4 Childhood Memories

As I sit up in bed feeding my daughter for the third time since I first laid her down, hoping that she would drift off to sleepytown, I begin to think back to random moments in my childhood. I was an only child and me and my mom grew up living with my Grandparents. I had some good times back then....

I remember playing outside until it was too dark to see or until I heard something rustling in the woods and got scared. I'd spend hours sitting on the sliding board, my skin kind of matte from the dirt, often talking with my imaginary friends. Their names were Suzie and Doobie. (Yes I now know what a doobie is...no clue where I came up with that name. Even weirder....they were blue.)

I often played store with the JC Penny catalog and used an old square telephone as my cash register. You remember those kind...with the curly cord? Sometimes it was the yellow pushbutton one, sometimes it was the black rotary one. Oh and I always ordered bridesmaid dresses and bras. (Ironic cause those are some of the things I hate to order now.)

I remember getting up to watch cartoons on Saturday mornings with my bowl of fruity pebbles. Real cartoons. Like the Smurfs and Gummy Bears and Shirt Tales on network TV. (We only got 4,6, & 10 growing up...or NBC, ABC and CBS there was no Sesame Street in my world).


I remember I had a cardboard playhouse that grandma put thin sheets up in the windows and door. And when I would put my face up against them to look outside my lips would vibrate whenever I talked. (I remember I used to think Grandma couldn't hear me because of the curtain....until she came up on the other side and answered me when I asked her a question.)

I often would use my baton like a cane when I hurt myself. Hobbling around and wincing in pain. All from a papercut. On my finger. (Although one time I did sneak my aunts razor and cut myself while shaved my foot. Yeah got in trouble for that one.)

I remember the horrible smell of shrinkie-dinks and how awesome they were when they turned shiny when the hot lava plastic finally cooled down. Even more than that is how amazed I was that Grandpa let Grandma stick them in the oven in the first place. (I don't think I need to mention how unsafe those toxic fumes were inside a house do I? Way to go 80's toy companies)

As I look down at my little girl, while I want her to stay my little baby forever, I can't wait to start making wonderful memories with her. Even if they are ones she makes by herself sitting in the middle of the living room with an old inactive cell phone talking to her imaginary friends in England, I pray she has the free spirit to imagine a whole world of fun and to not be afraid to ask me to help her make become a reality.


*this post was brought out of my brain and to life by........

5 Wednesday already?

It's Wednesday already? Grace is shocked!

 I can get used to these short weeks.

Its nice to have a long weekend with my little girl.

2 Remember that time...

Remember that time when Mommy felt an earthquake at work? Yes, in Ohio! It was in Virginia, but we felt about 10-15 seconds of the earth shaking here. I called your Daddy to see if you guys felt it, but he didn't notice anything. And you were probably enjoying your afternoon swinging session, so you were probably clueless too.

Remember that time that you started smiling for the camera? You are so aware of the camera phone its ridiculous! Guess that's what we get for always taking your picture at the randomest of times. You are ridiculously cute in this pic by the way. (11 wks old)

Remember that time we knew we had to start looking at SUV's? Because even though you are little, you have a lot of baggage. Tis ok....a 2 door coupe isn't exactly the safest family vehicle. But it does save on gas! And no, this is not where you will be sitting, we were just checking out cargo space.

Remember that time we bought your first car seat. You won't be using it for a while, but we wanted to get it while it was on sale and we had giftcards. I think you will love it...its the BMW of carseats!

 Remember that time we met Uncle Garrett and Aunt Michelle for breakfast? You napped on the way down, but once we were there you were all smiles. You love you some Uncle Garrett! Everybody loves your bows. I hope you don't hate me for making you wear them when you are older.

Remember that time you were watching Mommy make dinner. You started to get fussy so I gave you your binky. The next thing I know you were passed out. Keeping the bink close,just in case, but you didn't need it anymore. You have recently begun snoring when you are really konked out. It is the softest little snore ever!

Remember that time you pooped and somehow it got in your belly button? Yeah, that really happened. And your welcome that I didn't take a picture of that. Funny how I don't second guess cleaning up your messes but sometimes the stuff left in the sink drain after dishes can gross me out. Guess its my mom filter.

