I Make Soap

Truth is Thursday. . .

2012-01-26T18:23:00.002-05:00

Truth is. . .this is a picture of Pooldad and his younger brother. Very handsome, I say.

Truth is. . .Pooldad and his brother have the best relationship. They have been close since birth and they are the best of friends, even half a century later. It's nice.

Truth is . . .the mock turtleneck and sweater Pooldad is wearing are two of the gifts I bought him from Land's End for Christmas. The picture doesn't do them just, but they are so, so nice [and soft]. I still marvel at how little I paid for both with free shipping. Love a bargain. :D

~ ~ ~

Truth is. . .being on 100% bedrest is boring. B-O-R-I-N-G. I suppose it could be worse [~~hey! I am still alive, bonus!~~] but my days consist of TV, the internet, books, the phone and sleep.

Truth is. . .in an effort to combat the boredom I have registered for 4 college classes. Hopefully this will keep me entertained. :)

Truth is. . .since my first college major was a BSLA in Languages and Linguistics, this go round I am taking math and sciences. This should prove to be interesting.

Truth is. . .I have a whole lot more I want to write, but I am fading. Time to lay down.

Have a great one Tadpoles. It's almost the weekend. Woohoo!

I Believe It. . .Doesn't Make It Any Less Stupid

2012-01-25T08:12:00.000-05:00

picture credit

A new study out today shows that Americans, on average, spend more on coffee and lunch during the year than they do on commuting to/from work.

Over half of the respondents spent over $1,000 per year on coffee and two thirds spent over $2,000 on lunch while working.

I have always known Starbucks and other coffee shops to be very expensive for what they sell. I think $5 for a coffee is just ridiculous when you can make better coffee at home for a fifth of the price [takes less time too]. But I was shocked, having not eaten fast food in so long, just how expensive that has become. We took Squirrel back to school last week and stopped at Wendy's to grab lunch. WOW. We ordered 4 #1s - which is 4 hamburgers [no cheese], 4 sodas and 4 french fries. The total was $24! And that is the smallest "meal" they have on the menu. So, combining the coffee and the lunch [for one] that is $55 per week. Don't these people realize how well one person can eat on that amount, per week? Multiply $55 by a family of 4 and you have a $220 per week to budget for groceries and home brewed coffee.

That is a pretty nice budget folks.

I hope that the people that are complaining that they are broke or that all their money problems are due to the current administration see themselves in this survey and realize that they are throwing their money away. Buy a thermal coffee mug, some fancy creamer and pack the leftovers from last night's dinner.

Then you can fairly gripe that you have no money.

2012-01-20T16:07:00.000-05:00

Goodbye Scoobers.

We'll miss you buddy.

I am so sorry.

Truth is Thursday. . .

2012-01-19T16:46:00.001-05:00

Truth is. . .I have been craving a BLT and tater tots. Let's just say. . .they were delicious.

For Tony - so he knows what a tater tot is. :)

Truth is. . .I have been trying to find things to keep myself occupied from bed, so I took over the household finances. Pooldad is thrilled and we have managed to put $450 in savings since January 1st. Nice way to start the new year.

Truth is. . .I have a heart specialist appointment tomorrow. I am not looking forward to that, especially when they do my blood counts. BAH!

Truth is. . .at least we have "Movie Night" to look forward to. . .any suggestions for a DVD we can rent? And what would be good for dinner? Thanks!

Truth is. . .we signed Wallene up for Marching Band Camp this summer. The funniest part? It is a week long, sleepover camp that is being held at ::drumroll:: her sister's university! AND her lodging is in her sister's current dorm. Coincidence? I don't know. . .[Squirrel won't be there, but still. . .]

Truth is. . .if you no longer have the suffix "-teen" [i.e. sixteen, seventeen. . .] attached to your age you shouldn't be referring to your parents as "the 'rents". Just saying.

Truth is. . .I have sat upright long enough. Time to lay back down Tadpoles. Hope y'all have a good weekend.

See ya' on the flipside!

Sisters

2012-01-17T18:27:00.000-05:00

Although Squirrel had just returned to college on Sunday, January 8th, she insisted that she come back home for her Great Grandmother's birthday party on Saturday, January 14th. Even with a new semester underway and all the stuff that goes along with that her Daddy picked her up Friday night.

You would think she hadn't been home for a month just a mere week ago because her and Wallene were thick as thieves all weekend. They are 5 years apart in age, but they get along so well. We were a little concerned when I was pregnant with Wallene that Squirrel might be a bit jealous being replaced as the "baby" of the family, but it simply never happened. [Score!]

Besides the party on Saturday, these two spent the entire 3 day weekend studying. They spread out over the family room [next to the kitchen] and studied, studied, studied - and ate - and then studied some more.

Imagine the smile on my face when I found the note Squirrel left for Wallene before she left yesterday:

The "You is kind..." quote is from the movie "The Help" that we watched last week. Sniff, sniff...

I can honestly say I have no idea how much Pooldad and I influenced how these two treat eachother and how close they are, but I will say it really warms my heart. I am so happy that, no matter what, they have eachother.

Now I can't wait for Spring Break. Woohoo!
Have a good one Tadpoles.

Nice Weekend

2012-01-16T23:53:00.000-05:00

On the way to the party!

The 100 year old birthday girl with her great granddaughters!

G'night~we're tired!

[Scooby misses his Momma.

This is as far as he is willing to sneak in the bed tho' b/c Pooldad is in the room. heehee]

Have a great week Tadpoles. See ya on the flipside!

Overheard at Our Local Mechanic's Shop

2012-01-14T19:29:00.000-05:00

Pooldad: "Hey Jim! I brought the van in for you to take a look at that belt I told you was squeaking."

Jim: "No problem. Pull it into bay # 1 and I'll have a look."

Pooldad pulls the van in and Jim pops the hood. He pokes around for a few seconds.

Jim: "I can tell you right now what's wrong. That's the wrong belt on there. No wonder it was squeaking."

Pooldad: "That's good Jim. You're the one that installed it."

heehee

My Kind of Friday Night

2012-01-13T18:46:00.000-05:00

Squirrel is on her way home with her Dad. [Bonus! She has only been gone 5 days. heehee] She normally wouldn't come home so soon after school begins a new term, but she had a very important reason:

All preparations are in place for Pooldad's Grandmother's 100th birthday party tomorrow. [Thanks to my wonderful MIL] And yes, that does say 100! Woot!

Before falling asleep [High School is hard work dontcha' know?] Wallene made me a delicious smoothie for dinner. Frozen mixed berries, banana, Greek strawberry yogurt and a splash of o.j. Cheap, almost no sodium, low in calories and so filling - not to mention tasty. YUM.

The family will eat a late dinner of beef stroganoff [I wish] and we will get in bed early for the festivities tomorrow.

Happy Friday the 13th Tadpoles. Enjoy your weekend. :)

This Actually Works!

2012-01-11T18:04:00.001-05:00

My beloved MIL forwarded this to me today and I tho' I am always skeptical of email forwards, this actually works.

It is a video showing how to sharpen your knives. I hate dull knives, don't you? But I am too cheap ~~and lazy~~ to have them professionally sharpened. I was thrilled that I can do this anytime in the comfort of my own home.

I even own the knife they show in the video. It isn't an expensive knife - just one I received in a give away at my local grocery store. It is my favorite knife.

Enjoy! [The video is incredibly short and you don't need the volume if you are at work.]

http://www.dump.com/2010/12/08/how-to-sharpen-your-knife-with-a-cup-video/

The Cupboards are Bare

2012-01-09T22:14:00.001-05:00

But never fear! It is free grocery week. ::skippyhappydance::

We have $100 gift card to our local grocery store [courtesy of Pooldad being on call this weekend] and we need to restock our pantry and freezer. We are pretty low on everything due to the fact that I haven't been up to a big grocery shopping trip in a few months. Supplies do tend to dwindle. heehee

I do not like this "running on nearly empty" so tomorrow is the day. Any suggestions on what you would stock to have the basics on hand for weekly meals? I usually plan one to two weeks ahead and your ideas would be greatly appreciated. :)

Also any money saving tips would be wonderful. I know that groceries have gone sky high in the past year but with the inability to grow our own vegetables [to can] or raise livestock we are at the mercy of our local grocers. That is why the gift card is so sweet. :)

I am kind of excited to go and find some deals. I am off to check the weekly flyer, on line specials and my coupon stash. Hope y'all have a good one! See ya' on the flipside.

Previously. . .

2012-01-07T18:48:00.000-05:00

In my previous post I could not figure out an abbreviation I had written on my calendar. After staring at it all day I figured out I can't read my own handwriting. ::headdesk::

See?

Instead of "organize ppnk" as I originally thought, it actually says "organize ppwk" which stands for PAPERWORK". Which makes total sense.

Thanks for all your suggestions. I promise to have another game where someone can win $5 CAN. :)

And before I get asked about the weird entries on my calendar let me just say that I plan my days this way to give me something to look forward to do each day, otherwise I would spend all day in bed with nothing to occupy my time. I need a daily goal beyond "make breakfast & lunch. It's the simple things Tadpoles. heehee - Oh and I just noticed there is no date night on the 21st because my "date" has his annual business trip.

Here is what we did for "movie night" last night:

The girls rearranged the family room to make it movie theater style seating. It was almost like the "Three Bears" -

The girls sat on the loveseat.

Momma's chair on the left/Dad's on the right.

And everyone had a great view of the screen.

We ate [carryout] fried chicken with the fixins' for dinner [in our chairs! woohoo! <----that's us living dangerously. The dogs were happy.]

We watched "Grease" [family favorite] and "The Help" [$1.25 rental]. If you have not seen "The Help" please do - and bring along a lot of tissues. We were all crying. Even happy go lucky Wallene was tearing up. She said "This movie is so great, it's terrible!" It really is an amazing movie. It is worth movie ticket prices it is that good.

Of course we had buckets of popcorn with our favorite candy during the movies. It really was just like going out, but for a fraction of the cost. YAY! Tho' I was ready for bed at midnight. :)

We are having Squirrel's pick for dinner tonight - smoked chicken and turkey with beans, coleslaw and butt rolls. heehee - It is the shape of the rolls that gave them their "unique" name. And we are having cupcakes for dessert. I know I will be ready for bed a whole lot earlier tonight. Tomorrow is big trip day.

Hope y'all have a nice rest of the weekend. See ya' on the flipside.

I Just Don't KNOW

2012-01-07T10:07:00.002-05:00

I have a calendar that I write down one thing a day, for the month, that I would like to accomplish. Fun stuff, chores, reminders. . .

Simple stuff, but it helps me to have an ongoing list.

It does help except, it seems, when I abbreviate the task. [Those calendar blocks are small, let me tell you! You have to abbreviate.]

For example:

On January 1st I dutifully filled in all thirty one days and have been checking off each day as I complete it.

This morning I looked at the calendar and imagine how perplexed I was to see I had written "Organize ppnk" for today.

Huh? What in the world is "ppnk" and why does it need organizing? This would make a whole heck of a lot more sense had I been on pain meds the day I wrote the list - but, I swear, I wasn't.

I just [obviously] have a very poor memory.

I will send 5 dollars CAN [yes, Canadian*] to the first person who can help me decipher what "ppnk" is.

'Cause hell if I know.

*You need not be Canadian to play. I will still send you Canadian currency if you figure it out. :) Thanks!

Indulge Me

2012-01-06T09:13:00.000-05:00

Although I don't know that I would be up to moving our home now, we are still searching for that ever elusive one story, ranch style home to better accommodate my mobility. We have been on the hunt for over a year and so far? Nothing.
Nada.
Zip.
Zilch.

Mostly the problems have been that the homes are located in areas that would become inaccessible once bad weather came - snow, rain, etc. We like the mountains, but weren't too keen to live on the side of one, off of a "road" that had seen better days. Call me spoiled, but I like blacktop to drive on. :)

We had narrowed our search to two towns south of where we currently live and our sales agent has been diligent, sending us a few listings every week. But we weren't finding anything.

Yesterday afternoon I was bored so I went searching myself. And I found one. Actually I found THE one.

It is everything we want in a home. 3 br, 2 bath - one level living with a finished basement for extra space - equidistant between Pooldad's job and Squirrel's college - 6 acres, partially fenced with out buildings for horses, goats and chickens - new kitchen [that's a bonus] - on a paved road. And the view?

The "backyard"

Kind of seals the deal, doesn't it?

Even better is the mortgage would be $800 less than we are paying now. That would be such a relief and allow us a bigger cushion just "in case".

I would jump on the phone to my realtor right this second but [and it is a big but] I researched the public schools [specifically the high school] and they suck. Big. Low test scores, over crowding, higher drop out rate, teacher turnover. . .just to name few of the differences between here and there.

I really don't think I have it in me to uproot Wallene from her beloved high school and all her friends to move an hour away from all she knows.

But a girl can dream, can't she? :D

Have a good one Tadpoles. Glad it is the weekend, aren't you?

Truth is Thursday. . .

2012-01-05T22:00:00.000-05:00

Truth is. . .better late than never.

Truth is. . .I really haven't had a whole lot to post about and have just been reading and leaving comments.

Truth is. . .I finally had to relent and take pain killers. Those that know me know that I don't do this lightly because I really don't like them, but it has gotten to the point I have to - everything hurts and Alleve just wasn't cutting it anymore.

Truth is. . .wow! One pill and I am loop-de-doo. I feel like rubber, but bonus! Nothing hurts. Then again, I am not too steady on my feet and my speech is a bit funny, but. . .nothing hurts. I'll take it.

Truth is. . .I screwed up the day we were taking Squirrel back to school. I thought it was in a week but it is actually Sunday. :(

Truth is. . .I laid in bed and cried for a half an hour. I know she has to go back, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

Truth is. . .it does help that Pooldad has tomorrow & Monday off. I love his winter work hours.

Truth is. . .Today would've been my Dad's 75th birthday. I am sure he & my Mom are having a grand time of it.

Truth is. . .tomorrow is my FIL's 80th birthday. He is one of the sharpest, most active 80 year olds I have ever met [next to my MIL]. You would think they are much younger than they are. They're awesome and I am lucky to have them in my life.

Truth is. . .we have even more birthdays this month. Busy, busy!

Truth is. . .I found a recipe for Tuscan Bean Soup made with smoked turkey legs. I gave it to the girls to make and they did, exactly as it was written. Truth is? It was awful. The turkey legs/bean/veggie parts were good, but the recipe writer typo-ed and it called for 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning. I should've caught it because even I know that is too much, but I didn't and it sucked. We will try it again with less seasoning. At least the biscuits were good.

Truth is. . .Egg, ham and cheese biscuits for breakfast. Woot!

Truth is. . .I think it is time to put my loopy self to bed. I am surprised I got this far. Excuse the grammar & spelling. TYVM.

Wallene says "See ya' on the flipside."

G'night!

Scalloped Potato Recipe

2012-01-02T18:21:00.000-05:00

I received a few requests for the recipe to the scalloped potatoes I made yesterday. Here it is. I hope you like it.

The picture makes them look cheesy.

[Please note these are scalloped potatoes, not au gratin, so they are made without cheese.*]

5 large white potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1 3/4 cups chicken broth [low sodium if you like]
2 tablespoons mayo
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt [I omit]
paprika

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

1. In 2 1/2 quart casserole dish layer half of the potatoes.
2. In skillet melt butter. Saute onion in butter until soft and translucent.
3. Add flour and stir until well mixed.
4. Add chicken broth. Stir until thick and bubbly. Stir in mayo and s & p.
5. Pour half of mixture over potatoes.
6. Layer remaining potatoes in dish. Pour remaining mixture evenly over potatoes.
7. Sprinkle top liberally with paprika.
8. Cover. Bake for 2 hours or until tender.

These will be very tender after 2 hours.

*If you would like cheesy "au gratin" potatoes you may melt shredded cheddar or velveta in with the mixture after it has thickened. A cup to 1 1/2 cups should make it cheesy.

Enjoy!

Is It Over?

2012-01-02T07:13:00.001-05:00

Only 357 days until Christmas. . .

heehee

While cooking our New Year's dinner I turned to Pooldad and asked "Are we done cooking YET?"
He laughed because honestly it feels like we have been churning out big, home cooked, traditional meals, snacks, gifts and desserts since October.

Don't get me wrong - y'all know me. Next to eating, I love to cook. The family loves to cook. And yesterday's meal was no exception. We went pantry diving and were able to have a scrumptious meal of smoked pork chops, scalloped potatoes, collards [had to buy these fresh - 99 cents/lb - bargain], yeast rolls and a chocolate bundt cake.

The scalloped potatoes and collards were new [to me] recipes, but wowser - they were both so delicious.
Pooldad smoked me a turkey leg to make the collards, which was wonderful because it has no sodium like a ham hock would. There are no leftovers of these. :D

My first attempt at homemade scalloped potatoes and I will never buy the boxed kind again. These were so easy to make and cheap! I looked through a lot of recipes and this was the only one I found that didn't have any type of "Cream of . . . " soup in it. Completely from scratch and oh, so good. They do take two hours to bake, but they are definitely worth it.

My plate.
I didn't even come close to finishing the chop, but I do know what I am having for lunch. :wink:

I didn't quite make it to the chocolate bundt cake. I went to bed at 8 o'clock and slept through the night. Go me!

We have one more holiday visit today and then we can officially say goodbye to the 2011 season. I am not sad to see it go as much as I am so happy I was here to enjoy it. That's a big YIPPEEE!

Now, bring on 2012! I am ready.

I think.

Have a great week Tadpoles. See ya' on the flipside.

Orchestrated by Mom, Made by Dad

2011-12-31T05:03:00.000-05:00

We had a visit from "the boyfriend" on Friday. He is Squirrel's friend that she met while interning last summer. They have been dating for five months and he roadtripped to visit her for Christmas yesterday. [They attend different colleges - in different states.]

He is such a nice, polite and kind young man. He's a cutie too. :) We really are happy for Squirrel because they just seem like such a great couple.

He arrived at 11 and took Squirrel to lunch. Afterwards they came home and watched movies with Wallene while Dad made dinner. [I have to give the boyfriend big credit - he actually sat through a few episodes of "Nicktoons" with Wallene. THAT is definitely taking one for the team.]

Since I had been upright most of the morning I ended up in bed [flat] for the rest of the day - hence why Dad made dinner. :D

I had split pea soup on the menu, but it is not something Pooldad had ever made before. It isn't the hardest dish, it just has a lot of steps to it. Also, split pea soup is either something you like or you don't - there is really no in between, so I was taking two chances with it: feeding it to a guest and not making it myself.

Why do I even worry? Psssh.

1.739 hand written directions [from bed] later - Pooldad served up the perfect bowl of soup, with a salad and fresh bread. And we don't think the boyfriend was merely being polite by having 2 1/2 bowls. :D He really seemed to enjoy it. Yippeee!

It is 4:40 am here and I have a few hours in which to entertain myself while I wait for our day to get started. We are taking Wallene to the mall today for new clothes. She has grown quite a bit since the beginning of school and has outgrown almost all of her pants.* The sales look to be great, so I am glad we waited until after Christmas. I am actually kind of excited to see how many deals we can find. [I can't believe I just said that either. I think I need a little bit more sleep. heehee]

Hope y'all are enjoying your weekend and have a safe and happy New Years.

*Yes, I am destined to be the shortest in my family. sigh. Not fair, considering I am 5'8. Darn kids.

Truth is Thursday. . .

2011-12-29T04:05:00.001-05:00

Truth is. . .the above is a Christmas gift from Squirrel. Besides having some really neat crafts in it, she thinks it is hysterical that she gifted me a book with the word "ass" in it.

Truth is. . .we all laughed like crazy when I opened it. Perfect.

