a weeks gone by!

In the flash of an eye... a week had gone by. I worked a ton this week. Since I work for a retail store, it is to be expected and surely is a bonus in the paycheck at this time of year. We were able to share a great Thanksgiving with just my immediate family, in my home. We told our families that we were staying home this year. I was working at 6pm, and decided that I didn't want to make dinner, rush through that, and run all over town to visit people we see on a fairly regular basis already.
Luckily they were all really good about it, atleast to our faces. LOL

Sean and I did a 5 hour shopping spree on Black Friday. Nothing to big to tell. Decent sales, no horrible scenes, and only a 90 minute line at ToysRUs. Ok, maybe no TRuS run next year. LOL
I am prepping to go wrap some of the purchases, in just a few minutes. I love wrapping! I love going back over the things I bought and thinking about the ones I am giving to. It the best part! No wait... starbucks while shopping is the best part. LOL

Sean will be going to the beach for a night, just him and his dad... on Friday. The kids and I are planning on renting some movies when I get off work. Then Saturday is the annual Christmas Bazaar. I am hoping to get to go again on Sunday with a friend too. I take Meghan with me every year, along with my mom, sister, and niece(s). It fun to just wonder through the crafts and decor, etc. The kids generally find something they can't live without, as do the adults. :)

Only other thing going on around here is my 10 year old babysitting the class guinea pig... and our two male hamsters got into a fight last week. One ate the foot off the other (ack! I know!) We kept the peg-legged one and took the other back to the pet store (my sister works there and will re-adopt it out again, to a single pet caged home). Well... the poor "peg leg" (renamed) didn't make it through the trama. He passed yesterday. The kids are ok... just bummed. Hamsters don't make it long around here. :(
Oh... and my 9 mn old DOG keep EATING the Christmas lights. You would think it would shock her! But no, it must not be effecting her. Ding dong!!! So, I have now redown the location of the railing lights and am crossing my fingers. The dog is now banned to the outside kennel for the season, if she is allowed outside. Anyhoo... Hugs to all!!

Been a little busy!!!

Hey all!

Teenagers & Dating...

Oh wow... Jordan is 13 and has his 2nd girlfriend. They went to see the movie Twilight last night. Sean and I went shopping in the complex next to the movies. I asked 20 questions when he got back in the truck. Of course, I am his mom. At this point, I don't care if he likes it or not. I expect answers to what I ask. I hope that he will ask questions, if he has them. I hope we keep open communication. I hope if I remain the crazy mom, that I atleast remain the crazy mom that cares to ask crazy probing questions. LOL
Has anyone else noticed that the "80's" are back??? Oh my... I wonder often what WE were thinking, wearing things we wore. Now, I see teenagers wearing the SAME things. LOL
Jordan said last night, when we were discussing this; that it is a little wierd to have parents that know the style and how to dress in it. LMAO
I told him that his little SISTER will probally like that I understand her and what she thinks looks good. Even if he doesn't get it. :)

Look at what my friends son did with "Fruit Roll-ups". His mom is a scrapbook store owner, his dad is a chef. Of course he would inherit some art in his blood, but WOW!! Great job Robbie!! (Oh yeah, He is only 7!)

Home is where the heart is.

It's been said before... but which one do you live in?

A House- a building in which people live; residence for human beings. A place you can get out of the rain, eat, and sleep. A coldness fills the coming winter air.

A Home - The place in which a persons domestic affections are centered. Where love is shared, not always spoken but it floats in the air. A place where chilly winter air is wiped out as you snuggle together under your favorite blanket.

