Exclusive Interview

Yeah- so the big thing around these days is to be interviewed by people. So, my very new bloggy friend, Blythe, sent me these fun questions! Wanna be interviewed? Just let me know in the comments.

1. What was the best decision you ever made? Oh wow... that's tricky. I guess the best decision I ever made was going online looking at guys available in Atlanta a little over a year ago. I would say the decision to have my girls but neither of them were what you would call conscious decisions.

2. What makes you laugh so hard you cry? Things that happens when I'm with the Mommy blabbers, and some certain figure skating videos.

3. You have three wishes, and you are not allowed to wish for "world peace" or anything equally selfless. These wishes are for YOU! What do you wish for? Okay - first - I would wish for a better income. I'm tried of living (not even) paycheck to paycheck. I don't want to be rich and live in some big house, I just want to be able to pay for day to day stuff and a movie now and then. Second - I would wish to move to Atlanta. Right now. I miss Mr. B. Third - I would wish that my girls would live Christ-centered lives. But not stuffy shirt Christian lives, but live life to the fullest.

4. What do you believe the best compliment you can give someone is?AWESOME question!!! I'm gonna go with "You make me smile"... cause that's open to all kinds of reasons they make you smile, but I adore people who make me smile.

5. You wake up one morning in August, and it is pouring outside. What is your reaction? Is it a weekend? Then I'm probably gonna go back to sleep and then later take the girls outside to play in the rain. Is it a weekday? Then I'm going to make sure I know where the plaid umbrella Mr. B bought me, is.

Pfriday Pfoto Pfinish Pfiesta 1.30.09

It'z pfinally Pfriday!!!

Well, I hope you enjoyed my mockoring week. I had fun... I think I might have pissed a couple people off, which I never intended to do.

So, during this week of mirth, we passed by a date that is very special to me. My wonderful Gramma's birthday on the 28th. And this year, if she were still with us, she would be 100 years old!

Her husband, Scoop, died when my mom was 14, so obviously I never knew him. If he were still with us, however, tomorrow would be his 110th birthday!

So my picture this week is the two of them on their wedding day. She was 37 (my age) and he was 47. He had been married previously and was divorced. He had 2 sons from his first marriage - both of whom died in WWII. They were married on my great-uncle's farm (he and his wife are on the far right and far left of the picture. The whole family was there... after dinner that evening the family gathered around to sing as they always did. Scoop & Elsie had reservations at a hotel for that night, so they left around 9. But a mile down the road Scoop said that he was having so much fun with her family that he wanted to go back! So turn around they did, and joined back in the fun until 3 am!!!

So Happy Birthday Grandpa. And Happy Birthday Gramma. I miss you. I miss taking you out to dinner on your birthday and you taking forever to decide what you want to eat. I miss hearing you exclaim what beautiful wrapping paper your presents where in and it was "just a shame to mess them up!" I miss giving you a birthday balloon and finding it still floating in your house on Mother's Day. I miss eating fudge stripped cookies with you and watching M*A*S*H. I miss your sweet hugs and kisses. I miss the tic tacs in your purse. I miss your polyester blue pants. I miss your love of road trips and your need to read EVERY SINGLE SIGN you saw! I miss you arguing with your sister. I miss your dusty blue dress coat. I miss your finger pointing. I miss playing in the sandbox with you and rolling down the hill. I miss spitting watermelon seeds from the front steps. I miss the smell of your garage. I miss your handwriting. I miss you trying to hide the fact that you were still smoking. I miss the cluck of your tongue when you saw women on tv "showing too much." I miss ironing your hankies. I miss listening to the stories of you growing up. I miss Chinese checkers and aggravation. I miss bowls of ice cream with Hershey's syrup. I miss apple slices and flat sprite. I miss hearing "Bethie B"

Thank you for being the very best Grandma ever. I see you in the girls, especially Essie, but yet in Gert too. I wish you had known them both. You would have enjoyed them. They would have enjoyed you.

I love you Gram... thank you for giving me the faith to know I will see you again someday. And thank you for LOTS of bright blue skies!

