{Peeking Out Through the Dust}

Hey gang. I'm here. Barely, but I'm here.

I've had a long, busy week. Lots of parties, lots of errands, lots of activities, lots of outside play, and lots and lots and LOTS of searching for more freelance work. I'm flat broke. And I mean broke. So until I get paid again (could be up to a month from now), I'm at the complete mercy of Steve. [sigh] It's gonna get ugly. I guarantee it.

Anyway, generally speaking, we're all just exhausted around here. Not because we're not sleeping. We're sleeping just fine. But because we're just so damn busy. And because we pretty much try to spend every waking moment running around outside on the nice days. But I'm not complaining. I love this time of year, and I love that feeling at the end of the day when you collapse into bed knowing you've gotten your fill of fresh air and sun that day.

I'll post a few layouts just because it'll make my blog post look longer. Feel free to ignore them if you aren't interested. LOL!

Go get one...

Hey gang. Go get yourself your Visual DNA. It's a blast!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Hola!

Hey gang!

Thought I'd pop in here on the ol' bloggy and post something. (I'm actually procrastinating cleaning the house, but hey, whatever gets me here, right? LOL!)

So two days ago, I turned 34 years old. That day was so freakin' busy with errands, cleaning, gymnastics classes, T-ball games, and playing with kids that it flew by with very little birthday celebration stuff going on. LOL! But last night, my family came over and we ate dinner (take out... I sure as hell wasn't cooking) and had some ice cream cake. So that was nice and the girls got to sing Happy Birthday, so it's all good. I'm not a big birthday person in general. I mean, I don't mind them at all. I could care less about turning older. But I don't really think they're a big deal either and don't really expect anyone to get all excited about it or anything. LOL!

I do however, think I may be having some sort of mid-life crises. I went shopping yesterday for some new summer digs and came home with almost all camoflauge stuff from the junior's department. What the hell? LOL! I do love it all though, so I guess it's OK then, right? LOL!

OK. I guess I need to go clean up. I think Steve's getting home kind of early and I don't want to look like a complete slacker. I'll post some layouts I've done this week. Jen Wilson released a huge Mother's Day kit called "One Haute Momma" and there were a bunch of daily challenges related to it. So those are all from the challenges. I normally wouldn't scrap pages about myself (because I have too many damn pictures of the girls to worry about), but the challenges required me to, so I went all out and acted like a complete dork (on some of them). LOL! See? ------>

Credits can be seen here.

Credits for this one are here.

Credits for this one are here.

And the award for the dorkiest layout goes to this gem. LOL! (We had to scrap a page celebrating ourselves, our style, etc. I would normally NOT take the time to do something like this. LOL!

Credits are here.

Thanks guys!

Hey. I just wanted to say thank you to all of you that posted kind comments and emailed me after my overly-depressing post last week. I'm honestly, truly OK. For now, I've decided to just avoid thinking about the issue that bummed me out, because that's how I deal with things (even knowing how unhealthy that is). LOL!

Last week just sucked in terms of stupid, trivial things that kept happening like broken coffee mugs, unruly children, etc., and then my dentist gave me some news/advice that kind of threw me for a loop. What he told me is kind of embarrassing and really depressing, but I know what has to be done now, so I'm going to roll with it, deal with it, and get on with my life, ya know?

We had another busy weekend here. I'll post a more normal post tomorrow, but right now, it's almost 2:30 in the morning, and I think that perhaps, I should get some sleep. LOL! But I wanted to post my two most favorite layouts EVER. Apparently, being depressed gets my creative juices flowing. LOL!

Because I'm bored...

...sitting here waiting for the girls to get home, and because I'm wallowing in self-pity and need to take my mind off of it, here are three layouts I recently did. I love the kite one! Not my usual "style," but it was a hell of a lot of fun. LOL!

I'll be back...

Hey guys.

