Sunday, April 30, 2006

ANOTHER DAY AT THE ZOO!!!

well, friday, we took the kiddos to the zoo-to-do for kids like we did last year.

of course we had a blast (aside from the fact that we got lost on the way home and got into a big ol fight about it, but that doesn't count does it?).

there weren't as many food vendors as last year due to the storm, but there was still a ton of yummy food, freebies, animals, and fun things to do.

we will continue to support the audubon zoo by going to this event every year (well, that is until the kids are too old and bitch and complain that they don't wanna go ;)

*WARNING!!! PICTURE HEAVY!!!































Wednesday, April 26, 2006

LOOK WHO FINALLY HAS SOME MOJO!!!

ya know, i'v been holding on to these cj (circle journals for all you non-scrappers) for a couple of months now and did nothing with them. in three days/nights i got them all finished.

i am *so* happy with these pages (esp. the blue ones) that i almost hate that they won't be in a book of my own. but at least they'll be in greta's book.

her cj theme was colors. i chose two of my favorites orange (has always been a favorite) and blue (a new favorite).


the sign in tag.








this is my favorite one of all. in the pocket on the strips of paper, i've listed some of my favorite blue things: my boys in blue ;), my car, the sky, the ocean, blah blah.

a side note...i friggin' hate artificial light. these lo's look so much better in person.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

FINALLY MY CIRCLE JOURNAL IS DONE!!!

whew...its about damn time! i was only supposed to get it in the mail to next scrapper april first. thank goodness i am in a small circle journal group with a group of fantastic girls who understand what its like to be busy.

i'm hoping that tonight i can work on (and possibly finish) greta's journal so i can get that in the mail too! mikey's t-ball game was cancelled due to rain. i'm not complaining though b/c we have had only about one inch of rain in two to three months.

which is really good b/c last night i was really in the mood to scrap and i could so sit down right now and scrap my heart away.

my theme was collections.


the cover (loves these lil s.e.i. albums).


cover sheet


tag sheet.


books


sprinkles


buttons


sharpies.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

WE'RE ALL A LIL BUGGY AND WE'RE ALL GOING POTTY ON THE BIG GIRL POTTY!!!

so mikey came home a couple of weeks ago with a school project.

must collect bugs. must kill bugs. must display bugs.

okay, no biggie really. we live in the country, there are bugs all over the place. plus, we had two weeks to get the project done.

when do you think we did the project?

that's right, today. the day before the project is due.

way to teach the kids procrastination right? (that's another post).

you should have seen me and mike running around outside today chasing butterflies and dragonflies...lol. two folks with bum knees running around like fools.

we did manage to get the bugs and after mikey's teammate's bday party, we (okay, me) put the project together.

i have to admit, i did start to cry when it came time to push the pin through the bug. yes, they were already dead, but i felt a lil sick to my stomach.

so anyway, project done and i must say it turned out pretty darn good considering that we wanted until the last minute. i even picked up the supplies today...lol. i was going to get one of those memorabilia boxes, but decided to pick up this great box at walmart. wanna know the best thing about it? this box was filled with making memories scrapping supplies. double score.





in other news, we have been desperately trying to get bella potty trained. we tried everything: candy, chocolate chips, fancy potties, yelling, threatening...if you've gone through this, you know the drill.

but nothing worked.

well, i finally found something that does work....MONEY!!!

that's right folks, good ol fashion bribery with money. to a 2 year old to boot! but that is what my lil gold digger likes. heck, when mike walks in the front door she automatically digs through his pockets looking for moola.

i actually don't care what it took, it works.

she has been going potty religiously...'cept sometimes after nap...and has racked up quite the lil stash. she gets a quarter for everytime she potties and fifty cents for everytime she poops.

i think this weekend, she has made about five bucks.

i'm so proud of her though...so i'm hoping in the next few weeks, she will be 100% done...whooo haaaa!



hope ya'll have had a good weekend. mine was plenty more busy then this, but i'm pooped and its time for bed.

talk to ya'll tomorrow!

hugs!

Thursday, April 20, 2006

THIS IS TOO GOOD TO NOT PASS ON!!!

got this in an email this a.m. from my boss.

i remember all these things and i have now declared when i make mistakes at work, i'll be shouting "DO OVER!!!"

Those were the good ole? days!!!!!! Let?s bring it back?


This one is good. hope you like it. It almost brought a tear to my eyes. NOSTALGIC MEMORIES

Close your eyes...And go back...