Scribbler's Symposium

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it:

Many of you are familiar with Writer's Workshop. Well, yeah, that's just always been too much for me. So today I bring you Scribbler's Symposium. Here's how it works. I give you 3 ideas, you grab a sharpie, crayon, Mr. Sketch marker in blueberry (do you remember those things? Oh my GOSH I loved them and that pleasing Styrofoam tray they came in), color us a picture, and put it on your blog. How COOL hunh?? And we're TOTALLY not grading on staying in the lines...

Without further ado, here are your choices:

1. A self portrait
2. Use pointillism to give us a view of your laundry room.
3. A fuzzy duck in a political setting

Ok - so - go, be creative!!!!!!

Here's mine- sorry about the quality - we don't have a scanner at work and I had to just take a picture with my phone. Can you tell me what this is a picture of???

Whoops - I forgot something! Here's an update.

The Whisper's In the Pudding!!!

Featured Blogger: Matt's Blog


New to WITP? Well where the heck have you been?


Today's featured blogger is Matt's Blog!


Lizzy: One of my first reads of the day! I grab my coffee and park my butt at my laptop. I just KNOW Matt's gonna have something to make me spew mocha on my keyboard!!!


Beth: I SO connect with this blogger. I mean, I have 4 letters in my name and so does he. And we BOTH have a T!!!!

Sometimes you Flip, sometimes you FLOP! The Different Faces of HPC

Meeeeeemmmmmreis....... light the corner of my mind....!! I Used the Latest MKL with Numpy and.....


Cause EVERYTHING'S better in French!!! To Translate or not to Translate?


As always, when you see this:

LEAVE A COMMENT!!!!!

(If you can't figure out who I am mockoring with this post - then you need to go here and join in the fun)

In the Kitchenette With Lizzy

Today I'm mockoring (that's mocking & honoring - don't worry - nuttin' but love for all) my dear sweet friend Kat. Kat often brings us yummy morsels from her kitchen, complete with pictures and instructions. So today I'm going to try my hand.

So. please join me for...........

Office Instant Oatmeal.

You will need: A bowl, a packet of instant oatmeal (I prefer the Archer Farms Lower Sugar Apple & Cinnamon), a mug and a faux silver plastic spoon.

First take the mug and fill it full of water. You can use tap water or water cooler water... or bathroom water if you have to but DON'T TELL LYNDA!!!!




Carefully place the mug into the microwave and do whatever it takes to make it spin around for 2 minutes. Unless you have an old nasty came-from-someones-deceased-aunts-estate microwave, then you might want to add time. Basically do what you have to to make the water boil.


While the water is cooking, open the packet of Oatmeal, taking care not to open it too quickly and have a little dehydrated oatmeal explosion:

And pour it in the bowl:

Now while you are still waiting for your water to boil, you can admire all the beverage choices available for your Keurig brewing system (have you signed up to win one yet?)

Then check the calendar to see what's coming up the rest of this week:

And if you have time left after that... tap your foot:

NOW - proper office etiquette - WATCH your microwave, and open the door when there is one second left. One second isn't going to make a huge difference in your foods cookability (YES that is a word) and it will keep everyone in your office from giving you dirty looks when the sound of the microwave buzzer reverberates around the building.

Pour the scalding water into the plastic bowl:

(If you are under 18 (KATIE THIS MEANS YOU) or are a male working in my office, make sure you have adult supervision)

Stir to make sure the mix doesn't get lumpy. Cause lumpy and oatmeal should never be in the same sentence, except for a sentence telling you that lumpy and oatmeal should never be in the same sentence:

Now let your oatmeal just sit for a few minutes to soak up all the liquid. The amount of liquid you use really does depend on how you like your oatmeal....

Chances are you probably spilled a little bit when you were pouring the water into the bowl:

PLEASE be a good office employee and wipe it up:

Once you've cleaned up your messes, your oatmeal should be ready for consumption! Take back to your cubicle and ENJOY!!!!

Monday Afternoon Eye Candy

It's here - my week of honoring my favorite blogs. I'm more than a little tired, so hopefully this will entertain you as much as it is me.

My sweet friend, Angie, gives us a group of hotties every Monday Morning to drool and pant over. So to honor her wonderful blog, I give you MY list of Monday Afternoon Eye Candy.



Now this first one... well... I've just always had a thing for a guy in a hat....
And this guy... well... nothing says sexy like too much hair product AND a mullet. Let ALONE a good dentist. And finally... who doesn't love a man who is in touch with his feminine side. I mean, isn't that what we're all TRULY hoping for?
So there they are... my picks for Monday Afternoon Eye Candy!!!!
Any of these guys your type? Any of them some one you recognize? Do you have black patent leather mary Janes??? Have you ever smoke MaryJane?

