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So much that I could have / should have / wanted to tell you over the past couple of months.  Who knows how much I will remember now? 

Like the time I went to get the check engine light on the truck checked out, and I had been listening to the BeeGees on some random station.  I went in and the guy came out to hook up the device to read the error and he turned the car on and Celine Dion was blaring out of the speakers.  HOW EMBARRASSING!  The truck's radio has some issue with the volume knob - it has so low that you can't hear it, and really loud so that you can't hear anything else.  It was on the really loud setting. 

We are all moved now, except for 2 large items that I have yet to get from the garage of the old house.  That's not to say we are unpacked because we have so many boxes - but no where to put the stuff we have yet.  We will eventually.  That's the breaks moving to a smaller house.  However, I gladly give up the extra space for all the happiness of being here.  We have trees, and a back yard.  A deck with a grill and patio furniture to hang out on, eat, talk, enjoy the weather.  A place for Teddy to run.  Woods for Conor to play in and get dirty - like all little boys should.  A fire pit to have bonfires. 

Conor is doing well in soccer - they have won all but 1 game, and that one was a tie.  He likes being a defender - was very proud of the fact that no goals were scored against them for the first 3 or 4 games. 

Ceara is doing pretty well in school - she has started reading a bit more than she used to and that makes both Jeff and me happy.  She hasn't enjoyed reading in the past and I'm hoping she starts to love it as much as I do. 

Alli has begun her senior year in High School, she is still working, and she has a pretty steady boyfriend - Jon - who we all love (should that be whom? I never get who/whom right!).  I am also trying to select a photographer to get her senior pictures taken.  Nothing like last minute, right?  Procrastinator who?  Anyone have any suggestions / recommendations?

I'm not taking many pictures - mostly because I don't have my camera set up to charge at the new house yet.  I do take some with my phone.  Like this one:

I woke up one morning to find this on my refrigerator. Yes, that is the kind of humor that goes on here!  Although it wasn't any of us, we tease Conor that he is the one who did it.  So that causes him to insist that it wasn't him, and Jeff to try to reason that it was him.  It's a funny conversation.

Mostly I have been taking pictures of stuff to sell on Craig's list.  Most of it has sold, but I still had to put a little bit in storage.  Not the storage you pay for, but a shed at my grandma's house until it does get sold.  I had 2 garage sales, then gave everything that remained to charity.  I needed it gone for my own peace of mind. 

I got a "new to me" car, of course, after Alli totaled mine.  It's a Kia Sedona.  I like it, and I don't like it.  I like how roomy it is.  I don't like the gas mileage.  I don't like how it has already broken down and had to be towed to the dealer for service - bumper to bumper warranty my arse.  Wiring problems apparently aren't inbetween the bumpers.  I got that covered because I had just bought it, but now I just don't like them.  The first and last car I buy from Matt Castrucci Automall.  I know "honest car sales people" is an oxymoron, but I really hate being lied to.  "It will cover anything that isn't normal maintenance/wear and tear like break pads, batteries, etc" was a total lie.  Wiring for the cooling system is not what I would consider normal wear and tear. 

Jeff is working out of state again, so he's only here on the weekends - if then.  Sometimes he is gone for 2 weeks at a time.  He has been in Georgia for most of September, and he will be moving onto Tennessee and Alabama in October.  He forwarded me an email today from his employer offering permanent jobs in a list of cities where they have brick and mortar.  He asked which city I would be interested in moving to.  The thought of going through another move - to another state - is not a happy one.  Heck it took us 2-3 months to move 5 miles!  Needless to say, we aren't interested, but I did daydream a little about giving my notice at work.  :) 

OK, I have to get to bed now.  Hopefully I will be back to writing semi-regularly again now that things are calming down. 

Hope all is well with you all! 

Monday Spikes

Don't you know it's Monday?!?

Soccer Season begins...

Conor closing in

Conor Kickoff

You don't know what you have...

Until you move.  It's amazing what we have accumulated in the 6 years we have lived at our house.  Still sorting and trying hard to let go of things that I don't absolutely need.  It's hard.  That is why I haven't been posting much.  I've had one garage sale already, and will be having another one as soon as I get through the rest of the stuff. 

I made a significant dent in it tonight. 

