Teenagers!!!

I have alot to say today apparently..

First thing I want to say is I love my mother and if (ha! because I know that I did) put her through half as much as I am going through right now.. she deserves a medal. She always did say I'd get mine and now I'm getting it.

My oldest is turning 14 in a month. He and my 12 yr old are driving me bonkers (and that's sugarcoating). The constant fighting and bickering back and forth is so irritating.

I need to live in one of those Walgreen's commercials where everything is perfect. Everyone does what they are asked the first time that they are asked, does it right on the first go, and is nice to each other 24/7. Ahh yes, that would be the life.

Ok, back to reality... and the big box of candy that is making me feel a little bit better LOL!

Celeb Gossip Junkie...

I'll admit it. I love Celeb gossip. I'm a sucker for it, a friend of mine recent;y wrote about having watched Denise Richards' new reality show, which I had no idea about at all. Shows how much I am paying attention huh?

Anyway, then of course after I read about it from her, I am seeing posts about it on all my other forums. I watched an interview she did with Matt Lauer, I really felt bad for her. I mean, she's being accused of all sorts of stuff.. god only knows if it's really true. Although, I will say that she's got alot more credibility in my eyes than Charlie Sheen does. What do we know about him? He's been arrested multiple times, in and out of drug rehab, and then some. I don't know..

I am still and will continue to be a huge fan of 2 1/2 Men though. It's one show Dan and I watch together every week.. but now that the season is over I'm going to have to rent the past seasons because we came into the show late so we have some catching up to do before the new season starts. I need my entertainment fix!

Ok all you AMC Fans...

I've been a little out of touch with all the happenings of past actors and actresses lately... I have been watching the show but that's about it. Today, I rejoined the AMC Forum site I have been posting at off and on for the last year or so.. and I came across a new webseries that Eden Riegel (ex-Bianca) is starring in called Imaginary Bitches. O.M.G. Probably one of the funniest things I have ever seen on the web. I absolutely loved Eden as Bianca.. she is a fabulous actress.

Anyway, this little webseries is hysterical! It's about Eden, who has imaginary friends. Each episode is about 10-15 minutes long. Here is episode 1.. the rest are up on Youtube as well if you want to check them out. Enjoy!

Outta the mouths of Babes....

Children are honest to a fault.. especially mine.

Today, I was walking with my two littlest.. they are 4 and 5 and a half, going down to pick up my 1st grader from school. It was a beautiful day, sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky. We left a little later than normal because I hate waiting around while we wait for ALL the kids to be let out, only to have his class be last because their classroom is all the way at the back of the building. So, this way I'm just walking up when they are just getting out.

So anyway, fabulous weather. We get up to the corner where the crosswalk is and there are people coming at us from the school. Among these people, is this Asian family.. and when I say family I do mean family. Mom, Dad, and 2 sets of grandparents just to pick up 2 small kids. Here I am with 2 small kids going to pick up yet another small kid all by my lonesome. Not that that matters or anything, just wanted to throw it in there. But they all had umbrellas... open umbrellas.

My 4 yr old, god love him, informed each and every one of these people as they passed by that it was infact NOT raining. Oh. My. God. I wanted to crawl in a hole. It was really funny though.. gotta love em.

How Mature Am I?

I was poking around the internet a few weeks ago and I found the hair dye that I want to get. Now, I'm not telling yet so don't ask. I will post pictures after I actually do it. One thing I can tell you is that I haven't decided yet whether I want to do it as an all over or if I want to get highlights. I'm leaning towards highlights but that is something I will have to get professionally done. I attempted it once by myself and it wasn't pretty!

So, I mentioned what I was thinking to my mom, who basically told me I was too old and she didn't want a freak for a daughter. I was floored! I knew my mom was judgemental but hello?? this is me! So now I'm definately going to do it.. just to spite her, hehe. Despite the gray hairs, I am finding I refuse to acknowledge that I am old! I'm not, I am 32. Thirty-two is not old!