Update

Hello wonderful people.

I just got home from Atlanta. Michael (Kat's husband) is in stable condition. They've been through a lot and Kat is exhausted and scared. Michael will be having a whole bunch of tests this week, but that he's stable right now is a sign of your prayers.

I'll update as I know things, and I'm also going to pop over and update her blog as well.

Please know that she (and Michael and the girls and their families) deeply appreciate your prayers and positive thoughts. It means the world to them to know you are praying.

Pray NOW

I just got a phone call from Kat (Sunshine & Lemonade). Her husband had an aneurysm last night, and is going to be/in surgery right now at Emory university. That's about all the information I have right now. Please pray, please ask others to pray.

Jesus... I don't have words... You are the great physician. Please touch Michael - touch the dr's that are working on him... heal him completely. Please comfort Kat & the girls and her mom, and his family. Hold them tight Jesus.

Amen

Not Fun(d) Raiser

I hate school fun-raisers. HATE them. I hate the junk they sell, I hate asking family and co-workers to part with hard earned cash. And I hate the crap that kids "win" for selling stuff. The Ladies came home with Magazine Sales stuff. And Gert has her HEART set on the prize for selling 6 magazines - some dorky remote that overrules a tv's real remote. We all know it's CRAP and won' last for more than a NANO second. ARGH!!!!!!!!!! And then even if we hit up the grandparents and such we STILL have to divide it by the two girls. ARGH... I would so much rather just have someone send the PTA a check for $10 then making them feel pressure to get something they don't really want.

Have you ever seen this:

Yeah.... that's about how I feel.

Thus endeth the bitching for today.

How about you? Do you enjoy fund raisers? Have you flown a bomber? Were you in the armed services? Would you like to buy a magazine?

F4 & The Day

I haven't done this in a while, but I had to share these.

Last weekend Kat and her mom and I went and looked at some houses. 2 of them were really nice, one... was a dump. But that wasn't what I wanted to share with you. I wanted to share what I SAW in the houses:

This first one is for Rhea. To add to her collection....

And this gorgeous, and yet functional gal. Can you get her on Etsy? (Um... I went and looked and yes indeedy you can)

Now THIS.... well... can you tell what it is? Our Lord & Savior.. in.. shells.

Now this one was from the ickey house - tempting to say if they'll throw in Sea Life Jesus I might just take it....

*********************************************

It was pointed out to me that I didn't tell you about my Anniversary day with Mr. B. I got to see him Sunday night for quite a while. We had an incredible talk. I had found this INCREDIBLY sappy book at B&N that day on the bargain table... it's called "To the One Person I Consider to Be My Soul Mate" - Loving messages meant to be shared with a very special person. Now.. normally even I'M not this sappy, but I picked it up because Mr. B is wary of the word Soul Mate - it's just over used. I started thumbing through it and while sappy, each... message... was just SO Mr. B and I. So I got it, and shared some of the messages with him Sunday night.

Here's the one that hit me the most:

A Little Love Story

When I first knew you, the thought of having you in my life was one of the most wonderful things I could imagine.

To have gone from that moment in time to this moment when I'm happier than I ever thought any person could ever be, is all the proof I'll ever need... to know that miracles really do come true.

This is my love story.... about you.

I love you. So much. And so amazingly. Each day is like a new page that I get the privilege of turning over, with a new paragraph for the morning, a sweet entry for the afternoon, and a can't-wait-to-read romance that winds its way to the brightest stars anyone ever wished upon...

Ours is a story of two people, each with a journey in search of a distant horizon. Two souls whose paths were allowed to cross, whose words felt right at home, and whose smiles discovered that walking the way together could lead to a kind of happiness that only comes along once in a lifetime.

We were given a gift that many people search all their lives for and never manage to find. When I found you, I just knew how I wanted to fill the empty pages of my life.

I want to be with you.... and I want this love story to have a very happy ending... by never, ever ending at all.

Yeah... REALLY sappy... left both Mr. B and I in tears. Sunday night with him was just pure perfection.