Conor started 2nd grade last week, and Allie started her final high school year today.  Both are doing well and enjoying school so far.  Ceara started last week as well, but she hasn't returned any of my calls for me to see how she is doing.  She's a sophomore this year.  All of my kids are growing up!  :( 

Conor started soccer a few weeks ago - around the first of August - and his first game is this weekend. 

I have a ton of books to get rid of... some of my favorites, too.  We just don't have room to keep them all.  And I can always go to the library to get my favorites when I want to read them again.  I've gone through them 3 times, each time getting rid of a few more - even though my heart breaks to.  I don't want to put things in storage. 

I've listed and sold several things on Craig's List, and will be putting some smaller items on there and/or Ebay sometime soon. 

Once things calm down a bit, I'll be able to post more.  Until then, I hope everyone is doing well!

Conor's new haircut...

And being goofy.

Sitting on my current bed - my bed is at the new place, so I sleep on this mattress until I get my other stuff moved.  Yes, it does have a snowman sheet on it... that is all I could find! 

Now he just has to get a tan on the sides of his head to match his face.  :)

Being Funky, Funkifying, ect

I won a one year BeFunky from Jenn over at Juggling Life!!!  So funky pictures are incoming!  As soon as I get done with all the moving and can sit down at the computer to play with some pictures!  

I'm so excited to play with it!  Thank you, Jenn!!  :)

Speaking of moving... it is a PAIN!  I was cleaning at the new house last night and got a splinter deeply embedded in my finger.  Of course it is in my right index finger, and I'm right handed, so I was unable to remove it after several attempts with my left hand.  My mom tried as well, but was also unsuccessful - so I'm trying to use some Ichthammol Ointment - aka drawing salve.  It is like black tar and it stinks!  But if it works, I"ll be happy!  Mom had some at her house, then I went to CVS this morning and got myself a tube as well.  According to the people on Amazon who reviewed it, it should work.  I'll just have a stinky finger for a little bit. 

Now I"m off to do some more packing / moving.  I took a nap tonight and slept way too long.  It was too hot to work in the garage, so I'm going to do it now - at night. 

Have a good week!  :)

Sometimes the words are needed

I would just like to publicly state that I love my Mom.  She retired in 2007 and even before that she was always there for me in any way she could help.  Now that she's retired, she keeps Conor for us a lot more - saving us from having to send him to a sitter.  She takes him swimming, or to Kings Island, or just plays with him.  She also is keeping one of the bunnies that Alli brought home from school. 

We are currently moving and she has helped so much in getting everything we have needed taken care of for us.  We needed the shed moved, and she got me a number for a guy who turned out to be amazing at moving sheds through tight spots. 

She keeps Conor when we need to get something done that is better done without him.  She takes Alli to work, or picks her up when we are unable to get there.  And those early morning shifts when Alli has to be at work at 5am or 6am - she makes sure she is there on time. 

Whenever I'm feeling stressed, or down I know I can call her and she will make me feel better.  She is an amazing person, and I feel so blessed to have her as my Mom.  I truly appreciate everything she has done for me and I hope she knows that I love her more than words can possibly say. 

Ahead of the storm

Conor and I went to our new house tonight and watched UP with Jeff.  When we went to leave, the wind was blowing very hard and lightning filled the sky.  It had not begun to rain, though.  We drove home and when we got to the end of one road, to the left it was raining hard, the road was wet; and to the right it was dry.  Our path was to the right so we got home before the rain started.  I grabbed my camera to take a little video of the lightning.  It was very cool!

Happy Birthday, Barb! (belated post)

As I mentioned before, we had Barb's birthday party at the house we are moving to.  Jeff made one of his new concoctions - Chicken, peppers (red, yellow, orange and green), water chestnuts, pineapple and seasonings put into aluminum foil and cooked it over an open flame.  It turned out pretty good.  We also had a fruit tray, fruit dip, water melon, cantaloupe and ... was there something else?  Is my memory THAT bad? 

It was a little bit hot out, but not too awful.  We were able to sit out on the deck and eat. 

Ceara had gone to a wedding earlier in the day, and she looked beautiful in her dress. 

