After reading about Erin's closet challenge and Joe's computer nightmare (written by Eric), I became motivated today. I filed a TON of papers (dating back to August), ran laundry, tried to clean up in my kids' room (hahaha), and Paul combed through all our software, and the pile of unlabeled discs/disks. I even cleaned out my "junk" drawer and organized all the junk in it! Now I know where all my shoelaces, twist ties, clothespins (don't ask), and the 85 THOUSAND pens and pencils were hiding. Don't even get me started in on crayons - they are like coat hangers, multiplying in the cover of darkness.

Had a mellow evening tonight. Dinner was delicious (Meatballs....ummmmmmmmm, said in my best Homer voice). The girls were hysterical tonight - at one point, the 3 of us were rolling around on the floor, giggling madly. It was fun. I updated my AOL page if anyone wants to check it out! Looky Look It's a little cheesey but I put a few more pics up.

I loooooooove this new mouse! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Made it back from Best Buy without emptying my bank account. I ended up getting this Logitech mouse. It has a scroll wheel and 2 buttons instead of 4. No big deal to me plus I ended up saving about $20. Got hosed on printer ink though - I have a Lexmark Z52 and the high capacity color ink I buy is anywhere between $30-$37 bucks a pop! I won't use those refills - don't trust 'em. The black ink I manage to get at WalMart for about $28 bucks. I have been printing out a lot of pictures lately and I am on the final dregs of the color ink! Picked up a PS/2 mouse for Moira and got talked into a Scooby Doo mouse pad. I did treat myself to the new Bare Naked Ladies CD! It's really good! Now, I have to update my Amazon wishlist! My favorite song is "If I Had a $1000000" Moira and I were singing it while driving home. We almost got run off the road by some ASSHOLE in a BMW. Dickhead. He tailgated me before passing me on the left and then swerved back in front of me to avoid smashing into the car in the right lane. Grrrrrr!

Nothing says good morning like burning one's wrist with a spot of searing hot lava-like grease on one's wrist. Now, you may be asking, HOW did Kate burn herself? Well, I decided to get an early start on dinner. I whipped up a batch of meatballs (Ummmmm.. meatballs) and I planned on throwing them into the crockpot for all day cooking, while we went shopping today. Well, one big POP from the pan and I got torched. Lordy - it really hurts! Well, after I recover, we (the girls and I) are heading down to Best Buy to purchase my new mouse. I must have this one. But, I am also REALLY questing THIS too. What to do?? What to do?? Time to get dressed and go shopping! Wheeeeeee!

Why on earth am I still awake? Paul had run a virus scan on the computer and found some worm hiding out in my temporary Internet files. SHIT! I even remember downloading the stupid file too! But, it was contained, quarrantined, and now safely deleted! YAY! Thanks sweetie! {{{smooches}}} Will write more later when my eyes aren't glazing over.... Now - off to bed!

By the way guys - leave me a message in my guestbook. I know SOMEONE is reading this! : - D

Just got back from the bank. WHEW - it is windy out there today. And cold too! Brrrrrrrr! The kids conned me into stopping for McD's. Actually, they didn't have to con me too hard : - ) There are some GREAT shopping deals out there in cyberspace folks! Check out Gap and Old Navy. I plan on SHOPPING! Wooohoo! Plus, I bought 2 new lithium batteries, earpiece, internal antenna extender, and 2 radiation pieces for my Nokia for under $40.00 DELIVERED! Yeeha! I am such a bargain shopper! I have also been adding things to my ">Amazon wishlist too! I love to shop! It should be an Olympic event!

I am SO happy Christmas is over!! The girls got too much stuff, as usual. When my inlaws came down to dinner on 12/22, they brought the girls gifts with them. Also, we had an early Christmas at my Dad and StepMom's house (12/23) so the girls got stuff then. Then, Santa showed up at our house, of course. THEN, we visited my Mom's place, where there was....you guessed it - MORE presents!! Arrggghhh! I am drowning in STUFF! We visited my inlaws later on Christmas Day. It was really very nice. They really liked the things we got them. My MIL was really impressed with a couple of the gifts I had made (so was Millie - my StepMom). I felt really good about that! Plus, my MIL had forgottent to bring down a gift for me on Saturday. I opened it and it was a beautiful piece of Waterford crystal, a pillar candle holder. I love it! The day after Christmas, Paul had to go back to work. That left me and the girls home. alone, all day. YAY YAY YAY!! So, I deemed it "Pajama Day" and the girls were SO excited about that! No TV - they just played all day with their stuff. Moira got a lot of craft stuff so she played with that while Olivia napped. Dinner was very very lazy - pancakes, bacon, and fruit! Dessert was popcorn and the girls got to watch a Scooby Doo tape that Santa brought. Bed by 830 - extra late for them! I will update more later - have to get the lil monsters dressed!

Woohoo! BLOGGER IS BACK!!

Paul left a little while ago to get the girls Christmas presents from my Mom's house. I have 4 garbage bags full of wrapped toys. Yes - *4* bags - but some of those toys are big (size wise). Since I became a "Stay At Home Mom" (since April), I was able to shop early, knowing my unemployment would be running out in 6 months - October. We will have to smuggle the bags in around 11pm tonight. Fun fun! I want to wish everyone a very happy, safe, and of course MERRYChristmas! Hugs to you all!

