I'm a winner!!!

So - about ten days ago, I entered a contest over on this awesome blog ::waving - Hi Liz!:: hoping I would win. My girls are BIG readers and T.A. Barron's books are right up their alley. We are all big readers. I used to have to take their books away from them because they would stay up way past their bedtime, reading in bed!

Imagine my surprise when I got a congratulatory email from Liz, telling me I won the contest!! YAY!!!

So - guess what was at my door when I got home today?? An entire box of lovely books!! Hello beautiful!!

Thank you again Liz and T.A. Barron for the big, beautiful, box of books!!

Xmas Jammies

You KNOW you want to sing along...



Love them.
(h/t to Young Conservatives for the link)

I don't want ANY of these for Christmas!!

Whilst browsing my Facebook feed, since I am home and unemployed, I found this gem: What NOT to F'ing buy my kids this holiday.

It definitely made me laugh out loud. I remember those days, now, fondly. I have two teenage girls so my house was awash in Barbies (usually naked in a box with the other poor naked Barbies), mountains of My Little Pony - both toys and ponies. I am still not allowed to give away the ponies - here's the proof:

You should see the amount of Legos and blocks we still have around the house. At least I can say we still have them around for when my young nephews visit.

What were YOUR kids big requests this year? Mine asked for Beats (no way), a cat (HECK no), and all kinds of assorted clothing, boots, music, and gift cards.

Never thought I'd say this but I kinda miss buying toys. My babies are growing up.

Health and the Holidays

Well, what happened to my week? Poof!

I've been so insanely busy and have somehow managed to catch a cold. Ugh. It could be worse. I do remember having pneumonia before & during Christmas about three years ago - what a disaster. My Mom had called me, not feeling well at all. With her cancer and all her other health issues in mind, I rushed her to the ER where she spent an long time before finally being diagnosed with pneumonia & was admitted for several days. Of course, I stayed with her and, once she was placed in a room, I went back down to the ER for myself and ended up being diagnosed with the same thing!!! Lasted about ten days and it was horrible. I think Christmas dinner was leftovers - my poor family!!

Lately, I've been dealing with my (not) stepdad's health issues. [sidenote - he was my mother's significant other for twenty + years. He could be my stepdad if they had ever married.] His own children do not live close but they do check on him. I live ten minutes from him and I go over to clean occasionally. He's definitely reverted back to batchelor style living. My mother would be horrified at the amount of stuff and papers all over the place. He had a tendency towards hoarding so I try to ditch the junk as much as I can. He's a good guy, was always good to Mom but he's starting to really age and it makes me sad.

:::wiping eyes:::

Ok - enough heavy stuff for now... Time to walk away from the blog... 

Relaxing Sunday Snowmageddon!!

A little wacky here in NJ - it was out first official snowfall today! We got about 5 inches dumped down on us. Not that much snow but it did come down quite quickly, causing a mess on the roadways.

Olivia and her friends were in and out of the house - playing in the snow, making a mess. I got to run the dryer several times (thank goodness for dryers!), make popcorn, and hot chocolate. Paul shoveled the walkway and I cooked dinner, even grilling a steak in the snow flurries. It was awesome :)

The highlight of the evening - watching The Little Mermaid with the teenagers. Can you say fantastic? Made me reminisce about the times when they were younger. We would set up all the blankets and pillows on the floor, with all the stuffed animals, snacks, drinks, and fire up the VHS player. Ahhh - the good old days.. back when the girls looked like this..

My babies!! Now, they are so old and grouchy.. dang teenagers...

20 days 'til Christmas...

(also titled as All I Want for Christmas is a Job)

Unemployed. Between assignments. Unworking. Jobless.


It really sucks.


I left my job on July 19th to care for my mother. She had cancer and I think we both knew that the end was approaching. I was missing so much work in order to take her to appointments, cleaning her place, food shopping, cooking.. it was just too much to handle. Paul and I discussed it and he was 100% behind my decision to leave my full time job (office manager for a small business in town) in order to take care of my mom.

She died August 22nd.

Not shocking but still devastating. I miss her every day. (this will be another post.. sometime..)

Fast forward to December - still no income coming in from me.

There are a few positives to not working - I am home when my teens are done with school. That's a big bonus. By the time Paul and I would get home, there would have been multiple arguments (yay for sisterly love!), chores never completed, homework not EVEN started most times.. just your average disaster. Every. Damn. Day.

(Take a few minutes to check out Bill Cosby's comedy routine - The Same Thing Happens Every Night. This is my life.)

I was home to take care of Paul when he completely blew out his back. He was out of work for 8+ weeks.. He could barely even walk never mind sit or stand. Driving was completely out of the question. Thankfully, he has slowly been able to feel better. He's not 100% but he's leaps and bounds better than he was in September.

