I am completely lacking in focus and concentration today! Maybe it is because I slept not so comfortably last night. I was blessed to share my most comfortable bed with two small boys with ninja like kicking abilities and one very large dog that snores.
So, here is a list of ten things I would like to have show up on my doorstep (free of charge)...in no particular order.
1. A new IPOD - one that plays all my songs and not just the ones it wants me to listen to.
2. A new Kitchen Aid stand mixer in Onyx.
3. A landscaper and a landscaping budget of around $10,000. :)
4. College funds for E & N
5. A man! Not one to marry me. A bug killing, scary noise detective, know-it-all fix-it man. I normally just call this man DAD but he is out of town and makes me kill my own bugs!
6. Unlimited kid time (not just with E & N but all my favorite kiddos)! Time to take them to the movies, the park, more water fights in the yard.
7. A huge, manly dog house for WallE. Ever tried finding a house for a 140+ dog?
8. A new furniture/electronics budget. So many things I want but don't need. Show me the $$$!
9. Gourmet cooking skills! Not just yummy stuff...AWESOME ready for a cookbook stuff!
10. A replenishing vacation allowance for one kick-ass vacation per year...for LIFE!
I don't believe that material things make you happy or even just happier. I do believe in retail therapy and always will. These are just things I would like to have and that would potentially make life a little easier and maybe a little more enjoyable. Got a list?
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Summer Concert Series Redux!
Friday night was the second of five concerts I will attend this summer. Typically, I haven't seen more than one MAYBE two concerts a year and this summer I have five. The first I already blogged about and was pretty sure it was going to be my favorite. Coldplay with E & M - I had a great time, a few drinks, great music and friends - it was a blast. I now have to say that No Doubt is now the best! :) Why?
1. Friday night concert - So much easier than the middle of the week. (Unless you were A & N who had swim meets for the kiddos, or A who had to work early, J who had softball for her daughter and I believe M & E may also have required activities early in the morning.) I, for once did not! The boys had dental appointments but they were later in the day.
2. Friends, friends, friends! It was so awesome to get together with so many of my favorite people. I haven't seen A in forever! It was great to see her and catch up on life and make some plans to get together - she is much fun. A, N and I do but not usually out and about - it is always great to be out with the besties. M & E carried over the fun from Coldplay and J and I hardly ever do anything together that doesn't involve the kids. Don't get me wrong, I love them but it was nice not to have to keep an eye out for them and worry about the crazies around us.
3. The crazies around us! PEOPLE ARE NUTS! A has the pictures to prove it and I can't wait to read her captions to go with them. We saw the hoe cakes, the nuts, the girl with her brand new concert tee stuffed down the crack of her ass, more hoe cakes, I could go on and on! It was awesome. I am sure more than one person looked at my bird-duck-quail dance and thought I was one of them! Wonder if my picture will end up on some stranger's blog? Hmmm! :)
4. Concert wares! Cotton candy, nachos, sodas, corn dogs, t-shirts, lemonade. I don't think they sold anything one or more of us didn't purchase! I can't resist cotton candy and it was good! Love my shirt - soon to be quilt and I love that I found a shirt that could not be more perfect for my bestie A! Hope she loved it as much as I loved buying it!
5. Music! - The band was awesome! The first one...not so much, the second good, the last perfect!
The silliness on the way home wasn't too bad either. I hope all the ladies had as much fun as I did. Have you ever seen a bird-duck-quail? :)
1. Friday night concert - So much easier than the middle of the week. (Unless you were A & N who had swim meets for the kiddos, or A who had to work early, J who had softball for her daughter and I believe M & E may also have required activities early in the morning.) I, for once did not! The boys had dental appointments but they were later in the day.
2. Friends, friends, friends! It was so awesome to get together with so many of my favorite people. I haven't seen A in forever! It was great to see her and catch up on life and make some plans to get together - she is much fun. A, N and I do but not usually out and about - it is always great to be out with the besties. M & E carried over the fun from Coldplay and J and I hardly ever do anything together that doesn't involve the kids. Don't get me wrong, I love them but it was nice not to have to keep an eye out for them and worry about the crazies around us.