Truth is. . .this week is passing entirely too fast. It doesn't help that I am [basically] sleeping through it and missing the family during the day - but it is Thursday already. BAH!

Truth is. . .I wish it could be vacation all the time. I like having everyone home [even if I am asleep]. :)

Truth is. . .I have "Billy Joel" on loop. Which, in and of itself, is awesome - but I have to be careful not to sing out loud, while wearing headphones, at 4 am. Sleeping family, y'know.

Truth is. . .I make no promises on Billy Joel's "You May Be Right." That is one ROCKIN' song. Skippy has to sing. It's in me. :D

Truth is. . .I am looking forward to the new year. I don't make resolutions, but it is nice to have some parts of and some people left behind in 2011. They were a drag on me and my family and it will be nice to not have to deal with or be reminded of [it] them anymore.

Truth is. . .Scooby ate 24 ferrero rochers [see below]. He did manage to leave the individual wrappings behind. I need to remind my MIL to mark which of her gifts are chocolate. I don't so much mind him or Spot eating processed chocolate, as it doesn't harm them, but we would like a fair shot at the goodies too. :)

Truth is. . .I hope you all have a 2012 you are truly deserving of and that makes you smile at least once a day.

I will be back around with our New Year's Eve prep, I am sure, but until then. . .see ya' on the flipside Tadpoles.

. . .and to All a Good Night

2011-12-25T21:09:00.002-05:00

Whew! It's been a heck of a month.

A week.

And a day.

Every Christmas card written, addressed stamped and mailed.
Every cookie baked, delivered and/or eaten.
Every present ordered, delivered, wrapped, opened, loved and appreciated.
Christmas breakfast, lunch and dinner finished. [If I didn't gain weight today, I never will.]
We survived the mall.
And no bills come January. [Bonus!]

Now?

Skippy needs a nap. :D

Despite the health set backs, I am a very fortunate woman to be surrounded by such a loving [and very helpful] family, not to mention incredibly supportive friends. I thank you all.

I honestly cannot believe how smooth everything has gone and how successful it all turned out. Seriously. There has never been a Christmas season where every.single.thing. has gone as planned. No hiccups, no glitches, no tears [I'll admit a few were shed today over gifts given, but. . .that isn't quite what I meant] and now we are all relaxing, ready to sleep off our next week of vacation. heehee [We won't mention the 5 hour nap I took today, will we? I got a head start. What can I say?]

Some of my favorite things today:

Squirrel and I made an overnight casserole for breakfast this morning. I have never made one and was a little off kilter because we were low on milk late last night, but. . .OMG! This thing was amazing. I had two helpings [note: not low in sodium]. It contains eggs, milk, a whole french baguette loaf, crumbled sausage, golden delicious apples, sugar, cinnamon and cheddar cheese. Mix it all up and let it sit overnight. Pop in the oven, in the morning, while you open presents and viola! The smell is incredible and it tastes even better. The leftovers have midnight snack written all over them.

We gave Pooldad a smoker for Christmas on the advice of Bizzy. Best $XX.xx [<----yes, under $100. Waay under] I have ever spent on a gift in my life. [If you want to know the real price email me and I will tell you - but he reads my blog. :)] My husband is a great cook on the regular grill and after drooling for months over all the things Bizzy puts up on her smoker and blogs about I decided it would be the perfect gift for him. Me thinks I hit a home run.
Ta - da!

Like a [big] kid on Christmas morning.

Here he is smoking a pork butt over hickory chips. [I am such a great wife I even gifted him with sunshiney, 50 degree weather today - heehee] The meat is melt in your mouth delicious. He didn't put any rub or spice on it because the hickory chips give it the most amazing flavor. We ate it as pulled pork sandwiches with bbq sauce for the girls, coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, toss salad [yes, we all have our favorites - hence the 4 types] devilled eggs and baked beans. This is Christmas dinner "Southern Style". Wow. This will also constitute the second round of midnight snacks for us.

Like I said, if I don't gain weight from this one day I will be shocked. And I don't mean the sodium thing-y either. Nom, nom, nom.

The only things I really wanted for Christmas were a replacement for my wedding band, new batteries for my two favorite watches and a stronger chain for my locket and cross. [I am an easy date, aren't?]
Looky:
This is the very first Mickey watch Pooldad ever gave me. It even plays the "Mouseketeer" theme. It has been languishing for a while with no battery. He also had my dress watched repaired but I have to have links taken out of it to wear it. In addition, here is my new wedding band. Yippee! It needs to be sized down too [from a 5 to a 4.5] but I am so happy to have it because I was feeling neekid without it.

And here is one of my pretty chains with my cross. [See? I am not a complete heathen. :wink:]

The girls were in on the presents too:
Wallene lettered this year and her "big" present was a letterman jacket. We couldn't be more proud of her [she worked hard for it.] We will have it embroidered with her real nickname and have the letter sewn on this week:

This is Squirrel taking a picture, in the kitchen, with her new waterproof camera. She filled the sink with water and submerged it before snapping the pic'. Notice the underside of the faucet. Pretty neat.

The pups just waiting to polish off their Christmas treats from their Grandmother.

Random present opening. :D

All and all a pretty fabulous holiday season. I honestly couldn't ask for more.

Now, if you'll excuse me I have a little more noshing to do before I begin my hibernation.

Have a wonderful week Tadpoles. I'll see ya' on one flipside or another. Hugs!

Merry Christmas Tadpoles!

2011-12-25T00:34:00.001-05:00

From our home to yours

Hope y'all have a wonderful time with your friends and family.

Best Wishes,

The Skippy Family

Glad I Started My Boycott Early

2011-12-23T07:36:00.004-05:00

It is no secret that I was none too happy with Best Buy, Target, Toys R Us and Kohl's when they decided to open on Thanksgiving day this year. I did not like that they were forcing their employees to work on a holiday that, in my opinion, they shouldn't have to.

All for the almighty dollar.

In previous years we would avoid the mall and go to those stores to shop. It was easier and we knew that, in some instances, we could find better deals.

Not this year. I made it perfectly clear that I was not shopping at any of those retailers because I did not like their business practices. [In fairness I haven't been in a Toys R Us in 10 years since they were convicted of price fixing.] And I didn't. I bought every single gift for our family members [online and at the mall] without once turning to our old standbys. I could have bought something from each of them too.

Thank goodness I didn't, because one of our big online purchases would have been from Best Buy. Instead I went with another retailer and received the gift within 5 days.

Turns out it may not have been the case with Best Buy. Have you all read/heard that Best Buy has been sending out notifications in the last 24 hours to their customers informing them that their orders HAVE BEEN CANCELLED?

Yes! Customers that ordered as far back as Cyber Monday [November 28] have been told that they will not be receiving their purchases 3 days before Christmas!!!!!!!

That is ridiculous Tadpoles. And yet another reason I will never shop at Best Buy again.

I hope that none of you had the misfortune of dealing with them this holiday season and weren't caught short handed a few days before Christmas - but if so, I know that everyone will be understanding.

BAH HUMBUG Best Buy.

I Got Carried Away

2011-12-21T20:16:00.002-05:00

Pooldad asked me to wrap his "Santa Gift Exchange" gift for his office party tomorrow.

[Okay, Okay. I admit it - I wrested it out of his grip and wrapped it myself. :D]

I don't think his co workers will be able to guess it is from him, do you?

I love wrapping presents. :)

[ETA at 12 am] I also like baking with my youngest:

Christmas Tree Cake - [It is wrapped in plastic wrap]

Hanukkah Cupcakes -

My partner in crime -

[Do you think she inherited Daddy's color blindness? heehee]

Hope y'all are having a good week. Only 4 days until Christmas. Woohoo!

The Man Has Talent

2011-12-20T01:22:00.004-05:00

Especially considering the level of his color blindness.

This is snowman gift #19 for the month of December. Pooldad colored it all by himself and I have to say I am very impressed:

While I was "ooohing" and "aaahing" over it I noticed the colored pencil he was holding in his hand. I asked him, "So the pencils, they all have the colors written on them, don't they?" He laughed and said yes. [We kid because we love.:) heehee]

I love it!

In other Christmas news: We went shopping at the mall yesterday. ::gasp:: Never thought I would do that this close to Christmas, but I have to be honest - although it was incredibly crowded when we first arrived - we did find a very close parking spot and didn't have to wait too terribly long in any line. And the sales? WOW! These retailers really want our money. I was surprised by what we found for 50, 60, even 70% off. We had to make two trips to the car to unload [Pooldad has skillz, trust me, but he has a hard time pushing the chair while juggling packages] and we spent less than $250. I love bargains.

Best part of the whole trip? We were waiting in line behind a woman who was checking out. We were chatting and she mentioned that she was so happy that she was finally done shopping. We laughingly agreed when she suddenly handed us two coupons for Macy's. She explained that since she was done she wouldn't be using them and noticed we could. Yipppee! It saved us $40 off our final purchases. I could not believe it. Thank you nice lady who was buying the "Circus Waffle Maker"** in Macy's on Sunday. [**Which I now covet. Seriously, how cool are "Circus Waffles"?]

When we arrived home we had crockpot stew for dinner and afterwards I got to wrapping. Pooldad kept me company for the most part [he went to bed early because he did have to work today] but I wanted to do it myself. Six hours later and I don't think I have ever been happier to fall into bed. I have never, ever had my wrapping done a week before Christmas, but it is so worth it. :)

Now, raise you hand if you have ever done this while wrapping presents: Who has chipped a nail? I not only chipped one nail, but I broke another. How does that happen wrapping presents? giggle - probably just me.

That's all for now. I am going to be resting for most of the week to gear up for the weekend. I hope y'all are having a good one Tadpoles. See ya' on the flipside. :D

Having Fun!

2011-12-17T03:25:00.001-05:00

I put up my mini tree tonight. It is such a happy tree and I could look at it all night. So much to see.

It is filled with over 70 ornaments including the Wizard of Oz, trains, tractors, airplanes, snowmen, old fashioned Santa Clauses and vintage cars. It even has a train that runs around the base.

All lit up!

Mary, Jesus and Joseph under the tree:

One of the many trains on the tree [and the bottom of the Wicked Witch]:

A tractor, Dorothy's ruby slippers and the tin man:

Father Christmas [at the bottom] and Dorothy:

Tinkerbell and the Scarecrow:

The train:

Sorry the pictures are so poor, but I don't know how to use my camera [obviously] and those that do know how to use it are asleep! :) But I think you get the idea. I hope it brings a smile to your face the way it does mine.

I have finished with Pooldad's shopping! All of it online! Woohoo! If you still have Christmas shopping left to do and would like 40% off your total order and free shipping [over $50] please, please, please go to Landsend.com. I stumbled it upon it looking for some good quality things for him and I hit the jackpot. Everything is on sale, plus they add the 40 percent off on top of the sales. I really like Lands End because it is such good quality, the stuff lasts and I just couldn't beat the prices. I wish I could tell you everything I bought, but I can't - tho' I can say I only spent $53 and that is a more than a few gifts under the tree. I am so excited. Finally - I actually got his shopping done. [Oh, and the sale and guaranteed shipping runs until December 19th!]

Just a few more things to buy in the local shops and we are done completely. :D ::BIG grin::

Enjoy your weekend Tadpoles. Only 8 days 'til Christmas. YAY!

Truth is Thursday . . .

2011-12-15T07:09:00.000-05:00

Truth is . . . we picked up Squirrel last night and she is home for a whole month. Ahhh, life is good.

Truth is . . . yes, that does say "we" - I made the road trip to Harrisonburg to go get her. She didn't know I was coming and she was thrilled that we were all there - I thought she would cry. [I am going to pay for that trip, but it was sooo worth it. :D]

Truth is . . . we stopped for a special treat on the way home - Cracker Barrel - and to be honest? We give up. The service and the food, no matter the location, has gone downhill so much in the past 5 years it isn't worth a $40 tab [+tip] for lukewarm, reheated food and awful customer service. I am kind of glad we don't eat out anymore. I'd rather cook.

Truth is . . . I don't know how Kathy does it - sleeping with 3 dachshunds every night. I wouldn't get a minute of sleep with three after just sleeping with one last night! Bless you Kathy - I am kicking mine out tonight. heehee [note: they are wicked bed hogs for being all of 10-12 lbs. Pooldad takes up less space than Spot.]

Truth is . . . the Christmas card onslaught has begun! Yipppeee. Remember I was lamenting not having received one? We had 10 in the mail on Tuesday. So cool.

Truth is . . . no matter what I type today - the only real news today - THE BEST NEWS - is...

Our Troops are coming home today!

Woohoo

::skippyhappydance::skippyhappydance::skippyhappydance::

Such great news.

Hope y'all have a great Thursday. There is so much to be thankful for, isn't there?

The Salt Mafia . . .

2011-12-13T01:40:00.001-05:00

. . . are tricky little bast*rds. Harumphh.

I am the only one that watches my sodium intake. Pooldad is great about keeping low salt and salt-free groceries in the house, but I, and I alone, am responsible for what goes into my mouth. In almost two years I can honestly think of only two times I have exceeded my limit of 1,000 mg of sodium/daily. [Both of those days involved a certain fast food chain and their most popular sandwich. Not naming any names - Mac - but you really need not be so tasty . . .]

I have been extra diligent since I became sicker a few months back and while we wait on our insurance to go through [no, really - don't ask] but when I was making Wallene's lunch tonight I gave in to temptation. It's hard to make a cold cut sub with provolone cheese and deli mustard and not want a taste.

Don't think so? You try it. heehee

So, dangit, I made the sandwich.

Here it is in all its [pathetic] glory:

I say pathetic because that lousy, HALF of a sandwich is 1,170 mgs of sodium!

It is one slice of rye bread, one slice of provolone, one slice of beef bologna, one slice of salami and 1 tbsp of brown mustard.

After I totaled it and realized I was going to over shoot my limit by more than a Big Mac for a half of sandwich, I STILL said the heck with it and sat down to eat it. [The whole while I was rationalizing how good I have been for so long - water on the lungs be damned.]

Here's where the "Salt Mafia" comes into play. Seems "someone else" is watching what I eat too because, as much as I wanted that sandwich, I did not eat it.

Nope. I was kept from eating it by one of my greatest gag reflexes.

Hair in my food.

::gag::gag::gag::

[You are so glad you are still reading this aren't you?]

And it wasn't just one hair, it was two! ::groan:: I think I could've made it past the first one, but the second one popped up so fast I wasn't chancing a third and throwing up whatever I managed to get down. I know it wasn't mine or Wallene's because our hair is too long, so I suspect someone has been planting Pooldad or Scooby hair in the 'fridge.

So whomever is plucking my husband and/or my dog and planting their hair in the salty, tasty goodness I want? ~~Bite me.~~ I have learned my lesson. Go away. I'll be good.

I am off to have a fruit popsicle.

I would have a Christmas cookie, but . . . um, those are all gone. [Hey! At least they are low in sodium. :D]

Have a good Tuesday Tadpoles. See ya' on the flipside.

It's Beginning to Smell A Lot Like Christmas

2011-12-10T12:24:00.000-05:00

Mmmmmm. . .our house smells like cookies and spiced nuts. Gosh, it is so delicious. I think you could gain 5 pounds just sniffing the air in here.

We made a couple different kind of cookies [Squirrel's favorites] and a bunch of spicy sugar walnuts. We are sending one last care package to her before she comes home this week. She will get it Monday to celebrate the end of finals and we pick her up Wednesday. Let the festivities begin.

I am loving Christmas. Everyday something new shows up at the front door [thank you UPS guy!] and it is wrapped and stashed. Come Christmas Eve we will just have to set it all up under the tree - and - done! [This is amazing for us. Usually we are wrapping until the wee morning hours of Christmas day! Getting it done this way is an extra bonus. We can just relax and enjoy the evening with the kids.]

Our cards are done - they just need Christmas stamps and they are in the mail. What is really weird is this year we have yet to get one card from anyone. Weird because we usually have a basket full by now. It may be because I didn't send any out last year [it was just a few months after my Mom's passing and I wasn't feeling it] but, meh - I don't send them out to get them. I send them out to keep the USPS in business [hi Julianna!] Kidding, kidding. I like sending cards and keeping in touch with people, some I have known for over 4 decades. That is fun. :)

I hope all your Christmas preparations are going according to plan and you are blessed with wonderful elves like me. Enjoy your weekend.

If you need me I will be the one sitting in the living room, sounding like I have a cold. ::sniff, sniff::

"Bring me a cookie please!"

:D

Truth is Thursday . . .

2011-12-08T23:59:00.001-05:00

Cutting it close.

Truth is . . . I lost track of the days this week and didn't realize this was Thursday. It is now 11:44 pm [EST] so I am just in under the wire. :D

Truth is . . . we still don't have our correct health insurance. They have insured Pooldad and me, but not the kids - and we have our Group number, but no one can seem to find OUR member number. The insurance is moot without the second.

Truth is . . . I spend a lot more time in bed each day as this progresses. I just want to get to the doctor and feel better.

Truth is . . . bed is not a bad place to be. It is warm. I am almost pain free if I lie still. The swelling goes down so I am much more comfortable. I have cable TV and the bathroom is mere steps away. Plus I get all the popscicles I want. I am constantly thirsty because of the meds and I not supposed to drink too much liquid, but the popscicles do the trick. [Sounds like I had my tonsils taken out. giggle I wish.]

Truth is . . . I did get a chunk of our Christmas shopping done [on line] the other day. That was fun. I love Amazon and free shipping. Woohoo!

Truth is . . . you can find darn near anything on Amazon, at a good price. Woohoo twice!

Truth is . . . Pooldad's four day work weeks begin this week. He has Friday and Monday off - 4 day weekend Tadpoles. ::skippyhappydance::

Truth is . . . we are making our Christmas cookies tomorrow [only 3 kinds this year] so we can get a tin off to Squirrel for finals. [Okay, okay, I am there in an advisory capacity <----read: laying on the couch & answering questions. Bonus - I am also taste tester. Good to be me.]

Truth is . . . thanks for all the nice comments on the snowmen. They are happy little fellas' aren't they? I have to agree with a lot of you that like the ones that are dancing. Those were two of the first ones that Pooldad ever gave me. They're fun!

Truth is . . . time for bed. I hope y'all have a wonderful Friday.

Try to remember - tomorrow is another day. If you can, try to be happy that you are there to enjoy it.

Wow! Look Who Blew In!

2011-12-07T18:51:00.000-05:00

They traveled all the way from a suburb of the "Windy City" of Chicago to come live at my house!

I feel so lucky and Oh! They brought homemade cookies too! Squeeee!

Who are they, you ask?
More snowmen friends, of course - Gifts from my friend the lovely and talented Bizzy!

Look!
First is this adorable box. So many snowmen! So bright & cheery!

Inside:

I put it up to hang with all the cool kids on the breakfast bar.

Doesn't he look great?

Then this cutie felt snowman found his niche with Santa, on top of the sewing machine. And the little snowglobe [love, love, love snowmen snowglobes] decided to make his home there too. Bizzy even found the perfect card. Lotsa' snowmen!

His mittens are so cute.

And here is a framed print that has a place of honor in our "Snowman Guest Bathroom". I love that he has a cardinal with him. :) [Yes, I do decorate our guest bathroom and was so happy to finally have something for the wall. Yipppee!]

Don't the cookies look delicious? Bizzy is an amazing cook and I can promise you that these cookies are so yummy.

They are cranberry, nut, oatmeal [I think]. So good!

Thank goodness she sent a huge bag! [Look how many cookies I get to savor. YAY!]

Bizzy I can't thank you enough for the lovely surprise package - you really went all out on this one girlie. I will treasure them and think of you everytime I look at them from my perch at my desk.

