See you in September

Ugh, I never liked that song as a kid. And now it's stuck in my head. What a dope!

It's hard to believe that summer has come to a close. The kids are all getting ready to go back to school. Running around getting all those school supplies etc. I always dreaded the first day of school. I can still remember a certain smell in the air and the infamous "night before". We'd always walk up to our neighborhood deli and get cold cuts for our lunches. We almost always packed our lunches. And then we'd debate for hours, over which outfit would be the "first day of school" outfit. When I was growing up I had 2 sisters so that meant that my parents had to buy school clothes for all 3 of us. That was pretty costly. We usually didn't go to the big department stores; my parents always knew of the discount places. Most times we were on a one parent income which was my dad's. So usually when we went out for school clothes, we each were able to pick at least 2 or 3 outfits to "start us off". It wasn't many compared to what most kids our ages were allowed. I remember seeing all the fancy outfits and brand spanking new sneakers. We rarely, if EVER, purchased brand name sneakers. We would go to Kmart or Fayva. And all this was fine with me.. It helped mold me into the frugal adult I am today, I think. We were appreciative of what we DID have and didn't really dwell on what we DIDN'T. I know if I had a school age child right now, I'd be one stressed out mom. I get anxious when I have to go to the store by myself and try to get some shopping done so I can't even imagine braving the malls, department stores at Back To School time. Yikes! But I hope all my friends are having a good time at least getting back in the school mode again this September. I have some friends whose children are starting Pre-K (like my niece!), some friends whose children are starting high school and even Kindergarten! I know it's an emotional time even though I'm not a mom. I'm an aunt who loves my niece like my own and I cried when she started PreSchool last year. I was a mess.. and even though I've already done the "first day" once already, I'm going to be a mess again. My sister and I usually make sure we have our sunglasses on so it's not as obvious! haha But isn't it a right of passage? To be blubbering mess? I think it is. To my awesome blogger mommies: Good Luck this year! To Hannah, Aiden and Amelie! Big, Big Days for the girls. It's a milestone! And I know there will be pictures!

Birthdays, families etc..

Yes, I sometimes am at a loss for words when it comes to a blog title. Sorry. Anyhoo.. it's Friday so that means I must be off of work! Yippee! I've been pretty productive too. I've already got my second load of laundry in the dryer. The first is dried, folded and PUT AWAY. Which is, in itself, a miracle. I never put laundry away as soon as it's finished. A bad habit of mine that I'm working on. I just started today. HA!! So I've got the laundry all set, cleaned the house, except for running the vacuum and I'm about to shower and run errands. I think we're doing a game night with friends tonight so that's something to look forward to.

And then tomorrow I'm having a little birthday celebration for my mom. Can you believe that she's going to be 58 (don't tell her I said that!) and she has NEVER had a birthday party? Growing up she had a pretty awful childhood... her parents were never around much. Her dad was an alcoholic and her mom was schizophrenic and was in and out of mental institutions. (I'm not kidding and I have no idea why I divulged that much information)..
She said it was mostly just her and her dad at home and when her birthday rolled around he would give her a few dollars and tell her to go down to the bakery and buy herself a birthday cake. It seems like it would've been acceptable but looking back it is in fact, pretty darn sad. Who wants to celebrate alone?
....but back to the subject at hand. I'm getting some good eats and I'm making a birthday cake and having a few close friends over. It'll be small but it'll be special. She'll be thrilled. I have to get some cute decorations etc from the dollar store. It'll all come together nicely. I can't wait. She really deserves a day to just celebrate her. She has been there for me in so many ways through out my life, I can't even count on all my fingers and toes. We're very close and always have been. She is very difficult at times but through the years I learned the tricks of the trade and how to deal with her in different situations.. and it works now. Sometimes she just needs a little kick in the butt. : -) Kidding.. But really, I am so looking forward to tomorrow. (her real birthday is next week; we're going to bingo and then to have some dinner).

over the hump

Yep, today is my hump day. Thank the Lord. I have so much to blog about and I haven't the time I wish I did to really get caught up. I have been so out of character lately; I hardly know myself. Not sure what the deal is.. but I've been using the old hormone excuse. In my case, it truly is though. Everyone seems to annoy me anymore. Well not just anyone.. mostly people who were ALWAYS annoying but I have started to let it get to me. So unlike me.. and I'm not liking it. I'm trying to figure it all out though. It's the stupidest things sometimes that really send me. Take for example, tonight's catching up session with all the blogs I read. I almost felt compelled to comment on someone's blog and tell her to shut the hell up. Ha! I read several different blogs, most of which I actually "follow".. but occassionally I click on a few that I often read but am not actually "following". So I read the one blog, of a gal who is one of the best moms I 'know'. And by 'know', I just mean that I have read her blog long enough to be able to come to that conclusion. Love reading her blog.. it's always filled with witty posts and chock full of stories she shares about her children. She adores them to pieces. Then I find myself landing on another gal's blog and am always irritated to no end that all she does is BITCH. I mean, really. Complains about everything. It seems, (totally my opinion) that nothing is ever good enough. And people in general appear to just annoy the hell out of her. I know some people are just made a certain way and it may just be her personality but I wonder if she realizes it? You often don't see any comments after her 'rant' fests because I can only assume no one really has anything to say to it. She doesn't strike me as someone who appreciates the effort her spouse puts out to provide her with a comfortable life. Very ungrateful is how she actually comes across. It's kind of sad actually. Everyone wants to be happy. So, that was my rant. Sorry. I shall find the old me in the next few days and get back to my regularly scheduled blogging. Hope you're having a super summer ~ it's almost over. Wahhhh!!

Pics

Me with my dad & me with the gals! The photos are a little grainy - they were taken with my elderly aunt's disposable camera but turned out pretty good for the most part.

Marital Bliss

After you get married, everyone starts to ask "how's married life?" when they see you.. And I can tell you, for me, it hasn't changed life much. Jeff and I were together just shy of 9 years before we got married so all that's changed is we live together in our own home now and I have a new last name. Otherwise, not much has changed. I guess in a way, you feel a different kind of bond. And we do feel that closeness. Of course, when friends ask you "how's married life?", you just say "It's cool"... They don't REALLY want to hear all the mushy stuff and how you've really started to become ONE together, even though they did ASK. :) Then, after you've been through that round of questions, you start to get the "When are you having kids? ARE you having kids?" ... and that is the question I don't really ever know how to answer. (whole other post). But married life has been great. We're 3 months in already... So hard to believe it's been 3 months since that beautiful day. So many people think that after a certain amount of time, things change.. or as some put it, "The honeymoon's over".. but for Jeff and me, that hasn't happened. And I hope it doesn't. We've been together almost 10 years and we still act as if it's brand new. He still holds doors for me, speaks highly of me to friends and family, we tell each other EVERY day "I love you", kiss goodbye and goodnight.. Like two newly "in love" people would. Jeff's old fashioned in a lot of ways and gets much of that from his father, which I really appreciate about him. Sometimes, out of nowhere, he'll just look at me and say "Do you know you're beautiful?" It's like he's looking at me for the first time & I love that. Some of our friends say it's "disgusting". Don't hate! HAHAHA

I've got so many pictures to develop still and so many albums to fill. Hell, we haven't even picked up our professional photos yet. We'll get there but we just haven't had the extra $500 laying around. haha Probably in the next month or two, we'll get them. Can't wait to see them. But I have so many photos from everyone else for now, I'm happy with those. At least for the albums we have at home to fill. We didn't do a big honeymoon because we wanted to do some things around the house, so we took some day trips to Lancaster, PA and Smithville, NJ. It was a nice time just shopping and sight seeing and not worrying about anything. Even if just for a little while. It was awesome.. I'll get some pics up soon. Not sure if anyone would want to sit and watch it, but maybe I'll post my wedding video and definitely some more pictures.

Found! Me!

