Stole this from Traci who stole it from someone....

A little A to Z all about me

Accent: I don't know... I don't think I have an accent, but I do live in MD...
Booze of Choice: Let's see... Lately, it's been citrus vodka, frangelico shots...
Chore I Hate: Washing dishes and I have a dishwasher... it just needs a new pump.
Dog or Cat: Both. One dog. Two cats.
Essential Electronics: My computer.
Favorite Perfume: None... they all give me killer headaches.
Gold or Silver: Silver
Hometown: I was born in Joliet Illinois, moved to MD when I was almost 12, been here since. This is now home.
Insomnia: Only when I was pregnant.
Job Title: Admin Asst.
Kids: Three. Wouldn't trade them for anything... go ahead, make me an offer. ;)
Living Arrangement: With hubby, the 3 kids, the dog, the cats, a couple of hermit crabs.
Most Admired Trait: The trait that I admire most in people is strength to fac difficulties... I would much rather hide under the covers and let someone else handle the hard stuff.
Number of Sexual Partners: Was I supposed to keep track?! No one told me that...
Overnight Hospital Stays: Only for birthin' my babies.
Phobia: I'm claustrophobic... put my hand thru a garage door window once when my older brother closed the door and I was inside.
Quote: "What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us." -- Emerson
Religion: Baptised and raised Catholic. Now I'm a Lutheran.
Siblings: Three brothers, 1 older, 2 younger.
Time I Wake Up: on work days, the alarm goes off at 5:40, I roll out of bed at 6:15ish. On Saturday, I'm usually up about 8:30-9 on Sunday, at 7:10 for church.
Unusual Talent/Skill: If procrastination is a talent, that's mine!
Vegetable I Refuse To Eat: Cabbage... unless it's on a Rueben sandwich, in cole slaw or a stuffed cabbage roll. Other than that, no way.
Worst Habit: See unusual talent-above.
X-rays: One... when I fell and sprained my ankle.
Yummy Foods I Make: My latest accomplishment is Pork Chops Italiano. MIL's recipe, and hubby said it was as good as hers.
Zodiac Sign: Taurus

This was fun... you can steal it from me to play!

The world didn't end...

Actually, Kay called on the way home from school, and said that she wants to leave her hair the color it is. Everyone liked it. Go figure... we went from her wanting to shave her head, to her being happy that it's the way it is.

Well, at least that's the impression she gives. I noticed that she used the regular shampoo and conditioner again (not the stuff for color treated hair) hoping to lighten it some more. I think once she gets used to it, it will be fine.

On the splinter front... it's still there, and it still hurts, but I've been using drawing salve on it, and it seems to be coming out some. Good thing my nails grow fast. I've seen pictures online of how they remove them from under the nail, and I don't think I want to do that... they cut a V shape in your nail, take that piece out, then take out the splinter... nope. I don't think so. I'll just let it do it's thing... if it gets really nasty infected, then I might think about it.

In other news, Kyle has a really loose tooth. His first. Yesterday, he only wanted soft food for lunch... didn't want to have it come out. Today, I was packing his lunch and he wanted all hard stuff, so that it would come out. I let him know, that he just needed to be patient, and when it was ready, it would happen. Just in case, I told him that if it happened at school, to make sure to let the teacher know, so that she could put it in a little "tooth keeper" box for him to bring it home. He wants to not put it under his pillow. He wants to save all his teeth, until they all fall out, then he's going to put them under his pillow and the tooth fairy can leave him lots of money at one time. Where does he come up with this stuff?

Can you say ouch?

While rooting in the linen closet for some hair conditioner... see hair dye post... I thought I hit one of the shelf supports and bent my nail back... I look at it, and there's a little mark on the nail, no biggie, but boy did that hurt! So I go to do the dishes a couple mins later and realize that it STILL hurts, and that the smudge on my nail isn't a smudge, it's a splinter... in the nail bed under the nail... hurts like a, well you know... so, I call hubby... and then I'm crying cause it hurts and I'm trying to explain it to him. I have cut my nail as short as I can, I did the dishes hoping that would draw it out some... I figure I'll just keep an eye on it and if it gets infected, and the nail falls off, that's one way to get it out.... hubby's suggestion, get it out with a pin... I don't think so. Ouch, ouch, OUCH!