I live in a neighborhood of I guess lower income, lower expectations on beautiful yards, interiors, exteriors, etc.
What strikes me about these houses is that they are not just houses.
They are transformed nearly every holiday, into homes for celebration. The sounds of music and that occasional banter among siblings and childhood friendship. It's about living life. I often get upset at the condition of our house. The clutter, the mess, the chores to be done. BUT... would I want to give up these things for something more grand, beautiful? Maybe for something with more closet space, that is a possibility, but I don't think so. The more I think about it, the more I enjoy my HOME.
Somehow behind everything that I could say goes wrong, there is a longer list of things that go right.
So... I guess it is time to do a little cleaning and prep the yard for our holiday lighting plans. (I bought NEW LED lights, to save $$ this year and for many to come... to get to enjoy time spent with my kids... decorating our time!)
BTW... I am NOT saying that bigger more beautiful homes can't be HOME, I am saying that I need to look at my HOME a little different. :)

Here is an updated pic of our Lucy Loo! She turned 9 mns. on the 16th. I was taking pics of her laying with Jarod, and she sat up and started poseing. Too funny! When I stopped taking pics, she starting whimpering and whiny, until I took another. She was literally modeling for me. Oh she's such a ham!

So, these next pics show just how silly we sometimes are. The kids were bored. Jarod was trying to slide on his socks, across my dining room/kitchen floor. I told him, "it isn't waxed enough you are going to hurt yourself." Then, my brain thought back to the big slide at summer camp as a kid. We used to sit on sheets of wax paper to wax the slide more. So... I told Jarod to cut a popcan box apart to make a slider. We waxed the slider, and away they went. I then reminded them "I really DON'T want to make a trip to the ER tonight, so no breaking anything!". LOL
This probally won't win me "mother of the year", but it was sure fun!! Hee-hee!


These pics are from a special time for Jordan and I. He gets an assignment at school, and we get to spend time crafting it into life. This assignment was to make an advertisement poster for the book he just read. We, of course, had to break out the tools. Embossing powder, a light table, etc. Something everyone has, right! LOL (you can see the MESS in the background of the pic, that I often talk about.)

Getting anything good on sale lately?

How's your seasonal shopping going? Mine is started, and off to a good start... but nothing I am running out for yet. I really need to remember to start the Oregonian newspaper again. I don't keep it most of the year, but I get it for about a month this time of year... just for the ads. I just my memory newspaper hunt, when I do get it. Whether I find it in the street, under my front deck, in a puddle... or actually on the porch in the dogs mouth. Oh, yeah... FUN times! LOL

So... I am off to google for BF day ads. http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/

Woohoo I love this time of year. I love shopping for everyone, wrapping gifts, it brings such joy to my life! :)

Count your blessings... Name them one by one.

There is something to be said for thinking this way... "Count your blessing, Naming them ONE by ONE!" People around me are often upset, depressed, etc. There are simply SO many reasons to be lately. Yep... our economy SUCKS. Our political world is changing so fast, and with such uncertainty. But, how bad are things in your life, really??
Count your blessings... list them. Wow! Makes a difference in the way we are looking at life, doesn't it. I bet you have more positives than negatives on your list. :)
I know I do. I just have to remind myself of it, ALOT. Hee-hee!

My son are I just started reading the first Twilight book. Oh my!! I am hooked. I was told I would be. The author is a really great writer. I plan to go to walmart and check for the 2nd and 3rd books, in the series. I plan to then finish reading them, and take Jordan to see the movie. Finally both a connection for mom & son, and something he has gotten interested in reading. Win-win!!!

Anyone else battling the flu / cold bug?? My family is sharing it right now. Luckily, I haven't gotten it. I had a cold a few weeks ago, and I think my immunity got built up. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Jarod is home today. Meghan was sick over the weekend. Sean has had it for about 2 weeks (though he won't take anything for it). Jordan got a sore throat, but he tends to not get as sick as others. Hopefully it will leave the house now.

Hugs to all... thanks for stoppin' by!

DEQ...

So tomorrow is my day off. I get to enjoy a trip to the DEQ, to renew my car registration and have my car tested. I swear this is the DUMBEST thing. Every two years I take my car through, to get tested. I then leave and drive by OLD cars that no longer have to be tested (due to age). Now, how is it that MY newer car should have to be charged, and an older badly running car is OK? UGH!!
Oh and next month, Sean gets to take his truck too. :)
Woohoo!!

I will then run to the tire store and rotate my tires and maybe stick around to get my oil changed too. FUN!