Sorry I've been missing for so long from Blog Land but, even with as much as I've had to say, it's hard for me to find the motivation to sit down and post entries. Now I may just be sitting here all day! Yikes. I've enjoyed catching up on everyone's updates. You're all so GOOD with keeping current on your blogs. I've been taking the easy road & just posting on Twitter and/or Facebook. Twitter's so cool, isn't it? I think I've gotten really bad with it. I have it on my BlackBerry which means it's at my disposal WAY TOO easily. At work, at home.. In restaurants, out shopping! You name it. I did get away from posting EVERY waking minute on my Facebook status. It was getting crazy. I know I'm not the only one. Some people post the MOST RIDICULOUS shit on their status. I want to tell them to shut up sometimes. I know, that's mean, but I'm sure you've got one or two (or four) people like that on your friends list who do that. I think my biggest complaint is when they post WAY personal information or when they start drama. It's like high school sometimes. They start posting shit on there about other people and complaining.. I've seen arguments ensue. So silly. But anyhoo, this was just my "I'm back" post so I'll save my breath for the next couple of posts. Hope you're all well and enjoying the summer so far! From the looks of your blogs, you are! Love seeing all the pictures of summers at the beach and all the kids' pics.

Hello!

I've been out of the loop for so long now.. I have no idea where to start. So much to update you on. I'm actually even not able to give a good effort and post a new entry now either. I'm just waiting for the Stapl.es near my house to open so I can get fax toner for the office. Evidently, no one told me we were low and when I placed the last order, we were next to out of it. So, now, it's a last minute emergency. I wish they opened at 7 so I could be on time. I had so much to do this morning before work. Anyhoo, I will post a new entry on Thursday. Promise! Well, that's if I don't go to see the new Twili.ght Eclipse movie! Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the summer so far! I can't wait to get to the shore and walk the boards. I can already smell the pizza and salt water taffy!

A couple more pics

life in pictures.. for now

Keeping up

I really want to stay up tonight and get some things done but I'm so tired, I don't know if I can hang. I love being off on Fridays but when Thursday night rolls around, I have such big plans for it that never seem to happen. Gahh! I feel so old, going to bed early. But now that I'm done whining. I went and saw Shutter Island last night with my friend from work. It was a pretty good movie. I was debating for a while last night, what my final review was, but I did really like it. It was one of those crazy movies that sort of has a twist. But it doesn't matter with me, because I always figure movies out and this one was no exception. Nonetheless, it was a night girls' night out, complete with dinner at Olive Garden. My favorite place. Ok, maybe just ONE of my favorite places. So tomorrow, I'm hoping to get my ass out of bed earlier than usual and go get an oil change. That's the first thing on my list. My reminder light is coming on so now I know that I'm overdue for service. I'm heading to the post office to mail my thank you cards from the shower and then running some other errands. Going to be a busy gal.. but Fridays are always my "run" days. Tonight my sister and mom visited with my niece. It's always nice when they come over, even though my dog goes berzerk. She loves company and sure has a way of showing it! Gawd! She's crazy. Hope you've all got some great weekend plans in order - I'm sure you're loving this new found Spring-y weather we're having! Makes me think of flowers and gardens and cookouts! Enjoy!

Holy Hiatus Batman!

I can't believe I haven't posted since January. Really? Slacker! Well, I've got so much to update you on.. so I'm going to just do it in bullet-style, which isn't one of my favorite ways to post but it's going to be much easier for me.. Just this once, I promise. I've just been so busy with life, work and wedding plans that I haven't made a good effort to get on and post anything. I wish I could update my blog EVERY day. It would be so much easier. I'm going to be kinda silly with this, but these are the things I would have blogged about INDIVIDUALLY if I hadn't been a slacker.

* Our washing machine broke.. I think it's something simple but we're just using the laundromat for now. I don't miss the laundromat and I'd have been fine if I never stepped foot in one again. BUT it's working for now. We're planning on getting a new washer/dryer after the wedding. It's just not an expense we planned for right now.

* Our house is close to being exactly as we wanted it. We've painted and moved some things around. Bought new furniture for the living room and moved the old furniture to the room off the deck, and turned it into a family room (of sorts).

* We have a huge pine tree that we can't wait to cut down in our backyard. It's obnoxious.. Truly. The neighbor evidently hates it too; the limbs that used to hang over into her yard have all been cut.

* Our neighbors behind us have a paint gun and decided to hit ours and the house next to us over the weekend. Nice bright green paint all over our deck. Assholes.

* I had my Bridal Shower 2 weeks ago - It was fantastic! I received so many great gifts and am so grateful. I loved cleaning out the kitchen and putting all the new stuff away. We love the Keurig coffee machine! It's the best. I love all my gifts though. We're so appreciative of all the things we got. My family and friends were way too good to me. I have so many kitchen items that I really needed. Gifts aside, I was so happy that my friends (old and new) were able to make it). It was a special day.

* Evidently, it was try #3 on the Bridal Shower. The first place my sister booked, ended up losing their lease and never told her. She got her deposit back and then booked it somewhere else. So a second set of invites went out. The new date ended up falling on the weekend we had the snowstorm from hell and the shower was postponed yet again. So finally on take #3, it all came together and was a success.

* My older sister, who is 35, just announced that she is pregnant. I'm ecstatic! I was sure, as were the rest of us, that she couldn't have children and here she is all ready to be a mommy! So thrilled for her. She remarried in June of '09 and she's very happy. I can't wait to start planning a baby shower! So much fun.

* Our wedding plans are coming together.. We've got 33 days left. I'm nervous as hell. Not going to lie! Not about getting married but about that big entrance I have to make in front of all those people. Serious case of nerves, people.

* I diagnosed (sorta) and fixed (sorta) my car. It was having issues with not starting in the morning. The mechanic said it was the starter. I wasn't so sure. Paid for it, brought it home. Same thing the next morning. Did some research and was convinced, (thanks to the internet) that it was my ignition switch that was bad. Dropped my car off again, gave the mechanic the printouts that I found online in regards to the Saturn Ion and the bad ignition switches. He questioned me, I said "Yes, please do it".. He replaced the ingition switch... and Voila!! It works! No more dead car in the morning.

* I've become highly addicted to tweeting. I actually annoy myself sometimes. I constantly have my Blackberry in my hand.


* My friend (since Kindergarten) is coming in from Portland for my wedding.. I haven't seen her in way too freakin' long. I miss her and can't wait to see her. Only 33 days to go! We have so much lost time to make up for.

*I've got to get a move on and do something with our spare bedroom. I hate that we made it the "crap" room, for all of the things we were trying to find a place for. I may actually tackle it when I'm off on Friday.

* I had really good intentions to lose weight for the wedding and I totally didn't. A few pounds here and there but no serious progress.

* I've been stressing about things ALOT lately.. I was never like that but now all of a sudden, I break out in welts and itch like crazy.

* We're thinking about adding another canine-kid to our home but so far it doesn't seem to be 'meant'. We'll see what happens.

I think that's it for now.. I know I'm forgetting something but for now, this will do. I'm going to update on my wedding blog too as soon as I get a chance.. I'll post a pic or two from the shower.

Snow = A Snow Day

I'm a sissy. I admit it. When it comes to snow! I hate the stuff. Walking in it, standing in it, and of all things: driving in it. The roads around my neighborhood suck & I'm not chancing it to get out of town and drive 35-40 minutes to work & then home again. I probably shouldn't have called out but everyone at work pretty much knows I just don't drive in it. The roads may be fine once I get going but as far as I can see, they're covered here by me. I called my boss & left a message since he didn't answer & I'll also follow up with my co-worker who's in the office right now. Hope I don't get in trouble - then again I don't know why I would. So I may just stay in my PJ's all day today. What else is there to do? I had a busy weekend that started with taking my mom out dress shopping for the wedding - AGAIN. But she found a great dress, much better than the first & she seems to have decided this one is the ONE. I sure hope so. We did a game night last night with our friends ... we played Catch Phrase again. I love that game. If you haven't heard of it or played it - You MUST! It's great! I could probably play all night if I could. We had such a great time... no alcohol or anything. Just a nice night with friends, having a great time & lots of laughs. I hated to have to call it quits but it was getting late & I'm always the party pooper who has to work on Sundays. Well, not today. Bleh! I'll take some photos of our yard and maybe a quick video of my dogger. She loves the snow! Crazy Canine!