Before the Internet or the MAC

Before semi automatics and crack

Before SEGA or Super Nintendo...

Way back...


a.. I'm talkin' bout hide and go seek at dusk
b.. Red light, Green light
c.. Playing kickball & dodgeball until your porch light came on
d.. Mother May I?
e.. Red Rover
f.. Hula Hoops
g.. Running through the sprinkler
h.. Happy Meals

Wait...

a.. Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons
b.. Fat Albert, Road Runner, Smurfs, Picture Pages, G-Force & He-Man, Woman & Super Man, Underoos
c.. Playing Dukes of Hazard
d.. Catchin' lightning bugs in a jar
e.. Christmas morning
f.. Your first day of school
g.. Bedtime Prayers and Goodnight Kisses
h.. Climbing trees
i.. Getting an Ice Cream off the Ice Cream Truck
j.. A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers
k.. Jumpin' down the steps
l.. Jumpin' on the bed
m.. Pillow fights
n.. Runnin' till you were out of breath
o.. Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt
p.. Being tired from playing
q.. Your first crush
r.. Rainy days at school meant playing "Heads up 7UP" in the classroom Remember that?

I'm not finished yet..

a.. Kool-Aid was the drink of the summer
b.. Giving your friends a ride on your handlebars
c.. Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school
d.. Class Field Trips
e.. When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.
f.. When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance, and another quarter a Miracle.
g.. When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him or use him to carry Groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
h.. When your parents took you to McDonalds and you were so cool.
i.. When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to he fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.

Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! And some of us are still afraid of em!

Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that!"

I want to go back to the time when...

a.. Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"
b.. Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!"
c.. "Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
d.. Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "monopoly"
e.. Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening
f.. It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
g.. Being old, referred to anyone over 20. (CRAP! I'm officially old!)
h.. The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.
i.. Nobody was prettier than Mom
j.. Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better
k.. It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people" rides at the amusement park.
l.. Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
m.. Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare"
n.. Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
o.. The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
p.. Water balloons were the ultimate, ultimate weapon.
q.. Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protector

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!

Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up" life......I DOUBLE DOG DARE YA!!!!!!

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

FOR YOU!!!!



b/c if you didn't know already how much i luv ya, you do now!

this everyone is my best guy friend tommy (however, i never call him this really. i call him by his last name...ya see, when i started at the pd, i called every officer by their last name. hell, i didn't call michael "michael" till we were practically married...lol..old habits die hard!).

you see that guy up there?

well he would do absolutely *ANYTHING* for me (and does!).

*he buys me cherries b/c he knows i like them.

*he brings parfaits to work for breakfast.

*i can talk to him about *anything*!

*he's my shoulder to cry on.

*he's my sunday morning mass (even though sometimes i don't wanna hear it ;)

*he's part of my sanity at work.

*he's simply great.

i luv ya buddy :)

Monday, April 17, 2006

I *LURVE* ME SOME GRETA!!!


greta & i at the donal snyder community center for inspector burriss' retirement party 4-17-06

can i just say that this girl rocks my socks off.

seriously!!!

how we became friends

when greta started at the pd, she worked over in cid (criminal investigations division) and i was still the major's secretary over on the patrol side. on a daily basis, i had to bring her completed patrol follow up information and usually slid it through the lil slot that she had in her plastic window (no protection from the crazies with that).

she thought i was an uber bitch and i thought she seemed a lil mean.

when she first started at the pd, oneil (aka lieno...oneil spelled backwards...lol...thats another story) was still a deputy for the sheriff's department. i heard that he had been involved in a shooting and my heart immediately went out to greta. i wasn't sure of all the details at that time, but i knew what it was like to be an officer's wife.

i then did something that i have never done before. i called greta in her office to see how lieno was and to let her know that if she ever wanted to talk about what happened, to give me a call.

i then started going over to her office to chit chat and then on one particular day, i mentioned a scrapbooking magazine. we both discovered a love that we both shared.

the rest is history.

they're like two peas in a pod, but boy are they different

lol..its funny, me and greta are like night and day.

