Where Did All the Time Go?

Wow, tomorrow is the beginning of August already. Where in the world did this summer go? I have a feeling what remains is really going to fly by. I checked my calendar yesterday and there is one week of August already that is completely filled in. It's not even fun stuff that it is full of, darn it. It's doctor's appointments, school registration, work stuff, etc.

I think I will take a week that has nothing scheduled and make a fun one out of it. How does "Mon-meet girls for margaritas, Tues-spa for massage, Wed-lunch with best friend, Thurs-coffee with mom and Fri-date night with hubby" sound? Yeah. I thought so. Sounds good to me too.

Wanna See What I Saw?

Ok, after much time spent on the computer, I think I've finally gotten the majority of our Chicago pictures downloaded, edited and ready to see. It took forever to do because I had three different cameras to get them from. I had pictures that I took with my digital camera, which isn't the best and has no zoom capabilities, my daughter's digital camera, which is awesome and does have zoom, and my cell phone, which has zoom, but very poor picture quality. So, some of these pictures are awesome and others are pretty poor. Forgive me for the bad ones. I wasn't going to download them, but it was actually easier to just select all my photos then it would have been to go in and pick and choose. Anyway, to see my pics just click on my Flickr badge in the side bar. Enjoy!

We're Back

Our Chicago weekend is over and, truthfully, I'm glad. It was nice to get away from home/work, but it was also very nice to return to our normal routine. Vacations, to me, are supposed to be relaxing, but this one was anything but. We were on the go the entire time. Hubby woke up early Sat. and Sun., woke me up, woke the kids up and then we were off. The only time I got to actually relax was on Friday evening when we first got there. My back was bugging me so he took the kids out while I stayed in the hotel by myself for a whole hour. Woo Hoo.

We did see a lot of stuff, but hubby was in such a big hurry to see EVERYTHING that we didn't actually look at anything for very long. Like I said, Friday evening he took the kids out to Navy Pier. They stayed one hour. Not nearly long enough to enjoy themselves or see everything they wanted to see. Saturday morning we went to Shedd's Aquarium, again stayed for about an hour and a half, only making it about a quarter of the way through the entire building. It was easily something that if we'd wanted to do so, we could have made an entire day out of it, but hubby got tired of looking at "fish tanks" and wanted to leave. After there, we went to Sears Tower, went up to the observation deck and looked around. Didn't stay there long either. Stopped to eat lunch at Giordano's Pizza. Let me just say YUM! It was the most delicious pizza I've had in ages. After eating, all I really wanted to do was go back to the hotel, but we'd told the kids that we'd take them to the beach so off we went. We got there and the kids took off, hubby and I spread out our towels on the sand and sat down. I could have easily spent the remainder of the afternoon there, but after a couple of hours hubs was all set to go again. Back to the hotel, cleaned up and went back to Navy Pier to take one of the boat tours they offer. We hopped onto the Seadog, which was a speedboat tour. Fun stuff, but not nearly long enough. I thought that might have been something that would kill the rest of the day, but nope, half an hour and it was over. Back to the hotel and I was finally able to sit down and relax. My back and legs told me about all the running we did too. All night long, I had leg cramps and a throbbing back. Not fun.

We got up about 9:00, Sunday morning and got ready to go. Hubby was just itching to get back home. I guess I was ready too. At least I knew once we got here, he could go about doing his own thing and I could actually relax in the pool.

Well, the pool idea didn't come to pass. When we got home, we unpacked and then I went to check the pool to see what temperature it was. Walked out and the pool was filthy. From all the rain we got Thursday and Friday mroning, the bottom was just covered with dirt. The water was clear though so I guess that was good. I swept it out, but after doing so and checking the chlorine levels found out it was reading zero on chlorine. I added all the chemicals needed and came in, figuring it would be good to go swimming today. No such luck. It is raining this morning and the pool is now green, a sign of not enough chlorine still, so putting more in and will maybe get in later if the rain stops and the chemical levels are ok.

I feel like I need a vacation now to recuperate from our weekend vacation!

Just Some Summer Fun Stuff

Been busy here so just thought I'd post a few blogthing quizzes for you to try. Have fun!!!

You Should Spend Your Summer at the Beach

You're a free spirit who is always thinking of new ways to have fun. And you don't just love summer... you live for it. So, you really should blow off your responsibilities and head to the beach!

Where Should You Spend Your Summer?

You Are Strawberry Ice Cream

A bit shy and sensitive, you are sweet to the core. You often find yourself on the outside looking in. Insightful and pensive, you really understand how the world works. You are most compatible with chocolate chip ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

You are Platform Sandals

Funky and urban You've got a cutting edge style that everyone envies A little bit downtown, a little bit euro, and whole lot of sexy!