We had several college visits planned for September, October, and November for the 17 yr old. Again, I was home and available to drive her to those visits. I didn't have to worry about missing work. Paul was unable to attend those visits and was home with the 13 yr old, who took excellent care of him.

I have been trying to really keep our expenses as low as possible. I will have to go back to work very soon. There is not enough cushion to keep me home. I don't necessarily NEED to stay home but, heck, it's pretty nice to be able to food shop early in the morning and to get laundry done while no one is home. Dinner - everyone is happy now that I am preparing dinner every night.. too bad tonight's meal will be leftovers. Ha.

I've started eBaying. Clothes, books, collectible dolls, whatever I can unload, I'm trying to get it out the door. Heck, it's a start. If it isn't nailed down, I'm gonna sell & ship it outta here!

Well, off to do my mommy duties and finish making the beds. I feel like my life has turned 360 degrees since I originally started this blog 11 years ago. I was a SAHM, home taking care of my girls, cooking, and cleaning.

It never ends.

Who me? A Tiger Mom?

Even thought I am currently unemployed (and broke since we live in NJ), I do like the fact I am home for the girls. Yes, they are teenagers but I do enjoy the extra time with them.

The 17yr old is a senior in HS, she is running in many different directions. Staying on top of college apps, school clubs, horseback riding, AP and honors classes, then homework, homework, and more homework. I don't know how she balances it out. Well, yes, I do - she doesn't have a job and a car. So, I end up driving her around like she is Miss Daisy - lucky me. I can't complain.. she is a good girl and works so very hard. Still a bit scattered but slowly getting more organized every day. I hope she has it all together for college next year. WOOHOO!!

My 13 yr old, she's another story. Brilliant... but lazy . Soooo lazy. I hate having to nag her. When she turns everything in - boom! Straight A's. Other times, it's just crusing along... What the hell kid?? I am hoping that by the time she gets to HS next year, she will be more motivated. Husband and I are on top of her this year..thank goodness grades are online and it's just SO easy to contact teachers and guidance counselors.

I was just informed by my 17yr old that, in her circle of friends, I am referred to as the "white" Tiger Mom . I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not... I will take it as one :)

Photo test

It's gonna take some time to get used to this template.. I've been Facebooking for so long now. I still follow bloggers like Liz at This Full House. She's my hero.. my inspiration for blogging. Angie from MoodyMama is flat out amazeballs. Jenn from Mommy Needs Coffee is another amazing bloggy lady. Rachel from Pereiraville who is Just.That.Brilliant. My dream sistah from another mothah Housewifey Kate

And, of course, a shout-out to my friend Erin aka The Gigglechick whom I have known since, like FOREVER and helped me write code wayyy back when I had NO clue ::boy, things look so different in the bloggy world!::

A little about me as an update to the now four readers I *may* have :::waving::: Hi there!

•  Married for 20 years... to the same guy even!!
• Two daughters - a senior in HS and an eighth grader - Lord help me
• Currently unemployed - I left my job to care for my terminally ill mother who recently passed away from Non Hodgkins Lymphoma - Yeah.. cancer really freakin' sucks ass.
• My dad passed away in 2004 due to complications from Colon Cancer. Again, cancer SUCKS.
• We now own a dog (see previous post for a pic) and he has his own Instagram (@finnthecairn)
• Still living in Southern Ocean County
• Still dang boring

So, if you haven't followed me on Facebook or Twitter, I guess this is gonna be a surprise to you!!

I'm back!

:::tap tap tap:::

Well - looks like I may be starting up this old blog again.. only 11 years later!!

I have been reading my through my archives and laughing.. I had forgotten SO much about the girls. Unreal. My parents were still alive, I was still in my 30's... man.. how time does fly.

::sigh::

I will be updating the visual look of this blog. Heck, I think my hand-coded blog roll is most impressive but unfortunately, 95% outdated. I started blogging in November 2001. Holy cow.. seems like a MILLION years ago.

Now, it's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Let's see if I can merge current with the past....and if any one else is even interested..

Hey - meet my buddy Finn - isn't he adorable?

Ok folks - Update those links! A new and improved (I hope) KateSpot

WOOO! I just figured out how to copy all my posts and save them on my hard drive! Thanks Alix

Allison will be my new hostess (with the mostess, I might add!). She kindly set up a test blog for me to play with. Oy - MT is a lot more work. But, I am not complaining... yet.. ::grin:: I got a bit of a head start on the templates last night, until we lost power a little before 11pm. Nothing flickered or wavered.. just POOF! No power. Whoa - it was weird. Very surreal - the entire neighborhood was completely dark. Add cold and rain to that. YIKES! It was only out for 20 minutes, thank goodness. I would hate to lose heat and water for an extended period of time. Today is my Father in Law's birthday. I have to have the kids call him when Moira gets home from school this afternoon. Our church is having a mischief night party for all kids in the area. They are expecting a large turnout. I don't know if Moira is going to go or not. It runs from 6-9pm and she is usually in bed by 815-830. I think we will pass for tonight - she doesn't do too well when she loses sleep. Plus - she has a party after school tomorrow until 6pm. Life is good!