3. The crazies around us! PEOPLE ARE NUTS! A has the pictures to prove it and I can't wait to read her captions to go with them. We saw the hoe cakes, the nuts, the girl with her brand new concert tee stuffed down the crack of her ass, more hoe cakes, I could go on and on! It was awesome. I am sure more than one person looked at my bird-duck-quail dance and thought I was one of them! Wonder if my picture will end up on some stranger's blog? Hmmm! :)
4. Concert wares! Cotton candy, nachos, sodas, corn dogs, t-shirts, lemonade. I don't think they sold anything one or more of us didn't purchase! I can't resist cotton candy and it was good! Love my shirt - soon to be quilt and I love that I found a shirt that could not be more perfect for my bestie A! Hope she loved it as much as I loved buying it!
5. Music! - The band was awesome! The first one...not so much, the second good, the last perfect!
The silliness on the way home wasn't too bad either. I hope all the ladies had as much fun as I did. Have you ever seen a bird-duck-quail? :)
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Another Round of Random
Well, it looks like my man hasn't had the best of luck in Lake Tahoe. I do not know the whole story nor will I ever but for now, in my world, I choose to believe that he DID NOT DO IT! And that is the end of that!
Our weekend was nice. My forever hard working father came to help me with some yard work on Saturday. While I love being a homeowner I do not love outdoor creatures (other than our dog and he is mostly inside)! We have multiple frog families, a couple of lizards and other
what-nots that decided to make it known that I was disturbing the peace with my hard work. Well the yard looks better but far from good. We ran out of gas (both for us and the lawnmower) and line for the weed eater...darn the bad luck. It's a little tough being in charge of all the house work both inside and out but I am trying to manage it. The outside is certainly suffering. It needs both my time and $$$ and it isn't getting much of either...much to my dismay.
I am struggling a little to find time to do all the work involved with owning a home and two kids and working full time and trying to be a regular person for five minutes a week! I wish I could find a book or something that would help me figure out how to do it all and not feel overwhelmed and whiny about it. SO WHAT? I mean am I really complaining about having a demanding full time job, two perfectly healthy rowdy boys, a home that I can maintain or not if I chose, a new family member that we love and friends and family to spend time with? I sound so selfish and I hate it! PTD has cut his time back tremendously at his own choosing and I have a very hard time understanding WHY and HOW you can be ok with seeing your children for such a short amount of time? I typically would spend a small part of my kid free time doing something I wanted but most of the time I was trying to take care of things I couldn't do with the boys or that they hated doing. That is no longer an option due to the new plan. They don't mind not being with him (SAD anyone?) and I am glad to have them home with me (now 99% of the time) but I wish I had a better alternative than making them sit with me at places they would rather not go and really want to be home playing the back yard. It screams BAD MOM in my head.
Saturday evening my friend A came over with his daughter for dinner and some Wii action and Sunday the boys and I just stayed home and played...it was so nice! My head was hurting a bit so laying around and goofing off was about all I could handle.
Monday was M-O-N-D-A-Y! Enough said!
Tuesday I had lunch with one of my most favorite people - MG! I miss her so much. We live so close to each other and work even closer and yet we have the hardest time connecting. We decided this time that enough was enough and we would get together more often. I so love her! :) Then Tuesday night A and fam came over and I played dress up/fashion show with the girls and had a marvelous time. I wonder who likes it more? :) Then they all spent the night and the boys got to stay with A today. They so loved it. They miss her as much as I do. :(
Work was a crazy on Wednesday but I got to see G and while he looked a little worse for the wear he was still HERE and in our office and that made me smile! D and I had good Mexican food for lunch and I recently joined a book club and tonight was our first meeting. We are reading Best Friends Forever. It was fun to hang out while the kids ran around like crazy people outside with T's husband J. We haven't started the book so mostly us girls sat around and talked about life. T and I had read one other book that we both enjoyed so we were explaining it to the others. I think T (other T's sister) will read it too. I so love spending time with both of them and need to do it more!
