Fully Alive…Ready to Smile

Aidan has this habit of circling round and round the mulberry bush when having a conversation.  Let me give you an aggravating example.

Time: this morning

Place: our bathroom as I had noticed it had been a while since she’d had a pee and at least 2 days since she’d pooped, so we spent some quality time waiting.

Aidan: Mommy, what are you doing?

Me: waiting for you to pee.

Aidan: You’re waiting for me to pee?

Me: Yes.

Aidan: Where’s Daddy?

Me: At work.

Aidan: At work?

Me: yes.

Aidan: Where’s Daddy’s work?

Me: at his office.

Aidan: At his office?

Me: yes.  (you’ll notice an annoying pattern here…)

Aidan: What am I doing?

Me: trying to pee.

Aidan: I’m going to pee?

Me: yes, sit still and stop wiggling.

Aidan: it’s not coming.

Me: sit still.

Aidan: Are those your boobs (pointing to my chest and trying to poke)?

Me: Yes, don’t touch.

Aidan: Where are my boobs?

Me: you don’t have any yet, you have nipples.

Aidan: nipples?

Me: (heavy sigh) yes.  Please sit still so you can pee.

Aidan: it’s not coming (wiggling her bum back and forth).

Me: SIT.STILL!! 

Aidan: Where’s Daddy?

Me: At.Work!

Aidan: At his office?

Me: YES!

Aidan: What are you doing?

Me: Aaaaahhhh (rocking in fetal position, pulling on my hair)

The conversation was actually quite a bit longer than that, but I just couldn’t bear to put you through the same agony as I went through!  Sometimes I think “why?” might be easier than her repeating every single thing I say and asking the same 3 questions over and over and over…

Now that I’ve made over my looks, such as they are, I feel the need to do some remodelling inside. The last few weeks have been tough for me. I’ve been really lethargic, irritable (not so ready to smile, if you will), itchy, bloated, did I mention tired? I can barely get out of bed in the morning and I’ve even napped a few times. Say what? Yeah, Erin DOES NOT NAP. Ever! I’m the proverbial Energizer Bunny.

But lately I just feel run down. I saw the signs in January and February already, but ignored them because I was too busy working in our house to take care of them. The problem? Yeast. Now before you go get all “isn’t that a little personal to share with the internet?” on me, let me explain.

Anyone out there heard of candida? Nasty little thing, it is. It grows and grows until you are icky inside and out. We all have it, but we don’t all have the same symptoms. And then there are others of us, like me, who are more prone to overgrowth, have lots of symptoms and know how to read them well. I’ve been dealing with this for a few years, so I’m well aware when it’s getting out of hand…and it is OUT OF HAND!!

I woke up yesterday morning ready to wage war. Kick my body’s a$$. I’ve had it with this. I’m tired of being irritable and overtired. I just want my old healthy self back. I think that is one reason I jumped into my new haircut so readily. I need a change and I figured if I started with the outside, the inside wouldn’t be such a huge leap.

I’m doing what is called a candida cleanse. For those of you who don’t know me or what I’m doing here’s the basic run down. Along with the pills I’m taking to speed up the yeast’s exit, my diet will be as follows: No sugar, no yeast, no preservatives, no alcohol, no vinegars, no molds (mushrooms), no gluten or wheat products, no starches, no fruit (for the first 2 weeks), no pork, limited red meats. So what does that leave? Not a whole heck of a lot : ) Brown rice and brown rice pasta, veggies (to be eaten steamed not raw), chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, and a few things for snacks such as hot air popcorn, brown rice crisps (crackers), Ryevita crisps, balkan yogurt. If I don’t drop at least 5 or 10 pounds I’m going to be ripped! Too bad the first week will leave me too tired to exercise or care.

This is detox, baby. The symptoms I’ll probably go through in the next week or two as the yeast comes out of my body will include: headaches (bad ones), fatigue (so intense you think you are dying), irritability (already out in full force), acne and skin rashes (I guess that just means they’ll get worse)

Here’s a a glimpse of what the first few days (day 2, day 5, day 10) were like when I did this last year.

