Monkey See....

No new pictures to post today. There are some from the weekend still in the camera but today I'm too tired to take them off.

When Bella was very, very small, I was pregnant with Mia. While pregnant, I would throw up all day every day. I would get up from the couch, drag myself to the kitchen to get Bella a new bottle and run to the sink or trash can to throw up. (the bathroom is upstairs and there was exactly 0 % chance of me making it all the way up there) Bella's favorite sound to make was her version of me gagging and throwing up.

At first it was funny and cute. But, as the pregnancy wore on, it was just a constant reminder and it made me crazy. I would be throwing up in the sink and hear over my shoulder her making her little mimic of me barfing. Made me just want to cry at the time. Now I look back and it IS pretty funny.

So nowwwww, Mia is a bit younger than Bella was then but she is really into mimicry. She says bits and pieces of words:
"Ouuuwwwww" = out
"gaw gaw gaw"= GO GO GO !!! (she hears me telling bella this and Richie yelling at his football games on tv) When I tell Bella, "let's go downstairs", Mia says "gaw gaw gaw!".

And now, Mia is saying Ow! Ow! ow! ow! ow! OW! Three guesses as to who she is mimic-ing now?

Yes, me.

I'm always 'bonking' into things. (bella has adopted this word now too. "Mamma! Mamma! I bonked my head! It hurts right here!") The other day, I'm stepping over the gate that blocks Mia from making it thru the doorway and I bonk my kneecap into the top of the gate as I try (unsuccessfully, obviously) to get over it. So I'm hopping around on one foot yelling OW OW OW OWOWWWWWWW!!!!!! OW! Now, Mia's favorite little chant is OW! OW! OW!

yup, those are my little monkeys in action..... *smirk*

Monday

Not too much excitement over here. Still have my cold. The girls still have their runny noses.

Today is laundry day so the machine is chugging away downstairs. Our washer always shakes the house, no matter how it is 'balanced' because the house isn't balanced. If you rolled marbles on the floor, it would roll in different directions depending on what room you were in. But the wind is really competing with the machine today. It's our third day of high winds and sometimes it feels like the rolling of an earthquake, the way the wind gusts and the house sways.

I have my chiropractic appointment tonight but Richie is working late so I'll have to drag the girls along. Should be interesting while I get my 20 minute massage. The gals at the front desk are super nice though and usually don't mind looking after them while I'm behind that closed door doing my breathing exercises so as not to scream with the intense pain involved. I chuckle anytime people joke about me being spoiled because i get massages. They are so incredibly painful that I wish they could administer the drugs I got while giving birth. The pain is equal at times. Ah well, can't complain too much since it gets me thru another week!

My New Hair

And here is My hair......after my cut. It has the normal high and low lights but they stand out more with it shorter. This is the cut that I drew a picture of first and then the stylist tried to cut it according to my primitive scribbles. Next time I think it needs to be shorter in the back.

That is all.... 

Lisa's NEW Hair!

Well, you asked for it! And, at long last, HERE is Lisa's new haircut!!!! Great, right? (And by the way, we call the picture in the upper left hand corner, "BLUE STEEL"....copyrighted) 

Now that's just weird

Hmmm....no matter how many times I attempt to change my startup homepage, it reverts back to Tess's blog. This is so weird.

I've tried restarting the browser, restarting the computer, saving it with several different addresses and NO MATTER WHAT I DO, it goes back to Tess's homepage for my startup page.

This is very odd.

Well, for the time being, that is where my browser startup page is I guess.

Weird, weird, weird.

No picture yet....

Well, sorry.

No pictures yet of my or Lisa's new haircuts. We've decided to work on that this weekend when she comes over to spend the night. I'm wondering how many more sleepovers we'll get to have if her hubby changes jobs and doesn't work every other saturday night anymore. It's been such a tradition for us for so long! I look forward to it for the whole two weeks in between! Oh welll...guess I will just enjoy it while it lasts.