Sorry I haven't been around. This week has been crazy busy, and frankly, it has SUCKED. I'm chalking it up to one of the crappiest weeks ever. And I just got some really crappy, depressing news that kind of threw me for a loop, so this won't be a long post. I'll check in later and fill you in on everything, but for now, I'm going to go wallow in self-pity, 'kay? Later.

(PS: I'm not dying or anything (that I'm aware of). But I am contemplating throwing myself off of a tall bridge. LOL! Not really... no need to post suicide hotline numbers or anything...)

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I Seriously Need to Update You Guys On Before I Lose You All as Readers

1. The Taylor Hicks concert and the funny stuff from that night.
2. Grace's first ever dentist appointment.
3. My own effing tooth that is killing me today, but that I'm trying to ignore.
4. My sister's life and how I have such conflicted feelings about the whole thing.
5. The fact that I agreed to keep my MIL's dog here in my home for a WEEK next week. (Y'all know I'm not a big fan of dogs (or animals in general). At all. [sigh])
6. My new favorite layout I did earlier this week. It seriously rocks if I do say so myself, and (in my opinion) is rather hilarious.
7. My new obsession to add as many people as possible to my Friends list in Hello.
8. How taking pictures of my husband gutting fish is really not something I enjoy doing contrary to his beliefs.
9. My newest snack obsession (as if you care).
10. My thoughts on American Idol (again, because I know you care).
11. How I don't know what the hell I'm going to do with Grace this summer when she's home from school.
12. How I laughed out loud when I received a voice mail asking me to bake something for the spring dance Grace's school is having next Friday. (You kind of need an oven in order to make that happen, no?)
13. How I continue to become more and more of a dork as the days pass.

Digital Scrapbookers...

For those of you who have recently started digital scrapbooking, or who are thinking about starting in the future, etc., I just wanted to post two links to blogs who are currently offering gorgeous FREE kits in memory of a little boy who died two years ago. Both kits are really cool, and the story behind them is wonderful and painful at the same time.

http://christinareneedesigns.blogspot.com/index.html
http://www.thescrapspace.com/jessica/

Soul Patrol Part II (Not really.)

OK. So I was going to blog about the Taylor Hicks concert last night and tell my funny stories. But it's been a weird day. Some stuff is going on in with my sister (nothing to get all freaked out about and I'll update y'all tomorrow) and I really just want to go scrap a bit and not think too much. I'm not in a witty type mood tonight and I'm feeling sort of down, so I'll post in the morning after I get Grace off to school. I hope you all had a great weekend!

Soul Patrol!

We went to the Taylor Hicks concert tonight. It was a great night and a really cool concert and we had fantastic seats. I have some hilarious stories to tell about the night, all directly related to Taylor Hicks, including ice cream sundaes, autographs, and cell phones, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow because I am so tired right now and really need to head to bed. But I'll update in the morning! :)

But before I go, I leave you with my latest layout. I love the way this one turned out. :)

Credits can be seen here.

OK! OK! I'm here!...

Sheesh, you people are a pain in the ass! LOL!

OK. So now I'm here and don't really know what to say. LOL! Uhhh... I guess I could update you on a few things going on here.

** Grace went fishing for the first time last weekend. She was SOOOO excited to go and she and Steve had a blast! She looked so freakin' cute in her little camoflauge pants and new rubber boots. They caught a bunch of fish and Grace can't wait to go again.

** When I showed Steve that picture up there of him and Grace, I commented that I liked it because he looks really HOT in it. He said (and I quote), "I do look hot in it," and walked away. OK, dude. We really need to work on your self-esteem issues because obviously yours is pretty low. [rolling eyes]

** I kept Grace home from school on Wednesday morning to take her to her first ever dentist appointment. I pumped her up, calmed her nerves, brushed the hell out of her teeth, etc. We even got there 10 minutes early (which NEVER happens for me). We sat down and that's when the receptionist said, "Um, Grace's appointment is next Wednesday." Shit. [sigh] So then I had to take her to school (late) and explain what happened to the lady in the office. When Grace got home, I asked her if she told her teacher what happened. She said, "Well, when I went in, she asked me how my dentist appointment was. I just told her that my mom said it's next week instead. I didn't say, 'My mom's a big, fat dork.'" LOL! Gotta love that kid.