Adventures in hair dye...

You know, you would think I would learn... You would think SHE would learn! So... her old dye job that was orange was finally dyed to be a more normal color. Then it started growing out. So, now she has lighter hair and about 2 inches of roots that are darker. She goes to the store with my mom and buys dark brown dye. I helped her do it... for some reason, there were spots that didn't take. So, we go buy another kit, and do a touch up on the spots that didn't take, my mom calls, and says instead of doing that, just re-dye everything... you know, when you reach a certain age, you shouldn't listen to everything your momma says. Her hair is now black. Yep... not dark brown... black. So of course, now I have a teary 16 yo who says she isn't going to go school with her hair like that... Ummm yes you are. To think this all started about 6 months ago when she wanted to be blonde... sheesh... all she wanted was her natural color back. I don't even remember what that color is anymore.

WOO HOO! It's friday!

I didn't think it would ever get here! For some reason it has been a long week. Been busy at work, but I've got a lot of stuff done... especially that day when Traci wasn't around to keep interrupting me... hehehe... like I really need help to goof off.

I think I'm going to go home and have myself a drink... something a little stronger than iced tea. We'd all been passing this stupid cold around, (Cherie, Maya sounds like she had what we've all had... ) so I want to just go home and relax, maybe watch a movie, and split a bottle of wine with the hubby. Sounds like a plan to me.

Oh, on the jello legs front... last night, hubby goes down to ride the bike, and he's back upstairs in about 3 mins it seems... he said the seat on the bike could be hazardous to "the Boys" health... I about fell over laughing! So, a little later, I went down to take a ride, and he had messed with the gears... I felt like I was pedaling thru tar! My legs were screaming after only 2 mins... I stuck it out for about 5, but thought I was gonna die! I might drop it back a bit... that was too much like a work out... LOL!

Oh, one more thing, what is it with these huge blow-out sweet 16 parties? Kay got another invite for one... they've rented a hall, are having it catered by the hall, and for what?! WHat's the big deal about your 16th birthday? It's not like it's some big life changing year... she's not turning 18, 21 or one of the other biggies... 30, 40, 50, you get the idea. Why do they insist on doing this? I guess I'm just annoyed because while I would have loved to have done that for her, I couldn't afford it. We can't swing driver's ed right now either... ($400 for someone to teach her how to drive! Even if she waits until she's 35, she still has to take driver's ed... and you know, teen accident rates haven't really dropped any... sheesh, what a scam.) I just might succeed in my goal to be the topic of more than one conversation on a therapist's couch... sigh...

My legs felt like Jell-0....

And that was only after 7 mins... UGH!

So, last night, I'm in my old ratty sweats, cause I'm doing laundry, and I didn't want to have anything else dirty so I was washing the clothes I had been wearing, and I walk by the exercise bike... It's mocking me... my mini goal was to ride it at least 3 times this week.... my lazy butt hadn't even gone down the steps all week for anything else, why would I want to go down just to do that?! So, I drop the wash in and get it started and hop on that thing... well, after 5 mins my heart was pounding, I was panting like a dog in a desert in August, and I thought I had been there for hours. I made myself stay on for 2 more mins, and then when I went to get off, my legs felt like jello.... It is going to take me a while to get up to 20 mins I think... but I'll keep trying.

Readers, any suggestions on how to build up stamina faster? I mean I don't know if I should pedal slower ( I was pedaling pretty quick, I figured a leisurely ride wasn't gonna cut it.), or just gradually increase my time... or both?

Oh well... at least there is food and running water down stairs, so if I ever can't get my legs to work after a ride, I could just stay down there....

Just another day...

Today is Thursday. A Thursday like every other Thursday. Nothing exciting, nothing new. Traffic was awful this morning... so I went back home for about 40 mins then tried again, and I could get right thru.

