From Teri

What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before? Went to Phoenix for CE.
Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I always make the same ones, but never seem to really keep them.
Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes.
Did anyone close to you die? No.
What countries did you visit? Jamaica and the Caymens
What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? more money and time!
What was your biggest achievement of the year? That I made it through work without killing anyone. (But wait, the day is not over yet).
What was your biggest failure? Not getting the rest of my house painted like I wanted to.
Did you suffer illness or injury?! I had my gall bladder removed.
What was the best thing you bought? My crop-a-dile. I use it all the time.
Whose behavior merited celebration? Diana
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Not sayin’, but there have been a few.
Where did most of your money go? Mortgage and insurance and property taxes
What did you get really, really, really excited about? Getting ready for CE.
Compared to this time last year, are you: much happier, richer, nicer. I think I’m always happier and nicer, buy never richer, lol!
What do you wish you'd done more of? Gotten my crap together so I could crop more.
What was your favorite TV program? Grey's Anatomy
Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Hate is such a strong word. Serious dislike, yes
What was the best book you read this year? don't really read
What did you want and get? I can’t really think of anything, we didn’t make any major purchases this year. Just a new TV.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 37, had sushi with friends, then went to dinner with DH.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Having more downtime to spend with friends and catch up on stuff.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Cool and comfortable
What political issue stirred you the most? Probably Bhutto assasination
Who did you miss? Lots of people far away that I didn’t get to see this year
Who was the best new person (people) you met? Janet, Barb,and Gerri Anne
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007. Always trust your first instincts. They are always right.

This is gonna be a quicky!

I have a feeling this will be the week from hell..both at work AND at home...

But I wanted to share how truly blessed I am to have such a wonderful group of friends. Saturday nite with my girls was very special, and I had the best time ever.

BIG HUGE HONKIN' THANKS!!!! to my Stocking Pal, Teri. Girl, you outdid yourself. Everything was so awesome, I loved it all. Thank you so, so much, I don't think I could ever say that enough.

Then another big Thank You to Gene and Jules for letting us use your lovely home, and making us feel oh, so, welcome and cozy. You guys out did yourselves. You are special people.

Another Thank You to Kip for organizing this, and having to put up with so much. It was because of you this was such a huge success.

And one last Thank You to all of you, Linda, Elle, Diana, Michele...my friends...I'm so priviledged to know you and for you to let me be a part of your lives. You guys all rock!!!

I'll try and upload photos later in the week. I love you all!!!!!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Yes, it's a purdy tree, ain't it! I think we did good this year. Although, the bottom is a little smooshed, because Miles thought it would be fun to make it his own little home.

Here's some of my old Shiny Brites, like I promised Jayne:

Here's one of the Bells. In the back of it, you can see one of those pointy type ones. We had those in all colors, when we were kids.









This is the Merry Christmas one. It's hard to see with the pale blue.











Jayne, is this one like your blue one?
The one on the far left, I don't know if that's a shiny bright or not, but it is old.












And I'll leave you with these: I guess kitties really do love Christmas. Melody has her own little Santa pillow, and Ginger found his own place to sleep, too. Ahhhh...

Another one from Linda...

1..What one person has most inspired you, in your career? My Marketing Professor, Joel Reedy (RIP). He was a great man.
2. If money were not an issue, where would you live? Here, just someplace closer to the beach.
3. What is the best advice you ever received? If it is to be, it is up to me.
4. What is your favorite time of day? 6:00, once I'm home and settled.
5. What is the best invention since sliced bread? MP3 Players
6. Not including family or friends, the top three things you're thankful for? My health, my kitties, that I have a job
7. If you had that mobile phone service, who would be your top five? DH, Joelle, Linda, Michele, Kip
8. What things need to happen for you to have a good day? To be off work!
9. What is your favorite every day outfit? shorts and a t-shirt and barefoot
10. When you are alone in the car, what do you do? Listen to the radio or XM
11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? Ford Explorer
12. What one person, whom you have never met, do you wish you could have lunch with? McDreamy (but, honey, it would be more than lunch)
13. What is the one part of your body that you like the most? my eyes
14. What song, when playing on the radio currently, is your favorite to hear? hmmm...I don't listen to much commercial radio, I'd say Crank That by Soulja Boy.
15.What is the one piece of advice that you wish you could give someone? Take a long, hard look in the mirror at yourself and quit shifting the blame. See things for the way they really are and make amends. You're losing an awful lot-is it worth it? (That's pretty darn good, right there, I'll keep it. )
16. What are you looking forward to right now? our Saturday stocking exchange with my good friends (That one too!)
17. What are the tv shows you watch every week and hate to miss? Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, Cane, ER
18. What is the dinner that you or your family eats once a week? Pizza
19. If you just won $100,000, what would you use the money for? Pay off our debts.
20. Name one random fact about you that you think most people do not know. WHat don't you know? I'm left handed.

From Linda...

1. WHO WERE YOU NAMED AFTER? The Queen Mary and The Queen Elizabeth, the two ships my grandfather and his brother sailed on to Europe to fight in WWII

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Last night, watching Frosty the Snowman, when he melts.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? No

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? No

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Probably

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM ALOT? What do you think?

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Oh yes- just missing a pesky gallbladder

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No freakin' way

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Fruity Pepples

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? No, but I must be to get where I am today.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Cookies and Cream

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? what they're wearing

15. RED OR PINK? pink

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOU? my big ole belly

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? grandma

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Yes

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? I just woke up, so none.

20. WHAT'S THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Bang Bang Shrimp and Calimari from Bonefish Grill

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Channel 8 news

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Lavendar

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? vanilla

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? DH

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Ummm yes very much.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? College Football, go Gators!

27. HAIR COLOR? Original dark brown. Now a little lighter

28. EYE COLOR? greenish-grayish-blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No, they freak me out.

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Seafood....I see food and I eat it. :P

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy endings

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The whole movie? I think it was Shop Around the Corner last Sunday.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer, definitely

35. HUGS OR KISSES? I ’ll take both

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Anything with chocolate in it.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ??

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ??

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Not a book read

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Cat Chow. (and it's looking nappy, think it needs to go)

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Frosty the Snowman, Women's Murder Club, and Channel 13 news

42. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SOUND? music

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles, definately

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Cali

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? no, not really

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Cincinnati, Oh

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Everyones- I love reading these things.

As far as birthdays go...

It wasn't the best birthday, but it wasn't the worst, either.

We got the pathology report back on Melody, and it confirmed that it was carcinoma. The vet seems to think they've gotten it all out, but it could come back, so we need to keep an eye on her. I did some research, and the chances of it coming back are about 65%. But the fact that it was found early and it was small increase the odds. But if it does come back, the mortality rate is about 85%. So, we just take each day as it comes, and we'll cross that bridge when (IF!) we come to it.

My birthday present actually came early, it was supposed to arrive on the 28th, but it came right before Thanksgiving. And of course, I didn't want to wait to use it, so it's been out of the box since then.

Dh bought me some DVD's off my CD Universe wish list, so that's pretty cool. My list is pretty long, so I'm sure he had a hard time picking. He says he just did it kinda random though. That was fun.