I know you won't remember any of these little random moments, but I know I will never forget any of them.

6 Monday Ramblings

~I can not believe there are only 5 days left till Christmas. Wow…where has the time gone? Seriously, where is it? I haven’t even begun my holiday baking/candy making! That probably will happen on Thursday. I hope it will happen on Thursday. Right now I’m thinking of making Toffee and Grizzlenuchles (husbands families recipe). *Might* throw something else in, but not going all out like I did last year…that was just an insane bake-athon!

~The 4 weeks in between my doctor appointments seem like they are taking FOR-EVER! I know soon enough I will feel like I live there, going every other week then every week. But it’s just so hard waiting to know that everything is ok. I am enjoying every minute (well maybe not the heartburn but at least I know something’s happening) of being pregnant and don’t want to rush it. I just can’t wait to feel the little one move regularly!

~We tried something different this year with our gifts. We have 2 Christmas trees, one upstairs and one downstairs. We split our gifts up so we can each have some under the tree. I get 2 kinds of wrapping paper and we mix them up between both trees. Well this year, I decided to put all of one paper under one tree, and the other under the second tree. I kinda like it, we might have just started a new trend.

~Ellie and Emma are getting along so good, I am so happy that they are starting to get closer to each other. Every now and then a morsel of doubt will pop in my mind, wondering if we had waited just a few more weeks before deciding to get Ellie, which would have been after we found out we were expecting, would we still have gotten her? Would that have changed our minds and not adopted her? Part of me thinks maybe, but then I look at her sweet face and think about how cold and lonely she would be at the pound I know we made the right decision.

~As of this morning, with the exception of some random whites and a few towels…all the laundry in our house is clean. This hasn’t happened in years. Granted almost all, well ok all of what was washed in the last week is still sitting in baskets and on the sofa waiting to be put away. One step at a time people….didn’t want to get sidetracked. LOL.

~I am so thankful to work for a company that has shutdown the week between Christmas and New Years. Its awesome to get paid to enjoy the holidays with your family and friends! I’m hoping to get lots of organizing done while I’m off, including getting that laundry put away as well as gathering our yearly donations. No better time to clean out the closets then when I’m putting away clean clothes!

~I could very easily get used to wearing elastic waist paints. They are so comfortable. Who needs buttons?

~I am thinking of redoing my blog again, feels like it’s time for a change. Just need to narrow down the colors/theme and go from there. Maybe I’ll work on that over break. That and play some Atari, cause that’s how we roll.

11 The Great Pillow Debate

Need your thoughts friends. My husband and I saw these pillows at Target the other night and had differing opinions on them. This is where you come in. Do you like them....or would you have kept walking by?

Here is the sofa that we have in the front room.  Its a lighter cream color then this but you get this basic idea of shape and style.

Here are the pillows. Think I like the brown better, but the red is so pretty too!

Thoughts?
Think they are cute or a waste of material?

4 Monday Ramblings

Hi friends..long time no talk.  Let's start with some updates.

My Aunt Debbie finished her Avastin treatment last week. She hasn't had any more problems with blood clots so that's a blessing but her foot is starting to turn down a little bit and she can't walk anymore.  My uncle has decided to admit her to a rehab/extended care facility for a few weeks to get some PT twice a day to see if they can get her any more mobile.  She is pretty tired and is unable to feed herself. I guess she has been sleeping alot lately. So let's hope that she can get some help at the rehab center and keep her spirit up. Love you Aunt Debbie...you are a tough cookie....keep fighting!

One of my cousins is pregnant with her second child and is due in Early January.  She was admitted to the hospital late last week.  She is 29 weeks and was having contractions and dilating.  They did some type of test to see if her water was going to break in the next few weeks, that came back ok so she got to come home this weekend.  She goes in every few days for an ultrasound to monitor the baby's progress but for now she is dilated 2 and 70% effaced. Dr would like for her to keep baking until December 10.  So hang in there baby Hudson-another 7 weeks till it's time to meet you!

