzzy and who knows if this will make any sense.

First, I went to a benefit concert tonight that a friend of mine was performing at. It was really good. It was great to go to dinner with a good friend beforehand, eat some awesome guacamole, then go to the concert. It was very uplifting.

Second, my friend Faith just started her own blog. I was talking to her last night about how much I love my blog, how I've made some great friends recently, and how it has become this obsessive hobby of mine. I like to think I inspired her. ;-) In reality, writing isn't new to her...just the form of blogging. So...if any of you are interested in stopping by her blog and checking it out, you can find it here at Not Just A Mom.

Third, the kids at the concert tonight made me really question myself. They just looked so young, and I felt so old. I was watching them interact, some of them being college and high school students and I found myself missing those days. Those carefree days before marriage and definitely before kids. And I love my family. I wouldn't go back and do it any differently. But I miss being young and free. And I miss my hair. The kind that looked OK in a pony tail. The kind that laid flat and looked pretty. The kind that didn't have 5 millions grays threatening to discolor my whole head! *sigh*

Last but not least...I WON MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!!!! My girls are going to be SO excited. I can't decide whether to tell them tomorrow or wait and surprise them. Although I am horrible with waiting and surprises so most likely I will tell them. I entered this one, specifically with Abbey in mind. It was for YoYo Lip Gloss. I had entered one to win Dora DVDs for Livvy and some art thing for Kat, and a Marble Racer thing for Kaleb. But the lip gloss was one I entered WITH Abbey next to me. I KNEW I would win one sooner or later. Out of the many I entered, about 2/5ths (that doesn't look right but it was more than 1/4 and less than 2/3) of them have ended but many are still open. So it was encouraging to win one from my first round of entries. I'm really excited about it...even though it won't be me using the lip gloss! I think there are 4 lip glosses so all of my girls will get to take part in the fun once it arrives.

Short and sweet...

Are you going to participate in Friday Funnies this week? It's not too late to listen for those adorable things your kids say and jot them down. On Friday, I will have the link up so you can link your posts and join in with me! I have some great stories this week. I love that my kids can provide me (and a handful of you) minutes of entertainment! I want to hear what your kids are saying and doing too, so get those posts ready!

Are you entered into my lotion giveaway yet? You still have until June 1. Check it out. It's not a fancy, high-end giveaway...but it's homemade, safe for your skin and it's...well...it's FREE!

GLEE was AWESOME this week...at the very least, it was the BEST episode yet...musically. Between Piano Man and Dream On...AWESOME. Absolutely incredible! I cannot wait to own season 1 so that I can watch it all over again when I am down. Or when I am happy. Or whenever I want!

Banning all Memes!

As my youngest would say "Tricked ya!"

I don't know why that is my subject. Probably because it's Tuesday and I was thinking about doing Post It Note Tuesday but until I learn how to design my own post it notes and add a little spice...I'm not going to do it. Wait...I don't mean that quite as harsh as it might sound. I just mean that I'd like to learn how to design my own and didn't have time today and so I'm not participating today. I still love the concept...I just want to make my own fun background.

First of all, before I get into the 'meat' of this post, there is something that I need to get off my chest. To the person in my office building who left their plastic glove (just one!) in the bathroom on the back of the toilet tank...GROSS! Not to mention creepy. Why? Really...why?? Could you not have left it on the sink? Of all places, the back of the toilet seemed to be the best option? What could you possibly have been doing? Nevermind. On second thought, don't tell me. Don't ever, EVER tell me!

OK...I feel a little bit better...

I decided to take part in my kids' school PTF (Parent/Teacher Fellowship). We had our first meeting tonight. And I cried. Yeah, you read that right. I cried like a little baby (not really-here I go lying again--it was more like an emotional mom who has trouble expressing herself verbally--wait--that's me). Who cries at PTF meetings?? Uh, *raises hand sheepishly* apparently I do. I didn't go expecting to cry. I didn't go expecting to pour my heart out either.

Two years ago when my kids were at this school I tried to get involved. I tried to be a part of the class parties and get to know some of the mothers. But I felt such resistance. These people were already friends. Had been for years. And they didn't seem the least bit interested in letting someone new in. I know I am generalizing and probably not ALL of the mothers were like this-but it only takes one or two...

