Weekend Wrap Up

I would like to send a belated Happy 6th Birthday to my buddy, my nephew "Big E"! He had an awesome Karate party with pizza afterwards on Friday. All the kids loved it. You couldn't pay me enough to be that karate instructor putting up, I'm sorry, teaching 15 kids karate for an hour. My Dad came and believe it or not so did "The Witch". I guess it was because the party wasn't at any one's house so there was no need to be jealous. Any whooo "Big E' loved his present, Star Wars action figures and Camp Rock soundtrack. My sister said he hasn't stopped listening to it yet. What can I say I'm a good Aunt and I know what my nephew loves. That was our Friday night!

Saturday started out normal until we went to Home Depot and I decided to paint the kitchen. I needed color, the white walls are making me crazy! So I picked out this Golden Mustard color, it looked good on the little paper swatch but I'm still not too sure. I got 3 walls done during nap time and bed time. I would like you all to know I did it without taping the edges, I did it free hand, and I'm not bragging but it looks pretty darn good. I am still trying to decide if I like the tint of yellow. At some angles and in certain lighting the color looks great, but at other angles and brighter lighting the color is a little too yellow. I don't know if it is the color or if it is because I'm so used to it being white and everything else is white. I am thinking once I paint the living room and dining room the yellow kitchen might be Ok. We will see.

Today was a stay at home day. I transplanted 2 plants with help from the Little One. Painted some more of the kitchen. And did my Sunday chores. Other then that nothing much happened today.

It was a low key weekend but a good one! I have a very busy week ahead of me so the low keyed weekend was a needed.

NJ or bust...

Yesterday KC and I decided to go down to NJ and see her sister and kids and go swimming. We headed out at 10am only to get pulled over for speeding at 10:15am. Operation "Smooth Operator" was in full force and caught me doing 41 mph in a 25 mph zone. The thing is the officer keep saying he hates giving tickets and it really sucks but he had to give me one because the state was paying for "Smooth Operator". What ever pal you weren't going to ruin my day just my budget!
We got down there just in time for lunch and rain clouds. When the sun finally peeked through we all went down to the pool. It was freezing! Don't ever believe anyone who says "It's cold at first but warms up once you are in". The poor little one's feet and hands were blue, they were both shivering but neither one of them wanted to get out of the water. But eventually they got out and shared a snack.
The ride home was uneventful, no tickets, just chit chatting!
All in all it was a good day spent with good friends!

Self Improvement

Well last night I took the first step in helping myself become a better person, better wife, better mother, and a better friend. I started to see a therapist. Something I should have done years ago but I kept pushing it off thinking that I would get through it and be fine. I guess what turned me off was that I went to a support group monitored by a therapist right after my Mom died. It was horrible, so depressing and not very helpful. So I just pushed all my feelings down and kept going on with my life. But since then I have had a lot of life changing experiences and I really need to talk to someone who is an outsider and doesn't know my crazy family. I really need to learn how to relax and stop stressing on the little stuff. That will help me in many ways, especially my health. This poor lady doesn't know what she is in store for. I feel better already, I feel like just admitting that I need help took a ton of bricks off my shoulders.
So maybe in a couple of weeks I can change my site from Crazy Caucasian to Semi-Crazy Caucasian. Ha Ha!

Summer Read #2

I finished my second book of the summer, "The Other Woman" by Jane Green. It was a very good read, 389 pages. The Other Woman is the Mother-In-Law. All of us girls who are married can relate to this book. We all feel inadequate and feel that we aren't good enough for Mommy's Little Boy.

The main character Ellie's alcoholic Mother dies when she is 13 years old and her Dad remarried and disconnected himself. She has been looking for a close-knit family, something she never had. When she meet Dan that is exactly what she got and more. Linda (Dan's Mother) was too involved, had an opinion for everything and intruded in their lives in every possible way. Of course to make it a good book things got really bad and Ellie had to do a lot of self discovery before things could turn around.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the Epilogue. I hate finishing a book because I hate not knowing what happens to everyone. Well this book had an Epilogue or a character wrap up. I got to read exactly what happens to everyone. So I finished this book and I wasn't as sad.

So now on to book #3. I'll let you know how that one is.