*i'm an introvert, she's and extrovert

*i'm afraid of getting caught, she is more then happy to take the chance

*i believe in love, she believes in one night stands ;)

*i can pour a mean batter into a cake pan, greta can pour a mean crown & coke

*i can paint a picture, greta can paint a face (and very well i might add

*i live in day dreams, she lives in the moment

*i like classic rock, she likes hip hop (or booty shakin' music as i call it ;)

these are just a few of the ways we are different. which is prolly why we get along so wonderfully. we compliment each other beautifully!

one of us is the exquisite meal, the other is the fine wine that goes with it perfectly.

what i love about greta

there are so many things that i love about this girl and so many things that she has taught me in the 3+ years that we have been friends, i don't know if i can fit them all into a post.

but i will name the things that are my favorite:

*greta has made me more me. what i mean is that greta doesn't let me forget that i don't need to give a rat's ass as to what anyone thinks of me and to just be me. for this i am forever greatful. i don't think that she will ever understand how this has changed my life.

*greta is always there to tell me how great i am...lol. she never lets me forget that i am a beautiful, talented woman.

*greta always tells me how it is (even if i don't want to hear its). she pulls my heads out of the clouds on a pretty regular basis and brings me back to reality. she lets me know if i am being a bitch (and believe you me, this is something that i need to be told, b/c sometimes for me, its just so natural that i don't even realize that i am being one).

*she always puts up with me when i am being a bitch :)

*i can walk around naked around greta. now before anyone gets all perverted (michael, i mean you if you are reading love) let me explain. i feel so comfortable in my skin (thanks to greta) that i can undress in front of her. i think the only person that i have ever been comfortable doing that in front of is mike. i won't even do that in front of my mom. but she has made me so comfortable and is so comfortable in her own skin, that i am able to do that.

*she will listen to me go on and on and on and on about the same ol shit and just listens to it.

*she calls me just cause. we may sit there in silence sometimes, but its nice to know she is on the other end.

*i can never get enough of her and if i don't have communication with her for even a few hours really, i have major "greta withdrawals".

*we are becoming in tuned with each other. i will think of her and she will call me. i love this about great friendships. that almost becoming one with each other.

*we can talk about the cat's meow over and over and over and over again and never get tired of it.

*we both have fallen in love with veronica mars (and a buncha other shows) and will talk about it like we know the folks.

*she excepts (and has to put up with) all my faults and still loves me.

i could keep going on and on and i am sure that when i am laying in bed tonight about to fall asleep, i'll think more things to add.


greta is simply one of the love's in my life.

i seriously love this girl and truly believe that a piece of my life would be missing if she wasn't in it.

i thank God every day that i stepped outta my shell and made that phone call.

girl, if you're reading (which i know you are) i love you! you make life fun. without you....well, shit, i don't know what i would do without you. know that i love you and would do absolutely anything that you needed. i hope you know that i am here for you ALWAYS!!!

shit, now i'm gonna get all weepy and wish that you were here to give a big ol hug to!

fuck diamonds, you truly are a girl's best friend.

i luv ya :)

MUAH!!!!

Sunday, April 16, 2006

HAPPY EASTER!!!!







we've already found our easter baskets, had an easter egg hunt in the front yard and are starting to get ready to go to my mom's to grill out and have another egg hunt.

hope everyone has a HOPPY, HOPPY EASTER!!!

Friday, April 14, 2006

COLOR PERSONALITY QUIZ!!

hmmm...quite a bit of this is right on (as much as i hate to admit it)!






ColorQuiz.comelizabeth took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!

"Seeks an affectionate relationship, offering fulfi..."


Click here to read the rest of the results.


Thursday, April 13, 2006

NEW AVATAR NEEDED!!!



okay, so i am seriously in dire need of a new avatar. one that doesn't annoy my girl greta b/c you can see michael's glasses in the pic (what can i say? i'm always the one behind the camera, so there are never any shots of just me).

so i got all goofy today and took some shots of me all doodied up in my new sunglasses a la brett somers and my new favorite necklace (which i have to say, i will be copy this and making a ton of my own in all different shades).

so here are a few of my favorites and i have no idea which one to use. i really like a couple of em (mostly #3 and #4) but i'm open to suggestions.