My buds at work took me to lunch at our favorite Asian Sushi place downtown (Ratchada). It was so good. They also got me an itunes card which I did not expect. That was way cool!

For dinner, DH and I went to Leroy Selmon's and it was just okay. We ordered the Back Yard Nachos. In the past, they would bring out this plate of nachos that was about the size of your head. The order we had was a third that size. And you could tell they were using a cheese sauce, instead of real cheese. My fried chicken was great (dh said the same), but his ribs were a disappointment. He said they tasted like they were warmed over. And the food took forever!!! to come out. At least 30 minutes. We decided if we are going to go, go on a night that's busier, and the food won't be just sitting there for so long.

We had bad bbq at Pit Boss's on Little Road last Friday, too. It seems the quality of the food there has gone down hill. The ribs tasted baked, not smoked, the pork was dry and the corn had obviously been sitting too long. So, they are off the list. It seems these places are trying to cut corners on their meats, buying cheaper cuts, not wanting to pay the wood smoke them, I don't know what it is. Gas Prices? Recession? Who know? I guess we will stick with Shane's. (Or Lupton's of course, when we're in the neighborhood).

Oh, and then on my way to lunch I mentioned to my pal Fran that I wanted to make a Mazzaro's trip before Christmas. She asked me what I was looking for, and I said nothing in particular, just what ever looks good. I did say that I loved those chocolate covered rainbow cookies. Well, guess what Fran showed up with at my desk the next day. You guessed it! A bag of rainbow cookies. Oh, so good. Isn't that the coolest? Gotta love her.

Last thing for today, look at this container I found at Wal-Mart. It's a special edition tin container for dishwasher soap thingy's. But the container is tin, and it's a great size to make an album box, recipe box, whatever. Sweet!!!

From Teri

1. Colored lights or white lights on your house or not at all? Colored

2. Hot chocolate or Egg Nog? Southern Comfort Vanilla Spice Eggnog. Or even better, put a little bit of that eggnog flavored creamer in with the Hot Chocolate mix. YUM!

3. What's your favorite holiday dish? Velveeta dip with Ground Beef and Rotel

4. Does Santa wrap the presents or just sit them under the tree? Nope, Santa never wrapped

5. Do you hang mistletoe? yes

6. When do you put up your decorations? Usually start the day after Thanksgiving. I finished all the inside yesterday. DH is working on the outside, but says it’s too danged hot out there.

7. What's your favorite holiday tradition? As Kip said: Started a new one, having a stocking pal with my good friends J Actually, just seeing the kids all dressed up on Christmas eve, is a great one.

8. What's on the top of your tree? A purple pointy thing (do those things have names?)

9. Do you have a nativity displayed through the holidays? A couple, including a few miniature ones.

10.Candy Canes, traditional or flavored? Or Chocolate Covered Cherries? Hmmmm...not a fan of either, but I’ll go with the cherries. Love truffles!!!

11.What's your favorite holiday goodie to make and share? Coffee Cake

12.What's your favorite Christmas song? Traditional – Do you Hear What I Hear, Contemporary/Pop – Bing Crosby and David Bowie’s rendition of Little Drummer Boy.

13.When did you learn the truth about the "magic" of Christmas? Truth???? Actually, it was 5th grade, when my grandmother said “You know there’s no Santa Claus, right?” Yep, gotta love dysfuntionality at Christmas.

14.Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No, not really

15.Is there a special ornament or Christmas decoration that you wouldn't feel like Christmas without? Too many! I’m gonna go with my Snow Globes.

16.Do you take neighbor gifts/treats to anyone, everyone, a select few? No, not really. We do a big Drunco/Bunco party and eat and drink and stuff.

17.Is your big meal on Christmas Eve, Christmas morning or Christmas afternoon? All of the above, just depends on whose house we are at.

18.How do you decorate your tree? It’s a hodge-podge, no rhyme nor reason. Just wherever there is a whole, there goes an ornament.

19.Snow? Love it? Dread it? Tolerate it? Snow, what’s that? I live in Florida for a reason, I HATE the cold.

20.Do you remember a favorite gift? Barbie Dream House.

21.Do you have a family get-together during the holidays with extended family? Yes.

22.What's the most important thing that you must do each Christmas season? Probably the food. Cooking and baking up all kinds of goodies you don’t get any other time of the year. (Shrimp Dip is coming to mind right now)

23.Do you bake Christmas cookies? No, don’t really do cookies. Cakes and Brownies, yes, cookies, not so much.

24.Do you leave cookies and milk for Santa? No Santa visits here.

25.What's your favorite Christmas memory? Hmmm...Just seeing the kids faces when they open their gifts.

Is it lunchtime?

You know, food is a hobby to me, much like scrapbooking is. I love to eat it, to cook it, to smell it, you name it. I’ve decided that my dream job is to be to work in one of those test kitchens that they have at the magazines. You know to just test out recipes all day to see which ones work and which ones don’t. That would be cool. Of course, I would probably be three sizes bigger than I am now, but I’d still love it.

So it was no surprise that I got suckered in, er, I mean I volunteered to head up the food at our office Christmas party. I actually have no problem with this. Well, with the exception of two people who want to bring the same salad. And when I suggested to one to get together with the other one to avoid duplication, she just said “well, her salad might be too small”. So There! Sigh! Well, I can only do so much; you guys are on your own. I’m not about to get into a salad war.

But what I didn’t realize is that I’d get roped into the Toys for Tots drive as well. Again, no problem, really. They are a great organization, one that does so much the community. They deserve all the help they can get. But I hate the being the “badgering” one, because people just don’t want to do the right thing. Really, how hard is it to pick up a cheap toy at Wal-Mart and put it under the tree? You don’t even have to wrap the darn thing. And no, I don’t want your used piece of crap from your grandkid. Seriously, stop being cheap!!

So, now I have to figure out what I’m bringing where, to all these parties. Jules says I’m bringing dessert to our Stocking party. Okay, that’s easy enough I guess. I’m thinking Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Everyone likes that, right? The office party I do my usual stand-by, Spinach Dip. Everyone loves that. Especially my special recipe. :P Drunco Party is on the 8th... Dh is already making his dip (nicknamed Shit Dip, because well, you figure it out!), so maybe something else dessert-y. I found an Almond Pie recipe in Paula’s mag, that will be good.

Then, there’s Christmas. Ah, yes, the in-laws. (Actually step-grand-in-laws. Yeah, don’t ask!) Maybe more dip (The stuff lasts forever, frozen, when you make double batches. Love Sam’s Club!) Something else snack-y, like a bruschetta. Oh, then DH tells me he wants to order a deep-fried turkey from Honeybaked Ham. Okay. But then, you gotta have sides: mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, corn, probably some broccoli casserole or something similar, sweet potatoes.