I’m supposed to rest for the next few days, as it will take all my body’s energy to start the detox. This means I may be a blogging monster (i.e. lots of posting since I won’t be able to lift my tired detoxing butt off this chair). But you are my peeps, right? Through thick and thin…through blogging overload and all that. You’re going to read everything I write and comment because you KNOW it will make me feel better, right? I’m counting on all of you to keep my spirits up. No pressure or anything : )

******

I kicked off my cleanse yesterday with this wicked awesome soup.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 green onions, diced
• 1 tbsp Italian dressing (I omitted this and substituted Epicure’s Pasta Seasoning since I can’t have the dressing and used olive oil to saute my veggies)
  
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 2 cans water
• 4 cups broccoli, cut up
  
• 1/2 cup instant rice (I use brown rice on the cleanse, premade and added after)
• 2 cups milk (I substituted Rice Dream)
• cheddar cheese, grated (to be added in each individual bowl…again, not for moi, but it’s the BEST with cheese)
  

In soup pot, saute celery, carrots and green onions in Italian dressing on high heat for 3 or 4 minutes. Add chicken broth, water and broccoli. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add milk and rice (if using brown rice, make ahead of time) and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and puree in batches in your blender or food processor until desired smoothness is reached. Serve immediately, or reheat for later use. Serve with cheese sprinkled on top for yummy, cheesy goodness.

I served chicken on the side. I just cut up chicken breasts and sauteed them in olive oil along with Epicure’s Pesto Seasoning and Pueblo Bean Dip mix (dry sprinkled on top, not in dip form). My family was so impressed. Nothing that I couldn’t eat, full of flavor, and we were all full. My kids even had 2 helpings of soup!!

Apparently there’s something about Earth Hour today…turn out your lights for an hour and show your support for climate change.  Well, sucky weather made our power go out for 50 minutes at one point this evening and then for about 8 minutes again a little while later.  So if you excuse me I’ll just go turn out my lights for another 2 minutes and we should be good : )  What do you think, does that all count?  I’ve done my part, did you?

So the other day when I posted those fake pictures of me and shorter hair, I got an overwhelming response. I kind of sort of walked past a hair salon in the mall this morning and got crazy. It’s not as short as those pictures, but it’s definitely about as big a change as I’ve had in oh, say, 4 years. And I colored it. Happy, happy sigh : ) No more white hairs…at least for a week or two until it starts growing out. And yes, in the picture I took of myself I look a little sheepish because I don’t know what to do with my face or head when taking self portraits. Tell me what you think (but be gentle if you don’t like it, ‘kay?)

Before…

And after…

I even got BANGS, people! B.A.N.G.S!!! I haven’t had bangs since I was about 14. I guess we’ll see how long I’m lovin’ it.

I can : )  Yesterday I saw a friend down the street working and thought to myself “We should see if he wants some supper since he appears to be working through the supper hour.”  I sent a quick text message “Do you want supper?”  I wait.  I wait.  I wait some more.  That’s odd, I always get a prompt response.  Maybe he’s too busy working to respond.  Okay.  I decide to run over and get an answer in person.

I go into the house, we chat for a few minutes and suddenly his phone starts ringing.  Laughing, he looks at me and says, “Well, at least I know it’s not you, cause you are here!”  A strange look passes over his face as he looks at the phone.  “It IS you!”

HUH?!?

Apparently I beat my text message over : )

I saw this virtual makeover and I just HAD to try. I’ve always said I would look terrible in short hair. Well you be the judge. I’m NOT in any way saying I’m actually going to cut my hair, but it’s interesting to see what it would look like. I could be very easily convinced to, if someone would come over every day and style it for me. That’s the biggest reason (and my round face…which seems to have gotten less round in the last few months). So without further ado, here I am, sans most of my hair (and devoid of pretty much all makeup)…

Inspired by Eve

Inspired by Katie Holmes

Inspired by Rihanna

Inspired by Victoria Beckham, a.k.a. my “rock star” look : )

You know, I was sitting here thinking “I want to give something away!” I’ve been watching Oprah’s Big Give every Sunday, heave sobbing as I watch people touching the world (with someone else’s money) and wishing I could give someone something. I would love to go to the gas station and pay for everyone’s gas, or go to the grocery store and pay for someone’s groceries, or just write a big fat cheque to an organization that I think is making a difference, or anonymously give money to someone I know is in need. I thought maybe I’d start with something small and fun. And one of you will be the recipient just ’cause I’m loving my bloggy pals.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I tend to fall into cooking ruts. I love to cook, but to come up with new and interesting and different meals all the time is, well, almost impossible and rather time consuming. Enter Victorian Epicure (you can go to that link to find out all about it…they only show a limited number of their products, but it gives you an idea). Established here in Canada, it’s a lovely company that sells amazing spices, dip mixes, and many, many other things to make cooking a joy! Since I discovered Epicure I’m always finding ways to make the same boring things taste different and better.