Oh, here's something different... I'm going to pick up an exercise bike tonight. Woo Hoo! I got it off Freecycle. If you don't know what that is, you are really missing out. www.freecycling.org I love it. I've gotten rid of an old microwave, and gotten a Cardio-Glide, that we don't use, cause it doesn't feel like exercising.... I might freecycle it again.

Oh well... guess I should stop stalling and get some work done... I've been here for 5 1/2 hours and haven't really accomplished much.

Sometimes my daughter amazes me...

She is very bubbly and outgoing. She is everyone's friend, and they all love her. She almost never speaks ill of anything. And when called on to do something, she steps right up.

Today was Youth Sunday at our church and they needed someone to do the kids talk (a little mini sermon for the kids... makes it easy for them to get the lesson behind the scripture reading). She volunteered. She organized 2 other girls to do it with her. They told the story of the 3 little pigs and how it related to the the gospel lesson (Matthew 7:24-27). She was energetic, and bubbly, and the kids liked the story, and I think she liked telling it.

The other day, she was going thru her old yearbooks, and in the back of her 5th grade year book they had a list of things... you know, favorite memory, favorite teacher, what I want to be... She had teacher written down, but she put a line thru that, and had written, Pastor. What a wonderful thing. If that's what she wants to do, I think she would be very good at it. She really enjoys going to church, she enjoys doing the youth service, and enjoys talking to the littler kids.

While sitting there, watching her sharing the story of how you can have a strong and fruitful life if you build your faith on a strong foundation like Christ, my heart welled with my eyes. I was filled with an overwhelming sense of awe... Have you ever felt that for your kids? It's pretty cool.

Sometimes Girls really do rule...

Today was Kyle's Blue and Gold banquet (original date in February was snowed out). He made a cake again a little different style this time. I have to admit, I like the way this one turned out better than the last one. There were lots of cakes following the various themes... Ours was for best Banquet Theme, which was the Pinewood derby. He got the blue ribbon. THere was one that was made to look like a campground, and one that looked like a cub scout shirt. The idea was for the boys to make the cakes. Kyle did that, with little help from us. I mean I cut the cake form, but the icing was mostly him. He put the decorations on. He even mixed and baked the cake. It was a fun bonding thing for us. I was very proud of him.

He got his Tiger scout badge, and his plastic foot thingy... it has beads on it... I can't remember what it's called. You would think that I would have picked up a program... nope. Anyway... he got those, and Doug and I got a pin.

After eating yummy food, we had our Pinewood Derby. Kyle came in 3rd in his heat, and was eliminated... That was ok though, cause he was just excited that his car raced. Now on to how girls rule... Doug and I also made derby cars. He chose an aerodynamic design kinda like a half circle. He said it would have the least wind resistance... Mine looked like a sedan. What do I know about aerodynamics? It was the only thing I could draw, and it was easy to sand. He painted his red, with a yellow racing stripe... Colors of speed, he said. Mine was white, pink, and pastel blue, with pink and blue flowers. I'm a girl, what else did you expect? Flames and skulls? So... it's our turn to race (we were the only adults that made a car, so we raced against each other) and in the first run, it was really close, then I pulled out in front and won! 2nd race, same thing... Ok, they run 4 times per heat... I had to win or risk a tie... They're on the starting line... they drop the gate, and down the ramp they go... and they cross the line, and the flowers have the power! WOO HOO! My car won! Now, mind you, I really didn't think it was going to, and it really didn't matter, cause I won of course... LOL!

All the other mom's of the other boys, were all cheering, and yelling that I had won. I felt kind of bad... I'm not a gracious winner... LOL.

All in all it was a good afternoon...

Time to empty the ole brain...