I apologize for the lack of posts but I will be moving to my new blog soon.. well.. as soon as I figure out what the HELL I am doing! Can anyone suggest how (or even IF) I might be able to bring over my old archives from Blogger to MT?

Student shot at Lincoln High School in Jersey City

::yawn:: I am beat already and I still have to go food shopping. Yuck. And the scoop on my comments... I can see them when I use AOL but not when I use Internet Explorer. Perhaps it is time to update my IE.

Well - that was an apparent waste of time. When I pull up my blog on the web, I get error messages and I do not see a comments section under each post. I haven't seen anything posted about it at YACCS or Blogger. I know there are other people having this problem. ::sigh:: I am going to bed...

OK - I re-installed my comment code - I hope this works....

Ok - why is it that *I* cannot see any comments on my page? I can read them at the YACCS page but they are not visible to me..

Ok - I've had all I can stands and I can't stands no more! Blogger - BUH bye!

Need to perk up your day? Check out your favorite celeb MugShot!

My lunch break..... Got Moira off to school just fine. Today was Hat Day at school so Moira wore a straw cowboy hat. She looked really cute. After the bus picked her up, Olivia and I headed back home and ate breakfast. I had made plans with Olivia that we would work in her room today, cleaning it up and putting in a new lamp and a little radio for her *new* desk. 945 - the phone rings. It's the school nurse. Moira is complaining of bad ear pain in her right ear. Now - she is not the type of kid to fake it. She loves school and I know she wouldn't want to miss Hat Day unless she felt crappy. She was only at the nurses office once last year. Besides - she is all stuffy like the rest of us so I can imagine that she is feeling bad. Olivia and I picked her up and brought her back home. I had her change into sweats and then we all went into Olivia's room. I hauled out *2* garbage bags (lawn and leaf sized bags) full of old and broken toys. She has one of those Little Tykes combo toybox/bookcase pieces and I finally reached the bottom of it. Ew - I was pretty grossed out. Just about everything that was touching the bottom got tossed. I vaccuumed it, windexed it then vaccuumed it again. It was really stinky. It took me about 2 hours to clean that room out and I still have a little bit left to do in there. We took a lunch break about 20 minutes ago and now they are off playing somewhere.. in Moira's room, judging from the sounds I am hearing down the hallway.

I had a very nice weekend. Saturday night, I had a lovely telephone chat with everyone's favorite indie rock librarian (aka Mary Carmen). We talked for 2 hours! You must go to her blog and visit her. She is super cool. Mary - it was great talking to you. Hopefully, we will meet soon. Today, I taught Sunday School. I only had 5-6 kids in class. They were really out of control today - I really hate that. Lil boogers. Anyway - after church, we headed back home and had lunch. Moira had a buddy come over for a couple hours today and they had a blast in the backyard. I managed to catch up on laundry (7 loads - UGH!) and get dinner going tonight. We didn't eat until 6pm (late for us). Paul was in the attic and he pulled down Moira's old desk and we set it up in Olivia's room. She was SO excited to have her own desk! She jumped up and down and cheered.. THEN she asked "For my computer?" LOL! I told her as soon as Mommy gets a new one, she will get one. Everyone's computer will move one level down. Of course, we will network the house (Yippie!) when that happens. The kids didn't make it to bed until 830pm. The Sopranos was pretty good tonight although I am so uncomfortable watching the drug storyline. And what the HELL was the deal with Tony beating the snot out of Zellman? Holy shit - that was just creepy as hell. Christopher is a jerk.. poor Ad. "Damaged goods" - that shit. Paulie's homecoming celebration was pretty damn funny. I still like him.. the funny bastard. He reminds me of my Uncle Tony - they resemble each other. Unfortunately, Unce Tony passed away over 12 years ago. Lord - I miss him.. Heading to bed in a few minutes.. G'night all! ::blowing kisses::

I am really thinking of leaving Blogger. I received a very nice email from someone offering to host me.

Weird - YACCS is still down. There is no mention of it on their main page. Anyway - the girls and I survived the shopping trip. Actually, it was kinda fun ::grin:: I found some things on sale. Thank goodness the tops were on sale. I couldn't find any dressy pants. I was pleased at the decent selection of casual clothes. I managed to find her size in all the things she liked. Kids R Us had a pretty fun promotion for kids today. Around the store, employees has hidden black and orange eggs. Each child was allowed to collect 7 eggs and redeem them for prizes. The kids loved it! They got Halloween stickers, small stampers, pencils, crayons... stuff like that. It certainly made shopping a lot more fun! I gotta get stuff cleaned up.. Later guys!