Emma had her teeth cleaned last week...and she did wonderful!  She is my baby and I was so worried about how she would handle the anesthesia. But she came out with flying colors...and her teeth look fabulous!  Way better then I ever dreamed they would and her bad breathe is a thing of the past!  They ended up having to extract 3 small ones in the back and she has to take some antibiotics for a bit, but she's just as peppy as always.

Ellie is doing really good...anymore its Emma who snips at her.  Our neighbor Kim brought over a giftbag for the girls.  There were some homemade dog treats and some chewable goodies and a kong for Ellie.  She loves it!  Thanks Kim....great idea!  We decided to get her a kong frisbee to play with outside and that's all she wants now.  She is really a sweetie and will just sit beside you, of course needing to be petted almost constantly.  We are happy with our decision to bring her into the family...she's making improvements every day.

I'm feeling good, work has calmed down a bit after last week's craziness.  I was fighting some sniffles but that seems to have passed me by thank goodness. We have some stuff we want to do around the house, including get some new insulation sometime in the next few weeks so that will be good before the cold weather sets in.  We went to the Ohio State football game on Saturday, and it was perfect football weather! I'll try to post some pics of that soon, we had a great time, just me and my man.  We did finally turn on our heater last week but was able to turn it down and open some windows yesterday, it was a beautiful fall day!

Hope you all have a great week! Anything I missed that you want to share?

9 i'm a dot com

Oh my goodness...I have gone and done it now.

I'm a dot com. Look at your address bar.  See it? It's redirected you to my very own piece of the web!

I am happy! I feel official!

Happy Friday everyone!

8 this and that

Good Morning! Happy Friday friends! I hope you are ready for the weekend...I know I am .  What a week...phew I am exhausted. Mentally and Physically.

Started out with a doctors appt on Monday afternoon, to which the news was just keep plugging along and we'll check again in 6 months.  Could have been worse news so trying not to get discouraged.  Then it was my Birthday...didn't really do much, had to work and then got Chinese takeout and I enjoyed a small Strawberry Golden Oreo blizzard instead of cake.  OMFG it was awesome...so freakin' good!  I could eat one of those every day.  But I won't. But I could, just sayin.

Then yesterday morning my grandma had to have another heart cath done.  This is the third one she has had done in the last 2 years, both other times she had 2 stints put in.  But this time, her results came back good and she didn't need anything done.  Thank you Lord!  The dr did say she needed to get a little more exercise to get her O2 levels up some, she tires so easily.  But she is 78 years old, so she needs to just take some nice walks and do some cardio things, instead of trying to do heavy yardwork and moving furniture like she has been.  She's a strong woman, mainly strong minded and isn't liking the fact that her body is slowly down and getting tired quicker.  So she is home and ordered not to do anything including drive until Sunday, just rest and catch up on her talkshows.  That lady loves Steve Wilco or whatever his name is...its her fix. LOL.

I started week 4 of the C25K plan last night, and amazed myself with 5 minute running segments...and I didn't puke!  That is awesome and I'm so proud that I went for it instead of sticking with the week 3 schedule I was comfortable with.  Not sure yet if I will do day 2 tomorrow or Sunday morning.  You see....Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day and we will be leaving our house kinda early.  We are heading to Pittsburgh!  I am so excited, we have been talking about this for a while and decided to make it a birthday celebration trip!  So we plan on hitting Primante Brothers for lunch and then going to IKEA!  I haven't been to IKEA in probably 5 years!  Got some birthday money I want to spend...just not sure what I "need". So for the first time in a while, my Saturday Cell Phone Mosiac should rock!

Google reader is full, so I will hopefully get caught up either tonight or Sunday.  So if there is anything I NEED TO KNOW right now, please let me know...I haven't forgotten you all, just had to push you aside for a lil bit.  Hope you understand.  I know you will, cause you are great peeps like that.

Have a wonderful weekend....hope you are doing something fun! 

4 Tuesday Ramblings

I have been the worst blogger ever the last few days...haven't had the time to stop by or do a Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic (that will have to wait till next Saturday) and recap my weekend.

