Santa's Criminal Record.....

On the way to work this week we saw a sign up on the corner.

You know those signs, the ones advertising help for hire, electricians, work at home and make $XXX,XXX.......

This particular sign was unique.

It really seems like a good way to find people to rob make some easy money.

I think my kids would really enjoy it.

I've certainly never heard of it around here before.

It said:

Santa visits at your home

555-1234

But, I wonder if there's a way to do a background check on Santa?

Maybe I'm to cynical.

I just don't think I want some random stranger dressed up in a costume coming over to my house to case the joint visit my kids.

Who knew.....

I would turn into a sewing freak? I think maybe it's genetic. My Grandma Helen was a quilter. She made other things, but the thing I remember most is her quilts. I have some baby quilts that she made in my cedar chest. I also have one she made for me when I was still in school that was perfect for my twin bed. She's 94 (I'm pretty sure) and has had a rough year. She finally quit sewing a couple of years ago, I swear the woman is an angel. I always remember her saying she had bad eyes and I just can't understand how someone with bad eyes can make such beautiful things. I also have several other family members who have made some pretty amazing things. You all ROCK!

(Rylie's quilt that I finally finished)

I bought my first sewing machine around 6 years ago I think. Just a cheap singer from WalMart. Nothing fancy. I don't remember what made me buy it in the first place, maybe I saw something in a magazine I wanted to make. Actually, I think the very first thing I ever made was a pillow that I gave to my mom. (She has many things I've made, from the clay dragon I made in highs school art class to the wooden scrapbooks I've made.)

I have never had the time to take a sewing class, I've pretty much learned everything I know (which still isn't much) from books, magazines and trial and error. I do know that if I ever get good enough to feel like I am as good as my grandma and my aunt then I'll be doing ok.

I don't know what possessed me to buy an embroidery machine. Maybe because I've been talking to her about the one she has, and all her plans. I know a lady who has one (the one who did the names for my quilts) and I've seen all of the really cool things she's done. I started thinking of all of the things I could do with one. Then I was at Joann's one day and saw some. I decided they were way out of my price range for something that's just a hobby. Then I went to look for some fabric last week and wandered my way into the section with the machines again. They were having a big sale. Not big enough, but I started talking to the ladies and they said right now was a great time to look at used machines because they had a huge sale after Thanksgiving, so a lot of people brought their older machines in so they could trade up. I bought the one they said was by far the best deal. It wasn't one of the newer ones, so I did have to give up a couple of things, but all in all I got a great machine for a great price. I even checked out eBay to see how much they were asking for this exact machine and I probably got it for at least $500 less than what they were going for on there.

If you're in the market or even just dreaming about it, do some research and look them up. I bought a Husqvarna Designer 1 and because I bought it at JoAnn's, I get free classes, and 1 year of parts and service warranty. They also give you 12 months to trade up and you get the full value of what you paid for your machine. I figured that if I don't use it that much then I can still sell it for close to what I paid. If I like it and use it a lot I can go back and check it out next year to see what I could trade up to. Either way sounded like a good deal for me.

Did I ramble enough for you? Here are some pictures of Hunter's jacket that I "made". I bought the hoodie at Target, and then I put his name on it, and put a spiderweb on the back for my Spidey lover.

Am I a lucky woman or what?

Can you believe I was lucky enough to marry a guy who can make something so beautiful?

Updates...

If you wonder where I've been....well....I've been busy, but haven't you all as well?

Last Friday was Seth's 30th birthday.

He took the day off and went golfing.

After I got off work we went and picked up my new toy.

(Oh, don't worry, he got an exciting new tool for his birthday, and since everyone celebrates my birthday I thought I would just do the same on his, sort of...).

I bought myself an embroidery machine!

I'm so excited!

I think Seth is too.

He's got his plans for the things he wants me to make him.

I've got big plans to finish all of these Christmas gifts I'm making and maybe even personalize some of them.

I have lots to do still.