Yeah, thanks DH! Nah, I don’t mind really. I’d like to do the taters myself, but we decided to go with the big Publix container, (probably will do the same with the sweet potatoes.) But I cannot do gravy. It’s just not my forte. Plus, how do you gravy, when the turkey is deep fried? Wouldn’t all the drippings go into the fryer? Ah well! Oh, and I AM making Grandma’s stuffing. I love Grandma’s stuffing. It’s very simple, just bread and celery and onions and butter, and about half a container of poultry seasoning. But so, so yummy!

Which leads me to a story (Okay, what doesn’t lead me to a story). Last year, Rachel Ray had a contest to find the best stuffing. So, I read one of the winners. Bread, check. Celery, check. Onions, check. Hey, wait a second! This is Grandma’s recipe!!! Now, the printed recipe called for mushrooms as well. My theory is no one in our family ever ate mushrooms and so she probably left them out, say, oh, 60 years ago. But it’s the identical recipe! Well, heck, maybe I should have entered that darn contest. Hmph!

Anyway, now you are probably hungry and thinking When’s Lunch? Well, I’m on my way to Panera Bread for lunch today, so only an hour away. So, think yummy! J

What's New...

Hey there! Dropped the baby off this morning. She was so good. I’m sure she’ll be fine, DH will pick her up this afternoon when she’s finished. Her brother on the other hand, uggg!!! Miles decided to play “escape artist” when I walking out to load her in the car. Miles and Ginger both have been doing this all week. It was hell trying to get all the Christmas stuff out.

I spent the early part of the day on Saturday at Miss Linda’s. It’s good to see everybody and just hang out with the girls. I made onion dip, and played with Boo-Boo and Sasha. (Yes, Michele, Boo-Boo loves ME!!! ME!!! Hahahahaha!)

By request, here is my recipe:


2 medium sweet onions, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
1 pkg. (6 oz.) KRAFT Hickory Smoked Pasteurized Process Swiss and Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1/2 cup KRAFT Mayo Real Mayonnaise
1/4 cup OSCAR MAYER Real Bacon Bits
1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce (optional)
1/4 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
WHEAT THINS Snack Crackers
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix onion, process cheese, mayo, bacon bits and hot pepper sauce until well blended.
SPOON into lightly greased 1-quart baking dish or 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
BAKE 15 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly. Serve as a hot dip with crackers.

Well, that’s the official Kraft recipe, anyway... A few things to note: I can almost NEVER fine the Kraft Hickory Smoked cheese in the stores down here, so I take a hunk of cheddar, a hunk of swiss, and shred about 6 oz of EACH. (I’m a big believer in the more cheese the better. I am a true cheese-a-holic!!!) I also almost always leave the bacon bits out, since I know Miss Elle can’t have them.

And some big news! I know we all love Luxe designs, well they are coming out with some groovy Christmas kits starting on Dec. 3rd (The day before my birthday, if anyone is so inclined. :P ) Here’s the link:

http://blog.luxedesigns.com/livingtheluxelife/2007/11/an-announcement.html?cid=91332262#comment-91332262

Hi Gang!

Did everyone have a good Turkey day? I know I did! Had lots of feasts. And brought home plenty of leftovers. Which I didn’t really eat. Not sure why, I guess I just wasn’t feeling the love on the leftovers. I didn’t have a craving for them. As a matter of fact, I really didn’t eat that much over the weekend, a turkey sandwich on Friday, some Onion Dip on Saturday, Quiznos on Sunday. I did have a snack attack yesterday, and had doughnuts and pizza. Now that’s real healthy, now isn’t it?

Well, now for the big news. My little Melody has a tumor in her mammary. They did a needle biopsy yesterday, and it did show cancerous cells. That’s the bad news. The good news is, it has not spread, her x-rays were clear, and they are going to remove the tumor tomorrow. At that point, they will send it off to pathology who will determine if it’s something that could come back and we have to watch out for, or something that’s gone for good. The docs said it was extremely rare to see breast cancer in a spayed female, and they hardly ever see it, so it will be studied “academically” they told me. I did read up on it on Google (of course), and it says that having cats spayed BEFORE their first heat reduces the incidences, well, she was already in heat when we found her, so that was the first strike. And for some unknown reason, Siamese breeds seem to have higher incidences as well, so being a Siamese mix is strike two. Then the third strike is her age (we estimate between 10-12). But she is healthy and Dr. Keene (love that man!) said if it had spread, she would show symptoms (lethargy, not eating, losing weight) and she has none! She’s also having her teeth cleaned, as well, and I told DH, she will probably come home with a cone-head, so she’s going to love us, I just know it. Sigh, poor baby. Well, her dignity will come back, I am sure.

I have to tell you of the coup I pulled off at Michael’s on Sunday. Diana bought one of those Memory Makers carousels with her coupon on Saturday. They are really cool looking, just like something you’d pay $80 for at Pottery Barn. So, 9am, Sunday morning, I head over to Mike’s and go right for the end cap. They had 5 left. 4 of the 5 had busted corners. On the 5th one, one of the little dividers had broken off, but it was something that could easily be fixed with some wood glue.

Well, as luck would have it, the district manager was there, and I showed him my dilemma. He knew, and he was sorry, and offered to give it to me at the coupon price. I said, I’ll tell you what, I already have one coupon, but if you give me another one, I’ll be happy. He said sure, just use the one you have twice. I was cool with this, since I wanted to buy the PaperTrends holiday book, as well.

Well, I think the cashier misunderstood him, (or maybe I did, who knows). She rang it up with the 40% off, which brought it to $23.99. Then she took ANOTHER 40% off of that price, so the grand total for my tool carousel (normally priced $40?)...$14.39. Woo-hoo!

I have more shopping tales, and tales from the weekend, but I’ll leave that for the rest of the week. My time flies, when you are having fun!

Mr. Fix-It?!?!?!?

Men!! Ackk! They just don’t know how to say no, or when to admit the job is too big, can they?

Let me preface this by saying DH is NOT a handy man. He’s just not made that way. My refrigerator is leaking. It started about Thursday or Friday. On Sunday, we moved the fridge out to see what was leaking. DH determines that it is the filter, but let’s tighten it up in the meantime. So, we get a new filter at Lowe’s. Come home to a flooded kitchen. Great. Okay, put the new filter on, but it’s not the filter leaking, it’s the tubing. Go to Home Depot and get new copper tubing. Fine, that’s fixed. A little while later, it’s STILL leaking.

The fitting for the faucet won’t go on right. The copper is flimsier than the original tubing we take off. We borrow pipe cutters from the neighbors to make a new fitting. It’s still not working. Now we need another kind of tubing. And now, a few minute fix has taken over 24 hours. Did I mention DH is not a handy man? Yeah, I thought so.

So, when does he admit defeat and call a professional? Your guess is as good as mine? We also had shower issues as well. A leaky faucet which does appear to be fixed, but a clogged drain which appears not to be. Yeah, we’ll check on that one later as well. Men!

Melody has a lump on her belly as well. She seems fine, it’s just under the skin and it’s not bothering her. As a matter of fact, the lump seems smaller today then it did on Saturday. But she will be visiting Dr. Bonneville next week just to make sure. Poor baby. But like I said, she’s totally normal, eating, drinking, playing, doing her business. She even had a stare-down with Miles Saturday night, which leads me to think it can’t be too serious. Let’s hope so.