On to other business.. I think I found the exact medical id bracelet that I want. It's purple and beaded, what more do I need?? It's beautiful. I'll post a picture later, right now I have to run and pick up my son from school.

Have a great day!!

A Rant

Usually, I don't go on rants too much but this one.. well this one annoys me to no end so I thought I'd give y'all something entertaining to read today.

MySpace Spam.

How obnoxious is this? And usually it's some chick with big boobs wanting to be my friend. Why do you want to my friend? I have my own boobs thanks and they are plenty big enough, I don't need your shoved in my face too.

What prompted this you ask? I got one today for a new restaraunt in my town, which will remain nameless because I will not give them the satisfaction of unpaid advertising on my blog. You want some, pay me. It's similar to Hooters, if you get my drift. I hit the spam button and felt vindicated.

Another time, I got a friend request for an actor's page of a soap that I don't even watch! And nor do I plan to start watching it. I am a die hard All My Children Fan through and through.. so if you want me to be a fan and pretend you are my friend on Myspace.. you're going to have to join the All My Children cast.. and even then I cannot promise to like you. I reported that one as spam too, only to get a SECOND request. How ballsy is that? And before you go all crazy on me.. I know they have "peeps" to do this for them and it's not really "them" per se.. but seriously.. get a grip.

End rant.

Silly Momma!

Seriously, I'm laughing at myself on this one. I got a writing assignment on Parmigiani and I thought it was going to be about cheese. But, then I was talking to a friend who burst out laughing when I said I had to write about cheese and informed me that it was not cheese, it was a brand of watches. Ok, so now I feel silly. Of course, me being me I had to do some research and here's what I found.

As per wikipedia, "Parmigiani Fleurier is a Swiss brand of luxury watchmakers founded in 1975 in Fleurier, Switzerland by Michel Parmigiani."

I had a look at the website as well. They are very elegant looking watches and probably something my dad would love... so yes, another possibility on my list of what to get my dad for Father's Day. I am leaning towards THIS one for my dad. I really love the rose gold, so pretty!

Tuesday Ramblings

First off, my good friend Bobbie got herself a new home on the web. Check out her new blog at BloggerVention , which I got to name!

Today I decided to shop around and get a new auto insurance quote for my truck. Not that our premium is terribly high now, just anywhere we can cut corners, you know?

More good news! I am SO happy for my good friend Heather, because her husband came home from a 12 week long trip to Mexico and she really missed him, and guess who had to hear about it? Yep.. but that's because I'm a good friend.

I put some cool new stuff in my Oscraps store over the weekend. Some kickin' watercolor papers, that look 10 times cooler on their own than in the preview. Go on over and check em out!

I miss my laptop!

Thought I'd update y'all on the status of my laptop. A tech came out the other day and installed a "new" video card only to find out that that did not fix my problem. But then later I find out that he didn't install the video card that I had originally ordered in the first place. So now they are sending out another tech with the correct video card even though the original tech thinks it might be my motherboard. This really should not be happening. I've had the computer barely a year and I'm sure my poor husband would like his computer back.

He's been really great about my having to use it to work. Hopefully it will be fixed really soon, because I sure miss being able to take it to my mom's and actually get some work done!

What's up for the weekend.. I have no clue! As far as I know, Dan doesn't have to work so we might be able to go do something. He said some friends were making some noise about a couples motorcycle ride. Only problem with that is that my jacket doesn't fit anymore. I need a new leather jacket or something.

I'd much rather just go out on a ride with my husband.. I always have to share him and frankly I don't want to! MINE MINE MINE! :) Ok, tantrum over.

Before I sign off, I want to direct you over to my good friend Heather's blog/store where she is having a Memorial Day sale all weekend long! 40% off all her stores, run go check it out!

Question of The Day

Have you ever been outside of your home country?

I was just thinking about how I've never been outside of the US. Actually, that's not entirely true because I was in Canada once when I was like 7 and my dad lost me in a gift shop. We weren't there long so I don't think that counts. If you haven't, do you have a passport anyway, just incase? I'll admit that I don't.. but that's just because I have no plans to leave the country. I'd love to go to Jamaica or Australia though.. it's definately on my must do list before I die.