Well - it looks like YACCS is down.. again. If anyone has a comment, I have a guestbook! Post it there.

My girls from the Brownie Troop sold 597 cans of nuts! That is awesome for a 1st year Brownie troop! It averages to about 35 cans per girl For that, we (the troop) will receive over $300!! We will have to figure out what we want to do with that money. Maybe a really cool trip to a show or circus... So - just remember.. cookies will be available in January.. I am sure some of you lovely people would like to purchase some cookies. Heck - I have a paypal account! I'll mail 'em out to you Priority Mail.

Finally getting a chance to sit down and post. I know Blogger was being a pest earlier this afternoon. Things are looking ok now ::knocking wood:: Moira got off to school with the usual bruhaha. After that, Olivia and I did a few errands, sent some money for an auction and we just hung around the house. I took her outside for a little while and she was thrilled. She has been coughing for several days and running around this afternoon didn't seem to help the cough. But, I could tell she was so sick of being cooped up in the house. She got about 30 minutes of just running and screaming. It was pretty funny to watch her just freak out. We met the school bus and came back home. I got dinner ready and then we hung around watching an old Trading Spaces episode with Gen and Hilde from season 1. Moira had a Country Line Dance tonight and she wanted Paul to be her partner (Awwwww!). It's another Girl Scout event. I get to stay home!! YAY!! Olivia is zoned out on Blues Clues tape and munching on an ice pop. Life is good. Tomorrow, the girls and I are going shopping. I have to get some more pants for Moira. She has 4 pairs of jeans but nothing dressier. I want to get her a couple pairs of chinos and a pair of black dress pants. She can't always wear a dress to Sunday School - it's getting pretty damn cold outside! I am trying to make a big deal about having a "Girls Day Out". Plus - they get McD's for lunch! I think that's the only reason that Moira and Olivia are excited about shopping! LOL! I want to get to Kids R Us. I hear they carry some nice things. It's also near the mall so if I can't find anything at Kids, I'll head over to JC Penney's. Paul and I have been catching up on some DVD's - Changing Lanes was awesome. Great happy ending. Bandits - wow.. I liked the ending. I thought it was a bit predictable but I really liked it a lot. I think I have a huge crush on Billy Bob! He looked so adorable! Bruce Willis, just hubba hubba!!! Tonight, it's Lord of the Rings! Woohoo! Gotta go clean up - will write more later....maybe!

What's for Dinner? has some great recipes listed. C'mon over and check it out. Let me know if you want to join up and contribute!

The hayride was a great success. The girls had a blast. We must have had 30 people crammed in it, between girls and Moms. Each girl got to pick out a small pumpkin to bring home. It was pretty cute. Thank goodness the next one is a year away!

The brownie troop has a hayride today. It should be a lot of fun. It is pretty cold now - I hope it warms up!

The appraisor is coming this morning - Di-Tech is sending them and he should be here around 930am. I cleaned the house last night and I quick cleaned the bathroom this morning. I am curious to see what the house is currently worth. Olivia slept through the night - hooray! No midnight breathing machine treatment - thank goodness. She still has a disgusting cough and a slightly runny nose. Ew

The parent-teacher conference with Moira's teacher went very well. Mrs. B (teacher) raved about her performance in the classroom. She is advanced in reading, writing and mathematics - top of the class. YAY! She is good in class, participates and gets along with all the kids. She will be moving up to the next reading level this week Go Moira! ::proud Mommy dance::

Around 130am - Olivia woke up, hacking terribly. Poor kid. She just had another albuterol treatment this morning. If I stay on top of things, she has a great chance of bouncing back somewhat faster than usual. We will be running to the bank soon - gonna try to fix my screw up.

Didja ever just forget to do something? I mean - like - completely left your mind..never to come back again? I did.. and so far it has cost me $600 and $60 worth of bank fees. I totally forgot to deposit a check. A rather large check. A check against which I had written out several other checks. God - I am a freakin' idiot. ::sigh::

Mom had her treatment today! She is pooped but feeling ok.

Oh man - Olivia's cough is getting worse and I am not feeling too well myself. I just feel exhausted and I can't get warm. No outing to the mall today. It looks like today will be TV day for the kids.. I hate doing that but I am just so beat..

Moira has a half day today, tomorrow and Thursday. I need to buy her more pants. She only has 4 pairs jeans that fit her! I had purchased a couple pairs for her but they are still a little too big. Even with a belt. We are heading to the Mall right after school. I also need to exchange a dress from the Disney store. I hope they still have it available. Olivia is all boogery right now. Plus, she has that barking cough which sounds like I have a seal hanging out in my living room. Guess who else now has a stuffy/runny nose? Mom is doing ok - she is going to the doctor's today (she goes everyday) and she might have her treatment today. Hopefully, her white blood cells are high enough so she can get her treatment. I am gonna veg out in front of the tv - the timer on the bread machine will wake me up ::grin:: I'll be getting Moira in 3.5 hours. I need all the rest I can get!