Early Bird

The early bird doesn't necessarily catch the worm. My Little One has been waking up at 6am the past couple days again and I still haven't caught the worm. The only thing I am catching is exhaustion. When I get up earlier it doesn't get me motivated to start my day and get more things done. It's just the opposite I end up sitting around in my PJ's longer.

Let's hope for another 3+ hour nap today!

Happy Friday!

Scale vs. Compliment

I went to the gym today and the gym scale shows that I lost about 8 pounds. I don't believe it at all. I never believe scales whether I gain or lose weight scales are always wrong in my mind. But 8 pounds...I don't feel it, see it, or can't tell it by the way my clothes fit. It's not completely crazy since I did spend all last week in the bathroom with a GI bug/colitis thing.
Then I run into my friend's cousin. We were chatting and he says "you're looking like you are back in shape, looking good"! He is a nice guy and I don't want to call him a liar. So I guess I'll believe him and not the scale. I didn't tell him my secret was a colon cleansing!
So watch out I'm back, feeling good, apparently looking good and eating good! Pizza, chips, brownie and cookies for lunch! Yeah!

Morning Visitor

This morning I had a visitor for breakfast! The picture is a little blurry I was trying to take it without scaring the bunny and keeping 2 cats, 1 dog and my child inside. The baby bunny was right outside of my sliding door off the kitchen. He stayed for an hour or so then off he went. It was a great way to start the day! Thanks Bunny!

Oh, I would also like to point out our grass. Doesn't it look great!

1 in 3 to go...

My Little One is getting her 2 year Molars. Ouch! The top left one broke through and the bottom left one is so close to breaking through. I feel so bad for her, the pain must be unbearable. Supposedly they say that an adult would not be able to tolerate the pain of getting teeth without major pain killers and poor little kids get to have Tylenol and Orajel! Whoopi-doo! Let's just hope that her molars come in fast, not just for her, but for Mommy and Daddy's sanity!

Oops! She did it again...

She went and done it again! My Dad's wife "The Witch" didn't show up to my sister's house yesterday for my Dad's Father's Day dinner. Supposedly she was too depressed because she still hasn't found a job so she stayed at home painting and cooking a Father's Day dinner for her son. I think she should just suck it up and smile. Hell, we all have to do it once in awhile. I can tell my Dad is tired of it and tired of making excuses. I wish he would just come to his senses and leave her. He doesn't need her, there is someone out there much better for him, I know it. I wrote her a letter about not coming to my house but now I have to revise it since now she is avoiding my sister's house too. I don't want to start trouble for my Dad but she deserves to know how I feel and where she stands with me. Most of all she is letting down 3 grandchildren who look for her and ask my Dad every time "Where's Nanny". I'M DONE WITH HER!

Oh I forgot to mention. While my Dad was with us "the witch" called him twice to get him home because her son was trying to get the treadmill out of the basement by himself. So my Dad had to hurry up and leave!

Unofficially Summer

I saw my first lightening bug of the year last night. To me that marks the unofficial start of summer. Just like seeing the first Robin marks the unofficial start of spring.
My fondest memory of lightening bugs goes way back to when I was just a little girl. I was staying on my Aunt's farm for the weekend. We caught a whole jar full of lightening bugs and I wanted to keep them in my room with me. Well they got out during the night and were flying all over the farm house. I laughed so hard at watching my Aunt running around trying to catch all the bugs that I peed myself on her steps.
I still like catching lightening bugs, but I found that it has gotten harder! Seriously, try it and find out for yourself.

Bye Bye Buffett

Sadly since I will not be attending the Jimmy Buffett concert again this year I decided to change back to my old template. I am so bummed. I have been looking forward to this show since last year. I wasn't able to go last year because my little one just wasn't old enough for me to leave her all day with someone. And the year before I went and had a great time but I was pregnant so I couldn't have a really great time. So I was really looking forward to it this year.
Why aren't I going? Well I been having some stomach issues and the last place I want to be is at a concert were I will have to wait in a very long line to use a port-a-potty! Not going there. I haven't eaten since Sunday and it is suppose to be hot/humid 84 degrees on Saturday. Other reasons are my babysitter is also having stomach problems, she is taking care of her Mother who is bed ridden with sciatica pain and her high school friend's father died and his funeral is on Saturday. So I have lots of strikes not to go this year again.
Sorry, Jimmy I will miss you! Maybe next year!

"The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful"

Let There Be Light...