Learn something new every day..

I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone the other day and they are planning a trip overseas and mentioned she was getting quotes for travel health insurance. I didn't even know that existed so I was like, "What is that?!?"

She told me that it was just incase her or one of the kids got hurt or sick while they were away, since they would be gone for a few weeks in a foreign country. She didn't want to take any chances. She also said that it not only covered medical expenses but would cover emergency medical evacuation, accidental death, cost of returning home and alot more.

It really made a lot of sense to me and now I know about it, if I ever decide to do any foreign travel!

Father's Day

It's that time again! With Mother's Day just past, Father's Day is just around the corner. I was looking around online for things that my husband might like but was having some trouble. So I was chatting with my friend Heather, and she suggested these watches by Jaeger LeCoultre. So, I took a look and they have some gorgeous watches. I am not so sure they are my husband's tastes but they are definately my Dad's style. Very classy and stylish, perfect to wear to work.

Thanks Heather!!

Totally off the wall..

But kinda funny, at least it is to me. The other night Dan and I were sitting here watching tv and all of a sudden an ad for Branson resorts comes on the tv. Hubby wasn't aware that Branson, MO was a pretty big resort hotspot and really neither did I until a few months ago when I discovered it and blogged about it. When I had heard about it before, I decided to research it so I looked it up in a search and found all sorts of cool stuff to do.

One thing in particular that caught my eye was the Silver Dollar City Theme Park. Now I know what you're probably thinking, once you've been to one theme park, you seen em all. That's normally what I think too, even though secretly I'm a big kid and I love theme parks! But this one seems a bit more interesting to me. It's "set to the tune of the 1880's Ozark culture". They've got rides, they've got demonstrating craftsmen, food (!), and loads of entertainment.

Well, there you have it.. I've sold myself! Hey honey! Guess where we're going this summer?!?!!

It's All About the Benjamins Baby!

Like I mentioned last week, Hubby got a new job (Finally!), it has some good points, (close to home, spending less on gas, gets home earlier, etc) but it is alot less money than we were used to so now I really have to watch our spending. I was thinking about reinstalling my old budgeting software so that I could keep better track. Only problem is that it is severely outdated. I've had it since 1999 when I bought my first computer! I'm sure it still works, I'll have to try it and see. If I can find it that is....!

Moving Up..

Have you seen this show? I love this show. I love Doug Wilson. Anyway, if you've never seen the show, they take 3 sets of people who are looking to buy a new home or move on from an old home. The first set of people are usually first time homeowners who buy a home from the second set of people who usually are a small family who need more space. Then the third set of people are either an older couple or someone moving out of state, then the first two sets do some renovations and the second two come back and walk through their "old home". Get it?

Ok, so this one episode hubby and I were watching was about a good looking single firefighter guy buying his first home, which was a really cute 2 bedroom townhouse with a loft area upstairs. The people he bought it from had 2 small kids and it was way too small for them. They were buying a coloniel country home from an older couple who were moving back into the city.

Now, the husband from the younger couple had the loft area of their townhouse as what he called "Man Town".. I think it's pretty self explanitory right? Ok, well the single guy repainted and totally furnished that same area into more of a man's space. The way they had it wasn't all that manly if you ask me.. anyway so he tricked it all out and then he watched what the couple had to say on they're walk through. They hated it. The guy said he didn't "get it". I'm going um.. I'm a chick and *I* get it. What's not to get.. there's a game table, leather recliners, weight equipment in the corner, big screen tv.. sounds like a man room to me!!

However, the older couple really liked what the younger couple did to their house. It really was nice.. but I think they could appriciate more that it wasn't their home anymore and they knew it would be changed.

Like I said.. I love that show!

Parenting Tips..

This is a riot! Enjoy!

Thinking of having kids? Do this 11 step program first!

Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who
already are parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's
breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall
behavior.
Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have
all the answers.

Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living
room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12
pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound)
playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner) 2. At 10PM, put
the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag,
until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and
watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work
hard and be productive)
10. Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look
cheerful and together.

Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there
all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How
does that look?

Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms
hang out. Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave
it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like
that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.

Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the
back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with
your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can
find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice).
If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more
than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out
of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you
can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.


Lesson 8
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the
swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.
You are now ready to feed a nine-month-old baby.

Lesson 9
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney,
Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS,
the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're
thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' and or 'daddy'
repeatedly.
(Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy';
occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required).
Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years.
You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else
continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing
the 'mommy/daddy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to
have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's
all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't
have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a
sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you
become a parent!

Happy Mother's Day

Today started off a little rocky, I'm still a little cranky but I think that I was mostly just frustrated and I tend to bottle things up and then when they come out, boy do they come out!

My 12 year old picks up on these things and then he can be such a sweetheart and I feel awful that I was in such a foul mood and probably took it out on him. He made me a very nice turkey and cheese omelette with hashbrowns. He did a really great job too.

My mom ended up coming over and taking the kids away so I could rest. I ended up cleaning and doing laundry because it is easier for me to get these things done when no one is here to mess it up as it gets finished. My son bought me a new set of kitchen knives for Mother's Day, my sweet boy.

Dan sent me home with my mom because my brothers were taking her out to dinner and she wanted me to come too. We were originally going to go to Olive Garden but when we called at 5 they said if we were to come in right then it would be at least a 2-3 hour wait. So, we didn't go there! There was no way we could have done that, we had 2 little ones with us.

So we went to our favorite Chinese restaraunt and it was perfect. We actually got reservations, so hard to find places that actually take reservations anymore. My sister in law was asking me if I could watch the girls for a little bit on Wednesday morning as she is having surgery, and then my brother was explaining the drug treatment program with the pain medication she has to do for the 3 days following the surgery. Sounded a bit painful but she won't feel a thing!

And then as if we didn't eat enough, we went out for ice cream. Then it was home sweet home. I am pretty tired. I think I will be getting to bed pretty soon, I have a full day of loading product into my store tomorrow. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

He Got A Job!!

YES! He did it! He got a job! He just started his very first day yesterday and he came home and I asked "Hi Honey, how was work?" And he says...

"It was work".. Gotta love men. Ok, care to elaborate? So then he starts filling me in, basically how he's super easy to train and knows what he's doing (only been doing it for 8 years now..). And then he tells me how one guy before him managed to run over his own foot with the forklift. Hope the dude has some really good life insurance, because the way he's going he's going to need it!!

American Idol... Evans' Style

Dan and I were watching the performance show the other night and lately the judges have become SO predictable that we've devised our own "American Idol Drinking Game".

How to play-

• Pour shots during the performances.
• Each person makes a guess as to what each of the judges is going to say. It could be a word or phrase.
• The person who gets it wrong.. takes the shot.

So being that there are only 2 performance shows left, we are going to use those 2 shows to fine tune the rules of the game and get ready for next season. Provided there IS a next season.

Sound like fun? I think so!

Moms of Teenage Boys!

I'm on new ground here.. I've never been the mom of a teenager and suddenly here I am!! My oldest has been blessed cursed with his father's skin. So I am now researching the best acne treatment, but I want real life testimonials. There's so much out there that it's a bit overwhelming.

So, if you have any suggestions as to what works and what doesn't, here is your chance to leave your two cents!

My honey loves me

Yesterday my dear sweet husband cooked me breakfast, lunch and then he made a special dinner as well! He made us chicken breasts stuffed with ricotta and gorgonzola cheeses and bacon. It was so good! He made a mustard and white wine sauce to go over the chicken as well.

Later we watched some television and it was kinda funny because in one of the programs scenes they had magnifiers strategically placed over a logo and I didn't even catch it! It wasn't like they were subtle about it either. Dan noticed though and backed it up so I could see and sure enough there it was! Silly, but it gave me a chuckle.