I would SO rather go shopping at the mall. LOL

I will probally procrastinate AGAIN, and end up having to go after the cops pull me over for not renewing my license plates. LOL

Anyhoo... I plan on scrapbooking at some point in the next 36 hours too. :)

It's my birthday!!

Jarod as a Bloody Scream.
Jordan as a color changing skeleton. I wish my camera would have been able to pick up the color changing. It was neat! He basically wore a mask and went with the younger two. Every-so-often he went to a door too though. It was interesting to watch him decide if he is too old or still young enough for Trick-r-Treating.
This was the neatest house to find. The guy had built a roman looking pyramid, and he was dressed as the lion king. I still wonder what he is doing with the area for the next 11 months of the year. LOL REALLY neat though!!
Miss THANG, as a flower fairy. Can't beat $1 for a costume (the wings were from dollar tree!)
These were in a gift from my SIL. She always knows what to get me for my birthday. :)
Yep... I am 34 today. Another year of life under my belt. Twenty-nine was a hard age for me. Since then, birthdays have been thought of as more celebration. I don't have huge parties, big events, etc. I go to my parents for cake, ice cream, and time with family. Mostly though, I find time to reflect on myself. To think about the changes over the last year. This year...
* I went to work full-time.
* My job became a joy again. I actually enjoy going to work.
* I made it through another year of motherhood, feeling like I am succeeding more than failing most days.
* We bought our camping trailer.
* We actually went camping in it too!! (several times)
* We decided to stay in Oregon and not move cross-country.
* I grew a garden that produced this year.
* I am learning to grow my friendships again (I was really bad about this).
* My husband and I are getting along again, feeling a little less like an uphill climb... and in a down-hill fun time. (meaning marriage is FULL of up and down hills)

Well... that's about it. I am spending the next few hours googling online... I am in a scrapbooking mood again and need to find ideas. :)
Oh... anyone been to Crater Lake in the fall? Dh had the idea of driving there tomorrow. Humm...

So sad...

Sorry I have been MIA... and not posting. Life just got away from me. There sure is lots of good TV on these days, if you were able to ignore the smear ads. I am so darn frustrated with our political process. It seems like the electoral votes process is what picks the President. It has nothing to do with #'s of votes. Can anyone shed light on why electoral voting was the way to go??? I really don't trust political big wigs anyways... but I think every vote should count. Not some # of votes assigned to each state, in basically seperate elections. Maybe I should don't get it. :(
I do HOPE for change in the coming 4 years. Am I scared YEP. Would I have been less scared is McCain won, not so sure. I think LIFE is scary, the unknown is scary. We all have ideas of what life should be... I guess I just try to remember that we atleast have some freedoms and choices here, that others don't.

So... I got a new washer and dryer this past week. Long story short... the timer went out, my inlaws bought the new set, I poked a screw through my hand (healing) and we will give part of our tax return to my in-laws. LOL
We did get a matching set (not that our old dryer was dead, just old and dh replaced it). Now I am looking for a good charity or something to send it to. :)

Work is busy lately. I spent yesterday installing the power cords and power strips in the Holiday trees and lighting isles / grids. FUN!! I enjoy it, but up and down the ladder hollared louding in my knees when I tried to fall asleep last night.

My computer is INFECTED with the STUPID "Antivirus Pro 2009" program. It comes up and downloads like a cool spyware program, even gives you something to click on and buy (when it finds ITSELF) in files you should remove. LOL Dh kindly installed it, while browsing ESPN yesterday. UGH! I spent about 6 hours already, getting a decent program to find all its mess. BTW... "PC Tools, Spy Doctor" is a great program. IMO!! My dad bought it for three computers, last week... while fixing my sisters computer. He was kind enough to give me a code so I didn't have to buy it too. :)

I still have slowing and locking issues, but I am getting to the end of these current computer issues. LUCKILY, I have made it through with my Kodak picture folder intact. I gotta get those onto a disk. So next time I can just DUMP the darn computer and start over. LOL

Hugs to all... hope Halloween was good for you all... pics of my kiddos to come soon. Thanks for stoppin' by!