And I just realized this morning how extremly fast the time is going.

You probably won't see much out of me for the next week or so, but I may have a guest poster if she chooses to highjack my blog for me......

So, until next time....

P.S. I could really use a full time babysitter for the next couple of weeks if anyone wants to volunteer. I can't promise you good weather, unfortunately it's supposed to be rainy and around 55 degrees the entire week.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

I had to blog this. I'm a terrible mother, but, I must do my duty because I'm sure one day I will completely forget about this happening and now I have the memory forever.

We've been having issues with little miss Houdini taking her diapers off, wet or dry, even if we put them on backwards.

It also doesn't matter if we use cloth or disposable.

What's a mom to do?

I went to check on her last night and this is what I found.

And no, we don't let her go bar hopping.......

Holiday Fusion.....

...or confusion?

Maybe they are trying to multitask.

Maybe they're so confused by the stores putting out their Christmas stuff in August that they didn't know which holiday to decorate for.

What do you think is the explination?

Dear Target.....

I really, really hate to say this, but I think I'm not in love with you anymore.

It all started with the fact that I hate to shop, and all of your stores are out of my reasonable range for running to the store. When I say I hate to shop, it really means that I hate spending the time away from my nice comfy couch family, so the farther I have to drive to your store the less time I have to spend blogging, eating, and watching tv, sewing, playing with my kids and cooking healthy dinners.

There's also the matter of you never having the thing I want when I want it. Every time I find the perfect thing I'll check online, and then drive to the store, only to be told that it's out of stock (even though your website said it was available). I can't recall how many times it's happened to me, but it's been enough times that I have stopped looking online all together.

Then you got me all excited when we moved to our new house (3 years ago) by putting up a sign to show your plans to build a brand new SuperTarget just 1/2 mile from my house. This would put you even closer than the new Wal-Mart that went in last year, and I would have a really good reason to shop in your stores as opposed to Wal-Mart (saving on gas you know).

Alas, your store has still not been built. You keep pushing it back. You say it's the economy. I say not. People (especially all of the mommy bloggers) LOVE Target. You teased us by starting the groundwork. I started to get excited when the street was under major construction because surely that meant it was getting closer. This was 5 months ago at least. Still, no sign of a building.

I also heard from a source who has family on the inside. They say you are probably not going to be opening the store in the next year. At the rate you're going it will be 2. I will probably have moved by then.

I'm just getting the cold shoulder feeling from you, and so I'm going to give it right back. Until you open your store by me that is. Then I'll warm up again.

Airing the Dirty Laundry (plug your nose)

My mom came for a visit a few weeks ago. It was a nice relaxing visit, we made a few million trips to some store or another. On one of these trips we had the kids with us and Hunter noticed some Spiderman pajamas and decided that he must have them. Well......first he decided he just had to have the Ironman ones that light up and everything. We talked him out of those and I stupidly thought for some reason that 2 pairs of Spiderman pajamas (one black and one red/blue) would be better than one pair of Ironman ones.

We got home and the minute we walked in the door he was stripping down.

He had to wear those pj's.

And not just one pair, he wanted both on at the same time.

He's since become quite fond of the red and blue pair.

He has worn them to daycare even though it's NOT pajama day.

He's worn them out in the yard to play with the neighbor kid.

He's worn them to sleep every night.

He's worn them back to Wal-Mart.

He's taken them in the car with us when he couldn't wear them.

He's put them in the washer when I said they needed to be washed.

He's pulled them out of the washer and exclaimed that they're clean- 20 minutes after putting them in and not starting the wash cycle.

It's just another reason why we're THAT family!

Arizona's Stupid Motorist Law should cover these people....

Snowbird - Informal. a person who vacations in or moves to a warmer climate during cold weather.

Also known as Q-tips. (We didn't make that one up, one of them told us that.)

Also the reason (OK, I'm 90% sure this is true) our car insurance rates are so high.