Hurtin' Pup

Well not yet but I might be later on. We took advantage of the semi nice weather today and went for a bike ride. Whew! It was definitely an adrenaline rush but my body wasn't ready for the length of ride that we did. We should have started out way smaller than what we did. But I'm glad I finally got to go and try it out. I think Jeff tried to kill me! ♥ I hope my butt isn't hurting later on, it sure was during the ride. We went uphill and down hill and we even went through the woods, so that was tough with two bridges to cross. Small little wooden ones that I was sure I was going to end up going right through! I have to get used to the bike riding but I can't wait to make it a regular routine when the weather's nicer. Jeff says we can't her our doggie one of those little attachements for my bike so she can ride with us. He's no fun. I guess I'm off to shower and dress so I can take my mom out for the afternoon.. We're dress shopping. Oh boy!

Friday, is that you?

I've yet again become a slacker with posting, even after I vowed to be better about staying current with it. It sucks that I can post from work anymore, because that's when I'm most able to get my thoughts together. By the time I sit down at the computer at night, I'm beat and I can't think straight. Not nearly enough to be able to get a blog post out. Wahhhh! I know, I'm complaining. Anyhoo. Last weekend was my sister's 30th birthday and 4 of us went to Atlantic City for the night to celebrate. No gambling. We usually don't. But we did go to the Irish Pub for some good eats and then off to the clubs for some dancing. We ended up at Mur.Mur and Jason Derulo made an appearance... and sang about 4 or 5 songs. Pretty good actually. I didn't actually get to see it because my cousin and I stayed outside while my sister and another friend went back in to say goodbye to her cousin (who had actually got us in without paying the cover or waiting in the long ass line). I learned, that night, that I'm so not into this whole clubbing/dancing thing anymore. I was miserable and just wanted to be somewhere else. With the same company of course. It wasn't the company at all, it was just the teeny boppers all over the place and the pushing and shoving and obnoxious people. Boy, do I sound like an old bitty or what? But all in all, it was a good time & I know my sister had a great time, so that's what matters. Now this weekend is going to be a busy one. Today I am taking my bridesmaid to try on her dress that finally came in and then on Saturday we have an appointment for our cake tasting and I have to also take my mom out looking for dresses. She hasn't found one yet & it's getting close. So my Saturday is going to be really busy and then I'm back to work on Sunday. Boo hoo. Maybe Saturday will creep by. I think I'm actually giving myself anxiety thinking about all that has to be done. Yikes! I'm also going to try and get to Ross maybe, and get some new tops and some jeans. My cousin was going through a rough time a couple months ago and I ended up giving her some tops of mine, even my long sleeved ones, so now I'm down to only a couple myself.. and it's been pretty damn cold lately. I didn't mind though, she needed some help and I tried to do what I could. It's hard to see people you love going through a rough time, and feeling helpless. Guess I'm going to jump in the shower and get ready to head out.. I need to run to the post office as well. Have a great weekend!

More snow?

Yep, it looks like we got some more of the aweful white stuff but luckily it's not too much. Looks like it just laid a little bit, but shouldn't affect driving etc. Thank goodness! I wanted to sleep in a little longer today but my ever loving phone has been going off since around 8. People emailing and calling.. what the hell? I guess I needed to get my butt up anyway, I have plans for lunch around 11 so I need to get showered and out the door soon. Love my Fridays but I like to get the most out of them. My fiancée is texting me from work that he is in the mood for a steak.. so I hope that means we're maybe going out to dinner. Probably just means he would like for me to go buy one and cook it. Ha! My week at work wasn't so bad this week, it was rather short actually. I worked on Sunday and was feeling under the weather so I took off Monday and Tuesday. By the time I got back to work, it was Wednesday and I had only Wednesday and Thursday left! It was kind of nice. Not nice using 2 sick days and missing work but it was a nice break. Everyone seems to have some sort of cold going on. Coughing, sore throats, stuffy heads. I said I got sick from the hospital. Oh yes! My good friend, had her baby on New Year's Eve! She was a little early since she was due in January, (the 2nd week I think) but both mom and baby are healthy and doing great. Baby Melissa was 6 lbs and 11 oz so she wasn't a bad size.. nice and healthy and cute as a button. We made it up to see on New Year's Eve before we headed out to celebrate w/friends. I held her the entire time we were there, she was so tiny and she slept the whole time. No fussing or anything. I'm so bummed that I haven't been over there to see her since she got home but I came down with this cold right afterwards, so I haven't been deemed "germ free" yet. At least I haven't decided that I am and I don't want to just pop in on them and impose when I could be passing around a nasty cold. I guess I'm off to shower and get dressed... I hope you all have a great weekend! I'll post later.

Happy 2010

Well, the New Year is here and we brought it in with just a few friends.. some good food, Pictionary and Catch Phrase. It was a low key New Year's Eve and I'm glad it was spent with some good friends. I can remember years' past when I was young and New Year's Eve parties were off the hook. Now we're all growed up and we have more sophisticated gatherings.
I suddenly realized the other day that I can get to Blogger from work anymore. I stopped posting on my own blog a while ago (from work) but I still read all my favorites every day. So Sunday I had read them all and then went back to refresh a short time later & it was being blocked! So now I guess I have to wait until I get home to catch up and post. I wasn't posting for a while at work because I know that our history is monitored, for the most part, and it was like leaving my diary out on my desk for everyone to read. I guess if they wanted to, they could still see my history on there and read my blog... which is really ok because I don't say anything detrimental to my job or anything bad about my company. Just a privacy issue with me I guess. You always want to have that mystery to yourself. Anyhoo, I'm home today and I was yesterday as well. I came down with something and I feel really crappy. Someone at work was getting sick last week and I guess she got it good because she is out until Thursday. I'm just stuffy with a headache and my body is a little achy. I can say that it doesn't feel real flu-like but who knows at this point. I am just praying that it passes quickly and I can get back to work. Yuck! I don't like being home by myself with idle time. I could be at work, being productive. So much going on. I need to keep busy. We've got 3 months until the wedding and it seems like it's crunch time now. I'm fretting every little thing. I'll have to post on the wedding blog a little later. For now, I'm gonna go curl up on the couch and rest.

Ha! Ok, I haven't been gone THAT long. But yes, I've been a slacker & by golly, I'm making a New Year's resolution to start blogging regularly. Well, and to never say "by golly" again. Hmmm.. where to start, bloggy friends of mine? So much has happened in the past few weeks. That's all it's been right? I can't get back to my last post without coming out of the composing screen, so I'm taking a wild guess. Anyhoo.. Christmas has come and gone and it was splendid. <-- another word for the "never to say again" list. It was exciting on so many levels.. but first and foremost was the fact that it was our very first Christmas in our very first home. We went all out decorating of course, not too crazy, (like the woman next door who has EVERY freakin' blow up decoration you can think of).. but we did a nice job. Lights, blow molds,(see previous post for the story on those).. we have our Mr and Mrs Claus in the bow window with candles and our tree, of course, is up and is just beautiful. And yes, we will not take it down until January 6th. Jeff says it's coming down sooner but we'll see. I'm pretty traditional. (Except when it comes to weddings, evidently). On Christmas of course, we headed to my (future) in laws' for our customary get together with them, but first we had breakfast at my dad and stepmom's. After we were done running for the day, we headed back home to host our own little get together with my family since my sister worked til 7:30. We had some light fare here and opened gifts with my brother and sister and of course, my niece! I will upload pics if I ever get around to it. Gift wise, we did pretty well. "Santa" left me a WII Fit plus & a new mountain bike! S-weet! It's really nice and I can't wait for the warm weather so I can ride it. I'm gonna get in shape, I tell ya. Between the WII Fit and the bike, I may be getting a new wedding gown! Is that good or bad? Considering it's a few months away! Yikes! Ok, no wedding talk on this blog. The new year is almost upon us and I'm so excited to have a fresh new start of a year that promises to be filled with lots of happiness, new memories and love. We're going to spend some time at a friend's house tonight and I plan to come home before the clock strikes midnight so that we can be here in our home..(well, that, and I secretly want to ring in the new year with our doggie). My sister and I have spent all but maybe 2 New Year's Eves together in almost 10 years so it's a little tough there too, knowing that we both are going to be in totally different places, but we always call each other so it won't be that hard.
I'll catch up and post a better, longer entry tomorrow.. I've got to go get ready. I'm making a stop at the hospital to see my friend who just had her bouncing baby girl this morning!! And then we're off to celebrate with friends. Have a safe & Happy New Year's Eve ... look around you tonight and see all of your blessings in front of you. Thank God for them and remember to hold them near.