** I'm PISSED about Survivor last night. Why do all the hot guys always get voted off? Dreamz is an ASS and I can't stand the dude. And Boo, I hate to admit, is starting to look rather hot now that he's lost some weight and has more scruff. (I can't believe I just admitted that.)

** Does anyone here watch that new show "October Road"? Oh my god! I LOVE it! Of course, this means it will probably get cancelled, just like every other show I love. "Six Degrees," "The Nine," and that short-lived controversial one with the minister dude are just a few shows off the top of my head that got cancelled. Bastards.

** Tomorrow night at 8:00 PM, I will be sitting just 13 rows away from Taylor Hicks! I'm so excited! He's performing about 4 miles up the road from us so Steve and I and my parents are all going. WOOHOO! Soul patrol, baby!!!

** I spent all flippin' week doing tax crap. First it was for our federal taxes. Then it was for Steve's quarterly taxes for his employees. And now we have to start sending money directly to child support for Steve's waste of an employee who wasn't paying his ex for their son. Great. Like we need to deal with that shit too on top of all the other ridiculous paper work we have. Shithead. Stop spending all your money on beer and pot and start giving it to your poor kid. Asswad.

** I was driving in front of the biggest dickhead EVER yesterday coming down a mountain. I was already going over the speed limit by a bit and this guy still felt the need to drive up my ass the entire time. I would normally have brake-checked the guy, but even the lightest tap would've sent him into the back of my car and clean through the front windshield. See? This is why I don't like to leave my house.

Uhhh... that's all I can think of right now. Is that enough? LOL! Maybe I'll update again later. But god knows, it's not really my strong suit, so don't hold your breath waiting or anything. ;)

Hi guys!

Long time, no blogging. I know. I know. I suck. I'll type up a post tonight. We've just been busy. Fishing... cleaning... gathering up tax info (blech!)... having overnight guests... etc. I'll post an update and some new pictures later tonight. (I know you're all breathless with anticipation. LOL!) Later gang.

Hi everyone!!!

I hope everyone had a nice Easter! Ours was nice. We spent the first half of the day at my parents' house and then the second half of the day at my mother-in-law's house. Everything was fine at my parents' house. The girls harrassed my siblings (much to Aunt Kristin and Uncle Kyle's delight), they got too much stuff, and we ate good food.

My mother-in-law's was nice too for the most part. Once again, I was the ONLY parent there disciplining the 4 hyperactive children and the ONLY parent there cleaning up the tornado of stuff that the children left behind them as they whirled through the house, but whatever. I'm used to it, so I'm at a point where I can't let it bother me anymore or I'll drive myself insane. I bitch to myself in my head, make myself laugh with my sarcastic remarks (to myself), and move on.

So anyway, here are a few pictures from the day...

Hannah and (One of) Her Basket(s)

Hannah Hunting for Eggs at Grandma's House

Hannah & Her Hat
(It's supposed to be a cowboy hat, but she insists on wearing it sideways. And I asked her if she really needed to wear her "hunting coat" on Easter and she said yes, so we went with it. And she got those sunglasses in her Easter basket and (still) refuses to take that sticker off the lens. Freak, I tell ya... A complete freak...)

Grace Giving Uncle Kyle a Noogie
(He wasn't as annoyed as he looks in the picture. LOL!)

Grace Hunting for Eggs at Grandma's House

The Girls with Their Baskets

The Easter Loot... Christmas or Easter? You be the judge. [sigh]

A Few Things...

...since I last blogged...