Sweet Jesus... another shooting in Montgomery County, Maryland. People.. please be careful. David, Rachel - is this anywhere near you?

Neat link from Robyn. You can see what the top movies were the year you were born. Mine are: (1970) Airport Five Easy Pieces The Honeymoon Killers Little Big Man Love Story Lovers and Other Strangers M*A*S*H Patton The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes Women in Love Woodstock

Great question from Susan - check it out!

Just got back home from Moira's soccer game. Oh man - her team is pretty bad. But, they try pretty hard and have a great time. While playing tonight, Moira was running with her hands in her pockets (it was chilly). I called out for her to take her hands out of her pockets while she was running. She turns, looks at me and sticks her tongue out at me! The other moms standing next to me were like "Oooooooh, she's gonna get it!" And - she is. No book tonight.

Update Apparently I DID tell Paul why I needed the soap.... "For the Rainbow!"

(link snagged from Joan who snagged from Group Captain) This is a great solution to our problems!

VERY good Sopranos episode tonight. The news about Gloria was pretty freaky.. and poor Artie. But, jeez, who the hell didn't smell that comin' a mile away? I love when Furio showed up at Jean-whatshisface's place ::hehehe:: He looked mighty tasty! ; - )

Dinner tonight was yummy. Chicken Cacciatore. Click for the recipe.

Oh - I forgot to write about what I said to Paul on Friday night when he came into bed. Actually, it was 230 in the morning, technically Saturday. He had stayed up watching Contact (Jodie Foster) and I just went to bed. As he tells me: When he came in the room, he got changed, turned the lights off and got into bed. Apparently, I sat straight up and asked him "Where's the soap?".He said my eyes were open and I seemed wide awake. He said he just said "What soap?" Again, I asked him "Where's the soap?". At one point, I was hitting my pillow, while asking "Where's the soap?!". He finally said "I don't have the soap! I don't know where it is!" According to Paul, I was pretty frustrated and I flopped back down and fell right back asleep. He told me this yesterday morning, laughing really hard. I don't remember any of it.

Does anyone have a script for creating a search box for a blog? Oh - and it has to be free too. I can't seem to find one.

Howdy hi gang! The usual weekend goings ons around here. My Dad and Step-Mom came down for a quick visit. Thsi girls immediately hijacked my stepmom and dragged her off to play in Moira's room :::grin:: She sits and plays all kids of games with them. They love it! They stayed for about an hour. It's so nice that they come down as much as they do - makes me wish we lived a little closer... Moira and I had to go to a birthday party for my friend's son. He turned 2 today. It was a very nice time - I hope he likes what I bought him - Duplos and Play-Doh ::hehehe:: Every kid should have Play-Doh. Lots and lots of it! I had set up dinner earlier this morning so all I had to do was heat up rice and steam the broccoli. Yummy. Olivia scarfed it all down and Moira picked at it. She doesn't like stew beef, pot roast. She says it tickles her throat - she has this thing against chewy meat. The funy part was that the meat tonight was sooo tender.. it just fell apart when you tried to use the fork tines to pick it up! Goofy kid. Trading Spaces is on! I am already watching the episodes again. I sorta like Doug's kitchen.. Vern's room was very nice too. I liked the colors he used, blue and sand. And that living room table with the sandbox? What the hell is that? I hope those homeowners don't have cats! P-U! The second show with Hilde and Gen - ew ew ew. Both rooms were pretty scary. Those homeowners - UGH! Wanted to slap them both! WAY WAY annoying!

Yay! A couple more people joined the What's For Dinner? blog. C'mon - don't make me beg - join up! WFD needs you!

I am pooped! Moira had a half day of school today. Olivia and I did some errands and then met the bus by 1pm. We headed over to Blockbuster and rented 4 DVD's; Atlantis, Lord of the Rings, Changing Lanes (I love Samuel Jackson) and Bandits (love Bruce Willis too!). Should be a fun time tonight. We are doing McD's and letting the kidlets watch Atlantis in front of the tv - as a treat. Anyway, I am pooped because I decided I wanted to re-arrange my living room. It's so small and we have too much furniture for it. I won't throw anything away until we tear up the carpet and replace it with the Pergo. I want to replace my 2 chairs, recliner and loveseat with a leather couch and 2 Poang chairs. Gotta get back to work!