The find

So last Friday my sister & I went on quite-the-adventure. We ventured to a little town just outside Ocean City, NJ to pick up the pictured items! Funny story, funny story. HaHa
On our travels in the past few weeks (or more), Jeff’s expressed an interest in these vintage Christmas decorations. He really wanted one and just didn’t know where to find them.
Everywhere we went, we’d see a house that had one or two or many on their lawn or around their home. We knew that they were SUPER old and thus, hard to find. The stores no longer sell them, that I know of.. so it was off to Craigslist I went. I checked for a few days and actually was able to find various ones on there. Turns out they’re called Blow Molds. Glad I can actually call them something besides “those old plastic Christmas decorations”. {I’m impressed that April knew what they were.. being so young and all. HAHA} Even though I have no idea what a pizookie is still.. But… back to the subject at hand…
Many people on Craigslist that were selling these things, wanted a MINT! I guess since they’re considered vintage at this point, they knew they could get good money for them, but I wasn’t prepared to pay a lot of money for any of them. Most of the sellers who had them at a reasonable price had already sold them by the time I’d seen the ad and inquired about them. But then on Thursday, there was a woman who was selling them at $7 each or all 5 for $25! I was sure they’d been sold for a couple of reasons… 1.) they were SO CHEAP and 2.) the ad was already about 3 or 4 days old. But I reluctantly emailed the seller and said “Please tell me you still have these available”…. Well, she did and I was stoked!! So when Friday came, my sister and I set out to go pick up my awesome find! It was a road trip and a half! Of course, it wouldn’t be a “road trip with Dawn” unless we got lost a few times. We didn’t really get lost, per sé, but there was a couple times that we started to take a wrong road and quickly recovered. But, alas, we found the house & the blow molds & it was so worth it. It was a surprise – Jeff had no idea where I went or what I was getting. We came home & scattered them on the lawn while he was in the bedroom getting changed… and then I brought him outside & let him see them. He was really surprised and excited. He immediately started testing them and configuring where he’d put them all. Turns out that there were 3 Santas but they were all a little different so it was ok. There was also a toy soldier and a snowman.. my favorite! I have to take some more pictures of them all set up, but for now this will have to do.

More ramblings and not too long after the previous!

I'm starting to be able to keep up with my blogging lately and I'm impressing myself. Today is so beautiful outside I just want to sit in the back yard and enjoy it! I'm doing some laundry and cleaning up a little bit. I did clean the other night but you know there's always something. We were supposed to have a birthday dinner on the agenda for this afternoon but now Jeff's mom is sick (?) and I don't think we're going. It was originally just the two of us and then I invited his parents.. so if she can't go, I don't see why we're not going anyway. BUT then he went to the dentist this morning and got some work done and doesn't think he "should be eating steak". Ugh! Whatever. So now I don't know what I want to do. Or I should say, what he wants to do. I don't like my plans being screwed up; if she's sick, that's fine but I'd still like for the two of us to go out. His birthday is on Monday and we're not big fans of going out to dinner on the week days. Other than that, I have about 4 bags/boxes, that I brought over from my old place, that I could be going through. I already checked through some of the crap and I could definitely have a yard sale or something. Maybe even post on Craigslist. I guess I'll jump in the shower and head around the corner to Michael's to get some fabric that Jeff needs for something he made at work & I'll see if they have any good sales on Christmas decor. I can't wait to decorate! I never had a home before that I could go all out on.. so this will be an awesome first Christmas in our first home. Very exciting. Have a great Saturday.

Lookout Weekend

Yeah, that's it.. I'll start titling my posts with song titles! Like the one below. Well actually that was a group but I'm sure there is a song with that title. If I can do it without dating myself, I'll tell you that "lookout weekend" is actually an old Debbie Deb song. Geez, I can see myself now - at the roller rink flying around in the floor and jamming. Well, enough of that reminiscing; it makes me feel old. It's Friday again and I've got a busy day lined up for myself. I'm supposed to have lunch with my 'aunt'.. I call her that but she's not. I've just known her since I was a wee little girl. She's almost 80 now, so she's more like a grandmother I suppose but just as well. So we're supposed to do lunch and some light shopping & I also want to pick up a couple things while I'm out for Jeff's birthday which is Monday. Old geezer's going to be 41! Just kidding. Good thing he doesn't read my blog, or does he?? I don't know what to get him... but then again I do & just am too cheap to get half of the things I know he'd like. Sure wish I'd won the lottery last Friday. Ya know, when I FORGOT to play a number that I had???! Oh, I was pissed about that. The weather seems nice right now, and I'm thinking I probably shouldn't have the back door open right now, but the air feels great.. (even though the heater is kicking on every few minutes). I just paid my bills online; I feel like I missed something & I guess I'll figure out what it was when I least expect it. Damn. I guess I'm off to get a shower and get headed out soon. I cleaned the house last night (the Thursday ritual).. so all I need to do this weekend is run the swiffer throughout the house and do some laundry. Love having hardwood floors because I don't have to run the vacuum on carpets but sometimes I don't know if it really is the better of the two. And talk about dog hair! Heavens! By the time I'm done cleaning the floors, it looks like a gremlin has attached itself to the bottom of the swiffer! And I want another dog? I think I should invest the money in getting my head checked. Happy Friday - Have a great weekend! I'm off to peruse the website for the Black Friday ads.. The one I go on, you can even create a shopping list and then print the sucker out at 3 a.m next Friday while haphazardly grabbing a cup of coffee and draggin' ass out to the car.

Tuesday's Gone

Is that a song, or a group? Maybe neither? Well, in any case, Tuesday is ALMOST gone and that means I'm getting closer to being off on Friday. Thsi week has seemed to go by quickly; maybe because I've been so busy at work. What a great feeling. Unfortunately, my work load has increased a bit due to another employee being let go. That never does work out in everyone's favor, I suppose. I think I may have a busy Friday this week. Plans are all tentative right now but I'm working on getting them confirmed. I know I should take some time this weekend and get some gifts for Christmas out of the way. Saturday, however, we're going to dinner with Jeff's parents since his birthday is on Monday. I'm super tired and would love to leave a long post tonight, but I just haven't got the energy. I did so much tonight. I made dinner, cleaned the kitchen AND made tomorrow's dinner! I tried my hand at homemade baked mac and cheese. It turned out pretty good from what I 'sampled'. It just wasn't something I could prepare tomorrow.. it would have taken way too long. So that's at least out of the way and all we have to do now is heat it up. We were thinking of going to the local animal shelter after dinner tomorrow to maybe look at some dogs, but I don't know if I really want another one. I think our fur baby we have already is enough. I like spoiling her & don't know how she'd take to another doggie in our home & our hearts. Here's a couple pics of her as a puppy the first day we brought her home & one of her now...She needs a haircut, as you can see.

