That's a big word with a lot of meaning. I've learned a lot about how people influence, for good or bad, starting around the time I moved out on my own. I had a long day and I know I'm a little late with this post, but here are my top 5 (in no particular order)
* I would have to say that my biggest influence was my mom. Since I've become a mother I have seen myself in ways that I am just like her, which is a good thing.....most of the time haha.
She did have eyes in the back of her head, and still does. She also kept a short leash on us, which I realize now of course, was a really good thing. I started appreciating her more when I moved to Arizona and saw how teenagers are these days (and I know I wasn't that bad, but still....). Now that I have my own kids it makes me realize just how she feels about me, and my brother and sister.
* My dad is a close second. He is a hard worker. He seems to know how to fix just about anything. He's really freaking smart but you wouldn't necessarily know it because he doesn't act like a know-it-all. He can read like no body's business, I once saw him read 2 and a half books in about 3 days (I As I've gotten older I think I've started getting to know him better and I know that will continue.
* My Grandma (my dad's mom) I was so blessed to have a woman like her as a grandma. She's the only one I had growing up, and she was the best. She would make me mashed potatoes after school if I wanted them (since they were my favorite food). She walked everywhere. Before she broke her hip and wound up in the hospital this year, she always visited people who were sick or couldn't get out. She had a lady she would read to over the phone (even thought her own eyesight wasn't the best.) I remember shelling peas and snapping beans from her garden. She grew a lot of her own food. She always had the best tomatoes, and strawberries. We used to roller skate around her basement. There is so much more, but I have to move on to the next person.
* My kids. I definitely have to say they have given me a reason to take a look at myself and it's helped me find a sense of who I am and what kind of person I need to be in order to help them grow into the kind of people I want them to be. That doesn't mean I am succeeding every single day, but I'm trying. I've learned that I'm capable of way more than I ever would have thought before I had them.
*My husband taught me early on what it meant to have a work ethic. Not that my parents didn't teach me this, he just helped me see it at work first hand. He also does a lot more than most husbands I hear about. He cleans, pays bills, is a great dad, and changes diapers too. He's also proved that you can make something out of yourself even if you don't have a very good education.
I'm starting to wonder if any of this will make sense when I read if later, because I'm almost falling asleep as I type it. I guess I'll find out in the morning.
Thanks to everyone who participated. Sorry if I didn't make it to your blog, I didn't wind up with a lot of extra time (still trying to finish all that laundry and cleaning that never ends).
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Top 5 Tuesday
I haven't gotten my post done yet, but I wanted to get this up.
This weeks question:
Who are the top 5 most influential people in your life? Who has helped define who you are, and why?
I can't wait to see who you've picked...
As always, either do your own post, leave me a comment, and link up, or just leave your answer in the comments.
This weeks question:
Who are the top 5 most influential people in your life? Who has helped define who you are, and why?
I can't wait to see who you've picked...
As always, either do your own post, leave me a comment, and link up, or just leave your answer in the comments.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Just Do It....
I finally did.
It.
I bought some cloth diapers.
Do you think I'm crazy?
I hope it works out.
I bought enough for about 3 days I think.
I know my laundry skills leave something to be desired, but surely I can handle a load of diapers every 3 days.
I still have to buy disposables for daycare.
I just bought a huge box, so I should be good for awhile.
We'll see if a one time $100 investment as opposed to spending $40+ each month on diapers is worth it.
I would be willing to bet that having a little more room for trash in the can instead of all those diapers might just make it worth it.
And having some extra money in my recently cut grocery budget might make it worth it too.
It.
I bought some cloth diapers.
Do you think I'm crazy?
I hope it works out.
I bought enough for about 3 days I think.
I know my laundry skills leave something to be desired, but surely I can handle a load of diapers every 3 days.
I still have to buy disposables for daycare.
I just bought a huge box, so I should be good for awhile.
We'll see if a one time $100 investment as opposed to spending $40+ each month on diapers is worth it.
I would be willing to bet that having a little more room for trash in the can instead of all those diapers might just make it worth it.
And having some extra money in my recently cut grocery budget might make it worth it too.
Friday, September 26, 2008
My Friday Night...
It's 11 o'clock on Friday night and my house is clean.
Ok....sort of clean. You know......umm, Hunter's room is still a mess of toys on the floor...but I got his sheets washed.
And Rylie's room still has her toys all over the floor...but I took her stinky smelly trash out. (and what's with the toys being all over when they don't play with them?)
And our room is just a mess of clothes in a big pile. I would say that they are all clean, but then I'd be stretching the truth. You see, they were clean, and haven't been worn, but at this point....I think they need to be rewashed.
Our bathroom is also still a mess.......Seth said we can just shut our bedroom door in the morning when his mom gets here and then we'll work on that part of the house later (sometime this weekend I hope).
Now, I know that you're probably thinking that my house sounds like it's a disaster....and it is. But the important things are clean.
I cleaned out the litter box (damn cat) and the guest bathroom is smelling ok and looks presentable.
I organized and cleaned out our hallway closet, so we now have a home for our vaccuum (not that it will be there long, since we vaccuum about twice a day). Now if anyone is looking for Easter decorations, sewing supplies, or that little breathing machine for the kids, they will be able to spot those things right away.
I also organized and cleaned out my pantry and fridge. Baking soda anyone? No? Ok, how about an industrial sized thing of ketchup, complete with the pump? Ok, I guess I need to go to the grocery store.
The living room is clean. As is the den. I can't go into detail on those rooms, since they're Seth's territory and he cleans them. But the kitchen.....It's spotless (if you look past the mountain of clean dishes drying on the counter.)
All of the trash (and its smell) is outside the house. We finally got a new trash can the other day. The trash man was nice enough to leave one in place of our old one with no lid. It's funny though, it looks bigger on the outside....it's taller, and the top is round instead of square...but Seth said it seems to be smaller on the inside. That's unfortunate since we already have a landfill's worth of trash, and trash pickup is not until Wednesday.
The people from the HOA are coming back through the neighborhood on Monday, (we got a notice to get rid of the weeds)...we'll see if they write us up for the smell this time.
Ok....sort of clean. You know......umm, Hunter's room is still a mess of toys on the floor...but I got his sheets washed.
And Rylie's room still has her toys all over the floor...but I took her stinky smelly trash out. (and what's with the toys being all over when they don't play with them?)
And our room is just a mess of clothes in a big pile. I would say that they are all clean, but then I'd be stretching the truth. You see, they were clean, and haven't been worn, but at this point....I think they need to be rewashed.
Our bathroom is also still a mess.......Seth said we can just shut our bedroom door in the morning when his mom gets here and then we'll work on that part of the house later (sometime this weekend I hope).
Now, I know that you're probably thinking that my house sounds like it's a disaster....and it is. But the important things are clean.
I cleaned out the litter box (damn cat) and the guest bathroom is smelling ok and looks presentable.
I organized and cleaned out our hallway closet, so we now have a home for our vaccuum (not that it will be there long, since we vaccuum about twice a day). Now if anyone is looking for Easter decorations, sewing supplies, or that little breathing machine for the kids, they will be able to spot those things right away.
I also organized and cleaned out my pantry and fridge. Baking soda anyone? No? Ok, how about an industrial sized thing of ketchup, complete with the pump? Ok, I guess I need to go to the grocery store.
The living room is clean. As is the den. I can't go into detail on those rooms, since they're Seth's territory and he cleans them. But the kitchen.....It's spotless (if you look past the mountain of clean dishes drying on the counter.)
All of the trash (and its smell) is outside the house. We finally got a new trash can the other day. The trash man was nice enough to leave one in place of our old one with no lid. It's funny though, it looks bigger on the outside....it's taller, and the top is round instead of square...but Seth said it seems to be smaller on the inside. That's unfortunate since we already have a landfill's worth of trash, and trash pickup is not until Wednesday.
The people from the HOA are coming back through the neighborhood on Monday, (we got a notice to get rid of the weeds)...we'll see if they write us up for the smell this time.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Little bitta....
I was sitting here (ok, not really, more like thinking all day) wondering about what I was going to blog about. I have many things to say, but I just can't seem to organize my thoughts at this point. So I'm going to go with a little bitta randomness.
*When I was writing my post about personal responsibility I decided to take a big chance and wrote a letter to Dave Ramsey's company. They have agreed to send me a Total Money Makeover book to giveaway, so be looking for it in the next few weeks.
*Rylie counts to 3 and says "go". It's pretty cute. You really can't understand, but the go is pretty obvious.
*I have been starting to get a little worried about possibly moving. Mostly because of all of the unknown factors at this point. I hate the unknown. I fear the unknown. I need to embrace the possibilities, but my OCD makes it difficult.
*I was going to attempt to do a mock giveaway with a weird pair of shoes. It is actually one of those weird customer stories and I have sort of given up on it. Long story, but basically this customer gave me a pair of women's size 9 brown shoes that are for someone who's diabetic. Can you say ewwwwww? I think they were brand new, but the insoles had footprints......yep, just weird.