So much for using this blog to be grateful. I end up sounding like a big old cry baby - oh, that's right - I am a big cry baby! I promise to continue to work on that. I am so grateful for all my blessings and I know that I need to embrace the challenges and work that come with them but I am not sure how to do that more gracefully and with less whining! I am determined, focused and motivated to do it even if it takes large quantities of Diet Pepsi, Starbucks, chocolate and wine. Hmmm - maybe my diet is part of the problem? Well, no help for that part - I won't even try and lie and say "I'll work on that too" because I won't and I don't want too. Next you'll try and convince me that shopping doesn't solve anything! HA! :)
Our weekend was nice. My forever hard working father came to help me with some yard work on Saturday. While I love being a homeowner I do not love outdoor creatures (other than our dog and he is mostly inside)! We have multiple frog families, a couple of lizards and other
what-nots that decided to make it known that I was disturbing the peace with my hard work. Well the yard looks better but far from good. We ran out of gas (both for us and the lawnmower) and line for the weed eater...darn the bad luck. It's a little tough being in charge of all the house work both inside and out but I am trying to manage it. The outside is certainly suffering. It needs both my time and $$$ and it isn't getting much of either...much to my dismay.
I am struggling a little to find time to do all the work involved with owning a home and two kids and working full time and trying to be a regular person for five minutes a week! I wish I could find a book or something that would help me figure out how to do it all and not feel overwhelmed and whiny about it. SO WHAT? I mean am I really complaining about having a demanding full time job, two perfectly healthy rowdy boys, a home that I can maintain or not if I chose, a new family member that we love and friends and family to spend time with? I sound so selfish and I hate it! PTD has cut his time back tremendously at his own choosing and I have a very hard time understanding WHY and HOW you can be ok with seeing your children for such a short amount of time? I typically would spend a small part of my kid free time doing something I wanted but most of the time I was trying to take care of things I couldn't do with the boys or that they hated doing. That is no longer an option due to the new plan. They don't mind not being with him (SAD anyone?) and I am glad to have them home with me (now 99% of the time) but I wish I had a better alternative than making them sit with me at places they would rather not go and really want to be home playing the back yard. It screams BAD MOM in my head.
Saturday evening my friend A came over with his daughter for dinner and some Wii action and Sunday the boys and I just stayed home and played...it was so nice! My head was hurting a bit so laying around and goofing off was about all I could handle.
Monday was M-O-N-D-A-Y! Enough said!
Tuesday I had lunch with one of my most favorite people - MG! I miss her so much. We live so close to each other and work even closer and yet we have the hardest time connecting. We decided this time that enough was enough and we would get together more often. I so love her! :) Then Tuesday night A and fam came over and I played dress up/fashion show with the girls and had a marvelous time. I wonder who likes it more? :) Then they all spent the night and the boys got to stay with A today. They so loved it. They miss her as much as I do. :(
Work was a crazy on Wednesday but I got to see G and while he looked a little worse for the wear he was still HERE and in our office and that made me smile! D and I had good Mexican food for lunch and I recently joined a book club and tonight was our first meeting. We are reading Best Friends Forever. It was fun to hang out while the kids ran around like crazy people outside with T's husband J. We haven't started the book so mostly us girls sat around and talked about life. T and I had read one other book that we both enjoyed so we were explaining it to the others. I think T (other T's sister) will read it too. I so love spending time with both of them and need to do it more!
So much for using this blog to be grateful. I end up sounding like a big old cry baby - oh, that's right - I am a big cry baby! I promise to continue to work on that. I am so grateful for all my blessings and I know that I need to embrace the challenges and work that come with them but I am not sure how to do that more gracefully and with less whining! I am determined, focused and motivated to do it even if it takes large quantities of Diet Pepsi, Starbucks, chocolate and wine. Hmmm - maybe my diet is part of the problem? Well, no help for that part - I won't even try and lie and say "I'll work on that too" because I won't and I don't want too. Next you'll try and convince me that shopping doesn't solve anything! HA! :)
Friday, July 17, 2009
HAPPY FRIDAY!