Well I’ve decided to spread the love to you, my friends. If you read my blog, feel free to enter my contest. It’s well worth the time. These products are so versatile and they make everyday cooking more fun.

I decided to go with an appetizer type theme, because really, how do you narrow down so many amazing products? In order to enter my contest you need to leave a comment on this post. If you want 2 entries into the contest you need to comment AND email me (using the “Contact Me” link on the right side of my blog) your favorite appetizer recipe since I’m always looking for new ones. If you want 3 entries, comment, email a recipe and give me a little shout out on your blog, if you have one, linking to this contest (let me know you’ve done this so I can give you the kudos you deserve).

The prize will include one new, unopened jar each of:

• Pesto Artichoke Dip mix
• 3 Onion Dip mix
• Cheese, Chives and Bacon Dip mix
• Lemon Dilly Dip mix
• Bruschetta seasoning

I use these 5 to make some of my favorite appetizers. This is a $40.00 value and I’m going to give it away. I will also include recipes for the following yummy appetizers:

• Extraordinary Cheese Dip (hot dip…yummy in a bread bowl, in stuffed mushrooms or with french bread or taco chips)
• Spinach and Artichoke Dip (hot or cold dip)
• Bruschetta
• as well as other ways to use these delicious seasonings in your every day cooking!

The contest will run until Sunday, April 6. Anyone can enter, you don’t need to have a blog (just follow the above rules). I will ship anywhere in North America. And I look forward to hearing some great recipes! The winner will be announced here on Monday, April 7. Good luck : )

I have so many emotions today and I can’t make heads or tails of it all so I won’t try. It’s a battle between happy and sad, disappointed and excitement, lonely and busy. The turmoil in my head and heart is choking out the words today, so I will do something else to pass the time. It’s not all bad, it’s just all a little much today.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this little visual feast…(click on images to view any writing, it’s well worth it)

A MEME IN PICTURES (found it at Curiosity Killer)

Here’s how it works:
1. Go to www.photobucket.com
2. Type in your answer to the question in the “search” box
3. Use only the first page
4. Insert the picture into your Blog

1.) What is your relationship status?

2.) What is your current mood?

3.) Who is your favorite band/artist?

4.) What is your favorite movie? (movies…more than one for me. And this isn’t all of them either)

5.) What kind of pet do you have?

6.) Where do you live?

7.) Where do you work?

8.) What do you look like?

I’m bringing Sexy Back!!! Bring it y’all! Yo, yo, yo…fo shizzle

**I’ve edited the naughty language, forgive me, but I almost peed myself when I saw this and I had to share.

9.) What do you drive?

It’s a Saturn, but it’s grey…or light beige depending how much mud is on it : )

10.) What did you do last night?

With a book…

11.) What is your favorite TV show?

12.) Describe yourself.

13.) What are you doing today?

14.) What is your name?

15.) What is your favorite candy?

…how in the world did they know this? I mean, they couldn’t have been more dead on if I had written out my personality traits for them (except maybe the wild/crazy/rebel getting into trouble part, although that side of me has been sneaking to the surface lately, uh, oh!)…

What Erin Means

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You’re always up to something.  You have a ton of energy, and most people can’t handle you. You’re very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you’re likely to get in trouble. But your kind    of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It’s easy to get you excited… which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don’t stick with any one thing for very long.You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What’s Your Name’s Hidden Meaning?

“I’m not really a waitress” or so my nail polish says  : ) I LOVE that red. My feet almost look nice…I mean I’ll never be a foot model or anything. Sigh. Another dream dashed upon the rocks. But I did have a wonderful time at my pedicure. I sat back and felt no obligation to make conversation with anyone (Not that that was a good thing…but it was…I have to admit, I do like to NOT talk once in a while, strange but true!). I closed my eyes and basked in the feeling of my feet first in warm water, then massaged, then in warm wax…mmm. All the while flashing back to 1996 as Celine Dion belted out “I’m your laaaayyydddaaayyy…and you are my maaaaaann, whenever you reach for me, I’ll do all that I caaaaannnn…” Aah, the good old days. The entire 98 minutes that I was in there, I was serenaded by Celine. I’m now ready for that concert.