Besides having tons of rain and horrible storms on Friday night, to which we were oblivious as we ran to Columbus for dinner, it was a fun weekend.  My niece graduated from High School so we had her party on Saturday and then had to go sit thru the actual graduation on Sunday.  The Main speaker, who was a Social Studies teacher was a graduate of another local high school that had all kinds of athletic and academic success....and he graduated in 2004.  From high school.  Talk about making me feel old....geesh.

Sunday afternoon my uncle, who is a mechanic stopped over to check out hubs car....which wouldn't start last week.  Ends up he needs a new timing belt and water pump...cha-ching.  Not good, puts a damper into my Chicago trip I have been planning for August.  Oh well, looks like I'll have to start pinching a little harder to make it happen.  At least it was at home when it wouldn't start, and I am blessed to have an awesome uncle who will work on it and I trust will do it right.

We started a Biggest Loser contest at work yesterday.  Teams of 3 people, and I think there are like 10 or 11 teams so that's exciting!  1st place team gets $100 each and a 6 month membership to a local gym!  AWESOME! Biggest individual loser gets $230!  AWESOME-ER!  So yeah, besides being challenged by the Sisterhood...I am focusing even harder on trying to win this contest!  Been walking my 2 miles a few times a week and am diligently tracking my food in my handy Lose It! i-phone app.  Love it!

Oh I did forget to mention one thing that occupied alot of my time Sunday Morning.  I had to pull myself away from the PC because I kept checking on all the sisters who were in the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon!  I didn't get to see any of them cross the finish line, but I was trying to send encouraging tweets and supportive thoughts their way.  It is amazing what they accomplished that morning!

So if you haven't already, swing over and congratulation Kirsten, Christie, Heather, Christy, Lissa, Lisa, Tiffany and Tiffany  and all the other members of Team Shrinking Jeans on a job well done! Mel had an injury and wasn't able to finish but she still did awesome training and raising money for LLS.  I'm so proud and humbled by all of you, you are truly inspiring, especially to all of us who aren't runners.  Pat yourself on the back...you did an amazing thing this weekend! I know you will be rewarded in good karma for stepping up to the challenge! Maybe next time I can join you...well unless I get a bun in my oven. LOL...who came up with that phrase anyway.

Anywho, happy Tuesday everyone...hope you are having a good week!

7 Random Monday Thoughts

I have so much in my head to share, so here it goes. This may or may not lead to future posts with or without pictures.

First....I made a button! Finally after trying for so long, figured it out and tada...there it is!
<----------------See? Feel free to spread the love and stick it on your blog...I'm going to be updating my sidebar with those of you that I love soon so if I don't have yours, don't worry I will doon!

• Bachlorette Party this weekend...oh my was it fun!(fun here being spa, melting pot, comedy club, stripper) However I did feel like crap last night and this morning from all the "fun"! (this fun includes  margaritas, jello shots, toquitos, and a strawberry martini). (Gin is the work of the devil...I am sure of it)

• HUGE tree is getting trimmed/topped whatever in our front yard tomorrow.  It literally is more than twice as tall as our house and leans horribly and makes us really nervous in windstorms.  However right now I am fearful that during trimming something will fall onto our house leading us to wishing we wouldn't have done anything to said tree. Company has liability insurance and has xx yrs of service but still...it makes me REALLY nervous.

• Wedding I'm in is in 2 weeks and my arms are not nearly as toned as I would have hoped they would have been.  Or really at all for that matter.  

• Not sure how I will do my hair for said wedding...thinking half up and half down...thoughts?

• My google reader thinks I dropped off the face of the earth....how will I ever catch up??

• A friend lent me 2 zoom lenses so I'm going to be taking some fun shots this week for You Capture...at least that's my plan!

• Dishes, laundry and basic clutter has overtaken my house...and I need to do something about it tonight.

• I am beginning to think my husband has an addiction to vinyl.  As in records.  Yes I'm serious.  So if anyone has any they are wanting to get rid of let me know and I might just pass you a little cash to ship them my way...he got a huge box for like $30 at a garage sale a few weeks ago and is so proud his collection is growing!  LOL.