Don't believe me? You think it's because there are so many uninsured drivers out there? Well, I can prove it.

I'll give you a couple of examples.

You know it's snowbird season out here when you start seeing people making left turns without moving into the center turning lane.

On the flip side of that is the ones who just drive in the turning lane, because they have no clue.

They're also the ones who drive about 15 mph less than the speed limit and almost come to a complete stop while making a right turn.

They stop in the middle of the street when they get lost, which causes a traffic jam.

I once had a lady pull up behind me while I was delivering the mail (outside of my vehicle), and as she went to get out of the car her "accelerator stuck" and the car came up over the curb and ran into the corner of the building that was next to the mailboxes. If she had straightened out her wheels she would have probably ran me over.

Seth had a lady run into him in his mail truck, in a parking lot!

And the icing on the cake.....

They don't understand traffic lights! It's not uncommon at all to see a car stopped in the middle of an intersection because the light that is on the median turned red before the light on the far side of the intersection and they didn't want to run the light. It may not make a whole lot of sense, so I drew you a diagram). Unfortunately we never seem to be in the right circumstance to take a picture of one of these people, but I just saw one yesterday, and I'm sure it's just the beginning........







(we're not sure who the genius at ADOT was that decided there should be 2 sets of stoplights for one intersection, but we all think it would save some trouble if they just took out the one in the median)

More updates

I have to apologize for the lack of substance in my blogging lately. I promise, stay with me and I will eventually get back to the good stuff. In fact, I have a post in the works for tomorrow already. You'll like it I promise.

On to the updates. Here's the cedar chest.....

It just needs a lid, a hinge, a good vaccuuming, sanding, and varnishing.

And here's my latest tiny project. I needed to prove to myself that I could actually make something besides blankets, and JoAnn's had all of their fleece on sale this last weekend so I bought some and made this in about five hours an hour. (The time spent chasing the kids and re-setting all of my stuff from the damage done by them, right?)

I haven't gotten a really good picture of it because she was too tired to sit still for me. She does like it though, she wore it to school today. I have some for sale in my store also. I promise this is not taking away from my quilt making time....only my kids do that.

Trying something new.....

I decided to open up a shop on Etsy.com to hopefully make life easier for everyone. In case you don't know what Etsy is, it's an online mall sort of thing for all things that are handmade. You can find almost anything you're looking for there. If you've never been there, check it out. My store is under construction and pretty generic right now, but hopefully I'll have some time to make the layout a little more inviting.

So if you'd like to see what I have listed so far, here's the link to Cuddlebug Babies.

Project Updates

Seth has made some progress on his cedar chest. He got the cedar lined on the inside. He has a little more to do and then he'll be ready to put the lid on.

I found another blanket I had forgotten about. Actually I had the front panel all done, and it just needed a back. So I decided to go ahead and finish it with some flannel I had. I made a few of these blankets for some friends who had babies and most of them have said their kids still have them and sleep with them (and they are all around 6 or 7 by now).

I've also decided to sell it. So, it's up for grabs, anyone who wants it, it's yours for the bargain price of $30, payable through paypal. Just send me an e-mail and it's yours!

Day #.......oh, who's even keeping track anymore?

I got Hunter's quilt done today.

The backing fabric that I'm using is really a love/hate kind of thing. I love that it's really forgiving so you can't see a lot of the stitching, but I hate that it's so stretchy, it makes it hard to keep everything lined up perfectly. Oh well, it's handmade right?

He woke me up this morning at 3 am. Said his stomach hurt. I'm such a good mom that I told him to go to the bathroom, and rolled over to go back to sleep. A few minutes later I heard him throwing up....right next to me on the bed. Good thing he hit it ALL on the pillow (and a spare one at that).

We decided to just stay home instead of going to the family dinner. There are other little kids and I didn't want to expose everyone to our germfest. I still had to cook some stuff to take over (since we live around the corner anyway), so I scrubbed my hands raw everytime I had to touch anything. A few years ago there were a bunch of us in the family that got sick the day after Christmas. I don't want a repeat of that year for sure.