TRYING TO PLAY A LIL CATCH UP!!!

okay, i said this wasn't going to be a long post, but i lied. so i understand if you just skim and cut through all the bullshit...lol


wow!! what's this? a free (quiet) moment to sit and try to catch up on the past few weeks???

this post probably isn't going to be as long as you would all think, i mean i haven't blogged in a couple of weeks and there hasn't been much going on. well, i take that back, there has been a ton going on, but not much worthy of taking the time to post about.

i feel so bad, not only for ya'll, but for myself that i haven't posted in so long. i absolutely hate letting it get this far behind (heck, i think this may be the longest i have ever gone). it makes documenting what goes on in our lives less well, documented.

so grab a coffee, coke, or hell a crown and coke and sit back and get ready for a buncha ramblin' on and on about nothing much.

so this is my second day off of work and i have three days left before i have to back to work. i am ecstatic about it and so far have gotten so much done. i ran so many errands yesterday and hopefully won't have to go to the grocery store for a month (of course i always say that and i'm back at walmart in a week). but i am hoping that this time i mean. after a cart full of groceries at walmart and and an even bigger cart full of stuff at sam's, i'm hoping that this time i can mean it.

you would have thought that i spent a lot of money yesterday getting all those groceries, but with coupons and price matching, i did pretty good at walmart and then at sam's i used some walmart gift cards we had and got $178.00 worth of crap for $28.00 (and still have gift cards left over). so that was good.

saving money is going to be very important here in the next year. with the house being built (foundation should be done this week or the beginning of next...whooo haaa...i'll have pics when its done) and planning on refurnishing the whole house (yes, i said the whole house. the only major piece of furniture that i plan on taking with us is my grandparent's dining room table/chairs & the china cabinet for our breakfast/morning room). so that's a lot of money to be saved.

okay, with that being said.....lol....yesterday i hit our very first lss (local scrapbooking store for you non-scrappers out there). holy shit!!! it was so friggin' awesome and had stuff that isn't sold at michael's and hobby lobby. scrapbook creations is going to be newest hangout for me and greta. we are so looking forward to the friday night crops and meeting other scrappers.

while i was in the store, i thought "hey, i might wanna be like april and see if i can work here part time".

i have to say that i didn't do to well with the whole saving money thing....but in my defense, i haven't bought any scrappy supplies in a very long time and i have circle journals that i have to get done and in the mail (i'm so sorry veronica, laura, and greta for being such a slacker, but this weekend, i promise).

i intend (along with all the other cleaning that is on the agenda for today) to get my craft corner cleaned and cleaned out so i can sit and get some things done.

not only have i neglected (aka been entirely too busy) this blog, i have neglected all things crafty and haven't baked anything from scratch in quite some time. i am in dire need of getting back to normal. now you may be thinking that this is normal for me now. mikey playing ball is going to turn into mikey playing five different types of ball, bella is going to be involved in dance and whatever lil activities she wants to do, moving, blah blah, but what i'm talking about is getting rid of all the fuzziness in my head.

fuzziness you ask?

when i have so much going on that i can't keep track, i feel like my hand is one ball of wires all mangled up and twisted (you beaders can probably picture exactly what i am talking about) with all this things zooming from part of my brain to another. it drives me crazy. i just wanna to sit in a room, crawl up into a fetal position, and scream until the screams turn into that crazy laughing/crying thing. i mean seriously (a la grey's anatomy).

I.HAVE.GOT.TO.GET.MY.SHIT.TOGETHER.

one of my problems is i feel like i should be able to do EVERYTHING. and that is EVERYTHING without mistake, without a problem, and without a stressed out nerve.

yes, i know this is impossible. i am not a wonder woman. i have to let some stuff go, but as i type this, i know i can't.

so with all that being said (yes, i know that ya'll are probably wondering what my point is with all of this) i'm hoping that the next few days off, i can get into gear, get stuff done, and get that wad of wire nicely wrapped up.

okay, i guess i better get into some of the things that we have been up to lately.

mikey


the team getting prepped for the big game.


mikey up at bat. can you see the ball in the air?

mikey has had his first ball game (and about 3 more since then) and i have so much fun watching my lil bug play. he plays first base and with each passing game he (along with all his teammates) improve. i love, love, love his coach. coach tino understands while we're there. to learn and to have fun. unlike one of the other coaches that has a team who yells at his players and makes it known that they are there to win.

coach tino has done this great thing by at the end of every game, he presents one of the players with a "B.A. GOOD SPORT" certificate and a ball that is signed by himself and coach lamm. mikey already got his and of course i was supposed to take a pic of it, but i haven't done that yet (shame on me). i think this is great and something that mikey can cherish forever.

the only complaint i have is when they have late games...we're talking 7:30 p.m. here folks. my kids are usually in bed at that time, but baseball season doesn't last forever.


on the prowl for eggs.


going through the found eggs.


look at all of em!

mikey had an easter egg hunt on his last day before spring break. you guys should have seen all the eggs out there. holy cow!!! the kiddos racked up. he had a blast.