Ok enough, rambling for now...I just wanted to get these out in hopes they would motivate to write more about one or more of them this week.  Hope everyone had a great weekend!

2 I'm baaack!

Hello bloggy friends!  Did you miss me? Did you even notice I was gone?  I've been traveling for work since Wednesday.  Got back Friday night and spent Saturday enjoying time with my husband and Emma.  Spent yesterday cleaning the house that had been neglected for the last week.  So I haven't had a chance to post much but will be updating the blog tonight with not one but TWO cell phone mosaics one from my trip and another from Saturday. (Thanks for the idea Ace, I'm totally copying from you!)

So check back later and once I get caught up on emails and such, I will get them up...hopefully this evening.  I hope you all had a great weekend and have a wonderful week!

6 Lucky

I spent a little time walking around the backyard with Emma last Thursday after work. 

I often look down in hopes of finding a 4 leaf cover. 

Never found one. 

But I did find a 5 leaf clover!  Is that even luckier then finding a 4 leaf one?  I think so!

6 Monday morning ramblings

Some random thoughts and comments that are taking up space in my sleepy brain this morning.

~Tried on bridesmaid dress Friday night for the wedding in May that I am in. I fit into a smaller size then the one I wore in July, but still need alterations because of certain body parts that wouldn’t fit into the size dress that the rest of my body would fit into. Irritating.

~Went to the library on Saturday to surprisely find a video I have been waitlisted on since summer…just sitting in the shelves. WTF? Bride Wars…you and I have a date this week!

~Slept in on Saturday, did a small workout in the afternoon, watched a movie that night and literally fell asleep on the couch at 10PM. Got up, worked out yesterday did lots of housework and took a nap about 6. Why I am so tired this weekend??? Got a little sore throat and the sniffles this morning, maybe my body was telling me I needed rest.

~Contemplating going back to spreadsheet tracking versus journal for my points/calories and weight/workouts. Just seems easier to sort thru a food list and past favorites when its in excel, plus that’s what I work in most of the time, so it would be less obvious.

~Cell Phone contract is up next month, and I can’t decide if I want to get a new phone or keep the one I have. Need to look at new phones and see if any strike my fancy.

~Wish I knew how to make good stir-fry at home. I make it and it normally ends up just tasting like chicken and vegetables with soy sauce….not impressive at all.

~I am serious need of a color and trim and eyebrow wax….its been too long.

Anything on your mind this Monday that isn’t really that important but is taking up space in that mind of yours?

5 Tonight let's party like it's 2009!

Wow...hard to believe that 2009 only has about 6 hours left...how is that even possible?  This year has been full of emotions.  Here are some of my highs and lows from the last year:

• I lost 45 lbs
• Then I gained about 15 lbs back
  
• I struggled with my Mom's passing 
• I had to help clean out Mom's house she shared with Grandma because she couldn't afford to live there alone.  I felt guilty for everything that I had to throw away or get rid of, but knew they would be better used by donating them to someone who needed them
  
• I heard my biological clock ticking...and I realized I wanted to be a Mother
  
• I came across a wonderful group of ladies at Shrinking Jeans...that often spoke of other ladies...who were linked to other ladies (you get the idea) that I have come to admire and relate to in so many ways...they are going thru many of the same things that I am, and if they are not, their life experiences make me smile and laugh and give me hope that there are still really genuine people out there...they just live in a different area code
• I got a promotion at work
• I was scared of working for an automotive supplier in this economy and tried to pinch pennies and be responsible
  
• I started blogging on a regular basis, even joining up with You Capture and exposed myself to the entire internetz!
  
• I started tweeting
  
• I've had the most money in my checking account ever
• I've been ashamed of how little I had let my checking account get down to
• I started to run....almost 5 minutes at a time!  That may not sound like much but try it...it's harder than you think if you are not a runner
• I finished my 1st 5K....not official but it still counts!
  