Found out today that Roanna's creative memories followers are slacking off. I wish I liked their products more. I wish I was more motivated to scrapbook. It's such a social activity to me though. I haven't done any scrapbooking since the last time we all hooked up to hang out in her scrapping room/basement. Shame on me. I have a zillion and a half pictures of the girls to get caught up on so I really have no excuse. Maybe as the weather gets colder, I'll be more motivated.

All my creative ("free") time right now is going towards my mixed media/altered art projects. I'm working on ATCs ('artist trading cards' to any of you who have not yet tried them) and starting a round robin Journal book. So far, it's my most creatively challenging project yet. First, coming up with a theme that could incorporate all my loves....my girls, coffee, reading, day dreaming, creating, fat little birds......well, I figured it out. A stroke of genius, really. My theme is "Give Me Wings". This allows for images of ALL of the above....because you could apply to LITERAL things with wings or just things that inspire me ....I'm totally happy with it! Now the challenge is EXPRESSING those things on paper with as few words as possible. I love a good creative challenge! In January, the 12 of us in the round robin will begin exchanging our books (all with personally chosen themes) through the mail and we will add a spread of a couple of pages to each other's books.

What's up with the girls, you ask?

Wellll......Bella learned to snap and zip her jeans today. She has had no trouble with snaps and zippers in the general but, as any of us with tight jeans who've had to lay on a bed to get them up KNOWS, it can be tough to work them things up that close to your body! It's so awesome though each time she accompishes a new skill. The look of triumph on her face!

Mia is totally walking now. She barely crawls at all. Mostly just to go UNDER things....she likes to pretend with Bella that they are in a tunnel in between the couch and the ottoman when someone's feet are up on it. They also like to crawl between the arm of the couch and the planter and wall. It's a little short cut for tiny people to go around the couch. For some reason, they love that corner of the livingroom and so far, they haven't knocked over the planter so, until that happens, they can have their fun.

It's so adorable though to see Mia with her arms up in the air toddling around, kind of like a penguin walks. She is getting pretty fast too and really enjoying all the things (you know, like the curtains and dishes in the kitchen, UGH) she can reach and pull on. So much for a baby-proofed living room! Oh well.

I've decided (yet again, how fickle am i??) to change my browser's start up homepage. I had it on my sisters blog for the last two months in an effort to keep up with her but she hasn't updated it in a month in a half and each time I open my browser I get frustrated. No news isn't good news! LOL So here is my new start up page.....

http://visualchronicles.typepad.com/

These two sisters do some really amazing collage/mixed media journalling. I love the idea that they are sisters exploring their creativity together. I can't wait till MY sister can move here and we can do the same! Until then (and hopefully after then, as well!) my surrogate sister, Lisa and I explore OUR creativity together and it is a real source of joy to me. The visual chronicles sisters have a really funny sense of humor though and reading their blog is like peeking in on an old chum. They look forward to lunch just as much as they look forward to book signings. It's hard to explain but if you have the time, I think they are totally a riot!

Okay, time for me to get back to the laundry and finish up my coffee. My fingers are going numb despite the space heater going here in the office. This darn room just doesn't like to hold heat for some reason. Hopefully the sun shining through the (now) open curtains will do the trick.

Ta Ta For Now!

-S

Altered Book....in progress

Here are a couple pictures of my altered book in progress. The top picture is the front and the bottom picture is the back cover. The theme I chose for it is "give me wings" so I tried to include photos to show what things/activities give me metaphoric 'wings'. It's still a work in progress. I think I may use some colored gesso to make some of the images stand out more and some fade into the background. So far, I glued on all the papers and covered them in a thin layer of semi-glossy acrylic laquer. In person it has some shine to it and the gold/brass pieces add some 'bling'. Unfortunately, they don't stand out in a scan.

Chugging Along....

So, what have I been up to, you ask??

Well, let's see.....Last week, the girls and I went to go see Richie at a worksite in downtown Lewiston (where dr. mcdreamy from grey's anatomy is from, btw) so we could all have lunch together.