I ended up buying the nail polish because really, who wouldn’t want that color of nails for spring? I’ve never done my nails red, but I figured this was the year to break out. Can anyone say shoe shopping?!? I’m feeling the need to go and find some HAWT new summer sandals. That free pedicure might end up costing a little more than nothing : )

_{**the picture has not been doctored in any way, my toes really are THAT short : )}

_{*It’s a long one, just so you know!}

For my birthday (in October) I received some gift certificates to pamper myself and so I decided to finally use them before they expire (next month). Yesterday I went for a one hour deep tissue therapeutic massage (insert groan here). When I called to make the appointment they asked if I’d like a male or female masseuse. I replied that it didn’t make any difference to me. As long as they work out all the tension and knots in my back, neck and shoulders from painting my house (by myself…yes, I’m still rubbing that in), it was a non issue as to WHO did it.

WELL…my hubby apparently had other ideas about that.

“WHAT?!? You said it didn’t matter? Are you crazy? You don’t care if a MAN massages you” (This conversation was had in the truck on the way home from Grand Forks with Bentley and Helen, so insert *snickering* here from Bentley…thanks man, you really got my back, don’t you?). What kind of massage did he think I was going for? Really! Hmph.

So I proceeded to back up my reasoning with the fact that I’ve had umpteen male doctors in my life with my medical history and that can be a lot more awkward than just rubbing some sore muscles, so really, who cares who massages me. I didn’t apparently.

I had my lovely massage yesterday afternoon (and for the record it was with a female masseuse much to Jer’s relief…although I have to admit I did tell him first that it was a big beefy man all oiled up in tighty whiteys…yeah, I know, I should be ashamed of myself).

Anyway, it took a good 20 minutes for the tension to actually leave my body enough for her to FIND any muscles. She worked them hard. I cried at one point when she hit a muscle in my biceps and it sent shooting pain to the tips of my fingers. But it was good. Very, very good. Today I feel like I’ve been beaten. My back is actually feeling bruised to the touch. Jer keeps putting his hand on my back when inquiring how I’m feeling and I wince and yelp. That sore!

So I got home from my lovely appointment, relaxed and rejuvenated knowing that I was going to finally start recovering from my chronic soreness. I was prepared to be completely obedient to the massage therapists instructions which were, “relax, don’t do too much, drink lots of water and have a hot bath with mineral salts.” Well I thought, if I arrive home at 5:00 Jer should be walking in the door any moment and I’m tappin’ out. Off the clock so to speak. Doctors orders.

But it was not to be. He called to say he had to go cover at the Show home and I was stuck with the little monsters sweethearts until he got home. Well, this is where the foster care comes in. I just about sent them there. Or to boot camp. Or something. I was NOT.HAPPY!! Why? Oh, please, let me tell you.

I was making supper and they were being just crazy. Disobedient, yelling, fighting (What? They’re not perfect?). Finally I went to tell them for the gazillionth time to stop whatever it was they were doing and I glance at the t.v. Our new, shiny, flat screen t.v. There are sticky, grimy hand and finger prints all over it. And what looks suspiciously like SCRATCHES. Oh no you di’int! Well. I pretty much took away t.v. privileges until they’re 30 (their future husbands can fight me over that one if they want) and they had time outs and what not. I went back to making supper foaming at the mouth and muttering under my breath all the cliche mommy phrases

“Don’t you guys ever listen to a word I say?”

“If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a hundred time?”

“How many times do I HAVE to tell you…”

And so on and so forth.

Once supper was on the table and I had a moment to regain my composure I got out my Norwex cloths and wiped the t.v. down. Luckily for the sweet children it’s perfectly fine. They still can’t watch t.v. until Monday.