It's not ALL about me....

So I realized that lately I've been blogging about all of the really cool things that I've been making and I have left out how awesomely talented my husband is.

He's decided to make each of the kids a cedar chest for Christmas. (We are not at all competetive, so it's not like we're trying to out do each other.....plus, they're going to need someplace to keep all of their things that I'll be making them).

He finally got the materials on Monday for one of them, so here's his project progress.....

Day one.....materials.

Day 2....some major progress

So maybe he will be able to get 2 done by Christmas.....

Wordless Wednesday

I'm so not ever buying a Dell.....

Please go here http://lovingoursimplelife.blogspot.com/2008/11/i-am-living-nightmare.html to read all about my friend Kristen's issues with Dell, and leave her a lovley comment of support. I can not imagine.

I'll beg if I have to.....

Ok, so I really need some help from my friends. I need to get people to my Mary Kay site to get some orders by Friday. I will be able to get everything out in plenty of time for Christmas, but I need your help getting people to my blog. So here's the deal...post about my sale on your blog, then come and let me know about it, and even if you didn't buy anything I will still send you one of the gift with purchase sets- for free!!!!

Here's the website Sensational Skincare Shop
Thanks in advance.

Day 9...slight change of plans

I finished one of the quilts today. It has a name on it, but it's purposely hidden to help keep it a secret (in case anyone is checking in on here who shouldn't know.)I haven't had much of a chance to work on them this week, but I did get most of the fabric cut for the rest of the quilts. I have decided that the two jungle quilts will be okay in size, but the ones I'm making for the older kids should probably be a little bigger. Therefore I may not be able to make all 8 quilts. I'm hoping that I can get Joann's website to cooperate and sign up for their mailing list. If I can get some coupons, or just find some good sales, then I may be able to get some more fabric. I also have the option of finishing a couple of blankets that I had already started. I also found a baby quilt that I had finished (just needs to be tied) made with Debbie Mumm's Noah's Ark fabric. I think I may sell that one. It's a little wrinkled from being folded up in the cedar chest, but here's what that one looks like.

I used to make photo albums out of wood and paint them, and then I would decoupage things on them and people can use them for scrapbooks (12x12 and 8 1/2 x 11). I even made some small 6x6 ones for recipes also. I will have to see if I can find some pictures of those. I made a couple that were decorated to match the Noah's Ark quilt, but I sold both of those.

I also decided that I'm going to have a huge Pre-Thanksgiving Sale over on my other blog. I've been neglecting it because I just haven't really had the time. So if you are interested in getting a lot of stuff for close to half price (or getting some great Christmas gifts for people), hop on over. I will be doing a giveaway on the final day of the sale. It's starting tomorrow and you have to order and pay by midnight Thanksgiving night.

My first scrapblog

Day 6

I took the kids to the park for a little while to play with my new camera. It was an early Christmas present (so I can practice and maybe take some card-worthy pictures).

The quilts are slowly starting to come along. I have almost all of the squares cut for all 8 quilts. I took the squares that are getting names to the girl I know with the machine, so as soon as I get them back I can really start moving along. I think I'm taking a break until Saturday afternoon. It's pretty difficult to stay on top of everything.

Day 2- or 38 days

Wow, I managed to get a lot done.

This morning I woke up bright and early.

I got all of the fabric pressed.

I started with the monkey/jungle green fabric and got all of it cut into squares.

Yep, I'm making quilts....baby size quilts.

8 in total. 4 girls-Princess/Barbie, 2 boy-superhero/transformers, and 2 monkey/jungle.

Even for the bigger kids (huh, Hunter's the oldest at almost 4), I figured they would like the super soft fabric and maybe size won't matter so much.

I know a lady with an embroidery machine and I'm thinking of asking her to embroider each kid's name on their blanket before I put the backing on. Either that or their initials. I think it would look nice with their names though.