*I already have next weeks Top 5 Tuesday topic. Are you dying to know? Ok, I figured I'd put it out there now so you can have some time with it, since I'm pretty sure it would be a great one to go into detail with. So, I want to know.....Who are the top 5 most influential people in your life? Who has helped define who you are, and why?
And last but not least, Krystyn made me a little award to give away.
I figured that since my blog appears to be all about parenting (Supernanny anyone?), and I just love hearing other people's stories about things their kids do (with complete adult supervision, of course), I wanted to let people know how just much I love it, and appreciate knowing I'm not alone in my adventures. I wanted to call it the Momuntal act of Brevity award, but I think that should belong to McMommy, don't you? Instead I went with Parenting with Style.
No rules, just pass it on to people who you think are the absolute best parents they can be, given the children they have.
So here are my wonderful recipients:
1. My most favorite parent out there: she has many awards, is a great asset to the blogging community, and is almost famous for her Bad Parenting Chronicles. She's the one who actually inspired me to make an award. The lovely Carol.
2. Rachael from Mommy Learns to Blog. I can tell from her stories of MH that this girl is going to be such a little sweetheart when she grows up. I can also tell just how much she loves her daughter, it oozes from her posts, and makes me think differently about my kids when they are driving me insane.
3. Amanda from Lifelong Playdate is one very awesome momma. I love that whenever I read her blog it takes me back to when Hunter was a baby and I was a new mom experiencing all of those firsts. And really, who can forget that she locked her precious and oh so cute Beans in the car? She's got this mom thing down. She may not be THAT mom yet, but she's on her way!
4. Kristen over at Loving Our Simple Life is another mom that I just LOVE. We're both from the Midwest, and we both live in AZ. Plus, we both like Midwest meat enough to get our hands on it anyway we can. Her blog title says it all, she loves her simple life, and you can just see how at peace she is with all of the awesome pictures of her beautiful children. I wish my life were that simple.
Ok, that's everyone for now. I have so many more people who deserve this award, but if I give them all away, then there won't be any to pass around later......
*When I was writing my post about personal responsibility I decided to take a big chance and wrote a letter to Dave Ramsey's company. They have agreed to send me a Total Money Makeover book to giveaway, so be looking for it in the next few weeks.
*I had a bunch of time to listen to talk radio today. You have to know I was listening to Dave Ramsey. He has a plan outlined on his website all about cleaning up the economy. It makes a ton of sense and could save billions of dollars. Go check it out here, you can read it or listen to the podcast, and there are links to help you get in touch with your representative, congressmen, and senators.
*Rylie counts to 3 and says "go". It's pretty cute. You really can't understand, but the go is pretty obvious.
*I have been starting to get a little worried about possibly moving. Mostly because of all of the unknown factors at this point. I hate the unknown. I fear the unknown. I need to embrace the possibilities, but my OCD makes it difficult.
*I was going to attempt to do a mock giveaway with a weird pair of shoes. It is actually one of those weird customer stories and I have sort of given up on it. Long story, but basically this customer gave me a pair of women's size 9 brown shoes that are for someone who's diabetic. Can you say ewwwwww? I think they were brand new, but the insoles had footprints......yep, just weird.
*I already have next weeks Top 5 Tuesday topic. Are you dying to know? Ok, I figured I'd put it out there now so you can have some time with it, since I'm pretty sure it would be a great one to go into detail with. So, I want to know.....Who are the top 5 most influential people in your life? Who has helped define who you are, and why?
And last but not least, Krystyn made me a little award to give away.
I figured that since my blog appears to be all about parenting (Supernanny anyone?), and I just love hearing other people's stories about things their kids do (with complete adult supervision, of course), I wanted to let people know how just much I love it, and appreciate knowing I'm not alone in my adventures. I wanted to call it the Momuntal act of Brevity award, but I think that should belong to McMommy, don't you? Instead I went with Parenting with Style.
No rules, just pass it on to people who you think are the absolute best parents they can be, given the children they have.
So here are my wonderful recipients:
1. My most favorite parent out there: she has many awards, is a great asset to the blogging community, and is almost famous for her Bad Parenting Chronicles. She's the one who actually inspired me to make an award. The lovely Carol.
2. Rachael from Mommy Learns to Blog. I can tell from her stories of MH that this girl is going to be such a little sweetheart when she grows up. I can also tell just how much she loves her daughter, it oozes from her posts, and makes me think differently about my kids when they are driving me insane.
3. Amanda from Lifelong Playdate is one very awesome momma. I love that whenever I read her blog it takes me back to when Hunter was a baby and I was a new mom experiencing all of those firsts. And really, who can forget that she locked her precious and oh so cute Beans in the car? She's got this mom thing down. She may not be THAT mom yet, but she's on her way!
4. Kristen over at Loving Our Simple Life is another mom that I just LOVE. We're both from the Midwest, and we both live in AZ. Plus, we both like Midwest meat enough to get our hands on it anyway we can. Her blog title says it all, she loves her simple life, and you can just see how at peace she is with all of the awesome pictures of her beautiful children. I wish my life were that simple.
Ok, that's everyone for now. I have so many more people who deserve this award, but if I give them all away, then there won't be any to pass around later......
Monday, September 22, 2008
Top 5 Tuesday
Who's ready for another edition of Top 5 Tuesday?
With a little help from Krystyn this week.....I had her make me a really cool new badge that you can copy and use on your blog. I don't know how to do the little code box yet, but hopefully I'll figure that out soon. You ready? Here it is!
And for this weeks topic, thanks to Jen at Momma Blogs Alot...What are your top 5 favorite or least favorite things about where you are currently living?
I decided for my Top 5 I would choose my favorite things about the Phoenix area.
1. I like that it's warm all year. I wanted to move here because I really hate cold weather, and if we move, that is probably going to be the thing I miss the most.
2. I like the views. We live close to Superstition Mountain, and see it every day. We also have views of the San Tan Mountains, and Four Peaks.
3. Since I started golfing last year I'm loving all of the golf courses around here. Another reason I wanted to move here was my ambition to go to school and become a landscape architect....but life happens.
4. Boston Market. At last check Iowa didn't have any. Our closest one is in Tempe, and I will occasionally drive 25 minutes there (usually during rush hour) just to get some of their awesome turkey and mashed potatoes.
5. Last but not least, the monsoon storms. I love it when they come up out of nowhere. I love the smell in the air after the rain, you won't experience it anywhere else.
Now it's your turn! I wanna know. And as always if you don't have a blog feel free to leave your top 5 in the comments. And if you do blog, make sure you link up!
With a little help from Krystyn this week.....I had her make me a really cool new badge that you can copy and use on your blog. I don't know how to do the little code box yet, but hopefully I'll figure that out soon. You ready? Here it is!
<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>
And for this weeks topic, thanks to Jen at Momma Blogs Alot...What are your top 5 favorite or least favorite things about where you are currently living?
I decided for my Top 5 I would choose my favorite things about the Phoenix area.
1. I like that it's warm all year. I wanted to move here because I really hate cold weather, and if we move, that is probably going to be the thing I miss the most.
2. I like the views. We live close to Superstition Mountain, and see it every day. We also have views of the San Tan Mountains, and Four Peaks.
3. Since I started golfing last year I'm loving all of the golf courses around here. Another reason I wanted to move here was my ambition to go to school and become a landscape architect....but life happens.
4. Boston Market. At last check Iowa didn't have any. Our closest one is in Tempe, and I will occasionally drive 25 minutes there (usually during rush hour) just to get some of their awesome turkey and mashed potatoes.
5. Last but not least, the monsoon storms. I love it when they come up out of nowhere. I love the smell in the air after the rain, you won't experience it anywhere else.
Now it's your turn! I wanna know. And as always if you don't have a blog feel free to leave your top 5 in the comments. And if you do blog, make sure you link up!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Wanna create your own blog but don't know where to start?
If you would like to create your own blog but aren't quite sure where to start, go on over to Martha Stewart's blog, and read some tips from bloggers about getting started.
If you already have a blog, you can leave a comment to enter her contest and you could be chosen to be listed on her blog.
If you already have a blog, you can leave a comment to enter her contest and you could be chosen to be listed on her blog.
A question for my fellow bloggers....
So, now I'm part of the cool bloggers club.... meaning the day after I whined about not having the ability to "follow" blogs, I think someone added me to their blogs they follow and that in turn allowed me to be a follower.
Which now brings me to my question. For those of you who have blogger, and are using the follower tool, did you unsubscribe in your reader (if you used one)?
I am just curious, because I seem to wind up clicking on the updated blogs I see on my blogger dashboard, and then I still have them in my reader in that separate folder, showing as unread. And now I have all these extra people who I'm following, who I'm not subscribing to and it's hard for me with my OCD personality to not go subscribe, because I feel like I'm probably throwing their numbers off. Make any sense?
