Sleep?

So about two hours ago I literally had three things running through my head that I could write about. Now? Now I have nothing.

I am going to blame it on the fact that I was up until four o’clock this morning (This morning actually being Thursday morning, not Friday morning. I pre-wrote. Hehe). Yes, I said Four!

You see last night my Mother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law came with my niece and so everyone was wide awake. The kiddos (one three year old and one almost three year old) ran around like nuts and pulled EVERY toy (seemingly) out of the toy box. Then they watched Charlie Brown (A favorite around here. My Mom asked me once if that was the only movie we had since it seemed that every time she called the kiddo was watching it.)

While the kids played the rest of us chatted, checked out videos on http://www.youtube.com/ (Wedding entrance dance anyone? lol lol), etc. Then we watched (well it was on in the background anyway) Sense and Sensibility. Everyone was in on the Alan Rickman love.

In case you haven’t noticed Alan Rickman is one of my favorites. He comes in after Sean Bean though (Hottest man Alive!!! Yes, he is.). I think I could watch those two over and over and over again. I’m patiently (Uh, huh, sure) waiting for them to make a movie together . . . Do I actually think this will ever happen? Not really but a girl can dream.

Anyway, we finally hit the rack at 4 and crashed. I slept well.

(Yes, welcome, once again to the blog about nothing.)

A Successful Failure

Cake! Anybody want cake?

I’ve been interested in cake decorating for a few years now. Nothing major I just did my Son’s birthday cakes mostly. But lately I’ve been practicing a bit more. (This is hard to do when you’re on a diet, I have to say.) I just make a cake when the feeling hits me, decorate it and then give it away. Hehe.

The other day I decided that I was going to attempt to make fondant and then cover a cake with it. Great idea, in theory. I found a recipe for marshmallow fondant, tweaked it a bit and made some awesome fondant.

I made the cake and then set to rolling out my fondant to cover it. I was so happy with the way my fondant turned out. It was perfect. The only problem was that it didn’t make enough to cover the whole cake. Oh well. Next time I know.

I’m hoping to make a fondant covered cake for my sister-in-law’s going to college party. *Crosses fingers*

P.S. I apologize for the state of this blog. I’ve tried to reread it about five times but there are people at my house who are talking very loudly and then someone else turns the television up so the people have to talk louder. Grrr. So, please forgive me for any errors. Have a great day!

Have you ever been there?

Was there ever a time in your life when there was someone you knew that you were . . . less than nice to?

I mean the whole thing started off nice but then things went south and you didn’t exactly treat them like you should have? You were rude and biting and you’re sure you were hurtful and later on you felt bad.

I mean you just felt awful because things should not have been handled in that manner and you wish you could go back and handle them differently? Or at least you wish that you could, somehow, apologize to that person? But of course, you’ve lost contact with them because WHY on earth would they want anything to do with you ever again?

And then, one day, you happen upon them on Facebook, of all places! Now you have the perfect opportunity to apologize to them for your awful attitude and hurtful words and curtness. Of course, you have no idea what you would say . . . I mean, they’ve moved on, you’ve moved on. It was years in the past. Everyone is happy now. I’m sure they’re happy things turned out the way they did.

Still you feel bad. You don’t want to make a big deal out of it you just want to apologize. You’re just uncertain of the wording?

Well, I’ve been there. I’m there, and I just wish I could say “I’m sorry for the way I handled everything. I should have been so much nicer. I was awful and I really am so sorry I hurt you. Please don’t hate me anymore. Please forgive me, if you can?”

And after you say that you hope they’ll forgive you and you’ll feel better.

Yea, that would be nice. . . Ever been there?

Sorry for the depression folks. I hope you all have a great day!!

Dinner Dilemma

I don’t usually plan my meals out. I buy the things that I need for a bunch of meals and then decide that day what I’m going to make. Unorganized? Yes! It can be troublesome too. Sometimes it ends up 3 or 4 o’clock in the afternoon and I’m still not sure what to make for dinner.

Last night was one of those nights. I pulled open the refrigerator door and was clueless. Opened the cabinets, no ideas there either. Finally I decided I wanted egg noodles. Well, obviously you’re going to need something to go with those noodles. It’s not like you’re only going to have noodles for dinner.

This is when my brain started working and I decided I was going to create something so I could eat those noodles. This was, by no means, a gourmet meal. Just an everyday run of the mill kind of dinner but it was still very good.