I had 2 little helpers all day, and neither one had a nap. Rylie chattered away in her room for almost an hour but never fell asleep.

I finished sewing the top of one of the monkey quilts.

I still have the rest of the fabric to cut, but after cutting the first set of fabric my poor wrist needed a break. All of the material I cut today was flannel.

I didn't do any kind of pattern, I just threw all of the squares in a bag and pulled them out one by one, so as long as I didn't get 2 in a row it was good. The picture is a little deceiving because there are some off white squares next to the light green backing material squares and they almost look the same in the picture.

I also managed to make an almond pound cake, and a loaf of pumpkin bread.

It was a busy day and now I'm beat. My eyes are very heavy and I'm hoping I will be able to get out of bed tomorrow morning......

Day 1....or counting down- 39 days

I decided to do something handmade for Christmas gifts this year.

I decided this yesterday.

I may have lost my mind.

We only exchange gifts for the kids (once you're 18 you're out).

They do a drawing for the adults, but we usually sit out of that one.

There are 8 kids that I need gifts for.

That's a LOT of fabric.

JoAnn's was having a huge sale, which ended yesterday, so I just happened to get lucky.

So Day 1 I picked out the fabric and got it all prepped and washed.

I'll try to keep updating as I go (assuming I have time).

Wish me luck, I think I'm going to need it.

Awards......

My good friend Shannon gave me these awards a couple of weeks ago and I am finally getting around to posting them. Thanks so much Shannon!

I'm not really sure if there are rules for the first award, I've seen it around but I can't remember.

Here are the characteristics of the Smile Award:

~You must display a cheerful attitude.
~You must show love to others.
~You must make mistakes.
~You must learn from others.
~You must be a positive contributor to blogging.
~You must love life.
~You must love kids.

Here are the rules for the Smile Award:

~You must link back to the award creator. (IDK who it is! Sorry!)
~You must post the rules if you are a recipient.
~You must choose 5 people to pass the award to.
~You must fit the characteristics of the award.
~You must post the characteristics of the recipient of the award.
~You must create a post sharing your win with others.
~You must thank the giver of the award.

Wow, I get to pass on these wonderful awards to some of my bestest bloggy friends!

I also recieved this award from Patrice! I am feeling the love with all of these awards! I swear, I think I'll take a break from blogging more often if that's what it takes for people to give me awards!

The only rule for this one is to pass it on to 10 blogs I love.

I think I'm going to add a twist for my recipients. I would really love to find some new blogs to read, and I know there are a few people who read my blog that either never or rarely comment and I don't know how to find your blog. So if you read this blog and you would like to share your blog with me so I can get to know you better, please do. Leave me a comment with your blog address and I will stop in to visit (and you'll know I've been there because I will comment). I will give you all a week, and on Thanksgiving I will post my recipients of all of my new favorites! Who knows, you may get some new readers from my readers too!

Randomness

*It's unbelieveble to me that I can't go one day without an internet connection without feeling like I'm completely disconnected. If I was travelling or something I would probably not notice as much, but being at home on a holiday with no internet connection was almost like torture.

*Yesterday the Direct TV guy finally came to install our system. To make a very long story as simple as possible, I'll just say that we've had the absolute worst customer service from Direct TV. The installation guys didn't do what we asked. Then they left and our cable internet didn't work. It was maddening. In total I've probably spent over 3 1/2 hours on the phone with them, including signing up, cancelling and re-signing up to change our order, then trying to get the internet resolved and they have not once made me feel like they even care if they get our business. I have gotten lots of "I'm sorry's", but also a ton of arguments and "we can't do that" for things that are simple, ie: placement of the dish, and hooking up certain rooms. I am about to tell them to take their cable and shove it.

*We actually got our internet back today due to the cable company guy coming out and fixing the was it was hooked up, but we still have some issues for the Direct TV guy to fix.