So in an effort to re-establish some of my hard won relaxation that went shooting out the window yesterday I have a spa pedicure today (one of my other gift cert.). I made sure to book it for 6:30 p.m. It’s an hour and a half appointment. My kids go to bed at 8:00. You do the math. : )

It’s just Meme Mania over here. What more could people possibly want to know about me? Well,settle in and prepare to be wowed and amazed! Or not.
First off I was tagged by Casey at Daily Randomness (woohoo, I remembered who tagged me…bit of a brain fart moment for me before I started this meme)

Top Fives:
5 things you cannot live without under $10 (really?!? It HAS to be UNDER $10???…okay…)

1. Smarties (to bribe the child-in-training to pee on the potty)
2. Ketchup chips
3. Pepsi
4. Decorating magazines (although some cost as much as $15…that’s highway robbery!!)
5. Coffee Crisp or Kit Kat chocolate bars

5 favourite movies

1. The Holiday
2. Two Weeks Notice
3. Pride and Prejudice
4. Music From Another Room
5. Serendipity

Baby names you love(but won’t use) I don’t have 5 for either…guess I’m not in baby name mode

Girls

1. Sadie
2. Maia
3. Jayda
4. Alexandra

Boys

1. Austin
2. Jaden
3. Max

5 songs you could listen to over and over (right now…changes frequently, like almost weekly):

1. SexyBack by Justin Timberlake
2. Won’t Go Home Without You by Maroon 5
3. Lost by Michael Buble
4. What Hurts the Most by Cascada
5. Piece of Me by Britney Spears

5 things that stay in your purse all the time:

1. chapstick
2. debit card
3. pen
4. wipes
5. camera

5 obsessions you have right now:

1. blogging till all freakin’ hours of the morning
2. hot baths with dead sea mineral salts (like every night - usually after the blogging till all freakin’ hours of the morning)
3. ketchup chips (kind of a never dying thing)
4. Lipstick Jungle (which is…_sniff…over for the season…_sniff after this week)
5. text messaging

5 places you would really love to go:

1. Australia
2. Italy (again)
3. France
4. Back to visit Val
5. Anywhere with a hot tub (YEEHAW!!!)

5 people you would love to see do their top 5 (I’m tagging some of my new blog faves):

1. Quirky
2. MandyPoo
3. Staci
4. Mommy
5. anyone else who would just LOVE to tell us your top 5’s : )

Then I was tagged by Milanese Masala to do the 7 Things meme. And since I just can’t say no to someone as marvelous as she, here it goes.

• Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
• Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird
• Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names and links to their blogs.
• Tell them that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So I’ve done these a few times. I’m thinking I’ll pretty soon run out of weird and dare I say RANDOM things about myself. But I’ll give it another shot.

1. I seriously considered putting my kids in foster care/up for adoption/or in boot camp today. That’s a blog post waiting to happen! The short version…don’t.touch.mommy’s.new.tv!!!
2. I’m obsessed with scrapbook paper. I hardly scrapbook. I never use it all up. But I continue to buy it like it’s going to one day stop existing. It’s all the colors and patterns. It makes me so happy to just thumb through all my paper and dream of all the ways I COULD use it one day…but never do : )
3. My cycle is 35-41 days long. You probably didn’t need or want to know that, but hey, it’s weird! And most definitely random! Okaaay…next
4. You might not believe me, but I’ve spent most of my life with an introvert mask on, being shy and getting embarrassed easily, but I decided a couple years ago that enough’s enough and I’m now just obnoxious : )
5. I make the BEST cookies ever. I’ve been told that they are almost as good as…well…you know…(blushing).
6. I can remember the words to pretty much every song I’ve ever heard.
7. My husband used to bug me all the time because if I ever said “what?” after he said something to me, when he repeated himself he says I would mouth along word for word what he had just told me. I SWEAR I didn’t hear what he said the first time, but I guess my subconscious did. Now I make sure to listen carefully and clamp my lips closed when someone repeats themselves to me. Too embarrassing.

Alright, now for 7 more people to tag…Becky, Pam, Valleygirl, Val, Alexis, Corie, Jenene

_{Note:  If I have tagged you for a meme, you are under absolutely no pressure to do them.  Just giving you some linky love : )} 

I had an absolutely fabulous time at the Ultimate Blog Party this year! It rocked : ) I’ve met so many awesome and amazing women and I can hardly wait to go back and get to know them better. Not to mention I won something!!! TWO somethings!!! I NEVER win anything and so this has made my day. I won some cute pink lego, which my girls are going to adore, from the list of prizes at the UBP and I also won a book over at 2nd Cup of Coffee (Thanks, Linda).