I was taking pictures with my camera, Barb's camera, and Barb's cell phone so she could send pictures along to Naomi and Mindy (her daughters, for those who don't know) because they both live out of state and were not able to come to the party. 

Jeff and Conor made her a humming bird out of wood - I do not do a lot of free-hand drawing, but I did draw the bird with the flower from a picture Jeff found on the internet. 

It didn't turn out too bad, and I modeled the cake after the one they made.  Of course we had to have chocolate, too.  What's a birthday party without chocolate cake? 

Not really a birthday party at all if you ask me.  Or any of the other people there as well... pretty much all chocolate lovers.  I'm not as big of a chocolate lover as the rest of them, but that chocolate cake is sooooo good, if I do say so myself.  Hey, it's not like I'm taking credit for writing the recipe - I just follow it and the result is always amazing. 

Barb's birthday is actually on the 22nd, but that was a Thursday, so we had the party on a Saturday.  We declared it her birthday week, and she continued to celebrate after our party as well.  Spending time with friends - going out to lunch and to the movies... 

Happy Birthday!!  We love you!! 

July Re-cap

The final day of July brings me getting ready for a party we are throwing for some friends.  It will be good to finish this not-so-great-month with laughter.  There are a lot of things that have happened this month that I did not blog about. 

The first thing being my grandma.  At the beginning of this month - July 2nd - she was in the woods clearing a fallen tree when she fell and broke her hip.  My uncle was with her and took her to the hospital.  I've written a few posts about my grandma, but no where near as many as I could.  She is such an amazing person - I love and admire her so much!  One day soon I will tell you more about her.  She had to have hip replacement surgery on July 3rd - my birthday.  She made it through the surgery, thank God, and is still in therapy.  She is doing well, though. 

Then I had my surgery - and a horribly painful recovery.  I am so glad the worst of that is over.  I went for my follow up yesterday and he said I"m 99% healed.  And the mass they removed was benign - a result of chronic infections - so that is good news.  :)

Then Allie wrecked my car on her way home from work.  As a result of that there were frustrating dealings with my insurance company and searching for another vehicle.  It all got settled in the last two days.  I got another car on Thursday night and settled the insurance Friday. 

One of the bunnies Allie brought home from school for the summer had babies - 6 of them!  So we now have 2 adult bunnies, 6 babies, and one Chinchilla.  Anyone want a baby bunny?  They are really cute, I'll share pictures soon!  They will all go back to the school soon - less than a month - and we will be back to just a one dog family.  :) 

In the mist of all of this we are trying to pack and move, sell a lot of our bigger items on Craig's list, and get ready for a garage sale too.  We had to find someone to move our shed - that was a little stressful, but turned out great after it was done. 

We also had several parties.  One for my birthday, one for Allie's birthday, and one for Barb's birthday.  Then the one today!  Yes, I do have pictures to share, but haven't had the time to do it.  Yes, I could be doing that now instead of this post, but it's so much easier to just write instead of editing pictures and posting them! 

So, it has been quite the busy month here.  I'm hoping for a much calmer, quieter August. 

Now I have to get started on the desserts for the party!  Hope everyone is having a great weekend! 

Boys are so different!

Having 2 teenage girls has not prepared me for a little boy.  Tonight we went car shopping and he went with us.  He had opinions about everything, of course.  Pointing out all the cars he liked, and he has expensive taste!  He's certainly not shy either, he talked up the sales guy a lot.  Asking him his favorite drink, show, all kinds of stuff.  Right before we left he told the sales guy, "If you were a kid, you would be a good friend."

I don't think he stopped talking all night.

What I didn't anticipate, and apparently it's a new thing he has picked up from somewhere... Jeff and I were standing outside talking and Conor said, "There's a fart coming... here it comes... (he farted) I didn't even hear it!"  Then he proceeded to fan it towards us. 

I don't remember either of the girls ever did anything similar to that. 

The call you don't want to get

A little after midnight I got a call from Alli - crying, telling me she was in an accident.  On her way home from work, an animal ran in front of her and she swerved.  She ran into a parked car.  She was driving my car since I have been banned from driving for 2 weeks because of my surgery.  Although I'm OK to drive, I haven't needed to. 