Thankyou:Thankyou:Thankyou:

And just to add a few more smiles to everyone's holiday season:

The Snowmen Have Invaded!

2011-12-07T05:08:00.002-05:00

I have had the house decorated for over a week [Thanks Gang!] but it took me until yesterday to get batteries and a new memory card for my camera.

These aren't all of them, but you'll get the idea. :)
Enjoy!

My newest one. He is an advent calendar too! Squee!
[He is also surrounded by 14 more snowmen I forgot to photograph. Oops. I am too tired. Sorry. :D]

No, I haven't been known to sleep with this one.
Why do you ask?

The kitchen table.

The Pez guy is one of my favorites.

These minis are perched on top of the DVR player.
What? I was running out of "dog free" places to put them.

These three bear some explaining. The one hanging on the door knob is a snowman pillow and there is one on every single door in the house. The one in the middle is to sort of a "hide the bungee cord" snowman. [Yes, I realize, it isn't working out so well. heehee] And the snowman bag on the right holds the bungee cord when we open the back door. [The bungee cord is to keep Scooby from getting out of the back door. Trust me.]

My favorite display.

These guys are great. They grow and shrink depending on where I want to put them. They are about half way up here.

My very first snowman. He stays up year round in the Master bedroom.
He visits the living room in December.

Our "Party Guys" on the couch. The penguin just thinks he is a snowman. We don't let on. :wink:

And the final pic' is of our tree [if you can click on it you will see a few more of my friends.] Our stockings are hung up on the banister to the right.

Hope it helps to put you in a jolly mood - makes me smile everytime I come downstairs.

See ya' soon.

Quinceanera Festivities

2011-12-06T14:42:00.005-05:00

Wallene's was one of the attendants at her best friend's Quinceaera [15th birthday party] this past weekend. It was a huge shindig and from the pictures it looks as tho' a wonderful time was had by all.

Her Daddy went with her and they had great stories of the party. We are glad Wallene was able to share in such a special day with Ella.

I wish I could write more, but for now? This is the best I can do. Enjoy the pics. :) [For the record: Yes, Wallene's hair is now red. :) ]

Ella with her Dad and Mom

The first dance - The Waltz

Wallene and her escort/best pal - Jay

The head table - dinner is about to be served.

Ella and Wallene. Boy talk I am sure.

Don't they all look great?

Quick outfit change and more dancing!

Early in the evening, before the festivities began.

Sorry for the quality of the pics - Dad was using Wallene's new camera. And my apologies for the order of things. I am too tired to rearrange them. hee

Hope y'all are having a wonderful week. Take care!

The Advent of the Stockings

2011-11-30T16:14:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow starts one of my favorite traditions. ADVENT STOCKINGS for the kids.

Every year we hang little stockings on their bedroom doorknobs and each night we stick a small present in them [usually $1 or less - socks, panty hose, make up, toy cars, candy, etc.] and mark it with a number. Tomorrow, the 1st of December with be number 24, Friday will be 23 and so on until the the morning of the 24th when it is 1! The kids get a big kick out of what we can find and it excites them to get up each morning. It isn't the cheapy little presents as much as the surprise of what is in the stocking. :D

ETA: Tracy asked what about Squirrel, the one at college - We wrapped all her little presents, numbered them and sent them off. She is on the honor system to open only one a day. :) She will open 16 at college and the remaining 8 here.

See you on the flipside Tadpoles!

.37 Cents, Per Person, Per Meal

2011-11-26T21:57:00.000-05:00

'Gotta love a cheap turkey! Woot!

We paid $7.12 for our turkey for Thanksgiving.

It was [obviously] the star attraction at dinner on Thursday, plus, with a little roux [flour/water] thrown in the drippings it made about 12 cups of gravy.

After I picked the turkey clean I boiled the bones with celery, onion, carrots and pepper to make buckets of turkey stock. [I did mine on the stove, like a dummy, and had to wait up for it to finish before going to bed. Tracy had the brilliant idea of putting hers in the crockpot. D'oh - why didn't I think of that? So easy and I could've gone to bed hours earlier.

Friday night we had gravy with turkey and mixed veggies over waffles [this is so amazingly good, I swear!] with all the leftover sides from the night before [oyster dressing, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, sweet potato & apple casserole] with more gravy.

Groaning into Saturday night, I opted for something lighter and we had turkey noodle soup with veggies and thin egg noodles. We also had the leftover yeast rolls from T- Day. Hit the spot on a chilly evening.

While preparing the soup I reserved 2 cups turkey stock and two cups diced turkey meat. Along with the leftover mixed vegetables from Friday and a homemade pie crust I will make Wallene's all-time favorite meal - Turkey Pot Pie. We will have to duke it out over the yeast rolls tho' because there are only 4 remaining.

I also have 3 servings of soup leftover to freeze for Pooldad to take to work and I had Friday's meal for lunch today.

So, that one turkey went into 20 meals total. Quite a bargain, I say.

Now someone explain this to me - I only made two pies for Thanksgiving dinner - pumpkin & key lime. They taste really good [by the family's account] and I have to agree, I have had a piece of each [they are my favorites] but, BUT - each pie is 8 servings - and I still have 4 servings left of each kind. Meaning my family is slacking on their pie consumption. What gives? (heehee I am kidding, really. More pie for ME!)

Hope y'all had a nice, relaxing Thanksgiving. It was a quiet, thankful time here in the Skippy household - and believe it or not it is only 28 days until Christmas! I know this because we decorated the whole house yesterday and my "Snowman Countdown To Christmas" chalkboard tells me so. :)

As soon as Squirrel leaves [tomorrow, sniff, sniff] to return to college I think I will crawl into bed and reappear sometime at the end of the week. I am pooped. :)

You Would Think It Was Christmas :D In the Best Way!

2011-11-24T00:15:00.001-05:00

We received a very early Christmas present on Wednesday.

You are not going to believe it. . .but as of one week from today ::drumroll please::

Our family will have health insurance.

::skippyhappydance::skippyhappydance::skippyhappydance::

We have so much to be thankful for, but after five years of being without it this is truly the greatest news we have had in a ~~long, long time~~ forever.

I hope everyone that is celebrating this day of thanks has a wonderfully spectacular day, surrounded by loved ones and your turkey tastes as yummy as I know ours will.

YIPPPPEEE!

Bless you all and THANK YOU!

My Two Favorite Thanksgiving OOPS!

2011-11-22T20:17:00.003-05:00

This will be my 25th year of preparing/orchestrating Thanksgiving at our home. It is my all time favorite holiday and one that I find very festive, incredibly relaxing and very easy to pull off. I do not [and never have] stressed this holiday. What's the point? It's just food. hee

Most of our early Thanksgivings involved many extended family members. Although it has tapered off in the past decade as our family has become smaller the first Thanksgiving that always brings me to giggles was our largest. My [first] husband and I had just moved into our first home. We invited everyone and they all accepted. There were 22 coming! Some old [Moms & Dads, siblings] and some were new [significant others, fiances] so the pressure was on - especially when the old contingent started to brag to the newbies what a great cook I was and how wonderful my oyster dressing tasted. I scoffed. No problem.

[To be honest - it is my Grandma's recipe - and for all the people I have ever made it for that have never had it, they refused to go back to any other kind after tasting it. They have to have mine or make their own facsimile of it. I have spread this recipe far & wide. It is that good.]

The person that was most enthused about trying this dish was my future sister in law Beth. We talked everyday and she always ended the conversation with "Can't wait to try your world famous dressing." Knowing her Mom is/was an amazing cook I wanted to make sure that it turned out just right.

Now, remember I mentioned we had just moved into a new home? Well, this home needed a little updating in order to be ready to receive guests. It was a 20 year old town home that needed new flooring and paint on the level where we would be entertaining [kitchen, dining, living and powder room]. No worries. My young husband and I rolled up our sleeves and got to work a few weeks before Thanksgiving. With a baby in tow. We laid flooring, spackled walls, removed wallpaper and painted. And painted. And then painted some more. All the way up until the night before Thanksgiving. But? We got it finished! And it looked wonderful. We fell asleep that night, fully clothed, knowing we had to be up at the crack of dawn to start cooking for 22 people.

After a quick, sleepy shower we were in the kitchen at 6 am. Sr. prepped the turkeys while I prepped the dressing. The most important trick to making this dish is you have to use your hands to "squish" all the ingredients together well before stuffing the bird. I happily dug in, mushing together bread, oysters, veggies, eggs, broth and spice. Squish, squish, squish. Stuffed the birds and popped them in the oven. I turned to wash all the gunk off my hands when I noticed my arms. They were flecked all over with white paint. All over. I quickly rinsed my hands off only to discover they were free of any traces of the paint. Stripped clean without any scrubbing, just a rinse. I looked at Sr., then at the two turkeys in the oven and then back at Sr. and asked "That wasn't lead based paint, was it?" He laughed and said no and assured me not to be worried about it.

The day came off without a hitch - I still marvel at how I got that many people in our home - but the best part was at the end when we were wishing all our friends and family good bye and my wonderful [future] sister in law gushed "That was the best dressing I have ever had! I cannot wait to tell my Mom all about it. What IS you secret ingredient. It tasted so great!"

Sr. and I just lost it. We laughed. Poor Beth didn't know if we were over tired or we were simply the crazy relatives she was marrying into. It wasn't until her Mom called and requested the recipe that I had to call Beth and 'fess up to my Glidden infused oyster dressing. We never did tell her Mom - and Beth swears her's tastes almost as good as my "original".

Believe it or not - the second OOPS involves paint too. This time I had [almost] nothing to do with it tho'. We get to blame Pooldad and [baby] Wallene for this one. Oh, and it involves a brand spanking [just built] new home for us too. [Anyone sensing a pattern here?]

Once again a new home and a new[ish] baby and hosting Thanksgiving. YAY!

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving I finished up painting our guest bathroom a beautiful blue color, but I knew I still needed to run out to pick up a few more accents to finish it. I took the almost full can of paint [hey, small bathroom] and set it in the kitchen sink with the lid lightly placed on, so as not to have it dry shut. Looking at it you could tell it wasn't closed completely.

Or so I thought.

Did I mention this brand new home had brand new white carpet throughout? No? heehee

It did. Which explains that when I walked in the door from shopping I found Pooldad down on his hands and knees, vigoriously scrubbing away at the carpet in front of the entry way to the kitchen. When I walked up the stairs and looked down at what he was scrubbing I just giggled and said "Honey, give it up. It isn't coming out. Ever."

He sat back on his heels and looked up at me with the word "sorry" written all over his face. He explained that he had needed to use the sink and thought the can of paint was closed so he had placed it out in the hallway ON THE WHITE CARPET. [Not, say, on my easily cleaned linoleum floor in the kitchen.] He hadn't noticed that Wallene had toddled up and being the curious little girl she has always been she tipped over the can onto the carpet and then proceeded to walk through it.

Ahhh. No harm, no foul. Accidents happen. I actually didn't care because it WAS an accident and if my family was going to fuss about blue paint on the white carpet well. . .I didn't care.

I handed hubby a beer and got busy on the phone, calling carpet stores to see if anyone could come out before Thanksgiving and replace the carpet. As luck would have it a very nice sales lady told me that our homeowner's insurance would pay for it and that I should call them first. Bonus! I called our insurance company and sure enough they were there the next day with a check to replace the carpet in the hallway, dining room, living room and all the stairs.

When Pooldad came home from work we hopped over to Home Depot where the nice lady in the carpet department laughed at me. She explained that they were booked through Christmas and I was out of luck, but. . . if I would like she did have a number to two of her carpet guys who did sidework to pick up extra money. Would I like? Heck yeah! We purchased [funnily enough] BLUE carpet that was even nicer than the white we were replacing and the nice men were coming to install it Wednesday evening.

We spent Wednesday afternoon removing all the old carpet and had the most awesome time with Jorge and Luis, our installers, that night just laughing and drinking beers over the whole fiasco. It was fun.

The strangest part was my Mom calling and asking what was going on. When I told her we were having the carpet replaced before the holiday she began yelling at me! Telling me that was the dumbest thing and I was just making more work for myself and Pooldad. I still can't understand her reaction to our "problem". She just had to show up and eat. Why did she care if I was having carpet installed on Thanksgiving eve? It was weird, but typical of my Mom.

The funniest phone call was one Jorge received on his cell. It was his wife and while he was chatting with her I think Pooldad, Luis and I were carrying on a wee little bit too loud because poor Jorge - his wife was yelling at him over the phone accusing him and Luis of being at a bar and not actually working. We teased him when he got off the phone, but he assured us that his pay would go far enough in showing his wife that he was, in fact, at work.

All in all - we made out like bandits on the carpet deal. We received nicer carpet, in a color we liked even better, while making life long friends of Jorge and Luis. Plus? We only spent half of the insurance check by "doing it ourselves". We used the remaining money to pay for a very nice Christmas. heehee

So, if something happens this Thanksgiving that you think may ruin the holiday? Take my advice and just smile through it. It will be fine and just think of all the stories you can tell.

**And for what it is worth - I told Pooldad if we couldn't get the carpet replaced before Thanksgiving Day I wasn't worried. I would simply throw down a big rock, make a paper boat with little Pilgrim people in it and call it a diorama of Thanksgiving. giggle

Enjoy! See ya' on the flipside Tadpoles.

Highlights To The Week

2011-11-18T04:37:00.002-05:00

Although I am not looking forward to more tests come Monday I did try to have some fun this week.

I think it turned out pretty well considering. :D

I usually ignore commercials on TV because, seriously? How many "Biggest ONE Day Sale" can Macy's, Kohl's and Target actually have in a month? According to the ads I see approximately 30. I find it stupid advertising, but on Wednesday I fell for it. And it worked out wonderful!

I was watching TV and I saw a Macy's ad for a sale Junior's Winter Coats. We been holding out to purchase Wallene a new coat for Christmas because she has lettered in band and lettermen jackets are incredibly expensive. It was to be her "big" present. Well. . .not only is getting very cold, very early here in Virginia [27 degrees F as I write this] Wallene has a fancy trip this weekend to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which happens to be a few hours north of here and therefore will be even colder.

We couldn't get the letter jacket now, and her old snow coat was in tatters so when the ad came on my ears perked up. Could it be true? 60 % off? Wow. Skippy was sold. Pooldad and I trekked out in the pouring rain on Wednesday and guess what? It WAS true. We found her a gorgeous wool coat that she absolutely loves [phew!] and it was 60% off! We could not believe it. And we are so happy she likes it. Score one for Mom & Dad.

Also on the list of things I won't believe until I see it was another commercial - this time for Safeway Grocery Store and their sale on turkeys. .58 cents a lb!!! Double wow! We have been pricing turkeys [for Thanksgiving] for a few weeks and they have been running in the $20 -$25 range for a 12 lb bird. Ridiculous. So we stopped at Safeway on our way home from Macy's and sure enough - we bought a 12 lb turkey for $7.12. Score number two! Food has become so expensive everywhere that it feels good to be able to pay the "old" price for something we "have" to buy for our favorite holiday. YAY! I love a bargain or two.

Speaking of food - it is nice to be back to 1000 mg of sodium a day [oh, c'mon - you knew I was going there, heehee] because Pooldad crockpotted one of my all time favorite meals last night for dinner - Beef Stew. Oh, so good! And he knows how to make it very, very low in sodium. Good man. I had a sodium free breakfast of fruit and oatmeal, sodium free salad and dressing for lunch and pigged out at dinner [thank goodness it is only sodium I count and not calories]. heehee I think it is the first time I have had seconds of anything in over 2 years. Guess what I am eating for leftovers tonight? :wink:

The best news all week tho' is the fact that Squirrel will be home in less that 15 hours. Dad picks her up this afternoon and we all have the week together. YIPPPEEEE!! I don't know who is more excited - her, us or the pups.

Thanks for all the upbeat comments. I really appreciate and truly need your smiles right now. I hope you understand. It helps so much.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. I will be around as I suspect with Wallene gone Squirrel plans on catching up on her sleep. So, if you need me - you know where to find me.

See ya' on the flipside Tadpoles. :D

PS - Is it bad that I got hungry while writing this post and ate a salad and an orange at 4:30 am? I swear I did not eat stew. heehee

A Plus And A Minus Kind of Day

2011-11-16T21:43:00.001-05:00

Tuesday was a day of highs and very lows for us here at Chez Skippy.

The plus part of the day? Wallene walking in the door at 4 pm with her first report, from her first quarter of her first year in High School. It was a definite PLUS kind of moment. She received 5 As - 2 A pluses and 3 As. We could not be happier for her and a bit surprised because she has been a busy kid for the past 3 1/2 months with all her activities. I thought lack of sleep would've done her in eventually, but nope. She really came through. Good kid.

The minus to our day came at my doctor's appointment. He was a new doctor [to me] and although I honestly didn't have time to explain everything in detail to him he seems to have drawn some conclusions that he wants checked with further tests. If his suspicions are confirmed, and I suspect they will be considering my life long fight with anemia, I may be sicker than I thought. And that isn't good. Not news I need, nor wanted to hear. I thought I was scared last year when I was in the hospital. Nope. Now I am really freaking out because it means another transfusion [thrill :sarcasm drip:] over the Thanksgiving holiday, plus long term treatment that may or may not prolong my life.

There was one small plus to the whole appointment tho' - I finally received a prescription that eases my congestion and allows me to rest better, plus I can go back to 1,000 mg of sodium. I comforted myself with toast and a huge glass of water last night. That was nice. I also woke up this morning lbs lighter from getting rid of some of the water on my lungs. Bravo!

Once upon a time I would think about what my "Bucket List" used to have on it. I don't think about "used to" anymore because it comes down to one thing left on my list. And that one thing is Wallene. I know it sounds like I am discounting the older kids, but, truly, I am not. They are all adults and we have done a good job [I think?] of raising them to be productive, successful members of the world - but Wallene is still so young and deserves to have her Momma there for here - at least for the next 5 or 6 more years at least. Dont'cha think? I am so afraid to leave her and I cry at the thought of us without each other while she is still growing up.

You all did a lot for me last year when I was ill and I didn't write this post to upset anyone, but simply to ask if you could think a good thought, say a prayer or just give me a hug that I get through this too.

Thank you. See ya' on the flipside Tadpoles.

Tidbits

2011-11-14T18:20:00.001-05:00

Just one of those days where I have a lot on my mind, but nothing of such profound importance to actual throw together a coherent post about it.

Instead - I just thought I'd share the things I have been thinking about since I woke up at 3 pm.