One positive thing, we hit Sam’s Club yesterday, and $250 later (Egads!) we made a good dent in the Christmas shopping. We got some pretty things, and some little things for the girls. I, like Linda, also left with a magazine (Taste of Home Christmas, I think) and the new Rachel book. And a few other stock up things (Velveeta, since we make huge batches of dip this time of year, a new broom, other little odds and ends.) So, that’s some pressure off there. DH says “We should do this every year”. Uh, yeah I try too, but you’re the one who won’t get your butt out of bed. Sigh! Men! Does it end?

Now, what the heck am I making for Thanksgiving? I’m tired of Pumpkin Roll, and it seems to get lost in the desert shuffle anyway. DH said Spinach dip, but that’s boring, and Pam usually makes Artichoke dip anyway. I thought about Onion dip, but that’s too close to Artichoke dip, but I may make some anyway for the McCoy’s house. It’s actually Josh’s favorite, but he won’t be with us this year, he’ll be back in Birmingham with his in-laws, I’m sure. (Or maybe I can be bribed to bring to Linda’s on Saturday? Any takers?) Decisions, Decisions? If you have a suggestion, send it along. I’m open to everything.

Black Friday? Are you ready?

Well, thanks to Blackfriday.com, I have started to map out my shopping for next Friday. Looks like the same as last year, with few exceptions.

First stop, Macy’s, they open at 6 AM! They typically have their Xmas shop 50% off from 6-8, and that’s always the first place I hit. I’ll hit a few of the doorbusters in housewares, as well, for family gifts.

If I have time, I may hit a few more stores, specifically Children’s Place, they usually do a big 40% off sale that day too. But I got to watch my time? Why? Because next stop is....

RUBAN ROUGE! 50, I said 50!!!! Percent off between 8 and 10 am! YES I AM SHOUTING, THAT IS WAY EXCITING!!!! Also, if you spend $100, FREE QUICKUTS!!!! I don’t even have any Quickcuts, but if I get there on time, I may start now!!! WHOOOPEEEEEE!!!!! Can you believe that? Okay, I’m hyperventilating now...

I’m sure I’ll meet up with some of you girls and then, on to the next few stores. Probably Target and Kohl’s, depending on the ads. Target is an annual stop, always gotta get their toy deals. This is the first year for Kohl’s. I’ll be looking for clothes mostly for the kids and for me, and maybe a few holiday things.

And that will round out my shopping day! I’m usually done by noon. Yeah, really, noon. Ask DH! The rest of the day will consist of eating leftovers, napping, and then setting up the Xmas tree and opening up all the ornament boxes.

I will list a few places I will NOT touch with a ten-foot pole. Wal-Mart! Those women are crazy and the stuff they push is crap. Best Buy! Unless it’s something DH really, really wants, that line is wayyyy too long. Forgettaboutit!!!! Toys R US! Same as Wal-Mart, I can’t see them having anything I can’t get on a normal day at Target or Wal-Mart.

Pathetic, I know. But I live for this. Why? Who knows? An obsession, I guess. If you know me, you know I almost never pay full price for ANYTHING!!! Big Ticket, Small Ticket, doesn’t matter, the thrill is in the hunt.

It takes a good attitude, comfortable shoes and a lot of caffeine, but Black Friday CAN be DONE!! :)

How was your weekend?

Ah, it’s Monday again. Where did the weekend go? Heck, where did this month go? Less than 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, AKKK!!!

Friday nite was Drunco at Dawn’s house. That was fun. We had those bucket o’ Margaritas. Those were really good. I’m sad, though, my pal Monica might be moving to Atlanta, because of work issues. We’ll probably know in a few weeks. That’s a bummer.

This was also a power shopping weekend. Saturday was the monthly Wal-Mart stock-up trip. The place was a zoo. And it was all DH’s fault, LOL! I waited for him to get up to see if he was going to with me or not. By the time he did, it was 11am, and the place was a freakin’ madhouse!!! I would have much wanted to get there by 8 and avoid the crowd, but that was not to be. So, $120 later, and what the heck did I buy? Food, of course, stocked up for the next week or so, anyway. Cleaning stuff, Swiffer pads, a few magazines always seem to end up in the cart. The Vanilla Spice eggnog is back too!!! That stuff is liquid crack, let me tell ya. I wish it were out all year round. Land O’Lakes makes it and the last few years, I’ve only been able to find it at Wal-Mart.

Then BE was on QVC and they had the TSV. Did you get all that? Hahaha! I bought the Today’s Special Value (which was on Easy-Pay, darn them!), with all new colors, the foundation primer (also on Easy-Pay) and a new eyeshadow compact. More on-line shopping, as I got an email from NY&CO with a 60% clearance sale, and I found a $30 off coupon code on-line. Hopefully most of it fits, but I’ve had good luck with them in the past. They sell bigger sizes and in Petite, which helps, since I have such short legs.

Sunday I went to the new Michael’s grand opening. Nice store, seems smaller than the New Tampa store, though. Nothing to write home about, but I did manage to do some damage with the 25% coupon. Got some “doorbusters” (tea lights 99 cents a bag, photo boxes 4 for $5, foam brushes 20 for a buck). Got some of the new K& Co stuff that’s out, too. Pretty. A few Christmas thingies. Fun, fun.

Next stop, RR. For being there about an hour, I sure did some major damage. Mostly new Making Memories, and Queen & Co. Some Christmas stuff. Some secret pal stuff, oh, wouldn’t like to know what. But I’m not tellin’! Nope, not me. Brought home lunch from Q’s pizza and chilled the rest of the day (with a little ironing here and there).

Might run by Bed Bath and Beyond tonite. I’m attempting to make over my pantry, and wanted to pick up a few little gadgets, but I might wait until payday Friday, I’m in no rush.

Well, hope this is a good week for everyone. See ya soon!

thought I'd share a few pics

Elvis has not left the building!!! Unfortunately, he left his sideburns at home. Not exactly sure what DH was trying to be. Something like a pimp, I think. "Elvis" thought it was a cowboy hat. LOL! I'll have to scan the portrait I got in the full regalia.

And a few witches (without hats, hey isn't that a band?) with their ill-gotten booty. Or is it their ill-booten gotty? No matter...

Seems one witch has decided she doesn't like the camera. I thought I'd have a few more years, before dealing with this? Parents, what do you do with uncooperatives like this one?

Ah, well! Yes, I'm still sniffling, btw. GRRRR! Wish it would just go away. Just counting down until the weekend, YAY!! Might go to RR this weekend, DH has been craving pizza from the Q. Give me a chance to do some more secret pal shopping! Weeeee! I never did get my gift card from the big sale? Think they'll still give it to me? Won't hurt to ask, right?