Bella got a kick out of Richie's outfit since he had on his phone company hardhat and his overalls which seem to be standard equipment when fixing phone lines underground. He toured Bella all around the open manhole cover and showed her the tent covering it and some of the equipment. Bella thought this was alllll very cool! Then we walked over to a little artsy cafe and had some lunch. Out of all four of us, I'd say Bella is the most photogenic. I SWEAR I don't really look like me in the picture above. In it, I have a giant round head, the shape of a squashed orange. But the girls looked super cute to me in it so I included it.

On Saturday I got a new haircut. It's chin length in the front and shoooooort in the back, kind of 'stacked' from crown to the hairline at my neck. Then it slopes down as it comes around foreward towards my face. Kind of a really short bob with length in the front and none in the back. I drew it on a piece of paper and the stylist was very patient with me to understand what I wanted. I was trying for something similar to the hair Charlize Theron had while playing the Aeon Flux character.....only instead of black, it is my natural color with chunky highlights and low lights. I'll have to get around to taking a picture of myself so you can see it.

Lisa cut her hair super duper short with long chunky bangs and it looks really cute so I was totally inspired to get a change. Richie said she was a bad influence on me and made me cut all my hair off. LOLOL What are friends for??

Mia has been super clingy ever since we got back from Boston. I think being left with strangers (to her, anyway) really freaked her out. It took all weekend for her to warm up to Richie again. During the week, she wouldn't even let HIM hold her! Our first meeting after we got back to town was Tuesday night and since Richie was working, it was just me and the girls. Which would have been just fine except Bella was tired and clingy and Mia was extra super duper clingy and they were both whining to be held and cuddled at the same time. Usually a friend will help me and entertain one while I am with the other. But with Mia's new found need to be physically attached to me at all times, it was a reallllly long night. Last night, I gave her to Richie to hold while I went to the bathroom and she cried this really frightening cry that sounded like she had been brutally wounded (no exaggeration). It was freaking me out. Finally, she was fed and put down to bed without too much trouble. I was so relieved. Until she woke us up around midnight because she was deeply in need of some holding. The whole thing is just really weird. I seem to remember Bella going thru a super needy phase at some point around this age so I'm hoping it will pass soon.

I got to "run away from home" for most of the day on Saturday. I figured it was prime time for Richie to bond with Mia and, frankly, I needed a mental break. If I am anywhere in the house, whether Richie is home or not, I am constantly yelled, whined, or cried for so the only break I can really get is LEAVING the house. Probably sounds a bit harsh but that's the way the cookie crumbles, man.

So I escaped to get my hair cut and then I and my friend went to the mall for a few hours (after I briefly ducked into Falmouth Goodwill to check for treasures). We hung out, people watched, drank coffee and showed each other how drastically different our tastes were. Let's put it this way, she is the perfect shopping buddy in that we will never EVER be fighting over the same item in a store. LOL We ended up sitting in the foodcourt for hours just shooting the breeze. I so seldom get to shop with a girlfriend that it was a special treat and I had a great time! I also snagged a couple of clearance items from the Gap (three things came to a total of 20 bucks!) and some Lindt chocolate. Can't go wrong with Swiss chocolate! 

Not enough coffee = sadness

Just had to share this one! Hope it is big enough for you to read.....LOL

Fall

The air is crisp, with a hint of chill here and there and the leaves are nearing the end of their rainbow display of colors. (A lot of them are starting to enter what I refer to as their "brown" phase. Not their finest attire as that particular version of brown is sort of grey. ) For the most part, our trees have gone through the best of their autumn changes and are just about to shed the remainder of their leaves in preparation for winter. This is my favorite time of year and it is all too fleeting, each and every year......the beginning of fall when you need that extra layer, be it sweater or light jacket. You breathe in that fresh, cool, earthy smell first thing in the morning. It's like you can taste the life busy out there. There is just nothing like it. I stand on the porch and take big gulps of it, savoring each moment and trying to imprint it in my memory.

Makes you want to run inside and bake something or snuggle down under a blanket and read a good mystery. Also makes me want to create....scrapbook, collage, or just start coloring in a colorbook (oddly therapeutic, don't knock it!). Also makes me want to do all those stereotypical 'nesting' type things....reorganize, clean, stock up. It's the time of year where the world is showing off her colors in preparation for the big sleep of winter. One last hurrah before diving under her snowy blankets.