Both air bags deployed, but she is OK.  That is the most important thing, and I thank God for that.  The car is replaceable, she is not.  I also appreciate the two policemen who responded to the crash for their kindness and patience.  They were very nice, explained everything, answered all of my questions and made sure Alli was OK and understood what to expect when she goes to court. 

There were also two guys who stood outside their houses and as we left they called out, "Glad you're OK honey," to Alli.  The car she hit was that of her friend's uncle - who is currently on vacation somewhere. 

I haven't called my insurance company yet, I think I'll just wait until tomorrow to deal with that.

Update to add pictures:

My car:

The air bags:

The other car - the blue one in front of the Jeep:

I went to the tow yard to take the pictures of my car - one thing that bothers me is that the car is sitting there, unlocked, for anyone to take anything out of it.  I took stuff from it and no one ever came out to see what I was doing.  I realized that I need to go back because I forgot to empty the glove compartment and the console in the middle of the seats.  I don't know what is in there, but I do know there is stuff in there.  I won't get the word on whether it will be totaled until Monday or Tuesday. 

About Mel Gibson

I may be blasted for this opinion, but... I'm still going to post it!  I will say I have NOT listened to any of the audio, nor have I read many articles about it.  Why not?  Because the people writing those articles have no idea what is going on in his personal life.  They do not live with him, they do not know him personally, they are speculating.  And that audio?  I'm sure that whatever it is, it is only a portion of the conversation.  Who knows what the person recording it was saying to him to get him to say what he was saying.  People do make mistakes, and when you are emotional you can SAY a lot of things that you don't really mean - out of frustration and anger.  From what little I have read - headlines, small blurbs - this is a girlfriend trying to keep him from seeing his child?  Or use the child  to get money from him?  I don't know. 

People may think that I'm naive, but I don't assume the worst in people based on people feeding stuff to the media.  Who knows what was edited out?  His ex-wife, who probably has more reason to resent him than anyone, is sticking up for him.  Knee jerk reactions... people need to not jump to conclusions when they do not have all the facts.  And unless you know these people personally, you do not have all the facts.  Not only that, but it is not my place to judge him.  He is an entertainer, I like his movies.  That's the only opinion I have about Mel Gibson.  The rest is not for me to determine.

Just my thoughts and opinion. 

Another knee-jerk reaction?  Forcing someone to resign based on an edited video from 24 years ago posted on the Internet!  You would think that they would do a LITTLE more research into it before asking someone to leave their job. 

A Few of My Favorite Books

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole is one book I have to list as a favorite.  I like to actually read books, but Jeff likes to listen to books on CD or an iPod.  I believe that comes from his many years of being an over the road truck driver.  He would go to the library and get books on tape or CD and listen to them as he drove.  He is the one who introduced me to this book, and he had me listen to it.  Thus, I must recommend that you listen to it if you have the choice.  The narrator does an amazing job of changing his voice for the different characters in the book.  You will laugh at the characters and the entire story line.  






Many of you know that I am a huge fan of John Grisham, and really - I love all of his books.  Playing for Pizza is one of my favorites because the setting of the book is in Italy, and Italy is one place I would like to go before I die.  Grisham took me to Italy in this book, but I still want to see the real thing!  It is about football, but you don't have to love football to love the book. 









Southern Fried Divorce is another book that I listened to rather than read.  I must say, at first, the narrator's voice was a tad irritating but it grew on me and I grew to love it.  The book will make you laugh out loud, and it also has a few good recipes in it, so have a paper and pen ready if you listen to it because some of them sound so good you may want to make them!  I'm not sure what I was expecting when I read this - but it was nothing like what I expected.  It was better.   








This was also a way for me to test out the new and fancy linking from Amazon!  Hmmmm, I may have to do some give aways of the books I have but need to find a new home for since I need the space!  Stay tuned.  :)

I thought I was through with these posts!

Today was a pretty good day - after a pretty slow start this morning, I was lying in bed and decided to do a mind over matter thing and get up and DO stuff.  So.  We sold Conor's bed so we went out to the garage to get it all ready.  After that we went to our other house, watered plants, cleaned a bit, then went home because I felt I needed to rest.  I took a small nap - my sister came by and it woke me up, so we discussed dinner.  Now, today is the first day I have eaten anything solid for a while.  Over the week I did try to eat a few things with very unsuccessful results.  I could eat a 1/4 of a sandwich if I tried - then my mouth and jaw would start hurting and my throat wouldn't be able to take anymore.