By the way, I'm doing a Pampered Chef Catalog Show, with Jules's lovely daughter Kristin. So, if you need any stuff, let me know, and I'll order it for you. Here is her website: http://www.pamperedchef.biz/kristenowens

We haven't played a round of "what's on my IPod lately", so let's just do a random and see what comes up..."Yahweh" by U2, from their last album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." This is a good album, they tried to recapture some of their early days and got away from the Techno thing they were doing in the mid-late 90's. And that's your musical nugget for today! :)

I knew it, I knew it

I knew I was getting sick. I’ve had a sinus headache for four days now, with no end in sight. I’m so drained. Has to be the weather. Every time the weather changes, I come down with it. So, I’m muscling through that right now.

Worked around the house this weekend. Finished laundry, mopped the floors, you know, fun stuff like that. Didn’t even watch any good movies, either. Well, that’s not true, I did watch The Maltese Falcon for the 1000th time. You can never watch the classics too many times, I say. “It’s the stuff that dreams are made of”. Okay, enough with my bad Bogie imitation.

Got caught up on all my other shows, except for Private Practice, which I’ll watch this evening. I think I’m done with CSI, by the way. The storylines are just wayyyyy too out there, and unrealistic. Okay, yes, I know, CSI has never been one for realism, but they have just gone way over the top for me.

What the heck happened to the Bulls? Were they just a flash in the pan? A fluke? Too bad. But on to the Gators, who won their Homecoming Game, rather convincingly. There’s hope yet, especially is Tennessee looses. And the Bucs are 5-4, that’s good too.

I’m with Kip, I don’t dig the time change. I’d rather it be Daylight Savings Time all year. I like being out in the sun. Don’t dig driving home in the dark at all, and I’ll have to that tonite, since I have a project to finish and have to stop at the mall (which I’ve put off all weekend.)

I've been thinking about Christmas cards. Okay, haven't done anything, but that's a step in the right direction, don't ya think? Well, I'm gonna start putting my ideas together and get a move on that. I usually end up with about 100 cards. I decided not to do drunco cards this year. Out of 20 cards, I think I got one back. So, that will save me.

All right, back to work now. I'm getting ready for my year end, always a busy time. Fun, fun!

Happy Halloween!!!

I know, I know, I’m a slacker. Sorry about that. Work has been a bear. Busy, busy, busy. It seems that everything has come in at once.

What are everyone’s Halloween plans? I’m going over the SIL’s to trick or treat with the kids. Should be fun. I’m make sure to post some pics this week.

I watched Charlie Brown last nite and then went right to sleep. I hope I’m not coming down with something, but I have been so tired the last few days. When I sleep like that, that usually means a bug is coming. Probably because of the weather. All this rain and dampness.

One think I am looking forward to is Dawn’s new challenge blog. It starts tomorrow and I’m going to sit down and make myself do it this weekend. It should be fun.

My buddy, Eric had his birthday yesterday. He brought us his leftover chocolate cake. It’s sitting in the kitchen, calling my name. I think I may have to go answer the call.

Here’s sending some good thoughts out to Kip. I hope the docs can help out your back. I hate to hear that you are suffering.

Well, I think I’ll put on some Monster Mash and try and get through the day. Don’t eat too much candy!

Hello World

Well, got to say, this weekend was pretty boring. I spent most of the weekend, playing catch-up and got most of it done. Did almost all of the house cleaning. Just have to finish dusting and mopping. Fun! Put away most of the stuff in my room, and even got DH to hang my Heidi canvas.

Caught up on my TV watching. You know, I don’t care what they say about ER, it’s still a great show. I still don’t tire of it, even with the change of characters and such. Heck, even Archie has grown on me. And my Luka comes back. Yay!!! (swoon, swoon).

I tried to watch that Viva Laughlin show. I think it’s an okay show. But you got to get rid of that break out into song crap. The show totally doesn’t need it, and you are turning off more viewers I think. So that one gets a pass.

And what do you think about the new "Women's Murder Club"? The first episode was so/so, but the second one was a lot better. I'm taking a wait and see with that one. I have a feeling it will be good.

Heck, even CSI was pretty good last week. The premise was a little hokie, but they played it out well. I’m still sick of the Sara/Grissom thing, but it was only one scene, really. Even the annoying new girl wasn’t as annoying.

Watched a lot of football. Bummed that the Bulls had to drop so far in the polls, but if they run the table, they still may have a chance. I think anyone does. And I think Ohio State’s going to fall sooner or later. Go Gators!! Great game that was. Lots of excitement. And what happened to the Bucs? Wasn’t that sad? They had every opportunity to win and blew it. I hope it doesn’t come back to bite them in the end.

Oh, I went to the HomeGoods grand opening on Sunday. Neat store, I like it a lot. Spent about $70, mostly little odds and ends. A few picture frames, some cutting boards, some Christmas-y things. But seeing as it is owned by TJ Maxx, I give it six weeks to look like a dump. If it doesn’t I will be pleasantly surprised. But I’m at the point where I don’t even shop at Ross or TJ Maxx anymore because the stores all look like a bomb went off in them, you can never find what you want. When I worked at Marshalls back in the day (which is now owned by TJ Maxx as well) we were not allowed to leave that store until it was in cleaned up. I remember a few late nites during our grand opening week. (10 or 11 pm, when the store closed at 9:00). How’s that saying go: Good help is hard to find nowadays.

Well, back to the salt mines. Let’s see how long this week drags on. (Aren’t they all, until the weekend?)

The fun is over...for now!

Creepover was a blast. Let me tell you. Linda and her girls outdid themselves once again. I have so much fun when I’m with them. I love it.

Here’s a pic of the pumpkin I made for the contest. I know it’s not much, but I’m kinda proud of it. I usually don’t do contests. It’s hard for me to think outside of the box, I’m more of a scraplifter/copier. So this was a little out of the comfort zone for me. The pumpkin contest was awesome, by the way. So, so much talent in our little group.

Speaking of talent, check out Jules’s blog for Dawn’s acrylic boards that she made. Aren’t they cool? I am definitely scraplifting those! I have to run to Ross today to return a few things, and what a coinky-dink, there’s a Staples right next door.  Props to Jules, too, for making her submit them. Dawn does awesome work, it deserves to be shown to the world.

Of course, today I’m back to the real world. I’m exhausted, of course. But all my Dec. 31 clients have been filed. YAY!!! Tomorrow, we’re having an end-of-season/Bosses Day/Celebratory luncheon and then get to go home early. That’s cool. Oh, and I won $5 on Lotto last week. But divided by 6 people, I won 83 cents. Oops. Well, we’re just going to reinvest our winnings for this week’s drawing.

I tried to start my diet again today too. But wouldn’t you know it, someone had to bring in chocolate cake? How dare them. It was too yummy, so I had to have a small piece of course. Oh well.

Well, here is the link to pics that Cathie M. took. Aren’t they a hoot?

Hey Linda, I wonder if “Ford” ever found his date at the Hard Rock? LOL!!

From Jules

My friend, Jules tagged me and here is how this works.
The rules are as follows:
1) Link to the "tagger" & post the rules.
2) Share 7 facts about yourself- random / weird facts.
3) Tag 7 people & link to them.
4) Leave comments on their blogs, so they know they've been tagged.

So, if I tag you.....follow those rules!!!!!