*My mom is here and I would venture to guess that she's probably not having the best time. Sorry Mom.

She has gotten a few pictures of the kids. She's also enjoying our near 80 degree temperatures as opposed to the 30's that they're having back home. Hunter has not exactly been nice about sharing his bed with her. The other morning he said, "Grandma, I want you to go home." I think it's because Grandma doesn't let him get away with as much as his parents do. What's wrong with that picture? I thought kids were supposed to be spoiled by their grandparents. I guess he really meant it, he told Seth he wanted Grandma to go home too. Poor Grandma.
She's tried really hard. She brought Hunter a little view finder and Rylie a little stuffed otter in a carrier (which Hunter decided to claim as his "dotter". So Grandma went and bought Rylie a little puppy in a purse (so cute!).

*Having a holiday in the middle of the week really throws things off. It was as if we had 2 Mondays in a row. At least the election is over so we don't have all of the political mail to deal with.

*I haven't managed to make it to the gym the last week or so. I am going to get back on track.

*I finally got a new pair of shoes. After searching Kohl's far and wide I finally found a pair on sale and my size (which was nothing short of a miracle since every other woman out here must wear a 7 1/2 and has the exact same taste in shoes as me). I don't remember if I mentioned my last pair of shoes....I bought a pair of sketchers in late August only to have them fall apart in less than 2 months. Kohl's kindly took them back with no problem, so I've been searching for a new pair since then.

*If you have little kids (especially my kids' ages) boy or girl, I highly recommend the Barbie Diamond Castle movie. I found it at Best Buy for $10 on sale a few weeks ago. Both of my kids love it. Hunter likes to sing along with all of the songs, and Rylie likes to dance and is mesmerized by it unlike any other movie we own.

*I've been catching up on movies the last couple of weeks. I've seen so many I'm not sure if I can remember which one's I've seen. Most are movies that have been out a while. A few I remember are: Batman Begins, The Illusionist, The Bourne Supremacy, Underworld and the sequel.

This has to be the most random post I've ever written. I will probably have more if I can't get back to blogging on a regular basis, so I'm going to apologize in advance.

I know, I've been lame lately......

I still haven't found time to come back and post my top 5. I definitely will, I am planning on trying to make time tomorrow night.

We cancelled our cable last month, and it finally shut off last Friday (they don't seem to care about shutting it off the day you stop getting billed for it). You'd think that with no tv to watch (we only have one super fuzzy channel C-Span, yuck) I would have more time to blog. I guess no tv means more productive in general. We have been keeping up on the house, and I've been trying to get to the gym most days. I went early Monday morning, it was really packed.

The cloth diapers are working out great. I have figured out a good system, and I even came up with a solution to keep her from getting her diapers off all the time. It was getting really frustrating, and I finally decided that if I put them on backwards she wouldn't be able to get them off. I'm pretty sure I must have heard that from someone before and it finally caught up to me, whoever told me that, thank you.

I promise to come back tomorrow. Seth is wanting to watch a movie on netflix and our other computer is ill, so I feel like I should share mine with him. (I'm so generous, aren't I?)

Top 5 Tuesday

As promised, I'm here with this weeks Top 5.

If you were expecting something election related.....sorry, I refuse to think about the election more than is necessary. I've had my fill of politics.

Instead we're going to think about having fun, and escaping to far off (or not) places.

This week, I want to know your top 5 places to see before you die, and what draws you there.

I will be back with mine later, for right now, it's your turn.....

Well, I tried.....

I got an e-mail from my friend Rachael over at Mommy Learns to Blog. It was one of those forward it and reply things that I NEVER do (it's not that I don't like them, I just don't have time for all of them.....) .

Well, this time I actually took the time to do it. But it came into my e-mail on our desktop computer-the one I never use. I remembered why I never use it as I was getting ready to post the answers to my blog.....it's slower than molasses. I was trying to do too many things at once and it just stalled too long. I have patience....let me tell you.....but I don't have that much patience!