Monday he and I went to IKEA. He'd never been there and it was fun to share it (and meatballs!) with him. We had lunch together and it was SO nice. Sitting and being together and sharing each other. *sigh*

After we left IKEA we headed to a park and just walked and talked. Each moment I get to spend with him just confirms in my mind that I was meant to be with him... that this is something so special and wonderful. And I remind myself daily that it's a special gift that not everyone is given.

Saying goodbye was torturous. I was doing fine - no tears - then he and I were goofing around and I hurt my thumb... which started the tears and they just did NOT want to stop. UGH!!!!

Now all THAT on top of a wonderful time with Kat - eating Mexican food, shopping, playing Wii, looking at houses... it was a FANTASTIC weekend!!!!!! I really can't wait to move down there and get to hang with Kat more. Maybe even make HER some food :)

So now we must have the questions.

Have you been to IKEA? Do you like meatballs?

Do you have any crocheted girls around your house covering things up?

Do you have any pictures of holy figures made out of interesting objects?

Have you ever made a PB&J sandwich and had the PB resemble a Holy Figure? I had one once resemble Oscar the Grouch but I ate it... no proof.

I Hear The Crickets Chirping....

I'm at a loss for anything of any interest to say.

Are you watching American Idol? I'm really liking Kara. I like that she give Simon crap back. I like that Paula doesn't seem quite so stupid. I like a few of the singers but I don't have a favorite yet. I do have to say this, I think if you've at some point had a record contract with a major company, you shouldn't be eligible for AI.

Anyone watching The Biggest Loser? MAN I wanted Joelle to leave. But then again I don't cause I like to watch Bob have apoplexy.

Seriously... could this post be any more completely lame?

It's Rubbing Off....

As you may or may not know, I am a blonde. Well... let's follow the progression of Lizzy's hair (I'm sorry there aren't accompanying pics - they're all out in the storage area and it's just TOO cold to go digging)

Lizzy was born February 5th (HINT HINT) with a mess of black hair. Through the course of her first year, Lizzy's hair grew curly and by her first birthday was actually almost red. As time went on her hair turned fully blonde, and lost it's curl. So that most of her life it was blonde, and stick straight.

When Lizzy was 26, she got pregnant, and had a beautiful little girl. Lizzy's hair, once the baby was born, started turning brown. Lizzy does not LIKE herself with brown hair, so she started coloring it, to keep it it's "natural" color.

When Lizzy was 31 she had another baby, after which her hair grew progressively CURLIER...

Lizzy isn't really sure why she's telling you all this, nor why she is speaking in third person...

Ok... so do you get it? I'm blonde. I do blonde things. In case you have missed one of my blondest moments, go here.

Yesterday, I got an e-card from Mr. B. It was from my favorite e-card site - someecards.com (WARNING - very irreverent site with not so nice humor - so if you get offended easily DON'T go there. And if you do and don't like it, don't say I didn't warn you.)

At any rate, here is the text that accompanied the card:

Message : Sigh
Some days.... I just sent MYSELF this card from YOU!
I guess Alzheimer's has already set in. I LOVE YOU, my sweetheart.

Now, he says it's Alzheimer's, I say it's my blondeness rubbing off. What do you think?

Have you ever had a blonde moment? I had one the other day - was looking around for my cell phone. Um... yeah, I was USING it.

Has your hair changed since you were little? Have you fought it or accepted it?

Do you wrestle with your significant other? Have you ever sustained an injury?

Did you watch the Inauguration stuff yesterday and think "Hm... I wonder how the capital would look decked out in Plaid Ducks?" I might have.......

The Best Laid Plans........

Okay, because of weather interferrence, the "Mock/Honor/Copycat" posts will be next week. I headed back from Atlanta yesterday, drove through snow the whole way, picked up the girls and the roads got really bad so we ended up turning around and spending the night at a hotel. Then it took us quite a while to get home today and I'm running behind so we'll do that next week, m'kay?

The Days Ahead

Happy Friday Y'all!!! WOO HOO!!!

I just wanted to give you all a little heads up. FIRST of all, I'll be headed to Atlanta to hang with Kat, so I probably won't be posting much o'er the weekend.

SECOND of all... Monday is Mr. B's and my first anniversary, and guess what - I get to SPEND THE DAY WITH HIM!!!!! Yeah, I'm only a little excited.