I Pulled out the ground turkey and created a stroganoff-esque type meal. Creamy and tasty. J called it “Perfect.” I was happy!

I’m sure that I’ll make it again . . . provided I can remember everything I threw in it this time!

The Ghost

I just finished this book called The Ghost by Robert Harris. I’m really not sure exactly how I would categorize it. Political thriller? Is that even a genre?

It’s about a man who is ghostwriting the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister. Things go from confusing to really bad pretty quick and I really liked it.

Now, I must say under normal circumstances I would not have read the description for this book and thought “Oh that sounds like a must read!” No. On the contrary actually, I probably would have passed it up rather quickly.

The reason I sought this book out (and, yes, sought it out is a correct term. I had to have it shipped in from a library an hour away because ours didn’t carry it.) was because I was on http://www.imdb.com/ (love this site!) and I was looking at Ewan McGregor’s resume. I was checking out what he has coming up that I can look forward too. (Let’s face it, Ewan McGregor is MMmmm, MMmmm, good.) Anyway, I saw a movie called The Ghost and clicked on the link.

Once again, after reading a few lines I pretty much thought the only reason to see this movie was Ewan McGregor. Then I hopped on the message board and discovered that it was, in fact, a book. I decided that since I was going to watch the movie anyway I might as well read the book first (since books are usually better than the movies).

I’m really glad I read this book. It kept me interested (even when the subject matter wasn’t always something that would normally interest me) and the characters were very good. I grew especially fond of “The Ghost” (for he had no other name) during the reading and I must say the last paragraph came as a bit of a shock. In a good way? Sure, I guess. I felt a lot of emotions associated with that paragraph but in the end I decided I really liked it.

So, if you’re looking for a book to read I would recommend this one. Stick to it and DO NOT read the end before you actually get there!!!!

Sunday Again

Well, it’s Sunday morning again. Another early morning nightmare.

On the bright side J doesn’t have to work in the morning. This is good because I don’t have to get up and get the kiddo up so we can take him to work at 6:30. This is a bad thing because it means I have to fight with him to get out of bed and get ready to go! He is one of the hardest people in the world to wake up, I think.

Did a million and one loads of laundry yesterday. Bright side is that everything’s clean. Not so bright, is having to put a million and one loads of laundry away! I don’t mind putting the stuff in the washer and then moving it to the dryer but I really hate the folding and hanging it all up part.

Oh well. I’m off to have, hopefully, a better Sunday morning . . . Where’s my coffee?

It's Party Time!

Party!!

My sister-in-law is going off to college in a few weeks and I talked to my Mother-in-law the other day to see if anyone was planning to give her a party. I was going to volunteer to hold a SMALL get together at my house.

Before I knew it I was in charge of the party that she was already thinking about planning to do . . . What? What happened? What did I miss?

Anyway, now I have a huge task before me! I welcome any suggestions anyone might have.

As far as food it would appear mil is just looking to do cake and ice cream, possibly hot dogs (ick). The cake I’ll make . . . I’m thinking two tiers covered in her favorite color fondant. I love making cakes. Of course, that’s about as far as I’ve gotten.

Well, I have thought that I would like to make a wishing well thing with a laundry basket and ask guests to bring small things such as pens and stuff to fill the basket with. Also, I want to hand out cards to guests and let them write notes/advice down for her, which I will assemble in a book and give to her later.

Seriously, I really need help! Anyone?

Competition!

I love when stores or restaurant or companies compete with each other!

I had a very tasty meal last night. Two thighs, a side of Mac and cheese, a biscuit and a drink (which I didn’t actually drink because they didn’t have the diet soda I like so I just got a regular soda for J) all for FIVE dollars plus tax, courtesy, KFC.

I believe this all started with Subway’s Five Dollar Foot long. (Also very tasty.) I suppose restaurants did not like losing business to a “sandwich shop” (Subway is so much more than just a sandwich shop!) so they decided to fight back.

Now, I believe you can get some kind of stromboli type thing at Pizza Hut and of course the Five dollar fill-up boxes (mentioned above) at KFC. I haven’t had the one from Pizza Hut (It looks like an awful lot of dough for my taste.) but the others are great!

We never ate at KFC much because I think their food is kind of overpriced. However, I’m happy to say I’m a fan of the Fill-Up box!!

I love competition! I’ve heard a commercial for a bank (I have no idea which one) that says “When banks compete, you win! So true but for this blog we’ll say:

When restaurants compete, you eat!