Thanks to the storm last night Dave and I sat in the dark from 7:30pm until 2:30am. When I was a little girl I loved when the power went out, probably because I didn't have cable TV, AC, or Internet so if the power went out it was just another night except I got to light all the candles. So what did we do? We sat on the front porch for about an hour watching the storm, then came in and sat on the couch and looked at each other. Then I came up with a wonderful idea of watching DVD's on the laptop. So we watched a couple episodes of Two in a Half Men until the battery died. That's when I decided to go to bed. Which wasn't a great idea. It was so hot even with the windows open, then the neighbor down the street had a generator running, the dog was panting because she was so worked up and hot, then the little one woke up at 2am and came in to bed with us. At one point I woke up and the little one was laying sideways with her feet in hubby's back and head in my ribs. So needless to say the hubby and I didn't have a good night sleep at all.
All because the power went out.
I guess I should count myself as one of the lucky ones because there are people who still don't have electricity. Hubby went to work and got sent home because the whole office was out, and my boss called to tell me that I can't work because our office is without power too. So it was a day off in the middle of the week.

He's Back...

Look who is back the one and only, BUDDHA! Supposedly this blog is to chart his runs so he can see his progress so it is a healthy, runner's blog. I give it 2 weeks before he starts to blog about body functions again. But no matter what he writes it should be entertaining. So is there any one out there who wants to place a little bet on how long the blog stays a running journal?

My New Workout

I created a new workout for myself at the gym. I think I perfected it today. It is basically climbing a hill. I get on a treadmill, warm up for 2-3 minutes, then increase the incline every minute. Once I get to the incline of 8 I increase it every 2 minutes until I reach 10. That takes about 16 minutes. After 2 minutes at the incline of 10 I start to decline 1 every minute which takes 10 minutes. So by the time I'm at the bottom of my make believe hill I have already been walking for 26 minutes. Then I cool off until I do a total of 30 minutes and about 2 miles depending on the speed. I did it at 4.2mph and 4.0mph. I thought it was going to go by slow because of consistently watching the time but surprisingly it didn't. The best part is that walking hills targets your thighs and butt, and that's were I need the most help. So I figure if I do this every other day or when I don't do spinning I should be in good to go. Something different!

The Last Chapter

I hate when I get to the last chapter of a book. It is so sad to think the I'm almost done. I just finished a book last night. It was a book that I wasn't even planning on reading. I got it in the mail one day as a free gift from Steeple Hill publishers. I would have never bought it if I saw it in the book store but I figured I have nothing else to read so I might as well see how it is. Well, I was caught up in it immediately.
The book is called "A Mckaslin Homecoming" based in Montana. It is a wholesome heartwarming insprational romance. A 22 year old girl was taken away from her family by her mother when she was only 2 years old. As she grew up her mother told her she had no family and her father didn't want her. Turns out that her mother was lying to her, her whole life. The girl, Lauren's, long last grandmother contacted her and invited her home to meet her 3 older sisters, 1 one brother, and 2 step-sister's, her father and his new wife. She had a huge family that she didn't even know about. They all accepted her with open arms and loved her immediately, except her brother, Spence. Oh, of course she fell in love while she was there with a neighbor/family friend. Everything she had been looking for her whole life was right there in Montana.
It was such a good book. An easy read without too many details or main characters. And it was nice and short 240 pages. It was a nice weekend read!
Now thanks to my friend I have 4 more books to read! I'll let you know how they go.

What to do...

I have no idea what I feel like doing today. I know I should go to the gym but I just don't feel like it. So if I go I'm not going to get a good workout in because I really don't feel like being there. I like to go so Sweat Pea can go to daycare and play with other kids but is that a good enough reason to go?
Hubby asked me to go to Home Depot, my favorite store, NOT! I could do that this morning, wait until after nap time, or wait until he gets home from work and it will give us something to do after dinner.
It is just one of those days. I guess it because it has been such a long week or maybe because it is gloomy outside. I just don't have any umph! So if you have extra umph today please send it my way!
Happy Friday!