My man is so close and yet still so far! He is playing in a celebrity golf tournament a mere two hours from where I live and I can't go. :( I briefly considered driving up tomorrow but it seems that tickets are sold out - not to mention I have things to do tomorrow and that was not on the list! I tried to get my boss (who is even closer) to go steal him for me but he just wouldn't agree. What a bonus that would be! :)
D and I are off to have a margarita to celebrate some good fortune - not ours directly but the alternative made us very sad so we are going to celebrate that it didn't happen. Cryptic sounding I know but it isn't something I should openly discuss.
I LOVE my dad! I just have to say it. Just got off the phone talking to him and I really can't imagine a day when I will not be able to do that. I pray to God that I don't have to find out until I am 100 years old...PLEASE! :) What would I ever do without him - he is a fountain of knowledge and love (and the occasional bout of complete, total, undeniable crabbiness that only my dad can achieve)! I know you think I am exaggerating but you have never seen the vein - get out of the way people!
D and I are off to have a margarita to celebrate some good fortune - not ours directly but the alternative made us very sad so we are going to celebrate that it didn't happen. Cryptic sounding I know but it isn't something I should openly discuss.
I LOVE my dad! I just have to say it. Just got off the phone talking to him and I really can't imagine a day when I will not be able to do that. I pray to God that I don't have to find out until I am 100 years old...PLEASE! :) What would I ever do without him - he is a fountain of knowledge and love (and the occasional bout of complete, total, undeniable crabbiness that only my dad can achieve)! I know you think I am exaggerating but you have never seen the vein - get out of the way people!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Busy, Crazy, Full Week!
Our biggest news is our new baby, WallE! We rescued a mastiff last week and brought him home to live with us. He is a two year old baby and we love him like CRAZY! He is 140 pounds of pure love and slobber. Tonight he had his first bath at our house and he was not a big fan but he smells MUCH better than he did. My niece H discovered last night that he is a big fan of the game Twister and he cheats. :)
We stayed pretty close to home last weekend just to make sure he got adjusted. The boys did have two birthday parties to attend on Saturday and we ran a couple of errands. Saturday night we had a sleep over with my nieces and nephew and then on Sunday T came over with the kids too so WallE got well introduced to the crazy that is our life. I wrestle around a 140 pound baby at home and yet my biggest dog trouble last weekend was a very sassy little 25 pounder at A & N's house. They were out of town this weekend so I was letting the doggies in and out. Well "antenna ears" went ever so nicely back in her house. Mr. Sassypants looked at me like I lost my ever loving mind and he was not going near that terrible house. So I chased and he finally relented. Good Dog!
As I mentioned in my post earlier today...I LOVED Coldplay. They were so good in concert. They would have been great even without the large margarita and shot of tequila. I AM NOT A SHOT TAKER! But E nicely purchased me one and I couldn't very well say no so I took it like a man...well, like a woman! ;) Little did she know that I would require no more alcohol the rest of the evening. I define "cheap date". It was a great night. Next week is No Doubt...woohoo! I wonder what cheap tix they will have for sale at that concert. Last night you could purchase lower level tickets to see The Killers @ Arco for $20 - no service charges or anything. I got another concert t-shirt that I won't wear. I have decided that I will soon convince A to make me a quilt out of them...wish me luck!
Best Tuesday EVER!
Coldplay was AMAZING in concert. I had the best time ever. Thanks so much M & E - what a blast! More on all our crazies later. :)
Sunday, July 5, 2009
If everyday could be today!