AND Finally... Be sure to check back next week as I plan to honor/mock/copycat some of my favorite websites each day!!!!!

Now, just so we have something to talk about, here's some questions....

What are your plans for the weekend? Do your kids have school Monday? Do you have to work Monday? And this one Shannon doesn't have to answer cause I asked her on her blog, but I liked the question so much I'm going to ask you all. What article of clothing do you own that you would be too embarrassed to wear outside the house?

Sprechen Sie Toddler?

Lula was talking about the trophies we moms (and dads) earn. I think my Trophy moment as a mother came when Essie was about two-and-a-half.

We were living with my Dad and Julie, and it was a Friday night. Dad called and said he wanted to take everyone out for dinner, and being the doting Grandpa that he was (and still is) he asked that Essie pick the restaurant.

So I knelt down in good mommy fashion (you know - face-to-face communication) and asked where she'd like to go out to eat.

"The Froggy Store"

Um.... hmm... Froggy Store. We were living in San Diego, and there are a LOT of restaurants around there, but nothing called The Froggy Store. I thought maybe she meant Friday's, because they have all the stuff on the walls and maybe something was a frog. So I said "You mean Friday's?"

"No, The Froggy Store."

So I tried a different tactic. "What did you eat at The Froggy Store?"

"Chicken."

Oh yeah, helpful... cause she ate chicken EVERYWHERE we went.

Ok... next try. "Who did we eat there with?"

"Gramma & Grampa"

Oh yeah... narrowed it down nicely... not.

I could not for the LIFE of me think of what she meant. We ended up going to a different place (MUCH to Essie's chagrin) simply because I could never figure out what she meant.

A few days later we were driving down the road, and we passed The Olive Garden. And then it clicked. "Essie, " I said, pointing at the building, "Is that The Froggy Store?"

"YES Mommy!!! That's it!!!"

Anyone want to make a guess here? On the kids place mats at that time, they had little green olive characters with eyes on them, and they did resemble a frog. Thus... The Olive Garden was The Froggy Store.

Now Gert tried to get me the other day. She wanted to watch the movie with the Teenagers in the Rain.

Um.... yeah. Teenagers in the rain. Um.... Say Anything? No, we don't have that one. (BAD me... I need that one on DVD)... um...

"Gert? I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"You know Mommy, the teenagers singing and dancing in the rain."

Thinking... thinking.... thinking.............

DING DING DING

"Gert, do you mean the Sound of Music?"

"Yah Mommy!! That's the one."

Thank you... thank you very much.

So you Mom and Dad types, what kinds of Toddler/Kidesse have you been able to decipher? Do you have anything that you still say "wrong" even though your kid has grown up? Do you like The Olive Garden? Which Von Trapp child is your favorite? Did you secretly have a crush on Rolf like I did?

OH - AND GET THIS - I got a paycheck from Wachovia today!!!! I called to make sure it was legit and it was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just When You Think It's Safe To Go Back...

In the Diet Pepsi... it's not.

If you missed it, I dumped my cell phone in a glass of Diet Pepsi on Sunday night. BLONDE!!!!!! I let it dry out over night, and Monday morning it was working fine. WOO HOO!!!!

Today is the official "Welcome Lizzy as a Full Time Wachovia/WellsFargo/Whoever-Owns-Us-Today Employee Day". We're having lunch delivered, and just a little while ago FLOWERS were delivered to me from my boss and all the guys here in the office!!

Well of COURSE I wanted to share that with Mr. B, so I was going to take a picture of the flowers with my phone and send it to him.

Click. White screen.

Click. White screen.

Apparently there was more damage done by the Diet Pepsi than I originally thought!

(Side story - I texted Mr. B and told him all this... we went back and forth a couple times and then got "Um.... may I ask who the flowers were from and why?" Awwww... a little bit jealous!!!)

I called my carriers insurance company, and told them my phone jumped into a glass of pop... she laughed. And they're sending me a new phone. Unfortunately they don't make my phone anymore (which, in March was a "brand new model") so I will be the "proud" owner of a Samsung Hue II. Someday I'll have an iphone or a blackberry or something cool but... for now.. it's a phone and it works. I hope.

In OTHER... well... I wouldn't really call it NEWS or anything... just an interesting thing to have happen.