I know, this is all the least of my worries, but it's the little things that I can't seem to just forget about......
And the topic for this weeks Top 5 Tuesday is courtesy of Momma Blogs Alot:
What are your top 5 favorite/least favorite things about where you currently live. Make it interesting, if you want, by finding pictures or taking pictures of your top 5. I would love to be able to visually see what you're talking about. See you there!
Which now brings me to my question. For those of you who have blogger, and are using the follower tool, did you unsubscribe in your reader (if you used one)?
I am just curious, because I seem to wind up clicking on the updated blogs I see on my blogger dashboard, and then I still have them in my reader in that separate folder, showing as unread. And now I have all these extra people who I'm following, who I'm not subscribing to and it's hard for me with my OCD personality to not go subscribe, because I feel like I'm probably throwing their numbers off. Make any sense?
I know, this is all the least of my worries, but it's the little things that I can't seem to just forget about......
And the topic for this weeks Top 5 Tuesday is courtesy of Momma Blogs Alot:
What are your top 5 favorite/least favorite things about where you currently live. Make it interesting, if you want, by finding pictures or taking pictures of your top 5. I would love to be able to visually see what you're talking about. See you there!
I wonder...
Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing this parenting thing right. Sometimes I think everyone should be required to take parenting classes while they're raising their kids. (That's going a little too far though.)
When my 3 year old is screaming at me and saying things like "what the hell is going on here?", I wonder.
I wonder if I let them watch too much tv.
I wonder if I let them have too much candy.
I wonder if I don't pay enough attention to them.
But then I realize that there are actually terrible people out there. There are people who lock their kids in closets. There are people who abuse their kids, physically and mentally.
There are kids out there who've been kidnapped, or worse.
I asked Hunter "who loves you Hunter?" and he said "Mommy and Daddy love me".
That's all I need to hear. (I will still wonder now and then, but I know as long as my kids know they're loved unconditionally I think they should be ok.)
(can you tell I recently spent a few too many hours watching Lifetime movies?)
Plus, I take my kids to the park once in a while.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Because life happens....
I was sorting mail the other day and happened to see a picture beside the address box on a catalog. The caption read "because life happens" and there was a picture of a doll with hair that looked like someone had electrocuted her. And after that there was a link for the American Girl Doll Hospital. I thought it was a joke. Really, a doll hospital? Here's the link....there's not much to see though. But there is a form if you are in need of a surgery, or even just a general cleaning. They have an admittance process. From there, diagnosis, treatment, and discharge. When you get your doll back it will have a hospital gown, an ID bracelet, a Certificate of Good Health, a “get well” balloon, and a band-aid sticker.
Anyone else find this even slightly amusing? I, of course, have to wonder if they offer insurance to cover the hospital stays.
Anyone else find this even slightly amusing? I, of course, have to wonder if they offer insurance to cover the hospital stays.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
You know it's bad when I bring out the Mother....
I have to admit, I have somewhat of a potty mouth IRL(although I try to really refrain from cussing on my blog). But to be fair, most of the words I use on a semi regular basis aren't really very bad words. Really, they're not...if you classify the different cuss words into levels of bad and very bad.
My bad list:
crap, damn, hell, shit....um, those are the only ones I must use, since I can't think of any more right now.
My Very Bad list: (Some of these I won't ever use because I have aversions to them)
the F word. I use it way too much, but I really try not to use it around my kids, and they have yet to pick it up so I must be doing something right.
any word with vulgar reference to woman parts, I hate hearing those words and you would very rarely hear me say anything close to any of those.
And I'm sure there are more, but my ultimate cuss word is the Mother Fuc#^r. Really, that's as bad as it gets with me. And if you hear it coming out of my mouth it's because something really, really bad has happened, or something hurt so bad that any other words just fail to express the enormity of the situation.
Today I had to pull out the Mo Fo card. I think that's when I realized all of this. I got a paper cut (typical job hazard) way up under my fingernail....now I think I know why denailing and other things were used to torture people. I've had my fair share of paper cuts over the years, but at this point I think this is the absolute worst one I've ever gotten, and in the worst place. I think the words were out of my mouth before I even realized it, and I almost never cuss that bad. So I figured out that is has to be some gigantic deal for me to pull out the mother f-er word. (see, I can't even do it for purposes of literature..... pfh, who am I kidding, literature?)
My bad list:
crap, damn, hell, shit....um, those are the only ones I must use, since I can't think of any more right now.
My Very Bad list: (Some of these I won't ever use because I have aversions to them)
the F word. I use it way too much, but I really try not to use it around my kids, and they have yet to pick it up so I must be doing something right.
any word with vulgar reference to woman parts, I hate hearing those words and you would very rarely hear me say anything close to any of those.
And I'm sure there are more, but my ultimate cuss word is the Mother Fuc#^r. Really, that's as bad as it gets with me. And if you hear it coming out of my mouth it's because something really, really bad has happened, or something hurt so bad that any other words just fail to express the enormity of the situation.
Today I had to pull out the Mo Fo card. I think that's when I realized all of this. I got a paper cut (typical job hazard) way up under my fingernail....now I think I know why denailing and other things were used to torture people. I've had my fair share of paper cuts over the years, but at this point I think this is the absolute worst one I've ever gotten, and in the worst place. I think the words were out of my mouth before I even realized it, and I almost never cuss that bad. So I figured out that is has to be some gigantic deal for me to pull out the mother f-er word. (see, I can't even do it for purposes of literature..... pfh, who am I kidding, literature?)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Help, I need Bloggers Annonymous.....my husband said so!
So many things to blog about but so little time. Has anyone missed me? Probably not. I have somehow managed to post a couple of times in the last week, but I'm sure anyone other than my 9 readers couldn't care less.
I found this hilarious post a little bit earlier at my newest blogaddiction reader addition. The blog- My Therapy. The writer - Tenakim. Go, visit, you will love her, I promise, or your money back......oh...wait....nevermind, just go.
I managed to read just a few of the 100+ posts waiting for me in my reader. (And yet I'm adding newaddictions additions.....). There were a couple about Google Analytics searches. I haven't checked mine in a while so I thought I would have a look. I've done a post on that. It's been awhile. I won't rehash it all. I'll just give you a couple new ones that stood out.
The first one.....
I hate my SIL. Umm, I'm pretty sure I've never said anything even close to that. Heck, I'm not even sure I've ever mentioned having a SIL. Who knew?
and for #2...
punishment underwear. Seriously?! Either you like to go commando and actually having to wear underwear is punishment, or else you're a really big sicko. Please don't look for anything in my blog relating to this. I'm not worth your time. There's a nasty porn site out there waiting for you, go find it.
Let's see...... Oh, do you remember that post where I admit to being a hypocrite? Or maybe the one about how I'm the biggest dork ever? Guess what, I have a new word....hypodork! Only because I've already admitted to being both at different times, but now I've got to admit that I'm both on the same subject. You know that little box? The one in Rachael's instructions? Um, yeah, I feel really stupid for not checking mine! I always thought I had checked it. One day recently I was snooping around in my profile editor and I noticed the box was not checked. So now who's the biggest hypodork ever?!
Oh, and maybe you remember this post and about Hunter hiding knives in his bed. He hasn't done it lately. And after tonight I don't think there will be any doubt from him that those things are really OWIES, like we say they are. I really could do my own Bad Parenting Chronicles post for this one. You see, I'm just a wee bit behind on my cleaning. (I know, behind on cleaning and blogging?) So today I was concentrating on the rest of the house, and sort of just piled all of the dirty dishes on the counters. I really don't have tons of counter space, so it looks and sounds worse than it really is (ok, I'll pretend it does). So my plan was to make dinner, give the kids a bath, and then as soon as Rylie was in bed I would clean up the kitchen.
Hunter's been increasingly independent lately. He's been getting his own juice, and he even makes his own bowl of cereal, and toast sometimes (yikes, I know). So I figured he was up to something in the kitchen while I was rocking Rylie and I asked Seth to check on him. He was getting a glass of milk. All. By. Himself. And somehow (bad momma) I had left one of those cutting mats, you know, the flexible ones, laying on top of something, and on top of that was the knife I had used to cut the onion while I was cooking dinner. It was one of those Pampered Chef knives...the ones that come with the sharpener in the case. I think he was trying to get the mat, and the knife came with it and stabbed him in the foot. We bandaged it all up amid the hysterical crying (0n my part), got it elevated and ice for it. It looks like it will be ok, probably a little sore for a few days, but I don't think we'll need to cut it off. And I hope he has learned just how not fun playing with knives is.
I found this hilarious post a little bit earlier at my newest blog
I managed to read just a few of the 100+ posts waiting for me in my reader. (And yet I'm adding new
The first one.....