We had such a great day! Everyone slept in until 8:00 (a miracle in our house) due to our late night festivities. I made french toast and bacon for breakfast, loved second to waffle pancakes. :) We then took a bike ride down the ever so close bike path to T's house so the boys could play with A for a little bit while she and I chatted. Such are the joys of moving closer to "home" again! After that the boys and I rode home and gave our bikes a much needed bath before heading inside to chill out and have lunch. My friend DC txted to say she visited our church today and really liked it. I was so glad (Pastor Lance ROCKS!) and then we planned a Wednesday night outing. YIPPEE!
Cooking during the week is pretty anti-climatic for me so tonight I made balsamic grilled chicken, homemade mac and cheese (E's favorite) and roasted zucchini fresh from Nana's garden. YUM! Mommy got to enjoy her dinner with a nice glass of wine courtesy of D2 - He has excellent taste in wine and employees! :) The boys are getting ready to play Wii while I try and get motivated to clean up the kitchen so we can all enjoy an ice cream cone soon!
I guess our nice long weekend is almost at the end - how did that happen so fast? Why does the rest of the week not fly by like this? D said she has some good stories to tell about her weekend and there is always Starbucks on my way to work...plus we get to wear jeans tomorrow so I guess it isn't all bad!
Cooking during the week is pretty anti-climatic for me so tonight I made balsamic grilled chicken, homemade mac and cheese (E's favorite) and roasted zucchini fresh from Nana's garden. YUM! Mommy got to enjoy her dinner with a nice glass of wine courtesy of D2 - He has excellent taste in wine and employees! :) The boys are getting ready to play Wii while I try and get motivated to clean up the kitchen so we can all enjoy an ice cream cone soon!
I guess our nice long weekend is almost at the end - how did that happen so fast? Why does the rest of the week not fly by like this? D said she has some good stories to tell about her weekend and there is always Starbucks on my way to work...plus we get to wear jeans tomorrow so I guess it isn't all bad!
Independence Day!
Our 4th of July celebration was F-U-N! :) First, I love that it was on a Saturday this year...made staying up until 11:00 watching fireworks much easier.
I felt like the day was marked with a little of my own Independence. I searched out Home Depot for the right size air filters for our house (we have two different sizes) and then bought a DVD player for my room. I changed my own filters and hooked up the DVD player. I know those are probably the two lames reasons to declare your independence but I felt empowered. When I was married my husband did those things. After, I lived in an apartment and I just called the number and someone came and took care of the filters and things. When I moved someone was always around to hook up the electronics. I am not really good at that type of thing. Actually, I have never had to try so I just didn't. Top that off with accidental getting to see my man on TV! I do not watch golf but when I turned the TV back on after hooking up the DVD player it was on channel 3 and they had a celebrity tournament on and at that very moment Big Ben was being interviewed and taking his shots...heavenly! :)
The big party at Grandpa & Grandma's was full on awesome! We swam, played on the water slides, ate and ate and ate some more and then had the big show. All of the neighbors had fireworks and we had a couple of dad's on the block that decided we needed to have a big show so they busted out a bunch of different size ladders and things so we had them at different heights. Someone had the not so legal kind near us so we got to see a couple of those too. Everyone had such a great time. And today we have nothing to do but lounge around...WOOHOO!
I felt like the day was marked with a little of my own Independence. I searched out Home Depot for the right size air filters for our house (we have two different sizes) and then bought a DVD player for my room. I changed my own filters and hooked up the DVD player. I know those are probably the two lames reasons to declare your independence but I felt empowered. When I was married my husband did those things. After, I lived in an apartment and I just called the number and someone came and took care of the filters and things. When I moved someone was always around to hook up the electronics. I am not really good at that type of thing. Actually, I have never had to try so I just didn't. Top that off with accidental getting to see my man on TV! I do not watch golf but when I turned the TV back on after hooking up the DVD player it was on channel 3 and they had a celebrity tournament on and at that very moment Big Ben was being interviewed and taking his shots...heavenly! :)
The big party at Grandpa & Grandma's was full on awesome! We swam, played on the water slides, ate and ate and ate some more and then had the big show. All of the neighbors had fireworks and we had a couple of dad's on the block that decided we needed to have a big show so they busted out a bunch of different size ladders and things so we had them at different heights. Someone had the not so legal kind near us so we got to see a couple of those too. Everyone had such a great time. And today we have nothing to do but lounge around...WOOHOO!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
What if?