I've found a website called idotaketwo.com... it's all about second marriages and weddings and blended families and the like. I was on there looking at information about blended families, and saw a link for "1000 questions couples should ask before they get married". Thinking that would be something interesting to look at, I clicked on it. And was taken to an Anti-Israel, Pro-Terrorism website with HORRIFIC pictures on it.

I quickly sent an e-mail to the webmaster of idotaketwo.com and let them know. About an hour later I got a reply thanking me, which I thought was nice.

Get this - a little bit ago I got another e-mail:

Hi Elizabeth -Thank you for bringing that ugly redirect to our attention. I informed the owner of that website and he is grateful for the "heads up".I'd like to send you a small thank you for your time. Can you provide me with your mailing address as well as some information about why you were visiting our website (are you the bride, are you marrying for the second time, are you hosting a renewal, etc?) If I know more about what you're planning I can send you an appropriate gift.Thanks again.

So not necessary - but isn't that cool? That made me smile.

All in all it's a pretty good Wednesday.

American Idol started up again last night. There was some TALENT this time around. And did you catch the sight-impaired guy at the end. WOW - amazing. Bikini girl? NOT so amazing. I hate it when people use vocal runs to cover up the fact that they can't hold a note and keep it on pitch. And it annoys me even further when they start bobbing their heads around with the run. So in short she ANNOYED THE WHING-DANG out of me.

Now, you know what comes next... QUESTIONS!!! (I really have to take my hat off to Kat, cause this question thing REALLY is a fun way to get to know you all a LOT better!!!!)

Do you like to get flowers? What kind of phone do you have? Have you ever been given a reward for something? Did you watch American Idol? If so what did you think of Bikini girl?

Johnny Bravo, Part II

I KNEW I would get a mix of answers when I said something about Johnny Bravo...

Here is who I think of what I think Johnny Bravo...

That's right baby. Greg Brady, leaving the Silver Platters behind and goin' solo!!!

I admit... I me a little crush on Greg back in the day. He was smooth, he was cool, and he was nice to his mama. What more could you want?

After a time though a new love wandered into my life...

Oh yes.... I loved me some Manly.... who WOULDN'T! Look at that smile!! That head of hair. Now - interestingly enough, when I was looking for a picture of Almanzo, I ran across one of the REAL Almanzo Wilder and I gotta tell ya... I think he's a hottie:

What do you think?

The from the past to the future, I discovered this hunk of Masculinity:

Mmmm.... he WAS tasty back in the day. The ONLY fan letter I ever wrote in my whole life was to him. I got... NOTHING back. I'll be okay about that.... eventually.

After a string of "older" men, I turned my attentions to more attainable boys... ie Ricky & Jason:

And I think I showed EXCELLENT taste... cause look at them now (yeah... I admit, doin' the Daddy thing is TOTALLY hot):

And then there were these two:

Ahhhh.. thank you 80's television for teenybopper eye candy.

And thanks to John Hughes, the king of 80's teen movies, for this discovery:

Jake Ryan? He doesn't even know you exist.... *sigh*

There they are... my heartthrobs of childhood/teenager...dom?

So who did you have a thing for? Where are they now? Do they make teen heartthrobs like they used to? Did you think this post would end with a picture of Mr. B? HA HA!!!!

Oh Bennie, How I LOVE THEE!!!!

Oh Bennie... you have come into my life, and made it better. You are easing my pain, you are making it easier to take care of my children. You make me able to go out for dinner with The Ladies and not have to pay the full price. You send me messages and they make me smile. You help me afford health care. You comfort me when I grieve. You let me see someone to talk to if it all becomes more than I can handle. You will help me with legal issues, you let me take days off now and then. Oh Bennie, how many ways you show me you love me. I am yours. And you are mine.






NO! Mr. B is not Bennie. I now have BENEFITS!!!! And after working for the worlds SUCKIEST company back in Minnesota (FASTENAL - I hope you landed here searching for that and see that they BITE THE BIG ONE), I feel like a QUEEN with all the Benefits that Wachovia/Wells Fargo/Whoever-Owns-Us-Today offers. Vision, Health, Dental, paid time off for bereavement, discounts on all sort of things, health care assessments, pre-tax child care accounts, pre-tax health flex spending accounts, financial services, adoption assistance (not that I need anymore kiddos but how COOL that they offer it) tuition reimbursement, etc. etc. etc.