mikey and bella also had their first friend come over for a sleepover a few weeks ago. of course it was the cutey-patootie mason. they kids had fun and i intend on letting mason have the honor having mikey over for his very first sleepover in the near future...BWHAHHAHAHAAA!!! (are you reading greta????)

bella

being the wonderfuly mommy i am, i don't have any real recent pictures of bella (or maybe i didn't look hard enough for one) but much hasn't been going on with lil miss attitude...errr...i mean bella.

we started to serious work on the whole potty training thing and its gonna drive me to drink. seriously. i think this lil girl pees and poops in her dora panties just to piss me off. see, they tell me that she uses the bathroom at school (and has been for a couple of months now) but she refuses to do it at home. i mean everything trip to the bathroom is a huge ordeal. there's screaming, there's crying, there's me threatening her with her life, i just don't know what to do. i don't want to take a step backwards by putting her back in pull ups, but i'm also tired of the fight.

any advice???

michael

ahhh...my fabulous hubby michael. without him these past few weeks, i think i would be a lush. he's been a great help lately and always steps in with the patience when mine is all spent.

not only has he been extremely busy with work, but he's been extremely busy around the house being "mr. home improvement" to get things done here so we can put this place up on the market and get it sold (everyone out there please cross your fingers that this is a speedy process).

not only does he have to get this stuff done so we can put this house up for sell, but he has to try and get all this done before he is scheduled to have reconstructive surgery on his knee. that's right folks. michael has tore his acl (or something like that) and has to have surgery on it. so pretty soon, i'll have three people to take care of.

where's that crown and coke???




me and david

the past weekend, my mom got married. the ceremony was nice. my mom had it in the back yard since it was a small, casual ceremony. my brother david was there whom i haven't seen in about a year or more. he's in the navy and is stationed in virginia. he just got back from a deployment (rat bastard got to go to italy among other places...but italy was the only place that i'm really jealous over).

of course mom made a ton of food, so we all ate, laughed, and got our drunk on. i have to say i'm pretty proud of myself. i no longer buzz with half a beer. i guess drinking more in the past two weeks then i have in the past year will do that to you.

i mean this is something to brag about huh???

okay, now for the best part, on to me.

there isn't much to report that i really haven't already reported. me and greta had a great time at a hurricane conference in baton rouge last week. the group of people we went with from work was a good one and we had a great time.

i'm still losing weight and wearing sizes that i haven't seen in forever...hell, ever actually. i'm almost at my goal of under 150. i'm so close i can taste it. right now though is not the best "time of the month" so i know i've got all that bloated weight gain, but i'm hoping that i step on the scale next week and i'm about another pound closer.

i have to say that i am soooo proud of myself. i've lost 35+ pounds since last january and i'm amazed every day that i look at my body the way it has changed. i currently wear a size 10/12. last year i was a size 18. so you can only imagine how friggin' good it feels to slip on a pair of size 10 jean shorts.

its orgasmic.

i've started to do tae bo again and hope that tones up the back fat, hips, and tummy that i'm trying to work on.



with that being said, here's a (bad) shot of my newly loved body. do i see problem areas that i would like to fix, okay one or two, but do i see things that i fuckin' love in this shot...hell yes.

these are size 12 pants that are beginning to fall off of me and the shirt is a friggin' medium. a MEDIUM!!! i haven't worn a medium since.....well...NEVER!!!!

okay, i guess that's about it for now.

if you've made it through all that ramblin, give yourself a big ol pat on the back b/c i don't know if i woulda made it.

also, if you are reading at all, thanks for hanging around and waiting for me to get my ass in gear and make a post. i do intend on posting more regularly from now on. now that i got this catch up post outta the way, i feel like i can do that. you know how it is, you're behind and you think that you can't post anything current b/c you have to post that catch up one...grr...

okay, i'm serioulsy off now.

hope everyone is having a wonderful april :)

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

I KNOW, I KNOW!!!!


a shot of me and greta in a bar at baton rouge (i'm trying to remember the name of the place, but as you can tell, i wasn't in the best frame of mind).


i've been a bad, bad blogger. i know, i know.

but as i write my 500th post right now, i promise that tomorrow will be filled with two weeks of catch up.

we got t-ball games, trips to gay bars, out of town conferences with people at work and my girl greta, we got bitches & moans, a list of upcoming events, filled with all sorts of news.

so i hope that i haven't lost any of my daily readers in my bad attempt at keeping up with this blog.

happy 500th post my own lil space :)