** First of all, Hannah LOVES Sanjaya on American Idol. Now this is disturbing to me on SOOOO many levels, but mostly because well, the dude isn't good. What's funny is that she keeps calling him "Kanjaya" or "that boy I like on American Idol." I've told her repeatedly that he sucks (and yes, I truly did say, "That guy sucks," to my three-year-old. Sue me...) But she won't listen. When I asked her tonight why she likes him, she said, "Because he sings good and I like his face." Snort! Alrighty then, Sunshine. Knock yourself out.

** Grace's spring break starts tomorrow. This could either go really well or it could be a really bad week. Only time will tell, but I do know that my computer time is going to be considerably less and that kinda sucks. It also sucks that for the next few days, it's going to be cold and rainy, including on Easter day. Sorry girls... so much for those Easter skirts you were so excited about. I'm afraid we're breaking out the Easter corduroys and turtlenecks. [sigh]

** I went today to get the stuff for the girls' Easter baskets. Dear lord, Easter is almost as expensive as Christmas! (OK... so not really, but I'm a drama queen, so play along, OK?) I didn't want to buy them candy since... a) We still have candy from Halloween left over... b)Grace doesn't like chocolate and the majority of the Easter candy out there is chocolate... c) My kids would live on candy if I let them, and well, I just won't. So I decided to go the non-candy route instead. Great, right? Yes, as long as you don't mind shelling out more money than you intended. I didn't even buy them that much, and yet I watched $150 fly out of my wallet like it was nothing. Grace is getting a Littlest Pet Shop electronic game thingy and flip-flops, and Hannah is getting a new game for her Leapster and a new denim dress. Other than that, all I bought was some bubbles, some sidewalk chalk, pre-filled plastic eggs for hiding, huge footlong pencils that are actually filled with bubble stuff at the top, some Easter grass for the baskets, and these hilarious wind-up chickens that poop out gumballs while they walk. (OK... so I think it's supposed to be "laying eggs," but I know my children well enough to know that they'll assume the chicken is taking big, multi-colored craps.) A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS?!?!? What the HELL? [grumble grumble...]

** Steve's really, really sick and I feel guilty that the only thing I keep thinking is, "Please don't let me get whatever it is he has." Ya know... because I'm sweet like that.

** Judging by the commercials for Old Navy I've seen recently, I'm guessing that shorts with 1" inseams are again back "in". Shit. I was thrilled last year when Bermuda shorts were suddenly cool. Who the hell makes these decisions anyway? [sigh]

And with that, I leave you with a few more photos and layouts just because I can and because I'm looking for something to do during the commercials while I'm watching Lost. (All credits for the layouts can be seen here.

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately...

But I have a good reason actually. See, sometimes life and kids and family gets in the way. And in this case, that's OK. ;)

I'll be back soon. I promise. :)

Today I...

• Had a conference call.
• Played baseball.
• Played basketball.
• Drove around in a motorized Barbie Jeep. (Yes, I fit. Barely.)
• Pulled one (sometimes two) kids around in a wagon for about 8 billion miles.
• Threw rocks into the creek.
• Peed once.
• Ate barely anything.
• Played Frisbee.
• Pushed kids on a swing for 9 billion hours.
• Played "Captain Hook and Peter Pan".
• Went down a sliding board 4 thousand times.
• Wore a child-sized lifejacket (at the request of Hannah) while running around the backyard playing tag.
• Cooked dinner.
• Cleaned up.
• Gave the kids a bath.
• Took the garbage out to the curb. (Five cans worth.)
• Scrubbed three litter boxes.
• Had sex.

I'm freakin' TIRED! More tomorrow. Mama needs some sleep... LOL!

Random stuff (because I'm a random kind of gal...)

* I was THRILLED to discover that the show "Six Degrees" returned last night with a brand new episode. I got sucked into it months ago when it first started and then it just disappeared off the air for reasons still unbeknownst to me. But it's back baby, and I couldn't be more excited!

* I decided last night that I'm just going to ignore the world. The girls ignore me when I'm saying something they don't want to hear... Steve ignores me in that way that men do when you're trying to talk to them or remind them of something... Steve ignores the girls when they're swinging from the ceiling fans and out of control... I figure if I was put on this earth to be ignored, I may as well ignore everyone right back, no? LOL!