Man, do I love fall in New England!!!

Boston

So, here are some highlights from our (me and the girls) weekend trip to Boston....First off, the worst thing in Boston are the drivers. The traffic is insane and the drivers are sloppy and dangerous. The only redeeming thing about getting around in Boston is the extra time behind the wheel let's you listen to a couple great radio stations ("the river", for one). At one point I was yelling at the drivers trying to drive in multiple lanes at once and saying how stupid they were. Bella piped up in her little girl voice from the back seat, "SOME of the drivers aren't stupid, mama". That about sums it up. The majority of drivers should have their licenses revoked. The good driver is TOTALLY the exception. I could go on and on about how much I hate driving there but that is all I'm saying about that.

The Very BEST part of the trip was seeing my girls playing with the Kitt's boys. They are so close in age and they all seemed to have a grand ol' time. It's so weird remembering playing with their oldest son and babysitting him when I had no little ones of my own and then flash forwarding in my mind to the present. It's like some parallel universe.
It was especially great seeing my bestest pal, Wendy. I hate that we live so far apart. It's so hard to have a friend you hold so dear live so distant. Tim was his regular old pun-joke-telling self. Sometimes it's nice that things you remember don't change to much. *grin*

17 STEPS!

Mia is really getting the hang of this whole 'walking' thing! You should have seen her face as she did a series of SEVENTEEN steps across the living room. She is soooo excited. She had a little practice session off and on for about two hours tonight. She got SO confident that she started carrying things around WITH her as she walked!

I got a little bit of video of it but, by the time I pulled out the camera, it was getting close to bedtime. She was sooo tired that she kept falling down every few steps. But she did it with a SMILE on her face!!!

I'm so proud of my little munchkin!

LISTS

When all else fails, LIST.

That is my go-to solution for stress and a hectic schedule. Now when I say, 'schedule', I don't mean the kind that most people would think. There is no everyday-at-the-same-time activities. We are more a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type family when things like that are concerned. We have meals when we get around to it or someone starts acting cranky from low-bloodsugar. The girl's bedtimes range between 7 - 8:30pm....later on meeting nights. Other than that, things get done when they get done. I try for Monday to be laundry day.....but often that day stretches out to include Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and, in a bad week, Saturday and Sunday too.

To keep things straight in my head, I have my homemade (ala creative memories) calander on the fridge where we track our doctor's appointments and service plans and any other activites. Then we (and by that I mean *I*) have lists. There is a list of things I need to get done by the end of the week. There is a list of thank you cards I need to send. There is a list of anniversaries coming up to remember to transcribe to the calendar. Sometimes there are lists of LISTS that I need to write up!

But nothing beats the feeling of satisfaction that comes from scribbling out a line off the list!
Accomplishment!

Even if that accomplishment is just that I took a shower. (and yes, for me it DOES warrant a mark on the to-do list. Sometimes it doesn't get crossed off. Those are the BAD days.)

Today, I'm writing up my weekly grocery list and a packing list. Both which need to be completed by tomorrow at some point. On Friday, the girls and I are heading off to Boston for the weekend. It was funny, while looking in my computer files for an old packing list to use as a template, I came across my list that was used for our last trip to California, last winter. AMAZING how much stuff a weeks-old baby needs. I can't imagine what I was thinking trying to travel with tiny children like that. But cest la vie, it's amazing what you can do when you don't question your ability to do it. LOL

On a side note, I've added some new ATC's to my yahoo album. I created them with an asian theme for a swap I signed up for. Not my best work but not too terrible. I'm loving the fact that my art is being ''featured" on two yahoo group websites at the moment. One for my atc trading group and one on the group that was started for a round robin of collage books. (everyone creates a themed book and we each take turns filling two pages of each other's books until we've done a set in all 12 books....very exciting!)

So anyhooo....gots to get back to my lists....laundry to do. Dishes to do and richie is supposed to be out till 10pm for the next couple of nights working on some kind of downed phone cable in Lewiston....I suppose that means that it's up to me to throw the girls in the tub again. Ah well, at least I'll know they'll come out clean and be put into CLEAN clothes this time.