Today, I am working on a secret project.. just a little over a week before I can let you in on the little secret but for now, you'll just have to keep wondering. I'm mean I know, but I can live with that.

Feeling Snacky

This time of night is really not my favorite.It's late, I'm watching my favorite shows but yet I have this compulsion to eat. I'm not really hungry, I just cannot stop thinking about food!

I've battled with my weight for a really long time now. I thought at one point that I had it under control. I had lost a lot of weight healthfully and naturally and after the birth of my last baby I thought I would just do it again and everything would be great. Well, with all my best intentions it took me nearly 2 years to finally start seeing some results. I'm sure my metabolism was thrown for a loop. I had 3 babies in 3 years, breastfed them, lost the weight.. the cycle continues.

In the past I tried numerous things like weight loss pills, counting, watching my portions. I am just finding it so hard to not go nuts at bedtime. I'd love to be able to ignore it but I don't seem to be able to, in fact that is why I am here right now. Just something to keep my hands busy.

So, if you're a late night snacker like me.. how do you keep yourself from over doing it at night?

Right now, I'm going to try some fruit.

SO Cool!

I love this kind of stuff. I think it was a little over a week ago, I blogged about and participated in an online trasure hunt for one of the companies I do freelance work for. It was hosted by JewelElegance.com where they have all sorts of jewelry like earrings, necklaces, diamond rings, pretty much anything sparkly. They've even provided us with a coupon code to hand out to get 10% off any purchase at Jewel Elegance. Coupon Code: THTM10P801321

Now in the last hunt we had to go around to different blog sites and collect the clues to the next blog site until we got to the end. The winner, Charlotte, received a gorgeous new gold anklet valued at over $240 dollars!!

This time it's going to be a little longer. The hunt is going to last 3 days and this time there will be 4 prizes total! 3 daily prizes and 1 Grand prize. The first hunt gave me such a rush and I had a blast so I am extremley excited to start this next one. Wish me luck.. Mama needs some new bling!!

Blind as a bat

Ok, it's not quite that bad, but I made ya look! I've had my current set of eyeglasses for well over 5 years now. I'm note ven sure they are the right prescription anymore, I can see but apparently that doesn't mean anything. I think it's time for a new pair... the inside nose pads are broken so when it's hot and I sweat I get sore spots.

Not to mention how insanely outdated in fashion they are. I want cute ones this time. I would really love to either get contacts or Lasik. I've worn glasses nearly all my life except for a brief moment of rebellion. I had eye surgery when I was 6 to correct a lazy eye and now I am farsighted with a astigmatism. I'd absolutley love to not have to ever worry about it again.

Oh well.. I am getting tired. I have been at my mom's all weekend while Dan was away working a race and I have only been home a few hours so I think I am going to call it a night. have a great Cinco De Mayo!

It's On.. Like Donkey Kong!

Brand new in my store and just in time for NSD...So many things all at great low prices all weekend long! Come and check it out!

Oscraps

PurplePaperFlowers

BlytheEvans.com

My Mommy Loves me!

Dan left for the races this morning, he'll be gone today through Sunday. One of my ever so lovely children failed to put the lid to the coffee pot back ON the coffee pot when unloading the dishwasher. This is a must have thing to brew a pot of coffee because if you don't it won't drip!!

My mommy brought me a cup of coffee on her way to work.. ahhhhhhh sanity in a cup. I need to get a new coffeemaker. I think I am going to get one that only does 1-2 cups at a time and brews straight into your cup. I'm the only one in the house who drinks coffee so why not?

On another note, guess what?? It's that time again!! Yep, it's NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY on May 3rd! I'm declaring it National Scrapbooking WEEKEND because all 3 of my stores will be on sale ALL weekend long!!!

Purple Paper Flowers will be 30% off, PPF will also be having a discount on Print Services (30%) and MyBook Planners (50%) so check those out.

OScraps & BlytheEvans.com will both be 35% off all weekend starting tomorrow!