What Kind of Sandal Are You?

What Your Flip Flops Say About You

You are a very sweet and sensitive person. You connect with other people easily. You're the type of person who feels bad about killing bugs. You hate to see anyone - or anything - in pain. Your ideal warm weather place: Thailand

The Flip Flop Test

You Are a Classic Bikini!

You are the type of gal who looks good in almost any bikini. Going for the understated look, you don't need a flashy bikini to turn heads.

What Kind of Bikini Are You?

The Big 4-0

Today is my birthday...the big 4-0. I must admit that I wasn't looking forward to this day. For the past year, I've been teased about turning 40 and it was starting to get to me. I got up this morning, however, with a good attitude and guess what. It's actually made the day pretty good. Oh, and the gifts helped a lot too. HA!

My daughter gave me two cds:





I had lunch with my mom,


And hubby sent me these beautiful flowers:


Hubby is also saying that there will be dinner out tonight and my son also has a gift for me, but he said I had to wait until he gets home from school today to receive it. All in all, a good 40th. I don't know what I was afraid of.

Cinco De Mayo

Happy Cinco De Mayo to those of you who celebrate. I have always wondered what the origin of Cinco De Mayo was, being as I'm not of mexican or chicano descent. I did a bit of online digging and found some interesting facts. If you want to read the entire article, click HERE. Otherwise, here are just a few interesting facts that I'd like to share:

1. Cinco De Mayo marks the victory of the Mexicans over the French in the Battle of Puebla, demonstrating to the world that Mexico and Latin America would defend themselves of any foreign intervention.

2. Cinco De Mayo is more commercialized now in the United States then it is in Mexico, and is more of a Chicano holiday then a Mexican one.

3. People of Mexican descent in the United States celebrate this significant day by having parades, mariachi music, folklorico dancing and other types of festive activities.

Woo Hoo!

I knew that my hubby had talked to someone about getting our deck built around the pool this year, but I had no idea that he'd already made plans for them to do it. This is what I came home to today:


I'm so excited! No climbing out of the pool on a wobbly ladder this year. No chance of slipping and breaking my neck on wet plastic. No grassy feet getting into the clean pool water. Yay! This deck is attached to our other deck by the walkway that you can see in the second picture. The deck by the pool isn't huge, but it is big enough to set a couple of lawn chairs or a chair and side table on. It'll be so nice to be able to climb out of the pool and sunbathe if I want this year. Or, if I don't feel like getting into the pool, I'll still be able to sit out by it and enjoy watching the kids swim. I'm just so ecstatic about this whole surprise. Now it just needs to warm up enough so I can enjoy it.

Randomness

Stolen from Crazy Lady in Vegas, here is a random bit of silly for your day.

60 questions answered with 1 word

1)What is in the back seat of your car right now? junk

2)When was the last time you threw up? 2007

3)What’s your favorite word or phrase? craptastic!!

4)Who made you smile today? Mom

5)What were you doing at 8 am this morning? driving

6)What were you doing 30 minutes ago? peeing

7)Favorite board game? scrabble

8)Have you ever been to a strip club? nope

9)What is the last thing you said aloud? hello

10)What is the best ice cream flavor? chocolate

11)What was the last thing you had to drink? soda

12)What are you wearing right now?clothes

13)What was the last thing you ate? chinese

14)Have you bought any new clothing items this week?nope

15)When was the last time you ran?pfft!

16)What’s the last sporting event you watched?football

17)If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?Hawaii

18)Who is the last person you sent a comment/message on myspace? nobody

19)Ever go camping?once

20)Do you have a tan? no.

21)Do you use smiley faces on the computer a lot? Depends

22)Do you drink your soda from a straw? Sometimes.

23)What did your last text message say? bye

24)Are you someone’s best friend? yes

25)What are you doing tomorrow? working

26)Where is your mom right now? home

27)Look to your left, what do you see? phone

28)What color is your watch? silver

29)What do you think of when you think of Australia? koala

30)Ever ridden on a roller coaster? No

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31)Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? drive

32)Do you have any friends on myspace that you actually hate? possibly

33)Do you have a dog? No

34)Last person you talked to on the phone? Josh

35)Have you met anyone famous? Yes

36)Any plans today? dinner

37)Are you happy?Yes

38)Where are you right now?work

39)Biggest annoyance in your life right now? sciatica

40)Last song listened to? Get Stoned (oops, two words)

41)Last movie you saw? bad

42)Are you allergic to anything? lots

43)Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? sketchers

44)Are you jealous of anyone?nope

44)Are you married?yes

45)Is anyone jealous of you? possibly

46)What time is it? 3:29

47)Do any of your friends have children?lots

48)Do you eat healthy?sometimes

49)What do you usually do during the day?work

50)Do you hate anyone right now? no

51)Do you use the word ‘hello’ daily?Yes

52)How many kids do you want? two

53)How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 40(!!!!)