* We got a little fresh air this morning. Spring is finally starting to give us glimpses of herself and we couldn't be happier. We're all officially done with being stuck in the house all the time.

* Some friends of ours invited themselves are coming over to our house tonight. I'm still undecided if I'm going to keep the girls home to play with their boys that are almost the same ages, or if I'm going to send the girls to sleep over at my mom's like they've been planning to do all along (and not telling them that the boys might be coming). I'm leaning towards Grandma's house. Mama needs a break. LOL!

* I should be cleaning right now, but frankly, I don't feel like it.

* I adore my nephew and generally speaking, have NO problem with him spending almost every weekend with us so he and Steve can go walking around mountains or cutting down trees or whatever it is they do while they're gone. But I swear to god, he eats/drinks the very last bite/swallow of everything in the house. And it's usually the stuff I want. Last weekend, he ate my last big cinnamon muffin (I eat one every day for breakfast when they're here.) Last night, he almost ate the last of the girls Cheezits (they're favorite snack) before I saw him and threatened him with bodily harm if he even thought about it. Today, I went in the refrigerator to get out the last 2 pieces of leftover pizza for the girls and I for lunch, and guess what... it's not there. Gee, I wonder who took that. [sigh] He doesn't do it on purpose, but it's getting pretty damn aggrevating.

* Mary, I'll think up some interview questions for you and post 'em later.

* We're eating hot wings tonight! WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!

* Another layout, just for shits and giggles:

Background Paper: Meredith Fenwick; Newsprint Paper: Amy Kropp; Cardboard Overlays: Linda GB; Frame: Holly McCaig; Dots Border Template: Seebee; Green Paper Used in Dots: Bren Boone; Glitter Swirls: Carrie Stephens (recolored)

An Interview with Me Part 2...

Brought to you by G:

1. Now that you have become a WAHM, would you ever go back to working outside of the home?? (besides if you absolutley had to in order to pay the bills) Well, my answer right now is that I would like to always work from home. But I'm not naive enough to think that 5 or 10 years down the road, I'll need to either go out and get a job outside of my house, or go insane from the lack of socialization. LOL! But it will/would be hard to give up the fact that I'm home whenever the kids are, I make my own hours, I work (or don't work) whenever I feel like it, etc.

2. How old were you when you had your first beer?? Have you always liked the same brand? Believe it or not (and most people don't believe it... LOL!) I didn't have a single, solitary drop of alcohol until the middle of my freshman year of college. And even then, I didn't drink much beer. I was a vodka girl. In college (when I first started drinking beer) we always bought a brand called American Light. It was $6.00 a case and we bought it because it was CHEAP, but truthfully, it didn't taste that bad. LOL! But since getting out of college, yes, I've always pretty much drank Miller Lite. I like a lot of other beers too, but Miller Lite is what we always have here at the house.

3. Do you think your family is complete or would you like to have more children?? If your answer is more, when do you think you'd try again? I wish I knew. LOL! I think in theory, Steve and I would both love another child (and would totally dig it if we had a son), but in actuality, I don't know if we want another one. LOL! The cost... the pregnancy (ick)... the sleepless nights... the lack of freedom for the first year or two... the reflux (a BIG one for us)... etc. I think perhaps if we never had to worry about money and I knew for sure whether I was going to have to go back to work full-time or not, we'd probably have another one. But those issues kind of hold us back a bit, I think. IF we decide to have another, I would like to get pregnant right when Hannah is starting kindergarten (about a year from now or so). After that, I'd start being too old (in MY opinion) and wouldn't want to start ALL over again with baby stuff, ya know?

But all of that being said, I don't think either of us feels "incomplete." Another baby would just be a little "bonus" for us, KWIM?