Friday Five! 1. How many TVs do you have in your home? 2 2. On average, how much TV do you watch in a week? Hmm - all of us combined.. I'd say 30-40 hours (Geez - that sounds awful) 3. Do you feel that television is bad for young children? A lot of shows are totally inappropriate for children. But I think that PBS shows like Sesame Street, Barney, Zoom, and Arthur are excellent for morale and learning. 4. What TV shows do you absolutely HAVE to watch, and if you miss them, you're heartbroken? (like you don't know - LOL!) Trading Spaces baby! Oh yeah, The Sopranos and Sex and the City too. 5. If you had the power to create your own television network, what would your line-up look like? Hmm - probably an odd combination of Trading Spaces episodes (featuring Doug - hey - it's mynetwork, right?), Junkyard Wars, BattleBots, Antiques Roadshow, animal shows and childrens programming.

Oh man - I totally missed Suzie's birthday on Tuesday. Hope that cake was good! : - )

A happy birthday shout-out to Jill! Glad it was a great day for ya babe!

Ok - I have set up Lynn, Joie and Joan as members of the recipe exchange blog. I am still tweaking it but I will email you guys the administrative stuff. The rest of you guys - c'mon.. join up! It will be fun!

I'm back from shopping. Lordy, I am tired. Aisles of food... I spent way too much money. But, I was running out of everything.. meat, garbage bags, dishwasher detergent, diapers (I only got a little pack yesterday at WalMart), margarine, vegetables.. I even found some cute Lisa Frank stuff for Moira. Ugh - off to unpack and repackage the meats.

Wooohoo! 20,000+ hits! :::dancing around::: Whew - all this dancing makes me sleepy! I gotta go to bed. Olivia and I will be heading to BJ Wholesale Club to do some serious food shopping. PS ~ You guys rock! Thanks! ::smooches::

Joie gave me this lovely award! You are a doll ::grin:: Thank you!

WEBLOG wannabe 2002 weblog award awarded to KateSpot in the category of Best Mom Weblogger

I love to play with my Dancing Paul.

Heh. Found this link to a Yahoo gripe (bitch) message board for my former employer. Nice to know things haven't changed in 2 years.

Finally - a chance to sit down for a little while. Today was busy with Moira being home but the evening routine moved along very smoothly. Moira started coughing once we got her in bed - poor kid. We have given her as much stuff as she can take, just so she can try to go to sleep. She coughed for over an hour but seems to have settled down for now ::knocking wood:: I was weeding out a lot of my links from Internet Explorer and I have to really get all my AOL links out so I can shut it down ::gasping:: That will be SO weird when I shut down AOHell! LOL! I have SO many AOL links - it will take me forever to move them. Any ideas? Anyone? Anyone?

Is anyone interested in a recipe exchange/discussion blog? I know of quite a few bloggers that mention when they have sampled new recipes or have some family favorites that can be whipped up in no time flat! I set one up on blogger so please leave a comment and I will be MORE than happy to set you guys up as contributors! Any takers?

Oh my gosh! I am only 100 away from making it to 20,000 hits on my counter!

I have been trying to keep the kids occupied this afternoon. I put on Monsters Inc and Moira flipped out. She says she's scared of the movie ::eyeroll:: I told her she could sit in the kitchen and not watch it. While Olivia and I watched, Moira would come creeping out, watch some of the movie then run back to the table. LOL. It was pretty funny. Of course, she couldn't stand NOT watching so she sat with us for at least half the movie. She cried at the end when Boo went back home. Awww. I cry at that scene every time too. Then, we put on the outtakes and she really got a kick out of them. I have a weird kid! Now, they are watching Blues Clues. It's the episode when Steve introduces Joe into the show.

I had to go to Walmart today. Olivia had 3 diapers left. 3. ::sigh:: So, off to Walmart I go, in the goddamn rain, with 2 cranky kids. I bet you can all guess what fun we had. I did managed to pick up a winter coat for Moira while we were there. The trip wasn't a total loss. Except for my wallet. ::grin::

Ugh - it's pouring rain here and Moira is home today. She was up hacking and coughing until 1am. So - I kept her home. Lucky me!

Please go visit Sandy and give her some birthday lovin' in her comments! {{{Sandy}}}

In response to Shannon's question about bonkos.. Read here to learn all about bonkos. It is a game played with 3 dice. There are 3 tables with 4 people per table. Each table has 3 dice. You play the numbers 1-6 each round and there are 3 rounds. You are partnered with the person sitting around from you. The object of the game is to roll the highest amount of points per game.. Scoring points is simple. During each round, each person must roll all 3 dice. Example: if you are playing round 1, you need to roll as many 1's as you can. A point is received for each 1. If you do not roll a 1, the dice are to be passed clockwise to the next person. If you roll 3 of a kind, it's 5 points. If you are lucky enough to roll 3 of a kind that matches the round you are playing (three 1's in round 1), that is a bonkos and it's 21 points. The game stops when the head table reaches 23 points. Then, the winners move up to the next table and the next game starts. It's a lot of fun and it's a good excuse to have a few drinks! There are prizes awarded at the end of the 3rd round for highest games won, lowest game, door prize, most bonkos.. The age range for my group is 30 - 65 and boy do we have a blast!