Step-Monster

Yes, I have a Step-Monster. I don't even give her the satisfaction of calling her that or step-mother or anything except My Dad's Wife. Mostly because I'm a grown women and I don't need a mother figure. She calls herself our Bonus Mom. She is far from that. For me to even use the word "Mom" you have to deserve it and earn it. She doesn't deserve it or hasn't even come close to earning it. She is such a self-centered drama queen. I swear she lives on drama, if there wasn't drama in her life I think she would shrivel up and die.
I moved into my new house 5 months ago. She didn't even acknowledge it. She didn't even congratulate us, send us a card, call us, even ask how are we settling in, or offer to help or watch the little one to make it easier for us. Finally about 2 months ago I said something to my Dad about it. He came out and told me that she is jealous of my sister's and my success. Her son isn't able to pay his mortgage so he has to sell his condo and she can't come to my house because she will be a downer because she is so devastated over her son. Well as a parent you have to be able to suck it up and be happy for your husband's children. My Dad will do anything for her kids, he even give her son money to put down on the condo.
About a month ago my Dad and his wife stopped by. I was shocked. He must of dragged her here kicking and screaming. She didn't even say anything about the house, not one word, she didn't even ask for a tour. Ugghhh! They stayed for about 10 minutes then left. Fine who cares.
Then I had a Memorial Day BBQ I invited all of my hubby's family, my sister, Dad, and of course my Dad's wife and her kids. None of them showed up not even my Dad's wife! What a B*TCH! She sent my Dad down with pasta salad. I felt like driving to her house and throwing it in her face! How rude!
So now I have to worry that any holiday, birthday party or any family function I have at my house she won't come. Which is fine by me, but I feel so bad for my Dad. He deserves so much better. He deserves someone who will enjoy life just as much as he does.
I got an email from her daughter yesterday apologizing for not getting back to me earlier but she was up state that weekend visiting her Dad. That is fine. I wrote back saying that I hope she enjoyed her weekend with her Dad. Then I couldn't help myself I wrote "Your brother, Mother and you were all missed at my BBQ". I just couldn't help it I had to throw it a dig and let her know that her Mother didn't come. It made me feel a little better.

World Wide Wrestling

My little one is 18 months old, 24 pounds, and 32 inches tall. So she is average for her age. She is on an antibiotic for the first time in her short little life for a sinus infection. Let me tell you when it comes time to give her the medicine she does not seem so small, it is like wrestling a grown person on the kitchen floor. She is freakin' strong, even my co-worker called her a beast yesterday. She can wiggle out of any hold, push my hands away and use her legs as leverage on the floor all at once. She turns into the Hulk. I have all my windows opened and I'm afraid if any neighbor hears us or sees us wrestling on the floor they will call child protective services! The more she wrestles with me the more I laugh. So that means I'm getting weaker with laughter and she is getting stronger because she is getting pissed at me for laughing. Wish me luck, we have 16 doses left (2 times a day for 8 more days)!

Tell Me Everything...

I swear I have a sign on my forehead that says "Tell Me Everything"! Why does everyone feel the need to tell me their secrets and innermost thoughts? Of course it always starts with "Please don't tell anyone" or "Please don't repeat this". I don't know what it is about me, maybe I just have a trusting face. Who knows but, geez I'm about to blow with everyone else's secrets. I even have my neighbors who I really don't know telling me things. I can't even write about what people tell me just in case someone comes across my blog. So when someone tells you "Please don't tell anyone" does that mean your husband of significant other too? Or is it a know fact that you will tell your other and the person who is telling you their deep secrets should know that? I just think it is so funny every time I go for a walk, or run into someone at the store I get gossip. I think my tombstone should say "I'm Going To Be Here For Awhile Tell Me Everything"!

Let there be Grass

Finally, after 5 months of living here we got raked and seeded today! Whoo-hoo! No more mud and dirt! Now let's hope that the grass will grow. I see a lot of water and sprinklers in my future! Hopefully I'll have better like than KC did with the sprinklers!

Can you see me now?

Ughhhhh! I went to the eye doctor tonight to get a quick contact lens check. Well quick it wasn't! 45 freakin' minutes! First the nurse or whatever she was took me back, then after waiting 20 minutes the doctor came in, and then I had to wait to order my lenses and pay. Finally I stood up and just blurted out "I have to go, I have been here for 45 minutes and I was told it was going to be a quick visit". I interrupted the receptionist helping another patient and was a complete b*itch! The thing is I really don't care. I'm so tired of waiting around being polite and not standing up for myself! So there eye doctor's office how do you like me now?!