Now here's some side news - last night I baptized my cell phone in Diet Pepsi. I pulled it all apart and let it sit overnight. It's working fine now. LUCKY am I!!!!

Thank you for all your song suggestions - I took some, and in the process ended up finding this guy - Charles Kelley. He's currently a part of Lady Antebellum, but this is his solo album, definitely pop, not country, and I ADORE IT!!!!!!


So here's your questions. Do you have benefits? What's one benefit companies don't offer that you think they should? Have you ever baptized your cell phone? Did it recover? Do you know who Johnny Bravo is?

Help, I Need Somebody!

Hey guys. Do I look any different? I'm a full-fledged Wells Fargo/Wachovia employee! It took a while, but I am. Now the only trick - I don't get paid again until January 30th. ACK!!!

So, here's your assignment for the weekend. I got a $25 gift card for itunes for Christmas, and I'm in a bit of a musical rut, so I need suggestions. What are your favorite songs? Favorite all time? Favorite new songs? Just fyi - I'm TOTALLY riding a lovey dovey high right now so songs about love sucking probably won't cut it :)

So thanks in advance sweeties!!!

Blogger Block

Really... I have NOTHING... or... nothing that you would find entertaining or that wouldn't scare the be-jesus out of you.

So I'll just ask questions, and you'll answer them, and then something will come to me at some point and I'll have something to blog about.

OH - I can tell you about last night. Essie pretty much made the cake, we put it in the oven, made our peanut butter & banana sandwiches and ate them with our milk in fancy glasses like we imagined Elvis might drink milk out of, and then I swear I was blind-sided by the Sandman... I couldn't stay awake. We got the cake out of the oven and I told the ladies that I was just going to nap for a little bit while the cake cooled and then we'd frost it. A couple minutes later, or so I thought, Gert poked me and said "Mommy, come have cake." Looking at the clock on the DVR, I discovered it was now 9 pm. I'd been asleep for almost 2 hours. Essie dragged me into the kitchen, and there was the cake, frosted and already cut and ready to serve. And let me tell you Essie did a FABULOUS job frosting it - just a nice thin even layer, and the cutting job was really done well too. I was quite proud of my girl!!! We each grabbed a piece and sang a little Happy Birthday to Elvis. It was a fun night. I'm proud of my girls.

Apparently questions DO work so here's some more. What was the first thing you learned to cook? What kind of chores do you kids do? (And how old are they) Do you enjoy times when the tv never gets turned on. Do you have secrets that almost NO ONE knows about?

There... that should keep you busy for a while :)

Do You Know What Today Is?

Anyone? Anyone?

I didn't, until last night, when I was informed by Miss Essie that today is Elvis's birthday (HEY - you teacher types that read this blog - is that how you would write that? Or is it Elvis' birthday?) At any rate, if you don't know by now, Miss Essie ADORES Elvis... A.D.O.R.E.S. Elvis. She got LOTS of Elvis stuff for Christmas and is just in HOG HEAVEN over it.

So, in honor of that adoration, I give you, the Birthday Boy:

He IS a pretty good looking guy.

Tonight we are having a birthday party for Elvis. I'm sure Essie will gladly don her Elvis costume, and we're making a cake. The cake... well... we'll leave that for tomorrow's blog. And we'll probably watch Blue Hawaii, or Viva Las Vegas, or whichever of the 12 Elvis movies we have.

So, Mr. Presley, where ever you are (Bora Bora? Memphis? Vegas? Sheboygan?) we wish you a very Happy Birthday.

Now, I've heard you get more comments when you ask a question, and I admit, I like comments so... here goes. Do you think Elvis is dead or alive? Are you a fan? Who was your first "celebrity crush"? Would you wear a white jumpsuit? Would you wear a white jumpsuit after Labor Day?

Not My Memory Wednesday

Everyone has these "day" posts and I'm just to disorganized to play that game, plus sometimes I just... don't want to. And it's my blog so I don't have to if I don't. Got it?

So, I feel the need for some sort of mirth today, and so I started thinking about stories that make me laugh. And one of my all time favorites is something that happened to my dad back when he was 11 or so.