55)How did you get one of your scars? scoliosis

57) When was the last time u got ditched? ???

58) Did you like school?? sometimes

59) Is it natural for someone to be sad all the time??no

60) Do you smoke? no

Prom 2008

My daughter had her junior prom Saturday evening. She said she had a lot of fun. She went with a bunch of her friends. Hard for me to believe that she is old enough to be going to prom. It seems like I should still be that age. It hit me hard when she was all dressed and ready to go Saturday. She looked so grown up. What happened to my baby girl? When did she become a lovely young woman? Here are a few pictures that I took before she left for the night. I'll have more once we get them downloaded to the computer. For now, though, here is my lovely not-so-little girl. Enjoy!!

In Need of LOL

After the past few weeks that I've had, I really needed some cheering up, some cuteness, some laughter. My daughter had told me about a website called I can has cheezburger awhile back and I thought now was as good a time as any to check it out.

I'd actually seen a few of these pictures on Facebook under lol cats, but I didn't realize that there was an entire website dedicated to the adorable things. Here are just a few that I loved and wanted to share with you all.







Aren't they just adorable? If you want to check out more of them, just visit icanhascheezburger.com.

Happy Easter!!!

Did You Know?

Today is Organize Your Home Office Day. Did you know that? Neither did I. I wonder where they come up with some of these "holidays"? According to this website I found, Holidays for Everyday , today is also Casey Jones birthday, Albert Einsteins birthday, National Preschooler's Day, National Children's Craft Day, Celebrate Scientists, Learn about Butterflies, Save a Spider and National Potato Chip Day. Whichever one you decide to celebrate, have fun and enjoy your day!!!

I always knew my daughter was a winner

My daughter loves to take photos. She got a new digital camera for Christmas and it is with her all. the. time. About a month ago, she entered a photo contest put on by her school and the public library. Well, yesterday she got an email announcing that she had won! She had two entrys and, get this. She won FIRST and SECOND PLACE with both of them. How cool is that? I don't have a copy of the first place photo, but here is the one that came in second place:

I Only Watch for the Commercials

Here is my favorite superbowl commercial this year.......



C'mon! Who wouldn't like to bonk Justin in the head with a tv?:)

Oh yeah, and the Giants won.

I'm a Thief

I totally stole this meme from Amy today. It was so fun that I thought you guys might like to try it out too. Thanks, Amy!

Let's Make a Band!
Click on each link to get each item.

1. Let's name our band
The first article title is the name of your band

2. What is your album title
The last four words of the very last quote is your album title

3. Let's make your album cover
the third picture, no matter what it is, is your album cover

Now, take your picture, add your band name and album title and voila! There you go!

Want to see what I came up with for my band? It's kind of creepy, in my opinion, but still pretty cool.


So, what did you come up with? Let me know!

Christmas Time is Near

....and the dvd still isn't here. Wow, I rhymed:) Ha! Only TWO more mail days to get the darn thing. I'm biting my fingernails and pulling out my hair. Boy, ain't I going to be pretty come Christmas morning. I am trying not to get too worked up over it because I do have 2 of the 3 that I ordered so hubby will have something to open, but it would be nice to have them all.

On to other Christmas happenings, I did indeed finish up my cookies and fudge yesterday. WooHoo for me! I was beginning to wonder if I would make it because my morning errands took much longer then I expected. Daughter was in the eye doctor for almost 45 minutes (she only had to pick up a new pair, but they were way behind and she had to wait) then the DMV took an hour and a half, but figured that would. The grocery store was also packed to the gills with people out doing their last minute food shopping. By the time I got home, I had the beginning of a migraine. Lovely thing those migraines. They are such a joy to experience. So, took some meds, laid down for half an hour, all the time thinking that there was no way I'd get all my baking done. However, it must have been a Christmas miracle because the meds worked super quick and by the end of that half hour I was feeling like my old self.

So away to my kitchen, I made a mad dash, threw open the pantry and pulled out my stash...of baking supplies and chocolate and nuts and I baked and I baked til I thought I would bust. Ok, so that last part didn't really make sense, but hey, I'm not a poet:)

I will finish up today, wrapping and passing out my treats to the mailman and neighbors. The kids are ready to go so I guess I should post this and get ready myself. Maybe by the time we get back home, the mail will have gone and I'll have a little dvd here to wrap. I can hope anyway:)

Let It Snow...NO, NO, NO!