I hate my SIL. Umm, I'm pretty sure I've never said anything even close to that. Heck, I'm not even sure I've ever mentioned having a SIL. Who knew?
and for #2...
punishment underwear. Seriously?! Either you like to go commando and actually having to wear underwear is punishment, or else you're a really big sicko. Please don't look for anything in my blog relating to this. I'm not worth your time. There's a nasty porn site out there waiting for you, go find it.
Let's see...... Oh, do you remember that post where I admit to being a hypocrite? Or maybe the one about how I'm the biggest dork ever? Guess what, I have a new word....hypodork! Only because I've already admitted to being both at different times, but now I've got to admit that I'm both on the same subject. You know that little box? The one in Rachael's instructions? Um, yeah, I feel really stupid for not checking mine! I always thought I had checked it. One day recently I was snooping around in my profile editor and I noticed the box was not checked. So now who's the biggest hypodork ever?!
Oh, and maybe you remember this post and about Hunter hiding knives in his bed. He hasn't done it lately. And after tonight I don't think there will be any doubt from him that those things are really OWIES, like we say they are. I really could do my own Bad Parenting Chronicles post for this one. You see, I'm just a wee bit behind on my cleaning. (I know, behind on cleaning and blogging?) So today I was concentrating on the rest of the house, and sort of just piled all of the dirty dishes on the counters. I really don't have tons of counter space, so it looks and sounds worse than it really is (ok, I'll pretend it does). So my plan was to make dinner, give the kids a bath, and then as soon as Rylie was in bed I would clean up the kitchen.
Hunter's been increasingly independent lately. He's been getting his own juice, and he even makes his own bowl of cereal, and toast sometimes (yikes, I know). So I figured he was up to something in the kitchen while I was rocking Rylie and I asked Seth to check on him. He was getting a glass of milk. All. By. Himself. And somehow (bad momma) I had left one of those cutting mats, you know, the flexible ones, laying on top of something, and on top of that was the knife I had used to cut the onion while I was cooking dinner. It was one of those Pampered Chef knives...the ones that come with the sharpener in the case. I think he was trying to get the mat, and the knife came with it and stabbed him in the foot. We bandaged it all up amid the hysterical crying (0n my part), got it elevated and ice for it. It looks like it will be ok, probably a little sore for a few days, but I don't think we'll need to cut it off. And I hope he has learned just how not fun playing with knives is.
Wordless Wednesday
These are some pictures that my mom took in her yard. She said there were as many as a dozen butterflies at one time in two different trees. I'd take butterflies over boxelder bugs any day*.
(Around where I live we've had boxelder bugs by the billions. I've hardly ever seen boxelder bugs since I've lived here, and this year it was like someone dropped a bomb. They were everywhere. It. Was. Gross.)
(Around where I live we've had boxelder bugs by the billions. I've hardly ever seen boxelder bugs since I've lived here, and this year it was like someone dropped a bomb. They were everywhere. It. Was. Gross.)
Monday, September 15, 2008
Top 5 Tuesday
It's been a rough few days. (Well, ok, Saturday was long, Sunday was extremely lazy, and today was very long). I almost forgot this again.
This week's Top 5 Tuesday topic:
You get to pick. List 5 of your favorite blogs, pet peeves, best moments, whatever you happen to be thinking of, just list it. Of course you have to include details on why it's in your top 5.
Top 5 random thoughts in my head right now.
1.It's Monday- that should just say it all right there. I'm tired, and I'll probably end up dreaming about work tonight (which is what I do when I have to learn a new route.....I'm not learning a new one, but mine has drastic delivery changes right now.)
2. I have so much going on I can't keep my head straight. I'm thinking that if I can't keep up with one blog, how would I ever keep up with 2? Also, I really need to clean my house, and it's at the point of distraction.
3. Last week I made a really big mistake at work (ok, not that bad, but I can't believe I did it), never got in trouble, and finally corrected it on Saturday, but I am still pretty mad about the management not really doing anything about it.
4. I was supposed to go to a mom's group thing tonight with my neighbor, but I worked later than usual, and then Rylie threw up on me 2 times.
5. I've been starting to exercise a little lately, and I'm going to try to really cut back on my Dr. Pepper addiction, which I know is going to cause some major headaches, but it will be worth it if I can get rid of the belly.
So let me hear whatever random top 5 you wish to write about this week. And even if you're late, still come over and link up, no matter what day it is (or, even if you want to do last weeks).
This week's Top 5 Tuesday topic:
You get to pick. List 5 of your favorite blogs, pet peeves, best moments, whatever you happen to be thinking of, just list it. Of course you have to include details on why it's in your top 5.
Top 5 random thoughts in my head right now.
1.It's Monday- that should just say it all right there. I'm tired, and I'll probably end up dreaming about work tonight (which is what I do when I have to learn a new route.....I'm not learning a new one, but mine has drastic delivery changes right now.)
2. I have so much going on I can't keep my head straight. I'm thinking that if I can't keep up with one blog, how would I ever keep up with 2? Also, I really need to clean my house, and it's at the point of distraction.
3. Last week I made a really big mistake at work (ok, not that bad, but I can't believe I did it), never got in trouble, and finally corrected it on Saturday, but I am still pretty mad about the management not really doing anything about it.
4. I was supposed to go to a mom's group thing tonight with my neighbor, but I worked later than usual, and then Rylie threw up on me 2 times.
5. I've been starting to exercise a little lately, and I'm going to try to really cut back on my Dr. Pepper addiction, which I know is going to cause some major headaches, but it will be worth it if I can get rid of the belly.
So let me hear whatever random top 5 you wish to write about this week. And even if you're late, still come over and link up, no matter what day it is (or, even if you want to do last weeks).
Saturday, September 13, 2008
OCD+ADD= TFU
I wouldn't think it's possible to be both OCD and ADD. Yesterday I realized that I actually do possess a little of both qualities.
OCD:Getting dishes clean when I hand wash them. It probably takes me way longer to wash dishes than it should.
ADD: I can go way too long before washing dishes. It's my least favorite chore, and one that never ends, so I tend to let them pile up before I do them. I've gotten better since having kids, they sort of force you to clean up more often by making frequent messes.
OCD:Washing my hands. I wash my hands ALL the time, and it's my excuse for not usually using lotion. Even if I'm cooking and get something on my hands that is not bacteria spreading, like onion, I have to wash my hands before I touch something different. It is hard to explain, but I think I wash my hands about every 5-10 minutes. But I don't scrub, I just use soap. The exception is at work, mail is dirty, but you must put OCD aside, it's just not possible to wash your hands constantly and actually get the work done. I don't think I have any ADD about this one.
OCD: Sorting things. If I see something that needs to be sorted, (well, except laundry) I have to sort it, I can't just leave it.
ADD: I will forget whatever I was doing just to sort. I had to stop myself the other day at work, I could have been there all day working for free just to sort some stuff out that was driving me crazy.
OCD: I'm pretty accurate at work, I make mistakes sometimes, but if I know I did something wrong it will bug me until it's fixed.
ADD: I sometimes like to chat a little too much and find myself in a big rush to get out to deliver the mail.
OCD: I start organizing on the computer, pictures and stuff, or or adding tags to things, and then...
ADD:I'll see something, click a link, another link, and another link, and before I know it an hour has gone by and I've only organized 2 albums, and read about 5o blogs. And forget about sending e-mails to people who I mean to catch up with.
Ok, I know there were a bunch of other examples, but I can't remember them now (huh, ADD anyone?). So anyway I just figured out that when you are OCD and ADD they combine and cause you to be Totally F'd Up. I think I need help.....
OCD:Getting dishes clean when I hand wash them. It probably takes me way longer to wash dishes than it should.
ADD: I can go way too long before washing dishes. It's my least favorite chore, and one that never ends, so I tend to let them pile up before I do them. I've gotten better since having kids, they sort of force you to clean up more often by making frequent messes.
OCD:Washing my hands. I wash my hands ALL the time, and it's my excuse for not usually using lotion. Even if I'm cooking and get something on my hands that is not bacteria spreading, like onion, I have to wash my hands before I touch something different. It is hard to explain, but I think I wash my hands about every 5-10 minutes. But I don't scrub, I just use soap. The exception is at work, mail is dirty, but you must put OCD aside, it's just not possible to wash your hands constantly and actually get the work done. I don't think I have any ADD about this one.
OCD: Sorting things. If I see something that needs to be sorted, (well, except laundry) I have to sort it, I can't just leave it.
ADD: I will forget whatever I was doing just to sort. I had to stop myself the other day at work, I could have been there all day working for free just to sort some stuff out that was driving me crazy.
OCD: I'm pretty accurate at work, I make mistakes sometimes, but if I know I did something wrong it will bug me until it's fixed.
ADD: I sometimes like to chat a little too much and find myself in a big rush to get out to deliver the mail.
OCD: I start organizing on the computer, pictures and stuff, or or adding tags to things, and then...