Yes, that does say I woke up 3 pm. I have screwed up my sleep cycle and now my body thinks we are on the night shift. I fall asleep around 7 am and sleep until 3 pm. Which, in the scheme of things, is good because I am getting 8 hours [unheard of for me, usually] but I miss out on spending mornings with Wallene and Pooldad.
How come, if I am eating so healthy - and I am - my face is still breaking out? I never had this kind of problem in High School, but bah! This just sucks. I have my teenagers giving ME skin tips. It's depressing. Thank goodness Pooldad loves me. heehee
Duke Mom #1 [waving!] wanted to know what I am doing for protein on this [almost] non existent sodium meal plan. Good question - the fact is I can eat lean pork loin [3 oz serving] and boneless, skinless chicken breast because both are below 50 mg per serving for sodium. Also - and a HUGE bonus for my tuna loving behind - I found Starkist low sodium canned white albacore tuna. It is only 35 mg per 1/4 cup serving [about 1/2 a can] which makes me a very happy Skippy.
For the last 3 days I have kept my sodium intake below 75 mg per day and so far I have shed 3 lbs of water - but - and it is a big but - I have to now limit my liquid intake. I only drink two things since I gave up carbonation a month ago, and that is water and mint tea. Most people need 64 ounces of water a day, but not me. I will retain it. So what's a girl to do? I was told to "be creative" managing my liquid intake. I got your creative ::sarcasm drip:: I have taken to sucking on hard candy to keep my tongue from sticking to the roof of my mouth.
Speaking of sodium [bored yet? yep, me too] I am glad that a lot of you don't salt your food or even own a salt shaker, but after keeping my sodium under 1000 mg a day for over 18 months I have to tell you - please don't think it is making a bit of difference..Unless you were shaking a teaspoon worth on your meal [that is 2,300 mg - and just gross btw], you really don't save yourself much. Sure it sounds good, but it has a nominal effect on your overall, daily sodium intake if you do any of the following: eat out, drink soda, drink alcohol, eat canned vegetables, eat canned soup, eat frozen dinners, eat processed foods [like rice a roni, Kraft mac & cheese, Cup O' Noodles, ramen] pizza [frozen or delivery] or consume a lot of bread. They changed the guidelines this past year and a healthy adult's maximum sodium intake per day should not exceed 1,500 mg. That is ONE meal at any fast food restaurant or sit down restaurant. Bizzy made a great comment on my last post [waving again!] and said she tracked her sodium intake for one day [and this woman eats HEALTHY and is a GREAT cook, believe me] and she was shocked to see she had consumed 5,500 mg a day. I am not saying everyone needs to be at 1,500 mg - sodium does have it's benefits - but go online and check your favorite meal at your local chain or pick up a can of vegetables or salad dressing and just see what it is you are consuming.
This is the FIRST time since being diagnosed and released from the hospital in May 2010 that I have retained this type of water [in my stomach and now legs]. From what I understand that isn't bad, especially considering I am not taking a single medication for CHF.
Okay - I am done chatting about sodium. You're welcome. heehee
Does the following bug anyone else? We all know I am weird, but tell me if this bothers you too. I gave myself a manicure on Saturday. I removed all my finger and toe nail polish, trimmed them, filed them and then painted my fingernails. For two days I walked around without my toenails painted and it was BUGGING the crap out of me [I know. I know. Weird. Told you.] The biggest problem is I have a hard time reaching my toes because of the water retention in my tummy [think pregnant belly - that's me] - plus I fear getting put back in the hospital [big possibility I am trying not to think about] and the nurses talking about how ugly my toes are. [I heard them do this with my Mom when she was sick. It is a real fear of mine.] I needed to paint my nails. This afternoon, after I woke up, I managed it and can now breath easy that my toes match my fingers. And I will be a well groomed patient with teenage acne. giggle

See? I told you all this stuff was completely random and non coherent, but it's been on my mind so I share with you! Aren't you lucky?

Think You Could Do This?

2011-11-12T21:17:00.001-05:00

Try to keep your sodium to almost zero for a day, two days or even a week.

Now, I have to limit my sodium, that is no big secret - but I have been retaining water like a balloon this past week and so I am trying my darndest to cut it down to zero. I do not want to go back to the hospital.

I am getting really close. How does 22 mg of sodium sound? And bonus, I haven't been hungry all day, YAY! I am getting plenty of nutrients and vitamins in the process.

This was my menu for today - tell me if you would've been hungry.

Breakfast: Twinings Mint Tea [thanks Josie, it's delicious] glass of water, 1/2 banana [cut up] and a strawberry, peach and banana smoothie.
0 mg of sodium

Snack - orange and grapefruit slices
0 mg of sodium

Lunch: Two cups of cooked oatmeal with blueberries and an apple.
0 mg of sodium

Snack - fruit popsicle and cup of mint tea
0 mg of sodium

Dinner: Baked potato with 1 tbsp of sour cream and unsalted butter, fruit salad [cantaloupe, grapes and water melon] tossed salad with balsamic vinegar/olive oil dressing
7 mg of sodium [from the sour cream]

Dessert: 1/4 cup of Raisinettes [with anti oxidents! :)] and air popped popcorn [awesome mixture!]
15 mg of sodium

I know it sounds boring and not all that appetizing, but when you lose your taste for sodium [as I have] fruits and vegetables tastesweeter and spices taste stronger. The hardest time I am having is avoiding bread, crackers, cereal, tuna fish, peanut butter and cheese. When I wasn't retaining water I could budget those things into my diet of less than 1,000 mg of sodium a day and be happy - but when one piece of bread is almost 20 % of my daily intake, it is just best to avoid it for now.

The best part is most of the menu is all you can eat because it is sodium free. So, if I get hungry I can just pop in the fridge for a salad or a piece of fruit. Or a popsicle. :)

As for the Raisinettes? Y'all know I am not a huge fan of chocolate, but I like a sweet tidbit [bite size Halloween candy anyone?] and those had the lowest level of sodium of any nosh of chocolate I could find. Perfect.

Please know I have no complaints. I am lucky that my biggest problem is counting milligrams of sodium. I just want to go back to [as] normal [as I can be] before the holidays come and the whirlwind begins.

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend and it is warm and cozy where you are. See ya' on the flipside!

Truth Is Thursday. . .

2011-11-10T16:43:00.000-05:00

Truth is . . . rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. :wink:

Truth is . . . I had a pretty bad episode three weeks ago and I am still working out recovering.

Truth is . . . this means I spend a good portion of my day, in bed, only getting up to eat.

Truth is . . . heating pads, Tylenol and popsicles are my new best friends. :D

Truth is . . . trying to get through this without the benefit of medical care or health insurance is wearisome, but what are we going to do? Can't pay with money we don't have.

Truth is . . . I am tired of being chronically ill. I try, I do, to stay positive, but sometimes I wish it was the flu or a cold - where there would be an end to it eventually.

Truth is . . . I am done whining. And I want to thank you all for the nice emails and cards wondering where the heck I got off to - I figured I better post something before I had a Tadpole posse out hunting for me. heehee

Hope you have a wonderful week and if you don't see me around it is only because it is impossible to type while flat on my back in bed.

Hugs to y'all!

Feel The 2 AM Love. . .

2011-11-01T17:11:00.002-04:00

I couldn't sleep last night and as I laid awake in bed I started to think of what I could make for breakfast. I was thinking that cinnamon rolls sounded good, but once I started researching I discovered I didn't have quite all the ingredients.

Instead, I settled on bagels. I have never made bagels before but I thought "Meh, if I screw them up no one will know because they will still be in bed." Right? heehee

Lo' and behold - They turned out AMAZING. Darn near the best bagel I have ever had. The recipe is so easy, but takes a while to make with the raising and boiling..

6:00 AM arrived and I had six lovely bagels for the family. [As of now at 5 PM? There is one left.]

Yummy! Golden brown and crisp on the outside with a chewy inside. So, so good.

They are tasty toasted or untoasted and make a great sandwich.

I can't wait to buy poppy seeds, minced garlic [for everything bagels] and raisins [for cinnamon raisin bagels]. What's your favorite bagel?

Have a great day Tadpoles! See ya' on the flipside.

:::Rubbing My Eyes:::

2011-10-29T11:45:00.002-04:00

Please, put on your Sesame Street thinking caps and riddle me this Tadpoles -Which of these things is not like the others:

A) A tornado
B) An earthquake
C) Flooding
D) Snow in October

If you picked (C) . . . ding, ding, ding! Cookie Monster hands you a cookie.

I realize they are all types of weather [and therefore do go together] but the trick to the question is that (C) is the ONLY one that is a common occurrence in Virginia.

But, somehow, our lovely area has managed all four. Yipppeee!!!!!!!!!

We received enough snow today that they cancelled Virginia State Marching Band Competition. And a couple of homecomings and parts of the National Horse show. . . etc. Go Figure.

All's well tho'. Squirrel is home for the weekend and we will all hang out and drink hot cocoa, while watching the flakes fall.

Did I mention it is October? In Virginia?

Have a good one Tadpoles.

Truth is Thursday. . .

2011-10-27T17:35:00.001-04:00

Truth is. . .I have been doing a bit of commenting, but no posting because I have been sick.

Truth is. . .I will be around when I feel better .

Take care and have a great weekend Tadpoles.

Our Weekend: Day Three - Our Sunday In Pictures

2011-10-24T07:46:00.001-04:00

On the way to visit Squirrel.

The leaves are still thinking about it.

Sisters!

Always a favorite.

Chicken Caesar Salad

Then dessert at the yogurt shop.

Loves her Daddy!

Goofballs!

Pretty Campus, isn't it?

Yes. She is "owling."

:shaking my head:

Better at self portraits than their Momma.

That's all. [Actually there are a 140 pics!]

And I bet you can't guess what missing from them all.

Yep, I think two days in a row is about my limit to go out of the house. Although Squirrel was a wee bit sad [me too!] she promised to take the campus bus home this weekend. That's a great trade. YAY!

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday. See ya' on the flipside.

Our Weekend: Night Two - What a Great Teenager!

2011-10-22T19:49:00.001-04:00

There are not many teenagers that can go to the mall, find a dress, shoes, jewelry and all the assorted sundries you need for the Homecoming Dance in under an hour and a half.

Wallene is one of those kids. [As Skippy looks to the heavens and silently mouths, "THANK YOU DNA FAIRY. SHE IS HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER!]

This is the first time she has ever had to dress up and she did such a great job.

She tried on a total of three dresses. The third was the charm:

Then came the shawl and jewelry:

Plus the cute shoes!

[Those are going to be used again when she is an attendant at her friend's Quincenera. YAY!]

And Momma did her hair:

A French twist
ETA 12:15 AM - She just arrived home and not a hair has fallen out. All night, with all the crazy dancing! Wow.

She's all smiley and sparkly.

Did we not just give birth to this kid? What is she doing going to Homecoming already?!? Yikes.

She is off to have dinner with her 5 best girl friends at Olive Garden and then the dance until midnight.

I hope her Daddy survives this. heehee

What do you think? [Yeah, me neither.]

Hope y'all have a fabulous Saturday night. We'll see ya' on the flipside with an update from our road trip to JMU!

Hugs and sweet dreams.

Our Weekend: Night One - Not Quite a Sweater But Almost . . .

2011-10-21T21:42:00.001-04:00

Tonight we went to Wallene's Homecoming game for High School.

No, you may not ask how the football team did.

But the band?

Look at my smiley little girl:

She is absolutely NOT supposed to be smiling.
That was the look on her face when she realized we were there.

We waited until after halftime and met up for a quick picture before Dad and I headed for home. It was cold.

Now, if you look closely at my lap. . . THAT is the sweater I was wearing tonight. It is my favorite sweater, but I was gifted with a lovely Band Sweatshirt this evening, so, of course, I had to put that on. No complaints - that sweater kept my legs very warm while sitting in my chair.

Still - I count it as sweater number two for the season.

Tomorrow? Getting ready for the Homecoming Dance. Prep, primp and pretty up!
Sunday - I get doughnuts and diner food, plus a visit with Squirrel <----best part.

I think I need a nap. Stay warm Tadpoles. We'll see ya' on the flipside - all prettied up and girlie for Homecoming. [Well, Wallene, at least.]

WALLENE! Dagnabit Child!

2011-10-21T13:07:00.002-04:00

Do NOT scare the crap out of your Mother that way. Jeesh.

It all started last night, when Wallene arrived home from school at 10:30 pm. That is a 14 hour day for her and she was too pooped to pop - BUT, she still had homework to do.

We finally got her into bed at 12 am, while assuring ourserlves that her alarm clock was set for 7:30 the next morning.

Dad left for work at 6:30 am.
Mom [who had gone to sleep at 5 am] did not hear him leave or Wallene's alarm.
Apparently? Wallene didn't hear her alarm either.

When I finally woke up at 11 am the first thing I noticed in the fridge was that Wallene had forgotten her lunch. Hmmmm. Then I thought, maybe, Wallene was still in the house. She won't forget her lunch if we leave her a note [which Pooldad did] so I called upstairs, twice, but since I got no response from her room I figured she had rushed out of the house and just left it.

I sat down at my desk and phoned Pooldad to tell him not to be late coming home from work because Wallene would need her lunch before band and the Homecoming Football game. As we chatted I heard a crash and then an "OMG!" Guess who came running down the stairs, disheveled and carrying her backpack?

Yep! Miss Wallene had waaaaay overslept, but had heard me downstairs and came running.

It scared the behoohoo out of me since I had already called up there twice. Suffice it to say, my heart is pumping extra special fast this afternoon. heehee Please know we are not upset at our daughter at all. She obviously needed the sleep. We thought it was quite funny. :)

So, what have we learned?
1. 10 pm is an evidently an excellent bedtime for our daughter. Not 12 am.
2. No more late nights at school, even if it IS Homecoming week.
3. Mom should not take a Benadryl to help her fall asleep when she has insomnia. [Do you guys SEE why I hate taking anything that makes me drowsy? I don't do drowsy. I knock myself out. :D]

The bright side? Pooldad got off of work 2.5 hours early to get her to school. YAY. Our weekend starts now! Woot!

We have a busy weekend planned. There is the football game tonight, the dance tomorrow and Sunday we are off to JMU!

Have a great one Tadpoles. We'll see ya' on the flipside. Or Monday. If I survive. :D

Truth is Thursday. . .

2011-10-20T09:20:00.002-04:00

Truth is. . . I almost forgot it was Thursday. Where did the week go?

Truth is. . .Thanks for the well wishes for Spot. She hasn't eaten any of her food yet, but at least she is drinking.

Truth is. . .Today is definitely a sweater kind of day. High of 60, low of 40.

Truth is. . .Tomorrow is the Homecoming Football Game and Saturday is the Homecoming Dance. Wallene is all a flutter. She will be at school for a total of 13 hours today between marching band practice and decorating committee. Daddy is delivering her dinner when he gets home from work. That's a long day.

Truth is. . .we are going to see Squirrel on Sunday, for the day. She seems a little homesick. Should be a nice drive if the leaves have changed.

Truth is. . .today is Pooldad's meeting with his old company. I doubt it will go the way we want/need, but he is so tired of waiting on his current bosses to make a decision. I guess they figure the longer they hold out, the more they can pay him at his old rate. It is just so disrespectful.

Truth is. . .I don't have much today. Not feeling too great and I haven't slept. Same 'ol.

I hope you guys have a great end to your week and the weather is just as gorgeous where you are as it is here. Go put on a sweater! See ya' on the flipside.

Now I Know How My Husband Feels

2011-10-18T22:31:00.006-04:00

I see my husband, everyday, worry about me. About my health. The fact we don't have the money for health insurance. I see the weight of the world on his shoulders.

A week later and we are still waiting on his bosses to "make a decision" regarding his raise.

I can't imagine the pressure he is under, wanting to take care of all of us and being unable to do so in this economy. He has worked, hard, his entire life. We have always paid our bills, never gone on welfare nor duped the government into giving us money under false disability, food stamp and welfare claims as I see so many doing.

We have been honest. We have done things the right way. And yet? It just keeps falling apart.

Six years ago we both had jobs. I remember back when we could afford things.

It was then that we adopted a pretty little dachshund named "Spot". You all know and love her.

Well, I hope you love her.
She is "sitting pretty" for Momma.

At the time we had the money to afford our pets. She had all her shots and was well fed and cared for, as good pet owners do. She is still well fed :).and has her shots. But....

Now? We don't have dime one to take our little girl to the veterinarian's office tonight. And she is so sick. She isn't an outside dog and we have no idea what she could've gotten into, but she has been vomiting for two days and is unable to even hold down water. We bought her some Pedialyte, but she won't drink it.

I am tired of feeling so helpless. I am tired of watching my husband work himself to the bone. I worry when I look at him and I can see the the weight of our world upon him.

As I sit here and hold my puppy, unable to help her or find out what is wrong, I sort of understand what he is going through. I can no more help her than he can help me. We are powerless to do anything.

I get so frustrated because we don't overspend. We don't go on trips, we don't use credit cards, we don't borrow money, we don't go out to eat on a monthly/weekly/daily basis. There is no disposable income. Not even enough to see what is wrong with Spottie. It isn't that we managed our money poorly, it is just that there isn't any money to manage.

I am sorry to sound so down on this post, but I get so weary of people that cheat, lie and steal. I sometimes want to stop blogging because I grow so tired of the people who complain about their money problems, but then blog about how they are off on yet another weekend trip somewhere or claim they have to buy their lunch everyday because bringing meals from home is "so gross." [Yet, they admit to $50,000 in credit card debt. Stop whining and pack a sandwich.] I run out of things to say on those blogs. I am supposed to tell you how glad I am that you had a great trip when I know your house went into foreclosure less than 3 months ago?

How can doing the right thing, for so long, be so punishing now? We aren't perfect, but we have always tried to do the right thing.

Again. I am sorry. I will be back, happy, happy when Spottie is feeling better. For now I will just hold her in my lap and hope for the best.

See ya' on the flipside Tadpoles. I know there are bigger problems in the world right now - but this is mine for the time being.

I Wanted To Post Sweater #2, But. . .

2011-10-17T20:38:00.001-04:00

Mother Nature is being her usual bitchy self in Virginia.

Sigh. It is October 17th - keep it cool Lady. Let's go.

But no. It is 80 degrees here. YAY for not running the heater, but c'mon. I am ready. Cool, crisp weather.

Instead, I had to revert back to summer. So I am the "lady in gray" today - jeesh.

Yep - the best I could do. A hoodie. Although I think I am getting more creative with my "self" portraits. This one was in the bathroom. Go me! [Oh, and I stole Wallene's camera. Don't tell. Shhhh.]

So now I am relaxing in my bed o' wonders. [Yes, the comforter is still ugly. Why do you ask?] I have my computer and a nice warm breeze flowing through my bedroom window.

It ain't perfect, but it is about the best I can do Tadpoles.

Enjoy your week. See ya' on the flipside.

Three of My Favorite Things About Autumn

2011-10-16T14:19:00.006-04:00

My first sweater of the season!

1 of 30
If you know me, you get the joke.

My favorite color nail polish

OPI
It's called : "Nice Color, Eh?"
[Shout out to my Canadian Tadpoles]

My favorite perfume

Estee Lauder Red Door
Spicy!

The weather is cooperating. Nice, crisp and breezy.

But?

I don't think the trees have gotten the memo.

These are the views off my back porch.

C'mon - change already!

Sorry about the cruddy pics, but I got left behind today and had to take my own. Annie Liebowitz I am not.

Hope y'all are having a great Sunday and where ever you are you are enjoying a gorgeous day.

Pretzel Fail

2011-10-14T20:52:00.003-04:00

First recipe I have ever pulled off off of Allrecipes.com that failed.
:( It had great reviews, I read the comments, learned a bit and yet?

Yuck.

They looked pretty, but their interior had a biscuit like quality. We did not like them at all. The dogs did tho'. They had lotsa' snacks last night. :)

Instead, we are making a Skippy Family stand by. It is one of our favorites and with the exception of a bit of white chocolate it is pretty healthy.

WHITE TRASH

Recipe:

White Trash

3 1/2 cups of cheerios
6 cups of Crispix cereal [or a mix of corn and rice Chex]
2 1/2 cups peanuts [we use unsalted]
2 cups of pretzel sticks [broken up]

2 bags of white chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.
Melt white chocolate in the microwave, stirring occasionally, until pourable. [Or melt in a double boiler on the stove.]
Pour chocolate over dry ingredients. Mix well.
Spread mixture out in a single layer on waxed paper. Let harden.
When hard, break into pieces, gift bag it and enjoy!

ETA: This was a huge hit on the band bus. Looks as tho' I will now be signing up for the last two trips too. heehee

Truth is Thursday. . .

2011-10-13T07:04:00.005-04:00

It's that time of week again Tadpoles.

Truth is . . . I was so touched by your nice thoughts for Sous Gal yesterday. Thank you so much.