Dreaming

I was a faithful fan of the show Harper’s Island during its run. I enjoyed it very much and I really miss it now that it’s over. I suppose my subconscious wasn’t ready to let it go yet though, considering the dream I had the other night.


The sky was dark and the rain was pouring down in sheets as I pulled the door shut and snapped the lock into place.
The news was reporting the gruesome murder of a young lady. My neighbor. I ran to the back door and locked it, looking out the window at the house behind mine. I shuddered.
He had been so close to my house. I didn’t know whether to feel lucky or scared to death. The scared option seemed to be in the lead.
A crash outside! It was just the wind flinging a dead tree limb. I wished it would stop storming. I wanted to be able to hear if someone decided to try to get in.
Surely he wouldn’t be back here? At least not so soon, right? What made him go to her house and not mine? Not that I was complaining or anything. It’s just that I was pretty much out of my mind with terror.
I pulled all the curtains closed as the news report on Wakefield continued. A knock at the door caused me to jump. I slowly crept to peak out the window. It was my aunt and cousin. I pulled open the door and hurried them inside, locking it behind them.
I excused myself to use the restroom. When I returned the front doors were hanging wide open. I ran to them in a panic, and pulled them shut locking both the screen door and the main door. I turned around to find my aunt and cousin on the sofa with the curtains behind them open.
“Please close that curtain. I don’t want him to be able to see in if he comes back. I don’t want him to know anyone’s home.” The news droned on. Words like “Wakefield,” “Gruesome” and “Rampage” made me shudder.
I just knew, not a feeling, a certainty. I knew he was going to come back.

Hurry up!

I don't know about you but I have a serious problem with "Hurry up, let's go NOW." kinds of situations.
My husband came home from work yesterday hours and hours early. Apparently it was a very slow day so they just sent some people home (nice, huh?). Anyway, he walked in the door and said "Are you ready?"
"Ready for what?" I asked.
"Ready to go see Mom." was the reply.
Well no of course I wasn't ready. I still needed a shower and then I had to get everything together and pack it all. I thought I might lose my mind.
I'm the kind of person that needs a plan. I like to plan ahead for days (weeks sometimes). I like to make lists and cross the things off as they get done. Sometimes my lists have lists.
But not yesterday, no. It was, get in the shower, get out of the shower, get clothes together, throw clothes in a bag, hope I had everything I needed and get on the road for a nice long (two hours) trip.
Anyway, we're here now and I have survived. Today's post was supposed to be about a dream that I had (Harper's Island fans, I think I'm losing it! lol) but I suppose that will be tomorrow's post.
We plan to head home today around noon. Hubby has to work tomorrow evening. I'll be glad to be back in my own home, in my own bed, with my own internet connection. The connection here is kind of hit and miss.
Anyway, until next time . . . Have a great day!

(I apologize for any rough patches in this blog. Due to technical difficulties I had to type it out twice, grrr.)

Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty.

Thanks to a couple of people (Showmyface http://www.showmyface.com/ and Ruby) always talking about their cats I’ve been missing mine lately.
Growing up I always had at least one cat. I was two (I believe) when we went to the pet store with money from my Grandfather and picked out my first Cat. She was a beautiful Calico and the softest cat I have ever touched. Her name was Princess. Original, I know. Don’t blame me I was only two, I didn’t name her.
Quite a few years later my Nana (Dad’s Grandmother) was living with us and she decided she wanted a cat. We went for another kitten. Nana had also recently gotten an electric keyboard and I remember her telling me that since she got the piano I could have the cat.
Misty was black and white and she was my Baby. She came when I called her and answered me when I talked to her.
She had a good life. She was one of the fattest cats I’ve ever seen. One day, however, I noticed that she wasn’t eating well and that she had begun to lose weight.
We took her to the vet where we were promptly informed that she was diabetic. He put her on an insulin shot that we had to administer twice a day. Poor thing.
She had barely gotten any better before she was sick again and due to kidney failure it became necessary to have her euthanized.
What an awful day. They asked if I wanted to say good bye to her and then leave but there was no way I was going to leave and let them do that to her all alone. So, I stayed. I scratched her face and her neck like she liked and told her I loved her until she was gone. Even today I miss “My Baby” so much.
After saying good bye to Misty it wasn’t long before I realized that I just had to have another cat. My Dad and I talked about it and decided we wanted a solid grey cat and were going to adopt it from the shelter.
Soon we made a trip to the shelter. Cats everywhere! There were only one or two solid grey cats, though for some reason, they weren’t clicking with me.
I sat down on a bench while my Dad talked to a volunteer. As I sat I was greeted, hesitantly at first, by a solid black kitty cat. She only sniffed at first but it didn’t take long before she was practically climbing in my lap.
The volunteer looked over and I believe her words were something along the lines of “She never does that!”
That’s all I needed to hear! I’d found my cat. Or to be more specific, she had found me. I told my Dad “This is the one.” He was kind of disappointed though because he was really looking forward to an all grey cat. But I couldn’t help it. I had to have the black one that greeted me so swiftly.
I did adopt her and when I was given her file I opened it up to find a note paper clipped inside, it said “This is a snarling, hissing, feral cat.” I thought, “What?!”
I’m happy to report that I had her for years and she never, not even once, so much as hissed at me. Nothing. She is the sweetest cat. Her name is Venus. (I got to name her this time!)
Not long after that a stray had kittens under our porch and my dad got his grey cat.
We spent some time thinking up a name for him. Dad wanted to name him something that had to do with his coloring. “Grey” was out (My veto). So my Dad proposed something like “Silver” or “Quick silver.” That made me think. I said “isn’t there another name for Quick silver?” Yes. Mercury!
That’s as far as we had to go. We already had a Venus. Why not add a Mercury?
When I got married I was forced to leave Venus and Mercury behind with my Dad since my husband is allergic. Stupid Allergies!
I miss my cats so much. I wish there were a way to get my husband cured!