All my dad's childhood stories seem to involve a young man named Harold. In this particular story we find Harold and Henry (my dad) playing with their new Bow & Arrow sets. (You know, the arrows with the suction cups on the end?). Now these two rambunctious boys lived in the suburbs of Chicago where there weren't over abundant amounts of free-range land for things such as arrow shooting. But, Henry & Harold weren't about to let that stop them. They took to the sky, pointing their bows up and letting those arrows take flight. Up they would go, down they would come. Up they would go, down they would come. Taking turns. Henry's arrow up, Henry's arrow down. Harold's arrow up.... Harold's arrow up.... um.... Harold's arrow stuck on the roof.

The boys headed up to the attic of the home, and looking out the window could see the arrow resting on the shingles, just above the edge of the roof. Now these two boys, being the creative and industrious boys they were, decided the best option would be to tie a rope to the back of Harold's pants, and then he would crawl out the window, onto the roof, and retrieve his arrow.

In what would later be determined to be a moment of sanity for the two, they took the precaution of tying the other end of the rope to the claw-foot tub in the attic bathroom.

They tied the rope through the back belt loops on Harold pants, and he headed down the window. Slowly, carefully he worked his way down the steep slant. My dad stood at the window, letting rope out, bit by bit. Bit by bit. The pitch of the roof was a steep one. Harold was a boy but not a small one. The weight on the rope was becoming too much for Henry. Heat built up in his hands as the rope started sliding through. Heat that soon became more than Henry could bear, and his hands released the rope. Harold wasn't prepared for the sudden slack, and lost his balance, falling over the edge of the roof.

My dad has a sister who is 13 years older than he. She and her husband had come over dinner that night, and my Grandpa & her husband were sitting in the living room, enjoying a little happy hour, when all of a sudden out the picture window was a young man, screaming, hanging by his belt loops at the end of a rope.

WITH

An arrow in his hand.

The boys considered the mission successful.

They Won't Let Me Part 1

Essie & Gert love bedtime stories. Like all good kids they like the same ones, over and over and over, ad naseum. Several years ago they were given the book "Thank You Mr. Falker" by Patricia Polacco. Have you read it? If not, go here and have it read to you, and then come back.

















Are you back?
Are you crying?

I have read that book probably 30 times and STILL can't get through the end of it without crying.

So Essie has banned it. No more Thank You Mr. Falker. Instead it's Little House on the Prairie books. Those don't make me cry. Pa cried... well... the TV Pa cried... alot. But I don't. When I read them.

Are there things that make you instantly tear up, no matter how many times you've heard/read/seen it??

The One Where I Educate

My Meebas - They come in a tube with a "game" on the front of it. The game is a little.. thing.. and you make sure it get's "fed" and is "happy" and it will start to grow. When it's grown completely, the top of the tube opens, and you can get your "Meeba" out... (Or your Neeba as Gert calls it)

Christmas!!!!!

We had an interesting Christmas... parts were good... parts... not so much.

In the past we've always had Prime Rib for dinner on Christmas Eve (we do our big thing Christmas Eve - presents and all) but decided that it took such a long time and made such a mess, that we would do something like Lasagna. Well, there was some discussion about when the lasagna should be made. I voted for it to start before church and then eat when we got home. My mom felt that since we'd had a late lunch, that that would be too early so we should make it after we got home. yeah... we ate Christmas Eve dinner about 10 pm. UGH. The girls were about bouncing off the WALLS!!!! Now ordinarily I wouldn't put QUITE so many pictures of The Ladies opening their gifts, but since some of them were from bloggy friends, I wanted you to see!

First, The Ladies and me by the tree... out of 30 shots, THIS was the best... yeah, we were hungry.


After we ate, Essie read the Christmas Story from the Bible. It's amazing to me that my little girl could read it.... only getting stuck on Quirinius and who wouldn't?

Then we started on the gifts:

Essie got Sims2 Pets - we have played it unendingly over the last week. Good way to learn about the birds and the bees... ha ha!!
Essie LOVES Elvis Gert loves all things Princess and this was her favorite gift... well... among the favorites...

Even I got some fun presents... including an IRON which I didn't get a picture of but I am SO excited about, and some PLAID STUFF!!! INCLUDING a PLAID PURSE!!!

But probably THE hit of the night were the My Meeba's... and they kept us busy ALL weekend!!!

So thank you, all you dear Santa Claus's out there that helped to make my girls' and my Christmas special. You are so dear to my heart.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!