Truth is. . . that was the best part of our Wednesday.

Truth is . . . Pooldad finally was offered a raise. After almost a year, they offered him less than half of what he was asking and no health insurance.

Truth is . . . It is insulting.

Truth is . . . the bosses told Pooldad to "sleep" on their offer. He looked at them, thought for a moment, made a counter offer and then asked them to "sleep on it."

Truth is . . . I could've spent last night crying over it, but a funny thing happened yesterday. Seems the owner of Pooldad's old job [where he worked for over 25 years] wants to talk to him.

Truth is . . . the old job would be better money and health insurance, but longer hours and a longer commute.

Truth is . . . I feel bad for my husband. The weight of this whole family rests solely on him and no matter how hard he works, it just never seems to get better.

Truth is . . . we will work it out. Just like we always do. :D

Truth is . . . this song runs through my head a lot lately:

Truth is . . . it took me three tries how to remember how to put that up there. Duh.

Truth is . . . I am making homemade snacks for the band festival on Saturday. Instead of cookies or brownies Wallene and I are going to make soft pretzels. YUM!

Truth is . . . I had to laugh at Wallene last night. Her bedtime is 10 pm and she was all tucked in, with lights out, on time, when I received a magical email from her at 10:19 pm. She meant well, but . . . um, not allowed sweetie.

Truth is . . . I was woken up at 3 am by the loudest, most prolonged crack of thunder I have heard in a long time.

Truth is . . . I am surprised I didn't find two dogs and a kid in my bed at 3:02 am.

Truth is . . . I found all my Halloween stamps, so I think I am going to work on Halloween postcards today.

Truth is . . . I used to really like "Good Morning America:", but lately it seems to be more info-tainment [fluff stories, celebrities, music] than news. I miss the old GMA.

Truth is . . . this whole "Blackberry Blackout" has me laughing. "OMG we noes haz da' Blackberry powerz". Jeesh people, you'll live. I swear.

Truth is . . . Wallene is marching in the Halloween parade this year and has to dress as a pop star - each member in her section will represent one era of music - but I don't know what constitutes a pop star these days. Any ideas? [ETA @ 9 am - I have already had two votes for Lady Gaga. Wallene doesn't want to be her. She finds Lady Gaga scary. Who knew?]

Truth is . . . she might just get that blue hair yet. heehee

Truth is . . . I really wanted her to draw a 50's teeny bopper just so I could make her a poodle skirt. I have always wanted one of the girls to wear a poodle skirt. Alas, never had any takers.

Truth is . . . it is time to go and start our day.

[Truth is. . . I have updated this post 5x since 7 am. giggle]

Have a great Thursday Tadpoles. We'll see ya' on the flipside.

Great News!

2011-10-12T09:50:00.000-04:00

:skippyhappydance:

I just received word that my friend and fellow Tadpole, Sous Gal, is out of surgery and doing fabulous.

She will be resting comfortably in the hospital for a few days and then will return home where she will recuperate over the next few months. And I get to tease her for being a slacker. heehee [I kid, I kid]

She is an amazing friend and Chef! I couldn't be happier that she came through with flying colors.

You can visit her at her blog: "Here. . .taste this"

Hope you all have a fantastic Wednesday! I know we will. WOOT! :D

My Husband Is A [Sometime] Single Parent

2011-10-11T01:13:00.001-04:00

Truly. He is so great at what he does, so, yes, I can overlook the electricity thing. [That post was supposed to be funny btw.]

I know I am here everyday. I can call the school, sign paperwork, coordinate carpools, sign up for the family to volunteer, answer the phone, take messages, send emails . . . but, let's just look at what Pooldad manages on a random Monday:

He arrived at work at 6:45 am and worked 8.5 hours
Before he left for work he ran to the store to get a few things I needed
On his way home he picked up the youngest from a sleepover
Once home he finished three loads of laundry
Grocery shopped for the week -we call this big shopping & it is big
Made homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner
Baked two kinds of homemade cookies - some for lunches, some to send to our daughter at college
Made sure I was okay while I bathed and dressed for bed
Fed, watered and walked the dogs - not to mention cleaning up a dog mess
He didn't want to go to bed early, although tired, because we like some time together at night

Best part? He doesn't have a blog. No, wait. I kid, I kid. He does all of this without complaint and those of you who have read my blog for long know this.

What I do is nominal. And no, I am not looking for anything else to be said here, so please don't. He could easily do what I do in addition to what he does, but that fact that he does all of this happily and without complaint makes me a very, very, very fortunate woman.

Please do not think that I don't know that.

It isn't a birthday, anniversary or some other special day. It is simply a random day in our life.

And I think my husband does it with aplomb.

Thank you S. I love you.

My Failed Experiment

2011-10-10T15:45:00.001-04:00

When you were growing up did your parents tell you to turn off the lights when you left a room? Do you tell your own kids to do this? I do, my husband doesn't.

I grew up hearing "turn off the lights" constantly. My Dad was the king of penny pinching and we knew from a young age that electricity cost money, so we were to use it sparingly and never, ever leave a light, TV or radio on if we left the room - even if we were coming back almost immediately. Goodness knows, half the time we didn't return to that room anyway. [true!] After a while it just sank in. Turn off the lights. Hey, my parents were "green" before it was cool. [This was the 60's and 70's].

Let's talk about my family. It appears as tho' my beloved in laws neglected this one important fact [that electricity costs money] because my husband has absolutely no concept of turning off lights and TVs. It drives me crazy. Take today for example. He left for work early, when it was light outside, and I slept in. When I came down the stairs at 1 pm there were three - THREE! - lights on and one of them is the lamp in our kitchen that has 5 bulbs. When I went to bed last evening the light on the nightstand was on - who can sleep with the light on? Evidently Pooldad and Wallene and Squirrel. Nightlights, fine. Table lamps, not so much.

We do have one small lamp in the living room that we leave on from bedtime until dawn, in case anyone gets up in the middle of the night. It also has one of those new energy saver bulb in it [as do all our lights] but he never ever turns it off when he beats me out of bed. EVER.

He swears he turns it off all the time. I know he doesn't, but I decided to stop turning it off myself and see how many days it stayed on before he finally turned it off.

It took five days before I came into the living room and saw it was off. HA! Finally, he turned off a light.

Imagine my chagrin when I went to turn the light on that evening and discovered the bulb had burned out and he had not, in fact, turned it off. :headdesk: I was all ready to give kudos when I realized my experiment had failed.

We don't have an all electric house, our cooking and heat are gas, but I get so sad when I see the electric bill and know we could've saved $50-60 a month.

I am back to the experiment with the living room light and so far? It has been on since he changed the bulb a week ago. BAH!

We used to use a timer on the living room light and although it worked for a while with that ONE light, everytime the electricity went out it wouldn't reset itself. We have power flickage often during inclement weather, so this happened a lot.

In the scheme of things it isn't a deal breaker. It's just a habit I can't seem to break them of in our otherwise frugal household.

Ah well, just another Monday. I hope you guys are having a great one and are enjoying lovely weather like us! See ya' on the flipside.

Cleanup On Aisle Three

2011-10-09T12:18:00.005-04:00

So your ex boyfriend has a new girlfriend.
And you and the new girlfriend both have babies with him.
Yeah, I can see how that might make you mad, but. . .
Life happens.
People move on.
Sometimes they even have more kids with other women.
I am sure that doesn't sit well with you, but did you REALLY need to follow the new girlfriend into Wal Mart and attack her with bleach and Pine - Sol? Seriously?

I don't know if any of you have heard this story on the news, but I don't know whether to laugh or just shake my head. The link is here: link if you would like to see the prize winning mug shot of the woman who started it and read all about it.

The attack ended with 14 people going to the hospital with one person having serious eye injuries.

I am just glad the attacker didn't end up in the Hunting section of Wal Mart. Whew.

Hope all my Canadian tadpoles are having a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy a piece of pie for me! See ya' on the flip side gang. Have a great Sunday.

You're Driving Me Bananas And That's Not Nice

2011-10-07T07:15:00.000-04:00

It does not take seven lenghty emails to explain why you are right and we are wrong that the school lost our $200 deposit for Wallene's band trip to Philadelphia.

The bottom line is find the money order or Wallene does not attend.

Here's the scoop on band mother volunteers: They are NUTZ. They have entirely too much time on their hands to scribe emails. They are just not emails that do any good in the long run. [I will say I appreciate their hard work, but c'mon ladies. . . a little less type A personality goes a LONG way.]

Within a few days of school starting in August we were asked to submit a $200 deposit for Wallene to attend a trip to Chicago. We arranged with the band director to turn the money in on the morning of 12th of September [the soonest we could afford it- it was 4 days after the deadline] and confirmed she would be attending.

Forward to the week of the 19th/September and we were informed, via email, that the Chicago trip was off due to lack of participation [the trip was very expensive] but they had rescheduled a quick trip to Philadelphia instead. All we had to do was click the box on the email that informed them that we would transfer, our already paid deposit, to the Philadelphia trip.

While confirming all student balances for the trip we received a plethora of emails. I inquired as to Wallene's balance and was told she had $58.27 [This is money she made fundraising]. Yes, doesn't look like $200, does it? On October 5th they informed us that they never received a check, but if we had the check number they would research it.

I sent along an email stating that we had turned it in on Sept. 12th, and included the receipt for the money order. I did ask why we weren't informed back in September, when we transferred the deposit, they didn't let us know that they didn't have it then? [Bookkeeping at it's finest, but wait. . .it gets better.]

Having already had one child go through the nightmare that is school band [seriously, I love band, but this stuff drives me bat sh*t insane] we know not to write a personal check. We always send money orders. The reason being is because they have lost our personal checks before. We have reissued them and then they have found the lost check and cashed both. Instead of refunding the money we have been given a credit. We won't make that mistake again.

I received an email this morning informing me that the band mother had found Wallene in school and asked her about the check. When she found out that the check had been dropped off in the office she ~~chastised~~ told Wallene that EVERYONE knows that you don't put money anywhere but IN THE SAFE in the band room!!!!!!!

Here's the problem with that - [I mean, besides she took exception with my kid?] Pooldad dropped off the check, in an envelope, completely labelled with what it was for and amount enclosed. He is not allowed to go back to the band room during school hours. nor will the office ladies pull Wallene from class to come pick up the check so she can put it in the safe herself. It went into the band director's mailbox, so HE could put it in the safe. [I am pretty sure he is 45 years old. And competent.]

Evidently, 3 weeks later it hasn't made it. Sigh. So, in addition to giving Wallene a hard time about this I received a lovely, long, email lecture about what we did wrong.

Look, woman - your band director has a big itch to take these kids out of town. Anywhere - he HAS TO, he has always been this way. We accommodated you, signed up for Chicago, paid, re-signed up for Philadelphia [a ridiculous trip at best] and that $200 is valuable to that trip happening. Don't lecture me on what we did wrong. We did the best we could and were assured it was fine.

The best part? I received several frantic emails [mass] that were begging for the money, after we had paid, because they HAD to make the appropriate deposits in Chicago and then Philadelphia. They needed X amount of kids to get the discount and make the trip affordable.

Band mom mentioned, as of today, they had yet to deposit a single check. So, your rush to get the money, to make the appropriate deposits [in September] and ensure a discount, was because? :headdesk:

I don't know if I am up for 4 more years of this.

And any Tadpole that understood this? Here ------> have an internet cookie.

Have a good Friday Tadpoles. And I hope all of you living upstairs have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow. I am so jealous. And sad. No one invited me. giggle

Truth is Thursday. . .

2011-10-06T00:56:00.004-04:00

Truth is. . . the whole concept behind a "Wordless Wednesday Post" is to not comment on the pictures you post. We get it. No captions necessary, otherwise it isn't wordless. [I see so many people do this. Don't you?]

Truth is. . . you can't exactly rant about "stopping the teen pregnancy epidemic" in this country now when you gave birth to your child at the age of 17. Besides, teen pregnancy rates have dropped dramatically since 1987, the year you gave birth. You need another pulpit.*

Truth is . . . if you are going to go to another blogger's site and chide her to "save herself for marriage" because it will be so much better and then berate her because she is wrong "to give herself away", could you possibly BE married when you make that suggestion? Instead of living with your boyfriend of six years, with one child and another on the way? You just won hypocrite of the week blogger. *

Truth is. . . I find a lot of humor in what people forget they say on their blogs and then come back with their little causes. Which is it? You were a perfect teen Mom and raised the best child you could [your words], but no one else should ever get pregnant out of wedlock before the age of 20, like you? Or a 20 something, educated, self supportive, woman who loves her boyfriend shouldn't have sex, she should wait and save herself for marriage because you said? Meanwhile you are shacked up, not married, and have a kid and a half by your boyfriend? [your words]

:headdesk:

Truth is . . . I like other people's opinions. Heck, that is the nature of blogland. I don't care about babies out of wedlock, or people living together and :gasp: fornicating. Go for it! giggle I learn a lot by blog hopping - but stop contradicting yourself. The only thing worse than a liar is a hypocrite.

Truth is. . . I am not really cranky, it just sounds like it. Honestly. Those three things have been on my mind for a while.

Truth is . . . I made the gang a very yummy white bean soup tonight, in the crockpot. Pooldad walked in the door and exclaimed, "I LOVE the FALL!" It smelled so good.

Truth is. . . I completely screwed up the yeast rolls and they over raised. [That's what a 5 hour nap will get you.] It was a massive sheet of dough. Meh. They looked weird, but cooked up wonderfully. Just hack off a piece.

Truth is . . . Scooby ate three pieces of raw dough. So far so good. I knew it would raise in his stomach, but it was hours ago and he hasn't swelled and the vet thinks he is big enough to absorb it. [Dang dog.]

Truth is. . . I love that Wallene's school has a microwave. I have so many more options to send to school with her when it is cold. And it is cold here.

Truth is. . .We packaged up a big Halloween box for Squirrel at college. And we managed very little candy. It is pretty cool. We have cavities to take care of so I figured less candy and more "treats" like stickers, pens, ornaments, papers, etc - would go a long way to making her feel all holiday spirit without rotting her teeth more. grrrr

I decorated the front like this. . .

. . .and Wallene did an awesome job on the back!

Truth is. . . I am glad Sarah Palin announced that she isn't running for President. Now, could she get off of the bus, head back to Alaska and take care of her family? You know, the REASON she QUIT the governship - to take care of her family? Remember?

Truth is. . .I am done for this morning. See ya' on the flipside Tadpoles. Hope you have a great Thursday.

*These two women are different people and neither are on my blogroll. These are just things they voiced one day that I have been thinking about for a while.

Sparkly Clean!

2011-10-05T07:36:00.002-04:00

Pooldad and I have the biggest bedroom in our home. Actually it is the biggest room in the house. I have never seen such a big bedroom, but meh. . . we deal. The biggest problem with having a bedroom so large is everything [and I mean everything] gets tossed in our room when we are cleaning up the rest of the house. It is a depository for all manner of things. We just pile it up on one side and ignore it for a few months until it starts to infringe on our ability to walk through the room.

That day came last week. Pooldad got a bit fed up and decided the time had come to gut our room. WEE!

It looks wonderful! He enlisted Wallene and they did a fabulous job. They even rearranged the room which makes me very happy because it tends to get chilly with the bed under the window. Plus we can now relax on the bed and watch TV. Yippee! Look:

Some of you may remember when my lovely husband bought that comforter.
Yep, still stuck with it. At least it is warm.

Still have to hang up the pictures.

Need to add some chairs to the craft table

Our "new to us" TV
We had to relocate a lot of sweaters to give this puppy a home.

The remainder of my craft supplies

The pictures really don't do it justice as it looks so great and it's so nice to be able to walk through, in the dark, and not worry about tripping on something. Although my husband did mention that perhaps I shouldn't look in the closet just yet. Heehee [He was kidding.]

Hope y'all have a great Wednesday. If you need me I am going to be snuggled in my bed watching a "Law & Order" marathon.

See ya' on the flipside.

Bubbles And Good Health

2011-10-03T05:15:00.004-04:00

I found something new on the market that is so delicious it has replaced soda in our home. Soda was always a treat, but we seemed to have been treating the kids more often. So when I saw these I bought some.

They are Ocean Spray Sparkling Juices. Since I love cranberry I bought that flavor. YUM-ME.

The best part about them is that they are much healthier than soda, but just as bubbly. I like what I drink to have carbonation or in this case sparkling water.

The ingredients on the one we bought are : grape juice from concentrate, sparkling water, cranberry juice from concentrate, natural flavors, furmaric acid and vitamin C. The sugars in it are naturally occurring. No fructose or corn syrup. It says "all natural ingredients" on the can so I looked up fumaric acid because it didn't look too "all natural" to me. It is. YAY!

Here is it's description:

A Naturally Occurring Acid with Unique Advantages

Fumaric acid is an organic acid widely found in nature. In humans and other mammals, Fumaric acid is a key intermediate in the tricarboxylic acid cycle for organic acid biosynthesis (the KREBS cycle). Fumaric acid is also an essential ingredient in plant life.

One can has 90 calories, 0 g of fat, 35 g of sodium [yay me!] and 50 mg of potassium

I hope y'all have a great Monday and it is as sparkly as mine is going to be. See ya' on the flipside.

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah - no I was not contacted by Ocean Spray, nor given any compensation for writing this post. I am just excited about them and they are so good.

You Know It's Cold When. . .

2011-10-01T07:23:00.000-04:00

It's time to turn the space heater on in the bathroom.

Yep! Fall showed up today. With a vengeance. It is barely 50 degrees F here this morning and that is down right cold Tadpoles. Doesn't look like it is going to get much warmer than 53 today, so it is time to pull out the blue jeans and sweaters. YAY!

It actually snowed in the mountains west of us.

It also appears that this chilly weather is going to hang around for a while. Which is fine by me, as long as we at least HAVE fall and don't go straight into a winter wonderland. You guys know me and know I love snow, but let's hold off until after Thanksgiving, 'kay? Thanks.

If you need me, you know where I'll be. :)

Oh, and you Canadian Tadpoles? You can stop laughing at me now. I know this is balmy to y'all. heehee

Have a good one gang. We'll see ya' on the flipside.

Truth is Thursday. . .

2011-09-29T05:42:00.002-04:00

Another round of Truth is Thursday thanks to Miss Julianna over at "Surviving Boys."

Truth is. . . Jules got a new button for this. Looky!

Truth is . . . I impressed myself that I got that link up and it works. Thanks J!

Truth is . . . I am worn out. Tired. I can only manage to stay awake for a little over 4 hours and then I sleep for 5 or 6 more hours. This has been going on for a few weeks. It is a weird schedule that I have to work to make sure I am awake for Wallene in the morning and for her when she comes home in the evening.

Truth is . . . I know I need to go to the doctor but don't feel like incurring another bill we can't pay. Or that we will be paying for years to come.

Truth is . . . I am not going to worry about it. Sleep is good. I need it and have the advantage of being able to lay down when I want. It'is all good. And have I mentioned I love my bed? : D And my couch?

Bad pic' of my bed
Love my bed!

Truth is . . . the High School planned an expensive trip to Chicago for the marching band and not enough people signed up. So they cancelled Chicago and have rescheduled a trip to Philadelphia.

Truth is . . . I am not too happy with the Philadelphia trip because the kids leave here at 4 am on a Saturday - have a world wind of activities on Saturday and Sunday [barely time to sleep] and return home Sunday night. Sigh. Wallene will be tired for a week from that trip.

Truth is . . . our deposit for the first trip pays 2/3rds the total for the second. YAY! [Guess we are letting her go?]