P.S. I feel the need to add that a few years ago my Dad purchased a gorgeous red Doberman and there was really no question at all what to name him . . . Can you guess? Mars.

The Death of the Light Bulb

The light in our “laundry room” has been blown out forever. I don’t know if I remember the last time it worked. We just never changed it because in our apartment the little alcove where the washer and dryer are is right off the dining room. I just open the curtains and use the dining room light.

However, the dining room light blew out a couple weeks ago and I’ve been pestering my husband to fix it. It wasn’t really a big deal though because the kitchen is right next to the dining room along with another light that sheds light in there very well so I would just turn on one of those lights.

The other day my husband’s family was here and when I went to turn the main kitchen light on it was blown out. My Sister-in-law then told me that it flashed at her and blew out. That’s okay. I have a light above the sink and one above the stove. (Although the light that I would use for the dining room was now blown out.)

So, I flipped on the light above the stove and poof! Out! It was like an epidemic sweeping through our electrical system. At this point the only light I have in the vast expanse that is the laundry room, dining room and kitchen is the tiny little light above the sink. Hardly appropriate.

Why have none of these been changed you ask? Because I would ask hubby to do it and finally he told me we don’t have bulbs. Ahhhh, Now you tell me!

Just now, I walked into the kitchen to get a drink for my kiddo, reached over the sink and flipped the switch. The switch that controls the only remaining light . . . POOF! We are now living like a pioneer family.

Good thing the hubby is out and about. I have requested that he pick up some (GOOD) light bulbs so that when he comes home he can change every light bulb in that half of the house.

Moral: If you want something done . . . Do it yourself! Oh and buy GOOD Light Bulbs!!

Sunday Morning

Ahh, Sunday. Sunday’s in general don’t bother me. It’s a fine day. Slow and quiet. A day of rest, if you will.

However, there’s one certain part of Sunday that I just really really despise. Sunday morning. I hate Sunday morning. I hate getting up early and I hate ironing and I hate getting everything ready for the day and I hate that when I try to wake up the kiddo and the hubby they just want to stay in bed. (Mostly the hubby.)

I suppose I could do some things on Saturday evening and often I do but it’s still the thought of getting everyone up and ready and in the car in time to get to church. With a stop for coffee of course (I must have my iced coffee).

Hubby has to work today so had to get up and take him to work this morning. That means up even earlier. I’m thinking the kiddo and I may go catch a movie after church. Ice Age maybe. Looks like fun and I think he’ll watch it. (Anyone seen it?)

Maybe, we’ll see. It depends on the weather. I’m hoping for another 80-ish degree day. We don’t have air conditioning in our car anymore. The thing is falling apart bit by bit I think.

Anyway, have a nice Sunday! Get some rest!

Blogging everyday with . . . ticks?

I’m totally impressed with people who manage to post a blog Everyday! I would love to do that but what on earth would I write about? You would end up reading a lot of, either Mommy stories or Movie reviews.

I might give it a shot though. (This will last all of one day.) Here goes.

