OKAY, I'M GOING TO BE A BIG DORK HERE BUT.....!!!

....i am so rooting for this guy to win on the bachelorette. everything about him makes me melt....melt.

yes, i know i am a complete reality tv junkie (as i type this i am watching the rw/rr battle of the sexes reunion but i can't help it!!

just look at that face!


yummy!

FABRIC!!!

well, i have recd. the fabric that i ordered from virginia quilter and i am in love with them. if you forgot, the "how to get married fabric" is what i had ordered in november from another company who never shipped out my order or contacted me back after two phone calls and one email. this was melissa's christmas present. anywho, i found this company and my order was speedy.

i love all the fabrics that they have on their site and highly recommend them.

i have already cut the pieces out to make the purse, i just need to sit down and sew it all together. eventually it will get made. maybe in time for this christmas :)


this is some fabric that i bought while we were in minoqua, wi last summer (boy i loved that trip and think about it all the time!) i haven't decided what i am going to do with it yet. i know it would make a great apron, but i have never made one of those. so it currently sits in one of the many totes that i have filled with fabric. i prolly outta start trading some of it, but i don't know if i can bear to part with any of it.

was that the correct spelling of "bear"? it doesn't look right and i cannot come up with any other version that i think is correct. oh well. how am i supposed to think with the kids running around and getting in to everything with an occasional scream?

SO I'VE BEEN GONE FOR A WEEK!!

sorry, but things are really hectic over here. but don't worry, you haven't been the only thing i have neglected blog, there are piles of laundry sitting on my couch waiting to be put away and a sink full of dishes longing to be washed.

aside from sitting and sleeping when i get a free minute, i have been busy doing the following things. allison is hosting a knit-a-long that i signed up for. despite the fact that my "squares" are a lil off and they are done in a simple knit stitch, i don't think they turned out half bad. i made lil pins to put on them as an extra and to not make them too bland. of course, the new owners can take the pin off and wear it on their shirt/purse/whatever.




i also knit sharon a scarf. i ran out of yarn therefore there is no fringe. i am trying to decide if i want to get more to do a fringe or if i like it better without.



i've also been busy getting pkgs. together for a candy swap that i am in and a valentine swap. once i know that my partners have recd. their pkgs., i will post pictures of the goodies i have made.


so that is pretty much what has been going on over here. not much. i just cannot wait for mike to come home. i feel lost without him. i told him earlier that it feels like he just vanished. POOF!

i miss you baby!

WOLFGANG MIKEY!!!

i have been feeling really bad the past two weeks. things have been so hectic once me and the kids get home our evening pretty much goes like this: walk in the door, fix dinner, watch cartoons while we eat (good parenting eh?), take showers/baths, go to bed.

there is hardly any time in there for anything fun. so today while i was at work, i decided to let mikey plan what we were going to eat for dinner and he was going to cook it (with my supervision of course).

so i called him while he was still at my mom's and told him the plan. he was excited. once i picked them up, i asked him what he decided. he said pizza. well, we had pizza the night before and despite my love for it, i wasn't in the mood. so i kinda hinted toward breakfast burritos and he was game.

so he got to crack open the eggs, cook them, and help emsemble the burritos. we also decided that we were going to have apples with them (yeah, a fruit that mikey likes). so while we waited for the burritos in the oven, we munched on some apples in the kitchen.

finally they were finished. when we were eating them. i told mikey the burritos were very good. he said thanks, which i thought was cute. but the cutest part was when he took his first bite. he closed his eyes. shook his head back and forth really slowly and said "mmmmmmm, these are good" "i make good burritos".




here's isabella while we were in the kitchen. notice she is not holding her cup. she is just using her teeth to keep it in her mouth. she constantly does this. i think she likes the idea of being able to still hold/do something while her thirst is being quenched. i prolly shouldn't let her do that. i may be paying a dentist big money one day for that.

MIKEY AS HUNTER!!

maybe i have been letting mikey watch too much hunter lately! earlier when i was posting about the damn checks, he says "mom, why don't you be mccall and i'll be hunter". i said "okay baby". he said "no, call me hunter". i said "okay hunter". so he traced his hand and said "mccall, do you know about this hand?" (or something to that effect). i said "no hunter". the phone rang a few minutes later and i said in all my laziness "mikey get the phone for me" and he said "no i'm hunter".

and just now, he called "mccall" again. and everytime i call him "bug" (his nickname) i am corrected that he is "hunter".

i guess there's nothing too wrong with my son thinking he is a smart ass cop huh? i mean his daddy's one.....JUST KIDDING BABY!!!!