Truth is . . . Mystery Meat has to be one of the all time cheapest, easiest and [somehow] tastiest meals we have on occasion. It is sold as "Salisbury Steak" but it reminds me of elementary and high school cafeteria lunch. It may not be good, health wise, but once and a while it is such a tasty comfort food. We serve it with homemade mashed potatoes and steamed corn.

Truth is . . . I really like Tuesdays. It is the one day a week Wallene doesn't have band practice after school and she is home before dark.

Truth is . . . Elliot left "Law & Order SVU" last season and the show isn't the same. We miss Elliot. Now what do I watch?

Truth is . . . this has been really boring and rambly. Sorry about that.

Hope you have a great Thursday Tadpoles. See ya' on the flipside.

The Good And The Bad of Being First

2011-09-27T05:08:00.000-04:00

Hey, we won! And depending on your outlook this can be a good thing or a bad thing.

The Washington DC metropolitan area is now number one in the nation for number of hours spent in traffic in a year.

Yep, we beat perennial favorites Chicago and Los Angeles in being first for spending the most time in our cars commuting to work.

We average 74 hours [a little over 3 days] over the span of a year stuck in traffic. WOW!

Washington Post Article

Now, as awful as these statistics sound, let's look at the bright side. It means our economy, in our part of the US, is doing just fine and there are a lot [A LOT] of people going to work each day.

As annoying as the traffic is, and we have had to factor traffic into all our plans for over two decades, [it is that bad], it is nice to know at least something good can be seen from it.

Then again - we still have one of the highest cost of living indexes in the US. Milk is 5 bucks and gas has not dropped below $3.90 yet. Sigh. And you can forget the housing market. There may be millions of homes in foreclosure, but glad you have a job because a fixer upper dump still costs $350,000.00 USD. Something you would actually want to move into starts at half a mil.

At least there are jobs to be had, eh? Hope y'all have a great Tuesday. See ya' on the flipside.

Just What Exactly Are You Trying to Tell Me?

2011-09-26T18:01:00.001-04:00

""I subscribe to "Living Social" deals in my area. They send me daily emails offering 25 - 50% and more off of meals, entertainment and services local to me. It is pretty neat and a good way to save money when we want to see a movie or go to a restaurant we want to try.

The deals are usually geared towards my profile and I have received some nice offers. Cupcakes half off, concerts 60% off, a 25% coupon off at a local bistro. Nice, right?

The last two days I think I received someone else's emails or Living Social is trying to tell me something.

Sunday I received an email for 50% off 10 botox treatments. Huh? Thanks a lot Living Social. I don't think I need botox TYVM, nor would I ever get it, but I bet a lot of people around here scooped that one up. heehee

Then today I received my favorite offer ever. An offer I was tempted to send a long to my beloved Mother In Law just to make her laugh. [You can forward them to whomever you want and they can sign up too.]

"Buy one get one free - Pole Dancing Lessons." Yeah Baby!

Raise your hand if you laughed at the idea of Skippy on a pole.

What's next? Adopt a puppy, get one free?

Dog - Be Quiet!

2011-09-25T05:50:00.001-04:00

You know you wear a baseball cap WAY too often when . . .

You bathe. wash your hair, blow dry, curl it and when you walk in the room your dog growls at you because she thinks you are a stranger.

I think I need to get out more. heehee [Or bathe more often perhaps? Buy the dog glasses?]

On a fun note - we went to Wallene's band competition tonight. It will be the only one we can attend this season because it is the only one that is close to home. It is kind of a "starter" competition to get the new kids used to it.

Look! My baby!

She is right in the middle. I put an arrow on the pic' - but it is hard to see.

They did a great job, and won first place! Woot!

However, I have to be honest about that first place. We found out later that it was by default because they were the only ones in their division. giggle Still, they looked awesome. We are very proud of them. It is amazing the amount of work these kids put into their marching and playing. Nicely done Wally!

After saying goodbye to our girl [she had to take the bus back] Pooldad surprised me by taking me over to the local sport's bar. We sat out on the patio - the weather here is just gorgeous - and we had drinks while we waited for the local pizza place to cook us up a fresh pie take home. Yum!

All in all a pretty nice day.

Hope y'all have a great Sunday. See ya' on the flipside Tadpoles.

"Shag" Gets A Bath

2011-09-23T17:05:00.001-04:00

Thank you Knitty for [temporarily] renaming our dachshund Shag. That made me laugh.

Every morning Pooldad lets the pups out in the back yard for their morning business. They usually split up and go to opposite corners to potty. But. . .since it is our house and Pooldad had 10 minutes to leave for work, this morning Scooby followed Spot.

While Spot [the girl dog] was squatting Scooby [the boy dog] lifted his leg right over top of his little sister and well. . .relieved himself on top of her. Head to toe.

She shook, but um. . .that wasn't going to cut it. Pooldad grabbed a towel, picked up Spot and knowing he was cutting it close decided not to take her upstairs to the bathroom and the bathtub for a quick bath. It is 31 stairs up to the bathrooms as opposed to 5 steps to the laundry room. I do not blame him.

Noooo. He carried her into the laundry room and started the washing machine. He glanced on the shelves and saw powdered laundry detergent, liquid fabric softner and carpet cleaner.

Yep. He chose the carpet cleaner. After getting Spotty sufficiently wet in the washing machine, he soaped her up, rinsed her off and towel dried her. [No he didn't turn the spin cycle on, he just held her under the water. We don't have a wash sink in our laundry room.] She actually smells pretty good.

I laughed so hard when he told me this story. It is just what we do I guess. And he didn't want to be late to work or send her upstairs pee soaked. What a good guy.

Okay, that's my story. I am still feeling the effects of last weekend, so it was short today.

I hope you all have a nice, relaxing and happy weekend. I am back to bed for the foreseeable future. [I love my bed.] See ya' next week!

Truth is Thursday . . .

2011-09-22T00:02:00.004-04:00

Once again . . . Julianna's "Truth is Thursday."

Truth is . . . I forgot to add the link in last week. Sorry Jules. Now get your mojo back. We need you.

Truth is . . . I don't know if Julianna likes the nickname Jules. I may get my behind kicked in comments. hee

Truth is . . . Y'alls comments in the last post had me laughing all day. How did I get so lucky to have such funny friends? No kidding. Awesome. Berber and Shag say hi

Truth is . . . my dog tried to drink the water out of my crystal vase with the roses in it. It was on the coffee table.

Truth is . . . a good scream scared him away from the vase [thank you Wallene] and the roses now adorn the kitchen. On higher ground. ~~Water whore dog.~~

Truth is . . . there will be no pumpkin carving/jack-o-lanterns this year. First time ever. :( The floods hit hard and decimated the crops, so we won't be paying $20 to carve up a pumpkin for one night.

Truth is . . . we have so many Halloween decorations for outside it won't make a difference. Since we won't have real pumpkins we are going to make cut outs and paste them to the front door. Festive and cheap!

Truth is . . . honestly? I want to put my Christmas tree up now. Silly isn't it? I am not a holiday freak or anything, but my house is so pretty when everything is up and decorated. It makes me smile.

Truth is . . . I already have three snowmen hanging out in my den. One from Tee, one my husband gave me on vacation this summer and the one my MIL gave me for my birthday [bonus - the last one was holding 20 bucks] and they will stay up until their brethren escape sometime after Thanksgiving. Who can't smile looking at a snowman, c'mon.

Truth is . . . I am a bad fashion statement today. I am wearing vertical strips on the bottom and horizontal on the top. I have to admit it, but it is one of Pooldad's favorite outfits. We make the sacrifice, eh?

Truth is . . . I am cheating this and wrote it at 11:45 pm on Wednesday.

Truth is . . . I don't have to be up in the morning because Pooldad has the vampire shift [3 pm 'till close] and will get up with Wallene..

Truth is . . . I am ready for bed. See ya' on the flipside Tadpoles. Keep smiling. It's worth it.

Do You Ever Wonder Why? Wednesday

2011-09-21T08:08:00.001-04:00

More rhetorical questions for your enjoyment. Since y'all had such great answers last week I thought I would bring you some more of my silly questions.

Why . . . is a satellite hurtling towards the earth? Did NASA not know how to stop this from happening?
Why . . . can't they figure out WHERE it is going to hit?
Why . . . is milk now $5.01 a gallon? I miss Squirrel very much, but so glad she left for college. That child drinks a lot of milk.
Why . . . isn't Wallene out of bed yet? She has to go to school. :excuse me for a moment . . . .WALLENE!: Problem solved.
Why . . . isn't gay marriage legal in all states?
Why . . . have I been awake since 1:30 am? And no, no "Bait Shop" movies this morning. Just a lot of "Law & Order."
Why . . . did my husband use carpet shampoo to wash the dog? [I know the answer to this one, and it is Friday's post, but I want to see if you guys can guess. And NMM no fair telling the real answer.]
Why . . . did I watch a marathon of "Toddlers and Tiaras" Monday night? Although I blame Diane in some way for this - not only should those pageants not be allowed the show shouldn't even be on the air. omg. Trainwreck.
Why . . . [I mean how] can my husband sleep 15 hours in a row and still not want to get up? He isn't sick and he has late shift, but really? I want his teenage ability to sleep forever.
Why . . . does anyone care about the "Real Housewives" of anywhere. Are they REAL housewives of ANYTHING? Rename the show already - "Money Whores of New York" works.
Why . . . are there so many bad reality shows on TV? And why do they get nominated for Emmys? Supposedly there is NO acting, it is REALITY. So the point would be?
And finally . . . Why are some people so insecure? I can understand a lot of situations where insecurity could grab you, believe me, I go out in public on wheels, but the trying to "one up" someone to prove a talent you don't have is so silly.

That's all I have for Wednesday Tadpoles. Somehow I seem to be obsessed with reality shows this week, but honestly, they are everywhere and one is more stupid than the next. Sorry about that.

We'll see ya' on the flipside. We're almost to Friday! Woot!

Sensory Overload

2011-09-20T01:05:00.015-04:00

Whew! :wiping my brow: Well, that was a long weekend. :)

See that heap? Lumped up on the couch? Over there ------->
Dressed in pajamas and not moving?
[Except to type, of course.]

That would be yours truly. heehee

Remind me not to mention my birthday next year, wouldja'.
Jiminy Christmas.

I barely survived Friday. :D
And I mean that in the best way possible.

Where to begin? [Note: There are some things I left out of this post. I tried to fit it all in, but if I forgot something, I apologize. I got tired typing it.]

It started Thursday night with a surprise gift box from Colenic. Full of fun, happy, smiley face items and a baby jar of maple syrup and jam. This was a give a way I won on her blog, as did many others, but to me it felt like my first true birthday present. Thank you Col. Love you!

Then I found a huge box on the front porch from my husband's Aunt who lives in Florida. The thing was heavy, heavy. Opening up I thought, at first, she had sent me WW frying pans and thought....huh? No, she was just recycling the box and inside were many wonderful things. There were 10 paperbacks from my favorite authors and a whole bunch of cookie cutters for Halloween and for our doggies [bone, fire hydrant, dog shapes]. This was a serious size tupperware container of that stuff. I can't wait to watch the kids bake. So cool! Plus a lovely card wishing me a happy birthday. Love you Aunt Z and Uncle B!

Wow! I am not used to presents on my birthday - but slam bang. It was shaping up to be pretty neat.

Really it wasn't about presents tho' - 'cause Friday dawned bright and early with the promise of better things to come. Such a pretty morning, with the added bonus that Pooldad had the day off and he joined me for tea/coffee at 7 am. <----Unheard of. The man is a sleeper inner if he can manage it.

I found his birthday card to me hidden in my laptop. I found Wallene's beautiful card in the bathroom [after she left for school.] Do they know me or what? Two places to find Mom at any given moment. :)

While we were kissing Wallene goodbye for school at the front door I went to back out of her Dad's way and accidentally fell backwards over the dog. No. It wasn't the little dog. It was the big, humongo mule. Straight over his back. It was a scene out a movie. I swear I could not have choreographed it better myself. Amazing. I am lucky I didn't kill the poor boy. I landed flat on my head, back and behind with Pooldad and Wallene freaking out. The reason this is such a funny part of the day is I didn't hurt myelf. I was laughing, trying to calm them down and keep Scooby from wetting himself [on me] because he was freaking out too. My poor family and their klutzy Momma.

Pooldad and I had a lot of fun hanging out and planning the evening. I even got to talk to my BFF twice on Friday. Once, because she called to wish me a happy birthday [thank you!] and the second time I called her back to tell her how Pooldad washed the dog. I will tell that story another day, but that is an oxygen therapy kind of story for me. I couldn't breath for laughing on that one. [And no telling, please!] Just getting to talk to her was great. It made my day AND she made her poor husband sing "Happy Birthday" to me. giggle. Thank you again. I love you guys. :D

Around 3:30 I knew I needed a nap if I was going to be up to the trip to get Squirrel one town over at her drop off. Yep, my baby made her way home just for my birthday, but I knew after picking her up we were going straight to the football game at Wallene's high school and the day was already looong.

While I was asleep Pooldad went shopping. And he cooked. And he baked. I woke up to the smell of homemade pumpkin pie [my choice of birthday "cake"] and a big pot of chili in the crockpot. Heaven.

Since Pooldad had to wake me up at 5:30 I had to move it to get out of the house by 6:30 to be to Squirrel by 7:15. I am so very proud of myself. [The adrenaline was pumping, let me tell you. Or my heart decided to cooperate for once, whatever. It worked.] I bathed, dressed, did my hair AND painted my nails [vanity thy name is "Skippy"] in a little over an hour. I had a lot of help from Pooldad, of course, and my favorite "50 second nail color" - but I made it out of the house, wheelchair in tow and saw my girlie less than an hour later waiting at the Metro with her pals from school. Squeeee!

We raced back to Wallene's game and made it just in time to see Wallene march with the band at half time. I think my youngest has a wee little big mouth because I had other Mom's coming up to wish me a happy birthday that night, along with her friends. It was kind of cool. Plus Squirrel was able to see all her old friends that are still in high school/band. It was a FUN time.

Serious face!
Hard to see her so serious. She is always smiling otherwise. hee

Wallene is second from the right.

Our girls.

I started to fade by the end of half time so we left Squirrel, Wallene and the camera at the field and Pooldad took me home. BONUS! We received a phone call when we arrived home that one of the nice Moms asked to give the girls a ride home, so Pooldad could just relax and we could enjoy another hour, alone, together. How sweet is that? We thanked her with one of the homemade pumpkin pies, we so appreciated it.

Then the two crazies arrived home and we had a party. I knew I couldn't eat dinner so late, but it was so worth it to watch the family enjoy Dad's fabulous chili. Then, and I wasn't passing this up - priorities you know - the pie. OMG! The pie. Have I mentioned my husband has never baked before. Anything. And he was ALL alone when he made those pies. The kids weren't here, I was asleep and his mother wasn't available. So yeah, a recipe and the ability to read. WOW! I was amazed. One of the best pies I have ever had. He did a dang good job Tadpoles. I have one piece left and if anyone touches it? Their new name is going to be lefty. Just saying. :wink:

Okay, the night wasn't over YET [still with me?] because my goofy family bought me presents. They never buy me presents but this year....yeppers!

And these were gifts with a lot of thought behind them. I was teary eyed by the end of it.

As Pooldad had already given me roses and cooked [oh, and did I mention clean too? Yeah, forgot that. Sparkly house.] I wasn't expecting anything else. But? He got me the only thing I asked for. [No laughing- he hesitated to buy them because he thought they were "not a birthday/romantic gift", but....] Two 2lb hand weights. I thought that when I am sitting I can at least try to keep some kind of tone to my arms since I never lift anything heavier than a shampoo bottle. I was so excited. And I have been using them.

Next Wallene added to my collection of Tynies. They are hand blown glass figurines that are tiny [hence the name.] She gave me a panda, snail, catepillar, dove, owl and goldfish. So cute and thoughtful. I love them. They make me smile to look at, like my snowmen - except these I can keep up all year long! :)

Finally - Squirrel gave me her present. She could hardly contain herself. Seems our girl had found a leather bound edition of Gone With the Wind at a local thrift fair. In perfect condition. [It didn't smell like old book either - and this is a very early edition.] Blown away. Whoosh. "Gone With the Wind" is my favorite movie, ever, but I had never read the book. I couldn't believe it. She remembered.

I was so very surprised. Pooldad and I don't usually give gifts to eachother and don't ask the kids to give us anything because their money is so tight, but they put a lot of thought into simple gifts that mean so much to me. I won't read, use or look at any of them without thinking of these guys. So special.

:Fade to ultimate collapse of happiness:

I had to skip the trip to their grandparents on Saturday and the ride to take Squirrel back to college on Sunday, but Tadpoles? Just to be remembered and thought of by my family, by y'all in the pond and my friends here in VA - it just made Friday one of the most amazing days, ever.

I may not be up to anything for the next week, [or two or three] - but there is something beautiful in finding the great in just one 24 hour period and living off of it for a while. It is worth it's weight in seconds.

I hope you y'all have a great Tuesday Tadpoles. We'll see you on the flipside.
Have a soft landing. :wink:

Fun With Doorknobs

2011-09-17T20:10:00.003-04:00

Who knew I would ever find a use for THAT post title.

Squirrel and Wallene

This is what you do when you go visit your Grandparents.

Goofy kids.

Gotta' love 'em.

Thank you for all the nice wishes! Hugs & love from the pond.

See ya' on the flipside.

The Most Amazing Day Ever!

2011-09-17T04:34:00.005-04:00

My 45th birthday.

It was THE awesome.

You're just going to have wait.

hee
:D

Chili Today. . .

2011-09-16T06:58:00.005-04:00

Fried chicken tomorrow?

I have food on the brain.

With the cold weather visiting for a few days I am keen to make some comfort food.

Add the bonus of a daughter home from college [YAY!] and I have really been thinking about food.

When I asked Squirrel what she wanted to eat this weekend she simply said "Mom food."

So Mom food it is.

Chili in the crockpot today, with cheese, onions and sour cream. Side of cornbread.

Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and corn tomorrow. Side of yeast rolls.

A big french toast breakfast before we leave on Sunday. [This is sort of selfish, hee, because I want to use more of the pure maple syrup I received as a gift! Thank you Colenic!]

:Drool:

It really is chilly today. This also excites me because you know what that means - right? The "Skippy's EPIC Sweater Collection" :said in a booming announcer voice: is getting ready to make a reappearance. Yippee!

I hope you all have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend. See ya' on the flipside Tadpoles.

[PS - I just have to add, on a less happier note - Pat Robertson is a tool. A big tool.]

Truth is Thursday. . .

2011-09-15T04:31:00.001-04:00

Truth is . . . these guys are cute. My friend has one and I couldn't believe I would think so, but - look - CUTE!

Bearded Dragon

Truth is . . . I will never have a lizard as a pet. Or a snake. I don't mind them, but we have some household members that aren't so fond of the lil' guys.

Truth is . . . we won't be having a Thanksgiving dinner on Friday, as I mentioned before, because we won't be home until 10:30 pm. I think it may be concession stand hot dogs. [Not a bad substitute is you know how Skippy loves her some cheapie hot dogs.] hee

Truth is . . . I am having pumpkin pie tho'. woohoo

Truth is . . . we have so many cable channels, but I can never find something on at 2 am.

Truth is . . . it is 2 am and I am now watching a movie called "Bait Shop." That is sort of scary, dontcha' think?

Truth is . . . it is now 4 am and I sat through the whole movie. It stars Bill Engval [the comedian] and Billy Ray Cyrus. There are two hours I am not getting back. Wow. That was baaad.

Truth is . . . I really liked all your answers to yesterday's questions. Thanks.

Truth is . . . I want to go back to bed, but I took a late nap and now I am not tired.