1. http://postingfromparadise.blogspot.com/

1) I was a preemie baby, born at 32 weeks.
2) I am collecting Monopoly pieces from McD's! :)
3) I've never ridden a bicycle
4) I still have my teddy bear from when my first Christmas. Sometimes, he even sleeps with me.
5) I got a zero on my biology test once, because I got caught with crib notes.
6) I cannot whistle
7) I had to have four permanent teeth (not including wisdom teeth) pulled because my mouth is too small. (In size, not in volume!)

I tag...everyone who's not been tagged. (heck, do I even know 7 people???)

Pics from the weekend.

Okay, here are the boys with their first birthday cake! Of course, this is the time Z decides to have a meltdown, LOL!


Here they are riding around on the scooters that I bought for them. They loved them. The Mickey one has a propellor that lights up. Lots of fun.

Now, I know Miss Linda loves babies, so I have plenty of baby pictures for her. This little one belongs to my friend Barbie. Her name is Sabrina Rose. And she looks just like her mama, I might add!

Here's Tom with Axel. He's learning to say a new word: DUDE!!!!! A boy after my own heart!



This is Maya, she belongs to Joelle's cousin PJ. PJ was pregnant with her when I got married. Man, time does fly. Did I mention that PJ married a doctor? A very gorgeous one? Yeah, sigh!



This is our pal Monte, with Noah. He is a cutie, I love him! He is a neat kid, let me tell ya. And I LOVE that hair. It's gorgeous!!!


Oh, and here are one of those famous cakes I told you about. Joelle's nieces also have birthdays this week (the 8th and the 10th), so they had a little celebration as well. And yes, the cake tasted as good as it looked. Don't ya love the color?

Well, have fun with the pics folks!

Good Morning

Awww...what a nice weekend I had. Sure, it probably would have been nicer to meet TIM!!! But it was a good one all the same.

I’ll try to upload some pics tonite for you all to see. I tried to do it yesterday morning before I got back, but couldn’t figure out how to do it. Let me just say, I do not like Windows Vista. I dread the day I need to buy a new computer because I just don’t want it!!!

The party was great, the kids were awesome, and saw A LOT of the old gang. And then afterwards a bunch of us hung out at Tracy and Tom’s to watch the game. That was NOT fun. Okay, well the hanging out part was. But the game wasn’t.

Had some great Haitian food at the party, and my favorite cake from the Haitian bakery. Now, I know a lot of you are not familiar with Haitian cake, but it is very dense, similar to a pound cake, with some extra spices and a hint of lemon. And the frosting is very light and not overly sweet. YUMMMO!!!! I have no idea where in Tampa to get anything like this, so when I do get it, it is a special treat!

Got a few hours in walking around Sawgrass before I got home. I got a Fossil watch for $20! And a few things from the Gap Outlet. Also got DH some stuff, too, as the VF Factory outlet always carries big sizes. I got him some jeans for $14 and a pair of khakis for the next cruise for $12. Hope they fit, for those prices it just is not worth the drive, even to Ellenton to take them back. (Although, Ellenton has the Coach outlet, hmmm, let me think about that one...)

Still no car, btw! I got into it with the body shop guy on Friday and made them upgrade me to another SUV (for no extra charge). I’m driving a Honda Pilot, which is okay. Don’t get me wrong, I like Honda, the engines are really good. But they are skimpy on the extras. I didn’t even have an input jack for my MP3 player. Yeah, I know, I’m spoiled. They say I’ll get my car back today, but I’ve been hearing that every day since Tuesday.

Well, I’ll post more, when I have more photos. It’s so much fun to see everyone and all their kids.

Happy Birthday to you!!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy First Birthday to Stephan and Zavier!!!
Happy Birthday to you!

Has it been a year already? It does not seem possible that the little buggers are a year old, now does it? I’ll be heading down to So. Fla. Tomorrow for their first birthday party. I haven’t seen them since July, so I am sure they are getting bigger and bigger. Can’t wait!

Today is Teri’s birthday, as well, so a shout out to her. Hope you get everything you want, girl!

I actually made it past 9:00 last nite, believe it or not. I didn’t fall asleep until about 9:15-9:30. I was recording Private Practice, and my DVR went crazy on me, not sure why, so I hope it recorded okay. Guess I’ll find out.

Speaking of TV’s, DH is determined to go buy us a new TV while I’m gone this weekend. There’s a Sony HD that’s marked down to $899, and then another 10% coupon off of that. I’m not real happy about it, as I just spent $500+ on my car, and I was HOPING to re-tile the kitchen/sunroom/entryway by year end. But it’s his money he’s spending, so what can I do? And unless Charlie does something about these ridiculous Property Tax proposals soon, we’ll be in this little (emphasis on little) house for a long time. Sigh!

Hoping to get my car back today. It was supposed to go into the paint shop either late Tuesday or early yesterday morning. Fingers crossed it was the latter, because I can’t take this stupid Dodge one more day. EEK!!!

Oh, Melody ate a moth this morning. Niiiiceee!! Guess she needed some protein. I saw her taking big swigs of water this morning, also. Must have been salty.

And I leave you with this, a Thursday edition of “Kids Say the Darnedest Things”:
Overheard at Nana’s house:

Madison: Faxon has hair on his butt.
Nana: Oh, Madison, you shouldn’t say that, that’s not nice.
Faxon: That’s okay, my daddy has hair on his peepee!

Not Cadillac, anyone but Cadillac

Poor guy, they are saying this is probably a career-ending injury. I really like him, too. And then there was another knee injury to Pettigrew. Looks like just a sprain, but he’ll probably be out for the season. Man, that sucks!!!! But who would have thought the Bucs would be 3-1???? I told DH after last weeks game that this is a team of destiny. There is so much going on this season that just reminds me of the Gators last season (but NOT this season, I might add), that makes me think that this is the year!!!

And if you had told me that USF would be ranked HIGHER in the AP poll than UF, I would have laughed in your face. Can you believe that??? They look incredible too. I’m really impressed by them, they have come such a long way in such a short time.

Well, this weekend I played a lot of catch-up (and still am not caught up, LOL!) I didn’t get to the bathrooms, the computer room looks like a dumping ground, and I still have a rack of laundry to iron. Ah, well, this too shall pass.

I got caught up on Premier Week. In a nutshell:

Heroes: Looks good so far, what the heck happened to Peter, though? And I’m not sure what Hiro is doing in the past has anything, but we’ll see.

K’ville: Eh, lame. Like the New Orleans/Katrina tie in, but just looked like another cop show to me. I’ll pass.

Cane: Oh MY GOD!!! Love this!!!!!! This one has great potential! A lot of stuff coming up. Can’t wait.

Back to You: The surprise of the season. I had pretty much given up the sitcom genre for dead. But this show really made me LOL!!! Not an easy task. I’ve always been a Kelsey Grammer fan, so I’m pulling for it, although, the wussy news director kid somewhat annoys me.

Private Practice: Eh, I’m 50/50 on this one. I love Addison, but I am just not sure she belongs here. And I’m not yet feeling the connection with the other characters. I’ll give this one a few weeks.