DUNKIN DONUTS!!

over on glitter there is a food confessions thread. knittykat posted her love of dunkin donuts...gee...i thought i was the only one. i love dunkin donuts. i want to open up a local franchise to the lack of dunkin donuts in our area.

when i was pregnant with bella, i craved them. my mom had my aunt in cincinnati send down my favorites. a box of chocolate and blueberry donuts. i was in heaven (cept i had to share them). yum, they were so good!

when my mom had friends visit from cincinnati, they brought down two, yes i said two, boxes of 48 donut holes. if you have never had a dunkin donuts donut hole you are missing out on the reason for living.

when we go out of town, i look for them and have to stop by.

i even devoted two scrapbooking pages to the donuts that were sent down here during my pregnancy (look how huge i was. i was only 7 1/2 months there....damn!)





the worse part is that due to having satellite, we get new york's abc/nbc channels. they have dunkin donuts commercials on ALL the time!

oh the horror!

note: the first time i typed all this, there was a problem when i posted it. so the second go around isn't as funny as the first. sorry :)

SCREW YOU IMAGE CHECKS COMPANY...!!!

.....and your fucking checks!!

listen to this...i noticed that i was already half way through my last book of checks (why i wait till the last minute is beyond me) so going through the sunday coupons, i noticed one of the gazillion check company ads in the paper. it was a good deal for first time customers and i was a first time customer of theirs. so i decided to order some checks and use the nifty coupon code that they provided in the ad.

i ordered my three boxes of checks, entered in my coupon code, and was very satisified with a price of $16.xx before shipping. my coupon code was excepted and i moved on to enter in my credit card information. after that, my total had now jumped up to $40.xx before shipping. i thought that maybe the coupon code didn't show up on that page. so i decided to print out the previous page and that page with the new amount and wait to see what they took out of my account. so a few days go by and i get a confirmation email that says they recd. my order and it will be here in 10 biz days, blah blah blah.

well, as of today, nothing had been taken out of my checking acct. and the checks had been shipped. so i decided to take a minute (make that 30 minutes) out of my day at work and give them a call to make sure they are only charging me the $16 +shipping.

well, phyllis answers the phone and after i proceed to tell her the story, she informs me that she is sorry but you can't use the coupon code that is on the ad for internet purchases. that code is only good if you clip out the order form and mail it in. wtf?!?!?!? so while she proceeds to tell me this bullshit, i read over the ad and no where on it does it say that the code can only be used for mail in purchases. she then tells me that when i pulled up the website there was blinking yellow 99 cent thing at the top of the page and i should have clicked on that. i told her why would i click on that when the deal in the paper was the same thing and i had a coupon code. i tell her that i want to only be charged the $16.xx bucks that i was quoted when the coupon code was accepted. she puts me on hold.

she comes back and tells me that her supervisor is willing to rebate me $19.xx. well, if you subtract $16.xx from $40.xx you don't get no $19.xx. i told her that i wanted to talk to her supervisor. she puts me on hold.

she comes back to tell me that she is sorry, her super is on the phone and blah blah blah. well, while i was on hold that second time, i was rereading the ad and noticed that it had said that when you order three boxes of checks, you are supposed to get a fourth both free. so when phyllis decided to come back, i asked her if i was shipped four boxes or three. she proceeded to tell me only three b/c that is what i ordered on the net. i then asked her if i was getting a rebate would that be credited to my acct. or what. she said i would get a check in the mail. okay, i will hold my breath and hope that i get a check in the next three or so months right. so then she proceeded to argue with me again about the paper coupon code and the computer code. so i got to the point that i said "i don't want to talk to you anymore, i want to talk to your supervisor". she then said....hold on to your horses girls, you are not going to believe this...she says "that's fine, i'm due to get off work now anyway!". can you believe this bitch?!?!?!

so finally the supervisor gets on the phone and i tell her the story and she tells me that she will refund me the full amount on my credit card and i am getting the fourth box of checks.

i then told her that i wanted the name and addy for the customer service supervisor so i could write a letter to them and tell them about my experience.

the funny thing is when i got home, two of the boxes i ordered were in my mailbox.

so needless to say, i won't order from them ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever again!

sorry for the rant!