ADD:I'll see something, click a link, another link, and another link, and before I know it an hour has gone by and I've only organized 2 albums, and read about 5o blogs. And forget about sending e-mails to people who I mean to catch up with.
Ok, I know there were a bunch of other examples, but I can't remember them now (huh, ADD anyone?). So anyway I just figured out that when you are OCD and ADD they combine and cause you to be Totally F'd Up. I think I need help.....
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Penis Razor?!
A few people missed out on this post, so I thought I would edit it and republish it, since it was one of my favorites.
Sometimes I find out things about people on my route that I would rather not know.
Example #1:
One day I met this lady's son who is in the navy and was getting ready to leave for Afghanistan. He seemed like a very nice person. A few weeks later she gave me a package to mail that was obviously going to him, and it had the necessary customs form attached. As I was waiting in line to buy stamps I was looking at the package and noticed the customs form. It said it included the following: Hemorrhoid cream, hemorrhoid cushion, one playgirl subscription form, condoms, and a few other miscellaneous things. I was pretty sure it was a joke, and we all had a really good laugh about it. I never asked.
Example #2:
There's this catalog that a few people get. It's called Under Gear, ever heard of it? I hadn't either until recently. It's basically a male version of Victoria's Secret. The problem with the catalog is that they have pictures like this on their back cover:
You can also check out their website for more interesting pictures, we've all had a pretty good laugh at some of them. Anyway, sometimes when you know the person who's on the receiving end of the catalog, it kind of makes you wonder.
And there's this guy, who's married, that gets it. W.E.I.R.D. (okay, maybe it's for his wife's enjoyment, but somehow I don't think so....)
(not that there's anything wrong with the catalog, it just invokes a little silliness from us)
Example #3:
There is this other guy at work that also lives on my route. He is a frequent eBay shopper. Always getting packages, baseball cards, movies, computer memory, normal stuff. First, I have to say that lately, I've been having some problems with my ears, they are a little plugged and everything sounds a little muffled.
So anyway this guy wanders up the other day and starts telling me about how he's waiting on another package. He always tells me what he ordered, sometimes he shows me when he opens it, like the baseball cards.
This time I thought he said he ordered some "penis razors".
What's a penis razor?! Did I hear that right?
You really have to know this guy, it's almost the kind of thing he would say.
I guess when I didn't say anything right away, he must have wondered what I was thinking, because he's like, "I know they're women's razors, but I really like them and they're so much cheaper than Wal-Mart."
So then I'd had a minute to think about it and I realized he said VENUS RAZORS.
HAHAHAHA!
Now that I can handle.
Sometimes I find out things about people on my route that I would rather not know.
Example #1:
One day I met this lady's son who is in the navy and was getting ready to leave for Afghanistan. He seemed like a very nice person. A few weeks later she gave me a package to mail that was obviously going to him, and it had the necessary customs form attached. As I was waiting in line to buy stamps I was looking at the package and noticed the customs form. It said it included the following: Hemorrhoid cream, hemorrhoid cushion, one playgirl subscription form, condoms, and a few other miscellaneous things. I was pretty sure it was a joke, and we all had a really good laugh about it. I never asked.
Example #2:
There's this catalog that a few people get. It's called Under Gear, ever heard of it? I hadn't either until recently. It's basically a male version of Victoria's Secret. The problem with the catalog is that they have pictures like this on their back cover:
You can also check out their website for more interesting pictures, we've all had a pretty good laugh at some of them. Anyway, sometimes when you know the person who's on the receiving end of the catalog, it kind of makes you wonder.
And there's this guy, who's married, that gets it. W.E.I.R.D. (okay, maybe it's for his wife's enjoyment, but somehow I don't think so....)
(not that there's anything wrong with the catalog, it just invokes a little silliness from us)
Example #3:
There is this other guy at work that also lives on my route. He is a frequent eBay shopper. Always getting packages, baseball cards, movies, computer memory, normal stuff. First, I have to say that lately, I've been having some problems with my ears, they are a little plugged and everything sounds a little muffled.
So anyway this guy wanders up the other day and starts telling me about how he's waiting on another package. He always tells me what he ordered, sometimes he shows me when he opens it, like the baseball cards.
This time I thought he said he ordered some "penis razors".
What's a penis razor?! Did I hear that right?
You really have to know this guy, it's almost the kind of thing he would say.
I guess when I didn't say anything right away, he must have wondered what I was thinking, because he's like, "I know they're women's razors, but I really like them and they're so much cheaper than Wal-Mart."
So then I'd had a minute to think about it and I realized he said VENUS RAZORS.
HAHAHAHA!
Now that I can handle.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Cracked Out Cell Phone...
You may remember that I recently got a new cell phone. It's my reason for admitting that I'm a big hypocrite. It's also the reason I started texting more, and I love it. Ok, I did until this morning. Now I'm not so sure.
Last Friday they announced at work that we can no longer have our cell phones on the workroom floor. So as long as I'm at the post office and not on my route I have to keep my phone in my locker, which sucks. I rarely talk on the phone while I sort my mail, but I like to make sure I have it close in case of an emergency. If someone were to call the post office chances are the phone would just ring and ring, or they would get a busy signal. That's just a fact, you can't get through. So now I have to check my phone as soon as I leave to go out on the route to make sure I didn't miss anything important.
Today I checked my phone and it said I had a missed call from C. I thought it was a little strange, seeing as how C is a friend from high school who only has my number because we met up while I was in IA last year. I usually get a text from him, a random joke type thing, about once a week, which is completely fine now that I have unlimited texting.
Here's where I am going to either completely make an ass out of myself, or you're going to think I'm a huge weirdo.
I sent him a text asking if he called me. I am not the kind of person who can just ignore something like a missed call if it's from someone I know. After I sent the text I started thinking. Then I looked back, and there was no missed call. Just a text. So then I have to send a follow up text, explaining how my phone said it was a missed call. I was so freaking embarrassed.
You know how when you have a good friend but then you don't see them for 10 years you don't know if they have the same sense of humor as they used to? I'm pretty sure this person has the same sense of humor, but I am so paranoid that I spent way too much time thinking about this stupid texting thing. I spent so much time thinking about it that I came up with a little conversation I would have with my crackhead phone.
Me: What are you on crack? Why would you say I had a missed call instead of a text?
Phone: Um.....cause I thought it would be funny. I'm not on crack, I just like to smoke a little pot now and then.
Me: Are you crazy?
Phone: No you are if you're making up conversations with your phone.
Me: Yeah, obviously I am, but why would you tell me the wrong thing anyway?
Phone: Cause I think it's funny. I like to see you get all embarrassed.
Me: I think I'm going to take you back to the store and get a different phone.....one that doesn't do drugs.
I've mentioned before about how paranoid I am. I don't think I can even explain it.
The internet makes me paranoid about things that I probably wouldn't even consider if I didn't have an obsession with my computer. Not the kind of paranoid like I think people are stalking me. Well, ok, maybe one person, but that actually has some merit, if you only knew the whole story....
It's the kind of thing that I wonder if someone is going to think I'm a total nutball if I request to be their friend on Facebook, and then never send them a message or anything because I think they will wonder why I want to say anything to them after not seeing them for years and years.
Or if I send someone an e-mail and they don't respond right away, I start thinking that they are probably blowing me off.
This also extends to phone calls. I have to answer the phone when it rings. Unless the caller ID says 800 service, or something that looks like a telemarketing number, I have to answer it. I'm starting to get better about it, but really.....
I know that some people actually don't carry their phones on them at all times, but if I call someone a couple of times (I will usually only leave a message one time), and they don't call me back in a day or two I tend to think they're blowing me off. Don't ask me why, I can't figure it out. I think it's because I automatically check my phone to see if I have any missed calls, and if it's someone I know I'll call them back right away. (I have no life, and I'm making that glaringly obvious here aren't I?) So I'll get all freaked out and worried if I call someone and if I call too many times will they think I'm a psycho-stalker? How many times/how often is too much?
So now you all probably know a little more than you wanted to about what goes on inside my head. I'll understand if you ask me to get rid of your phone number now.
Last Friday they announced at work that we can no longer have our cell phones on the workroom floor. So as long as I'm at the post office and not on my route I have to keep my phone in my locker, which sucks. I rarely talk on the phone while I sort my mail, but I like to make sure I have it close in case of an emergency. If someone were to call the post office chances are the phone would just ring and ring, or they would get a busy signal. That's just a fact, you can't get through. So now I have to check my phone as soon as I leave to go out on the route to make sure I didn't miss anything important.
Today I checked my phone and it said I had a missed call from C. I thought it was a little strange, seeing as how C is a friend from high school who only has my number because we met up while I was in IA last year. I usually get a text from him, a random joke type thing, about once a week, which is completely fine now that I have unlimited texting.
Here's where I am going to either completely make an ass out of myself, or you're going to think I'm a huge weirdo.