Olivia and I did a quick trip to the health food store to pick up a couple things. I also wanted to check out their stock on a few items. It was a little disappointing not finding some of the items I wanted. No big deal. I will have to make a trip to Whole Foods soon. Has anyone shopped there? What do you think? It's about an hour drive, each way. While coming home, I was driving (trapped) behind a ghost car. I swear... I could not see any driver at all. Of course, the car was Buick. Nuff said.

OhmyGosh! A Doug Wilson Fan Site! I am SO there!

(link snagged from AskMen) First-year students at medical school were receiving their first anatomy class with the body of a deceased man. They all gathered around the surgery table where lay the cadaver, covered with a white sheet. The professor started the class by telling them, "In medicine, it is necessary to have two important qualities as a doctor. The first is that you must not be disgusted by anything involving the human body." To prove his point, the professor pulled back the sheet, stuck his finger in the butt of the corpse, withdrew it, and stuck it in his mouth. "Go ahead and do the same thing," he told his students. The students freaked out, and after a few minutes of hesitation, took turns sticking a finger in the butt of the dead body and sucking on it. When everyone finished, the professor looked at them and told them, "The second most important quality is observation. I stuck in my middle finger and sucked on my index finger. Now learn to pay attention!"

Howdy hi gang! I had Bonkos tonight.. lots of fun. I didn't win any prizes though (bummer!) but it's always a good time to hang out and chat and play. My neighbor got me hooked into it and I have been playing for over a year now. Moira had school today but she gets the first week of November off. Gee - lucky me! Hmm - let's see.. what else?? OH - the book club has been updated. Check us out!

Susan asks a great question on her blog. Go check it out!

Oh - TLC is rerunning this weekend's graveyard.. err.. room, design today. Be sure to tune in to this Tim Burton nightmare!

:::yawn::: I just woke up from a 3 hour nap. I am so glad Paul is off today!

I would have posted pictures of me and Mary if they had turned out ok. Paul took 2 pictures and they turned out really blurry. Mary posted a photo on her blog - check it out!

Ok - I fixed the images from earlier today - they were HUGE!

Pictures from Mary's Visit

Mary just left about 10 minutes ago - she is certainly very very cool! She got down here around 1-ish. Paul and Moira got back home shortly after Mary arrived. We had a very nice lunch, chatting about all kinds of things. After lunch, Mary, Olivia and I ended up playing Play-Doh for almost 3 hours! We were just sitting at the table.. yakking and having a great time. Mary is extremely creative and came up with some great looking animals upon Olivia's requests. I have pictures of her creations that I will post up later. The girls were all over poor Mary, who was super nice to the girls. They can't wait for her to come down again! I will post pictures later, after the monsters are in bed and I catch "The Sopranos"!

Ok - Mary should be on her way now!

I am wondering where the heck Scott and Shelley are tonight!

Well - Mary never made it down today due to weather conditions. But, that's ok.. we've rescheduled for tomorrow. It did rain all day so the kids were trapped inside. Paul and I needed to review our mortgage paperwork so I put on a movie for them and they kept reasonably still for a little while. I was SO spoiled tonight! Doug was on both Trading Spaces episodes tonight. AND - looking mighty bootylicious too! I loved the white room. I would LOVE to have an all white room.. if I didn't have kids, a black cat or the fantastic ability to spill things all over my house. BUT - what in the wide wide world of sports was Kia thinking???? ASTROTURF?? For a BED?? It looked like a cross between "Night of the Living Dead" and "BeetleJuice"!! Is she on crack?? Holy Moses. And when the hell did the Dexy's Midnight Runners look come back into style? Oy - I was freaking out, watching her destroy the room. I did laugh really loud when Paige was nibbling at the brownies that Doug had rubbed, with his FEET! The look on her face - muwhahahahaha! I just love "The Doug" ::sigh:: he's just so damn sexy!

Moira and I got back from planting dune grass about 40 minutes ago. We had 6 other girls and their parents that showed up out of a total of 17. Oh well - it was fun anyway. A guy from the local newspaper showed up and took pictures of the troop! Wooohoo! Big excitement there. I couldn't wait to get home and jump in the shower! Mary is on her way! Bread is baking.. and I gotta finish cleaning up! Later gators!

Hello out there!! After dinner, we took the kids to the local firehouse. All the kids in the local schools (K-6) drew posters. There were 2400 posters that were judged. They announced the winners tonight. Smokey the Bear was there as well as Sparky the FireDog. Moira and Olivia got their picture taken with them. They also got to use a fire hose! Of course, not set at full strength - haha! That would have been really funny ::snicker:: It was a really nice time - they also checked out the pumper trucks and there was a REALLY cool ladder track. It was already extended out to full length - wow! Very impressive!