A LATE CHRISTMAS PRESENT!!

i had ordered some fabric from punch drunk dames on november 27th for a purse i was going to make melissa for christmas. guess what, it is now january 19th and i still have not recd. it. not only that, i have contacted the company on three different occasions and have yet to hear a response. well i certainly hope that money is not taken out of my account or i am going to be one angry lady!

if that isn't bad enough, i felt like a complete ass telling melissa that her present has arrived yet everytime i saw her. so i decided that i would at least give her a partial present and when i got the fabric in (i ordered it from the virgina quilter i would make the purse and give it to her.

so i gave her a scrabble tile bracelet, a ring, and the below scarf. of course she loved it and of course she didn't care that things were a lil late. i did however explain that i had to reorder from somewhere else.

here lately, some businesses have been pissing me off (see next post).


melissa's christmas scarf

note: yes, that is part of my messy craft area you see in the background ;)

A NEW WEEK!!

yesterday, greta, melissa, jody and myself went bowling. we bowled for four hours straight and did not want to leave...lol. we had so much fun. we decided that we are going to do midnight bowling a couple times a month. we also decided that we wanted to get our own bowling shoes (can ya blame us, i couldn't even think about the germies that were touching my feet), ball, and shirts.

yes, we are dorks! but we are going to be cute dorks. if only i can find a bowling ball that is white with card suits on it (hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs).



today was an extremely busy day at work followed by a busy night of bill paying, feeding the kids, and yelling at them. i am trying to remain calm being the only one here, but damn! i need a lil rest. and you would think that maybe i would get some rest on the weekends, but bella thinks its necessary to wake up screaming at 645 in the a.m. on saturday and sunday.

anywho, enough bitchin' and complain'. i just wanted to make a post so no one thought i was going back down the "don't post for three weeks" road.

so how was ya'lls day?

A CRAFTY DAY!!!

below are a few of the things that i worked on today. i also did some knitting for allison's knit along.


more rings...i have got to buy more ring forms. these are also made with buttons.




i used the domino beads that i got in my gifty pkg. i love how it turned out, however, i am not crazy with the back (the part where i tied the whole thing together). i am going to have to work on that. note: my arm really doesn't look like a ham hanging in meat market...i promise ;)



this is what i made for my new "bowling buddies". i am going to give them to them tomorrow when we have our 2nd bowling date. i am going to put pics of them going for a strike in the frames and hopefully we will all wear the pins tomorrow.

not a bad crafty day at all. its funny, when i am sitting there just whizzin' through projects, i often think why i don't do it more. a lot of my projects are not too time consuming and i get a lot done once i am in the mood. but i think that is the key. you really have to be in the mood (and it helps if the kids are behaving or napping ;)

RUMMY 21!!!

one of our (by our i mean: myself, mike, greta, melissa, peggy (greta's mom), and her friend) favorite boards games is rummy 21. this game is so addictive and me and greta play all the time.

a few weekends ago, me and mike played and i made rummy 21 history (amoung our group) and made a run with every number possible. it was quite a feat!!!

trust me, if you are into board games, this is a must have. it is a combination of rummy and rummikub.


quite fun!

HUNTER HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!

on january 11th, i came home to the surprise of hunter season one on dvd in my mailbox. it was one of the christmas presents that mike got me, but we had to wait for the release date.

me and mikey have been watching hunter all weekend long. i think it is his new favorite tv show.

"works for me!"

FINALLY, NEW POSTS!

okay, i finally found a minute and took it to posts some things that i haven't had time to post. i feel bad that i haven't been a better blogger, but things have been hectic around here. i will try and be better and post daily again.

i feel so outta sorts when days go by and i haven't posted anything :)

BYE BYE WEIGHT!!

i decided that one of my new year's resolutions for 2005 was going to be to shed some weight. now i don't mean, say i am going to lose weight and stick to a plan for about a week and then give up.

i mean really changing my eating habits and make the weight come off for good. i have to give myself a pat on the back b/c i have been doing so good and have lost 8lbs. since the 1st.

the only thing that i am really doing is:

-eating smaller portions
-drinking a lot more water
-making my food choices wise
-if i crave something, i eat it (in small portions)
-bought a new taebo dvd (note: i did the dvd once. it kicked my ass so hard, i don't know what hit me. but i haven't done it since b/c some where down the road, i have done something to my knee and doing the tape i think aggravated it a bit. so i am giving it a few days and i am going to try it again).
-have eaten out less

i am trying to see how much weight i can lose (and keep off) until march 19th. i keep ya'll updated on my progress and i will post various tips i am using.


here is my first installment of tips:

-eating sara lee's 100% multi-grain bread
-freezing fun sized milky ways (they take longer to eat)
-adding lemon to my water
-drinking my water icecold
-brining a 64 oz. bucket/jug of water to work
-eating more homemade chinese food



pumpkin fluff

1 can of pumpkin
1 pkg. of fat free/sugar free vanilla pudding
about 1 1/2-2 cups. of fat free coolwhip
pumpkin pie spice

mix. can of pumpkin and pudding with an electric mixer. add pumpkin pie spice and mix till blended. fold in coolwhip. voila! a pumpkin mousse! very, very good!