I sent him a text asking if he called me. I am not the kind of person who can just ignore something like a missed call if it's from someone I know. After I sent the text I started thinking. Then I looked back, and there was no missed call. Just a text. So then I have to send a follow up text, explaining how my phone said it was a missed call. I was so freaking embarrassed.
You know how when you have a good friend but then you don't see them for 10 years you don't know if they have the same sense of humor as they used to? I'm pretty sure this person has the same sense of humor, but I am so paranoid that I spent way too much time thinking about this stupid texting thing. I spent so much time thinking about it that I came up with a little conversation I would have with my crackhead phone.
Me: What are you on crack? Why would you say I had a missed call instead of a text?
Phone: Um.....cause I thought it would be funny. I'm not on crack, I just like to smoke a little pot now and then.
Me: Are you crazy?
Phone: No you are if you're making up conversations with your phone.
Me: Yeah, obviously I am, but why would you tell me the wrong thing anyway?
Phone: Cause I think it's funny. I like to see you get all embarrassed.
Me: I think I'm going to take you back to the store and get a different phone.....one that doesn't do drugs.
I've mentioned before about how paranoid I am. I don't think I can even explain it.
The internet makes me paranoid about things that I probably wouldn't even consider if I didn't have an obsession with my computer. Not the kind of paranoid like I think people are stalking me. Well, ok, maybe one person, but that actually has some merit, if you only knew the whole story....
It's the kind of thing that I wonder if someone is going to think I'm a total nutball if I request to be their friend on Facebook, and then never send them a message or anything because I think they will wonder why I want to say anything to them after not seeing them for years and years.
Or if I send someone an e-mail and they don't respond right away, I start thinking that they are probably blowing me off.
This also extends to phone calls. I have to answer the phone when it rings. Unless the caller ID says 800 service, or something that looks like a telemarketing number, I have to answer it. I'm starting to get better about it, but really.....
I know that some people actually don't carry their phones on them at all times, but if I call someone a couple of times (I will usually only leave a message one time), and they don't call me back in a day or two I tend to think they're blowing me off. Don't ask me why, I can't figure it out. I think it's because I automatically check my phone to see if I have any missed calls, and if it's someone I know I'll call them back right away. (I have no life, and I'm making that glaringly obvious here aren't I?) So I'll get all freaked out and worried if I call someone and if I call too many times will they think I'm a psycho-stalker? How many times/how often is too much?
So now you all probably know a little more than you wanted to about what goes on inside my head. I'll understand if you ask me to get rid of your phone number now.
Top 5 Tuesday
It's another edition of Top 5 Tuesday! I completely forgot last week, sorry to all of you who regularly participate! I think the holiday just threw me off in a big way, and I think it's still affecting me (well, that and my cell phone is on CRACK! That's a whole other post coming soon). Shout out to Rachael for this weeks topic!
So here are my answers:
1.) How long have you been blogging?
Well, according to my blogger account I've had my blog since June of 2007. But if you look back at my past posts, I really started blogging around April of this year, so those first9 29 posts were just a warm up.
2.) Link to your first blog post ever?
Well, I'm going to cheat and do 2. My actual first post is here and my first real good post (IMO) is here.
3.)What is the one driving force that actually made you create that blog account?
My mother. She just can't get enough of all the stuff the kids are doing since she doesn't actually get to be here to see it. We have a website on MyFamily.com that we all go to, and I am also part of an online moms group, and most of the time I opted out of participating because I didn't want to type an update and just copy/paste it somewhere else, but I also didn't have time to type everything twice. This way I only have type it once and then people can check in when they feel like it, or like some, they can subscribe by e-mail, or in their reader, or bookmark it.
4.)How did you come up with your blog name and what were other names you considered?
My original name was AZ Piper's, because I have some serious naming issues. Seriously, I had issues with my kids names too!!! At the time I didn't really know of the whole wide world of blogging, so I didn't really consider any other names. When the time came to do my blog makeover I asked for opinions, and I definitely had people come through with a lot of good ideas. I wound up doing an update post, and I had updated on this post which became my new blog title.
5.) Post a link to your favorite blog post ever. Hmm, that's a toughie. Let me think........I would definitely say my Penis Razor post was my absolute favorite, but I had to take it down for now. There were some references that I decided would be best not published. So after that one, I am going to have to say this post. It's really recent, and I think as I look back there are a lot of posts I absolutely loved, like this one, and this one, but it seems like there aren't very many that I've done really well. Everyone seems to like my post office stories.....but let's face it, I spend 6 days a week at that place so they just aren't my favorites.
I think this post gets the award for most linkage out of any of my posts thus far.
I can't wait to see everyone's answers!!!!
So here are my answers:
1.) How long have you been blogging?
Well, according to my blogger account I've had my blog since June of 2007. But if you look back at my past posts, I really started blogging around April of this year, so those first
2.) Link to your first blog post ever?
Well, I'm going to cheat and do 2. My actual first post is here and my first real good post (IMO) is here.
3.)What is the one driving force that actually made you create that blog account?
My mother. She just can't get enough of all the stuff the kids are doing since she doesn't actually get to be here to see it. We have a website on MyFamily.com that we all go to, and I am also part of an online moms group, and most of the time I opted out of participating because I didn't want to type an update and just copy/paste it somewhere else, but I also didn't have time to type everything twice. This way I only have type it once and then people can check in when they feel like it, or like some, they can subscribe by e-mail, or in their reader, or bookmark it.
4.)How did you come up with your blog name and what were other names you considered?
My original name was AZ Piper's, because I have some serious naming issues. Seriously, I had issues with my kids names too!!! At the time I didn't really know of the whole wide world of blogging, so I didn't really consider any other names. When the time came to do my blog makeover I asked for opinions, and I definitely had people come through with a lot of good ideas. I wound up doing an update post, and I had updated on this post which became my new blog title.
5.) Post a link to your favorite blog post ever. Hmm, that's a toughie. Let me think........I would definitely say my Penis Razor post was my absolute favorite, but I had to take it down for now. There were some references that I decided would be best not published. So after that one, I am going to have to say this post. It's really recent, and I think as I look back there are a lot of posts I absolutely loved, like this one, and this one, but it seems like there aren't very many that I've done really well. Everyone seems to like my post office stories.....but let's face it, I spend 6 days a week at that place so they just aren't my favorites.
I think this post gets the award for most linkage out of any of my posts thus far.
I can't wait to see everyone's answers!!!!
Top 5 Tuesday Preview
This weeks Top 5 Tuesday is going to be a little different. Rachael sent me a list of 5 questions for everyone to answer. It's a great list, and one I will have to take some time with, so I thought I would put them up so everyone can have a little time to et their answers ready. Then I will get the post up with Mr. Linky tomorrow morning.
The Questions:
1) How long have you been blogging?
2) Date/link to your first blog post
3) What is the one driving force that actually made you create that blog account?
4) How did you come up with your blog name and what were other names you considered?
5) Post a link to your favorite blog post ever.
The Questions:
1) How long have you been blogging?
2) Date/link to your first blog post
3) What is the one driving force that actually made you create that blog account?
4) How did you come up with your blog name and what were other names you considered?
5) Post a link to your favorite blog post ever.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Feeling left out....
Today was an extremely day in our house. Since Seth's mom was coming to babysit on Saturday morning and our house was a cross between a movie theater (floors that sticky) and a trash heap, I stayed up until 11:30 Friday night to get it cleaned up. I started around 6:00 ish. No use cleaning too much before Rylie goes to bed. I at least got the vaccuuming done, put her to bed, and then really got started cleaning . I think it had been over two weeks since we Seth had mopped the floors (you know it's got to be bad if I resort to mopping).
So anyway I have been really lazy today, all my dishes are done, I barely cooked, and we just vegged out pretty much the whole day. I have been trying to get a handle on this blog addiction I have. I guess in a way it's really a computer in general addiction. SO I have tried to limit my computer time.
I did check in on Twitter some today. And it seemed that everyone is twittering about this follower thing on blogger. Here's where I am feeling left out. It's not available for me yet. It seems like it's on almost every blog I read except mine. Is this a conspiracy by blogger to drive me even more crazy? I started wondering how they decided to introduce this thing. On my page it says it's not available to everyone cause it's just experimental. So how did they decide who get's it? Maybe they go by how many readers you have? So now I think I don't have enough readers. Which leads me to "I'm not cool enough", which leads me to being sad that I'm not cool enough. Which then makes me think that maybe it's all because I haven't blogged much this past week. And because of trying to stay away, I forgot Top 5 Tuesday, and so now I probably lost my last 12 readers cause they think I abandoned them.
So now you know...I'm paranoid...with an imagination.
So anyway I have been really lazy today, all my dishes are done, I barely cooked, and we just vegged out pretty much the whole day. I have been trying to get a handle on this blog addiction I have. I guess in a way it's really a computer in general addiction. SO I have tried to limit my computer time.