I’m sitting here trying to come up with something to write about and the only thing I can think about is the stupid fly buzzing at my living room window. BZZZ BZZZ BZZZZ So annoying.

I hate bugs. Noah should have taken a fly swatter to every last one of them on the ark! Especially the Ticks and the Mosquitoes.

I’m really not afraid of much. Snakes don’t bother me. I don’t want them in my house or anything but I’m not afraid of them. Mice are just disgusting! (Along with all forms of rodents. Sorry to all you hamster/gerbil lovers out there.) But I have a very irrational fear of ticks. I am scared to death of the little critters. I’ve been calling it Tickaphobia since I was young.

People make fun of me for it. They’re mean. They don’t understand. I can literally hyperventilate from a stupid, tiny little tick.

They like me too, ticks I mean, which just makes it worse. They find me. I took a walk once with my Dad. A couple miles, that’s all it was and I ended up with THREE ticks on me and he had nothing. This was cause of great amusement for him, of course.

Point: Bugs are evil and I live for the day the weather gets too cold (takes longer here than other places) for them to be everywhere. Autumn, oh, Autumn, where are you?!

Is it Fall yet??

Talk about a blog about nothing . . . I have absolutely nothing new to report!

Life in this town . . . Seriously, if this were a movie this is the town where all of a sudden there would be 15 dead bodies courtesy of some psycho killer. Why? Because everyone started off by saying something like “In this town?? Nothing Ever happens here!!!” (And we all know when the movie starts off with that line, pretty much all hope is gone.)

Speaking of this town . . . it’s HOT HERE!! I’m so sick of summer. I’ve had it with this heat. It’s been over a hundred degrees here for days and days. The humidity is ridiculous! I cannot wait until fall.

Fall is my favorite season. I love the sights, sounds and smells of autumn. I love driving around and seeing all the pumpkins and the orange lights, the scarecrows and the haystacks. I feel cooler just thinking about it. I love burning pumpkin spice candles. If you come to my house anytime from September through the end of November it will most likely smell like fresh baked a Pumpkin Pie. Wonderful! (I switch to Apple Cinnamon scents around December.)

Then there’s Trick-or-Treat. I love getting the kiddo all dressed up and going out. The variety and creativity that goes into Halloween costumes are just great. I’m thinking this year will most likely be the year of the Pirate. He’s really into pirates for some reason. Maybe I’ll even dress up this year . . . Okay, we’ll see what happens.

Well, now that I’ve made myself thoroughly “season-sick” for Fall I suppose it is time to sign off.

Have a great day everyone!!

Being A Mommy

I love being a Mommy. Rarely, if ever, will you find anything as great as your kid walking up to you and saying “I love you oodles and oodles, Mommy.”

Sure sometimes my kiddo (Two and a half) can be tiring and frustrating and make me wonder if maybe he’s deaf (Because he sure doesn’t seem to hear anything I tell him). But there are other times when he’s so sweet (“I love you More, Mommy”) or helpful.

Grocery shopping is definitely not my favorite thing. Well, actually, I don’t mind the shopping part. It’s the coming home and putting all the groceries away that is the problem. However, I have the greatest little helper ever! As soon as I walk in the door he is going through and helping me unpack the bags. His job is putting away all the canned items. And while they might not be perfectly organized in rows according to product, they’re one less thing I have to deal with unpacking and putting away.

When I do laundry, he’s right there to help me. He loves taking the stuff out of the dryer and putting it in the basket and waiting while I hand him stuff from the washer so he can put it in the dryer. Does it take a little longer than it would if I were doing it on my own? Sure it does. But if I insisted on doing it on my own I wouldn’t get the joy out of experiencing his help and he wouldn’t get the pride out of having helped Mommy.

Basically what I’m saying is . . . Even though sometimes I’m frustrated Beyond belief with my little guy he’s one of the greatest things in my life! And nothing touches my heart faster than hearing him say “I just love you so much, Mommy.”

I know that one day he’s going to grow up and I may not hear those sweet little sayings all the time. And the times when he climbs up into my lap and hugs me for no reason are going to get less and less until they’re gone forever. (I may be tearing up now . . .) So I want to make sure I cherish every second of it while I can. All you Mommies out there . . . hug your kiddos! (And remember this post when you’re just about to pull all your hair out!)


(Please forgive any parts of this that are less than clear. I was hit with inspiration at 2:30 am and didn’t want to let it slip away.)

This post has been lovingly dedicated to my wondeful son! I love you Kiddo!