GOOD LUCK BABY! WE'LL MISS YOU!

CHUCK E CHEESE!

we decided before mike left, to take the kiddos to chuck e cheeses for an afternoon out. the kiddos had a lot of fun (don't know if i can say that much for us and the other adults that were there ;)

we didn't stay long enough to use up all our tokens or to cash in our tickets. we are going to save that for another less crowded day ;)

BOWLING!

my foot with greta's two feet in our spiffy rental bowling shoes!


greta going for a strike!


the end of our warm up game! aren't we the greatest bowlers?

on january 3rd, greta, melissa, jody, and myself decided to take advantage of our last day of holiday vacation and we hit the bowling lanes. i haven't bowled in forever and we had the best time! we weren't the greatest bowlers there (i would have to give the "over 55 league" that was down at the other end that honor) but i don't think we were two shabby.

i didn't get my first strike until the last game and then i got two in a row. greta jinxed me by telling me that something cool would come up on the screen if i got three in a row. that was just too much pressure and i ended up getting a gutter ball. oh well!

we are going again this monday and i cannot wait!

RINGS!!

here is a pic of the rings that i made using the ring forms that i recd. from art chix studio and some vintage buttons that i picked up at a thrift store.

i absolutely love these rings and have practically worn one everyday since i have made them. i placed an order for two pkgs. of rings which gives me 30. i feel that i better order some more b/c there are a ton of ideas that i have for more rings.

note: the hot pink one with the black around the edge was actually an earring that came in the bag with the buttons i recd. and i just gave myself a good cut with the xacto knife i used to take the earring part off.

ART CHIX STUDIO!!!

if you haven't checked out art chix studio, you must check it out. they have the greatest stuff. plus, the prices are great!

i ordered:
-2 pkgs. of adjustable ring forms
-1 pkg. of recloseable gold envelopes
-card suit charms (heart, spade, club, and diamond)
-blk. gear beads (resembles gears)
-round disks that you can put pictures or paper in and hang off a necklace
-plus, a free sheet of ephermia

i placed my order on a sunday night and i believe i recd. the following tuesday. i definetly will order from them again (actually i am trying to keep from placing another order today ;)

GIFTY ROUND TWO!!

i received the most wonderful package from pam for the gifty round 2. it was one of the most beautiful wrapped presents i have ever received.

after i tore off the paper, i saw that i had received some dog food...lol...just kidding. and i love the lil note that she wrote on top of the box "i swear its not dog food :)" i just had to take a picture of it.

then once i opened the pkg. i got to see all the goodies i received.
-two skeins of beautiful yarn that i cannot wait to make something with
-a pkg. of teeny-tiny dice that i am going to turn in to jewelry
-a pkg. of domino beads that i want to make into a bracelet
-some dice stickers that i am sure will make its way onto a handmade card
-the most delicious smelling body wash from bath and body works. its chocolate fondue. i have used it everyday since i recd. it.
-and a chocolate heart truffle (which is not pictured b/c i ate it right away ;)


thanks again pam! everything was great and i love it. i do hope that you enjoy your pkg. also.

A SUMMARY OF 2004!

What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?
-road a horse, held a snake, rode a mechanical bull, took an all-girl trip, visited north carolina, had a slumber party, met an adopted cousin for the 1st time

Did you keep your New Years' resolutions? Will you make more for 2005?
-the only new year's resolution was to be more orgainzed. i only kept to it a little tiny bit. i will make the same resolution along with some others for 2005.