Hasta la pasta, folks!

-Sondi

Bella willingly posed for a couple of pictures this weekend....can you believe it?

Mia Loves Bacon Dip!

Pictures to Go With Monday's Post

 

Monday Mondayyyyy....can't trust that dayyyyy...

Monday afternoon....still in my sweats but just pulled some yummy sweet potato fries out of the oven for me and the girls. Mmmmm......salty and sweet! Sure do get a jones'n for sweet potato fries sometimes...especially now that the weather is getting crisp and cold. The oven warming up the house doesn't hurt either!

We've gotta another week or so left of pretty trees and then it will be an eternity until the naked trees will be covered in snow. So I'm enjoying the deep reds and glowing auburns until they do. We've had a couple of really sunny warm (got up to 70 or so) afternoons and a new crop of ladybugs hatched....along with some flies and some sort of creepy looking beetle that I can't identify. I'll be glad when it is too cold out for them. Right now we've got the front door open to warm up the house. (it ends up colder INSIDE than outside if I don't.) Unfortunately that makes the bugs think they have an open house invitation. Arrgggh.....sometimes I really don't like nature.

Mia took FIVE steps in a row last night. She goes for an hour or so at a time where she just practices taking steps. Then she decides she has no more time for it and goes back to zooming around in crawling mode. Last night she also caught sight of a baby spoon we were using to spoon dip onto pieces of bread and chips and decided that she was going to put it to good use. So before I realized what she was going to do, she was spoon feeding herself bacon dip. She LOVES bacon dip apparently. Bella tried to switch it out for the 'fiesta' dip (HOT) and Mia was a bit unhappy. We got some video of her spoon feeding herself. It was pretty funny watching this little tiny person feeding herself like it was the most normal thing in the world for her to be doing even though she'd never ever even TRIED it before! I was really amazed at her coordination.

It's funny (no, not 'haha' funny...more ironic) that with Bella, we were constantly pushing her onto the next developmental step even if she was way too young (according to the books anyway) for it. She has always been ahead of the curve! But with Mia, I forget to teach her stuff that I could have been teaching her, had I paid attention to the stages in all those books I used to be glued to. Stuff like, "where's your nose? where's your head? Point to your foot!". And here I am completely blown away when she displays mastery over things that she probably could have been doing awhile ago if only i'd been on the ball enough to show her how to do it. Then again, she could be just paying attention to her big sister. Frankly that is a much more likely scenario than *POOF!* she just mysteriously knows how to do it. LOL

Last week we found the cutest foam princess hats at the dollar store (2/$1) and Bella was trying to get one to stay on her head last night. After a little tweaking, we finally got them to fit and she was overjoyed and posed for all these pictures with her hats. LOL

I have a chiro appointment tonight and ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO write my talk for tomorrow night. So hasta la pasta for now folks!

-S

Saturday.....

Well, my friend....the party's over.

Only three people (of the 25 or so that were invited and the 5 or 6 that confirmed 'absolutely, yes') showed up for my little taste testing/ food party. I was SO grateful to the three friends that did. I think they really enjoyed the food too. So nyah nyah nyah to you losers that didn't show.

What a letdown though....a week of stressing, cleaning, buying extra groceries (although only like 12 dollars worth) for the stuff I needed to add to the 'Tastefully Simple' stuff. We tried like 15 dips....all yum-o. The pumpkin bread was delish! It tasted like starbucks pumpkin loaf USED to taste like. And Nana's Apple Cake I'm totally hooked on now and wish I had ordered more. Hmm....Maybe I had better email the lady and fix that.

You wanna hear something gross? (when bella is a teen-ager she is so gonna kill me for this)...... Bella showed me her big toe this morning because it was bleeding. She says, "Momma, look! I bleedin! I bleedin' cause I bit it with my mouth." ICK YUCK PATOOOEY!!! What is it with children thinking biting your toenails is the most normal thing in the world????? GROOOOSSSSSSSS She bites her fingernails which is a gross habit in itself but both her father and I have that nervous habit so I really can't fault her for that one. But toenails? Eh ghads, child! Come on! What is a mother to do?