Weekend's over

for me at least. I work Sunday thru Thursday, if ya haven't already figured that out. All the fun posts I do on Fridays. So the pig roast was different. Seeing the pig was a bit odd. Everyone was telling me to go "Check it out". So, I reluctantly walked up to the smoker (or whatever it's called) & I peeked at the pig. It was pretty strange. Nasty. Then I hurried back to my place on the back steps, far away from it. I told Jeff I felt like I was at a viewing and I'd just done my thing at the casket. Eww! It was that weird, yes. Needless to say, I didn't eat any of the 'pork'.. but it did smell delicious. It was just something about seeing it that made me never want to eat pork again. Hot dogs, bologna.. bleh! But aside from my swine aversion, I enjoyed seeing Katie & Dan and the added bonus to my day was that I got to hold, not one, but TWO babies! They were precious! Boy & a girl. Not the same family of course, and the funny thing was, the infant boy I held was someone's whom I'd never met before today! That was pretty crazy but he was a sweet lil thing. I have such motherly instinct, I really do. But, my having children, is another post all it's own. Hell, it's probably another BLOG all it's own. So we came home, cooked up a Target pizza we got for $2.66 and I watched the movie Taking Chance. It was ok.. I did get teary eyed on some parts.. and it seemed like it was a short movie. I would recommend it, I suppose. Evidently it was a true story, and I didn't know that before I watched it. I'm hoping to get out and see the new movie Precious soon. That'll be a ladies night at the movies. Well, I'm off to bed. Sunday @ 8 am comes early & I have to stop and get gas first, so my big blue eyes need to open way sooner than usual.

Saturday .. in the park

Not really, but sometimes I'm no so creative with titles for my posts. It's actually not a good day for the park; it's damp and chilly here. I think the rain has let up, even if it was just some drizzles. Today, we're having Jeff's brother come to look at our fireplace. We tried to fire it up the other day and had no luck. It's a gas fireplace so it's not actually burning wood. It's actually in the basement which was just about finished when the previous owners had a minor flood down there that obliterated the carpeting. Their sump pump wasn't working and since they'd never tested it, they had no idea. Pooey! So anyhoo, we're trying to get it up and running. Hopefully they can. And hopefully SOON. We're supposed to go to a pig roast today and I don't want to miss it because I've RSVP'd to two events with these particular friends and this will make number 2 that I haven't been to when I said I was coming. I don't like to do that because you know, after a while, people just stop inviting you to things. AND no, I am not eating the pig. With all this swine flu shit going around, I'm not taking any chances. My friends say that's not the case but please, it came from a pig to begin with, yes? I don't think I could consciously eat it anyway, even if it weren't a concern. I've never been to a pig roast so I just can't imagine pulling the pork off of that poor thing. Well, now I've got to go calm the dog down, because our "fireplace" friends have arrived and she's going nuts! Happy Saturday... Piggy updates later.

Welcome FRIDAY

I thought today was going to be my "do nothing and stay in my PJ's day" but I can't ever sit still. So now I'm thinking about all of the things I could be doing and none of it involves being cooped up in the house. Darn! I was actually throwing around the idea of maybe going and finishing up my registry at the one place I started online already. I figure I could do it by myself and get it done once and for all. Heck I'm getting married in a little over 4 months from now so I have to get registered right? Who knows when the shower might be. So I may go do that and I also have some letters to mail. I also wanted to get to the store and get some new tops. I have so few long sleeve tops/blouses.. so I may take a trip to my favorite place to shop: *Ross. If you're wondering why I've been adding strange characters after words, it's because I'm trying to eliminate spammers etc from arriving at my blog. I realized, through others' blogs, that when someone goooogles a word, or store or whatever it is I may be referring to, it links to any sites that have the word in it. So if someone were looking for the site to the store mentioned above, they could end up here. Not that it matters much because my blog is public but you just never know, I guess. Well, I'm off to shower and see what exactly I'll do with my day. Maybe stay in and clean & straighten out (make some sense of) the spare bedroom or high tail it out of here and over to the shopping center. I'm lucky that I live in a very busy shopping area. Restaurants, nightclubs, shopping mall and shopping centers all within 5 mins from my home... BUT I know when the real Christmas rush hits it will be chaos! Happy Friday! Enjopy your weekend!

Busy Life

Trying to get a post in before bed tonight. What a busy weekend. I had a 6 day work week but I'm so not complaining. I get overtime out of the deal. Nice! I had a girls get together Friday night; you know those romance parties that they do? Well, I'd had one before from another company and it was great.. but this last one? Sucked big time! The woman who ran it was just strange in every sense of the word. BUT in all, it was awesome hanging out with some great friends and having many laughs and good wine. Three of us ended up going out afterwards for a bite to eat and never ate. We, instead, ended up at this hole-in-the-wall place that they call a bar and it was horrible! I hate the place. When I was 21, it was tolerable and you drank enough to be able to do that! ;) But in the end, I guess it was ok. I came home, went to bed and felt like absolute shit the next day. Not sure why, still. I drank a half glass of Pinot Noir and then a 1/4 of a beer later on. Not enough close to enough to make me have the hangover(ish) feeling that I had the next day. Let's see, what else? My girlfriend's baby shower was a couple weekends ago and I'm so thrilled that she made out wonderfully! She got so many nice things and I think she's all set for baby girl when she comes! They've already got the baby room set up, it's all pink. Way cute. She's also my bridesmaid in our wedding, so she'll be having the baby in January, only a few months shy of the wedding. Makes for an interesting time when we order the dresses. Yikes! LOL But I'm thrilled for her and her husband.. they do have other children. And luckily, we live only a few blocks from each other now, so I can walk over and see the baby any time! Well, maybe I will call first. Maybe. So that's that as far as catching up. I think.
Oh and I'm working on some things that pertain to my future as well. No, I'm not talking "babies", even though that would be STUPENDOUS! Nah, it's career oriented. Sorry folks. In other news, I'm still debating what to do about Thanksgiving. I'm thinking it would be GREAT to have our first Thanksgiving in our new/first home... but I'm a big fan of going to the inlaws' to have dinner too. The idea of cleaning up that mess and basting a turkey all day is nauseating. And besides, I did it last year, so maybe I'll take a break this year? We'll see what I decide. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

A quick one - more later

I decided I only have a few minutes before I need to leave the house this morning so I figured I'd do the quick survey that Dani posted and tagged me in. So here it goes..

The rules:
1. Answer with 5 answers.
2. Tag 5 friends.


1). What were you doing 10 years ago?

- I was 23 and loving being on my own - partying way too much probably
- was in a shitty relationship
- was living with my sister and having fun
- was waitressing
- was going to college

2). What 5 things are on your to-do list for today:

-work
-drop off Halloween costume for my niece
- go hang out with the girls to watch the game
- laundry
-my Thursday night ritual of cleaning the house to free up my Friday

3). Snacks you enjoy:
-salsa/chips/sour cream
-cracker barrell cheese
-honey cheese curls
-pepperoni
-hot fries


4). Places You've Lived:

-westville, nj
-Berlin, NJ
-Gloucester, NJ
-Runnemede, NJ
-wildwood, nj (summer)

5). What are 5 Things you would do if you were a billionaire?

-whole new wardrobe
-do lots of great things to our new home
-Pay off all our bills, all my families bills (I copied Dani, but it's great)
-adopt a child and a couple dogs
-donate to a lot of different charities

Busy is good - sometimes

I've got such a busy week & I'm kind of liking that. Today was a pretty easy day. I made a potluck dinner; basically a little of everything. And my brother came over for a little while. I had to run though because I needed this hair cut, it was driving me nuts. Of course I made a trip to Walmart at the same time and got some not so needed things. Well, maybe they were in fact needed. Tomorrow we have our tasting at our reception venue and then on Wednesday I have a movie/dinner night with my friend from work. I know, I know.. you shouldn't mix your work with your personal life but she's good people; trust me. We're supposed to go to see Paranormal Activity but I hear it sucks. I guess I won't mind so much since we have gift cards we're using. I won't feel as bad about the movie being a sleeper if I'm not paying for it out of my pocket. My friend Steph and I are horror movie buffs. We were either going to see Saw 6 or Paranormal Activity .. and somehow Paranormal won. Then Thursday I'm off to get some furniture moved for my mom and Friday I'm hoping to make a trip down to my friend's house and visit for a while. Her husband fell ill a couple of weeks ago and it's been a trying time for them. More about that in a later post.