So if you want, you can just skip all the random babbling, and hit that "Next Blog" button again. :P
I hate strep throat. 2 kids have it, I've been tested and am waiting for the results. What joy. Nothing like waiting for test results. I wish I had known there would be a test, I would have studied... bah dum-dum. So, while the youngest 2 are on meds, and I have some decongestant that I can't take at night, when I'm stuffiest, mind you, because it whacks me out, I guess the hubby was feeling left out. While I was dragging my sick sorry butt all over the place taking kids here and there, and going to work cause I missed 2.5 days last week with the littlest, he was fine and made half-hearted, "please let her say no" offers to stay home and help. So today, he feels a little stuffy, and his throat is a bit scratchy so he stays home from work and sleeps all day! What a dork. No 2 ways about that one. I let him know, there would be no sympathy from me. Sheesh... what a baby.

I think after 10 years at the same place, maybe I should be moving on. I need to find a job with a different boss, different tasks, different everything. I wish I were younger and had more money.... No, not for those reasons, but so I could go to school. Yeah, I know, you're never too old to learn, but with a mortgage, 2 car payments and more debt than I like, it's not feasible to work less and have to pay for school. And then, I think at 40 it's a little too old to not know what I want to be when I grow up. I mean I know what I wanted to be, and I would still like to try those things, but I think I'm too old to invest 4 years in school, to be a vet, and then be "too old" to get hired anywhere. Would you hire a 44-45 year old inexperienced whatever I was? I wouldn't.

Breast Cancer sucks. Yeah, ok, all cancer sucks. Especially when it touches someone that you love. There aren't enough words to express the anger that I have for this... I'm not even sure that I could begin to explain. Kim is one of the most caring, loving, friendly, outgoing people I know, and it's just not fair. She is amazing, though, ya know? She finds out today, that the nasty chemo meds she took, made her lose her hair, and made her sick, and tired, didn't help at all. Does she wallow in self pity, that she has every right to do? Nope... she's right there posting on the board hugs and encouragement to all of us. Could I be that strong? I don't think so. I mean it's hard to say until you are facing that challenge, but you can bet, there wouldn't be much cheer in my demeanor. She is just truly amazing. (If your reading this, could you just say a quick healing prayer for her?) She is my hero. She is my new inspiration, and my new role model. Stay strong Kim! I love you!

Wanted, rich, elderly man... I'll be your Anna Nicole, if you put my kids thru college. Went to the college fair last night... my kid picks a small school in VT to like the best... only 39k a year... I don't think that includes books... but it does include the Discovery Trek. Oh... and for fun, she could join the "Co-ed Frisbee Club". Right. Her second choice is Penn State. Don't see that one happening either... Sure there aren't any Sugar Daddies out there? Rats. Well, I really shouldn't say that neither of them would happen, I mean Hell could freeze over and her dad (the evil X) could cough up some of the tuition... Oh, wait, this is the same guy that doesn't even offer to give a little extra for school supplies when they want something special. Nope... he sends that check every week, he donated the sperm, what more do I want? I really need to stop being so greedy. Sheesh, what's wrong with me to think that he might want to take more than a every other weekend role in their lives? Oh... wait, that might take away time from the new wifey-poo.

That's a whole other can of worms, and it's open now... Eldest asked if he would be willing to pay for 1/2 of driver's ed... roughly 200.00. He said no, of course. They can't afford anything like that... they just bought their house. From her DAD! I'm sure he didn't sell it to them at market price. Anyway, so he tells her no. Tells middle daughter, he can't pay for 1/2 of her $90 pointe shoes either. Then he turns around and tells them about this wonderful romantic week long trip he's taking with the new wifey-poop. It's so nice to see that he has his priorities straight. He is now missing out on his son's 1st scout blue & gold banquet, where he'll be making his first ranks. He's going to miss middle kid's youth group doing the church service on Sunday. He's such a butt head. I wonder if I know enough about CSI work to bump him off, and not get caught.... Great, now if anything happens to him, they'll see this and I'm a goner... Hey, bunking with a muscular roomie in the state penn just might be worth it.

Last but not least. WHERE IS SPRING?! I'm tired of colds, and cold weather. I want to open the windows, and get the germs out. I want to see flowers. I want to put away my winter coat. I want spring. I want it now. Right NOW.

Ok... if you didn't hit the "next blog" button, you are either, a friend, really bored, or thinking, "Man, I'm glad I'm not that woman. She's insane." :)