Grey’s Anatomy: This one was okay. What the hell was up with the deer story? And do we really need another Mere clone? We’ll have to see.

CSI:LV: Not bad. The story went well. I will say one thing. You know, I’ve been to Vegas (and more recently to AZ), and it rarely, if ever rains. If they get one inch, pretty much the whole city shuts down. But it rains all the FREAKIN’ time on this show. Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s CSI, just got to suspend your belief when you watch that show.
ER: Classic ER episode. Seems like they are sticking to the same formula. Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Where’s Luka, though, I needed my eye candy???? Also, I wouldn’t want to work in that ER, because surely, somewhere, somehow, you WILL end up being the patient.

I’m also going to check our Dirty, Sexy Money with Donald Sutherland this week too. I missed the premiere and heard such good things, so I’m going to TIVO that one too. I also made it to part 5 of The War last nite, but fell asleep, so I’ll catch up on that throughout the week as well.

Well, here’s hoping to a good week. GO Bucs!!!!!

What day is it?

Hi all! Sorry to say, this week has been a blur!! I’ve had this stomach thing all week, and have felt pretty yucky. I started Monday afternoon, puking my guts out. I had to have the Dr. call something in, as I couldn’t keep anything down. Yesterday was the first day I actually worked a full day!

Haven’t watched any of the new season shows yet, I’ve been going to bed before 8:30-9:00 this week. My TIVO is getting mightily full, looks like I have a lot to catch up on this weekend.

One thing I have been watching is this documentary on PBS. Very poignant, very graphic, and very, very real. Personally, I think it should be every history teacher should be showing it to his/her class.

Nice Weekend.

Ah, Monday. Hard to get into my groove today. I am getting some work done, making up for being out on Friday. But that’s okay. It ended up being a really great weekend, all things considering.

Friday, I went to Target. Look at these cute shoes!!! Aren’t they cool? I love them. They’ll look great in sweater weather!

And I found this cool martini shaker. It looks like this. But, the outside is black, with this silver glitter in it, it is too cool! I found it in the Halloween section, if you can believe that!

I went over to Shirley’s Friday night, and had a few (okay, five) quality adult beverages, and some munchies. That was fun! I needed to let loose a little.

I spent Saturday all day at Linda’s, cropping. What a blast. I love hanging out at her house, it was very back to the basics crop. She made sure we were well fed, of course, and for dinner, we walked down to Luptons. I love them. They have the best mashed potatoes! Made DH very jealous!!!! He loves them, too.

I got a lot done too. Worked on my CE projects. Did my go-ahead tags, painted my purse album, and put it all together, and did my Rhonna album. That took me almost all night, but it is completely finished. I had to ad-lib a few spots, and re-did the cover, but it came out really good, I think. When I get it out of my bag, I’ll show you a picture.

We sang Happy Birthday to Taylor at midnite, he turned 13. What a great kid. Not many 13 year olds would hang out with us old ladies, but he did. He really is a neat kid, and his mama and daddy have done a great job. Very sweet.

The Gators won, the Bulls won, and man, did the Bucs ever win!!! Yeehaw!! Yesterday, I ran up to Michael’s, got a little soldering iron with my coupon, and a few bottles of paint and ribbon (mostly from the dollar section). Rest of the day, I spent finishing the laundry, and putting dinner in a crockpot. I took a nap, too.

Song of the Day: I’m on a Red Hot Chili Peppers kick today, and the song currently playing is Suck My Kiss.

My New Girl Crush...

is Jamie the insurance adjuster. Remember the girl with the manatees? Well picture her with longer hair and less tattoos. Well, she might have had the same number of tattoos, she had pants on, so who knows.

Well, anyway, I met with Jamie this morning. She looked everything over, explained the process. The big issue was over the rear quarter panel. It needed to be replaced and there was a question as to whether a used one could be located or not. If not, and a new one had to be ordered, they were going to total out the car, as it had too many miles and would cost too much at that point. Well, that did not make me a happy camper. It took everything not to break down in tears when I thought my beloved car might be put out to pasture.

Well, then I had to go round and round with Enterprise Rent-a-Car. When I spoke to the Geico agent last night, she said I would get something similar to a Dodge Stratus or a Pontiac G6. So, I was not at all pleased when they showed up with a Nissan Sentra. Now, you tell me, how is a 6'4' 285 lb. guy going to squeeze into a Sentra. So, I went round and round with Geico, and then round and round with Enterprise because they kept telling me they had no other cars available. You mean to tell me in all the gazillion Enterprise offices in the bay area, NO ONE had a mid-size sedan???? Well, I made it to International Mall by this time, and the one across the street found a Dodge Avenger for me. It will cost me an extra $3 a day out of pocket, but it's worth it not to feel like I'm in a tin can.

So, just a little bit ago, Jamie called. They found a quarter panel. Hooray!!! It will take them approx. 12 days to fix, and will cost $3600+, but I only owe the $500 deductible, of course, and then I get my car back. That makes me happy!!!

I'm actually hoping they can stretch it out just a few more days, so I can drive the rental to Ft. Lauderdale. It would save me extra mileage on the truck, and possibly be cheaper to fill up. But I'll be happy either way. At least life isn't on hold right now.

Well, off to Target. YAY!!!

My car!!! My beautiful car!!!!

Yep, that's my car alright. Nice, isn't it. And it was my own damn fault, too!!!

I was near the clusterfuck, er, intersection of Kennedy and Westshore in front of the mall last night. Anyone who has been in that area during rush hour can attest to how bad it can be, the light cycles are completely messed up, cars from all four directions in the intersections at the same time, because of the insane light timing, among other things.

I was in the center lane, behind a big lawn trailer, in the intersection in front of Sears, when the light changed to red. I looked to my left, and it was clear, and went to go around the trailer. I thought I had enough room to clear him, but I obviously misjudged it. I tore off my mirror, dented in the door and rear quarter panel to where I don't know if the door will open, there's a huge scrape on the whole side of the car, and the power window won't go done smoothly.

There was no damage at all to the trailer, and the guy was fine with it, so we didn't see a need to exchange information, and he went on his way.

Yep, I fucked it up good this time! I'm fine physically, just beating myself up, that's all. Oh, well, that's what insurance is for. Wave bye-bye to my $500 deductible and my good driver discount. I actually have an appointment this morning at the Geico Rapid Claims Center, where they will look everything over and hook me up with a rental car. Oh, joy.

Well, hopefully, this will be a much better day, right?

So much to do, so little time.

Busy, busy, busy. Got lots of running around to do today and tonight. I was trying to print out pictures last nite, for Stephan and Zavier’s first birthday. I’m making them mini-albums. Of course, half way through, my printer runs out of ink. And wouldn’t you know it, it’s the one color I don’t have. So, I’m off to Office Depot at lunch to pick up those. I’d like to work on it at Hilltop on Saturday, if I can get the paper picked out and matched up, but I don’t see that happening. I may just work on my CE projects instead. We’ll see.