I hope everyone enjoyed visiting my place and I really, really hope you come back often. I’ve loved all the comments (all 127 of them…gosh, I can’t believe that) and feedback. I’m going to try to do something new…respond to my comments from now on. Either in my comment section or via personal email back to y’all. I’m on my way back through my gargantuan list of blogs that I bookmarked to revisit. I’m not narrowing it down, either, they are all too good. I’m going to have to figure out some sort of system for all this blog reading I’ll be doing…divide it by days, or something, but there are so many I want to check everyday. Aaahhh!!! Stop being so great, okay?!? Okay, don’t…My blogroll should be updated in the next few days.

A few of my new must stops include (but absolutely are not limited to, because there are just too many to list and these are in no particular order)…

Curiosity Killer…She is so fun and I think she would be awesome to just hang out with and have a drink together shootin’ the breeze.

Temporary? Insanity…I’ve found a new friend in Kimberly. She’s awesome. She’s funny. Her blog is such a great read. I’ve meant to read her blog in the past and never gotten around to it. Turns out we have a mutual blog friend (her real life friend) and I’m very happy to have stumbled upon her blog again. It was meant to be.

Quirky is a Compliment…The title is what attracted me to begin with. I mean who wouldn’t love someone who is quirky (Right? Right?)? She’s great and so is her blog.

I’ve Changed my Name to Mommy…She has a great way of writing about her kids and life. She’s so straightforward and her posts make me smile. So cute. Can’t wait to read more.

The Campbell Corner…The only way I can describe this blog is comfy. It feels so peaceful there. Her love for Christ shines and it blessed my heart to read her last post about her son witnessing to a school friend. This lady’s doing something right.

And there are soooo many more that I’m loving! I just don’t have time to describe every single one (I’ve already been working on this post since 11:00 a.m. and I’m not feeling so good right now), but they are ALL most definitely worth the read.

Mrs. Mandypoo

Simply Staci

My Melange

Daily Randomness

Wonder Mommy

It Could’ve Been Worse

My Life, My Love, My Reality

Living the Small Town Life

Desperately Seeking Sanity

I Love Mr. Pibb

Milanese Masala

Writing: My Life

Simply Nutmeg

There are more, but I’m just done right now. So in the following days and weeks to come I’m sure you’ll see more links to new blogs. My head is spinning with all the wonderful new people I’ve encountered (or maybe it’s the lack of sleep and the wicked headache I have right now). It’s a full time job keeping up with it all. And now I’m off to work on all the memes I’ve been tagged for.

I saw this on real.life.ramblings. and I thought it looked like fun!  The scary thing is I.DID.NOT.CHEAT!!!  And look at the answers.  Oh, my…

The rules are simple: Hit shuffle on your iPod (or whatever mp3 player or your music library on your computer) then answer each question by hitting next.

Q: What does next year have in store for you?
A: Beautiful by James Blunt

Q: What does your love life look like next year?
A:  Never Alone by Barlow Girl

Q: What do you say when life gets hard?
A: One More Night by Inhabited

Q: Song that reminds you of good times?
A: Yellow by Coldplay (totally does because my brother learned this song and sang it to me and I was like “did you write that for me” because my favorite color was yellow…circa the year 2000 and I was all happy that he would go to the trouble to learn it for me)

Q: What do you think when you get up in the morning?
A: The More I See You (the more I want you) by Michael Buble

Q: What song will you dance to at your wedding?
A: Cry Me a River by Justin Timberlake

Q: Song that reminds you of your first kiss?
A: Low by Flo Rida

Q: Your favorite saying?
A: Don’t Stop the Music by Rihanna (If you only knew)

Q: Favorite place?
A: Me and Mrs. Jones by Michael Buble

Q: Most Missed Memory?
A: Stop and Stare by One Republic

Q: What song describes your best friend?
A: Won’t Go Home Without You by Maroon 5

Q: What song describes your ex?
A: The Reason by Hoobastank (I don’t have an ex, but it would be an appropriate song if I did)

Q: Where would you go on a first date?
A: Shut up and Drive by Rihanna (giggling…really, I’m not like that!)