Truth is . . . the middle of the night [early morning] is really quiet. Thank goodness I had the two Bills to keep me "entertained." [Yes, that is in quotes for a reason. ~~I kid. I kid.~~]

Truth is . . . I just finished the most interesting book about the [almost] end of the world and survival as seen through the eyes of a 16 year old. It is called Life as We Knew It. It is written by Susan Beth Pfeffer. My youngest lent it to me. Pretty cool.

Truth is . . . I hope you all have a great Thursday. It's going to be a good one. :)

Do You Ever Wonder Why? Wednesday

2011-09-14T08:29:00.001-04:00

I have a couple of questions today, mostly rhetorical, but if you have an answer feel free to leave it in comments.

Why . . . is Jackie Kennedy still so popular in America? Almost 50 years after Camelot and she is still in the news. [I don't mind this, but haven't we heard everything about her and her family by now?]

Why . . . will we be expected to pay a fine is we don't purchase health insurance [2012]? We can't afford the insurance now, how are we going to be able to afford the fine? I am baffled.

Why . . . do my dogs sleep all day? It's not like they DO anything, except eat and go on an occasional walk. Big ol' lazy bones.

Why . . . are the Kardashians famous? [I really don't get this. It's like Paris Hilton x 3.] I have to change the channel if I see them on a show.

Why . . . is finger nail polish so much harder to take off then put on? I painted my nails black and silver and I can't get it off. [Reminder to self: Do not do that again. :)]

Why . . . is everyone so crazed by the Missoni fashion line at Target? Is the stuff really all that great? Store shelves are empty and their website has crashed. I understand that it is a high end line, but it is still Target. [I love Target, don't get me wrong, but . . . ?]

Why . . . isn't it Friday already? heehee

Hope you all have a great day! See ya' on the flipside.

We Get Bored . . . hee hee

2011-09-13T13:02:00.001-04:00

This is my daughter's idea of decorating the bathroom.

Yes, that IS duct tape holding up the cork board. Orange duct tape at that.

And that is an alarm clock hung on the wall.

I realized when I saw this that I MIGHT want to visit her bathroom a wee little bit more often.

Two signs with her real name.
Marching band notes.
An alarm clock.
Corkboard with push pins.

Next up - fingernail painting. Since Wallene's school colors are black and silver I thought it would be fun to paint her nails in the french manicure style with those colors for her football game this week. Black with silver tips. The plaque in the middle is her hand in kindergarten.

Click the pic'

And last, but not least, we found something else to wrap the dog in. giggle

Spottie loves wrapping paper. I swear. Really.

Hope you are having a great Tuesday. I am still bored, so I am off to find more mischief to get into. See ya' on the flipside!

Crytal's A Pistol

2011-09-12T10:31:00.000-04:00

I have a new blog friend who has the aptly named blog called "Crytal's A Pistol." She is a hoot and you are guaranteed to leave with a smile after reading one of her posts.

She kindly allowed me to share a video she made. I have been laughing at it all weekend. I hope you like it.

It is called "Count Your Blessings."

Enjoy! [And thanks Crystal!]

I Couldn't Ask For Anything More

2011-09-12T01:09:00.003-04:00

I found out today I am getting the most awesome birthday present.

LOOK!

She is coming home on Friday, for the weekend. For me. She booked and paid for her ticket to surprise me.

I REALLY could NOT ask for anything more.
Have a great one Tadpoles and I hope your ~~week, month~~, year has been made like mine. We all need a little "happy" in our lives.

YAY!!!!

Blue Skies

2011-09-10T22:27:00.009-04:00

Who can forget the blue skies? It was the prettiest of days.

September 11, 2001.

I have mixed emotions about writing this post. As much as I want to honor our country and remember those we have lost, I don't want to remember.

But? I will never forget. No one that witnessed it will ever forget, I think.

That morning I had walked our older children to the bus stop to attend elementary school. I gathered up Wallene and went home to settle in and finish watching "Good Morning America" with a nice cup of tea. Usual morning routine, right? Just like everyone else in the world.

Or so we thought.

I remember sitting on the couch, with Wallene [who was 4] standing between my legs, playing with blocks on the coffee table and me trying to protect my cuppa' from her when all of a sudden Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson broke into their story to say a plane had hit the World Trade Center. It was shortly before 9 am and the pictures they were showing were horrifying. The smoke. It was terrible.

The one thing I never did [and still don't] was call Pooldad at work unless it is an emergency. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, but that day? I did call him. I told him that a plane had hit one of the WTC towers, but they thought [and so did I] that it was just an accident. A misguided pilot or a malfunction or something else.

As bad as that would've been, I still think to this day - To have been right.

As I talked to him on the phone, with my eyes glued to the television, I watched in horror as the second plane hit the other tower and explode. I gasped.

My husband asked, "Skip...what?"

I whispered into the phone, "Oh my God Pooldad. This isn't an accident. They are doing this intentionally." And I started to cry. Silent tears. I had a pre schooler perched between my legs, playing and being hysterical wasn't my option, I suppose.

We got off the phone so Pooldad could turn on the radio at work and we could make sense of what was going on.

I was in shock. The images. It was surreal.

I knew I needed to run to the little corner store for supplies, so I popped Wallene in her carseat and drove down the winding roads to the shop, all the while the radio was on. As I crested the hill on that bright, sunny day I heard from the DJ "The Tower has fallen." I started to cry harder. Again silent tears, but the tears that fell felt like a river. My shirt was getting wet from the amount. Up until that point I don't think I had ever cried that hard in my life.

I walked into the store with Wallene and saw the owner, who we knew well. He asked me what the heck was wrong. I had no words. I couldn't believe he didn't know by this point. I stuttered out, "The Tower fell." He responded, "What Tower?" I just asked him to turn on the radio and grabbed my milk and left.

When Wallene and I arrived home I put her in her room to play so I could turn the news back on. I didn't want her to see the destruction and the pain, the chaos. I watched the tower fall again. And again. And again. Replay.

Then, suddenly, I saw that the Pentagon had been hit. Wow. My heart fell to my feet. I had no words.

You have to understand, at the time Pooldad worked in Arlington, where the Pentagon is located and his office was within 30 seconds flying time of that plane - less than five miles driving. I was sick. Not only were terrorists killing innocent people, but my husband and all our friends [his co workers] were in and around DC. If the next plane they were using missed their target and arbitrarily hit a part of Arlington? My chest still tightens up at the thought.

Then Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. I was panicked.

I tried to call him, but no luck. It would be a long time before we knew they had grounded all the planes and that no other crashes were going to occur. I wanted so much to go to my kids' school and bring them home, but they were on a lock down and it was impossible. I held out hope that they would be well taken care of and safe. I felt so hopeless and alone. My only comfort my 4 year old baby.

I found out later that Pooldad had called all of his men back to the office. Since Washington DC was on shutdown it took forever for them to get back, but thank goodness they were all safe. Work, swimming pools, the mundane was no longer important that day. Everyone thought of the attacks and their loved ones. Everyone left and attempted to get home.

Pooldad arrived home sometime later that day and I have never been so happy to see him. We held eachother for a long time and I just cried.

The next few days we only watched the television when the kids weren't around. We even hid the newspaper. They were so young, we didn't want them to know what was happening - the terror, the pain, the hate. There was no reason to subject them to it.

I discovered a few years later that none of the kids had ever seen the footage of the Towers falling until they were in their teens. I thought the schools would've shown it before then, but no. When Squirrel saw it for the first time, with me, it about broke my heart. The tears on her face. She said "Mom, is that how it really happened? How did you and Dad handle it with us around all the time? How did we not know?"

I didn't have an answer.

This is just my memory of that day. I write it because I know Pooldad will remember and maybe to share with my kids our memories that we hid from them on that day. And why.

I also write this to honor all of the people that lost their lives on September 11, 2001 - the innocent, the firefighters and policemen trying to save lives and those on Flight 93 that kept that plane from Washington DC, sparing so many more lives while sacrificing their own.

And our troops. Thank you for keeping us safe all these long ten years. I hope you all come home safe. Soon.

To all of you. Thank you. Truly. Thank you.

God Bless America.

12 Mudslides And Counting . . .

2011-09-09T19:49:00.000-04:00

The flooding here is off the hook. This wasn't even a hurricane and our area [Virginia, Maryland and DC] has been so inundated with rain for the past six days they have closed schools and the major highways.

I have lived here for 40 years and I cannot recall anything like this. We have had some bad hurricanes [Agnes, Isabel] but nothing like this rain. Just RAIN! Jeesh.

Thank goodness it has now stopped.

Now the clean up begins.

In our little world that means Pooldad's customers. "Pool" being the operative word in his name. I talked to him this afternoon and he told me that they have [so far] 12 pools that look something like this:

stock photo

Mudslides, right into the pool. They have to be drained, cleaned and refilled.

I cannot even imagine what these poor people's homes look like. I cannot imagine what most of our area looks like, except for what I see on the news and those images are crazy.

I don't even know what to say. I just hope everyone is okay and that you are able to salvage what is most important to you. Be safe.

Everything is cancelled this weekend, so it promises to be quiet. I hope wherever you are is safe, comfortable and dry.

See ya' on the flipside.

Tornadoes, Earthquakes And Floods, OH MY!

2011-09-08T18:26:00.001-04:00

Okay. This is getting a bit ridiculous.

First it was tornadoes.

Then we had the fun lil' earthquake

Not to mention that lil' beyotch hurricane called "Irene" last month.

But now?

The rain I mentioned earlier today that I said was not so bad? Well.....

Pooldad just called to tell me that he was unable to get to Wallene's high school to pick her up because the road has washed out. He was stuck in a traffic jam of epic proportions while attempting a different route to get there. [I do thank goodness there IS another way to get there. Hopefully it won't be washed out too.]

We have a new stream creating itself in our backyard. The creek next to the house is 6 inches from the sidewalk and it is still raining. HARD. Without hope of stopping tonight.

I know it is hard all over the U.S., especially in Texas with the dryness and wildfires - and we have been praying for all of our friends there that they are spared from the fires and safe.

I think I am going to start saying a few of those prayers for Virginia, Maryland and DC now. Because it looks as tho' we are going to need it.

Have a good evening Tadpoles. Thank goodness we all know how to swim in the "pond".

Truth is Thursday. . .

2011-09-08T07:44:00.000-04:00

Truth is . . . it has been raining since Saturday. I don't mind it so much because it makes for great sleeping weather. I just hope it stops before the weekend because we have things to do. More importantly tho' is some areas around here are starting to flood.

Truth is . . . I was so sleepy when I came downstairs yesterday morning that when I went to use the remote for the TV, instead of inputting channel 7 I punched in Pooldad's cellphone number. Imagine my surprise when I ended up on channel "9454". Which, strangely? Exists! heehee

Truth is . . . Now that fall is here I am getting anxious for the holidays. I can't believe they are just around the corner, but I am excited to go Christmas shopping [online] and eat turkey with all the fixins'

Truth is . . . we are doing a "dry run" for Thanksgiving next Friday. Woot! And Pooldad has the day off. I am doubly excited about that.

Truth is . . . when I told Scooby "I love you old man" and patted his head my husband responded [from the next room] "I love you too sweetheart." ha

Truth is . . . I think I better stop calling the dog "old man" too.

Truth is . . . I am missing my kids. It is too dang quiet here. [The holidays will take care of that. Which is another reason to love them so much.]

Truth is . . . I really like fruitcake. Homemade fruitcake. I can't seem to find a good recipe tho'. Anyone out in the pond have a good recipe for it? Does anyone still make it anymore?

Truth is . . . I hope everyone has a great day. I am going back to bed. :)

Skippy Put Your Hands Down

2011-09-07T10:32:00.001-04:00

I have a tendency to talk with my hands. Not too demonstrative, but sometimes it goes a little awry.

Like last night.

I was sitting with Wallene and Pooldad and we were chatting about our day. When it came around to me I read off the comments from my great Tadpoles wishing her a happy birthday. [She is tickled and sends her thanks!]

One comment was from our best pal, Jeannie. [Hi Jeannie! We love you.] I said to them, "Oh, here's one from Jeannie. You guys know Jeannie."

And, without realizing it, I POINTED AT THE CEILING.

Pooldad started to laugh. Then Wallene began giggling.

She asked me, "Mom why are you pointing to the upstairs?"

I looked at my hand, slowly lowered it and said sheepishly "Because, um, Jeannie lives in Canada?"

They lost it laughing. They KNOW Jeannie lives in Canada, but found it hysterical that I think North/Canada is somehow upstairs. Or in the sky. Or, I don't know - heaven?

[Which now locates South America in our basement according to my gesture.]

Jeannie? You could really help me out here and just move into an upstairs bedroom.

At least my hand motions would make more sense.

But until that happens we now are referring to the upper level as "Canada". It is going to be so much kinder to tell Wallene "Go to Canada" when I need to send her to her room, don'tcha' think? heehee

Have a great one Tadpoles! See you on the flipside.

PS: My husband just called. When I answered the phone he was signing "O Canada"
I am never going to live this down. giggle

At Least We'll Be Popular. I Think.

2011-09-06T17:47:00.000-04:00

Wallene was eating breakfast the other day when she happen to mention that her friends were jealous that she had Pooldad and I as parents.

I had to laugh and ask her why? She said, "Because you let me eat pizza for breakfast. And sometimes you let me stay home from school just because."

Yes, I am waiting for C hild P rotective S ervices as we speak. heehee

Let's be clear. She doesn't get pizza for breakfast all the time. I swear. In fact, we rarely have leftovers of pizza because I don't like any pizza except Nino's [NC] and Bizzy's homemade. But breakfast is the most important meal of the day and since Wallene's favorite pizza is pineapple - I figure she is eating fruit, veggies [sauce], protein [cheese] and grains [crust]. I know - I can rationalize anything. Just give me a minute and a blog. I am there.

As for staying home "just because" - okay, okay - I will grant her the Super Bowl sleep hangover was kind of special [I was still within my rights], but the day of the wicked lightening storm? There was just no way she was walking to the bus stop that day. I had no choice but to keep her home.

I am her Mom and as long as her Dad and I are on the same page - we are raising her the way we want. But really? No one allows their kids pizza for breakfast on occasion or has let them stay home when they weren't sick?

C'mon. I can't believe I am the only one. :D

Wallene's Great Aunt sent us a nice little gift and since Wallene has never had a birthday party with friends we thought it might be nice to have a few of her friends go to a bowling party on Saturday. This will be the first time ever she has celebrated with anyone other than us, so it promises to be fun. 6 14 year old girls bowling for two hours [with soda, pizza, ice cream and cake thrown in] I think it will be a fun afternoon at Bowl America. [You didn't think I was having them all over here did you? Pish. Perish the thought.] And B/A has the most fantastic, all inclusive deal. I was shocked. And happy. We only have to provide her cake.

At least our "reputation" proceeds us. And we'll be sending home the leftover pizza so all her friends can try and see if they can have it for breakfast. giggle

I hope y'all had a great Tuesday and Wednesday is even better! See ya' on the flipside.

Happy Birthday Wallene!

2011-09-04T17:53:00.005-04:00

We surprised her with a new camera. She had already received her "big" present before school started [in the way of contacts.] She had no idea she was getting anything on her actual day, today, because she knew that we paid a lot for the contacts and those were her present.

When she opened her present she cried, she was so shocked. Wallene never cries. We didn't mean for that to happen. We just wanted to surprise her.

I think we did, don't you?
Glasses by: Poindexter
Necklace courtesy of Nana

She [just now] called me from the Smithsonian's National History Museum, all excited and giggly, to tell me she has taken 247 pictures. [Her's is not Momma's lame-o camera she used to borrow, let me tell ya.] This makes us very happy. To hear the joy in your kid's voice is the best - and this wasn't about the gift, it was about the museum. She found so many things to photograph.

[I am SO jealous - they saw Julia Child's kitchen. heehee]

I am a lucky, lucky woman. I have no doubt. Thank you for all the kind words on the last two posts. I need to concentrate on what we do have and not what we don't. I don't suppose some things are fair, but it is what it is - and I need to remember that life goes on and time will continue to march on. With or without a raise, with or without me - but as long as my kids and husband are healthy and happy then I am truly blessed.

No doubt.

I love you Wallene. So much more than you will ever know - and I know it isn't gifts that make your world go round, but I am glad that this one makes you so happy.

And girlie? NO, you can't take my picture. Now Scoot. Don't you have 1,325 pictures to take of Spot to add to the 379,419 that are already on my computer?

The Pain? It's All Relative . . .

2011-09-04T03:27:00.005-04:00

14 years ago I was 8 1/2 months pregnant, laying on our couch, at 2 am, counting the minutes between contractions. [Don't worry. I detail breakfast better than the childbirth part. It's safe.]

The kids were asleep, as was Dad, but since I had done this three times before I wasn't worried. 10 minutes, then it went to 8 minutes and so on through the night.

No big deal. Pooldad woke up at six a.m. and asked "So, am I going to work today?" I calmly replied "No. Let's get the little ones off to school and then call the doctor."

We did and the doctor told me to come in right away and to not eat anything before I got there.

Did I mention I had done this before? We stopped at a local diner and I had the best french toast, hashbrowns and chocolate milk ever. I knew I was going to be in labor for a while and darned if I wasn't eating. Yum. I can still taste that french toast. [I had to throw that little tid bit in. That was some really good french toast. Let me tell you.]

Anyhoodle, when we got there, low and behold, I was in labor and 5 centimeters dialated. That was at 9 am. Not to be too specific or personal - our little sweetheart was born 8 hours later. At 4:51 pm on September 4th, 1997.

Yep! Today is Wallene's 14th birthday. I couldn't be happier for our surprise [and believe me, she was a surprise] and the joy she brings to us every single day. The best part of my day is 4 pm, when she walks in the door from school with all her stories and jokes and whatnot.

She is a gift that I never expected after I was blessed with Pooldad. It was like God decided to double my great luck and reward me with more smiles that light my world! YAY!

The reason for the post title? Tonight I sit here at 2 am and I am in pain. Extreme pain. Pain that I can't solve. Not because I am in labor or I am getting a gift that will enhance my life, but because I have over extended myself for the love of all my babies.

Now, that sounds very "woe is me" and "aren't I great?" But it isn't meant to be. It is actually the opposite.

There are so many things I want to do that I can't. There are so many things that I need to do that I shouldn't and sometimes I forget [ignore] that I can't. I CAN'T DO IT. And when I say I CAN my family gets all cheery and pulls out the wheelchair and off we go! I see how much they want it and I can't say no.

A combination of things converged this week to absolutely wreck me. I try to be happy, happy [okay, the last post doesn't count] but usually I am. In real life and on my blog. Skippy has a reason.

But...

I am mad at myself. But also sad, because I can't DO. Sad because I know how important it is to them that I try. Sad because I fail. Sad because they all still want to believe I am not sick and it will be okay. I appear physically healthy when I don't move. Sad because I can't lift my arm and walking hurts. Mad because we don't have health insurance. There is no way to manage this pain. Frustrated because I am awake at 2 am and can't sleep. For the pain. Heartbroken because I am dying and THERE ARE NO ANSWERS.

Crying because I can't go back 14 years and start all over and make it turn out different. If the doctors had just figured out why my anemia was so severe when I had Wallene [or Natalie, JR or Squirrel] I wouldn't be in this mess. Or if I had just pushed harder for a diagnosis. Why? Heck, I had great insurance with all of them. They could've done so much more.

I guess the pain is relative. You can feel immense pain and be rewarded and you can feel intense pain and feel as though you are being punished.

It just depends on how you choose to view it I suppose. I am running out of the strength to see through this pain and look at the rewards I would receive. The happiness of my family. The excitement when they get Mom back for a moment or two. The pain is outweighing the payoff. That makes me saddest of all.