So I was going to post it here, and not reply and forward because as much as I don't have time to do all that deciding who to send it to that won't mind (see I actually think about that kind of stuff) I thought you might all like to see my answers it would be something to blog about since I've got nothing lately.

I could blog about our Halloween instead.....because it was so fantastically unexciting it would bore you all to tears. To sum it up cranky kids, and mama with a big sinus headache.

I could also blog about going to the gym this week.....but wait.....I didn't. Well, I did on Monday, but that was it. The rest of the week just fell apart. I don't even know what happened to it. I am sort of thinking it was work that got in the way, but I'm not positive. I am turning over a new leaf tomorrow. I am going to force myself up at 5 in the morning and I'm going to go work out before work every day-no excuses.

I think I will leave you with a Top 5 Tuesday topic.

I want to know what are 5 places that are on your list of places you want to see before you die.

So until Tuesday.....

"Hey...."

We were driving on the freeway today and there was a tow truck passing us with a car on the flatbed.

Hunter was watching and he said, "Hey, that truck stole somebody's car!"

Top 5 Tuesday

<p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249054154126660434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDNZ6653qCTj_BKF-BF_eSRrY0WWXImeJUDCJbySvaKHxBP5i3P62EySyiuJ9i0z7SOpGtp8MB2ovyIQ67sXcl6so4m48gdKbvC9cZtIlqMi7zT0nRoMNCOWMxKt7wqvwmHPYPLfvxfs/s320/Top-5-Tuesday.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p>

I've been racking my brain for a topic. And then, not so much racking my brain, but trying to narrow it down.

I finally settled on this......

What are 5 things that you hope you can pass down (or at least teach) your children. Beliefs, ethics, morals......stuff like that.

Mine-

1. How to love and be loved.

2. Honesty

3. Perseverance

4. Ethics.

5. Respect.


Short and sweet for me. I'm guessing it's going to be really hard to narrow it down to 5 things.

Looking Fine by '09-Week 2

I'm a little off on my dates. This should actually be week 3, but I'm a week behind, so I'll just say it's week 2.

I have worked out pretty much every day, except this weekend. I had 3 days off and today I was looking forward to working out. I feel so much better too. My routine has been 30-40 mins. on the elliptical machine, and then 20 minutes of various machines.

So far I have lost about 2 lbs. Not bad. I have been trying to still cut back on the Dr Pepper addiction. I did really good with it last week, and over the weekend I got off track.

I'm also trying to change my attitude about eating, and so I'm trying to think "Eat to Live, NOT Live to Eat".

So far so good......

Did I miss the easy button stuck on my forehead?

So...a few random things, since I've been behind on my blogging lately and I don't think I'm going to even begin to try to catch up. (I've finally finished all of my books so hopefully I'll be a more regular blogger again).

I didn't even look to see what my reader number is up to. Last week I cleared it out (by clicking on the "mark all as read" button), and I don't think I've read more than 5 or 6 since then. Let's see.....189. Wow, not as bad as I had imagined.

The cloth diapers are going ok. Daycare agreed to do them, and they seem to have no problem with them, except I took them on Friday after missing a couple of days, and they gave them all back clean. Not sure what that was about. And, since they will be doing cloth diapers too I will have to get some more of the all in one type diapers, I don't want to be doing this laundry every night if I can help it.

Rylie doesn't seem to really like the prefold diapers in the wrap. I think it's because she is so petite and no matter how I fold them they are so bulky on her that they make her bowlegged. I am testing a couple of different ideas right now though. So far so good.


What is it that makes both of my kids obsessed with my glasses? I try to put them out of sight when I put in my contacts in the morning, but it never fails that they somehow get ahold of them. Hunter got them this morning and put them in the little compartment on the back of his trike....and then told me about it. So far they haven't broken or bent them.....

And the easy button?