I’ll make a trip to the mall on the way home to get my nails and eyebrows done. Both are long overdue. I also have a Yankee Candle coupon that’s burning a hole in my pocket. Speaking of candles, someone here is having a Partylite show. I’m such a sucker for them. They are so danged expensive, too!!! Southern Living, too. I always think, we’ll I’m buying something I’ll keep forever, which is true. I should have a party. At least I can get some sort of a discount, right? Which one should I have?

I also have to run to Target. Need snacks and little things, you know. I’m out of spray starch. Hell, I never finished the laundry I started on Sunday. It will probably get finished THIS Sunday. Ahhh!!! Not enough hours in the day I tell ya. This work thing really gets in the way.

I was thinking of a new feature: What’s playing on Ipod right now? The only flaw I see is, what if it’s early in the day and I’m still listening to MJ? Or it’s on the weekend, when I have the TV on? Oh, well, we’ll give it a try:

The song that just came up? It’s an oldie, from the R&B category: Soulful Strut by Young Hold Unlimited. Okay, your turn. What are YOU listening too.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Tiny Explorer

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Cookies-N-Cream Chocolate Chip

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) MBul

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Purple Kitty

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Elisabeth Cincinatti

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) Bulma

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The”) The Blue Daiquiri

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) John Charles

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Safari Snickers

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Ellen A. (mine was only a middle initial, no name)

Buccaneers, Buddy!!!!

How about them Bucs??? Was that a great game or what? Our D really played their butts off!!!

Have you checked out 2P’s new format? I have. It stinks. The messages seem all jumbled and scrunched together and the type is way too small. I think my posting time over there will be at a minimum. Ah well.

Happy Birthday shout out to Miami Dawn. Hope it’s the bestest to you. YAY!!!!

Now, I’ll finish my CE account, because I’m sure you are at the edge of your seats. (Okay, maybe not).

The day started out just like the first with breakfast. Our first class was Cris’s soldering class. I really didn’t know what to expect out of this. It turned out to be a lot of fun. We actually learned something new, a shocker I know!!! Cris is very talented, and was a great teacher, and she had slides and videos playing in the background the whole time. We really liked it.

Next was Jennifer. I liked the project, it was a Creative Imaginations purse and album. It was somewhat simple, but not overly so, like Heidi-Lyn’s class. The biggest problem was they cut the die-cuts wrong and there was too much white showing. The pages did not fit properly. I will have to add some paint or something to make it look presentable. Bummer.

We had the same lunch as yesterday, and then went to our last class which was Heidi’s. I gotta admit, she really pulled it all together in this class. It was a memory board to hang up and display items on, using canvas. It was a really neat project, and Heidi’s husband walked around and made sure everyone was doing okay. I really enjoyed the project, and can’t wait to finish it. My only drawback was I should have done what Jules did and made it another color, instead of green, but I’m sure I’ll do something with it, maybe even make a gift out of it, and then make myself another one in more pastel colors.

After class, I headed up to the pool and Kip, Jules and Janet joined me for a drink. Kip, Jules and I floated down the lazy river, which was fun, but unfortunately, the inner tubes were not plus-size, LOL! So went back to the pool by their room and hung out until it was time for dinner.

Let me say, I was a purple girl in a pink world. Pink, pink and more pink everywhere. All the Heidi wannabes (The Pink Posse, I called them) were covered head to toe to look just like her. They even gave everyone little polka-dot scarves to wear...JUST LIKE HEIDI!!!! OY!! I actually wore my scarf to rib on Kip some, and Jules said “You look like fuckin’ Mickey Mouse”. ROFL!!!! That was the funny moment of the weekend.

Dinner was very nice. Baked chicken, vegetables, salad, mashed potatoes. But the best part was they served dessert first. How funny was that? It was based on the theme of the weekend to live life at its fullest.

The evening ended with door prizes, a slide show and then the key-note speaker, Alison Tyler-Jones. She was awesome. A great speaker, very motivational, and funny. I loved it. Her pictures were awesome as well. It was a great way to wrap up the weekend. Afterwards, our gang took pictures in the fountain, and laughed and hugged. We then went up to the room, I finished my packing and read for a little while, the other girls worked on some projects. I tried to stay up all nite, but could only stay up until around 1am, and then woke up at 4am to get ready to leave.

On a scale of 1-10, I would give the weekend a 7.5. There were some disappointments with some of the classes, and other issues, but the best part was being there with my girlfriends. They were the bestest, and the made it a great time. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Daah, di da duh da da...

Go Gators!!! What a great game, wasn't it? An even better game? The FSU game. Yes, I'm mean, hahaha!!!

Ah, well, I promised to give you more about CE and here is my next day run down.

We got over to have breakfast (Yummy Breakfast Burritos and Muffins) and then off to our first class. The first class was Lesli's card class. It was okay, I learned some new folds and the cards were pretty. But as the others said, it was nothing that couldn't be learned at, say, a Stampin' Up or CTMH class. And Lesli's voice was a little grating at 8 am, and she seemed very scatter brained. At the time, I chocked it up to early morning jitters. Now, not so much.

Next was Rhonna's class. This class was highly anticipated. We all love her stamps and thought for sure we'd learn some new techniques. We stamped. And we stamped. And we stamped some more. And that was it the class was over. That's it???? Seriously??? Yeah, seriously. Rhonna just talked about her 21 day challenge and all we did was listen and stamp. What a huge disappointment.

So, off to lunch we went. They gave us boxed lunches, tea and lemonade. They were pretty good. I got to give them props for one thing, we had sodas in every class, which really came in handy for a caffeine fix. Well, at this point, the afternoon had to get better, right? Wrong!!!!

Next came, Heidi Lyn's class. Mr. Bazzill's daughter. To say that this was a beginner's class was an understatement. For a high class event that touted the best of the best, this class was a joke, pure and simple. And to add insult to injury this was a calendar class. You know, 12 months in a year. We were given 5 months in class and the opportunity to BUY the other 7 months at around $7.00 a piece. Isn't that great? NO, it's not great. It's nickel and diming at it's best. At this point, Creative Escape had left a very bad taste in our mouths.

Thank goodness for Traci's class. It was awesome. We made an album out of a poly-pocket-file thing that you can buy at any Office Depot. It was different, it was unique. It was what EVERY class should have been like. Traci was low-key, patient, and explained everything to us. She was fabulous. We loved it.

At dinner, we had a Mexican buffet. Now, you know I can eat Mexican every day if I could. So, they made sure we had plenty of it. Yum!!! Then we had the Friday Extravaganza. We basically took Heidi's playing card set, and a different teacher came in for 15 minutes and showed us how to make a card out of it. Very cool project. The cards were based on questions about ourselves that Heidi found in a book she had read. (Said book can be purchased from the store, btw. More nickeling and diming!) We liked this very much, but unfortunately had to leave early, as the room a/c was not working properly.

Afterwards, we went back to the Hole in the Wall for some drinks and some snacks and to debrief about the day. We shut the place down. (Okay, so it was only 11, but hey!) We went back to our room, laughed and hung out a little more, and then off to bed, to get ready for the next full day.