I did check in on Twitter some today. And it seemed that everyone is twittering about this follower thing on blogger. Here's where I am feeling left out. It's not available for me yet. It seems like it's on almost every blog I read except mine. Is this a conspiracy by blogger to drive me even more crazy? I started wondering how they decided to introduce this thing. On my page it says it's not available to everyone cause it's just experimental. So how did they decide who get's it? Maybe they go by how many readers you have? So now I think I don't have enough readers. Which leads me to "I'm not cool enough", which leads me to being sad that I'm not cool enough. Which then makes me think that maybe it's all because I haven't blogged much this past week. And because of trying to stay away, I forgot Top 5 Tuesday, and so now I probably lost my last 12 readers cause they think I abandoned them.
So now you know...I'm paranoid...with an imagination.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Dear Customer...
Dear Mail Lady, (an actual letter I got on Tuesday this week)
I am trying to be understanding about this and up front with you. I pay for the Enquirer and expect it each week. I work the crossword it is one of the best. I see it at the store for nearly a week before I get it. I started it years ago and always received it on Monday or Tuesday. I left on a trip and had not received 3 of them by Friday. When I returned 2 of them were in the mail. They have dates on them. I have yet to receive 8/11 and 8/18. I have called the 800 number of the Post Office and the Enquirer and will go down to the post office if you can't get it right. I'm sure it's not your fault, but it's your route, and this is not the first time it's happened.
P.S. If someone wants to read it, why I can't imagine, I'll put it back in the box each week, I don't mind sharing. I should be receiving it a week before the date on it.
Dear Customer,
I'm really sorry you're not getting your Enquirer on time. I go in to the office in the morning and sort all of the mail they give me. If I don't get it there is no way I can deliver it to you. We do not have a place to hold on to random mail. I do not take breaks, and if I wanted to read the Enquirer believe me Iwould be smart enough to rotate between customers could afford my own subscription. I never knew the crossword was the best, I thought people just said that so they didn't look like gossipers, heck, I don't even do crosswords because I'm too busy reading my other customer's OK and People I have around 500 customers to get mail to in just 5 hours a day. I don't know what else to tell you other than, I think you're mad at me for not putting stamps on your 12 letters every time you order a book of stamps, I deliver your mail the same day I get it. I hope you will understand this. I know some people (not you at all) think there is some kind of conspiracy out there, but the truth of the matter is that we just don't have time to even pay attention to what you get in the mail in a given day. I see more celebrity gossip magazines than I can even count, and since they all have exactly the same pictures and the same headlines on the cover it's hard to keep track sometimes. I personally couldn't care less who looks bad in a bathing suit, or whether the next big celebrity couple is breaking up next week. I hope your magazine starts coming on time.
Sincerely,
your busy mail lady
I am trying to be understanding about this and up front with you. I pay for the Enquirer and expect it each week. I work the crossword it is one of the best. I see it at the store for nearly a week before I get it. I started it years ago and always received it on Monday or Tuesday. I left on a trip and had not received 3 of them by Friday. When I returned 2 of them were in the mail. They have dates on them. I have yet to receive 8/11 and 8/18. I have called the 800 number of the Post Office and the Enquirer and will go down to the post office if you can't get it right. I'm sure it's not your fault, but it's your route, and this is not the first time it's happened.
P.S. If someone wants to read it, why I can't imagine, I'll put it back in the box each week, I don't mind sharing. I should be receiving it a week before the date on it.
Dear Customer,
I'm really sorry you're not getting your Enquirer on time. I go in to the office in the morning and sort all of the mail they give me. If I don't get it there is no way I can deliver it to you. We do not have a place to hold on to random mail. I do not take breaks, and if I wanted to read the Enquirer believe me I
Sincerely,
your busy mail lady
Friday, September 5, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Personal Responsibility
Some days I have a hard time understanding what has happened to people in our society. Everywhere you look people are trying to blame someone else for their problems. Their car gets repossessed, it's the car dealer's fault. They lose their house, it's the mortgage company's fault. When does it become their own fault, because they bought more than they could afford?
About 7 years ago we bought our first home. I remember when we started looking, almost a year before we actually bought. We put earnest money down on a brand new house, that we would wait to have built. We were young ( 21), and stupid in the area of real estate. We put the money down because it was a house we really loved, in a great area, close to work, new development, just everything we wanted, and the guy at the model home calculated our payment, and we thought it was reasonable. When we went over to the mortgage company and started the paperwork, the payment they quoted us was around $300 more. We didn't have our realtor with us, and it made us uneasy about signing the papers, so we walked out. In the process we lost our earnest money, which I'm sure we should have gotten back, but again, we were uninformed. At least we knew what we could afford.
Eleven months later we finally bought our house. When we went to get pre-approved for the mortgage, they approved us for somewhere around 40% more than what we actually paid. We could have bought a house that expensive, but we bought what we could comfortably live with.
After we bought our house we got stupid again. Pretty soon we had a house full of furniture, tools in the garage, and a second mortgage. According to everyone we knew we were "normal". All it took for us to be in trouble was one month of Seth not working. He didn't have his own route yet, and as a sub, the summers get really slow. Normally we would have been able to still survive on one paycheck, but this one month Murphy came to visit us, and never left. We had gotten a letter from our mortgage company telling us about their mortgage accelerator program. You've probably heard of those. It sounded good, split up your mortgage payment, have it automatically withdrawn every 2 weeks on payday, and you get an extra payment a year. Why wouldn't anyone do that?
Unlucky for us, we missed something in the fine print. That something was the fact that we would have to pay a full mortgage payment on the 1st of September, and then 2 weeks later, start with the half payments. So basically we had 2 mortgage payments in one month. The same month that Seth wound up not working at all because they didn't have him scheduled and never called him in. What do you get when you're short 2 full paychecks in one month, you have 2 mortgage payments, a second mortgage, 2 car payments, and a few credit cards? You get behind. In a way that you can't get caught up. You feel as if you're drowning, they're calling you every day asking you where your payments are, and you're wondering if you're going to have any money to eat until the next payday because you have paid as many people as possible and only left yourself a minimal amount to eat on.
We wouldn't ask our families for help. We wouldn't file bankruptcy, because we got our selves into it, we should get ourselves out. We knew of people who had done a credit counselling thing, so we figured we'd go that route, to at least get some relief on the payments. It helped. We sold a couple of things (my parents bought our 4 wheeler, thanks guys). Then we got lazy and just started "getting by".
Our wake up call was when we had Hunter. We have pretty much always carpooled since we work together and we lived 20 miles from work (and when you're broke you don't have money to burn on gas, even at $1.50 a gallon). We were talking about our money situation on the way home from work one day when Seth decided to look for this radio show he used to listen to, back when we still lived in our apartment and he drove by himself. He found it, we listened, and I was hooked...we both were. The show was called the Dave Ramsey Show.
We started on the plan within the first couple of weeks of listening. It doesn't cost you a penny. It's all about living on a budget, having a plan, paying off your debts (smallest to largest, not about interest rates), and becoming completely debt free. It was the coolest time for us. I remember how our relationship changed. I used to feel like I should hide how much money I spent on stuff. On this plan, I didn't have to feel that way because we had a budget. To make a really long story a lot shorter, it was the best thing we've ever done. Period. Debt free is really close to stress free. (yes, we have one car payment now, in addition to our mortgage, and I'm a little freaked out about that, but we have a plan to have that baby paid off really soon.)
One of the things you will hear Dave talk about on his show is books. He also has some of his author friends on the show once in a while. One of those books is called QBQ: The Question Behind the Question by John Miller. This is one of those books that make you think "Exactly!", and "Oh, I know who needs to read this book". Right now I can think of way too many people who need to read this book. I know the economy is crap right now. I know people have problems, but I'm really starting to get a little tired of hearing people blame everyone but themselves for their problems.
I read that book QBQ, and it was a little confusing for me at first. I feel like my boss should have everyone at work read it. But I also wasn't sure how it all fit within the union contract and all that. In a way I feel like I should just do anything anyone asks of me. Where do you draw a line? I am paid by a sort of salary, in which there are things I get paid to do and things I'm not paid to do. It's a daily struggle, "they"(management) ask "us" (the employees) to do something, we refuse because "I don't get paid for that", is there a bigger cop out? Shouldn't you just do it because they ask? The answer is no.
There are too many people out there saying that all of this economy stuff is the lenders fault. It's the payday loan place that got them into trouble. I've never heard of payday loan places forcing you to walk through their door (and that is not a point for them, it just means that if you go there, it was your choice.)
It doesn't matter how much money you make. Look at Ed McMahon in danger of foreclosure. In his interview with Larry King, he said the exact bottom line, "Well, if you spend more than you make, you know what happens." Just because you make a lot of money doesn't mean you manage it better than someone who makes what the average household income does. So, it's not about how much you make, it's all about how you manage it. Dave Ramsey has it all figured out. He learned first hand from experience, and he goes on the radio every day to try to help prevent people from going through the exact same thing he did.