I just took a break from cleaning to make lunch.. Mmmm... what tasty bread ::giggle::

UGH! Rainy day today! We were late again for school ::sigh:: Thank God it's Friday - I will be cleaning the house today. Ew. Hey Mary, you'd better appreciate this! LOL!

Friday Five 1. If you could only choose 1 cd to ever listen to again, what would it be? James Taylor's Greatest Hits (it's a double cd set) 2. If you could only choose 2 movies to watch ever again, what would they be? The Sting and Singin' in the Rain 3. If you could only choose 3 books to read ever again, what would they be? The Hobbit, the Bible, The Bachman Books by Stephen King 4. If you could only choose 4 things to eat or drink ever again, what would they be? Water, Ranier cherries, pizza and cinnamin rolls! 5. If you could only choose 5 people to ever be/talk/associate/whatever with ever again, who would they be? Man - that's tough! I am a very social person (gee - like you guys couldn't tell huh?) Paul, Moira, Olivia, my Mom and Dad. But, I'd be l missing my brother, step mom, inlaws, nieces and nephews and all my friends!

(link snagged from Kat)

Which Disney Princess are you?

You are a true bookworm and dream of a life better than the simple, quiet one you lead now. Your good looks can attract the town jerks, but you manage to ignore them most of the time. Sometimes you feel like you're surrounded by idiots. So what are you waiting for? You don't need your father to be kidnapped to get out and see the world. Although you can be stubborn, you're also very compassionate and see beyond people's façades.

We had a great night tonight. Moira borrowed 6-7 books from the library. She also got another library card to replace the one she lost. I picked up a couple Sue Grafton books and a couple Jackie Collins. C'mon - ya gotta have some easy reading too! I also chatted with Mary C via AIM tonight. It was SO nice to talk with you! Right now, I am shopping on Oriental Trading Company. I need crafts for Brownies and Sunday School plus I am also buying a bunch of pencils and stickers for my church. We hold a Mischief Night party for all the kids in town. They don't have to be church members to attend and it's just a lot of fun. Not too much else here. I did catch Scrubs and Will & Grace tonight. Scrubs was pretty damn funny. Will & Grace, it was ok. I am so distracted by Debra Messing's bony neck and chest (or lack thereof) that I can't really concentrate on the show. I do like Karen the most - she cracks me up! AND - I think Sean Hayes is wildly talented.

I'm off to do a couple errands with Olivia before I pick Moira up at school. Then, it's off to the library! Hooray!

(another cool quiz snagged from Mary C. Be sure to check out her new layout.. it's awesome!) i am open-minded!

How indie are you? test by ridethefader
You're pretty knowledgeable about music in general. You like indie music, sure, but that's only part of it. You'll listen to any old shit as long as it sounds good to you. You're not snobby about music at all, you just like what you like. How boring. Curiously, this makes you popular with the opposite sex.

(Cool quiz snagged from Sue)
Which ArchAngel are you most like?
brought to you by Quizilla

I am so so lazy today. It's gotta be the weather. Oh - and that damn Old Navy commercial that spoofs Green Acres, that's gotta go. Oy.

I talked to my Mom this morning and she isn't feeling to well. The plan was to go to Mom's for dinner tonight. Yesterday she was given prednisone (steriods) and she was on a high - doing a zillion things, super high energy level! I guess today she crashed. Poor Mom. She was so upset about cancelling dinner. I think it's for the best although Moira will be slightly disappointed. I think I'll take her to the library after school today. That always perks her up!

Paul and I decided to refinance our mortgage so last night I called Ditech. I was on the phone for about 40 minutes but we were approved for the new mortgage at an interest rate of 5.375%! Woohoo! We were originally paying 8%. ::Happy dance:: Plus, we are going to do a 15 year fixed so the mortgage will be paid off before I am ::gulp:: 50. Hell - we might even have a life! ::gasp::

I have to go to Bruno's tomorrow and pick up some deli for the coming week. I also need to get down to BJ's Wholesale Club and buy more meat ::sigh:: My family, the carnivores!

Note to self - Do NOT go food shopping with a cranky 2 year old.

Fla. Executes Female Serial Killer STARKE, Fla. (AP) - Serial killer Aileen Wuornos was executed Wednesday, more than a decade after she murdered six men along central Florida highways while working as a prostitute. Wuornos, 46, became the 10th woman executed in the United States since the death penalty resumed in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. She was pronounced dead from lethal injection at 9:47 a.m. in Florida State Prison near Starke. ``I'd just like to say I'm sailing with the Rock and I'll be back like Independence Day with Jesus, June 6, like the movie, big mothership and all. I'll be back,'' Wuornos said from the execution chamber. The Rock is a Biblical reference to Jesus. Gee - and here I thought it was that wrasslin' guy..

Olivia is jamming out and dancing to Jennifer Lopez!