Trying to stay awake

I'm really trying to stay up late tonight.. since my work week's over but Thursdays are always so hard for me. I was up in the wee hours this morning and now it's catching up with me. Oy, my poor body. I should probably try to get to bed at a decent hour anyway so that I can start my day earlier tomorrow. I do like sleeping in on my days off but I don't like sleeping in too late because then I feel as if half my day is already gone when I do get up. Tomorrow I'm picking up my mom and my niece and hanging out for a while. I think my niece has a soccer game tomorrow night too so we'll just hang until we have to go to her game; my sister's working til 8 p.m. I want to try and get home in the mid afternoon so my niece can nap before her game. I always feel like she's so tired by the time her game starts. They're so little to begin with.. but it sure is precious seeing a bunch of toddlers racing around on the soccer field. And she is a star! It's hard to believe how well she plays... but she's always loved the soccer ball. I guess she's a natural. Hopefully the rain holds up because I don't like lugging through the rain when I'm trying to get things done on my days off. I think I might try to go bowling.. my niece LOVES bowling... so that's an idea, in case I can't think of anything.

The wind down

Well, I finally got all of my fall decorating done. I'm sure I'll come across something in the coming weeks that I just have to add but for now, I'm pretty darn content and impressed with my creative side that suddenly appeared. Is this what happens when you buy a home? All of a sudden this domestic diva comes out of nowhere? Domestic Diva?!! What a crock. I said that to Jeff last night when he came home from work; he was thoroughly impressed with what I'd done out front. AND I'm proud to say that I actually was able to get those damn cornstalks in my car.. which by the way is just a Saturn ION. Yes, it was interesting when I got up nice and early yesterday morning, went to the produce outlet and saw the cornstalks there in the garden center. Literally towering OVER ME. I said to myself, "And how in the hell am I going to get THOSE big ass cornstalks in my car?". So I left, with some indian corn and pretty new mums and figured I'd wait til Jeff got home with his Titan. BUT, if you know me, I don't like to wait and I wanted to do it myself. So I went to yet another garden center and looked at the stalks, MUCH the same in size as those earlier and was not leaving without them. I went to the counter to pay for them and the nice young man actually went out to get them for me. I said to him, money in mid-pass, that I wasn't sure they'd even fit in my car. He said, "I'll get 'em in".. and did he ever? With a little pushing and maybe a bit of squishing and an open back window, he managed to get them in my car and lucky for me the excess that was hanging out my window was minimal. I was glad I was only around the corner from my house, in any case, but I got those cornstalks! So now, we're all fall decorated. This morning we got up early, went to breakfast and made it to the fall festival one town over, before the rain really hit. Lucky for all of the vendors, it lasted only a little while. They had lots of nice things for sale and it was a nice walk for us. Now I'm home unwinding and waiting on takeout to get here. Is that order-in as opposed to take-out? Anyhoo - I'm getting my jammies and slippers on and relaxing for the rest of the night. I need to just sit and vegetate for a while. Too much running today. We decided to take my mom to Ikea to look at some things for her new place.. (actually just a bedroom at my sister's place) and she went hay wire like I did the first time. Ikea rocks though! I love it there.. and I was able to control myself this time. Then we were off to church, Target, Walmart and now we're home. Can you see why I'm exhausted!!?

Turning in for the night

I hope. Thursdays are my "fridays". So naturally on Thursday evenings I take it to the limit with staying up late and enjoying my "weekend". But I always get to the point where I can't hang any longer and I have to call it a night. Tonight I've been on Ebay looking up God knows what for the wedding. This, that and the other thing. Cake toppers, favor seals, jewelry. You name it! I was even putting in things that were turning up "no results". Come on, seriously? EVERYTHING is on Ebay. I don't believe it. Well I must call it a night anyway, because I've got big plans to get up early and run to the produce outlet and grab some corn stalks and mums to put outside. Yeah, I learned that mums have to be watered? Hey, I'm new at this owning a home thing and I do not have a green thumb by any stretch of the imagination so I'm learning here. The last two mums I bought turned into a nice dried floral arrangement. Yeah, that's it! I was going for that look. Ahem. Anyway, I'm meeting up with two former co-workers tomorrow and I'm super excited. We'll have lunch around the corner from my house and then they want to head back here for the grand tour. It's nothing special, probably, but it's ours and we love it. So I guess that's all that matters. I guess I kind of want to get the last of the fall decorations up BEFORE I bring them back here for the tour. I'm just teetering on Fall or Halloween?... more of one? or a nice mix of both? I really wanted to get those tombstones that they sell at Michael's and put them in the big flower bed that we have outside but I think we're still in our "probationary period" with the neighbors! haha I don't want to have them eyeballing us anymore than they already do. I think they were all a little curious when I hung the "Welcome to the Nut House" flag out. It was too funny not to get it, sorry. We had one when we were kids when it was OH SO APPROPRIATE for our household. So, I'm going to make that effort to wake before 9 tomorrow and get my butt out for the last of the goodies to make this place look festive for Fall.

Falling into place

It's apparent that Fall is here and I could not be happier about it. I wish that Fall were the only season we had. Maybe a bit warmer, but not much. I don't like chilly mornings when I have to get a shower or climb out from under the warm, cushy blankets. But yes, I'm really digging this weather and this time of year. I love the homes decorated with all of the Fall themes and the hay bales and scarecrows! I need to go get two more from Michael's because it's come to my attention that our front yard is pretty darn big and the scarecrows I did put out just don't look right. There's so much empty space and then these small scarecrows at opposite ends of the barren flower garden out front. I really need to jazz up the house way more than this. It drives me batty every time I pull up in front. Before I know it, Halloween will be here and I love that holiday! Always have and not sure why. This year my sister works on Halloween and so does my niece's dad so I'm taking her out to trick-or-treat with my friend and her son. Well, he's 13 so we're pretty sure that he's past the age of walking the neighborhood with mom and trick or treating! One can hope though. I'm going to get dressed up too but I'm not sure what I'll be yet. Probably just get some ears and the neck tie like I did last year. I was a devil I think. It was silly but it was easy. I better get out and find something though because those shelve empty out pretty quick when it starts to get REALLY close. I better head on over to the wedding blog and update there.. I can't believe we are 6 months away from the big day. It seems so far and other times it seems so close. I have some things to get done that I have to stop procrastinating on.

Fridays are my favorite

Well, maybe they are sometimes, but not always. I'm usually running around like a nut getting things done. I'm off Fridays but Jeff is not so that sorta stinks because that means that we only really have ONE full day together ever.. That would be Saturday. Today I'm off to the bank to change my address and then to Michael's hopefully to get some fall decorations. I love Fall! And now we have our new home to jazz up, so that's going to be a lot of fun. Haven't really decided what to do so far but we have a great front porch that I know will set the scene for a nice Fall theme. Can't wait. Probably do lunch with a friend and then take her wherever she needs to go. The weather is great today, I just turned the heat off and opened up a little bit. It's breezy out and I love that! You can open all the windows and get the fresh air in. Ahhh. Well, I'm off and promise to post later.
Hope you have a great Friday!

The Shack & reflections

I've been reading The Shack for what seems like months on end. Actually, it has been that long. At first I was reading it and it was very strange to me but then I decided to just perservere and get through it. Well, now I'm at the point that I can't put it down. You know how that goes. I would assume that every one who reads this book will come away with all of their own findings, opinions etc. I find myself doing just that. It's been for me, almost like a "Bible for Dummies" sort of read. It's brought different things to light for me. Some things inside of me. I know that the book is pretty much all fictional but I believe in some parts that it couldn't be closer to the truth than if it really and truly WERE. I think the most recent passage I read in the book that really stopped me and led me to reflect was the line where God was speaking of the great tragedy that had happened to Mack. (the man the story is based on) ... God goes on to say "Just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies doesn’t mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don’t ever assume that my using something means I caused it…” This brings to mind how quickly, when something goes awry, we're so quick to blame God or assume that it's a test by God. When I read that line in the book, it made so much sense to me. I can't even count on two hands, how many times I've said it in the past. "Why, God?" ... or "Why am I being punished like this?" I think I've got a whole new take on that now. That's why, unlike so many other people, I don't always believe in "things happen for a reason". It disgusts me how, when a child is killed or murdered or raped, someone always says how it was bound to happen. It happened just as it was supposed to and there was a plan that God had. That's just stupid. God did not intend for all of this violence in the world and all of the hate and prejudice. All He did was gave us FREE WILL... and this is what mankind has done with it. Abused it. I'm not so quick to point a finger at God anymore; throwing my hands up in times of trouble and asking "WHY?".