4. What's the most redneck thing you have ever done?? What's the most redneck thing you've ever witnessed?? Wow! This one is HARD! Mostly because I can't recall one particular thing that stands out as true "redneck." I've done a lot of things that I suppose some people would consider redneckish though... I've been to tractor pulls and demolition derbies and stock car races... I've gone swimming and fishing in creeks (but we call them "cricks")... I've gutted my own fish... In college, I perfected the art of spitting and I could hock a loogey (sp?) into a can 10 feet away from me and get it in 8 out of 10 times... I've gone spotting for deer. (You drive around at night and shine big spotlights into fields, looking for deer.)... I've helped host a pigroast for three years now (LOL!)... I've slid down hay chutes in barns like they were sliding boards... I've drunk every type of cheap beer imaginable (Shlitz, Schmidtz, American Light, Miwaulkee's Best, etc.)... On many occasions, I've chewed tobacco, and in fact, I did it with Steve the night we met for the first time... I could go on and on. But I don't think any of these things are downright "redneck" so much as they are "small town", but I could be wrong. LOL!

As for witnessing someone else doing something redneck? God, I can't think of anything for this either. Half my town in redneck, so I'm so used to seeing that kind of thing that it doesn't even strike me as odd anymore. LOL! I'll keep thinking on these and come back to them if I think of anything specific.

5. Which fast food or junk food would you not be able to live without? Pringles and soda. I'd throw myself in front of a train if I couldn't have my Pringles. LOL!

20 Questions!

Okee dokee. Here are the interview questions for those that wanted 'em. Some of you may have some of the same questions because, frankly, I'm not all that creative and probably won't be able to think of 20 original ones. LOL!

So here we go...

Odd Mix:
1. Did you and your wife both grow up on a farm/around animals, or did one of you get "sucked into it" by the other when you met?

2. Name your very favorite characteristic of each of your children (physical and/or non-physical... your choice).

3. If you could quit your dayjob in computers and work the farm full-time, would you? Would you miss the computer stuff?

4. What's the first thing you do in the morning when you wake up and the last thing you do at night before bed?

5. What do you do with all of the amazing photos you take? Keep them on your hard drive? Burn them to CDs? Print them and put them in albums? All of the above?


Chelle Y.:
1. Name your favorite characteristic of Brendan's (physical and/or non-physical... your choice).

2. Will you ever go back to teaching again?

3. What is your most prized possession? (Has to be a material thing. No cheating and saying Brendan. LOL!)

4. If you knew the world was going to end tomorrow, how would you spend the rest of today? (Horribly depressing question, I know. I'm seriously slacking in the creativity department here today...)

5. If someone held a gun to your head (another pleasant thought... I know...) and said you HAD to get a tattoo right this second, what would the tattoo be and where on your body would it go?

KimmyKay:
1. Name your very favorite characteristic of each of your children (physical and/or non-physical... your choice).

2. Are you going to go back to teaching again or rock the SAHM thing for awhile?

3. What do you miss most about your old house (at least one thing material... like that screen door I LOVED, and one thing generally speaking... not necessarily a tangible thing)?

4. What author (living or dead) would you love to meet in person? (This assumes that if it's one that is dead already, they would be alive for the meeting. LOL!)

5. Name your top 5 favorite movies of all time.

G:
1. Name your very favorite characteristic of each of your children (physical and/or non-physical... your choice).

2. If you could move back home and out of Canada, would you? Why?

3. What's one thing you do in private when no one else is around? (I'm thinking something like pick your nose or bite your toenails. No need to get all perverted or anything on us. LOL!)

4. What's your favorite time of the day and why?

5. If you hit the lottery today (a BIG jackpot), what's the first extravagant thing you would buy?

Interviews Coming Soon...

G, Chelle, Odd Mix & Kim... I'll post your interview questions in a bit. I HAVE to run out to WalMart right now and grab some lunch, but I'll post them when I get home. Y'all are KILLING me with your requests for G-rated questions though. LOL! (I'm kidding. I'll have a hard time coming up with questions regardless of their "ratings." Stay tuned!