So, we got Cracker Barrel - I got mashed potatoes and dumplings.  The mashed potatoes didn't taste right to me, but I'm expecting food not to taste right for a while.  The dumplings were good, though, so I ate maybe 1/2 of those and a biscuit.  It wasn't a horrible experience - getting better at swallowing. 

I was so sure it was getting better!  I went to bed and didn't take a pain killer.  That was a mistake, I woke up about 1AM in pain so I took one and went back to sleep.  Around 2:30 I woke up - sorry for the grossness - and threw up... a lot.  It hurt.  So. Bad.  I made it to the trashcan for the first couple of times, and then ran into the bathroom for the rest.  I was at the sink rinsing my mouth out, and I started getting dry heaves.  Jeff came in the bathroom and wanted to help, but couldn't do anything to help.  I was rinsing my mouth out, tears streaming down my face, I asked, "Why is this happening?!" and in my head I heard the response of a friend of mine "Because of your behavior yo" - and I also thought that Jeff would say it too, because it's just a thing we do... from this skit on Saturday Night Live.  http://www.hulu.com/watch/143263/saturday-night-live-hip-hop-kids-bear-cave

Around the 4 minute mark - that is the part I am referring to right now, but there are a lot of times that different parts of this skit are brought up in conversations.  It's funny, to us at least. 

So, I managed to stop the heaves - I brushed my teeth twice trying to rid my mouth of the taste.  Jeff got me some Sierra Mist to drink, at my request, thinking it would help settle my stomach.  I took a drink and it burned the hell out of my throat.  So now I'm relaxing with a glass of chocolate milk, making sure it's all over before I lay down again.  I'm afraid to take another pain killer - I'm not sure if I threw the other one up or not, and I don't want to take another one so soon after that last one... I think I'll just take some Ibuprofen.  So, I had a horrible ending to a pretty good day.  The best day so far during the recovery was capped by the worst night so far during the recovery!  I'm almost afraid to hope for better tomorrow!  I don't know if I should report this to the doctor or not - my throat was bleeding, so I don't know if that's OK or not.  I pray this does not cause a setback!

Sorry if I grossed you out - just documenting the recovery! 

I've only had one other surgery - long, long ago. I had my gallbladder removed because I had gallstones. I remember the day I came home from the hospital - I was alone at my house. My mom had Alli who was around 3 years old at the time. I was in bed all day, sleeping on and off, watching TV. I believe it's the only other time I've really been on pain killers for an extended amount of time.

The TV show I was watching? QVC. And they were doing specials on quilts that day. The "Today's Special Value" was a quilt, and then they had a few hours throughout the day that showcased quilts. I love quilts. I was on pain killers. Do you know where I'm going with this? Yeah, a few days later I received my NINE quilts via UPS delivery. Yes, I bought 9 quilts. At that point in my life I lived alone with Alli. I had no need for 9 quilts! I ended up sending 6 back and keeping 3. One of them was my favorite quilt of all time, I kept it for years until it fell apart so much that I finally had to let it go.

So tonight, I took a pain killer, and laid down to go to sleep. I turned the TV on to watch until sleep took over and what channel did I end up on? QVC. I have not ordered from QVC for years. I watched a presentation and suddenly I can't imagine NOT getting a really cool cup - spill proof. They come in a variety of colors, and they come in sets of 2. So I kept watching, trying to talk myself out of them. I don't need more cups! I'm getting rid of stuff, not buying stuff! But I really could use them. And since there are 5 of us, I would need to get 3 sets of 2. Should I get all the same color? OR different colors for each person?

I got up, came to the computer to place an order, and remembered the quilts. Instead of ordering the cups, I wrote this post. I will schedule it to post later since I already posted once today... but I need to get back to bed and TURN THE CHANNEL!

Hey, it's not a post at 3AM!

I spared you my 3AM post last night, mostly because I didn't want to get out of bed. I took a pain killer, rolled over and did my best to go back to sleep.