Q: Drug of choice?
A: SexyBack by Justin Timberlake (I think Love Stoned would have been more appropriate)

Q: What song describes you?
A: Lost by Michael Buble (Wow…)

Q: What is the thing you like doing most?
A: I Hope you Dance by  Lee Ann Womack (I totally didn’t cheat…this is so weird)

Q: The song that best describes the president?
A: The Way I Are by Timbaland

Q: Where will you be in 10 years?
A: Feelin’ Good by Michael Buble (hee, hee)

Q: Your love life right now?
A: What Hurts the Most by Cascada

Q: What is your state of mind like at the moment?
A: Falling For You by Eva Avila

Q: How will you die?
A: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol (WHAT?!?  Am I a dog or something, giggling…that is hilarious)

Just got back from a sweet little jaunt to the U.S. of A. We made a last minute trip down to Grand Forks, ND with our friends Bentley and Helen (and no kids). It was originally going to be just a round trip evening to pick up some materials for Bentley and a little fiesta at the local Mexican restaurant. We decided the day before to make it an overnighter (even though we had to be back by lunch time today).

We left after Jer and Helen got back from work at 4:45 p.m. and we arrived at our hotel at around 7. We checked in, checked it out and then headed for some Mexican madness. We enjoyed all you can eat tacos and salsa (”Chips are free, dinner extra”…love that slogan!), Chimichangas (which I was still enjoying this morning), fajitas, refried beans, guacamole, fried rice…mmm…Arriba!!

That taken care of, the number one thing on the agenda (besides the reason we were there) was hot tubbin’. Yeehaw! I even went out and bought myself a new bathing suit for the esteemed occasion. I did take a couple of self portrait Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition-esque type pictures, but me thinks we’ll keep them to ourselves! No, really! Not going to show you. Nope.

We hit the hot tub at 8:45 and soaked until they had to bodily remove us…okay, maybe not bodily, they did tell us quite nicely that it was closing time. I suggested a human chain and if that didn’t work, the lifeguards were only like 18 or something and I figured we could take them. I mean, why would you in your right mind close your hot tubs at 10:00?!? I’m just sayin’!

We changed and just hung out and talked (and watched C.S.I.: Miami) until about 12:45 when Jer dragged me kicking and screaming back to our room because he thought they might want to go to sleep. I’m not sure if Helen being asleep on the couch had anything to do with it…whatever. I was a little defiant and quite wired from the coke I drank at 11:00 and decided to go exploring. I wandered around the hotel, read some fabulously interesting brochures, looked at some pretty pictures, sat and stared at the ceiling in a nice big overstuffed chair in the lobby until I thought I might look somewhat pathetic or maybe a little insane, and headed back up to the room. Jer was asleep, so I decided to just call it a night. I don’t think I actually fell asleep until just before 2 a.m.

The big plan for this morning was for Jer and Bentley to be up at 6:30 to make it to Menard’s for opening time at 7:00 and load up so we could have breakfast and be back on the road by just after 9:00. I was awake at about 5:50 despite the fact that it was a childless morning, so I decided to go with them. Better than watching useless crap on cable for 2 hours. They were even nice enough to check when Target opened for me. I was rather hoping that it would be open 24 hours like Walmart, but alas, shopping was just not meant to be. So I wandered the aisles of Menard’s, fending off all the very nice staff members who so desperately wanted to help me (weird, cause the guys said there wasn’t anyone to be found when they needed someone…and in fact, they used me in their desperation to lure someone into helping them) : )

We finished up there (I say “we”, but I really mean “they”…hey, I don’t load insulation and plywood in 3″ heels, uh, uh!…hmm, those 3″ heels might have had something to do with all the friendly staff…) and headed back to the hotel to check-out. A nice breakfast at Denny’s and we were back on the road heading home. Sigh. I really, really wanted to stay, but it just wasn’t a possibility. We are going to do it again really soon, though and take the girls with. It’s such a nice weekend away and it’s so close.

And guess what? I stunned the customs officer at the border when he asked what I’d spent down there and I said, “nothing.” Bug-eyed customs man just stared at me…”Not even a shirt?” “Not even a shirt!” No shopping for this senorita!