I made her promise to never do it again because it is gross. We'll see if she keeps her word.

But anywayy.......after the three guest party last night, Keith and Lisa came over (lisa didn't make it due to some snafu at the bank where she works and the ridiculous traffic last night due to a fatal accident on Rte. 115. Apparently, A dumptruck ran over a car and killed the driver, from what I was told. ). Anyway, Lisa and Keith came over to try some of the food (there was TONS left, obviously) and play dominos. So Michelle stayed to play too and Richie even stuck around to play while watching the Yankees (so sad) over his shoulder. We had a bunch of fun and even cracked open a bottle of what I call 'chocolate wine'. It is the yummiest stuff and has notes of chocolate in it.

So that was my Friday night. Today it is almost 11am and the temperature is around 50 F. The trees are beautiful colors but quickly shedding their clothes. Soon enough they'll be wearing their skivvies.....then just naked. LOL

Later!

-S

'To Do' Lists

Well, I've scratched off a few things from my week's 'to do' lists....to get done by today. Unfortunately, there are quite a few lines UNSCRATCHED. And then there is the list I wrote this morning, of things I need to get done by the time the Tastefull Simple consultant shows up and sisters start to arrive. My little 'food party' starts at 6:30 (i'm guessing actually more like 7pm) and there is so much yet to do!
I need to finish checking my email to see if anyone rsvp'd and then call the folks who did not. So far three or four people say they never got their postcard invitations and had no idea I was even having a party. Makes me wonder how many MORE didn't get them that I haven't contacted yet. Joy.

Well, I'm going to need all the coffee I can get today so I best get a move on and finish drinking it and get busy on my list. I finished running my last load of laundry through the washer and now it's just waiting on the dryer. The non-dryer stuff doesn't look like it's going to be dry anytime soon and I have no idea where i'm going to "hide" it tonight. ARrgghh....Then there is of course the baskets of laundry that still need folding and putting away. I like the sorting and washing and drying process. I HATE folding and putting away. ARrgggghhhh...

I baked my bread and cake yesterday (although they tell you to do it the day of your party so that the house smells good) and mixed up all six or seven dips and mixes. So at least that won't be waiting to get done today. But I have to bake something ELSE so that the house smells good. Arrgghh....

At least if I start up the coffee pot fairly early, the house will have the delightful smell of coffee and who doesn't love that? (hmm...maybe non coffee drinkers) I have got to get busy! Have I mentioned that?

Okay, from here on things get NOT-encouraging....so stop reading NOW.

It looks like not only is my little sister not coming for a visit this winter but my mom and my plans to send them (cheap) tickets as a gift isn't going to happen either. Makes my stomach upset just thinking about it. I miss her so much. Then I start to get angry that I'm not allowed to make money decisions because I "don't work".....as in, MY work that drives me to be ill because of my health problems (and yet I keep at it to the best of my ability despite this), isn't important and holds no value because it doesn't draw a salary. I can't believe I'm in a marriage from 1955 and it is 2006.

To some, I have no value as a person, friend, spouse, or human being. I am merely a consumer. To say I 'hate' those people would be scripturally wrong. I am constantly working on my emotional control. Yet another downside to resorting to drugs (prescription, relax) to hold things in check. I now lack the emotional damage that I used to use to block off any real emotions and protect myself. I used to have no problem holding things in and showing no hurt or pain or really ANYTHING on the outside. It served me well for a lot of years. And now, I feel ALL of it. And it is slowly killing me I think. The unfairness of the situation eats at me. My only emotional support comes from my friends. And that is not really fair to them. They have their own worries and pains and responsibilites. They can't function as my only form of emotional support. And yet, I am forced to rely on them as such. Which makes me feel guilty AND needy.

And the part of me that is constantly trying to SOLVE my problems and find effective ways to do things is just stumped......in a hamster wheel running around and around with no solution. Which makes me even more crazy.
I cannot FIX it!!!!