It's hard for a shy person like me (yeah I know hard to believe if you've read my blog much) to break the ice and build relationships. It takes a lot for me to get to know people; to put myself out there and so I don't do it often. And if I do it, and it backfires...you better believe I am going to be hesitant to put myself out there again. That is exactly what happened two years ago and I still know next to no one at my kids' school. But my mother-in-law is heading this PTF up, and if being a part of it can save another family from feeling shut off and left out, then I'll do what I can. So...I cried. Explaining what I went through and how hard it was to put myself out there and try to get to know the other parents.

You know, I think that is one reason why I like writing so much. Everything I want to say and the way I want to express myself is just so much easier in writing-it comes naturally. Writing is easy for me. I seriously do write the way I think, or how I would talk if we were face to face and I knew you. But for some reason I just can't be that free and comfortable face to face in new settings or crowds. I know there is a lot to be said for building relationships face to face, but I'm much happier when I feel safe in my little bubble of words. From my writing, you may not think that I have a hard time making friends, but I do. At least initially. It's that beginning part...not knowing what to say or how to act, not being sure of myself. Being self-conscious or worried that people won't like me, however lame and superficial that may sound. That's what I struggle with.

Completely unrelated:

Do any of you watch Community? I really like that show, especially the Spanish teacher-in fact, if it weren't for the Spanish teacher, Kris and I wouldn't have watched it beyond the first couple of episodes. It's light and funny. And the mascot, while it completely creeps me out, just makes me laugh. I can't look at it and not laugh. Granted, it might just seem creepy to you but it's actually really funny if you understand it and why it looks the way it does. They were trying to be politically correct and so it couldn't have a certain color eye or smile. Anyway...if you ever have a chance to check it out, start from the beginning and give it a shot.

D-Listed Blog Party

I'm always on the lookout for more blogs to fall in love with, as if I have enough time as it is to keep up with my current list! So when I came across this blog party, I just felt compelled to overwhelm myself with more cool blogs! :-)

That being said, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'll try to keep some of it to little known facts, so as not to bore any of you who know the usual.

Here are the well-known facts:

I am 31 years old and have enough white/gray hairs to last me a lifetime.

I'm a wife to an amazingly gifted and kind husband. We have been married for almost 11 years and I look forward to how ever many more God grants us.

I have four incredibly adorable, awesome stair-step children (9, 8, 7, and 4) that I love and adore.

We are one BIG happy family.

I am very busy these days and don't like it, but still find (MAKE) time to write as often as I can. I am also presently annoyed that my pictures are cut off when viewing my blog, the last two anyway. But can't take the time to mess with it...so sorry they are cut off. I do know it and feel bad about it, but am not willing to fix it right now. :-)

Now, let's move on to the GOOD stuff. The stuff only my closest friends know about me.

#1. I don't like to be hugged. I have mentioned this one before...but most of the time, it makes me cringe inside. I accept it well, especially from those who have no idea that it bothers me. I also can't stand for someone to put their hand on my back or my shoulder, especially if they know I don't like it. Yes, Cindy, I'm talking to you!

#2. I was adopted as a baby and have NEVER, EVER wished my life had turned out any different. I am thankful every day that God placed me with a family who loves me and allowed me to stay in the family, instead of spending my childhood lost in the foster care system. My mom and dad will never truly know how grateful I am for their sacrifice, for raising me and instilling God's love in me and praying daily for me.

#3. Someday I want to travel the world. I love to fly and would love to go anywhere I am able. I have always had a heart for overseas missions as well and it will be interesting to see if God uses that later on in life. Right now my mission field is my family.

#4. I love to sing but am extremely self-conscious about my voice. I especially love the alto and tenor parts...and I am lost hearing a good male voice singing tenor. I'm a sucker for good old fashioned hymns, especially the ones I know the harmony to!

#5. Some day, if I ever find myself with a little extra money, I am going to invest in a completely superficial, unimportant physical improvement: Laser Hair Removal.

OK, I think that's enough for now. Are you still there??? Those weren't interesting facts. In fact, I never promised they would be. I just said they would be lesser known facts about me. I'm kinda boring overall!