Posted by Mike - this wonderful story - you must read it.

The Mighty Geek strikes again! Christmas Story Part II

Did I forget that the girls got MORE gifts?? :::sigh::: I can now probably go back and return about 1/2 of what they are getting from Santa...

Hi everyone! Did you all miss me? I know you did.... We slept in a little bit today - 830am. Woohoo - what a treat! Paul and I ran around to get stuff organized/packed/prepared since we were going to be spending the day with my Dad and StepMom, Step Sister and her Hubby (who is a designer at Newport News - big MAC head) and their 6 yr old daughter. I called my Dad to find out what time we were going to be eating dinner. He told me around 315 but he had a bunch of stuff for everyone to eat, like M&M's, Chex Mix. cookies, etc... Well - Paul and Olivia CANNOT eat those things. Paul and Olivia both have severe food allergies. They will have an anaphalactic reaction to peanuts... and also all dairy for Olivia. Paul got upset because my Dad doesn't GET it.. does not understand how bad and how fast a reaction can be. So, I told my Dad that WE would bring all the snacks that Paul and Olivia could eat without problems. Besides that, we all had a great time. Moira and Olivia has so much fun playing with Victoria. We got over to their place in Brielle around 1pm. We didn't get home until 830pm. The girls were toast and so was Paul. After we got the munchkins to bed, I decided to run out and finish the last of my shopping. I had a couple more people to buy for that I totally forgot - like my Father in law ::DUH:: I just got back about an hour ago. KMart was open 24 hours - it was perfect. Hardly anyone there. I even used the self checkout lanes - which I love to do. SO much faster then the usual rocket scientists who normally work the register. Heck - I've been there.. managed several retails stores and I don't want to do it again - EVER. I know bad customer service when I get it. That's why I HATE shopping at WalMart. I can feel my IQ dropping as soon as I enter the store. UGH!

Oh my God - another attempted hijacking. This is so scary. I will be heading to Toronto in February by plane. Things like this are freaking me out.

:::whew::: What a day!! Family got here around 345pm. Dinner was set up earlier and was simmering in the crockpot. MAN - did it smell good! J (ML) complimented me on the smell!! Dinner was delicious. J&D scarfed everything. Boy - I was running around like a maniac, making sure everything was ready on time. It was.. and it was good too! They brought the Christmas presents for the girls from all 3 of my sis in laws and themselves. The girls cleaned up quite nicely. One of my sis in laws decided it would be cute to buy Moira a BEAD kit - the make your own necklace, bracelets, etc kind of kit. Oh - I am so thrilled with that - NOT! They left around 8pm. It was a very nice visit. We will be stopping at their place on Christmas afternoon with their presents. We weren't expecting them to bring the presents for the girls - it was sweet of them to do so. Sometimes, they do surprise me.

The In-Laws are coming! The In-Laws are coming! J&D, my Mom and Dad inlaw, are coming to dinner tonight with 1 of my sis in laws and a niece. I have been trying to figure out WHAT the hell to make for dinner.... My MIL can make a WICKEDLY good roast. While I am a pretty damn good cook, I have a hard time with roasts. They never seem to turn out nearly as good as my MIL's roast. Maybe it's because she has had so much more cooking experience that I have. Because, she is older, you know :::MEOW::: I couldn't resist! Hahaha! I did decide, this morning, to make chicken cacciatore ::drool:: Wish me luck! It never fails, whenever my inlaws come over to eat, I inevitably dork something up with the meal. Christ - she makes me SO freakin nervous! A little about them - J (MIL) and D (FIL) have 4 children. My hubby (eldest and only male) and 3 daughters, 2 of which are married (each with 1 child). The 3rd daughter is in a long term relationship, in which she and her b-friend are quite comfortable. My MIL has 1 daughter in law (me) and 2 sons in law. She hates 1 of her son in laws and the other one she tolerates. Out of the 3 of us, I think I rank highest on the in-law scale I have known this woman for 12+ years and I am *still* uncomfortable around her. I have to watch what I say because it usually comes back to bite me in the ass. ::sigh::: She also bitches about some members of the family to the other members. I cannot believe some of the shit I have heard from her. I can only imagine what the hell she says about me and DH! I have no idea how my hubby turned out so decent. Must take after his Dad, whom I adore. Such a nice guy. Will write more later and fill you all in on the juicy details!

Moira will be on Christmas break from Saturday 12/22 through 1/1. YIKES! Now they will BOTH be home. 2 magic words can save me - PLAY DATES! WIll have to start calling potentials ASAP!

My MS Optical Mouse died on me yesterday - piece of crap. I don't think I have had it for a year. I had to go into Moira's room yesterday, crawl under her computer desk, while Olivia is poking me in the rear end, to steal... err.. BORROW her mouse. Moira, of course, wants a new mouse too. Now, HER mouse is just a 2 button MS mouse and I never liked that mouse when it was hooked to my Dell system (PIII/500mHz, 384MB, 10GB). Of course, it's ironic that my bells and whistles mouse is now a paperweight and I need to use this archaic piece of shit. Hopefully, Santa will bring me a wireless scroll mouse. I have been a good girl this year! I never realized how much I like that nifty little feature.... until it was gone :::sob:::