And by the way, in a seemingly unrelated topic, is there a single soul out there who thinks it is reasonable and okay to put on dirty clothes on your child after bathing them? If you think this is reasonable, please comment or write me because it is the stupidest thing *I* have ever encountered. (Okay, maybe not THE stupidest. But right up there.) I'm guessing the same people who WOULD think this is reasonable would ALSO think that ticks magically appear in the house and could not possibly come inside on workboots that walk all over the house after they have been worn out of doors. Okay, Yes, I'm having yet another of 'those days' today. I cannot put these things to rest because they are like yet another slice on top of an old half-healed wound.

At least I'm able to mentally purge here and it lets off a bit of steam from the high-pressure steam-engine that is my head. Otherwise I'd either walk around all day with silent tears streaming down my face or go back to being the zombie I used to be years ago. (if you knew me back then, I apologize.)

And since NO ONE EVER comments on this blog, I'm fairly certain that just about no one ever reads it. So it's like writing in a diary.....a diary I leave out for visitors on my coffee table. LOL

Okay, onwards and upwards. Things to get done.
Signing off,

-S

Tuesday....

This month is PACKED! I made my fridge calendar for the month at the end of September and just creating the calendar, I filled up about 1/3 of the days on it with appointments. I HATE that! I get stressed out just LOOKING at it when it is like that!

Today is Tuesday though and I'm all about one-day-at-a-time. So I'm just trying to do as much as I can each day. Friday night I'm having some sisters over for a little food tasting party hosted by Tastefully Simple. If you ever get the chance to try their food-- DO IT! It rooooocks! They have this one little treat which is my faaaavorite! It's a caramel chocolate cheese ball. I know, sounds weird....but it is creme cheese mixed with caramel powder and chilled, then rolled into a ball and rolled in pieces of crumbled chocolate. I tell ya, i could eat the whole ball no problem...except for maybe getting a stomach ache. But hey, all that cheese has got to be good for you, right? LOL

Anyhoo.....knowing that people are going to witness the destruction that is my home, I have made myself a long list of things that need to be cleaned, sorted, moved, etc before Friday. Except so far this morning, I've accomplished almost nothing on the list because I've been sorting the girls' closet. The temperature is dropping and it's time to get all those summery things out of their closet, along with the things that are too small. So I've got the hallway lined with about 6 different bins...some moving IN to the room, some moving out. Most needing to get hauled up to the attic for long term storage. There are just never enough hours in the day. And have I mentioned that it is just about 10:30 am and I still have not had breakfast or, more importantly, COFFEE!! Ugh.

Anyhoo, just taking a couple minute break to update my lil' blog here and then I'll be right back to the salt mines, slaving away.

Have yourself a great Tuesday!!!!

Back To Florida.......

Well, like most of the snow-birds, Tink is on her way back to Florida today. She gave me this new picture of her and Uncle Floyd (and maggie) yesterday at the meeting. It's Gorgeous! Sue did an amazing job! I'm pondering though....was it touched up or is uncle floyd wearing makeup? Hmm....I'm sure he'll never tell....

But I'm bummed....I barely saw Tink at all while she was here. I saw her at the meetings and yesterday at the picnic (except I didn't get to say goodbye!) and once when she came over to drop off some stuff that she is clearing out of her house. I'm sure hoping that her next trip will be less stressfull (they are selling their house) and that I'll get to see her more. *sigh*

And yes, having a case of 'poor me syndrome' this morning.

I tried to clean my espresso machine by running vinegar through it and now, no matter how many times i run it with water, it tastes like vinegar. Arrgghh....the frustrating thing is, I get the mocha all made and bring it upstairs to drink in front of the computer. It smells delicious and so, full of hope in its frothy goodness, I take my first sip.

Iccckk....Pitoooey! Vinegar!!! For some reason, you can't smell it but the taste is certainly there. Soooo...dumped it out into the sink and ran water through the machine for an hour and a half (in addition to the time I ALREADY spent running water through it!). I just want some coffee already!!! I'm TIRED for crying out loud!!!!

Wah wah wah.....whine whine and some more wahhhhhh.....

Okay, I'm done whining. For now.