• My cousin had a beautiful baby girl in August, another cousin announced she was due in April with a girl and another cousin just delivered a baby girl yesterday....thus making my biological clock tick even louder...and of course the clock has a pink background
• My best friend had twins!  Of course they were beautiful baby girls!
  
• I loved my husband more than ever as we celebrated our 5 year anniversary
• I couldn't believe how annoyed I got at my husband sometimes
• I made my first apron 
• I cried more times than I can count
• I felt loved and am blessed to have such a big wonderful family

I'm ready for 2010...a new year, heck a whole new decade!  I am going to reach my goal weight this year.  I hope to blessed with a baby this year.   I am going to stop and appreciate all of those people in my life that make it better this year.  I am going to do things just because I want to, because I deserve it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE...thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings from time to time.  Your comments mean a lot to me.  I hope we can help each other thru all the highs and lows of 2010!

1 You're such a pain in my back!

It was a beautiful cool day, one of the kind that lets you know fall is on it’s way. I got up and went outside to start pulling some weeds from the front landscaping and trim up the pond plants that have started to fall into the water and the mint that has grown like wildfire.

Spent about 3 hours outside doing that and cleaning up the Lilly leaves that were starting to turn brown. Felt accomplished when I came back in, and the fish seemed much happier to not have the random lily pads in their way.

Had some lunch, did some laundry and then went out for my first day of C25K-week 3. This is the one that has 1.5 minutes of run/walk then 3 minutes of run/walk repeated twice. Was kinda of nervous (ok a lotta nervous), but I had to try it. First round was good…struggled and slowed down a bit but made the whole 3 minutes of running. Had side pains again, tried to focus on slow breathing but they still nagged as I started the second round. Ending up stopping at 2 minutes because I felt like I was going to pass out. Walked the last minute and then started the last 3 minutes of walking. I instantly felt disappointed in myself for stopping the long run. So I decided to run the last minute instead of walking. I was panting, but am glad I did it.

Woke up in the middle of the night for a potty break, and my glutes and hamstrings were killing me. Calves were fine, which is what hurt last week after my runs, so figured it was a combination of squatting while weeding and running that made my buns ache. Then this morning when I got up, my lower back was KILLING me. Seriously, I haven’t had this much back pain for a long, long time. Continued to ache as I got ready and left for work. Walked into the office with my laptop bag very slowly, still feeling it. Felt like I was walking like a 100 year old! Sitting here at my desk trying to stretch it out and hope it goes away throughout the day.

So the moral of the story, sorry kinda drug that out eh, is that even if you are fearful of something ,you should at least try to do it and not be afraid of how’ll you’ll feel afterwards. And you might want to try it on a day you will be doing something else, so if you do ache the next day, you can’t directly attribute it to what you were afraid of!

Stupid weeds...why must you cause me so much pain! Oh well, at least fall is almost here then you will die. That will make me happy!

2 Farewell coffee...I must say goodbye

Dear Cup o' Joe,

It is time for me to say goodbye. I appreciate the boost you have given me in the mornings as I try to prepare for the busy workdays. I love having a few cups of you on a Sunday morning as I catch up on blogs and local news. But you are a sneaky little guy and although you appear to be all of these wonderful things, the real you has come to light as I continue to focus on what I put into my body.

You really aren't that good for me are you? If I am going to try to get pregnant this fall, I can't have the extra caffeine running thru my veins. My heart rate doesn't need to be faster just because of stimulants, starting to run has it going fast enough on its own. The real you is too strong for me so I must tame your wild ways with sugar free vanilla creamer, which I use a lot of...so is it really you that I am in love with or just the way you make me feel? I think we both know the answer to that.

There are plenty of other yummy filling things that I can use those 150 calories on instead of creamer. Maybe a slice of toast and pb will give me the protein boost I need in the mornings. Or I could enjoy a cup of orange juice and get some vitamin C to help fend off any bug that maybe going around.

Today I drank my last cup of coffee. So farewell old friend, please don't take this the wrong way, but I need to start the next leg of my journey without you. I thank you for being there when I needed you and I might occasionally swing by for a visit, but you are not going to be a daily staple anymore. I am proud to say it's not you...it's me!