I got brave last night and asked Jeff to get me a plain hamburger from Wendy's. I thought, "Hey, it's pretty soft, and it sounds good, and I can at least TRY." Wasn't a horrible idea - I did manage to eat a quarter of it - but it was too much work and it wore me out trying to chew and swallow, so I gave up and drank the milkshake he had gotten me as well.

I can't say the pain is better per se, but I believe I reached the peak of the pain and am on my way downhill to being healed. I hope so anyway. It seems a little tiny bit better today.

Something I've gotten to enjoy while being off is Ellen. I have always loved Ellen - I think she is a wonderful human being. Beautiful, kind, generous, funny - I really admire her. Her show is on from 4 to 5 here, so I won't be able to watch it once I go back to work. I think this video is hilarious - Ellen scaring Taylor Swift.

Another thing going on around me as I sleep is sorting / packing / moving. I can't participate much right now, but we are trying to get ready to move - as most of you already know anyway. We are selling a lot of stuff, possibly having a garage sale next weekend - if we can get it together by then. So, everything around here is in varying stages of mess. Some sorted and boxed, some sorted and stacked, some ready to be sorted, and lots left to go through.

Everyone is excited about the move - you've seen pictures of our new back yard in the post about my birthday and we are looking forward to having little parties back there. I love it that we will have trees and space for Teddy to really run.

We are already planning a small party there in just a couple of weeks - Jeff has invited his friend Giselle and her boyfriend David to come over to hang out. We are working on a menu for the party - which will be Hawaiian. We're gonna do chicken and grilled pineapple, and still looking for some recipes. In searching for something to make, I came across a new blog that I really like that I thought I'd share with you. A Cozy Kitchen not only has some great recipes, but the writing and stories that are included are fun to read as well. So go on over there and see what you think! I think you'll love it, I know I do.

I kinda think a Hawaiian theme is a little scary for us to really pull off because David currently lives in Hawaii and will be flying in just to come to our party!! Haha, just kidding - he is coming to visit Giselle, it just happens to be at the same time as our party. Trying to come close to the real thing may be a little lame, but we are going to try!

I could never be a vampire

Have you read Twilight or seen the movie? No? I didn't think so. Most of the adults I know who read this blog haven't found the urge to read the vampire mega-hit miniseries. Or to run out to the movies to sit amongst thousands of teenage girls who squeal in delight every time Robert Pattinson or Taylor Lautner appears on screen.

Well, I did read it. Not just IT, but THEM. I read all 4 of the books and I enjoyed them. Yes I will admit it! I first went to see the movie Twilight with Alli - it had been out for a few weeks when we saw it, so we didn't have all the screaming girls in the theater while we were watching it. I hadn't even heard of it before seeing the movie and I had no idea it was based on a book. I love books, I love to read, and given the option I'd rather read a book than watch a movie. I also am aware that no movie will ever do a book justice. There is just so much more a book can tell you than a movie can - if movies were true to books, they would be at least 10 hours long and have a LOT more cost to them. So I do keep this in mind when I watch a movie. They have a time limit and a budget, so they have to cut some things and if the over all gist of the movie is the same, I'll forgive them.

Anyway! I saw Twilight, then bought the books and read them all, and then saw New Moon (2nd book/movie in the series). We made an evening of it - I bought tickets for opening night weeks in advance - Alli, Sara, and I went out to dinner and then to the movies to see it. It was a fun night with the girls, but I didn't like the movie.

All of this is SOOOO beside the point of this post. This is what happens when your sleep is wacky and you are awake and in pain in the middle of the night. You write these long, babbling posts to try to make ONE point. And here it is - THE POINT TO THE MADNESS: In the books, and in the movie, the main vampires are "good" vampires - they don't feed on humans. Thus they have an "ache" in their throats that they just learn to live with - animal blood dulls it, but does not erase it.

Maybe I'm just a big wimp, but having had this pain in my throat for 5 days now and I've come to the conclusion that I'm not cut out for being a vampire - at least not one of the good ones.*

*disclaimer: yes, I do know that vampires do not exist but I am in pain and cannot be held responsible for the thoughts running through my mind or the fact that I come to the Internet to share such thoughts with you. it is supposed to be funny, so just laugh at my pain and move on! even though I'm not laughing yet, I hope to eventually when the pain goes away!