What places did you visit?
-maggie valley, north carolina and milwaukee, wisconsin

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
-the above vacations, my slumber party, both the kiddos bdays, and our 5th anniversary

What song will always remind you of 2004?
-any nellie mckay song (they remind me of our milwaukee vacation)

What events merited celebration?
-our 5th wedding anniversary, bella's first bday, mikey's 5th bday, mikey's 1st day of pre-k

Did anyone close to you give birth?
-greta had melana and my cousin jennifer had allison

Did anyone close to you die?
-no
What do you wish you'd done more of?
-played with the kiddos, hung out outside, crafted, read, cooked

What do you wish you'd done less of?
-eat, watch tv, stress out, get angry about lil things

What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
-the ability to not let small things stress me out or worry about things i don't need to worry about.

What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory?
-august 13th..the best anniversary we have had thus far

What did you want and get?
-a family vacation and moola to pay off bills

What did you want and not get?
-a new house

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
-i was 26 and it was the worst day ever. i got into a fight with a good friend, argued with mike that night. fortunately we had a mini party a few days later which was nice.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
-less self induced stress

What was the best thing you bought?
-a new computer (i guess...i think everything i buy is pretty great ;)

Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
-greta (that took less than a split second to answer)

Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
-stepdad

Compared to this time last year, are you...
...Happier or sadder? -happier

...Thinner or fatter? -fatter

...Richer or poorer? -richer

What were your favorite films of this year?
-believe it or not, we didn't go to the movies in 2004 (that is what happens when you have lil ones). we didn't even rent a movie, so i am at a blank for this one.

What was your favourite TV program?
-life as we know it, six feet under, sex in the city, the wire, law and order, bargan hunt, cash in the attic

What was your greatest musical discovery?
-damien rice

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
-a lil more like me. i tried to accept my size a little more this year and tried to play up good features. also, i mostly wore my own handmade jewelry.

Who were the best new people you met?
-the glitterati

Did you fall in love in 2004?
-all over again with the hubby

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
-nah, i don't think so. now if the question was did anyone get on your nerves, annoy me, piss me off, disappoint me, make me extremely angry...well, that would be a different answer.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
-being more crafty, making all my own cards/invites this year, held a snake (i am deathly afraid of them)

What was your biggest failure?
-gained weight

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004.
-family and friends are what is most important

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
-"we've only just begun...."-the carpenters


list was obtained from coffee girl studios

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

NEW YEARS EVE!

new year's eve was nice...well that is up until midnight, but i will get to that in a minute. we watched the foodnetwork all weekend long, and i was itching to make me and mike something a lil fancy for us to ring in the new year.

so after we put the kiddos to bed, i made mushroom stuffed tortillini with proscuitto/alfredo sauce. we also had a salad. it was very good and for dessert, i made brownies sundae with vanilla icecream and caramel/slivered almond sauce .

mike then fell asleep in the chair while i worked on a second glass of wine (note: i am a cheap date, half a beer and i am already buzzing, so i was feeling pretty okay on the second glass of wine cept i was starting to feel a lil upset in the tummy which i assumed came from the wine).

i woke mike up and told him to come in bed. i had originally hoped that we would ring in the new year right ;) but i was really starting to feel crappy.

then it happened. i looked at the clock and it was about a minute or so from midnight...then i ran as fast as i could into the bathroom. i rang in the new year with my head in the toilet throwing my guts up. this went on all night.

was i worried that it was something i ate? nah, b/c mike and mikey had just gotten over the same thing. but lemme go on and tell ya, i don't wish it on anyone.

i then spent all of new years day in bed watching the first season of the golden girls on dvd. we are talking 25 episodes, about 12 hours. i didn't come out of my bedroom until about 8 pm.

so that is new year's eve. i can't think of what we ate, hell i can't believe i am able to even post it. hopefully i will have the urge to eat stuff like that again, b/c i sure do love rosette al forno, but i don't know. i better end this now before its too late ;)

I GOT VERY TIRED OF WAITING!!!

well, i as most of you who check me out on a regular basis know, my blog seemed to have disappeared (the template was gone, therefore nothing was showing up). i contacted blogger twice, and i am guess with the holidays and such, they haven't had a chance to contact me back.

so i just went ahead and decided to get a new template and voila! the posts are now showing up. over the next few days, i will add my links (you know, the links to you guys ;) and i think i am even going to try and change it up a bit. i would like to add a shopping section so you guys can see where all my money goes.

i would like to thank those that contacted me other ways to let me know they were having problems seeing what i was up to! thanks!

so hopefully, once i got everything back and running the way i want it to, i am going to make a buncha posts on what i have been up to the past week (and this will include some pics, and a couple of new craft projects)

i am so glad to be back. just wish i would have thought of this sooner ;)