TGIF

I'm so not a fan of getting up early on my days off but today I have so much to do, I wish I'd gotten up even earlier. I have so much to do but it involves me being out of the house, so now I have to run around and get my house chores done. I'm so anal about doing my cleaning on Fridays so it's done for the weekend. I actually started it last night and all I have left is some dusting, running the sweeper and the bedroom. I'm meeting a friend/former coworker for lunch today at the Olive Garden. Yum! I asked if we go around 11:30; I figured by the time we get settled ande get our food, it'd be around noon so that will have me on schedule, I hope, to get to our appointment by 1:30 for the bridal shop. I'm going to be running like a nut in the house until then because I don't like leaving things undone or not getting through my whole cleaning routine. Man, I need some valium, right? I think we'll have a busy weekend here. I had made tentative plans with another friend to get a quick dinner and catch up, after yet another year has gone by, but now I may put that on hold, because Jeff says the weather is going to be nice Saturday and he really wants to get the exterior painting done on the house. That should be fun. I'm thinking I probably will hate scraping paint. Or however it is exactly that you get paint off. Stripping paint? I don't know what it's called .. but I do know it's termed "stripping" wallpaper and that's what I'll also be doing in the weeks to come. The wallpaper in our bedroom is lovely. Not. So we're going to remove it and paint. I was all ready to just get a dark enough paint to go right over it but everyone is telling me no. I'll post some before and after photos when I get a chance. For now, I'll post a before and after of the living room, if I can get them on here. Hope everyone has a nice weekend. I'm heading to the dollar store later and maybe AC Moore or Michael's for some new fall decorations. I need to get to Michael's anyway for more magnets for my Save the Dates.

Back from hiatus

If that's what ya wanna call it. Maybe it was really a case of lazy-ass-itis. Yeah, I'm going to stick with that. Really it was a combination of laziness, writer's block and just plain being BUSY. I'm not even sure what my last post was about.. Well actually yes I think it was about my dear friend who is expecting. But I mean before that one, where I was trying to catch you up on the goings on in my life. I guess I'll come up with all the details at some point but I'll save it for a later post.. at least that way I know I have to come back soon and blog again. Sort of a guarantee. So let's see... we moved out of the dreaded "rental" we were in. You know, the one we almost bought and spent the next 30 years in. Miserable. We moved onto much greener pastures and bought a home, in the same town, but I picked this one. HA! Nah, we both did ultimately, but I just thought this home was darling and I really had a feeling of serenity when we first saw it. I had a feeling. So we prayed (not that we would "get this house") but we prayed that however God worked things out, we were willing to go with it and just let things be as He willed. I didn't stress about where we going to live, I didn't have a lot of anxiety about it, I just truly gave it to God and knew that it was all going to come together. You might think that's pretty stupid, not knowing what the hell you're going to do if things don't work out the way you've hoped. But I'm so glad to say that things did work out as we would have liked and here we are. Making our home in this cute little place we call our HOME now. I love it. Of course, there are things that need tweeking etc.. to make it according to our tastes/styles but ultimately, it's just as we would want to have it. We're mostly doing small things like paint and such but I feel so at home here and I'm so at peace with that. I can see us in this house for years to come and I hope that we have a lot of happy years in it. I'm really hoping to get back to all of my blogging on a regular basis because I really do miss it. I always said it keeps me sane being able to sit down at the end of the day, or maybe at the beginning, and sharing things, venting things, voicing things. I'm always staying on top of keeping up with the blogs that I follow.. even when I'm not posting. I think I have a slight addiction to the Blog World in general. hee hee .. Imagine that.

Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice!

Yes!! I was right all along. My besty Carol is having a girl! I'd been telling her since she got pregnant that she was having a girl. Plus, I had a dream about it and told her so. She totally puts stock in my dreams (especially since I play #'s I dream of, and they sometimes come out!).. lol But anyhoo, I'm super excited for her. Well, and for her husband too! LOL Even though he was adamant that it was a boy. They'll both love this baby no matter what sex "she" is. I'm very excited for them and their journey to parenthood... yet again. They've got 3 children between them already so this little bundle will make 4 and has 3 other siblings to be spoiled by. Baby Girl is due in January and everyone's just so happy and anxious to meet her! I wonder if they've thought about names yet?

Mom's Bday

Yesterday was my mom's birthday so my sister and I (and my niece) took her out to dinner. My mom has always loved Tomato Pie and when we moved into our current neighborhood I saw a place called Alfred's Tomato Pie. So, when it came time to pick a place for dinner, it only seemed appropriate that we go there. And we did. It was pretty good.. not quite what I had fully anticipated but it was delicious and it was cozy. It was a BYO establishment, so my sister and I had wine and mom had good old Rolling Rock. That's her drink of choice, and hey, if that's what she wanted to bring in, brown bag and all, then so be it. Anyhoo, the Tomato Pie was great, nice and garlic-y and we had a great time laughing together and talking. My gift to my mom was practical. I got her new sneakers. I know it sounds odd but she really needed them and I wanted to get a 'gift" that she'd use. I also put a little box of Whitman's chocolates in the bag because she loves her Whitman's and I get her a box for almost EVERY occassion. I also gave her scratch off tickets ...... that had already been scratched off. Huh???? Well, here's the story on that. Have you ever given someone a few scratch off tickets tucked in a birthday card? I have. So you open the card and scratch off the lotto tickets only to find that they're losers. Well, that's kind of a rip off right? So, when I was going to get my mom some birthday themed rub offs, I realized I had two winners sitting in my car that I hadn't redeemed yet. So, I gave her them instead! When we sat down last night and she looked at them, she was laughing so hard at first but totally clueless as to why I gave her "used" tickets. Then I explained it. She thought that was even funnier, yet clever. So there, now she has $15 in winnings from her birthday scratch offs. Not bad. And while we're on the subject... I played my dream # for two days straight, knowing I'd play for one more day... (if you dream of a #, you're supposed to play it for 3 days). Old wives tale. Anyhoo, my dream # came out yesterday, box, BUT it came out in the mid day drawing. I never play the mid-day drawing. If I dream of a #, I play it in the evening drawing. So I don't know how much it would have paid, but oh well. Phooey!

4 is my favorite number

And also happens to be the number of days that we have left before our big day. No, not that big day. Another one. Things have come together, hopefully and Monday should be the day. It's tough waiting but we've had so much practice thus far, it can only make us experts in waiting! Hope to be posting Monday with all of the good news but for now - we'll just keep it quiet. Just say a prayer that all goes according to plan for us and that it goes smoothly. Today's the end of my work week so I'll be home tonight doing all of the laundry and tying up loose ends.

Intercession

Without getting too wordy, since I don't want to divulge all of the details involving this particular situation... all I can say right now is that God is good. I do believe He works in mysterious ways and I do believe that He hears our prayers. I've been praying on something for the last month or months, and just recently I prayed for God to intercede with this particular situation. Well, I can honestly say that today, I have been witness to His intercession. Something is taking place right now... and although it may not be such a positive thing in some ways, it's exactly what we needed to happen at this particular time in our journey to 'something'. I feel very at ease right now and just wanted to share that tid bit with you. I often ask for God to intercede in my life and I've yet to be let down.

Some people pray just to pray and some people pray to know God. --Andrew Murray

This one's just an added bonus: I love it!

Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?-- Corrie Ten Boom

Don't ask

Seriously. Don't. One thing I knew was inevitable when I got engaged was the age old question coming at me, in a matter of time. "So, when are you two gonna have kids?" Hmmm. I don't very much like that question. In my 'situation' I've never liked it. I think this is a very personal question so when people just abruptly come out with it, I usually just entertain it to the slightest degree possible. I had one gal ask me a while ago and I ignored her. She wasn't in front of me, so it wasn't that rude of me..it was on a message on another website. Some times I feel like Jeff's family wonders why we haven't had any kids yet. Recently when Jeff told an in-law about the house we had interest in, it was questioned as to why we wanted a home with 3 bedrooms. "Why do you want 3 bedrooms, unless you're going to have kids". So, now it's assumed that we just don't want children??? That's pretty presumptious, I'd say. At times, I feel like really stopping them in their tracks and saying, "Well, ya see. I can't have children on my own. in fact, I've got the card for a fertility doctor in my purse, but have yet to make the call. Maybe you could do it for me?" I don't know why I take offense, when at times, I probably shouldn't. But sometimes it just bothers me. It's a touchy subject and I stay away from it unless I'm having the conversation with my closest friends or family. I could go into details, etc etc in this post but I'll save it all for another time when I have the time to actually share it. Caio.

Catchin' Up

Sometimes I can't be creative and think of a better title for my post after I've been M.I.A for a while. I just updated my wedding blog so I might as well come over here and update too. So many things are going on. We're still in the throes of home buying and it's been quite a nice mix of emotions the last month or so. Lots of aggravation, anxiety, and yet, excitement as well. We're very close to hopefully making a big change in our housing 'status'.. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and my hands clasped & ready for prayer. Prayer has gotten us through a lot of this venture so far. Hopefully by September 5th, I'm writing a really great post with lots of great news! Other than the housing dilemma, not much has been going on. Wedding planning and getting things in order there and packing up. Again. So we can unpack. Again. Hope to have a more creative post later. My blog is a bit boring.

Holy Hot Today

Wow, was it ever hot here today!?? It was in the high 90's. I think it was said to be around 95. And whew, it felt like it. Funny thing is, it was a scorcher outside, but here I was walking to my car to get my light jacket because I was freezing my ass off in the office. It's always so cold in there! Sheesh. I'm used to it after 5 years but still, it irritates me. Things are starting to look up for us with the housing situation. Hopefully we'll have a place to call home in the months ahead. I can't even begin to tell you how much I am not looking forward to moving out AGAIN and then moving in AGAIN. I think we've decided to get some movers this time.. it's just too much on everyone. I appreciate, immensely, the help that we've received from everyone but we can't possible ask them to help us yet again. I don't like to impose, ever. Right now, we're taking things one day at a time. In the meantime, I'm also putting my feelers out and seeing what's in the job market. Yes, I know, could I possibly put anything ELSE on my plate right now? Wedding, home, and now I'm ready to take on a new job???! Well it just seems that things are not looking so good right now. I could be wrong but I guess it's good to have a plan in place in the event that something 'happens'. I went to dinner with my sister and my niece tonight. Olive Garden, of course. It's always yummy and we always have a great time. We laugh so much when we're together.. it's always such a great time. I really need to get out and have those laughs tonight, that's for sure. I was amazed at how well my niece behaved! Not that she always misbehaves at restaurants, but she's had her moments. Like most kids do. I know, Amy will comment on this one! = - ) After dinner, my sister showed the cute outfits that she bought for my niece ... She is going to pre-school!! Oh, heart be still.. I'm going to be a mess. Blubbering mess. Right along side my sister. I know Baby M is going to LOVE Preschool... She's so psyched already. The outfits my sister got, were the cutest. I tried to find them online but had no luck... they were at Nordstrom on sale so I probably won't find them. Pooey! I'll just have to post some pics when my niece actually wears them. I'm off to bed, I think Drop Dead Diva re-runs tonight, which is good because I missed it last night! Army Wives, I only caught so much.. so I have to wait for that On Demand. Good Night!

What the...

I've heard time and time again, that buying a home is not fun. In that, it very rarely is a smooth ride from start to finish. We started our home buying journey with that attitude, I guess you could say. Not entirely but we had the thought in our minds. Well, I can tell you now that our journey has really just begun and it has been nothing short of a nightmare so far. At times, I sit back and really reflect on whether it has been so bad or if I'm making it out to be more than it is. Truth is, it feels like were dealt a really shitty hand BUT at the same time, we were tremendously blessed. I know that doesn't seem to make sense but it does. We were disappointed with not being able to buy this house after all but we felt like there was a reason we ended up renting it first, under no obligation.. because it got us in the door and all of the problems with it came right to the surface. I can't thank God enough for that. Now, we're basically going to walk right away from it. We've learned a big lesson, of course, and we'll take that with us, but I feel so fortunate .. even though I feel like my life's been a little turned around.
I've always said I'm the person who sees the positive in the negative. Here I go again.

On a wing and a prayer

Well, we went and checked out 4 homes today. We were able to cross 2 of the list, so we're narrowed down to just 2. It's hard to decide which one really took the cake on this but we put an offer in on both and will see what the (the owners) come back with. I think our numbers are realistic and I almost have a feeling which one will come back to us first and that they will actually accept. I think that house would actually be more in our favor. It's an estate sale, which is what I told Jeff we should really try to find, because usually the owners/executors are usually trying to unload those homes pretty quickly and pretty badly. We're going to pray on it and hopefully we'll get some news over the next week. Thers's a plan in store. For now, I'm looking up storage places & we've got to figure out where we're going to stay for a couple months still. My (future) mother in law, said we could stay with her but I don't know that that's the most practical option for us. I guess, money wise, it could be quite beneficial but sanity wise? Not so much. For either party.

Back to fill you in

The past few weeks have been nothing short of 'eventful'. In good and bad ways. But I try to see the good over the bad in everything. It was against my better judgement initially, but Jeff and I decided to buy a house.... before we get married. So way back in April/May we started looking and after several homes, we decided on "the one". Well, long story short, rather than getting into all the details, all I can say is that it turned out to be NOT "the one". So NOT THE ONE. There were some things that needed rectifying before we actually BOUGHT this house, so luckily the owner offered to rent it to us for a few months while we waited on those certs. Well, I can not say ENOUGH, how relieved we are that we were tenants before owners. Once we got into the house, there were more problems than we could have imagined. Details later. Maybe. I guess in retrospect, I think I might have had some instinct that we weren't going to make this our "home" because I never fully unpacked my boxes. Literally. I'm still getting clothes out of boxes in the morning when I dress and everything else, that is not a big piece of furniture, is still sitting in a neatly packed box... just waiting to be taped back up. In all of this, as much as I wanted to scream or cry, I've prayed every single day. I think it's because of praying and giving this all to God, I've remained content. Even though this is not what we planned and now feel that our lives are being turned upside down, I tend to see the positive and I know that there is a greater power in control of this. I keep telling Jeff that. Yesterday he said he's so upset because he feels like he's lost the control, doesn't have a hand in this anymore.. like things are just whirling out of control. But I told him that someone IS in control and does have a hand in ALL OF THIS. I think he believes that. I hope he does. In the beginning, we prayed on this house alot. We asked God to help us along and totally accepted that whatever happened, it was His will. Even now sitting here thinking about packing up our lives AGAIN and figuring out where to stay for the next 2 or 3 months, we still have Faith that there's a plan. We may not know what it is, initially, but I believe it will come about. Yes, that's the part I left out. The owner has agreed to leave us rent the house for the balance of August and has also agreed, in writing, to return our "good faith deposit". We just need to figure out where we're going to stay for a few months (or maybe more)... until we find a house and make settlement. We've decided to put all of our things in storage for now.. and we're definitely getting a U-Haul this time. One trip. So today, we're meeting with our realtor, once again, to check out some homes that we'd like to check out. Wish us luck. Say a prayer.

Yep, still here..

I've been really out of the blog world lately.. I can't believe it. I'm so ashamed.
Please forgive me. Things have been so nutty lately. Lots of big events have unfolded and I've been too damn tired to even talk about it, let alone blog about it. Good grief. Once things really start to dwindle down, I promise to update on everything. I have access to the internet, and thus, my blog all the time now! Woot! So I have no excuse to not post... each and every day. I'm really going to try and make the effort to do that. But for now, this is all I can get out.

Sorry.

Be back soon.