We got our first measurable snowfall last night, about 2.5 inches. I was not pleased to see it this morning when I got out of bed either. My son was all excited about it, but not me. Thankfully, it is starting to melt. The roads were pretty crappy this morning on the way into town, but now the road crews have scraped and salted and they are pretty much clear.

I was worried about driving in it today too. You see, for the past 10 years I have had a FRONT wheel drive car. My last car was like a little bulldozer moving through snow. Nothing could stop me. I had no fear of sliding off into ditches or getting stuck in drifts. My little car would power on through no matter what situations I put it in. This winter though, my front wheel car went to my daughter. She just got her driver's license in June and we (her dad and I) wanted her to have a safe, reliable car. SO, that meant giving her mine. Granted, I got a new one in the process (Dodge Charger) and, don't get me wrong, I LOVE it. But, my Charger is a REAR wheel drive car and for those of you who drive rear wheel drive cars, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say it sucks in snow! This morning I was spinning every time I tried to take off and sliding each time I tried to stop. I'd turn a corner and no matter how slowly I'd push on the gas, the rear of my car would slide. Needless to say, I was pretty tense by the time I got back home.

Anyway, I'm glad that the snow is melting off the roads. I can handle snow if the roads are clear. I enjoy looking at it, it's very pretty, and I even like to go out and build snowmen, having snowball fights and ride the 4-wheeler while pulling the tobaggon, but having to drive in it, well, let's just say that if it didn't snow anymore this winter I would be a happy camper.

On The First Day of Christmas

Hard to believe that today is December 1st! This year has just flown by for me. The older I get, the faster the years go it seems. Anyway, to start off the holiday season, I thought this quiz from blogthings was a good idea.

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Christmas Story

Loving, fun, and totally crazy. Don't shoot your eye out!

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Halloween Fun

I know, I'm a day late, but I just found these quizzes on Blogthings and thought they were too cute to pass by. I don't know how much I agree with some of the results though. Like this first one, I can't say that I agree that human flesh is my greatest weakness. Yuck!

You Are A Vampire

You have a real thirst for bliss, and you consider yourself a true hedonist. And you're not afraid to walk alone in life, if it means getting what you truly crave. You truly enjoy entrancing people. Not to mention the ensuing pleasures of the flesh. Your tastes have been called decadent and bizarre. You usually give in to your temptations, no matter how primal Your greatest power: Your flawless ability to seduce and charm Your greatest weakness: Human flesh You play well with: Werewolves

What Kind of Monster Are You?

What Your Halloween Habits Say About You

The scariest thing on Halloween is you! You definitely don't want any kids in costumes crossing your path - and you're willing to scare away any who do. You definitely think of yourself as someone who has a dark side. And part of having that dark side means not showing it. Your inner child is open minded, playful, and adventurous. You truly fear the dark side of humanity. You are a true misanthrope. You're logical, rational, and not easily effected. Not a lot scares you... especially when it comes to the paranormal. You are a traditionalist with most aspects of your life. You like your Halloween costume to be basic, well made, and conventional enough to wear another year.

What's Your Halloween Personality?

You Could Be a Vampire... If You Had To

Like most people, the thought of being a vampire has crossed your mind. But you're not sure if you'd do it, even if you could. Living forever doesn't sound half bad, if you could live forever with the people you love the most. But do vampires even love? And would the vampire version of you even be you? It's all too much to contemplate. Luckily, the chances of you ever becoming a vampire are astronomically low. What you would like best about being a vampire: Living forever What you would like least about being a vampire: Blood stained teeth

Could You Be a Vampire?

Hope you enjoyed these quizzes. Did you take them to see what your results were?

TGIF

I am so ready for the weekend. This has just been a long week. The days have just seemed to drag by.

Dad is doing much better. The dr. took him off his blood pressure medicine for awhile to see if he needs it anymore. He said the dosage was probably playing a big part in dad's heart rate being so low too. Tuesday his heart was only beating about 45 bpm, but yesterday it was up to around 80 bpm. Dad thought it was too high, but the dr. assured him that was fine (I guess you should aim to have it between 60-90 bpm?).

I have had several people stop me throughout the week to ask how he is doing. That's what happens when you're pretty well known in a small town:) I've heard all sorts of rumors of what happened. I even had one guy tell me he was so sorry to hear that dad had passed away!!!! NOT FUNNY! Imagine this guys surprise when he saw dad in the shop two days later. I'm sure he felt terrible, but geez. Get your facts straight before approaching someone.

Had lunch today with my mom and aunt. That was fun. We could have sat there for hours chatting, but unfortunately I had to cut it short to get back here and work. My boss (hubby) sure is a slave driver some days:)

I have absolutely nothing planned for this weekend. I'm hoping to just lounge around and enjoy the beautiful weather. It's supposed to be wonderful all weekend so I will probably be outdoors a lot.