I was almost done with my route the other day when this middle aged lady stopped me and asked if I had any rubber bands. Really? Seriously? I mean...kids do this all the time so they can shoot their friends, but a middle aged lady?! Is the economy so bad that she can't afford to go buy some? And who uses rubber bands at home anyway? We don't have any in our house at all. I don't know when the last time was that I needed a rubberband.

I told her I only had old ones that were ready to break any second, which I wasn't lying about.

As if I wasn't already amazed by her asking for the rubberbands in the first place, I couldn't even believe the next question.

Are you ready for this?

She asked if I could drop some off the next day for her!

I figured the only explination was that I missed seeing the easy button stuck to my forehead, because what else could possibly make someone think that the post office supplies free office supply products...to your mailbox no less?

Wordless Wednesday- Deep Sleepers

Not Top 5 Tuesday

Another missed week. I will come up with something for next week, and I'm going to try to think of it by thursday or Friday, so I can post the topic early.

I've been to the gym every day except Sunday. Saturday I went to the gym and then came home and walked to the park with the kids, so they could play at the little carnival that was going on. Hunter had fun and this time he actually got up the nerve to go down the big slide (the blow up kind). Last time they had the carnival he was still pretty shy and there were bigger kids that scared him off.

The mail has been smothering me this last week, and I'm hoping it will let up soon. All the political stuff should stop soon after election day, and I hope that helps things, I can't take much more of this. I've been working longer days and combining that with the gym doesn't even leave time for sitting down to read much until after the kids are in bed.

I'm almost done with Eclipse, the third book I was reading. It's very good. I stayed up until midnight last night reading it....just couldn't put it down.

M.I.A.

You may have been wondering where I've been (or you couldn't care less, you pick). I realize I haven't posted much of anything the last couple of weeks, and I have to admit, I haven't read many blogs either. It would probably be safe to say that aside from the time I spent posting those pictures last weekend, I have averaged about 10 minutes a day on the computer.

Travesty isn't it?

So would you really like to know what I've been doing?

I've been sucked in.

You see, I was anticipating this 6 hour drive to Disneyland. In a car. With 2 kids who were strapped in to their car seats. Not needing too much supervision.

So...I bought a book.

Not just any book.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.

I had seen so many people talking about it that I finally had to see for myself.

I'm hooked.

I just went and bought the 3rd book in the series today.

Because I was finished with the second book yesterday.

That's 2 books in 1 week (around 500-600 pages each).

So you see, I've been just a little busy.

Working.

Reading.

Joining the gym and working out.

Reading.

Laundry.

Reading.

Cooking dinner.

Reading.

Oh...did I mention joining the gym and working out?

4 days this week.

Feels great!

A little sore, but it's the good kind of sore.

I guess this means I'm going to join in with my bloggy friends in their quest.

You know....this one.

I'll try to come back and update, but I don't really have a starting point. My goal is to get to the point of being at least more toned up, and hopefully a size or 2 smaller than I am now. Heck, I'd even settle for not looking absolutely horrendous in pictures.

I can't promise that I'll be around, but I will promise to try.

Yet more pictures, are you sick of them yet?

Alright, so I added a few more, and a couple of videos also....this time I'm trying out something new- embedding the slideshow right in. Let's see if it works....

Fun For All

Here are a few pictures of our trip to Disneyland. Our hotel is right nest to California Adventure, and we have the Tower of Terror straight out from our balcony. We were also able to watch the fireworks from our balcony. I think it takes about 10 minutes to walk there from our hotel.

Both kids and all adults had fun today. I think in total we spend more time in and finding bathrooms than we did riding rides. It's a holiday weekend which means crowded as ever. We haven't bought any souvenirs yet. We did have a slight stroller mishap. We parked our 2 strollers while we went on this one ride, and when we came back, our umbrella stroller was missing. Someone must have mistaken it and then realized when they saw our luggage tag, and a couple of hours later it was there again.

Disneyland trip

More fun to come tomorrow, I hope I can make it out of bed in the morning.