And that, if you cared enough to read, was what I did in the last 24 hours. I lead an exciting life, huh?!?  This, dear friends, is why I blog : )

Yesterday we celebrated my Grandpa’s 90th birthday. As you can see, he and my kiddo have a particular fondness for each other. He loves when they come to visit him. I guess once you’ve been alive for that many years, it’s nice to see youth and innocence. We had a little party with all my family at his house (yes, he still lives alone…my Grandma died in December, 10 days after her 86th birthday).

Here’s me and the fam getting what might be our last picture together with Grandpa. Sorry for the lack of focus. Only Jer and I are really involved in the whole thing. Ella has a bit of a deer in the headlights look going on, Aidan is teething and I guess someone said something to Grandpa right when the picture was snapped : )

Happy birthday, Grandpa…I know I should be wishing you many more, but I’m not going to. I know you want to go home to be with Grandma more than anything and as much as it breaks my heart to say it, I hope you get that wish.

Oh man, now I’m bawling my eyes out….

Poor baby was so sad when she woke up from her nap yesterday and she got even sadder when I stuck a camera in her face to capture the cute rosy cheeks and sad lips.

I’ve begun my search for the perfect dress for my opera evening with my friend. The cool thing is, my Val is helping me : ) It’s the bestest thing other than her being here to go shopping with me. Look at some of these beauties she’s sent my way… (click on the thumbnail to make them bigger)

These two are from Anthropologie. Val recommended the site to me to look at their lovely dresses.

She liked this one the best of the ones I showed her (you really need to see it on the model, it’s fabulous. Go here and click under the picture “on model”)…

Here is one I found at…sshh…_Sears…but ah, how I do love it!!

Here are a few others I found…notice how the ones Val picked might actually flatter my real life figure and these ones I picked are flattering to the figure I have somewhere in my DREAMS! Muffin-topped waistlines don’t fit well into skinny form-fitting sheathes. Too bad. Sigh!

Why, oh why does everything I LOVE have to only fit on supermodels or really skinny people? Well, one good thing came of it. I was battling a HUGE case of the munchies until I saw these dresses. Now I’m determined to look HAWT in a dress in one month and one week. I will do it. Candida cleanse, here I come…Good thing I ate my bag of ketchup chips on Sunday (yes, I said bag…the whole bag…could explain a few things, hey? That along with the cheesecake for breakfast, lol). Maybe now is a good time to start thinking about starting to jog again…hmmm…

Now I leave you with some of the AMAZING dresses I stumbled upon…uh-hem…I use the term ‘amazing’ loosely…

Would you in your right and fashionable mind pay $220 for this? I mean I’m sure I could find an old towel somewhere to sew together for you and save you the money.

$428…I’m not even going to elaborate on this one…

This one might look hot in Cell Block D…

I’m not sure which distracted me more, the dress or the hair… : )

Yesterday I called the bank to get the final inspection for our house so that we can get the last of our money to finish paying our trades for whatever it is each one did on our house. The loans officer informed me that the inspector would call me to set up an appointment.

This morning I had a lazy morning. Got up at 9:20 when my children came to wake me up. Had a leisurely shower. Stood in my warm sauna-like bathroom in my unmentionables for a good 45 minutes while I did a facial (didn’t want my clay mask to drip all over a clean shirt while washing it off…easier to not be wearing one) and put on my makeup . You know, just really relaxed. Finally I decided to put on some clothes and venture out of my home spa. A few minutes later I’m in the kitchen getting something to drink when I hear footsteps up the steps outside and my doorknob turning (what is Jer doing home at 11:00 a.m.?) and this stranger is suddenly peering into my house, looking as surprised as me.

Apparently the inspection was this morning and remembering how much still needed to be done last time he was here, he wasn’t expecting anyone to be living here yet so he didn’t call ahead. Did the mountain of diapers beside the front steps not give away our presence? And would you not still knock just in case? He was very apologetic, I was very amused…also very thankful that I wasn’t still wandering around in my skivvies!

…and they um…(snort)…sorry, um, they (giggle)…really, really think that (ha, ha, ha, ha, hee, ho, ha, ha…deep breath…ha, ha, ha, ha…swipes away a tear from laughing)…what was I saying? Oh, yeah, (hiccup) wanted to know if you were (hiccup) free to come in for a (howls with mirth) photo-shoot : )

***The above events are merely a dramatization of what was going on in my head as I took this picture. No Jer’s were harmed in the re-creation and I’m happy to say that he has since had his hair cut.