It is almost too much Tadpoles. I just don't know what to do anymore.

Want To See Skippy Cuss? Good. You Have Come To The Right Place

2011-09-02T12:08:00.006-04:00

If you don't like curse words or to see me cuss then you best leave now. I have never been so mad in my life and this . . . well, thank goodness they don't know where my blog is.

Stupid f#$%^&* b$%^&*(@s.

I don't know how long this post will be up, but I am writing it because I am mad. Mad on behalf of my husband, 2 of his co-workers and just personally peevedd as all get out at his bosses. I may remove it, but for now it stays up.

I know that having a job in this economy is a gift. We don't take my husband's employment for granted, but just how far can you abuse someone before they are forced to quit?

My husband has worked for this company for almost 5 years. He has been in the swimming pool business for 35 years. He took this job at a pay cut of $30,000.00 and has not had a raise since he was hired. We do not have health insurance [which is really swell when one of your family is terminally ill], our 401K has been wiped out and some days I wonder how the heck we afford to even pay the rent.

In November 2010 Pooldad had a meeting with the owners and asked for a raise. He was told they would make a decision by the end of the year. Didn't happen. He spoke to them again in January to remind them of their promise and they pushed him off. He asked three more times this year and yet? Nothing. It is now September.

Here's where it gets really interesting.

There are 4 people in the front office. 2 on the maintenance side [Pooldad & Bee] and 2 on the service side [Libby & Chad]. Libby was married last year to one of the mechanics [Niles]. Yay! A wedding. Then Libby & Niles became pregnant and lil' Libby was born a few weeks ago. Yay! A baby. Well, you would think, but now it turns out Libby must given birth to the second coming of Christ. Because that baby has changed everyone's world as we know it.

While on maternity leave a nice woman [Tonka] was hired on a temporary basis to fill Libby's spot. She is doing a great job, but understood it was only for six weeks.

Then Libby started to whine to the bosses about the hours they work and how she just didn't [sniff, sniff, sob] know HOW her and Niles would be able to find childcare to accommodate lil' Libby. Um, yes you can. It's been done. I know.

Without consulting Pooldad, Bee or Chad the bosses decided that the best solution was to give Libby a set schedule [normal office hours] and rotate Pooldad, Bee, Chad AND Tonka around HER schedule. They have hired Tonka full time.

Do you know that my husband now has shifts every month that begin at 3 pm and go to close? I know that may sound like a good thing to some of you, but the fact is he will be unable to get anything done in that time frame. His men cannot be dispatched after dark - they are working on pools. Which they need daylight for? The amount of paperwork that he has to do can't be done in that time frame either. Those lame ass shifts aren't everyday, but he is going to be playing a heck of a lot of catch up on the days he works 10-6, 7-3 or 12 -close. Sigh.

Meanwhile, any hope of a raise is out the window because in order appease "the only woman who has ever given birth in this world" [Yes, I am bitter. And snarky. What about it?] they have used all the extra money in the budget to pay Tonka. I like Tonka. I was hoping she would replace Bee when Bee left in December. But now? This is all because someone pushed a kid out and doesn't want to take care of the problem she created herself.

I believe in people having kids [you think?] but this isn't anyone's problem but Libby's and Niles. PERIOD. When you work in the pool business you know when the long days are, when you are getting off early [winter] and when it is only a four day work week [again, winter]. They just took out 3 co-workers to SUIT THEMSELVES and the BOSSES LET THEM DO IT [did it for them.]

The schedule is a joke. No one is getting a pay raise and all because they had a baby.

Here's why I am really pissed off. When my kids were little [toddler and an infant] I was a single Mother. I drove over 50 miles everyday to a job I HAD to have. I left before 6 am and didn't return until after 7 pm at night. I dropped those kids off in their pajamas and my wonderful babysitter fed them breakfast, lunch and dinner. She also dressed them in play clothes for the day - but the thing is - I got them back in their pajamas, bathed and ready for bed. 5 days a week I hardly saw them, but I did what I had to do. I didn't ask my employer to make accommodations for me. My children were MY responsibility, not my boss's problem. I am not the only one that did it and people still do it. There are millions of single parents out there that do this everyday - it isn't amazing or special. This is what you do when you have a job and children.

It is called life.

Why can't Niles and Libby figure this out? Hell, why did the bosses agree to this big hot mess?

And the raise just fries my butt. Pooldad wasn't the only one that deserves a raise. Chad deserves one too. They haven't even received cost of living increases. Now all the money goes to Tonka. Sigh.

Yes, I am very thankful he has a job. No doubt. ~~But come December they may not have an employee~~.

We are done.

And yes, you are welcome for the most "Non Skippy" post I have ever written. I just can't to see my husband used like this.

Oh Good Lord, I Have to Ask....

2011-09-01T13:19:00.001-04:00

Another of my what the heck? questions. Sorry, bear with me. But this one is really stupid.

I understand the vegan lifestyle and how stringent it is, but I think I just read the dumbest thing ever. [And if any of my lovely homesteaders would like to chime in I would appreciate it because I think this is taking it too far. Please own sheep. Or be a vegan. Or just sane. Sane works.]

A woman stated that she wouldn't accept wool gloves because she is a vegan.

Credit

Huh?

I get that vegans won't wear leather because you don't eat anything with a face, and cows have to be killed to get leather, but sheep are shorn [sheared? Deborah?]. While still alive. And are left alive after the process. And they need to be shorn, at least once a year, to keep their coats healthy and keep them cooler in the summer months. Correct? [I know enough about animal husbandry to fill a thimble so someone tell me that this a good or bad thing for them. Please?]

I just thought it was one of the most over the top declarations I have ever read. Wouldn't the wool on a sheep grow out, become matted and unmanageable after a while if you didn't sheer them? What about llamas? Where does this end?

Someone answer this please. I have no idea what [I thought was] the humane act of shearing a sheep has to do with being a vegan.

To be clear, I have no problem with anyone's dietary choices, but just say you don't want wool gloves. Don't throw in the vegan angle. Unless someone tells me different I will continue to think this is a lot of hoohaw and a bit over the top.

I am off to ~~aggravate~~ entertain my dog by singing "Be Our Guest" off key. No, really, she loves it. giggle

[I would appreciate a little insight into this, honest.]

Truth is Thursday. . .

2011-09-01T09:43:00.000-04:00

Truth is . . . I am a wee bit cranky this morning. I could have actually slept in this morning because Pooldad has late shift, but I forgot and got out of bed at 7:30 to get Wallene off to school. He was already up and hanging with her. grrrrr

Truth is . . . it's all good. Now I get to spend a couple of hours with my husband before he goes to work. And I didn't have to make lunches. Bonus!

Truth is . . . with school in session the kidlets are back on the playground for recess. Sweet sounds all day long and this year there are no screamers.

Truth is . . . Wallene's birthday is on Sunday and I think I am more excited than she is. We aren't doing anything amazing, but I do like the idea of pampering her for a whole day. She is a good kid.

Truth is . . . I finally hit [and have maintained] my goal weight of 135 lbs. It took me a year and a half to gain 17 lbs, but I did it! Woot!

Truth is . . . puberty can end at any time. I am almost 45 years old and my face is still breaking out. What is up with that? My teenagers have clearer skin than ol' Mom. [Better me than them tho'.]

Truth is . . . I would really appreciate it if my friend would stop questioning [arguing with] me about how I raise Wallene. It is getting a little old. Thank you.

Truth is . . . Wallene's birthday dinner of her choice is chicken tender soft tacos, potato salad and watermelon. We are still laughing over the weird combination. But? It's her day.

Truth is . . . today I making doughnuts. That sounds good to me.

Truth is . . . I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday. It's going to be a great one Tadpoles!

Bonus Wednesday Post - It's a Comic

2011-08-31T07:15:00.001-04:00

After I posted earlier this morning I got bored so I drew a comic. Enjoy! And have a great day. :)

Click it - it is easier to read.

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, No, No, Yes

2011-08-31T05:04:00.003-04:00

I like doing these posts, I just don't do them very often.

YES - My wonderful husband made beef stew tonight. It is one of my favorite meals that I can actually keep down, so it was a bonus all the way around. Thank you honey!

YES - I love this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Most of the shadows of life are caused by standing in our own sunshine."

YES - The weather has been stunning. I can't remember the last time we had several days of 80 degree weather in August.

YES - Labor Day weekend is going to be here soon. And it is Wallene's 14th birthday. Double YES!

NO - I can't remember whose blog I read that quote on, so I can't give credit. [Let me know in comments if it was you, please? And thank you!]

NO - The new Band Mom at Wallene's high school is so over the top she makes us all bananas. It is a hard job keeping track of 130 kids, and I do appreciate her hard work, but really? I do not need 4 emails every single day describing the same thing [in different ways] with each one taking me 30 minutes to read through [they are long!] Get your facts straight the first time and stop over analyzing every question you are asked. We aren't stupid, but you are condescending. [I never email her - these are mass emails to all of us.]

YES - This is the 1,000th post I have written. Although not all 1,000 are published [I have 183 drafts kept private for my family] I have managed to publish 817 since November, 2008. Not too shabby.

I hope your Wednesday is filled with all YES with no NOES. Have a great one Tadpoles. I am off to have beef stew for breakfast. :)

Best Name EVER

2011-08-30T15:15:00.000-04:00

While watching 48 hour coverage of Hurricane Irene [sigh - because we had NO choice] they had to occasionally swap out weather forecasters in order to give them all a bit of a break to go eat, sleep and potty.

For the first time, while watching ABC news, we were gifted with the most awesome meteorologist.

His name is Roosevelt Leftwich.

This is him:

I think more people should be named Roosevelt and be as cute and informative as Mr. Leftwich.

He made the news coverage more palpable at 2 am when we kept seeing the same images [and non damage] we had been watching for hours.

Bravo!

First Day of School

2011-08-29T10:11:00.000-04:00

Our [last] high school freshman

Where did she go da' Mommas?

Have a great day Tadpoles.

Once Again With the Toilet Paper

2011-08-28T22:39:00.003-04:00

I really shouldn't mention to Pooldad that we are a little low on toilet paper in the bathroom.

Here's why:

I laughed hysterically at his little pyramid.

Next he surprised me with this:

I decided it was toilet paper wars and so I did this:

It says "Don't Mess With My Toilet Paper Mr.Man!"
That got a good laugh from Pooldad.

Wallene wanted to play, so she left Daddy a note too.

I keep telling you guys you want to live here.

If just for the things we figure out to do with Charmin.

WHAT?

giggle

It's not everyone that spends a Sunday night photographing toilet paper, right?

Enjoy your Monday Tadpoles. I hope it is a great week for y'all!

Hurricane Irene Has Nothing on the Disaster That is WalMart

2011-08-28T15:26:00.002-04:00

You wouldn't know our little part of Virginia had a category 1 hurricane yesterday. By "little part" I mean our specific city. It sprinkled, drizzled, rained a bit and the wind blew, but nothing out of the ordinary from a regular stormy day. Communities around us have trees and power lines down with no electricity, but seems everyone was prepared and clean up is going fast and smooth.

Yesterday we took Wallene school shopping. Very important trip as this is her first year in high school. We wanted to make sure she had everything she needed so it promised to be a very long day.

I wanted out of WalMart immediately upon entering, tho' it was our first stop. I thought I was over my hatred for WalMart, but I will tell you right now I will never go into our neighborhood WalMart again. Ever again. The last time I was in this particular one I swore it off [4 years ago] but this time it is going to stick.

What a mess. What chaos. What RUDE people. And I don't mean the employees. THEY were wonderful and helpful and polite.

But the customers? Jiminy Christmas. What a joke. I realize the place was packed because of back to school shopping and the impending storm but it is no reason to forget your manners folks.

Now, I was in a wheelchair, and I honestly don't expect people to watch out for me - although I am hard to miss, heehee - but when Pooldad parked me off to the side while he and Wallene gathered pens, paper and notebooks you would not believe what I witnessed. Or maybe you would, but I was stunned at how awful [and stupid] people can be. I like people watching, but this bordered on the absurd.

Walking INTO the store through the EXIT door is just wrong. Especially when English is your first language and there are people streaming OUT of it. I am pretty sure you can read the EXIT sign gang.
Turning your back on your toddler, who is now standing up in the seat of your grocery cart, is a recipe for disaster. PAY ATTENTION to him. If it hadn't been for Pooldad the kid would've taken a header. Picking out the perfect three ring binder for his older sister is NOT worth the concussion your kid would've incurred. [A thank you would've nice too.]
Leaving your cart in the middle of some random aisle, removing your paid for purchases and abandoning the cart there is a douchecanoe move. You know it, I know it and when I sputter "Are you really leaving that there?" [I couldn't help myself, I was shocked.] Don't shoot me a dirty look and then drag your cart off like that was your intention the whole time. We made eye contact and? You suck.
When someone is ahead of you online STOP running into them with your cart. We're not getting there any faster than you and hitting my wheelchair your cart does not speed up the process of check out. I wasn't even AT the register yet. After the third time of being bumped forward [with the brake on] I turn to you and say "Could you please back up a bit and not hit me?" Is not your cue to mouth "bitch" at me. Learn some patience. We ALL want out of the madhouse.
While the optician is engaged fitting another customer with glasses is not the appropriate time to approach the optician and say [as fast as you can so no one can interrupt] "This will just take a moment. I need help. Where do I find blah, blah, blah?" You were not there first and it is not your turn. And it didn't take "just a moment" - you held those people up for quite a bit.
When you bump into, want to get by someone or just need to see something and your view is blocked - the appropriate words are "Excuse me" or "Perdoname". Acting clueless and body slamming on purpose is unacceptable behavior in a store that is this crowded. Manners - get you some.

That isn't everything, but you get the idea. The laziness, rudeness and self entitlement of people in this country astounds me. If it wasn't for the really cute little kids that said "hi" to me while I waited for Pooldad and Wallene to be done and the exceptional employees [Naer you are awesome!] I might have run someone over myself.

But, nah....not really.

I will just stay out of WalMart in my city.

Thank You Linda

2011-08-26T21:31:00.002-04:00

Thank you for telling me to get off my behind and just go.
For telling me that the hang up was mine and that no one would care. They didn't. The principal freaked me out a little bit, but...uh...no big deal. [The man is tall when you are sitting on wheels.]

You were right. Everyone was so nice and only one teenager fell on me. One! :P heehee

It was spectacular to see our baby march on the field for her first time. It made me cry. Wallene was so surprised and happy to see me there.

I thank you. Pooldad thanks you and you get a great big hug from Wallene.

You're da' awesomes Momma.

Dachshund Rollover

2011-08-26T12:33:00.003-04:00

This video is six years old, but it still makes me laugh. It is Squirrel teaching our new puppy, Spot, how to roll over. It took about a half an hour and 4 cups of Frosted Cheerios. [The video is only 20 seconds long. It is the end result. She still does it to this day.]

If you listen closely you can hear Wallene and me in the background. Wallene sounds like she is 3 years old. She was 8 and Squirrel was 13.

And no comments on the laundry in the background. We were living in an apartment and that was the only place to really sort it. heehee

Hope it puts a smile on your face and you enjoy your weekend. It's going to be fun - even with a hurricane bearing down, right?

Oh, and Wallene marches for the first time tonight with the Titans and her sister is officially marching with the Royal Dukes at JMU. I am so proud of our girls.

Truth is Thursday. . .

2011-08-25T09:21:00.000-04:00

The fabulous and funny Julianna over at Surviving Boys (Mom 2 Mental Midgets) does a post every Thursday called "Truth is Thursday". I enjoy hers so much that, on her invitation, I have decided to play along too. Such fun! If you like the idea you are more then welcome to join and link up over at her blog on Thursdays. YAY!

Here goes. . . .

Truth is. . . . .I am still wrecked from the car trip on Sunday. I want to feel better. Yesterday. Dagnabit.

Truth is. . . . .I ate a .75 cent frozen pizza last night and it was really tasty. Or I was just really hungry. I think it was 50-50.

Truth is. . . . I am getting kind of excited for school shopping this weekend. [Okay, who just fainted?] I think it will be fun to outfit Wallene for high school and I love me some new school supplies. heehee

Truth is. . . .I am glad August is almost over. I am ready for September to be here and to see the leaves change, the swimming pools close and my husband to work 4 days a week instead of 5. BONUS!

Truth is. . . .earthquakes are not my cup of tea. I don't know how my west coast friends deal with the big ones, because 5.9 is about all I ever want to go through again. It was literally one of the top 10 weirdest things I have ever experienced in my life. Oh, and the aftershocks can stop anytime they want. Thank you.

Truth is. . . . I have had to rethink my view on Wal Mart. Although I dislike their business practices and have boycotted them for years, there is no denying they are the cheapest place in town and in this economy.....

Truth is. . . . I think my last statement just made me a hypocrite. Oh well, after the stock market tank - we need to really watch our pennies.

Truth is. . . .this was fun. I think I will do it again next week.

Please take a moment to go over and visit Juliana as she is getting married on Saturday! WOOT!

Have a wonderful Thursday Tadpoles. I bet it is going to be a great day!!

An Earthquake? YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME.

2011-08-23T14:18:00.002-04:00

We just had an earthquake. Shot the dog right off the couch and things were falling.

In VIRGINIA. 5.9 magnitude. The epicenter is in Mineral, VA.

I hope that everyone is okay wherever you are on the east coast as this reached as far north as New York and as far south as South Carolina.

Excuse me while I go pick up. And catch my breath.

This was SO NOT on my bucket list.

One of My Favorite Products

2011-08-23T12:59:00.004-04:00

I don't usually shill things on my blog, but sometimes something comes along that you just have to share.

For most of my life - okay, 43 of my 44 1/2 years, I bit my nails. [eww, I know. hush] Anytime I wanted to have nice, long, beautiful nails I had to drop $25 for a manicure with the fake plastic tips. Yick.

Not anymore. After falling ill last year I stopped biting my nails and they have grown out beautifully. But? They are a pain in the patoot. I obviously missed the lessons on girlie stuff earlier in life because filing, painting, polishing and keeping these suckers up had turned into a huge chore. [Don't get me started on make up.] I know I have A LOT of time to spare, but jeesh Tadpoles - I hate painting my nails. Then waiting for them to dry. Being careful to not smudge them. That is a half hour I am not getting back. BAH.

I would rather be fishing.

Anyway, I asked Wallene if she had any polish I could borrow because I was getting tired of looking at my plain ol' nails and thought I would spiff them up a bit. [Pooldad likes him some pretty nails on Skippy too!]

She gave me this:

"Mandarin Heat" by Maybelline

I saw the "Express Finish" name and the "50 second nail color" hype and thought "Yeah, sure." But decided to try it. What the heck, right? Maybe it would dry in 5 minutes as opposed to the 10 or 15 I usually have to endure.

Wrong! This is NOT false advertising. I am not kidding. This stuff ABSOLUTELY dries in 50 seconds. I think it actually dries faster and it goes on soooo smooth. I can paint my own nails in under 5 minutes [two coats] and be able to type, pick up stuff, pet the dog - whatever - with nary a smudge. And I am the queen of impatience, so, for it to dry that fast and look great - well yessirree Bob! Buy me more colors.

See:

As I said, I really hate doing my own nails, but never thought I would have the gift of not paying someone to do it for me. Maybelline Express Finish makes it so, so easy. If you do your own manicures I cannot recommend this enough.

*Disclaimer: blah, blah, blah - No I was not paid or given nail polish in exchange for this review. I just borrowed my daughter's polish. Now I am going to go and clean out CVS of the other cool colors.

Hope you all are having a great Tuesday and are enjoying a sunshiny day!