I may still have times when I ask myself the wrong questions, but most of the time I try to ask myself the right questions. If you're looking for a great, quick, easy nonfiction book, go borrow QBQ by John Miller from the library, you won't be sorry.
About 7 years ago we bought our first home. I remember when we started looking, almost a year before we actually bought. We put earnest money down on a brand new house, that we would wait to have built. We were young ( 21), and stupid in the area of real estate. We put the money down because it was a house we really loved, in a great area, close to work, new development, just everything we wanted, and the guy at the model home calculated our payment, and we thought it was reasonable. When we went over to the mortgage company and started the paperwork, the payment they quoted us was around $300 more. We didn't have our realtor with us, and it made us uneasy about signing the papers, so we walked out. In the process we lost our earnest money, which I'm sure we should have gotten back, but again, we were uninformed. At least we knew what we could afford.
Eleven months later we finally bought our house. When we went to get pre-approved for the mortgage, they approved us for somewhere around 40% more than what we actually paid. We could have bought a house that expensive, but we bought what we could comfortably live with.
After we bought our house we got stupid again. Pretty soon we had a house full of furniture, tools in the garage, and a second mortgage. According to everyone we knew we were "normal". All it took for us to be in trouble was one month of Seth not working. He didn't have his own route yet, and as a sub, the summers get really slow. Normally we would have been able to still survive on one paycheck, but this one month Murphy came to visit us, and never left. We had gotten a letter from our mortgage company telling us about their mortgage accelerator program. You've probably heard of those. It sounded good, split up your mortgage payment, have it automatically withdrawn every 2 weeks on payday, and you get an extra payment a year. Why wouldn't anyone do that?
Unlucky for us, we missed something in the fine print. That something was the fact that we would have to pay a full mortgage payment on the 1st of September, and then 2 weeks later, start with the half payments. So basically we had 2 mortgage payments in one month. The same month that Seth wound up not working at all because they didn't have him scheduled and never called him in. What do you get when you're short 2 full paychecks in one month, you have 2 mortgage payments, a second mortgage, 2 car payments, and a few credit cards? You get behind. In a way that you can't get caught up. You feel as if you're drowning, they're calling you every day asking you where your payments are, and you're wondering if you're going to have any money to eat until the next payday because you have paid as many people as possible and only left yourself a minimal amount to eat on.
We wouldn't ask our families for help. We wouldn't file bankruptcy, because we got our selves into it, we should get ourselves out. We knew of people who had done a credit counselling thing, so we figured we'd go that route, to at least get some relief on the payments. It helped. We sold a couple of things (my parents bought our 4 wheeler, thanks guys). Then we got lazy and just started "getting by".
Our wake up call was when we had Hunter. We have pretty much always carpooled since we work together and we lived 20 miles from work (and when you're broke you don't have money to burn on gas, even at $1.50 a gallon). We were talking about our money situation on the way home from work one day when Seth decided to look for this radio show he used to listen to, back when we still lived in our apartment and he drove by himself. He found it, we listened, and I was hooked...we both were. The show was called the Dave Ramsey Show.
We started on the plan within the first couple of weeks of listening. It doesn't cost you a penny. It's all about living on a budget, having a plan, paying off your debts (smallest to largest, not about interest rates), and becoming completely debt free. It was the coolest time for us. I remember how our relationship changed. I used to feel like I should hide how much money I spent on stuff. On this plan, I didn't have to feel that way because we had a budget. To make a really long story a lot shorter, it was the best thing we've ever done. Period. Debt free is really close to stress free. (yes, we have one car payment now, in addition to our mortgage, and I'm a little freaked out about that, but we have a plan to have that baby paid off really soon.)
One of the things you will hear Dave talk about on his show is books. He also has some of his author friends on the show once in a while. One of those books is called QBQ: The Question Behind the Question by John Miller. This is one of those books that make you think "Exactly!", and "Oh, I know who needs to read this book". Right now I can think of way too many people who need to read this book. I know the economy is crap right now. I know people have problems, but I'm really starting to get a little tired of hearing people blame everyone but themselves for their problems.
I read that book QBQ, and it was a little confusing for me at first. I feel like my boss should have everyone at work read it. But I also wasn't sure how it all fit within the union contract and all that. In a way I feel like I should just do anything anyone asks of me. Where do you draw a line? I am paid by a sort of salary, in which there are things I get paid to do and things I'm not paid to do. It's a daily struggle, "they"(management) ask "us" (the employees) to do something, we refuse because "I don't get paid for that", is there a bigger cop out? Shouldn't you just do it because they ask? The answer is no.
There are too many people out there saying that all of this economy stuff is the lenders fault. It's the payday loan place that got them into trouble. I've never heard of payday loan places forcing you to walk through their door (and that is not a point for them, it just means that if you go there, it was your choice.)
It doesn't matter how much money you make. Look at Ed McMahon in danger of foreclosure. In his interview with Larry King, he said the exact bottom line, "Well, if you spend more than you make, you know what happens." Just because you make a lot of money doesn't mean you manage it better than someone who makes what the average household income does. So, it's not about how much you make, it's all about how you manage it. Dave Ramsey has it all figured out. He learned first hand from experience, and he goes on the radio every day to try to help prevent people from going through the exact same thing he did.
I may still have times when I ask myself the wrong questions, but most of the time I try to ask myself the right questions. If you're looking for a great, quick, easy nonfiction book, go borrow QBQ by John Miller from the library, you won't be sorry.
Monday, September 1, 2008
The weekend...
I spent this weekend being as unproductive as possible. Of course we worked on Saturday, so that night was just pretty much a normal work night. Sunday we decided to get out and do something. It was actually nice out, and not too hot, although it was really humid. We decided to go play some miniature golf.
We took both kids with us, I think that was our first mistake. I don't think Hunter gets it yet. He's great with a driver, he can smack the crap out of a golf ball. Our second mistake was not having enough foresight to bring an extra ball or two. Rylie insisted on holding a ball at all times. Hunter would hit his ball, then walk over and either immediately hit it again, or he would pick it up. He would also pick up any other ball that was there.
On about the 4th hole we had a guy and his son behind us and it was obvious that they would wind up waiting on us way too long, so we let them play through. We were on a hole where you had to put up a ramp, into a door that was sliding up and down, and the ball would come out on the side. The guy's son got his ball out there, but the dad's ball never came out.
I gave him one of our balls, since we obviously weren't playing by the rules anyway, and that way he wouldn't have to go back to ask for another ball. I think it all would have been fine, since the next hole Seth decided he would sit it out. Hunter refused to use his own putter that we had brought for him, so that meant one of us (me) was using it. Rylie was wandering, so Seth figured it would be ok to just let me and Hunter play, and he would watch Rylie. That worked for one hole.
The next hole was a lighthouse. You had to putt it over a bridge into the one open door of the lighthouse, if it fell off the side of the bridge it would go through a different hole. Hunter of course had to just go up and put his ball (by carrying it right up there) through the door. It never came out where it was supposed to. I decided to drop my ball in to see if it would just push his ball through, and that was it. We lost 3 balls in 6 holes....of miniature golf!!!!
We decided it was a sign, so I went to see if we could get our money back or a voucher for next time. Seth took the kids inside while I was doing that, and Rylie had gotten ahold of my camera. I got inside, met up with them and we left to go to the mall.
At the mall there were about 8 million people. We went through one store, then on to the food court, spent way too much on lunch that barely got eaten. Then hit the bathrooms, and left to go home. As soon as we got home and unloaded, I went to get my camera so I could upload the pictures. No camera! It got left at the mini-golf place. I was pissed. It was partially my fault, and mostly just an accident. I got on the phone and called to see if I could find out if anyone turned it in. No answer. I left a message and called 4 more times to see if there was a way around the answering service, with no luck. So I had a quandry, forget about my handy little $200 digital camera, and hope hubby will let me buy a new one in the next month, or drive the 12 miles back over there on the really off chance that someone out there is as honest as I am.
I drove back. There were a million people there, the parking lot was completely full, overflowing really. The park is a 2 part park, one is mini-golf and games, and the other part is a water park. I guess the water park had a radio station there, so that explains part of why it was so busy.
I drove past the usual parking lot, and lo and behold there was a space open right next to the door! I went in, and to my amazement, someone had found my camera and turned it in!!!! So it wasn't a wasted trip, and I have these pictures to share.
Today was spent being exceptionally lazy. So lazy I barely caught up on my reader. I barely commented. I barely found time or energy to post this. I'm going to apologize in advance to all of my bloggy friends out there because I know that in this next few weeks I'm going to be really busy, so I will only be trying to keep up my own blog, and if I don't get around to comment on your posts, know that I am reading, but I just have to limit my time on the computer to be able to accomplish everything I've got to do. I hope you'll understand (I'm pretty sure you do).
And now I'm going to go to bed and hopefully I'll be asleep within minutes.
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