What if what? I have no idea actually. I just wonder sometimes...I know this is a big waste of otherwise valuable time I could be spending curing world hunger (or more likely cleaning my house) but still I wonder?
I feel overwhelmed sometimes and I know it is my choice but that doesn't really help, if anything it just makes it worse. I just want to control the way I feel ALL OF THE TIME! Why is that not possible? What if I could? Could I just pretend that I am in total control - then would it magically work? No such luck! I don't want to feel overwhelmed. I need to be able to handle my life and all that it entails. I absolutely love being a homeowner but part of it is scary. I like my job and several people I work with. I get to solve problems for others and try and find a creative way to help. I am not a creative person so doing so in an analytical way is nice. My job allowed me to help a friend (at least for now and hopefully on a more permanent basis). My most favorite part of my life is being a mom to the two best kids in the whole world! Those two boys are amazing, crazy, loud little monsters but they are my monsters. I also like being a friend. I have some new and some old and I enjoy our time together - sharing our hard times and the good, shopping, having a drink, a concert or movie or just hanging out with our kiddos! One lives far away in Vegas so we mostly text and email but she is still an awesome friend. Two live right around the corner and I see them lots and a few others don't live but a couple of minutes. How lucky am I to say that I have these great friends. I often wonder if I am a good friend in return? Should I/Could I do a better job? I am sure that I could and should.
I wish I could control or at least understand why others do certain things...again, no luck. Maybe if I had a Wonder Woman truth lasso life would be easier to figure out? Or maybe it would just be a whole lot more brutal! I still think I would rather know. I am a big fan of the truth.
Hmmm...well, if that wasn't just full of ramble then I don't know what is. Maybe I should have stuck to watching Dora with N. Maybe I'll go out and chat with the frog family for a bit and see how they are doing? Actually, Clean House has found the messiest house in America - I must watch! Thankfully it isn't my house. :)
I feel overwhelmed sometimes and I know it is my choice but that doesn't really help, if anything it just makes it worse. I just want to control the way I feel ALL OF THE TIME! Why is that not possible? What if I could? Could I just pretend that I am in total control - then would it magically work? No such luck! I don't want to feel overwhelmed. I need to be able to handle my life and all that it entails. I absolutely love being a homeowner but part of it is scary. I like my job and several people I work with. I get to solve problems for others and try and find a creative way to help. I am not a creative person so doing so in an analytical way is nice. My job allowed me to help a friend (at least for now and hopefully on a more permanent basis). My most favorite part of my life is being a mom to the two best kids in the whole world! Those two boys are amazing, crazy, loud little monsters but they are my monsters. I also like being a friend. I have some new and some old and I enjoy our time together - sharing our hard times and the good, shopping, having a drink, a concert or movie or just hanging out with our kiddos! One lives far away in Vegas so we mostly text and email but she is still an awesome friend. Two live right around the corner and I see them lots and a few others don't live but a couple of minutes. How lucky am I to say that I have these great friends. I often wonder if I am a good friend in return? Should I/Could I do a better job? I am sure that I could and should.
I wish I could control or at least understand why others do certain things...again, no luck. Maybe if I had a Wonder Woman truth lasso life would be easier to figure out? Or maybe it would just be a whole lot more brutal! I still think I would rather know. I am a big fan of the truth.
Hmmm...well, if that wasn't just full of ramble then I don't know what is. Maybe I should have stuck to watching Dora with N. Maybe I'll go out and chat with the frog family for a bit and see how they are doing? Actually, Clean House has found the messiest house in America - I must watch! Thankfully it isn't my house. :)
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